South Dakota track and field concluded competition at the NCAA West Preliminaries on Saturday, advancing three athletes to the NCAA Championships.
Junior Amber Eichkorn once again had the top performance for the Coyotes. She clocked 16 minutes, 37.93 seconds for 22nd place in a competitive 5,000-meter field. Eichkorn improved upon her 27th-place seed. Under the lights two nights ago, Eichkorn qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000-meter run.
Coyote pole vaulters were led by freshman Jake David’s 31st-place mark of 16-6 ¾. Senior Kevin Sarehkhani vaulted 16-0 ¾ to take 36th.
After a lightning delay that postponed competition one hour, sophomore Danielle Waldner took to the shot put ring. She threw the shot 46-4 on her third attempt, which would hold up for two places higher than her seed and place 40th.
South Dakota juniors Hunter Wilkes, Eichkorn and senior Cody Snyder will represent the Coyotes at the NCAA Championships held June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore. Wilkes and Eichkorn both compete on Thursday, June 11. Wilkes pole vaults at 4:45 p.m. and Eichkorn races the 10,000 meters at 6:38 p.m. Snyder throws the shot put at 4:05 p.m. on Friday, June 12.
