– South Dakota distance runner Jeff Mettler was named the Summit League’s Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year on Wednesday. It’s the first time he has won the league’s outdoor athlete of the year honor after he won the league’s indoor honor in 2013.
The Eureka, S.D., native earned Track MVP honors at the Summit League Outdoor Championships last month after he helped the USD men’s team to a share of the league title by winning his third-straight 3,000-meter steeplechase league title with a league record time of 8 minutes, 56.95 seconds. He also tallied a win in the 5,000 (14:49.48) and placed third in the 1,500 (3:53.65) at the meet.
During the season, he won his second-straight Drake Relays steeplechase title and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round for the third-straight year by posting the 28th-best steeplechase time in the nation (8:51.05). Overall, he won three races and posted eight top-three finishes.
Mettler graduated from USD with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and sports science in May with a 4.0 GPA. He earned Academic All-Summit League honors for cross country, indoor track and outdoor track during the past year.
