The South Dakota men’s track and field team moved to the national lead in the men’s pole vault this season, according to the latest event squad rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday.
The event squad leaders are determined by taking the average of each school’s top four athletes in the event. South Dakota’s men’s pole vaulters boast an average height of 17 feet, 7 ½ inches to lead the nation.
Sophomore Chris Nilsen leads the nation individually in the event with a height of 19-0 ¼ from the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in March.
Both sophomore Ethan Bray and redshirt-junior Jake David vaulted season bests over the weekend at the Drake Relays to boost the squad’s ranking. Bray moved into a tie for 17th nationally with a personal best height of 17-8 ½. David vaulted 17-2 ¾ to move to 38th in the nation. The Coyote trio swept the Summit’s podium the past two indoor seasons, while Nilsen and Bray took the top two spots at last year’s Summit League Outdoor Championships.
Redshirt-freshman Nick Johnson’s 16-6 ¾ jump from the Baldy Castillo Invitational, which ranks fifth in the Summit, rounds out the squad.
