THE MEET
No. 22 South Dakota women’s track and field is sending a program-record six women to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 8 and 10 in Austin, Texas. Both days will be televised on ESPN2 with field-event specific streams available on ESPN+ (direct links provided below).
THE COYOTES
No. 22 South Dakota, which climbed into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s top-25 ahead of the national meet, will be represented by sophomore Danii Anglin (high jump), fourth-year sophomore Gen Hirata (pole vault), fourth-year junior Lydia Knapp (hammer throw), junior Cassidy Mooneyhan (pole vault), sophomore Marleen Mülla (pole vault) and junior Jacy Pulse (400-meter hurdles).
The Coyotes’ six individual qualifiers is the most by a mid-major program on the women’s side.
Anglin’s collegiate best high jump of 6-1 ¼ (1.86m) from the Summit Championships tied for fourth in the nation. Mülla and Hirata are both ranked in the top-five nationally of the pole vault this spring. Mülla’s vault of 14-8 ¾ (4.49m) from the USD Tune-Up is fourth, while Hirata’s personal best of 14-7 ¼ (4.45m) from Mt. SAC is fifth. Mooneyhan joins them in the pole vault with a season-best vault of 13-11 ¼ (4.25m). The Coyotes finished the regular season with the nation’s No. 1 pole vault squad as ranked by the USTFCCCA.
Both Pulse and Knapp had personal best performances at the NCAA West Preliminary to move on to the next round. Pulse broke the school record twice, clocking 56.11 seconds in the quarterfinals of the 400 hurdles. That time gives her the sixth-best seed mark and would rank 11th overall this spring. Knapp launched the hammer a personal best 207-10, the 18th-best mark from the preliminary round.
THE SCHEDULE
All times listed as Central.
Thursday, June 8
3:30 p.m. Women’s Hammer Throw – Lydia Knapp (espn+)
7:30 p.m. Women’s Pole Vault – Marleen Mülla, Gen Hirata, Cassidy Mooneyhan (espn+)
9:30 p.m. Women’s 400m Hurdles – Jacy Pulse (espn+)
Saturday, June 10
7:30 p.m. Women’s High Jump – Danii Anglin (espn+)
9:27 p.m. Women’s 400m Hurdles – Jacy Pulse* (espn+)
*Must advance from semifinal
THE COMPETITION
The nation’s best will clamor for the spotlight this weekend in Austin. To reach this point, athletes must have finished in the top-12 of their respective event at either the NCAA West or NCAA East regional round.
UP NEXT
This weekend marks the last weekend of the 2023 NCAA track and field season, although track and field as a sport will continue all summer long. The 2023 U.S. Outdoor Championships are scheduled for July 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon, with the 2023 World Athletics Championships set for Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary.
