MACOMB, Ill. – The South Dakota State track and field teams walked off Hanson Field with three post-season accolades, nine event crowns, and 25 all-league performers after the dust settled at 2019 Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Jackrabbit men finished runner-up (230 points) behind North Dakota State (272) as the only two teams to rally more than 200 points. South Dakota mustered the next-highest total (155.5), the only other school in triple digits.

The men are the first-ever team in conference history (since 1983-84) to win cross country, indoor track and field, and place runner-up outdoors. Four teams over the 37-year history have won all three seasons on the men’s side and 25 teams have won at least two seasons. Of the 25 teams to win two, only 12 (including SDSU in 2018-19) have won two seasons and placed runner-up in another.

For the women, the squad finished fifth for only the second time in school history with The Summit League (2012), beating the next-best team by 52 points.

Jackrabbit

speedsters

Sophomore Coby Hilton helped the team score 30 points total (22.5 points responsible for) as he became the first Jackrabbit to win the 100m (10.41) and the 200m (21.04) while helping the team win back-to-back 4x100m relay titles (40.99).

The Marshall native was able to defend the indoor Jackrabbit sprint-event titles as he beat teammate Sam Zenner by 0.16 seconds in the 100m and 0.17 seconds in the 200m. Hilton and Zenner swapped spots from the indoor season, as Zenner won the 60m and 200m (Hilton was second in the 200m, fourth in the 60m), being the first to win each of the indoor sprints.

The speedster duo also owns both of their respective school records in the events, as Hilton scored the 200m outdoor record twice earlier in the year (20.92/w) and reset the 100m in the prelims (10.39w) — once sophomore Daniel Clarke’s record from the 2018 outdoor championships (10.43w).

Zenner has both the indoor 60m and 200m records.

In addition to Zenner and Hilton, the abovementioned Clarke helped SDSU walk away with all three Summit League All-League positions in the 100m, posting a season-best in the prelims (10.65w) and resetting it again in the finals (10.63).

Helping the trio in the 4x100m relay was freshman Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, who scored a PR in the 100m prelims (10.93, ninth). The squad, who already owns the school record from the Drake Relays (40.12), is the second-ever team to win the relay event (40.99).

Up next

Several Jackrabbits will continue their season beyond the league championships, with the NCAA West Preliminary round in Sacramento, Calif. on May 23-25 with hopes of finishing the season at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas on June 5-8.

Content courtesy

of SDSU Athletic

Communications