Sophomore Oksana Covey slashes 28-year-old 800-meter record

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The South Dakota State track and field teams were in action-packed events to cap off the week in California and open the weekend in the Midwest. A total of 20 personal-best marks were recorded on Friday, a total of 39 so far through the weekend.

BRYAN CLAY INVITATIONAL

AZUSA, Calif. – Oh, what a weekend it was to be a Jackrabbit in California.

Let’s start with the recently appointed fastest-ever 800-meter Jackrabbit.

Her name – Oksana Covey – and she sliced up the 800-meter outdoor record that was held by Kim Fordham since 1991, claiming the outdoor and overall record of 28 years.

The sophomore (10th overall, 2:06.09) rewrote the record at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Friday afternoon, cutting 0.15 seconds off Kim Fordham’s 1991 mark (2:06.24).

Now, we can’t forget about SDSU’s fastest-ever 200-meter Jackrabbit.

Sophomore Coby Hilton proved on Friday afternoon in Azusa that his school-record mark and overall fastest-ever time was not a fluke, finishing with the exact same time as he did two weeks ago in Vermillion (third, 20.92w).

Once a 26-year old record, Hilton has now notched the time twice and is still the first Jackrabbit since Edmund Estephane (1994-2018) to own both the indoor and outdoor school record.

The 400-meter hurdles. An SDSU record list that hadn’t been touched in five years and had all but two marks after the 1985 season ... until Friday.

Enter Reid Pierzinski.

The freshman tallied a 1.23-second personal-best on Friday (14th overall, 53.43) to earn the school’s seventh-best mark all-time. The best mark by a Jackrabbit since 2012 was fast enough to steal his heat’s crown by 1.96 seconds.

Before Covey on the track was senior Cal Lawton.

The Jackrabbit climbed up the 800-meter all-time chart from No. 9 to No. 5 with a strong last-leg finish. The fifth-best mark all-time outdoors is his first outdoor PR reset and the Jacks’ best outdoor time since the 2017 season (27th overall, 1:50.62).

To close out the night, senior Rachel King reset her 1,500m mark for the fourth time in her career, on her first attempt this season (50th, 4:25.40), in the invite section at Bryan Clay. She trimmed 1.03 seconds off to remain No. 2 all-time for SDSU, 2.61 seconds from the record (Becka Manshiem, 2007).

Fellow senior Kyle Burdick published a season-best 1,500-meter run in the invite section at Bryan Clay (30th, 3:44.74). A mark that is his best since his Second-Team All-America performance at the NCAA Championships in 2017.

Earlier in the afternoon, sophomore Mitchel Acker completed the weekend two-for-two with personal-best marks, first resetting his 400-meter mark by 0.19 seconds at the Pacific Coast on Thursday and another 0.06 seconds on Friday at Bryan Clay (42nd, 49.22).

Freshman Tre Manning tied his personal-best mark and the school’s No. 8 all-time mark in the long jump at Bryan Clay, his best mark in California over the weekend (20th, 23-9.50).

Wrapping up the night was freshman Thomas Breuckman running down a race in the last stretch yet again. The Jackrabbit finished runner-up in Heat 8 of the 1,500 Open (69th overall, 3:55.87) with an outstanding last-stretch kick. Breuckman (by 3.18 seconds), along with sophomore Gabe Peters (1.44 seconds) and junior Lukas Nelson (1.73 seconds) notched personal-best marks.

PHIL ESTEN CHALLENGE

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Junior Anna Fasen led a South Dakota State squad to her third top-three finish of the season in the 1,500 en route to a personal-best mark, one of four total scored in the event.

Fasen, in her sixth career top-three finish, placed third (4:42.07) while teammates sophomore Cailee Peterson (fifth, 4:43.84), senior Rachel Propst (eighth, 4:45.95), and junior Emma Nelson (12th, 4:51.22) all followed for personal-best marks.

Redshirt freshman Alaxander Auch added the lone Jackrabbit win at La Crosse on Friday afternoon, winning the 10,000 meters by 39.78 seconds (31:48.10) to capture his first career win attached.

Sophomore Michael Schwinghamer led the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, taking bronze (9:30.38), while freshman Lukas Pierson posted a 28.54-second personal-best (fifth, 9:32.28) and senior Chandler Klawitter scored an 8.46-second season-best mark (11th, 9:58.01).

Junior Josh Goehring added the final season-best mark of the afternoon at the Phil Esten Challenge, trimming 0.01 seconds off his 800 mark (seventh, 1:55.36).

RED RAIDER OPEN

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Senior Logan Ammons threw his way to his first hammer throw win on the season, and third of his career, at the Red Raider Open on Friday.

In the opening day of competition in Orange City, Ammons won (191-11) while redshirt freshman Samuel Coil placed fifth overall (166-5).

For the women, sophomore Miranda Zinola led SDSU for a seventh-place finish (156-2). Freshman Caitlin Thilges followed her with an eighth-place finish and 2-4-foot personal-best (155-1).

Also coming with with personal-best marks was sophomore Naomi Wynn (ninth, 149-11) and redshirt freshman Kenzie Shuber (28th, 119-8) in the hammer throw while Zinola tallied a PR in the javelin throw, her second career attempt in the event (17th, 81-2).

Junior Kathryn Plank came away with a season-best to lead the Jackrabbits in the javelin (14th, 83-4), five inches short of her personal-best mark.

On the track, unattached sophomore Ray Munsterman posted his first 10,000 time of the season (33:50.88).