Rapid City, S.D.--- The South Dakota Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field team kicked off the 2018-19 indoor season this past weekend by attending the South Dakota State Holiday invite in Brookings on Friday and also the Black Hills State Yellow Jacket Holiday Open in Spearfish on Saturday.

In Brookings, the Hardrockers were matched up with tough opponents from all over the Midwest. But that didn't stop them from breaking some personal records and a school record.

Senior Jonathon Murray broke his own PR and his own SD Mines school record in the men's 400-meter dash when he finished 3^rd with in a time of 48.66 seconds.

Junior Chase Wood was also able to set a new PR in the 3,000 run with a time of 8:54.27.

On Saturday in Spearfish, the team score went in favor of BHSU on both the men's and women's side. The final score on the men's side was BHSU 187, SD Mines 164 and on the women's side BHSU 255, SD Mines 100. But just like the night before, this didn't stop the Hardrockers from pushing themselves to some first place finishes and new records.

Freshman Erica Keeble had an outstanding outing provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Div. II Indoor Championships in the pole vault. Keeble cleared a height of 12-feet-3.5 inches to breach the provisional mark. She also broke her own school record. 

Senior Adeline Straatmeyer bested all opponents in the women's mile with a time of 5:23.65 for the top spot.

In the men's 60 dash, sophomore Jeremy Gonzales finished in 2^nd place with a time of 7.18, right behind him was fellow teammate junior Korder Cropsey with a time of 7.23. Cropsey was able to set his personal record earlier in the day with a time of 7.14.

Sophomore Austin Hammer set his own personal record in the men's 400 with a time of 54.43 which was good enough for a fourth-place finish just behind sophomore Kevin Ptak, who ran a 51.27.

Hardrocker Darren Nissen took the top spot in the men's long jump with a distance of 21-feet-9.5-inches; the triple jump was won by senior Carter Kasuske  with a distance of 43-2.25.

Two Hardrockers finished in the top spots of the men's pole vault as Jared Wilson took home  first place after clearing a height of 13-10.5, and he was followed by teammate Cole Smith who tied for second with a height of 13-4.5.

The men's 4x400 was dominated by the Hardrockers. The race saw Korder Cropsey, Jonathon Murray, Andrew Ferris and Kevin Ptak take first with a time of 3:25.20.

Sophomore Cody Allen was the man to beat in the throwing categories. Not only did he take first place in the shot put and weight throw, but he also set PRs in both events. In the shot put, Allen threw a distance of 52-6, and registered a mark 49-3.5. Junior Westley Siebdrath finished second in the weight throw with a distance of 45-10.

"This weekend was a good chance to shake some of the rust off and see where we're starting at. Erica, Jonathon and Cody really got things started well and there were a number of other strong performances," said Hardrocker track and field head coach Steve Johnson. "It's always nice to see people pick up where they left off."