SPEARFISH, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's and women's indoor track and field team had a very competitive outing Saturday afternoon during the Black Hills State Stinger Open at the Donald E. Young Center in Spearfish, S.D.

The Hardrockers posted some solid marks and a number of individuals were able to qualify for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Championships next weekend in Golden, Colo. The Top 18 best marks throughout the season advance.

In the team standings for the Stinger Open, the SD Mines men earned second place with 152.5 points and the women captured third with 64 points.
SD Mines Freshman Erica Keeble doubled up on Saturday, winning both the pole vault and 60-meter dash events.

Keeble cleared a height of 11-feet-9-inches to take the title, and not only qualified for the RMAC meet, but also provisionally qualified for the NCAA Div. II Indoor Championships March 9-11 in Pittsburg, Kan. She also set a new school record in the event, bettering the old mark of 11-1 set by Mikenzie Nordeen in 2016. Keeble followed that with a time of 8 seconds in the 60 dash to take the title.

Hardrocker Jack Batho, IV also earned a pair of wins in the throwing events Saturday. The junior took top honors in the shot put with a distance of 54-0. That mark bettered his previous NCAA Div. II provisionally qualifying distance and is currently fourth in the RMAC with the throw.

Batho also won the weight throw with a distance of 61-1.5. He had a throw early in the season of 61-6.75 which ranks him second in the conference and is also a provisional mark for the NCAA Championships.

SD Mines sophomore Darren Nissen took first place during men's long jump Saturday with a leap of 21-10 and then came back to grab second place during the men's triple jump with a mark of 41-11.25.

Other Hardrocker event winners from Saturday's meet include: junior Jonathan Murray in the men's 400 dash (50.67); senior Kevin Thompson in the men's 60 dash (7.05); and freshman Joel Haas in the men's 3,200 run (10:12.92).