'Rockers answer the call at conference meet

By Brad Blume

Sports Information Director

JAMESTOWN, N.D. --- Despite the unseasonable weather and large amount of snow dumped on the ground over the weekend, the Dakota Athletic Conference track and field outdoor meet was eventually held taking place in Jamestown, N.D., on Sunday.

The South Dakota School of Mines had an exceptional day, as the Hardrockers took two event titles and earned a number of personal-best and season  best marks in several other events.

The Hardrockers also earned a prestigious individual honor as SDM pole vaulter Chandler Caldwell was named most valuable senior in the conference. Caldwell, who has been the event winner in the pole vault at a majority of the meets he competed in this spring, followed suit Sunday, taking top honors after a vault of 15-feet-3.75 inches. Caldwell qualified for the NAIA National Outdoor Meet later this month. He earned All American honors at the NAIA Indoor Meet back in March and hopes to do the same at the outdoor meet.

The Hardrockers’ other event winner, senior Tyler Flattum, has also had a consistent outdoors’ season. After having the top time in the quarterfinals of the 110-meter high hurdles of 14.98 seconds, Flattum improved on that mark in the finals, winning the race with a time of 14.87. Flattum has also already qualified for the NAIA meet and also competed at the National Indoor Meet as well. Flattum also ran in the 100 dash Sunday. He finished seventh in the finals clocking an 11.51.

Other Hardrocker thinclads answered the call by performing in events they have not previously competed in. Brittney Hovdenes, a Hardrocker freshman from Rapid City, debuted in the 400 intermediate hurdles, finishing in a time of 1:13.90 for ninth place, freshman Everett Brill gave the javelin a try, taking sixth after a throw of 137-5 and freshman Kim Kerce ran her first ever 10,000, where she did very well, coming through with a third-place showing in a time of 47:10.05.

SDM improved on 10 personal-best marks and tallied four season best times while competing at the DAC meet.

They personal best improvements were set by: freshman Kendra Crisman took fourth in the 800 (2:25.49) and was just one second off the SDM school record, Molly Vukelich placed ninth in the 5,000 run (23:18.63); Hovdenes in the hurdles as well as the 3,000 steeple chase, where she took sixth with a mark of 12:45.64; freshman Lucas Fried earned sixth in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase (10:14.94), Nathan Snyder in the shot put and the discus. He took 11th in the shot put (40-0.5) and was eighth in the discus (130-6); Brill in the javelin as well as the shot put, where he settled for 14th place (32-2.25) and Kerce in the 10K.

“I am very pleased with how competitive our athletes were at the conference meet,” said Hardrocker head coach Jerry Schafer. “There were several cases where our athletes outperformed where they were on the (DAC) performance list.”

The ‘Rocker thinclads that bettered their season marks were: sophomore Katrina Donovan in the discus where she took 10th with a throw of 120-8; sophomore John Heine in the 200, where he earned 11th place with a mark of 23.10; and the men’s 4x100 team (made up of Colin Royer, Flattum, Heine and Dustin Jordan took fifth in a time of 44.20.

Senior Rob Hahn was another SDM thinclad that earned a season-best time. The Sioux Falls native competed in the 1,500 where he clocked a time of 4:09.32 to secure fourth place.

“Rob Hahn ran an incredible 1,500 race,” Schafer said. “He overcame a 40-meter deficit on the last lap, coming from fifth place to earn fourth. It was a tremendous extra effort.

“It was those types of performances all day long that make me proud to be head coach of the ‘Rockers.”

With the DAC meet in the books, the majority of the track team is done for the season. Flattum and Caldwell will travel to Dickinson this weekend for a meet to prepare for the NAIA National Championships May 22-24 in St. Louis, MO.