CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State track and field will make its second trip to Brookings, South Dakota to complete in the SDSU Indoor Classic at South Dakota State this Friday and Saturday.
The meet is set to begin at 4 p.m. on Friday with running events, including the 200, 800, 3000, 5000 and 4x800, as well as the pole vault. The meet will resume Saturday morning, with running events starting at 11:30 a.m. and field events kicking off at noon, with the schedule set to wrap up by 7:10 p.m. on Saturday night.
The large-scale classic is due to feature over 1,200 total athletes from 28 programs. Live results for the meet will be available on Dakota Timing.
Looking Back
Season bests abounded last Saturday for the track program at the Wildcat Open hosted by Wayne State, with over 25 in total as the Eagles boasted six individual event championships.
RECAP:
Wildcat Open
Chayton Bynes (triple jump),
Wyatt Bly (3000),
Blaine Johnson (5000) and
Creighton Trembly (60 hurdles) were the CSC men to lock down event wins. Eagle women won the meet's longest and shortest female events, with
Alissa Wieman winning the 3000 and
Shantae Morgan placing first in the 60-meter dash.
National Lists
The Eagles have four qualifying marks for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships so far this season.
Chayton Bynes has two on his own, with the sophomore holding the second-farthest triple jump (51' 6.5" / 15.61m) in the nation and the 8
th-farthest long jump in the nation (24' 7" / 7.49m). Bynes improved both of his marks at CSC's most recent competition at Wayne State.
Ryan Clapper earned his provisional qualifying time in the 200 meters at the Birds and the Bees Holiday Open at CSC back in December. His time of 21.51 is tied for 27
th in Division II and is well under the provisional time of 21.63.
Christopher Jennings also improved an existing provisional mark at the Wildcat Open in Wayne. His weight throw launch of 60' 8.5" / 18.50m ranks tied for 20
th in Division II.
RMAC Lists
CSC's provisional qualifiers all rank in the top five on the RMAC list for 2024-25. Bynes (in the triple jump) and Clapper both have the top marks in the league, while Bynes ranks third in the long jump and Jennings is fourth in the weight throw.
Other top 10 RMAC marks for the CSC men include
Creighton Trembly (third, 60 hurdles, 8.21),
Parker Gonser (shot put, fifth, 51' 1", 15.57m and weight throw, eighth, 57' 5", 17.50m),
Esosa Iyengunmwena (60 meters, sixth, 6.92) and multi competitor
Ethan Norris (heptathlon, ninth, 3996).
For the CSC women, triple jumper Camila Salvicci is fourth in the RMAC with her mark of 38' 5", 11.71m. The Chadron State 4x400 relay has the seventh-fastest time in the conference at 3:21.78.
Last Chance Lookahead
Chadron State is competing in its final road meet of the indoor season. The Eagles will host the Golden Eagle Last Chance on Saturday, February 22, the week before the RMAC Indoor conference meet from February 28-March 1.
Next Saturday, the field events will start at 10:00 a.m. while the running events will start at 1:00 p.m. All events will take place inside the Nelson Physical Activity Center (PAC) on campus.
Coach's Corner
Jake Gruver, a former CSC All-American, returned to take over the Chadron State Track and Field program in September 2023. In the fall of 2024, Gruver also began overseeing Chadron State's cross-country program.
Gruver was previously a CSC assistant coach in 2012 before working outside athletics. As an athlete for the Eagles, Gruver was a seven-time RMAC Champion and a one time All-American. His lone All-American accolade happened in 2011 when he was a member of the schools 4x100 relay team that placed sixth.
In Gruver's first season as cross country coach, the CSC women's team recorded its highest placing at the RMAC Championships since 2017. The Eagles also excelled in the classroom, with
Kyle Shirley earning the RMAC Summit Award (the conference's highest individual academic honor) and Chadron State placing a program-record three student-athletes on the RMAC All-Academic Team.
