The Coyotes won 15 of 35 events at the Wildcat Classic on at Simpson Track in Wayne, Neb. on Saturday.
Senior Ben Hammer and junior Habib Jallow both secured two victories over the weekend. Hammer took the shot put with a mark of 60 feet, 1 ¾ in, which places him in ninth place in the NCAA for the season. This mark also lands Hammer with Kyle McKelvey as the only two Coyotes to throw past 60 feet in both indoor and outdoor competitions, according to GoYotes. Hammer also secured first in discus with a throw of 179-8.
“My coach and I have been working on it for a while,” said Hammer. “It wasn’t like I had to force anything. It just suddenly clicked. It was pretty exciting to get into a rhythm and just knock one out that was a little better than I expected to.”
Jallow swept the 110 and 400-meter hurdle races, winning the 110-meter in 15.14 seconds and the 400-meter in 55.07 seconds.
Senior Deshonn Brown and freshman Jack Durst both cleared 6-8 ¼, sharing the men’s high jump title with equal misses. Junior Abdinasir Abdi took was victorious in the 3,000-meter steeplechase clocking 10:02.43.
The women captured nearly every running event between 100 and 1,500 meters. Sophomore Josie Kroger placed first in the 100-meter in 12.86 seconds. Fellow sophomore Danielle Thompson won the 200 title in 25.73 seconds. Junior Ellie Wilson won the 800-meter in 2:18.41 and sophomore Morgan Lawler finished first in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:50.74.
The sophomores continued their winning ways as Callie Henrich took home the women’s shot put title by throwing 46-9, falling just two inches shy of her best outdoor mark. Henrich, along with Hammer, won Summit League athletes of the week for their performances.
Redshirt-freshman Madason Tessier finished first in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking 15.01, while sophomore Holly Gerberding took first in the 400-meter hurdles clocking 1:05.15.
“I think hitting marks like we did early in the season is really good,” Hammer said. “Getting some good marks out of the way early is a great way to get the ball rolling for the whole team.”
USD will head to Texas this weekend, splitting time between the 2019 Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin and the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos.
