Running on His Own: Mason Sindelar

The Coyote Track and Field team opened up the spring season with their annual alumni meet before heading north to Brookings, where they competed in the Jim Emmerick Invitational.

Graduate Mason Sindelar didn’t compete at the alumni meet, but did at the SDSU Jim Emmerich Alumni meet.

Sindelar, who currently holds the   Coyote record for the indoor and outdoor 800 meter, ran a 1:52.20 for second place. This was his first race without former    Coyote Caleb Riveria, who graduated last year after running beside him.

“I miss Caleb so much, I can definitely tell during workouts and runs that it’s just not the same,” Sindelar said. “Luckily, some of the guys have stepped up, but he really is just that rock. We just pushed each other every single day. Especially during meets, he was the guy that I would room with before, and it’s gonna be hard not having him there to calm me down and talk through things.”

With a second place finish at the first meet of the season, Sindelar hasn’t shown any way of slowing down from a record setting year last year.

“First off, winning a conference    championship, is our goal and expectation every season, and that’ll never change,”    Sindelar said. “As a team, I think a big one that we’ve talked about is being there for each other during the meets, and making sure that everyone’s cheering because it is a team sport with individual events. Just cheering on the sideline matters.”

The biggest part for Sindelar of making track a team sport was running with Riveria during meets, and being able to support each other and make one another better.

Overall, the men scored 178 points and finished in first place, with South           Dakota State behind them with only 156. The women did the same, scoring 140 points, beating everybody.

The Coyotes are back in action January 30th and 31st, at Missouri to compete in the Dr. Rich McGuire Invite.