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NCAA track championships: South Dakota, South Dakota State represented in 7 events

Argus Leader

Zack Anderson of USD competes on the U-C Mens High Jump at Howard Wood on Friday in Sioux Falls.

South Dakota and South Dakota State will both be represented at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas.

The Coyotes are sending Chris Nilsen and Helen Falda in the pole vault, as well as Zack Anderson (high jump), Lara Boman (hammer throw) and Ben Hammer (discus), while the Jackrabbits will be represented by Rachel King (steeplechase) and the men's 4x100-meter relay team.

The NCAA championships run June 5-8.

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Nilsen, the defending outdoor men's pole vault champion, cleared 19-1.5 to break a 22-year-old NCAA championships meet record last spring and was one of eight men to clear 17-7 at the West Qualifier earlier this month. Defending his national championship will likely require the five-time All-American to outduel LSU freshman Mondo Duplantis, who claimed the second-best mark in NCAA history earlier this season by clearing 19-5.75.

Falda, a four-time All-American in the pole vault, is one of 11 women with a seed mark of 14-2. She cleared a personal-best 14-5.25 at the Dakota Relays.

As her teammates rush to celebrate with her, University of South Dakota's Helen Falda reacts to chearling the bar at 14-05 1/4 during the pole vault competition at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls on Friday.

Next week's NCAA championships appearance will be the second straight for Boman, who qualified in hammer throw with a mark of 202 feet; Hammer, who launched a throw of 184-4 to qualify in discus; and Anderson, who claimed the top qualifying position in the high jump by clearing up to 7-1 without a miss. Anderson, a Parker native, has surpassed seven feet 15 times this season.

South Dakota State will bring two entries to the national championships for the first time in program history.

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King earned an automatic qualifying spot in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by winning the third and final heat of the West Prelims in a school-record time of 9:50.15. The senior's time is the sixth-fastest coming out of prelims and marks the sixth time she has reset the school record.

The Jackrabbits' 4x100-meter relay team of Emmanual Phoulom-Smith, Coby Hilton, Daniel Clarke and Sam Zenner also reset their own school record, clocking a 39.99. They are the first Summit League relay squad (4x100 or 4x400) to qualify for the outdoor D-I championships.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

VIEWERS GUIDE

Wednesday

6:30 p.m. — Men's pole vault, EPSN3

6:32 p.m. — Men's 4x100 (semis), ESPN2

Thursday

4:30 p.m. — Women's hammer throw, ESPN3

7:30 p.m. — Women's pole vault, ESPN3

7:32 p.m. — Women's steeplechase (semis), ESPNU

Friday

7 p.m. — Men's high jump, ESPN3

7:05 p.m. — Men's discus, ESPN3

7:32 p.m. — Men's 4x100 (finals), ESPN

Saturday

5:54 p.m. — Women's steeplechase (finals), ESPN2