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11/23/2005
http://gojacks.com/
Jacks sign 10 for track and field
Ten high school standouts, including eight from South Dakota, have signed national letters of intent, indicating they will enroll at South Dakota State University next fall and compete for the Jackrabbit track and field teams.
Signing recently on the women’s side were:
• Brittany Garner, Rapid City (Stevens High School);
• Danielle Harpestad, St. Peter, Minn. (Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School);
• Tamiko Kopfmann, Alpena (Huron High School);
• Ashley Lange, Sioux Falls, (West Central High School)
• Keely Lawton, Inwood, Iowa (West Lyon High School);
• Christi Rosenbrook, Hartford (West Central High School);
• Laci Schuur, Roscoe (Edmunds Central High School);
• JoAnna Strom, Beresford (Beresford High School), and
• Heather Wollman, Bridgewater (Bridgewater High School).
"Moving up to the NCAA Division I level has helped us keep the best athletes right here in the state," SDSU head coach Rod DeHaven said. "South Dakotans will enjoy watching these fine, young athletes’ continued success in the years to come."
Garner, one of the state’s premier sprinters, won Class AA individual titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in 2004 and ran on Stevens High School’s state championship 4x100-meter relay team in 2004 and the 4x200-meter relay team in 2005. She placed second in both the 100 and 200 at the 2005 state meet, helping lead the Raiders to their 10th consecutive state team ttile. She has posted personal-best times of 11.9 seconds in the 100 and 24.7 seconds in the 200.
Harpestad will join the Jackrabbit women’s throwing crew next season. A newcomer to the throwing events, she finished the 2005 season ranked 13th in the discus in the Class A division.
Kopfmann enters her senior season at Huron High School as the top-ranked female long jumper among all South Dakota classes. She set a personal best mark of 18 feet, 4 inches en route to winning the state title. She also placed sixth in the triple jump with a top mark of 35-11.
Lange claimed the Class A state title in the triple jump last season, leaping 35-10 1/4, then placed second in the long jump with a top mark of 17-1 1/2. She also ran on the winning 800-meter relay which helped lift West Central to the team championship.
Lawton will add further depth in the sprints after qualifying for the Iowa Class 1A state meet in 2005. She owns the school record in the 200-meter dash at 26.1 seconds, and has posted a top time of 12.5 seconds in the 100 meters.
Rosenbrook has been a key member of West Central’s back-to-back state championship teams, placing fourth in the 400-meter dash and fifth in the 200 meters. She was a member of the Trojans’ state-meet record-setting 4x200-meter relay team, which clocked a winning time of 1:44.41, and also ran on the runner-up 4x100 relay squad.
Schuur has placed as high as fourth at the Class B state meet in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes for Edmunds Central High School, while placing in the top eight in the 100 each of the past four seasons. Her personal bests include times fo 12.43 seconds in the 100 meters and 26.6 seconds in the 200 meters.
Strom is the lone distance runner in the group of early signings. The Beresford High School product placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run and sixth in the 1,600-meter run at the 2005 Class A state meet, posting a top time of 5:30 in the 1,600 meters. She also has clocked a top time of 2:25 in the 800.
Wollman is a versatile performer who has earned eight state titles the past two seasons at Bridgewater High School. She has swept the 100, 200 and 400 titles each of the past two seasons, while adding a long jump title in 2004 as she was selected as the Outstanding Track Athlete at the Class B state meet. In 2005, she also ran on the winning 4x200-meter relay.
The lone signee in the men’s division is Huron High School pole vaulter Troy Beekman. As a junior, Beekman won the Eastern South Dakota conference title and tied for second place at the Class AA stae meet. He also turned in a runner-up performance in the pole vault at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.
“Not many freshmen can step in immediately and be successful, this this group certainly has the potential to do that,” DeHaven said.