BROOKINGS, S.D. — The Dickinson State men's indoor track and field team recorded multiple event titles and scoring performances at the Frontier Conference Championships, highlighted by individual champions across sprints, distance and field events during the two-day meet.
Dickinson State opened the meet with strong results in the short sprints. Mustafa Taylor advanced through the 60-meter preliminaries with a personal-best 6.96 before finishing third in the final in 7.00. Kohbe Smith added a fifth-place finish in 7.06 after running 7.09 in prelims. Taylor continued his scoring with a runner-up finish in the 200 meters, clocking a season-best 22.08, while Smith placed fifth in 22.21. Logan Borden (23.00) and Carl Askins (23.78) also competed in the event.
In the 400 meters, Hudson Atkinson led the Blue Hawks with a ninth-place time of 50.87. Borden posted a personal best of 51.34 to place 12th. Atkinson later returned in the 600 meters to finish eighth with a personal-best 1:25.16 and score for Dickinson State.
The distance group produced one of the team's top highlights as Caleb Sarsland captured the conference title in the mile with a winning time of 4:15.80. Sarsland followed with an additional podium effort, placing second in the 3,000 meters in 8:32.75. Kyler Holinde contributed points in the 800 meters, finishing fifth in a personal-best 1:56.74. Additional finishes in the 3,000 meters included Jacob Littleton, Brady Hoverson and Drew Abrahamson, each recording personal-best marks.
In field events, Dickinson State posted multiple event victories. Smith claimed the long jump title with a mark of 6.91 meters, a performance that ranks among the program's national qualifying marks this season, and added a runner-up finish in the triple jump at 14.04 meters. Ethan Schiller placed third in the triple jump to contribute additional points.
Ty Leischner played a major role in both open events and the heptathlon. In open competition, he cleared a personal-best 4.75 meters to win the pole vault, while teammate Adrien Calderon finished third and Holden Will placed fifth. Leischner also took third in the high jump at 1.94 meters and seventh in the triple jump. Within the heptathlon, Leischner and Garin Opdahl compiled points across multiple disciplines, including strong showings in the high jump, long jump, hurdles and pole vault.
The throwing events were led by Dylan Dahlgren, who finished third in the shot put with a personal-best 16.29 meters before winning the weight throw with a personal-best 19.29 meters. Ty Bennick added scoring efforts in both events, placing seventh in the shot put and fifth in the weight throw, while Maxx Lee scored in the weight throw.
Dickinson State also earned relay points with a third-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, as Borden, Holinde, Atkinson and Smith combined to run 3:23.19. The 4x800-meter relay squad also competed for the Blue Hawks with a run of 9:11.37.
"The men and women both did a fantastic job today," said head coach Shayne Wittkopp. "We talk about competing every week and today that was on full display. We had a lot of great individual performances that helped us get over the hump today. When it come down to the 4x400 relay like it did today it's a lot of fun for the athletes. Coaches would like a little more breathing room. Hats off to Dakota State — they've had a great season and they pushed us over the last two days. The other conference teams did a great job as well. The new conference definitely had a different energy — it was a lot of fun."
"The program owes a lot to our assistant coaches and I'd like to thank them for their efforts," Wittkopp added. "Looking forward to the next season."
Overall, Dickinson State totaled scoring performances across multiple disciplines, securing conference titles and podium finishes while recording several personal-best marks as the indoor season moves toward its next stage of competition.
