Men’s track and field poised for first action of the season with home invitational

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's track and field team kicks off the 2021 indoor season hosting the DWU Invitational meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday from the DWU/Avera Sports and Wellness Complex in Mitchell, S.D. Saturday's competition will be closed to all fans and spectators, though viewing options will be provided.

 In the starting blocks, junior duo Austin Hughes (Box Elder, S.D.) and Jacob Becker (Sioux Falls, S.D.) aim to notch impressive marks in the sprints after redshirting a season ago. Hughes holds a personal best of 7.31 seconds in the 60-meter dash while Becker maintains collegiate bests of 23.72 seconds and 53.39 seconds in the 200 and 400-meter dash. Meanwhile, Tiger freshman Noel Reynolds, a native of Belgrade, Mont., upholds personal bests of 11.4 seconds and 23.01 seconds in the 100 and 200-meter dash.

 The Dakota Wesleyan throwers figure to continue the momentum set forth by junior Chris Zanotto (Blair, Neb.) and sophomore Ryan Kienzle (Gillette, Wyo.) who recorded impressive performances in November at the Dordt Triangular in Sioux Center, Iowa. Kienzle and Zanotto finished third and fourth in the weight throw while Kienzle secured the men's shot put title with a throw of 45-4.25 feet (13.82m).

 Yet to compete this season, senior duo Dawson Kerzman (Dell Rapids, S.D.) and Caden Milmine (Buffalo, Wyo.) also expect to perform well after sizable improvements throughout their Tiger careers. Kerzman earned all-conference status in the weight throw after an eighth-place finish at the 2020 GPAC Indoor Championships with a mark 52-8.75 feet (16.07m). Milmine also picked up all-conference status at the same meet with a seventh-place finish in the shot put.

 Fans of Dakota Wesleyan will observe new faces in the jumping events as the Tigers replace 2020 GPAC high jump champion Jared Rabenberg. Freshman Nicolas Jacolucci (Litchfield, Minn.) enters the season with plenty of skill in both the pole vault and long jump events. Fellow newcomer Reynolds also holds proficiency in the jumps as both athletes may be expected to compete in the multi-events in the future.

 One key returner in the jumps for DWU this season is sophomore Cale Strong (Norfolk, Neb.) who saw action in five meets last indoor season. The Norfolk, Neb, native recorded season-bests 10-11.75 feet (3.35m) and 20-6.25 feet (6.25m) in the pole vault and long jump, respectively.

 Tiger junior Nate Rupprecht (Bennington, Neb.) returns to the track for the first time since the 2019 outdoor season and is expected to lead Dakota Wesleyan in the multi-events. The multi-event specialist qualified for the 2019 indoor championships in the heptathlon as he accumulated 3,924 points and all-conference status with an eighth-place finish.

 The DWU distance squad returns plenty of talent and skill from a season ago and is likely to build off last year's success. Sophomore Justin Sorensen (Vermillion, S.D.) enters year two with the program after a collegiate best of 2:38:03 minutes in the 1,000-meter run, good enough for third on the DWU all-time list in the event. Newcomer Hunter Shanks (Bennington, Neb.) steps onto the track with a personal best of 2:01:7 minutes in the 800-meter run and solidifies the Tigers in the middle-distance events.

 No fans will be permitted to the DWU Invitational, but fans can watch live stream online at multiple links. The events will be streamed at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/dwu/, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6cgAiinhk7p0JigYZFoHaA?view_as=subscriber, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC17REhc1aHwzage20BQaNWw and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEZBc-AFDYqxpT_RNFma54g?view_as=subscriber.