May 25, 2001

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The University of South Dakota track and field teams had four qualifying efforts on Friday during the second day of competition at the NCAA Division II Championships in Edwardsville, Ill. Heading into the last day of competition, the USD men's team has no points with St. Augustine's leading with 40 points. The USD women's team is tied for 12th with four other schools with eight points. Western State of Colorado leads the women's section with 43 points.

Andrew Neugebauer (Sr., Dimock, S.D.) posted the best placing of any USD student-athlete on Friday with a first-place finish in the men's 800. Neugebauer posted a 1:49.45 clocking in the second heat of preliminaries, which gave him the best time out of all heats, qualifying him for the finals. Ronnie McDougle (Fr., Pompano, Fla.) ran a 21.79 in the second heat of the men's 200 preliminaries, placing second in the heat and eighth overall. His time also qualified him for the finals.

Sara Deckert (Sr., Doland, S.D.) qualified for the women's 200 with a 24.41 time in the third heat of preliminaries, placing third in her heat and fifth overall. Molly Wedel (Jr., Spencer, Iowa), who finished second in the 10k on Thursday, qualified for the women's 5,000 with a 17:43.51 clocking in the first heat of preliminaries, good enough for fifth overall.

In other events, the men's 4x400 relay team of Lee Lockwood (Soph., Rapid City, S.D.), Neugebauer, Joel Solomonson (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.), and McDougle just missed qualifying for the finals, placing ninth overall with a time of 3:14.93. Emporia State finished eighth at 3:14.81 to grab the last qualifying spot. Chris Slatt (Jr., Fairmont, W.V.) finished ninth in the men's long jump finals with a mark of 23'1.75". Matt Abele of Northwest Missouri State picked up a team point, finishing eighth with a 23'6.75" mark. Josh Hofer (Soph., Freeman, S.D.) finished 11th in the men's 110-meter high hurdles preliminaries, posting a 14.87 time in the second heat.

Sandy Pelkofer (Jr., Rapid City, S.D.), the indoor national champion in the women's pole vault this past March, finished 11th in the women's pole vault finals with a 11'1.75" mark. Mandi Muller (Jr., Schuyler, Neb.) finished 15th in the women's discus with a throw of 135'2". Tammy Christensen (Soph., Freeman, S.D.) placed 19th overall in the women's 800 preliminaries with a time of 2:16.69.

Complete results can be found at the NCAA Division II Championships' Web site.