2009 Dakota State University Men's Cross Country Dakota Athletic Conference Championship Team
Dakota State set goals during fall 2009 to win the first ever Dakota Athletic Conference men's cross country team title as they returned a nucleus group from the 2008 season. With senior leadership in Anthony Drealan and Tyler Van Peursem along with Devon Berkness, returners, and new runners, the Trojans paved their historic season by winning their fifth overall men's cross country conference title and the highest place finisher at the NAIA national meet.
The members of the 2009 Dakota State University men's cross-country team will join seven other individuals in the 27th annual Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 3 at Dakota Prairie Playhouse. The social starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at 6:15 p.m. The ceremony takes place at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
Trent Mack was the head coach of the winning 2009 Dakota State University Trojan men's cross country Dakota Athletic Conference Championship team. His assistants were Buzz Stevenson and Michael Nekuda.
Along with two seniors, members of the 2009 DSU men's cross-country team included John Bintliff, Matthew Fideler, Cody Foreman, Ben Harrison, Michael Hoffman, Keith Huffman, Andrew Manning, Andy Quenzer, Kyle Sanderson, Jeff Sawatzky, Ethan Shafer, and Bryan Wolfe. Trent Lutmer was the student manager on the team.
DSU opened their campaign on Sept. 5 in the NCAA Division I cross country meet, the Don Baker Invitational hosted by the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. No team scores were kept as four Trojan runners placed in the top 20, led by Van Peursem with a runner-up honor in 26 minutes, 15.85 seconds. Drealan was sixth in 26:27.37, followed by Berkness 15th in 27:31.27 and Matt Fideler finished 17th in 27:33.68.
Dakota State returned home and ran in the annual Herb Blakely Invitational, capturing the team title at the Madison Country Club. Drealan won the individual title with a time of 26 minutes, 4.47 seconds, followed by Van Peursem with a second-place finish in 26:35.46 and Berkness with a third-place finish in 26:44.79. Two other Trojans placed in the Top 20 – Fideler, 8th in 27:34.53, and Manning, 20th in 28:49.43 – to help secure the team title.
The Trojans continued their action on Sept. 25 as they ran on the challenging Les Bolstad Golf Course in the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by NCAA Division I University of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minn. Despite wet and muddy conditions, the Trojans finished fifth as a team with 155 points in the 22-team team race field, which included NCAA and NAIA teams.
Dakota State finished just behind Augustana (S.D.) and Minnesota State-Mankato, both ranked in the top 20 NCAA Division II. Individually for the second consecutive meet, Drealan was the top DSU's place finisher with a 12th place finish in 26:15. Van Peursem was 16th in 26:18 and Berkness was 34th in 26:52.
After the Roy Griak Invitational, the Trojans cracked into the NAIA's Top 25 Men's Cross Country National Top 25 poll at No. 21 after tallying 207 points.
DSU took a week off before returning to action on Oct. 10 on a flat racecourse in McCook Lake, S.D. The Trojans won the Briar Cliff (Iowa) Invitational men's team title, defeating No. 16 ranked Doane (Neb.) 46-65, thanks to four runners placing in the top 10 out of a field of 143 runners.
Individually, DSU took first, second, and third in the meet. Drealan won the individual title in 25 minutes and 21.18 seconds followed by Berkness in second with a time of 25:37.05, and Van Peursem third, with a time of 25:49.24. Fideler rounded out the Top 10 place finishers at 10th place with a time of 26:13.43.
Dakota State, ranked No. 19 before entering the regular-season finale, took second place honor in the Mount Marty (S.D.) Invitational on Oct. 24. The Trojans collected 70 points, trailing to first place No. 4 ranked Concordia (Neb.), who won the meet with 36 points. Drealan was third at the meet in 25:29.22, followed by Berkness in fourth in 25:42.39, and Fideler with an 11th place finish in 26:02.30.
DSU, ranked No. 20 in the NAIA national poll at the time of the Dakota Athletic Conference meet at Robbinsdale Park in Rapid City, S.D., captured the conference title after scoring a team low score of 22 points, and received the league's automatic team bid to the NAIA national meet.
The closest team to the Trojans was the six-time defending champion (and Mack's alma mater) Black Hills State (ranked No. 13 in the NAIA poll at that time) who scored 51 points. Host-school South Dakota Mines was third with 82 points.
As the result, the Dakota Athletic Conference men's cross country head coaches selected DSU's Mack for the Coach-of-the-Year award.
The Trojans were just three points away from setting the low point total in a DAC conference championship meet. DSU put four runners in the top five and five runners in the top 10.
Dakota State was surprised with the team results and the individual winner was shocked that he won (according to Mack and Van Peursem after the race). Van Peursem won the meet with a time of 27 minutes, 29.09 seconds. He received the DAC Men's Most Valuable Runner.
Drealan was third with a 27:41.91 in the race for the Trojans. He was voted the DAC Men's Cross-Country Senior Athlete-of-the-Year. Berkness was fourth in 27:47.39, while Fideler was fifth in 27:50.85. Manning came in ninth with a time of 28:19.02.
Van Peursem, Drealan, Berkness, Fideler, and Manning received the Dakota Athletic Conference Men's Cross-Country All-Conference honor for Dakota State.
The Trojans took seven runners to the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship on Saturday, Nov. 21. The national meet was held at Fort Vancouver Historical Site in Vancouver, Wash.
Dakota State finished 16th as a team out of the 32-team field, which is still the highest place finish at the national meet in men's cross country program history. Drealan earned the NAIA All-American honor after placing 25th with a time of 25 minutes, 46 seconds. Berkness finished 74th with a time of 26:22, followed by Fideler with 127th place in 26:43. Van Peursem was 153rd in 26:57.
Harrison, Manning, and Bintliff also ran at the NAIA national meet for the Trojans.
Van Peursem received the NAIA Men's Cross Country Scholar Athlete honor for his academic achievements in the classroom. Drealan was selected as the NAIA Men's Cross Country Champions of Character recipient.
| 2009 Dakota State University Trojan Men's Cross Country Schedule |
| Date |
Meet |
Location |
Results |
| Saturday, Sept. 5 |
Don Baker Invitational
(Univ. of South Dakota) |
Vermillion, S.D. |
No Team Score |
| Saturday, Sept. 19 |
Herb Blakely Invitational
(Dakota State) |
Madison, S.D. |
1st Place |
| Saturday, Sept. 26 |
Roy Griak Invitational
(Univ. of Minnesota) |
St. Paul, Minn. |
5th Place |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) Invitational |
McCook Lake, S.D. |
1st Place |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 |
Mount Marty (S.D.) Invitational |
Yankton, S.D. |
2nd Place |
| Friday, Nov. 6 |
Dakota Athletic
Conference Championships |
Rapid City, S.D. |
1st Place |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 |
NAIA Men's Country National Championships |
Vancouver, Wash. |
16th Place |
|
2009 Dakota Athletic Conference Men's Cross-Country Championship
Robbinsdale Park – Rapid City, S.D. – Host: South Dakota Mines
|
| Place |
Team |
Total |
| 1 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
22 |
| 2 |
Black Hills State (S.D.) |
51 |
| 3 |
South Dakota Mines |
82 |
| 4 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
99 |
| 5 |
Minot State (N.D.) |
118 |
| 6 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
153 |
|
2009 Dakota Athletic Conference Men's Cross-Country Championship
Dakota State Individual Runners Results
|
| Place |
Team |
Time |
| 1 |
Tyler Van Peursem* |
27:29.09 |
| 3 |
Anthony Drealan* |
27:41.91 |
| 4 |
Devon Berkness* |
27:47.39 |
| 5 |
Matthew Fideler* |
27:50.85 |
| 9 |
Andrew Manning* |
28:19.02 |
| 18 |
Ben Harrison |
29:00.64 |
| 26 |
Michael Hoffman |
30:24.25 |
| 30 |
Kyle Sanderson |
31:17.81 |
| 33 |
Cody Foreman |
31:25.47 |
| 40 |
John Bintliff |
33:05.16 |
| 43 |
Andy Quenzer |
33:58.59 |
| *Denotes DAC All-Conference Runner |
Andy Coy - Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
The semester before arriving at Dakota State University, former Hill City High School runner Andy Coy pondered whether to continue running. He decided to transfer from NCAA Division I South Dakota to Madison, S.D. that spring semester in 2010. This became the best decision, as he became one of the storied runners in Dakota State men's track & field school history.
"I transferred to DSU for spring semester, and my life took at complete 180-degree turn," explained Coy. "Being on that team helped me regain my confidence, and it rekindled my love for running and competing."
This was a favorite memory for Coy, because after he transferred, he ran on the 4 x 800-meter relay squads that placed in the top three at the indoor and outdoor track national meets in the same season.
In all, Coy was the second six-time NAIA All-American runner in Dakota State men's track & field school history. He also collected one national champion and three national runners-up finishes. Coy collected a total of nine All-Conference awards.
He competed in the NAIA national meet a total of 11 times, four times each during the indoor and outdoor seasons as well as three times in cross country. He was also named the DSU Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year twice, in 2012 and 2013. He holds a total of five DSU school records today (indoor 1000-meters, 4 x 800-meter relay, outdoor 800-meters, 1500-meters, and 4 x 800-meter relay).
Before the 2010 national meets, Coy collected his first Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) All-Conference award at the indoor conference meet in Spearfish, S.D. He was third in the ome-mile run with a time of 4 minutes, 22.83 seconds.
He was the starting anchor on the 4 x 800-meter relay team with Cody Foreman, Matt Fideler, and Tyler Van Peursem that produced the top time of 7 minutes, 46.7 seconds in the prelims at the 2010 NAIA Indoor Track national meet (held at East Tennessee State University Memorial Center 'Mini-Dome' in Johnson City, Tenn.). They finished as the runners-up in the national finals by establishing the school record time of 7 minutes, 43.32 seconds, a record that is still intact today. This was Coy's first NAIA All-America award at DSU.
That same 4 x 800-meter relay team competed at the 2010 NAIA outdoor track national championship in Marion, Ind., their second 4 x 800-meter relay All-American accolades in the same season. They hit the top time in the prelims round with a time of 7 minutes, 32.86 seconds, and collected a third-place finish in the finals in a school record breaking fashion time of 7:30.74. The time still holds the school record and broke the previous record time of 7:34.88 set in 1999 (Cory Lunn, Paul Saville, John Ecklein, and Shaun Fransen).
Coy earned two DAC All-Conference outdoor honors prior to the 2010 national meet, placing second in the 1500-meters in 4 minutes, 8.57 seconds and taking third place in the 800-meters in 1 minute, 58.05 seconds.
Coy continued his stellar running career in his second year at Dakota State (2010-11), and he also ran in cross country. He earned his first DAC Men's Cross Country All-Conference honor after placing third in the conference meet with a time of 26 minutes, 31 seconds, held in Jamestown, N.D. He qualified for the NAIA cross country national meet in Vancouver, Wash., where he finished 92nd overall in 26 minutes, 31 seconds.
Coy captured a pair of conference individual titles at the final Dakota Athletic Conference indoor meet in 2011. He won the 800-meter run title in 1:57.10 and the one-mile run in 4:19.54.
He qualified for the 2011 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in the 1000-meter run, where he finished as the top runner in the preliminary round with a time of 2 minutes, 25.47 seconds; he collected his third All-American status after finishing as a national runner up with a time of 2:27.41 in the finals.
Coy added another conference title at the final DAC outdoor track & field meet in 2011. He won the 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute, 54.69 seconds. He also qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track national meet, posting a time of 1:54.69 for a 20
th place finish in the 800-meter run prelims.
More history was in the making during Coy's junior season (2011-12). After the DAC conference folded, the Trojans joined the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) conference. The DSU cross-country squad journeyed to San Marcos, Calif., for the conference meet where Coy placed third out of 65-runner field in 25 minutes, 19 seconds. He improved his national cross country meet racecourse in Vancouver with a time of 25:37 seconds for an 84
th place finish.
At the 2012 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Geneva, Ohio, Coy ran in the 1000-meter run. He placed fourth in the prelims round with a time of 2 minutes, 31.57 seconds meant he would advance to the finals.
Coy became the first ever male individual national champion in DSU men's indoor track & field program history by winning the 1000-meters with a school record time of 2 minutes, 24.94 seconds and breaking his previous 2011 school record at NAIA indoor track national meet. This was also the fastest 1000-meter run by any athlete in South Dakota's college institutions that year. This was Coy's fourth NAIA All-America honor, commemorated with a national champion banner hanging in the DSU Fieldhouse's gym.
"It was an awesome day, and it was even better that I got to share it with my teammate Matt Fideler (who was national runner-up in the 1-mile run at the same national meet), and my coaches, Buzz Stevenson, and Anthony Drealan," said Coy in the Trojan Times edition.
He notched his fifth NAIA All-America status at the 2012 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. He was sixth in the 1500-meter run national prelims in 3:59.52 and followed up with a fourth-place finish in the national finals with a personal record time and current school record of 3 minutes, 47.66 seconds.
Coy produced his third cross-country all-conference honor at the 2012 A.I.I. conference meet held in San Marcos. He was sixth in the meet with a time of 25 minutes, 34 seconds and qualified for third consecutive cross-country national meet in Vancouver. He wrapped up his cross-country career with a career-best 55
th place with a time of 25 minutes, 43 seconds.
Coy returned to the 2013 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships to defend his 1000-meter run national title for the Trojans. He was the top NAIA runner in the prelims round with a time of 2 minutes, 28.25 seconds. He earned his third national runner-up honor with a time of 2 minutes, 28.06 seconds for his historic sixth All-American honor.
He wrapped up his collegiate running career with his 11
th national meet appearance at the 2013 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. He finished 13
th in the 1500-meter run prelims with a time of 3 minutes, 59.37 seconds.
Coy is listed in the DSU men's indoor track & field 'Top 10' record book in 12 different places, including the top three fastest times in the 1000-meter run. In addition, he is listed in 10 different places in the men's outdoor track & field record book. He posted three of the top four 800-meter times in school history, including a school record time of 1:50.54 at the 2013 Concordia (Neb.) Twilight meet prior to his final national outdoor track meet. Coy also produced three of the top four outdoor 1500-meter runs in school history.
Besides his numerous athletic accomplishments at DSU, Coy received prestigious academic national honors for his success in the classroom. He was selected to the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-American First Team twice in 2012 and 2013. He also earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete four times (twice in cross country – 2011 and 2012, and twice in track & field – 2012 and 2013).
Coy graduated from Dakota State in 2013, and resides in Denver, Colo., with his wife Brianna. He is currently working in software consulting as a business analyst and has owned a photography business with his wife for several years.
He enjoys spending as much time in the mountains as possible, trail running, hiking, camping, skiing, and mountain climbing.
Anthony Drealan - Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
Anthony Drealan started his collegiate career at Dakota State University as the cross-country and mid-distance runner. A product from Fulda, Minn., he has been at the institution since his college days during the late 2000's; he continues his life at DSU today as a head coach, where he has built up the conference's powerhouse cross-country and track & field programs.
He will be joining six other individuals as well as the 2009 Dakota State University Men's Cross Country Dakota Athletic Conference Championship Team in the 27th annual Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 3 at Dakota Prairie Playhouse. The social starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at 6:15 p.m. The ceremony takes place at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
Drealan came to Dakota State in 2006 and excelled in his running career. He finished 21st in the Dakota Athletic Conference Cross Country meet in his sophomore year in 2007 with a time of 27 minutes, 1.42 seconds. He helped the Trojans to their highest place finish since the conference's inception in 2000.
Drealan qualified for the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships the following year. Despite facing cold and snowy weather at the Madison Country Club racecourse, he finished sixth with a time of 27 minutes, 46.94 seconds, and earned his first cross country All-Conference distinction.
He finished 200th in his first NAIA cross country meet at Dakota State with a time of 26:59.2.
After coming off a frustrating junior year recovering from mono, he had an outstanding summer training and returned in his senior season as one of the DSU's top cross-country runners. He finished first for the Trojans in six of eight cross-country meets in 2009.
Dakota State paved the way to their first and only Dakota Athletic Conference Men's Cross-Country title in 2009, where Drealan finished third in the conference meet with a time of 27:41.91. He was voted the league's Most Outstanding Senior Runner and collected his second DAC Cross Country All-Conference honor.
He wrapped up his collegiate cross-country career by placing 25th at the NAIA national meet held in Vancouver, Wash. He clocked a time of 25 minutes, 46 seconds and earned his first NAIA All-America runner distinction, the third DSU men's cross-country runner in school history to be named All-American.
Drealan was named the 2009 NAIA Cross Country Champions of Character award at the national meet. He was chosen by his coaches and the university because of his leadership skills and examples he set for his teammates.
Drealan is currently listed as the tenth fastest in the Dakota State men's cross-country "Top 30" with a time of 25 minutes, 21.2 seconds, clocked at the Briar Cliff (Iowa) Invitational in 2009.
Drealan also excelled in DSU men's track & field program where he collected numerous Dakota Athletic Conference All-Conference accolades and qualified for the NAIA national meet. He qualified for NAIA marathon in 2007.
His first DAC Outdoor Track All-Conference honor came in 2008 where he won the 1500-meter run. He followed up with another All-Conference award during the 2010 indoor meet in the 3000-meters.
The Trojan men's indoor track distance medley relay team, consisting of Tyler Van Peursem, Cody Foreman, Matt Fideler, and Drealan, competed in the 2009 national meet with a time of 10:14.65 and finished ninth.
That same distance medley relay team returned to the 2010 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, setting another school record time of 10 minutes, 9.25 seconds in the semifinals, advancing to the finals after placing fourth. They collected the NAIA All-America honor after earning the runner-up honor in the finals, improving their DSU school record time of 10 minutes, 1.78 seconds.
Three of those indoor distance medley relay times are the top three fastest times in DSU school history. Drealan, Foreman, Fideler, and Van Peursem also hold the school record for outdoor distance medley relay in 9 minutes, 59.04 seconds, in the spring 2010.
He extended his collegiate track career in 2010, earning DAC Outdoor All-Conference honors in the 5000-meter run for Dakota State. He qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He clocked a time of 9:26.46 in the prelims (14th place) and 9:38.32 in the finals (13th place).
His final year at DSU was in the 2011 outdoor track & field season, Drealan was voted to the final Dakota Athletic Conference Most Valuable Senior athlete and a pair of All-Conference honors. He finished first in the 5000-meter run in 15 minutes, 35.33 seconds and finished second in the 1500-meter run in 4:03.96.
Drealan wrapped up his five-year college career in the 2011 NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Marion, Ind., where he ran in the 10,000-meter run.
Drealan is listed as the fourth fastest in the DSU men's indoor track & field record book in the 3000-meter run (8:37.97).
He holds the second fastest time in the Trojan men's outdoor record in half-marathon (1 hour, 8 minutes, 36 seconds in 2010) and 10,000-meter (30 minutes, 41.33 seconds in 2011). He is also listed in the school record Top 10 in the 1500-meter run (3:56.36 in 2010 – 8th fastest), 5000-meter run (15:00.34 in 2011 – 3rd fastest and 15:07.62 in 2010 – 6th fastest), and 3000-meter steeplechase (9:23.03 in 2010 – 3rd fastest).
Drealan graduated from Dakota State University in May 2011 with a degree in business education. He completed his master's degree in health and human performance from Adams State (Colo.) in June 2013.
A coaching transition came in 2013-14 where Drealan was the head cross country coach and the track & field head coach in 2014-15, succeeding the legendary and DSU Hall of Famer coach Buzz Stevenson.
Drealan has enjoyed terrific success during his coaching era at Dakota State, with the men's cross-country program winning six North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) titles including the current historic streak of five consecutive titles since 2018.
He also guided the Trojan women's cross-country squad to their first conference title since 1997 by winning the 2019 NSAA conference title in an ironic tie at the conference meet.
More history has been made in both Trojan men's and women's track & field program history. Drealan guided the DSU men's indoor track & field team to four NSAA conference titles over the past five seasons. The Trojans also earned their historic fourth straight North Star men's outdoor track & field conference titles since 2019 (2020 conference meet was not held due to the coronavirus pandemic).
Under Drealan's leadership, his athletes have earned one individual national championship, four individual national runners-up, 27 NAIA Track & Field All-American honors, 285 North Star Track & Field All-Conference honors, 31 NSAA Cross-Country All-Conference awards, and have broken 62 DSU Track & Field school records.
Drealan has been named to the NSAA Men's Cross-Country Coach of the Year for five straight years since 2018, four NSAA Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year (2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023) and four NSAA Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year (2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023).
Anthony and his wife Samantha (Warnke), former Dakota State runner, reside in Madison with their three sons, Westin, Harrison, and Finley.
Matthew Fideler - Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
Matthew Fideler became one of the best runners during his career at Dakota State University, where he produced four NAIA All-American honors and four Dakota Athletic Conference awards. He also competed in numerous national meets in cross country and track & field, including three consecutive cross-country national appearances from 2009 through 2011, and four track & field national meets.
Fideler came to Dakota State from Sioux Valley High School (Volga, S.D.) in 2007-08. As a freshman, he opened with a time of 27 minutes, 32.30 seconds to place 24
th at the Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) Cross Country Championships in Dickinson, N.D. He was sixth in the 3000-meter run at the 2008 DAC Indoor Track & Field conference meet in 9:25.88 and was a member of the 4 x 800-meter relay team that placed fifth in 8:42.71.
Fideler placed fourth in the one-mile run at the 2009 DAC Indoor Track & Field conference meet in 4 minutes, 30.42 seconds. He qualified for the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in the distance medley relay (with Tyler Van Peursem, Cody Foreman, and Anthony Drealan), missing advancing to the national finals by one place. The squad posted a school record time of 10 minutes, 14.65 seconds at that meet.
Fideler's first DAC Outdoor Track All-Conference honor came during the 2009 conference meet, with a third-place finish in the 5000-meter run. He later competed in the 2009 NAIA Outdoor track national meet, placing 17
th overall with a time of 9:33.72 in the prelims.
He was member of the 2009 Trojan men's cross-country squad that captured the first and only Dakota Athletic Conference team title in Rapid City, S.D. He received his first DAC Men's Cross-Country All-Conference honor after finishing fifth with a time of 27 minutes, 50.85 seconds.
He finished 127
th at the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships with a time of 26 minutes, 43 seconds, helping the Trojans to their 16
th place finish as a team. This remains the highest team place finish in the national men's cross country program history.
Fideler's 2010 track highlights included collecting three All-American accolades. He was on two relay teams during the 2010 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Johnson City, Tenn.; he was an on the 4 x 800-meter relay team with Andy Coy, Foreman, and Van Peursem that finished with a time of 7 minutes, 46.7 seconds in the prelims.
They also broke the DSU men's indoor 4 x 800-meter relay time in the national finals, clocking a time of 7 minutes, 43.32 seconds, to claim the runners-up honor. This indoor time is still the record today.
Fideler added his second NAIA All-America honor at the same national indoor track & field meet. He teamed up with Anthony Drealan, Foreman, and Van Peursem with a time of 10 minutes, 9.25 seconds for a second-place finish in the third heat in the prelims. They earned runners-up honors in the national finals with a current school record holder of 10 minutes, 1.78 seconds.
Fideler collected his final Dakota Athletic Conference honor during the 2010 conference meet. He was third in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes, 48.67 seconds.
The same 4 x 800-meter relay team from the 2010 indoor track national meet returned to the outdoor track national meet in Marion, Ind. They hit with the fastest time in the prelims round with a time of 7:32.86 and followed up with a third-place finish in the national finals with the current school record time of 7:30.74.
The last Dakota Athletic Conference cross-country meet was held in Jamestown, N.D. in 2010. Fideler earned his second All-Conference cross-country status after finishing sixth with a time of 26 minutes, 57 seconds. He ran at the 2010 NAIA cross country national meet, placing 136
th overall with a time of 26 minutes, 56 seconds.
Fideler took a medical redshirt for the 2011 track season, and returned for his final track & field eligibility in the 2011-12 academic year.
After the DAC conference folded, Dakota State's cross-country team traveled to San Marcos, Calif., for the 2011 Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) conference meet. He finished 11
th in the race with a time of 25 minutes, 57 seconds and earned an individual conference qualifier to the national meet.
Fideler ran in his third straight NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships in 2011, closing his cross-country career with his personal best place finish. He ended in 57
th place with a personal national meet record time of 25 minutes, 21 seconds.
His favorite Dakota State moment was during the 2012 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, when he claimed the national runner-up honor in the 1-mile run to earn his fourth NAIA All-America honor.
He finished that race with a new DSU school record time of 4 minutes, 6.64 seconds, a record that is still intact today. In addition, the time marked the fastest in the men's one mile run by a South Dakota college athlete that year. His time was also the sixth fastest mile run ever by an athlete at a South Dakota college.
It was another favorite moment because the Trojans finished 12
th out of 61 teams with 18 points at the 2012 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships (as well as his teammate Coy getting the national title in the 1000-meter run on the same day).
He wrapped up his stellar running career during the 2012 outdoor season, establishing a school record time in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the prestigious annual Drake Relays. He clocked a time of 9:11.41 in the race, breaking his previous old school record of 9:21.55 set in 2010 (currently second fastest in the school record book).
Fideler concluded his career at the 2012 NAIA national outdoor track where he finished second in the second heat with a time of 9 minutes, 32.10 seconds and advanced to the national finals. He finished 14
th in the finals with a time of 9:49.45.
Fideler was listed numerous times in the Dakota State track & field school record book. He held the school record in the indoor 3000-meter run with a time of 8:35.92 in 2012 before it was broken in 2020. Fideler holds the current seventh fastest time of 2:30.21 in 2021 and the top three fastest times in the distance medley relay school record.
He is listed five times in the outdoor medley relay team, including the top four fastest times. He also has the sixth and seventh fastest times in the sprint medley relay and was on the 4 x 800-meter relay team with Jerad Schlobohm, Foreman, and Van Peursem the seventh fastest time in 2009 (7:52.38). Fideler holds the ninth (3:57.19 in 2010) and tenth (3:57.53 in 2012) fastest times in the 1500-meter run, as well as fifth fastest time in the 5000-meter run (15:04.39 in 2012).
Matthew graduated from Dakota State in 2014 and married Sara Friesen, a DSU alum and former runner for the Trojans. They reside in Springfield, Oregon, where he is currently working in sales. In his free time, he enjoys running, hiking, floating the river, golfing, bowling, and playing fetch with their dog Nola.
Chris Heezen - Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
Chris Heezen was one of the best long-distance runners in Dakota State University men's cross-country and track program history. He is the second All-America cross-country runner and the first DSU men's marathon runner to be named NAIA All-American for two consecutive years.
Heezen, a native of Miller, S.D., began his running career at Dakota State in the fall 2004, placing 17th at the Dakota Athletic Conference-10 (DAC-10)/NAIA All-Region meet held in Spearfish, S.D. He finished with a time of 30 minutes, 40.58 seconds.
DSU Hall of Famer coach Buzz Stevenson praised Heezen after the 2005 outdoor season. "Chris did a great job in preparing himself for cross country season," said Stevenson. "He ran over 600 miles during the summer and all of that training paid off for him."
That was certainly true. Heezen placed 12th out of a 149-runner field in the DAC/NAIA Region III Championships held in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Nov. 5, 2005. He clocked a time of 25 minutes, 49.49 seconds and finished as the seventh best DAC runner in the field and earned the DAC All-Conference and All-Region honors.
Heezen registered a time of 26 minutes, 13.20 seconds in his first NAIA Men's Cross-Country National Championships on Nov. 19, 2005, in Louisville, Ky.
At the 2006 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Fresno, Calif., Heezen qualified for his first men's marathon race. Out of field of 45 runners, Heezen placed eighth overall with a school record time of 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 6.25 seconds.
After producing numerous top 10 finishes during the 2006 DSU cross-country regular season, including a pair of individual titles, he finished fifth at the DAC Cross-Country Championships in Minot, N.D., and earned the All-Conference honor.
He followed up with a 12th place finish at the 2006 NAIA Region III qualifying meet in Sioux Falls in 25 minutes, 23.03 seconds, qualifying for the NAIA Men's Cross-Country National Championships for the second straight year. He also collected his second consecutive NAIA All-Region III honor. Heezen finished 81st at the national cross-country meet with a time of 26 minutes, 15.65 seconds on his return trip to Louisville for the NAIA Championships.
Heezen qualified for the 2007 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in the 3000-meter run, hitting his personal best time of 8 minutes, 54.38 seconds in the prelims.
He returned to Fresno to compete in the 2007 NAIA outdoor track national meet in the men's marathon. He became the first Trojan men's marathon runner to be named NAIA All-American after finishing fifth in a field of 51 runners. He broke his previous school record time with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 6.08 seconds.
Dakota State selected Heezen as the Male NAIA Champions of Character recipient for the 2006-07 athletic season.
He capped off his senior cross-country season with his first NAIA All-America accolade in 2007-08 athletic season. He captured three individual cross-country regular season meet titles, at the Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) Invitational, DSU's Herb Blakely Invitational, and the Briar Cliff (Iowa) Invitational.
He claimed his third DAC Cross-Country All-Conference honor as he finished fifth in 25 minutes, 25 seconds in the 2007 conference meet. He produced the individual national qualifying from the Dakota Athletic Conference, making his third consecutive appearance in the NAIA Men's Cross-Country National Championship.
He described the 2007 NAIA Men's Cross-Country National Championship as his favorite athletic memory. "Cross-country was always my favorite sport and I had improved so much and knew I had a realistic chance of becoming an All-American with the right racing strategy," said Heezen.
"All of my training had been built to that race day, and I just felt so unusually confident going to the start line," he added. "The start of the race was crazy with people starting really fast, but the course narrowed so quickly that I had to get out quick. I was so focused and ready that it played out perfectly and I felt so strong with one mile to go that I knew I'd finish in the top 30."
He finished 22nd with a time of 25 minutes, 25 seconds to claim his first All-American status at DSU. He became the second DSU men's cross-country runner to be named NAIA All-American, the first time in nearly 30 years. His time is currently tied for the seventh fastest in Dakota State men's cross-country Top 30 times.
He was fourth in the 2008 DAC Indoor Track 5000-meter run with a time of 15 minutes, 20.35 seconds and qualified for the NAIA Indoor Track national meet. He completed his final indoor track meet by hitting a time of 15:24.70 in the semifinal round and advanced to the finals. He was 10th in the national final, improving his time to 15 minutes, 17.47 seconds, which is sixth fastest today in the DSU men's indoor track & field record book.
Heezen captured the first-ever Dakota Athletic Conference outdoor 10,000-meter run individual title at the 2008 conference meet in Jamestown, N.D., finishing with a time of 32 minutes, 6.55 seconds to earn his fourth overall DAC All-Conference honor during his career at DSU.
Heezen wrapped up his impressive running career at the 2008 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Edwardsville, Ill. He became the first Trojan runner to hit back-to-back NAIA All-American honors in the marathon race, finishing sixth with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 22 seconds.
Dakota State Athletics' department voted Heezen as the Outstanding Male Athlete-of-the-Year in 2008, and he received the Dakota Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete award for his academic achievements.
He holds three of the top fourth times in the DSU men's outdoor marathon and produced the third and fifth fastest half-marathon times in school history.
He graduated from Dakota State University in 2009 with an exercise science major, and continued his education at the University of Missouri, earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2017. He worked in Phoenix, Ariz., for one year as an outpatient physical therapist clinic, then decided to move back to his home state of South Dakota in 2018. He worked at Avera St. Mary's Hospital in Pierre for two-and-half years, and for the past two years, he has been working at Athletic Physical Therapy in Sioux Falls.
Chris still enjoys running today but as a stress-reliever, no longer competitively, and is grateful he can enjoy the activity.
Laura (Tewes) Schaefer - Women's Basketball and Track & Field
Laura (Tewes) Schaefer was a stellar dual-sport athlete at Dakota State, excelling in both women's track & field and women's basketball. She was one of the dominant women's high jumpers in the Dakota Athletic Conference during the mid-2000's, collecting four-time outdoor All-Conference honors.
Schaefer came to Dakota State University in the 2004-05 season from Mayer, Minn. She claimed the first Dakota Athletic Conference-10 outdoor women's high jump title as a freshman, by clearing a height of 5 feet, 6.25 inches.
Schaefer set the DSU women's outdoor high jump records during the 2006 season several times and tied the school record with DSU Hall of Famer Desa Rae Doyle at 1.74 meters (5 feet, 8.5 inches).
She earned her second consecutive DAC outdoor women's high jump title during the 2006 conference meet, clearing the mark of 5 feet, 6 inches.
Schaefer qualified for the NAIA Women's Outdoor Track & Field where she claimed her first NAIA All-America award at Dakota State. She passed the first try at 5 feet, 3.25 inches, followed by the next attempt at 5 feet, 5.25 inches.
After twice missing the mark of 5 feet, 7.25 inches, she held on and advanced to the next round after clearing that plateau on the third attempt. She was unable to complete a jump of 5 feet, 9.25 inches and finished third at the national meet.
She produced the NAIA Indoor national qualifying women's mark of 1.68 meters (5 feet, 6 inches) during the 2007 season at the University of South Dakota/Derek Miles Open.
Schaefer helped the Trojans to a pair of conference outdoor titles during the 2007 Dakota Athletic Conference meet, and won her third consecutive women's high jump conference title after clearing the height of 5 feet, 6 inches.
She was also on the DAC women's winning 4 x 100-meter relay team with Nikki Duffy, Bobbi Jo Dykstra, and Jayna Goodroad. They clocked a time of 49.35 seconds in the race.
Schaefer was in two different events at the 2007 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. On the first day of the national meet, the DSU women's 4 x 100-meter relay team, consisting of Dykstra, Schaefer, Goodroad, and Duffy, placed seventh in the third heat with 48.87 seconds.
Although the relay team did not advance to the semifinals, they did set a new DSU school record.
Later in the national meet, Schaefer cleared the height of 5 feet, 7 inches and collected her second straight NAIA Outdoor All-America honor after producing a third-place finish at the national meet.
She surpassed the DSU women's outdoor track & field school record high jump of 1.76 meters (5 feet, 9.25 inches) during her senior season in 2008, which was the top NAIA high jump mark during the season.
Schaefer then captured her fourth consecutive Dakota Athletic Conference outdoor women's high jump championship after clearing the bar of 5 feet, 5.75 inches in the conference meet held in Jamestown, N.D.
As a result, the league head coaches selected Schaefer as the DAC Most Valuable Senior.
She wrapped up her impressive track & field career with a seventh-place finish at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships held in St. Louis, Mo.
Schaefer has been listed four times in the DSU women's outdoor track & field school record high jump, including the current school record 5 feet, 9.25 inches since 2008. As of today, she holds the second-best record (tied with Desa Rae Doyle) at 1.74 meters (5 feet, 8.5 inches), tied for the fifth best mark of 1.69 meters (5 feet, 6.75 inches) in 2007, and tied for seventh best at 1.68 meters (5 feet, 6.25 inches) in 2005.
She also shares the 10
th fastest time in the 400-meter relay team with Duffy, Dykstra, and Goodroad with a time of 50.12 seconds in 2006. Schaefer was part of the 800-meter relay team from 2006 that holds the third fastest time today of 1 minute, 46.35 seconds with Duffy, Dykstra, and Laridee Dibble.
Besides her accomplishments in track & field, Schaefer helped the DSU women's basketball program to their strong dominance in the Dakota Athletic Conference by winning conference titles and qualifying for the NAIA national tournaments. She was an integral member of the women's basketball team that won three consecutive DAC regular-season titles in 2006, 2007, 2008 and qualified for the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Tournament in 2006 (quarterfinalist), 2007 (opening round), and 2008 (second round).
She joined the women's basketball 1,000-point club during her senior season at DSU. She was named to the Dakota Athletic Conference All-Conference twice, as well as NAIA Division II Women's Basketball All-America Honorable Mention team. She averaged 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2007-08 season, as well as 50 blocked shots.
Schaefer finished her career with 1,245 points, which is ninth all-time in the current Dakota State women's basketball scoring list.
Her career 845 rebounds place her second in the DSU women's basketball school record book. She is also third all-time in free-throws made with 311 free-throws, and fifth in all-time field goal percentage of 54 percent (467-of-865 field goals).
She received the Dakota Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete award for her academic success.
Schaefer was inducted into the 2022 Dakota State University Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2005-06 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight/DAC regular-season champion.
After graduation in 2008, Laura married Chris Schaefer. They moved to Minnesota, where Laura received a veterinary technician degree from Argosy University. She was working as a certified vet tech while her husband finished his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota.
Her husband then got a job in Volga, S.D. and moved to Brookings, S.D. in 2013. She worked as a vet tech at Dells Veterinary Clinic in Dell Rapids, S.D. Their twins, Gavin and Madelyn, were in 2016. After their third child, Oliver, was born in 2020. Laura became a stay-at-home mom and now enjoys spending her days watching them grow.
The Schaefer's moved to Willmar, Minn., in January 2022. They live on an acreage and have goats, chickens, cats, and a dog. In her free time, she likes to play pickleball and do triathlons.
Kristie (Vanden Hoek) Ogle - Women's Track & Field
Kristie (Vanden Hoek) Ogle was one of the stellar 400-meter runners in Dakota State University women's track & field history. She qualified for a total of four straight NAIA national indoor and outdoor meets combined from 2001 through 2003 and broke 400-meter school records numerous times during her career at DSU. She is the only 400-meter NAIA Indoor All-American runner in Trojan women's track & field program as of today.
She will be joining six other individuals as well as the 2009 Dakota State University Men's Cross Country Dakota Athletic Conference Championship Team in the 27
th annual Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 3 at Dakota Prairie Playhouse. The social starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at 6:15 p.m. The ceremony takes place at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
Ogle, from Stickney High School, not only competed in track, but was also a member of the DSU Dance Team and a member of the cross-country squad for a season.
Her first Dakota Athletic Conference-10 (DAC-10) All-Conference honors came in the spring of 2000 outdoor track & field season. She collected a pair of titles, winning the 400-meter dash and the 4 x 100-meter relay at the conference meet. She posted the DAC-10 conference and school record time of 58.9 seconds.
Ogle made her first NAIA national appearance at the 2001 outdoor track & field championships held in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada. She finished 19th with a time of 59.41 seconds in the 400-meters.
She continued her strong performances in the 400-meter dash the following year, where she kept breaking new school records in the event. She also earned a runner-up finish at the DAC-10 Indoor Track & Field Championship with a school record of 58.90 seconds.
A few weeks later, she made her second straight national track meet appearance at the 2002 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Johnson City, Tenn. She continued to break the indoor track 400-meter dash time after producing a sixth-place finish with a school record time of 58.45 seconds, a record that stood for 20 years. As a result, Ogle became the first Trojan women's 400-meter dash runner to be named NAIA All-American in track & field program history.
More awards poured in for Ogle as she captured the 2002 DAC-10 outdoor 400-meter dash title with a conference meet record time of 57.06 seconds. She also qualified for the NAIA national meet in Olathe, Kan., her third straight track national appearance, where she finished 11
th with a time of 57.88 seconds.
She ran a school record time of 55.94 seconds during the preliminaries of the NAIA national outdoor meet in 2002, a record she still has intact today.
Ogle made her fourth straight NAIA track appearance in the 2003 NAIA Indoor Track 400-meter dash. She wrapped up her prestigious running career with another DAC-10 All-Conference Title during the 2003 outdoor season.
She has held numerous DSU women's track & field school records, including the second fastest (58.45 seconds in 2002) and fourth fastest (59.67 seconds in 2003) in the 400-meters. She was also 10
th fastest in the indoor 200-meter dash with a time of 26.59 seconds.
The indoor 4 x 400-meter relay team of Jamie Calmus, Molly Hanson, Ogle, and Kristin Stroud set a school record in 2001 with a time of 4:13.54 (was later broken in 2011). Ogle was also part of the DSU's indoor 800-meter relay team (an event that has been discontinued or rarely held today) and established the Dordt (Iowa) Invitational meet record time in 2001.
Besides her outdoor 400-meter dash school record, Ogle holds the third fastest (59.01 seconds in 2001) and eighth fastest (59.79 seconds in 2000) times for this event in the record book. She is also seventh fastest in the 800-meter run in 2 minutes, 20.05 seconds during her final season at Dakota State.
She is also listed in the outdoor 4 x 200-meter relay 'Top 10', breaking the 1998 school record time with a new record of 1:48.27 in 2001 with Hansen, Stroud, and Tonya Olson (later broken in 2005 but currently 7
th fastest in school record book). Calmus, Ogle, Lindsay Dykstra, and Emily DeGroot had the second fastest time of 1:48.41 in 2002 (currently eighth fastest time).
Stephanie Johnson, Laura Carrow, Ogle, and Kerri Hamer ran the seventh fastest 4 x 800-meter relay in 2000 with a time of 10:08.39.
Ogle was listed twice in the Top 10 outdoor sprint medley relay at Dakota State. She teamed up with Heidi Klinkhammer, Olson, and Hamer for the fifth fastest time of 4:20.78 in 2000. She was also part of the relay team with Calmus, Dykstra, and Michelle Steiner for the seventh fastest time of 4:22.63 in 2002.
Ogle was voted the DSU Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year as a senior. She also received numerous athletic and academic awards while at Dakota State, including Athlete-of-the-Week honors, two-time NAIA Academic All-American for her academic success, three-time DAC-10 Honor Roll, DSU President's Honor List, Honors Graduate, and Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
She was also a member of the Kappa Sigma Iota and a College Student Leader at Dakota State University.
Ogle graduated from Dakota State University in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education with endorsements in middle school and K-12 educational technology. She received her degrees in middle school and high school math a few years later.
After graduation at DSU, she taught sixth grade in Watertown, S.D., for one year, along with serving as assistant track & field and cheerleading coach. She moved to Woonsocket school district as a fifth-grade teacher and assistant volleyball coach from 2004-06 and went on to Mt. Vernon, S.D. as the middle school math teacher and track coach from 2006-08.
Kristie married Thomas Ogle in 2007 and they live on an acreage in Stickney, S.D. They have six children, Brayden, Avery, Cassidy, Sophia, Logan, and Paisley. Kristie enjoys running in various half-marathons, including the Rock 'n' Roll, Okoboji, Spokane, and SHE Power races.
She and her husband currently own Dakota AGrow, Inc., since 2009, and they operate an agriculture retail store in Plankinton, S.D., selling and serving fertilizer, chemical, and Pioneer seed.
Tyler Van Peursem - Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
Tyler Van Peursem rose to become one of the top cross-country and middle-distance runners in Dakota State University men's program history. He produced seven Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) running titles (one in cross-country and six in track & field), tallied a total of nine All-Conference honors and four NAIA All-America awards during his impressive career at DSU. He was part of two national runners-up finishes on the DSU's relay teams during the 2010 indoor track national meet.
Van Peursem, a former Sioux Falls Christian High School product, began his running career at Dakota State in the cross-country and track & field program in 2006-07. He placed 23
rd in 27 minutes, 25.79 seconds at the 2007 DAC conference meet held in Dickinson, N.D. in his sophomore season.
He earned a runner-up honor in the 2008 Dakota Athletic Conference indoor track & field conference meet in Spearfish, S.D. He finished with a time of 1 minute, 54.81 seconds in the race and qualified for the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships.
Van Peursem earned his first NAIA All-America status during the 2008 NAIA indoor track national meet in Johnson City, Tenn. He was eighth in the semifinal round with a time of 1 minute, 56.66 seconds, and improved his time to 1:56.09 in the national finals, placing sixth. He was the first DSU men's indoor 800-meter runner to be named NAIA All-American in school history.
He headed to St. Louis, Mo., to run the 800-meters at the 2008 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. He finished 10
th overall in the prelims round in 1:53.34 and advanced to the semifinals. Where he clocked a time of 1:53.16 to finish 12
th overall.
As a junior, Van Peursem earned his first DAC All-Conference honor after placing eighth in the 2008 cross-country conference meet at the Madison Country Club. He clocked a time of 28:01.54 on a cold and snowy racecourse. He and his teammate Anthony Drealan both qualified for the NAIA Cross-Country National Championships in Vancouver, Wash. He finished 128
th out of a 331-runner field, clocking his fastest time of the season at 26 minutes, 19.7 seconds.
He won the 2009 DAC Indoor 800-meter run conference title by clocking a time of 1 minute, 54.60 seconds. He added his third overall All-Conference award after earning a runner-up in the 1-mile run in 4 minutes, 16.08 seconds.
Van Peursem returned to the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in 2009 where he was a member of the distance medley relay team. The relay team of Van Peursem, Cody Foreman, Matt Fideler, and Drealan hit a new DSU school record time of 10:14.65 and missed advancing to the national finals by one place after finishing ninth.
Van Peursem continued to add more conference titles to his resume when he captured a pair of titles in the 2009 DAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He won the 800- and 1500-meters conference titles for the Trojans, scoring 22 points in the conference meet, which earned the DAC Men's Most Outstanding Track Athlete honor for most points scored by a track athlete.
He competed in 2009 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships held in Edwardsville, Ill. He was second in the first heat of the 1500-meter run in 3 minutes, 56.38 seconds, which advanced him to the national finals. Van Peursem established a new DSU school record of 3:50.75 and placed seventh in the 1500-meters national finals.
Van Peursem highlighted the Trojans' historic moment at the 2009 Dakota Athletic Conference Cross-Country Championships held in Rapid City, S.D. He was surprised to win the individual title with a time of 27 minutes, 29.09 seconds, paving DSU's way to their first DAC men's cross-country team title in program history. He was named the DAC Most Valuable Runner, and earned his second DAC Men's Cross-Country All-Conference award.
He concluded his cross-country career at the 2009 NAIA Men's Cross-Country Championships with a 154
th place finish in 26 minutes, 57 seconds. He helped the Trojans to their highest team place finish at the men's national cross-country meet in Vancouver, holding a school team record 16
th place finish.
His performances peaked during his senior season in the 2010 track season, when he collected four additional DAC All-Conference honors and three total NAIA All-America awards.
Van Peursem won the DAC conference indoor one mile run title for the Trojans with a time of 4 minutes, 19.20 seconds. He added a runner-up finish in the 800-meters with a time of 1:55.39. He was also a member of the 4 x 400-meter relay team that finished second at the conference meet. At the conclusion of the indoor conference meet, he was named the DAC Men's Indoor Track Athlete-of-the-Meet.
Van Peursem competed in two different relay teams at the 2010 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship in Johnson City, resulting in a pair of NAIA All-America honors. He teamed up with Andy Coy, Cody Foreman and Matt Fideler in the 4 x 800-meter relay with a time of 7 minutes, 46.7 seconds in the prelims. They finished as runners-up in the national finals with a new school record time of 7:43.32, a record that is still intact.
Van Peursem also ran as an anchor in the Trojan men's distance medley relay in the same indoor national meet. They finished second in the third heat in 10 minutes, 9.25 seconds and advanced to the national finals. They finished as the national runner-up after improving the school record time of 10 minutes, 1.78 seconds.
Van Peursem continued his stellar senior season as he added a pair of Dakota Athletic Conference outdoor track running titles. He won the 1500-meters in 4:07.16 and the 800-meters in 1:56.77, accumulating a total of seven conference running titles in the Dakota Athletic Conference.
He was on the same 4 x 800-meter relay team that competed at the 2010 NAIA outdoor track national championship in Marion, Ind. They hit the top time in the first round with a 7:32.86 and collected a third-place finish in the national finals with a school record time of 7:30.74. This time is still the school record.
Van Peursem also ran in the 1500-meter run at the 2010 NAIA outdoor national meet. He was third in the second heat in the prelims with a time of 3:53.45 and advanced to the national finals. He wrapped up his impressive running career at DSU after placing 10th with a time of 3 minutes, 56.22 seconds.
Overall, in the DSU men's track & field Top 10 record book, Van Peursem is listed in 11 different indoor track records. He is listed on four different records in the distance medley relay, including the school record time at the 2010 NAIA indoor national meet. He still holds the indoor 800-meters time of 1:53.15 from the 2010 season.
Additionally, Van Peursem is listed in nine different records in the outdoor track record book, with three different records in the distance medley relay. He was an integral member of the distance medley relay with Drealan, Foreman, and Fideler that holds the current school record time of 9 minutes, 59.04 seconds. That time was established at the prestigious annual Drake Relays.
Besides his athletic accomplishments, Van Peursem was voted DSU's Outstanding Male Athlete-of-the-Year in 2009 and 2010. He received the Daktronics-NAIA and Dakota Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete honors for his academic success at Dakota State.
Van Peursem graduated from Dakota State in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in computer network and security. He also received a master's degree from DSU in 2013 in Master of Science in Information Assurance with a specialization in banking and finance.
Tyler married Danielle Rowe, a former three-time NAIA All-America high jumper at DSU, and they have three children, Lilly, Gemma, and Iver. They lived in Minnesota for six years and recently moved to Sioux Falls in 2022. He works as a Lead Cloud Security Engineer and enjoys watching his kids in all their activities.
