Black Hills State University teams secure cross country and rodeo titles

Black Hills State University (BHSU) athletic teams achieved multiple victories in recent cross country and rodeo competitions.

In cross country, the Yellow Jackets men’s and women’s teams swept the team titles at the Gage McSpadden Memorial Invitational. The men’s team earned 20 points, led by individual champion Jaxon Straus, who finished with a career-best time of 18:50.6. The women’s team secured a perfect team score, marking their third consecutive season with such a performance.

In rodeo, the BHSU women’s team won the title at the Falcon Frontier Days Rodeo hosted by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, totaling 600 points. The men’s team placed third with 420 points. Notable individual performances included Bailey Verhulst, who won the women’s all-around and goat tying titles, and Hadly Erickson, who won the steer wrestling title and placed third in the men’s all-around standings.