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Catching up with former area athletes: Joachim excels for Dakota State, ranks in NAIA top-10

the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·4 min read

Feb. 22—MADISON, S.D. — Dakota State University men's track and field thrower Jacob Joachim, a Corsica native, was named North Star Athletic Association indoor field athlete of the week on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Joachim, a fourth-year senior, set a significant personal best in the weight throw for the Trojans as he competed in two different meets last week. He tossed his career-high 18.48 meters (60 feet, 7.75 inches) to earn a runner-up honor at the Mount Marty Last Chance meet on Feb. 9. His mark is the NAIA A automatic qualifying mark, where he is currently ninth in the NAIA men's weight throw.

In addition, Joachim's toss is the second-best in Dakota State school history. At the North Star Athletic Association meet on Feb. 18, Joachim finished second with a throw of 17.86 meters (58 feet, 7.25 inches).

Joachim is a senior business administration major at Dakota State University. He finished in the top nine in four throwing events at the outdoor North Star championships in 2023, including a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw, and then was 18th at the NAIA outdoor championships. He was 14th last season in the weight throw at the NAIA indoor meet in 2023 after a third-place finish at the North Star conference meet.

Dakota State won its third consecutive NSAA men's indoor track and field team title on Feb. 18 with 296 points.

The NAIA indoor championships are in Brookings from Feb. 29 to March 2.

CRETE, Neb. — Colton Dillon, a Hanson High School alumnus, is among the NAIA national indoor qualifiers in the shot put after a strong effort at the Great Plains Athletic Conference championships for Doane University.

Dillon finished second at the GPAC championships in the shot put with a throw of 15.86 meters (52 feet, 0.5 inches), a personal-best toss. He was also 14th in the weight throw at 15.18 meters (49 feet, 9.75 inches).

Dillon, a sophomore from Alexandria, hit the NAIA A qualifying standard earlier in the season, with a throw of 15.77 meters (51 feet, 9 inches) at the Concordia Invitational on Feb. 9. He ranks 23rd in the nation with his best throw this year. This will be his first NAIA national meet appearance.

As a team, Doane won the GPAC points title at the meet in Yankton, scoring 195 points, staying ahead of second-place Dordt (167 points).

The NAIA indoor championships are in Brookings from Feb. 29 to March 2.

MADISON, S.D. — Dakota State distance runner Lindsey Roth continued her great season with a strong effort at the North Star Athletic Association indoor track and field meet, earning women's track athlete of the championships for the Trojans.

Roth, of Parkston, led the meet in points in the running events with 26.5 points for the Trojans. She collected three runner-up honors in the 800-meters, 1-mile run, and the 3000-meters. She was also an anchor of the winning 4 x 800-meter relay with Saddie Palmquist, Kierra Miller, and Anna Schneider.

Burke High School graduate Lahna Matucha also fared well at the NSAA meet, earning all-conference honors for her third-place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.55 meters (5 feet, 1 inch), a season-best. A senior, Matucha also finished fifth in the pentathlon at the conference meet.

SIOUX FALLS — Mitchell High School alum Caden Hinker, a sophomore basketball player at Augustana University, has hit a scoring peak in the last month of the season for the Vikings.

Hinker has scored in double figures in four games in a row, including 18 points in a road win at Minnesota State Moorhead on Feb. 17. His season-high was 19 points on Jan. 19 at Bemidji State, and he's scored in double figures in 10 of the last 15 games.

Hinker has started four times this season, including the last two games, and has averaged 15.8 minutes per game. For the season, he's averaging 8.1 points per game and shooting 51.7% from the field with 4.5 rebounds per game.

The Vikings are 16-10 overall and 11-9 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season, landing in the initial ranking of 10 teams in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings.

The regular season ends for Augustana on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 with home games against Northern State and Mary (N.D.). The NSIC tournament first round will take place Wednesday, Feb. 28, with the remainder of the tournament at the Sanford Pentagon from March 2-5.