By Rich Winter 

605 Sports

Several hours before the women’s 400-meter relay at last weekend’s Summit League outdoor track and field meet in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Caelyn Valandra-Prue asked her teammates if she should go to the track with them. The former White River standout was the first alternate in the event and the women assured her they would all be running and she could take a different shuttle to the track. 

Her coaches told the freshman to do a ‘shakeup’ run with that relay team during their warmups just to stay loose. Having not run that race all season Valandra-Prue was startled when her coach told her 20 minutes prior to the event that she would be running. 

“Instantly my heart dropped,” Valandra-Prue said. “I had never practiced handoffs with these girls so I had a lot of adrenaline. 

Upon her coach's advice she took two practice handoffs and then settled in for the race. 

That handoff was executed to perfection and the team of Erin Kinney, Jacey Pulse, Valandra-Pure and Sara Reifenrath won the race with a time of :44.99.

That time is the fastest 400-meter relay ever run at the Summit League Championships, a University of South Dakota record and good enough to send the quartet to the NCAA West Preliminary in Fayetteville, Arkansas on May 25-28. 

“We heard it on the speakers and ran towards each other screaming,” Valandra-Prue said. “This one was definitely different because we broke a pretty big record and then the school record.”

That 4x1 was 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧' ðŸ"¥ðŸ"¥#GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota 🐾 pic.twitter.com/k4C0RU2HUZ

— South Dakota Track & Field / Cross Country (@SDCoyotesXCTF) May 16, 2022

Valandra-Prue’s freshman season at the University of South Dakota came with the normal challenges of someone living away from home for the first time. 

“It was kind of hard being away from my family and on my own,” she said. “It took me a little while to realize I had more people here at school that cared about me more than I thought.” 

After figuring out a study pattern that worked for her, Valandra-Prue turned her attention to the indoor track season. The transition to a 200-meter track from an outdoor 400-meter oval led to slower than expected times. 

Even in the early part of the outdoor season Valandra-Prue wondered if she would find her stride this season. 

“In April and early May I’d cross the line and see my time of :57 or :58 and think to myself this isn’t getting me anywhere,” she said. 

Several weeks before the Summit League championships Valandra-Prue wasn’t even sure she would be selected to run at the conference meet. 

“The coaches go off your work ethic and how you are as a teammate,” she said. “They also like taking athletes that can score in multiple events.” 

A week before the meet she was notified by email of her selection to the conference team. 

Originally, she was scheduled to run just the 400-meter dash. Following that record-breaking 400-meter relay Valandra-Prue finished 5th in the 400-meter dash (:55.84). 

Finally, Valandra-Prue was thrown into the 1,600 meter relay with the team of Jacy Pulse, Madison Jochum and Sara Reifenrath. No records but the Coyotes pulled away for a convincing win (3:43.65). 

Despite an uncertain start to her college track career Valandra-Prue says opening up to her teammates and training with other elite athletes is fueling her success. 

“I always had to run against boys in high school so this year has been good working with girls that are just as good to push me to be a little better,” she said.

Should the Coyotes 400-meter relay team perform well enough at the Arkansas regional, a trip to the NCAA track & field meet two weeks later would follow.