South Dakota’s Chris Nilsen Is Summit League’s April Male Athlete of the Month

South Dakota's Chris Nilsen has been making a habit of breaking records and winning titles in his first three seasons in Vermillion.

The latest accolade for the junior is the Summit League April Male Athlete of the Month - a conference record ninth such honor of Nilsen's career.

The Kansas City native junior pole vaulter jumped better than 19 feet in consecutive weeks last month en route to four meet victories.

April 20, Nilsen jumped 19-1 at the Beach Invitational to take the world lead in the pole vault. He followed that up by winning the elite section of the Drake Relays with a vault of 19-2 ¼.

Nilsen is a two-time NCAA Champion and five-time All-American in the pole vault. He looks to defend his Summit League outdoor title this week (May 8) in Macomb, Illinois.

After that, Nilsen will compete in the NCAA preliminaries in late May in Sacramento, California with the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas in early June.