Kamberlyn Lamer explored her passions at South Dakota. Now the former Dakota Wesleyan national champ eyes a trip to Division I nationals

May 11—VERMILLION — Kamberlyn Lamer has seen the end of her collegiate athletic career three times, but this time it's official.

Maybe.

Lamer enters the Summit League outdoor championships Thursday in Vermillion as the leader in the heptathlon and is ranked 28th in the nation. The University of South Dakota redshirt senior and former Dakota Wesleyan University standout can add 100 points to her score to move up into the top-24 to extend her career one more time and advance to the NCAA championships.

Whether Lamer's career lasts one more month or it ends this weekend, her two years at USD have been life-altering. After winning the NAIA national championship for DWU in 2019, Lamer briefly embarked on a career as a personal trainer.

Two months in, Lamer felt like she was going to work to punch a clock, but USD revived her career by adding her as a graduate transfer. Now confident and passionate about track, Lamer is armed with graduate degrees in kinesiology and sport management and ready to move on to the next phase of her life,

"Not that track was holding me back or anything, but grad school is not easy," Lamer said. "... It's weird to know that I'm going to be done after this year, but I'm ready to be done. I've been ready for about a year or two. It's been a long ride, but it's not anything that I regret. I probably would have regretted it if I didn't continue."

As the 2019 NAIA leader in the heptathlon at DWU, then-coach Zach Lurz failed to register Lamer for the national meet on time and she assumed her career was over. After an appeal restored her eligibility, Lamer won the NAIA national championship and she thought it was the perfect ending to her career.

With one year of outdoor eligibility remaining, however, USD lured Lamer back for one more season, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to leave her career in limbo again. Coyote head coach Lucky Huber asked her back and the answer was not easy.

Lamer wanted to see if her talents could translate to the highest stage of Division I. Huber was initially unsure, but it did not take long to learn Lamer built a strong foundation at DWU. She posted a school-record 5,332 points — her personal best at DWU was 5,065 — at the South Dakota Challenge on April 9 and is the lone Summit League heptathlete to hit the qualifying standard for nationals.

Currently, Lamer is one of 10 women vying for four spots and they are currently separated by less than 100 points. So, if Lamer scores 100 points higher than her personal-best, it should put her in the top-20 at nationals.

"Dakota Wesleyan did a great job developing her talents, so it wasn't a lot of physical stuff," Huber said. "We made some different strength gains, there were a few technical changes and the big part was mentally getting her to this level that she could compete. ... Gaining that confidence has been a big part of it. The mental part of the sport is huge."

Finding a passion

As Lamer's ascent in track continued, there has been little free time during the last two years. Despite not being able to compete with the team during the indoor season, Lamer trained with the Coyotes year-round and even ran unattached in a few indoor meets this year. She also served as a graduate assistant in the athletic marketing department, while simultaneously working a 20-hour-per-week job on top of schoolwork.

Although she had a seemingly never-ending schedule, Lamer never regretted the decision to prolong her college career. In fact, her passion for track deepened. Although DWU helped develop her into a top-notch heptathlete, Lamer was dominant in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and at the NAIA level nationally.

Lamer is able to compete against quality competition in practice alone, as USD has had 10 women — and 16 men — hit NCAA qualifying standards this season, providing a daily challenge.

"The training partners and experiences here are just different," Huber said. "Every day she goes out, there's someone that hurdles faster, jumps farther or throws farther. I think she's really accepted those as challenges to push herself. At Dakota Wesleyan, she had been there and done that. ... She needed that new challenge and coming in here gave her that challenge."

In the span of two years, Lamer has gone from being done with track and working a job that was not her passion to having several intriguing options. Six years of college drained the idea of pursuing a doctorate for now, but Lamer has considered coaching track or perhaps becoming an athletic director or even work as a high school strength coach. She may even continue to race in competitive meets.

Such ideas come from newfound confidence, attained through success against the top competition in the country and talented teammates and coaches that encourage broadened goals and dreams.

"She's gaining confidence and I think part of that comes from teammates that not only push her but encourage her," Huber said. "... When you go to the Texas Relays and you compete, you look around and say, 'Wow, this girl that beat me isn't just one of the best college girls, she's one of the best in the United States. If I can compete against her in three events, maybe someday I can compete with her in four or five events.' I think that confidence is what you see in her now."

Although Lamer is cognizant the end is close and she is ready for the next challenge, there is also some sadness that comes with finality. Yet, Lamer also knows finding a way to string one more meet out of her career would be fitting.

"I am going to be able to do anything I set my mind to," Lamer said. "From all of this, I've learned how to overcome and adapt to any situations that arise. I would say that's a pretty big strength that I have."

NOTES: Six USD athletes enter the Summit League tournament in position to reach nationals. Mitchell native Carly Haring is tied for 19th in the nation in the women's high jump (5 feet, 10 3/4 inches), while Helen Falda is fourth in the pole vault (14 feet, 6 inches). Parker native Zack Anderson is third in the men's high jump (7 feet, 5 inches), while Ethan Bray and Eerik Haamer are tied for sixth in the men's pole vault (18 feet, 4 3/4 inches) and Brithton Senior is 10th in the 110-meter hurdles (13.54 seconds). Marshall Faurot is 27th in the pole vault (17 feet, 6 1/2 inches). South Dakota State's Trent Francom is tied for sixth in the pole vault and Coby Hilton is 24th in the 100-meter dash (10.23 seconds).