Thinclads Set For State Meet

Britton-Hecla has qualified eight boys and two girls for the Class B state track meet in Sioux Falls this weekend, while four boys will represent Langford Area.

The state meet will be held at Howard Wood Field Thursday through Saturday. Field events start at 10 a.m., 9 a.m., and 9:30 a.m. for the three days while running events get underway at 11 a.m., 9 a.m., and 10 a.m.

B-H and LA squads competed in the Region 1B meet held in Britton on Thursday. The top 24 individuals/teams in each event qualified for state based on meets held all season.

“I was really happy with how we competed in the region,” said B-H coach Stephanie Symens. “Both the girls and boys cut seconds off of relay times, and we ended the year on a good note. We’re going down to the state track meet to bring home some hardware. Our goal is to medal in a couple of relays, and the girls want to medal in their jumping events.”

Britton-Hecla’s boys’ 1600, 3200, and medley relay quartets earned state spots. The 1600 foursome of BoDell Davidson, Bryce Hawkinson, Ben Suther, and Daniel Person ranks 12th with a 3:39.94 clocking. The 3200 unit of Wyatt Tosse, Gage Storley, Jaxon Zuehlke, and Person rates 15th at 8:56.14, and the quartet of Dashel and BoDell Davidson, Suther, and Person ranks 17th in the medley. Dashel Davidson also qualified in the 100 dash, ranking 20th with a 11.56 effort. Daniel Person finished in the 24th spot in the 800 run with a 2:08.39 clocking.

Sterling Mertens and Abby Lee were the B-H individual qualifiers in the girls’ division. Mertens ranks eighth in long jump with a 16-5.5 effort. Lee is a double qualifier, ranking eighth in the triple jump at 325 and 23rd in the long jump at 15-3.75.

Kalen Godel led the LA state qualifiers, advancing in three events. He ranks 12th in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:51.64 and 20th in the 800 run at 2:07.94. Godel also teamed up with Conner Glines, Jesse Keough, and Isaac Tolaza to qualify with the 12th-ranked time in the medley relay at 3:52.34. Keough also qualified in the 300 hurdles, ranking 17th with a 44.84 clocking.

“We had a lot of personal bests and did well, and I thought our girls did really well,” said LA coach Taylor Reints. “We have three eighth graders and a freshman girl on the varsity. Paytyn Marlow is our freshman and just missed state by a few hundredths of a second. She really got better the last three weeks. I think if the season was two weeks longer she would have made it.

“Brooke Dwight, Emily Olson, and Lizzy Gustafson are eighth graders and made huge strides in the last month. Emily was sixth in the triple jump, Brooke was fourth in the long jump, and Lizzie was tied for third in the high jump. I doubt those girls a couple of months ago knew what was coming but they hung in there and they really got better the last two weeks when they needed to. They have set themselves up to have a lot of fun in high school.

“For the boys it was more focus on a couple of events and do those well and get ready for state. We don’t have many boys so we have made do with what we have. We went and ran a relay in Hamlin and qualified a medley earlier in the week. They have been pushing hard in practice and two meets a week and that relay was a high intensity event emotionally and physically, so after a hard month of really pushing I felt they needed to just work on a couple of events of their specialty and back off a little before state.”

Britton-Hecla won a pair of regional titles. Mertens won the long jump with a leap of 15-10 and the boys’ 3200 relay blew away the field with an 8:55.9 effort.

Boys Results

TEAM POINTS: Warner 123, Hitchcock-Tulare 106, Northwestern 93, Frederick Area 90, Britton-Hecla 69, Aberdeen Christian 58, Leola 54, Langford Area 42, Waverly-South Shore 38

100 Dash: 4. Dashel Davidson (BH) 11.6 8. Isaac Tolaza (LA) 11.9; 200 Dash: 8. Isaac Tolaza (LA) 25.1; 400 Dash: 2. Bryce Hawkinson (BH) 55.9 5. Conner Glines (LA) 56.7 8. Will Richter (BH) 58.1; 800 Run: 2. Kalen Godel (LA) 2:07.8 5. Gage Storley (BH) 2:20.6 7. Jack Teveldal (BH) 2:24.8; 1600 Run: 2. Kalen Godel (LA) 4:51.4 7. Jack Teveldal (BH) 5:18.5

110 Hurdles: 2. Julian Rodriguez (LA) 19.1; 300 Hurdles: 2. Jesse Keough (LA) 44.6 5. Julian Rodriguez (LA) 49.2; Discus: 7. Connor Furman (BH) 108-9; High Jump: 2. Tucker Mertens (BH) 5-1; Long Jump: 7. Tucker Mertens (BH) 1611 400 Relay: 5. Britton-Hecla (Dashel Davidson, Ben Suther, Collin Beaner, BoDell Davidson) 48.6; 800 Relay: 4. Britton-Hecla (Dashel Davidson, Ben Suther, Luke Storley, BoDell Davidson) 1:38.4; 1600 Relay: 2. Britton-Hecla (BoDell Davidson, Bryce Hawkinson, Ben Suther, Daniel Person) 3:39.7; 3200 Relay: 1. Britton-Hecla (Wyatt Tosse, Gage Storley, Jaxon Zuehlke, Daniel Person) 8:55.9; Medley Relay: 2. Britton-Hecla (Dashel Davidson, Ben Suther, BoDell Davidson, Daniel Person) 3:52.1

Girls Results

TEAM POINTS: Northwestern 146, Warner 129, Frederick Area 83, Aberdeen Christian 81, Britton-Hecla 80, Hitchcock-Tulare 69, Leola 40, Langford Area 33, Waverly-South Shore 1

100 Dash: 2. Paytyn Marlow (LA) 13.4; 200 Dash: 5. Paytyn Marlow (LA) 29.4; 400 Dash: 8. Lizzy Gustafson (LA) 1:11.4; 100 Hurdles: 7. Avalon Dinger (BH) 20.6 8. Chellon Robinson (BH) 24.5; 300 Hurdles: 6. Chellon Robinson (BH) 59.2; Shot Put: 3. Tiyanna Schott (BH) 29-5 5. Ellie Feldhaus (BH) 27-3; High Jump: 3. (tie) Lizzie Gustafson (LA), Sterling Brassfield (BH), Jaelee Grupe (BH) 4-3 6. Emily Olson (LA) 41; Long Jump: 1. Sterling Mertens (BH) 15-10 4. Brooke Dwight (LA) 14-4.5 5. Abby Lee (BH) 14-3; Triple Jump: 2. Abby Lee (BH) 32-5 6. Emily Olson (LA) 28-3.75 7. Daynika Zuehlke (BH) 26-8

400 Relay: 4. Britton-Hecla (Sterling Brassfield, Kaegan Fredrickson, Marley Sundin, Sterling Mertens) 56.2 5. Langford Area (Paytyn Marlow, Lizzie Gustafson, Brooke Dwight, Emily Olson (LA) 57.1; 800 Relay: 3. Britton-Hecla (Jayden Bender, Karlie Zuehlke, Marley Sundin, Kaegan Fredrickson) 2:01.1; 1600 Relay: 4. Britton-Hecla (Abby Lee, Kaegan Fredrickson, Ariana Buer, Sterling Mertens) 4:36.0; 3200 Relay: 3. Britton-Hecla (Jiana Davidson, Daynika Zuehlke, Abby Lee, Ava Teveldal) 11:09.7; Medley Relay: 2. Britton-Hecla (Kaegan Fredrickson, Jayden Bender, Karlie Zuehlke, Ava Teveldal) 5:00.2