Area track and field athletes attempted to beat each other or beat their own top times and distances. All of them ended up beating the weather on Friday inside the Barnett Center.
Competing for the first time this spring, thinclads were just happy to be able to compete during the Class A and B portion of the Al Sahli Invitational.
"With the bad weather, I didn't want that to effect my season," said Ipswich eighth-grade standout Macy Heinz. "I started training early this year, so then I'd be ahead of where I was, because I didn't want the snow to hold me back at all."
Heinz looked like she was in late-season form, breaking the meet record in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:22.94. Despite the stellar time, Heinz was shooting for even better.
"I wanted to kind of start out 220," Heinz said. "I want to improve a lot from last year, so I have still some work to do."
Heinz is already 10 seconds ahead of her last year's blistering pace, but she is highly motivated to get down to around 2:10 by the end of the spring.
"Each year my goal is to improve, no matter what," Heinz said. "I just want to keep getting my time down. I want to get it down a lot more before the end of the season."
Another athlete also appeared to be well ahead of schedule in her record-setting performance. Danielle Waldner of Redfield-Doland threw the shot put 40-feet 8-inches, to break a record that was held by her cousin, former Redfield great Aubrey Baxter.
"My cousin Aubrey held it, so then I just wanted to beat it," Waldner said. "We called her right afterwards and told her."
It was the first time that Waldner had won the Sahli meet and only whet her appetite for competing outdoors.
"Our track is pretty well covered with a lot of snow right now," Waldner noted. "As soon as that melts, I'm pretty pumped to get outside and start throwing."
Estelline distance ace Trevor Ward can relate. He won a pair of races on the day and is longing to get outside.
"Our track right now has probably got like two feet of snow on it," Ward said. "We've got a while yet, so it was nice to be able to at least get this indoor meet done and out of the way."
Ward, who easily won the 3,000-meter run, barely edged Ipswich seventh-grade Danzan Gilborne at the wire in the 800-meter run.
"That was real close," Ward noted. "We were both leaning into it. It was a photo finish for sure. It was a good thing they had the cameras today."
The only other double individual winner on the boys' side was Kellemon Hinton of Ellendale, N.D., who won the long jump and triple jump.
"It is tougher to jump indoors in my opinion," said Hinton, who was hoping for better distances in both of his events. "I should have jumped a couple feet more in both of my jumps."
Hinton, who finished second at state in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump last season, said his triple jump win on Friday was more meaningful.
"I focus more on triple jump," he said. "I spend a lot more time on it."
The only double individual winner in the girls' division was Courtney Bubach of Strasburg, N.D., who won the long jump and triple jump. She was also second in the 55-meter hurdles.
The competition also marked the season debuts for both Aberdeen Roncalli and Aberdeen Christian.
"There's nothing like the beginning of the track season," said Roncalli girls' coach Mark Stone. "We're really excited about just getting going. We have varying levels of where we're at. Some girls have been at it three weeks, some have been at it a week, some have been at it two days."
Roncalli boys' coach Terry Dosch was pleased with what he saw and like Stone, was just happy that his athletes had a chance to compete.
"Like every year, it's always good to be able to get out on the track," Dosch said. "Better than probably pretty much anything we could have done at practice."
Christian running coach Matt Scott was also pleased that his members had a chance to get the season started.
"It is the first meet of the year and it's some of these kids' first meet ever," Scott noted. "It's nice to see how they're doing. It's a good place to start."
Christian field event coach Melodi Boke noted that while it was the first meet of the season, some of her athletes were at or already closing in on personal best performances.
"We had a really good couple of jumps," Boke said. "Then the throwers did good."
Christian now has a week off before hopefully heading outdoors. Roncalli will be back at the Barnett Center again today to compete in the John Huth Invitational.
Participating Teams: Aberdeen Christian, Aberdeen Roncalli, Britton-Hecla, Ellendale, N.D., Estelline, Eureka-Bowdle, Frederick, Great Plains Lutheran, Groton, Ipswich, Miller, Northwestern, Redfield-Doland, South Border, N.D., Standing Rock, N.D., Strasburg, N.D.
|BOYS' DIVISION|
55-Meter Hurdles: 1, Zach Crandall, Britton-Hecla, :08.54; 2, Cassius Pond, Ipswich, :08.91; 3, Sam Reynen, Aberdeen Roncalli, :09.27; 4, Carter Kindle, Miller, :09.40; 5, Mitchell Giovannettone, Great Plains Lutheran, :10.15; 6, Anthony Andera, Aberdeen Roncalli, :10.24.
55-Meter Dash: 1, Matt Konrad, Estelline, :07.08; 2, Ephram Albrecht, Redfield-Doland, :07.10; 3, (tie) Doug Calcari, Standing Rock, :07.11, and Brady Miller, Estelline, :07.11; 5, Sam Van Orman, Aberdeen Roncalli, :07.14; 6 (tie) Brian Sumption, Frederick, :07.15, and Tyler Hansen, Redfield-Doland, :07.15; 8, Nathan Jones, Britton-Hecla, :07.18.
200-Meter Dash: 1, Kendall Scherr, Strasburg, :25.13; 2, Justin Helland, Frederick, :25.41; 3, Matt Konrad, Estelline, :25.54; 4, Ephram Albrecht, Redfield-Doland, :25.56; 5, Doug Calcari, Standing Rock, :25.70; 6, Nick Johnson, Groton, :25.77; 7, (tie) Brady Miller, Estelline, :25.84, and Matt Rohrbach, Aberdeen Christian, :25.84.
400-Meter Dash: 1, Doug Calcari, Standing Rock, :57.68; 2, Evan Carlson, Britton-Hecla, :58.38; 3, Lion Binder, Ipswich, :58.45; 4, Logan Secker, Ipswich, :58.58; 5, Nick Moffenbier, Great Plains Lutheran, :59.06; 6, Kendall Scherr, Strasburg, :59.89; 7, Adam Kappes, Eureka, :59.95; 8, Brayden Thares, Ipswich, 1:00.27.
800-Meter Run: 1, Trevor Ward, Estelline, 2:13.58; 2, Danzan Gilborne, Ipswich, 2:13.58; 3, Tyson Mitzel, Aberdeen Roncalli, 2:15.13; 4, Braden Sommers, Aberdeen Roncalli, 2:15.20; 5, Austin Maag, Aberdeen Roncalli, 2:15.40; 6, Davis Fool Bear, Standing Rock, 2:15.95; 7, Jadrian Guy, Britton-Hecla, 2:16.35; 8, John Noyes, Redfield-Doland, 2:18.72.
1,500-Meter Run: 1, Elijah Strong Heart, Standing Rock, 4:37.55; 2, Tucker Iwerks, Aberdeen Christian, 5:04.05; 3, Brennen Vance, Ellendale, 5:04.79; 4, Mason Breitling, Miller, 5:05.62; 5, Seth Lundeen, Aberdeen Christian, 5:05.92; 6, Dan Albl, Aberdeen Roncalli, 5:13.65; 7, Ethan Maertz, Great Plains Lutheran, 5:20.98; 8, Austin Hanisch, Aberdeen Roncalli, 5:21.05.
3,000-Meter Run: 1, Trevor Ward, Estelline 10:05.19; 2, Brenden Harrison, Standing Rock, 10:39.70; 3, Mason Breitling, Miller, 10:41.72; 4, Dan Albl, Aberdeen Roncalli, 10:55.73; 5, Lane Peterson, Ipswich, 11:02.69; 6, Austin Hanisch, Aberdeen Roncalli, 11:14.00; 7, Ethan Maertz, Great Plains Lutheran, 11:19.71; 8, Matthew Geditz, Ipswich, 11:20.79.
Shot Put: 1, Devin Frohling, Britton-Hecla, 43-9 ; 2, TJ Belmore, Ellendale, 43-5 ; 3, Lane Myer, Ipswich, 41-7; 4, Nathan Palmer, Northwestern, 41-3; 5, Tyler Holm, Groton, 40-8; 6, Brian Vohlken, Estelline, 40-7; 7, Collin Hilzendeger, Aberdeen Roncalli, 39-4; 8, David Murphy, Standing Rock, 37-4.
High Jump: 1, Brian Sumption, Frederick, 6-0; 2, Dallas Goedert, Britton-Hecla, 6-0; 3, Mitchell Giovannettone, Great Plains Lutheran, 5-8; 4, TJ Belmore, Ellendale, 5-8; 5, Job Niewenhuis, Aberdeen Christian, 5-6; 6, (tie) Colton Cox, Aberdeen Roncalli, 5-6, and AJ Andreson, Britton-Hecla, 5-6; 8, Mitch Musel, Aberdeen Roncalli, 5-3 .
Long Jump: 1, Kellemon Hinton, Ellendale, 19-0; 2, Matt Konrad, Estelline, 18-11; 3, Josh Raile, Eureka, 18-6 ; 4, Chad Hay, Aberdeen Roncalli, 18-3 ; 5, Maxx Hausman, Estelline, 18-1; 6, Sam Van Orman, Aberdeen Roncalli, 17-1; 7, Colton Cox, Aberdeen Roncalli, 17-0 ; 8, Daniel Baer, Ipswich, 17-0 .
Triple Jump: 1, Kellemon Hinton, Ellendale, 40-3; 2, Cassius Pond, Ipswich, 38-7; 3, Mitch Musel, Aberdeen Roncalli, 38-3; 4, Dallas Goedert, Britton-Hecla, 37-9 ; 5, Sam Van Orman, Aberdeen Roncalli, 36-4; 6, Drew Sivertsen, Miller, 35-8; 7, Mitchell Giovannettone, Great Plains Lutheran, 35-6 ; 8, Matt Marrirero, Eureka, 35-4 .
Pole Vault: 1, Josh Hanson, Frederick, 10-6; 2, Colton Cox, Aberdeen Roncalli, 10-0; 3, Anthony Andera, Aberdeen Roncalli, 8-11 ; 4, Maxx Hausman, Estelline, 8-6; 5, Nick Moffenbier, Great Plains Lutheran, 8-0; 6, Josh Raile, Eureka, 8-0; 7, Ben Bellefeuille, Aberdeen Roncalli, 7-6; 8, Preston Beyers, Great Plains Lutheran, 6-6.
1,600-Meter Relay: 1, Ipswich (Lion Binder, Brayden Thares, Danzan Gilborne, Logan Secker), 3:54.01; 2, Aberdeen Roncalli, 3:55.69; 3, Frederick, 3:58.76; 4, Standing Rock, 4:01.29; 5, Britton-Hecla, 4:09.32; 6, Britton-Hecla B, 4:09.32; 7, Redfield-Doland, 4:12.06; 8, Ellendale, 4:12.88.
|GIRLS' DIVISION|
55-Meter Hurdles: 1, Emma Steers, Miller, :09.09; 2, Courtney Bubach, Strasburg, :09.48; 3, Hailey Kline, Aberdeen Roncalli, :09.55; 4, Kylie Hawkins, Groton, :09.80; 5, Lindsey Hahler, Aberdeen Roncalli, :10.01; 6, Michaela Schlecht, Great Plains Lutheran, :10.30; 7, Anna Noeldner, Great Plains Lutheran, :10.32; 8, Cheyenne Schaller, Groton, :10.33.
55-Meter Dash: 1, Kassi Jones, Britton-Hecla, :07.69; 2, Megan Stahl, Redfield-Doland, :07.75; 3, Tara Heinz, Ipswich, :07.76; 4, Sierra Stotz, Eureka-Bowdle, :07.82; 5, Angela Heinz, Ipswich, :07.90; 6, Sam Raile, Eureka-Bowdle, :08.00; 7, Courtney Albrecht, Redfield-Doland, :08.03; 8, Leah Wipf, Eureka-Bowdle, :08.12.
200-Meter Dash: 1, Tara Heinz, Ipswich, :28.37; 2, Kassi Jones, Britton-Hecla, :28.42; 3, Sierra Stotz, Eureka-Bowdle, :28.51; 4, Jamie Mentzer, Miller, :28.95; 5, Courtney Albrecht, Redfield-Doland, :29.25; 6, Savannah Dolezal, Estelline, :29.32; 7, Emma Steers, Miller, :29.75; 8, Chandler Ellwein, Frederick, :29.99.
400-Meter Dash: 1, Jamie Mentzer, Miller, 1:04.55; 2, Maci Gauer, Ipswich, 1:06.90; 3, Savannah Dolezal, Estelline, 1:06.93; 4, Chandler Ellwein, Frederick, 1:06.95; 5, Emma Steers, Miller, 1:07.80; 6, Jordan Zeck, Great Plains Lutheran, 1:08.58; 7, Anna Noeldner, Great Plains Lutheran, 1:09.45; 8, Elisabeth Dalke, South Border, 1:11.93.
800-Meter Run: 1, Macy Heinz, Ipswich, 2:22.94 (meet record, old record 2:26.74, Natalie Wipf, James Valley Christian, 2006); 2, Courtney Weber, Eureka-Bowdle, 2:41.12; 3, Bridgett Iron Shield, Standing Rock, 2:42.51; 4, Darby Duncan, Northwestern, 2:47.58; 5, Ashley Fosness, Britton-Hecla, 2:51.90; 6, Sydney Hammrich, Ipswich, 2:56.16; 7, Danielle Brown, Ipswich, 3:01.53; 8, Abby Flanery, Britton-Hecla, 3:03.39.
1,500-Meter Run: 1, Tori Moore, Ipswich, 5:27.03; 2, Jaylee Four Swords, Standing Rock, 5:43.23; 3, Alyssa Maertz, Great Plains Lutheran, 5:49.07; 4, Mataya Harrison, Standing Rock, 6:07.14; 5, Abbi Benning, Estelline, 6:09.03; 6, Kayla Hopfinger, Aberdeen Roncalli, 6:13.57; 7, Regan Lewandowski, Groton, 6:14.20; 8, Katie Schmidt, South Border, 6:16.62.
3,000-Meter Run: 1, Nicolette Schmidt, Redfield-Doland, 11:29.39; 2, Taylor Loken, Ipswich, 11:32.14; 3, Peyton Groft, Northwestern, 11:48.73; 4, Chloe Edgar, Redfield-Doland, 11:48.74; 5, Jasmine Schaller, Groton, 11:52.46; 6, Lillian Smith, South Border, 12:56.20; 7, Morgan Krein, Estelline, 13:21.21; 8, Tasha Keller, Estelline, 15:54.00.
Shot Put: 1, Danielle Waldner, Redfield-Doland, 40-8 (meet record, old record 39-11 , Aubrey Baxter, Redfield, 2004); 2, Shekota Myer, Ipswich, 39-1; 3, Shelby Reed, Estelline, 37-6 ; 4, Jamie Begalka, Estelline, 36-11 ; 5, Madison Kienow, Ipswich, 35-9 ; 6, Katie Hendrickson, Estelline, 33-9 ; 7, Danielle Levtzow, Redfield-Doland, 33-4 ; 8, Isabel Wedell, Ellendale, 31-9 .
High Jump: 1, Alexa Andree, Great Plains Lutheran, 4-6; 2, Laken Olson, Britton-Hecla, 4-6; 3, Jamie Tebben, Redfield-Doland, 4-6; 4, Isabel Wedell, Ellendale, 4-6; 5, Kristi Pond, Ipswich, 4-6; 6, (tie) Elizabeth Anderson, Eureka-Bowdle, 4-2, and Jennifer Mueller, Great Plains Lutheran, 4-2; 8, (tie) Camille Sippel, Groton, 4-2, and Theresa Kolar, Eureka-Bowdle, 4-2.
Long Jump: 1, Courtney Bubach, Strasburg, 14-11 ; 2, Sam Raile, Eureka-Bowdle, 14-8; 3, Mallori Rabenberg, Britton-Hecla, 14-8; 4, Michaela Schlecht, Great Plains Lutheran, 14-4 ; 5, Sierra Stotz, Eureka-Bowdle, 14-3; 6, Tara Heinz, Ipswich, 14-1; 7, Leah Wipf, Eureka-Bowdle, 14-0 ; 8, Shyla Henricks, Britton-Hecla, 13-8 .
Triple Jump: 1, Courtney Bubach, Strasburg, 34-9 ; 2, Mallori Rabenberg, Britton-Hecla, 30-7 ; 3, Sam Raile, Eureka-Bowdle, 29-5 ; 4, Elizabeth Anderson, Eureka-Bowdle, 28-8; 5, Kristi Pond, Ipswich, 28-4; 6, Kennedi Sparling, Northwestern, 28-2 ; 7, Darby Duncan, Northwestern, 28-2 ; 8, Lynae Peterson, Ipswich, 26-8.
Pole Vault: 1, Autumn Pitz, Ipswich, 8-11 ; 2, Kristi Pond, Ipswich, 8-6; 3, Courtney Bubach, Strasburg, 8-0; 4, Elizabeth Bjorklund, Estelline, 7-6; 5, Natalie Gorder, Estelline, 6-6; 6, Michaela Schlecht, Great Plains Lutheran, 6-6; 7, Shanie Hollenbeck, Estelline, 6-0; 8, Sydney Schoon, Great Plains Lutheran, 6-0.
1,600-Meter Relay: 1, Ipswich (Angela Heinz, Maci Gauer, Ansley Sargent, Macy Heinz), 4:23.49; 2, Aberdeen Roncalli, 4:35.91; 3, Great Plains Lutheran, 4:41.43; 4, Eureka-Bowdle, 4:45.77; 5, Groton, 4:49.09; 6, Redfield-Doland, 4:59.92; 7, Redfield-Doland B, 4:59.96; 8, Britton-Hecla, 5:13.02.