Every State Track Meet Leaves Powerful Imprint
Years from now, the memorable performances at the 2011 South Dakota track and field meet will have faded away with time, only recaptured in the performer's own recollection (or that of family members and friends), photo albums, record books, social media and through search engines like Google, Bing and others.
Each new year brings new athletes and fresh accomplishment. So, it is easy for time to create distance and mind block about what we remember from a particular event. Therefore, it is important that we take time to reflect on this past weekend's state track meet, an event that is always exhilarating, exciting, pleasing and heartbreaking, seemingly all at the same time. It has been that way since boys state track competition officially began in 1906 and girls' state track started in 1969.
I give you 10 reflections of the 2011 meet, plus some postscripts about the meet.
#1 Dazzling recovery... Carly Carper was challenging Sioux Falls Washington sprinting phenom Kari Heck at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in early May when the junior from Oldham-Ramona-Rutland High School pulled up with a leg injury. She was carried off the track leaving her, her supporters, and the thousands in attendance at the Dakota Relays in shock.
Turn the clock ahead less than a month later, Carper not only recovered from that injury but was at full strength as she dazzled the massed thousands at the state meet on the same track with a series of memorable performances. She led the ORR team to its second straight team title in the B girls division by winning four events. First, Carper won her fifth straight 100-meter title, which may be a first in South Dakota track history. Then, she proceeded to win the long jump and upset Colman-Egan's sensational sprinter Gina Fritz in the 200-meter dash (25.37). To top it all off, she was part of the ORR record-breaking 4x100 meter relay. The team of Breanna Olson, Kelly Thurow, Mandi Hagemann and Carper cruised in at 49.93, breaking their own 2010 mark of 50.46.
http://madisonet.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1302&dept_id=181986&newsid=20462218&PAG=461&rfi=9
#2 Boom and Flash... Seth Boomsma of Tri-Valley and Sami Galliger of West Central, MVPs of the boys and girls A division respectively, provided a little bit of boom and flash during the state meet. The boom was the power of their sprinting and the flash - well if you turned away for a split second, all you saw was a flash of a trackster whizzing past your section of the stadium.
Boomsma did not lead his team to a team title but his powerful sprinting performance will be long remembered. Boomsma recorded four wins, including gold medals (best performances of all classes at the state meet) in the 100-meter dash (10.7) and 200-meter dash (21.88). Then he powered Tri Valley to victory in the 4x100-meter dash in 43.39, tying the meet record by the 2009 Harrisburg team. He brought the crowd to its feet when he took the baton in the 4x200-meter relay with his team in third place, reversing the order and bringing home the title with a surge of sprinting power that left those in attendance murmuring about the flash from Tri-Valley. Boomsma and Tri Valley won the event in 1:30.46, nipping Dakota Valley (1:30.59) at the tape.
Galliger won the 100 (12.58), 200 (25.65) and anchored West Central 4x100 (50.03) and 4x200 meter (1:46.05) relay squads to titles. Galliger's "flashy" efforts were part of a team championship effort. Galliger told the Argus Leader that "we've been hoping for this since I was in the seventh grade." Mission accomplished.
#3. What the Heck... Kari Heck of Sioux Falls Washington won the MVP of the Class AA girls meet for the second straight year after capturing four events in AA. She joined Jasmyne King of Rapid City Central as the only athletes to win four Gold Medals in a single meet. Heck, who like Carper is just a junior, handily won the 100 (12.27), 200 (24.86), 400 (55.93) and long jump (18'7.25), recording the top performance in all classes in all four events. Her 400-meter clocking was the fifth-best time ever run by a South Dakota female prep performer. The long jump ranks seventh best all-time while her 200-meter time was six hundreds of a second away from the all-time top-10 list. Heck is ranked in the state's top 10 all-time in the long jump, 100, 200 and 400. She is listed 11 times in the respective all-time individual or relays list. Despite her efforts, Sioux Falls Washington girls team fell short of a team title as they couldn't match the deep and talented Rapid City Stevens team, which won their 18th team title and 15th in the past 16 years.
http://www.argusleader.com/print/article/20110529/SPORTS01/105290326/Class-AA-Track-Warrior-pride
#4 Recalling tradition. The performance of the Sioux Falls Washington boys was historical and it helped the state's most decorated high school sports program recapture a little track glory. Coached by former Elkton and South Dakota State University standout Everett Gebhart, the Washington boys won a team title for the first time since 1988 and captured the school's 32nd team crown overall. Washington, which won five of the first nine meets ever held (one class), won just two events -- Alex Waddell in the 400-meter dash and Chris Parker in the high jump -- but used its deep squad to build points and easily win the title over co-favorite Watertown, 111.5 points to 97.5. After finishing second two years ago and third last season, Washington became the first Sioux Falls team since Lincoln in 1989 to win a title outright. Sioux Falls Roosevelt boosters will remember they finished tied for the title in 2000. Gebhart's teams also captured the combined team crown (boys first, girls, second).
#5 Flying Steel... Throwers threw their way in the meet's legacy of excellence. In the shot put, records in both the boys and girls fell during the two-day state meet. USD-bound Kyle McKelvey of Beresford High (http://www.ksfy.com/story/14737301/beresfords-mckelvey-hopes-to-break-own-state-record?clienttype=printable), who is ranked third in the nation with a throw of 69'3 (Howard Wood Dakota Relays), unleashed a 67'10 effort to set a Class A record. As a result, McKelvey now owns four of the top seven shot put throws ever in South Dakota history. He has broken 60 feet at least 10 times, unprecedented in the state. On the girls side, McKenzie Johnson of Rapid City Central had a record-setting AA throw of 45'02, which ranks seventh all-time in South Dakota and 42nd nationally.
#6 Triple Double... Connnor Anderson of Rosholt/Fairmont, N.D., left an unforgettable legacy in the hurdles by pulling off track's own version of a triple double. For the third straight year, she won both hurdles events. She captured the 100-meter hurdles in 14.96 and the 300-meter hurdles in 49.26. Yet frustrating for her was Rosholt-Fairmont's team title hopes, which again ended in bridesmaid category, as they finished second for the fourth straight year.
#7 Freshman sensation... Alexis Gannon of Brookings jolted the meet crowd when the freshman unleashed an all-time South Dakota best in the girl's triple jump with her 39'5.75 in the triple jump. The performance broke the mark of Alicia Heiser of Aberdeen Central of 38'10.75 in 1999.
#8 Battlers battle... When the Gettysburg Battlers B boys track team won the 4x400 meter relay, rallying to defeat team champion Canistota, there was a loud cheer of approval from the Battler section in Wood Stadium. While sports historians won't regard this moment as especially memorable - no record just a routine victory - it was significant for the Battlers. With the relay win, Gettysburg moved from sixth place to fourth place in the team title race and won a trophy. Canistota, which finished second to Gettysburg in the 4x400-meter relay lost that battle but won the war, earning its third team title to go with the state football crown won last fall.
Back to Gettysburg...Those who remember the great Battler track and field teams of the 1970s and early 1980s, will recall that the 4x400-meter relay was its bread and butter event. The 2011 squad, which had a 3:32.13 clocking, recaptured that Battler legacy. They also won the same event at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays. Gettysburg, which also claimed the 4x800-meter relay title and was third in the 4x200-meter relay, recorded perhaps its third-best finish (1976, third; 1978, tied for first) ever.During the two-day meet, as I watched this current Battlers (Austin Lake, Blaine Schmidt, Connor McPeck, and others) do work, I swear I saw the track ghosts of all-time Battler greats like Ron Schneider, David Langslet, Pat Simon, John Lomheim and others in the school's defining red and white gear.
#9 Sharing honors... Distance standout Tony Smoragiewicz of Rapid City Central (http://insidedakotasports.com/tony-smoragiewicz) did not set records but the junior continued to build a track resume as one of the state's all-time greats. He led the Central boys to a fourth-place finish by winning the 1600-meters (4:17.86) and the 3200-meters (9:35.07) while finishing third in the 800-meters and running on the sprint medley relay that finished seventh. We must not forget that he had earlier this year opened eyes by cracking nine minutes in the 3,200 meter run with an 8:57 clocking. As a result, he is just one of two runners in state history (Eric Grumstrup, 2001) to break the nine-minute barrier. As for the state meet, Smoragiewicz shared MVP honors with Pierre's hurdling sensation and NDSU recruit Parker McKittrick.
One of the perhaps little known but remarkable state meet notes is that McKittrick and two former Pierre hurdle standouts are tied for the best clocking in the 110-meter hurdles ever. Along with Matt Tetzlaff (2007) and Mark Larscheid (1969), McKittrick has clocked 14.10 in the event. At this meet, McKittrick won both hurdle races, finished third in the 200-meters and sixth in the 100-meters. McKittrick's win in the 300-meter hurdles will go down in state track meet history as memorable. While he won the event, Justin Greenway of Mitchell, who had tied the all-time best with a 37.89 clocking at Howard Wood Relays, seemed to edge McKittrick for first in the hurdle event. However Greenway, a cousin of NFL star Chad Greenway, clipped a hurdle in an opponent's lane forcing disqualification and giving McKittrick the win. McKittrick clocked a 38.24 in the 300-meter hurdles, breaking the record of Matt Merritt of Sioux Falls O'Gorman in 1995 of 38.60. He also won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.28, which is one-hundredth of a second from ranking in the top 10 all-time (14.27).
Doubling Up. Jeff O'Connell of Philip, S.D., helped lead his team to a team title, its first ever, in 2010, but that wasn't the case in 2011. Despite winning three individual events, he couldn't help them bring home a second straight crown. Philip finished second despite O'Connell winning the long jump and triple jump for the second straight year and the USD-bound senior winning the 400-meter dash in 50.07.
Postscripts
I can't help but appreciate the passion and effort of the scores of volunteers at the State Meet. They come out and give hours and hours of their time to make sure that timing systems, starting races, running field events and everything comprising a state meet goes off without a hitch. They don't get a lot of kudos, OK, maybe a public announcement, but they deserve a big congrats from all of us. To Mark Meile, Linda Hengeveld and all of the volunteers, bravo.
Announcers Greg Merrigan and Michael Holt are two professionals, who don't always receive kudos for their outstanding work, but should. They help make the state meet special, adding voice to the athlete's accomplishments. They provide attention to detail and enthusiastic zeal in their voices that captivates those in attendance. It is an art and one that deserves a forum, even if it just a blog. These two guys do a yeoman's job as announcers, putting in extra time to help honor these athletes and teams. While speaking about artists in action, I would be remiss if I didn't mention another valuable volunteer, Kevin Brady (and others in the scoreboard booth), who coordinated video replays and results on the new Daktronics video board, sponsored by Sanford.
Here is a Watering Hole cheer to you.
Each new year brings new athletes and fresh accomplishment. So, it is easy for time to create distance and mind block about what we remember from a particular event. Therefore, it is important that we take time to reflect on this past weekend's state track meet, an event that is always exhilarating, exciting, pleasing and heartbreaking, seemingly all at the same time. It has been that way since boys state track competition officially began in 1906 and girls' state track started in 1969.
I give you 10 reflections of the 2011 meet, plus some postscripts about the meet.
#1 Dazzling recovery... Carly Carper was challenging Sioux Falls Washington sprinting phenom Kari Heck at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in early May when the junior from Oldham-Ramona-Rutland High School pulled up with a leg injury. She was carried off the track leaving her, her supporters, and the thousands in attendance at the Dakota Relays in shock.
Turn the clock ahead less than a month later, Carper not only recovered from that injury but was at full strength as she dazzled the massed thousands at the state meet on the same track with a series of memorable performances. She led the ORR team to its second straight team title in the B girls division by winning four events. First, Carper won her fifth straight 100-meter title, which may be a first in South Dakota track history. Then, she proceeded to win the long jump and upset Colman-Egan's sensational sprinter Gina Fritz in the 200-meter dash (25.37). To top it all off, she was part of the ORR record-breaking 4x100 meter relay. The team of Breanna Olson, Kelly Thurow, Mandi Hagemann and Carper cruised in at 49.93, breaking their own 2010 mark of 50.46.
http://madisonet.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1302&dept_id=181986&newsid=20462218&PAG=461&rfi=9
#2 Boom and Flash... Seth Boomsma of Tri-Valley and Sami Galliger of West Central, MVPs of the boys and girls A division respectively, provided a little bit of boom and flash during the state meet. The boom was the power of their sprinting and the flash - well if you turned away for a split second, all you saw was a flash of a trackster whizzing past your section of the stadium.
Boomsma did not lead his team to a team title but his powerful sprinting performance will be long remembered. Boomsma recorded four wins, including gold medals (best performances of all classes at the state meet) in the 100-meter dash (10.7) and 200-meter dash (21.88). Then he powered Tri Valley to victory in the 4x100-meter dash in 43.39, tying the meet record by the 2009 Harrisburg team. He brought the crowd to its feet when he took the baton in the 4x200-meter relay with his team in third place, reversing the order and bringing home the title with a surge of sprinting power that left those in attendance murmuring about the flash from Tri-Valley. Boomsma and Tri Valley won the event in 1:30.46, nipping Dakota Valley (1:30.59) at the tape.
Galliger won the 100 (12.58), 200 (25.65) and anchored West Central 4x100 (50.03) and 4x200 meter (1:46.05) relay squads to titles. Galliger's "flashy" efforts were part of a team championship effort. Galliger told the Argus Leader that "we've been hoping for this since I was in the seventh grade." Mission accomplished.
#3. What the Heck... Kari Heck of Sioux Falls Washington won the MVP of the Class AA girls meet for the second straight year after capturing four events in AA. She joined Jasmyne King of Rapid City Central as the only athletes to win four Gold Medals in a single meet. Heck, who like Carper is just a junior, handily won the 100 (12.27), 200 (24.86), 400 (55.93) and long jump (18'7.25), recording the top performance in all classes in all four events. Her 400-meter clocking was the fifth-best time ever run by a South Dakota female prep performer. The long jump ranks seventh best all-time while her 200-meter time was six hundreds of a second away from the all-time top-10 list. Heck is ranked in the state's top 10 all-time in the long jump, 100, 200 and 400. She is listed 11 times in the respective all-time individual or relays list. Despite her efforts, Sioux Falls Washington girls team fell short of a team title as they couldn't match the deep and talented Rapid City Stevens team, which won their 18th team title and 15th in the past 16 years.
http://www.argusleader.com/print/article/20110529/SPORTS01/105290326/Class-AA-Track-Warrior-pride
#4 Recalling tradition. The performance of the Sioux Falls Washington boys was historical and it helped the state's most decorated high school sports program recapture a little track glory. Coached by former Elkton and South Dakota State University standout Everett Gebhart, the Washington boys won a team title for the first time since 1988 and captured the school's 32nd team crown overall. Washington, which won five of the first nine meets ever held (one class), won just two events -- Alex Waddell in the 400-meter dash and Chris Parker in the high jump -- but used its deep squad to build points and easily win the title over co-favorite Watertown, 111.5 points to 97.5. After finishing second two years ago and third last season, Washington became the first Sioux Falls team since Lincoln in 1989 to win a title outright. Sioux Falls Roosevelt boosters will remember they finished tied for the title in 2000. Gebhart's teams also captured the combined team crown (boys first, girls, second).
#5 Flying Steel... Throwers threw their way in the meet's legacy of excellence. In the shot put, records in both the boys and girls fell during the two-day state meet. USD-bound Kyle McKelvey of Beresford High (http://www.ksfy.com/story/14737301/beresfords-mckelvey-hopes-to-break-own-state-record?clienttype=printable), who is ranked third in the nation with a throw of 69'3 (Howard Wood Dakota Relays), unleashed a 67'10 effort to set a Class A record. As a result, McKelvey now owns four of the top seven shot put throws ever in South Dakota history. He has broken 60 feet at least 10 times, unprecedented in the state. On the girls side, McKenzie Johnson of Rapid City Central had a record-setting AA throw of 45'02, which ranks seventh all-time in South Dakota and 42nd nationally.
#6 Triple Double... Connnor Anderson of Rosholt/Fairmont, N.D., left an unforgettable legacy in the hurdles by pulling off track's own version of a triple double. For the third straight year, she won both hurdles events. She captured the 100-meter hurdles in 14.96 and the 300-meter hurdles in 49.26. Yet frustrating for her was Rosholt-Fairmont's team title hopes, which again ended in bridesmaid category, as they finished second for the fourth straight year.
#7 Freshman sensation... Alexis Gannon of Brookings jolted the meet crowd when the freshman unleashed an all-time South Dakota best in the girl's triple jump with her 39'5.75 in the triple jump. The performance broke the mark of Alicia Heiser of Aberdeen Central of 38'10.75 in 1999.
#8 Battlers battle... When the Gettysburg Battlers B boys track team won the 4x400 meter relay, rallying to defeat team champion Canistota, there was a loud cheer of approval from the Battler section in Wood Stadium. While sports historians won't regard this moment as especially memorable - no record just a routine victory - it was significant for the Battlers. With the relay win, Gettysburg moved from sixth place to fourth place in the team title race and won a trophy. Canistota, which finished second to Gettysburg in the 4x400-meter relay lost that battle but won the war, earning its third team title to go with the state football crown won last fall.
Back to Gettysburg...Those who remember the great Battler track and field teams of the 1970s and early 1980s, will recall that the 4x400-meter relay was its bread and butter event. The 2011 squad, which had a 3:32.13 clocking, recaptured that Battler legacy. They also won the same event at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays. Gettysburg, which also claimed the 4x800-meter relay title and was third in the 4x200-meter relay, recorded perhaps its third-best finish (1976, third; 1978, tied for first) ever.During the two-day meet, as I watched this current Battlers (Austin Lake, Blaine Schmidt, Connor McPeck, and others) do work, I swear I saw the track ghosts of all-time Battler greats like Ron Schneider, David Langslet, Pat Simon, John Lomheim and others in the school's defining red and white gear.
#9 Sharing honors... Distance standout Tony Smoragiewicz of Rapid City Central (http://insidedakotasports.com/tony-smoragiewicz) did not set records but the junior continued to build a track resume as one of the state's all-time greats. He led the Central boys to a fourth-place finish by winning the 1600-meters (4:17.86) and the 3200-meters (9:35.07) while finishing third in the 800-meters and running on the sprint medley relay that finished seventh. We must not forget that he had earlier this year opened eyes by cracking nine minutes in the 3,200 meter run with an 8:57 clocking. As a result, he is just one of two runners in state history (Eric Grumstrup, 2001) to break the nine-minute barrier. As for the state meet, Smoragiewicz shared MVP honors with Pierre's hurdling sensation and NDSU recruit Parker McKittrick.
One of the perhaps little known but remarkable state meet notes is that McKittrick and two former Pierre hurdle standouts are tied for the best clocking in the 110-meter hurdles ever. Along with Matt Tetzlaff (2007) and Mark Larscheid (1969), McKittrick has clocked 14.10 in the event. At this meet, McKittrick won both hurdle races, finished third in the 200-meters and sixth in the 100-meters. McKittrick's win in the 300-meter hurdles will go down in state track meet history as memorable. While he won the event, Justin Greenway of Mitchell, who had tied the all-time best with a 37.89 clocking at Howard Wood Relays, seemed to edge McKittrick for first in the hurdle event. However Greenway, a cousin of NFL star Chad Greenway, clipped a hurdle in an opponent's lane forcing disqualification and giving McKittrick the win. McKittrick clocked a 38.24 in the 300-meter hurdles, breaking the record of Matt Merritt of Sioux Falls O'Gorman in 1995 of 38.60. He also won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.28, which is one-hundredth of a second from ranking in the top 10 all-time (14.27).
Doubling Up. Jeff O'Connell of Philip, S.D., helped lead his team to a team title, its first ever, in 2010, but that wasn't the case in 2011. Despite winning three individual events, he couldn't help them bring home a second straight crown. Philip finished second despite O'Connell winning the long jump and triple jump for the second straight year and the USD-bound senior winning the 400-meter dash in 50.07.
Postscripts
I can't help but appreciate the passion and effort of the scores of volunteers at the State Meet. They come out and give hours and hours of their time to make sure that timing systems, starting races, running field events and everything comprising a state meet goes off without a hitch. They don't get a lot of kudos, OK, maybe a public announcement, but they deserve a big congrats from all of us. To Mark Meile, Linda Hengeveld and all of the volunteers, bravo.
Announcers Greg Merrigan and Michael Holt are two professionals, who don't always receive kudos for their outstanding work, but should. They help make the state meet special, adding voice to the athlete's accomplishments. They provide attention to detail and enthusiastic zeal in their voices that captivates those in attendance. It is an art and one that deserves a forum, even if it just a blog. These two guys do a yeoman's job as announcers, putting in extra time to help honor these athletes and teams. While speaking about artists in action, I would be remiss if I didn't mention another valuable volunteer, Kevin Brady (and others in the scoreboard booth), who coordinated video replays and results on the new Daktronics video board, sponsored by Sanford.
Here is a Watering Hole cheer to you.
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