This past Friday and Saturday, May 28 and 29, the Class A State Track and Field meet was held in Spearfish. Wagner brought 18 athletes to compete in 16 individual events and relays. Nestled into the Black Hills, Lyle Hare Stadium on the campus of Black Hills State University is one of the best venues in the state, in my opinion. The weather cooperated as well with mild temps and minimal wind. The stage was then set for our athletes to attempt to set some personal bests with the hopes of getting on the medal stand and scoring some points for the Red Raiders.

The boys 4x800 meter relay team was the first event of the day. This team was comprised of Simon Freier, Riley Roberts, Henry Hayward and Toby Zephier. They came into the meet with the 14th best time of 8:51.86. This put them in the second of three heats of the race. Freier got us out to a good start clocking in with a 2:09 which was his best split of the year. Roberts then took the baton and ran his best time of the year in 2:10. Hayward would keep things going strong as he would also run a 2:10, his best time thus far. Zephier, not to be outdone, would also run his best time of the year. When he snatched the baton, Hayward Wagner was sitting in 4th place. But by the end of the first lap he had us in first place and that was where he would remain. He would end up running a 2:04 split. Wagner would finish with a time of 8:34.99, almost 17 seconds faster than their seed time.

The only thing left to do was to sit back and watch the top eight teams compete and see where we would fall. Thankfully, Wagner’s time was good enough to beat out three of those teams to earn them sixth place medals.

Later in the day Wagner had six athletes competing in three different field events. Jaden Peters, Chris Nelson and Alcista Dion in the pole vault. Malcolm Janis in the triple jump, and Ashlyn Koupal and Kya Kjeldgaard in the high jump.

Kya has worked hard at this event all year and she definitely deserved to be a competitor at the state meet. Opening height was set at 4’8” and her PR was 4’9”. Despite her best efforts Kya was unable to clear that opening height this year. I look for her to come back next year as she is a determined young lady who is not afraid of hard work.

Koupal was sitting with the third best jump of the year at 5’2”. The two girls ahead of her both had gone 5’4”. Opening height was set at 4’8”, a height Ashlyn cleared with ease. As well as 4’10”. And 5’0”. And 5’2”. And then they were down to three jumpers, so the bar was raised to 5’3”. This would be a new PR for Koupal and once again she soared over it on her first attempt. It was clear she was thriving on the competition the state meet provided. One of the other girls dropped out at that height which left two to compete at 5’4”. For the sixth height in a row, Ashlyn cleared on her first attempt.

One had to wonder if the ease with which she was clearing these heights wasn’t getting into the heads of her opponents. The other competitor missed on her first two attempts at the height. Then came her final attempt to see if they would both be competing at 5’5” or if Koupal would be champion. All watched in anticipation as the jumper ascended but clipped the bar on her way down. And that was that. A kid that started the sport two short months ago was now atop the podium, champion of Class A.

Malcolm Janis came into the triple jump with the sixth best jump of the year at 42’ 9 ½”. His best jump of the premlims was 41’8 ½”. This had him sitting in fourth place heading into the finals. Unfortunately, Malcolm was unable to improve that mark in the finals while two kids below him improved on theirs. This left Janis as the 6th best triple jumper in Class A. He did a tremendous job all season long competing in this event.

That left the pole vault. Flying a bit under the radar in this event this year was Chris Nelson. Like Koupal in the high jump, this was a new event for Chris this year. The vault is not an event for everyone. You need to have some speed, some strength, a strong mental makeup, and some fearlessness. If you know Chris at all you know he has some of all of those traits. Particularly the last one. Coming into the event he was tied for sixth place with five other athletes at 11’6”. Starting height for the vault was 10’6”. Chris would clear the first three heights on his first attempt, including his final height cleared which was 11’6”. Now there were six boys who cleared the height of 11’6”, but because Chris had fewer misses at that height as well as the lower heights, he was able to place the highest of any of them and earn fifth place. So after a mere two plus months of practice, Nelson would earn a place on the podium.

Then it was time for Peters. Some may have considered it a foregone conclusion that Peters would claim the championship here beings he had set the state record previously this year as well as topping competitors from all classes at Howard Wood, but one never knows with this event. He was, however, just as consistent as he’s been all year and would leave no doubt as he cleared his first attempt at 13’6” which was enough to earn him the state title. He then went on to clear at the next three heights setting a new Class A state meet record at 15’6”. He then tried to set the overall state meet record by setting the bar to 16’ ½”. It wasn’t meant to be, though, as he came up short on all three tries. It has been quite the experience and a joy watching him vault this past year as one doesn’t get to see state records set very often. He’s had an outstanding vaulting career and it was great to see him set one last record and go out on a high note.

Alcista also made the state meet in the pole vault. Opening height was set a 7’9”, which was her highest vault of the year. Unfortunately, she was unable to make that height in Spearfish.

Elizabeth Woods came in with the ninth best time in the 100-meter hurdles and sixth best in the 300-meter hurdles. She has been a wonderful addition to the girl’s team this year. She’s always willing to do whatever is asked of her to help the team, namely filling in on relays when needed. Always with a positive attitude. She was consistent with improving her times as the season progressed. However, it just wasn’t to be at this meet for her as she ended up 11th overall in the 100s with a time of 16.84 and she just missed the podium in the 300s with a time of 49.31, finishing ninth.

There were three relays qualified for the girls. The 4x200 meter relay team of Abby Brunsing, Brooke Knoll, Elizabeth Woods, and Shalayne Nagel ran their best time by three seconds crossing the line in 1:50.85 seconds. This was the 13th best time in Class A. The same quartet ran in the 4x100 meter relay and again ran their best time of the year with a time of 52.29, but again it wasn’t the time they needed to make the podium and again they finished in 13th place.

Abby Brunsing, Shalayne Nagel, Brooke Knoll, and Alcista Dion ran the medley relay on Saturday and finished with a time of 4:42.78, 21st overall.

Toby Zephier entered the 400-meter dash hoping to finish among the top eight as he came into the event sitting ninth overall. Even though he ran his best time of the year, he was still unable to place as he finished 11th with a time of 52.23 seconds.

Malcolm Janis entered the 200-meter dash at the state meet and he was among many of our athletes to run their best time of the year here. He crossed the finish line in 23.31 seconds, good enough for 14th place.

The boys qualified their 4x400 meter relay and finished with a time of 3:41.58, 19th overall. This team consisted of Simon Freier, Riley Roberts, Lael Young, and Toby Zephier. Matt Link, Toby Zephier, Chris Nelson, and Malcolm Janis were to run the 4x100 meter relay, but for these boys a jump of the gun ended that race before it began.

I believe the state meet was a microcosm of our season. There were certainly some great moments as we had two state champions. There were also some disappointments as not everyone was able to reach their goals. It was very encouraging to see our athletes out there giving it all they had. No matter the time, height, distance, or place, the effort was always there with these kids.