Athletes stand out at indoor meet

On a day that featured hundreds of athletes and countless spectators, a few athletes still managed to stand out from the rest.

Whether bearing down in a jumping event and finding another gear on the track, winners found a way to top the competition during the NSU Wolves Invitational indoor track and field meet at the Barnett Center on Friday.

Angela Heinz of Ipswich won three events on the day, capturing the 55-meter and 200-meter dashes and running on the winning 1,600-meter relay squad.

“The 4x4 meant the most to me,” Heinz said of her three victories, “because I got to spend it with my girls. It was just amazing running with them.”

Heinz had her hands full in the 200 and just edged Morgan Merritt of Canby, Minn., at the finish. Merritt was in search of her third win after claiming the 55-meter hurdles and long jump.

“You have to work hard,” Heinz said, “and if you want it bad enough, you can get it.”

Ephram Albrecht of Redfield-Doland won the boys’ 200, but in a much different fashion than Heinz. The junior was not even in the fastest heat. Instead he ran way out in front by himself and still managed to clock the fastest time in the event.

“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t even know which heat was the fastest or the slowest,” Albrecht said. “In conditions like that, you just have to go and race yourself. That’s what you do.”

Earlier in the day, Albrecht also won the 55-meter dash.

When asked about all of the other athletes and spectators being so close to the track, Albrecht said it didn’t phase him in the least.

“The only difference for me is the length of the track,” he said. “Otherwise, the people that sit by the side, they’ll get out of the way. They know better.”

Wyatt Becker of Faulkton was also a double winner, but he did his work next to the track in the jumping pit. The senior won both the long jump and the triple jump.

“It’s been a good day,” Becker said following the dual wins.

He said jumping is more than just running fast down a runway.

“You have to have hops,” Becker said. “You have to get up there.”

Becker said one thing goes through his mind as he takes off: “Shoot for the moon.”

When asked if he ever hit it, Becker responded, “Not yet. Someday.”

Cole Sargent of Miller was out of this world in winning two distance races. The freshman outdueled Tucker Iwerks of Aberdeen Christian to win the 1,600-meter run, before later adding the 3,200-meter run in impressive fashion.

“I had no idea where I’d be,” Sargent said, about heading into the meet. “I just kind of came out and did what I knew I could do.”

While Sargent was pleased with his day, he thinks he could improve once he heads outside.

“I think I’d probably be faster on an outdoor track with all the laps I had to run today, all the turns,” he said.

Nicolette Schmidt did not seem to mind the twists and turns on Friday. The distance ace from Redfield-Doland trailed Taylor Loken of Ipswich for 19 laps before turning on the afterburners to win by 17 seconds in the 3,200-meter run.

“I just really wanted to win it,” Schmidt said. “She was running a really strong race, so I just stuck with her and gave what I had left.”

Schmidt, who later came back to run a strong leg on her team’s 1,600-meter relay, said the 20-lap 3,200-meter run does seem a bit unending.

“I had one of my teammates counting for me, so she said every time I went by how many I had left,” Schmidt said, “but in the middle of it, it starts to seem like a ride you’re never going to get off.”

Other double winners on the day included Macy Heinz of Ipswich in the 800-meter and 1,600-meter runs, and Meghan Travis of Canby in the high jump and the triple jump.

Coaches of Aberdeen teams were pleased with what they saw during the meet.

Aberdeen Christian coach Matt Scott pointed out the performance of Iwerks in the 1,600.

“He improved again,” Scott said. “That was a very close race. That Sargent kid is very tough, but it’s nice to see (Tucker) going head-to-head like that.”

The Knights will now head to Gettysburg for a meet one week from today.

Aberdeen Roncalli received a pair of wins on the day, one from Colton Cox in the pole vault and another from Elise Cardella in the triple jump.

“I think we’re making some progress,” said Roncalli boys’ coach Terry Dosch. “Some of our progress was that we had more kids competing this week than we had last week.”

While the meet had numerous heats and flights, Dosch was pleased that it allowed more and more kids an opportunity to compete.

“That’s really a huge thing for today,” he said.

Roncalli girls’ coach Mark Stone also saw improvement in his squad.

“We’ve made a lot of progress: some in the numbers and some in the tape,” Stone said. “There’s a lot of ways you can measure that.”

Stone said the Cavaliers, who head to Mobridge for a meet April 10, are making strides. He said success is more than just winning an event or two.

“I would say anybody who competed a little harder and performed a little better than last time, that’s how we measure it today,” Stone said. “I see a lot of evidence of that on the paper.”

Follow @DaveVilhauer on Twitter.

Girls’ Division

55-Meter Dash: 1, Angela Heinz, Ipswich, :07.77; 2, Megan Stahl, Redfield-Doland, :07.78; 3, Tara Heinz, Ipswich, :07.96; 4, Leah Wipf, Eureka-Bowdle, :08.04; 5, Angela Lendt, Great Plains Lutheran, :08.09; 6, Alex Wolkow, De Smet, :08.18; 7, Annie Christenson, Britton-Hecla, :08.21; 8, Brooke Skoglund, Britton-Hecla, :08.29.

200-Meter Dash: 1, Angela Heinz, Ipswich, :28.34; 2, Morgan Merritt, Canby, :28.54; 3, Tara Heinz, Ipswich, :29.53; 4, Erin Comes, Waverly-South Shore, :29.57; 5, Megan Stahl, Redfield-Doland, :29.89; 6, Leah Wipf, Eureka-Bowdle, :30.10; 7, Meghan Travis, Canby, :30.23; 8, McKenzie Menzia, Groton, :30.30.

400-Meter Dash: 1, Maci Gauer, Ipswich, 1:06.83; 2, Leah Wipf, Eureka-Bowdle, 1:07.04; 3, Kelsey Lee, Faulkton, 1:07.56; 4, Kalli Jelen, Canby, 1:07.75; 5, Leah Jessen, Canby, 1:07.89; 6, Courtney Bladow, Warner, 1:08.04; 7, Leannah Tekrony, Estelline, 1:08.46; 8, Hannah Moffenbier, Great Plains Lutheran, 1:09.10.

800-Meter Run: 1, Macy Heinz, Ipswich, 2:22.88; 2, Erica Carrels, Aberdeen Roncalli, 2:35.36; 3, Emily Gillingham, Canby, 2:41.76; 4, Charlie Bailey, Standing Rock, 2:42.37; 5, Josie Olsen, Hendricks, 2:44.46; 6, Hannah Moffenbier, Great Plains Lutheran, 2:44.87; 7, Kate Gillette, Redfield-Doland, 2:46.03; 8, Michaela Podoll, Leola-Frederick, 2:52.56.

1,600-Meter Run: 1, Macy Heinz, Ipswich, 5:25.51; 2, Tori Moore, Ipswich, 5:42.14; 3, Charlie Bailey, Standing Rock, 5:57.94; 4, Josie Olsen, Hendricks, 6:00.18; 5, Isabel Litzen, Aberdeen Roncalli, 6:02.97; 6, Abbi Benning, Estelline, 6:06.66; 7, Shamra Garrett, Dupree, 6:09.99; 8, Samantha Dowling, James Valley Christian, 6:15.21.

3,200-Meter Run: 1, Nicolette Schmidt, Redfield-Doland, 12:17.39; 2, Taylor Loken, Ipswich, 12:24.26; 3, Leah Jessen, Canby, 12:56.13; 4, Aleah Steger, Ipswich, 13:11.65; 5, Isabel Litzen, Aberdeen Roncalli, 13:16.87; 6, Molly Skovlund, James Valley Christian, 13:18.28; 7, Amanda Gehm, De Smet, 14:14.54; 8, Morgan Aughenbaugh, James Valley Christian, 15:46.65.

55-Meter Hurdles: 1, Morgan Merritt, Canby; :09.18; 2, Kelsey Lee, Faulkton, :09.27; 3, Brooke Skoglund, Britton-Hecla, :09.40; 4, Trissa Nelson, Warner, :09.66; 5, Alex Wolkow, De Smet, :09.76; 6, Kelsey Poppen, De Smet, :09.80; 7, Audrey Wanner, Groton, :10.01; 8, Josie Doeden, Groton, :10.10.

1,600-Meter Relay: 1, Ipswich (Maci Gauer, Angela Heinz, Autumn Pitz, Macy Heinz), 4:26.88; 2, Canby, 4:42.14; 3, Aberdeen Roncalli, 4:43.64; 4, Redfield-Doland, 4:47.08; 5, Warner, 4:49.48; 6, James Valley Christian, 4:53.46; 7, Groton, 4:53.98; 8, Aberdeen Roncalli, 4:55.24.

Sprint Medley Relay: 1, Redfield-Doland (Megan Stahl, Autumn Turck, Claire Gillette, Rylie Gall), 3:46.71; 2, Canby, 3:47.43; 3, Aberdeen Roncalli, 3:50.13; 4, Great Plains Lutheran, 3:53.37; 5, Estelline, 3:54.79; 6, Canby, 3:56.63; 7, Aberdeen Roncalli, 3:56.63; 8, Ipswich, 3:57.07. 

High Jump: 1, Meghan Travis, Canby, 4-9; 2, Kayli Buchholz, De Smet, 4-9; 3, Kristi Pond, Ipswich, 4-9; 4, Gia Gengerke, Groton, 4-7; 5, Kelsey Poppen, De Smet, 4-7; 5, Shannon Poppen, De Smet, 4-7; 7, Aspen Comes, Waverly-South Shore, 4-5; 7, Jordon Peterson, Northewstern, 4-5.

Long Jump: 1, Morgan Merritt, Canby, 16-4 1/2; 2, Sam Raile, Eureka-Bowdle, 15-9 3/4; 3, Elise Cardella, Aberdeen Roncalli, 14-11 1/4; 4, Shyla Henricks, Britton-Hecla, 14-8 3/4; 5, Tierra Decker, James Valley Christian, 14-8 3/4; 6, Erin Barrie, Hitchcock-Tulare, 14-7; 7, Kylie Carpenter, Waverly-South Shore, 14-6 1/2; 8, Addison Sparling, Northwestern, 14-3 3/4.

Triple Jump: 1, Elise Cardella, Aberdeen Roncalli, 33-1; 2, Kelsey Poppen, De Smet, 32-2 3/4; 3, Addison Sparling, Northwestern, 31-1; 4, Tierra Decker, James Valley Christian, 30-11 1/4; 5, Amber Schuster, Canby, 30-5; 6, Peyton Ellingson, Warner, 30-4 1/4; 7, Destiny Naasz, Warner, 30-3 1/2; 8, Kylie Carpenter, Waverly-South Shore, 30-1.

Shot Put: 1, Maria Huntimer, De Smet, 38-1 1/4; 2, Jamie Begalka, Estelline, 37-10; 3, Alysha O’Connell, Dupree, 37-5 3/4; 4, Jamie Tebben, Redfield-Doland, 35-8 3/4; 5, Katie Hendrickson, Estelline, 35-0 1/4; 6, Miranda Ristau, Warner, 34-11; 7, Christy Renner, Aberdeen Roncalli, 34-2; 8, McKenzie Bierman, Warner, 31-11 1/2.

Pole Vault: 1, Kristi Pond, Ipswich, 9-0 3/4; 1, Autumn Pitz, Ipswich, 9-0 3/4; 3, Elizabeth Bjorklund, Estelline, 7-6; 4, Christy Renner, Aberdeen Roncalli, 7-0 1/4; 4, Meghan Travis, Canby, 7-0 1/4; 4, Natalie Gorder, Estelline, 7-0 1/4; 7, Elise Cardella, Aberdeen Roncalli, 6-6; 7, Jessica Grosz, Waverly-South Shore, 6-6; 7, Shanie Hollenbeck, Estelline, 6-6.

Boys’ Division

55-Meter Dash: 1, Ephram Albrecht, Redfield-Doland, :06.92; 2, Cole Baloun, Faulkton, :06.94; 3, Layne Holzer, Aberdeen Roncalli, :07.00; 4, Sam Van Orman, Aberdeen Roncalli, :07.03; 4, Brandon Beutler, Eureka-Bowdle, :07.03; 6, Derrek Tuszka, Warner, :07.08; 7, Austin Weiszhaar, Eureka-Bowdle, :07.09; 8, Brayden Hilton, Aberdeen Roncalli, :07.11.

200-Meter Dash: 1, Ephram Albrecht, Redfield-Doland, :24.22; 2, Bryce Malsam, Edmunds Central, :24.39; 3, Nathan Wedel, James Valley Christian, :24.76; 4, Evan Carlson, Britton-Hecla, :24.94; 5, Nathan Pavek, Canby, :25.32; 6, Ben Boyko, Britton-Hecla, :25.81; 7, Brayden Hilton, Aberdeen Roncalli, :25.85; 8, Austin Stahl, Hitchcock-Tulare, :25.87.

400-Meter Dash: 1, Landon Larson, Groton, :55.69; 2, Evan Carlson, Britton-Hecla, :55.75; 3, Nathan Pavek, Canby, :57.46; 4, Austin Maag, Aberdeen Roncalli, :58.79; 5, McKinley Johansen, Canby, :59.77; 6, Jesse Weber, Eureka-Bowdle, :59.92; 7, Boston Knippling, Hitchcock-Tulare, 1:00.28; 8, Cole Holtz, Edmunds Central, 1:00.30.

800-Meter Run: 1, Nathan Cooper, Canby, 2:10.87; 2, Jadrian Guy, Britton-Hecla, 2:13.17; 3, Brenden Harrison, Standing Rock, 2:13.32; 4, Tucker Iwerks, Aberdeen Christian, 2:16.17; 5, Luk Vos, Ipswich, 2:17.34; 6, Mason Breitling, Miller, 2:17.69; 7, Nick Moffenbier, Great Plains Lutheran, 2:17.87; 8, Beau Keeter, Miller, 2:21.62.

1,600-Meter Run: 1, Cole Sargent, Miller, 4:52.51; 2, Tucker Iwerks, Aberdeen Christian, 4:53.10; 3, Brenden Harrison, Standing Rock, 4:59.40; 4, Mason Breitling, Miller, 5:03.45; 5, Jayden Waldner, James Valley Christian, 5:05.21; 6, Derek Boekelheide, Northwestern, 5:05.22; 7, David Gene Flanery, Britton-Hecla, 5:05.35; 8, Corbin Claymore, Standing Rock, 5:12.40.

3,200-Meter Run: 1, Cole Sargent, Miller, 10:44.51; 2, Brenden Harrison, Standing Rock, 10:50.61; 3, Wyatt Johansen, Canby, 11:29.38; 4, Derek Boekelheide, Northwestern, 11:39.33; 5, Caleb McNeil, Redfield-Doland, 12:01.54; 6, Deion Beardemphal, Redfield-Doland, 12:06.43; 7, Lane Peterson, Ipswich, 12:32.38; 8, Ethan Maertz, Great Plains Lutheran, 12:50.58.

55-Meter Hurdles: 1, Bryce Malsam, Edmunds Central, :08.43; 2, Nathan Pavek, Canby, :08.45; 3, Zach Schaefbauer, Aberdeen Roncalli, :08.50; 4, Carter Kindle, Miller, :09.14; 5, Cassius Pond, Ipswich, :09.40; 6, Ben Pond, Ipswich, :09.43; 7, Mitchell Giovannettone, Great Plains Lutheran, :09.45; 8, Ephram Albrecht, Redfield-Doland, :09.79.

1,600-Meter Relay: 1, Britton-Hecla (Nathan Jones, Ben Boyko, Jadrian Guy, Evan Carlson), 3:51.73; 2, Aberdeen Roncalli, 3:57.00; 3, James Valley Christian, 3:57.29; 4, Canby, 3:58.90; 5, Aberdeen Roncalli, 4:00.32; 6, Hitchcock-Tulare, 4:01.59; 7, Waverly-South Shore, 4:04.65; 8, Ipswich, 4:07.89.

Sprint Medley Relay: 1, Britton-Hecla (Ben Boyko, A.J. Andreson, Evan Carlson, Jadrian Guy), 3:05.75; 2, Canby, 3:14.77; 3, Aberdeen Roncalli, 3:14.88; 4, Waverly-South Shore, 3:15.22; 5, Faulkton, 3:15.31; 6, Hitchcock-Tulare, 3:17.81; 7, Britton-Hecla, 3:19.56; 8, De Smet, 3:20.27.

High Jump: 1, Mitchell Giovannettone, Great Plains Lutheran, 6-2; Bryce Malsam, Edmunds Central, 6-0; 3, Nathan Pavek, Canby, 5-10; 4, Dan Gallagher, Aberdeen Roncalli, 5-6; 4, Branson Moen, Canby, 5-6; 5, Tim Wager, James Valley Christian, 5-4 1/4; 5, Broderick Poppinga, De Smet, 5-4 1/4; 5, Lane Melius, Faulkton, 5-4 1/4; 5, Zach Schaefbauer, Aberdeen Roncalli, 5-4 1/4.

Long Jump: 1, Wyatt Becker, Faulkton, 20-1; 2, Austin Weiszhaar, Eureka-Bowdle, 19-4 1/4; 3, Mitchell Giovannettone, Great Plains Lutheran, 19-2 1/2; 4, Jake Bandilla, Waverly-South Shore, 18-5; 5, Carson Ortmeier, Faulkton, 18-3 3/4; 6, Brady Hallenbeck, Warner, 18-3 1/4; 7, Austin Moser, Eureka-Bowdle, 18-2 1/2; 8, Devon Buffington, Canby, 18-0 1/2.

Triple Jump: 1, Wyatt Becker, Faulkton, 40-4 3/4; 2, Cassius Pond, Ipswich, 40-0 1/2; 3, Mitchell Giovannettone, Great Plains Lutheran, 38-4; 4, Bryce Malsam, Edmunds Central, 38-2 3/4; 5, Brady Hallenbeck, Warner, 38-1 1/2; 6, Jesse Weber, Eureka-Bowdle, 37-10; 7, A.J. Andreson, Britton-Hecla, 37-4; 8, Billy DesLauriers, Canby, 36-5.

Shot Put: 1, Alec Lee, Faulkton, 46-9; 2, Christian Small, De Smet, 43-11 1/4; 3, Derrek Tuszka, Warner, 42-9 3/4; 4, Tyler Carda, Northwestern, 41-3 1/4; 5, Collin Hilzendeger, Aberdeen Roncalli, 41-3; 6, Chris Kaufman, Miller, 41-1; 7, Connor Brand, Faulkton, 40-7; 8, Morgan Musel, Aberdeen Roncalli, 39-7.

Pole Vault: 1, Colton Cox, Aberdeen Roncalli, 12-0; 2, Tony Gross, Waverly-South Shore, 10-6; 3, Nick Moffenbier, Great Plains Lutheran, 10-0; 4, Josh Raile, Eureka-Bowdle, 10-0; 5, Billy DesLauriers, Canby, 10-0; 6, Josh Gross, Waverly-South Shore, 8-6; 7, Fisher Spilde, Waverly-South Shore, 8-0; 8, Randall Weber, Great Plains Lutheran, 8-0.