Eighth-grader giving Lynx a boost on the track

It's just a matter of time for Krista Bickley.

She's a sprinter after all, so time is everything. In a broad sense, though, the Brandon Valley eighth-grader has a long prep career ahead to showcase her talents on the state's track and field scene.

Bickley has claimed several meet titles this year in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter sprints, in addition to helping power Brandon Valley to success in the relays. Bickley won each of the sprints for the first-place Lynx at the Metro Conference meet on Friday at O'Gorman.

"Now that we've gotten her in here and broken her race down, she's really just clicked," said Coach Troy Sturgeon, who added that Bickley has rare top-end speed and the ability to sustain it.

The upstart middle schooler is also in great company in terms of qualifying times. Her season-best in the 100 (12.2 seconds) sits behind only Watertown's Macy Denzer and Pierre's Courtney Dowling (both 12.0), the latter of whom is the state's most accomplished sprinter. Bickley is tied with Denzer and Dowling for the top 200 time (24.90) and sits second to Dowling in the 400 (56.50).

Clearly, if winning a state title is a matter of time, Bickley's moment on the top podium could come sooner rather than later.

While breaking down – or "segmenting" the race, as Sturgeon calls it – has helped the entire team and especially Bickley make gains, she's also benefited from watching older sister Cortney Bickley go about her business.

"Nobody works harder than Cortney in practice. She does things the right way," Sturgeon said.

Sturgeon called Cortney the team's best runner a year ago, and said the junior has done a great job of mentoring Krista and the other younger girls. At state last year, Cortney anchored the championship-winning 1,600 relay team and took fourth in the 400.

She's also reliable in terms of her giving teammates, and her younger sister, a lift.

"Like at Howard Wood last week, Krista was very nervous – especially running prelims in the 100," Sturgeon said. "She gets in the big stadium and there are all these people around. And her big sister was right there the whole time saying, 'Hey, we're alright' – even though Cortney wasn't even running until the next day."

Krista Bickley went ahead and won the open 100-meter dash at the Dakota Relays, staring down Denzer as well as another sprinting force in the state – Macy Heinz of Ipswich.

Pierre's Dowling wasn't there, though. She missed out after injuring her hamstring a week before at the Pierre Legion meet.

Hamstring injuries have the tendency to linger, but if Dowling is able to get back to top shape, then the state tournament could have some memorable finishes. Dowling broke a pair of South Dakota records at last year's state meet, where she won the 100, 200 and 400 sprints. Still just a junior, Dowling – who has five state medals to her name – could go down as one of the state's best ever.

Sturgeon caught up with Dowling not long after the injury. The two-time Gatorade South Dakota Track and Field Player of the Year found a spot near the finish line, her cell phone serving as a stopwatch.

Dowling's success hasn't gone unnoticed by members of the Lynx track team, either.

"They all know what Courtney is capable of," Sturgeon said. "They keep their eyes on the current in-season qualifying times. They follow (top runners) on Twitter to know what they're running. They can tell me the times before I see them the next day."

More than staying up-to-date on social media, Sturgeon's squad is focused on a state crown. Brandon Valley finished fifth a year ago at state, but have an influx of quality eighth- and ninth-graders. What's more, they're a savvy bunch. A few weeks ago, during Brandon's prom, one of Sturgeon's assistant coaches took the youngsters out west to Rapid City's Track-O-Rama.

The young Lynx didn't want to waste a chance to compete against the Rapid squads, which have either won or finished runners-up at state for a staggering 30 years in a row.

Brandon Valley has plenty of quality talent split between sprint, relay teams and distance with athletes like Courtney Klatt, Tanya Tingle, Lauren Wells and Haylee Waterfall – to name a handful. Long-jumper Emma Treveer could also push for a podium finish at state.

Bickley and the young Lynx could have a bright future at the meet, but like the younger Bickley sister: The time might be now.