College standouts look to hit stride at Howard Wood Dakota Relays

The quality of competition for the college portion of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays this weekend may depend in part on the quality of the weather, but area schools are intent on bringing something close to full squads to the meet, which begins Friday afternoon.

Elite boys 800 field primed to make mark at Howard Wood Dakota Relays

Sprinters set to soar at Howard Wood Dakota Relays

Coyotes' pole vault riches continue to pay off

Jackrabbits aim high into coming meets

If a couple of nice days greet the college teams (translation: the opportunity to jump higher, throw farther and run faster), then getting in another competition before the respective conference meets will be a well-timed part of the plan. And even if it's not so nice, it's Howard Wood, and a lot of them are going to show up.

"It's an opportunity to highlight our athletes in our town in front of a good crowd," Augustana coach Tracy Hellman said. "It's a nice home track meet for us and I think this year there's a chance that we could have some very good competition with the Summit League meet still two weeks away for USD and SDSU."

The University of South Dakota and South Dakota State have the Summit League conference meetbeginning on May 15 in Fargo and the Northern Sun has an even tighter turnaround with the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana preparing to leave for Winona next week. Keeping athletes fresh for the future will definitely be an issue in some instances, but not an overriding one unless the weather turns horrid.

"We're going to do the best we can. We have a few injured bodies right now that we're not going to push too far," USD men's coach Dave Gottsleben said. "We're probably going to have a lot of kids who compete on one day instead of both, but we want to do the best we can. It looks like the weather is going to be decent. Hopefully that will give us an opportunity to go after some good marks."

The possibility is there for some battling at the top end. Announced entries for the college events are never sure things – anything from an injury to weather conditions to a pile of schoolwork can get in the way – but a race like the women's 200, which is scheduled to go at 7:05 p.m. Friday, could include South Dakota State's Carly Carper running against several of North Dakota State's best sprinters. That would include Antoinette Goodman, who has the best time in the conference at 23.40.

"Carly did not run in the 200 as a freshman at this meet and considering her background this would be a big race for her," SDSU coach Rod DeHaven said of the former Rutland sprinter, who won 11 state titles in high school.

"If we can get a good day where she can get warmed up, she could have a good race. Presuming the wind is going to be coming from the airport and the northwest, I could see her screaming down the stretch with a chance to break our school record. Gina Fritz (of Colman) is another in the 400 who, if the conditions are right, appreciates the tradition and could have a big performance."

University of Sioux Falls coach Reid Ehrisman sees the meet, which often will include athletes from other Northern Sun school in college events, as a dressed rehearsal for next week.

"We really want to fine-tune some things," Erhisman said. "We want to put people in races where they have an opportunity to move up the ladder on conference performance lists. We don't want to overdo it, but it's great for working on handoffs on relays and things like that. The two-day format, coming in one day and then coming back the next for other events, is going to get us ready for having to do the same thing next week."

The men's and women's 5,000-meter races on Friday will likely include several strong runners from the region with Augustana's Kristin Brondbo (16:40) and Kyle Blakeslee (16:50) and USD's Amber Eichkorn (16:59) all breaking the 17-minute mark this season. USD's Jeff Mettler has the best time in the men's race at 14:07.71 with teammate Brant Haase second at 14:18.92 and Augustana's Paul Yak third at 14:30.00.

"I think we're really going to try to take a shot in the 5,000 with Kyle and Kristin," Hellman said. "It could be a great opportunity for them to push to their times down in that event."

The college field events begin at 11 a.m. Friday with the women's pole vault at noon, where USD is expected to have Drake champ Madison Mills competing. National outdoor champion Bethany Firsick and national indoor runner-up Emily Grove are not entered.

Mills, though she's from Reno, Nev., got a taste of Howard Wood last year and would like to continue her recent upswing. Her vault of 13-9.25 last week at Drake was four inches above her personal best.

"I didn't have the chance to compete here in high school, but it's great that the track and field community in South Dakota can get behind something like they do with this meet," Mills said. "We're representing our school in front of a lot of people who really care about the sport."

RELAYS ON THE MARK

When/where: Friday and Saturday, Howard Wood Field

Schedule: Field events start Friday at 11 a.m., with track events at 2 p.m.

Tickets: Adult tickets for both sessions is $14. Single session tickets cost $8. Student tickets are $5.

ONLINE COVERAGE

Live video: Watch a livestream of both special events, starting with the boys 800 meters Friday at 7:25 p.m.

Live chat: Follow a steady stream of event results and analysis during the meet from Howard Wood Field.

Photo gallery: View photos from each day of the action at the Dakota Relays.

@ARGUSLEADER.COM