Lembcke triumphs twice for Riders in field events
Jack Lembcke has a couple numbers in mind, and although he didn’t hit either one on Saturday at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays, he still put together a solid day.
The Roosevelt senior doubled up with titles in the shot put and discus – a feat he achieved last year at the state meet and will look to repeat again at the end of the month.
Lembcke’s discus toss of 189 feet, 8 inches was the more impressive of the two victories, the University of Washington recruit letting out a yell and a fist pump following the release of his second-to-last throw as the gallery responded with applause.
“I had an idea it was a pretty good throw,” said Lembcke, whose season-best toss of 190-1 ranks No. 1 in South Dakota this spring and top-10 nationally. “The last (throw), I thought it was bigger. I kind of fell away from the discus and my right foot slid out from underneath me. I was ready for a big throw (of 200 feet) and I’m ready to get it again.”
His shot put victory came with closer competition as Lembcke’s winning throw of 61-1.25 edged out Bismarck’s Jon Tharaldson (60-8.5). The Rough Riders standout added that he’s still not sharp technically as he needs to be to hit the 70-foot mark he’s chasing, but isn’t getting discouraged.
And considering Lembcke finished runner-up in the shot put and third in the discus a year ago, Saturday’s dual titles were a much-welcomed sight, especially as the season begins to wind down.
“Unfortunately, I have not had a very good run at Howard Wood, so this year was finally nice to be on top of the podium,” he said. “It felt good.”
Roosevelt added another field event win as David Mulbah outlasted Yankton’s J.J. Hejna in the high jump with a leap of 6-6. Both seniors missed all four attempts at 6-8, and then again at 6-7, before Mulbah picked up the win.
“I’m disappointed in myself,” said Mulbah of missing at 6-8, despite jumping on a recently sprained ankle. “I’m still proud of the ‘W’, but I couldn’t fully get up where I wanted to. But no pain, no gain – that’s how it goes.”
Mulbah is still eyeing his preseason goal of 6-10, but more importantly, knows that he’ll have to fight off Hejna if he wants to capture his fourth career state high jump title (two Class A, one Class B) and first at the ‘AA’ level.
“J.J.’s my biggest competition, so I’m looking forward to competing with him,” he said. “At state, it’s on.”
Meanwhile, Dell Rapids senior Brett Nichols overcame a slow start in the boys long jump to win with a leap of 21-10.25 – five inches better than Roosevelt’s Taryn Christion.
“You’re going to have some adrenaline for a big meet like this,” said Nichols. “I came in (to the finals) thinking, ‘I need to pull something off here.’ I was pretty warm and I got on the board and came off right.”
Brookings senior Alexis Gannon added to her weekend collection with a jump of 18-1.75 to defend her long jump title. The University of North Carolina recruit also defended her triple jump title on Friday, setting a meet record in the process.
Watertown’s Colton Jordan and Kingsley-Pierson/Woodbury Central’s Kiana Phelps also became back-to-back champions as Jordan won the boys pole vault with a performance of 14-6, while Phelps, a Junior Olympic gold medal winner last year, won the girls discus with a toss of 155-0.