Area Athletes Enjoy Smaller ‘Relays’

“That’s the race I want to win,” Charlie said Thursday at the First Dakota Relays at Williams Field.

Rob Stephenson ran a 40.6 in 1986, a time that ranks sixth in the YHS record books. And yes, he reminds Charlie.

“He asks me a lot, ‘What was your time?,’” Charlie said. “And then I hear it from my little brother (Nate). He always says, ‘You’ll never beat dad.’”

Charlie, who has run a 42.0 twice this year, won both hurdles events on Thursday — with a time of 16.0 in the 110 and 42.3 in the 300.

Still, as he pointed out, his desire to seriously threaten his father’s 300 mark remains strong.

“It’s nice to have something to shoot for,” Charlie said. “That’s one of the best things you can have in sports, a goal.”

As a freshman, Charlie was running in the 47-48 range, and improved to 43.5 as a sophomore. Now, as a junior, he’s consistently in the 42 range.

“Maybe next year I can get there,” Charlie said of his father’s record. “It’s definitely a possibility.”

According to his head coach, that goal may be reached sooner rather than later. Luke Youmans referred to Stephenson as a “model of consistent growth.”

“We always talk about staples of our program; those kids that always seem to improve at every meet,” Youmans said. “And Charlie is absolutely one of those kids.”

During his 300 hurdles race, Stephenson was the only Class AA athlete to compete. He was joined by Class A and B competitors, but said such a variety can only help him.

“I love this meet. Usually there’s better competition, but we can see where we’re at,” Stephenson said. “It reminds you that you’re not the only ones out there.”

To that end, Yankton’s annual home meet featured a smaller number of teams. There were athletes from 10 other schools — Beresford, Bon Homme, Brookings, Dakota Valley, Gayville-Volin, Irene-Wakonda, Huron, Mitchell and Vermillion. Scotland sent its throwers to Yankton.

Such a field can provide the Yankton Bucks and Gazelles with a “unique” look, according to Youmans.

“That’s the fun part about it, our kids can run against some unfamiliar faces,” he said. “We don’t typically see (Class) A or B kids, but you saw today there were some great athletes here.”

Not to mention some record performances, as Brookings senior Alexis Gannon proved by setting the state’s all-time triple jump record (41-4.5).

“We like to set things up where coaches and athletes can realize just how great this meet is,” Youmans said. “I think we’ve proven, you can do something special here.”

With a chance to shine given the smaller number of teams, the Yankton squads took advantage, combining for 16 victories.

J.J. Hejna won two events for the Bucks, the high jump (6-0) and long jump (21-0.5). Ryan Sternhagen was first in the 200-meter dash (23.3), Ryan Olson was first in the 800 (2:03.0) and Justin Grode won the 3200 (10:31.5).

Yankton’s boys also won the 400 and 800 relays.

The Yankton Gazelles won seven events in the girls’ division, including three relays. Brenna Fitzsimmons won the 200 (27.6), Whitlee Larson won the 800 (2:21.5), Annie Kruse won the 1600 (5:04.7) and Emma Stewart was first in the high jump (4-11).

Scotland’s Carley Skorepa was a double winner in the throws, taking first in the discus (129-0) and shot put (36-0.75). Gannon of Brookings won two jumping events, the long jump (18-11.5) and triple jump.

In area individual finishes, Bon Homme’s Anna Heusinkveld won the 100 (12.6), Gayville-Volin’s Laura Nelson won the 3200 (11:38.7), Irene-Wakonda’s Lauren Sokolowski won the 100 hurdles (15.0) and Dakota Valley’s Sara Bohan won the 300 hurdles (49.2).

Nelson, a freshman at Gayville-Volin, said later she prefers competing at a meet like the First Dakota Relays because of the “relaxed” nature.

“I’m used to a smaller meet like this,” Nelson said. “But I’ve got a pretty big goal out there, so that’s what I was thinking about.”

That goal, she said, is the low 11-minute range in the 3200, or at least the school record of 11:26.

Nelson said she was feeling good coming into the 2-mile, and followed through with a winning time of 11:38.7.

“I love running here, because there’s always so much excitement in the crowd,” she said.

You can follow Jeremy Hoeck on Twitter at twitter.com/jhoeck. Discuss this story at www.yankton.net.