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'AA' track: Patriots, Riders ready for drama

David Nicholson
dnicholson@argusleader.com

The Lincoln and Roosevelt boys weren't without first-day surprises at the Class AA state track meet, but when it came to making gains where expected, both squads looked at ease on the big stage Friday at Woodle Field in Sturgis.

With only three track titles in play, the two Sioux Falls favorites split some of the spoils: Roosevelt claimed the boys 3,200 relay with a time of 7:58.30, while Lincoln's Will Lauer broke the nine-minute barrier — and state record — in the 3,200 with a blistering 8:58.49.

As it stands, the defending champion Patriots — with 47 points — hold a slight lead over the Rough Riders (45), followed by Watertown (28), and a three-way tie for fourth between Spearfish (19), Brandon Valley and Aberdeen Central.

After back-to-back runner-up state finishes the past two years, Roosevelt Coach Jason Wagoner was pleased to see his Riders make a strong first-day showing.

"Right away we had some good things happen," Wagoner said, citing unexpected sixth-place finishes in the field events by CJ Charlson (discus) and Carter Lohr (pole vault). "All these little points we're getting here and there — they add up."

Taryn Christion came up a few inches short of a repeat title in the long jump, where his leap of 21-5.5 was edged by Yankton jumper Lee Rose's mark of 21-7.75. But second-place points carry plenty of value, and Christion did his part to pace the 800 relay team to the top mark heading into tomorrow's finals.

Christion also had the second-best qualifying time for the 100-meter dash (11.21 seconds) behind teammate Chase Vinatieri (11.09). Vinatieri is expected to be in the mix for Saturday's 200 finals as well, posting the second-best time Friday (22.50) behind Spearfish's Damian Hall (22.22).

"Hopefully me and Chase can follow up with strong finishes tomorrow," Christion said. "And our relays, too, we want to be in the top three of every single relay we're in."

With a title in the 3,200 relay under wraps, Roosevelt could contend for relay titles in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and sprint medley.

"I've told the kids that the state meet's never been won on day one, but it's been lost on day two," Wagoner said. "We can't get on the bus back to Rapid saying, 'We can win this thing.' We've got to come back and know that it's not over yet."

Lincoln flexed similar muscle in it's core events, but like the Riders picked up some crucial points with solid field performances by Austin Haushild, who finished second in the shot put (Watertown's Michael Keogan won) and fourth in the discus.

The Patriots also got a boost from a third-place finish in the 3,200 relay, as well as second-place marks by Nathan Schroeder in the 3,200. Ned Sudbeck also took second in the 800 — another race that ended with a record.

Sturgis' Jacob Simmons, on his hometown track before a hometown crowd, set the meet record in the 800 with a time of 1:52.38.

"It's incredible. I'm so grateful for everything that I've had," Simmons said. "Especially to do it here on my home track —it's just incredible.

The defending champion in the 1,600 could be in for another showdown against Lauer in that event's finals Saturday. Lauer edged Simmons at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in early May, needing a late come-from-behind finish to pull out the win.

"I'm looking forward to it," Simmons said Saturday's 1,600 finals.

Friday also saw the state record book rewritten in the triple jump, where Rapid City Central sophomore Josh Dotson hit a mark of 47-3. O'Gorman's Luke Fritsch took second with a leap of 44-7.5.

Stevens girls in control -- battle is for second

With the boys race a dead heat at the top, the girls side would appear — at first glance — to hold the same promise for tomorrow. But a closer look at Rapid City Stevens' slim lead — 42.5 points to Yankton's 41 — reveals that things aren't playing out in entirely unexpected ways.

The Bucks seized their opportunities Friday, taking the top two spots in the long jump (champion Emma Stewart and runner-up Lindsey Hale) and winning the 3,200 meter run (Savannah Woods).

Third-place O'Gorman (31 points) also came out strong, leaning on strong finishes in field events. Emma Hertz won the discus title (130-9) and took third in the shot-put. Teammate Jess Mieras turned in fourth and fifth place finishes in those events, respectively, but with less numbers represented in tomorrow's finals there should be a regression to the mean.

One team that came away disappointed by Friday's performances — Brandon Valley — could see the opposite happen on Saturday things go right.

"Our goal was to make the podium, but you know weird things happen at the state tournament, and you just hope that you're on the other side of that," said Coach Troy Sturgeon.

While the Lynx are positioned well in the sprints — eighth-grader Krista Bickley posted the top qualifying mark in the 400 and second-best times in the 100 and 200 — the Lynx took a hit after an injury to Tanya Tingle. With the sophomore's status for Saturday unclear, potential Lynx points hang in the balance.

"We've just got to regroup and come back tomorrow and try and get on that podium," Sturgeon said.

With RC Stevens well positioned with numbers and strong performances across the board, it could be a fight for second.

To that end, Lincoln — sitting at fourth with 30 points — could make a big move Saturday.

"We've got all of our relay teams qualified," coach Jim Jarovski said. "It's going to come down to the wire."

Jasmyne Cooper could play a big part in some of those relays tomorrow, but the standout freshman gets to savor her first state title first. Cooper won the 800, edging Roosevelt senior Brooke DeVos with a time of 2:12.72 — one of the five fastest marks in state history.

"Well, I PR'd and my legs are tired — but I stayed strong," Cooper said.

Sioux Falls wasn't finished with titles, as Washington's Bre Richardson won the triple jump (36-7.25).

Other area athletes who made a finals push for Saturday include Harrisburg hurdler Haley Bruggeman, who posted the top mark in the 100 and second-best in the 300.