 |
Tuesday
April 24, 2007
|
|
SPORTS
|
Monday, April 23, 2007
Track athletes
bring down the thunder
Matt Tetzlaff, Jessica Engel lead record
breaking performances at annual meet Friday
By Mike Smith
Capital Journal
Staff
PIERRE - The thunder rolled in the skies above
Trautner-Hollister Field and so did the record-breaking
performances.
The meet had to be suspended for 90 minutes
because of an afternoon rain and hail storm, When action resumed, so
did the momentum.
Six records fell in the annual Pierre
Legion Relays Friday the highest number since 10 marks were set in
the 1985 meet. Four new marks were set in the girls division by two
standouts-Jessica Engel of Sturgis and Jasmine King of Rapid City
Central.
Engel won both the 1,600- and 800-meter runs. Engel
broke her own record in the 1,600-meter run set last year. In the
800-meters, her time of 2:17.16 broke the mark set by Heather Sieler
of Huron seven years ago.
Her efforts earned her the Will
Robinson Award as the most outstanding female athlete. The Robinson
winner in 2006, she becomes the first girl to win consecutive MVP
awards at the Legion Relays.
Most valuable for the boys was
sophomore Matt Tetzlaff of Pierre. Tetzlaff solidified his position
as the best hurdler in the state with a blazing 14.21 seconds in the
110-meter finals. That sensational time wiped out the meet record of
14.29 seconds set by Pierre's Matt Blumer in 1989 and tied by Rich
Maguire of Rapid City Central in 1997.
Tetzlaff is also
coming closer to the state and school record of 14.1 seconds set by
ex-Governor standout Mark Larscheid almost 40 years ago. In the
preliminary heat, Tetzlaff went 14.43 seconds, which was the fourth
fastest time ever recorded. But lowering that mark to 14.21 was
beyond Tetzlaff's dreams.
"I was surprised I got that fast
this year," he said. "I had a little tailwind that helped. The great
competition also helped. But there is still a lot of room for
improvement."
Tetzlaff also won the 300-meter hurdles, going
39.49 seconds. That was less than .100ths of a second off the meet
record and second fastest in school history.
"He set the bar
high in Rapid City last week," said Pierre coach Geoff Gross. "But
you usually see improvements coming in hundredths of a second, not
in seconds. And he still hasn't run a perfect race."
Rapid
City Central freshman sprint sensation Jasmine King dominated the
short sprints, winning the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. She set
meet records in both the 200 and 400-meter sprints, King's time of
:57.79 broke Sieler's mark of 59.78 set in 2002. In the 200-meter
dash, King covered the distance in 25.08 seconds, breaking the mark
of 25.98 seconds set Lady Cobbler graduate Leia Jackson two years
ago.
The other new mark on the day was in the boys' pole
vault. Taylor Slingsby of Rapid City Central cleared 14 feet, 3
inches. That broke the old mark of 14-2 by David Czerny of Sturgis
in 2004.
In the team standings, Rapid City Central won both
the boys and girls divisions. The Govs with seven individual
championships and one relay win, placed second among the boys. The
Lady Govs were third and had one individual title and a relay
win.
"We had 43 entrants and saw 20 personal records," said
Gross. "Every meet, the kids are raising their level and that's what
you like to see every meet."
Pierre's Jarrett Klinger and
Brandt Payne each brought in two gold medals. Klinger was a viable
Robinson candidate himself after winning both the 100- and 200-meter
dashes and anchoring the winning 800-meter relay team. Cameron
Rogers, Devin Rounds and Aaron Trimble were the other members of the
winning foursome. The 400-meter team of Rogers, Lucas Solberg, Tales
Couto and Klinger was second and their time of 44.57 seconds was
fourth fastest in team history.
"They are running very well,
even though they are not perfectly happy with themselves," said
Gross. "Rapid City Central has the fastest time, but we're getting
the job done and are very competitive. We'll get another shot at
them this weekend."
Klinger's 200-meter time of 22.47 seconds
is a top 10 performance on the all-time list in the
event
Payne swept the discus and the shot put.
"Payne
is very driven right now and has been a senior leader for us," said
Gross. "It's a shame the way the facilities are set up (shot and
discus compete at Riggs High School), that they don't get the
recognition they deserve."
Travis Fitzke was the other
individual gold medalist for the Govs. The junior won the
1,600-meter race and was second to D.J. Thompson of Spearfish in the
800-meter run.
"Travis wasn't feeling 100 percent but he
probably learned more running behind (Thompson)," said Gross. "He
knows he can run with him."
Two Pierre boys relay teams took
second place behind winning teams from Rapid City Central. The
3,200-meter foursome of Dillon Paulsen, Matt Bump, Jake Parsons and
Alec Espeland had a time of 8:23.59. The sprint medley team of
Rounds, Trimble, Graham Schuetzle and Espeland was also second with
a time of 3:47.60.
"Our success in relays is a credit to our
depth," said Gross.
Drew Miller's discus championship paced
the Lady Govs. Miller's throw covered 119 feet, seven inches. Polly
Gill placed second in the shot put. Alexa Berg had a good day as
well as she was third in both the 100-meter hurdles and the triple
jump.
The Lady Govs' 1,600-meter sprint medley team of Mollie
Holden, Jordyn Anderson, Abbie Mitchell and Jen de Hueck won with a
time of 4:25.85.
The Stanley County Lady Buffs had a
highlight when sophomore Sam Ostarello won the high jump with a jump
of 5 feet, 5 inches, two inches better than all Class AA
competitors. It also obliterated the Lady Buffs team record of 5-2
set by Mandy Diehm in 1993.
"It was a great day for us," said
Lady Govs coach Craig Ullmann. "We had a little interruption but the
girls responded. Third place (up one spot from last year) is great.
We have less girls this year but we scored more points (then last
year)."
Ullmann said the relay teams were particularly
impressive as was Berg.
"She had another good day with a
(personal record) in the long jump (16 feet, seven inches, fifth
best all time in school history) and in the hurdles (sixth best all
time). Jen de Hueck ran awesome in her relays."
Miller was
able to shake off a touch of the flu to take first in the
discus.
"We placed in almost every event," said Ullmann.
"We're cutting the time down on our relays. I was very happy with
the day's events and proud of how they
performed."
Eighth-grader Courtney Ziebert of Stanley County
was fifth in the 1,600-meter run and senior Whitney Stoeser fifth in
the discus.
For the Buffs Trevor Lopour and Zach Alexander
both cleared 6 feet, 1 inch in the high jump to tie for third place.
The chance of going higher was wiped out when the event was canceled
after the downpour.
Venezuelan exchange student German Scotti
placed seventh for the Buffs in the 200-meter dash finals. His time
of 24.53 seconds, his second consecutive clocking of under 25
seconds.
Pierre will have some mid-week competition when they
head to Miller. The event was initially supposed to be a junior
varsity meet, but Gross and Ullmann decided to give everyone some
needed work. Stanley County will also be in Miller.
On
Saturday, the teams will be in Sturgis for the Bear Butte
Classic.
"This will be even bigger than the Track-O'Rama,"
said Gross.
|
Article Comment
Form
| |
|
|
.gif){kind=spacer}
Print this Article
Email this Article