By Kandi Tonsager–
A number of Bronc track and field athletes punched their ticket to the state competition in Sioux Falls May 28-30th earning outstanding accomplishments all the way around. A stand out performer of the weekend was Rhys Pearson who ran the 3200, 1600, 800, and was the anchor in the sprint medley relay, running another 800 in it. She placed in every single one of them!
Coach Wattier states, “Rhys started us off by anchoring the medley to a school record of 4:12.06 and a 6th place finish! On Friday she placed 5th in the 3200m run with a time of 11:21.77! Later that same day she placed 6th in the 800 running a blistering 2:16.94! To cap it all off, Saturday Rhys SMASHED the school record in the 1600 by 12 seconds! She ran a time of 5:07.15 placing her 6th overall!”
Another stand out performance of the weekend was by Ansley O’Brien who competed in multiple events including the 100m hurdles, high jump and the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relay teams which all earned podium places as well. Coach Wattier states, “Ansley O’Brien ran an awesome PR of 15.13 in the 100m hurdles on Thursday to advance to finals on Saturday. The top 4 girls were all within .02 seconds of each other! Saturday Ansley did it again and ran another PR of 14.93 seconds! This betters her school record and placed her 3rd overall!! Way to go Ansley! She then made the podium a 2nd time tying with two other girls for 8th place in the high jump! She was also kind enough to let the two others stand in front of her on the podium making it tough to get a picture!”
The girls 4x100m Relay capped off an impressive year with a 2nd place finish! Wattier shares, “In prelims the quartet of Jaz Olson, Ansley O’Brien, Mikka Dunavant, and Mya Nowowiejski matched our current school record of 50.13. Saturday they ran their 2nd fastest time of the season of 50.17, but more importantly placed 2nd scoring 8 important points for the team!”
The girls 4x200m relay of Jaz Olson, Ansley O’Brien, Berklee Nore, and Mya Nowowiejski had a great Championship Saturday running their two best times of the year in prelims and finals, just missing the school record in prelims. They qualified 4th in prelims, and ended up winning silver medals as state runner ups.
To cap off an already great weekend the girls team finished 6th overall!
“This was truly a team effort. As a team we placed in 8 different events!” exclaims Coach Wattier.
For the boys, Gabe Raba finished off an awesome season in the discus. Coach Wattier notes, “He had a toss of 151’ 5” which placed him 5th overall! I’m excited to see what he has in store for next year!” Gabe also threw 42’11.75” in the shot put for a 21st place finish.
Gavin Pearson ran a huge PR of 50.55 in the 400m in prelims on Friday! “He ran a great race against a stacked heat today and placed 7th overall! Gavin is the first Bronc to run a sub 51 second 400 in the last 20 years!” boasts Coach Wattier.
Joseph McLennon had a great weekend in throwing events, throwing 45’4.25” for a 14th place finish in shot put and 134’05” for a 14th place finish in discus.
In addition to these accomplishments, the boys 4×200 relay team of, Slater Humbracht, Raif Parmeter, Tegan Fredrickson, and Caeyn Howard ran a 1:36.11 for a personal best time and a 22nd place finish. The 4×400 relay team of, Gavin Pearson, Slater Humbracht, Raif Parmeter, and Caeyn Howard ran a 3:34.14 for a 14th place finish in the prelims, and the 4×800 relay team of Caeyn Howard, Griffen Biehl, Clifford Torberson, and Nathan Hudson ran a 9:05.69 for a person best time and 22 place finish. For the Lady Broncs, Mya Nowowiejski ran the 200 meter dash with a time of 26:48 for a 12th place finish, Mikka Dunavant competed in the triple jump with a jump of 32’ flat edging her way into the top 20, the 4×400 relay team of Jazlyn Olson, Emersyn Carmichael, Mikka Dunavant, and Berklee Nore ran a 4:21.69 for a person best time and a top 20 finish at #20, the 4×800 relay team of Emersyn Carmichael, Misty Drieling, Isabela Torberson, Layla Drieling ran a 10:57.94 for a person best time and a 21st place finish, and the sprint medley relay team of Jazlyn Olson, Berklee Nore, Mya Nowowiejski, Rhys Pearson ran a time of 4:12.06 a personal best for a 6th place finish. Aiden Keil and Berklee Nore also competed in high jump events.
The Broncs had a great season and came home with multiple awards to showcase for their hard work and effort.
Congratulations Broncs!
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