A Four Meet Week in All Conditions

Last week saw the Roughriders in four different track meets across four cities and two states. Athletes competed in the cold, the rain, the sun, and most assuredly the wind. Here’s how things played out:

Shanley Invite

Although this meet was postponed from the previous Friday to Monday in hopes of more favorable weather, it never arrived. Athletes duked it out in wind and cold that just seemed to keep getting worse throughout the meet. In prior years, this meet might have been canceled. But this year, we are just happy to get any meet at all. The impressive results in tough conditions showed. 

Heydt has Banner Day

Junior co-captain Lukas Heydt, last year’s returning MVP and leading scorer, had a meet to remember at Shanley. He started things off with a new PR of 41.07 in the 300H. Of the 25 athletes in the race, only four PR’ed, highlighting how tough the conditions were. His time ranks #4 in Class A. In the 110H, he raced to a huge PR of 15.55 (#9 in Class A). He placed second in both races. In the triple jump, he hit a season-best mark of 40’1 to place fifth. He might have jumped even further in the finals had he not been rushed to complete all his jumps before the 4×4. After winning the overall Delmore Decathlon title recently and impressing in the PACER test, coaches knew the Mile Relay was calling for Lukas. In his season debut, he delivered with the team’s fastest split (53.2) and a third-place finish. Overall, he racked up 21.5 points on the day. 

Arason Continues to Climb Rankings

Junior co-captain Logan Arason has already made waves this season by entering the RR Top Ten lists in both the javelin and discus. At Shanley, he moved up even higher in the discus, managing a 168’4 toss for a new PR and first-place finish. That throw moved him to #8 all-time. He also picked up big points in the javelin (1st-179’11) and the shot put (4th-47’11). If he can reach the qualifying standard of 48’6, Logan will become the first RR boys thrower since the great Dave Kurtz (‘97) to qualify in all three throwing events. 

Other Notable Performances:

• Hunter McHenry (3rd-4:26.45) moved up to #7 on the All-Time list in the 1600m. His future teammate at NDSU Dameon Zenawick placed 6th (4:32.07). 
• Add the brothers Dafoe to the list of 1600 qualifiers, as both Elijah (8th-4:32.47) and Jonah (10th-4:34.67) hit the standard. 
• In an unexpected result, the 4×1 quartet of junior Mikey Mallory, junior Caleb Severson, freshman Isaiah Gaye, and junior Carter Byron ran the team’s fastest time of the year (45.00) and qualified, placing second in the meet. 
• Freshman Isaiah Gaye turned some heads in his first outdoor meet. Besides qualifying in the 4×1, he placed third in the LJ (20’1.25) and looked great in the TJ. Although he fouled all three of his attempts, this appears to be a great event for him. 
• It was a good day for the high hurdlers, as 3/4 PR’ed. (Heydt-see above, Byron-3rd-15.74, Strand-7th-16.56, Schall-13th-17.96). 
• Solid performances from the two-milers in tough conditions. Nice PR’s from junior Jake Jenkins (7th-10:47.71), sophomore David Radke (9th-10:59.45), and sophomore Kael Berberich (13th-11:11.35)
• Junior Hudson Flom has quietly put together a nice season, placing third with an 11’6 vault. His consistency should lead to bigger jumps in better weather. 
• Junior Hudson Kilgore made a big breakthrough in the discus with a new PR of 118’5 (10th). Junior Quinn Nelson is making strides in the javelin, reaching 144’10 (5th). 
• Junior Caleb Severson notched a slight PR (6th-11.39) in the 100. Senior Gannon Brooks inched closer to qualifying with a season-best time of 11.61. 

Full meet results, points, and split can be found HERE. 

Meet Photos can be found HERE. 

 

Cushman Mid-Week Track-o-Rama

The GF Elks Track-o-Rama was held for many years in the 80s and 90s at Cushman Field. Taking advantage of sun and a non-booked stadium, the glorious name was brought back Wednesday for a small meet between RR, GFC, and some May-Port CG athletes. Since many of our younger athletes have not had a chance to compete outdoors since the Dual, this meet served as a great opportunity to improve and set some new PR’s.

A Decent Debut

Since most of the top distance guys competed Monday, a full slate of events was not necessary for them Wednesday. Instead, all of them got a chance to show off their speed in the 400m dash, an event they rarely get to run. In his first time ever running the event (not counting relays), junior Jonah Dafoe and senior Tanner Schiller battled down the homestretch in a thrilling race. Jonah hit the qualifying standard on the nose (52.24), while Tanner achieved a new PR of 52.37. Is Jonah really just a sprinter/high jumper in disguise? The Riders placed 1-9 in the event. 

Kouba “Showboats” his Way to PR

Junior Jack Kouba hit a massive 15” PR Wednesday to clear a new PR of 11’3. Coach Lloyd reported that Jack even managed a smile after his big clearance. Photo evidence supports this claim. Hudson Flom also cleared 11’3 but won the event on misses. Look for both athletes to keep clearing higher bars in the coming meets. 

Other Notable Performances:

• Junior Quinn Nelson won the discus with a throw of 116’0. Another impressive debut in a new event. 
• Freshman Jessy Baker was the top RR performer in the SP with a big PR of 36’8.
• Junior Cooper Schweigert won the javelin at 139’6. He led a RR 1-6 finish (2. Brown, 3. Piseno 4. Klefstad 5. L. Bjerke 6. Thoreson. 
• Junior Andrew Peterson won the LJ, hitting 18’5.5. 
• In the latest quest to join the Sub 5:00 Club in the 1600, freshman Eli Zerr came agonizingly close with a time of 5:01.26, finishing in 2nd. Freshman Joe Quinn (5:01.54) and sophomore Carter Rydland (5:02.52) are knocking on the door. 
• In the 100m dash, RR athletes placed 1-5, 7-12, and 14-15. Severson got the win with a time of 11.44. 
• In a battle of sophomore long hurdlers who wanted to try the 110 high hurdles for the first time, Josh Neil (19.24) outclassed Grant Hoffarth (19.37) in an entertaining race. His victory dance at the finish line indicated he will hold this over Grant for quite some time. 

Full meet results, points, and split can be found HERE. 

Meet Photos can be found HERE. 

 

Packer Relays

On Friday, many of our athletes traveled to West Fargo High School for the annual running of North Dakota’s windiest track meet, the Packer Relays. Although the sun came out, the wind gusts laid waste to the track, immensely helping athletes in the short sprints/hurdles/jumps and wreaking havoc on the performances of any event involving one lap or more. For reference, the top 14 finishers in the 100m dash qualified for state at the meet. Of the 59 athletes who ran the 100m, only 11 did not PR. It was determined that those athletes ran backwards in the race. 

Gaye is Lone Qualifier

Freshman breakout star Isaiah Gaye returned to the triple jump pits and solidified Coach Delmore’s prediction that he was a budding bounding phenom. Although he’s still learning the event, Delmore says Gaye hits the board with as much speed as anyone that he’s coached. He used that speed, coupled with massive tailwinds, to reach 41’10.5 of Cass County real estate. The mark surpasses the state qualifying standard of 41’6 and moves him to #3 on the all-time freshmen leaderboard. The jump ranks #9 in Class A. 

Strand and Schall Inch Toward Qualifying

Sophomore Ben Strand and senior Isaac Schall both reached big PR’s in the 110 hurdles, moving within one second of the qualifying standard of 16.14. Strand (16.42) placed 5th and Schall (16.95) placed 8th. 

Spear Chuckers Improve

Quinn Nelson led Tandeski’s Javelin Army at the meet, throwing a nice PR of 151’0 and placing 5th. Other PR’s came from Kilgore (9th-144’1), Schweigert (10th-143’10), and freshman JB Walters (13th-138’1). 

Other Notable Performances:

• Sophomore Grant Hoffarth was the team’s top point scorer, notching 5.5 points at the meet. He placed 5th in the 400 with a PR time of 54.30, and also ran on the 5th place 4×8 and 7th place 4×4 teams.
• The 4×1 and 4×2 relay teams saw junior Mason Reynolds teaming with three other freshmen (4×2-Brody Andrade, Pearce Parks, Logan Lambl/4×1-Andrade, Parks, Gaye) to fight the wind. For the conditions and the team’s youth, their clean handoffs and times of 45.95/1:37.15 were notable. 
• The 4×8 team of Hoffarth, junior Grant Lelm, and sophomores Carter Rydland and Radke placed 5th in a time of 9:03.17. 

Full meet results, points, and split can be found HERE. 

Meet Photos can be found HERE. 

 

Howard Wood Dakota Relays

The biggest meet in North or South Dakota is held annually in South Dakota at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. Most of the top athletes from each state, as well as standouts in MN, IA, and NE converge on the track for great competition and a top-notch meet. Unfortunately, the winds that ravaged West Fargo may have been even stronger in SD. 

Arason Climbs Back to Win Javelin

The wind howling down the javelin runway played games with Logan’s spear most of the meet, as he struggled to find a rhythm. However, he stayed positive and dug deep on his last throw, willing himself to the title with a toss of 173’3. The throw landed one inch within the sector. He showed impressive poise and determination despite the early struggles.  

4×8 Places Third  

The team of Tanner Schiller, Dameon Zenawick, Hunter McHenry, and Jonah Dafoe gained ground with each leg, eventually catching all teams, save Sioux Falls Jefferson and Daviess. Their time of 8:12.12 ranks #3 in ND. 

Co-Ed Relay Shines

For the first time in school history, a co-ed relay was held. The increasingly popular event includes two boys and two girls in a 4×400 relay. Teams can choose their order. RR chose to lead off with Schiller, who passed the baton to his sister, sophomore Jocie Schiller. Both ran great legs before junior Lauren Dosch got the baton for the third leg. She held ground in a PR split and handed off to Brooks on the anchor leg, who had to run only 20 minutes after the 4×2. Despite this, Brooks posted an impressive season-best split of 51.4 All told, their time of 3:47.77 was third overall and is now a new school record.

4×2 Qualifies

The only relay team that had yet qualified by last weekend was the 4×2. That changed Friday evening when the team of Brooks, Severson, Heydt, and Byron clocked a time of 1:34.08. 

McHenry Makes Moves in the 3200

In most years, the wind dies down during the Howard Wood two-mile, leading to some incredible times. Although the wind never really calmed like we were hoping, it didn’t prevent McHenry from racing to a new PR of 9:28.96. The fantastic performance was bittersweet for Hunter, as it’s less than one second from the school record of 9:28.01. He ranks #2 in school history. Also setting new PR’s were Zenawick (16th-9:51.32) and freshman distance ace Elijah Dafoe (17th-9:51.37), who outperformed their pre-race seeds. Elijah’s time betters his own freshman record in the event. 

Other Notable Performances:

• Heydt got things started on Saturday morning in the 300 hurdles. Fighting a vicious headwind into the final homestretch, he placed 10th in 42.04. Only two ND athletes placed higher. 
• Logan again competed well in the wind and placed 5th in the discus, throwing 161’8. 
• With the horrendous winds, running a PR time in the 1600m was nearly impossible. Only 2 of 46 athletes in the race set a PR. Hunter and Dameon battled in a tactical race, with Hunter (4:36.01) outkicking Dameon (4:36.26) to place 11-12. Elijah again bettered his seed by placing 21st (4:41.67). 
• The 4×4 hoped to run a fast time, but brutal wind down the homestretch prevented that. Nevertheless, the team of Schiller, Brooks, Heydt, and J Dafoe competed hard and finished 13th in a time of 3:38.78. Nearly all teams were 5-6 seconds slower than their previous season-best. 

Full meet results, points, and split can be found HERE. 

Meet Photos can be found HERE. 

Current Scoring Leaders:

1-91.00 Arason, Logan 11

2-79.75 McHenry, Hunter 12

3-73.25 Heydt, Lukas 11

4-72.00 Byron, Carter 11

5-52.25 Flom, Hudson 11

6*-46.00 Parks, Pearce 9

6*-46.00 Strand, Ben 10

8-45.50 Zenawick, Dameon 12

9-43.50 Dafoe, Elijah 9

10-43.00 Severson, Caleb 11

 

The season is wrapping up. There are only three meets left on the schedule before EDC and State. The team is primed for more PR’s as we work towards the close of the 2022 season. 

For the current Top Marks list, click HERE.