New records set for GHS at State Track meet

On Friday and Saturday, the Garretson Tracksters hit the field in Spearfish to compete in the State Class A Track & Field Meet. Seventeen Blue Dragons made the rosters for competition in seven events.

"The weekend went well and the weather was good," said Coach Bev Howe. "The kids did a great job and recorded some of their best times and throws of the season."

Three of the athletes placed in the top eight, with two of those athletes hitting the top five.

Sophomore Logan Bly set a new GHS record, hitting a high jump height of 5'0" and out-scoring her record-setting 4'11" jump from earlier in the season. She placed fourth overall.

Oliviyah Thornton, a junior, hit a personal record of 36'10.5" in the shot put, which garnered her 5th place overall.

Junior Lily Ranschau competed in the 300m hurdles and grabbed sixth place with her time of 48.21 seconds. She too hit a personal record.

Three teams took to the track for relays. The boys' 4x800m relays saw Cooper Long, Dylan Kindt, Devon Leedy, and Cadyn Ockenga get an overall time of 8:44.61, garnering them a 13th place finish. Participating in the girls' 4x800m relays were MaKayla Heesch, Kylie Christensen, Tayler Benson, and Jordyn Williams. They earned a time of 10:43.86 and 20th place. In the 4x200m relays, Dominic Abraham, Jayse Miller, Dylan Kindt, and Hunter Abraham had a 23rd place finish with a time of 1:45.28.

Cooper Long also competed in the 400m dash, earning a 23rd place finish with a time of 54.78.

Madden Lardy and Molly Hulscher threw hard in the shot put and received 12th place and 14th place, respectively, with throws of 34'9.5" and 34'7.5".

Ranschau, who had qualified for the 100m hurdles to compete at State, was disqualified after hitting the second-to-last hurdle in the preliminaries, a heartbreaking loss after a great season.

Overall, the girls' team placed 21st out of thirty-seven. The boys did not earn a placement.

"The coaching staff was very happy with their performances," said Coach Howe. "We would also like to thank the parents and all the Blue Dragons fans that made the trip to Spearfish to support the GHS track team this weekend."