Accomplished track and field athletes used their final indoor opportunity to tune up for the upcoming outdoor season during the Dewey Donat Classic at the Barnett Center on Thursday.

Some are in search of state titles, some on a quest for state records, and each was attempting to get better with the start of the outdoor season on the near horizon.

Jalyssa Hutson of Ipswich had a big meet. The freshman tied for first in the high jump, was runner-up in the pole vault, finished seventh in the 55-meter hurdles, and easily won her heat in the 200-meter dash.

Hutson explained what it’s like to compete in a variety of events.

“You just have to lock into one thing at a time and just get it over with,” Hutson said, “and then you’ve just got to focus on the next thing.”

Her favorite event?

“Probably pole vault,” said Hutson who was runner-up in the event at last year’s the State B meet. “I don’t know, there’s just something about it. It’s just fun, getting up in the air, and going over heights.”

Hutson is another in a long line of standout vaulters for Ipswich. One of her current teammates, Marley Guthmiller, is a past state champion. That makes competing a bit interesting.

“If it’s against your teammates, you want them to do good, too,” Hutson said, “but at the same time you still want to win.”

Tri-State’s Kaleb Foltz is no stranger to state meets, but he is attempting something new this year. The distance ace is competing in the 400-meter dash.

“I guess I’m maturing,” said Foltz, who will be heading to Minnesota State to compete in track next season. “I’ve been in the weight room trying to work on that fast-twitch muscle more. Those 400s, I’m starting to get faster and I’m loving ‘em.”

Foltz, who said he likely won’t run the 3,200-meter this spring, won the 400 just after he topped the field in the 800-meter run on Thursday.

“I just ran the 800 before that, so back-to-back to events, so honestly I was debating dropping out of the 400,” Foltz said.

Instead, he decided to give it a try and edged a Watertown foe at the finish to claim the victory.

“I pushed through it, and just tried my best,” Foltz said, “and it worked out well.”

Watertown’s Owen Spartz, the defending State AA champion in the pole vault, is on a path to big things again this spring. The senior, who is going to vault at the University of South Dakota next year, went 15-feet, 6-inches in his third indoor meet this spring.

“I started at 14-6 (first indoor meet), and now we’re back to 15-6, 15-6, so we’re doing good,’ Spartz said. “Technique’s getting a lot better.”

Spartz, who’s personal record is 15-9, attempted to clear 16 feet, but was unable to clear that height.

“We’re just trying to get on bigger poles, work those bigger poles and get that technique a little bit better, a little bit tighter,” Spartz said.

While technique is huge, so is mental toughness when it comes to vaulting.

“You’ve got to have a really strong mindset to pole vault,” Spartz said. “Even if you win, you fail.”

He is not going to give up in his quest to soar higher and higher, noting that 16-2 would break the state record.

“16 keeps avoiding me,” Spartz said, “but we’ll hit it, we’ll hit it. I’m not worried.”

Brea Sweet of Lisbon, N.D., also had a big meet, winning the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, edging Kali Norton of Ellendale, N.D., in both races.

“I definitely look at all the heat sheets and see what my competition is,” Sweet said. “I’ve ran against her before, so I knew how she approached the race, so I kind of put my tactics against what she does.”

Translated, Sweet wanted to wait for the right time before kicking it in at the end.

“I just kind of try and hold the pace that they have and then towards the end I try to kick it as hard as I can,” Sweet said. “Being in an outside lane today kind of gave me a bit of a disadvantage with that, but I could hear her behind me, so I used that.”

Sweet, who was runner-up in the 400 at the state meet last spring, said the 400 is much more of a mental battle than the 200, especially late in the race.

“You’re legs are pretty numb by that point, so you just have to tell them to keep going, and don’t let your body slow yourself down,” Sweet said. “I actually do talk to myself through the race the entire time.”

To see a complete list of results from Thursday’s meet, click on the following link:

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/528190/results/all