SIOUX FALLS – They came in with the highest ratings in their events and walked away with the championship medals to prove they were the best during the Class A State Track and Field Meet on Friday at Howard Wood Field.

Kaleb Foltz of Tri-State and Hamlin’s Cristhian Rodriquez came up big during their biggest competitions of the season.

Foltz won the 800-meter run, but needed a late burst to do it.

“My goal was to stick with the guy (Andrew Atwood of Beresford) that was in front of me, kind of stay in second and just hug him and then hopefully out-kick him at the end, but he kind of surprised me there, I’m not going to lie,” Foltz said. “He came in that second lap hot and I was a little worried I wasn’t going to be able to get him.”

Foltz trailed briefly before kicking it in at the finish to claim the victory.

“I passed him at that last 200 and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to hold him off the whole time,” Foltz said. “I was dead by that 50, so I was a little worried that someone was going to come up from behind me.”

Just last week, Foltz clocked the fifth fastest time in the 800, and now added a Class A state title in the event to go along with his State B championship from two years ago.

“That was special. I didn’t even know I ran it,” Foltz said of his clocking of 1:52.24 in Webster. “I would have never imagined that in my life. I just like to thank God he gave me these blessings.”

Rodriguez has been Class A’s top javelin thrower for the past two seasons and won his second straight state championship.

He said a key to his success has actually been another sport.

“A background of baseball or anything in a throwing event is what I think helped me,” said Rodriguez, who plans on playing baseball at Dakota State next season.

Rodriguez, who also throws shot put and discus, has a strong comfort level in the javelin.

“This is one event that I feel I just can’t mess up,” Rodriquez said. “I’ve done the throwing motion so many times over my years.”

It was a memorable day for Aberdeen Roncalli’s Joe Perkins, who set a new school record on the way to an eighth-place finish in the 3,200-meter run.

Perkins saved his best for last, passing two runners on the home stretch to grab a place in the event.

“I kind of worked that through, like how I would a 5K,” Perkins said, “and I used the power of God to help get me through that last 400.”

Perkins broke the record of Matt Lingor dating back to 1999 of 10:02.

The sophomore said he wasn’t thinking about a place, but rather concentrating on his time.

“I was trying not to think about that. I was trying to think more about, OK I was going for a certain time in my head,” Perkins said. “I really wanted to run sub-10 today ,which I did, and I just wanted to push myself to get there.”

It was a big effort for Perkins, who got a place and school record at the same time.

“Really proud of what Joe Perkins did this morning with his two-mile run,” said Roncalli coach Brady Lesnar. “He shaved off about 25 seconds from his PR earlier this season.”

Interestingly enough, Perkins will no longer be with the Cavaliers after today.

“We’re definitely going to miss Joe,” Lesnar said. “He’s moving to Nevada (Saturday). … He’s a really good kid and he’s brought a lot of energy to the team.”

North Central’s Lindsey Geier finished fifth in the triple jump.

“I’m really excited,” Geier said. “I tried to stay calm, because I was really nervous.”

Geier wanted to get a solid mark to start the competition to remove some of the stress. While it wasn’t exactly how she wanted, it worked out in the long run.

“I wanted it my first jump,” Geier said, “but then I got it my second and I calmed down a lot.”

Geier ended up scoring all of her team’s points on the weekend.

Ryli Thompson of Mobridge-Pollock is making the most of her final state meet. The senior qualified for the 400-meter dash finals after coming into the event ranked 10th.

“The 400 is usually my best race. I’m fifth going into finals,” Thompson said. “I actually was in lane six, so I wasn’t supposed to make finals. I was ranked 10th, but I got second in my heat.”

Thompson likes the 400 better than the other sprint races.

“I like the 4 better, because personally I don’t have enough speed to be like crazy good at a 2 or 1,” Thompson said, “but I maintain my speed for longer amounts of time, so that’s why I like the 4 better and I do better at the 4 than the 2 or the 1.”

To see the Class A results, click on the following link:

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/545344/results/all