SIOUX FALLS – Fantastic finishes and stellar performances highlighted the opening day of the Class B State Track and Field Meet in Sioux Falls on Thursday.

On the boys’ side, the highlight came during the Sprint Medley relay, where Wolsey-Wessington outlasted Canistota in a fantastic finish. The Warbirds finished with a time of 3:39.81, three one-hundredths of a second faster than the Hawks (3:39.84).

Wolsey-Wessington freshman Caleb Richmond anchored the relay and described his thoughts as he was watching his teammates during the race.

“I was thinking that I had to come up with something crazy with like a 1:53 or something, but Moshe (Richmond) got us in like fifth there so it was a little easier on me,” Richmond said.

Once Richmond got the baton, his goal was simple: win the race.

“I was just trying to go as fast as I can and make up the ground,” Richmond said. “We got first at Howard Wood, so we were trying to repeat that, and that’s all I was thinking, like just to get first.”

Once Richmond took the lead, he had to hold off a comeback effort from Canistota’s Josiah Schroeder, who crossed the finish line seemingly neck-and-neck with Richmond, causing the freshman to be nervous about the result.

“I got scared as I saw his shadow coming up, and then I just tried to push myself through the last 20 meters, and ended up winning by (0.03). It was a great feeling,” Richmond said.

On the girls’ side, Ipswich’s Gracie Lange captured the high jump title with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches. The senior was happy to end her career on a positive note.

“It’s a good way to end my senior year. That was exciting that I got to end on a good note,” Lange said.

Lange said it has taken consistency and good coaching throughout the season to prepare for the championship win.

“It was a pretty good season,” Lange said. “I felt like I was more consistent this year than last year and I think that definitely helped me. I also have a really good coach and he’s great.”

Knowing that it was her final competition gave Lange the confidence to get the victory.

“Honestly, just knowing it was my last time jumping and just giving my all no matter what,” Lange said.

While they did not finish as state champions, Leola’s Dustin Wurtz and Aberdeen Christian’s Abe Kretchman both turned in outstanding performances in their respective events.

Wurtz finished second in the discus with a throw of 148 feet, 4 inches, and felt he did well in the

event.

“I thought I could’ve done better, but obviously the wind is blowing right in our face, and I personally don’t really like that,” Wurtz said. “But I think I did pretty good today for my age.”

Wurtz, a sophomore, attributed his efforts to the many hours of work he put in throughout the season to get to this point.

“A lot of lifting, a lot of practice, a lot of drills, and just being hounded to do the right thing so you don’t make bad habits,” Wurtz said.

Kretchman also had a runner-up finish in the triple jump, despite the event being rescheduled due to technical malfunctions. Kretchman posted a leap of 41 feet, 6.75 inches, and the senior had mixed feelings about his final performance in the event.

“Well, I was a little disappointed in myself. I scratched my big jump, which happens a lot of times. The big jumps are the scratched ones,” Kretchman said. “Didn’t get my 42 (feet). I could’ve done a lot more things to prepare, but there’s only so much you can do. But, I’m still happy with second place.”

Aberdeen Christian head coach Sam Bjorkman was pleased with Kretchman’s performance.

“Abe had a great day. Second place in the triple jump, so that’s awesome,” Bjorkman said. “You have to feel good for him for that. He came within an inch of his best last year at state and best jump all year and he was able to do it this afternoon despite the weirdness of rescheduling the triple jump, so love to see that.”

While the Knights also competed in the boys and girls 400-meter relay prelims, both came up short in qualifying for the finals, including the boys’ mishandling an exchange in their 400-meter-relay. Bjorkman described the Knights’ strategy in the 400-meter relays.

“We knew we’d probably have to take off a whole bunch of time to place and so we tried to squeeze everything out of that last handoff and kind of went for broke,” Bjorkman said. “We knew we’d either make finals or have a mishap like that. It was worth the risk, though. Everybody was on board.”

Potter County placed second in the girls 3,200-meter relay, while also adding a third-place finish in the Sprint Medley relay. Battlers’ freshman Emma Schlachter was a part of both relays, and was proud of how the team did.

“We‘ve been doing, I think, pretty good. We’re proud of ourselves out of the day,” Schlachter said.

Schlachter was quick to give credit to others after her team’s performances.

“I just want to say my teammates are awesome, and the only reason we’re here is because of them and our family, and most of all, God,” Schlachter said. “God gets us here and uplifts us and carries us through, so big thanks to Him.”

Schlachter described the strategy the team used during the races.

“I think we just wanted to get out and have fun and just improve our times,” Schlachter said. “I know that we were looking forward to the Medley. We really have fun because it’s a little chaotic, but when we worry, we just think ‘pray, trust, and run,’ so that’s our motto.”

Overall, Bjorkman was happy with how the Knights started the meet and looks forward to what today’s events bring.

“It should be fun. With the long jump, anytime you have three guys in one event, that’s a ton of fun,” Bjorkman said. “We’ve got two girls in the two-mile. It should be nice and cool for them (Friday) morning. Really excited to see that. It should be a good day.”

To see complete opening day results, click on the following link:

https://results.dakotatiming.com/display.html?event_id=1245