Weather-related cancellations forced the Spartans to adjust their late-season schedule, but athletes made the most of two final opportunities to compete before the South Dakota State Track & Field Meet May 28-30 in Sioux Falls. The team participated in the Hanson Invitational on May 20 before returning to competition the following day at the Avon Last Chance Meet, where athletes continued their pursuit of personal bests and Top 24 state qualifying marks.
Anna Arhart continued to lead the girls’ throwing events, placing second in shot put at both meets. She opened the week with a throw of 33 feet, 10.75 inches at Hanson before improving to 34-8½ at Avon. Arhart also added strong performances in discus, including a fifthplace finish at Hanson.
Kenzie Kolousek highlighted the girls’ track performances by winning the 800-meter run at Hanson in 2:25.84. The Spartans also saw continued improvement from their relay teams. At Hanson, the 1,600-meter relay team of Kendall Kolousek, Logan Mohling,KenzieKolousek and Ella Kolousek posted a season-best 4:26.53. One day later in Avon, that same quartet lowered its time again, running 4:23.08 to win the event.
The girls’ medley relay team of Ella Kolousek, Logan Mohling, Brooke Mohling and Masynn Mebius added a runnerup finish in Avon, while Mebius placed third in the mile run. Brooke Mohling also contributed sprint performances in the 100- and 200-meter dashes during the twomeet stretch.
On the boys’ side, Carson Finn turned in one of the week’s top field-event performances. After placing fourth in high jump at Hanson, Finn cleared 5 feet, 11 inches to win the event at Avon. Nathan Gaikowski, Wesley Molnar, and Jaspur Gran paced the Spartans in javelin competition throughout the week, while Grady Gran continued to score points in both shot put and discus.
The boys’ relay teams also continued to build momentum entering the state meet. At Hanson, the sprint medley relay placed fourth, while the 800-meter relay finished sixth. At Avon, the 3,200-meter relay team of Carson Finn, Sutten Jensen, Ezra Anson and Grason Finn captured first place in 9:19.67. The sprint medley relay of Wesley Molnar, Carson Finn, Will Grohs, and Logan Mebius also claimed first place while improving its season-best time.
Logan Mebius delivered one of the Spartans’ strongest individual performances at Hanson, running a personal-best 2:02.08 in the 800-meter run. The following day, the boys’ mile relay team of Carson Finn, Wesley Molnar, Will Grohs and Logan Mebius posted a season-best 3:36.74 while earning second place.
Distance runner Sutten Jensen also finished the week on a high note. After running the 3,200-meter race at Hanson, Jensen returned in Avon and sliced 30 seconds off his previous day’s time, finishing second in a personal-best 11:00.47. Ethan Heumiller added a fifth-place finish in the event.
Other notable performances included a sixth-place finish in javelin by Nathan Gaikowski at Avon, a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles by Grason Finn, and continued contributions from athletes throughout the Spartans lineup as they sought to improve marks before the postseason.
With the regular season complete, the Spartans now turn their attention to Sioux Falls, where qualifiers will compete against the state’s best athletes at the South Dakota State Track & Field Meet Find live coverage of the State Track & Field Meet on SDPB Sports: www.SDPB.org/Track