On April 1, 2025, Mother Nature was not fooling around. Old Man Winter dumped inches of much needed moisture around Jerauld County and beyond, but luckily the first meet of the 2025 Track and Field Season was indoor at the DWU/Avera Sports and Wellness Complex. The Spartans drove out of the snow as they traveled to Mitchell.
We have strong numbers in the senior class, and it is good to see their leadership this final year of competition. We have 19 girls out in grades 7-12 and 17 boys out in grades 7-12.
There were teams from all three classes of Track and Field participating at this meet. There were unlimited entries, and it ran very smoothly. Starting blocks were only used for the 60m dash and 60m hurdle races, making it move right along. There were limited events, both on track and in field events, but it made for a great first outing competing against others.
Boys’ shot put was the first field event that the Spartans had competitors in. We sent three throwers into the ring amongst 70 other athletes. Leading the way for the Spartans was Grady Gran with his best toss of 37’6” landing in 20th. Robbie Hine’s best toss was right behind Gran, landing 36’ 10” and in 24th place. Wyatt Arhart’s toss of 26’ 8.25” landed him in 61st place. Grayson Finn jumped into the sand for long jump, landing 14’ 7” and in 43rd place.
As the boys’ shot put got underway at noon, the event that started the track events was the 4x800m relay. The Spartans did not have a girls’ team, but entered a boys’ team, consisting of Richard Cardona, Carson Finn, Ranick Fjerstad, and Karter Mebius who passed the baton around the 200m track in 9:24.44 for 4th place honors.
Next on the track was the 60m hurdle races. Bailey Yost ran 11.04 for 10th place just missing the top 8 for finals. Lily Roesler competed in her first hurdle race and finished in 14.23 for 25th place. Colby Flowers had one of his hurdles knocked down by an opposing competitor but still ran 10.68 for 12th place.
In the 60m dash, we entered five girls. Kenzie Kolousek ran 8.61 for 21st place. Logan Mohling got back on the track to compete after sitting out last season due to a knee injury. Logan ran 9.16 and finished in 45th place. Kendall Kolousek ran 9.92 for 92nd place. Abigal Yost ran 10.03 for 97th place. Exchange Student, Celia Garcia ran 10.53 for 103rd place. We entered four boys in the 60m dash. Hayes Havlik ran 7.89 for 53rd place. Nathan Gaikowski ran 7.92 for 56th place. Will Grohs ran 7.99 for 63rd place. Wesley Molnar ran 8.24 for 84th place.
In the mile run, we had three girls and two boys on the track for the eight laps. Alexis Roesler led the Spartans with her time of 6:44.38 for 26th place; Ella Kolousek ran 7:07.51 to finish 35th; and Masynn Mebius ran 7:34.98 to finish in 37th place. Sutten Jensen ran 5:45.05 to finish in 18th place and Kohen Mebius ran 6:04.78 to finish in 25th of the 30 runners.
Kenzie Kolousek ran 1:01.82 to finish in 2nd place of the 50 runners. She was just seven tenths off the school record. Bailey Yost ran 1:13.85 for 34th place and Brooke Mohling ran 1:16.39 for 42nd. The boys had two entries, Colby Flowers, 1:01.99 for 32nd place and Kohen Mebius in 1:10.25 for 44th place of the 46 runners.
In the 800m run Ella Kolousek ran 3:00.28 and Masynn Mebius ran 3:28.39 for 25th and 36th respectively. Carson Finn ran 2:22.41 for 21st of 43 runners in the boy’s field of 800m runners.
There were 134 athletes in the girls’ 200m dash and the Spartans had four of the runners. Brooke Mohling, 32.86; Abigal Yost, 35.50; Celia Garcia, 36.26; and Lily Roesler 36.29. We also entered four boys among the 123 runners. Will Grohs, 26.17; Nathan Gaikowski, 26.20; Hayes Havlik, 26.56, and Wesley Molnar, 26.90.
Alexis Roesler ran the 3000m race in 13.48 and placed 1st. Ranick Fjerstad ran 11:25.73 for 3rd place and Sutten Jensen made his way through 3000m in 11:34.91 for 4th place. The girls 4x400 relay finished 11th of the 19 teams. Passing the baton around the 200m track were Kenzie Kolousek, Kendall Kolousek, Logan Mohling, and Bailey Yost and they finished in 4:35.48. The boys 4x400m relay finished in 12th of the 20 teams. Running the relay were Nathan Gaikowski, Richard Cardona, Colby Flowers, and Karter Mebius and they ran 3:58.85.