The Wessington Springs Spartans competed Friday, April 10, at the Huron Relays, an event added to the schedule after the team’s first two outdoor meets were canceled.
In girls field events, Anna Arhart placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 35 feet, 1½ inches to reach the finals. She also recorded a season-best 89-3 in the discus.
Aunnika Heumiller clocked 21.10 in the 100-meter hurdles, then teamed with Ella Kolousek, Alexis Roesler and Masynn Mebius in the 3,200-meter relay. The group placed fourth in 12:42.45. Logan Mohling ran 1:08.59 in the 400-meter dash, and joined Brooke, Ella and Masynn in the medley relay, where the team placed fourth in 5:32.30. Roesler added a 16:06.98 finish in the 3,200-meter run.
On the boys side, Grady Gran led the shot put with a throw of 41-5½ for 12th place, while Jaspur Gran followed at 40-5 for 16th. Grady Gran also recorded a 100-9 throw in the discus. In the high jump, Carson Finn cleared 5-10 to place seventh, while Keaton Hasty cleared 5-2 for a personal best. Chase Wenzel also competed in the event, and Grason Finn took part in the long jump.
The Spartans were well represented in the sprints. Nolan Schaller led the 100-meter dash at 12.77, followed by Casen Waters (12.85), Grason Finn (13.60), Chase Dunsmore (14.47), and Damien Knippling, who exited the race with a hamstring injury. The team wishes Knippling a speedy recovery.
In relay action, Nathan Gaikowski, Max Mebius, Will Grohs and Logan Mebius placed eighth in the 800-meter relay with a time of 1:37.62. The 400-meter relay team of Wes Molnar, Grason Finn, Ezra Anson and Chase Wenzel finished in 51.84.
In the 400-meter dash, Schaller (1:01.41), Keaton Hasty (1:01.47), Sutten Jensen (1:02.81) and Kohen Mebius (1:06.04) competed for the Spartans.
The boys medley relay team of Gaikowski, Molnar, Grohs and Max Mebius turned in a strong second-place finish with a time of 4:05.73. Logan Mebius added a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter run at 2:06.59.
In the 200-meter dash, Schaller (27.58), Anson (27.82), Wenzel (28.95), Hasty (29.13) and Kohen Mebius (29.70) all competed. In the 3,200-meter run, Sutten Jensen posted a time of 11:29.71, followed by Ethan Heumiller at 12:24.77.
The meet concluded around 9 p.m. with the 1,600-meter relay, where Max Mebius, Wes Molnar, Nathan Gaikowski and Grason Finn finished ninth in 3:54.84.
The Spartans face a busy schedule this week. Junior high athletes traveled to Chamberlain on Monday for the River City Rising Relays, with field events at 3 p.m. and running events at 4 p.m. On Tuesday, varsity athletes competed in Wagner, with field events and the 3,200-meter runs beginning at noon and remaining running events at 2 p.m.
Junior high athletes return to action Thursday in Corsica, with field events at 1 p.m. and running events at 2 p.m. The week wraps up Friday, April 17, as the varsity team travels to Avon, where field events begin at 11 a.m. and running events at noon.