A trio of Aberdeen Central grads teamed up recently to break a 14-year-old Northern State men’s indoor track and field record.
Senior Seth Martens and freshmen Drew Salfrank and Carter Dingman were three members of the men’s 4×400-meter relay squad that set a new mark (3:19.23) for the Wolves during the SDSU D2 Open that was held Jan. 26-27 in Brookings.
Joel Matehs was the fourth member of that relay.
Northern State head coach Lynne Dingman said the record was exciting, but there’s more in the tank for the foursome.
“I didn’t think they’d run that fast (that) weekend,” Coach Dingman said. “But after watching them run – a couple guys got caught up, too; boxed in a little bit. We can run so much faster. I’m definitely excited about that.”
All three former Golden Eagles were key members of the Aberdeen Central sprints and relays during their high school careers.
“We knew once we got these guys here, we knew it could happen,” Dingman said, adding that going after established records as a freshman can be daunting at times. The competition just to be on the relay team is intense at practice, she said.
The fact that three of the four relay members are homegrown talent adds a special element.
“Over the last few years, this is the most local kids I’ve had on the roster,” Dingman said. “It’s been great having them.”
The Wolves will continue their pursuit of speed the next two weekends when they return to Brookings for the SDSU Classic (Feb. 9-10) and the SDSU Last Chance (Feb. 16).
