It’s a meet unlike any other in the area and field event performers took advantage of being in the spotlight.

Some athletes had to overcome a bit of rain, but seemed to appreciate the added attention of the Aberdeen Central Field Event Meet Tuesday at Brownell Activities Complex.

“We haven’t had a lot of meets and most of our meets are pretty limited,” said Central girls’ coach Jim Appl. “For our younger kids, this is a great opportunity for them to get an extra meet in.”

One of those younger kids definitely made the most of that opportunity as freshman Regan Lust topped the field in the long jump. She said a key was making sure she was prepared to go in the damp elements.

“I honestly just think about getting a good warmup in,” Lust said, “and getting a good jump and a mark.”

While Lust won the event, she would have preferred a slightly better mark.

“It wasn’t as good as I was expecting,” Lust said, “but I haven’t long jumped since like the second meet, so it was better than I thought.”

Lust is part of a Central jumping crew that includes senior standouts Ciara Frank and Madison Hochstetter. She said they have been very helpful.

“I high jump with Ciara and Maddie, both of them, so I look up to them,” Lust said, “and try to be like them and stuff. … They give me tips and we talk about our events.”

Aberdeen Roncalli also competed in the meet and one of its younger members also made the most of his chances. Freshman Ian Kramer placed in both the long jump and the triple jump.

“It feels good,” Kramer said. “You get an opportunity to compete against guys that we normally don’t get to compete against.”

Kramer said he enjoyed the atmosphere which featured way less athletes than a regular meet would have.

“It feels different,” Kramer said, “but I kind of like it more; less people.”

The meet was kind of opposite for Kramer, who said he usually jumps better at the start of competition before his legs wear down.

“Usually in finals, I jump less than normal,” Kramer said. “Today, I jumped farthest on my last jump.”

The pole vault area was a hub of activity with plenty of spectators on hand.

“It was nice, because it was just field events,” said Central’s Jaidyn Forsyth, who finished second in the event. “Usually people are focused on sprints and stuff, so it’s nice having people cheer you on.”

Forsyth cleared a personal record 9 feet, 9 inches on the day.

“I think I vaulted pretty well,” Forsyth said. “I PR’d today so that’s good, and I went on a new pole which I think worked better.”

Forsyth topped all of her teammates, including Breckan Santjer, who has been Central’s top vaulter throughout the season.

“Brecken’s great competition for me,” Forsyth said. “I always push myself to stay up with her and it’s very good competition.”

And competition was the word of the day for the Golden Eagles.

“Trying to get another reason to compete,” said Central boys’ coach Greg Murley. “A lot of times jumping stuff interferes with the running stuff and vice versa. Give them a chance to focus on their field event is always a good thing.”

Central’s Jett Carlson won the javelin, while Tyler Bain won the high jump.

Both coaches noted that the Golden Eagles had numerous personal records on the day. Central heads to a last chance meet in Huron on Thursday, but got in one extra chance to compete at home on Tuesday.

“I’m just excited to watch our kids compete. That’s the key thing right here,” Appl said. “Some of them it’s their last opportunity, and so it’s just great to go out with a PR and get that feeling, so they know what to build on for next year.”

To see complete meet results, click on the following link:

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/527087/results/all