The Groton girls’ track and field team has a good problem right now. The Tigers have multiple members who feature similar skill sets, leading to the issue of finding the best way to use them.

“We have probably 5, 6, 7 girls that can run anything from 100 to an 800,” said Groton coach Shaun Wanner.

For now, Wanner has pieced together five solid relays, all of which have been among the Class A statewide leaders at some point this spring.

Wanner said the emphais on relays began taking shape last spring.

“I think that kind of changed a little bit last year at the state track meet. We ran all five of those girls’ relay teams in the state track meet,” Wanner said. “We placed in the 4X8. We had a pretty good mile relay time going in. We had a pretty good medley time going in.”

Those relays picked up this spring right where they left off, including this week when the Tigers broke multiple records on Tuesday.

Groton’s 3,200-meter relay squad broke a school record dating back to 1988 with a time of 9:51.40, and its 800-meter relay team broke a school record dating back to the mid 1980s with a clocking of 1:48.82. The Tigers just missed setting a new record in the 1,600-meter relay.

Wanner said those records have stood the test of time.

“Those records are pretty salty,” Wanner said. “If you look at our school records for girls, between 1980 and 1990, I think a lot of those relays were during that decade.”

Wanner said having so many good runners on the team is a good thing, but also challenging trying to figure out the best fits.

“It’s a good a thing to have,” Wanner said, “but then on the other side it’s like where do you try to fit the other ones in a little bit.”

The Tigers are a work in progress as some members are trying new events or coming back from an injury. Others have yet to attempt open events so far this spring.

“Last year some of the girls were in some of those open events,” Wanner said. “And I haven’t really put them in any opens, yet, because we’ve been concentrating on the relays and placing in some of those at the state track meet.”

Wanner has watched these girls in other sports and knew exactly what they brought to the table in track.

“They’ve had a lot of success in soccer, so they’ve got to be able to run there,” Wanner said. “They press and get up and down the floor in basketball. … I’ve seen it now in track, so they’ve had a lot of success the last couple years in those sports where you’ve got to get up and down, and run around.”

Not only are the current girls physically fit, Wanner pointed out that they are also mentally tough.

“Track’s hard. It’s one of the last sports during the school year. They go through the fall sports, they go through the winter sports. Now they get to track, and I think these girls have found out how to handle hard. … Life is hard. Track is hard,” Wanner said. “They’ve kind of done a good job of fighting their way through it. I think a lot of the girls are a lot stronger than they were the last couple of years. They’ve gotten a lot stronger and I’ve seen that with sprinting quarters and halves and 200s.”

And thanks to their teammates, the Tigers are battled tested with what they go through each week in practice.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little competition,” Wanner said. “I think that has a lot to do with our success.”

LEADING THE WAY

There are three athletes who currently top three open events in this week’s track and field leaders.

Ellie Maddox of Sioux Falls Christian leads the Class A girls’ 800-meter run, 1,600-meter run, and 3,200-meter run. Silas Holdeman of Mitchell Christian sets the pace in the Class B boys’ 800, 1,600, and 3,200. And Peyson O’Neill of Bennett County tops the Class B girls’ 100-meter hurdles, the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, and the high jump.

There are 15 athletes who lead a pair of open events including Deuel’s Oliver Fieber in the Class A 100-meter and 200-meter, Ipswich’s Kyle Hettich in the Class B 100-meter and 200-meter, and Ella Boekelheide of Northwestern in the Class B 1,600 and 3,200.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Sioux Falls Christian girls continue to set the standard among the team leaders topping eight events in Class A. Bennett County is right behind, leading seven events in Class B girls.

Other team leaders include Sioux Falls Lincoln, Harrisburg, and Rapid City Stevens in Class AA boys (four events each), Sioux Falls Lincoln in Class AA girls (four events), Custer in Class A boys (five events), and Ipswich in Class B boys (four events).