SIOUX FALLS – Area athletes were able to save their best for when it mattered most during the Class A portion of the State Track and Field Meet on Thursday at Howard Wood Field.
One of those was Milbank sophomore Lawson Novy, who captured a runner-up finish in the shot put after coming into the event ranked sixth.
“I got a PR. I was going in sixth,” Novy said. “I’ve been working on form a lot and I’ve been slowing it down so I can get a better throw. I knew it was coming. I’ve been doing it at practice, and I was just waiting for it at a meet.”
Novy’s best throw entering the state meet was 52-feet, 4-inches, and he finished the day with a mark of 54-2.
“I didn’t know for sure,” Novy said, “but I was hopeful I could do something today.”
Novy had plenty of motivation to do well at this year’s state meet after coming up empty handed last season.
“I kind of had some motivation. Last year I triple scratched,” Novy said. “This year … I’ve been working on just calming down before I throw and get in the right mindset.”
Groton’s Rylee Dunker ended up placing in the javelin, despite limited experience in the event.
“This is my first year doing it,” Dunker said. “I didn’t start until 3-4 meets in. I just kept getting better as the year went on.”
The senior talked about the form she used as she learned how to compete in the event.
“I make sure to keep a good block at the end so I can use all my power to throw it,” Dunker said.
What started out as a bit of an experiment ended up turning into an eighth-place finish at the state meet.
“I just wanted to try it for fun,” Dunker said.
Deuel’s Hannah Cutshaw also finished her junior season on a high note by placing third in the pole vault in a personal best height of 11-1.
“My goal first of all was just to get a PR,” Cutshaw said. “Last year I made it on the podium and I wanted to make that again.”
The standout gymnast said that her two sports are much different, but enjoys both of them.
“I like them both because they’re so different,” Cutshaw said. “For me gymnastics makes me more anxious. I like vaulting better because its quicker. I’m able to just go vault and move on.”
Cutshaw said the biggest key for her is the mental side of competing in sports.
“For me it’s a lot of mental. … (Vaulting) is similar to bars in a way,” Cutshaw said. “For me it’s mostly mental. I get in my head a lot.”
High jumping is also extremely mental, according to Lucas Johnson of Great Plains Lutheran. The senior finished sixth in the event.
“That’s what it is, is mentality. That’s what it came down to today, and I didn’t have it in me, I guess,” Johnson said. “Mentality carries you over all the heights.”
He explained it in a way of trying to jump over a person versus trying to clear a bar.
“If you start thinking, oh wow, that guy’s standing under the height I’m supposed to go over, you’re probably not going to go over that, because you don’t think you can jump over that guy,” Johnson said. “But if you think, oh it’s just a bar that I’m jumping over, I can jump over a bar. Then yeah, you got it.”
Johnson, who is bound for Dakota State to compete in the decathlon, said he gets a feel how a day is going to shake out before the final results are established.
“I can tell when it’s going to be a good day,” Johnson said, “but a bad day only reveals itself halfway through the competition.”
In the end, Johnson was hoping for a better finish, but also kept things in perspective.
“Personally, it wasn’t as good as I had hoped for,” Johnson said, “but I can only control me and what I do, so congratulations to the boys who placed above me.”
Aberdeen Roncalli had several athletes compete on opening day.
“In the high jump Austin (Fisher) had a really great attempt at 6 feet, but just missed. Clearing 6 foot might have led to a medal, so we’re proud of his effort,” said Roncalli co-coach Mark Stone. “In the hurdles and shot, Kadince (Glynn) and Jean (Anthony Thomas) didn’t quite reach a personal best. One highlight of the day would be our girls medley, Bailey (Nold), Kadince, Hazel (Kannegieter) and Addi (Cassady). They ran a personal best by several seconds, but it wasn’t quite enough for a top eight.”
While there were multiple records established on the day, one of the most noteworthy performances belonged to Ashlyn Koupal of Wagner, who became the first athlete in state history to win an open event six years in row, capturing another state championship in the high jump.
To see complete first day results, click on the following link:
