SIOUX FALLS – It was another huge day for Northeast Conference track and field athletes who captured multiple titles during the Class A portion of the state meet Saturday at Howard Wood Field.
One athlete reached his goal, one was still learning about his event while earning a spot on top of the podium, and another defended two state championships.
Groton’s Keegen Tracy wanted to cap his career with a big finish and accomplished that feat by winning the 400-meter dash in a time of :49.54.
“It doesn’t feel real right now,” Tracy said. “I’ve been trying to break that 50 all year and doing it (Friday in prelims) felt amazing. Then I came in second for the finals so it was like well, why not try and go for first?”
Tracy said facing competition from bigger schools helped to prepare him for the state meet.
“I think being able to run against all the best kids in the state just brings another level of competition for sure,” Tracy said. “The warmups, going to track meets at Groton, you don’t have everyone that’s at state. Being able to run against those kids just turns another switch. For me, I gotta go harder, I gotta go faster.”
Tracy, who will compete in basketball and track and field at Northwestern in Orange City, Iowa, next season, talked about finishing his prep career.
“I didn’t realize this senior year would go this fast and I’m already on my last event for senior track. It hasn’t felt real yet,” Tracy said. “I’m guessing when everything is done and I’m sitting at home, I’m definitely going to be feeling like man, I miss this. I miss state, I miss school, I miss my friends, but I’m just excited I’m ending on a high note.”
Webster’s Matthew Mount won the state title in the javelin despite having limited experience in the event. He ended up setting a new state record with a throw of 176-feet, 9-inches.
The senior wasn’t quite sure how he was able to accomplish what he did.
“I don’t even know,” Mount said. “I’ve got like no technique, but I’m a baseball player so that makes it easy.”
And at the end of the day, Mount was not only able to win a state title, he etched his name into the state record book.
“It’s great,” Mount said. “I get to be in the record books, so that feels good.”
Mount, who will play football at Northern State next season, said he didn’t even really enjoy competing in the javelin.
“I love the shot put way more,” Mount said. “I actually hate javelin. I just seem to be good at it.”
Deuel’s Oliver Fieber had another big state meet, defending his state championships in both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, and also running on a winning relay squad.
The senior, who is headed to compete at Minnesota State next fall, had to overcome a major hurdle this spring in order to return to the track.
“I was coming off a strong indoor season,” Fieber said. “I went to three college meets and actually won all three of them, so that felt pretty good. Then about a week later I tore my meniscus.”
Fieber had surgery and rushed to get back in time for his final prep season.
“I was definitely anxious. I think I sped up things because I was dealing with something else in my knee, so I was going a little bit too quick,” Fieber said. “But now we’re back here. I’m not to my peak performance yet.”
Bentley Bauer of Mobridge-Pollock picked up a pair of state places in a matter of minutes. The eighth-grader grabbed a fifth place spot in the long jump before competing in the finals of the 200-meter dash where she finished seventh.
“I’m pretty satisfied,” Bauer said. “I think that next year I’ll be back and I’m excited for that. I have to remind myself that I still am in middle school.”
Bauer said competing at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays at the same facility earlier this year helped to prepare her for the state meet.
“The state meet is pretty hard,” Bauer said, “but when you think about it, Howard Wood is 10 times scarier.”
That meet includes athletes from multiple states and combines classes for some open events.
“It definitely calms down the nerves,” Bauer said. “There’s a lot more competitors when you’re at Howard Wood, because it’s all classes.”
The multi-sport athlete said she enjoys competing in track and field.
“Track is one of my favorite sports,” Bauer said. “I don’t want to say it’s my favorite sport and boost my parents’ ego, but I want to say that it is my favorite sport just out of my heart.”
Groton’s McKenna Tietz had a busy day, which included collecting multiple state places. The junior finished seventh in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a race won by Sioux Falls Christian standout Halle Braun.
“Halle being right in front of me, she’s going right away,” Tietz said. “Usually I have someone in front of me more, you can just go get them. But she was so far ahead, it was like, how do you pace that, really? Also having run them (Friday), plus the 4×4 and the 4×2, it’s just a lot on the body.”
Tietz talked about the challenges of the 300 hurdles, including the final hurdle right before the finish line.
“You get to that last one and it’s like, ‘oh my gosh, I have to go over another one?’ The worst form you’ve ever seen over that one,” Tietz said.
Aberdeen Roncalli was led on the day by a third-place finish from Brock Bowman in the javelin, an impressive accomplishment considering he’s only competed in the event for about a month.
“It was a bus ride home from the Eureka meet about a month ago when the coaches asked Brock to consider throwing the javelin,” said Roncalli co-coach Mark Stone. “His reply: my mom said I should try it too. To that, we said well, we can’t all be wrong can we?”
That provided a strong finish to the season for the Cavaliers.
“The end of the state meet always means the same thing – tired coaches and athletes, proud coaches, and optimism for the future,” Stone said. “Sharing the track season with the athletes and coaches never gets old.”
To see complete meet results, click on the following link:
