WARNER – Area track and field athletes used the Dial-A-Move Last Chance meet Friday to secure their spots at the state meet next week.

There was no better example of a last chance than Daniel Person from Britton-Hecla. The senior was sitting just outside of the top 25 in the 1,600-meter run before the meet in Warner, and ran a 4:35.89, a new personal record, now putting him in eighth in Class A.

“I had been sitting kind of on the brink of making it to state or not. I think I was sitting 26th and so I knew that I needed to cut some time,” Person said. “I came in here knowing that I needed to cut some severe time to make it to state and this was my last opportunity to do it. So, I knew I needed to strap up and get it done.”

Person edged out Jayden Schwan from Groton with less than a second separating the them at the finish. The two runners have been competing all season and pushed each other to get to state.

“Me and JD (Jayden Schwan) have been running together all season. We’ve been kind of going back and forth. I won the first couple, he’s gotten me in a couple, and now this is the last meet,” Person said. “I knew that we were both going for nearly the same time and so I knew that if I sat right behind him, I’d be right on.”

In the final 100 meters, Person emptied the tank to overtake Schwan securing him the event win and a new personal best. He knew that he had to improve or it might have been his last meet ever.

“Once we came to that last hundred meters, I knew I had more left in the tank. So, I pulled out and I just was gonna give it my all. Not necessarily to win it, but just to get my time as low as I could,” said Person. “Could be potentially my last mile of the season. Senior year, you know, either I’m doing it now or I’m not doing it and there was no way I was gonna leave anything left on the table.”

Over in the throwing pit, Dustin Wurtz from Leola hit a season best in the discus to put him seventh in the state in Class B. The senior matched his personal best from his sophomore year throwing a 149-feet 5-inches winning the event.

“I matched my PR from my sophomore year, though,” Wurtz said. “I came pretty pumped up. I really, really wanted to hit 150 in discus, but the one that was probably over 150 was out of bounds by about two foot.”

Wurtz also won the shot put with a throw of 56-0.5. His school record throw of 57-6.5 from May 2 still holds the top spot in Class B.

“Every single meet counts, so just see what I can do, what I’m doing consistently is the biggest part,” Wurtz said. “I’ve been right around that 55 mark a couple of times in a row now.”

The senior relies mostly on his strength in both events despite the discus and shot put requiring a lot of technique to go along with the strength.

“For discus, I’m just strong, it seems to be what it is,” said Wurtz. “For shot put, it’s my strength and also how fast I can do it, cause for how big I am, I think I move pretty decently.”

Emma Schneider from Hitchcock-Tulare also won two open events. The senior won the triple jump and long jump, despite performing both events one after the other.

“I really had to focus on getting my knees up and getting out there, so I accomplished that today with long jump,” said Schneider. “Triple jump was kind of the same thing. Right after long jump, I had to go straight to triple jump.”

In addition to jumping in sand, she also takes part in the 400-meter and 800-meter relay teams. She runs the first leg in both relays, which puts a little pressure on the senior.

“It’s a little pressure. It gives me like a little bit more motivation to help my team,” Schneider said. “I think it’s really fun starting them because last year, I mainly anchored them, and that’s still fun, too. No matter what, being in a relay is super fun.”

In the 100-meter dash, Breanna Jochim from Herreid-Selby Area beat the field, running a time of 12.93 seconds, with her season best time of 12.34 sitting third in Class B. Her quick start helps set her up for success for the rest of the race.

“I was really excited to finish off the year with a good time,” Jochim said. “I would say my start is definitely better.”

The junior will run the 100, 400-meter relay and 800-meter relay at the state meet in Sioux Falls next week, and will use this upcoming week to recover and prepare for state.

“It was really exciting. I loved running there last year, so this year, I’m just excited to hopefully place again,” Jochim said. “Just make sure this weekend, I recover and then get back to practice on Monday and Tuesday.”

Hitchcock-Tulare’s Logan LaBrie was the only other double open event winner, taking the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

Aberdeen Roncalli received wins from Addison Cassady in the 3,200-meter run, and the boys’ 800-meter relay squad.

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

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/593162/results