SIOUX FALLS – The second day of the State Track and Field Meet saw multiple Class B athletes defend state championships and another who experienced the top of the podium for the first time.
Ella Boekelheide of Northwestern added to her already impressive resume by defending her titles in the 3,200-meter and 800-meter runs. They were her second and third state championships of the weekend to run her career number of state titles to 10.
“It feels great, Boekelheide said. “I really wanted to go out with some good times and some championships, so it feels good to make that dream a reality.”
Boekelheide showed off two very different styles in her two wins on the day.
In the 3,200, she kept in the front pack and bided her time until the last lap, when she pulled away and secured a time of 11:29.60.
Boekelheide talked about that race strategy.
“The 32 is very strategic,” Boekelheide said. “It’s a long race, so you just have to stay patient and then be able to switch gears when you need to.”
In the 800, Boekelheide was on go from the start on the way to setting a new meet record time of 2:13.41.
Boekelheide talked about the physical versus mental toll of running multiple races in a day.
“My body was a little tired,” she said, “but going out there and winning that first state championship (Thursday) really gave me confidence for the rest of the meet.”
Another champion that defended a title was Spencer Melius from Faulkton in the Javelin.
Melius won the event with a meet-record throw of 171-0 to beat out Alaric Knittel of Freeman who was second, and his Faulkton teammate Weston Senn who took third.
Melius said his second title doesn’t feel any different than the first, but the senior enjoyed winning back-to-back championships.
What was different for Melius is that he was able to share the podium with Senn this time around.
“That’s something special,” Melius said. “We were planning this. We wanted to be on the podium together, it was his and my goal. And to actually be able to do it is really special.”
Melius didn’t just have a good day in the field. He also had a stellar day on the track as he finished with the third best time in the 110-meter hurdle prelims and had the top time in the 300-meter hurdle prelims.
Melius talked competing in multiple events.
“I just keep the same mindset, but it’s totally different because I go from using a lot of my arms to a lot of my legs,” Melius said, “so it’s good that I’m not using the same thing back-to-back.”
Ipswich’s Jalyssa Hutson also defended her championship in the pole vault with a mark of 11-1, one foot higher than runner-up Callie Casjens of Wall.
The performance marks the third year in a row Hutson has taken home first in the pole vault. But Hutson says her success caused more pressure.
“There was a lot of pressure after winning it in my freshman and sophomore years,” Hutson said. “It’s a lot of weight taken off my shoulders, it feels good.”
This year marked the first time that Hutson competed without teammate Marley Guthmiller, who won a state championship in the vault as a seventh grader.
“It feels a little different because I usually have my teammate, Marley, out there with me,” Hutson said. “But she tore something in her arm, so she couldn’t compete, but yeah, it was just a little different not having her out here.”
Hutson and Guthmiller finished first and second, respectively, the last two years and Hutson was simplistic when talking about why they have been successful in the event.
“We have good coaches,” Hutson said, “really good coaches.”
Leola’s Jacob Kindelspire did not defend a state title in the shot put, but did something impressive himself.
Last year at the state meet, Kindelspire finished 24th out of 24 participants with a mark of 36-7. Friday, he won the state title with a mark of 52-6, nearly a full 16-foot improvement.
“It’s amazing,” Kindelspire said. “I came in sixth last year and I couldn’t perform, and this year I couldn’t perform on my first throw and I told myself, we just have to give 100 percent and I just let it all go and give it everything.”
Kindelspire talked about how he handles pressure.
“You just have to calm yourself down and really control your mind,” Kindelspire said. “You just have to go get it. Don’t think about everything, think about something that makes you happy or something that calms you down and the rest will come. You just trust your body, not your mind. Your body knows.”
Even though Kindelspire PR’d twice during the competition with a throw of more than 51 feet, he didn’t realize how far he had thrown.
“Sometimes when you feel it’s a good throw it’s not,” Kindelspire said. “When it doesn’t feel right is usually when it’s good. It’s really weird. Today, my throw that was 51, came off my hands and it felt like a basketball and I was like, ‘OK, that’s not good.’ And then the lines were deceiving, so I thought it was 41, so I was going to scratch it, but then it was 51. So luckily, I didn’t. My coaches were about to scream at me if I was going to walk out on that one.”
Kindelspire became the second straight shot put champion for Leola, as Dustin Wurtz won the title last year for the Titans.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Kindelspire said. “Me and my buddy, who got first last year, always get called brothers and people always think we’re related. … It’s pretty sweet going back-to-back. And my coach is getting us supper tonight. Every time we win, we go to Carnival Brazilian, so that’s pretty special to me.”
Another impressive Javelin performance came from Aberdeen Christian junior Ashton Holmes, who just missed placing in the event.
“Ashton almost pulled off an incredible underdog podium run, moving from 24th at the end of the season to making finals in the javelin and was about a foot out of 8th,” said Knights coach Sam Bjorkman.
Christian didn’t quite earn points in the Javelin, but the Knights have multiple chances today to earn some with Dylan Hofer competing in the triple jump and 100, as well as Shawnteah LaCroix competing in the triple jump.
To see complete meet results, click on the following link:
