Bulldogs Take Fifth at State Track and Field  Meet

Payton Brown, a 2024 MHS graduate, placed third in the 1600-meter run at State when he clocked in at 4:21.47. With his time, Brown also broke the previous MHS school record set by Gerald Hermans 60 years ago in 1964. James Batchelor (GRAD) was just behind him in ninth place at 4:26.73.

South Dakota’s 2024 Class A State Track and Field Meet was held at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls from May 23-25. The Bulldogs earned fifth place as a team. The Lady Bulldogs came in 34th.

The boys 1600-meter sprint medley (200-200-400-800) relay team placed second. The team made up of Jayden Johnson (GRAD), Emmett Hanson (JR), Bryan Meyer (JR), and Brown posted a time of 3:38.14. The 4×800-meter relay team of J. Batchelor, Meyer, Beckham Berry (FR), and Brown placed third with a time of 8:17.87

Johnson took third and rebroke his own MHS varsity school record in the pole vault competition with a vault of 14′ 3″. Bryton Blauert  took ninth place with his vault of 11’ 9”. J. Batchelor earned a 10th place finish at State and moved up to No. 7 on the MHS varsity honor roll in the 3200-meter run with his time of 10:02.64. 

Sam Rick (FR)  placed seventh in the triple jump with his leap of 41′ 6″. Rick took seventh place at State in the pole vault and moved up to No. 4 on the MHS Varsity Honor Roll by rebreaking his own former height with a new vault of 12′ 9″. Bryton Blauert earned 13th place in the pole vault competition at State with his vault of 11’9”.

Hanson caused a stir at State when he took first place in the prelims of the 300-meter hurdles at 40.34 seconds. In the official race, he earned fourth place in 40.83 seconds  and improved to No. 4 all-time in MHS school history. Hanson placed eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.61. Harley Zemlicka (FR) took 20th place in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles at 16:63 and 22nd in the 300-meter hurdles in the prelims with his time of 47.48 seconds. Graham Lightfield (JR) placed 14th place in the prelims of the 110s with his time of 16.23.

Jacy Dexter (SO) marked a vault of 10’ 7” to take home fifth place from State in the girls pole vault competition. She also broke the MHS girls school record. Eric Townsend, head coach for Milbank commented, “Jacy has developed into one of the best pole vaulters in Class A and it will be fun to watch her continue to improve.”  Maggie Kruger placed seventh at State with her vault of 10′ 1″. The vault  also improved her status to No. 3 all-time at MHS, and she became only the third girl in school history to vault over 10 feet. Rylee Scoular (JR) was an 11th-place finisher in the pole vault at State and at the same time improved her ranking to No. 4 on the MHS Varsity Honor Roll vault when she marked  9′ 7″.

Ashlynn Batchelor (SO) took 12th place in the 3200-meter race at 11:38.48 and 18th place in the 1600-meter run at 5:28.46. Siera Wenzl (JR) took fourth place in the 400-meter run in the prelims at 1:00.18 and 13th place in the prelims of the 200-meter run at 26:93.

Milbank earned 12th place in the 4X800-meter relay with a time of 10:08.97. Koplin, Z.Townsend, Bianca Berry, and A. Batchelor made up the team. The Lady Bulldogs took 15th place in the 1600-meter Sprint Medley Relay. Dexter, Schuneman, Z. Townsend, and Koplin posted a time of 4:27.15.

The Lady Bulldogs also took 15th place in the prelims of the 4X400-meter relay by coming in at 4:22.06. Avery Schuneman (8th), Z. Townsend (FR), Ella Koplin (7th), and Wenzl made up the team.

Coach Townsend noted, “Overall, there were 12 season bests at the state meet. The weather was a little tougher on Thursday and Friday, so times and bests were difficult to come by. However, there were a number of performances that were outstanding.”

Boys teams rankings: (1) Sioux Falls Christian (2) Custer (3) West Central (4) Hot Springs (5) Milbank (6) Ethan-Parkston (7) Hill City (8) Hamlin (9) Dell Rapids (10) Belle Fourche

Girls teams rankings: (1) Sioux Falls Christian (2) Lennox (3) Custer (4) Bennett County (5) Mt. Vernon-Plankinton (6) Dakota Valley (7) Canton and (7) Flandreau (9) Elk Point-Jefferson (10) Tea Area  (34) Milbank

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