Edmunds County Tribune -

The Ipswich girls didn't win a single event at their State B track and field competition last Friday and Saturday in Rapid City. But they scored in enough events to obtain 58.5 team points, good for second-place in the standings, behind Deubrook with 84. (That team successfully defended it 2017 title.)

Speaking of defending, the Tiger boys' did retain their 3,200-meter relay title from last year and it helped them compile 22 team points for 13th. And Ipswich narrowly missed out on winning the combined girls/boys crown. Freeman was first with 46 boys' team points, followed closely by Viborg-Hurley with 42 and Gregory and Wall with 37 each.

This year's Tiger boys' 4x800 relay runners were Maxwell Geditz, Colton Weeldreyer, Wyatt Haux and Ben Kulesa. Coach Todd Thorson said that the anchor runner Kukesa took a bit of a gamble in going out sooner than he normally does and that helped clinch the win. "It was the perfect move at the right time," Thorson explained, at a Welcome Home and awards ceremony on Monday evening in the school theatre. Haux added five boys' points in the pole vault with his fourth-place 12-03 effort and Geditz scored three points for his sixth-place high jump of 6-00. The remaining four IHS boys' team points came in a fifth-place 4x400 clocking of 3:37.71 and those runners were Geditz, Weeldreyer, Riley Nehlich and Kulesa.

Meanwhile, Kamryn Heinz topped Ipswich's individual girls' event efforts with her runner-up 38-08.50 shot put toss and you had to beat Kyla Sawvell of Wall's meet-record 43-11.50 to climb the top rung of the victory podium in that event. The Ipswich thrower also placed fifth in the discus at 116-03.

Another field event also earned the most Ipswich Lady Tiger points and you could guess that would be the pole vault. Maurer placed third at 10-06, followed by Mckenzie Evans in fifth at 9-06 with the least misses and Izabella McQuarie tied for sixth at 9-06.

Ipswich also utilized a third-place triple-jump effort of 34-03 from Gaston and in the long jump she had landed in a tie at 15-10 for the last finals' spot, but was awarded ninth on the tie-breaker. Yet another individual girls' place-winner was Aleah Steger finishing the 1,600-meter run in sixth at 5:41.42 on Saturday. And she bounced back into top-eight placement form after failing to do that in her 3,200-meter run attempt a day earlier. "Those 1,600-meter points were needed," said Thorson, as third-place Newell chased Ipswich with 47 team points. (Colman-Egan was fourth at 37.)

The Ipswich girls did enjoy some relay success, despite not winning a single one. They finished second only to Deubrook with a 4:12.88 clocking in their version of the 4x400 and those runners were Tessa Kilber, Abby Grabowska, Bailey Hammrich and Maurer. They had earlier been second in the 4x100 as well, run by Hammrich, Maurer, Abby Grabowska and Gaston. Their clocking was :51.86 in a near photo finish.

They were fifth in Saturday's 800-meter relay finals at 1:49.67, run by Hammrich, Maurer, Gaston and Kilber. On Fiday they had placed fourth in the 3,200-meter baton event at 10:09.09 and those participants were Kilber, Steger, Emily DeRaad and Ashley Ptacek.

"It wasn't ideal weather for track and field," Thorson said. "But it was a fast track." He said that even the Tigers who didn't place at Rapid City should be proud of their efforts, due to the competition and the fact that they even managed to qualify for the state meet. "If you improve, you're a champion in my book," he said. He summed up the state meet in Rapid City: "I was proud to be there and had a good time. It went about as good as it could possibly go over the weekend. What an outstanding year."

Photo Courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting

IHS Boys 3200-Meter relay - state champions

Senior thinclads wrapping up their high school careers were Bethany Lange, Josie Sylte, Allison Severson, Weeldreyer and Haux. The thinclads themselves vote on several categories, the most noteworthy probably being MVP. And Maurer was voted the girls' MVP for her track and field comeback, capped by winning four different medals at the State B. Thorson picks the Coaches Award and this year the girls' award went to Emily DeRaad. His boys' Coaches Award went to Weeldreyer and the players highlighted their different awards with the MVP going to Maxwell Geditz. And this year Thorson added a new Gold Baton Award to Bailey Hammrich for her relay efforts, as a leader both on and off the track.

Thorson thanked several organizations for helping make this season a success and especially the parents for their support. "We had the best crowds at our meets and at the state," Thorson concluded.