Tracks season takes off

After three meets were canceled due to weather, the Hill City High School Ranger track team finally competed in its first meets of the season. However, things still drifted into the extremes with three meets in five days and a 40-degree difference in temperature between the meets.

Despite the dramatic shifts in weather, head coach Joe Noyes said the athletes performed really well. Between the three meets various students made personal records, and there were several individual and relay wins. 

It was 82 degrees out April 11 for the first meet, which was the Scooper Invite.

In the 100 meter run, Alaina Dean placed fifth at 12.91. Then, Alaina placed first in the 200 meter run at 26.76 with Riley Wiese coming in fifth at 28.16.

Meanwhile, for the 1600 meter run, Abby Cutler placed third with a time of 5:35.64 and Jaelyn Peters placed seventh with a time of 6:26.02. 

During the 3200 meter run, Brooke Thayer-Burke and Paiton Flick finished back-to-back in fifth and sixth. Thayer-Burke had a time of 14:13.26 and Flick had a time of 14:57.43. 

The Ranger girls placed in two relays as well. The 100 relay team included Sara Dubois, Tiara Faehnrich, Demi Schrier and Joy Anderson. Together they placed eighth and had a time of 58.26. 

Hill City placed eighth again in the 200 relay. The team consisted of Jessica Escalante, Lexi Brandt, Schrier and Zoe Alexander. It finished at 2:09.03. 

In shot put, Cara Ronish placed eighth at 28-09. Alaina Dean placed sixth in long jump at 15-02. 

For the Ranger boys, Brandon Escalante placed seventh in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:09.49. Luke Rupert was less than a second behind in eighth at 2:09.84. Tate Grabow placed third in the 1600 meter run at 4:50.05. 

Grayson Rahn finished fifth in the 300m hurdles at 46.01. 

The boys also placed in three relays. In the 100 relay, Caleb Sobolik, Mason Wiese, Aiden Kurtz and Isaac Dean finished fifth at 46.27. Nick Schroeder, Noah Schelske, Jerrad Hislop and Rahn finished eighth in the 200 relay at 1:41.70. Devin Buehler, Brandon, Rupert and Leighton Aves finished fifth in the 800 relay at 8:32.55. 

“The kids performed very well,” said Noyes. 

After that, the Rapid City Track-O-Rama took place Friday, April 14. This time it was 42 degrees outside. 

At this meet, the Ranger girls placed fourth in the 100 relay. The team consisted of Weise, Escalante, Anna Dean and Alaina Dean, and they got a time of 53.23. Weise and Alaina Dean also participated in the medley relay with Dubois and Cutler. Together they placed first with a time of 4:31.87. 

Additionally, Alaina  Dean scored fourth in long jump at 16-03.25. 

In the boys 800 meter run, Escalante placed fourth at 2:04.65. Buehler placed fifth less than a second later at 2:04.78. 

Rupert won the 3200 meter run at 9:57.30. Grabow followed shortly after in third with a time of 10:16.46, and Aves finished next in fourth with a time of 10:19.22. 

The next day, the Rangers were back in action at the 2023 Center of the Nation T&F Meet. With two meets back to back, this schedule simulated the upcoming bigger meets and challenged the athletes. 

“Kids just kept finding a way to take advantage of the situation and performed very well,” said Noyes. 

Alaina Dean kicked things off by winning the 100 meter run for the Rangers with a time of 12.97. Wiese placed fourth in the 200 meter run at 28.27. Then in the 800 meter run, Cutler placed third at 2:36.52, and Thayer-Burke placed seventh at 2:46.47.

In the hurdle events, Weise got second at 18.38 in the 100 and Anna Dean won the 300 at 52.41. 

For the relays, the Ranger girls placed high four times. Faehnrich, Schrier, Anderson and Zoe Alexander placed second at 58.24 in the 100 relay. Wiese, Dubois, Anna Dean and Alaina Dean won the 200 relay at 1:53.82. Anna Dean, Lillie Ross, Dubois and Peters placed second in the 400 relay with a time of 4:36.41. Finally, in the medley relay, Kylee Alexander, Jessica, Peters and Aspen Veneklasen won with a time of 4:56.62. 

In the throwing events, Ronish placed fifth in shot put at 28-10, fourth in discus at 91-04 and fifth in Javelin at 68-03. Xitlalic Lupercio also placed seventh in shot put at 27-08.5, and Anna Dean placed fourth in javelin at 68-10. 

Kylee Alexander came in third in the long jump at 14-05.5. 

Meanwhile, the Ranger boys did well in the meter runs. In the 100 meter run, Mason placed third at 12.04, and Sobolik placed fourth at 12.11. Buehler finished eighth in the 400 meter run at 58.05. 

Then in the 1600 meter run, the boys had a perfect lineup. Rupert finished first at 4:44.04, Aves finished second at 4:56.97 and Escalante finished third at 4:58.06.

Brensen Veneklasen placed sixth in the 110  hurdles at 20.21 and in the 300 hurdles at 48.77. Rahn came in third for the 300  hurdles at 46.55. 

The relays were another strong event for the Ranger boys. Aiden Voorhees, Alexander Stoeckmann, Rahn and Jerrad Hislop placed fifth in the 100 relay at 49.48. Eli Isakson, Buehler, Kurtz and Rahn placed third in the 400 relay at 3:58.12. Finally, Mason, Schroeder, Sobolik and Grabow won the medley relay at 3:57.31. 

For throwing, Cody Groven placed third in discus at 116-10 and sixth in javelin at 69-06. Mason placed fifth at javelin at 76-08. 

In high jump, Buehler came in second at 6-0, and Brensen came in sixth at 5-8. Stoeckmann placed third in long jump at 18-4 and Schroeder placed eighth in triple jump at 34-2. 

This week some freshman and junior varsity athletes competed at the Rapid City Central Junior Varsity Track and Field Meet Tuesday, April 18. 

The next primary meet is the Legion Relays at Phil Trautner Stadium at Hollister Field Friday, April 21 in Pierre. 

“I’m excited for the direction we have the team going,” said Noyes.