Howard Wood relays wrap up in Sioux Falls

SIOUX FALLS — For the first time in several years, both days of the annual Howard Wood Relays were not affected by some sort of inclement weather, and area track athletes took full advantage.

Three local individuals and one relay team picked up wins Saturday during the second day of the relays.

Bethany Gross, Hanson, won the long jump with a leap of 17-feet-6.75 inches. Ethan/Parkston’s Alex Muntefering won his second event of the two-day event Saturday and was a part of the winning relay team. Muntefering won the 1,600-meter run in a time of 4:19.26, a time more than three seconds faster than second-place Jared Ailts of Yankton.

Muntefering, who won the special 800-meter event Friday afternoon, was also a part of the winning Class 1,600 medley relay team. He, along with Cory Wegehaupt, Jordon Connor and Tanner Duba broke the Howard Wood record by exactly one second with a time of 3:37.79. The old record was 3:38.79 and was set in 2007 by a Madison squad. The Gregory relay team took seventh.

Luke Hauert was the other area winner Saturday. He won the 300-meter hurdle race with a time of 39.28 seconds.

Mitchell’s Caitlin Way added to her second-place finish in Friday’s shot put competition with another second on Saturday. Way finished runner-up in the discus with a throw of 127 feet. She was the only Mitchell competitor to finish in the top eight in any event.

Cody Snyder had two top-eight finishes Saturday. He took third in the shot put (52-feet-9.25 inches) and fifth in the discus (159-feet-7 inches). Wagner’s Trevor Greger was eighth in the shot put and teammate Tait Johannsen finished second in the discus.

Brigitte Gross, Hanson, also placed in multiple events. She cleared 11-feet in the pole vault, good for fifth place, and also took fifth in the 110-meter hurdle race. Alex Chocholousek, Gregory, and Avon’s Matt Dykstra took third and fourth, respectively, in the high jump. Both cleared 6-feet-3 inches.

Chamberlain’s Connor Morley, who took eighth in the long jump Friday, took fifth in the triple jump Saturday with a leap of 42-feet-7 inches.

Several area relay teams also placed Saturday. The Freeman Academy girls’ Class B 1,600 sprint medley team took second and Ethan/Parkston took sixth in the Class A race.

Freeman Academy was fourth, Marion sixth and Hanson eighth in the girls’ Class B 800-meter relay. Winner was sixth in the Class A race. The Scotland girls took fifth and Hanson was seventh in the Class B 400-meter relay.

Hanson added a third-place finish in the Class B 1,600-meter relay. Marion was seventh. Winner took second in the Class A relay.

On the boys’ side, Hanson and Marion finished third and fourth, respectively, in the Class B 1,600 medley relay. Marion finished second in the Class B 800-meter relay and third behind Freeman Academy in the 400 Class B relay. Sanborn Central was fifth and Mount Vernon took eighth.

The Bears added another second-place finish in the Class B 1,600-meter relay. Hanson was sixth and Freeman Academy seventh. Winner took fifth in the Class A relay.

College highlights

South Dakota State’s Heather Wollma, a Bridgewater native, added another win Saturday. She took first in the 100-meter dash. Haley Juhnke, a Lyman graduate, was a part of the University of South Dakota’s winning 1,600 medley relay squad.

Luke Leischner, Parkston, was a part of South Dakota State’s winning 1,600-meter relay squad. Michelle Schuch, a Bon Homme grad, took third in the discus and USD’s Tia Haines, White Lake, finished fourth in the triple jump.

For complete second-day results, see full results on this page.

Tags: howard wood, sports, track, field, kernels