Kernels get four first-place finishes at Huron Invite

HURON — The Mitchell High School track team had a successful day on the track on Thursday at the Huron Invite, despite windy weather conditions.

“It was just a good day,” Mitchell coach Geoff Gross said. “We had beautiful weather, and the kids competed really well. When we were behind, we were digging to not be behind, and we when were ahead we were making people work to catch up to us.”

Jason Greenway, Jesse Volek, Abby Sudbeck and the 800-meter relay team all came away with first-place finishes for Mitchell.

Greenway won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.9 seconds, and he also came in first in the long jump event with a leap of 20-feet, 8.75 inches. Volek was the champion in the triple jump with a leap of 32-feet-11. Sudbeck placed first in the shot put with a throw of 37-feet-9.5.

Jade Miller, Mitch Berens, Nick Kummer and Greenway made up the 800-meter championship relay team, which finished with a time of 1 minute, 35.3 seconds.

“The coaches were very happy with the kids’ effort today,” Gross said. “We expect their best, and they’ve really stepped up in these last two meets.”

Volek also took third place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 62.2 seconds. On the boys’ side, Miller also took third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.9 seconds. Olivia Willis placed second in the high jump event with a jump of five feet. That jump also qualified her for the state track meet, which takes place in May.

Gross said he’s was pleased with the way his team competed and credited the success to being able to get quality practice outside early on in the season.

“We’ve gotten to experiment a lot more than we did in past years because of the nice weather,” Gross said. “I feel like were in midseason form right now. We’re a lot more in shape and a lot farther along right now, which is a good thing. We’ll continue to experiment and try different things through the month of April.”

The Kernels are back in action at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Mitchell/Yankton/Brandon Valley triangular, which will be held in Brandon.

Tags: track and field, sports, updates, kernels