Mitchell track and field coach Geoff Gross is anticipating Saturday.
The Mitchell boys' 1,600-meter relay team will be competing at the University of Sioux Falls Relays track and field meet, which starts today at USF Stadium and goes through Friday.
Mitchell will be competing in four relays Saturday, but its highlighted event will be the Kernels' 1,600 relay. The event is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
"It could be an incredible boys' mile relay," Gross said. "I'm stoked, really looking forward to it. I haven't been as excited for one individual race like this one for a really long time."
Mitchell's team consists of Jade Miller, Nick Kummer, Austin Loes and Jason Greenway. Two weeks ago at the Pierre Legion Relays, the group set a school record in the event, marking a time of 3 minutes, 23.38 seconds.
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Gross said Mitchell will have tough competition Saturday.
Despite setting the school record, Mitchell took second place in Pierre behind Sioux Falls Washington, which ran a 3:21. Brandon Valley took third in the same race with a 3:25. Twenty-four teams are signed up to compete in the event, but Gross said he's looking at a handful of teams as elite.
"Washington is obviously really good, and Bismarck public is traditionally a powerhouse in the five-state area. Sioux Falls Lincoln, Brandon Valley, they're going to run really fast.
"Hopefully, between the other teams that are there, we can push each other and put up some good times."
Gross said he's only seen the mile relay run at 3:20 once in his life. He believes Mitchell's team can achieve that mark. Gross added he hasn't decided the exact order of who will run where in the race, but he knows Greenway will always be the team's anchor.
"It's a special deal," he said. "The boys are running awesome and taking great pride in it. We really don't have a weak link in it."
The Mitchell girls' 1,600-meter relay will also be in action Saturday. The race starts at 5:05 p.m., and the team consists of Megan Farnham, Jesse Volek, Emma Schmidt and Naomi Munsen. Its best time is 4:11 this year.
Mitchell will also compete in the boys' and girls' sprint medley relays, but Gross hasn't set lineups for those races. The girls' sprint medley starts at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and the boys' race is immediately after.
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Other Mitchell-area high school teams that are competing in the USF Relays are Platte-Geddes, Winner, Chamberlain and Wessington Springs.
