Titans break records in Yankton

On Thursday, Apr. 27 the Tea Area High School track and field team competed in the First Dakota Relays in Yankton. With an array of weather, several Titans found success, and two school records were broken.

In the 1600 meter run, Grace Bialas, broke the school record with her time of 5:39.86 in the event. She finished tenth among the strong field of runners.

The Titans’ Peyton Thompson broke his own school record in the javelin, throwing a distance of 124’ in the event. He finished 11th in Yankton.

Natalie Gass tied the school record in the high jump, clearing 5’1”. This marked placed her fifth.

Other strong performances include a runner-up finish by Blake Thompson in the long jump. Thompson jumped a distance of 21’2.5” to take second in the event.

Ethan McKnelly earned runner-up honors in the high jump, clearing 5’11”. Kayl Broderson took fourth in the event, clearing 5’9”.

The boys’ 4x200 meter relay team of Blake Thompson, Kayden Williamson, Ethan Vis, and Juv Banza claimed third place honors with a time of 1:35.50 in the event.

The 1600 Sprint Medley Relay team of Thompson, Vis, Nathan Babb, and Holden Jelen also captured third, posting a time of 3:55.22.

The 4x100 meter relay team of Thompson, Tyler Rhead, Vis, and Banza took fourth place with a time of 45.82.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Babb, McKnelly, Holden Jelen, and Chase DeBoer took seventh with a time of 3:46.20.

In the boys’ shot put, Conner McKinney finished sixth with a throw of 44’1” in the event.

For the Titan girls, Mya Neuhardt continued to dominate in the sprint events with a second-place finish in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes.

In the 100 meter dash, Neuhardt finished with a time of 12.98 to earn runner-up honors. In the 200 meter dash, Neuhardt clocked a 27.05. Samantha Van Tol took eighth in the event (27.95).

Jaycie Babb captured fourth place in the 800 meter run. In the 800, Babb took fourth with a time of 2:29.22. Bialas took tenth in the event (2:37.27).

In the 400 meter dash, Haidyn West finished sixth with a time of 1:01.73.

Lydia Decker placed fifth in the javelin throw, throwing a distance of 95’10”.

In the pole vault, Kara Knutson took sixth clearing a distance 7’6”.

The girls’ 4x200 meter relay team of Neuhardt, Van Tol, Payton Cuppy, and Sydney Stahlecker finished fourth with a time of 1:49.55.

The girls’ 4x400 of Haidyn West, Jaycie Babb, Shealey Geelan, and Stahlecker captured fifth with a time of 4:20.96 in the event.

The Titans competed in the Beresford Lions Club meet on Tuesday, May 2. The boys’ team won the team title with first place finishes from the 4x100 meter relay team (Banza, Rhead, Vis, and Thompson); first place by McKinney in the shot put; first place by Thompson in both the 100 meter dash and long jump; first place by McKnelly in the high jump; first place by Babb in the 400 meter dash and first place by Jack Campbell in the 3200 meter run.

Runner-up honors for the Titans boys included Reid Hammerquist who took second in the 3200 meter run and McKnelly who took second in the 200 meter dash. Third place honors went to Tim Halbur in the triple jump, Matthew Rogers in the 110 meter hurdles, Rhead in the 100 meter dash and DeBoer in the 400 meter dash.

The Titans girls also enjoyed top place finishers. Bialas earned top honors in the 1600 meter run and the 1600 meter medley relay of Neuhardt, Stahlecker, West and Babb, captured first place honors in Beresford. The 4x400 meter relay team of Geelan, Heidi Hofer, Babb, and West claimed top honors as well at Beresford.

Brooklyn Reiners claimed second in the 300 meter hurdles; Bialas took second in the 800 meter run; and Van Tol took second in the 200 meter dash.