Streeters fly to first place in opening meet

It would seem the Sauk Centre Streeters boys track and field team was eager to return to competition.

The Streeters captured first place in nine of 18 events at the Minnewaska Invitational April 24, seizing the team title with 224 points at Minnewaska Area High School in Glenwood. No other competitor at the six-team event finished within striking distance of Sauk Centre, as second-place Minnewaska Area earned 140.5 points.

“We had some expectations that we’d be competing for that top spot,” said Jim Metcalf, coach. “We had a really good outing, starting off the season.”

It was hard to outline a particular strength for the team given its overall effectiveness across all events. No top finisher for Sauk Centre took any lower than fifth as the points quickly piled up. One area of pure dominance was the hurdling demonstrations, as Aaron Kerfeld, Spencer Marthaler and Ben Anderson landed first, third and fourth, respectively, in both the 110-meter-and 300-meter hurdles, with freshman Jackson Kerfeld snagging fifth in the 110 hurdles.

“They’ve always been a tight-knit group of kids in that event,” Metcalf said. “We’re feeling pretty good about the points they can score for us throughout the season.”

A pair of state-qualifying cross-country runners channeled their racing capabilities into the track and field opener. Brandon Kampsen dashed to convincing wins in the 800 and 1600, while Jacob Drevlow came away victorious in the 3200.

Along with his second-place finish behind Kampsen in the 800, Nathan Lahr led a spectacular triple jump effort, compiling a first-place outing at 38 feet, 7 inches. Right behind him to make a formidable 1-2 punch was Anderson at 36-11 1/2. 

“They haven’t had a whole lot of time to train outside,” Metcalf said. “It just shows their natural athletic ability.”

When it comes to pure displays of athleticism, the Streeters also boasted freshman David Gilmore, who sped to a 24.80-second top time in the 200, started off Sauk Centre’s first-place 4x200 relay and placed third in the long jump at 18 3/4. 

“He’s one of the harder workers, always putting in that effort in practice,” Metcalf said. “He’s just a strong kid for a ninth grader. I know he does a lot of weight training and those things pay off.”

The all-senior grouping of Derick Sorenson, Reese Blondin, Nathan Lahr and Kampsen were the 4x400 relay champions at 3:39.90, Owen Christians soared to second place in the pole vault at 9 feet, Blondin and Sorenson hustled to top-three spots in the 400 and Carter Schuster and Corey McCoy logged top-three placements in the shot put and discus, respectively. That is also not to mention the long jump, where Sauk Centre’s Anderson, Gilmore and McCoy all situated themselves in the top four. 

“Throughout the season, we’ll see those distances and heights go further and higher up,” Metcalf said. “It’s a really good start of the season.”

The Streeters will return to action at their home invite at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at Sauk Centre High School in Sauk Centre.

Team scores: 1. Sauk Centre 224 points, 2. Minnewaska Area 140.5, 3. West Central Area 85.5, 4. Upsala/Swanville 41, 5. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 28 and 6. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 20. 

Individual results: 100: 5. Jeric Schloegl 12.48 seconds, 6. Austin Helgeson 12.74, 10. Rykin Engle 13.17 and 18. Ben Nelson 14.02. 200: 1. Gilmore 24.80, 6. Keegan Christians 26.90, 7. Engle 26.98 and 11. Rayden Weber 28.33. 400: 2. Blondin 55.56, 3. Sorenson 56.21, 5. Zander Olmschenk 57.17 and 13. Bryan Sanchez 1:04.20. 800: 1. Kampsen 1:58.92, 2. Lahr 2:08.87, 8. Gavin Klein 2:38.82 and 10. Jacob Lahr 2:43.80. 1600: 1. Kampsen 4:53.40, 3. Jackson Kerfeld 5:16.87, 5. Logan Wiehoff 5:24.88 and 7. Andrew Drevlow 5:31.08. 3200: 1. Jacob Drevlow 10:57.57, 4. Harry Dunn 11:44.36 and 6. Sevrin Anderson 12:10.80. 110 hurdles: 1. Aaron Kerfeld 17.30, 2. Marthaler 17.43, 4. Anderson 19.24 and 5. Jackson Kerfeld 19.92. 300 hurdles: 1. Aaron Kerfeld 45.55, 2. Marthaler 45.97, 4. Anderson 48.30 and 6. Jacob Robischon 49.82. 4x100: 3. Zayden Meyer, Keegan Christians, Jay McLellan and Engle 50.65. 4x200: 1. Gilmore, Helgeson, Blondin and Schloegl 1:39.28. 4x400: 1. Derick Sorenson, Blondin, Lahr and Kampsen 3:39.90. 4x800: 3. Olmschenk, Jacob Drevlow, Owen Christians and Wiehoff 9:28.35. High jump: 5. Robischon 5 feet, 2 inches and 9. Schloegl 4-9. Pole vault: 2. Owen Christians 9-0, 4. Robischon 8-6, 6. Jarod Drobny 7-0 and 7. Marthaler 6-6. Long jump: 2. Anderson 18-1 1/4, 3. Gilmore 18 3/4, 4. McCoy 18 1/4 and 15. McLellan 14-11 3/4. Triple jump: 1. Lahr 38-7, 2. Anderson 36-11 1/2, 7. Schloegl 34-0 and 10. Weber 32-5. Shot put: 3. Schuster 38-9, 4. McCoy 37-7, 12. Kyle Sayovitz 30-6 and 15. Bryce Parish 27-11. Discus: 3. McCoy 114-5, 7. Schuster 94-10, 12. Sayovitz 87-4 and 14. Parker Sorenson 84-6.