The Langford Area track squad competed in a pair of meets during the past week in preparation for the Region 1B meet in Britton on Thursday, beginning at 10 a.m.
The top 24 athletes and relay teams in each event from across the state will advance to the state meet in Sioux Falls May 25-27. Heading into regional competition, LA has two boys currently ranked among the top 24.
Kalen Godel has the 16th best time in the 1600-meter run at 4:54.34 and is ranked 18th in the 800 run with a 2:07.84 clocking. Jesse Keough rates 19th in the 300 hurdles with a 45.34 effort.
“I finally think we are where I want us to be mentally,” said LA coach Taylor Reints, “so I feel good about that. But the goals are the same, as we are pushing as hard as we can but it’s going to be the mental game that gets us where I think we can go. We honestly haven’t talked about anything other than our mentality in the last month, and I honestly haven’t looked at a result because I know it doesn’t matter until we get to a certain point and I see what I need to see.
“It’s been a process, but I feel we are now ready to do some good things,” Reints added. “I started seeing that with some of our young athletes last week. We don’t have numbers but we have been gaining momentum and experience has taught me that when you get things rolling good things can happen. Our goal for regions is to carry that momentum and build off it. I feel we have athletes that are hungry right now and I think we are going to have some fun.”
LA participated in the Lake Region Conference meet in Ipswich last week Tuesday in both the varsity and middle school divisions and traveled to Waubay on Friday.
Three boys won event titles at Waubay. Kalen Godel topped the field in the 800--meter run, Julian Rodriguez took the 110-meter hurdles, and Jesse Keough won the 300-meter hurdles. Paytyn Marlow was the top finisher for the girls with a third in the 100 dash and sixth in the 200.
(Continued on p7) In the LRC meet Godel and Keough were the top boys’ placers. Godel was fourth in the 800 and seventh in the long jump, and Keough placed fourth in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the long jump. The duo also teamed up with Isaac Tolaza and Conner Glines to take sixth in the 400 relay.
Marlow led the girls with a third in the 100 dash and a seventh place in the long jump.
LRC Results
BOYS RESULTS 800 Run: 4. Kalen Godel 2:15.02; 300 Hurdles: 4. Jesse Keough 46.36; 400 Relay: 6. Langford Area (Isaac Tolaza, Conner Glines, Jesse Keough, Kalen Godel) 48.52; Long Jump: 6. Jesse Keough 18-1.5 7. Kalen Godel 18.01.5
MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM POINTS: North Central 193, Warner 132, Northwestern 107, Frederick 59, Aberdeen Christian 56, Faulkton 43, Ipswich 30, Frederick 10, Faulkton 8, Langford Area 7, Leola 6
200 Hurdles: 7. Dariusz Konkler 54.16; Medley Relay: 7. Langford Area (Case Reints, Carter Glines, Eli Samson, Dariusz Konkler 2:49.64
GIRLS TEAM POINTS: Ipswich 173, Warner 112, Faulkton 105, Northwestern 93, Frederick 75, Aberdeen Christian 65, North Central 41, Leola 23, Langford Area 8
100 Dash: 3. Paytyn Marlow 13.82; Long Jump: 7. Paytyn Marlow 14-0 MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM POINTS: Warner 215, North Central 136, Ipswich 78, Northwestern 57, LangfordArea 50, Faulkton 41,Aberdeen Christian 20, Leola 19, Frederick 18, North Central 6
100 Dash: 5. Lizzie Gustafson 15.21; 400 Dash: 5. Brooke Dwight 1:14.16; 400 Relay: 4. Langford Area (Emily Olson, Brynn Samson, Alex Darling, Lizzie Gustafson) 1:01.79; 800 Relay: 7. Langford Area 2:17.33; Medley Relay: 3. Langford Area 2:23.15; High Jump: 4. Lizzie Gustafson 4-2 6. Emily Olson 4-0; Long Jump: 2. Brooke Dwight 1310.5; Triple Jump: 1. Emily Olson 256.25
Waubay Results
BOYS TEAM POINTS: Great Plains Lutheran 94, Frederick Area 68, Northwestern 64, Dakota Hills 54, Tri-State 52, Sisseton 52, Florence-Henry 44, Langford Area 44, Waverly-South Shore 13, Tiospa Zina 6, Webster Area 6
100 Dash: 4. Isaac Tolaza 12.0; 200 Dash: 6. Isaac Tolaza 24.6; 400 Dash: 4. Conner Glines 57.7; 800 Run: 1. Kalen Godel 2:07.7; 110 Hurdles: 1. Julian Rodriguez 19.4; 300 Hurdles: 1. Jesse Keough 45.1 5. Julian Rodriguez 51.6; Medley Relay: 4. Langford Area (Isaac Tolaza, Jesse Keough, Skyler Godel, Conner Glines) 4:26.3
GIRLS TEAM POINTS: Great Plains Lutheran 184, Northwestern 79, Frederick Area 53.67, Florence-Henry 51.5, Dakota Hills 45.83, Sisseton 42.5, Tri-State 39, Webster Area 26, Langford Area 7, Tiospa Zina 1.5
100 Dash: 3. Paytyn Marlow 13.8; 200 Dash: 6. Paytyn Marlow 29.9
