By Dan Bechtold, Editor
It was a dream day for the Winner High School boys track team as they won first place in two events at the 92nd running of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls.
Plus it was a special day for senior Cameron Kuil who placed third in the special 200 and won a Howard Wood gold medal scholarship.
In the 4×200 the Warriors used a big push from Kuil at the wire to win the Class A meet title. The Warriors won the race in 1:31.52. Runners were Riley Calhoon, Brady Fritz, Drew DeMers and Cameron Kuil.
Less than three hours later Winner did it again winning the Class A 4×100 relay in a time of :44.27.4. Runners were Riley Calhoon, Isaac Naasz, Drew DeMers and Kuil.
Kuil ran the anchor leg moving the Warriors from fourth place went he took the baton to first at the finish line.
Kuil was asked what was going through his mind when he got the baton. “I knew I had to give it my all. We talk about my closing speed and I try to use that to my advantage.”
Naasz said it feels good to get the trophy because Winner has not had a first place victory in a long time at Howard Wood. “It feels pretty good to bring something back to Winner especially in track because that doesn’t happy very often.”
DeMers said he got out to a good start. “I knew I had a lot of pressure on myself because I did not want to let Cameron down.” Kuil took it from there and made up the time to give the Warriors a victory.
Calhoon said the four some wanted to make sure we have good handoffs and practiced hard so the time was just right.
Coach Larry Aaker said “We knew going in we had a pretty good shot of doing well in the boys 4×100 and 4×200. The boys are extremely competitive, they want to compete for each other and they were very focused on getting the job done.
“We knew that if we could put Cameron in a good position that our chances of winning were a little higher than everyone else’s just because of Cameron’s speed and his ability to finish races. Credit the first three legs in both races for running extremely well and getting the baton around,” said Aaker.
Kuil’s weekend of running started on Friday night. He was one of eight athletes chosen to run in the special 200 meter dash. He joins a list of other Winner athletes, both male and female, who have had their day in the spotlight at the special Howard Wood events.
Kuil took third in the 200 in :22.17 just behind Bismarck, ND. Legacy’s Alex Brosseau in :22.08.
Kuil admitted he was balancing both nerves and excitement as he climbed into the starting blocks in lane five. He said he spent a lot of time focusing on his start.
“The special 200 was a great race for Cameron,” said Larry Aaker. “He represented himself, the school and the Winner track team very well. As a coach it’s great to see a kid rewarded and I know Cameron had a lot of fun and it is something that he will remember the rest of his life.”
Aaker said the Winner girls had a great weekend on the track. “I am really proud of how well they ran and competed. Their success was kind of overshadowed by the boys two victories but these girls keep getting better each and every meet. Four of the five relays ran their fastest time of the year.”
Sidda Schuyler also ran her fastest time of the season in the mile.
The girls 4×100 relay ran a time of 54.45. Runners were Alexis Richey, Morgan Hammerbeck, Madison Thieman and Ellie Brozik.
The 4×800 relay took fourth in 9:54.11. Making up this relay were Chloe Bartels, Saige Schuyler, Sidda Schuyler and Sam Schuyler
The girls medley relay took 5th place with runners Alexis Richey, Ellie Brozik, Chloe Bartels and Sam Schuyler. Their time was 4:22.30.
The 4×400 relay qualified for the state track meet in a time of 4:15.15. Runners were Alexis Richey, Chloe Bartels, Morgan Hammerbeck and Sam Schuyler.
The girls 4×200 relay was made up of Alexis Richey, Morgan Hammerbeck, Katherine Jankauskas and Ellie Brozik. They ran a 1:52.54.
Ellie Brozik ran the prelims of the 100 meter dash in :13.55.
Sidda Schuyler ran the two mile in 11:40.44 and the mile in 5:30.60.
Other results on the boys side, Kayleb Brozik ran the prelims of the 400 in :53.89.
Izak Moleterno ran the 2 mile in 10:35.90 and the mile in 4:51.37.
Jayden Schroeder threw the shot put with a throw of 45-03 and he also threw the discus.
The boys medley relay team ran a time of 4:22.30. Making up this relay were Riley Calhoon, Drew DeMers, Cameron Kuil and Izak Moleterno.
All in all, Winner did very well at the Dakota Relays.
Also, Kuil won the Dakota Relays scholarship with a special presentation made Saturday afternoon. Coach Aaker said he wanted to congratulate Cameron on being the scholarship winner.
The next meet for Winner is the regional in Martin on May 18.
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