Girls add Region 8A crown to season trophies

It was another meet and another championship for the Custer High School girls golf team, as they continued their impressive season by running away with the team title at the Region 8A track meet last Thursday in Custer.

The girls blasted the competition by 50 points, racking up 195.5 points, well ahead of second place St. Thomas More. The girls had someone place in the top eight in every event at the meet except for the pole vault.

The team got five individual first place finishes. Taylor Neugebauer once again won the 100, posting a time of 13.13. Monique Mack was victorious in the high jump, clearing 4-08, while Tiffany Dower won the shot put with a throw of 39-0. Sydney Mohr won the discus throw, with a throw of 114-1. Melissa Flores won the triple jump at 32-4 1/2.

In addition to her first place finish in the 100, Neugebauer was second in the 200, losing by .01 of a second to Hill City’s Jessica McDonald, in a finish that had to be looked at on film to determine the winner. Just behind those two in third in the race was Breezy Boldon.

Victoria Dahlstrom earned a trip to state in the 1600, placing second with a time of 5:49.66. The top two places in each event at the meet automatically qualified for state. Dahlstrom also earned a trip to state in the 3200, placing second at 13:31.80. The other individual top two finishers for the girls came from Shawna Gibson, who finished second in the 100 hurdles at 16.84.

The girls relay teams were once again strong, winning three firsts and placing second in two more. The 800 relay team of Boldon, Karley Konkol, Ellie Parsons and Allison Kostelecky broke the school and region record en route to the title, running the race in 1:45.71. Kostelecky, Parsons and Boldon teamed with Neugebauer to win the 400 relay in 50.66, and then teamed with Dahlstrom to win the medley relay at 4:27.13. Neugebauer, Kostelecky, Parsons and Konkol placed second in the 1600 relay at 4:14.54, while Josie Thomsen, Allison Zelaya, Tanner Delannoy and Katie Martinez were second in the 3200 relay at 10:58.35.

Other noteworthy finishes from the girls included Mariah Gaston, fourth in the 100 and eighth in the 3200, Delannoy fifth in the 400, Alisha Schultz sixth in the 400, Konkol fourth in the 800, Zelaya sixth in the 3200, Thomsen fourth in the triple jump, sixth in the 100 hurdles Jessica Tennyson third in the 300 hurdles and fourth in the high jump, Darian Turner seventh in the 300 hurdles, Adinda Mendel sixth in the long jump and seventh in the high jump, Mohr third in the shot put, Dower fourth in the discus, Nina Martinez eighth in the discus, Flores eighth in the long jump and Karrah Dawson eighth in the triple jump.

For the boys, Tyler Schultz was again a double winner, breaking Bobby Smith’s region record in the discus with a throw of 172-9 1/2, while also winning the shot put at 56-6. Brandon Smith was second in the shot put with a throw of 50-11, while also taking third in the discus at 151-11.

Cody Herman had a solid meet, picking up a pair of second place finishes in the 1600 and 3200, with times of 4:53.41 and 10:54.33. Jared Thomsen earned a trip to state in the 110 hurdles by placing second at 17.27, while also placing fourth in the 300 hurdles at 45.7. Alex Heaton will head to state by virtue of his second place finish in the 800 at 2:10.74, as will Byron Dahlstrom, who placed second in the pole vault at 10-0.

The Wildcat boys also had a victorious relay team, as the 1600 team of Heaton, Dahlstrom, Trevor Schryvers and Jordan Konkol won in a time of 3:40.11.

Other top eighth finishers for the boys included Justin Bierwirth fourth in the 400 and fourth in the pole vault, Tyler Young fifth in the 400, Chris Pinkerton sixth in the 800, Tyler Jones eighth in the 3200, Sam Hosman seventh in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the triple jump, Blake Frybarger fifth in the pole vault, the 800 relay team (Schryvers, Bierwirth, Dahlstrom, Heaton) third, the 3200 relay team (Heaton, Dahlstrom, Konkol, Thomsen) third, the 400 relay team (Schryvers, Bierwith, Young, Jaime Climenti) fourth and the medley relay team (Thomson, Climenti, Trevor Frybager, Logan Huntington) fifth.

Lead-Deadwood won the team title with 150 points, just edging out the Wildcats, who finished with 141.5 points.

“We got everything that I had hoped we would get or thought we would get but just missed a couple of other things that I had hoped for,” head coach Craig Black said.

Sixteen Wildcat girls and 10 Wildcat boys, along with some alternates, will head to the Class A state track meet this weekend in Lennox and Sioux Falls.

 It should be a good meet but looks to be warm right now,” Black said.â��“That could be tough on all teams for a two-day meet.”