Titan girls claim Region 4A Championship title

On Thursday, May 20 the Tea Area High School track and field team enjoyed a day of success at the Region 4A Championship Meet held in Beresford with several athletes claiming Region 4A individual titles and the Titan girls taking home the Region 4A team title. The Titan boys earned runner-up honors, trailing the Champions, Dakota Valley, by only two points.

Helping the girls to their title was Region 4A Champion, Katie Vasecka. Vasecka claimed the championship title in both the triple jump and long jump. In the triple jump, Vasecka jumped a distance of 33’8”. Vasecka won the long jump, jumping 17’.75”. Payton Cuppy also competed in the event for the Titans, taking fifth with a jump of 15’3”. Vasecka will be competing in both events at State, coming in with the fifth best jump in the long jump and sixth best in the triple jump. At Regions, Vasecka also medaled in the high jump, placing third after clearing 4’11”. Reece Hammerquist took fourth in the event for the Titans, clearing 4’9”. Olivia Ritter took ninth, clearing 4’7”. All three Titans will compete in the event at State.

Another Region Championship title was claimed by Braden Beach in the long jump. Beach jumped a distance of 22’8” at Regions to win the event. Beach enters the State Meet as the top seed in this event, having jumped 23’4” this season, the best jump in the State and only 1/2 inch off the State A Meet record.

The Titans’ Blake Thompson also competed in long jump at Regions, taking seventh with a jump of 19’2”.

Beach’s success at Regions didn’t stop there. Beach also helped the 4x100 meter relay team of Sam Schmitt, Austin Lake, and Tyler Duffy, claim the Region 4A title in the event, clocking a time of 44.98. The Titans have recorded a time of 44.35 seconds in the event during the season, marking the fifth best time in the State. They look to bring that same energy to the State Meet this weekend in the event. The four also combined in the 4x200 meter relay at Regions, taking second in a very close battle against a strong Dakota Valley team. The Titans clocked a time of 1:31.17 to earn runner-up honors. Dakota Valley finished with a time of 1:31 to win the event. The Titans’ 4x200 meter relay will compete at State in the event and brings the second best time in the State, having recorded a 1:30.63 earlier in the season.

Beach will also be competing in the high jump at the State Meet. He has the second best mark in the State, having cleared 6’1”. At Regions, Beach took third place, clearing 5’7”. The Titans’ Ethan McKnelly earned runner-up honors at Regions, clearing 5’7”. He will also be competing in the event at State.