Titans find success at Last Chance Meet: Compete at State AA Meet May 28-30

The Tea Area High School track and field team turned in several strong performances at the Howard Wood Last Chance Meet on Thursday, May 21, at Howard Wood Field, as athletes made final preparations ahead of the State AA meet.

The Titans were led by several top-three finishes, including a pair of event victories and multiple podium performances. 

Junior Sydney Stahlecker highlighted the meet for the Titans by winning the girls 100-meter dash in 12.18 seconds. Her performance set a new personal best and moved her to No. 8 in South Dakota and No. 6 in Class AA this season.

Tea Area also captured first place in the boys 4x200-meter relay, as Juv Banza, Chase DeBoer, Hayden Bialas, and Dawood Toto combined for a winning time of 1:33.43.

Senior Jaycie Babb earned a runner-up finish in the girls 1600-meter run, clocking a time of 5:13.20, while the boys 4x100 relay team of Carter Christensen, Hayden Bialas, Lincoln Dykstra, and Beckett Martens also finished second in 43.91 seconds.

Martens also turned in an impressive individual performance in the boys 100-meter dash, placing third in 10.85 seconds.

The girls 4x100 relay team of Emery Voelker, Emma Hilleson, Daphne Decker, and Nola Terveen added another top-three finish for the Titans, taking third place in 53.20 seconds.

Tea Area also recorded several top-eight performances throughout the meet. Brooklyn Reiners placed sixth in the girls 100-meter hurdles in 16.13 seconds and later added an eighth-place finish in the girls 800 meters with a time of 2:25.19.

In the field events, Logan Castle cleared 4 feet, 11 inches to place fifth in the girls high jump, while Daphne Decker finished fifth in the girls javelin with a throw of 111 feet.

Tyson DeYoung led the Titan boys throwers with seventh-place finishes in both the discus and shot put. He recorded a mark of 140-11 in discus and 45-9 in shot put.

Cooper Thompson added another top-eight finish for Tea Area, placing eighth in the boys 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 52.62 seconds.

Additional Titan athletes recording personal bests included Lincoln Dykstra in the boys 100 meters, Sierra Waldner in the girls 300 hurdles, Taylor Boehnke in the girls 800 meters, Reece Christian in both the boys 800 and 1600 meters, Kaden Christian in the boys 1600, and Miah Thorstenson in the girls triple jump.

The Titans will now turn their attention to the 2026 South Dakota Class AA State Track and Field Meet, which will also be held at Howard Wood Field from May 28-30. Competition begins at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and at 9 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.