Titans find success at Vermillion Invite
Tea Area High School’s track team kicked off their outdoor season with an impressive showing at the Vermillion Booster Club Invite held in Vermillion on April 4. The Titans set several school records and achieved personal bests.
Among the standout performances, the girls’ 4x800-meter relay team delivered an exceptional performance, clocking the second-fastest time in school history and placing third at the meet. Team members included Grace Bialas, Jayna VanLaecken, Jaycie Babb, and Haidyn West. The group clocked a time of 10:06.53. This time places them just behind the record-setting team from last year’s state competition.
In the girls’ 100 meter dash, Mya Neuhardt and Sydney Stahlecker took second and third respectively with Neuhardt clocking 13.4 and Stahlecker 13.45. Neuhardt found continued success, taking third in the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.53.
In the 400 meter dash Haidyn West took second (1:01.8) and Jayna VanLaecken claimed third (1:03.92). Miah Weber (1:06.8) also placed in the top eight, earning seventh.
In the 800 meter run, Jaycie Babb claimed second place with a time of 2:31.78.
In her debut competition, Mara Grant made an immediate impact with her shot put throw of 33’5”, placing third at the meet and ranking third in school history.
In the girls’ 300 meter hurdles, Brooklyn Reiners took eighth with a time of 52.43.
The 4x400 meter relay team of Neuhardt, Reiners, Stahlecker, and West claimed second at the Meet with a time of 4:14.01.
In the girls’ triple jump, Reese Hammerquist took sixth with a jump of 32’9”.
The track team also witnessed record-breaking throws in the javelin event, with Brenner Konrad leading the way by setting a new school record, with a throw of 129’7” to earn him seventh at the meet. Carter Brown (111’4”) and Arien Boehm’s (106’7”) javelin throws secured them the fourth and fifth positions respectively in school history.
Cameron Wiens’ pole vault performance earned him the third position in school history, clearing 10’6” to take fourth at the meet. Following closely behind was teammate Carson Hall, who cleared 9’6”. Sam Bullis took seventh in the event, clearing 9’6”.
Reid Hammerquist delivered a standout performance in the 3200-meter race, achieving a personal best time that also ranks him fifth in school history with his time of 10:36.96. This placed him fifth at the meet.
In the boys’ 100 meter dash, the trio of Tyler Rhead, Ethan Vis, and Juv Banza found success, placing third, fifth and six respectively. Rhead clocked a time of 11.97, Vis 12 seconds flat, and Banza 12.09 seconds.
In the 200 meter dash, Carter Christensen took sixth with a time of 24.56. In the 400 meter dash, Chase DeBoer claimed seventh with a time of 54.90.
In the 800 meter run, Holden Jelen took third with a time of 2:08.56. Peyton Sieber claimed seventh with a time of 2:15.17.
In the boys’ 110 meter hurdles, Matthew Rogers claimed eighth with a time of 17.71.
In the boys’ long jump, Matthew Rogers took seventh with a time of 19.1.25. In the triple jump, Kayl Broderson took sixth with a jump of 36’8.5”.
The boys’ 4x100 meter relay team of Rhead, Kayden Williamson, Vis, and Banza claimed fourth place with a time of 45.43 seconds. The 4x200 meter relay team of Banza, Williamson, Vis and Rhead took fifth with a time of 1:36.29. The 1600 Sprint Medley relay team of Landen Bolte, Brayden Gniffke, Tate VanLaecken, and Jonah Klemisch took eighth with a time of 4:27.81.
The Titans were schedule to travel to Lennox on Thursday, Apr. 11 and will be at Mitchell on Saturday, Apr. 13. On Apr. 18 Tea Area will host an Invite with events beginning at 3:30 p.m.