Central’s Smoragiewicz Named Co-MVP

Central's Tony Smoragiewicz runs during the 1600 in Sioux Falls on Sunday. Smoragiewicz won both the 1600 and 3200 state title and was named Co-MVP of the state meet. (Courtesy Photo)

Coming into the Class AA state track and field tournament, the depth of the girls for Rapid City Stevens – especially in the track events – was going to dictate much of the final team results.

Would the amazing Kari Heck be enough to push her Sioux Falls Washington Warriors past the Raiders when the dust cleared on Saturday, or would the sheer volume of Stevens runners be too much for the other schools?

As is usually the case in track, the Stevens depth reigned supreme.

They would need every point though as Heck became the second person in history to post the top marks in four events for all the three classes, capturing four gold medals.

But between Karissa Prpich, Tamara Gorman and the ridiculous depth shown in the hurdles, there was no stopping the Raiders.

Raiders rule in track events

Stevens finished with 131.166 points, easily outdistancing second-place Washington, which finished with 98.5

“I think we knew if we could do everything we were capable of , that we’d do pretty good here,” Stevens head coach Paul Hendry said. “On paper it looked good for us, but you have to take care of it on the track and on the field. I was just very pleased with their effort.”

The freshman Gorman again displayed the poise not normally seen in a ninth-grader, taking the momentum from her 3200 win yesterday to take first in the 1600 with a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds, four seconds faster than Sturgis’ Kahlie Peterson.

Right behind the two was Stevens eighth-grader Emily Person, whose run of 5:12.13 was good for third.

Prpich had an excellent day in the 100 and 200-meter races. The sophomore ran a 12.81 in the 100, just behind Sturgis’ Brooke Ireland’s time of 12.66, who was second to Heck’s 12.27. Stevens’ Cara Groseth was fifth with a run of 12.97.

In the 200, Prpich finished behind Heck and Ireland again with a 25.84, a shade off of Ireland’s 25.76. Heck won with a time of 24.86.

Despite those performances, the real boost came in the hurdles. Out of 16 possible places in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles, the Raiders took six of them.

In the 300, Ashley Thompson won with a run of 45.47. Senior Sierra Schepper placed third with a 46.31, and sophomore Kati Rath ran a 48.64 to finish seventh.

Not too be outdone, three Raiders placed in the top five in the 100 hurdles. Schepper’s 14.70 was good for second, Thompson took fourth with 15.59, and Rath was fifth with a time of 15.61.

“We knew going in that we wouldn’t have a lot of points in the field events, that we were a little weaker there. That’s huge when you can do that,” Hendry said of the 35 hurdle points. “We got points in every track event, and I don’t think too many teams can say that.”

The Raiders also won the 4 by 100 and 4 by 200 on Saturday, with Prpich anchoring both, as Stevens won its 15th title in the last 16 years.

Gorsuch, Johnson spur Cobblers into third place finish in the girls

With the thorough dominance of the Raiders, it came down to a battle for second place between Rapid City Central and Washington.

The excellence of Heck prevailed, as the Cobblers couldn’t quite catch the Warriors, finishing with 89.66 points for third place, behind Washington’s 98.5.

McKenzie Johnson capped off a brilliant season and career, besting the field in the shot put with a throw of 45 feet and 2 inches, nearly five feet longer than the throw of second-place Kae Januschka of Sioux Falls O’Gorman.

Johnson found herself in the same position as last year, when she had the top throw during the season in Class AA going into the state tournament, only to take third.

This time she made no doubt.

“She was the gold medal winner with the best throw of all classes,” Central head coach Dave Dolan said. “”Her throw moved her into the top six all-time in the state. She has been driven and determined for this all year. After last year she was disappointed in herself, and she came back with a vengeance. I think she broke her school record five or six times this year.”

A welcome surprise for the Cobblers was Tessa Gorsuch. The sophomore had an injured hamstring, and was held out of the 300-meter hurdles.

The Cobbler coaches did let her run in the 100 hurdles, and what a run it was.

Gorsuch got off to an amazing start and held on in the last few meters, running a 14.64 to take first place, just ahead of Schepper.

“It was so thrilling to watch out of the blocks, she was like a rocket,” Dolan said. “She had a three or four foot lead almost immediately. That’s one of the best starts I’ve ever seen.”

Gorsuch also anchored the 4 by 100 relay, which was one of the more stirring races of the weekend.

The Cobblers finished second behind the Raiders by just two thousandths of a second, as the teams both ran a 49.80.

“We had been closing the gap through the last month with the Raiders,” Dolan said. “ They came in with the fastest time, and it was an exciting race to see.”

Courtney Crandall took third in the pole vault with a result of 10 feet, three inches. Jordyn Oostra also had a good day for the Cobblers, getting second in the 300 hurdles with a time of 45.94, and seventh in the 100 hurdles. The sophomore was also on the second-place 4 by 100 team.

“She was a busy girl today,” Dolan said of Oostra.

Central boys equal girls with third place finish

The Cobblers tied for third with Sioux Falls Lincoln with a team score of 81 points, behind first-place  Sioux Falls Washington with 111.5 points and second-place Watertown, which had 97.

Central junior Tony Smoragiewicz, fresh off a 3200 title on Friday, blistered the rest of the field on Saturday in the 1600 to win running away with a time of 4:17.86, five seconds faster than Sioux Falls Roosevelt’s Tanner Ahrendt.

“He just took off from the get-go,” Dolan said. “He got separation and ran a great race. By the end of the day he had finished his fourth mile. He’s tired and he should be, he laid it all out on the line.”

Smoragiewicz was named co-MVP of the tournament along with Pierre’s Parker McKittrick. He also ran on the 1600 sprint medley team, which took seventh place.

Sophomore Jake Riss took eighth in the 100 with a 11.53, Zach Webster finished sixth in the 300 hurdles at 41.75, and Central took fourth in the 4 by 100 and 4 by 200, and fifth in the 4 by 400 relay races.

“We got third in both the boys and girls, so we can’t complain,” Dolan said. “We had our chances. Some things went our way, and some didn’t. Overall it was an amazing tournament for us.”

Defending champs finish sixth

The Raider boys totaled 56.5 points, just one point from tying Sioux Falls Roosevelt for fifth.

Stevens took third place in both the 4 by 400 and 4 by 800 relay races, and finished sixth in the 4 by 200.

Josh Peterson ran the third leg of the 4 by 400, ran an 11.34 to finish seventh in the 100-meter, and placed sixth in the 200 with a 22.80.

“We figured we could be anywhere from third to eighth,” Hendry said. “We had to have a perfect weekend, and even then it would have been tough. But we were right in the middle of it, and the boys in the relays really ran well. We just didn’t have enough people to catch up.”

Drew Iddings showed off his versatility, as after getting second in the high jump on Friday, he placed eighth in the shot put with a 46-9.5, and ran the first leg of the 4 by 200.

Senior Riley Coates ran a 4:23.95 in the 1600, good for fourth place, Hayden Hast took third in the 300 meter hurdles with a 40.47, and Dylan Geyer took sixth in the pole vault.