Dakota Relays review
Photo by LHS Track and Field Twitter
Junior Jasmyne Cooper won the special event at this year’s Howard Wood Dakota Relays and set the school record.
May 9, 2017
This past weekend the 92nd annual Howard Wood Dakota Relays took place and the Pats made the most of the beautiful weather. The meet is widely known as one of the best track and field meets in the Midwest with some of the best competition in the region traveling to Sioux Falls to compete. In just two days of racing, three new school records were set and many more athletes made it into the LHS All-Time Top 10 and SD Top 10.
On the girls side, the 4×800 team of sophomore Liz Bindert, junior Courtney Klatt, freshman Caroline Sudbeck and junior Jasmyne Cooper set the tone of the meet for the Pats by breaking the school record and winning the relay by over 10 seconds. Later, Klatt went on to break her own school record in the 3200 and Cooper won the special 800 meter race against seven of the best middle-distance runners in the region, breaking the school record and becoming the 6th fastest 800 meter runner in SD state history.
Other entrances into the LHS Girls All-Time Top 10 included: Ryley Heier (4th) and Josephine Dal (9th) in 100 meter hurdles, Klatt (2nd) in the 1600 and Chloe Harbaugh (4th) in the 3200. The girl’s weekend wrapped up with a second place finish in the 4×400 relay, where the Pats ran the 2nd fastest time in school history and the 7th fastest time in SD state history.
For the boys, senior Gabe Peters placed second in the 3200 and third in the 1600, earning his way to 3rd on the LHS All-Time Top 10 in both events. Junior Malik Redd placed 2nd in the triple jump and became 2nd on the LHS All-Time Top 10. Junior Collin Brison competed in the boys special 200 meter dash and placed 6th.
Overall, many athletes set their own personal bests and competed well against some of the toughest competition in the region. Highlights of the meet were watching two LHS athletes compete in the special events against the best of the best in the Midwest, and getting to see runners and throwers beat their own personal records. The 2017 Howard Wood Dakota Relays will definitely go down as one to remember for the Pats.
