The track and field season has officially begun with a bang as the Blue Dragons headed to Chester last Tuesday and hosted the Jesse James Invitational on Saturday.
The season opener in Chester saw some good success, as the boys' 2-mile relay team and Garretson's Carter Siemonsma both took first in their events. Taking home second place medals were the girls' and boys' medleys and Blaine Trower in the 400m dash.
The 2-mile (3200m) relay team is comprised of Siemonsma, Collin Olson, Blaine Trower, and Josh Gilbert. They finished the 3200m relay in just under 9 minutes with a time of 8:56.4.
Siemonsma took home first place in the 1 mile (1600m) run that day. He finished with a time of 5:01.2. Closely behind him in 5th place with a time of 5:18.9 was Nate Roberts and in 7th place was Sebastian Deyoung with a time of 5:20.2.
The girls' 1600m medley is comprised of Jordyn Williams, Harper Andera, Tayler Benson, and Addison Hove. They finished second with a time of 4:55.25.
Trower finished the 400m dash in second with a time of 53.35, setting the bar high for his season. Following with a time of 55.20 and in 5th place was C. Olson.
Williams also took home 4th in the 100m dash with a time of 13.41 and 6th in the 200m dash with a time of 28.41.
Hove finished 4th in the 1600m run with a time of 6:20.20. Eliza Potter came in 8th with a time of 8:00.73.
In the boys' 3200m run, Roberts took home 2nd place with a time of 11:51.82 and Deyoung placed 4th with a time of 11:59.41.
The boys' 1600m medley took home 2nd with a time of 4:01.29, thanks to the efforts of Ramsey Schweitzer, Tyler Erickson, Josh Gilbert, and Carter Siemonsma.
Just a few days later, Garretson played host for the Jesse James Invitational. The gorgeous weather provided a great backdrop to the day-long event that brought nine schools together, including Hills-Beaver Creek, Baltic, Chester, and Tri-Valley. Garretson again performed well, with Siemonsma bringing home 1st in the 1600m run, Deyoung bringing home 2nd in the 3200m run, and Williams bringing home 2nd in the 200m dash.
Siemonsma completed the 1600m run in 5:03.90. Deyoung came in 5th with a time of 5:24.15 for the 1-miler.
Deyoung shone in the 3200m run, taking 2nd place with a time of 12:01.15. Roberts came in close behind, taking 4th with a time of 12:18.37.
Williams finished 2nd in the 200m dash with a time of 28.58 seconds, and came in 4th on the 100m dash with a time of 13.60 seconds.
The boys' 3200m relay took home 2nd place with Siemonsma, C. Olson, Trower, and Gilbert finishing at 8:45.11. The 1600m medley team of Schweitzer, Gilbert, Trower, and Siemonsma took 2nd with a time of 3:56.60.
The girls' and boys' 1600m relay teams both took 3rd place, with Williams, Benson, Hove, and Hanson finishing with a time of 4:44.86 and Schweitzer, C. Olson, Trower, and Gilbert finishing in 3:41.77.
Placing in the javelin for the first time, Tyler Edmundson finished 3rd with a throw of 119 feet 2 inches.
Hove brought home 4th place in the 800m run, finishing at 2:43.81. Not too far behind was Hanson in 7th place at 2:59.11.
The girls' 800m relay finished 5th with Alyssa Olson, Alexis Christensen, Laura Guijarro, and Madison Waltman finishing at 2:11.15.
Potter took home 7th in the 1600m run with a time of 7:41.49.
