MOBRIDGE, S.D. – The 2026 Big Dakota Conference Track and Field Meet took place Tuesday, April 21, at Tiger Stadium.
From the very beginning of the meet, coaches and officials shared the thought that you’re only going to get one meet a year with weather as good as it was for this meet. With temperatures ranging from 60 to 79 degrees and winds that never picked up above 16 miles per hour, the weather was perfect.
For coach Renee Roland of Chamberlain High School, the weather wasn’t the only thing she was celebrating, as she got to watch her athletes have a very successful day, winning both the boys and girls meets with a boys team score of 140 and a girls team score of 191.
Javelin
The morning got started with the field events and the first athletes being transported to javelin about a half mile down the road from Tiger Stadium, where Stanley County’s Jace Hand was able to throw 150 feet, 8 inches on his first throw of the day. This throw won the event for the boys and was a personal best for the sophomore.
For the girls, it was a tight race between Ellie Kemnitz from Mobridge-Pollock and Piper Powell from Chamberlain. Moving into their final throw of the day, Kemnitz led by seven inches but threw a personal best of 106 feet, 8 inches to get the win.
Shot Put
While the shot put had one of the smaller crowds of the day, the event had some of the most exciting energy from those who did watch. The boys got the morning started with some good performances, but in the final flight, Kellen Pfitzer from Mobridge-Pollock impressed onlookers as he won the event with a throw of 52 feet, 9 inches.
“It feels great. It should move me up in placing for Class A and for all-state,” Pfitzer said. “I want to throw 55 feet, but the main goal is to PR every meet.”
The girls shot put came later in the afternoon and brought another highly contested battle, once again involving Piper Powell from Chamberlain, this time competing with Katie Wollman from Mobridge-Pollock. After three throws, Wollman led with a mark of 31 feet, but on her final throw, Powell reached 31 feet, 5 inches to move into first and win the event.
High Jump
For the boys high jump, it was a small field of six athletes, with Jesse Schneider from Mobridge-Pollock winning after clearing 5 feet, 10 inches on his second attempt. After winning, Schneider attempted three jumps at 6 feet but came up short.
For the girls, it was a slightly larger group of eight athletes competing, which came down to Alisa Eberhard and Ja’Laya Upshaw from Cheyenne-Eagle Butte battling for first place. On Upshaw’s third attempt at 4 feet, 8 inches, she cleared the bar and then moved up to 4 feet, 9 inches, which she also cleared, winning the event and earning a personal best.
Triple Jump
For the boys triple jump, Trayden Stambach from Mobridge-Pollock set the tone with a jump of 42 feet, 8.75 inches. That would have been enough to win, but on his final jump, Stambach pushed it further with a mark of 42 feet, 9 inches.
For the girls triple jump, there were only four athletes competing, all from Chamberlain. It was close, but the lone senior, Kylah Biggins, earned the win with a mark of 30 feet, 2.25 inches.
Long Jump
The boys long jump brought energy early with a big crowd around the final flight. In his second jump, Stanley County’s Paxton Deal set the tone with a mark of 19 feet, 11 inches. Chamberlain’s Tristen Johnson matched that in his third jump. Both athletes fouled in their final attempts, resulting in a tie for first.
For the girls long jump, Bentley Bauer and Brooke Bain from Mobridge-Pollock pushed each other throughout. Bain’s third jump measured 16 feet, 2 inches, a personal best. Bauer’s final jump was the showstopper at 17 feet, 0.5 inches — a personal best and a new Mobridge-Pollock High School record.
“[I would like to] make it to the podium at state,” Bauer said. “I have other goals for running events [as well].”
Discus
The discus ended up being the longest event of the day, wrapping up after the running events. For the boys, Jaxson Day from Winner led from the beginning with multiple strong throws, including his winning mark of 184 feet, 3 inches.
For the girls, it was a similar story. Piper Powell from Chamberlain threw 118 feet, 1 inch on her first attempt, which held up for the win.
100, 200 and 400
The sprinting events offered fast performances and fierce competition, as the crowd at Tiger Stadium witnessed several close finishes. In the boys 100-meter dash, Talan Iyotte from Todd County won with a time of 12.12. In the 200, Austin Rose from Chamberlain finished first in 23.73.
“Finish hard, finish strong,” Rose said. “You never know who’s behind you, and I’m trying to go sub-23.”
In the 400, Chamberlain’s Isaac Shepherd won with a time of 52.84, a personal best for the senior.
In the girls 100, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte freshman Isabella Ganje won in 13.87.
“I think it was pretty shocking,” Ganje said. “The 100 is a hard race, and I tried to push, and I was happy with my results.”
In the girls 200, Bentley Bauer from Mobridge-Pollock won with a time of 27.12, more than a second ahead of second place and a personal best. Bauer also won the 400 in 1:01.19, another personal best.
800, 1600 and 3200
The distance events featured some of the strongest performances of the day, combining endurance with mental toughness as temperatures rose into the high 70s. In the boys 800, Ciante Black Spotted Horse from Todd County pulled away late to win in 2:09.50. In the 1600, Demetrius Sanchez-Gonzalez from Cheyenne-Eagle Butte won in 4:54.43.
“I just had my teammate Jackson in front of me to push me that whole time,” Sanchez-Gonzalez said.
That teammate, Jackson Taken Alive, later won the boys 3200 in 11:00.19.
In the girls 800, Chamberlain swept the top four spots, with Silvana Houska winning in 2:30.78. The 1600 featured a close finish, with Grace Phillips from Chamberlain winning in 5:22.80, just ahead of Cheyenne-Eagle Butte seventh grader Aubree Miner. Phillips also won the 3200 in 12:08.45.
Hurdles
The hurdles began with the boys 110-meter race, where Xavier Donovan from Chamberlain edged Jacob Allen from Todd County to win in 16.70. In the 300 hurdles, Bryson Edwards from Todd County won in 43.50.
In the girls 100 hurdles, Madelyn Danford from Winner won in 18.17. In the 300 hurdles, Jayda Thompson from Mobridge-Pollock ran a personal best of 48.81 to win in her first year competing in the event.
“I felt good in most of the races, so it’s good to be done,” Thompson said. “It’s fun to have one more year to finish it off with all of these people.”
Relays
Relays throughout the meet emphasized teamwork and communication. In the boys 4×100 relay, Todd County won in 45.49 with a team of Marcus Harris, Talan Iyotte, Bryson Edwards and Chris Ellert. Chamberlain won the 4×200 in 1:36.32 with Austin Rose, Xavier Donovan, Jackson Cedarface and Isaac Shepherd.
Stanley County won the 4×400 in 3:49.87 with Landon Bame, Brendon Bothwell, Paxton Deal and Justin Trebbe. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte dominated the 4×800 in 8:47.24 with Xavier Sanchez-Gonzalez, Demetrius Sanchez-Gonzalez, Jackson Taken Alive and Jayden Taken Alive. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte also won the medley relay in 4:04.96 with Nick Woods, Daison Harden, Jayden Taken Alive and Jackson Taken Alive.
In the girls 4×100, Winner won in 53.74 with Kylie Sachtjen, Paisley Hossle, Madelyn Danford and Kinley Meek. Stanley County took the 4×200 in 1:55.44 with Austyn Norman, Addy Deal, Ryan Bothwell and Brianna Sargent and also won the 4×400 in 4:39.16.
Chamberlain won the girls 4×800 in 10:38.09 with Grace Phillips, Silvana Houska, Kylah Biggins and Sasha Van Den Bosch. Chamberlain also won the medley relay in 4:31.36 with Evelyn Bunker, Alexandra Schmiedt, Nicole Schmiedt and Grace Phillips.
You can view every time and placement for every event at the Big Dakota Conference meet HERE
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