By John RittenhouseLuverne and Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton track athletes tested their skills at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls Friday and Saturday.The annual event attracted more than 3,000 athletes from a three-state area.LHS and H-BC-E-E represented Southwest Minnesota well by producing a combined 10 top 10 performances during the two-day meet.While H-BC-E-E athletes locked up eight Top 10 efforts, a pair of Luverne boys turned in the best performances.Junior Tyler Elbers led the way by clearing 6-3 and finishing second in the high jump.Senior Marcus Walgrave also had a strong showing in the 110-meter hurdles. Walgrave earned a berth in the finals with a pair of preliminary round races, and finished fourth overall with a time of 14.92 in the championship race.Other notable efforts turned in by LHS boys came from Scott Goebel (12th in the 1,600-meter run in 4:44.46) and Justin Van Wyhe (14th in the triple jump with a distance of 40-10 3/4).The Luverne girls were unable to place in the Top 10 at the meet, but they did turn in some notable efforts.Danielle Cook finished 13th in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 48.88. She also ran a leg with Luverne’s 800-meter relay team, which placed 14th in 1:51.78. Jenni Christensen, Amanda Dooyema and Callen Bosshart are other members of the team.The 3,200-meter relay team of Victoria Arends, Sadie Dietrich, Tera Boomgaarden and Lexi Heitkamp placed 13th in 10:13.69.H-BC-E-E’s boys turned in five top 10 performances during the two-day event.The H-BC-E-E girls placed in the Top 10 in three events and established two program records at the meet.H-BC-E-E’s boys produced the top efforts by recording a pair of fifth-place performances, and senior Chris Reid played a role in both efforts.Reid ran an 11.24 in the finals of the 100-meter dash for one of the fifths.Reid joined forces with Zach Boyum, Todd Alberty and Tyler Bush to finish fifth in the medley relay with a time of 3:45.72.The Patriot boys placed eighth in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays with respective 3:39.73 and 8:44.98 times. Alberty, Kale Wiertzema, Lee Jackson and Bush ran in both races.Reid placed ninth individually in the long jump with a distance of 20-6.Erin Boeve came away with the best effort for the Patriot girls when she finished sixth in the long jump with a distance of 16-1.Boeve also ran a leg with H-BC-E-E’s medley relay team, which placed 10th and set a new cooperative program record with a time of 4:31.65.Kelly Mulder, Mya Mann and Cassi Tilstra joined Boeve in the medley.The 3,200-meter relay team of Amanda and Cassi Tilstra, Rachel Kvaale and Mann finished seventh with a time of 10:14.94.Amanda Tilstra set an H-BC school record by running 3,200 meters in 12:53.4.The old standard was 12:55 set by BernDean Rozeboom in 1987.
