Six athletes to watch at Thursday's Region 1B track and field meet in Britton

Aberdeen Christian, Aberdeen Roncalli and other local teams will be in action at Thursday's Region 1B track and field meet at Britton.

The competition offers a last chance to qualify for the state meet, which is May 26-28 in Sioux Falls. To advance, athletes and relay teams must be in the top 24 of Class B events by the end of the week.

Other schools competing Thursday include Britton-Hecla, Frederick Area, Langford Area, Leola, Northwestern, Tri-State and Warner.

Here are some of the top athletes to watch at the meet.

Morgan Fiedler, Roncalli 

Roncalli senior Morgan Fiedler will enter the region meet as a threat both on the track and in field events. 

Fiedler has second-fastest region times in the girls 100- and 200-meter dashes. The fastest times belong to Jessica Boekelheide of Northwestern.

Statewide in Class B, Fiedler holds the fourth-fastest qualifying time in the 100 and seventh-best in the 200.

Fiedler is also strong in the long and triple jump. She will be coming off first-place finishes in both events at the Northeast Conference meet.

A the NEC meet, Fiedler jumped a season-best distance of 34' 11.25 in the triple jump, beating Groton Area's Aspen Johnson, who had a distance of 32' 11.50.

Fiedler has the second-longest triple jump in Class B this spring and is tied for the third-longest leap in the long jump.

Morgan Navratil of Tri-State is also a threat in the long and triple jumps. She owns the second-longest triple jump in Region 1B with a distance of 32' 0.5 and the second-best long jump with a distance of 14' 11.75.

Fiedler has been a member of Roncalli's 400- and 800-meter relay teams this season. in the 400 relay, she and teammates Ella Ulmer, Jaidyn Feickert and Ava Hanson have won the event at the Milbank Valley Queen Cheese Invite and the Twighlight/Legion Relays. That team owns the second-fastest time in Region 1B, behind Northwestern. 

In the 800 relay, Fiedler has been a part of a team made up of Ulmer, Feickert and Paige Schmidt, which most recently took first at a meet in Ipswich.

Jessica Boekelheide, Northwestern

Perhaps the biggest challenger to Fiedler in the girls track events is Boekelheide. 

She enters the meet with the fastest times in Region 1B in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. At the Lake Region Conference meet, she swept those events.

Boekelheide owns the third-best Class B time in the 100, third-best in the 200 and second-best in the 400. 

The senior from Northwestern is also a part of the 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams.

In the 400 relay, she's teamed up with Payton Grandpre, Ashley Haven and Ella Haven. That team's best time of 52.64 seconds is the best in the region, just ahead of  Roncalli's 52.74.

Ella Haven, Ella Boekelheide, Ashley Haven and Jessica Boekelheide  have the fastest 1,600 relay time in the region, again just ahead of Roncalli.

Ella Boekelheide, Northwestern

Ella Boekelheide, an eighth-grader for Northwestern, will certainly be advancing to the Class B state meet, and probably in more than just one event.

The eighth-grader has the fastest time in the girls 3,200-meter run in Class B at 11:32.17. That's more than 10 seconds faster than anybody else.

Boekelheide also has qualifying marks for the 1,600 meter (first) and the 800-meter (seventh). And she's part of the Wildcats' 800-meter relay team, which has the third-best time in the class this spring.

Jayden Munroe, Roncalli

Jayden Munroe will enter the meet as a double threat in both track and field events. 

On the track, he has the best 1B time in the boys 200-meter dash at 23.24 seconds. That's also the fourth-best Class B time in the state. The top mark is owned by Jovi Wolf of Chester Area at 21.93 seconds.

In the triple jump, Munroe leads the region with a distance of 41' 8.25. That's third best in the state. Rylan McDonnell of Wall and Hank Kraft of Timber Lake both have jumps of 42' 6.

In the long jump, Munroe owns the second-best distance in the region at 19' 9.5. That's behind Aberdeen Christian's Abe Kretchman, who has jumped 20' 7.25. 

Kaleb Foltz, Tri-State

With the top time in Class B in the boys 800-meter dash, Tri-State sophomore Kaleb Foltz will look to continue his success. 

His best time was at the Laker Invitation II in Minnesota, where he ran 2:01.89.

In the 400-meter dash, Foltz has the fifth-best time in the region.

He is also a part of the 1,600-meter relay squad with teammates Dominick Anderson, Jakobe Anderson and Grayson Madsen. They have the seventh-best time in Class B.

Foltz is a member of the medley relay team, which involves legs of 200, 200, 400 and 800 meters. Tri-State's time of 3:47.03 is best in the state. The same athletes comprise the 1,600-meter relay team, which has the second-best time in the region behind Frederick Area's team of Mason Hinz, Stephen Achen, Brayden Sumption and Johnathan Bretsch.

The Tri-State cooperative includes schools from Rosholt; Fairmount, N.D.; and Campbell-Tintah, Minn.

Colton Spitzer, Leola

Colton Spitzer will enter the region meet as a favorite in both the boys shot put and discus. The senior from Leola owns the best region distances in both events. 

In the shot put, Spitzer's personal best came at the Lake Region Conference meet last week where he threw 47' 9.5. He owns the 12th-best discus throw and the 10th-best shot put effort in Class B this spring. He won shot put at the Patriot Invitational, Eureka Legion Meet and the Lake Region Conference Meet.