Westside’s second varsity track meet of the season took place last Monday, March 24, at the University of South Dakota. Despite the size of the meet, which brought together athletes from different states, Westside saw several strong finishes.

In the boys 3200-meter race, senior Jordan Wheeler ran a 10:09.77 and placed fourth out of 45, making this the second time in a week he has beaten his personal record in the two-mile. Sophomore Jakob Phillips finished 13th, with a time of 10:44.22.

Wheeler has never qualified for state before in track, but hopes to do so this year after deciding last spring to become a competitive runner. His 3200 time of 10:24.70, from last week at Nebraska Wesleyan, is the fifth fastest time at a Nebraska meet so far this season, according to Athletic.net.

“It was a little bit of a surprise,” distance coach Tobin Ehlers said of Wheeler’s 10:09 finish at USD, “but I know Jordan had prepared himself extremely well over the winter. It’s not a huge surprise because he had a great cross country season.”

All three Westside boys who ran the mile placed in the top 15, with senior Stuart Willett running a 4:44.00 and placing sixth out of 54, senior Max Knight running a 4:52.36 and placing 11th, and Wheeler running a 4:54.90 and placing 13th. Willett qualified for state in the mile two years ago, and in the 800 last year.

“Qualifying for state, there’s no guarantee even if you’re returning, but if [Willett] puts in the work to improve on his times from last year…with Stuart, you expect him to do well because he’s been to state and he knows what he has to do to get back,” Ehlers said.

Sophomore Xzavier Fort, a sprinter, ran a 7.42 and was 12th out of 59 in the 60-meter dash prelims, but did not make it to the finals. In the 400, sophomore Sam Frankel beat his personal record, running 55.39 and placing 11th out of 53, and sophomore Jacob Militti ran a 56.76 and placed 15th.

Junior Njali Kowa, who trained with a club track team during the offseason, did not beat his personal bests in the triple jump or long jump, but still did well, placing third out of 34 in the triple jump and fifth out of 42 in the long jump. In the long jump, junior Andrew Combs also tied for eighth.

Senior Tom Young, who placed third at state last year in the shot put and won the event at his first meet of the season, placed second out of 43 at the USD meet, with a distance of 52-01.00. With his scores from this season, he should qualify for state.

The girls team had moderate success and saw several athletes run personal bests. In the 800, senior Megan Peterson ran a 2:35.57 to beat her previous best time, come in second in her heat and place seventh out of 50 overall. Sophomore Bridget Mizener ran a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles prelims — her time was 10.10 seconds and she was first in her heat — but her time in the semifinals was not fast enough to qualify her for the finals.

Senior Catie Thull, who like Wheeler has never qualified for state in an individual event before but hopes to do so this year, placed 13th out of 50 in the mile, with a time of 5:48, and 11th out of 33 in the two-mile, with a time of 12:39. Neither time was her personal best.

In the long jump, junior Hayley Krumwiede, who has qualified for state twice before, placed second out of 41 with her distance of 16-05.75. Junior Regan Johnson placed 13th. Krumwiede was also third out of 28 in the triple jump, another event in which she has previously qualified for state.

To see photos of the USD meet and the recent Millard North JV meet, click here.