Track: State-Bound

Photos by Josh Twiss '15. Copyright Red Cloud Indian School.

Track: State-Bound

By Sierra Concha '13

May 16th was an intense day for the track team. For some athletes, this was their last meet of the year, and for others this was only the beginning of their journey for state track. The meet was held in Winner, South Dakota, where it was storming. Lightning and thunder filled the sky as the meet pushed on. Rain drenched our clothes with no sign of sun in the sky.

The first one to qualify for state was Gusti Terkildsen ‘15, who will be going in three events: long jump, triple jump and 300 meter hurdles. Next, Red Cloud’s girls 800 meter relay team qualified, proving predictions wrong. Red Cloud was ranked third in this race but pulled up to a decent lead in 1st place. The relay team consists of Myriam Rama ‘15, Christi Sioux Bob ‘14, Kylie I'atala ‘14 and Sierra Concha ‘13. I'atala ‘14 was the first runner of the team relay. “I needed to be quick so we could have a good lead,” she said. “After the 4x2, it hit me that we were going to state. I was pretty excited.”

This wasn’t the end for Red Cloud’s good news. Randy Hughes ‘15 ran an incredible race in the 400 meter dash. “I felt nervous and sickness at the pit of my stomach,” said Hughes. “As the dawning of the race came, the focus overwhelmed me.” Despite the pounding rain and windy weather, Hughes ran his hardest and placed second, which qualified him for state. “My hard work and practices finally paid off, and I also felt exhausted and hurt,” stated Hughes. “It was good.”

The clouds finally started clearing up as the final race of the day approached: the 1600 meter relay. Once again, the Red Cloud girls were ranked 3rd. Rama ‘15, Sioux Bob ‘14, Concha ‘13 and Trista Merrival ‘16 were ready to qualify once more. The race remained close to determine which team got 2nd, but Rama ‘15 finished the race strongly as we earned our place in state for another event.

State track will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 24th and 25th in Sioux Falls. Good luck to the Crusaders.