The St. Mary Track and Field team has had one of its best seasons ever this year, breaking five school records while qualifying eight athletes in ten events for the State Track Meet in Sioux Falls this weekend.
8th grader Ella Heinitz has been the breakout star for St. Mary this season. In just the second meet of the season Ella ran a 1:02.7 in the 400m Dash, breaking Mary Schwebach’s 1986 record of 1:03.0. Ella has since lowered that mark to 1:01.1 and has qualified for the State Track Meet in the event.
The next two records fell on the same day at the Chester Meet on April 22nd. First, sophomore Maddie Schwebach threw Discus 109’10”, a throw that qualified her for state while breaking Carol Gengler’s old record of 109’4” that had stood since 1975. Maddie would later go on to win the DVC Championship in the Discus.
Later that day, the girls 3200m Relay team qualified for state and set a new school record by running 10:29.4. That mark was set by junior Cassy Geraets, freshman Tana Harrington, senior Christina Vogel, and Ella Heinitz, beating the 2008 record of 10:40.9 set by Kiley Wolles, JJ Everist, Brooke Wolles, and Robyn Everist.
At the Estelline Meet on April 28, St. Mary qualified two more athletes for the State Meet as Ella Heinitz ran a 27.1 in the 200m Dash and junior Logan Gaspar cleared 5’11” in the High Jump.
In front of their hometown fans at the Dell Rapids Meet on May 8, Christina Vogel and Ella Heinitz put on a show. First, Christina Vogel completed the 1600m Run in 5:41.6. While not a state qualifying mark, that time broke the old record of 5:46.0 set by Anna Wolles in 2013.
The most impressive run of the season came later that day for Ella Heinitz. Ella finished the 800m Run in 2:20.8, which shattered Mary Schwebach’s prior record of 2:30.2 that was set in 1986. Not only did that mark qualify Ella for the State Track Meet, it gave her the fastest time in all of Class B this season and the 7th fastest time in the entire state in the 800m Run.
While no schools records were broken at the Region Track Meet, St. Mary had five Region Champions and four new qualifiers for the State Track Meet based on their region placing. The 3200m Relay record-breaking team claimed a Region Championship in their event, as did Ella Heinitz in the 400m Dash. Kennedi Mullaney in the 100m Hurdles, Christina Vogel in the 1600m Run, and Tana Harrington in the 800m Run all won Region Championships as well and advanced to the State Track Meet. Sophomore Ethan Geraets was Region Runner-Up in the 800m Run, running his best time of the season while qualifying himself for the State Track Meet.
Congratulations to all the St. Mary Track and Field record breakers and state qualifiers, and best of luck to all in the State Track Meet this week!