The Panther track and field competed at the Pipestone Invitational on April 23rd. The Panthers saw several top ten finishes on both the track and the field side of competition as well as many personal best times and distances set.
Leading the Panther boys in points was Junior Kade Boltjes. Kade led the field in the 100m sprint bringing home championship honors. He used a personal record long jump and triple jump to earn 2nd place in both events. Noah Kruse leapt to 8th place in the long jump. Sean Boltjes dominated in the 300m hurdles to bring home the championship. Sean then caught some air for 9th place in the long jump and hurdled to 2nd place in the 110m hurdles. Brandon Kramer put some team points on the board for Ellsworth using a personal record throw in the shot put to earn 2nd place. He would toss the discus for a 7th place finish. Christian Hoiland turned in a pair of 11th place finishes in the shot put and discus. Carter Boyenga placed 8th in the discus and 13th in the shot put.
Noah Kruse set a new personal record time in the 400m race, good enough for 4th place. Robby Armstrong also set a new personal record in the 400m to place 9th for the Panthers. Robby also put up a 17th place finish in the 200m race. Rondae Nave set a personal record in the 200m race for 22nd place and finished 21st in the 100m race. Austen Klein turned in a 24th place finish in the 100m race. Simon Boyenga crossed the finish in 23rd place in the 200m and Cole Boltjes’ time in the 400m earned him 16th place. Sam Kramer went the distance in the 800m race placing 16th and 12th in the 1600m race. Micah Onken ran the long race placing 17th in the 1600m race.
The boys relay teams continued to improve their times with the 4×100 team of Sean Boltjes, Noah Kruse, Robby Armstrong and Kade Boltjes sprinting to a 2nd place finish. The 4×200 relay team of Simon Boyenga, Austen Klein, Elijah Kruse and Cole Boltjes crossed the finish in 10th place.
The Lady Panthers Ashlyn Meester and Sarah Essman both set a couple of new personal bests. Ashlyn used a personal best time to earn 16th in the 400m race and also placed 12th in the 100m hurdles. Sarah Essman hurled a personal best distance in the discus for 13th place and also placed 22nd in the shot put. Mady Domeyer ran the 400m race placing 23rd.
The Panthers continue to work hard improving times and distances. New personal bests continue to be posted as they challenge the field at each competition. Keep track of the Panther’s in the Nobles County Review as they continue to improve throughout the season.
