Lasch named EDC Coach of the Year, Nagel wins four events

Wahpeton track and field head coach Larry Lasch has been named Eastern Dakota Conference Coach of the Year after coaching the Lady Huskies to a fifth-place finish at the EDC Championships.

Summer Nagel had a track meet for the ages Friday afternoon, winning four individual events and leading the Wahpeton girls with 79 points. Nagel pulled off a rare feat by sweeping the 100-meter hurdles, 200 meters, 400 meters, and 300-meter hurdles. Making the accomplishment even more astonishing is the fact the Huskie standout is only a seventh grader.

“Coach Breuer and I were trying to come up with another performance of four individual titles at one EDC meet, and we know it didn’t happen in the past 20 years,” Lash said. “Perhaps Kiki or Allie Smith did 20 years ago, but they also ran on relays, so they may have had four EDC titles in one meet, but not all individual.”

Nagel won the 300-meter hurdles convincingly in a personal-best 43.88, captured the 400 meters in 58.41 seconds, and held off the field in both the 100-meter hurdles with a 15.60 mark and the 200 meters with a personal best 25.18 to complete the sweep. 

Nagel’s performances, along with a strong overall team effort, propelled Wahpeton to one of its best EDC finishes in recent seasons.

Elise Skovholt soared to a personal best 10’03” to place second in the pole vault. 

“Skovholt had a great day vaulting in the tricky winds,” Lasch said.

Fellow sophomore Claire Woods added a runner-up finish in the shot put with a throw of 39’03”.

Sprinter Taylor Mauch scored in two individual events, placing fifth in the 200 meters in a personal-best 25.91 and seventh in the 100 meters in 12.76. Adalynn Parker also scored for the Huskies, placing sixth in the 400 meters in 1:02.04.

Highlighting the relays was the girls 4×800 relay team of Gracie Falck, Ashlynne Max, Linnea Burgr, and Adalynn Parker, which ran a season-best 10:23.02 to place fourth and qualify for the state meet. All four athletes recorded season-best splits. 

The girls 4×400 relay team of Adalynn Parker, Gracie Falck, Linnea Burgr, and Taylor Mauch also placed fourth in 4:22.36, while the girls 4×100 relay team of Gracie Norling, Taylor Mauch, Adalynn Parker, and Hayden Matejcek finished fifth in 51.64.

Senior Britta Pausch finished 10th in the javelin with a throw of 90’05, while fellow seniors Madeline Graves and Ellistin Hendrickson both competed in the 100-meter hurdles in their final races. Hendrickson closed out her career with a personal-best 21.15. The coaches thanked the seniors for their dedication and contributions to the track program.

The highlights for the boys centered around the long jump duo of Jack Gilbertson and Brayden Steffens, along with the sprinting performances of Cayden Barth. 

Gilbertson and Steffens placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the long jump, jumping 20’06” and 20’2.5″. Barth recorded state-qualifying performances in both the 200 meters and 300-meter hurdles, placing eighth in the 200 with a personal-best 22.79 and ninth in the hurdles with a personal-best 41.69.

Gilbertson and Steffens teamed with Connor Ireland and Karter Oswalt in the boys 4×100 relay to place ninth in a state-qualifying 45.06. 

Barth, Oswalt, Aiden Bontjes, and Cooper Koolmo all ran season-best splits in the boys 4×400 relay, placing 10th in 3:42.02.

Sophomore thrower Isaac Anderson ended his season with an 11th-place finish in the discus with a personal best 131’01” and a 15th-place finish in the shot put at 43’6.25″.

1. Sheyenne – 165
2. Davies – 99
3. Grand Forks Central – 97.5
4. West Fargo – 81
5. Red River – 77
6. Shanley – 64
7. Horace – 49
8. Fargo North – 47
9. Fargo South – 39.5
10. Devils Lake – 13
11. Wahpeton – 9

1. Davies – 116
2. Sheyenne – 101.5
3. West Fargo – 93.5
4. Shanley – 93
5. Wahpeton – 79
6. Red River – 72
7. Horace – 48
8. Fargo North – 45
9. Devils Lake – 39
10. Grand Forks Central – 34
11. Fargo South – 20