Bennington Track & Field Recap at Mt. Marty HS Indoor Class A Invitational

By Marisa Dawson, Photos by Jeff Douglas

The Bennington Badgers made the trip to Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota, and delivered a standout performance at the Mt. Marty HS Indoor Class A meet. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams turned in impressive results across sprints, distance races, hurdles, relays, and field events, with numerous personal bests (PBs), season bests (SBs), and podium finishes. The girls’ squad was especially dominant, claiming multiple event wins and sweeping several relays, while the boys excelled in the triple jump and posted strong relay and field showings. Here’s a comprehensive look at their achievements.

Girls’ Team: Relay Dominance and Sprint Stars Lead the Way

Bennington’s girls put together one of their strongest indoor outings of the season, racking up first-place finishes in the 60m, 400m, long jump, 4×200, 4×400, and SMR 1600m.

Sprints & Hurdles

Addison Kuntz (11) was unstoppable in the sprints, winning the 60m finals in 7.96a and taking silver in the 200m with a PB of 25.44a.
Addison Nguyen (10) placed third in the 60m (8.07a) and anchored key relays.
Kiana Pierre (10) added a PB 10th-place finish in the 60m (8.27a).
Georgia Behlen (11) and Macie Reiner (10) owned the 200m/400m double: Behlen took bronze in the 200m (26.60a PB) and silver in the 400m (1:00.25a PB); Reiner placed fourth in the 200m (26.77a PB) and won the 400m in a season-best 59.63a.
In the 60m hurdles, Kennedy Portwood (10) finished sixth (9.90a), with Naomi Wempen (9) 11th (10.29a) and Adrienne Trebil (10) 23rd (10.80a).

Relays

The Badgers were relay royalty:

4x200m – 1st place (Addison Nguyen, Harper Bohaboj, Kiana Pierre, Addison Kuntz) in 1:46.82a.
4x400m – 1st place (Georgia Behlen, Kennedy Portwood, Taylor Redmond, Macie Reiner) in 4:03.62a.
SMR 1600m (200-200-400-800) – 1st place (Paige Gargano, Lauren Schmidt, Taylor Redmond, Ella Marcinek) in 4:30.55a.
4x800m – solid 6th-place finish (Ella Marcinek, Lauryn Bates, Cecilia Bird, Alea Chipperfield) in 11:11.87a.

Distance & Field

Selah Carson (11) earned bronze in the 1600m with a PB of 5:30.86a; Madeline Scott (11) was 13th (5:57.55a PB).
Cecilia Bird (9) posted a PB 15th in the 800m (2:56.36a).
Long Jump belonged to Bennington: Paige Gargano (9) leaped to 1st place with 17-11.00; Harper Bohaboj (11) took bronze with an SB of 16-07.25. Addison Nguyen added a 12th-place mark of 14-11.25.
In shot put and high jump, Cora Lamberty (9), Dorothy Vanecek (10), and Laurie Kohoun (10) competed well in the shot; Reese Almquist (12) and Quinn Sanmann (11) tied for 12th in high jump at 4-10.00, with Addy Olson (11) 19th at 4-06.00.

The girls’ squad showed incredible depth and teamwork, with multiple athletes stepping up for PRs and big relay victories.

Boys’ Team: Triple Jump Sweep and Strong Field/Relay Performances

While the boys faced stiffer competition in the sprints, they dominated the triple jump and delivered competitive relay and field results.

Field Events

Triple Jump was all Bennington: Jay Stahlecker (11)won gold with a PB of 42-01.00; Taiten Almond (10) took bronze (41-01.00 PB); Parker Douglas (11) placed fourth (40-02.50 PB).
Shot Put: Keagan McElwain (12) finished fourth (47-06.00); Jonas Neuverth (11) was seventh with a PB of 45-07.00; Raiden Downie (11) 25th (40-03.00).
Pole Vault: Jaiden Heywood (11) cleared 11-06.00 for fourth; Kwin Dutoit (9) 11th at 9-06.00.
Long Jump: Knox Naughton (10) 12th (18-10.00); Jay Stahlecker 15th (18-04.00).

Sprints & Hurdles

60m: Noah Nichols (12) ninth (7.30a); Beckett Cemer (9) 20th with a PB of 7.45a; Kasen Dutoit (10) 35th (7.70a PB).
200m: Parker Douglas (11) fourth (23.65a PB); Zeb Hamilton (10) sixth (24.02a PB).
60m Hurdles: Knox Naughton (10) fourth (8.54a); Logan Howard (12) 16th (9.43a PB); Cameron Preble (11) 32nd (10.83a SB).

Relays

4x200m – 7th place (Brooks Codr, Noah Nichols, Logan Howard, Knox Naughton) in 1:39.13a.
4x400m – 3rd place (Matthew Andersen, Sam Knott, Logan Howard, Knox Naughton) in 3:40.97a — a strong podium finish.
4x800m – 9th (Parker Houston, Brayden Kramer, Alex O’Connell, Keaton Striffler) in 9:24.94a.

Distance

Thomas Morgan (11) ran to seventh in the 1600m (4:52.37a PB).
Sam Riffner (11) 18th (5:06.26a PB); Sam Knott (12) 26th (5:10.10a PB).
In the 800m, Brayden Kramer (9) posted a PB 22nd (2:22.49a) and Parker Houston (9) 37th (2:28.23a PB).

Overall Takeaways

Bennington’s athletes showed remarkable versatility and resilience in an indoor setting packed with Class A competition. The girls’ team walked away with multiple individual titles and three relay golds, signaling they are peaking at the right time heading into the outdoor season. The boys’ field crew, particularly the triple jump trio, and their podium 4×400 relay highlighted the squad’s growing strength in the jumps and middle-distance relays.