Facing opponents they hadn't seen before until Thursday, the members of the Marshall track and field squad got a chance to test their skills against some new athletes in a five-team meet in Benson.
The Tigers took first in the boys' division with 226 points, finishing ahead of second-place Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta by 26.5 points. The top two boys teams finished more than 100 points clear of Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (96), Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (77.5) and Hancock (56). Marshall's girls team also took home top honors with a team score of 231. Benson/KMS came in second (182), followed by Morris Area/C-A (116), C-G-B (90) and Hancock (44).
Marshall boys head coach Mike Jacobs said it was good for Marshall to see some new teams.
"It proved to be a pretty good meet for us," Jacobs said. "We thought we might find some individuals with a little bit more talent in some events than we've seen before. One area where we saw that was in the throws where there was some stronger talent from Benson and Morris than what we've seen. Then there was hurdles and the jumps, where we scored better than we typically do."
In the 110-meter hurdles, Marshall sophomore Danny West had his fastest time of the season and won the event with a time of 17.13 seconds. And in the long jump and triple jump, Marshall had seven jumpers finish in the top eight spots, led by Zachary Drum's second-place finish in the triple jump (37 feet, 5 inches) and freshman Sam Marshall finishing third in the long jump (17-9).
Brock Baumgarn earned top honors in the discus with his throw of 129-2.5, while Andre Kack finished second in the shot put (43-2 1/2).
Yet to lose a race in the sprint events this season, Marshall senior Beau Bofferding had one of his best days of the year. He had his best clocked time in the 100 dash, crossing the finish line in 10.91 seconds. He also ran a 22.23 in the 200 dash, which would break a school record of 22.3, but since it's a hand-operated time, Jacobs said it has to be rounded up to tie the mark. Bofferding also won the 400 dash on Thursday with his time of 10.91 seconds.
Another highlight for the Tigers was in the 4x200 relay, where the team of Jeremiah Barker, Marshall, Ryan Schultz and John Lothert won the event with a time of 1:41.01.
"This was a good meet for them," Jacobs said of the relay team. "It's the first time in a couple of years that we've won a 4x200 and the guys were pretty fired up. They still had some trouble on the handoffs, so there's still room there for them to get better."
It was Chad DeAustin who shined for the Tigers in the distance events. He won the 3,200 with his time of 10:39. He also had a second-place finish in the 1,600 with his time of 4:36, which Jacobs said was a personal best for DeAustin. Jacobs added that Blaine Moran finished third in the 3,200 with his time of 10:58, which was the first time the freshman runner has finished the event in under 11 minutes.
Like Bofferding, Marshall girls' team sprinter Sarah Buysse had a standout day on the track. Buysse blew away the competition in the 100 and 200 dashes, finishing with career-best times of 12.50 seconds and 25.81 seconds, respectively.
"(Benson) has a really nice track and it was fast for (Buysse and Bofferding) today," Marshall girls coach Marie Sample said. "The back stretch is lined with trees, so even in a stiff wind, they didn't have to buck it.
"They're both so dedicated and have been working so hard and it was good to see them have their hard work pay off today."
Marshall thrower Dani Crowell notched a personal best in the discus, winning the event with a throw of 113-5.5. She also took first in a the shot put with her toss of 30-6.5. Sample noted that eighth-grader Rachel Miller also achieved a personal best Thursday, taking second in the 100 hurdles with her time of 17.79 seconds.
Sample said the Tigers didn't attain as many personal bests as they did Tuesday in Marshall, largely due to the short turnover between meets and the cool temperatures in the 40s. She said some of her athletes were a bit discouraged by their times, but added that she's trying to teach them how their bodies work and how they recover and that sometimes doing well doesn't mean setting a new personal record.
The Marshall girls had a number of other first-place finishes, including Sarah Andersen in the long jump (15-2.5) and Brianna West in the high jump (4-10). The Tigers 4x400 relay team of Andersen, Claire Buysse, Becca Fedde and Sarah Buysse won with a time of 4:21.36, and the 4x800 relay team of Maddie Verschaetse, Jenna Christianson, Haley VanKeulen and Fedde also took home top honors (10:12.28).
The Marshall boys and girls teams continue competition on Monday when they host their second and final home meet of the season at Marshall Middle School. The Tigers will compete against Willmar and New Ulm.
Boys Team Scores: 1. Marshall 226, 2. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 199.5, 3. Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 96, 4. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 77.5, 5. Hancock 56.
Marshall Individual Results
1,600m: 2. Chad DeAustin 4:36; 3. Andrew Bell 4:51; 4. Tanner Bukowski 4:56; 6. Wade DeAustin 5:15; 8. Ethan Hart 5:52.
3,200m: 1. C. DeAustin 10:39; 3. Blaine Moran 10:58; 5. Mike Larson 11:43.
800m: 3. Bukowski 2:09; 5. Bell 2:12.
4x800m Relay: 2. Larson, W. DeAustin, Moran, Hart 9:47
4x400m: 4. Brandon Verkinderen, Alex Lwowski, John Lothert, Drew Tykwinski 4:01.
4x200m: 1. Jeremiah Barker, Sam Marshall, Ryan Schultz, Lothert 1:41.01.
4x100m: 2. Lwowski, Brock Baumgarn, Tykwinski, Barker 49.85.
100m: 1. Beau Bofferding 10.91.
200m: 1. Bofferding 22.23; 3. Marshall 24.18.
400m: 1. Bofferding 50.72; 3. Marshall 55.53; 7. Verkinderen 59.94.
110m Hudles: 1. Danny West 17.13; 4. Dallas Goslar 17.96.
300m Hurdles: 4. Schultz 47.22; 5. Goslar 47.52; 6. West 48.53.
Pole Vault: 2. Austin Leek 10-6; 3. Tykwinski 9-6.
High Jump: 6. Nathan DeRuyck 5-4.
Shot Put: 2. Andre Kack 43-2.5; 6. Baumgarn 39-10.5; 7. Brandon Appel 36-1.
Discus: 1. Baumgarn 129-2.5.
Long Jump: 3. Marshall 17-9; 5. Zach Drum 17-4.5, 7. Lothert16-0.5, 8. DeRuyck 16-0.
Triple Jump: 2. Zachary Drum 37-5, 5. DeRuyck 35-2; 7. Lothert 34-6.
Girls Team Scores: 1. Marshall 231, 2. Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 182, 3. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 116, 4. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 90, 5. Hanock 44.
Marshall Girls Individual Results
100m: 1. Sarah Buysse 12.50.
200m: 1. Buysse 25.81.
400m: 4. Megan Vogl 1:07.72.
800m: 2. Maddie Verschaetse 2:36.14; 4. Haley VanKeulen 2:37.03.
1,600m: 4. Rose Andersen 5:53.55; 5. Kayla Wartner 6:12.85.
3,200m: 3. R. Andersen 12:56.89.
100m Hurdles: 2. Rachel Miller 17.79; 4. Jessica Oaxaca 18.28; 5. Shelby Maes 18.43.
300m Hurdles: 4. Miller 55.53.
4x100m: 2. Sydney Griffin, Amber Amick, Sarah Andersen, Brittany Andreas 56.67.
4x200m: 3. Griffin, Amick, S. Andersen, Andreas 1:59.18.
4x400m: 1. S. Andersen, Claire Buysse, Becca Fedde, S. Buysse 4:21.36.
4x800m: 1. Verschaetse, Jenna Christianson, VanKeulen, Fedde 10:12.28.
High Jump: 1. Brianna West 4-10; 2. Caitlyn Schaeffer4-6; t6. Maes 4-1.
Pole Vault: 2. Miller 7-0; 3. Wendy Lee 6-6; 5. Annie Samuelson 6-0.
Long Jump: 1. S. Andersen 15-2.5; 2. Griffin 14-6; 5. Christianson 13-9.5.
Triple Jump: 2. Schaeffer 32-4; 3 Griffin 31-10.5; 4. Verschaetse 31-7.5.
Shot Put: 1. Dani Crowell 30-6.5; 5. Celeste Werner 27-3.75; 6. Haley Bennett 27-3.
Discus: 1. Crowell 113-5.5; 2. Bennett 89-11.