News

With the Howard Wood Dakota Relays set to begin this afternoon, let's get you caught up on the "Varsity Sports" Platinum Leaderboard to see what marks the best athletes in the Dakotas are aiming for. 

If you're new to the Platinum process, it's our means of keeping track the top performances from every individual event held in both North and South Dakota. As always, for a mark or time to count, it must take place at a sanctioned meet in the Dakotas, so out-of-state or indoor meets don't count. (No offense, Drake Relays.) We're using fully automatic times (FAT) or converting handheld times to FAT, so in case you see a mark that you feel isn't correct or know of a mark that's better, the conversion factor is likely why it's not on this list. (...Or I could have just missed it. It's a big territory to keep track of.)

The big Platinum news of the week? After throwing down two stellar times in the 200m and 800m at the Black Hills Track Classic in Sturgis on Tuesday, Cortney Dowling of Pierre has taken over the top spot in ALL FOUR "SPRINT" EVENTS, the first athlete - male or female - to hold four top marks at once since we started the Platinums. (...Granted, it's only been since last year, but still.) It's an unprecendented unification of title belts, but with favorable weather on the horizon and so many top runners competing at the Dakota Relays today and tomorrow, it'll be interesting to see if she can keep all four in her possession through the weekend.

It's with that in mind that we look at the fourth Platinum Leaderboard of 2016…

Boys Platinum Leaderboard                                                                                                                       Platinum Record

100m : Sam Clark, Baltic – 10.54+ (Chester Booster Club Meet, 4/12)                                                       10.54^  

200m : Hunter Johnson, Bismarck – 21.97 (Charlie Denton Relays, 4/22)                                                  21.77

400m : Paul Paul, Harrisburg – 49.31+ (Corn Palace Relays, 4/16)                                                               47.54*

800m : Tiegen Lindner, SF O’Gorman – 1:57.64 (Watoma Relays, 4/22)                                                      1:52.38

1600m : Hunter Lucas, Fargo Davies – 4:18.47 (Eagle Relays, 4/22)                                                            4:14.4

3200m : Hunter Lucas, Fargo Davies – 9:15.02 (Bismarck Kiwanis, 4/29)                                                  8:58.49

110m Hurdles : Bryce Malsam, Edmunds Central – 14.98 (Queen City Classic, 4/8)                                14.15

300m Hurdles : Bryce Malsam, Edmunds Central – 40.28 (Queen City Classic, 4/8)                                38.56

Shot Put : Alex Talley, West Fargo – 57-1.5 (Shanley Invite, 4/28)                                                                    63-6.5

Discus : Bostin Svihovec, Bismarck Century – 170-3 (Charlie Denton Relays, 4/22)                               178-1

High Jump : Zack Anderson, Parker – 7-0 (Jesse James Meet, 4/16)                                                            7-0^      

Long Jump : Chase Kortan, Bon Homme – 22-6 (Wagner Relays, 4/12)                                                       23-0.5

Triple Jump : Zack Anderson, Parker – 44-10 (Chester Relays, 4/23)                                                            47-3

Pole Vault : Mason Carpenter, Mitchell – 14-6 (Corn Palace Relays, 4/16)                                                    16-0

                Connor Fuglseth, Fargo North – 14-6 (Shanley Invite, 4/28)                                        

Totals: 9/15 from South Dakota, 8/15 from the biggest class in either state

*State Record                    ^Set This Year                   +Converted to FAT

 

Girls Platinum Leaderboard                                                                                                                     Platinum Record

100m : Cortney Dowling, Pierre – 12.03^ (Bob Judson Invite, 4/5)                                                             12.03^

200m : Cortney Dowling, Pierre – 24.95 (Black Hills Classic, 5/3)                                                              24.94

400m : Cortney Dowling, Pierre – 56.54+ (American Legion Relays, 4/22)                                              55.87

800m : Cortney Dowling, Pierre – 2:14.64 (Black Hills Classic, 5/3)                                                         2:11.19

1600m : Kelby Anderson, Bismarck Century – 4:59.18 (BPS Invite, 4/30)                                              4:56.89

3200m : Karly Ackley, Grand Forks Central - 10:36.97 (Shanley Invite, 4/28)                                        10:33.49

100m Hurdles : Elizabeth Schaefer, RC Stevens – 14.84+ (W. Nebraska Twilight, 4/22)                       14.54

300m Hurdles : Julianne Thomsen, Custer – 46.14 (Douglas Early Bird Meet, 5/2)                                44.10

Shot Put : Akealy Moton, West Fargo – 45-1 (West Fargo Quad, 4/14)                                                        47-2

Discus : Izzy VanVeldhuizen, SF Lincoln – 136-6 (Corn Palace Relays, 4/16)                                           141-2

High Jump : Rachel Schumacher, Bismarck – 5-6~ (River City Invite, 4/14)                                              5-6~

               Michelle Johnson, RC Central – 5-6~ (American Legion Relays, 4/22)

Long Jump : Grace Emineth, Grand Forks Red River – 18-10^ (Davies Relays, 4/22)                           18-10^

Triple Jump : Ricki Lindley, Watford City – 37-3.5 (Charlie Denton Relays, 4/22)                                    37-6.25

Pole Vault : Whitney Scott, Watertown – 11-6 (Brookings Dual, 4/12)                                                            11-9

Totals: 13/15 from South Dakota, 13/15 from the biggest class in either state

*State Record                    ~Tied Mark from Last Year          ^Set This Year   +Converted to FAT

If you've got a mark that you think qualifies as Platinum, feel free to email me at alex.heinert@midco.com or contact me on Twitter @AHeinertMidcoSN with the athlete, the time, and the meet at which it took place. Keep it Platinum, friends, and enjoy the Dakota Relays this weekend!