2016 Dakota Relay Specials
The Howard Wood Dakota Relays have a way of bringing out the best in its competitors, like Chanhassen senior, Jedah Caldwell, who shattered the meet record on the girls side.
On the boys’ side, Roosevelt’s Josh Goehring has had plenty of time to think about the 800 meter special, and though a hamstring injury put him on the bench earlier this season, he rose to the occasion on Friday night.
Caldwell taps into magic of Howard Wood Field
On paper, Friday’s 200-meter girls special event at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays had the look of an all-timer. Then came the actual race, and as is want to happen on an evening at the Wood, the actual billing blew away expectations.
Chanhassen senior and Kansas recruit Jedah Caldwell ran her fastest ever time, crossing the line in 23.59 seconds to smash the 19-year-old meet record set by Mitchell’s Jill Theeler (24.27). Fast on Caldwell’s heels was Cortney Dowling of Pierre, the South Dakota sensation with the state’s top marks in the 100, 200 and 400. Dowling finished in 24.37, good for the third-best all-time mark by a South Dakota prep runner.
“I was not expecting those times,” Caldwell said. “I was happy to have really good competition. I was nervous, to be honest.”
With thousands watching from the stands – at a perfect time, no less, as the weather cooled and the sunset cast a shadow over the dusk-lit stadium – Caldwell burst out of the starting corner. She could feel the other runners behind her, and caught a glimpse of the competition out of her periphery.
“I saw people next to me on the curve,” Caldwell said, “and that’s when I said, ‘OK, I gotta go.’”
The last 100 meters belonged to Caldwell, like earlier in the day, when the opportunity presented to get a race under her belt, and the 200 special jitters out of her system. Caldwell worked into the 100 prelims and blasted out a 11.71-second finish, another Howard Wood Dakota Relays record and, oh yeah, another personal best.
There’s something to the magic of the Wood at night. Simply put, this one was special.
Goehring leads tight pack in boys special
Going in, Josh Goehring couldn’t say with certainty that he had fully recovered from a hamstring injury suffered last month. When it was done and Goehring had earned the title he’s coveted throughout his high school career – the boys 800-meter special event at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays – he knew he was healed.
“I was thinking I was maybe 98 percent, but after the race I felt like I was there,” Goehring said. “I was 100 percent there.”
Goehring found his power on the second lap, squeezing along the inside track before taking control in the race’s final 300 meters. When he crossed the finish first in 1:53.34, he’d knocked two seconds off his personal best and earned the third-fastest prep mark in state history.
“It was a big deal. It got my emotions going,” Goehring said, fighting back tears. “You know, I’ve wanted this for so long.”
Special events at the Dakota Relays alternate. This year the boys ran the 800 and the girls the 200. Next year it flips. Timing this special with his senior season, and against a stacked field that includes serious Class AA competition in O’Gorman’s Tiegen Lindner, Washington’s Alex Derr and Brandon Valley’s Jakob Hanna.
When Goehring caught his breath after the race, coaches Jason Wagoner and Casey Shade, along with teammates current and former, were there to shower the Rough Rider with affection.
Shade ran in the same event as a Washington Warrior in 2009, where Parkston’s Alex Muntefering set the meet record at 1:52.46. He knows what it takes to succeed in the event, and in Goehring, he has a pupil willing to do whatever.
“He definitely rises to the occasion – any challenge I throw his way, and he always has the will to get better,” Shade said.