SF Christian shines in 800-meter events on Dakota Relays Day 1

If you were running 800 meters and wearing a Sioux Falls Christian uniform at the first day of the 101st Howard Wood Dakota Relays on Friday, May 1, you likely had a pretty good day.

The 4x800-meter boys and girls relay teams both won, and Ellie Maddox and Sadie Pettengill competed in the invite-only 800-meter special event.

Maddox placed fifth and Pettengill came in sixth in the eight-person field. The 4x800-meter boys team won for the first time in a few years, while the girls relay team won the Class A championship at the Dakota Relays for the fifth consecutive year.

Maddox, a senior committed to run at Duke next year, and Pettengill, a sophomore, finished just under two seconds apart despite being back-to-back. Maddox finished in 2:11.98 and Pettengill crossed the line in 2:13.74.

"It was such a big honor," Maddox said. "We've been here year after year, and we know these special events are a really big deal. The fact we were chosen, I was honored, and that we could do it together was really cool."

For Pettengill, getting the opportunity to compete against some of the best 800-meter runners in the upper Midwest was a chance to grow and learn how the elite compete.

"It was really fun to push myself," Pettengill said. "I definitely thought the first lap was a little too hot for me, but pushing it on the second lap was really fun for me to compete with those girls."

Pettengill is usually on the 4x800-meter relay team, but Maxine Ordway stepped into her third leg seamlessly. The relay team still won with a time of 9:36.44, 4.98 seconds faster than second-place Hillsboro/Central Valley (ND). Bailey VanderGriend ran the first leg, Bryn Baker ran the second leg and Natalie Smith anchored the team.

Sioux Falls Christian head coach Luke Vander Leest attributes a lot of this girls relay streak to the team's depth. Most of the girls running mid-distance events for the Chargers also run cross country, and have been running together for a few years as they work their way up the ladder.

"The crazy thing about this year's girls 4x800 winners, all four of them ran at the O'Gorman Invite last year on this day, and they were our B team," Luke Vander Leest said. "For them to win the O'Gorman Invite last year and now to come win at Howard Wood is pretty cool."

The girls knew the standard that had been set before them and were insistent on living up to it, even with Pettengill and Maddox not a part of the lineup on race day.

"Each day we just put in the work, and when race day comes we know we have to try our best for each other," VanderGriend said.

"We all had the trust in each other and we all knew we had a job to do," Smith added. "We said we've got to do this and we all came together and made it happen."

The boys relay team had a dramatic comeback win led by anchor Levi Vander Leest. The junior took the baton in second place and ran his split at a crazy pact to cross the finish line 6.98 seconds before Lennox's Landon Strasser.

"I'm proud of these guys," Levi Vander Leest said. "They put me in a spot to make it possible to come back, then I'm thankful God gave me the strength to end the race with a strong kick. It was really just the training that prepared us for this."

The boys 4x800-meter relay team hasn't won recently, and this team did it with a junior, two sophomores (Brice Wassenaar and Wesley Lyon) and a seventh grader (Sawyer Pettengill). Levi Vander Leest and Wassenaar both played basketball in the winter, and Luke Vander Leest feels they're just rounding into form now.

"We've got a young team, we've got a lot more years in us and a lot faster times as well," Lyon said.

That youth can play to this boys team's advantage, as they have room to grow together over the next 12 months. The head coach sees tons of potential for this group, with possibly a school record in sight after running an 8:12.23 at the Dakota Relays.

"I think this team has the potential to run close to 8:00 flat," Luke Vander Leest said. "None of them graduate, and our school record is a 7:56. Maybe we're a year away from that."

Luke Vander Leest has seen both boys and girls step up to win championships for Sioux Falls Christian track and field. The Chargers are constantly on the big stage in the mid-distance events, and lots of it he attributes to a positive community in the program that keeps him coming back day after day and year after year.

"We get a lot of kids that want to be a part of the culture and the community we built," the head coach said. "When you're able to do that, you have kids like who showed up today who were waiting their turn to be in the limelight."

It also helps that the kids all enjoy each other's company. In mid-distance and distance running, liking the people you run miles with on a daily basis can help keep motivation high and competition healthy.

"A key to our success with the distance kids, they love each other," Luke Vander Leest said. "They hang out together on the weekends, they do Bible study together. They want to perform for one another."

The athletes want to shove the acclaim to their coaching staff. Luke Vander Leest, Tim Ackerman, Brent Anderson, Bob Garry, Leah Hisken, Brett Keepers and Ethan Poulter keep the Chargers firing at top speed consistently and performing at a high level.

"I really feel like it's our coaches," Maddox said. "We have amazing coaches that pour into us and care about our athletics, but also our well-being and our faith and academic. They pour into every aspect of our life. I think, because of that, we have a great community that everyone wants to be a part of."

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls Christian shines in 800m events on Dakota Relays Day 1