Craig Mattick: Welcome to another edition of In Play. I am Craig Mattick.
The year 1923, City of Sioux Falls is only 67 years old. Sioux Falls population 25,000. Calvin Coolidge was the president of the United States and it would be two years before the U.S. Congress grants permission for Gutzon Borglum to begin constructing Mount Rushmore.
1923 was the year Sioux Falls' track coach Howard Wood started a high school track and field competition called the Dakota Relays. Howard Wood convinced several leaders across the state to financially support a track meet in order to give local athletes a chance to compete at a high level.
Now, Howard Wood died in 1949 and then the Dakota Relays was named the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.
Now, the Relays have not been held a handful of times due to war, weather, and COVID but 2025 is the 100th running of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays. It is nationally one of the longest running high school track meets and the longest running track meet in South Dakota.
Now today's guests have had a long relationship with the Howard Wood Relays. We'll talk to Terry Nielsen. He's been an associate with the Relays for over 50 years. We'll talk with former Aberdeen American News sports reporter, John Papendick, on some of the historic events of the Relays and we'll talk to Alex Heinert from Midco Sports Network as he's the public address announcer for the Relays. He's been involved with the event for several years.
Terry Nielsen is a grad of Sioux Falls Washington and South Dakota State, a former sports writer for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, and even started his own insurance agency, but Terry has been involved with the Howard Wood Dakota Relays now for over 50 years. He's a board member and a past president of the Howard Wood Relays, so we welcome Terry to In Play.
Hello, Terry.
Terry Nielsen: Hello, Craig. Thanks for having me.
Craig Mattick: Howard Wood was Sioux Falls High School sports for 40 years. He coached everything. The Argus Leader at the time called him the Dean of Coaches. He coached at Washington, passed away in 1949, but you went to Washington High, you graduated in 1964. What did you know about Howard Wood when you were attending Washington High?
Terry Nielsen: Really all I knew was the name because when I graduated in '64, the new Howard Wood Field had been open about five years, so I was aware of the prominence of the name, but honestly it took getting involved in the board to really understand the legacy of Howard Wood.
And ever since we moved to the new field, we wanted to make sure that new people coming to Sioux Falls would know why is that field called Howard Wood Field. I think we've worked pretty hard to preserve the name and the history of the legendary Howard Wood.
Craig Mattick: You mentioned the current location is not the original location of Howard Wood Field prior to 1957. Howard Wood Field located in Sioux Falls near 10th and Cliff just to the east of downtown Sioux Falls. Of course, the track at that time was a cinder track, right?
What do you remember of the old Howard Wood field? You ever get a chance to play over there?
Terry Nielsen: Well, I have distant memories because I was born in 1946 and so the first thing that I remember was the Sioux Falls Canaries played there. The field actually was open with that cinder track in about 1916 because we actually moved a granite stone that says Field 1916 and then later they added the word Howard Wood and those were parts of that field and we actually have that Howard Wood Field in our Hall of Fame courtyard when you go in.
But my memory is that I found out that in the late thirties, WPA construction dollars were used to take down the old wooden bleachers that were used for track and field and so forth, and they built a permanent, it was a nice thing, viewing area, a semicircle so you could watch track and field and baseball. And I do remember going to baseball games there when I was about 10 years old. That would've been in the mid-fifties.
Craig Mattick: Getting ready for the 100th running of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays. Terry, you're a former newspaper guy, you'll get, this will be fun, I found the newspaper article the day after the very first Howard Wood Relays, at the time, it was the Dakota Relays, 1923, May 2nd, from the Argus Leader, I'm going to just read this and just think about what these people were thinking on the very first time the meet was held.
The headline was Look for Meet to Become Big Outdoor Event, and here's what the story said.
"Although no money was made at the Dakota Relays, the man back of the event considered the meet a success. It was stated this morning by R. G. Rhoden, the assistant chairman of the General Committee. The crowd of nearly 3000 was larger even than had been expected due to the fact that many did not understand the nature of the relay carnival.
Mr. Rhoden said, "Of course, we made mistakes in arranging and conducting the meet. We learned many things which will help us run off the '24 Dakota Relays in clock-like fashion. For example, it was found that there were many people out on the field who did not have to be there, made it difficult for the spectators in the grandstand to see the end of the races.
Businessmen of Sioux Falls have shown gratifying interest in the Relays and seem to be feeling satisfied with the results obtained generally conceded that this event will grow to be the greatest spring athletic event in this territory because before there's been no place for schools in this section to compete except Drake."
Of course, they're talking about the Drake Relays in Iowa, but how about that, Terry, back in 1923, there was a vision from Howard Wood and others that this somehow would be a big outdoor event.
Terry Nielsen: Well, that's amazing because I'm sure when they started this they really didn't know what they were getting into. They picked the date because the weekend after the Drake Relays, which had been going on five or six years and was already making a name for itself.
But to the credit of Howard Wood, he recruited and got involved a lot of the downtown businessmen and they could see what this would mean for Sioux Falls. Of course, Howard, his dream was to give a showcase opportunity for track and field athletes and to believe that we've done it a hundred years is pretty amazing.
But as most of the listeners know, it takes a lot of work, a lot of volunteers, a lot of money, raised everything, but who knows? Maybe we'll make another hundred years.
Craig Mattick: What are your first memories of the Relays, whether it was a participant or a kid or an adult?
Terry Nielsen: Just as a student at Washington High School going out to watch my friends run the track and then during college when I worked weekends and summers in the sports department at the Argus with John Egan and Bruce Conley, I got to cover some of the events.
But my involvement got started when I was a young businessman. My friendship with John Egan got me involved in the board over 50 years ago.
It's really been a wonderful experience to be on the board early in my years with a lot of my former teachers and coaches, you get to see them in a whole different vein of course being a board member. It's been a very interesting and gratifying 50-year adventure to serve on the board.
Craig Mattick: As a sports writer for the Argus Leader, what are some of the early days that you remember maybe an athlete or events that still stick in your mind?
Terry Nielsen: Well, the big thing in those days was the Big B. I always loved basketball and you have to be an older person to really understand what the B basketball tournament meant because of course, in those days, there were just two tournaments and something about small town South Dakota and gosh, you had to win the district, region to even get to the tournament was an accomplishment.
That would be one of the big things that I remember being able to cover, including state golf tournaments, baseball. I worked with the Sioux Falls Packers in the Basin League. A lot of good memories going back to the sixties.
Craig Mattick: You've been a board member of the Relays for what? This is your 51st year. What's the biggest difference being on the board of directors today compared to let's say 40, 45 years ago?
Terry Nielsen: Well, the technology in every field has just been amazing. Board members still do grunt work, selling advanced ticket sales, which helps us regardless of the weather pretty much guarantee a profitable relay. But technology and communication through technology has just made it so much better.
Working the finish line for years, standing in mud and rain and water before the FinishLynx system came into play when we really didn't need pickers anymore or timers. That's been pretty gratifying to see the accuracy of the results for the athletes.
Craig Mattick: It always amazed me because I was at Howard Wood Relays during the time where you didn't have the automatic timer and you had all these guys and ladies with stopwatches in their hand and looking for the gun to fire, and then they're all looking at their watches when their prescribed runner goes by. The science wasn't exactly the best at that time, was it?
Terry Nielsen: No, it wasn't, but everybody was there who was recruited. We all felt like the timers felt that they could be synchronized as far as hitting their little timepiece as the runner would pass through and the picker, we'd have two to a lane and somebody would say, "Okay, we'll take fourth place."
But you can imagine in what used to be called the 100-yard dash with eight lanes filled and two guys who simply just liked sports and felt they had pretty good eyesight together would say, "Lane four was four," for example.
It wasn't an exact science, but I guarantee you everybody there was serious and tried to do their job to the best of their ability.
Craig Mattick: What makes the Relays so special to so many people?
Terry Nielsen: Well, I would say the best part is to see the athletes. We have... Our track and field season is so short because the weather and it just almost seems like by the first weekend in May, for many of the kids, it's the first time they've gotten to run in front of a crowd of any sort.
The Relays is for excellence. We do have qualifying standards and so forth as far as being eligible to participate.
There's very little payback in track and field. It's a lonely sport, but to see the teams come in and to see the hardware that they've never seen before of that quality probably, it's right up there with a state track meet, that is very gratifying.
The other is volunteers, I don't know, hundreds of us over for the weekend, we do enjoy working it together. The fellowship and friendship is pretty hard to replace.
Craig Mattick: The Howard Wood Dakota Relays involves high school athletes not only from South Dakota but the surrounding states.
Have those out of state athletes always been a part of the Relays, bringing in the athletes, inviting those from North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska as well?
Terry Nielsen: I would say generally it's just been the neighboring states, Luverne, Sioux City, Worthington areas close by, but the growth of the special event and extending opportunities to noted runners in the region has really enhanced the meet.
We usually get top runners from the Twin Cities areas for a special or North Dakota or Iowa. That has made it more than just a local event.
But I would say largely the runners are South Dakota runners and now of course, we're a high school event and we still get what? Two to 3000 every year that participate.
Craig Mattick: You mentioned the special event, the high school special events. That started back in 1978. What was the reason for bringing that on board and how did the board think about using those two events? One for the boys and one for the girls.
Terry Nielsen: I think they had seen the popularity of it, the idea of it at the Drake Relays and they wanted something special, something to make it more unique so it's an invitational.
Actually, John Egan was one of the original brainchilds behind that special event.
It's included athletes from eight different states. Canada and Germany have been here for the event.
Interesting, of course, in '78, it was largely boys and then in 1980s, they started adding a girls' event fortunately, and then by 1983, boys and girls were featured and then they had different races.
But Terry Prendergast who really has carried on the leadership of that with able assistance from Alex Heinert and a few others, I think according to his notes it was in year 2013 as they settled on alternating the 200 meter and the 800-meter boys and girls swapping that event
Those are the only two special events that are open events now by special invitation.
Craig, you've been there when those kids are introduced and jump on that track and make their trek around the track and the crowd rises and applaud them, that's a big deal. The Relays board makes that a very special event.
Craig Mattick: The very first special event was the boys 1500 meter run. Any reason why that specific event was chosen for the first one?
Terry Nielsen: I think they knew that they had some outstanding 1500 meter runners in the area.
A slight Minnesota athlete by the name of Mark Zinnel, Z-I-N-N-E-L had been noted 1500 meter racer and they didn't have that as an open event, so they came up with that event and he ran a 401. Now, this is in 1978. That was a pretty good time in 1978.
I think they picked it out based on the talent in the area that would showcase the most outstanding times in that particular event.
Craig Mattick: When you look at all your years there, Terry, you've got to have a couple of memories of a certain event that just stands out in your mind. How about you share with us if you got one or two stories about an athlete or an event that happened at Howard Wood Dakota Relays?
Terry Nielsen: Well, I can tell you a recent one because some of my duties range from novelty sales on Friday to assisting with medals and trophies, a little bit to Hall of Fame, meeting Hall of Famers and taking pictures and meeting them.
But a couple years ago, how fun was this for me to see the champion? I think it was a 4 x 1 [inaudible 00:19:05] hurdling. I'm meeting for the first time two high school kids and I looked at them and all I saw was muscle. Unbelievable. Those kids then that little town, I'm sure they set a record. It was amazing.
The other one is to be able to be at the finish line. Back in the seventies, our head finish judge before Dave Stevens took over was Bob Johnson, just an outstanding person, a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest runners at Howard would ever had, a high schooler in the late thirties at Washington High School.
Some of those legends in my mind to be able to work the event with them. Howard Wood's son, Bob who served as president and was on the board with me maybe 15 years before he passed on. I just really enjoy being around those people that, well, that can share stories like we're doing, Craig.
Craig Mattick: Every year, there are workers who were honored to being there 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 all the way to 50 years, and there are so many awards that are handed out to those volunteers. That's one of my favorite times of the track meet too is honoring those that have been there for decades watching this event, and just like you getting your 50th just a year ago.
Terry Nielsen: Yeah, I did.
Speaking of volunteers, Craig, it's interesting because, I don't know, looking back over the years, getting younger parents, people to volunteer for this event seemed to be easier and it's not so easy now, and it's not their fault. I'll tell you the reason they're not available as frequently and why is that.
Because now maybe a 35-year-old or 40-year-old father and mother who used to volunteer and doing something at the long jump or the pole vault or whatever, well, they've got children themselves and guess what they're doing? They're either playing tennis, golf, basketball camp, volleyball camp, dance lessons. There are so many opportunities for these young families now and to no fault of their own, they are not available like they used to be.
So candidly, getting volunteers is a little tougher. It's a little harder today.
Craig Mattick: What is the future of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays?
Terry Nielsen: The future of the Relays is as good as the board of directors and the meet director. The meet director has traditionally been the athletic coordinator for the Sioux Falls School District and we've had some good ones.
Presently, after Mark Meile retired, his son, Casey, has been on the helm three, four years.
And as long as the city wants it, as long as the board is in at 100% like we've been for a hundred years because it's a weekend event, but we meet throughout the year basically and the changes that have come financially through rather than just simple ticket sales through sponsorships and so on, it is unbelievable.
I did a story and looking back over a hundred years and Billy O'Connor, who's our longtime treasurer and past president, I said, "I need to know about how much money our board has spent enhancing the track at Howard Wood Field."
Billy said, "How does $842,000 spent?"
That's in the last 40 to 50 years. Everything from matching funds with the district, enhancing the field, resurfacing the track, track equipment, electronics, you name it.
So whenever we solicit sponsorship or ticket sales, we tell people, "Hey, you're going to see a good track meet, but you're going to enhance the financial status of the board."
As you know, Craig, we give a couple of gold medal scholarships every year. We have a fund that's built up with that and interest from that provides scholarships to a couple deserving outstanding boys and girls tracksters each year. So because of that, the financial part of it is a reality. I see us going well into the future.
Craig Mattick: Howard Wood started it 1923. What do you think Howard Wood would say today on what he started and what is still going strong?
Terry Nielsen: He would say, "Well done. Well done, gentlemen."
Craig Mattick: John Papendick is a former sports writer, managing editor for the Aberdeen American News. He's also cataloged some great history from the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.
John, welcome to In Play.
John Papendick: Hey, thanks for having me, Craig. Always a pleasure to talk to a legend like yourself.
Craig Mattick: You're very kind.
You're a grad of SDSU in journalism. You wrote your first newspaper story back in 1976. By the way, do you remember what that story was?
John Papendick: I have no idea.
Craig Mattick: It's been so many... Was it a sports story?
John Papendick: I erased it probably from my memory. It's probably a good thing because I'm sure it wasn't very good.
Craig Mattick: Oh.
When did you first come into contact with the Howard Wood Dakota Relays? Was it as a kid or as a professional?
John Papendick: Yeah. Yeah. I grew up in Bridgewater, so I knew all about the Howard Wood Relays and yeah, it was such a great meet.
I know when I was cutting my teeth in journalism in South Dakota, I had a lot of great mentors who showed me the importance of keeping history alive. People like Greg Hansen and John Egan and Bruce Conley and West River guys, Don Lindner and Ron Wood and Roger Toland.
Craig Mattick: All great names. Some great names.
Did you ever get a chance to run the Dakota Relays?
John Papendick: No. You've seen me, Craig. Run and me... I was a lineman.
Craig Mattick: They're celebrating the 100th running of the Howard Wood Relays, and it wasn't too long ago I saw a column that you had written about how tough it is to keep annual track meets running. What did you find in that story and just looking back at what we have had or do have with track meets that have a pretty long-running?
John Papendick: Yeah, it really is. I think that [inaudible 00:26:45].
It's a tough thing because of course, spring in South Dakota, the weather, that's how it's going to be a thing and it is.
And it takes so much work. It just takes a lot of work.
That's something I've always admired about the Howard Wood Relays. It's a year-round thing.
This year, Scott Fiedler there in Sioux Falls, he's the president of the board of directors, and I don't know if they could have gotten a more capable person to lead, organize, and help plan the 100th anniversary of that event than Scott.
It takes a lot of people, a lot of hundreds of dollars go into that event to make it special, unique, and an experience athletes won't forget. Plus, it's such a beautiful facility.
Craig Mattick: That helps a lot.
I know that over the years, the areas of South Dakota down at Tyndall or Mitchell or areas, Aberdeen trying to hold events every year, and some do hold them fairly regularly but some, they've gone away because of various issues.
John Papendick: Yeah, they really do. It's just amazing that they're celebrating a hundred years at Howard Wood this year. There just isn't very many track meets across the nation like that one.
Craig Mattick: You grew up in South Dakota. What did or what do the Relays mean to those kids who come to Sioux Falls from across the state?
John Papendick: I would compare the Howard Wood Dakota Relays to the Lakota Nation Invitational tournament. It's that one big event in the regular season that rivals a state tournament because anybody who wins a Lakota Nation title, they, rightly so, feel like they've won a state title. And when you win a title at the Howard Wood Relays, it's the same thing.
I've talked to a lot of kids over the years that have won those kinds of titles and they, rightly so, put it right up there with the state title.
Craig Mattick: Let's talk about some of the memories of the Relays over the years. You've cataloged a lot of history over the years of the Relays. Let's talk about some of those.
If you go to the Howard Wood Relays website, you can go and you can see the results from every meet since 1923. There's just not a lot of people around right now that remember what happened in the twenties and thirties, John, when it first started, but I know you catalog some moments from back in the forties and the fifties. What have you found?
John Papendick: Let's go back to the very first one, the 1923.
The first college 100 yard dash champion was South Dakota State Multisport star, Clarence Schutte. He's the legendary athlete from Hecla High School.
I'm not sure if he used transfer portal or not, Craig. But Schutte eventually transferred to the University of Minnesota and in the fall of 1924, he rushed for 282 yards and three touchdown when Minnesota upset Illinois 20-7.
Illinois, they had a running back by the name of Red Grange, the galloping ghost.
That was pretty big upset in those days.
Craig Mattick: Well, I know the... I have read the Argus Leader story about the 1923 track meet and even then, they were predicting that the track meet was going to be something special every year for all the kids to come to Sioux Falls and be a part of a big event. It was a crazy... They were predicting that back in 1923.
John Papendick: Yep, they were, and their predictions came true.
Another good memory back then in the thirties, in 1933, it cost you 10 cents to get in, but the big thing was you not only got to see track, but you got to hear the 70-some members of the USD band playing for the two-day Howard Wood Dakota Relays. They were in their red and white uniform full regalia. How many times you get to go to a track meeting you hear a college band playing for two days?
Craig Mattick: There's an idea for the board of directors here for down the road, right?
John Papendick: Yeah. There you go. There you go.
Another one. 1948-1949, a Minnesota man, Ferdinand Tilstra of Hills-Beaver Creek, he ran in the Howard Wood mile relays those two years. Well, in 1975, his son, Arlyn, ran in the Mile Relay at the Howard Wood Relays, and in the year 2000, two of Ferdinand's granddaughters, Shanna and Cassi ran in the Mile Relay at the Howard Wood Relays.
Craig Mattick: That is awesome.
John Papendick: You talk about a tradition like no other. There you got people from a different state and they've got all this history with the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.
Craig Mattick: There's got to be a ton of moms and dads who ran in the Relays and then had their kids and grandkids. There's got to be a ton of them that have done it over these years.
John Papendick: Yeah, for sure. For sure. Yep, yep. It's just a great thing.
Another one of my favorite memories, 1954 Gettysburg native Jim Tays of USD, he won the college high jump that year at the Relays. Tays, he's a former Hot Springs coach who's now in his nineties and he's going into South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame later this year on September 14th in Sioux Falls.
When Tays left Gettysburg High School and USD, he held the high jump record at high school and college meets across the Upper Midwest. This guy...
Tays was probably maybe a better basketball player than he was a high jumper. He was really a star at USD.
But anyway, he set the Gettysburg High School high jump record, 1949, and that is still the high jump record there today.
Craig Mattick: Let's move on to the fifties. What things come to mind when you're thinking Howard Wood Dakota Relays?
John Papendick: In 1962, Roger Sayers of Nebraska-Omaha set the college a 100 yard dash record when he won that race. He is the brother of Chicago Bears Gale Sayers.
And then after the Howard Wood Relays in 1962, a month later, the NAIA National Meet was held at the same location at Howard Wood in Sioux Falls and there, Roger Sayers upset world record holder, Bob Hayes, who of course, later became a famous NFL player for the Dallas Cowboys.
Craig Mattick: When you talk about the college records, of course, the colleges don't come to the Howard Wood Relays anymore, but the oldest record under the college records for men going back to 1984, Ed Ross with the high hurdles from the University of Nebraska. There are about four or five men's records that were established in the eighties that still were not broken when colleges were coming to Sioux Falls.
John Papendick: Yeah. It's just amazing.
And then too, you think about all the amazing women who have competed at Howard Wood, the girls started competing there in '72, but names like Traci Fie of Watertown, Ericka Bakke of Salem, Jaime Pauli of Milbank, and Meg Larson of Aberdeen Roncalli.
I always have to say those three names together because they were such great competitors.
And then Jill Theeler of Mitchell, Megan Trotter of Rapid City Central, Macy Heinz of Ipswich. The list goes just on and on.
Craig Mattick: I see the longest 10-year record for the girls at Howard Wood is Burke High School. The girls had the 1600-meter relay. They still had that record that was set back in 1978.
John Papendick: Wow. I do not know that. That is so cool. That is so cool.
And then, of course, the men's names across South Dakota. In 1971, Jeff Schemmel of Madison won the Class A mile. Second was sophomore Jim Reinhart of Sioux Falls Lincoln, and Drake Titze of Watertown was third.
Also, that year in '71, Steve Heidenreich of Watertown anchored their winning sprint medley relay team and Dave Collins of Rapid City Stevens won the 100 yard dash.
If you know South Dakota's history, you know those names because a little bit later, Schemmel became the first South Dakotan to run a sub 4-minute mile for Kansas State. Heidenreich became the second South Dakotan to run a sub-4 minute mile running for the Indiana Hoosiers. Reinhart set records at Notre Dame. Titze, he ran on a track scholarship for the University of Missouri. And of course, Collins went on to a 16-year major league baseball career.
That was one track meet and those guys...
I tell you, Schemmel and Reinhart and Titze and Heidenreich, those guys sometimes would run together in the mile and it was just... Anytime those guys got together run against each other. It was like something you would see on Wide World of Sports on ABC.
Craig Mattick: Hey, John, the late seventies and 1980s saw an amazing relay team put together from Armour. Armour High School with the Tiefenthalers and the Friedel, Glanzer, DeSpiegler, those guys still have three relay records at Howard Wood Dakota Relays. Here we are approaching what? Forty-five years since those were broken by Armour. You got to wonder how much longer that's going to last.
John Papendick: Exactly.
I saw Dennis Tiefenthaler on the track plenty of times, but I'm not sure I ever saw him ran and that's how fast he was. That kid, he was a bundle of speed, let me tell you.
And then too, in that era, the late seventies, early eighties, Jeff Turning Heart of Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, in 1980s, he set a record Howard Wood Relays record in the 3200 meters.
Now, that's really nothing because anytime Jeff Turning Heart stepped on a track, any record was shaken in its boots because he was just such a great runner. But that year, he set that record despite almost falling down after hitting someone who accidentally stepped on the track during the final turn of his last lap.
I know that you know sports as well as anybody and anybody, a runner who's interrupted on the last part of a race, there's a lot of times where people they can't finish. It's too much of a calamity. And here, he hit this person and he just kept on running.
Craig Mattick: When you get to the 2000s over the last 25 years, every year, as long as I can remember, and I go to the Howard Wood Dakota Relays every year, there's got to be at least a dozen to 15 records broken every year at Howard Wood. And virtually, every category has seen its record broken multiple times in the last 25 years except for the ones we just mentioned here in the last few minutes.
John Papendick: Yeah, it is. Just kids these days are in such good shape and just really, really take care of their bodies. It's really interesting.
I'll share a couple more with you, Craig, here.
1986, Heather Van Norman of Windom, Minnesota won the high school girls 200 meters at Howard Wood and she later became a All-American six-time national champion at LSU and of course, you may have heard of her NFL son, Odell Beckham, Jr.
Craig Mattick: That's right. That's right. Odell Beckham, Jr. Yeah.
John Papendick: Yeah. Another famous one.
And then I think one of my favorite Howard Wood stories have had to have happened in 1988, Scott Benson of Rapid City Stevens won the high jump at 7' 2". This is the high school high jump. Darwin Vande Hoef of Rock Valley, Iowa was second at 7' and tied for third at 6' 8" was Travis Martin of Scotland who later became a 7' foot high jumper and future NFL linebacker, Doug Miller of Sturgis.
When you think NFL linebacker, you usually don't think 6' 5" eight in the high jump.
Craig, can you imagine going home that day and your mom says, "How'd you do, son?"
Son says, "Great. I jumped a 6'8"."
Mom says, "Wow. Let me see your medal."
And the son goes, "Well, I tied for third and only got a ribbon."
That's the Howard Wood Relay. You jump 6' 8" and you tie for third.
Craig Mattick: And that record by Scott Benson is still there at 7' 2" in 1988. That record is still trying to be busted at this time.
College participation Howard Wood Dakota Relays, there was a time that colleges sent their teams to the Relays, but that just doesn't happen anymore. Do you miss the college participation?
John Papendick: Oh, yes, for sure. For sure. Yeah.
A lot of great things would happen there in those...
And I think too, it was so amazing some of the kids that would win titles in high school and then go on in college and win titles at Howard Wood.
But yeah, it's a part and it's understandable because like I said, it's hard enough to keep track meet going and too, you keep it fresh and it's different this way. But yeah, certainly, I miss not having the college athletes compete but certainly understandable.
Craig Mattick: One more for you, John.
Why is the Howard Wood Dakota Relays so successful?
John Papendick: It has to be the people behind the scenes.
For years, guys like former Sioux Falls athletic director Mark Meile and all those people, the men and women, that just work so tirelessly. I think they meet almost every month planning this thing. That's definitely the reason.
And they just aren't stuck. These people are progressive thinkers. It's not like a room of, "Well, it has to be the same way every time." I think that that's just really what has made the Relays what they are and why they're so special is because they just keep coming up with different things.
And the competition that they get, it just speaks for themselves because if you live in the Upper Midwest, you want to be at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays.
Craig Mattick: Alex Heinert works with Midco Sports, also with the CBS Sports Network over the years, and he's been involved with the Howard Wood Dakota Relays for a long time not only as a media member, but he's been on the board of directors and now the public address announcer for this event.
Alex, welcome to In Play.
Alex Heinert: Yeah. Thank you, Craig. Thanks for having me.
Craig Mattick: You're a multi-sport athlete from White River, South Dakota. It's just like me, Alex. Small town, Minnesota, I was a multi-sport athlete because they needed the numbers for all the sports programs, but it allowed you the opportunity to play several sports including track, right? You were in track?
Alex Heinert: I was in track. Yes, I was in track.
At that time... I graduated from White River High School in 2003 and this was pre-Eldon Marshall, pre Louie Krogman. We were not a basketball school at the time. We were not very good on the hardwood.
But we had a pretty good track history. We had, over the years, some pretty good athletes come from White River to have great success.
Sue Chamberlain is a name that people still talk about. She held a number of records in the 1970s and outstanding athletes.
That was what we were known for and I got a chance to be a part of that tradition and made different state meets, and going to Howard Wood was one of the big goals that we had every year because that wasn't automatic that we get to come compete at the Dakota Relays. So we had to build up our times enough and convince our coaches to submit our times to have a chance to run at this race.
I didn't get a chance to compete until I was a senior in high school. We finally had a good enough relay team that they thought, "Yes, let's make the trip to Sioux Falls," which is a four-hour trek across the state to compete against the best in the state regardless of class.
There was just so much excitement. The state track meet was always a big deal, but this was something different. And so to get a chance to be a part of it as an athlete, I'll never forget the opportunity to run under the lights in the 4 x 4 and in the medley.
At that time, there were only two classes. We were class B but it wasn't like there was a class A and AA. So we were competing against a lot of good class A schools and to run against Custer and Lennox and Canton and schools that would go on to win class A championships and to test ourselves against that level of competition, that really set us up for success the rest of that season for sure.
It was special. A really special thing to be a part of, first, as an athlete and then as a fan and now as a member of the board and as you said, a member of the media as well.
Craig Mattick: What part of the leg were you on the relay?
Alex Heinert: I let off. I think in the 4 x 4. I always had the baton first and got things started.
We had a great 800 runner named Taylor Krogman that won a couple of class AA state championships. In the medley, he would usually anchor that and then he would usually anchor our 4 x 4 as well.
I got us off, hopefully on the right foot, and then you hope that the rest of the team could hang in and keep up.
Craig Mattick: How cool is it though, here you are, White River, a small town coming to the big city onto the lights, a huge crowd at Howard Wood. It had to be just an amazing fun event for a youngster.
Alex Heinert: Oh, it was.
I think that is right up there amongst my most memorable moments from high school, you getting a chance to compete with your friends and your teammates on that stage.
I had run in the arena at Howard Wood Field before the state track meet was there when I was a sophomore and a junior. And so we had competed and had won medals and had success. But again, this one just felt a little bit different.
In those days, Craig, you didn't have to verify your time coming in.
I'll never forget our coach, whether on purpose or on accident, submitted our time for the 4 x 4. That was about 10 seconds faster than we had actually run and the time he submitted what it was underneath the meet record. And so we're getting ready to go and they put us in lane four in the fast heat of the 4 x 4. Greg Merrigan over the PA is like, "White River has run..." Whatever time it was. I'm standing next to the kids from Canton.
I'll never forget their lead off guy was like, "Have you guys really run a 3:30?" Or whatever time it was, like, "No. We've not run that this year."
We proceeded obviously to not run that, but we ran a season's best though by a couple of seconds, but it was so funny. I just never forget feeling a little embarrassed like, "Yeah, we're probably not going to run that today."
Now, you have to verify your time. You can't just say whatever it's that you think you can do, which is a good change. Probably a good change.
Craig Mattick: How soon was it after you graduate from White River that you become a media member and you're covering the Howard Wood Dakota Relays?
Alex Heinert: We would usually come back and just attend as fans after the fact. I didn't really start a full-time job in broadcasting. It was about really after college. It was probably six years after I graduated even from college at the University of Sioux Falls that I started working for Midco Sports and then picked up track and field and covered that as part of my job.
But I remember my older brother, Paul, and I, we just loved track so much and my parents were big track fans. My younger sister, not so much, but half of the family really was into track and field.
I remember going and being there for Colin Koth winning the special 400 in 2008 from lane eight as a second alternates and-
Craig Mattick: Yep, yep. I remember that.
Alex Heinert: ... some of those memories of just being a fan sitting in the stands and taking it in because it's so special. It's a special meet in this community.
But when I started covering it though, that was one of the first things. It was 2014 and I had just started at Midco and it was in the springtime and so they were having me do... I would shoot softball and just random things, shooting high school baseball, and I was really enthusiastic about track and we had a show, Jason Andera's show Varsity Sports or Varsity Sports Live I think at the time and they changed the name.
But we didn't have track and field coverage and I just couldn't believe that like, "Oh, this is the best thing." And I had to convince Jandy to let me go and shoot track and field and Howard Wood was the first big thing of the year and I said, "It's going to be great. You're going to love this. This is going to be great content. People are going to really enjoy this."
That was really my first meet at Midco Sports was covering really Howard Wood and then state in North Dakota and South Dakota, and just the memories of getting to re-learn some of the names and kids that were really competing and performing well and records they were chasing.
Those first couple of years were really special. That was Will Lauer at Sioux Falls Lincoln and Colette Christensen and Alexis Gannon setting state records in the long jump and triple jump. There's a lot of great names you forget. That's been over a decade now. But yeah, those were special times right at the beginning.
And it's been fun now to be a part of it as a part of the board and now as a part of the PA team as well just as you are, Craig. It's just such a special meet and it's been a privilege to get to be a part of it for so many years.
Craig Mattick: You mentioned being on the board of directors. When did that happen and how did that come about?
Alex Heinert: That's a great question.
When I started working for Midco, again, part of the process of covering the meet was, yeah, you'd want to preview what was going on.
I remember emailing the Howard Wood Dakota Relays special events email address prior to the two weeks before Howard Wood. I didn't really know who was in charge or who was on that committee but I just said, "Hey, I'm just curious if you've got an idea of who's going to be a part of the special events this year." I listed off just the number of people for whatever it was, the boys 200 and the girls 800 that season, say, "Hey, am I on the right path? Because we want to do some stories about these kids and the more lead-up we have, the more we can do."
Terry Prendergast has been the head of the special events committee for a long, long time. He's been on the board for four decades and he reached out to me.
I had gotten to know Terry from my time while doing public address for the Sioux Falls Canaries and Terry was one of the owners.
He had said, "This is the exact list that we're looking at. Would you consider being a consultant and maybe being... You obviously have a passion for this, would you want to come on board? We're looking for more people that really care about the sport."
That next year I just was able to watch and see what they were doing as a board and how the special events were selected. And then the following year in 2015, they asked if I wanted to come on board and be an actual member, and I've been one ever since.
Funny how that all worked out, but it's been so fun to get to have that perspective on what goes into making the Relays possible because it's a huge lift. There are so many people that volunteer a ton of their personal time, countless hours that you don't get paid for, to try and make this meet what it is for the student athletes and for the fans and for the families. And it's obviously going on for a hundred years and still going strong.
Craig Mattick: Being a part of the board of directors, you know how to run an event. What's the most difficult aspect of running the Howard Wood Dakota Relays?
Alex Heinert: Oh, boy.
I think the logistical things that pop up every year when it comes to just organizing the meet.
Casey Meile is the meet director now when a lot of that burden falls on his shoulders, some of the logistics of... Working with Erik Van Laecken with Dakota Timing to make sure registrations are set, to set the schedule with the games committee.
And then the volunteer side of things. You have to have an army of people to run all the events, but then also too to take the tickets and to make sure everybody's had got water at their stations and making sure lunches are delivered to people and they're just... Who's running the finish line and making sure that... There's just so much that goes into it.
And so the fact that we've got a lot of dedicated people that lead their committees and make sure everything is set in their area makes it many hands make light work and that's what the board is for.
But there's just so much that goes into it. It's hard to pinpoint exactly one or two particular areas that are the most difficult. It's all the little details that you wouldn't think about if you're just sitting down in the stands and you're getting ready to watch a track and field meets. There's a lot. There's a lot of time and effort spent to make sure, yeah, things go off without a hitch.
Craig Mattick: You've seen your role, Alex, over the Relays evolve. You're now the public address announcer for the Relays taking over for the retired, the great Greg Merrigan. Being the PA announcer, it's a tough job, but it is a rewarding job. Would you please describe what the job is like being the PA announcer for Howard Wood?
Alex Heinert: It's special and you said, it's rewarding. Most of the time in the work that I do, even it's on television or maybe years ago, it was on radio and you don't have maybe the instant impact that you do when you are announcing something in venue.
I know that when I get excited for someone who's making a late charge or a record that's about to be broken, I have the opportunity to maybe help push that young athlete along to know, "Hey, I'm within reach of a record. I'm running out of gas," but I can help him fire up the crowd a little bit to try and give them a little boost to finish to know they've still got a chance to do this. That's really unique and I don't take that for granted. That was something I thought that Greg did so well over the years.
And as a student athlete participating in meets that Greg called, I just remember very distinctly rounding the turn for home and hearing him say, "That's Alex Heinert, White River," and just you wanted to do something good enough to have him say your name because you knew if he was going to recognize you, you were performing well, you were doing something special.
I think that sort of thing is what I've wanted to give to these young men and women now. And so I got a chance to do obviously what you do as well so well, the awards announcing, for so long for Howard Wood and for states.
That's a special job too. You get a chance to really have one-on-one conversations with the athletes before they take the podium and help reemphasize the great thing that they did to the crowd and now doing it for this capacity now for the last three years, it's just so much fun. It's just a joy to get a chance to delight in the excellence of these kids. It's just one of my favorite things to do.
And obviously, it takes a lot of research. You have to go through and look up past accomplishments and see what they've done this season and what season's best times are and where they rank all time.
It's me and it's Joe Van Goor up in the booth and we usually have Greg Merrigan now actually joins us up there along with Mike Holt is our research team and our consultants who we can bounce things off of. It certainly takes a theme.
But yeah, it's a lot of just looking at times.
It's so much easier I know that I have it now than what Greg used to have because all these things are online. athletics.net keeps track of the top 10 times in the state currently and you can zoom around and see what this athlete from Sioux Falls Lincoln ran three weeks ago at the ESD or at the Ruth Marske Invitational or whatever, and you've got all that at your fingertips.
So it's just a matter of being really organized and taking good notes when the day comes, so you can say what needs to be said and inform people and help them be a little more knowledgeable about what they're seeing and hopefully, that helps with their enjoyment of the meet as a fan and then obviously, as we said, just trying to do our best to get people fired up when good things are happening and let them know what's going on.
Craig Mattick: Yeah. Alex, you do a great job with it. You do. So happy for you and keep up the great work with that.
You talked about Colin Koth, right? Was it Colin? Yeah, Colin from Sioux Falls Christian running in the eighth lane and winning. Most people aren't winning when they're in the eighth lane, and that was a great memory.
How about a couple other memories that just come to mind, whether you were a reporter or maybe you were a participant or maybe as a PA guy, whatever? A couple of memories do you have regarding your whole Howard Wood Relays experience?
Alex Heinert: There've been some really good ones in the times that I've spent in whatever capacity.
I know Colin's one that really stands out since I started covering the meets.
I remember in 2015, it was my second year really covering the Relays as a media member and there was this great battle in the 3200, the boy's two miles, so it's Friday night and Will Lauer of Sioux Falls Lincoln who had committed to run at Stanford, he was one of the top distance runners in the Upper Midwest at the time and one of South Dakota's best all time, he had broken the 3200-meter record.
The year before he's a junior, he goes out and breaks it again and he breaks nine minutes, which is incredibly difficult to do, this really hallowed mark. That's what he was aiming for. He ends up running a 9:01 and it's this incredible time.
And he gets second, by almost 15 seconds, because the kid from the Twin Cities, Joe Klecker, who would go on to be a multi time All American and a future Olympian with the University of Colorado and Team USA, he runs an 8:50, which is the number one time in the nation for a high school athlete. It was just incredible to see this kid running in front of the best South Dakotans by daylight.
That was one that always stick with me because it was the first jaw dropping, "Whoa, this is like... We've never seen this before happening in Sioux Falls."
We had another one of those moments a couple of years later when Chris Nilsen from the University of South Dakota who'd won three NCAA national championships in the pole vault cleared 19 feet 2 and 3/4 inches. That was the number one mark in the NCAA. It broke a stadium record at Howard Wood.
It was better than his coach, Derek Miles, who of course was the three time Olympian and a bronze medalist. It broke his personal bet and it was the number four vault in the world.
That was incredible to see just the bar going up into the sky and everyone going crazy just to see him clear this and see this young man that was going to go on to win his silver medal in Tokyo do this in Sioux Falls. That was incredible.
And then... We've had so many too just the young men and women from around here that just do personal best times that also double as some of the best in the country.
We had that a couple of years ago in 2023 there was a sprint relay team from Bismarck Legacy that broke the meet record in the 4 x 1, the 4 x 2, the 4 x 4, and they were all-time North Dakota best and then they would go on and win outdoor national championships out at Hayward Field in Eugene that spring.
Gracelyn Leiseth of Hamlin too. Same thing. This outstanding shot-putter and distance thrower who's going on to have great success at the University of Florida. She had the best shot put throw in the nation at the Dakota Relays when she was a senior. And I think the number three discus throw at the time too.
It's just special to see. Sometimes, it's small town kids. Sometimes, it's big city kids, but kids from the Dakotas and Minnesota prove that they can compete with the best in the United States and the fact that they're able to do so in Sioux Falls at Howard Wood at this event that's been going on since the 1920s.
I think we sometimes take for granted what the standard is at track and field around here. It's really, really high. We've got some awesome kids and this meet really brings out the best in them.
Craig Mattick: One more for you, Alex.
What does the future hold for the Relays down the road?
Alex Heinert: I think the hope now, Craig, is just to try and do our best to elevate this meet to be the best that it can be every year. I think we have the responsibility to do so and whether that's small adjustments, things that maybe don't go noticed or bigger things, again, like improvements to the long jump pit or moving the shot put to the infield so fans really can witness that instead of having to pick and choose between going on the track and going to the shot.
Those are all the things that our board talks about all the time and we work really closely with the Sioux Falls School District to try and think of ways that we can give back and try and help elevate what that experience is for our student athletes and for our fans.
I'm excited to see what the next hundred years, but even the next five years bring to the Howard Wood Dakota Relays and to Howard Wood Field. I think the future is really, really bright.
We owe that to the people in this community and in this state, in this region, just to keep pushing the level to meet the demands of what our athletes are capable of. I think that's what the whole goal is. So we're excited to see what comes. That's for sure.
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