Deubrook Dynasty?
Time will tell, but the Dolphins are off to a mighty fine start.
Deubrook won the Class B State Girls’ Track and Field Meet team title for a second year in row last weekend in Rapid City.
“One of the most important things was staying healthy,” said head coach Rachelle DeBeer. “We had some injuries early on … people say that they kind of expected us to win, but we knew there was a lot going on with the team. We kind of kept it private, but there was a lot going on, so we knew that there would definitely be some challenges in front of us.
“We’re obviously happy with how things turned out; it was good.”
Ashley Vandermeer led the charge, accounting for 38 team points – 28 as individual. The junior won the triple jump and long jump while placing second in the 200-meter dash.
“She put together a phenomenal meet,” noted DeBeer. “She’s a three-time state champ in the triple jump, which is a lot of pressure. She’s just so competitive. The long jump was actually first, and she was just on her game.”
A lot of things can happen in the jumps, DeBeer pointed out, and the Dolphins “survived” that portion of the meet before finishing it off on Saturday.
The Dolphins actually bookended the meet with victories.
It began Friday morning with a victory in the 4x800-meter relay – Deubrook’s third consecutive victory in the event.
“They just ran so well; it was just so cool to see them run so well,” DeBeer said of the quartet of junior Shaylee DeBeer (her daughter), freshman Andrea Vandermeer, senior Cortney Bauman and junior Josie Olsen. “They just run for each other; they’re very, very close. Those kids are close and they’ll do anything for each other. They were just ready to go that day. They were nervous, obviously; very, very nervous. But they broke their school record (9:49.34) even, so their time was very good. They were pushed out; it was very competitive early on in the race. They ran very, very well – they ran their best and that’s really all we can ask at that point.
“It does feel like pressure to them, yet it’s exciting for them to have that chance to win that relay for a third time at the state track meet is a pretty cool thing, too. They take none of that for granted and they take none of that lightly. Like I said, they’re just so, so close.”
In the final event – 4x400 – Bauman, Ashley Vandermeer, Olsen and DeBeer polished it off with a win.
“It was kind of our swan song with Cortney Bauman,” said DeBeer. “I mean, she’s been a huge part of our track team for the last six years honestly. They’re close so they just wanted to go out on top for Cortney. They ran that race for Cortney. …
“People keep saying, ‘you only lose one kid next year.’ We do lose one kid, we have one senior, it’s Cortney Bauman; but she does so much for our team.”
Deubrook’s ability to score in numerous events made it even more dangerous. Unselfishness was the key, DeBeer noted.
Olsen was runner-up in both the 1,600 and 3,200.
DeBeer took second in the 800 and fourth in the triple jump.
Bauman crossed in fifth in the 300-meter hurdles.
Andrea Vandermeer placed sixth in the 3,200.
“We have some young kids I’m really, really excited about coming up through the program and hopefully we can continue to be balanced,” DeBeer added. “But we try to move our kids around and be multi-faceted and try to score points in different events. We have throwers right on the edge and I think next year we’ll have some throwers at the state track meet, too, which is huge for us.
“If you can score on the track and score in the field that’s a really big deal.”
Deubrook totaled 84 team points this season, while Ipswich was second at 58.5.
When the Dolphins won the first track and field title in school history in 2017, they scored 78 points. Parker (48) was second, while Ipswich (38.2) ended up seventh.
Deubrook was runner-up in 2016 with 51 team points as the Lady Tigers racked up 104 to win their fifth crown in a row.
“After we won the one last year, I wasn’t sure if we could come back and do it again,” DeBeer said. “I just knew that there was a lot of pressure, and you just don’t know with injuries and things like that or just a little bit of bad luck. When you coach 20-some years, we’ve had some bad luck at state meets before. … There were definitely some challenges.
“We never really talked about winning again until we got to Howard Wood, because it was just so hard to know. With the weather and things like that, it was just such a hard year to qualify so that was a big question mark. But the kids really performed well at Howard Wood and that just kind of got them excited again I think – ‘Hey, let’s see what we can do at the state meet.’ Not that they weren’t probably thinking about it, we just didn’t talk about it.
“Next year we’ll come out and do what we do; it’s just track, you could have a bunch of seventh-graders burst onto the scene – other schools could, too – and you just don’t know and that could change things for everybody across the state. We’re enjoying this one; this one might be a little bit sweeter than last year, obviously different.
“I thought our kids did a really good job of handling the pressure. That’s one of the things I’m super proud of them for.”
We’ll see what happens next.
SDPB photo: Deubrook Area won the team title at the Class B State Girls’ Track and Field Meet over the weekend at O’Harra Stadium in Rapid City for the second year in a row. Team members include (from left): Coach Paul Ekern, Head Coach Rachelle DeBeer, manager Claire Olsen, seventh-grader Joeve Krier, eighth-grader Carley Landmark, junior Trixie Jo Schlechter, senior Cortney Bauman, junior Shaylee DeBeer, junior Josie Olsen, junior Ashley Vandermeer, freshman Andrea Vandermeer, seventh-grader Ellie Olsen, seventh-grader Brooke Koppatschek, freshman Baylee Holmlund, Coach Tim Cariveau, Coach Brad DeBeer and manager Colby Trooien. Bauman is the lone senior on the squad.
