By Fred Solis
The Hutchinson Tribune
ANDALE—The Andale High School Indians swept three events—boys pole vault, boys hammer, and girls javelin—as Andale showcased its talent for the 2026 track season at the Andale Paul “Bear” Schmidt Track and Field Invitational last week.
Colt Lane jumped a meet-best 15’ in pole vault, followed by Hudson Tankersly at 13’6” for second place, and Athan King at 12’6” for third.
In the hammer throw, Matthew Braatan covered 170’10” for the top prize, Brayden Spexarth threw 168’1” for the silver, and Hunter Grimes completed the coup with a throw of 142’5”.
In the girls’ javelin, Andale finished 1-2-3-4 with Kinley Spexarth taking first place with a hurl of 128’2”, Abbey McNeil landed in second place at 127’5”, Addy Orth captured third at 121’ and Claire Gorges rounded out the medal sweep with a throw of 117’7”.
The Indians had several first-place finishes in other events, as well. The boys took top honors in the 4×100-meter relay, 4×800-meter relay, triple jump, javelin, and shot put, while the girls put a lock on the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles, long jump, pole vault, discus, and shot put.
The boys’ winning time in the 4×100 was 43.06 seconds, and 8:20.24 in the 4×800. Ethan Eck flew 43’4.5” for first place in the triple jump, Brayden Spexarth chucked the javelin 184’1” for first while teammate Hunter Grimes finished second with a throw of 167’4”. Grimes also took first in the shot put with a heave of 48’2”.
Rylee Meyer ran away from the field in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 300-meter hurdles in respective times of 12.22, 25.77, and 46.30 seconds. Meyer also leapt to the top in long jump with a distance of 17’5.5”.
Meanwhile, Bailey Bretthauer topped the field in pole vault with a jump of 10’6”; Hally Horsch was close behind in second place at 10’. Reagan Winter posted the best throw in discus at 106’1”, and Paige Brand was right behind her at 105’1” for second place. Brand bested all throwers in the shot with a throw of 34’11.25”.
Medals, for the top four finishers, also went to Andale athletes in the following events:
BOYS
- 200-meter dash: 2, Brody Kelp, 22.95 seconds.
- 800-meter run: 4, Lane Martin, 2:02.55.
- 1,600-meter run: 3, Roman Lubbers, 4:41.60.
- 3,200-meter run: 2, Jack Cutler, 10:23.78; 3, Roman Lubbers, 10:31.15; 4, Dustin Buchanan, 10:36.64.
- 4×400 relay: 2, 3:33.72; 4, 3:37.68.
- High jump: 3, Wyatt Helten, 6’2”.
- Triple jump: 4, Lane Parthemer, 40’4.5”.
- Discus: 2, Hunter Grimes, 152’10”; 3, Brayden Spexarth, 142’9”; 4, Matthew Braaten, 139’.
- Javelin: 4, Luke Fowler, 146’7”.
GIRLS
- 3,200-meter run: 3, Ayvah Banda, 13:08.78.
- 300-meter hurdles: 2, Maleah Speaxarth, 49.33; 3, Emma Meyer, 49.36.
- 4×100 relay: 3, 51.50.
- 4×400 relay: 2, 4:18.07.
- 4×800 relay: 2, 10:26.76.
- High jump: 2, Abbey McNeal, 4’10”.
- Long jump: 4, Maleah Spexarth, 16’2”.
- Triple jump: 2, Sydney Waltner, 35’2”.
- Pole vault: 4, Hannah Spexarth, 9’.
- Hammer: 3, Paige Brand, 95’9”; 4, Ella Spexarth, 93’1”.
The invitational also saw the institution of the Greg Smarsh Hurdles. The event was named after Smarsh, who is retiring after 26 years of teaching at Andale. He is also a former Andale track and field head coach who led the program for 14 years and put it on the path of a perpetual powerhouse. During his tenure alone, the school won six boys’ state championships and two girls’ state titles.
Since 2018, when current head coach Tyler Ryan took over, the boys’ and girls’ teams have both brought home the crown five times.
The Indians’ next competition comes Thursday, April 9, at Maize South at 3 p.m.