In the cool, nearly perfect weather for athletes, students gathered for the South Dakota High School Boys and Girls State Track Meet Friday in the Black Hills. Anything can happen at track meets and this was no exception.

Three girls, Mollie Kersten from Lincoln, Erin Kinney from Harrisburg, and Ashley Odenbach from Spearfish - all tied in the 100-meter dash prelims.

A run-off race was added to determine which two of the three girls would advance to the finals. However, Ashley Odenbach jumped the gun and was disqualified for a false start.

jog across the finish line. After all, they thought, why waste the energy? We're both advancing to finals anyway, right?

Leave it a small rule in the state track meet rules and regulation handbook to dampen the lighthearted and good sportsmanship gesture, which states you cannot aid or assist another runner across the finish line.

After much discussion and delays with coaches, track officials, referees, and judges, they decided to look back at the timing which determined the original 3-way tie. Unfortunately, the timing used was set to hundredths of a second instead of thousandths and it was Ashley Odenbach of Spearfish who actually won the prelim race!

After the confusing twist of events, both Kersten and Kinney, would still get one more chance to qualify for the final girls 100 meter dash.

Ultimately, Kinney edged Kersten for the final spot, but both posted their best times of the season.

Nice job, girls, and way to show great sportsmanship for South Dakota!

Here's the results of some of Friday's events at the South Dakota High School Boys and Girls State Track Meet.

credit: Argus Leader Sports - Jon Erickson

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