SIOUX FALLS — The Howard Wood Dakota Relays boys special 200-meter dash was special indeed. 

Using a late surge against an elite field of sprinters, Custer’s Blake Boyster captured the sprint race at the 97th annual Howard Wood Dakota Relays on Friday. Boyster finished in :22.57 seconds, which was just ahead of Spearfish’s Jaden Guthmiller (:22.62). 

“I feel like that’s probably my greatest accomplishment of my life,” Boyster said. “It feels awesome. Those are all great sprinters. It was still an honor to be with them.”

The prestigious event didn’t disappoint. Not only did Boyster edge Guthmiller, he also held off Brandon Valley’s Julian Watson (:22.73), Bismarck, North Dakota’s Dawson Hawkinson (:22.74), Chester Area’s Jovi Wolf (:22.763), Dickinson, North Dakota’s Quentin Lewis (:22.764) and Harrisburg’s Tim Bishop (:22.92). 

It’s also impressive considering Boyster started in lane No. 2. 

“Coming out of lane two, being the fourth or fifth seed in there, I was just expecting myself to get top three,” Boyster said. “But No. 1 is definitely always the best.” 

Boyster was in fourth place coming around the home stretch and that’s when he kicked it in gear. 

“I felt like I started to close the gap coming out of that corner back there,” Boyster said. “I am not usually the best starter or running around the corner. But once I come around that corner, I kind of use it and push off. I started to stride out and all I did was keep myself calm and stayed loose and just chased (Guthmiller) down.”

But even in the closing meters, it was still in doubt who was the winner. Guthmiller, who was running in lane four, broke away from the pack and appeared it was his race to lose. 

But Boyster used a strong closing kick to stun Guthmiller, who dove at the finish line as Boyster edged his West River rival. Boyster said they’ve been racing against each other since the sixth grade. 

“In my mind I thought I could catch him,” said Boyster about Guthmiller. “But I didn’t know if I had enough track left to actually do it. But eventually when I got to like 25 meters left, I knew I could beat him and I just gave it all I had at that point.”

Boyster then put his hands behind his head in disbelief afterward and said the win could lead to bigger things down the road. 

“It will definitely help with looking at colleges,” Boyster said. “I feel like there’s only a few people in the world that can say they won the Howard Wood special 200. So I feel like that might be a bonus to me.”