605 Sports Staff

BURKE — Each year just before the Howard Wood Dakota Relays Burke hosts its annual Meet of Legends and does something special every year. 

From the Burke Games Committee

Many invitational track and field meets are named in honor of someone special. Someone who made an indelible mark on their sport in that community. In honoring the rich track and field history that has its roots here in Burke, with athletes who ran and threw and jumped their guts out on cinder or asphalt track right here in this spot, the game committee decided that there are many legends of track and field who deserve this honor. Therefore it has been decided that each year a class of inductees will be honored as the namesakes of this meet, and the meet shall be called Legends. In future years you will see some from long ago, and some from recent memory, all of them legends. As you watch the action unfold on the track and in the field, you will see new legends in the making. 

The 2022 class of inductees includes Ron Determan, Greg Klein, Mark MacKenzie, Janeen Steffen and Milo Klein. 

As the entire state buckles up for the track and field wonder that is the Howard Wood Dakota Relays, we wanted to take a look back at two legendary Burke girls relay teams from 1978. 

Howard Wood Dakota Class B relay records:

1,600 meter relay: (Sue Smizer, Carol Bailey, Lori Ulmer and Brenda Hayden), 4:03.94, 1978

1,600 meter sprint medley relay: (Carol Bailey, Lori Ulmer,  Brenda Hayden, Julie Tolstedt), 4:14.44, 1978. 

Pictured from left to right on the Burke Howard relay teams in 1978: Carol Bailey, Sue Smizer, Lori Ulmer, Brenda Hayden and Julie Tolstedt.

Later in that 1978 season the Burke girls ran the 1,600 meter relay in (4:01.0) and the medley relay in (4:11.4). 

Mind you this is 44-years ago with girls’ track and field in its infancy in South Dakota, and yet, those records still stand. 

To put those two records in perspective, here are the top South Dakota Class B times for those relays heading into Howard Wood. 

1,600 meter relay: (1978 Burke, 4:03.94)

Chester Area, 4:22.05

Colman-Egan, 4:23.38

Aberdeen Roncalli, 4:23.90

Potter County, 4:25.01

Northwestern, 4:25.30

1,600 meter sprint medley relay: (1978 Burke, 4:14.44)

Chester Area, 4:31.87

Freeman Academy/Marion, 4:34.45

Frederick Area, 4:37.30

Burke, 4:37.70

Canistota, 4:39.69