Boyster headed to national track meet

It’s already been well established that Blake Boyster is one of the fastest boys in South Dakota. He has also proven to be one of the fastest boys in the region as well.
In early June at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Region 8 Outdoor Track and Field championships Boyster brought home two first place finishes and a third place in three sprint events. The two first place finishes means he now gets to compete at the USATF national championships in Florida.
Boyster, who won the Class A state championship in the 400 in this past spring’s state track meet for Custer High School, won that same event at the USATF region meet in a time of 51.17, while also placing first in the 200 at 22.83. The top two finishers in each event advance to the national meet. Boyster ran in the boys 15-16 category.
Boyster said he was satisfied with his finish in the 200, and even though he won the 400, felt he could have done better in that race as well. In the 100, where he finished in third place, he was disappointed.
“I didn’t really know how it would turn out. I was kind of sore, I had been training a lot, lifting (weights),” he said.
Despite not getting as loose as he would like Boyster was the top seed in the 100 going into the finals, but said he lost energy during the race. He went into the 200 as the top seed as well, which ended up turning out better than the 100.
“I wanted to make sure I didn’t blow it. I got my mind right, and when the time came I was ready,” he said.
Boyster has been working all offseason to improve his sprinting, saying he has mostly been working on the “drive phase” of his sprints, which is where the athlete accelerates to get to top speed after coming out of the blocks at the starting line.
As for the national meet, Boyster said he would like to set personal records in each event, and possibly make it to the finals in the two races he will run. He would also like to impress the many college scouts who will be in attendance.
“It’s some of the best competition you can get,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the national meet and representing South Dakota.”