Watertown track meet set for Friday at the Allen Mitchell Athletic Complex

WATERTOWN — Former Watertown teacher and coach Mark Bellum has been selected as the honorary referee for the 60th Watoma Relays track and field meet . The meet , started in the 1950s and sponsored by the Watoma Club of Watertown, is scheduled (weather perimitting) for Friday, April 24, 2026, at the Allen Mitchell Athletic Complex. The relays haven't been held since 2022 due to a combination of weather and the renovation of the complex.

It has been cancelled six times in the past eight years. Meet officials are hopefully the streak ends this year with forecast of temperatures around 50 on Friday. If Mother Nature cooperates, Bellum will serve as the honorary referee.

Bellum graduated from Columbus High School in Columbus, NE in 1982 and attended the University of South Dakota, playing football for four years and running indoor track for three years. In the spring of 1987, he started his teaching and coaching career at Bridgewater as a fifth-grade teacher and assistant girls and boys track coach. That same fall, he took over a sixth-grade teacher at Mellette Elementary in Watetown.

During his 33 years in Watertown, he coached lower-level football, varsity girls gymnastics and varsity girls and boys track. Bellum served as head coach of the Watertown gymnastics team for 18 seasons, leading the gymnasts to the school's first state championship in 2006. As a sprint and relay coach in track and field, Bellum coached several Eastern South Dakota Conference, Howard Wood Dakota Relays and state Class AA record-holding relay teams.