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Redfield twins ready for pair of state events

Redfield’s Camryn Rohlfs competes in the 400 meter run Thursday at the Region 1A Track and Field Meet in Groton. Photo by John Davis taken 5/18/2023

REDFIELD – Twin siblings Camryn and Keaton Rohlfs of Redfield are gearing up for a big week. The duo will be competing at two different state events in the same city.

Camryn will be competing in the Class A State Track and Field Meet starting Thursday, before Keaton plays in the Class B State High School Baseball Tournament on Monday, both in Sioux Falls.

The events will cap off stellar prep careers for the multi-sport athletes. The recent graduates have kept busy through their high school years by competing in various sports.

Camryn has participated in volleyball, basketball, track and field, and softball, and says that volleyball and softball are her two favorites.

“Softball is in the summer and one of the coaches was my dad and two other girls’ dads, and it was just really fun to play that with all of my friends and classmates in the summer,” Camryn said. “I’ve always just enjoyed volleyball as a team sport.”

Camryn is currently finishing up her track and field career, where she has competed in multiple events.

“I’m a sprinter so I usually do the 100, 200, 400, and then I also compete in the long jump,” she said.

Keaton has also been involved in a variety of sports, including baseball, football and wrestling, and says his favorites are a tossup between football and baseball. He is currently finishing up his high school baseball career with the Redfield Muskrats, where he primarily plays catcher and pitcher, although he also sees time in the outfield.

Keaton Rohlfs, of Redfield Clay Kiser Post 92, swings at a pitch during an American Legion Region 6B Tournament game last season against Wessington Springs in Redfield. Photo by John Davis taken 7/19/2022

The two are often involved in sports at the same time, which doesn’t allow for much down time for the family.

“It’s busy. There’s always somewhere to go, at least for my parents. They’re always traveling,” Keaton said.

Camryn noted that though their parents have to travel quite a bit, they have been very supportive of both of them through the years.

“Since we’re twins, sometimes they would have to split up, but either one of them, I don’t think they’ve missed an event,” Camryn said.

Both say that they enjoy seeing each other succeed in whatever activity they are involved in, and Keaton says the siblings support each other along the way.

“Her basketball coach is also our baseball coach, so if there’s something that she doesn’t like, I feel like I can calm her down a little bit,” Keaton said. “Be there for each other I guess is the biggest thing.”

Camryn noted that the two would attempt to attend each other’s games whenever they could.

“We try to encourage each other,” Camryn said. “Sometimes we’ll talk about sports that we’re involved in and what’s going on with that, but I also try to make it to baseball games and football games, and he’s been to a few of my volleyball and basketball games during the year, so that was fun.”

Redfield’s Camryn Rohlfs, center, sets the ball during a Region 1A semifinal match against Milbank last fall at the Roncalli High School gym. Photo by John Davis taken 11/3/2022

Although Camryn and Keaton are currently focusing on finishing up their high school athletic careers, they are also looking forward to the future. Camryn will be playing volleyball at Dakota Wesleyan University and pursuing a degree in nursing. Keaton will be attending Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa and will play football and potentially baseball.

Before then, though, both are preparing for their respective state events, and each has specific goals.

“My goal is to win a game,” Keaton said. “We’ve been there now three years in a row and came up having not won a game yet, so I think just winning a game there would be really cool. And then you just have to win two more to win it all, so just getting that first game is the biggest thing.”

Redfield’s Keaton Rohlfs, center, tries to get past Aberdeen Roncalli’s Abe Kretchman, left, Phillip Zens, right and Zane Backous, far right, during a Class 11B Playoff game two years ago at Swisher Field. Photo by John Davis taken 10/21/2021

He says the team knows it is playing the underdog role entering the tournament, which provides motivation.

“We kind of have a chip on our shoulder because we’ve got a good idea of who we’re going to play and we know they’re good,” Keaton said. “We’ve kind of felt like a little bit of underdogs this year just because we lost so much from our team last year.”

Camryn also has goals in mind for the state track and field meet.

“I’m hoping to get a state medal, but also just to do my best and try to enjoy it,” she said.

Camryn is the only member of the Redfield squad competing in the state meet, and that is motivating her during practices this week.

“I’ve had practices and it’s just me and my coach, so she’s had good one-on-one time with me to get me prepared,” Camryn said, “just working out this week, so I can stay in shape so I can perform well.”

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