IPSWICH – The finish line is in sight. Literally.

After months of training and competing, the State Track and Field Meet is at hand. The event will take place today through Saturday at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls.

While there be will numerous battles for individual titles, there could also be some interesting team challenges in store as well.

Things will likely be tight in the Class B boys’ division where a handful of teams will all be fighting for points trying to win the state team championship.

“With the boys, the first team to 60 probably wins, I’m guessing,” said Ipswich coach Todd Thorson. “There’s a lot of teams that are really in it.”

Those teams include Ipswich, Philip, Colman-Egan, Gregory, and Bennett County in no particular order.

“Philip’s got a ton of depth. They can score a lot of points a lot of different ways,” Thorson said. “Colman-Egan obviously has five studs. Their relays are good. They can run opens. They’re going to be two doing relays for sure. … It’s very interesting to see which relays they do compared to which relays we do, that sort of thing.”

That’s where things really get interesting. Coaches can wait and decide how they want to piece their relays together. Thorson said that could be a major factor when it comes down to the team race.

“We know what people are doing opens-wise,” Thorson said, “but we don’t know for sure who’s running what for relays. I’m not even 100 percent sure what I’m doing, yet.”

Thorson noted that while qualifying times are established heading into the state meet, those can be deceiving.

“You know the 100-meter times are run with a good tailwind,” he said, “but the 200, you don’t know for sure.”

While Ipswich currently has the top two vaulters in Class B heading into the meet, Thorson said that does not guarantee anything in that event.

“In the pole vault you just don’t know, either. I’ve seen reigning state champs that can’t get their step on,” Thorson said. “There’s a lot of factors in that pole vault. If your step’s not on, you’re not going very high, and then if you’re rolling, who knows, there could be other kids that go all-world too, I’ve seen that.”

In fact Thorson saw it first hand four years ago when Marley Guthmiller ended up winning the state championship in the event as a seventh-grader.

“That year Marley won it as a seventh-grader, she was getting second and third in middle school meets that year, and all of a sudden she was a state champ,” Thorson said.

Two years ago, the Class B boys’ state team title came right down to the end with Gregory and Ipswich finishing in a tie for team points in what turned out to be a multiple-team race. It appears there could be more suspense in store for this weekend as well.

“The thing that Philip’s got going for them is, I think Gregory, Colman-Egan and us are only going to be taking points away from each other,” Thorson said.

Time will soon tell how it all shakes out.

“When you start slicing through it, there’s no heavy-hitter teams that are taking points away from Philip, really,” Thorson said. “None of us have a ton of that distance stuff. It’s going to be very interesting to see which two relays Colman-Egan is going to do.”

What’s not up for debate is the qualify of athletes that will be taking centerstage and competing throughout the meet regardless of the class or gender.

“The fun part about the state track meet is, you’re going to see the best football players, the best basketball players,” Thorson said, “they’re all at the state track meet.”

South Dakota athletes have already had an impressive spring at the next level with the likes of former Rapid City Stevens standout Simeon Birnbaum of Oregon, and former Warner standout Cody Larson of South Dakota State clocking record-setting times in distance races.

Thorson doesn’t see the pattern of South Dakota high school athletes excelling at the collegiate level changing any time soon.

“It’s crazy and I think it’s going to continue to get better,” Thorson said. “The access to the training and the sharing of knowledge has just exploded.”

A case in point is former Ipswich standout Macy Heinz, who competed at Kansas State under a 2016 U.S. Olympics coach, who now coaches at Northern State.

“Now, Macy’s bringing that out to Ipswich for acceleration,” Thorson said.

LEADING THE WAY

Ella Boekelheide of Northwestern is the newest addition to the athletes who top three open events this week. The junior now has the top time in the Class B in the 800-meter run, 1,600-meter run, and 3,200-meter run. Two other athletes lead the same three races in their respective classes, Ellie Maddox of Sioux Falls Christian in Class A girls, and Silas Holdeman of Mitchell Christian in Class B boys.

There are 14 other athletes who lead a pair of open events, including Oliver Fieber of Deuel in the Class A 100 and 200, Kyle Hettich of Ipswich in the Class B 100 and 200, and Spencer Melius of Faulkton in the Class B 110-meter high hurdles and javelin.

BY THE NUMBERS

Bennett County and Sioux Falls Christian girls top the final team leaders. Bennett County in Class B and SFC in Class A both lead six events.

Other team leaders include Brandon Valley and Sioux Falls Lincoln in Class AA boys (four events each), Brandon Valley in Class AA girls (four events each), Hill City and Sioux Falls Christian boys (four events each), and Colman-Egan boys (four events).

AND THE WINNERS ARE …

Each year this space tries to project which teams will be state champions based solely on the final numbers of the track and field leaders.

While far from a science, the last official numbers heading into the state meet do offer an indication of what might transpire. Of course, it can’t take into account false starts, injuries, dropped batons, and which athletes are going to run what events, because they can only be in four at the state meet despite being in more than that in the leaders.

That said, here’s a look at what the numbers show of who might be taking home state team titles this weekend.

CLASS AA BOYS: It appears that Sioux Falls Lincoln has too much depth for the rest of the field here. The Patriots can score points in a variety of ways and are projected to finish with 133 points.

Brandon Valley will definitely be in the hunt, and appears to be a solid pick for second with 116 points.

CLASS AA GIRLS: Things could get interesting here. Brandon Valley will be the favorite as the Lynx are projected to score 101 points. Rapid City Stevens leads a tight pack of the rest of the teams, projected to score 70 points with Pierre right behind at 66.

CLASS A BOYS: As is annually the case, Sioux Falls Christian is always in the conversation for state team championships. The Chargers are projected to score 98 points with Hill City a distant second with 73 points.

CLASS A GIRLS: If there is one lock in the chase for team titles, this one appears to be it. Sioux Falls Christian has set the pace all season long in Class A girls and is projected to score a total of 148 points.

No other team is even close. Custer would be a strong favorite for second place with 79 points.

CLASS B BOYS: According to the final numbers Colman-Egan is projected to score 89 points, but that total is high considering the C-Hawks won’t be able to accumulate as many points in relays as they did in the final leaders.

Ipswich figures to be in the hunt with 64 points as does Philip with 62.

CLASS B GIRLS: Fresh off of winning the State B basketball championship, it appears that Bennett County is ready to add a state track title in the same year as well. The Warriors are projected to score 80 points. The next closest team on projected points is Colman-Egan with 55.