It has been a whirlwind past 10 days, full of action, intensity, entertainment and remarkable sportsmanship.

There is nothing quite like watching the state’s premier athletes battle for state championships. Regardless of the sport or activity, teams and individuals seem to find another gear and are surrounded by throngs of fans cheering them on in their quest to capture state titles.

In a span of less than two weeks, the spring sports season wrapped up with the state track and field meet, state golf tournaments, state softball tournaments, and the state trapshooting tournament, the last two taking place in Aberdeen.

Needless to say, there were many impressive performances.

Aberdeen Central defended its Class AA State Golf Championship in record-setting fashion, setting the Class AA record for lowest totals for 18 holes (295) and 36 holes (603). Olivia Braun also defended her individual state crown.

In Class B, Brynn Clark of Clark-Willow Lake won her third straight individual title, and she still has her senior year ahead of her.

The Class A and Class B State Softball Tournaments at Players Complex certainly did not disappoint. Games were filled with late-inning drama, plenty of emotion and fans everywhere. It was literally standing room only for the championship games.

The trap shooting brought in sharpshooters from all across the state and the trap houses were literally lined with spectators from end to end. It was fun to see boys and girls in all shapes and sizes enjoy competing not only against others, but against themselves.

While what transpired during the competition was certainly noteworthy and entertaining, it’s what happened following events that was truly inspirational.

During the state track meet, Northwestern’s Ella Boekelheide broke the Class B 800-meter run record belonging to former Ipswich standout Macy Heinz, who is currently a volunteer coach for the Tigers.

Following the race, Heinz was among the first on the scene to offer congratulations to a fellow Lake Region Conference member on breaking her record. I had the privilege to cover both of those runners and as successful as they were in their high school careers, they are even better people.

After Castlewood defeated McCook Central-Montrose to win the Class B State Softball Championship, there was another outstanding display of sportsmanship.

Members of the Warriors sought out a player on the MCM squad and presented her with a softball.

After witnessing that act, I inquired about what had taken place.

Castlewood coach Craig Horn explained how the team began a practice this season called “Recognizing Greatness” in which the players collectively vote after each game to present a ball to an opposing player, who represented a variety of positive qualities.

The ball includes a list of admirable traits and is signed by each member of the Castlewood team.

“At the end of the day we’re here to lift up and support people,” Horn said. “That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to grow responsible young women.”

Horn said he got the idea from some other things he read about.

“It was another step we took this year to help build that right culture,” he said. “That’s what this is about.”

A truly fantastic concept that helps to put things in perspective, no matter who ends up winning or losing in the contest.

So often we see a few negative sides of sports, and unfortunately, they garner a lot of attention. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives in sports. There are so many life-lessons involved in extra-curricular activities and it was so rewarding to see some of those on display in the past 10 days.

South Dakota has a great group of student-athletes who took center stage this spring with their determination, drive and talents, and it also has a remarkable group of kids who showed their class, character and kindness, even when nobody was watching.