RAPID CITY – It’s one thing to have a game plan, it’s another to execute it to perfection.
The Ipswich girls turned their pre-race strategy into another Class B State Cross Country team championship on Saturday at Hart Ranch. The Tigers placed four girls among the top nine runners and defended their state title, adding a 10th crown to the program resume.
“Our girls executed their plan perfectly,” said Ipswich coach Todd Thorson. “We don’t talk about wining the race. We talk about running our best race for us.”
Thorson laid out a plan of exactly where each runner was supposed to be at each stage in the race and they nailed it, so much so that it even exceeded the veteran coach’s goal.
“I said to myself, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such an executed first 600,” Thorson said. “I’ve had a lot of girls follow plans, but man, they were identical to how we told them they should be. That just doesn’t happened at the state meet when you have 100 plus runners.”
Nora Olsen of Deubrook Area won the individual race with Ipswich’s Isabella Galbraith in second and Kalynn Oban in third. Della Ernst of Herreid-Selby Area finished fourth, and Ipswich’s Jayla Stiles was fifth, despite falling on the course.
Stiles wasn’t sure what happened, the eighth-grader just knew she had to get up and get moving.
“I just tried to catch up,” Stiles said, “but my heart race was going so fast.”
Stiles enjoys running with Oban and the two help to motivate each other during meets.
“It’s definitely nice to have someone running with you, because then you push each other,” Stiles said. “I run with Kalynn and we say stuff to each other, like ‘we got this, stick together’ and that definitely helps.”
Stiles said enjoys running with someone as opposed to being by herself out on the course.
“I like running with someone. I think that running by yourself is definitely harder,” Stiles said, “because then you don’t have your teammate to push you.”
Stiles was pleased with another solid season topped off by another state championship, but pointed out one benefit to the season being over.
“I definitely won’t miss the early morning practices, though,” Stiles said.
Northwestern received a sixth place finish from Brenna Halvorson and an eighth-place finish from Rachel Melius to help power the Wildcats to a runner-up finish in the team standings.
Other Ipswich finishers were Jennay Gisi who was ninth, and Addison Galbraith who was 17th. Herreid-Selby Area’s Evelyn Shearer was 19th.
Thorson said the school’s latest state championship was an entire team effort, even from those who did not compete in the state meet.
“We train together and if you train together you’re going to race together. Our depth has always been our strength,” Thorson said. “You’ve got to give credit to all our girls that are out. Our next seven girls are super solid besides our five. They all train together, so they deserve credit, too. The whole pack pushes each other up. I’m just really proud of their efforts.”
Thorson each of the 10 state titles is meaningful and that not one of them stands out from the rest.
“Every one is special because they each have their own journey and you work so hard together. Cross country is a team sport, but it’s also an individual sport,” Thorson said. “You really have to find your own way through the season and figure out your role … and your place as the team. I can’t say this one is more special than any of the other ones. Even the years we don’t win it, they’re all special to me, because it’s cross country.”
Mitchell Christian won the boys’ team title with the top two runners in the race, including individual state champ Silas Holdeman.
Castlewood’s Nolan Edison was the top area finisher taking fifth.
North Central’s Drew Arbach recorded a personal-best 11th place finish to help lead the Thunder to a sixth-place team finish and a spot on the podium.
The senior said the race featured a blistering pace.
“It felt fast enough for me, even when I went on the downhills I still felt tired. I was just going that fast,” Arbach said. “I couldn’t even really get faster. It’s not even free energy any more. It’s even tiring on the downhills.”
During the Region 4B meet, Arbach broke the school record that belonged to former standout Eureka Jeffrey Mettler set in 2009.
Arbach also runs track and field, but said he likes cross country much more.
“Track sometimes you’re there for six hours, eight hours,” Arbach said. “I run the 4X8, so I have the first event, I run the mile, so that’s the middle event, and I run the 4X4 which is the last event, so I can’t ever go home early, I can’t come later. I got to pay attention to the entire meet.”
Other top area finishers included Faulkton’s Korbin Stark who was 13th, Leola-Frederick’s Jace Bender who was 19th, and Northwestern Ty Boekelheide who was 23rd.
Aberdeen Christian’s Andrew Schwab and Joseph Richards finished 34th and 35th, respectively.
“Boys ran really well and PRd. They beat their goal of running under 18 (minutes),” said Christian coach Adam Franken. “It was great to see them have their best meet for their last meet. Really proud of their work throughout the year to get there.”
CLASS A
In Class A action, the Aberdeen Roncalli girls recorded their highest finish in school history by taking fourth in team points.
The Cavaliers were led by Addison Cassady, who finished 11th. Teammates Hannah Eskro, Taylor McComsey, and Hazel Kannegieter were 32nd, 35th, and 45th respectively.
“The thing that made the day special and put us into fourth place contention was Addie got out, she was competitive, almost made top 10. … We packed our next three girls together and that made the difference,” said Roncalli coach Casey Steele.
He noted that the spread between the four runners was about 70 seconds.
“For us to move up further next year we probably need to have a spread of 45 seconds,” Steele said.
He pointed out the effort of Kannegieter, who competed despite having an injury.
“Hazel Kanngieter’s been injured for the past couple of weeks,” Steele said. “She really gutted it out and was struggling. She hasn’t been able to train for two weeks.”
The Roncalli boys were able to qualify a team for the state meet, and just being there was beneficial, according to Steele.
“That was the most important thing that we got out of today,” Steele said. “We got the experience of what a meet like this is all about.”
Seventh-grader Ben Weigel was Roncalli’s top finisher coming in 66th, despite hitting a flag stick and falling down during the race.
“He ran hurt the entire race and almost broke 18 minutes,” Steele said.
The day also included a memorable moment when a Roncalli runner forgot a bib number on the team bus moments before the start of a race. Cavaliers coach Taylor Thorson sprinted back to the bus, returned, and supplied the bib number just before the gun went off.
“He was the savior of the day,” Steele said.
The meet capped off a special season for the Roncalli squads.
“Aside from the success that we had with the girls and our boys qualifying and coming to the state meet, it’s a special group of kids that support each other so well,” Steele said. “They’re kind, they’re generous, they’re energetic, and Coach Thorson and I couldn’t be more proud to coach them.”
Sioux Falls Christian swept the team titles and had the individual champs as well, Sadie Pettengill in the girls’ division and Levi Vander Leest in the boys’ division.
The top area finishers in the girls’ race were Sierra Keller of Florence-Henry who was sixth, and Milbank’s Ella Koplin and Macy Mueller, who were ninth and 23rd, respectively. In the boys’ race, Jeter Scoular of Milbank was seventh, and Deuel’s Sutton Benck was 22nd.
CLASS AA
In the Class AA portion of the meet, Aberdeen Central’s Tate DeVries finished fifth and was joined on the podium by teammate Max Nelson, who was 21st.
“Tate ran a fantastic race. Things got going really fast. That pace as they came around the first bend was flying,” said Central coach Eric Pedersen. “He also ran a PR and finished as the top junior.”
Nelson capped his career with a strong finish.
“We talked strategy before and knew what he was capable, and he executed it very well,” Pedersen said. “He can leave his high school cross country career feeling very proud of what he has accomplished.”
Sioux Falls Washington won the boys’ team title behind the first-place finish of Cole Reilly.
Harrisburg won the girls’ team crown led by race winner Brianna Reilly.
Central’s Allie Novstrup set a new school record by two seconds on the way to finishing in 11th place.
“That’s really awesome for her,” Pedersen said. “A nice culmination at the end of the season.”
Seniors Khloe Cochran and Allison Brenner finished 56th and 66th, respectively, for the Golden Eagles.
“Khloe ran a really solid race and so did Allison,” Pedersen said. “Those two, as far as culture goes, really have set the tone for things going forward from an effort and mindset standpoint, and I cannot speak highly enough about them.”
The meet provided valuable experience for the younger runners on the Central rosters.
“Both on the boys’ and girls’ side, the younger kids I pulled up, also made some solid improvements,” Pedersen said. “I’m really proud of the way the kids competed today.”
To see complete meet results, click on the following link:
