FAULKTON – Spring can be a busy time of the year, but being on the run took on added meaning for Faulkton’s Spencer Melius recently.

The recent graduate finished up his high school athletic career with a bang, competing in three big events in three different sports all within a span of 10 days.

First, Melius competed in the state track and field meet in Sioux Falls on May 28-30, where he took home the Class B javelin state championship and also earned places in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles.

Following that, Melius competed in the Class B State Golf Tournament in Brookings on June 1 and 2.

Then on June 6, Melius competed in the high school football Senior Bowl in Brookings.

“It was crazy,” Melius said. “There wasn’t a lot of rest time, but you’ll have that sometimes. I’m just very grateful that I was able to compete in all these state events. My goal for golf was to make it to state, so I accomplished that goal. It was just crazy to be able to compete at such a high level for all three back-to-back.”

Melius talked about switching sports so quickly and being able to move on to the next challenge.

“It’s totally different,” Melius said. “I give a lot of credit to my coaches, especially for the last few weeks. Doing golf and then track wasn’t very easy. I had to miss some practices here for one sport and then miss some the next day for the other one. So, it was definitely not an easy transition from one to the next. I have to give a lot of the credit to my coaches for making it doable.”

While Melius was a decorated athlete with multiple state titles on his resume, he said that is not what he will remember most of his playing days with the Trojans.

“Probably my most proud accomplishment was when I got the Kayden Hammond Scholarship Award for being a good teammate,” Melius said of the award named in honor of his former teammate who passed away of cancer. “So, I guess just being a good teammate and respecting the upperclassmen when I was younger and trying to lead others in a proper way.”

Melius says that his experience in high school sports (football, basketball, track and field, and golf) has helped prepare him for his future.

“Being able to work with others is a huge thing that I’m noticing,” Melius said. “Now I have to work with a huge group of people, so it’s definitely something that has helped a lot now working with different groups throughout different seasons on my journey.”

Melius plans to attend SDSU this fall and major in agriculture systems and technology, and after college, return to his family farm.

“I’m pretty excited,” Melius said. “I haven’t really had that much time on the farm with all the sports going on, so I’m excited to hang out and work on the farm and take my next step, and hopefully spend the rest of my life out on the farm.”