HELMA, FLYERS BACK ON TRACK

BY JEREMY WALTNER

Collin Helma burst onto South Dakota’s track scene out of nowhere three years ago.

So fast was his speed that even older, stronger and more seasoned runners couldn’t keep up with the freshman, who won the 400 at state and was a key member on the Flyers’ winning 400-, 800- and 1600-meter relay teams.

The Flyers won the state championship that year.

Oh, and Helma was named the Class B MVP.

A stronger and better-trained Helma didn’t miss a beat his sophomore season of 2019, leading the Flyers to fourth place at state, thanks to wins in the 200 and 400, and he came an eyelash away from winning the 100, too, only to get clipped by just 0.03, likely costing him another MVP.

So just what would the speedster do his junior season?

We’ll never know.

Helma — who was also part of the Flyers’ state meet-placing 400, 800 and 1600 relays as an eighth grader in 2017 — never got the chance to establish himself as perhaps the fastest runner in South Dakota last year because the coronavirus pandemic wiped the 2020 season off the map for student-athletes like Helma and others across the state. Instead, he was left to think about when he might get his chance to run again. That chance has arrived.

Helma and the Flyers were scheduled to open their 2021 season at the Dan Clarke Relays in Bridgewater Thursday, April 8 — a meet that also included track teams from Freeman Academy/Marion and Menno.

“We’re just going to have to wait and see,” head track coach Chris Maske says of how Helma’s speed will stack up against the rest of the competition this spring. “It’s kind of like we’re in unchartered territory. I know his desire to continue to do what he’s done is definitely there; I know he was obviously disappointed last year but he’s looking forward to getting back into it.”

“Who knows what’s all going to happen this year,” said Helma. “Other kids could have stepped it up; I don’t know what the competition looks like.”

But the senior says he feels good. Running and work in the weight room for football and basketball has helped get him ready for the sport in which he excels, and early this week he was looking forward to more training outdoors — including repeat 800s that he benefited from in previous seasons.

“I feel like that will really help me excel,” said Helma, who has his eye on school records in the 100 (10.85), 200 (21.99) and 400 (47.54). All three are owned by Brennan Schmidt and were set during his outstanding senior season of 2015.

Schmidt’s mark in the 400 is an all-time South Dakota best. In the event Helma breaks it, he would be the third runner from Freeman since 1981 to have done so. Freeman Academy’s Larry Miller set the record in 1982 with a 47.8 and held it until Schmidt’s 47.54 six years ago.

Helma is certainly a favorite in that, his best race, and also the 100 and the 200. But he’s hopeful the Freeman boys can put together a competitive 4×100-meter relay. The boys roster boasts just 11, but several could find themselves on that team, including junior Justin Wollman, sophomore Ethan Balvin and freshmen Blake Rumelhart and Evan Scharberg.

“Collin’s focus is obviously going to be on the 100, 200 and 400,” said Maske “but there’s the possibility of putting a 4×100 together; maybe a 4×400.”

The roster also includes junior Bradey Kaufman, sophomore Ethan Balvin, freshmen Rocky Ammann and Jorgen Baer and seventh-graders Luke Peters, Cameron Rollag and Tate Sorensen.

Whereas the boys bring just 11 to the table this track season, the Freeman girls boast 34 student-athletes in grades 7-12 — exactly half of which are in junior high. The others include seven seniors, one junior, two sophomores and seven freshmen.

Senior Oddy Pankratz returns the most experience for the girls. As a sophomore at Marion two years ago, she competed at state in both the long jump and the high jump, in which she placed seventh, and was also the opening carry on the Freeman Academy/Marion sprint medley team in 2019.

“She’s new to the program, but she had success at Marion, so that will be a focus,” said Maske, who also notes that senior Rijjy Peterson triple jumped at state her sophomore season. Pankratz and Peterson may also be competitive in open running events and would be key players on possible sprint relay teams.

And freshman Rylie Gossen also brings some state meet experience to the table, running the 800 at state as a seventh grader.

Maske notes there are also 11 boys and girls in the sixth-grade class who will see action at the junior high level — further representation of the high student-athlete participation in those middle school classes.

Freeman Public is scheduled to host four track meets this season: the Flyer Invitational on April 22, the junior high-only Wizard Relays on May 3, the Don Diede Relays on May 4 and the Cornbelt Conference Meet on May 13.

The Region 5B Meet is in Menno on May 20 and state will be at O’Harra Stadium on the campus of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City May 28 and 29.

The South Dakota High School Activities Association has made two notable changes to this year’s state track meets in response to concerns surrounding COVID-19.

1. Each classification will compete at their own locations and not come together for an all-class second day, as is tradition. All Class A events will take place at Lyle Hare Stadium at Black Hills State in Spearfish while Class AA student-athletes will compete at the Woodle Field in Sturgis.

2. Preliminary and semifinal races have been eliminated and will instead be run as finals in multiple heats. The schedule has been adjusted accordingly, with the first events beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday. The first event on Saturday begins at 9 a.m.