PHOTO OF THE DAY: PRELUDE TO THE REGION

Ashton Massey, a Menno junior and the top Class B hurdler in South Dakota, warms up at the Region 4B Track and Field Meet in Freeman Thursday morning, May 18. Field events began at 10 a.m. and running events are scheduled to start at 12 p.m. This marks the final year of region track meets in South Dakota — a decision that comes on the heels of a change in the way the field of state qualifiers is set. This is the third year in which a top-24 performance list is used for state qualifiers; previous to that a first- or second-place finish at a region meet was an automatic qualifier for state.

Nine teams are competing in today’s Region 4B meet, including Freeman Academy/Marion, Freeman Public and Menno.