STATE XC THIS AFTERNOON; HERE’S A PREVIEW

When the local contingent of runners joins hundreds of others at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls Saturday for the 2023 State Cross-Country Meet, two of the area’s best — Tavin Schroeder and Finley McConniel — will be in contention for a dynamic 1-2 punch.

As a junior and a sophomore last season, the duo finished second and eighth in all of Class B and they both go into the Oct. 21 state meet coming off a first- and third-place showing at the Region 3B meet in Burke last week.

And with a top-20 region finisher in Jayson Allison providing the push, the Freeman Academy/Marion boys could be in the hunt for what would be the program’s first-ever state championship following a long and impressive run of top-six team showings at state.

They probably would be, were it not for Philip.

With five of their runners going into the state meet with top-12 times in the field, the Scotties are clear-cut favorites to win the title, leaving the Bearcats hopeful they can come out ahead of another formidable team opponent in Mitchell Christian — the team that edged them by four points in the region meet — and bring home what would be their third runner-up trophy in the past four seasons.

The Golden Eagles’ top three runners go into the meet with the fifth, 17th and 46th best times.

“Philip will win it,” said head coach Suzanne Koerner. “They went one through five in their region; they went one through eight in their home meet. They’re so deep and they’re so good.

“And Mitchell Christian will be a very tough adversary,” she said. “They beat us most of the times here in the second half of the season.”

Team standings aside, Koerner is hopeful there will be a championship performance in there — that of Schroeder, who goes into the meet with the second-best clocking in the field at 16.27.6 — a personal best he set at the Flyer Invitational last month — and 13 seconds behind Philip senior Burns Wakely.

Given his work ethic and drive, says the coach, “he’s got as good a shot as anyone.”

In addition to his runner-up finish a year ago, Schroeder was eighth as a sophomore in 2021.

As for McConniel, Saturday will be his fourth state cross-country meet for the junior from Marion. His eighth-place finish last year was preceded by a 56th-place showing as a freshman and a 95th-place finish as an eighth-grader in 2020.

In addition to Freeman Academy sophomore Jayson Allison, the FA/Marion boys will be represented by Armando Miller, a sophomore from Freeman Academy; and Kolter Schmidt, an eighth-grader from Marion.

FA/Marion girls

Also making a return trip to the State Cross-County Meet on Saturday will be Estelle Waltner, a sophomore from Freeman Academy who has run well this season despite some hip issues.

Waltner, who was 39th at state as a freshman, qualified again with a fifth-pace finish at the Region 3B meet in Burke; she posted a time of 22:00.86 and will be joined by a first-time state qualifer in Sieta Wiersma, a sophomore at Freeman Academy who advanced through the region thanks to what Koerner called a “gutsy” move at the end

Wiersma had been running with a pack between 17th and 20th place for much of the race before slipping to 21st with about 1,000 meters to go.

“And it didn’t look like it was going to happen,” said the coach. “And then we saw the girl (ahead of her) from Mitchell Christian was fading, and on that big hill at the finish, she got it done.

“It was really fun to watch her get that last spot.”

Wiersma finished the race in 23:47.83 — four seconds in front of Mitchell Christian’s Addison Nydam.

Freeman Public

A year ago, Lane McCune was an eyelash away from qualifying for the State Cross-Country Meet as a seventh-grader, finishing just outside the top-20 at the region meet.

This year, there was little doubt that he is deserving of a spot in the biggest race of the year.

McCune ran to a 10th-place finish at the Region 3B meet in Burke in a time of 18:32.02.

Freeman Public will also be represented by another first-timer and a fiesty runner who advanced in her first qualifying year — seventh grader Olivia Schultz.

Schultz, who has been a top-20 runner throughout the season, placed 15th at last week’s region in a time of 23:29.34 to earn a spot at the starting line at Yankton Trail Park. That’s no surprise to Rembold, who said at the beginning of the year that she was a runner to watch.

The other runner the coach has been excited about is eighth-grader Brayden Mangel, who was the top-finishing seventh-grader at state a year ago with a 62nd place finish, and whom Rembold believes was in contention for a medal at state this year.

But Mangel won’t be running in Sioux Falls on Saturday despite a seventh-place finish at the region meet last week. That’s because he suffered a severe concussion and minor brain bleed at the gym at school earlier this week, according to a Facebook post from his mom, Rayna Roth.

Mangel has been hospitalized all week and is expected to ease back into his daily routine at school next week. He is sidelined from all contact sports for a year, according to a post from Roth.

“First and foremost, I was releaved to hear that Bradyan was OK and on the path to recovery,” said Rembold. “Although it’s disapointing he can’t run at state this season, his hard-earned success speaks volumes about his dedication. I am looking forward to seeing what he will be able to accomplish next season.”

Menno

Ashton Massey admits there will be a bit of sadness when she joins the other runners at Yankton Trail Park on Saturday.

That’s because it will be the final cross-country race of what has been a successful but up-and-down career as a distance runner — and one that has gone fast.

“It feels like I’ve got four more years,” says Massey, the Menno senior who has qualified for every State Cross-Country Meet since she was a seventh grader. “It’s going to be a sad race, but I’m so excited for Saturday. This is the best I’ve ever felt mentally and physically.”

That could very well lead to the best finish of her long distance career. Massey’s best up to this point came in 2018 when she placed 36th in that first state meet. She was 41st as an eighth grader, 66th at a freshman, 108th as a sophomore, before bounding back with a 46th-place finish last year.

Massey says she is feeding off a sparkling showing at the State Track Meet last spring when she won the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and triple jump.

“That’s given me a lot of confidence — a lot of courage,” she said. “My ceiling is way higher than it has ever been.”

So what is the goal on Saturday? Massey sort of shrugs; a top-20 finish would obviously be a great way to go out, she says, but also suggests it will be what it will be.

She’s just excited to be running one last race with Zoe Schaeffer, a freshman who will join Massey in Sioux Falls on Saturday.

Schaeffer qualified with a 13th-place finish at the region meet last week and will be running state cross-coutnry for the second time in as many years. She finished 95th as a seventh-grader last fall.

“Zoe is such a great girl,” said Massey. “She’s the biggest ball of energy, which is exactly what you need in cross-country.”

State schedule

The all-class state meet gets underway at noon with the Class AA boys. The Class B boys will follow at 12:30 p.m., and the Class A boys running at 1 p.m.

Races continue at 1:30 p.m. with the Class AA girls followed by the Class B girls at 2 p.m. Finishing it off will be the Class A girls at 2:30 p.m., with awards to follow.

Watch freemansd.com for full coverage of Freeman Academy/Marion, Freeman Public and Menno later on Saturday.