WEATHER IMPACTING LATE SPRING SPORTS SEASON
Student-athletes competing in this spring sports season haven’t exactly had stellar weather to work with. While there have been opportunities for track and field competitions, golf meets and softball games, conditions — especially as of late — have been problematic.
Track & field
The Cornbelt Conference track meet hosted by Bridgewater-Emery, originally scheduled for Thursday, May 15, was first postponed until the following day and then moved to this Thursday, May 22. It will be held in Bridgewater in conjunction with the Dan Clarke Relays starting at 9 a.m. It will be varsity only.
The top 24 athletes/relay teams in their respective events will take part in the all-class South Dakota High School Track & Field championships in Sioux Falls May 29-31. To see the current in-season qualifiers, click the “Top Performance Lists” in the track & field section at sdhsaa.com.
Baseball
The South Dakota High School Baseball Association’s Region 1 Tournament was also impacted by the wet weather of the week. Freeman/Canistota/Marion and Scotland/Menno were both scheduled to play in Parkston on Tuesday, May 20, but those games were moved to Wednesday, May 21. The Sticks will face Dakota Valley at 3 p.m. followed by the Trappers taking on Parkston. The winners of those games will face off that evening with a trip to the state tournament on the line. State will be played May 26 and 27 in Brookings.
Other sports are coming to an end, as well.
Softball
Softball’s regular season winds down this week with Freeman/Marion/FA closing out its campaign at McCook Central/Montrose Friday, May 23 while Scotland/Menno finishes at Elk Point-Jefferson, also on Friday.
The top 16 teams in the 28-team Class B division will play in the SoDak 16 next Tuesday, May 27. As of Tuesday, the Trappers (7-5) were sitting 10th while the Phoenix (6-12) were 16th. The eight teams who emerge from the SoDak 16 will play in the state tournament in Aberdeen June 5-7.
Golf
Golfers from Freeman Public and Freeman Academy/Marion will take part in the Region 3B Tournament at Rocky Run Golf Course in Dell Rapids.
Competing for the Freeman Academy/Marion girls will be Jada Buse, a Freeman Academy graduate who has signed to play with Mt. Marty University. The Bearcat boys will be represented by seniors Ashton Kesteloot and Caleb Downs, junior Jackson Donlan and sophomore Ben Clark.
Freeman Public will be represented by juniors Thor Aanenson and Gideon Rembold and sophomores Tannen Auch and Oliver Waltner.
Golfers from Scotland/Menno will take part in the Region 4B Tournament at Lakeview in Mitchell next Tuesday, May 27 — rescheduled from this week because of the rains.
Competing for the Trapper boys will be Treytan Bult, Wyatt Buechler, Vincent Kludt and Wyatt Fischer. The girls will be represented by Evie Foss, Kailin Odens, Macy Rokusek and Campbell Mogck.
