STRONG CONTINGENT OF LOCAL ATHLETES HEADED TO STATE
Track and field participants from Freeman Academy/Marion, Freeman Public and Scotland/Menno will be busy this Thursday, Friday & Saturday
At 12:50 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, four young men from Freeman High School and four others from Freeman Academy/Marion were scheduled to step foot on the track at Howard Wood Field and compete together in the 4×800-meter relay.
Not only was it one of the first races scheduled at the 2025 South Dakota High School State Track and Field Championships, for local competitors, it was expected to be one of the best.
The Flyers entered the race with the fourth-best time in the field of 24 while the Bearcats came in fifth, their incoming best clockings separated by just 2 ½ seconds. Not only that, but FHS and FAM’s times were within mere seconds of Frederick Area and Dupree, which went into the race second and third in the field, with Philip the odds on favorite to take the gold. Here’s how the top five times breakdown:
Philip 8:10.42
Frederick Area 8:35.47
Dupree 8:36.70
Freeman 8:37.77
FA/Marion 8:40.29
When it comes to what will be an action-packed state meet for local runners, jumpers, vaulters and throwers, Thursday’s early-afternoon 4×800 relay is a race to keep your eye on. But there are plenty of others to watch closely as track and field athletes assemble in Sioux Falls the mornings and afternoons of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 29, 30 and 31.
Between FA/Marion, Freeman and Scotland/Menno — including alternates — 57 student-athletes will take part in the three-day competition covering all areas, from individual running events to relays to every field event there is.
Here’s a closer look.
FA/Marion
A Bearcats team that came an eyelash away from winning the Class B championship a year ago won’t likely compete for a trophy this year, but FAM has plenty of gas in the tank thanks to two dynamic runners: Marion seniors Finley McConniel and Keaton Preheim.
McConniel, who gutted out a state cross-country championship last fall, goes into the 1600 with the fifth-best time in the field and the fourth-best clocking in the 3200. In both races, the runner he clipped at state cross-country — Mitchell Christian sophomore Silas Holdeman — has the top time.
Preheim, who finished second and third in the 100 and 200 at state a year ago, goes into the 100 sixth and the 200 eighth, although he has been battling an injury that has sidelined him the last part of the season.
Both runners are also scheduled to run in the relays — McConniel in the 4×800 and sprint medley and Preheim in the 4×200 and sprint medley.
And the Bearcat boys have qualified all five of their relays and have top-eight times in the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×800.
Karter Weber, a junior at Marion, is in contention for an individual medal as well thanks to a seventh-best distance in the triple jump. He will also run in three of the Bearcats’ relays.
Alternates for the Bearcats are Lincoln Anderson, Aaron Davis, Taylor Goodwin, Armando Miller, Hayden Schmidt, Kolter Schmidt, Caden Tieszen and Austin Waldner.
Freeman Public
Not only are the Flyers well represented in the relays — the boys and girls cracked the top-24 performance list in nine of the 10 — they are candidates to bring home a number of medals.
In addition to the boys 4×800 relay, the Flyers are in the top eight in two others — sixth in both the 4×400 and the sprint medley.
The girls, meanwhile, enter the 4×400 sixth in the field and would love to move up in the 4×100 — a race in which they are positioned 15th in the field of 24. The Flyers have set school records in that race multiple times the past two seasons. And the Freeman girls are just outside the top eight in the 4×200, sitting ninth by just 0.01 seconds.
And, individually, sophomore Rylee Peters is looking to add to her collection of state medals in both the 100 and 300 hurdles. She was third in both races as a seventh grader, second in both as an eighth grader, and third in both as a freshman last year. This year Peters goes into the competition third in the 100 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles.
Alternates for the Flyers are Axle Schultz, Olivia Schultz and Rylea Timmerman.
Scotland/Menno
Unlike FHS and FAM, Scotland/Menno — in its first year as a track cooperative — is competing in Class A and will be led by an athlete in the weights, Trinity Bietz. The Scotland senior and two-time Class B defending champion in the shot put once again heads into her marquee event best in the field. Bietz also comes in with the fourth-best throw in the discus and is fifth in the javelin, but that’s not even the top throw in that event among the Trappers. That distinction goes to Menno sophomore Kylie Guthmiller, who is third in the field.
On the boys side of the ledger, Menno junior Hunter Yosten has a top-eight throw in both the shot put and the javelin, where his is sixth and seventh, respectively.
Trapper alternates are Leah Crick, Ivana Schaeffer, Adam Munkvold and Daniel Schaeffer.
How to follow along
For the full schedule of local athletes, as well as heat and lane assignments, go to freemansd.com. The Courier will also be posting updates at the conclusion of each day.
Real-time coverage and live video is also available through South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s website. Go to sdpb.org and click on the state track button on the home page to view the livestream.
