JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER For two underclassmen girls from Freeman Public who compete in what can be a big and intimidating world of varsity cross-country, they’re just glad they have each other. “I’d be scared if I ran by myself,” says Peyton McCune, a sophomore. “We would probably cry,” added Rylee Peters, her eighth-grade counterpart. “There was a girl who was balling because she had to run by herself and I was like, ‘Yeah, we’d be balling too.”

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Her 46th place finish may have been further back in the pack than she was hoping for, but Ashton Massey accomplished something on Saturday that is certainly worth celebrating: Her fifth state cross-country meet in as many years.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Long before her children were even a glimmer in her eye, Suzanne Brockmueller became a state cross-country champion — not once, not twice but three times. After finishing second in her freshman season, the Freeman Academy standout won state titles in 1981, 1982 and 1983. It was a time when the girls were running 3,000-meter courses, and one in which female athletes — especially cross-country female athletes — weren’t getting the attention of their male counterparts.

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  JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Given her family’s pedigree for distance running, it didn’t necessarily come as a surprise that Jada Koerner qualified for the State Cross-Country Meet as a seventh grader, nor was it really a surprise that she earned a medal in that 2017 season finale at Hart Ranch in Rapid City with a 23rd-place finish.

Playing in the first year of a football cooperative, not only has Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy qualified for the postseason, the Phoenix are hosting a game. F/M/FA will entertain Florence-Henry next Thursday night, Oct. 20 in the first round of the 9AA playoffs, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The Phoenix are the No. 7 seed and take a 6-2 record into the postseason while the No. 10 Falcons are 4-4.

Freeman Academy/Marion junior Tavin Schroeder and sophomore Finley McConniel finished second and third at Wednesday afternoon’s Region 3B Cross-Country Meet in Burke to lead the Bearcats to a narrow win in the team standings. Sophomore Hayden Schmidt and junior Jayson Allison also turned in top-20 finishes for FA/Marion, which edged Mitchell Christian 20 to 21. Gregory was third with 22 points.

Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy lost for the second time this season, falling to Corsica-Stickney 48-18 in Corsica Friday night, Oct. 7. The Phoenix dropped to 5-2 while the Jaguars improved to 6-1. Corsica-Stickney is ranked No. 3 in Class 9B.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Even though the Jim River Trappers have concluded their regular season — they have a bye this week in the ninth and final week of play — they’re still practicing this week. That’s because there’s a chance the Menno/Scotland football cooperative will sneak into the postseason.

A successful soccer season at Freeman Academy came to an end in Rapid City Tuesday evening, Oct. 4 when the Bobcats fell to St. Thomas More 7-0 in the opening round of the playoffs. St. Thomas More was the No. 3 seed with a 9-4 record while Freeman Academy entered the postseason as the No. 6 seed and with a 6-3 record.