Revenge, they say, is best served cold. To that end, Canistota/Freeman is hoping next Friday night is downright frigid.

JEREMY WALTNER  -  PUBLISHER The final cross-country race of Morgan Edelman’s career is one she will remember, not for the finish, but for the weather conditions she and the 119 other runners competing in the Class B field endured. “I only fell once,” the Menno senior said following her 55th-place finish in her seventh and final state cross-country meet held in snowy, slippery and cold conditions at Hart Ranch Golf Course just south of Rapid City Saturday morning, Oct. 24. “It was not fun; I couldn’t feel anything.”

Freeman Public will go into the region tournament riding a nine-match winning streak. The Flyers haven’t lost since Sept. 26 when they dropped two matches at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls and finished off their regular season with a 3-1 victory over Alcester-Hudson in Alcester Tuesday night, Oct. 27.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER The 2020 State Cross-Country Meet will be remembered for the wintery weather conditions that moved across the Black Hills Saturday morning, Oct. 24. Freeman Academy runners and fans will remember it for something else, too: One of the best all-around finishes in recent memory, if not program history.

Menno had no trouble with Freeman Academy/Marion in volleyball action in Marion Thursday night, Oct. 22, downing the Bearcats 25-19, 25-5, 25-9. The win moved the Wolves to 7-10 while FA/Marion dropped to 0-11. Jesse Munkvold had 11 kills, 10 digs and three aces for Menno while Kylie Harriman had a great all-round game with four kills, 12 set assists, five digs and seven aces. Grace Nusz added 10 set assists and three aces and Bridget Vaith had three kills and a block.

Tyce Ortman scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, Isiah Robertson scampered for a 66-yard touchdown run and Collin Helma caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from Ortman as Canistota/Freeman built a 32-0 lead over Chester Area in the first round of the Class 9A playoffs in Freeman Thursday night, Oct. 22. The Pride ended up winning 48-14 behind 128 rushing yards from Ortman and 83 from Robertson; Blake Anderson also ran for a touchdown and a two-yard conversion to keep Canistota/Freeman well in front.

Because of a significant winter weather event moving through the Black Hills on Saturday, the South Dakota High School Activities Association has moved the races to earlier in the day. The Class B girls will now run at 9:30 a.m. MST (not 10 a.m.) with the Class B boys to follow at 10 a.m. The final race of the day, the Class A boys, is now scheduled to being at 2:30 p.m.

JEREMY WALTNER  -  PUBLISHER One more race to run. That’s what Morgan Edelman has been thinking this week as she prepares for the 2020 State Cross Country Meet at Hart Ranch in Rapid City this coming Saturday, Oct. 23. The Menno senior will join 122 other Class B runners from across the state scheduled to cross the 5,000-meter course in a race that begins at 10 a.m. MST after placing 13th at last week’s Region 3B meet in Platte.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER Titus Roesler runs to win. To that end, this has been a good cross-country season for the Freeman Academy senior, who has owned the Class B field throughout the year and ran away with the Region 5B championship last week in Platte. Roesler finished the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 33 seconds and nearly 45 seconds in front of the Bon Homme’s Nate Hall, who finished second.

Freeman Public remains undefeated in October and now stands at 13-6 after a 3-1 win over Hanson at Alexandria Tuesday night, Oct. 20. The Flyers beat the Beavers (5-13) 25-19, 25-18, 16-25, 25-9 behind 16 kills, 23 digs and five aces from senior Rijjy Peterson. Kate Miller added seven kills, 12 digs and a pair of aces, Mesa Mehlhaf had six kills, and Cara Maske and Ava Ammann shared the set assists with 18 and 15, respectively.