State cross country preview: On the right path

While Lincoln chases a third consecutive state cross country team title Saturday, seniors Will Lauer and Nathan Schroeder hope to finally bring home an individual crown.

Lauer and Schroeder are the leaders of a Lincoln team that is threatening to build a long-distance dynasty. The Patriots are coming off back-to-back championships, and Saturday’s state meet in Huron is expected to feature the same result.

“We’re really pumped to be going for three in a row this weekend,” said Schroeder. “We’ve trained hard all year for this, and each and every one of us has gotten better. We’re excited that both our boys and girls can enter the discussion of being in the top three.”

While the Patriots battle contenders such as Rapid City Stevens and Roosevelt for the team title, Lauer and Schroeder will star in an interesting subplot during the potential three-peat. The seniors currently have the top times in the state, and each has gotten the better of one another over the course of the season.

“The individual title will just be fun to see who wins it,” Schroeder said. “We don’t really care who wins it if it comes down to the two of us because we are focused on our team goals.”

While Lauer or Schroeder won’t exactly be devastated over a second-place finish at the hands of his comrade, both look to get that one final feather in their caps. Lauer and Schroeder finished second and fourth, respectively, at last year’s meet, while Schroeder finished second in 2012.

Both of the runner-up finishes were solid efforts, especially with former Brookings standout and current University of Wisconsin runner Addison DeHaven setting the pace. Lauer and Schroeder also did battle against Rapid City Central’s Tony Smoragiewicz (now at Michigan) during their careers, giving each a blueprint of how to reach the top.

“Every year, there has been one really dominant guy ahead of us,” Schroeder said. “It’s been great to be able to run against Tony and Addison. You want to run against them and you learn a lot in doing so.”

Lincoln’s dynamic duo, each of whom hope to continue their career in college, have also helped each other during their careers.

“We learn from each other,” Schroeder explained. “Will can keep going and going, whereas I have the speed. We’ve been able to help each other because we have differing strengths.”

Lauer and Schroeder have also made their mark outside of the individual standings. Each runner has made an impact within the program that has set a level of expectation for the Patriots.

“It’s awesome to have two No. 1s like we do,” said Lincoln coach Eric Pooley. “That just doesn’t happen very often. It’s been fun to watch them compete day in and day out. They’re both leaders in different ways. Will is kind of a leader by example, while Nathan is more of a social leader.”

The result has been a dramatic turnaround for the Pats. Just two years after finishing ninth at the 2010 state meet, they won their first state title since 1984 and added another last year.

“We had a really long drought before a few years ago,” said Lauer. “Things really came together during our freshman year when we were second at state and only 12 points from winning it. That really motivated us, and we were able to bring some titles back to Lincoln the next two years.”

Of course, it requires more than two runners to achieve the results the Patriots have. Lincoln didn’t have to endure a rebuilding process after last year’s title as they returned five of seven runners, helping them go undefeated in South Dakota meets this season.

“Gabe Peters, Dreux Selzler and Anders Rasmussen are all starting to close those gaps,” Pooley said. “Our spreads are getting lower, and we need that if we are going to compete at state or improve our team score from last year.”

That roster has also fared well outside of South Dakota. The Patriots have been competitive in meets at Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota (Roy Griak Invitational) this season.

Lincoln hopes to continue that success against fellow teams of the Midwest when they aim for at least a second-place finish at the Nike Heartland Regionals on Nov. 9 in Sioux Falls. Finishing first or second would guarantee the Patriots a slot at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore.

“At the beginning of the year, we signed a plaque that said our goal was to make Nike Nationals,” said Lauer. “We’re going to focus on state and learn from it before trying to put ourselves in the best place to succeed at Nike.”

Class A team race too close to call

The Class A meet in Huron will feature no shortage of accomplished runners, with 16 of last year’s 25 placers back for more.

The large contingent of returning placers could be led by Lucas Julian of St. Thomas More. Julian finished third a year ago, and the respective first- and second-place finishers of Logan Burns and Eric Yager are each out of the picture after graduation.

Tobias Weddell of Todd County could also be in the mix after finishing fifth and leading his team to a state team title last year. Hunter Paulsen (Elk Point-Jefferson) is another returning placer who could be in the championship hunt. Paulsen finished eighth at last year’s state meet.

In terms of the team standings, Sioux Falls Christian, West Central and Todd County are among a group of contenders. The Chargers are led by returning state placer Caleb Deweerd. Miller, Garretson and Lennox will also be in the mix for a team title.

Class B meet willcrown new champ

A turning of the tides could take place in Class B, with 13 returning placers taking aim at a state title.

Only two of last year’s top-five finishers will be running, with Bison’s Daniel Burkhalter and Wall’s Austin Huether returning after respective third- and fourth-place finishes. The race will also feature top-10 finishers in Jayden Waldner (James Valley Christian), Owen Medicine (Dakota Christian) and Nelson Holman (Philip).

Defending team champion Elkton-Lake Benton won’t be in position to defend its title after losing seniors Quinn Fargen and Justin Sudtelgte from that winning squad. Philip may be one of the favorites in the class with all its top-three runners returning from last year’s third-place team.

MORE PREPS INSIDE

STATS: Area football leaders in

passing, rushing, receiving.

STARS: Top statistical efforts

recognized in Aces of the Week.

STANDINGS: Metro Conference

and ESD breakdowns.

TONIGHT: Join the live video/ chat at argusleader.com to follow the action from the final night of the football regular reason, with the South Dakota playoffs set to start next week.

INSIDE: Preview of the state girls cross country meet in Huron, with plenty of team/individual contenders. Page 3D

READY TO RUN

• The state cross country meet will take place Saturday at Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron.

• The girls portion of the meet begins at 1 p.m. with the Class B race. The Class A girls race is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. and Class AA begins at 3 p.m.

• The boys portion of the meet begins at 2 p.m. with the Class B race. The Class A race is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. and Class AA begins at 3:30 p.m.

• Follow Argus Leader reporter Wade LaRoche (@wadelaroche) for Twitter updates of the meet.