Runners look to hit their stride at state meet

The Drive for Five is very much alive at this year’s State Cross Country Meet in Huron on Saturday.

Teams from across the state will descend on Broadland Creek Golf Course for this year’s big event where the Ipswich girls will attempt to win their fifth consecutive State B championship.

While the feat is certainly newsworthy, it is not something that preoccupies the Tigers. In fact, they don’t even talk about the potential accomplishment.

“I really don’t think I’ve even mentioned it once this year,” said Ipswich coach Todd Thorson. “In all reality, the only thing you can control is your attitude and your effort. If you focus on anything outside of that, it’s really just wasting your time.”

Fans will soon be able to tell if Ipswich can pull off another team title because the Class B girls race first at 1 p.m. The Class A girls will race at 1:30, followed by the Class B boys at 2, the Class A boys at 2:30, the Class AA girls at 3 and the Class AA boys at 3:30. An awards presentation is set for 4 p.m.

Here is a look at each class heading into the state meet:

Class B

While Ipswich is certainly the pre-meet favorite to win yet another Class B girls’ title, there is a viable threat looming in the weeds.

“Without a doubt, I really think it’s Gayville-Volin and us at this point,” Thorson said. “They’ve got two state champs on their team and two more coming in. They’re every bit as dynamic as our team.”

Both squads have veteran runners mixed with an infusion of talented youth so things could get interesting.

“It’s probably going to be our biggest challenge in the last five years, without a doubt,” Thorson said.

Gayville-Volin’s Genevieve Clark won the individual state title in 2012 and Laura Nelson won it last year. Ipswich will counter with Macy Heinz, undefeated this season, and four-time state 3,200-meter run champ Tori Moore. Both have finished runner-up at past state cross country meets. Taylor Loken and eighth-grader Aleah Steger are also key members of the Ipswich attack.

In hopes of keeping things fresh and also facing stronger competition, Thorson scheduled new meets this fall.

“Keeping it fresh is very important,” Thorson said. “When you have a new course and new teams you can set different goals and it’s all brand new.”

While the those meets may have been new, what’s remained the same is the Ipswich success which puts the target square on the Tigers heading into the weekend.

“We don’t think about it like having a target on our back at all,” Thorson said. “We think we have to go out and be good ambassadors for the sport.”

Freeman Academy will wear the favorite label in the boys’ division. The squad recently had five members running in the 18-minute mark.

Bison’s Daniel Burkhalter will be among those in the hunt for an individual title.

Aberdeen Christian is coming off a runner-up finish at its region and appears to be hitting its stride heading into the state meet.

“I think we’re in a good place,” said Knights coach David Rohrbach. “I think we probably ran one of our best teams races at regions. Now, we hope we can finish it off by having another performance like that, if not better, at state. That’s our goal.”

The Knights are led by senior Tucker Iwerks, who has consistently finished in the top five of most of his races this season.

“He wants to finish out his senior season well,” Rohrbach said. “He’s been really focused and I think he’s really looking forward to the state meet.”

Christian has been bolstered late in the year by seventh-grader Matt Grebner and eighth-grader Hunter Bauer. They were the team’s second and third runners, respectively, at the region.

“They have a chance to place depending on how they run Saturday,” Rohrbach said.

Class AA

While Aberdeen Central will not factor into the conversation about team champions in Class AA, the Golden Eagles have some individuals who could be near the front of the pack during the races.

Tanner Peltier, fresh off an Eastern South Dakota Conference title, and senior teammate Patrick Woods will lead the charge for the Central boys.

“They’ve given us a lot of leadership,” said Central boys’ coach Greg Murley. “They’ve really been great faces for this program. They both have the possibility of doing really well.”

Murley said the biggest key to the race will be what transpires in the opening mile.

“What I’m looking for is for us to get up there and compete. It’s a big race. There’s 119 kids that are going to be in the race,” Murley said. “It’s one of those situations, like every year, that the tempo of the race and how you’re going to place is really going to be determined in the first mile. So we need to have some kids get to have some courage and really go out pretty hard and compete from there.”

Two-time defending state champion Sioux Falls Lincoln, Rapid City Stevens and Sioux Falls Roosevelt are among the favorites to win the team title, according to Murley. Regardless of where his team finishes, Murley said there will be no regrets.

“Whatever the result is at the end, they’ve worked really hard this season,” Murley said. “We’re not going to be happy or sad on the basis of one meet. I’m proud of the kids no matter how we finish.”

The Central girls are hoping to pack together in order to build on their chances this weekend.

“We just need to not get too spread out,” said Central girls’ coach Bill Martens. “Our strength is going to be having a pack. If our spread 1 to 5 is over a minute, that kind of hurts us. If we can keep it under a minute, that will be beneficial.

The Eagles have been led late in the season by eighth-grader Brooke Malsom, but also feature some veteran runners.

“We have a couple of seniors in there that have provided a lot of leadership for us in Madisyn Waage and Lexi Weisbeck,” Martens said. “We’re going to miss them, but we’re young and we’re going to gain experience.”

Martens said Rapid City Stevens is the clear favorite with Sioux Falls Lincoln, Sioux Falls Washington and Brandon Valley also fielding strong teams.

Central is hoping to move up from its 13th-place finish of a year ago.

“It’s always nice to get in that top eight, because that’s what a state tournament would be (in basketball or volleyball),” Martens said. “That’s kind of what you always shoot for is that top eight. We want to improve on last year and I think we’re capable of doing that.”

Class A

The Class A girls’ field will be loaded with past state champions (including defending champ Madisen Lavin of Vermillion and 2012 champ Emily Hawkes of Madison) and those on the verge of winning a state title. One of those aspiring to be a state champ is Nicolette Schmidt of Redfield-Doland.

Schmidt, a sophomore, was third at the state meet a year ago and is coming off conference and region championships.

“I don’t think she’s peaked yet,” said Redfield-Doland coach Ken Greeno. “I’m looking for her to have a good race on Saturday.”

Schmidt leads a strong Pheasants squad that doesn’t have a senior on the team.

Greeno expects Madison to be favored to win the girls’ team title, but he also knows his squad has a chance to be on the podium.

“Our girls are going to have to show up,” he said, “but realistically if everybody runs well, we’ll have a shot at top four.”

The Redfield-Doland boys also have a chance to be a top four finisher, according to Greeno, who said West Central will be the pre-meet favorite in that division.

“We feel if we run well, we’ll have a shot at being in the top four,” Greeno said.

The Pheasants are led by past top-10 finisher John Noyes, but the senior has plenty of help.

“We’ve had four different kids in the different (leading) positions all through the year,” Greeno said.

Among the boys expected to be in the chase for an individual title are Rawson Yost of Clark-Willow Lake and Cole Sargent of Miller.

The Aberdeen Roncalli boys’ team also plans on making some noise this weekend. The Cavaliers are running their best that they have all season, according to coach Tim Baustian.

“I can guarantee you that we’re peaking. We’ve only gotten better and better,” Baustian said. “We’re at the best that we can possibly be in just 10 short weeks.”

The Cavaliers have been led all season by Noah Knapp, while senior Daniel Holmstrom has come on strong at the end of the season.

Baustian is hoping that his team can finish among the top 10 squads on Saturday.

“Top 10 is definitely doable,” he said. “We’re going to have to have a lot of perfect races.”

Baustian is confident that his troops will be ready to go and will not be intimidated by a large field or a quick pace.

“We are programmed not to run anybody else’s race. We run our own,” Baustian said. “Our guys just know their bodies. They know how to run the race. They’re going to run it smarter, not harder.”

Roncalli did not qualify a girls’ team, but will be represented by Isabel Litzen and Mary Gutenkauf. The two have lead the Cavaliers the entire season.

“They’re a year older and a year stronger,” said Roncalli girls’ coach Lisa Peterson.

Litzen is a veteran of past state meets in both cross country and track and field. Peterson expects her top runner to be on the podium following the race.

“I’m looking for Isabel to be in the top 25. She’s definitely peaking right now. She’s where she need to be,” Peterson said. “She knows her race. She knows when to go, when to hold back, when to tuck in and who she needs to stick with there.”

Peterson is hoping that Gutenkauf, just an eighth-grader, can stick close to Litzen throughout the race.

“Our goal is for Mary to not get lost and to make sure she can always see Isabel,” Peterson said. “That will make her run to her best ability.”

Peterson believes Gutenkauf will finish in the top half of the race.

“Mary is so consistent with her running,” Peterson said. “It’s not a concern if she’s going to have a good race or a bad race. She’s going to do well.”

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