By Rich Winter

605 Sports

Class A girls — After winning the Class A individual cross country title in 2022, Sioux Valley’s Isabelle Bloker was poised for a potential run of three straight Class A titles. Instead Sioux Falls Christian’s Corinne Braun and Flandreau’s Faith Wiese earned the top two spots with Bloker finishing third. 

All track season long it looked like Bloker was on a mission to let everyone know she was still the top dog of Class A distance running. Bloker set Class A state meet records last May winning the 3,200-meter run (10:37.28) and 1,600-meter run (4:57.63). 

“She continues to improve,” Don Sutera, Sioux Valley assistant cross-country coach said. “She has lofty goals both here and at the NCAA level and if she remains healthy I think she’ll do everything in her power to achieve those goals.”

Bloker set a personal best in the 3,200-meter run (10:34.35) at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays before contesting the 1-mile and 2-mile runs at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon in June. 

Sutera said the experience of running in Oregon has pumped life into Bloker’s summer and now fall practices. 

“She’s really excited for the season and her training has been very good,” Sutera said. 

The Sioux Valley girls finished fourth in the Class A team standings at the 2023 state cross country meet. Joining Bloker on the 2024 team are sophomore Liberty Trygstad, junior Talya Vincent, eighth-grader Maci Licht and freshman Ava Gatzke, all who ran at the state meet a year ago.

Sutera said Bloker has become a better team leader as her career has progressed. 

“In some ways having Isabelle as such a talented runner can be a little challenging for us coaches,” Sutera said. “On some of the long runs Isabelle wants to put in a couple more miles than some of the younger athletes. 

Class A Girls

Athletes to watch — Ashlynn Batchelor, Milbank; Jerica Glasser, Sioux Falls Christian; Sophia Redler, Dakota Valley; Natalie Smith, Sioux Falls Christian; Kamryn Nesheim, Clark/Willow Lake; Ellie Maddox, Sioux Falls Christian.

Class A team race — Despite losing Braun to graduation, a very talented cast returns for coach Luke Vander Leest. One athlete to pay special attention to is junior Ellie Maddox who was 36th at the 2023 state meet. Maddox, the 2021 Class A state champion, was battling injuries last fall but had an outstanding campaign on the track last spring. 

Class A boys — With the top three finishers from 2023, Hill City’s Luke Rupert, Belle Fourche’s Lane Krautschun, and Milbank’s Payton Brown all having graduated, the race for the Class A boys individual title is wide open. Miller senior Pierce Baumberger finished fourth (15:57) at the 2023 state meet and is the top Class A returner.

Athletes to watch - Sean Shipp, Custer, Jack Brown, Dakota Valley; Tate Grabow, Hill City; Levi Vander Leest, Sioux Falls Christian; Brandon Escalante, Hill City; Bennett Wassenaar, Sioux Falls Christian.

A boys team race — The 2023 Class A team race belonged to Hill City, which scored just 26 points at the state meet, well ahead of Sioux Falls Christian (54) and Belle Fourche (66). The 2023 team race is expected to involve the same two teams with the margin of victory being significantly less. 

Hill City — The Rangers lost their top two runners (Rupert and Leighton Aves) to graduation but return plenty of talent. Junior Tate Grabow was eighth a year ago (16:02) and senior Brandon Escalante 12th (16:24). Athletes like Aiden Williams and John Titus Isakson both ran at the 2023 state meet and will need to improve if the Rangers want to repeat.