By Rich Winter

605 Sports

RAPID CITY — The Harrisburg girls and Sioux Falls Lincoln boys are both having tremendous seasons. Neither of the schools have lost a team competition to South Dakota schools.

If their form holds Harrisburg and Sioux Falls Lincoln are both heavy favorites to win Class AA team titles Saturday at Hart Ranch. With extremely young rosters, team titles in 2024 could just be the beginning. 

Class AA girls: All season long the Harrisburg girls have been led by seventh-grader Brianna Reilly and eighth-grader Hannah Genrich. As a seventh-grader, Genrich was fourth in the 2023 Class AA state meet (18:21). Reilly has the fastest 5,000-meter time by a South Dakota prep athlete this year (17:03) and Genrich (17:13) the second fastest time by a South Dakotan. 

Reilly and Genrich form a 1-2 punch that cannot be matched by any other girls team at Saturday’s meet. Throw in freshman Addison Reilly and eighth-grader Autumn Gilhooly and the Tigers look loaded for the next four years. Senior Jenna Gilhooly and sophomores Verity Kocmick and Sarah Gilhooly round out a deep and talented squad that will be looking for its first team title in program history. 

Class AA teams to watch: Harrisburg, Brandon Valley, Spearfish, Sioux Falls O’Gorman, Sioux Falls Lincoln and Pierre. 

O’Gorman’s Libby Castelli will be looking for a second consecutive individual title. The future University of North Carolina runner hasn’t competed in a lot of meets this fall while also being a member of the O’Gorman soccer team. Castelli has run against the Harrisburg girls several times this season and has come out on top in each race. 

Class AA athletes to watch: Libby Castelli, O’Gorman; Brianna Reilly, Harrisburg; Hannah Genrich, Harrisburg; Emery Larson, Pierre; Mia Kadi, Sioux Falls Lincoln; Aurora Evans, Douglas and Peyton Van Deest, Spearfish.  

Sioux Falls Lincoln boys ready to add another trophy to an already crowded trophy case

The Patriots won the team title in 2023 and have team championships from 2012, ‘13, ‘14, ‘16, ‘18, ‘19 and ‘20. 

Lincoln has an experienced team that also has a nice mix of youth. Senior Joseph Levesque was tenth at the 2023 Class AA state meet in 2023 but is expected to be among the top contenders Saturday. Sophomore Tyrus Needles (15:57) and senior Aemil Nelsen (16:11) finished fourth and fifth at last week’s Metro Conference meet. Senior Nathan Thompson and juniors Miles Lechtenberg and Arvid Nelsen round out a team that is poised to repeat as Class AA champions. 

Class AA teams to watch: Sioux Falls Lincoln, Sioux Falls Washington, Brandon Valley, Sturgis and Brookings. 

All season long Brandon Valley junior Mikah Peters seemed to have a cloak of invincibility around him, having not lost to a South Dakota runner until Oct. 17. At the Metro Conference meet on a very windy day Peters was third (15:54) behind Sioux Falls Washington’s Cole Reilly (15:46) and Levesque from Lincoln (15:54). 

Translation: The race for the Class AA individual title is wide open. 

Class AA athletes to watch: Mikah Peters, Brandon Valley; Cole Reilly, Sioux Falls Washington; Joseph Levesque, Sioux Falls Lincoln; Miles Lechtenberg, Sioux Falls Lincoln; Ty Petrocco, Sturgis; Trevin Lounsbury, Brookings.