By Rich Winter

605 Spots

A year ago the Class B boys team race came down to the final meters of the final race, in the final event. Gregory and Ipswich threw everything at each other, and after three days the teams tied. 

Class B can sometimes be won with 50 points and quite often there are three or four teams separated by 10 points or less. This year’s Class B boys feature some headliners in the sprints. 

Three seniors that fit that mold to perfection are Chester’s Jovi Wolf, Viborg-Hurley’s Luke Campbell and Dell Rapids St. Mary’s Lucas Flemmer. Wolf is coming off state titles in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Wolf and Campbell are multi-talented athletes that will likely score in four events. Throw in Flemmer and Class B have some fast guys with loads of experience. 

One thing about Class B you will notice a wide range of times from the season. Not all stadiums have automatic timing so be ready for the time adjustments a few days later.  That :10.06 you see likely won’t be the actual time.

Event Previews:

Sprints(100-400)

100-meter dash: Chester’s Jovi Wolf was second last season followed to the line by Colman-Egan’s Christopher Lee and DRSM’s Flemmer. All three athletes ran sub :10 in the final.

200-meter dash: Wolf and Flemmer are the favorites here. Freeman Academy/Marion’s Keaton Preheim, along with Lee, and Viborg-Hurley’s George Johnson make predicting a winner here almost impossible

400-meter run: Wolf and Flemmer will be the class of the field. The question here is how fast can these guys run. 

Distance: (800-1600)

The distance races have an opportunity to be very competitive with a mix of old veterans and strong newcomers. 

800-meter run: Wolsey-Wessington’s Caleb Richmond won the race a year ago (2:01.88). Northwestern’s Lincoln Woodring and Potter County’s Carter Luikens will have  to hold off a number of distance athletes that could come down to contest this event. 

1,600 - 3,200 - Freeman Academy/Marion’s Tavin Schroeder, James Valley Christian’s Dax Frandsen, Colome’s Joseph Laprath along with Philip’s Baylor Burns and Wakely Burns will battle over several days of distance dominance. 

Hurdles:

Viborg-Hurley’s Luke Campbell is the heavy favorite in both hurdling disciplines. Campbell ran (:15.23) to win state. His biggest challenge will come from Warner’s Hunter Cramer who was second a year ago. Campbell has a clerk path to a repeat title in the longer race. 

Relays:

 Not a lot of returning state championship teams with their entire teams intact. 

Short Relays: Chester Area and Colman-Egan are usually sound with the stick and have some fast athletes. Deubrook Area and Gregory traditionally have good squads and should have good seasons.

Long Relays: Somehow you figure with the athletes that Deubrook Area and Wolsey-Wessington have that both schools will figure in the 1,600-meter sprint medley, the 1,600-meter relay and the 3,200-meter relay. Philip won back-to-back state cross-country titles and could figure into these long relays. 

Field Events:

Shot Put: White River’s Ethan Watson finished third a year ago (49-9.5). He’s out over 58 feet so far this year and will be among the favorites this year. Kadoka Area’s Lincoln Koehn and Leola-Frederick’s Dustin Wurtz are the other top returners in this event.

Discus: Should be a good battle between Kadoka Area’s Lincoln Koehn and Leola/Frederick’s  Wurtz. Lemmon’s Blair Ham will be in the mix by the end of the season.

High Jump: Daniel Mitchell cleared 6-5 to win the state high jump while Colman-Egan’s Jack Mousel jumped the same height to win Howard Wood. Could be a heck of a competition but these guys should see each other a few times during the year.

Long Jump: Ipswich’s Trevor Heinz was second a year ago (21-11.75).

Triple jump: Could be a wide open event as Colman-Egan’s Jase Mousel finished third and is the top returner (40-8). Deubrook Area’s Jake Jorenby and Timber Lake’s Gracen Hansen could place high on the medals stand. 

Pole Vault: Menno’s Isaac Fergen is the top returner in this event and will be chased by Ipswich vaulters Rasmus Loken and Brody Davis.