By Rich Winter

605 sports 

If it feels like a minute since we’ve heard from Hill City’s Abby Cutler, it has been. 

In 2020, then a freshman, Cutler announced herself as a presence in the Class A running ranks when she won the Class A state cross-country title.

After finishing 10th in the 2021 state cross-country meet, Cutler suffered a foot injury during track season her sophomore year. 

“She broke her foot as a sophomore at the state track stepping off the track,” Hill City cross-country coach Joe Noyes said. 

There was no cross-country season for Cutler in 2022, and during her junior track season, coaches used her sparingly. 

Cutler has been running well this fall, her senior season. At the Nike Heartland Preview Meet on Sept. 11, Cutler delivered another statement run to the rest of the contenders in Class A. Cutler was the first Class A finisher across the line that day, finishing eighth overall (18:54).  

In the fall of 2021 Cutler finished tenth in the Class A state cross country meet - Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting

Cross-Country Week In Review: Ten topics of discussion:

• Philip boys starting to round into shape: The defending Class B team champions were bit by the injury bug early in the season. The Scotties attended several big meets in the eastern part of the state. On Sept. 4, Philip raced at the Chamberlain Invitational where it nipped Class A Miller for the team title. Philip placed five boys in the top-11. On Sept. 16, the Scotties dominated the Lyman Invitational. 

• Is Freeman Academy Marion’s Tavin Schoeder the favorite to win the Class B race in October? Schroeder has been winning a bunch of races including last week when he clocked a 16:27 to win the Freeman Invitational. 

• Lemmon Cowgirls: Lemmon has quietly emerged as one of the better Class B girls teams. At Sept. 15’s Newell Invitational, led by Karly Riley (21:21), Lemmon took six of the top seven individual spots.

• Spearfish’s Peyton VanDeest is the real deal: At Saturday’s Clyde Cotton Invitational VanDeest 18:19 cruised to a win over Flandreau’s Faith Wiese (18:24) and Brandon Valley’s Addison Scholten (18:24). 

• Miller’s Alex Schumacher: The Miller senior seems to be winning a lot of races this fall, but where did he come from? Well, Schumacher has been around for a bit and was a key cog on Miller’s 2021 Class B state championship team. Schumacher normally plays a lot of AAU basketball in the summer, but after placing sixth in the 800-meter run at the 2023 state track meet, he decided to put in some time this summer and the results are paying off. 

• Dakota Valley’s dynamic duo: Another first and second place finishes for Dakota Valley’s Joe Cross (16:21) and Jack Brown (16:47) at Monday’s Alcester-Hudson meet. 

• Kamryn Nesheim, Clark/Willow Lake: The daughter of longtime Cyclone boys basketball coach Jerome Nesheim captured another individual title (19:24) at Sept. 18’s Deuel Invitational. The CWL girls also captured another team title Monday. 

• Tri-State’s Kaleb Foltz: Don’t forget about this guy at the state cross-country meet. Foltz’s margin of victory at his meets has been astonishing this season. At Sept. 18’s Deuel Invitational, Foltz won the race 16:51, well ahead of second-place finisher Carson Wosje of Sioux Valley (17:55). 

• Sawyer Clarkson competes in first college race: Clarkson, the former Belle Fourche runner standout, is redshirting at Gonzaga this fall. Clarkson ran unattached at the Cougar Classic Invitational this week. He finished the 8,000-meter course (approximately five miles) in 24:34. 

• Rapid City Invitational takes place Friday: Biggest meet of the year out west featuring a whole new set of participants for South Dakota athletes to run against. Keep an eye on Hill City’s Luke Rupert and Belle Fourche’s Lane Krautschun. Two of Class A’s best runners haven’t seen much of each other this year so Friday’s matchup is worth keeping an eye on.