By Rich Winter

605 Sports

As we inch closer to October, the anticipation for the upcoming state cross-country meet continues to build. 

Coaches and athletes might not admit this but everyone is sort of keeping track of everyone else’s races and doing the mental math to see where they stack up. One of the more intriguing races at that state could be the Class B boys individual race where a first-time champion will be crowned in October. 

Freeman Academy/Marion’s Tavin Schroeder is a senior and the top returner from a year ago. Schroeder won races in Freeman and Bon Homme in his last two outings and has been the most consistent of all the Class B contenders. Potter County senior Nicholas Schlachter was third at the state meet last year and is running well again this season. Philip’s Wakely Burns was fifth a year ago but seems to have improved a lot and is now dipping under 17 minutes in his 5,000-meter races. 

Despite finishing sixth at the Class B state meet last year as an eighth grader it doesn’t feel like the cross-country community has heard much of Mitchell Christian freshman Silas Holderman this season.

On Sept. 6, Holderman (17:09) beat Schroeder (17:10) in a head-to-head meeting at the Freeman Academy/Marion Invitational. Holderman cranked out a 16:36 at the Nike Heartland Preview meet on Sept. 9. The only other meet Holderman contested in September was the Clyde Cotton Invitational in Huron where he finished 12th (16:50) against a mostly Class AA field.

Holderman has raced in some very big meets this season and despite not hearing much about him in September cross-country legends are born in October in South Dakota. 

Cross country week in review: Ten Topics for discussion

• Cooper Schaefer, Estelline/Hendricks: Estelline/Hendricks eighth-grader Cooper Schaefer cranked out a 16:56 to finish second at Tuesday’s Sioux Valley Invitational. Estelline/Hendricks finished second as a team Tuesday with another eighth-grader Kyler Marson being the Redhawks second runner.

• Seventh-grade girls making an impact on AA level: It is not uncommon to see seventh grade girls competing and contending in Class B and Class A levels but a little more rare at the AA level. On Thursday, Sept. 21 at the Russ Strande Invitational in Brookings Harrisburg seventh-grader Hannah Genrich won the race (19:06) with Watertown seventh-grader Grace McElroy just behind (19:17).

• Sioux Valley girls a Class A girls team contender: Everyone has Isabelle Bloker penciled in to win next month’s Class A girls race. The Cossacks could suddenly be in the running for some team hardware. Sioux Valley handled a good Flandreau team at Tuesday’s Sioux Valley Invitational with Bloker, Liberty Trygstad, Talya Vincent and Maci Licht all finishing in the top-nine. 

• Grady Loos and Peyton Cast Class AA contenders: At last Friday’s Rapid City Invitational Rapid City Stevens senior Grady Loos (15:43) and Douglas’s Peyton Cast (15:47) finished second and third respectively. Both are right in the mix at the top of the AA field. 

• Dupree boys coming on strong: Haven’t heard much about Dupree this season but at Monday’s Little Moreau Conference the Tigers won the team title with a scant nine points. Dupree’s Tayshaun Cudmore won the race (18:12) with teammate Jessup Pederson finishing second (18:35). The Tigers third runner was Spencer Olsen who was eighth with a time of 19:36. 

• Libby Castelli second at Roy Griak: One of the biggest high school meets in the country, the Roy Griak Invitational takes place in Minneapolis in late September. On Friday, O’Gorman’s Libby Castelli finished second in that event (18:03), eight seconds behind the winning time (17:55). 

• O'Gorman's Libby Castelli finished second at last week's Roy Griak meet in Minneapolis - Photo courtesy of Amanda Carlow
  
  

• Seventh-grade battle in Todd County: At Tuesday’s Todd County Invitational a really nice battle in the girls varsity race between three athletes that will run against each other many times in the next six years. Todd County seventh-grader Shelly Larvie (22:15) won the race, ahead of St. Francis Indian seventh-grader Adrienne White Lance (22:35) and Winner’s Cameron Olson (23:25).

• Seventh graders Shelly Larvie (Todd County), Adrienne White Lance (St. Francis Indian) and Cameron Olson (Winner) were the top three finishers at Tuesday's Todd County Invitational - Photo Courtesy of Josh Larson, Todd County High School Public Relations Coordinator.
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• Frederick Area Sumptions: Over the last few years the name Sumption has become synonymous with success and 2023 is no different. At Monday’s Groton Invitational Frederick Area’s Morgan Sumption won the girls race (20:46) with sophomore Milo Sumption (18:34) finishing second in the boys race. 

• Lakota Nation Invitational Saturday: What used to be a fairly smallish event has really turned into a big meet. On Saturday, 21 teams from four states will toe the line with some of the best Native American runners showing their talents on the Hart Ranch Camping Resort in Rapid City. 

• Class AA schools set to clash at Thursday’s Watoma meet: A nice late September litmus test for Class AA schools in Watertown on Thursday as Aberdeen Central, Brandon Valley, Harrisburg, Huron, Brookings, Pierre, Mitchell, O’Gorman, Sioux Falls Jefferson, Sioux Falls Washington and Watertown compete.