Hamlin High School’s Gracelyn Leiseth is the 2022-23 Gatorade South Dakota Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. It’s the second year in a row Leiseth has received the honor. 

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Leiseth as South Dakota’s best high school girls track & field athlete. 

Leiseth is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award to be announced in July.

The senior set a state record in the discus this past season with a throw of 175-feet, 3-inches at the Northeast Conference final and won the Nike Outdoor Nationals shot put title with a 52-1.5 effort. 

Leiseth ranked No. 3 nationally in both the discus and shot put among girls prep competitors in 2023. She also launched the shot a state indoor-record distance of 52-6.25 at the USD-Dan Lennon Class B meet in March. Leiseth has volunteered locally at a shelter for the unhoused in Sioux Falls and has served as a barista at the Mission Coffeehouse in Brookings, which raises money for service missions both locally and internationally. 

She has also donated her time cleaning at a Crisis Pregnancy Center and fundraised to help victims of human trafficking. A vacation bible school teacher as well, she has worked on behalf of the Special Olympics in addition to being a member of the All-State Chorus the past two years. 

Leiseth has maintained a weighted 4.07 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on scholarship at the University of Florida this fall.