By Rich Winter

605 Sports

One of the faces noticeably absent from the 2023 South Dakota state track meet was Lyman’s Skyler Volmer.

One of the top jumpers and hurdles in the Class B ranks, Volmer's season came to an unexpected end while competing in the 400-meter dash at an early season meet. 

“I got to about the 200-meter mark and I could feel my hip tightening up,” Volmer said. “I got to the 300-meter mark and knew I wasn’t fine.”

Volmer managed to cross the finish line, fell down and then was unable to get up and walk. Volmer, who has experienced tightness in her hips, had a chiropractor appointment scheduled for the next day. 

Initially the chiropractor thought Volmer had a labral tear in her hip. After visiting an orthopedic surgeon the next day it was determined that Volmer had suffered an avulsion fracture in her hip (Avulsion fractures happen when a bone fragment separates from the rest of the bone). 

“Initially I was more upset with what the chiropractor told me because a labral tear would have kept me out of track and out of AAU basketball all summer,” she said. “Initially my doctor in Sioux Falls thought I might be able to come back for the end of track season but I just didn’t heal fast enough.” 

Volmer, who will be a senior this fall, was coming off a spectacular sophomore track campaign. In 2022, Volmer finished second in the Class B high jump (5-4), second in the Class B 100-meter hurdles (15.88), third in the Class B triple jump (33-10.5) and seventh in the Class B long jump (15-9). 

Her 2023 track season got off to an explosive start when Volmer cleared 5-6 to win the Dan Lennon Invitational high jump in March (Her leap of 5-6 equaled the highest jump in South Dakota this spring regardless of class). A week after Dan Lennon, at the same meet where she fractured her hip, Volmer ran the 100-meter hurdles in 16.2 seconds. 

“I was pretty upset to not be able to compete in track,” she said. “I didn’t go to the state track meet this year but I watched it on live-stream and not being there just sucked.” 

While Volmer is an outstanding track athlete her first love is basketball. The 5-foot-9, 2023 Class B third-team all-state selection (18.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 3.5 apg) began the recovery process following her diagnosis with the hopes she could play some of her summer AAU basketball season. 

Skyler Volmer returns to Lyman for her senior year and is one of the top guards in South Dakota - Rodney Haas - 605 Sports

“Right when I got hurt I was put on crutches for three weeks with absolutely no weight bearing,” she said. “After I got off the crutches I had to ride the bike a lot as my walking got better.” 

The rehab regimen included dry-needling of the hip and back, water resistance training and a lot of step-up’s to strengthen her hips. 

“I still get dry-needled almost every week and do get some cortisone patches to help my hip,” she said. “I used to stretch but now I really stretch and try to get my hips loose.” 

In mid-June Volmer started doing basketball work on her own but still was not allowed to play basketball with any contact. Volmer returned to the court in early July and was able to play several tournaments with her AAU team, South Dakota Network. 

“There have been a few bumps in the road this summer,” Volmer said. “Not being able to play AAU basketball definitely set me back. I had some colleges that were interested in me that didn’t get to see me play. It was frustrating not to be able to showcase my skills.” 

Volmer, who already has a number of offers from in-state schools and one from Division I Valparaiso, knows she wants to play basketball in college but isn’t sure of the destination.

“I am going to play basketball in college,” she said. “I haven’t decided where just yet but I am planning on making that choice soon, hopefully before the start of school this fall.”