SIOUX FALLS — Rapid City Stevens distance ace Simeon Birnbaum added another first-place finish to his dazzling junior campaign. 

The junior runner won the Class AA boys 1,600-meter run at the state track and field meet Saturday at Howard Wood Stadium. It was the third first-place finish for Birnbaum, who also won the 800 and 3,200-meter runs at the meet. He claimed Saturday’s 1,600-meter run in 4-minutes and :15.85 seconds. He also earned the gold medal award, given to the athlete with the top mark across all classes in each respective event. 

Birnbaum once again made it look easy on Saturday. He quickly bolted out to the lead and topped second-place finisher Josh Martin of Aberdeen Central (4:17.08) by almost two full seconds. 

“I wanted to stay out of trouble because this mile feels pretty big,” Birnbaum said. “I mean 24 guys, that’s a lot of guys for a mile. I thought I would just put myself in the front and I would say I gave it a good, honest, effort. Nothing crazy, but nothing too slow. I also wanted to run the fastest time for the state meet and get this other award, which is a bonus.” 

Birnbaum also ran the anchor leg on Stevens’ first-place sprint medley relay team on Saturday. He surged ahead of Sioux Falls Jefferson’s Samuel Castle in the 800-meter leg to secure the win. The Raiders finished in 3:32.00 to earn the gold medal award and also set the meet record in the event. 

It capped off Birnbaum’s memorable season, which included first-place finishes, state records and competing at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in California. 

“It’s been a great season,” Birnbaum said. “I am not super surprised by this, but it’s definitely cool to see where I am now and the season is not over. I have some great postseason races coming up.” 

On June 15, Birnbaum will compete at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle, Washington. 

“I am really hyped for that,” Birnbaum said. “It’s not something I get to do very often. I’ve only done it once at Arcadia. So to get to go over again, I am really excited.”