By Rich Winter

After last year's state meet snow storm, athletes, coaches and fans will be greeted by temperatures in the mid-50's with very little wind. The Yankton Trail Park is considered flat and fast with action set to begin Saturday, Oct. 23.

New champions, wide open team races await Class B cross-country field

With defending champions Cody Larson (Warner) having graduated and Hallie Person (Burke) transferring to Lead-Deadwood, the Class B races will both crown first time individual champions.

Boys: Bison's Lane Krautschun finished third a year ago and he will be looking to continue the long line of elite distance runners for the Cardinals. Krautschen has the second fastest time in the field (16:15) trailing only Region 1B champion Daniel Ayoroa (16:04) of James Valley Christian. Region 2B champion Josiah Schroeder of Canistota will be in the mix along with 3B champ, Luke Sinclair of Gregory. Region 4B competitors Pierce Baumberger of Miller, Nicholas Schlachter of Potter County and Alex Schumacher of Miller all finished within a second of each other at the region meet and will be in contention for high-podium finishes.

Boys team race: The Miller boys have been on a tear this season dominating team competitions at every meet. Baumberger and Schumacher give this team a one-two punch with senior Caden Gortmaker rounding out the potential scoring trio. Arlington, Canistota, Kimball/White Lake, Freeman Academy/Marion, Northwestern, Philip and Bison will all be in the mix for trophies.

Girls: The girls’ individual race appears to be wide open. Northwestern ninth grader Ella Boekelheide finished sixth a year ago and has the fastest time (19:10) in all of Class B. Freeman Academy/Marion's Jade Koerner was third a year ago and won her region by just over 11 seconds. Region champions Reese Luze (Colman-Egan), Autumn Fallis (Highmore-Harrold) and Presley Terkildsen (Philip) will all run fast on Saturday.

Gregory's Emma Thomas will be running in her sixth consecutive state meet
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Girls team: Defending champion Kimball/White Lake easily won the Region 3B title and the trio of Autumn Baker, Lily Baker and Christine Gaulke will have this team in the hunt. Aberdeen Christian was second a year ago and the Knights should be in the mix. Keep an eye out for Arlington, Potter County and Lemmon who all had demonstrative wins in their respective regions.

Team races and wide-open girls competition highlights Class A cross-country

Boys race: Belle Fourche junior Sawyer Clarkson has the fastest time in the state (15:17) and will look to take control early in Saturday's race at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls. Clarkson was third a year ago and will be looking for his first state championship. Sioux Falls Christian junior Isaac Davelaar, Milbank senior Nick Batchelor and Chamberlain's Dom Santiago will all be looking for high podium finishes.

Boys team race: After sweeping the top four spots in the Region 2A meet, Luke VanderLeest's Sioux Falls Christian team is a heavy favorite to repeat as state champions. Region champions Milbank, Lennox, Chamberlain and Custer will all be contenders for high-team placings.

Chamberlain's Dom Santiago and Winner's Kade Watson are among the favorites in the Class A race

Girls race: On Sept. 24, Sioux Falls Christian eighth grader Ellie Maddox won the Rapid City Invitational in 18:20. Maddox was 30-seconds ahead of Class A contenders, Kadense Dooley (Custer), Ramsey Karim (Custer) and the 2020 champion, Abby Cutler (Hill City). Mobridge/Pollock's Heidi Olson ran her season's best time (18:35) to win the Region 4A title. Great Plains Lutheran's Halle Bauer, Milbank's Ashlynn Batchelor, Sioux Valley's Isabelle Bloker, Vermillion's Taeli Barta, Chamberlain's Kinsey Evans and Red Cloud's Jade Ecoffey will all be looking for high-podium finishes.

Mobridge-Pollock's Heidi Olson and Chamberlain's Kinsey Evans will be among the top girls in Class A

Girls team race: A wide open team race this year as defending champion Hill City finished third in Region 5B. Custer, Sioux Falls Christian, Milbank and Chamberlain are all good enough to win the team title on any given day.

Defending champions looking to repeat at AA state meet

Boys race: Defending champion Josh Martin (Aberdeen Central) is back to defend his title but a host of contenders are going to make the AA race a special one. Rapid City Stevens junior Simeon Birnbaum was fifth a year ago but has Class AA's fastest time (15:34). Spearfish senior Keenan Urdiales was 15th a year ago but has the field's second fastest time (15:41). Martin, Samuel Conrad (Brookings), Alex Otten (Rapid City Stevens), Soren Weeg (Harrisburg) and Pierre runners Hayden Shaffer and Jared Lutmer will all be in the front pack.

Team race: Rapid City Stevens, Aberdeen Central, Brandon Valley and Sioux Falls Lincoln should be in the upper-tier of teams.

Girls race: Defending champion, Alea Hardie of Sioux Falls O'Gorman has won all of her head-to-head matchups with the girls she'll be facing. Hardie has the second fastest time this season (17:42.6) with Sioux Falls Lincoln's Ali Bainbridge having the fastest (17:42). Sioux Falls O'Gorman's Libby Castelli, Brandon Valley's Addison Scholten and Spearfish seventh grader Peyton VanDeest will all be vying for top-5 finishes.

Team Race: Sioux Falls O'Gorman edged Sioux Falls Lincoln (51-56) for the 2020 team title. The Knights and the Patriots will be gunning for team titles again with Rapid City Stevens right there for AA cross-country supremacy.

Meet Time Schedule

Class B girls       12:00 PM

Class A girls        12:30 PM

Class AA girls       1:00 PM

Class B Boys       1:30 PM

 Class A Boys      2:00 PM

Class AA Boys      2:30 PM