STATE TRACK: FULL REPORT FROM FIRST DAY
Amy Sorensen, head track coach for the Freeman Public girls, was by the triple jump and had just watched freshman Cadence Hofer qualify for the finals when she took off for the track a short walk away for the Flyers’ next event.
“I’m going to watch the girls 4×100 break the school record,” said Sorensen, wide-eyed and sizzling with energy. “I think they’re going to do it.”
Not five minutes later they did — a “just another day in the office” moment for a track team that is firing on all cylinders and indicative of what was largely a very good first day of the 2024 SDHSAA State Track and Field Championships.
“It was an incredible day,” said Sorensen, who was the first one to greet the 4×100 relay team of Zenovia Butler, Rylee Peters, Vaida Ammann and Makenzie Scharberg after their 51.75 clocking that put them in Saturday’s final. “Yesterday in practice, this morning on the way up here, the energy getting ready, everybody knew where they had to be and what they had to do, and they got it done.”
The first day of the three-day state meet, held Thursday, May 23 at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, wasn’t just something worth talking about for Freeman Public, but for track teams from Freeman Academy/Marion and Menno, as well.
The Bearcats? Yeah, they were tied with Deubrook Area for first in the Class B standings at the end of the day thanks largely to a runner-up finish in the sprint medley relay team of Dominic Sperling, Keaton Preheim, Karter Weber and Finley McConniel. The Bearcats also scored in the 4×800 earlier on Thursday when McConniel, Liam Ortman, Jackson Donlan and Tavin Schroeder finished fourth, and they picked up a point in the long jump thanks to a personal best by Weber that got him eighth.
While there’s a long way to go between Friday morning and Saturday afternoon, the FA/Marion boys’ 13 points sets them up nicely for a run at a top team finish; McConniel and Schroeder are both highly ranked in Friday morning’s 3200 final, Preheim qualified yesterday for the 100 final with the third-fastest time in the field and is expected to do the same in the 200 this afternoon, and the Bearcats are in the running for a medal in their two other relays — the 4×200 and the 4×400. A top-eight finish in those prelims today would position FA/Marion for a strong finish tomorrow, when McConniel and Schroeder will also compete in the 1600.
More on the Flyers
For Freeman Public, the effort from the girls 4×100 relay team on Thursday was clearly a highlight of the day. The foursome had tied the school record of 52.06 set in 2009 at the Cornbelt Conference meet earlier this month, but wanted it all to themselves.
“That was our one goal before I left — to get that record,” said Zenovia Butler, who graduated from Freeman High School last Saturday and is taking part in her last official event as a Flyer. “I’m just very happy and proud that we got to do it here. I was crying earlier because I was filled with so much joy, just breaking the record and getting to do it with my friends. It was amazing.”
Like their counterparts, the Freeman Public boys burned up the track in the 4×100 prelim on Thursday as Luke Peters, Tate Sorensen, Chris Aasen and Rocky Ammann clocked a 44.66 — the second-fastest time of the day behind Ipswich’s 44.10. The Flyers will compete in the 4×100 final early Saturday afternoon and believe they can win it.
Thursday was also marked by Hofer’s finish in the triple jump and Peters’ effort in the 100 hurdles, which puts her fourth in the field heading into Saturday’s final. Peters will also compete in the 300 hurdles prelim early Friday afternoon; she is sixth in Class B going in.
As for Hofer, she went into the triple jump ninth with her sights set on making the finals, which she did in dramatic fashion. After scratching on her first attempt and turning in a sub-par effort on her second, Hofer uncorked a 33-5 on her third jump. While it fell just short of her incoming best of 33-6, it was good enough to get her in the finals, and she ended up sixth overall.
“I’m so happy — I’m so happy,” said Hofer, who said she felt good after her first attempt even though she scratched but wasn’t happy with her second effort that fell far short of what she was capable of. “I was upset because I worked so hard, and here I am in front of all these people, and I know I’m better than that.”
No surprise she was beaming afterward.
“It felt so good,” Hofer said. “Makes me feel like I can do it in other events, too.”
Success for the Wolves
Speaking of feeling good, track and field athletes from Menno had a good first day, too. The girls and boys 4×800 relay teams both cracked the top eight, with the girls foursome of Ellyana Ulmer, Nora Robb, Zoe Schaeffer and Ashton Massey finishing sixth and the boys quartet of Izayah Ulmer, Mirik Vaith, Isaac Fergen and Bryce Sattler placing seventh.
The Menno boys sprint medley earned hardware, as well, as the team of Fergen, Micah Goehring, Sattler and Izayah Ulmer ran to fifth, and sophomore Hunter Yosten helped add to the Wolves’ point total with a third-place finish in the shot put after going in fourth in the field.
All of it added up to 12 points for the Menno boys, which had them fourth in the Class B standings after the first day.
But Menno’s best finish on Thursday came from someone who is no stranger to “bests” — Ashton Massey. The high school graduate got it done once again by winning the triple jump but, like last year, it did not come without drama.
As was the case her junior season, Massey scratched on her first two attempts and needed a last-ditch effort just to make the finals, let alone defend her 2023 title.
“Going into the day I was like, ‘I feel so much better than last year. I feel so much more confident mentally and physically and it’s not going to be like last year,’” she said afterward. “And then it was like last year.”
One of the issues may have been a slight distraction due to a rolled ankle during Massey’s warm-ups, which she admitted caused panic initially.
“But we put on a brace and worked through it,” she said.
And, as she has done so many times during her decorated prep career, Massey got it done when it mattered the most. After hearing words of encouragement from one of her coaches, Shaylee Schultz — “just do the same thing you’ve done hundreds of times” — the standout posted a 35-plus on her third attempt and then, after scratching again in her first attempt of finals, went for a title-winning 35-9 ¾.
“I knew I had done it before and could do it again,” Massey. “It’s obviously nice to come away with another win. I was a little disappointed with my performance, but it makes me hungrier for the hurdles.”
Speaking of that, Massey will take the top time in Class B in the 100-hurdle final Saturday morning and is competing in the 300 hurdles prelim early this afternoon, where she comes in with the best clocking in Class B.
Also today for Menno, junior Bryce Sattler is positioned for a medal in the 400 — today’s race is a prelim — and Ellyana Ulmer, also a junior, will be looking to crack the top eight in the 800 final; those races are scheduled for 12:50 and 2:10 p.m.
