GREGORY EDGES BEARCATS IN THE END; FAM BOYS FINISH 2ND
By the time the early-afternoon hours of Saturday, May 25 rolled around, it was clear that the Freeman Academy/Marion boys were either going to emerge as the Class B champions or the runners-up at the 2024 SDHSAA State Track and Field Championships.
Tied with Gregory going into the final two events of the day — the open 200 and the 4×400-meter relay — each team had one last opportunity to score points, with FAM’s Keaton Preheim running the 200 and the Gorillas on the track in the 4×400, the final event of the day.
And as the final seconds of the last running event ticked away, it looked for all the world like the Bearcats were going to come away with the championship.
Until they didn’t.
In what was just about the most dramatic finish to a chase for a title you will ever see, a list-ditch push in the closing meters of the 4×400 by Gregory anchorman Luke Stukel took the Gorillas from fourth to second, giving them the points they needed to leapfrog FA/Marion and claim their second consecutive Class B title.
Gregory finished with 57 points.
FA/Marion finished with 55.
“It was a great season — just heartbreaking at the end,” said coach Suzanne Koerner, who despite the disappointment that emerged in literally the closing seconds of the state meet said she is so proud of how far the team came this year.
“I was just talking and I asked (coach) Jerico (Shape) if he saw this coming at the beginning of the season, it was pretty emphatically ‘no,'” Koerner said. “It took a long time to work our way through some things.”
“It’s just an honor to be here,” said Shape, who is on staff at Marion and in his first season working with the Bearcats’ track program. “To come out runner-up and to work for these guys, it’s been great. It’s been a lot of fun and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Watch for a complete recap of what was a wild state meet for local teams in this week’s Courier.
Massey completes the triple gold
Just like last year, Ashton Massey won the gold medal in the triple jump, 100 hurdles and now the 300 hurdles — a race she claimed early Saturday afternoon. The Augustana University commit clocked another PR, finishing in 44.92. Burke’s Piper Hanson and Freeman’s Rylee Peters went 2-3 — just like in the 100 hurdles.
Sattler 4th in 400
Menno junior Bryce Sattler finished fourth in the 400 early Saturday afternoon after clocking a 51.54 — a new PR.
FHS Boys 2nd in 4×100
Less than 90 minutes after dropping the baton in the 4×200 and finishing a disappointing seventh, the Freeman boys relay team of Luke Peters, Tate Sorensen, Chris Aasen and Rocky Ammann turned in a runner-up finish in the 4×100. The Flyers clocked a 44.84 and finished 0.13 seconds in front of Colman-Egan.
Ulmer 7th in 1600
Junior Ellyana Ulmer, who came on strong in 1600 late in the season, found herself on the state meet podium after finishing seventh in the race Saturday morning. Her time of 5:23.92 was better than her incoming best of 5:27.70.
FAM scores 9 points in 1600
Finley McConniel was edged for second place by just 0.02 seconds and Tavin Schroeder finished third to give Freeman Academy/Marion another nine points in the Class B standings. Freeman’s Lane McCune and Menno’s Izayah Ulmer also competed in the race.
Massey wins 100 hurdles, Peters 3rd
As if scripted, Menno senior Ashton Massey ran the fastest 100 hurdle clocking of her decorated prep career to win another gold medal at the SDHSAA State Track and Field Championships Saturday morning. Massey, who went into the 2024 state meet second in the Class B field to Burke senior Piper Hanson, clocked a 15.10 to claim the top prize. Her previous best was 15.15.
Hason finished second in 15.31 and Freeman freshman Rylee Peters was third in 15.52.
“I’m so happy,” said Massey, who admits she was nervous about the race and had her mind set on an explosive start, getting her feet down fast and a quick attack of the first two hurdles. “I wanted to just race — just battle.”
Massey said having a great competitor like Hanson to chase makes her better; Hanson’s incoming best of 15.04 was just ahead of Massey.
“She’s a great athlete — a great person,” Massey said. “She has speed and has been cheering for me since our freshman year.”
Even better, she added, Hanson will run track at the University of Sioux Falls, “so we get to battle for another four years.”
Preheim 2nd in 100; FAM boys 5th in 4×200; FHS boys drop baton
The Freeman Academy/Marion boys added to their point total Saturday morning when junior Keaton Preheim finished second in the 100 and the team of Dominic Sperling, Liam Ortman, Karter Weber and Keaton Preheim finished fifth in the 4×200.
Preheim clocked an 11.02 in the 100 — he was second to Dell Rapids St. Mary’s Lucas Flammer’s 10.85 — and the Bearcats’ relay team finished in 1:34.44, just of their incoming best 1:34.06.
FA/Marion was leading Ipswich 40-35 after 13 events scored.
The Freeman Public boys also competed in the 4×200-meter relay and went into the race with the fastest time, but a dropped baton on the final exchange doomed their quest for the title. The Flyers ended up seventh in 1:35.88. The relay team featured Luke Peters, Tate Sorensen, Chris Aasen and and Rocky Ammann.
