Tea Area High School Track and Field teams gear up for 2025 season in Class AA

Titan boys

As the 2025 track and field season approaches, the Tea Area High School boys’ team is preparing for a new challenge. With a solid group of returning athletes and promising newcomers, the Titans are ready to compete in their inaugural season in Class AA. Head coach Ryan Decker, now in his 18th year leading the program, is optimistic about the team’s potential despite facing strong competition in the Eastern South Dakota Conference (ESD).

Decker’s coaching journey began during his college years at Lincoln Christian Middle School (NE). He took his first official high school position when he came to Tea in 2007. He holds USATF Level 0, 1, and 2 certifications, with Level 2 specializing in Youth Coaching, and he is a member of the South Dakota Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (SDTFCCCA). In addition to track and field, he has coached cross country at Tea Area for the past 12 years and has also been involved in basketball, coaching high school boys and girls (serving as head coach for five years) and currently coaching 8th-grade middle school girls’ basketball.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my high school sports experiences and also working with youth, especially in trying to develop skills and abilities in young athletes,” Decker said. “It was a way for me to stay active and involved in athletics as I began my professional career. Coaching allows you to develop relationships with student-athletes beyond the classroom and hopefully make a positive impact in their lives.”

Decker is looking forward to the season ahead.

“We bring back a good core group of sprinters that will give us some competitive depth,” Decker said. “We have a good number of athletes this year, which should allow us to fill out a full roster of events. We’ve got good numbers in the distance events and jumps, with many young athletes that we believe will develop and help us to be competitive.”

Last season, several athletes made their mark at the State Meet, standing on the podium in individual events, while several relay teams also secured top-eight finishes. However, replacing last year’s State Meet qualifiers is a challenge the team must navigate.

“We graduated a good number of our State Meet qualifiers last year, so replacing those guys will be the big question mark,” Decker noted. “Moving up to AA means that the depth of teams is greater than what we are used to seeing, so it will stretch us to be able to fill all our relays to challenge the ‘big schools’ in the Metro Area.”

Despite these hurdles, Decker remains focused on the season’s goals.

“Our goal is to be competitive in our first year of AA competition. We have a lot of talented guys who are willing to do the work to improve. We expect to be competitive in our sprint relays, build our distance relays, and consistently pick up points in events around the track and in the field. Our goal is to be in the top half of the ESD in this first year and to be able to be competitive at the State level as well.”

Among the top competitors in the conference, Decker points to Brandon Valley and Harrisburg as key teams to beat. However, with Tea Area being new to the ESD, he acknowledges that every team presents a challenge.

“Being our first year in the conference, I would have to say ‘all of them’ are contenders,” he said. “We are looking to figure out where we fit and get a sense for our new conference competition.”

Decker will be assisted this year by Andrew Giffin (jumps), Peter Chapman (pole vault), Mason Scheidegger (throws) and Zack Anderson (high jump).

The Titans competed in the Dan Lennon Indoor Track Meet on March 17 and will compete in the SDSU Indoor Meet on Apr. 7 at South Dakota State University. They will hold their first outdoor meet of the season on Apr. 8 at Harrisburg.

Their first home meet will be held on Apr. 15 beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The Titans will rely on a mix of experienced and young athletes to fill their lineup this season. A complete roster is listed below, with (*) denoting returning athletes and (X) marking state qualifiers:

Freshmen: Dawson Bunkofske, Emmett DeGeest, Zaiden Johnson, Dawson Lowery, Thiik Lual, Quentin Maag, Beckett Martens, Jeremiah Waldner, Moris Wasesa, Beau Wranek, Kadin Zolnowsky

Sophomores: Hayden Bialas, Jameson Biggins (*), Jacob Birger (*), Landen Bolte (*), Joshua Bracha, Victor Bruggeman (*), Sam Bullis (*, X), Kaden Christian (*), Tyson DeYoung (*), Connor Fields (*), Arian Friedman (*), Brayden Gniffke (*), Reid Hammerquist (*, X), Bill Kerkula (*), Jonah Klemisch (*), Noah Korver (*), Trey Krell (*), Gage Little (*), Jonny McMahon, Kage Olson (*), Santiago Revolorio, Lane Sieber (*), Kyle Simpson, Dawood Toto (*), Tate VanLaecken (*), Aiden Woods (*), Titus Zuraff (*)

Juniors: Juv Banza (*, X), Carter Brown (*), Rylen Burch (*), Jack Campbell (*, X), Carter Christensen (*, X), Chase Deboer (*, X), Jacob DeYoung (*), Antonio Hill, Hayden Hostetler, Arden McGraw (*), Kingston Nyberg (*), Cody Peterson (*), Filip Toth, Kayden Williamson (*, X)

Seniors:, Kayl Borderson (*), Carson Hall (*, X), Lane Kelsey (*), Jacob Mueller (*, X), Tyler Rhead (*, X), Matthew Rogers (*, X), Cameron Wiens (*, X), Jeremy Wiens (*), Brandon Wipf (*)

Titan girls

As the 2025 track and field season approaches, the Tea Area High School girls’ team is preparing for an exciting challenge of competing in their inaugural season in Class AA. With a strong core of returning athletes and a group of promising newcomers, the Titans are ready to compete in their new conference — Eastern South Dakota Conference (ESD). Head coach Tori Miles, now in her 17th year leading the program, is optimistic about the team’s potential despite facing unfamiliar competition.

Miles began her coaching career at Tea, spending two years coaching middle school track. She also completed an internship with the University of South Dakota’s track team.

“I was fortunate enough to be mentored by awesome and fun coaches while I was in middle and high school, which really planted the seed for me coaching,” Miles said. “That continued at the University of South Dakota, where I ran track and was lucky enough to have the best coaches to learn from.”

Miles is joined by assistant coaches Peter Chapman, Andrew Griffin, Mason Scheidegger, Zack Anderson, and Mallory Scheidegger.

The Titans return several experienced athletes, which Miles considers a key strength for the season.

“We have a lot of talented girls returning, including several who made it to the state meet. I think experience is a big strength for us this year,” she said.

Last season, several athletes found individual success by making the podium at the State Meet, with relay teams also reaching the podium. However, Miles acknowledges that there are some gaps to fill.

“We don’t have as many short sprinters as we’re used to,” Miles said. “However, we have a lot of new girls that will have the opportunity to try some new things and hopefully fill in some gaps for us.”

With Tea Area moving into a new conference, the competition will be an adjustment.

“I am excited and nervous to be part of a new conference,” Miles said. “Our girls will see a lot of athletes we’ve never had to face before.”

Despite the unknowns, Miles is eager to see how her team responds.

“We are really in uncharted territory this year being the new team in the conference. I look forward to seeing new athletes and watching our athletes compete with the largest schools in the state. I think we will have a handful of competitive relays that will be really exciting to watch.”

The Titans will rely on a mix of experienced and new athletes to make an impact this season. A complete roster is listed below, with (*) denoting returning athletes:

Jayna VanLaecken , Grace Bialas , Logan Castle, Carly Corner, Daphne Decker , Kapri Drewes, Lainey Haines , Abby Hilleson , Jayden Leegaard, Alayna Mann, Nola Terveen, Remington Bechard , Abuol Deng, Cate Giles , Sydney Stahlecker , Miah Thorstenson , Jaycie Babb, Meredith Decker , Gracie Kramer , Gabby Overwise , Kiley Pendergast , Brooklyn Reiners , Savanna Stahnke , Sienna Brech , Reese Hammerquist , Emmalee Hindberg, Remington Jacobson, Mya Neuhardt , Jaden Sedlacek, and Kassidy Wranek *.

Their first home meet will be held on Apr. 15 beginning at 3:30 p.m.