Titans to compete in first-ever Class AA State Cross Country Meet

For the first time, Tea Area High School will compete in the Class AA State Cross Country Meet after moving up a class last year. Fourteen Titans are set to race at the State AA Meet this Saturday, Oct. 26, at Hart Ranch in Rapid City.

“We are excited to be competing in our first AA State Meet! The athletes have worked hard all throughout the summer and season to put themselves in the best position possible for Saturday,” said head coach Ryan Decker. 

In AA, each school sends a full team to the meet (seven athletes - five score, two push), so the challenge is making the varsity team. 

Tea Area’s State cross country teams this year are: Boys— Jack Campbell, Reid Hammerquist, Kaden Christian, Jonah Klemisch, Dawson Lowery, Tate VanLaecken, and Jacob DeYoung. The alternate runner is Noah Korver and Girls — Jaycie Babb, Grace Bialas, Jayna VanLaecken, Evelyn DeGeest, Taylor Boehnke, Abby Hilleson, and Logan Castle. The alternate runners are Meredith Decker and Brooklyn Reiners. 

The Class AA girls’ race is scheduled for 1 p.m. MST, and the Class AA boys’ race will follow at 2:30 p.m. MST at Hart Ranch Camping Resort.

All state classifications will race at Hart Ranch in Rapid City. The day’s events kick off with the Class B girls at 12 p.m., followed by the Class A girls at 12:30 p.m., the Class B boys at 1:30 p.m., and the Class A boys at 2 p.m. Awards will be presented after the final race, recognizing the top 25 individual runners and the top six teams in each class, with trophies for champion and runner-up teams.

“Our Girls team has a great opportunity to compete for a team finish this year (top 6 teams are recognized), so we are excited for that. Jaycie, Evelyn, Grace, and Jayna all rank in the top 40 in AA and so we are hoping to come away with some top 25 individual finishes along with a team finish this year (our previous best finish was a tie for 7th),” said Decker. “Our boys team is relatively young, so we are building for the future and looking to get these guys all some good big race experience for next year. Jack ranks in the top 40 for AA and Reid has been getting stronger after coming off an injury - we think all our guys are poised for a great run. We are excited to see how we stack up against the full AA competition.”

The Tea Titans capped off their regular season in style last Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Roger Loecker Invitational in Huron. Competing against seven other ESD teams, the Titans braved tough, windy conditions and delivered standout performances across all six courses in their final meet before State.

The Varsity girls opened the day with an impressive showing.  Junior Jaycie Babb led the Titans with a great race effort. Babb put herself in good position and used a strong mid-race surge to separate and finish in 2nd place (19::51.6). 8th grader Jayna VanLaecken impressed moving well throughout earning 4th in a time of 20:37.7 as did freshman Grace Bialas who grabbed 5th place in a time of 20:45.1. 7th grader Evelyn DeGeest claimed 18th place in a time of 21:50.5. 8th grader Taylor Boehnke used a strong consistent stride to move up the field and finish in 23rd place (22:15.6). Fresh-man Abby Hilleson looks strong through-out, earning 27th place in a time of 22:39.6. Junior Meredith Decker turned in one of her best race performances, claiming 35th place in a time of 22:59.6. Freshman Logan Castle grabbed 38th place in a time of 23:09.4. Junior Brooklyn Reiners finished in 47th place in a time of 24:08.0. The Girls finished second in the team scoring. 

The Varsity boys were just as impressive as the Varsity Girls. Junior Jack Campbell had a great race strategy/effort, running a 17:47.3 for 6th place. Sophomore Reid Hammerquist put in an impressive effort, moving up the field all throughout to claim 7th place in a time of 17:51.6. Sophomores Jonah Klemisch and Kaden Christian both put in strong races, earning 17th (18:37.0) and 19th (18:39.9), respectively. Sophomore Tate VanLaecken claimed 30th place in a time of 19:19.8. Fresh-man Dawson Lowery started strong and grabbed 39th place in a time of 19:53.9. Junior Jacob DeYoung claimed 44th place in a time of 20:06.3. The Varsity Boys finished third in the team scoring. 

In the JV races, sophomore Erica Boterman led the JV Girls with a 6th-place finish (24:38.4), and freshman Daphne Decker took 10th (24:58.9). Junior Morgan Sehr set a personal best, finishing 12th (25:39.4), and 8th grader Natalie Hyronimus placed 16th (26:18.8). The JV Girls secured 2nd place as a team.

The JV Girls competed next. Sophomore Erica Boterman continued her streak of strong races, moving up the field to finish in 6th place in a time of 24:38.4. Freshman Daphne Decker grabbed 10th place in a time of 24:58.9. Junior Morgan Sehr turned in a new personal best performance in her final race of the year, clocking a 25:39.4 for 12th place. 8th grader Natalie Hyronimus ran near a personal best, claiming 16th place in a time of 26:18.8. Junior Kiley Pendergast earned 22nd place in a time of 28:31.1. Freshman Harper Heier finished in 25th place in a time of 31:03.3. The JV Girls finished 2nd in the team scoring. 

The JV Boys were next on the course. 8th grader Reece Christian led the Titans in his best race of the season, earning 8th place in a time of 20:18.4. Sophomore Riley Clark ran close to a personal best, clocking a 21:49.9 for 28th place. Sophomore Jaxon Johanneson grabbed 35th place in a time of 22:14.5. Fresh-man Kadin Zolnowsky finished next, earning 36th place in a time of 22:16.6. Sophomore Malachi Kaiser claimed 56th place in a time of 24:23.6. Freshman Zaiden Johnson earned 61st place in a time of 26:02.7. The JV Boys finished 6th in the team scoring. 

The MS races were the last of the day. For the MS Girls, 6th grader Lela Kamps led the Titan effort, claiming 14th place in a time of 12:44.2, followed closely by 6th grader Angelina Dusa in 16th place (13:04.0). 6th grader Carly Castle grabbed 26th place in a time of 13:43.1. 6th grader Taytem Petrik put in one of her best races, claiming 37th place in a time of 14:09.4, with fellow 6th grader right behind in 38th place (14:14.3). 6th grader Michelle Tang finished in 47th place in 14:57.3. 6th grader Alexis Knodel earned 73rd place in a time of 17:04.1 while 6th grader Avery Manning claimed 79th place in a time of 18:13.3. The MS Girls finished 4th in the team scoring. 

Two Titans competed in the MS Boys race. 6th grader Jacob Klemisch used a strong finish to grab 10th place in a time of 11:22.6. 6th grader Micah Hyronimus also ran a great race, claiming 17th place in a time of 11:41.3.

With their strong performance at the Roger Loecker Invitational, the Titans are poised for a historic showing at their first-ever Class AA State Meet this weekend.