Tea Area cross country teams head west to compete at State this Saturday, Oct. 24

The Tea Area High School boys and girls cross country teams will close out their seasons on the state’s biggest stage this Saturday, Oct. 24, as 14 Titan runners compete in the 2026 State Class AA State Cross Country Championships. The State Meet will be held at Hart Ranch Camping Resort, just outside of Rapid City. The Class AA girls race is scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m., followed by the boys race at 1 p.m. The Class AA awards ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m.

Seven runners will represent Tea Area in each race, with both squads looking to build on strong performances throughout the season.

Leading the Titan girls into State are sophomore Taylor Boehnke, who enters with a time of 19:49.2, and junior Grace Bialas, who has recorded a time of 19:55.2. Joining them will be junior Logan Castle (20:37.9), sophomore Gretchen Curtis (20:47.6), sophomore Lola Underberg (21:05.4), sophomore Grace Chapman (21:56.6) and junior Abby Hilleson (21:59.3).

On the boys side, senior Reid Hammerquist leads the Titans with an entry time of 16:18.4. Sophomore Grant Curtis follows at 17:29.3, with senior Kaden Christian (17:40.0), sophomore Reece Christian (17:42.7), senior Tate VanLaecken (17:55.8), sophomore Cooper Thompson (18:17.8) and senior Jonah Klemisch (18:26.2) rounding out the State roster.

The Titans will head west following a successful regular-season finale at the Roger Loecker Invitational in Huron, where Tea Area swept the individual varsity titles and claimed the girls team championship despite cold and windy conditions.

Junior Grace Bialas led the varsity girls race from start to finish, earning her first individual varsity victory with a time of 20:10.7. Sophomore Taylor Boehnke added a third-place finish in 20:47.9, while sophomore Gretchen Curtis placed eighth in 21:25.4.

Junior Logan Castle finished 12th in 21:52.2, followed closely by sophomore Lola Underberg in 13th at 21:52.7. Junior Abby Hilleson recorded a season-best time of 21:59.3 to place 15th.

Sophomore Grace Chapman finished 26th in 23:03.8, while sophomore Natalie Hyronimus recorded a personal-best time of 23:53.7 to place 36th. Freshman Evelyn DeGeest finished 37th in 24:27.5, and sophomore Ella Kamps recorded a season-best time of 24:28.9 to place 38th.

The Titan girls won the team competition with 34 points.

The varsity boys followed with another strong performance, placing eight runners among the top 21 finishers.

Senior Reid Hammerquist completed the Titan individual sweep, capturing his first varsity race title with a time of 17:20.8. Sophomore Reece Christian placed sixth in 18:11.5, followed by sophomore Grant Curtis in eighth at 18:25.6 and senior Kaden Christian in 12th at 18:33.7.

Sophomore Cooper Thompson finished 18th in 19:02.8, followed by senior Jonah Klemisch in 19th at 19:04.7, senior Malachi Kaiser in 20th at 19:08.2 and senior Tate VanLaecken in 21st at 19:16.0.

Senior Noah Korver placed 42nd in 21:01.7, followed by senior Riley Clark in 43rd at 21:05.0. Senior Jaxon Johanneson rounded out the varsity boys finishers, placing 51st in 23:09.5.

The Titan boys finished second in the team standings.

The junior varsity and middle school teams also turned in strong performances in Huron, with several Titans recording personal- and season-best times.

In the JV girls race, eighth grader Carly Castle continued her strong season, earning runner-up honors with a time of 22:50.0.

Sophomore Lincoln Dykstra led the JV boys with a personal-best 5K time of 21:35.0 to place 23rd. Fellow sophomore Eliam Bullis followed immediately behind in 24th, also recording a personal best of 21:36.1.

Freshman Grant Woodis finished 26th in 21:43.5, while freshman Noah Sayler recorded a personal-best time of 22:17.5 to place 34th. Junior Kadin Zolnowsky added a season-best performance, finishing 36th in 22:18.2.

Sophomore Andrew Mitchell battled through mid-race adversity to finish 49th in 23:49.5, while sophomore Ben Will placed 51st in 24:53.5.

Freshman Jhett Waltner recorded a personal-best time of 26:24.6 to place 55th, followed by senior Victor Bruggeman in 56th at 26:39.3 and freshman Jace Ullom in 57th at 27:01.2.

The JV boys finished fourth in the team standings.

The middle school athletes closed out the afternoon, with the boys and girls races combined due to the cold conditions and declining daylight. With Tea Area’s seventh and eighth graders competing at the Metro Championships, the Titans were represented by their sixth-grade runners in Huron.

Kate Davis led the middle school girls with a fifth-place finish in 12:34.0, while Hattie Bak also earned a top-ten finish, placing 10th in 12:59.1.

Hayden Berg finished 25th in 13:44.3, followed by Stella Carlson in 26th at 13:54.0 and Adalyn Andersen in 28th at 13:59.8.

Kinslee Kerr placed 38th in 14:41.4, followed closely by Ellery DeGeest in 39th at 14:44.2. Penelope Porter finished 42nd in 14:55.7, while Eliana Kuiken placed 45th in 15:04.7.

Everly Dreckman finished 51st in 15:21.0, followed by Zo Zebroski in 53rd at 15:31.5.

Sophia Thomson placed 62nd in 16:06.6, followed by Bergen Imhoff in 63rd at 16:35.2, Elyse Whitley in 64th at 16:38.5 and Irie Smith in 65th at 16:40.9. Madison Ollerich rounded out the Titan girls finishers, placing 74th in 17:48.8.

The middle school girls finished fourth in the team competition.

On the boys side, Jordan Detloff led the Titans with his best race of the season, placing 16th in 12:07.8. Owen Hodnefield also turned in an improved 2900-meter time, finishing 23rd in 12:26.0.

David Marandici placed 41st in 13:38.8, followed closely by Bo Davis in 42nd at 13:39.6, Night Hermanson in 43rd at 13:42.1 and Bentley Hart in 44th at 13:47.9.

Tristan Meyer finished 49th in 14:11.1, while Abel Madera placed 51st in 15:01.8. Dax Browning finished 54th in 16:49.2, followed by Miguel Teng in 55th at 17:00.2 and Benjamin Hyronimus in 57th at 18:32.5.

The middle school boys also finished fourth in the team standings.