Titans earn medal finishes at Conference Meet; compete at Huron this Thursday

The Tea Area High School cross country team opened the championship portion of its season Saturday in Pierre at the ESD Conference Championship Meet, highlighted by a first-place finish from Genevieve Decker in JV action and a historic varsity medal performance from Reid Hammerquist for the varsity boys. Despite hot conditions, the Titans turned in several strong performances among 420 athletes representing the conference’s 10 schools.

The varsity girls race opened the day with nine Titans competing in a field that included 11 of the top 25 runners in Class AA this season. Junior Grace Bialas led the Titan effort, using a strong opening push and steady middle stride to earn 18th place in 20:20.1.

Sophomore Taylor Boehnke continued to impress, moving well throughout the middle mile to finish 24th in 20:52.8. Sophomore Gretchen Curtis and junior Logan Castle also competed well, earning 32nd place in 21:29.4 and 37th place in 21:45.5, respectively.

Sophomore Lola Underberg ran well in her first race back from injury, finishing 40th in 22:03.8. Junior Abby Hilleson used a strong start to establish a good pace and finish 50th in 23:02.8. Sophomore Grace Chapman pushed throughout the race to claim 58th place in 23:50.2, followed by sophomore Natalie Hyronimus, who recorded a personal-best 5K time of 25:57.5 to finish 72nd. Sophomore Ella Kamps rounded out the Titan runners in 73rd place in 26:14.6.

The varsity girls finished fifth in the team standings.

Senior Reid Hammerquist led the varsity boys with a 12th-place finish in 17:05.7, becoming the first Tea Area boys runner to earn a medal at the ESD Championships.

Sophomore Grant Curtis turned in a strong performance, moving up the field during the final 1,000 meters to finish just outside the medal positions in 16th place in 17:33.8. His finish was the second-best individual placement by a Titan boy at the ESD Championships.

Senior Kaden Christian also had a strong middle mile, passing competitors to claim 25th place in 18:00.3. Sophomore Reece Christan battled through illness to finish 32nd in 18:18.6, with senior Tate VanLaecken close behind in 33rd place in 18:20.3.

Senior Jonah Klemisch finished strong to earn 38th place in 18:31.8, followed by senior Malachi Kaiser in 43rd place in 18:38.8. Senior Jaxon Johanneson finished 75th in 20:54.4, while senior Noah Korver placed 80th in 21:44.1.

The varsity boys also finished fifth in the team standings.

The JV girls race saw all three Titan runners finish in the top seven, led by seventh grader Genevieve Decker, who captured the ESD title.

Decker used a strong move through the middle of the race and a powerful finishing kick to push into the lead with 100 meters remaining. She held on for the victory in 16:56.5, a time that ranks ninth in school history for the 4K.

Eighth graders Angelina Dusa and Carly Castle also impressed, using strong starts to move into the lead group before finishing among the top seven. Dusa placed sixth in a personal-best 17:32.5, while Castle finished seventh in 17:34.3.

The JV boys competed next, with eight Titans in the field. Freshman Grant Woodis moved well during the final mile to earn 24th place in 16:02.0. Sophomores Lincoln Dykstra, Eliam Bullis and Andrew Mitchell followed closely, finishing 27th in 16:11.0, 28th in 16:13.2 and 30th in 16:14.8, respectively.

Freshman Noah Saylor claimed 40th place in 16:54.5, while eighth grader Micah Hyronimus recorded a personal-best time of 16:59.7 to finish 42nd. Junior Kadin Zolnowsky grabbed 56th place in 19:29.6, and senior Victor Bruggeman finished 58th in 21:11.1.

The JV boys finished fifth in the team standings.

The middle school girls race featured 10 Titans. Sixth grader Kate Davis led the group with a fourth-place finish in 12:44.5, using a strong midrace surge to move up among the leaders.

Sixth grader Hayden Berg finished 36th in 14:28.1, followed by a group of Titans who finished close together. Seventh grader Madeline Olinger placed 42nd in 14:38.4, eighth grader Emilia Marandici finished 43rd in 14:39.7, seventh grader Samantha Klemisch claimed 45th place in 14:42.5, and seventh grader Vayda VanBeek finished 48th in 14:47.1.

Sixth grader Kinslee Kerr used a strong finish to take 54th place in 15:00.2. Sixth grader Adalyn Anderson finished 63rd in 15:17.1, followed by sixth grader Ellery DeGeest in 67th place in 15:30.0 and sixth grader Penelope Porter in 69th place in 15:49.1.

The middle school girls finished sixth in the team standings.

The final race of the day was the middle school boys, with seventh grader Caleb Jelen leading the Titans. Jelen used a strong start to move into the lead pack and earned 11th place in 11:23.4.

Eighth grader Rhett Wulff finished 58th in 13:14.4, followed closely by sixth grader Owen Hodnefield in 60th place in 13:24.0. Sixth grader Bo Davis claimed 65th place in 13:43.2, while sixth grader Night Hermanson finished 76th in 14:41.7, followed immediately by sixth grader David Marandici in 77th place in 14:44.2.

Seventh grader Zane Curry grabbed 82nd place in 15:51.1, followed by sixth grader Bently Hart in 83rd place in 16:58.8 and sixth grader Dax Browning in 85th place in 17:35.2.

The middle school boys finished seventh in the team standings.

The Titans will compete in the Roger Loecker Meet in Huron on Thursday, Oct. 15 at Broadland Creek Golf Course. The varsity girls are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity boys, JV girls, JV boys, middle school girls and middle school boys.

The State Meet will be held Oct. 24 at Hart Ranch Camping Resort in Rapid City.