Class AA, A and B boys and girls set to compete Saturday at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls

SIOUX FALLS — The 77th Boys and 48th Girls State Cross Country Meet will be held on Saturday at the Yankton Trail Park course.

The race schedule includes Class AA boys, noon; Class B boys, 12:30 p.m.; Class A boys, 1 p.m.; Class AA girls, 1:30 p.m.; Class B girls, 2 p.m.; and Class A girls, 2:30 p.m. Awards will follow the final race.

The top 25 individuals and six teams in each division receive awards.

Emery Larson of Chester Area (Class B girls) and Isabelle Bloker of Sioux Valley (Class A girls) are the only returning individual champions.

Defending team champions include Potter County, Class B girls; Sioux Falls Christian, Class A girls; Rapid City Stevens, Class AA girls; Philip, Class B boys; Belle Fourche, Class A boys; and Rapid City Stevens, Class AA boys.

Here are 30 Watertown and Aberdeen area runners to watch this week:

Class AA Girls

Kate McElroy, Watertown — The freshman is a two-time Class AA state medalist. She placed 15th as a seventh-grader in 2021 and returned last fall to medal with a 25th-place finish.

Grace McElroy, Watertown — The seventh-grader is in her first year as a varsity runner for the Arrows, but Kate's younger sister has been the team's best runner this fall. She placed fifth recently in the Eastern South Dakota Conference meet.

Olivia Anderson, Watertown — The eighth-grader did compete in the state meet last fall, placing 56th. She also earned All-ESD honors this fall with a 15th-place finish.

Juna Ramey, Aberdeen Central — The sophomore led the Golden Eagles in last year's state meet (placing 35th) and has been the top's team runner this fall. She placed 10th recently in the ESD meet.

Class AA Boys

Ty Sullivan, Watertown — The sophomore medaled in last year's state meet (21st) and he's enjoyed a strong fall, leading the Arrows with a seventh-place finish in the ESD meet.

Dane Stark, Watertown — The freshman placed 66th in last year's state meet but has improved quite a bit this fall. He also earned All-ESD honors by placing 12th in the conference meet.

Joseph Perkins, Aberdeen Central — The Golden Eagles had a strong showing on the way to a runner-up finish in the ESD meet and Perkins, a sophomore, led the way with a fourth-place finish.

Tino Lopez, Aberdeen Central — Now, eighth-grader Tate DeVries (14th) and senior David VanVeen (15th) also earned All-ESD honors in the conference meet and probably deserve to be on this list. Lopez, however, was only 35th in the conference meet but is a two-time state place winner (13th in 2022 and 20th in 2021).

Class A Boys

Payton Brown, Milbank — The senior and Region 1A champion is a two-time state medalist with a really good shot at doing it again. He placed sixth in 2022 and 11th in 2021.

Kaleb Foltz, Tri-State — Another senior and two-time state medalist, Foltz has placed 21st and 24th in the past two state meets.

James Batchelor, Milbank — The senior placed 25th in a state meet as a sophomore before slipping to 33rd as a junior. He's had a strong fall and should at least compete for a medal on Saturday.

More: Batchelors On the Run: Three Milbank Area siblings following their mother’s success in cross country

Class A Girls

Isabelle Bloker, Sioux Valley — The junior Region 2A champion, as mentioned above, is the defending state champion in Class A. She won the 5,000-meter race last fall in a time of 18 minutes and 32.67 seconds. The victory came after a third-place finish in 2021.

Heidi Olson, Mobridge-Pollock — The senior is a four-time state medalist. She placed fourth in 2020, fifth in 2022, ninth in 2021 and 19th in 2019.

Kamryn Nesheim, Clark-Willow Lake — The daughter of longtime Clark-Willow Lake boys basketball coach Jerome Nesheim, she placed 15th as a seventh-grader in the state meet last fall.

Ashlynn Batchelor, Milbank — The sophomore is back healthy this fall and proved it by winning the Region 1A meet. She placed fifth in the state meet in 2020 and 17th in 2021 before slipping to 36th last fall.

Madison Zirbel, Waubay-Summit — Zirbel comes from a long line of family runners who have had great success in South Dakota cross country. Now a senior, she has a chance for an extremely rare feat (six-time state medalist). She's placed 13th (2021) and 19th (2022) in the last two state Class A meets after taking second in 2020, sixth in 2019 and 19th in 2018 in Class B.

Jaycee Hourigan, Deuel — It could be a good week for the Hourigan family. Jaycee's dad Dusty is the head coach of Deuel's unbeaten football team was favored to win its Class 11B playoff opener on Thursday. Jaycee, a junior, then will compete in the state cross country meet. She placed 22nd in last year's state meet and could move up.

2022 Class A-B Regions: Top three teams and 25 individuals secure spots in state meet on Saturday, Oct. 21

Class B Boys

Nicholas Schlachter, Potter County — The senior and Region 4B champion is looking to medal for a fourth time in a state meet. He finished third in 2022, sixth in 2021 and 21st in 2020.

Lincoln Woodring, Northwestern — The Wildcats have finished second in each of the past two state meets with the help of Woodring, a senior who placed fourth in 2022 and 15th in 2021.

Nathan Melius, Northwestern — Here's another Northwestern senior who is a returning state medalist. The Region 1B champion placed 10th in the state meet last fall.

Milo Sumption, Frederick Area — Another Region 1B runner with previous state success is Sumption, a sophomore who took 18th in 2022 and 19th in 2021.

Zavier Kadlec, Ipswich — A senior, Kadlec placed 21st in the state meet last October.

Class B Girls

Ella Boekekheide, Northwestern — The sophomore and Region 1B champion is already a three-time state medalist. She won the meet in 2021, took second in 2022 and sixth in 2021.

Kaelyn Ulschmid, Arlington — Another sophomore and three-time state medalist. Ulscmid broke on to the scene with an 11th-place finish in 2020 and has followed up with consecutive third-place efforts in 2021 and 2022.

Dannika Kaup, Potter County — The sophomore tuned up for state by winning the Region 4B meet. She's placed fifth in 2022 and seventh in 2021.

Morgan Sumption, Frederick Area — The senior is looking for a bounce-back performance. After placing ninth in 2020 and eighth in 2021, she fell to 110th in 2022 which I'm sure was due to injury or illness.

Madisyn Gellhaus, Ipswich — Another talented sophomore, Gellhaus has recorded top-10 finishes at state the past two years (sixth in 2021 and seventh in 2022).

Jadyn Ahlemeier, Potter County — Don't be surprised if Potter County repeats. Ahlemeier is a sophomore who has placed 12th (2022) and 15th (2021) in the past two state meets.

Emma Schlachter, Potter County — They just keep coming for the Battlers. She's been consistent the past two years at state, placing 17th each year.

Gracyn Kadlec, Ipswich — Another talented sophomore, Kadlec has already medaled three times at state: 24th in 2020, 19th in 2021 and 20th in 2022.

Bonus Pick: Freshman Kennadee Wiedebush of Warner is coming off a 22nd-place finish in last year's state meet. She took second in Region 1B behind Boekelheide.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown and Aberdeen area runners to watch in state cross country