Group of signees includes Great Plains Lutheran High School distance runner Halle Bauer

Great Plains Lutheran High School senior distance standout Halle Bauer was one of six area high school standouts who signed with colleges as part of Wednesday's early National Signing Day.

Information was received from emails and a search of college web sites throughout the upper Midwest. Information on any other area signees will be released after it is received.

Here's more on each of the area signees:

Halle Bauer, Great Plains Lutheran

School/Sport(s) — South Dakota State, women's cross country and track and field.

High School Highlights — A four-time medalist in state cross country meets, Bauer placed ninth as an eighth-grader in 2019 and fifth as a freshman in 2020 in Class B and eighth as a sophomore in 2021 and 16th as a junior in 2022 in Class A. She sat out her senior cross country season this fall with an injury.

Bauer, who also plays basketball at GPL, has also ran in four state high school track meets and placed in four events last spring in the 2023 state Class A meet (fifth in 3,200-meter run, sixth in 1,600, eighth in 800 and sixth in medley relay). She also placed fifth in the 1,600 and eighth in the 3,200 as a freshman in 2021.

She is the daughter of GPL athletic/activities director, strength and conditioning coach and head girls basketball coach Matt Bauer, and his wife Sarah.

Alec Squires, Sioux Valley

School/Sport(s) — South Dakota State University, men's basketball.

High School Highlights — The 6-foot-10 senior from Volga earned Class A All-State second team honors last winter by averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds per game for a Sioux Valley team that won the consolation title in the state A tournament. He also started on the Cossacks' state runner-up team as sophomore in 2022 and has averaged double figures in points (650 career) and rebounds (560) in his career.

Squires holds program records for field-goal shooting (both career and season) and dunks. His parents David and Tara are also SDSU graduates.

College Coach's Comments —"Alec has great pride and passion for the Jackrabbits," SDSU coach Eric Henderson said. "Any time we believe there's a guy that's talented enough to play here that has great character and cares about a place as much as Alec does SDSU, it's a great fit. He's a tremendous worker, he's physical and athletic.

"What I like most about Alec is from the first time I saw him play to the last time, he's improved so much. That really highlights his work ethic. He's becoming a more versatile of a player and we're excited to get him on campus."

Caylin Kelly, Florence-Henry

School/Sport(s) — Minnesota State Moorhead, women's basketball.

High School Highlights — The Florence-Henry 5-foot-11 senior standout is a two-time Class A All-State second team and four-time All-Eastern Coteau Conference girls basketball performer. She earned All-ECC MVP honors for the second time last fall after averaging 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game for the Falcons. Kelly also scored her 1,000th career point last fall.

Kelly, the daughter of Angie and Tom Kelly of Clark, also competed in track and field and volleyball for the Falcons, recording more than 1,000 kills and 1,500 digs in her volleyball career. She earned All-ECC first team honors four times, including being named the league's MVP this fall.

Cristhian Rodriguez, Hamlin

School/Sport(s) — Dakota State University, baseball.

High School Highlights — The 5-foot-11, 230-pound right-handed pitcher lives and Bryant and attends Hamlin High School, where he played baseball, football and track and field.

He is also a member of the Lake Norden-Badger AmericanLegion Baseball Team.

College Coach's Comments — "I am excited to add Cristhian to our 2024 recruiting class. Our coaching staff values players that aim to represent our program proudly and it became clear in our conversations that Cristhian had an authentic and genuine desire to become a Trojan," said DSU assistant coach Dan Rutan.

"Cristhian is a resilient and independent young man with qualities that will help him during his time as a student-athlete at Dakota State. I look forward to working with Cristhian and seeing him reach the potential he has a pitcher in our program."

Ava Nilsson, Warner

School/Sport(s) — Northern State University, women's volleyball.

High School Highlights — The 6-foot senior setter is a five-year starter and team captain for the two-time defending state Class B champion Monarchs, who are No. 1-ranked and 37-0 heading into next week's state tournament. The four-time Class B All-State first team and four-time All-Lake Region Conference performer has accumulated 4,682 digs, 1,244 digs, 404 kills, 269 aces and 181 blocks in her career at the midway point of this season.

In the fall of 2023, Nilsson was named to the AVCA All-Region team and AVCA All-America third team. She is the daughter of Sonya and Carey Nilsson.

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College Coach's Comments — “Ava has been on our radar since she was in fifth grade, because she has the ability to make players better around her," said NSU head coach Brent Aldrindge. "She is a very talented, calm setter who has the ability to set tempo all ready.

"Technically she is pretty sound at this point. I think her best attribute is she is very competitive and…SHE WINS!! Ava will work to get teams out of system with her serve and then makes plays offensively by putting her hitters in the right position to terminate. She will make our team better immediately when she steps on campus.”

Kailyn Poppen, Aberdeen Central

School/Sport(s) — Northern State University, women's soccer.

High School Highlights — Poppen is a 5-foot-4 midfielder out of Aberdeen Central High School and the South Dakota United. She was a two-year starter and team captain for the Golden Eagles under the direction of head coach Merle Aske and finished her senior season this fall with six goals and six assists.

She is a two-time All-Eastern South Dakota Conference and Class AA All-State (second team in 2022 and first team in 2023) honoree. The South Dakota United are three-time regional and two-time national champions for U.S. Soccer. Poppen is the daughter of Kristy and Jeff Poppen.

College Coach's Comments —“Kailyn has a very high work rate and a high level of personal accountability which is going to be a great asset for her in college soccer,": said NSU head coach Bob Casper. "She is a physical player who can utilize both her skill and work rate to win the ball back and create attacking moments.

"Kailyn possesses the ability to strike the ball well for finishing chances and is also a smart passer off the dribble. She has played in a variety of positions in midfield and forward, so she really fits our model of having players who can move around to help break down opponents.”

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: A look at the area athletes who signed national letters of intent