Former Milbank, Webster stars lead list of top area boys track and field athletes since 1984
Editor's Note: Sports writer Roger Merriam is compiling a "20 Favorites" series highlighting some of his favorite athletes in a variety of high school sports since he started working at the Watertown Public Opinion in December of 1984. The series is about northeastern South Dakota athletes, but some played at colleges all over the state and others have moved to other areas.
Let's continue a run of "20 Favorites" stories on high school track with a look at some of the top area Class A and B athletes since 1984.
Compiling this list was a little tricky in part because the separation between some who made the list and some who certainly could have isn't much.
Enough said. Let's get going.
20. Others
There could probably be about 10 paragraphs worth of athletes who could have been considered and for whatever reasons, names that I'm including (all with a few in photos on the online photo gallery) include pole vaulter Drew Reetz and jumper Jhett Prins of Webster Area; hurdler Reece Renelt of Wilmot; high jumper Carson Kirwan of Castlewood; hurdlers J.D. Dorman and Cade Poppen of Hamlin; Deubrook Area runnrs Treven Grimsrud and Gavin Landmark; throwers Jon Nefzger of Estelline and Cristhian Rodriguez; distance runners Rawson Yost of Clark-Willow Lake and Ricky Berndt of Deuel; and sprinters Erik Werner of Milbank, Mark Moeller of Rosholt-Fairmount and Zac VanMeeteren of Hamlin. I could keep going and going.
A special mention goes to Reid Johnson, who competed for Estelline High School in the early 2000s. In my research, I never found that he placed in any event in a state high school track meet. But ... he later qualified a combined 16 teams in the long and triple jumps for the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Championships at the University of Sioux Falls, earning NAIA Outdoor All-American honors in 2007. He also qualified for 2008 U.S. Indoor National Championships and later coached the USF jumpers for a handful of years.
19. Jesse Keller, Webster
Keller will also have a special part in Webster track and field history, even though he and his family moved to Fergus Falls (Minn.) after his sophomore school year in 1996-97.
The move came shortly after Keller played a big role in leading the Bearcats to the state Class A boys' championship. He finished second in the 200 dash and closed the meet by anchoring Webster to victory in the 1,600 relay. The win lifted the Bearcats' to a one-point victory in the team standings. He also placed fourth in the 100.
18. Robb Schmidt and Jason Hein, De Smet
De Smet has produced a ton of great atheletes through the years and most of us probably remember most of them on the basketball court, and some on the football field. These guys did compete quite well in a number of sports fo the Bulldogs.
Schmidt won the Class B high jump in both 1986 and 1987 and also won the long jump in 1987. Hein won the Class B 800 in 1989. Schmidt was a starter on De Smet's state championship basketball team in 1987. Hein played on De Smet's 1988 Class 9A football champions and coached the 2003 Class 9A football championship team.
17. Jason Tuttle, Arlington
Ok, call this a little favoritism. But this is my article, my research and my choice and I'm picking Tuttle. His sister Jennifer made the area girls "20 Favorites' list with three state B pole vault championships. Jennifer matched her older brother, who won state pole vault titles (I believe all were also Class B) from 1995-97.
I also played some amateur baseball against Jason, who played for the Lake Norden Lakers.
16. Great Plains Lutheran Group
Bear with me, this group is all over the place. It starts with jumpers Jacob Steinmetz (2007-08), Zach Feil (2009-12) and Mitchell Giovannettone (2013-14).
Steinmetz won the Class B triple jump in 2007 and was second in 2008 when he won the long jump. Feil placed in 10 jumping events (high, long or triple) in both Class B and Class A with a runner-up finish in the high jump and a trio of third-place finishes. Giovannettone placed in all three jumps in Class B in 2013 and had runner-up finishes in 2004 in both the high and long jumps.
The other athlete for the Panthers is Scott Geary, who placed five times (shot put and dicus) in the 2007--09 state track meets before continuing his track and field career with the U.S. Army, where he still holds some of the top throws in program history.
Three current GPL coaches also were track standouts in the area. Head track coach Derrick Ovall was a standout sprinter at Deubrook High School along with his brother Darren. Darren Ovall won the Class B 100-meter dash in 1993. They both ran on the Dolphins' winning 400 relay team in 1994. A third Ovall, David, ran on Deubrook's winning 400 and 800 relay teams in 2000. I believe all three Ovalls are brothers, or at the least, related.
Current GPL assistant football coach Darin Mack was a talented distance runner for Castlewood in the late 1990s and placed in the Class B 1,600 run in the 2000 state meet.
15. Trevor Sikkink, Castlewood
Ryan, Dallas and Trevor Sikkink are all brothers, that much I do know, and they were each basketball standouts for the Warriors. It's say to safe that Trevor, the youngest, made the most noise in track and field.
He won the Class B 100 and 200 dashes and also placed third in the 400 dash in 2010 and returned the following year to take second in the 200 and third in both the 100 and 400.
14. Brian Tvedt, Deuel
Tvedt was a pretty solid distance runner in the mid-1990s for Deuel, but I'm not sure he placed in either the 1,600 or 3,200 runs in the state Class A meet (only six runners placed at that time).
No worries. He didn't stop running, becoming a three-time NAIA national qualifier and in track at Dakota State University. He also earned All-South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference honors three times in both track and cross country. In 2018, he was inducted into the DSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Let's also mention he's back in Clear Lake, where he has served as the head coach of Deuel's track and cross country program for the past quarter of a century.
13. Clark-Willow Lake's Noah Huber and Tyson Jenkins & Waubay's Coy Nelson
It's time for some big boys. Jenkins won the Class A shot put and finished fifth in the discus in 2015 and Huber followed by winning the discus and taking second in the shot put in 2016, earning Class A field events MVP honors. They both threw in college. Jenkins started at Dakota Wesleyan and ended at South Dakota State. Huber went to Mount Marty before transferring to SDSU.
Let me apoligize to Coy for mentioning that most of you know him as the younger brother of Chad Nelson, a 1974 Yankton High School basketball standout who was drafted twice by National Baskeball Association (NBA) teams. Coy, by the way, was a pretty talented basketball player in his own right for the Dragons in the late 1980s. He won the state Class B discus in both 1988 and 1989.
12. Lynn Olesen, Arlington and Arlington sprinters
It might be easy to forget that having a little bit of speed doesn't hurt pole vaulters and that was certainly the case for Olesen, a pole vaulter/sprinter for Arlington in the early 1990s. I know he won the Class B pole vault at the 1992 state meet and later continued his pole vault career at South Dakota State University.
Some other Arlington sprinters that also deserve mention include Christian DeCurtins (2008-10) and Luke Weber (20015-16). They had some state success along with Bumper Pickner (2006). He came from Grant-Deuel.
11. Dan Olson, Clark-Willow Lake
There's a good chance you're going to remember George Mollner of De Smet perhaps more than you do Olson, but they were two of the big standouts in the 1999 state Class A track meet.
They'll be more on Mollner later, but Olson capped his career in 1999 by winning the Class A 100, 200 and 400 dashes and also anchoring the winning 1,600 relay. He also placed in all three sprints at state as a junior in 1998 and in the 100 and 200 in 1997, where I believe also ran on the 400 and 800 relay teams that placed.
10. Nolan Wolkow (De Smet), Greg Ching (Castlewood) & Randy Justice (Sioux Valley)
We're going back to some throwers here. Wolkow won the Class B discus state titles in 1995 and 1996.
Ching, who played football at Nebraska, didn't make the "20 Favorites" area football story because his football career ended in the fall of 1984 before I arrived. I'm adding him to the track story since he became the first thrower to win the state Class B discus three years in a row and also finished second in the shot put in 1985.
That same year (1985), Justice repeated as the Class A discus champion for the Cossacks.
9. David Leiseth, Hamlin
Another thrower, Leiseth first placed in the state Class A meet as a sophomore in 1985, moved up to third in the shot put in 1986 and won the shot put in 1987 with a state A record toss of 58-9. The throw won the Gold Medal as the best in all three classes. The shot put was moved underneath the stands at Howard Wood Field due to poor weather.
More: A Crop of Track Stars: Hamlin’s Gracelyn Leiseth continues family’s legacy in shot put and discus
Leiseth later played football at SDSU and raised a group of children who followed his success in the track and field throws. His oldest son Mason placed three times in the Class A shot put and discus. His oldest daughter Faith also placed at state and later continue to throw at SDSU. Younger daughter Gracelyn is the state's all-time record holder in the girls' shot put and discus and recently completed her freshman season at the University of Florida.
8. Eric Klinker, Estelline
At the Estelline Alumni Invitational this spring, Klinker served as the honory referee.
The former Redmen standout tops the list of area hurdlers I've seen. He won the Class B 110 and 300 hurdles in both the 1996 and 1997 state meets.
7. Brent Wherry, Jeremy VanVeen, Nick Batchelor & Payton Brown, Milbank
Despite their age differences, put these four guys together and go run a distance medley relay and see what you get. Even though Wherry finished his high school career in the late 1980s, the time this group would still be decent.
Wherry placed in Class A 3,200 runs in both 1998 and 1989 and anchored the Bulldogs' winning 3,200 relay in 1989. VanVeen placed in both the Class A 1,600 and 3,200 runs in both 1997 and 1998, including second in the 1,600 (1998).
Batchelor, who is now running at Augustana University, capped his stellar high school career in 2022 by placing second in the Class A 800 and 3,200, third in the 1,600 and running on the winning 1,600 relay. He took third in the 800 and 1,600, fourth in the 3,200 and ran on the winning medley relay in 2021. He also placed in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs in 2019 but missed out on more medals when the 2020 spring season was wiped out by COVID-19.
Brown wrapped up his high school career last month by finishing third in the Class A 1,600 and fifth in the 800 along with running on the third-plae medley relay. He placed in the 3,200 run and also on the medley relay in 2023.
Special mention should also goe to Jalen Snaza, who placed in both the 1,600 and 3,200 runs in 2011 and 2012.
6. Chad, Wade and Garrett Novy, Grant-Deuel
The 1990s for Grant-Deuel High School's track and field teams feature this trio of brothers who were some of the best throwers in the area and the state.
Chad placed fourth in the Class B shot put in 1993 (50 feet, 4.5 inches); Wade took fourth in the shot put in both 1994 and 1995 and second as a senior in 1996 (51-9) and Garrett won the Class B shot put in both 1998 and 1999 (59-10.75) and finished second in the discus both years.
Do you think some knowledge got passed down from one brother to another?
5. Brad Kruse and George Mollner, De Smet
Kruse earned Class A outstanding athlete honors at the 1990 state meet after winning the 200 and 400 dashes and running on the winning 1,600 relay.
As a junior in 1989, he placed second in the 400 and fifth in the 200. He was named the state's outstanding high school boys athlete in 1990.
Nine years later (1999), Mollner become another Bulldog to be named the state's outstanding high school boys athlete. He could run.
Mollner won the Class A 800 run three years in a row from 1997-99. He also took third in the 1,600 and fifth in the 400 in 1997; also ran on the winning medley, 1,600 and 3,200 relays as part of a four-firsts performance in 1998; and added wins in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs and a runner-up finish in the 400 behind Olson in 1999. He later ran at South Dakota State.
4. Harley Hanson, New Effington-Rosholt and Kaleb Foltz, Tri-State
Really, both runners are from Rosholt but the school situation has changed much since Hanson competed in mid-80s and Foltz just completed his senior season.
Hanson won state Class B cross country titles in 1985, 1986 and 1987. He won the 1,600 and 3,200 runs in Class B at the 1986 and 1988 state meet and for some reason I forgot to write down what he did in 1987. Still holds the Class B state meet records in both the 1,600 (4:18.44) and 3,200 (9:12.53). He continued to run at South Dakota State University.
Foltz had plenty of success in both cross country and track like his idol (Hanson). He placed in both the Class B 800 and 1,600 runs as a freshman in 2021 and then won the 800 and 1,600 runs as well as anchoring the winning medley relay in 2022. He moved up to Class A in 2023 and took fourth in the 800, fifth in the 400 and sixth in the 1,600 along with fourth in the medley. In Class A this spring, he won the 800 and also placed in the 400 (third), 1,600 (sixth) and medley relay (seventh).
3. Bennett Schwenn, Milbank
We're down the final three, so if you don't like the order, just know they're all very deserving. Schwenn easily could top the list since I believe he qualified to compete in five individual events along with running four of Milbank's five relays.
More: Milbank standout Bennett Schwenn set to put finishing touches on stellar prep career
He won the Class A triple at th state meet and placed fifth in the long jump in 2019. After his sophomore season was wiped out because of COVID-19 in 2020, he won the long and triple jumps at state in 2021 and closed out his prep career by winning the triple jump, taking second in the long jump and running on the winning 1,600 relay in 2022.
Schwenn is now competing for the University of South Dakota.
2. Sam Pribyl, Webster
The 2001 Webster High School graduate won state Class A pole vault championships in 1999, 2000 and 2001 before continue to shine in the event at the University of South Dakota.
At USD, he became a five-time All-American in the vent and won the 2006 national championship with a state-record vault of 17 feet, 8.5 inches. He was inducted into the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
After serving as an assistant coach with the Coyotes, he moved to Arkansas in 2009 and continued to pursue his Olympic dreams in the event until 2016. His personal best vault was 18 feet, 1 inch.
1. Ryan Conrad, Milbank
Most of my first decade or more at the Public Opinion was spent covering Watertown High School girls basketball and area sports, many of which involved Milbank teams doing very well. My boss, J.T. Fey, covered many of the state track meets from 1985 through the late 1990s when I took over as sports editor.
One of the meets I most remember covering was 2005 when Conrad led Milbank to its first and only state Class A boys track championship. He won repeated as the 100 and 400 dash champion and nearly repeated in the 200 with a runner-up finish. He also ran on the third-place 400 relay.
As a junior, he not only swept the three sprints but I believe he also ran on the eighth-place 400 relay. He's still a teacher and coach in Milbank. I'm sure his buddies in Milbank don't think he needs his ego stroked with this honor, but blame me.
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: 20 Favorites series continues with a look at area Class A-B boys track
