Rangers finish season at state track meet

The Hill City Rangers competed at the Class A State Track and Field Meet at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls from May 26-28. Although everyone enjoyed the experience, the results were met with some mixed emotions.
Things did not go as expected, but “We were really impressed by the resilience of our athletes and our coaches to just adapt and make it work,” said head coach Joe Noyes. “Our kids came to perform.”
What I was encouraged by,” said Noyes, “is that of the 24 athletes that we took and competed at state, 20 of them will be back next year. And those 20 are either eighth graders, freshmen or sophomores.
Although a little disappointed, Noyes said the athletes are excited to come back next year, saying many have expressed that they cannot wait to get back to training and go back to the state meet.
“Those kids are going to have breakthroughs next year, and we’re going to get those kids to the state meet,” he said. “They’re going to place.”
In addition, the athletes responded well to the three- day event.
“Some of our athletes had their best event on the last day,” said Noyes. “It was a good learning year.”
The Ranger girls placed well in three relay events.
In the 400 relay, Riley Wiese, Cheyanne Burke, Jacie Devries and Alaina Dean teamed up. They placed sixth with a time of 51.58. Next, in the 800 relay, Wiese, Abby Siemonsma, Devries and Dean ran the best time of the season at 1:48.23 and placed fifth, which was higher than ranked going into the state meet.
“It was an awesome run and performance by the ladies,” Noyes said.
Finally, Wiese, Siemonsma and Dean joined Abby Cutler for the medley relay. They placed seventh with a time of 4:26.83.
Then, in discus Whitney Edwards finished 10th with a distance of 111-4.
Noyes said he was grateful for the effort the senior girls put in this year. According to him, Cassidy Moody worked hard at shot put, Edwards broke a school record and Siemonsma did a great job leading the younger girls.
“Really, really awesome seniors, they’re going to be greatly missed,” Noyes said.
The Ranger boys worked hard at the state meet as well. In the 400 meter run, William Walther placed sixth with a time of 51.49. According to Noyes, Walther was a great senior leader for the boys.
Next, in the 3200 meter run, Luke Rupert placed seventh with a time of 10:00.54. This was a personal record for him. In addition, Noyes said “Tate Grabow and Leighton Aves ran a personal best two mile. They all set like lifetime records for time in the race.”
Then, in the 3200 relay, Devin Buehler, Brandon Escalante, Brandon Ramirez and Aves teamed up. They finished ninth with a time of 8:33.34.
To the seniors moving on, Noyes said the program is grateful for their time and commitment to Hill City track and field.
“They’re going to be missed,” said Noyes. “Now we’re looking at who’s the next group that is going to step up and carry on their legacy.”
With that the Hill City Rangers’ track and field season has come to a close.
“Big thank you to the paper for covering us all year, to parents for supporting the coaches, team and our vision, to the athletes’ commitment and trust in the program,” Noyes said. “The fact that we had 48 kids out all year and 24 of them go to state, we’re just grateful for the opportunity to lead the Rangers and have a community and athletes that embrace our vision and make it happen.”