Rangers seize nine-year record

For the last nine years, the Hill City High School Rangers have had either a boys team or a girls team place at the South Dakota High School AA Class A State Cross Country Meet.
This year the Ranger boys placed fifth with 93 points at the state meet Oct. 26 at Hart Ranch Camping Resort in Rapid City, but it took the unwavering commitment of every athlete on the team to achieve this honor, head coach Joe Noyes said.
Out of 128 athletes, junior Tate Grabow claimed the state individual title, besting his opponents by 16 seconds with his winning time of 16:17.50.
“He took the lead from the gun and challenged some guys to go with him, and they did,” Noye said. “He just made the pace too tough, too unbearable that nobody was able to stick with him. It was pretty cool coming down the homestretch. It was just him and nobody in sight.”
“I don’t know the last time that a school in South Dakota, especially Class A, has had back-to-back state champions with two different kids,” Noyes added. “There’s been plenty of kids that have won it back-to-back themselves, but to have two different kids win it and a junior nonetheless—that was pretty cool to watch.”
Additionally, Noyes did not think another Ranger boy had ever won the conference, region and state meet back-to-back except Hill City High School graduate Luke Rupert in 2023.
Next for the Ranger boys, senior Brandon Escalante, who recently rejoined the team after battling injury, placed 16th at 17:32.89 as a Class A All-State Runner.
“He probably felt he left a little something, but he didn’t. In spite of everything that happened, he had a good race. He was a great senior this year. You never heard him complain, never heard him talk about, ‘Poor me, oh me, I got hurt.’ It wasn’t this I’m going to feel sorry for myself. He just kept doing what he could, was encouraging to his teammates and it paid off,” said Noyes.
The Rangers were also counting on junior James Dubois who was their third or fourth runner for scoring points the entire season. However, mid-race Dubois tripped coming down a hill and hit his head. There were no signs of a concussion, but due to an injured knee, Dubois could not finish the race.
“We pulled him aside and were like, ‘Hey, James, this is your first state meet. This is an accomplishment being here. You were at all the practices. You did all the summer training. You were still just as much a part of this,’” said Noyes.
Meanwhile, junior Aiden Williams stepped up and had a “huge day” for the Rangers, placing 38th at 18:17.89.
“I think he was near and saw his buddy go down. And you could stop, but he just realized, ‘No, I have to step up. He might not be back in the race.’ And man, he had a great day. Aiden Williams really ran well for us,” said Noyes.
On top of this, sophomore Barrett Bush was sick the day before the race and still came out to run for the Rangers. He placed 65th at 19:13.60.
Finally, eighth-grader John Titus (JT) Isakson wrapped things up for the Rangers in 73rd at 19:28.18.
“Barrett and JT had great races. They ran well,” said Noyes. “We get five of these guys back, and I’m excited to see again what they can do with another year of training.”
On the girls side, out of 121 athletes sophomore Rarity Cournoyer placed 15th with a time of 19:50.36, making her a Class A All-State Runner.
Sophomore Aspen Veneklasen sprained her ankle at the beginning of the race, but she still finished in 37th at 20:59.51. Seven seconds behind her, junior Brooke Thayer-Burke finished in 40th at 21:06.48.
With back-to-back finishes, eighth-grader Hadley Walker placed 52nd at 21:28.35 and junior Jaelyn Peters placed 53rd at 21:30.99.
Finally, freshman Phoebe Bentley-Buschur wrapped things up for the Ranger girls in 105th with a time of 23:49.58.
All told, the Ranger girls placed seventh with 116 points which was six points behind the teams from Dakota Valley and Clark-Willow Lake that tied in fifth and sixth place with 110 points.
“I think for a lot of our girls it wasn’t quite the outcome they wanted. However, me being the coach, when you step back and look at it, I was really pleased. We went into the meet ranked seventh at like 166 points. We got seventh as a team, but we ran 50 points lower,” said Noyes.
“The girls ran better. We had a good day. It’s just so did some other teams. That’s just what stinks about cross country is you don’t get to impose your will on somebody else,” said Noyes. “It wasn’t a lack of our girls not trying or not putting forth their best effort. They did, and they rose to the occasion. They just came up a little short, and that’s what happens. But all in all, I was pumped with how the girls ran. Again, I’m really encouraged for next year. We get to bring every girl back.”
When reflecting on the season, Noyes said he could not say enough about how the athletes overcame adversity and did not let it define them. The outcome may not have been what they wanted, but they get a chance to come back next year and do it again.
“How you rebound from those tough situations is what defines you as a runner and an athlete,” said Noyes. “I always tell people how tough our kids are, and this just speaks exactly to that.”
Since the state meet was only 30 minutes from Hill City this year, Noyes said the course was covered in green and gold as athletes and parents cheered on the Rangers.
“These things don’t continue to happen if it’s not the community, the school, the parents and the kids that continue to buy in and support and embrace this,” said Noyes. “I’m just grateful to be here in this school and in this town. It’s just a lot of fun to get to coach it and be a part of it.”
This year, the Rangers are saying goodbye and thank you to two seniors, Brandon Escalante and Paiton Flick.
“The year wouldn’t have gone the way it did if it wasn’t for their senior leadership,” said Noyes. “It sounds like they’re both desiring or planning on running in college so they have a lot of running ahead of them, and we’re excited to see where they take that.”