Raiders Shine at Black Hills Track Classic

Sturgis, South Dakota — Sturgis, South Dakota — The Stevens Raiders Track & Field team delivered another strong showing at the Black Hills Track Classic in Sturgis on May 9, taking advantage of ideal conditions to post numerous personal records, season bests, meet records, and school records.

The Raider girls were led by an impressive sprint and hurdle group. Maya Khachikian won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.86, with Sylvie Mortimer finishing second in a season-best 15.03. Mortimer also placed second in the 300 hurdles at 47.52. Ella Bradeen won the 200-meter dash in a season-best 25.12 while Ava Holzwarth followed closely in second at 25.25.

Holzwarth captured the long jump title with a mark of 18-06.50, while Bradeen placed second at 18-00. Clare Ashley won the javelin with a throw of 117-01, and Viona Sietsema earned a victory in the 3200-meter run with a personal-best 12:01.00. Kadance Holso added a runner-up finish in the 1600 meters at 5:18.23.

One of the biggest highlights came in the girls 4×200 relay as Maya Khachikian, Riley Willet, Ava Holzwarth, and Ella Bradeen raced to a meet record, school record, and the No. 6 all-time performance in South Dakota history with a winning time of 1:41.94.

The Stevens “B” 4×100 relay team of Sophia Guge, Berkley Larson, Kennadi Sterkel, and Bailey Holland stepped up for a second-place finish in 50.35. In the 400-meter dash, Iris Birnbaum placed second in a personal-best 58.79, while Evelyn Hurley and Liberty Lundin also recorded PRs. Birnbaum, Hurley, Liberty Lundin, and Taylor Steever later combined for a second-place finish in the 4×400 relay.

On the boys side, Raider hurdlers dominated. Jack Day won the 110 hurdles in 14.54, Blake Swanson was second in a PR 14.96, and Swanson later won the 300 hurdles in another PR of 41.01. Victor Hickman added a second-place finish in the 300 hurdles and third in the 110 hurdles, both in personal-best times.

Nolan Long won the 100-meter dash in 11.06 and added a runner-up finish in the 200. Stevens also placed second in both the boys 4×100 and 4×200 relays behind Eric Morrow, Landen Meyer, Gavan Novotny, and Nolan Long.

In the field events, Jace Gingras won the triple jump at 43-10.25 while Lucas Roberts finished second. Adam Odlund was runner-up in the long jump, Kaleb Kangootui placed second in the pole vault, and Kade Olmsted finished second in the javelin.

The Raider distance crew also impressed as Tate Van Beek ran a personal-best 4:24.30 for second in the 1600 meters, while Evan Perrigo finished third in another PR performance.

McKeague Field to host South Dakota High School Baseball Association Super Regional

Rapid City, South Dakota – McKeague field, home of ALL Rapid City High School teams, will host a Super Regional as the #5 ranked Stevens Raiders host #12 seeded Brookings.

The two teams will play a best 2 of 3 series at McKeague Field starting at 7:00 PM on Friday May 15th for a chance to qualify for the state tournament. The second game of the series will be Saturday at 11:00 AM  and if the teams split the first two games a third game will be played at 1:30 on Saturday (if necessary).

This will be the two teams first meeting of the season as the April doubleheader was canceled due to weather.

Stevens enters the tournament with a 15-4 record on the season as Brookings enters the tournament with a record of 10-11 on the season.

The Class A State Tournament will be held May 22-23 at Augustana University in Sioux Falls.

AJGA event looking for volunteers and teams for Junior Am

Rapid City, SD — In September, the American Junior Golf Association with be hosting an event for the first time in South Dakota at the Golf Club at Red Rock and the local organizing committee needs your help.

The AJGA event is slated for September 4-6 with a champion for the boys and girls being crowned on Sunday September 6th.

Prior to the event there will be a qualifier event where regional golfers can qualify for the event on September 2nd. All interested in playing in the qualifier must register with the AJGA and get their card to play in the event.

The organizing committee needs volunteers for the event, the duties would include shuttle drivers for players between long gaps between holes, spotters for bling shots on holes as well as timers to ensure pace of play is followed. To sign up to be part of this event please follow this website for more information volunteersignup.org/ECXT4?classic.

There will also be a Junior Am tournament where local businesses can buy a team to play with some of the best youth golfers from across the US. The proceeds from this Junior Am will help the AJGA and the local organizing committee make contributions to area golf teams to promote high school golf in the region. Please check out the flyer below for more information.

 For more information about the event please check out the tournament websiteajga.org/tournaments/2026138.