RAPID CITY — With a young group of runners heading to the Class AA State Cross Country Meet, which will be held today at Hart Ranch Camping Resort in Rapid City, Huron coach Angie Thomas will be focusing more on individual efforts rather than team accomplishments.
The Class AA girls’ race will kick things off at noon MT, while the Class AA boys’ race is slated for 1:30 p.m. MT.
“I expect all my runners to have personal bests and be competitive,” Thomas said. “I will have four runners that have never competed at the state level before, so I’m a little concerned about them.
“It’s pretty intimidating stepping up to that line and seeing over a hundred runners standing around you,” she said. “The boys will get to watch a few races before their own, but the AA girls run first, so I hope that I’ve done my job in preparting the girls for that experience.”
Junior Sami Shoultz has led the girls’ team this season for the Tigers.
“Sami Shoultz has a shot to earn all-state honors,” Thomas said. “She’ll need to run a personal best to do so.”
Shoultz will be joined at the season-ending event by seniors Jordan Adams and Alissa Gauer, along with sophomore Braylee Thomas, eighth-graders Alexis Feenstra and Isabella Shreeve and seventh-grader Victoriah Buffington.

“I think the girls have a good chance of placing higher as a team than last year,” Thomas said. “In order for that to happen though, Jordan Adams, Alexis Feenstra, Braylee Thomas and Bella Shreeve all need to run in the 21-22 minute range. They are very capable of doing it. They just need to believe it.”
While the Huron girls will be looking to move up in the team standings from a year ago, the Huron boys’ team won’t have the opportunity to do that, as only four will be participating in the state meet. A total of five runners is needed to fill out a team.
Pacing the Tigers in the Class AA boys’ race will be juniors Carlos Yanes and Frank Hines. They will be joined by eighth-graders Gonzalo Quispe-Laura and Will Radke.
“I would like to see Carlos Yanes and Frank Hines place in the top 50,” Thomas said. “This will be the first state cross country meet for Will Radke and Gonzalo Quispe-Laura, but I still expect them to turn in personal bests.”
With the state meet being held at Hart Ranch, the course layout and terrain isn’t exactly one that will pay dividends for Huron’s young group of runners.
“The course will be relatively flat, which doesn’t really suit us. I think our team runs better with some hills,” Thomas said. “Not having hills makes the course faster, so we’ll need to rise up to that challenge.
“It’s definitely more of a mental problem for us than a physical problem,” she said. “The athletes have put in the miles and the speed workouts, now they just have to believe in themselves and get out there and compete.”
Sioux Falls Lincoln is the defending Class AA girls’ champion, while Aberdeen Central was second a year ago.
Huron was 15th out of 16 teams at last year’s state meet.
Sioux Falls Lincoln is also the defending Class AA boys’ team champions, while Roosevelt was the runner-up from a year ago.

PHOTO BY ANGELINA DELLA ROCCO/PLAINSMAN
Huron’s Sami Shoultz nears the finish line during the Roger Loecker Invitational, which was held at Broadland Creek Golf Course.