Brian's Preview of State Track Meet

Probably the funnest (most fun?) event of the high school sports season takes place this weekend in the Sioux Falls area with the State Track & Field Meet. I think what makes it so great is that it brings together probably 90% of the best athletes in the state in one location. Think about it - if you are a good enough athlete to excel in football, basketball, wrestling, or volleyball, among others, you're probably involved in track as well. Yes, in some cases, it might just be to stay active as you keep your mind on your other favorite sports, but there are so many big names from around the state in other sports during the school year, and they're just about all coming to Sioux Falls this weekend for one last hurrah to close out the school year. That's another great thing about this event - the fact that it is the "last hurrah" for the school year. That fact in itself makes this one of the biggest social events of the year. Athletes who compete against each other all season long get to know each other, and in many cases, become good friends, and the State Track Meet allows them all to see each other one last time before they meet in the playing arena in the next school year again. Or, of course, for seniors who have now likely already graduated, well, who knows what lies ahead? You may not see some of these other people for a very long time to come, and along with that, what better way to close out your high school career than with a great performance at the "last hurrah?"

I invite you all to listen for reports from the State Track Meet throughout the days on Friday & Saturday, both on KGFX and KOLY AM. With warm weather, although with some breeze, I think we're in for a very enjoyable, not to mention a very exciting, weekend. Here are some things we'll be keeping a very close eye on this weekend:

Class AA:
Governors:
After a 4-year run among the elites, with 3 championships and a 3rd place finish last year, we should probably temper our expectations a little. There are clearly other favorites for the team title this year, but expect the Govs to still be in the Top 5, which should provide some excitement. RC Stevens, SF Washington, and Watertown will be among the boys teams that should battle it out for the top spot. Individually, Pierre still has the best hurdler in the state, in Parker McKittrick, looking to pick up where Matt Tetzlaff left off. McKittrick is the only hurdler in AA to break the :15 barrier in the 110m, and he has the 2nd best qualifying time this season in the 300. Other individuals have chances to contend for championships: Danny Mayer in the Pole Vault, and maybe Kyle Anderson in Shot Put, who rose up to be a surprise champion at the ESD meet. And maybe some good things can be expected from some of the relay teams, especially the 4x200 and the Medley relays, but all in all, the Govs will be hoping to pile on points from several events, as many as possible, to let everyone know that although they are no longer the team to beat, the Governor Track program is still among the state's elite.

Lady Govs – obviously they do not have enough depth to contend – Lady Govs will be hoping to do the best they can for individual honors and relay efforts. Anna Bondy in the High Jump (if she can overcome back pain) might have a chance to place high, although a SF Lincoln jumper is a clear favorite. The 200m Dash could be fun to watch with Tory Snyder and Taylor Larson competing together, after both ran well at the ESD meet. There will be some possibilities in the relays as well, but unfortunately, we still won’t hear a lot out of the Lady Govs this weekend. However, the silver lining is that there is a lot of youth among the Lady Govs, which gives us a lot to look forward to in the coming years.

Class A:
We’ll follow Stanley County, Mobridge-Pollock, Chamberlain, Miller, Lyman, Todd Co., Winner, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, etc. – not sure how many champions we can expect from these teams, although Jesse Parmely (MILL) will look to repeat in Shot Put; Kelli Norrid (WINN) has some of the best times in the hurdle events. Dyson Lends His Horse (C-EB) will be right up there in the distance runs; and the same goes for Tyler Schaefbauer (M-P) in Long Jump. All in all, don’t expect a lot of champions, but do expect a lot of solid place finishers.

Class B:
One of the things I will look forward to the most this weekend is how well the Philip boys will fare. They have to be considered the team to beat on the boys side this year, fueled primarily on the strength of their relay teams, who have registered the top overall times in 400, 800, 1600, and Medley relays this season. If anyone battles the Scotties, it could be fun to see the team title come down to that very last event – the 1600 Relay. Cvach, Guptill, O’Connell and crew will be fun to watch. Jeff O’Connell could grab some big extra points in the Long Jump and Triple Jump, and others will provide individual contributions, too.

It should be nice to hear from Sully Buttes on the track again. Expect high place finishes from Herman Kleinsasser in the sprints, Brandon Sieck in the middle to longer distances; and a couple of relay teams have potential as well.

Gettysburg will put some good relays together, and maybe Sunshine Bible, who has contended the last couple of years. Ethan McClain will contend in distance runs, and Brad Bridgman has the best qualifying High Jump in Class B this season. Eric Chilson of Highmore-Harrold will provide some excitement in the Hurdles as well.

For the girls, right away, in the Pole Vault, Gettysburg could have another champion, if Jessika Wager can pick up where Calley Worth left off last year – Wager has vaulted 9 inches higher than anyone else in Class B this year, and she could also be among the top finishers in the 400m Dash. Tia Carlson (Kadoka) has best overall 800 time this year. Plenty of other place finishers to expect from around the area. Also, from the teams up north, expect some big things from Eureka/Bowdle, who will have good distance runners and relays teams throughout. Jeffrey Mettler and Hilary Krein have posted top overall times in the distances to provide a potential sweep in the longer runs. (I can't hardly run a quarter mile, and here these kids run 2 miles like it's nobody's business!) E/B also has the longest qualifying girls Triple Jump this season, from Megan Sandmeier, so we'll see if that holds true this weekend as well.

So many schools, so many people to see and stories to catch up on....so many possibilities, but only ONE last chance to do something great this season. That's what we'll be covering for you this weekend from the State Track & Field Meet, so we hope you can join us. Congratulations to all athletes, and all graduated seniors! We're all proud of you. Have a great holiday weekend!

Rod's Sunday Take N Things

Pierre finished 2nd in the boys and 7th in the girls division of the ESD Track and Field meet held in Pierre yesterday. Watertown won the boys title and Yankton claimed the girls team title. Pierre individual champions included Parker McKittrick in the 110 meter hurdles. The x 200 meter relay team also finished first. John Breckenridge, Tyler Arbach, Rory Cruse, and Ryan Blake. Kyle Anderson won the Shot Put. Pierre did not have any girl individual champion. Pierre had 108 points behind Watertown's 154. The Govs had won the ESD Boys title 4 years in a row until yesterday. The Lady Govs scored 18 points yesterday to finish 7th for a second straight year. More on the ESD Track Meet in tomorrow’s My Daily News.

Rod's Saturday Take N Things

Pierre finished second at the ESD Conference tennis tournament yesterday in Yankton. Stephen Bollinger won the ESD title at number 2 singles and Ryan Lauseng wins the number 4 singles title. Pierre also wins the number 2 doubles with Bollinger and Lauseng finishing the day undefeated. Pierre also won the number 3 flight doulbes champion. Nathan Ellenbecker and Hans Leong are ESD Champions as well. Watertown won the Conference title.

Today is the ESD Conference Track and Field meet hosted by Pierre at Phil Trautner Stadium at Hollister Field. Field events begin at 11:30 a.m. with the running events scheduled to start at 12 noon. The final event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Pierre has won 4 straight titles in the boys division. The girls are looking to improved off a 7th place finish last year. There is a 20 to 30 percent chance of scatter showers.

Andy Shoe's Scuttlebutts

It's getting close to fishing tournament season here on the Old Muddy. This past weekend the Cabella's Regional Walleye fishing tournament was held here in Mobridge and these guys earned anything they may have won. They all converged on Mobridge early in the week and started their pre-fishing in some of the roughest weather so far this spring. They thought they knew where to go to catch the illusive Walleye but on Saturday the winds calmed, the sun came out and it was like night and day compared to their pre-fishing. I wondered if a lot of the fishermen thought to themselves that the pre-fishing was a waist of time, but alas Sunday the wind, the cold the same conditions of the previous week and the fish that were not hanging out in the bays or the fish that where not being finicky where caught and the winning weight was a surprise to a lot of people around this area. It will be a very interesting season for tournament fishermen this year because of the lake levels and the large amount of bait fish that ran this spring. However it turns out I think people will be glad to see the pros and armature fishermen competing this spring, summer and fall in the many tournaments around the area. I hope you all will take some time to go and watch the weigh-ins when they are in you town.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom

congratulations to the Twins on not only a GREAT start but the got their first rainout in over 30 years this past weekend. Wisely, the Twins had a day night double header on Saturday that made sure they got in all four games with the Orioles. Ten games over .500 at this point of the year is quite an improvement from the start the Twins have had in the past few years. But they continue to win like they did indoors, solid pitching and defense and not alot of home runs. So much for my theory about Target Field being a hitters park. There is alot of baseball to be played so we cant jump to too many conclusions yet can we? Oh, thats right I already did.

Since it has been too wet to do much field work over the past few weeks I have had the luxury of being able to watch the last few NASCAR races. I am a fan of Tony Stewart, so since I have had the opportunity, I purchased one of his Office Dept hats, and have been wearing it as I have watched the races. But it seems the more I watch, the worse Stewart runs. He finished 23rd in last nights race in Darlington, and I feel like it is all my fault. I think I will skip next weeks race and see if that helps the luck of the #14 car. If it does, I think I will get a Jimmy Johnson hat.

Have a great week.

Rod's Friday Take N Things

My, a busy weekend lies ahead for our area athletes. Pierre Lady Governor golfers will be golfing in the ESD Conference tournament tomorrow. The tournament is being played in Huron at the Broadland Creek Golf Course. It will be the second time the Lady Govs have golfed Broadland Creek so they should have a better handle of the course. Coach John Knox told me that he hopes for a top 5 finish with Yankton, Brookings and the host team, Huron expected to battle it out for the team title.

The Governor and Lady Governor track and field teams will be splitting up with 1/2 of the squad going to the Black Hills Relays in Sturgis and the other half heading to the Hub City Four Star Meet hosted by Aberdeen Central in Aberdeen. Every athlete out for track will be running tomorrow.

And the Pierre Post 8 American Legion Baseball team opens up the season tomorrow at Hyde Stadium. Pierre will be hosting Aberdeen Smitty's and Rapid City Post 320 in a pair of games for each of the 3 teams tomorrow and Sunday. Now, Pierre will not be a full strength since they will have several players running track and field tomorrow, but they should be at full strength on Sunday. Pierre will play Aberdeen tomorrow at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. They will play region opponent Rapid City Post 320 tomorrow night at 6 p.m. and then again Sunday at 2 p.m. It will also mark the 75th year of baseball at Hyde Stadium and the team has certain plans in place for the course of the year. Tomorrow, members of the Charles Lee Hyde Family, of which the stadium is named after will be on hand for the first pitch of the Aberdeen game. We will have all 4 of the Pierre games on RIVER 92.7-FM.

Brian's Tuesday Tweet

For years I have said - no, I have insisted - that the lower classes of high school football in South Dakota should all change their playoff formats to re-seed playoff teams one through eight after the first round. And finally, that is now going to happen, as it has been voted through by the HSAA board. In Class 11A especially, you may remember all those years in the early to mid-90's when the two best teams in the state, hands down, were usually West Central and Vermillion, but they were usually pitted against each other in the same region. There have been many other examples since, such as Region 4 in 9AA this past season, where Lyman, Herreid, Philip and Lemmon were all very strong, plus White River, who made the playoffs as an at-large team. This change is very long overdue, but it's funny it took this long to figure it out and get it right. Could it be they finally realized there was as many semifinal game blowouts as there were "championships before the championship"? All along, it seems that schools voted against the change because they didn't want to spend so much money on gas for buses and such, but the implementation of the at-large rule, in my opinion, kind of blew that out of the water, as it suddenly became a possibility for one team to travel quite a few miles on more than one occasion during one postseason period. Whatever the case, at least the playoffs will be better off now.

Hey, how do you feel about seeing that kid get tasered during the Cardinals-Phillies game last night? Some people say it's excessive brutality. Not me! I say, make an example of idiots like that. Come to think of it, if this kid didn't get treated this way, what would have happened? He would led about four or five out-of-shape security guards on a wild goose chase, possibly making them look like they're in the wrong line of work, but eventually get cornered and tackled by someone who's actually a good athlete, and then get the holy livin' snot beat out of him. Tasering is quicker - game on! But Tim Kurkjian made a good point on ESPN, referring to the time in Chicago when the Kansas City first base coach got beat up by two guys coming out of the stands. No matter what the age of a person coming out of the stands, you just don't know the state of mind, or what weapons the guy might be brandishing. Self defense is justified, as far as I'm concerned. The only downside to tasering? How many more idiots have a nagging feeling to see just what it feels like to get tasered? You watch, it's gonna happen again....probably sooner than later.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom.

Greetings once again, lots has happened since my last little blurb so lets get with it.

The Twins are really enjoying the friendly confines of Target Field. Sure didnt take long for the guys to forget about the homerdome. The Twins are doing well as they sit in first place ahead of the Tigers. I am amazed that they are 10-6 on the road to start the year. That is a stat that bears watching as the season moves along. At some point, the pitching is gonna wear down or the offense will cool off. And in the last week I have read that Morneau has missed some games and Mr Mauer has a bruised heel. So perhaps this hot start has proved costly. Lots of baseball left this year but so far the Twins are off to a great start. See I can write something positive Mr Drayer.

Just for fun I took the time to read an article about the most hated teams in baseball. I assumed it was just another article about how much the writer thinks the Yankees suck but as I read further I noticed the Yankees werent the most hated team in baseball. Its the Cleveland Indians. WHAT??????????? What have the Indians done to anyone? Its not like they are winning games and hogging all the postseason hardware. I thought Major League was a great movie. Why the Indians? The Boston Red Sox were second most hated. That didnt surprise me. Red Sox nation is so wrapped up in itself that it has polarized the rest of the baseball world. At least they put an end to the endless talk of steriod use once they were involved. We can at least thank them for that. The Yankees were fifth on the list if you are scoring at home.

I havent taken the time to talk about the NFL draft and the great job the Vikings did. They filled two of their most pressing needs, they drafted a running back to serve as a backup to AP and they got some help in the defensive backfield as well. That is all good, but if our man Mr. Farve would have just came out and said he would be back this year we could have had our pick of all the available free agents and the draft wouldnt have mattered. Tomlinson would have a been a big help. And there were some good corners available to sign as well.

We did get some indication that Farve will be back to play in 2010. Forget about all you have read and think about these facts. First of all the Vikings signed Tavarius Jackson, if Farve wasnt coming back you can bet the Vikes would have been a big player in the McNabb sweepstakes. And, Jackson only got a one year deal, thats not how you would normally treat the guy who is currently #1 on your depth chart. Now Farve and his website are talking about the ankle surgery needed so he can play this season, just like the shoulder surgery last year. If you include the fact that he could be the first grandfather to play in the NFL, there is no doubt in my mind what he is going to do.

Is it just me or Josh McDaniel wanting out as coach of the Broncos? He has been on the job for a year, ran off his two best offensive players and drafted Tim Tebow. He is either a fool or a genius, and this year will tell the tale. If they dont win this year, he will be looking for work.