MITCHELL KERNELS
The South Dakota State Track and Field Championships began Thursday at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. Audrey Miller brought home seventh place in the Class AA triple jump on Thursday. Miller’s best mark was 35 feet, 3.5 inches. The event was won by Aesia Aldridge, of Harrisburg, at 38 feet, 1.25 inches. Mitchell’s 4×800-meter relay team scored the Kernels’ first boys team point of the state meet on Thursday, finishing in eighth place. The team of Landon Johnson, Ben Gerlach, Keniel Padilla and Hunter Patton passed the baton in a time of 8:20.48. Brandon Valley had 51 points on day one to lead the Class AA Boys’ team standings. Harrisburg accumulated 29 points on Thursday to grab first place in Class AA girls.
The Mitchell Kernel girls’ golf team competes in the Class AA state tournament on Monday and Tuesday at Cattail Crossing Golf Course in Watertown. The Kernels will be in the first five groups to start the tournament at 8:20 a.m. on Monday. The Class A Girls’ Tournament is at Two Rivers Golf Course in North Sioux City. The Class B State Golf Tournaments are in Brookings. The boys will play at the Brookings Country Club while the girls be at Edgebrook Golf Course.
The Post 18 American Legion baseball team opens the season on Tuesday with a doubleheader at Watertown at 5 p.m. Post 18 will play two games at Aberdeen on Wednesday before playing in the Yankton Tournament June 5th – 7th. Post 18’s home opener is June 16th against Helena, Montana.
Palace City Baseball Association (PCBA) will conduct its annual Pop Drive Fundraiser on Thursday, June 4th. The fundraiser helps to support summer baseball opportunities for South Dakota Class A and American Legion Post 18 baseball players in Mitchell. Players from Palace City Baseball will be helping sell Pepsi products throughout the community as part of the fundraising effort from 5 PM to 8 PM. Community members can purchase a variety of Pepsi products, Bubbl’r sparkling waters, and bottled water through the fundraiser. Pre-sales are available now online at PalaceCityBaseball.com.
STATE TRACK & FIELD MEET
CLASS A RESULTS (area competitors)
Wagner’s Ashlyn Koupal won the Class A girl’s high jump for a sixth straight year clearing the bar at 5 feet, 6 inches. Ethan/Parkston’s Davin Hohn claimed second place in the Class A high jump with a leap of 6-foot-4. Lennox senior Teegan Mussser won the state title with a jump of 6-5. Scotland/Menno’s Kylie Guthmiller finished in second place by one inch in the Class A girls javelin. Keeara Oakley of Ethan/Parkston was fourth in the event. In the Class A girls 4×800-meter relay, Mount Vernon/Plankinton finished in third-place followed by Chamberlain. Ethan/Parkston took seventh.
CLASS B RESULTS (area competitors)
Al Gunter of Avon took second place in the Class B boys discus. Andes Central/Dakota Christian’s Jamian Medicine Horn finished in fifth place in the Class B boys long jump. Mitchell Christian took third place for the Class B boys 4×800-meter relay. Freeman and Wessington Springs were fourth and fifth. Bridgewater-Emery took third place in the Class B boys sprint medley relay. Kimball/White Lake was fourth in the Class B girls 4×800-meter relay. Corsica-Stickney’s girls sprint medley relay team finished in fourth place in Class B.
In the Class A standings after day one, the Sioux Falls Christian boys have 36 points, followed by Lennox (25.5) and Custer (10). The Sioux Falls Christian girls have 34 points, ahead of Lennox (26) and Custer (18). The Deubrook Area girls and Philip boys hold leads in Class B. The Deubrook Area girls have 15 points, followed closely by St. Mary’s (14), Bennett County (13). Ipswich (12), De Smet (11), Iroquois/Lake Preston (10) and Northwestern (10). The Philip boys have 24 points, followed by Bennett County (20) and Irene-Wakonda (16). The South Dakota State Track and Field Championships resume today and continue through Saturday.
There were nine state meet records set on day one.
STATE MEET RECORDS
Class A Boys 110 Meter Hurdles- Shane Veenhof-Madison- 14.17
Class B Boys Long Jump- Rush O’Neill-Bennett County- 23-11.00
Class A Boys 100 Meter Dash- Oliver Fieber- Deuel- 10.60
Class AA Girls Shot Put- Taryn Hermansen- Aberdeen Central- 47-02.25
Class AA Girls 4×100 Meter Relay- Rapid City Stevens (Maya Khachikian, Riley M Willet, Ava Holzwarth, Ella Bradeen)- 47.16
Class A Girls Pole Vault- Tenlee Stiefel- Custer- 13-03
Class B Girls Sprint Medley Relay- Northwestern (Brenna Halvorson, Rachel Melius, Elexis Kramp, Ella Boekelheide)- 4:13.02
Class AA Girls Sprint Medley Relay- Spearfish (Gabrielle Ranek, Adelyn Bouman, Daniela Rodriguez, Peyton VanDeest)- 4:01.13 (State Record)
Class A Boys Sprint Medley Relay- Sioux Valley (Mitchell Guthmiller, Hunter Steinhaus, Brady Hiltunen, Carson Wosje)- 3:32.07
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
South Dakota State baseball will face No. 13 national seed Nebraska on Friday at 3 p.m. SDSU is 24-31 overall and making just its second NCAA Tournament appearance, the first since 2013. Nebraska is 42-15 and defeated the Jackrabbits 5-4 during the regular season. The regional also includes Ole Miss and Arizona State, with all four teams competing in a double-elimination format. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
The South Dakota High School Softball Championships will be held June 4th – 6th. The Class AA state tournament is at Augustana University in Sioux Falls while the Class A and Class B tournaments are in Aberdeen.
Class B State Softball Tournament
No. 8 Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy vs No. 1 Castlewood 10 a.m.
No. 4 Hanson (18-4) vs No. 5 Avon (16-7) Noon
No. 2 McCook Central/Montrose (20-2) vs No. 7 Redfield 2 p.m.
No. 3 Florence-Henry vs No. 6 Gayville-Volin 4 p.m.
Class A State Softball Tournament
No. 1 Madison vs No. 8 Elk Point-Jefferson, 10 a.m.
No. 4 West Central vs No. 5 Beresford, noon
No. 2 Tri-Valley vs No. 7 Lennox, 2 p.m.
No. 3 Dakota Valley vs No. 6 Sioux Valley, 4 p.m.
Class AA State Softball Tournament
No. 1 SF Jefferson vs No. 9 SF Lincoln, 10 a.m.
No. 4 Brandon Valley vs No. 5 SF Roosevelt, noon
No. 2 Harrisburg vs No. 7 SF O’Gorman, 2 p.m.
No. 3 SF Washington vs No. 6 RC Stevens, 4 p.m.
AMATEUR BASEBALL – THURSDAY
Max Scott had two home runs and drove in three runs in the Parkston Mudcats 16 to 2 win over Dimock-Emery. Jeff Harris drove in four runs, and Luke Bormann added three hits and scored three runs in the victory. Scott was also the winning pitcher, throwing six innings and with 12 strikeouts just one hit allowed. Lincoln Bates had a two-run home run for the Raptors.
Dylan Soulek struck out six and gave up just two hits in the Parkston Rays’ 10-0 win over Corsica. Carter Sommer had three hits and three RBIs and Caden Donahue knocked in a pair of runs for the Rays.
Dakota Munger had three hits, a home run, five RBIs and was the winning pitcher for the Alexandria Angels’ 8-4 win at Platte. Munger allowed four hits, two earned runs and struck out four. Hayden Kuiper had two RBIs for the Killer Tomatoes.
Landon Calhoon had a home run and drove in four runs for Winner-Colome in a 15-2 win over Mount Vernon. Drew DeMers had five hits and three RBIs, including two doubles. Derek Graesser went six innings without an earned run allowed and struck out five. Bradley Dean had two hits, and Chase Hetland had an RBI for the Mustangs.
Dexter Payne and Brady Duxbury each had two hits and Cole Cheeseman and Jon Forster both drove in two runs for the Salem Cubs in a 7-6 win over the Flandreau Cardinals. Tyler Earls was the winning pitcher, throwing five innings of relief and allowing two earned runs and six hits.
Jared Miller had four RBIs to power Canova past Baltic 19-9. Riley Genzlinger scored four times, and Kendall Gassman had two doubles in the win.
Cooper Leiferman, Caleb Crist and Mitch Price combined for 16 strikeouts in Kimball-White Lake’s 4-0 win against Plankinton. Trent Wookey had three hits and two RBIs to lead the Nationals.
Blake Boes had a solo home run in the 10th inning to lift the Burke Bombers over Chamberlain 5-3 in 10 innings.
Justin Lester had a grand slam, Austin Hand had a three-run home run and Sam Hand added a two-run blast as Four Corners beat Colome 16-5.
Pierce Nelson had two hits and drove in three runs in Winner’s 11-7 win over Wessington Springs. Blake Larson had three hits in the loss for the Owls.
Lesterville 14, Freeman 8
Wynot, Neb. 15, Menno 5
Yankton Lakers 11, Tabor 1
Registration is now open for the 2026 First Tee South Dakota youth golf program at Lakeview Golf Course in Mitchell. The program, open to kids ages 6 to 17, combines golf instruction with lessons focused on character development and life skills. Sessions will be held Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the summer, beginning June 29th, with class times divided by age group in the morning. The cost is $98, with financial assistance available to ensure all kids can participate. Equipment is provided, and families are encouraged to register early as space is limited. More information is available at First Tee South Dakota’s website or by contacting Lakeview Golf Course.