Here's a list of 25 Watertown and Aberdeen area athletes to keep an eye on
After writing about 20 area high school track and field athletes to watch this spring, it's the boys' turn.
With the outdoor season kicking into high gear this week, we're giving you a list of some of the top northeastern South Dakota competitors to see this spring.
Let's get started.
Owen Spartz, Watertown
It's not really a list in order, but we're starting out with a three-time place winner and the two-time defending state Class AA champion in the boys' pole vault. He also finished third in the event as a sophomore in 2021.
The only question is how high can the University of South Dakota recruit go?
Kaleb Foltz, Tri-State
Another senior whose stellar high school career will come to a close this spring. Foltz placed fourth in the Class A 800-meter run, fifth in the 400 dash and sixth in the 1,600 at state last May.
The previous two years he competed in Class B and won the 800 and 1,600 runs in 2022 and took sixth in the 800 and 1,600 in 2021.
Nicholas Schlachter, Potter County
Another senior, another Class B distance standout and another three-year state place winner.
Schlachter finished fourth in the 3,200 run and and sixth in the 1,600 last spring. In 2022, he was fourth in the 3,200 and sixth in the 1,600. In 2021, he added a seventh-place finish in the 3,200.
Lincoln Woodring, Northwestern
The trend continues with another senior and another Class B distance runnerl. Woodring finished second in the 800-meter run and eighth in the 1,600 at state last May.
Trevor Heinz, Ipswich
There's more Ipswich athletes to follow on this list. Heinz goes first because he's coming off a runner-up finish in the Class B boys' long jump as a junior last May.
Donovan Rose, Sioux Valley
The junior can fly. Well, you know what I mean. He took fourth in the Class A 110-meter hurdles and seventh in the 100 dash at last year's state meet.
Simon Fried, Mobridge-Pollock
Fried is a senior and a two-time state place winner in the Class A 300-meter hurdles. He finished second in the event last spring after taking eighth in 2022.
Carter Luikens, Potter County
Another Potter County senior with some running skills, Luikens finished third in the 800-meter run and fifth in the 400 dash at state last May.
He finished sixth in the 400 dash in 2022.
Lane Tvedt, Castlewood
Another senior and a two-time state place winner, the all-around athlete has placed fourth in the Class B long jump each of the past two springs.
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Gavin Landmark and Jake Jorenby, Deubrook Area
The Dolphins have some athletes. Landmark, a senior, and Jorenby, a junior, are two of them.
Landmark placed fifth in the Class B boys' 800-meter run and seventh in the 400 dash at state last spring. Jorenby placed fifth in the triple jump and seventh in the high jump.
Dustin Wurtz, Leola
The junior is coming off a strong in the 2023 state meet, where he took second in the Class B discus and sixth in the shot put.
Matthew Mount, Webster Area
As long as we're talking about throwers, let's bring in Mount. He's a sophomore who placed fifth in the Class A shot put last May.
Boaz Raderschadt, Watertown
The University of North Dakota recruit is a senior who finished seventh in the Class AA shot put last spring.
Juven Hudson, Watertown
Here's another returning senior place winner for the Arrows. Hudson placed fourth in the Class AA long jump in 2023.
Oliver Fieber and Robert Begalka, Deuel
Here's two Cardinals who placed in Class A events in last year's state meet.
Fieber, a sophomore, sprinted his way to a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash and Begalka, a senior, took sixth in th discus.
Jayden Johnson, Milbank
Another senior who is a talented pole vaulter. Johnson placed seventh in Class A last spring in the event, a year after taking fifth.
Lucas Johnson, Great Plains Lutheran
Only a sophomore, Johnson tied for fourth in the Class A high jump at last year's state meet.
Rasmus Loken, Brody Davis and Maxwell Kulesa, Ipswich
Loken, a junior, and Davis, a sophomore, placed third and fifth, respectively, in the state Class B pole vault a year ago.
Kulesa, a sophomore, finished seventh in the 800-meter run.
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Spencer Melius, Erik Salmen and Kadyn Fast
If you're counting, you'll notice the list is actually 25. Here are three more returning state place winners.
Melius, a sophomore from Faulkton Area, took eighth in the Class B 300-meter hurdles. Salmen, a senior, finished seventh in the Class B high jump. Fast, a senior, took eighth in the Class B triple jump.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Some of the top area high school boys track and field athletes to watch
