By 
WEBSTER — Northwestern’s Ella Boekelheide said she never takes a race for granted.
Maybe that’s why she keeps winning.
Boekelheide got off to a quick start and never looked back, going wire to wire to win the girls individual title at the Region 1B corss-country meet Wednesday, Oct. 15 at the Webster Golf Club.
She crossed the finish line in 19:06.25, 40 seconds ahead of Deubrook’s Nora Olson.
It was the sixth-straight region crown for the Northwestern senior.
“I’ve run on this course a lot, so I knew coming in with the cold, windy conditions it would be pretty hard,” Boekelheide said. “I felt pretty smooth throughout the race, but I knew the pain would start kicking in sometime, so I was just preparing myself mentally at the end. It was pretty bad, but I was just so grateful for everything, and that helped carry me through to the finish line.”
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Boekelheide will now get ready to defend her Class B state championship Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Broadland Creek Country Club in Huron.
“It’s my last race, so I’m excited to get there and defend it. I think having the experience at state meets will give me an advantage, and I’m just going to run my race and, with my training and team, make it the best race I can,” she said.
Northwestern had four runners in the top 20 to take second in the team standings, behind Ipswich as Tiger runners claimed places three through eight.
The top 20 runners and top three teams at region races advance to the meet, so the Wildcats and Tigers will run Saturday.
For Ipswich, Isabella Galbraith placed third, followed by Madisyn Gellhaus, Kalynn Oban, Jayla Stiles and Jennay Gisi. All five runners finished within 10 seconds of each other.
Northwestern’s Tara Blachford finished eighth and teammate Brenna Halvorson 10th.
Blachford said she tried to keep pace with the pack of Tigers knowing it would help her.
“I was trying to stay with the Ipswich team. Those five girls are really good,” Blachford said. “About the last 400 meters, I was running with their fifth-place girl, and she had a really good kick and got me, but I felt like it was an all-out dash to the finish.”
She said the first 100 meters of the race are uphill, so she tried to keep a steady place and not get out too quickly.
The Wildcats qualifying for the state meet as a team was Blachford’s goal for the season because she knows it will be her final race with Boekelheide.
“It’s been a lot of fun running with Ella, Brenna, Rachel (Melius). I’m just living in the moment and enjoying the race and threw a smile on my face because there are so many people cheering for you, and now we get to run one last time together,” Blachford said.
Three Warner runners placed in the top 19 finishers and will run again Saturday — Katelyn Wirth was 11th, Kyleigh Miller 14th and Elodi Wood 19th. Frederick’s Hadleigh Hoggarth placed 18th in the region to qualify for the state meet.
Aberdeen Christian’s Joseph Richards sprints to the finish line in the Region 1B boys cross-country meet Wednesday, Oct. 15 in Webster. Richards finished 14th and qualified for the state meet Saturday, Oct. 25 in Huron. Aberdeen Insider photo by Allie Hoekman.
Aberdeen Christian’s Schwab, Richards, move on to state meet
Aberdeen Christian runners Joseph Richards and Andrew Schwab had both been close before, but this season qualified for the Class B boys state meet. In the Region 1B boys race, they finished 14th and 16th, respectively, to advance.
Richards said his times in his previous two races would have put him in the top 20 of the region, but didn’t take anything for granted.
“Anyone can have a good day, and I could have a bad day, so I was really preparing myself mentally to stay focused and watch my time after the first lap,” he said. “My last two regions I was really close, like two places away, so I was really working hard this summer to make it to state.”
Schwab also aimed for the top 20.
“I missed state last year by about five places, so the goal coming in this season was to make it just to prove myself with some of the better runners,” he said.
After the region race, Schwab said he hadn’t yet had time to process his achievement.
It was a bit different for Richards.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, so mentally, I’m really looking forward to getting there and just competing,” he said.
Christian’s Herreid misses out on state
Aberdeen Christian’s Clara Herried competes during the Region 1B cross-country meet Wednesday, Oct. 25 in Webster. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
Clara Herreid hoped to join her teammates at the state meet, but faded during the race, finishing in 32nd in the girls race in 25:53.78.
“It wasn’t great,” she said. “I think it was basically everyone else was just faster. I started my first mile on pace to what I wanted to run, and I was still in 24th. I tried pushing myself a little harder, but got worn out and just fell back too much.”
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She’s the only Christian girl who runs cross-country. A freshman, she said running alone can be difficult, but added she’s not giving up.
“I wanted to have a good mindset today, but in the end that kind of didn’t matter,” Herreid said. “My time was the fastest I’ve had on this course, but obviously it’s not good enough. Even though I didn’t make state, I’m just sad the season is over now. I’m almost more sad that cross-country is over than the fact I didn’t make it to state because I really do love the sport, and I’m gonna keep doing it.”
Frederick Area’s Howard Sumption, left, and Titus Kippley run side by side during the Region 1B boys cross-country meet Wednesday, Oct. 25 in Webster. They both qualified for the state meet. Aberdeen Insider photo by Allie Hoekman.
Northwestern, Frederick boys teams advance to state
Northwestern is also sending its boys team to the state meet. The Wildcats finished second in the team standings behind a dominating performance by James Valley Christian and ahead of Frederick.
Northwestern’s Ty Boekelheide sprints to the finish line during the Region 1B cross country meet Wednesday, Oct. 15 in Webster. Aberdeen Insider photo by Allie Hoekman.
The individual win went to James Valley Christian’s Caden Ober, crossing the line 17:15.50.
Titus Kippley of Frederick finished fifth in 18:23.91, while Northwestern’s Ty Boekelheide was one spot back in 18:25.09.
“It was good to have someone running alongside me, and I was able to catch the runner from James Valley, but (Kippley) was just too fast, and I couldn’t pass him at the line,” Boekelheide said. “I heard my coach yelling, saying we needed some faster times so we could get second, and luckily we got it.”
Howard Sumption took ninth for the Titans, while Carson Ewalt of Northwestern was 11th.
The Wildcats finished with two fewer team points — a good thing in cross-country — than Frederick.
“It feels great,” Ewalt said of the Wildcats second straight trip to the state meet. “We were all fighting for it last year, and this year it was pretty much the same. Every guy competed and got into state.”
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Kippley credited having relatives in Webster cheering him on as a motivation for his strong finish.
“My brother Noah came back from college to be here, my aunt and uncle from Georgia, who I haven’t seen in a while, came up for their grandson’s birthday and they were here. I had another aunt and uncle who came to watch, and my younger brother Aaron is on the team, so I actually had a lot of family here today,” he said.
Sumption said he was proud of his race and how the Titans did. Runners have been pushing each other all season, and qualifying for the state meet is a big accomplishment, he said.
Jace Bender of Leola finished 10 at the region meet to advance to state.
Roncalli girls second in 1A meet as Groton qualifies three runners for state
Groton Area’s Ryelle Gilbert heads to the line during the Region 1A girls cross country meet. Gilbert finished third to qualify for the state meet. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
Aberdeen Roncalli had three runners in the top eight as the Cavaliers finished second in the Region 1A girls meet and advanced to the state meet.
Clark-Willow Lake’s Kamryn Nesheim won the race in 19:48.02 as the Cyclone earned the team championship.
Addison Cassady of Roncalli was second in 20:21.28, followed by Groton’s Ryelle Gilbert in 20:36.38.
“I felt pretty good throughout,” Gilbert said. “My goal was to finish at least third, so I accomplished what I hoped for.”
She’ll compete in her third state cross-country meet Saturday.
“I feel a lot more confident this year heading to state. The last two years going into state I had the flu, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again this year,” Gilbert said.
Hazel Kannegieter was fifth for the Cavaliers, while teammate Taylor McComsey was eighth.
Kella Tracy took 10th for the Tigers, far exceeding her expectations, mostly because she said she had no plans to run cross-country this fall.
“For my first year in cross-country, to get to state is pretty great, but there’s also a part of me that’s like, ‘I was just doing this for track training, I don’t need to go any further,’ but it feels pretty exciting to make it,” she said. “I’m excited to compete with Ryelle because she’s the one who convinced me to come out for cross-country.”
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In the boys race, Groton’s Jayden Schwan held off Deuel’s Caden Hourigan for second place, finishing in 17:29.09, advancing to the state meet for the second time.
Milbank’s Jeter Scoular was the winner in 17:14.97.
“Jeter’s a great runner and my game plan coming in was to stay on his shoulder,” Schwan said. “A little over halfway, I kind of gave him a little too much space before I could come back.”
Schwan’s goal coming into the season was to win a couple races and qualify for state. His approach for the final meet of the season is simple.
“No expectations. With me, if I put too many expectations on myself I just slow down. My goal has always been to finish a race without walking. I’m just going to race and see what happens,” Schwan said.
Riley Shellenberger of Groton also qualified for the state meet, placing 18th in the region.
Deuel easily won the team title. Roncalli’s top runner was Ben Keller, finishing in 20:32.49, good for 28th.
2025 South Dakota High School Cross-Country State Meet
Saturday, Oct. 25 at Broadland Country Club, Huron
- Class A boys: Noon.
- Class AA boys: 12:30 p.m.
- Class B boys: 1 p.m.
- Class A girls: 1:30 p.m.
- Class AA girls: 2 p.m.
- Class B girls: 2:30 p.m.
