MITCHELL — The Mitchell Christian cross country team expects big things for the 2023 season.
The lone sanctioned fall sport competing for the school, the Golden Eagles return a strong cast of boys varsity members, and have grown its girls team. After several months of gaining a base for the upcoming meets, the team has a chance to be near the top of Class B once again.
“I think we’re fitness-wise a lot farther ahead with our goals than we were last year,” head coach Ryan Chase said. “We had a really good track season, especially on our boys side. And that has set them up for a high-potential year for what we can do. We’re trying to be one of the top teams in the state on the boys side, and trying to get the girls to state.”
The boys team, which finished seventh in the Class B state meet last season, returns its three top runners including freshman Silas Holdeman. As an eighth-grader last season, Holdeman finished sixth at the state meet, posting a 17:38. In the track season, he finished 10th in the 3,200-meter state championship race.
“If Silas keeps working the way he’s been working, he could come back and be one of the top runners in the state,” Chase said.
The other returning letter winners are senior Joseph Tegethoff and freshman Luke Mentele. Both Tegethoff, who ran 19:16 at the state meet last season, and Mentele, who ran 19:27, are “already a lot stronger” this season, according to Chase.
These improvements are credited to the student-lead workouts this summer, where the runners went out and built up mileage and bonded with each other.
“Some years I haven’t run in the summer,” Tegethoff said. “But running all summer, getting ready for this season, I really feel like I’ve put myself in a great spot to succeed.”
With only the top-three runners scoring at meets for Class B, returning the entire trio is no small deal. Chase expects other guys to contribute, however, including sophomore Josh Brandt, and middle school participants Luke Atnip and Brady Asbenson.
“Those are guys that we don’t really know exactly what times they’ll run this year, but they’re doing really well right now,” Chase said. “We’ll just see how they develop and improve.”
On the girls side, this is Mitchell Christian’s first time with a full team since it qualified for state in 2012. According to coach Jill Nydam, the group will be anchored by sophomore Hannah Deline, who missed the majority of last year with an injury.
“Hannah’s had a really strong summer working out and being careful with her exercises,” Nydam said. “She’s definitely a team leader, not just for the girls but for the whole cross country team. Even though she was injured most of last season, she was at every practice and every meet encouraging the team.”
Rounding out the girls team is eighth-grader Addison Nydam, senior Lindy Hofer, junior Sydney McNutt and freshman Amy Henderson.
Already with a strong tradition, Mitchell Christian’s cross country team is expected to be a beacon for the school’s sports programs. Fielding both teams — and expecting to be competitive on each side — is something the program is excited about.
“It’s a great sport,” Nydam said. “And so it’s a lot of fun just to see the interest, especially because we have such a strong core of middle school runners that are passionate about cross country. I think it comes down to us having great leadership at the high school level.”
Mitchell Christian opens the year on Friday, Sept. 1 at the Augustana Twilight meet. The Region 3B meet will be on Wednesday, Oct. 11 in Burke, and the state meet is on Saturday, Oct. 21 in Sioux Falls.
Jacob Nielson is a sports reporter for the Mitchell Republic. He joined the Mitchell Republic in July 2023 after graduating from Utah State University in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minor in history. He covers a variety of prep and collegiate sports throughout South Dakota.