Today could very likely mark the end of an era on the South Dakota track and field scene.

There is a proposal to do away with region meets for Class A and B teams preceding the state meet (there aren’t any for Class AA schools). That’s because simply put, there is no longer any need for them.

“It’s more of a last chance meet than it is anything else,” said Clark-Willow Lake coach Dan Whalen, whose teams competed in their region meet on Wednesday.

In the past, regions served a major purpose because at one time they were the ticket to the state meet. Before in-season qualifying standards, that’s how athletes gained entry into the state meet. Even after standards came into being that allowed athletes to qualify during the season, those who finished at the top of the regions still got to go to state.

“It used to be a situation where you could place in the top two of each event and those went along with those that met the qualifying standard during the year,” Whalen said. “Now we just take the top 24 and the standards are no longer there.”

Not to say that meets the week prior to the state meet aren’t important. Far from it. Athletes are still attempting to crack that top 24 for a chance to compete against the state’s elite. It’s just that meets don’t need to take place under the same format as past regions.

“I know there’s going to be meets pop up,” Whalen said, noting that already happened this year with several meets taking place just days before the regions.

He said talks have already started about organizing meets next season that “bring in both classes A and B and get good competition at the meet so that (athletes) can be pushed.”

Whalen, who likes the current system, said there will still be plenty of reason to strategize and get athletes prepared and positioned to be in that final top 24 heading into the state meet.

“It’s really about positioning and it’s fluid,” Whalen said. “You can think you’re in one position and Friday when they send stuff out, oh my, we thought we were here, but we’re not anymore.”

Still, it’s nothing compared to the uncertainty of the old days when none of the athletes could qualify ahead of time and it all came down to a single day at region meets.

“I’m old enough to have coached when there wasn’t qualifying standards,” Whalen said. “When you don’t have the qualifying standards, when you come down to the region meet, you’re talking about Lane position, heat and lane assignments.”

Not to mention a few other elements.

“It all comes down to, hey did you get a good day or were you running in rain?” Whalen said.

While things can still go wrong, at least today’s athletes have a safety net from times and distances established during the regular season.

“They’re not facing that same pressure that 30 years ago, or whatever it was, that those kids faced,” Whalen said, “that if they do mess up, they do drop the baton or what have you, there’s a lot of heartache there, it takes a little pressure off in that way.”

Not only that, but as has been seen in other sports with the recent SoDak 16 format, it allows multiple teams from the same region to advance to the state finals.

Whalen was a part of that scenario when in-season qualifying played a huge role one year.

“We sent three relays out of our region to the state track meet and they went 1, 2, 3, and they were the same three relays that were in our conference,” Whalen said. “One of those teams would not have been there at the state meet if we had been under the old (rules), so the qualifying standards helped a lot in that regard. It’s progressed.”

LEADING THE WAY

There is a new member of the multiple open event leaders this week. Lucas Flemmer of Dell Rapids St. Mary now tops three events in Class B boys, leading the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash.

Mount Vernon-Plankinton’s Berkeley Engelland continues to set the standard in open events. The standout leads Class A in the 100, 200, 400 and 800.

Simeon Birnbaum of Rapid City Stevens continues to the top the Class AA boys in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, while Chester Area’s Emery Larson leads the same three events in Class B girls. Josiah Adams of Sioux Falls Christian leads the Class A boys in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and 300-meter intermediate hurdles.

There a dozen athletes who lead a pair of open events, including Hamlin’s Gracelyn Leiseth in the Class A shot put and discus.

BY THE NUMBERS

There are three divisions where teams have a firm handle on leading events, and three others where it is very close.

Sioux Falls Christian leads Class A boys (nine events), Mount Vernon-Plankinton tops Class A girls (seven events), and Colman-Egan sets the pace in Class B girls (six events).

Elsewhere, there is no clear-cut leader as Rapid City Stevens owns a slim lead in Class AA boys (four events) and in Class AA girls (four events), and Dell Rapids St. Mary has a slight lead in Class B boys (three events).