Also takes home four 1st place awards
Sara Stadem | Editor
What does it take to become the Outstanding Female Athlete of the South Dakota Class A State Track Meet? Averi Schmeichel of West Central knows just what it takes to clutch that award.
Even though Schmeichel captured the award, it didn’t come easy, according to Schmeichel who walked into her senior track season with a stress fracture. “I had a stress fracture this year. I’ve had a total of three in my right foot and one in my ankle. So, it’s been a road to recovery,” Schmeichel explained. She continued, “My foot started to hurt during gymnastics and we finally went to the doctor and it was another stress fracture. I had to miss the first few meets and I knew that in the end, I just wanted to compete at the State meet. So, I was focused on that and I heeled in time.”
West Central Coach Janel Merkwan said, “Unfortunately, this was not the first season Averi has had to come back from a stress fracture (it was her third time). So, we knew we had to get her back into the swing of things slowly since her events are all very demanding physically (hurdles and jumping).” Coach Merkwan continued, “Thankfully, she has a supportive family and team of others supporting her making sure she is at peak physical performance. Even when she wasn’t cleared to necessarily “run” for training until the beginning of May, she still came to our morning strength sessions and did what she could alongside her teammates with low impact training at practices every day.”
Prior to this season, Schmeichel had other hurdles to overcome as well before getting to end on such a successful note her senior year. When asked how it felt to skip an entire season last year due to COVID-19, Schmeichel said, “It was really frustrating at first. I ended my sophomore season on a bad note. Some would say it wasn’t a bad note but I thought it was for me.” Schmeichel continued, “I got second in both hurdles and a few other events. I definitely wanted the opportunity to defend myself so it was frustrating when it was cancelled.”
Instead of deciding to give up since there was no season, Schmeichel used it to her advantage, according to her. “I did some workouts with my club coach and focused on track to get ready for this track season so I would be ready to go.”
Schmeichel admitted the break due to COVID-19 probably ended up benefiting her in the long run. “For me, it was hard at first (to come back after a season off) but in the long run, it might have been better because I was heeling from a stress fracture the season before in my foot. I am pretty stubborn when it comes to sports because I want to get back,” Schmeichel said. She continued, “I want to get back at it so that extra break was probably good for me.”
To say she was excited when the season got underway her senior year is an understatement, according to Schmeichel. “I was really excited to say the least. I knew that our team had a good chance at winning as well,” Schmeichel said. She continued, “I knew that I had improved my time even though we didn’t have a season before and I knew that a lot of athletes hadn’t worked on track since we didn’t have a season before. I had so I was ready to see what I could do.”
According to Schmeichel, her goals for her senior track season were pretty simple, win every event she competed in and win any MVP she could.
Walking into the first day of the State A Track Meet at Lyle Hare Stadium in Spearfish, Schmeichel was set to compete in the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, 200m dash and long jump.
First event up for Schmeichel on Friday, May 28, was the 100m hurdles. Schmeichel was warming up for the prelims when the unthinkable happened.
“I was warming up for the hurdles. I had come out of the blocks and was going over one of the hurdles and someone walked in front of me so I tried to slow down. I still had to go over the hurdle, it was too late to stop all together so I totally biffed it,” Schmeichel explained. She continued, “It was the biggest wipeout I have ever had. I must have looked pretty bad based off how people were reacting around me. It was definitely very scary and it was about two minutes before I had to go to the start of the prelims race.”
Schmeichel explained she didn’t even have time to go to the trainer to get cleaned up before her race.
When asked how one comes back from that and competes without it getting in her head, Schmeichel said, “It’s definitely hard. At first, I just sat there, shaking and thinking I had to figure out how to calm down. I just sat down on the ground and needed to process what just happened. I was shaking a lot.” She continued, “Then I got to thinking how cool would this be if I went out after the biggest wipeout I’ve ever had and just won this and broke a state record. I knew I had broken the time during the summer with my club coach but hadn’t since my stress fracture so it was just a matter of knowing I could even after my wipeout.”
Coach Merkwan said, “After seeing her wipe out, my gut sank.” Coach Merkwan went on to explain that she was on the other end of the track when she witnessed this and that Schmeichel’s hurdle buddy and block holder, Tommy Berg, immediately shot up and tried to help Schmeichel and she could tell Schmeichel was in pain.
“My stomach sank thinking the worst. Thankfully by the time I got over there she gave in and was back up and I could see she wasn’t limping or anything or struggling to walk/run. While Tommy ran to get her a new hip number since hers got ripped off on the fall, I asked him if she was okay and he seemed to be confident she was just fine. I judged her condition by his response to me because I knew I wouldn’t get an honest answer from her. She’s always “fine” if you ask her, even with broken bones,” Coach Merkwan said.
She continued, “I wasn’t going to say anything at that point, but then she hit the hurdle again on her next warm up (barely, but that’s not like her) so I decided to say something. I know she’s mentally tough so I just yelled “Averi Ann! Stop thinking about it and run your dang race!” The first and only time I’ve called her by her middle name. She smiled and said “Okay”. As if to say “Duh, coach”. A few other coaches behind me laughed at me yelling at her and said “tough love” on my way back up. I didn’t even think about it being tough as I know she’s fierce and was going to smoke that race. And she did!”
Schmeichel did just that. Minutes after her wipeout and being scraped up, Schmeichel shot out of the blocks during her prelim race to finish with a time of :14.64, taking first place in the 100m prelims and setting the State A meet record. The previous record was set by Lindsay House of Lennox in 2004 with a time of :14.73. Schmeichel went on to win the 100m hurdle finals with a time of :14.85.
“I was really excited to set the record my senior year. I knew that I had a chance of getting close and possibly breaking it. I did a trial run during the summer with my club coach this summer so it was more about getting back at it after my stress fracture,” Schmeichel said. “It was my senior year and I wanted to go out strong and show them what I could do and I did.”
The State A meet was far from over for Schmeichel. She went on to win the 300m hurdles in a time of :45.24, took first place in the 200m dash with a time of :25.80 and won the long jump with a jump of 17’10.5”.
Although Schmeichel enjoys competing in all the events, she said there are two wins that hold a little more meaning for her this year, the 100m hurdles and the 200m dash.
“I guess the 100m hurdles (means a little more) because in 8th grade, I got first. Then after that I got 2nd the next two years followed with no season,” Schmeichel explained. “So, it was nice to finish my senior year this year. My times had been improving but there was just someone better those other two years.”
“The other one is the 200m because that was going to be super close between the top four or five girls. So, in order to win by about .3 or so was pretty cool,” Schmeichel said. She continued, “I hadn’t been running as fast as I could so to go out and win that last one was pretty special to me. One of my teammates, Sadie Berg, got third and I knew if we could go in the top three, our team was probably going to take first. So, that was something to be pretty excited about as well.”
When asked what her favorite event is in track, Schmeichel said the 100m hurdles as long as she is not wiping out! She said she also really enjoys the long jump. “I didn’t start that until my sophomore year. I’m pretty natural at it so I like that one and it doesn’t take much out of you like the 300m hurdles.”
Schmeichel explained that it’s pretty special to go out her senior year with her girls’ team winning the state title and receiving the Outstanding Female Athlete award.
“So that was pretty special. I knew we had a chance to do it (win it as a team). I would constantly go on to the athletic net and was doing the calculations. Coach Merkwan was doing it with me and we knew it was in reach,” Schmeichel said. Schmeichel continued, “We wanted to play it with everyone in the right spots for our team to win and to win the Outstanding Female Athlete award was super awesome. That was one of my goals. Once I started competing at meets again, I knew I wanted to try to win every race and win every MVP I could so it was really neat that I got it.”
Coach Merkwan said, “To see Averi receive this award (Outstanding Female Athlete) was the icing on top of a great HS track career. She’s worked for this for six years, and to see everything come together on a storybook ending for her was so special, especially having seen her come up short by hundredths of a second, battle back from injury, miss her junior year because of Covid all while maintaining a 4.0 + GPA is something fairytales are made of.” She continued, “Four first place INDIVIDUAL metals (no relays), a state meet record, a state championship as a TEAM and then this outstanding athlete award. What more could anyone ask for as an athlete to finish off their career?”
“Averi is an athlete that’s irreplaceable on the track, but also steps up and leads off the track. She is the ideal teammate, cheering on and encouraging others, literally telling her teammates they better go all out and beat her because if she’s losing, it’s only to a fellow Trojan!” Coach Merkwan concluded, “She will always do what’s best for the TEAM, not what’s best for Averi. What she does on the track as an athlete is special for everyone to see, but for those of us that get to know Averi in the classroom and off the track. We get to know one of the best young ladies out there!”
What’s next for Schmeichel? Schmeichel will continue her track and field career at the University of South Dakota (USD) in the fall of 2021 while pursuing a degree in education and potentially a minor or dual major in photography in hopes of transitioning into videography.
Schmeichel is excited to see what her track career holds for her at USD. “I’m excited to be able to travel to new places with my team and be able to compete at a wider range of stadiums for track and new coaches. I love my West Central coaches but I’m still excited to get a new set of coaches to get a new perspective to help me in my career.”
Although excited for USD, Schmeichel said she will miss her teammates and coaches. “It was fun to have one last season with them. It definitely sucked not have a junior season but we definitely connected this last year and I will miss the team and coaches a lot,” Schmeichel said.