Freeman's Rylee Peters continues rise as one of Class B's top girls hurdlers

Peters has also won four of her five races in the 300 hurdles this season. Her top performance came again at the Dakota Relays, where she clocked a personal-best time of 46.33 seconds while finishing 12th in a loaded field, a mark that ranks 10th among all classes. In Class B, that time currently sits third behind only O'Neill at 44.20 and Chester's Jacy Wolf at 45.96.

While Peters has excelled individually, she has also become a critical piece of Freeman's relay success this season.

The Flyers' 4x200-meter relay team consisting of Peters, Cadence Hofer, Landrei Baker and Vaida Ammann delivered an historic performance at the Dakota Relays by breaking yet another long-standing school record. The group ran 1:47.91 to finish fourth while surpassing the previous record set in 1977 by Heckenliable, Janis Wipf, Lisa Mueller and Joan Mueller.

That time of 1:47.91 currently ranks third in Class B this season, and the relay squad has already won three of its six meets this spring.

Freeman has also found success in the 4x100 relay. The same unit of Peters, Hofer, Baker and Ammann owns a best time of 51.43 seconds from the Dakota Relays and has collected two victories this year. Notably, Freeman's top overall 4x100 time came when Peters was replaced by Makenzie Scharberg at the Erv Ptak Relays in Menno on May 7, where the Flyers won in 51.31 seconds — currently the third-fastest Class B mark this season. In the 4x400 relay, the same quartet have won four of their five races, including a season-best 4:16.49 on April 21.

"I think my teammates have really helped me the most when it comes to relays," Peters said. "With them getting excited about hitting a PR, or running the school record is what also helps me get excited for the relays, especially if I feel down about how I performed with hurdles or what not. But their support is mainly what I would say keeps me focused."

Outside of Peters' physical attributes, Sorensen said her ability to mentally prepare for meets has become one of her greatest strengths.

"Rylee may not be quite as vocally competitive, but when it comes time to race in those big meets, such as the Dakota Relays, she really locks in competitively, mentally, and she comes into every race strong," Sorensen said. "We never have to worry about her. It's just there. She knows how to do that as an athlete, and she carries that over to her relays, as well."

With the Class B state track and field championships scheduled for May 28-30 at Howard Wood Field, Peters and the Flyers now enter the final stretch of preparation. Freeman still has three meets remaining before state competition begins, including the Cornbelt Conference meet on Thursday in Hanson.

For Peters, the goal remains simple: continue sharpening the details that can make the difference between standing on the podium and winning a state title.

"I am definitely going to focus on my starts," Peters said. "The start is what honestly defines your race, so if you have a fast start, the rest of the 100 hurdles will come. And then for the 300 hurdles, it's the second half of the race that I really need to focus on. So, working on my ending with that, because it's just how fast you can run. You kind of forget about all the hurdle mechanics at that point, it's just a full on sprint to the finish line."