College recruiting roundup: DV's Gunderson inks with SDSU women's track

NORTH SIOUX CITY -- Silja Gunderson knows what it's like to win a state track and field championship, now she just wants to get back there.

In the meantime, the Dakota Valley High School senior locked in her future on Friday by signing her national letter of intent to run for South Dakota State University women's track team after graduation.

Gunderson won the Class A state championship in the 100-meter hurdles as a sophomore with a time of 15.42 seconds.

"The hurdles are so fun," she said. "I love running, but I also love having something out there to go after."

It's been a long journey since then.

One that includes a knee injury suffered during volleyball that severely limited her on the track as a junior, though she did qualify for state in the 100 and took 10th as part of a Dakota Valley 4x100 relay with Grace Meyer, Logan Miller and Sophie Tuttle.

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Gunderson still plays softball, but has since given up volleyball to pursue track.

"It was tough, it took a toll on my mental health," Gunderson said. "I got pretty down on myself because I didn't think I'd be able to get back to where I was."

Hinton's Bailey Boeve (5), Dakota Valley's Silja Gunderson (4), and Sioux City West's Kenya Harris (3) compete in the elite girls 100 meter hurdles during the Sioux City Relays, Saturday, at Elwood Olsen Stadium in Sioux City, Iowa, April 13, 2024.

Dakota Valley's Silja Gunderson competes in the girls shuttle hurdle relay at the Sioux City Relays Saturday.

And the signs are there that she may be on her way to competing for another state championship.

DV ran Gunderson with Claire Munch, Tuttle and Addy Wubbena in the shuttle hurdle relay last Saturday at the Sioux City Relays and the team ran a time of 1 minute, 9.60 seconds, which is fastest in South Dakota (all classes).

"I ran (personal bests) last weekend, and I'm faster now than I've ever been, so that's super exciting," she said. "That was literally the first time we ran (the shuttle hurdle relay) together. We just put a team together and ran a good time.

After the race, the Panthers rushed back to partake in their prom later that night.

"I didn't eat all day," said Gunderson. "It was hectic going from running five events to going home to get ready."

Gunderson wants to make the most of the opportunity left in front of her while still at DV -- like qualify for state for a fourth time -- but is also thankful to have done enough and had enough help along the way to be in a position to sign a D-1 commitment letter.

"I literally can't describe how incredible it is (to sign)," said Gunderson. "I want to thank coaches, parents, family, God, all my supporters, everyone helped me get to where I am right now."

Dakota Valley's Silja Gunderson (middle) poses with her mother (Renee, left) and father (Brad, right) as she signs her national letter of intent to run track for the South Dakota State University women's team upon graduating from DV.

Other area signings

Ashlynn Davis, Central Lyon, Dordt women's track & field

Davis sports a sub-30 second 200-meter dash for the Lions this season as well as duties on Central Lyon relay teams. As a junior, Davis qualified for the Class 2A state track meet in three relays. The best among those was a fifth-place finish in the 4x800. The team of Davis, Afton Schlumbohm, Mary Schriever and Riley Weiler ran a season best time of 9 minutes, 47.38 seconds at state.

Mariah Gerleman, Central Lyon, Northwestern College women's golf

Gerleman just led Central Lyon to a first-place finish at the Siouxland Conference meet on Thursday, April 18. She medaled at the event as the senior tied Sioux Center's Hope Faber for the meet's low score as both shot a 43 over nine holes at Rock River Golf & Country Club.

Ethan Skoglund, Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Central College men's wrestling

Skoglund went 49-7 as a senior at SB-L this winter and turned in a fifth-place finish at the Class 2A state tournament at 126 pounds. During the season, he won district and Missouri River Athletic Conference championships.

Ethan Skoglund, right, of Sergeant Bluff-Luton is defeated by Aaron Boone of Washington during the 120-pound consolation rounds in Class 2A at the Iowa High School Athletic Association state Wrestling tournament at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

Kacy Miller, West Monona, Iowa Western Community College softball

An all-stater in Class 2A, Miller helped the Spartans capture their first state softball tournament berth in decades last summer. Since last season, she's also started for the West Monona volleyball team, took second at the girls' state wrestling tournament at 105 pounds, was leading scorer on the Spartans' basketball team (and surpassed 1,000 career points), and is now on the school's track and field team. As a junior on the diamond, she batted .424 with a .771 slugging parentage with 18 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 39 RBIs. She also stole 46 bases on 48 attempts.

North Union's Shelby Fraker (2) is safe at second as West Monona's Kacy Miller (3) waits for the throw during Monday night's Class 2A Region 1 championship in Onawa, Iowa. West Monona won 7-6 to qualify for the state tournament in Fort Dodge next week.

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