Some will be looking to advance to further competition and some will be looking to extend their spring season.
For Ariana Arampatzis, the meet will serve multiple purposes. The recent Aberdeen Central graduate is motivated to compete following a season cut short with injuries. She will also get more training for her future role as a heptathlete at Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell next season.
"I really want to be competitive with other people in college," said Arampatzis, who is best known for her pole vaulting exploits. "I'm just trying to take every chance I get to make myself better and get more experience."
While Arampatzis is too old to advance to the Region 8 championships next month in Aberdeen, she might be even more pumped than the average athlete when she starts competing today. That's because nearly her entire senior season was wiped out after she suffered an injury. Arampatzis managed to participate in just two meets this spring.
"I think it definitely helps me just because a lot of kids get kind of burned out after track," Arampatzis said. "Now, I still feel like I'm in the middle of the track season."
Arampatzis said she would have still competed in this weekend's meet regardless of what happened this spring, but now feels like she is getting a second chance.
"I would have done it if I would have done the entire track season, too," she said, "but it's kind of like a redemption a little bit."
While Arampatzis also competed in the heptathlon at last year's USATF meet, she seldom participates in the seven events that make up the event: 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 800-meter run, shot put, high jump, long jump and javelin.
"I haven't really been preparing for the individual events," Arampatzis said. "I've been trying to keep on running and working out. None of the events I actually do in high school track. You just kind of go out there and wing it."
Interestingly enough, her favorite event is one that South Dakota does not even offer in high school: the javelin.
Arampatzis said the most difficult for her is the 800.
"The hardest one would definitely have to be the 800, because it's just a hard race to run," she said. "I'm not really a longer distance person."
Still, the lure of proving that she is an all-around athlete has driven Arampatzis for as long as she can remember.
"Ever since I was little, I just thought being a heptathlete would be the coolest thing ever," she said.
While Arampatzis has performed on the biggest stages that high school track in South Dakota has to offer, including the Howard Wood Dakota Relays and state meets, she said that this weekend's USATF meet features a stark contrast to other premier events.
"I would say that it's quite a bit different, because the kids that are there really want to be there," Arampatzis said of those who will be at Swisher Field. "They want to get better."
USATF Dakota Association Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships
Who: Athletes from North Dakota and South Dakota will compete in the following age divisions: 8 and Under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18, Open and Masters.
Notable names: Among those who are scheduled to participate in the meet include recent state champions such as Macy Heinz of Ipswich, Sierra Stotz of Eureka-Bowdle, Daniel Roberts of Mobridge-Pollock, Kristie Mettler of Timber Lake, Cortney Dowling of Pierre, Alexis Gannon of Brookings, Jack Lembke of Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Collette Christensen of Rapid City Central.
When: The meet begins at 2 p.m. today with parts of the decathlon, heptathlon and pentathlon. Action resumes at 9 a.m. on Friday and continues at noon on Saturday.
Where: Swisher Field in Aberdeen.
At stake: The top eight individuals and relay teams in each event of each age division (excluding Open and Masters), will qualify for the USATF Region 8 Championships July 4-7 at Swisher Field. That meet will feature the top athletes from a six-state area.