SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - In Wessington Springs, students got a lesson in nutrition from Olympians. The Build Your Base program is bringing world-class athletes to South Dakota schools this week, hoping to show kids that what they eat now can shape their future.
Build Your Base is a program within Beef Logic and is partnered with the South Dakota Beef Industry Council and Sanford Health.
"Beef is just such a nutrient-dense protein and so forth, so we really figure it's really how to use beef and just nutrition in general to maximize, you know, your health and so forth," said Erin Yost, a cattle rancher and Beef Logic's treasurer. "Not only from the student athletes, but also hopefully bringing it into the home, their homes and families and so forth."
Students had the opportunity to hear from Olympians Chris Nilsen and DeAnna Price about their Olympic journeys and how they properly take care of their health and bodies. Nilsen is a US Olympic pole vaulter, and Price is a US Olympic hammer thrower. Both plan on returning for the 2028 Summer Olympics. For the students, no questions were off limits.
Build Your Base's outreach is spreading, but they start at smaller schools to help create a bigger impact.
"If it's a huge school, it's nice because you have a lot of applicants and you have a lot of participants, but it might not go anywhere because they think they don't need to spread it because they are their own type," said Nilsen. "It wouldn't have worked too well at my school when I was in high school because it was huge. But we're starting to branch out now to a lot more people. I think the program itself has reached 13 million people across the U.S. We're in a bunch of universities now."
The Olympians also spoke about the difference between female and male athletes when it comes to nutrition and how to listen to your body. Price, especially, on how to deal with judgment as a female athlete.
"I front squat 530 pounds. Clean over, you know, 380 to, you know, and high pull over 400," said Price. "These lifts are absolutely amazing, and that has made me, but I have the best balance. I think, like when growing up, it's finding that balance in your life of understanding that, you know, you can have the best of both worlds. You can be the athlete, and you can be the girl."
As exciting as it was to meet Olympians, today's ultimate goal was all about giving students the tools they need to have a healthy future. For more information on Build Your Base, you can visit their website here.