In a small town like Yutan, it’s common to have close friends, but those might change over the years. However, for six senior boys, their friendship dates back as far as they can remember. Seniors Drew Krajicek, Bennett Ell, Tannen Honke, AJ Arensberg, Owen Egr and Max Egr have been friends since they met each other at Yutan Elementary School in first grade. Unlike many high school friendships, their undeniable bond has withstood the test of time.
“I really only remember meeting Max in our first grade class,” Ell said. “I specifically remember playing Legos with him, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
After being in the same classes, youth sports and school activities, the group of boys would get together and have hangouts regularly.
“When we were younger, we would hang out at Bennett’s old house,” Owen Egr said. “When we were in junior high, we would go on bike rides during Covid almost every day.”
The friends have been through many major life milestones together, including the COVID-19 pandemic, their first homecoming and prom, and many lifelong memories.
“My favorite memory is probably when we all went to South Dakota last summer. It wasn’t crazy far away, but it was a fun little road trip where we spent a couple of nights up there on the lake,” Max Egr said.
Spending time together plays a major role in many friendships, but for this group of boys, their time apart also helps maintain their status as best friends.
“I think we’ve been friends for as long as we’ve been because we never get burned out with each other,” Ell said. “We don’t all play the same sports during the school year, which honestly helps keep us close without getting too annoyed with each other.”
Krajicek also believes that their connection has stayed strong because they all like similar things and understand each other’s roles within their group.
“AJ is a big funny guy that can talk to anyone and is very outgoing. Tannen is the chef of the group but is also the one who always wants to do something,” Krajicek said. “Max is the gym bro and thinks he’s cool, Owen is the annoying trash talker who can get under anyone’s skin and Bennett is the dad of the group who makes sure we don’t do anything too stupid and always makes a plan. I feel like I serve as the punching bag or the one who just takes all the jokes.”
With everyone playing a different role within the group, they are able to keep things interesting and always have fun.
“Whenever we get together, we are always making fun of each other, especially Drew, and just making jokes, creating more memories,” Honke said.
As the group continues to get older and head off to separate colleges, they hope to keep creating memories that they will be able to tell stories about later in life.
“Our group has a lot of fun together, so we will probably continue to hang out during college and be friends for a while,” Arensberg said.
Despite the inevitable changes that come with graduation and the transition to college, they all share a strong belief that their friendship will remain as steadfast as ever.
“We’ve been through so much together already, and there’s no reason to think it won’t keep going,” Ell said. “I’m excited for our future hangouts and the fun that we have together.”
