Oct. 1: Black Hills State defeated South Dakota Mines 24-17 for the first time since 2019 in the 137th edition of the Black Hills Brawl for the Homestake Trophy. Black Hills is 5-0; its best start since 1951. Mines had almost double the yardage of the Yellow Jackets (447 to 243), but four turnovers helped doom the Hardrockers. Mines leads the series 65-61-11.
Oct. 1: USD and SDSU battled back-and-forth in front of a record SDSU volleyball crowd of 1,524 at Frost Arena before the Coyotes took a 3-2 nailbiter. Elizabeth Junke (Lakeville, MN) led USD with 19 kills while Crystal Burk (Newnan, GA) had 18 for the Jacks. Juhnke leads the DI nation in kills (346) this season while Burk is fifth (281).
Oct. 3: Harrisburg sophomore Hayden Scott made a rare double-eagle from 203 yards away with an eight-iron on the par-5, No. 9 hole at Lakeview Golf Course in Mitchell during the boys’ State AA Tournament.
Oct. 5: Augustana women’s basketball coach Dave Krauth announced that the upcoming 2022-23 season will be his last. Krauth will begin his 34th season with the Vikings as one of the nation’s top coaches with a 670-296 career record.
Oct. 7: Pierre senior quarterback Lincoln Kienholz became the South Dakota 11-man all-time leader for career passing yards. He now has 7,810 yards after his team’s win over Huron while Cody Thompson of Lemmon/McIntosh is the state’s all-time leader with 8,667 yards. Austin Sumner of Brandon Valley is third with 7,629 followed by Nick Wald (7,254) of St. Thomas More and Alex Schultz (6,717) of Sioux Falls Lincoln.
Oct. 7: For the first time in program history, the Northern State swim team defeated MSU Moorhead in a dual meet. The Wolves’ Haley Osborne and Lilly Grebner led the Gypsy Day victory with two individual wins each.
Oct. 7: The No. 1 football team in Class 11B rolled over the top-rated Class 11A team as Winner defeated host West Central 46-12. It was the Warriors 30th win in a row.
Oct. 8: Four of South Dakota’s 11 college football teams were at home Saturday and they drew 29,434 fans, mostly at Brookings and Aberdeen. The second largest crowd (19,332) in the history of 6-year-old Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium saw SDSU defeat USD 28-3 while the largest crowd (7,064) in the history of the 2-year-old Dacotah Bank Stadium saw Northern State defeat Winona 42-21. Both stadiums were sold out while about 1,500 fans each saw Sioux Falls defeat visiting Southwest Minnesota State 35-14 and Mount Marty lose 44-29 to Dordt in Yankton.
Oct. 10: Scott Langer has replaced Steve Jennings as head coach of the Aberdeen Wings. Langer was head coach of the Wings from 2016-2021 before spending a year as the head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force. Langer returned to Aberdeen ahead of the 2022-23 season as the team’s General Manager and President of Hockey Operations. He is currently the NAHL’s all-time winningest coach with 663 wins in 963 games and led the Wings to the Robertson Cup championship in 2019. Jennings was 39-36 during his one season plus as head coach. Here are the Wings’ head coaches:
• Feb. 4, 2010-Dec. 17, 2012: Pete Sauer (58-92).
• Dec. 17, 2012-Jan. 13, 2013: (interim) Garrett Strot (0-12).

• Jan 13, 2013-May 27, 2014: Travis Winter (53-31).
• May 27, 2014-April 12, 2016: Francis Anzalone (49-71).
• April 13, 2016-July 28, 2021: Scott Langer (226-101).
• July 28, 2021-Oct. 10, 2022: Steve Jennings (39-36).
Oct. 14: 2021 USA Olympic shooter Ali Weisz won the 2022 10-meter air rifle world championship in Egypt. Weisz earned her gold medal by defeating Yuting Huang of China in the finals. Weisz was born in Rapid City and has relatives in the Aberdeen area. Weisz became the first American woman to win an individual world championship in a rifle event in 43 years. Weisz and teammates Mary Tucker and Sagen Maddalena won a silver in the 10-meter Women’s Air Rifle Team Competition in Egypt.
Oct. 14: Chad Becker of Aberdeen won the WISSOTA Late Model national championship this season with 3,220 points. Becker competed in 40 feature races this season with 32 top five finishes and 14 wins. Becker, who was the track champ at Watertown this season, was second in the nation last season. This is Becker’s third Late Model national title (2019 and 2012).
Oct. 14: Waverly-South Shore defeated Langford Area 55-0 to snap a 20-game football losing streak. Troy Kneeland had a hand in five TDs and recorded a safety for WSS, which last won on Sept. 11, 2020 (29-0 over Great Plains Lutheran).
Oct. 14: Ryan Krog threw a 52-yard TD pass to Carson Griffiths as time expired to give Elkton-Lake Benton a 32-26 win over Castlewood in a game with the Dakota Valley Conference title on the line.
Oct. 14: In a rematch of last year’s 11AA championship game, Pierre nipped Tea Area 35-30 in a matchup of unbeaten football teams. Lincoln Kienholz threw three TDs for the Governors, and intercepted a pass in the end zone on the last play of the game. Tea has just three football losses since 2019, all to Pierre.
Oct. 14: The Winner football team defeated Mount Vernon/Plankinton 34-8 to finish its fourth straight undefeated season and give the Warriors their 31st straight win.
Oct. 14: Brenden Begeman rushed for 291 yards on 10 carries and four TDs in Herreid-Selby Area’s 50-0 win over Britton-Hecla. Begeman has now rushed for more than 2,000 yards this season.
Oct. 15: ESPN’s College GameDay did a feature on the Dakota Marker game, giving both the SDSU and NDSU football programs big-time national exposure. Second-rated SDSU outscored top-ranked NDSU 16-0 in the second half to win 23-21 in front of a sold-out Fargodome (18,603). The Bison lead the all-time series (63-45-5) and the Dakota Marker series 10-9, but the Jacks have won five of the last seven meetings in the series.
Oct. 15: Adam DeJong (Watertown) led Dakota Wesleyan to a 31-24 win over Briar Cliff with three interceptions, two of which he returned for TDs. DeJong tied a DWU record as six Tigers had three picks in a game (Jon Hilton in 1973, Jeff Larson in 1988, Brandon Mozley in 1995, Todd Sprang in 1997, Eric Adolph in 2008, and Dustin Bergmeier in 2012).
Oct. 15: The Presentation College football team defeated host Dakota State 21-19. The Trojans had won the last eight meetings with the Saints. PC got TDs from Daryl Coston (48-yard run), Kevin Wright (8-yard pass from Kaeden Frazier) and Abdulahi Yusuf (4-yard run) while Luiz Ferreira made all three of his PAT kicks.

Oct. 15: Long-time Sully Buttes coach and teacher Mark Senftner died at age 60. Senftner, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in December 2020, was a 1980 McLaughlin and 1985 Northern State graduate. For 37 years (1985-2022), Senftner had been a high school head coach for a variety of boys’ and girls’ sports at Roscoe, Gregory, Timber Lake and Sully Buttes (his last 18 years). His girls’ basketball teams had appeared in 15 state tournaments, winning four (2007, 2008, 2016, 2017) of the six (2012, 2015 runner-up) championship games in which they appeared. His girls’ basketball teams won 515 games (vs. 211 losses) — the sixth-best record in state history when he retired in 2022. Senftner had been the Sully Buttes’ head football coach for 13 seasons, with his teams finishing as the state runners-up three times with seven state semifinal appearances and a 101-42 record. Despite coaching at small high schools, Senftner coached more than 25 athletes who went on to successfully play college athletics, including a handful of Division I athletes.
Oct. 15: Ian Marshall (Springfield, Mo.) broke the NSU single-game sack record with four in the Wolves 38-10 win over Minot. Five Wolves had previously recorded three sacks in a game: Rob Carroll in 1998; Tynanes Marcus twice in 1999; Charlie Williams twice in 2003; Brayden McNeary in 2018; and Noah MacPherson in 2018.
Oct. 15: At the center of what many called one of the biggest games in college football history was an Aberdeen native. Aberdeen Central graduate Josh Heupel coached his Tennessee football team over coach Nick Saban’s Alabama team 52-49. It snapped the Volunteers’ 15-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide. Tennessee last beat Alabama 16-13 in 2006; and the Tide lead the series 59-39-7.
Oct. 16: Sioux Falls 30-year plus pro fisherman Ted Takasaki and partner Dave Randash of North Dakota won an international walleye fishing tourney on the Winnipeg River in Canada. They caught eight walleye (including a 30-inch, 8.5 pounder) weighing 37.03 pounds during the two-day tourney. It was Takasaki’s second international title.
Oct. 17: For the first time, the SDSU football team is ranked first in the nation in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
Oct. 18: For the first time, the SDSU women’s basketball team is ranked (No. 23) in the DI national pre-season poll. The Jacks are coming off a 29-9 season that concluded with a WNIT national title. They return several key returnees including Paiton Burckhard (Aberdeen Central) and Myah Selland (Letcher).
Oct. 19: Groton and NDSU graduate Chris Hanson moved to Brookings for a few days after the 26-year popular Fargo radio host lost an on-air bet that his Bison would defeat SDSU in last Saturday’s Dakota Marker game. Before the game, Hanson said he would move to Brookings for a week if his Bison lost to the Jacks. Over the weekend, Hanson came to live and do his popular “Bob 95 FM” show from Brookings. However, Hanson made friends with SDSU coach John Steigelmeier, who pardoned Hanson and said he could move back to Fargo at midweek. However, Hanson loved his time in Brookings and turned his experience into great content for his listeners.
Oct. 20: Hot Springs defeated Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan 45-6 in the opening round of the Class 11B football playoffs. It ended BEE’s streak of five state championship appearances in a row and it was Hot Springs’ first playoff win in eight years (10-0 over Belle Fourche on Nov. 3, 2014).
Oct. 20: In the first round of the 9B football playoffs, Avon defeated Faulkton Area 74-48 in a game that featured 1,125 total yards, 54 first downs and two Avon 200-yard rushers. Avon’s Cade Faulkner and Brady Bierema combined for 467 yards and six TDs.

Oct. 20: On the last play of the game, Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy scored on a 39-yard screen pass from Riley Tschetter to Evan Scharberg to give the Phoenix a 36-30 win over Florence/Henry in the opening round of the 9AA playoffs.
Oct. 20: Redfield defeated Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central 7-6 in the opening round of the 11B football playoffs. Redfield stopped a two-point conversion attempt after WWSSC scored with eight seconds left in the game.
Oct. 21: Another beloved and decorated coach in the Aberdeen area has died, the second in the past week. Bill Martens (Dec. 6, 1967-Oct. 21, 2022) of Aberdeen was 54. Martens was a standout multi-sport athlete in high school (De Smet) and college (NSU). He spent his entire life teaching and coaching multiple sports in Aberdeen. His specialty was running and he impacted thousands of young athletes via his 30-plus years of coaching. He was the long-time head coach of the Aberdeen Central girls’ cross country team and played an important role in the Golden Eagles girls’ and boys’ track programs. His teams won numerous region, conference and state titles and his many honors on and off the field included SD coach of the year, a two-time finalist for national coach of the year and elementary teacher of the year. He taught elementary kids physical education, and Martens was always a favorite teacher.
Oct. 21: Need cheer? Check with Sioux Valley as that school has won every State A cheer championship (2007-22, 16th in a row) South Dakota has ever offered. Meanwhile, Dakota Valley has won 13 straight State A dance championships (2010-22) after St. Thomas More won the first three state titles (2007-09) offered.
Oct. 22: Brandon Valley nipped Sioux Falls Washington 298.0 to 297.5 to win the State AA Dance Championship. The two schools have finished first or second every year since 2015. Washington won six-straight titles from 2015-2020 and Brandon Valley has won the past two years.
Oct. 22: For the first time since 1963, SDSU swept its Dakota rivals USD (28-3), NDSU 23-21 and UND (49-35). In 1963, the Jacks defeated USD 61-0, NDSU 40-25 and UND 7-6.
Oct. 24: Langford native and Dakota Wesleyan junior middle blocker Ady Dwight was named as the NAIA national attacker of the week for the second time in three weeks.
Oct. 26: After playing pro basketball abroad for nine years in 27 countries, seven-foot Yankton native Colton Iverson has retired. Iverson was born in Aberdeen on June 29, 1998.
Oct. 27: Aberdeen Central hosted its first football playoff game since 2009 as the Golden Eagles defeated visiting Spearfish 34-7 in Class 11AA’s first round.
Oct. 27: Warner trailed by 17 points in the third quarter, but rallied to score the game’s final five touchdowns to defeat Canistota 48-31 in the quarterfinals of the Class 9A football playoffs.
Oct. 27: Harding County/Bison used a miracle finish to defeat Philip 20-15 in the Class 9A football quarterfinals. HC/B had the ball at its own 38 with 10.5 seconds left and no timeouts, and completed a 50-yard pass play from Kelby Hett to Gage Gilbert. The clock stopped to reset the chains, and HC/B got the snap off and Kaden Green scored the 12-yard game-winning TD on a pass from Hett.
Oct. 27: In Herreid/Selby’s Class 9B football quarterfinal 44-14 win over Avon, quarterback Tray Hettick surpassed 5,000 career yards passing and Brenden Begeman surpassed 6,000 career yards rushing.

Oct. 29: The NSU football team defeated Moorhead 35-7, holding the Dragons to a school-record minus 88 yards rushing.
Oct. 29: In their second year of football, Mount Marty got its first-ever home win, defeating Doane University 27-16 at Crane Youngworth Field in Yankton.
Oct. 29: South Dakota Mines (6-3) clinched its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1984 (7-2) and 1985 (6-3). The Hardrockers were 6-5 last year.

Email us at dave@sdsportscene.com if you think we missed something or if you have an event you would like us to consider for this feature.