Feb. 1: On National Signing Day, South Dakota sent 111 high school football players to 21 college programs. That included 81 players who signed a National Letter of Intent to South Dakota’s 10 college programs. It doesn’t include the players who signed during the early signing period in December. South Dakota lost a football program when Presentation College announced it was shutting down its Aberdeen campus. The Saints went 41-79 in its 12 seasons (2011-2022) of existence.

Feb. 2: Defending State A champion Dakota Valley boys’ basketball team has won its 40th game in a row. The Panthers (13-0) defeated Elk Point-Jefferson 80-63. Sioux Valley last lost on March 19, 2021, to Sioux Valley (59-57) in the State A semifinals with its streak starting the next night against Dell Rapids (69-60) to earn third-place in the State A. Dakota Valley went 26-0 last season.

Feb. 4: SDSU sophomore Zeke Mayo (Lawrence, KS) scored 41 points to lead the SDSU men’s basketball team to a 90-85 win over NDSU. Mayo’s 41 is the second most points by a Jackrabbit player in the 50-year history of Frost Arena. Former SDSU standout Mike Daum (2016-19) scored 42 points twice at Frost.

Feb. 4: White River’s Joe Sayler moved into the top 10 on the all-time SD boys’ basketball scoring list with 2,346 points. Sayler has a shot at moving into the top five (Josh Mueller of West Central is fifth with 2,563 points). Louie Krogman of White River is the all-time leader with 3,521 points.

Feb. 4: Myah Selland (Letcher) led the SDSU women’s basketball team to a 82-54 win over NDSU to improve the Jacks to 20-5 and 13-0 in the Summit League. It was the 19th win in a row by the Jacks over NDSU; the Bison’s last win (83-78) against SDSU came on Jan. 4, 2015. Selland became only the second player in the women’s program to score more than 2,000 career points and only the fourth Jackrabbit in history to do so. Macy Miller (2015-19) scored 2,355 for the Jacks as did Mike Daum (3,067 points from 2016-19) and Nate Wolters (2,363 points from 2009-13) on the men’s side.

Feb. 4: A big weekend by Sam Masten (Highlands Ranch, CO) led Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men’s basketball leader NSU (19-5 15-3) to a pair of home wins. Masten had 53 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals and three assists in wins over St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth during the Wolves’ annual “I Hate Winter” celebrations. The Wolves have now won 10 “I Hate Winter” games in a row at Wachs Arena. Their last loss in the annual weekend celebration came to Southwest Minnesota State 64-57 on Jan. 27, 2018.

Feb. 4: A trio of South Dakota cowboys won titles at the prestigious Rodeo Rapid City 2023 as part of the 65th annual Black Hills Stock Show. Delbert “Shorty” Garrett of Eagle Butte won the Saddle Bronc; Billy Boldon of Oglala won the steer wrestling; and Chance Schott of McLaughlin won the bull riding. Schott had a dream week as he also won the Xtreme Bulls title at the Black Hills Stock Show as well as making the bull riding finals at the Fort Worth (TX) Stock Show. He earned more than $12,000 in nine days at the two rodeos and made a couple of trips (1,047 miles one-way) back-and-forth from South Dakota to Texas during the competitions that were going on during similar time frames.

Feb. 4: History was made when the Augustana NCAA acrobatics and tumbling team — the first of its kind in South Dakota — took to the mat for the first time. The Vikings made a great showing in Sioux Falls, facing No. 5 Oregon, a charter member of the sport in 2009 that is seeking NCAA Championship status. The Vikings fell to the Ducks 268.685-251.655 in front of a raucous crowd of 722 at the Elmen Center on the Augustana campus. One of Augie’s top performances was turned in by SD freshman tumbler Paige Simon of Clear Lake and Deuel High School.

Feb. 7: Isaac Bruns of Dakota Valley scored his 2,000 th career point, the 45 th South Dakota boys’ basketball player to do so in state history. He joins his brother, Paul (now playing at USD), in the club as Paul scored 2,206 points (19th) during his career. Louie Krogman of White River is the all-time leader with 3,521. The Bruns are the first brothers to have earned a spot in the club.

Feb. 7: There was a twist to a long-time boys’ basketball rivalry as senior Brennan Keszler scored 17 points to help Hamlin defeat Castlewood 65-43. Meanwhile, sophomore Jamison Keszler, Brennan’s brother, is a key player for Castlewood, where their mom, Angela, is principal.

Feb. 8: The North Dakota High School Activities Association executive board voted to go from a two-class system in basketball to a three-class system. The three-class plan will start next season for the 2023-24 school year. South Dakota went to a three-class system in the 1985-86 school year.

Feb. 10: The DII nation’s 22 nd -ranked men’s basketball gave their coach his 300 th career win in Bemidji with NSU’s 85-63 victory. Wolves’ coach Saul Phillips now has a career record of 300-186, including a 85-24 record at NSU.

Feb. 10: Reed Benter made a half-court shot as time expired to lead Burke to a 52-51 boys’ basketball win over the Nebraska team of North Central.

Feb. 10: Junior Sadie Johnson led Estelline (SD)-Hendricks (MN) to the State A gymnastics title in Aberdeen. It is the first time in almost 30 years that the title has not been won by either Madison (1995-2010, 2014-17, 2022) or Deuel (2011-13, 2018-21). The last non-Madison or Deuel team to win the Class A title was Vermillion in 1994. Johnson earned the top scores in four (vault, bars, floor and all-around) of the five events for the Estelline-Hendricks Redhawks, coached by Sadie’s mom Sherri Johnson. In Class AA, the Mitchell Kernels won their eighth state title under coach Audra Rew since 2007. The two championship coaches coached gymnastics together in Mitchell from 1993-2000, with Sherri (Olson) Johnson as head coach of the Kernels and Rew as her assistant. Estelline/Hendricks gymnasts compete in a converted farm shed that also houses the occasional farm supplies built in 2014 on the Gary and Sherri Johnson family farm in rural Hendricks, MN.

Feb. 10: In a big-time DI match rarely wrestled in South Dakota, No. 7 Oklahoma State defeated No. 16 SDSU 19-12. Seventeen of the 20 wrestlers in the Big 12 Conference dual at Frost Arena in Brookings were nationally ranked, including the four Jackrabbits who won their matches: Clay Carlson, Cade DeVos, Tanner Sloan and A.J. Nevills. The loss snapped the Jacks (11-3 and 5-1 in the Big 12) 10-match dual winning streak and improved the Cowboys to 12-2 and 7-1.

Feb. 11: The SDSU women (21-5, 14-0) women clinched the regular season Summit League basketball title with a 79-48 win over rival USD. It was the 98 th meeting (SDSU leads the series 63-35) between the two schools. This was SDSU’s first win (99-88) in Vermillion since March 2, 2014, and the Jacks’ first win in the 7-year-old Sanford Coyote Sports Center. In the last 16 seasons since 2007-08, SDSU has won nine regular-season Summit League titles and has a 224-36 conference record.

Feb. 11: The NSU men’s basketball team locked down shares of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and North Division titles with its 92-68 win over Minnesota-Crookston. In the last six seasons, the Wolves have won five NSIC regular-season championships and five North Division titles going 128-36 overall and 99-23 in the conference.

Feb. 12: Kansas City nipped Philadelphia 38-35 on a last-second field goal in Super Bowl 57 (XLII). USD graduate Jack Cochrane of Kansas City made a couple of nice plays on special teams with his tackling and blocking. Britton-Hecla and SDSU graduate Dallas Goedert also had a great game from his Philadelphia tight end position, making several impressive, important catches (six for 60 yards) and making several key blocks. Also, former SDSU quarterback Chris Oladokun spent the season on the Kansas City practice squad.

Feb. 13: Black Hills State senior men’s basketball player Joel Scott became the all-time leader in career points (2,191) in school history. He broke Kim Templeton’s record of 2,180 points set from 1972-76.

Feb. 16: The Presentation College men’s basketball team lost its last ever game at the Strode Center to Mayville State 77-70 as the Aberdeen college is shutting down. The Saints were led by Detroit native and senior reserve Travez Nyx (21 points) and Aberdeen’s Jackson Becker (10 points, six rebounds and three steals). PC played its first game at the Strode Center on Nov. 13, 1998. On that 1998 night, Minnesota-Morris defeated coach Chad Brown’s Saints 71-66. PC was led by Matt Christensen’s 23 points and 22 points from John Hepperle. The building was named after Hepperle’s great aunt and PC supporter, Margaret Rittierodt Strode.

Feb. 16: The Presentation College men’s basketball team lost its last ever game at the Strode Center to Mayville State 91-45 as the Aberdeen college is shutting down. PC senior Nek Newell (Newport News, VA) led the Saints with 12 points. The PC women played its first game at the Strode Center on Nov. 14, 1998. On that night, the University of Sioux Falls defeated PC 85-31. On that 1998 night, coach Paul Rozell’s Saints were led by Katie Didier who scored nine points.

Feb. 18: The NSU men’s basketball team won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and North Division titles. In the last six seasons, the Wolves have won five NSIC regular-season championships and five North titles going 130-36 overall and 101-23 in the conference. This also was Jordan Belka’s last home game (74-71 over Minot) at Wachs Arena, where the Wolves have gone 58-11 during his five-year (2018-23) career.

Feb. 18: SDSU seniors Paiton Burckhard (Aberdeen) and Myah Selland (Letcher) combined for 34 points in their final game at Frost Arena as the Jacks took down Omaha 87-54. Burckhard and Selland went 67-8 at Frost during their five-year (2018-23) careers.

Feb. 20: Dakota State ended the Presentation College women’s basketball season with a 116-40 win in Madison in the first round of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament. PC ended the season 2-24 in their last-ever season as the campus of the Aberdeen college is shutting down. The PC women’s basketball team played its first game in program history on Nov. 17, 1995, at Wachs Arena (its home court that season) in Aberdeen. York College of Nebraska defeated the Saints that 1995 night 59-46 as coach Chris Miskec’s PC team was led by Amy Batta’s 18 points.

Feb. 20: The South Dakota Hockey Hall of Fame, established in 2022, has announced its first class of 15 members to be inducted April 14, 2023, in Sioux Falls. Honorees are: Aberdeen Wings owners Nancy and Greg Odde; Brookings residents Tom Honkomp, Justin Kirchhevel, Randy Hohkomp and Mike Reger; Pierre residents Landon Badger, Matt Farris and Austin Wagner; Huron residents Tom Hitchcock and Jack Vosler; Mitchell residents Dave Tronnes and Maxine Tronnes; Glenn Cacaro of Sioux Falls; and Dick Novak of Rapid City.

Feb. 21: The Presentation College men’s basketball team (6-21) ended its season a 91-63 loss to host Mayville State in the first round of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament. It was the last game in program history as the campus of the Aberdeen college is shutting down. The PC men’s basketball team played its first game in program history on Nov. 10, 1995, in Liberty (MO) against William Jewell College. Coach Mick Spaulding and his Saints lost 101-68 as PC got 30 points from Paul Rozell and 12 from John Hepperle.

Feb. 21: Dickinson State ended the Dakota State men’s basketball season with a 72-60 win in the first round of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament. It was the last game after 14 seasons for Dakota State coach Gary Garner who is retiring. Garner’s Trojan teams were 198-226 during his time in Madison with two regular-season conference titles, six conference tournament championship game appearances with four titles and four NAIA tourney appearances including an Elite Eight run in 2013.

Feb. 24: NSU’s Jordan Belka was voted the NSIC Bob Olson Outstanding Senior Award. The award is given annually to a men’s basketball player who emulates Olson’s traits on and off the court. Olson was a lifetime Northern State product, as a student, player, coach and athletic director. Belka has a 3.9 GPA and is a 1,000-point plus career scorer for the Wolves.

Feb. 24: Noah Hutmacher finished what he started as the 220-pound Chamberlain multi-sport standout won the Class A wrestling title. Hutmacher went 38-1 this season, and 35 of his wins were by pin including all four of his state tourney matches. Hutmacher was only on the mat 9 minutes and 42 seconds out of a possible 24 minutes in the state tourney.

Feb. 24: The Canton wrestling team won its sixth State B wrestling title in a row, its seventh in the last eight years and its eighth overall. No team, either Class A or B, has won as many in a row.

Feb. 24: Brandon Valley won its third State A wrestling title in a row. Lynx junior Navarro Schunke won his fourth individual title (three at 285, one at 220) while BV’s four Oehme brothers won three state titles (junior Trevon at 113; senior Jordan at 132; and Trason at 145). Eighth-grader Brendon Oehme finished second at 106. The four brothers had a combined record of 160-11 this season.

Feb. 25: The Spearfish girls’ basketball team won their final three games to finish the regular season 10-9, its first winning regular season since finishing 14-6 in 2015-16.

Feb. 25: Pierre and Brandon Valley finished tied for the Class A dual state wrestling championship. However, Pierre was awarded the title in a tie-breaker criteria for having more maximum-point wins in the dual. The Governors had three pins, worth six points each, plus a six-point forfeit while BV had three pins.

Feb. 25: SDSU seniors Matt Dentlinger and Alex Arians played their last game in Frost Arena, a 69-65 loss to Oral Roberts. It was only the fourth home loss during their five-year (2018-23) careers as Dentlinger and Arians helped the Jackrabbits go 62-4 at Frost Arena.

Feb. 25: Two northeast South Dakota Bellator Mixed Martial Arts fighters fought in Bellator 291 in Dublin, Ireland. Webster graduate Logan Storley headlined the show, but the interim world welterweight champion was defeated by Yarsolav Amosov. Amosov is now 27-0 overall in MMA pro fights, including 8-0 in Bellator fights, and the undisputed world champion after winning 50-45 on all three judges’ cards against Storley. Storley (14-2, 9-2 Bellator) won the world title after Amosov left the ring to serve his native Ukraine in its war against Russia. Both of Storley’s losses have been to Amosov. Also on the card was Doland’s Bryce Logan (13-7, 1-4 Bellator). He won by stopping in the second round former lightweight title challenger and No. 10-ranked Peter Queally.

Feb. 25: The SDSU women’s and Oral Roberts men’s basketball teams completed perfect 18-0 Summit League seasons. It is the first time in the 39-year-old league that both basketball conference champions went undefeated in the same season. In the last 16 seasons since 2007-08, SDSU women’s basketball teams have won nine regular-season Summit League titles and have a 228-36 conference record.

Feb. 28: A South Dakotan was dragged into a moment that will live in the college basketball Twitter world for all time. Iowa head coach Fran McCaffrey was issued a technical foul with 2:03 remaining in a Big Ten game against Michigan State that left his Hawkeyes trailing by 13. After McCaffrey called a timeout with 89 seconds left and Iowa trailing 91-81, McCaffrey used it to step outside the team huddle to silently stare at Philip native, Mitchell resident and former DWU basketball player Kelly Pfeifer, a veteran big-time college official. McCaffrey eventually stepped towards Pfeifer, and Pfeifer stepped closer to McCaffrey before an assistant escorted McCaffrey back to the Iowa huddle after the 16-second, silent exchange. Iowa made five three-pointers in the final 40 seconds, forced overtime and won 112-106.

Feb. 28: Host De Smet defeated Oldham-Ramona/Rutland 77-20 in the Region 2B Boys’ Basketball Tournament. The Bulldogs have now won 41 straight home games and have not lost a home game at the Dog Pound since Dec. 11, 2018 (67-45 vs. Clark/Willow Lake).

Feb. 28: In the Region 4B Boys’ Basketball Tournament, Logan Bobzin of Centerville grabbed a rebound and launched a 75-foot shot that found its mark at the buzzer to send the game into overtime where Scotland won 57-54.

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.