Nov. 1: One of the nation’s best pro breakaway ropers, Samantha Fulton of Miller, missed qualifying for next month’s National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas by $72.15. Erin Johnson of Fowler (CO) earned the 15th and final NFR spot for breakaway ropers by earning $66,742.14 this season while Fulton earned $66,669.99. On her last run of the 2023 regular season, Johnson earned $336 at a rodeo in New Mexico to secure her spot in the NFR. Fulton qualified for the Nationals last year and ended up as No. 14 in the world.
Nov. 1: There is a new award for South Dakota high school basketball coaches. The SD High School Activities Association approved the annual Larry Luitjens Coach of Influence Award. One will be given to a girls’ coach and one to a boys’ coach at the end of the season, starting in 2023-24. Luitjens, the legendary De Smet and Custer coach who has the most boys’ wins (748 in 47 seasons) in state history with seven state titles, died on June 10, 2023, at age 81. He is a Britton and NSU graduate. “The award represents what he stood for in coaching,” said his son, former Custer and NSU basketball standout Lance Luitjens. Lance explained that the criteria for the award would be based on influence on players and the school, impact in the community, game preparation, motivation and communication. Each winner would receive a plaque with a Native American beaded necklace like the signature one Coach Luitjens always wore.
Nov. 2: After 961 days between games, former NSU standout Parker Fox finally got on the court with his hometown basketball team, the Minnesota Gophers. The Gophers handled visited cross-town Macalester College 97-73 in an exhibition game where Fox contributed 11 points (made all five of his field goals), five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. After transferring from NSU where he played three seasons and graduating, Fox suffered back-to-back season-ending knee injuries in 2021-22 and 2022-23. On March 16, 2021, at Wachs Arena in the North Central Regional championship, Fox and his NSU teammates lost 91-86 in overtime to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State. In what would be his last game until the game against Macalester, Fox had 34 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks and would surpass the 1,000-point mark in his NSU career.
Nov. 3: The six Warner senior volleyball players never lost a game on their home court in their four years in high school and the seven Warner senior football players never lost a game on their home field in high school. Warner seniors Courtney Bjorgaard, Ava Nilsson, Kyra Marcuson, Sophia Hoeft, Nevaeh Lesnar and Lauren Marcuson went 41-0 at home in their high school careers and 133-10 overall with two state championships and two state runner-up finishes. Warner seniors Brodey Sauerwein, Hunter Cramer, Jace Schwab, Charlie Dulany, Alex Pudwill, Gavin Lane and Tristan Gosch went 21-0 at home during their high school football careers and 39-6 overall with a state title, a state-runner-up finish and three appearances in semifinal games.
Nov. 5: In the 67th minute of play, Ellie Gusman scored the only goal of the game to pace the SDSU soccer team to a 1-0 win over Nebraska-Omaha to earn the Jacks the Summit League title and a spot in the 64-team NCAA DI tourney. SDSU goalie Jocelyn Tanner stopped three shots in a match that was hampered by 30-mph wind gusts in Brookings. The Jacks (13-3-3) have won once (vs. Colorado in 2008) in seven NCAA tourneys after winning Summit League titles in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Nov. 8: Former NSU standout Steve Smiley is now 200-92 in his coaching career after his Northern Colorado men’s basketball team defeated Northern New Mexico 81-60.
Nov. 8: Kennadi Williams signed to play basketball and softball at Nebraska. Her head coach in basketball will be the Huskers’ Amy Williams, also Kennadi’s mom. The younger Williams was a star in both sports at Lincoln (NE) Southwest High School. Amy (Gusso) Williams, who coached the USD women from 2012-16 where she led the Coyotes to a 96-42 record and the 2016 WNIT championship, was a former star athlete in her hometown of Spearfish, where she graduated high school in 1993.
Nov. 8: The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team defeated Long Island 92-57 in coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s debut. She formerly coached at West Virginia and USD from 2016-22, where she led the Coyotes to a 158-36 record.
Nov. 9: When Parkston defeated Howard for the State 9AA football title, history again was made by a South Dakota woman. Genevieve DeMent-Osborn of Rapid City became the first woman to officiate a South Dakota high school state football title game. On March 16, 2021, she was the first Native American woman to work a state basketball championship game as the 1997 Hot Springs graduate was head referee when Winner defeated West Central 60-53 for the State A girls’ title. On Dec. 17, 2019, DeMent-Osborn, Amber Sierra and Mary Freddy became the first all-Native American officiating crew to ref a Class AA girls’ basketball game (Pierre vs. Huron). The same crew were the first to work a varsity game in 2017 when they worked a girls’ game together at the Lakota Nation Invitational.
Nov. 9: Warner (12-0) won its first state football title in wild fashion with a record-setting 76-54 win over Deubrook Area in the Class 9A championship game. Coach Kerwin Hoellein’s Monarchs were led by an MVP performance by quarterback Hunter Cramer and MVP lineman Preston Cavalier.
Nov. 10: Coach Ben Kramer and his Hot Springs Bison defeated defending champ Elk Point-Jefferson 13-7 to win the State 11B football title. The Bison were led by game MVP Camron Maciejewski, MVP back Braden Peterson and MVP lineman Caleb Rickenbach. Hot Springs last won a football state title when a vote of the media crowned the Bison in 1974. In their last DakotaDome state championship appearance on Nov. 14, 2003, West Central defeated Hot Springs 48-7 for the 11A title in a game where Trojan MVP James Lemke and mistakes haunted the Bison. In one second-quarter possession, Bison speedster Joe Beehler had a 60-yard touchdown run called back for penalties as well as his 77-yard TD run on a fake punt.
Nov. 10: SDSU (13-4-3) fell to No. 15 Nebraska 5-2 in the first round of the NCAA Division I soccer tourney. Even though the Jacks have won only once in eight NCAA tourney games, they have had a great run in the past 10 seasons with six Summit League Tournament championships (2023, 2021, 2019, 2016, 2015, and 2014); three Summit League regular-season titled (2018 tied with Denver, 2017, and 2014); and an overall record of 124-46-29.
Nov. 10: Pierre won its never-been-done-before seventh straight football championship in a row with a 35-7 win over Yankton. Winning MVP awards for the Governors were Trey Lewis (Game), Matthew Brewer (Lineman) and Cade Kaiser (Back). In eight seasons as Pierre head coach, Michigan native Steve Steele has a 78-16 record, with six of those losses coming in his first season in 2016. In Steele’s tenure, the Governors have won seven state titles in a row with winning streaks of 20 and 18 games.

Nov. 11: Former Pierre three-sport (football, basketball and baseball) all-stater Lincoln Kienholz made his Ohio State debut. The quarterback closed out the fourth quarter and game for the top-ranked Buckeyes (10-0) in their 38-3 win over Michigan State.
Nov. 11: Jadon Janke (Madison) led his SDSU football teammates to a 34-0 win over Youngstown State for a share of the Missouri Valley Football League title and the Jacks’ 24 th win in a row. Janke had 166 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Jacks, which defended their conference title.
Nov. 11: After trailing 10-0 at halftime, the USD football team scored touchdowns in the third (Keyondre Williams two-yard run) and fourth (Charles Pierre Jr. 10-yard run) quarters to defeat the University of North Dakota 14-10. The fifth-ranked Coyotes of coach Bob Nielsen are now 8-2, the first time USD has won eight regular-season games at the FCS level — the Coyotes moved up in 2008.
Nov. 11: The Augustana football team won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football championship with a 38-19 win over Bemidji State. Big plays resulting in touchdowns propelled the Vikings (48-yard pass from Casey Bauman to Devon Jones, 54-yard run by Jarod Epperson, 61-yard interception return by JayVian Farr and 52-yard field goal by Jake Pecina). It is the Vikings’ second conference championship in three years and their first outright conference championship since 1959 when coach Bob Burns and senior LeRoy Anderberg (11 touchdowns) led the Vikings to a 6-2-1 record and the North Central Conference title. The Vikings started the 1959 conference season with a tie (22-22 with UND) and a loss (35-20 to SDSU). However, they rallied to win their last five games after starting the season with a 36-7 loss to Nebraska. One key 1959 conference win for the Vikings came on Oct. 10 in Cedar Falls (IA) with a 7-6 win over the Iowa Teachers (Northern Iowa). A patched-up Augie squad scored with 7:16 left in the game on its fourth try from the four-yard line on a run by Jerry Schlieman, who started the season as a guard. Quarterback Jim Luce kicked the game-winning PAT to give the Vikings the victory.
Nov. 11: Two weeks after a new state walleye record was established for hook and line, Keith Pazour of Pierre broke that record by landing a 17-pound, 13-ounce walleye. On Oct. 27, Aaron Schuck of Bismarck set a new record of 16.8 pounds. Pazour caught his record fish on Lake Oahe in about the same location that Schuck landed his short-lived record fish. Schuck’s catch erased the state walleye record weighing 16.2 pounds that was set in 2002 by 73-year-old Georgine Chytka (1929-2018) of Lake Andes.
Nov. 11: The NSU volleyball team disposed of No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth 3-0 to sweep the regular season series against the Bulldogs for the first time in program history. Natalia Szybinska led the Wolves with 13 kills and six blocks.
Nov. 11: Sioux Falls Lincoln (12-0) completed one of the most dominating high school football seasons in South Dakota big-school history with its 31-7 state title win over Sioux Falls O’Gorman. Led by the dynamic QB-WR combo of Tate Schafer and Jack Smith, the Patriots scored a Class AAA record 589 points and their defense allowed a record-low 144 points.
Nov. 11: Including 2023, there have been 251 South Dakota prep football state championship games: 36 were won by West River (including Pierre and Fort Pierre) teams and 215 by East River teams. Dividing South Dakota into three parts results in 94 central South Dakota teams (50 miles either side of Missouri River) winning titles; 146 East River teams winning titles; 11 West River teams winning titles. Forty-seven of South Dakota’s 199 high schools are in West River.
Nov. 12: Former SDSU and Tea Area standout Noah Freidel helped James Madison to record one of its best weeks in the history of its men’s basketball program. On Monday (Nov. 6) in East Lansing, the Dukes stunned No. 4 Michigan State 79-76 in overtime. With under 90 seconds left in regulation, two Freidel free throws and a game-tying basket by teammate T.J. Bickerstaff forced OT where James Madison disposed of the Spartans. Then on Thursday (Nov. 9) at Kent State, the Dukes outlasted the Golden Flashes 113-108 in double overtime to end Kent State’s 23-game home winning streak. Freidel hit a three-pointer with 3.8 seconds left in regulation which left the Dukes trailing 89-87. But an offensive foul on Kent State led to a Freidel game-tying layup to force the first OT. Finally on Sunday (Nov. 12) at home in Harrisonburg (VA), JMU went to 3-0 with a 107-86 win over Howard with Freidel totaling 30 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists on the week.
Nov. 12: Timber Lake native Tucker Kraft of SDSU got his first NFL start for Green Bay in the Packers 23-19 lost to Pittsburgh.
Nov. 13: Jim Haskamp has resigned as the Hanson High School football coach after 36 seasons (1988-23) as the head coach. His teams went 210-134 with four state titles (2005 and 2008-10) and 47 all-staters. Haskamp, a long-time basketball official, will continue refereeing and teaching at the school in Alexandria just outside of Mitchell. Haskamp, a Michigan native, also taught, coached and served as an assistant football coach at Todd County and Sully Buttes. He also served as an assistant football coach at Hanson for a few seasons before becoming the head coach.
Nov. 13: Black Hills State cross country team captains and twin siblings Tim and Sylvia Brown from Sheridan (WY) both qualified for the NCAA DII national championships Nov. 18 in Joplin (MO). At the South Central Region Championships on Nov. 4 in Lubbock (TX), both runners ran personal bests. Sylvia ran the 6,000 meters in 21 minutes, 19.21 seconds for 22nd while Tim ran the 10,000 meters in 30:54.86 to place 29 th .
Nov. 13: After Randy Rosenquist Jr.’s (Dakota Valley) jumper gave Dakota Wesleyan a 76-74 lead with 3.3 seconds left, Uzo Dibiamaka (Australia) answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give host Dakota State a thrilling 77-76 win over its South Dakota rival. The Trojans’ Brayden Pankonen (Dell Rapids) assisted on the final play. The game featured 18 lead changes and nine ties. The game also ended DSU’s 11-game losing streak in the series, with the Trojans last win (76-67) over the Tigers coming on Jan. 2, 2017. DSU has won six in a row, its best since the 2015-16 Trojans got nine straight wins.
Nov. 14: The USD volleyball team clinched a share of the Summit League title with a thrilling 3-2 win over rival SDSU. The Jacks won the first two sets 25-23, and the Coyotes won the next two 25-23 and then the fifth 15-4. Kylen Sealock (Lincoln, NE) led USD with 21 kills and 18 digs. Four of the last five matches between the two teams have gone five sets. However, the Coyotes have won 18 in a row against the Jacks and lead the series 29-21. In the last eight seasons since 2016, USD has won four league titles and four Summit League Tournament championships.
Nov. 14: With standout Paige Meyer out with an injury, the SDSU women’s basketball team used only seven players in its 66-64 lost to host Wisconsin. The Jacks rallied from nine points down with five minutes left to tie the game at 62 with 51 seconds left. Brooke Schramek scored in the final second to give the Badgers the win. Brooklyn Meyer led SDSU with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Nov. 14: Tea Area graduate Justin Hohn scored 25 points to propel UC-Irvine in a stunning 70-60 win over No. 16 USC.
Nov. 14: South Shore native, 2017 Watertown graduate and former NDSU defensive end standout Spencer Waege was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. He was with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent throughout the summer and training camp before being one of the last players released as the team was finalizing its 53-man roster for the 2023 season. Waege played in all three of San Francisco’s pre-season games.
Nov. 15: For the first time ever, four teams shared the Summit League regular-season volleyball title. Kansas City (21-7), USD (18-9), Denver (13-11) and Omaha (13-13) all finished with 12-4 records in the Summit League.
Nov. 16: For the first time since 1989, the Augstana women’s basketball team started the season with a new coach. Coach Jillian Flores Bennett and her Vikings lost 83-66 to Central Missouri. Dave Krauth coached the Vikings from 1989-2023, directing Augustana to a 695-302 record in 34 seasons, all winning seasons.
Nov. 18: It was a thrilling night in Rapid City for the volleyball state tournaments. In Class AA, Maggie Meister, Josalyn Samuels and Gabi Zachariasen led Harrisburg to a 31-0 season and its second state title in a row. Harrisburg, which had no seniors on the team, is coached by Webster native Ronette Costain. In Class A, Addisen Barber, Taylor Byl and Sidney Oostra led coach Darci Wassenaar’s Sioux Falls Christian Chargers to their seventh state title in a row. In Class B, Lily VanHal, Jacy Wolf and Emery Larson led coach Jean O’Hara’s Chester Area Flyers to a state title, beating in five sets previously undefeated Warner which was seeking a third consecutive title.
Nov. 18: Wolsey-Wessington finished sixth in the State B volleyball tourney. Coach Lindy Uttecht had three daughters (Kendal, Lainey and Shae) on the team.
Nov. 19: The top-rated Nebraska volleyball team (27-0, 18-0 Big Ten) won the Big Ten title outright by beating Iowa 3-0. It was the 35th such title all-time and the Cornhuskers first since 2017. Sioux Falls O’Gorman graduate and Nebraska freshman Bergen Reilly had 37 assists and nine digs in the win.
Nov. 20: Bob Nielson of USD (9-2) and Jimmy Rogers of SDSU (11-0) are two of the finalists for the FCS coach of the year award named in honor of legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson. Both teams are rated (SDSU No. 1, USD No. 3), received first-round byes in the playoffs and will host second-round games. Nielson has won national coach of the year awards at the NCAA DIII and DII levels. In 16 years at the FCS level, USD won a program-best nine FCS games this season. The Jacks, which completed the first perfect regular season in program history, are the defending national champions.
Nov. 19: Tucker Kraft turned in one of the biggest plays of the day to help his Green Bay Packers defeat the visiting Los Angeles Chargers 23-20. The former Timber Lake and SDSU standout tight end caught a Jordan Love pass on what looked like a short gain and turned it into what looked like a 39-yard, first NFL touchdown complete with a tradition celebration Lambeau Leap on Kraft’s part. After Kraft caught the pass, he outran a defender, hurdled over another one and tip-toed down the sidelines. However, a review determined Kraft stepped out of bounds at the 12-yard line after his 27-yard gain. Nevertheless, his big play set up the Packers’ game-winning touchdown (which was scored by Kraft’s former rival and now teammate, Christian Watson of NDSU).
Nov. 19: The University of Sioux Falls defeated Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell in the first collegiate women’s wrestling dual in South Dakota history. USF winners on the night were Ava McNeal, Paw Hobza, Rei Ogden, Ady Lundquist, Mackenzie Armagost, Brinley Green, Ciana Grate and Zoe Adam. DWU winners were Jayden Lange and Olivia Smith. USF is coached by former Aberdeen Central coach (2003-2010) Toby Bryant.
Nov. 20: Ava Nilsson ended an incredible volleyball career at Warner High School. The NSU recruit was named a first-team All-Stater for the fifth season in a row. In the past five seasons, Nilsson led the Monarchs to a 162-20 record and five state tournament finishes of first (2022 and 2021), second (2023 and 2020) and third (2019). She ended with an unheard of 5,030 career assists along with 1,316 digs.
Nov. 21: The University of Jamestown is set to join the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Pending their acceptance into the NCAA DII, the now-NAIA school would become the 16th member of the NSIC on July 1, 2025. The NSIC was formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league).
Nov. 21: Alayna Benike scored 20 points to pace the NSU women over Mary 77-64 in Bismarck. Sully Buttes High School fans were watching with interest as two of their former standout athletes were matched up as assistant coaches. Katie Bourk is at NSU while Chloe Lamb is at Mary.
Nov. 23: South Dakota was represented well in the 97th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. More than 200 cheerleaders from across the country were selected to join together to form the Spirit of America squad to perform in the parade. Lakota Tech cheer coach Misty Mousseaux Begay directed South Dakota cheerleaders Aroha Clifford of Little Wound; Adrianne Slow Bear, Caitlyn Ghost Bear and Drew Slow Bear of Lakota Tech; and Amiyah Gomez of Belle Fourche.
Nov. 23: Former Timber Lake and SDSU standout Tucker Kraft scored his first NFL touchdown. His nine-yard catch and score helped the Green Bay Packers defeat the Detroit Lions 29-22 in a nationally-televised Thanksgiving Day game.
Nov. 24: Brooklyn Meyer scored 29 points as her SDSU Jackrabbits rolled to a 72-42 win over South Carolina State. It was SDSU’s 1,100 win in program history as the Jacks started women’s basketball in 1966 (1,100-455). The Jacks’ are only the 10 th program in DI to reach 1,100 wins in women’s basketball.
Nov. 24: Despite one blocked field goal each by Nebraska defensive linemen Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson, the Cornhuskers lost to Iowa 13-10 on a last-second field goal by the Hawkeyes. It was the first career FG block for Hutmacher, who picked up the nickname “Polar Bear” for his wrestling and football prowess at Chamberlain High School. It was the first time the Cornhuskers had two blocked field goals in a game since 2005.
Nov. 25: The 115th Apple Cup with a South Dakota flavor didn’t disappoint as No. 4 Washington (12-0) nipped rival Washington State 24-21 on Grady Gross’ 42-yard field as time expired. Washington is coached by former Milbank and University of Sioux Falls graduate Kalen DeBoer. Washington State coach Jake Dickert is a former assistant coach at SDSU, USD and Augustana. Other assistant coaches in the game have coaching experience in South Dakota as well.
Nov. 25: The Augustana football team (11-2) saw its season come to a close in a 56-10 loss to Colorado School of Mines in the second round of the NCAA playoffs. The Vikings tied a school record for wins and won a conference title outright for the first time since 1959. Also, Logan Uttecht (SF Washington) and Devon Jones (San Diego, CA) broke the school record for most career games with 49. The duo of wide receivers played in every game in the 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Nov. 25: Morgan Edelman (Menno) and Rylee Rosenquist (Dakota Valley) combined for 22 points as DWU defeated (63-50) the Augustana women’s basketball team for the first time since Dec. 11, 2001, when DWU won 60-51. The Tigers are 2-20 all-time against the Vikings.
Nov. 28: Kim Nelson has resigned as the football coach at Sioux Falls Roosevelt. With a 317-153 record in 45 years of coaching, Nelson is the winningest high school football coach in South Dakota history. The former Lake Benton (MN) and Dakota State standout will become an assistant coach at the University of Sioux Falls. Nelson, 67, has been a head coach his whole life, with his first job at Milbank in 1979 after graduating from DSU. After Milbank (1979-86), he became the head coach at Rapid City Central (1987-92), Sioux Falls Washington (1993-2004), Edina (MN) for four seasons (2005-08), and Roosevelt (2009-23) for the last 15 seasons. His Rough Riders won a state title in 2011 and his teams have finished as state runners-up five times (1983 at Milbank; 2013, 2014 and 2017 at SFR; and 2002 at SFW. The son of Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Famer Andy Nelson, Kim retired from teaching a few years ago. He was known and respected across the state for his teaching and coaching skills and for his wide-open, crafty and innovative offensive schemes. His 2002 SFW team that reached the state finals was the first Sioux Falls public school to do so since 1987. He broke fellow Sioux Falls (O’Gorman) former coach Steve Kueter’s record to become the all-time winningest coach with 290 wins on Sept. 27, 2019.
Nov. 28: After starting the season 0-3, Dakota State won its ninth game in a row to tie the 2015-16 Trojans for a school record for consecutive wins in men’s basketball. The Trojans took down Trinity Bible of Ellendale 82-56 to improve to 9-3. Brayden Pankonen (Dell Rapids) led the way for DSU with 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. The DSU win streak was halted the next night (Nov. 29) in a 77-69 loss to Mount Marty.
Nov. 29: The famous Monday Night Football video of a 13-year-old Andy Reid (now the Kansas City Chiefs coach) participating in the national semi-finals of the Pass, Punt & Kick contest hosted by the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 13, 1971, had a South Dakota angle to it. Reid made for an imposing figure in the video as he was much taller and bigger than the other contestants. He didn’t fit into the normal PP&K LA Rams gear, so contest officials had to go into the Rams’ locker room and borrow an extra jersey and pair of shoulder pads belonging to 6-foot-1 207-pound LA Rams starting running back of Les Josephson (1942-2020), who was an Augustana graduate. Reid said he wore Josephson’s shoulder pads all through his high school career at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles.
Nov. 30: South Dakota native and Nebraska defensive linemen Nash Hutmacher of Oacoma was named to the all-Big Ten Conference honorable mention team. The 6-foot-4, 333-pound junior nose guard started all 12 games for the Cornhuskers with 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Hutmacher’s brother, Noah, was a freshman defensive lineman for Northern State this past season. The Hutmachers are Chamberlain High School graduates.
Nov. 30: The NSU women’s basketball team defeated Moorhead 60-44 to give coach Paula Krueger her 200th career win. The former NSU standout is now 200-200 in her 15 seasons (six at NSU) as a head coach. Madelyn Bragg (Aberdeen Roncalli) led the Wolves with 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
Nov. 30: Sioux Falls O’Gorman graduate and Nebraska’s Bergen Reilly was chosen as the Big Ten Conference setter of the year. She is the first freshman in conference history to win the award, which was established in 2012. Reilly also was selected for the all-Big Ten First Team and the all-Big Ten Freshmen Team. The Cornhuskers (28-1) won the Big Ten Conference and are rated No. 1 in the nation.

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