Sept. 15: Steve Stricker of Wisconsin made professional golf history by winning the seventh annual 2024 Sanford International PGA Champions Tour event in Sioux Falls. It was the third straight Sanford Open title for Stricker, who also won three straight John Deere Classic titles (2009-11) on the PGA Tour. Before this, no one had ever three-peated in the same tourney on both the PGA Tour and the PGA Champions Tour. In 2024, Stricker won the Sanford title by beating Richard Green in four playoff holes to earn $315,000. Stricker won the first title in Sioux Falls in 2018 followed by Rocco Mediate (2019); Miguel Angel Jimenez (2020); Darren Clarke (2021); and Stricker (2022-24). Stricker now has 18 Champions Tour titles and 12 PGA Tour titles.
Sept. 20: South Dakota wildlife artist Adam Grimm of Wallace won the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest with an acrylic painting of a pair of spectacled eiders. Grimm’s work, which defeated 239 other entries, will be used for the 2025-26 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp that will go on sale in June 2025. Grimm, 46, also won the contest in 2013 and 1999.
Sept. 20: Aberdeen Central junior Olivia Braun captured the golf world’s attention for a day by making a number of long putts at one of the world’s most iconic and toughest professional courses, Pebble Beach in California. Braun shot one of first round’s (66) best scores in a field of 80 of the nation’s best high school girls’ golfers in the PGA Tour Champions’ First Tee PURE Insurance Championship. The two-time South Dakota Golf Association Female Junior Golfer of the Year was featured in a social media video by the PGA Tour Champions making four extremely difficult putts under the headline: “16-year-old Olivia Braun is making everything.”
Sept. 29: Mitchell seventh-grader Patrick Morgan became the youngest bowler in South Dakota history to record a perfect game. The 12-year-old rolled a 300 in a tourney at Brookings.
Oct. 3: In the first event at the First Bank & Trust Arena (remodeled Frost Arena) in Brookings, the SDSU volleyball team defeated Kansas City 3-0. The Jacks got 17 kills and 11 digs from Sylvie Zgonc, improving to 14-0 on the season. The SDSU start tied a school record as the 2000 Jacks also started 14-0. Frost Arena opened in 1973 at a cost of $3.685 million. First Bank and Trust of Brookings provided the lead gift of $20 million for the $66 million refurbished facility on the SDSU campus.
Oct. 3: Augustana assistant men’s hockey coach Chad Demers, 33, has died after a long battle with cancer. The former associate head coach of the Fargo Force is a Grafton (ND) native who played college hockey at Air Force. Demers came to Sioux Falls in 2023.
Oct. 4: Triston Ducheneaux made a 25-yard field goal with 4:31 left to give Rapid City Central (1-5) a 3-0 homecoming win over Sioux Falls Washington. It snapped a 29-game losing streak for the Cobblers, who last won a game on Sept. 10, 2021 (27-0 over Douglas). Since the start of the 2007 season, RCC has played under six head coaches with a 34-135 record.
Oct. 4: The Groton-Aberdeen Roncalli rivalry added another memorable chapter to its football collection. Groton edged the Cavaliers 29-23 in double overtime for a Northeast Conference victory. Groton got three touchdown passes from Korbin Kucker to Keegen Tracy, including the 10-yard game-winner in the second overtime. The Tigers’ defense then got four stops to close out the game, including stopping Roncalli on a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line to preserve the win.
Oct. 4-5: The Aberdeen Wings have started their 15th season 5-0. The Wings played their new rivals, first-year North American Hockey League team Watertown, and beat the Shamrocks twice (4-2 in Aberdeen Oct. 4 and 3-0 in Watertown Oct. 5). Aberdeen goalie Damon Cunningham stopped 59 of the 61 shots he faced in the two wins.
Oct. 5: Black Hills State defeated South Dakota Mines 22-20 in the 139th Black Hills Brawl and Battle for the Homestake Trophy. In one of college football’s oldest rivalries, Black Hills State scored nine points (Ryan Ewing field goal and Cameron Goods 17-yard run) in the fourth quarter to hang on for the win. Mines scored a touchdown (Jake Martinelli six-yard pass to Henry Dryden and Connor Taylor PAT) with 2:48 left to end the game’s scoring. Ewing was the national DII special teams player of the week with his 10 points, including a school-record 58-yard FG. With the first meeting on Nov. 28, 1895, Mines leads the series 66-62-11.
Oct. 5: Popular ESPN College Gameday host Pat McAfee singled out Chamberlain graduate and Nebraska noseguard Nash “Polar Bear” Hutmacher as one of the best defenders in all of college football. McAfee also pointed out that Hutmacher was one of the best high school wrestlers in the nation. Hutmacher’s brother, Noah, plays for the NSU football team.
Oct. 5: Through its first six games, Nebraska (5-1) is the only FBS team in the nation that has not allowed a rushing touchdown. A main reason is Cornhuskers’ nose guard Nash “The Polar Bear” Hutmacher, a Chamberlain graduate.
Oct. 5: The Wolves’ defense stopped a two-point conversion by Bemidji with six seconds left to hang on to a 14-13 Gypsy Day homecoming win in front of 6,888 fans. It was the NSU football team’s first win over the Beavers since 2014, having lost eight straight to Bemidji (4-2). Jake Adams had 20 tackles for the Wolves (2-4).
Oct. 6: Timber Lake and SDSU graduate Tucker Kraft had his best day as a NFL tight end as he led the Green Bay Packers to a 24-19 win over the LA Rams. Kraft had four catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yarder in which he reached a top speed of 19.7 mph (fastest speed recorded by an NFL TE so far in 2024). Meanwhile, former SDSU standout Christian Rozeboom had eight tackles for the Rams.
Oct. 6: The Minnesota Vikings improved to 5-0 thanks to a 23-17 win over Aaron Rogers and the NY Jets in London. Augustana graduate and Vikings’ team captain C.J. Ham scored a touchdown as did former USD standout Andrew Van Ginkel (returned an interception 63 yards).
Oct. 7: Aberdeen-born Terry “Tito” Francona has come out of retirement to manage the Cincinnati Reds. Francona, 65, has won two World Series and 1,994 games (13th all-time) in his 23 seasons as a MLB manager. His mom, Roberta “Birdie” (Jackson) Francona (1936-1992), was an Aberdeen Central and Northern State graduate. Bridgewater-born Sparky Anderson (1934-2010) was the Reds’ manager from 1970-78, winning two World Series and a team-leading 1,450 games. Francona, who was a major league outfielder for 10 seasons before injuries forced his retirement, played for the Reds in 1987.
Oct. 8: After breaking a 52-year drought last year, Watertown coach Corey Neale and his boys’ golf team won its second state title in a row on its home course of Cattail Crossing. The Arrows won the team title and Watertown senior Ty Lenards was the individual champion. Other seniors for Watertown were Kaden Rylance, Jaden Solheim and Gabe Norberg. Last year, the Watertown boys’ won their first state team title since 1971, led by individual champion Jake Olson.
Oct. 9: Northwestern junior Ella Boekelheide won her fifth straight Lake Region Conference girls’ cross country championship in Ipswich.
Oct. 10: Coach Dan Georgalas’ SDSU volleyball team has now gotten off to one of its best starts (15-0) in school history with a 3-0 win over Nebraska-Omaha. The Jacks got a combined 13 kills and 11 blocks from Madison Burr and Sydni Schetnan, while Alia Schlimgen added 12 digs.
Oct. 10: After the first five weeks of the NFL season, ESPN Analytics has rated Timber Lake and SDSU graduate Tucker Kraft of the Green Bay Packers as the top tight end in the league. Second is Britton-Hecla and SDSU graduate Dallas Goedert.
Oct. 10: Aberdeen Roncalli graduate and NSU junior Madelyn Bragg was named the women’s basketball pre-season player of the year in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Coach Paula Krueger’s Wolves (20-9 last season) were picked by the NSIC coaches to finish second in the league behind 2024 NCAA DII national champion Minnesota State-Mankato.
Oct. 11: Aziah Meyer rushed 13 times for 383 yards (29.5 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns to lead Avon past Scotland-Menno 58-20.
Oct. 11: Aberdeen Central 16-year-old 6-foot-1 sophomore Lauryn Burckhard has committed to play basketball at SDSU. She is the sister of former SDSU standout Paiton Burckhard, who will begin her first season as the Golden Eagles’ head coach this year.
Oct. 11: Arizona State took down No. 16 Utah 27-19 in a nationally televised Big 12 Conference football game. Former Selby Area and NSU standout Emmit Bohle has played an important role in helping the Sun Devils achieve a 5-1 record this season; their best start since 2019. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound graduate student is a versatile offensive lineman who has lettered twice for ASU. Bohle is one of 35 FBS DI players who is competing in their seventh year of college football after going down with a year-ending injury in the 2023 ASU season-opener.
Oct. 11: The Aberdeen Wings (6-0-0) defeated the North Iowa Bulls 2-1, earning coach Scott Langer his 700th win as a North America Hockey League head coach. He is the winningest coach in NAHL history with a 700-287-92 record.
Oct. 11: Yankton juniors Nora and Sabrina Krajewski capped off a 28-0 tennis season with a Flight 1 doubles state championship. The Krajewskis along with brother Harrison are triplets. Nora defended her Flight 1 singles state title as well. Rapid City Stevens won the team title with Sioux Falls Lincoln second and Yankton finishing third. It has been a successful couple of months for the Krajewski family as Harrison won a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Yankton graduate and USD freshman Miles Krajewski and badminton partner Jayci Simon of Michigan won their medals this summer.
Oct. 11: Former Viborg-Hurley football teammates in SDSU uniforms took a 14-0 lead over Youngstown State in the 110th Hobo Day game in Brookings. Angel Johnson started the Jacks’ scoring with a 99-yard kick-off return for a touchdown and Chase Mason next added a 38-yard TD run. Mason ended with five rushes for 161 yards and two TD runs as well as throwing a TD pass. His former high school teammate Johnson also touched the ball five times, gaining 156 all-purpose yards. SDSU won 63-13 in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,331.

Oct. 14: Ken Kortemeyer, also affectionately known as “SID” and “Mr. USF,” has died at age 73 (1951-Oct. 14, 2024). The Lennox and 1974 Sioux Falls College graduate was a student-manager for the football, basketball and track programs during his days as a college student. After graduation, Kortemeyer continued his lifetime of service to his beloved college as the school’s equipment manager, sports information director (thus the nickname SID), the first full-time athletic director in 1991, the men’s and women’s golf coach, the compliance officer and the senior athletic administrator.
Oct. 14: The only sports radio talk show in the Black Hills region has expanded into the Sioux Falls market at 5 p.m. on KWSNSports. “The Nate Brown Show” covers high school and college sports in South Dakota, various pro teams of interest and guests from the Upper Midwest. The show now will be broadcast live in Sioux Falls and Rapid City on FOX Sports Sioux Falls-KWSN 98.1 FM/1230 AM and FOX Sports Rapid City 106.7 FM/1150 AM. You can also listen to the podcast version on Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud. 
Oct. 19: No. 2 NDSU nipped No. 1 SDSU 13-9 as the Bison scored the winning TD (RaJa Nelson 20-yard pass from Cam Miller) with 1:49 left. The NDSU win ended Jackrabbits’ winning streaks of 32 wins in a row over FCS opponents and 19 straight over Missouri Valley Football Conference opponents. On Monday, SDSU’s streak of being ranked as the No. 1 FCS team came to an end as the Jacks have been the No. 1 team for 735 days (since Oct. 17, 2022). NDSU (7-1) is the new No. 1 team followed by Montana State (8-0), SDSU (5-) and USD (6-1).
Oct. 19: The USD football team defeated Youngstown 27-17. It was the Coyotes first win in Youngstown; USD is now 1-6 in games at Youngstown (OH). Charles Pierre Jr. led the Coyotes with 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Oct. 19: No. 11 Tennessee nipped No. 7 Alabama 24-17 in a nationally-televised college football clash between two historically great programs. The coaches were both South Dakota natives who grew up within 100 miles of each other in northeast South Dakota. The Crimson Tide’s Kalen DeBoer graduated from Milbank in 1993 and the Volunteers’ Josh Heupel graduated from Aberdeen Central in 1996.
Oct. 22: The SDSU volleyball team is now 19-0 and the only undefeated DI team in the nation after the Jacks 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 23-25, 26-24 and 15-8) win over rival USD. Sylvie Zgonc led the Jacks with 24 kills and four blocks while USD got a combined 39 kills from Lauren Medeck and Kylen Sealock in the thriller in front of 2,224 fans in Brookings. It was State’s first win over the Coyotes since 2015 and snapped an 18-match losing streak to USD. Five of the last six contests between the two rivals have gone to five sets.
Oct. 23: Golden State opened its 2024-25 NBA season with a 140-104 win over Portland. One of the officials was 1990 Dakota State graduate Tre Maddox, who was beginning his 14th NBA season. The former basketball and track star for the Trojans has officiated 644 NBA regular-season games and 31 playoff games. Maddox made his NBA debut on Nov. 6, 2010, as the Utah Jazz defeated the LA Clippers 109-107 in two overtimes. He officiated four seasons in the NBA G League and six years at the collegiate level, including working the PAC-12 conference. Maddox got his start in the G League by being one of 50 officials invited to a tryout camp where Maddox was one of two selected for a job in the NBA minor league system. He got his start officiating at Dakota State doing middle school and eventually high school games.
Oct. 24: The Dupree football team defeated Harding County-Bison 50-28 in the first round of the Class 9A playoffs, the Tigers first win over the Ranchers since a 10-6 win on Oct. 2, 1987. Braydon Terveen-Smith led Dupree with 336 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Dupree scored its points in that 1987 10-6 game on a Tracy Speker one-yard run and a John Pesicka PAT and a 25-yard field goal. Lyle Smith (Terveen-Smith’s dad) was also on the Dupree team.
Oct. 25: Rapid City Central nipped Rapid City Stevens 35-33. Central’s defense came up big, stopping a game-tying two-point conversion by the Raiders. The Cobblers also blocked two field goal attempts of 18- and 43-yards by Stevens in the final 2.5 minutes of the game.
Oct. 25: Former USD women’s basketball star Bridget (Arens) Schumacher, 30, died unexpectedly at a hospital in Yankton. She played for the Coyotes from 2013-17 and left there as the school record-holder for career games played (137). She was the USD Female-School Athlete of the Year in 2017. Born in Yankton, Schumacher led Croften (NE) High School to Class 2C state basketball titles in 2012 and 2013. She was an elementary guidance counselor at Crofton, and she and husband Taylor Schumacher had four children.
Oct. 25: The Nebraska women’s volleyball team defeated Big Ten rival Illinois 3-0. O’Gorman graduate Bergen Reilly led the Cornhuskers with 40 assists and 10 digs. The sophomore was playing against her sister, OG graduate and Illinois senior setter Raegen Reilly.
Oct. 25: Former SDSU standout Blake Treinen pitched the final 1.1 innings and was the winning pitcher in his LA Dodgers 6-3 win over the NY Yankees in game one of the 2024 World Series. Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning for the host Dodgers. Chad Gunderson, a 1997 NSU graduate, is a vice president and deputy general counsel for the Dodgers.
Oct. 25: The No. 22 NSU volleyball lost 3-0 to No. 3 St. Cloud, but Wolves’ senior Keri Walker surpassed the 4,000 career assist milestone. She is only the fourth player in NSU history to do so: Ashley Rozell (5,183 assists), Drew Smith (4,774) and Tricia Schilling (4,414).
Oct. 25: Watertown celebrated its 83-year-old facility Watertown Stadium, built in 1941. In the regular-
season football finale, the Arrows defeated Aberdeen Central 41-14. Watertown is building a new athletic complex in phases that is expected to cost more than $10 million.
Oct. 26: Northwestern junior Ella Boekelheide won the State B cross country championship. She finished as the state runner-up as a freshman and sophomore and was the state champ as an eighth-grader. Boekelheide was sixth as a seventh-grader at the 2020 State B meet.
Oct. 26: In a rare feat, a South Dakota seventh-grader won a big-school state championship. Brianna Reilly of Harrisburg won the State AA cross country championship and led her Tigers to the team title as well. Harrisburg eighth-grader Hannah Genrich finished second.
Oct. 26: No. 25 Augustana ran over No. 13 Minnesota State, Mankato 34-16. Gunnar Hensley threw two touchdowns for Augie while Jarod Epperson ran for two TDs. With the win, Jerry Olszewski became the winningest football coach in Augustana history with an 80-43 record, overtaking Jim Heinitz.
Oct. 26: Dakota State defeated Valley City 13-6 in its last home football game of the season on its new field and in its new facility. Dakota State twice stopped Valley City in the red zone thanks to interceptions from Jay Skogerboe and Trey Ortman. The Trojans also got an interception from Kacey Cauley to secure the win and end Valley City’s final drive. Earlier this year on Aug. 30, DSU opened its season at its $41 million Beacom Premier Complex at the Kern Family Stadium. The Trojans went 3-2 in its new stadium this season.
Oct. 26: No. 3 SDSU nipped No. 4 USD 20-17 in overtime as Amar Johnson scored the winning touchdown on a three-yard run. It was the first overtime game in the series that started in 1889 and in
which the Jacks lead 58-52-7.
Oct. 26: The SDSU volleyball team improved to 20-0 by beating Denver 3-1. It matched the Jack’s best start in program history (also 20-0 in 1975) and SDSU remains the only unbeaten team in NCAA D1 volleyball. Sylvie Zgonc led the way for SDSU with 25 kills.
Oct. 26: The NSU football team went on a 10-play, 3:04 drive drive that resulted in a Wyatt Block one-yard touchdown run with 16 seconds left and Jeremy Caruso’s game-winning point-after-TD kick to give the Wolves a 35-34 win over Concordia-St. Paul. NSU (5-4) has now won five in a row, and Caruso has three game-winning kicks. The last time the Wolves had a streak that long was the 2015 season when NSU (6-5) lost its first four games, then won six in a row before losing its finale.
Oct. 27: Borna Gojo of Croatia defeated American Colton Smith 6-1, 7-5 to win the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) MarketBeat Open at the Huether Family Match Pointe in Sioux Falls. Gojo earned $11,200 and a wild card qualifying spot in the Australian Open. It was the first-ever professional tennis event in South Dakota, drawing 32 pro players. Liam Draxl and Cleeve Harper of Canada won the doubles’ championship, worth $4,200. Total prize money was $82,000.
Oct. 28: The nation’s second-ranked Nebraska volleyball team (19-1) defeated Illinois (13-6) 3-0 in the Big Ten Conference. O’Gorman graduate and All-American Cornhusker sophomore setter Bergen Reilly had 40 assists. She was playing against her sister, OG graduate and Illinois senior setter Raegen Reilly.
Oct. 28: The NSU basketball teams won a pair of exhibition games at the Aberdeen Civic Arena. That Arena, which opened in 1938, was the home court of the Wolves for decades. The Wolves started playing their home basketball games in its on-campus home facility the Barnett Center in 1987. Madelyn Bragg had 20 points and six rebounds to lead the Wolves’ women to a 89-66 win over NAIA sixth-ranked Dakota State. The NSU men used performances from James Glenn (20 points) and Tobi Obiora (17 points and 15 rebounds) to defeat Dickinson State 78-64.
Oct. 30: With no home field/arena, the Sioux Falls Storm will sit out the 2025 season. The Denny Sanford Premier Center, the team’s previous home, did not offer the Storm a new agreement to play in the facility. No reason was disclosed. Team ownership hope to find a solution and return in 2026.
Oct. 30: Former SDSU standout Blake Treinen was the winning pitcher in the LA Dodgers 7-6 win over the NY Yankees as the Dodgers won the World Series 4-1. It was second game Treinen won in the 2024 World Series. The Osage City (KS) native finished the 2024 postseason with a 2.19 ERA in nine games and 12 1/3 innings with two wins, three saves and 18 strikeouts. The Dodgers were down 5-0 at the start of the fifth inning before starting their rally in Game 5. Treinen, 36, also won the 2020 World Series with the Dodgers.
Oct. 31: SDSU defeated Omaha 3-1 to improve to 21-0. Sylvie Zgonc led the way for SDSU with 13 kills and 14 digs. The only undefeated DI volleyball team in the nation, this is the Jacks’ best-ever start in program history. SDSU went 20-0 to open the 1975 season.

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