Dec. 20: Pro rodeo standout Bud Longbrake (1962-2024) of Dupree has died at age 62. The saddle bronc rider won the average at the 1990 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He qualified for the NFR in 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996 and 2001. Longbrake, who rode with a toothpick in his mouth, was known for his kindness, work ethic and many talents. He went to won several big-time rodeo titles, set records and qualified for numerous Indian National Rodeo Finals
Jan. 1: Texas defeated Arizona State 39-31 in two overtimes in the College Football Playoffs. The Sun Devils overcame a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force the first OT. ASU (11-3) had one of its best seasons in history. Helping open holes for the Arizona State powerful offense is seventh-year senior offensive lineman Emmit Bohle. The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder is a former Northern State and Selby Area standout. Bohle is one of only 35 FBS players who is competing in their seventh year of college football in 2024. He played in 50 college football games, 28 for the Sun Devils and 22 for NSU. Arizona State finished 3-9 in the last two seasons, and the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12 this season.
Jan. 2: Purdue beat Minnesota 81-61 in men’s basketball in a game in which the Gophers’ starting five included Parker Fox (former NSU standout) and Dawson Garcia (son of former Black Hills State standout athletes Stacey and David Garcia). Stacey (Nelson) also is a former Milbank standout. The game also was Purdue coach Matt Painter’s 228 th win in Big Ten play, tying him with Ward “Piggy” Lambert for fourth on the all-time wins list in conference play. Lambert was born in Deadwood in 1888 where he lived for more than a decade. In 29 seasons as Purdue’s head basketball coach, Lambert teams won the 1932 national title behind his All-American guard John Wooden and 11 Big Ten titles.
Jan. 4: The gym where Chuck Welke (1953-2021) built and shaped a boys’ basketball program that gained statewide prominence will now bear his name forever. The facility, which has since given way to a new gym on the other side of the Warner School, is still used for practice and sub-varsity games. A ceremony dedicate the floor as Chuck Welke Court was held as Warner beat rival Northwestern in a varsity boys’ basketball game on the court. During his tenure, Welke led the Monarchs to nine State B Tournaments, winning a pair of state championships in 1993 and 1994. His teams were state runners-up in 1992 and 1996.
Jan. 5: SDSU quarterback Chris Oladokun (2022 draft pick) made his NFL debut in his Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-0 loss to Denver. Oladokun became the third SDSU quarterback to play in an NFL game along with Ron Meyer and Mike Busch.
Jan. 5: SDSU graduate and fourth-year pro Christian Rozeboom of the LA Rams had his best season in the NFL as his 135 tackles ranked 17 th in the league.
Jan. 6: In his possible best game as a Gopher, Parker Fox led Minnesota with 21 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. However, the Gophers lost an 89-88 double-overtime thriller to Ohio State. Former NSU standout Fox made Minnesota’s first seven points of the game. Ques Glover of the Buckeyes scored Ohio State’s final four points in the last 10 seconds with four free throws to seal the win.

Jan. 6: Pierre native Grey Zabel and his NDSU teammates defeated Montana State 35-32 to win the FCS national championship. The Bison have won 10 of the last 14 titles. Zabel’s parents, Mark and Tanna, were athletic standouts at NSU.
Jan. 7: Former SDSU quarterback and two-time national champion Mark Gronowski announced his commitment to Iowa.
Jan. 9: Chellon Pruitt and Heather Storbakken combined for 22 points to lead Britton-Hecla past Redfield 36-26. It was the 400 th career win for BH coach Terry Nelson in 28 seasons.
Jan. 9: The SDSU women’s basketball team celebrated a couple of rare feats in its 93-55 win over Omaha. Brooklyn Meyer had 21 points and 10 rebounds and became the 43 rd Jackrabbit in school history to reach the 1,000-point career mark. It also was SDSU’s 50 th Summit League regular-season win in a row. The last time SDSU lost in Summit League play during the season was 65-42 to USD on Jan. 8, 2022.
Jan. 14: After a monster week in which she led her Coyotes to two wins, USD senior Grace Larkins collected numerous awards including a DI national player of the week honor. Larkins (Altoona, IA) had 34 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in USD’s 77-60 win over St. Thomas Jan. 9. On Jan. 11 in USD’s 71-66 win over Omaha, Larkins had a school-record 45 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
Jan. 16: After the most-successful back-to-back seasons for the University of South Dakota football program at the FCS level, head coach Bob Nielson has retired after nine seasons. Known for building
programs, Nielson took the reins of the USD program ahead of the 2016 season. Nielson’s career is a storied one being a two-time NCAA Division II national champion (Minnesota-Duluth, 2008 and 2010)
and a three-time national coach of the year. Nielson’s teams had a 239-128-1 record in 32 seasons, with 14 of those teams qualifying for the national playoffs. Nielson won a total of nine conference titles in his career, picking up titles at all three NCAA Divisions (Wartburg and UW-Eau Claire in DIII; Duluth in DII; and USD in DI.
Jan. 16: USD has hired and promoted assistant Travis Johansen to be its next head football coach,
replacing retiring Bob Nielson. Johansen has been the defensive coordinator for South Dakota since 2019. Johansen is a native of Blaine (MN) and was a standout player at Concordia-St. Paul where he made 40 consecutive starts on the defensive side.
Jan. 16: Lyman defeated White River 69-50 in the opening round of the 57 th annual Jones County Tournament at Harold Thune Auditorium in Murdo. Lyman got 17 points each from M.J. Diehm and Aksel Ehlers. White River had won this tourney 26 times, including the last seven in a row and 18 of the last 20 under coach Eldon Marshall (2003 was his first year). White River won 11 straight from 2006-2016, took second to Colome in 2017 and then won seven consecutive from 2018-24.
Past Jones County champions: 1969, Draper; 1970, White River; 1971, Wall; 1972, Lyman; 1973,
Bennett County; 1974, Bennett County; 1975, Stanley County; 1976, White River; 1977, Murdo; 1978,
Jones County; 1979, White River; 1980, Colome;
1981, White River; 1982, White River; 1983, Lyman; 1984, Wessington Springs; 1985, Wessington
Springs; 1986, Jones County; 1987, Midland; 1988, Stanley County; 1989, Stanley County; 1990,
Stanley County;
1991, White River; 1992, White River; 1993, Midland; 1994, Midland; 1995, White River; 1996,
Lyman; 1997, Stanley County; 1998, Midland; 1999, Midland; 2000, Jones County;

2001, Bennett County; 2002, Bennett County; 2003, Lyman; 2004, Lyman; 2005, Lyman; 2006, White River; 2007, White River; 2008, White River; 2009, White River; 2010, White River;

2011, White River; 2012, White River; 2013, White River; 2014, White River; 2015, White River; 2016, White River; 2017, Colome; 2018, White River; 2019, White River; 2020, White River;

2021, White River; 2022, White River; 2023, White River; 2024, White River; 2025, Stanley County.

Jan. 17: Bri Stoltzman scored a school-record 41 points to lead Southwest Minnesota State University over NSU 82-72. It is the most points in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women’s basketball game since Jan. 18, 2020, when Cassie Askvig of Mary scored 45 against Southwest. It also is the first time a Southwest women’s player scored at least 40 points since Dec. 7, 2004, when Hecla native Michelle Bruns scored a school-record 40 points against St. Cloud State.

Jan. 17: Aberdeen head athletic trainer Bailey Schahn worked his 300th North American Hockey League game, all with the Wings.

Jan. 18: The Stanley County boys basketball team won its first Jones County Invitational since 1997, defeating Kadoka Area 60-52. The Buffaloes got 18 points from Paxton Deal and 17 from Kaden Montana while teammate Eddie Duffy was named tourney MVP.

Jan. 22: Former NSU standout Parker Fox has helped Minnesota to two impressive wins in a row. The Gophers defeated No. 19 Michigan 84-81 in overtime on Jan. 16 on Dawson Garcia’s near half-court buzzer beater. It was the first win for the Gophers over a top-25 team since Feb. 11, 2021 (71-68 win over No. 24 Purdue). Minnesota then defeated host Iowa 72-67 for its first win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2015.

Jan. 22: Wyoming defeated Nevada-Las Vegas 63-61 for the Cowboys first win at UNLV since 2003. Wyoming is coached by former NSU standout and assistant Sundance Wicks.

Jan. 22: Gov. Kristi Noem’s request to cut the South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s budget by $3.6 million is causing concern for the South Dakota High School Activities Association. SDPB says it won’t be able to televise SDHSAA state events if the suggested cut becomes reality. SDPB broadcasts all of the sports and fine arts events sponsored by the association. Many of them are broadcast live on television and the internet. SDPB also leaves a historical trail of the entirety of all SDHSAA events, maybe the only trail.

Jan. 23: NSU graduate Dakotah (Bullen) Popehn discussed her journey from Wolves’ walk-on to finishing 12th in the women’s marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Popehn (formerly Lindwurm), 29, was the school’s guest of honor at its annual “I Hate Winter” basketball weekend, including takin questions at a public forum. At NSU, she became known for “pulling a Bullen,” where she would surprise everyone with a personal best time by a large margin or with winning a race no one expected her to win.

Jan. 25: San Jose State defeated Wyoming 67-58 in a Mountain West Conference men’s basketball game. The coaches in the game were former NSU assistants Tim Miles (SJSU) and Sundance Wicks (Wyoming).

Jan. 25: The Minnesota men’s basketball team has won three Big Ten Conference games in a row as the Gophers defeated No. 15 Oregon 77-69. Dawson Garcia scored a season-high 31 points for the winners while teammate and former NSU standout Parker Fox recorded his first double-double as Gopher with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Jan. 30: It was a good news, bad news week for the Great Plains Lutheran girls’ basketball team in Watertown. On Thursday, Esta Cameron and Katherine Prahl combined for 20 points to pace GPL over Florence-Henry 39-34. The win gave coach Matt Bauer’s Panthers at least a share of the Eastern Coteau Conference title, their first ECC title since joining the league in 2003. It also was GPL’s first win in 19 tries over FH since Florence-Henry combined into a co-op in 2008-09. Earlier in the week, one of GPL’s top players, Abby Kjenstad, suffered an ACL injury.

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.