Feb. 1: The SDSU women’s basketball team has lost its third starter to season-ending knee injuries. Jackrabbit junior Madysen Vlastuin (Lennox) suffered her injury in SDSU’s 65-58 win over NDSU in Fargo. Before the season started, SDSU lost starters Haleigh Timmer (St. Thomas More) and Kallie Theisen (Plymouth, MN). Together, the three have combined to play in 272 games and have collected 1,735 points, 979 rebounds, 278 assists, 146 steals and 120 rebounds. The Jacks also lost true freshman Hilary Behrens (Brandon) to a season-ending injury.
Feb. 1: With former SDSU standouts Garret Greenfield (Rock Valley, IA), Mason McCormick (Sioux Falls Roosevelt), Jaxon and Jadon Janke (Madison) and Zach Heins (Sioux Falls Washington) fueling its offense, the West defeated the East 26-13 in the 99th annual East-West Shrine Bowl in Frisco, TX. Greenfield and McCormick started on the West offensive line while the Jankes and Heins combined for five catches for 105 yards. Twenty-three percent (7 of 31) of the West’s offense consisted of former Jackrabbits.
Feb. 2: Mount Vernon-Plankinton senior Emilee Fox became the 36th high school girls’ basketball player in South Dakota history to surpass 2,000 career points. She scored 18 in leading MVP past Chamberlain 60-41. Jill Young of Mitchell Christian set the all-time record of 3,317 points in 2007.
Feb. 2: Dakota State officials told the Mitchell Daily Republic that it is exploring several options after its NAIA conference disbands after the spring 2025 seasons. DSU is exploring joining a new NAIA conference or possibly starting one. Another option is transitioning to NCAA DII.
Feb. 2: Providence Academy (MN) sophomore Maddyn Greenway scored her 3,000 career point. Almost a year ago on Feb. 17, 2023, the high schooler scored her 2,000 career point. She is the daughter of Mount Vernon native and former Minnesota Vikings’ linebacker Chad Greenway. A few days ago on Jan. 30, Greenway and her Lions defeated Crosby-Ironton 93-75 — Greenway scored 31 while Crosby-Ironton sophomore Tori Oehrlein scored her 3,000th career point. The Minnesota High School girls’ basketball career scoring record is held by Braham High School’s Rebekah Dahlman, who scored 5,060 points from 2008-13.
Feb. 3: Former Northern State All-American Dakotah (Bullen) Lindwurm qualified for the Paris Olympics. The St. Francis (MN) native finished third in the women’s marathon at the Olympic trials in Orlando, FL.
Feb. 3: After he had an impressive week of practice, former SDSU standout Isaiah Davis helped the National Team defeat the American Team 16-7 in the 75th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl all-star college football game in Mobile, AL. Late in the third quarter on a third and nine, Davis exploded for an important 20-yard run. His run to keep the drive alive would lead to a field goal that gave the National a 13-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. All seven SDSU players in three college all-star games had stellar performances. Isaiah Stalbird played in the Hula Bowl while SDSU teammates Jadon and Jaxon Janke, Zach Heins, Garret Greenfield and Mason McCormick played in the East-West Shrine Game.
Feb. 3: The SDSU women’s basketball team won its 40th straight Summit League regular-season game by downing rival USD 70-55. Brooklyn Meyer led the Jackrabbits with 22 points in the 100th all-time meeting between the two teams. SDSU leads the series 65-35. SDSU is now 58-1 — the loss was to USD — in regular-season Summit League play over the last four seasons.

Feb. 3: Aberdeen native Gus Reede hit the 1,000-career points milestone as he led his NSU Wolves to an 83-76 win over St. Cloud State. He is the 61st member of the NSU men’s basketball 1,000-point club. Reede scored 22 and teammate Jacksen Moni added 31 as their Wolves scored 56 second-half points to overcome a 33-27 halftime deficit to the Huskies.
Feb. 4: The SDSU men’s basketball team nipped USD 70-67 at Frost Arena in Brookings. William Kyle III led the Jacks with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots while USD got 27 points from Kaleb Stewart. This was the first time this season that the Jacks won when trailing at halftime (they were 0-10 going into this game). Also, this was coach Eric Henderson’s 100th win as coach of the Jacks. He is 100-46 in five seasons with SDSU. SDSU leads the series with USD 139-97-1, having won the last eight games and the 22 of the last 28 in the series.
Feb. 6: NSU junior Jacksen Moni (Fargo) has been named the men’s basketball Division II Player of the Week. He led his Wolves to weekend wins over Mary and St. Cloud with 62 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocked shots. He shot 72 percent (23 of 32) from the field and 94 percent (15 of 16) from the free throw line.
Feb. 7: A record eight Pierre seniors signed to play college football: Emmit Andersen and Cade Kaiser to NSU; Lucas Chamberlin to Dakota State; Spencer Easland to Wayne State; Spencer Skjonsberg to Mankato State; Tyan Buus to Mount Marty; Trey Lewis to Sioux Falls; and Jett Zabel to NDSU. The Governors have won seven state titles in a row and its former players can found on college football rosters around the nation.
Feb. 8: Wilmot freshman Addison Heinje scored 50 points to pace her team past Ipswich 58-42. She made 21 of 25 free throws. Her total broke the school record of 40 set by Jackie Vosberg in 1998.
Feb. 8-9: The SDSU women’s softball team started out its season with a bang in California. On Feb. 8, SDSU recorded 20 runs on 15 hits in a 20-8 win over Fresno State. The next day, SDSU nipped Santa Clara 1-0 on an Emma Osmundson RBI double. Tori Kniesche was the winning pitcher, striking out 13 while giving up only one hit and one walk. It was also the 400th career win at the NCAA level for second-year SDSU coach Kristina McSweeney. In 16 seasons (Seminole State College – a junior college in Oklahoma, NCAA DII Arkansas State and now DI SDSU) as a college head coach, McSweeney is 580-274. The Jacks also feature three sisters (Keira, Jocelyn and Rozelyn Carrillo) from Palmdale, CA, on their roster this season.
Feb. 9: The Dakota State baseball team swept host Avila (MO) 6-4 in an extra inning and 6-2 to give fifth-year DSU coach and Aberdeen native Derrion Hardie his 300th career win as a college coach (97-70 at DSU and Hardie also coached at Ecclesia College of Arkansas and Northwestern College of Iowa). DSU pinch hitter Dalton Nelson gave the Trojans the win in the first game with his two-run homer in the extra inning. In the second game, Hunter Vikemyr was not only the winning pitcher, but he also hit a two-run homer. As a head coach of high school and college teams, Hardie’s teams are a combined 747-392. This is the first time since 2016 that DSU has earned a doubleheader sweep in its season opener.
Feb. 9: Layne Cotton of Faulkton Area scored 52 points in his team’s 77-30 win over Langford Area. He was 17 of 33 from the field (4 of 9 from three-point range) and 14 of 17 from the free throw line with nine rebounds and eight steals. Cotton set two school scoring records for a single game and for a career (1,336). Faulkton 1992 graduate Ryan Melius had the career scoring record (1,335) while 2019 graduate Tyler Ogle held the single-game record (44 points).
Feb. 11: Kansas City nipped San Francisco 25-22 in overtime to win Super Bowl LVIII (58). Former USD standout Jack Cochrane helped the Chiefs win as a linebacker and special teams player as did Kansas City practice player Chris Oladokun of SDSU. Former standout Castlewood and USD basketball player Dustin Little has been the head athletic trainer for the 49ers for the past five seasons. And a member of the San Francisco practice squad is South Shore native and Watertown and NDSU graduate Spencer Waege.
Feb. 11: The Nebraska women’s basketball team rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat visiting No. 2 Iowa 82-79 in front of a school record 15,042 fans and a FOX national TV audience. Jaz Shelley scored 10 of her 23 points in the final five minutes to rally the Cornhuskers. Nebraska is coached by Spearfish native and former USD coach Amy Williams. Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark scored 31, and she is now eight points away from breaking the NCAA DI women’s basketball all-time career scoring record (3,527 points by Washington’s Kelsey Plum from 2013-17).
Feb. 12: Long-time high school football coach Vern Smith, 61, of Gettysburg died. Smith, a 1981 Deubrook High School graduate, guided the Gettysburg and Potter County (Gettysburg-Hoven) Battlers to multiple football state championship appearances and the 2013 state title.
Feb. 12: Former Aberdeen resident and Olympic gold medalist Michael Andrew won a silver medal at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Qatar by finishing second in the 50-meter butterfly.
Feb. 12: Joey Johnson scored a school-record 48 points for Aberdeen Christian in a 72-44 win over Hitchcock-Tulare. The previous AC record was 43 points set by Matt Rohrbach.
Feb. 12: Watertown High School assistant principal Scott DeBoer will be the new Huron athletic director and manager for the Huron Arena. The 2006 Huron and 2010 South Dakota State graduate will replace Terry Rotert, who is retiring at the end of this school year. DeBoer, who has a master’s degree from Northern State, has served on coaching staffs at Brookings, Pierre, NSU and Watertown.
Feb. 13: The Herreid-Selby Area girls’ basketball team defeated Potter County 51-46, but Potter County’s Zoe Meinke had a career night from the three-point line (10 of 18) with 30 points.
Feb. 13: DWU promoted three people in its athletic department. Former football coach Ross Cimpl is now the athletic director. Cimpl has been the interim AD since November 2023. DWU women’s basketball coach Jason Christensen has added the duties of associate athletic director (a new position). And DWU football offensive coordinator Alex Kretzschmar has been named head football coach.
Feb. 15: The Ethan girls’ basketball team defeated Tripp-Delmont/Armour 59-32 at the Mitchell Corn Palace. Ava Lingemann of Ethan tied a state record for most three-pointers with 12 for 38 points. In 2005, Ashley Ross of Crow Creek made 12 three-pointers as well. Before that, Jill Young of Mitchell Christian held the record with 11 made in a 2004 game.
Feb. 15: The USD men’s basketball team fell 91-84 to Omaha. For the Coyotes, South Dakotan Paul Bruns (North Sioux City/Dakota Valley High School) became the 33rd member of the USD 1,000-point club.
Feb. 15: Ryan Grubb was introduced as the new offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks. Grubb had planned to leave his job as the OC at the University of Washington to follow Milbank native and head coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama where Grubb was set to become the new OC of the Crimson Tide. DeBoer and Grubb have been together at Sioux Falls (2007-09), Eastern Michigan (2014-16), Fresno State (2017-18, 2020-21) and Washington (2022-23).

Feb. 16: The Aberdeen Wings will have a new rival as the North American Hockey League is expanding to Watertown. Watertown will put a team on the ice in the 32-team, 17-state, 49-year-old NAHL this fall in its new $36.4-million Prairie Lakes Ice Arena complete with a $200,000 new Zamboni.
Feb. 16: The Iowa women’s basketball team will play Kansas Nov. 20 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Hawkeyes are currently one of the biggest draws in all of college basketball due to its star player Caitlin Clark. Clark, the all-time DI career scorer, has another year of eligibility left so she could play in Sioux Falls if she doesn’t turn pro. Tickets went on sale Feb. 29, but later that day, Clark announced she would forego her last season at Iowa to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Feb. 16: Watertown (2017) and NSU (2022) graduate Tanner Berg placed third in the weight throw at the USA Track and Field Indoor Nationals in New Mexico. Berg’s throw of 76 feet, 9.75 inches was behind champion Daniel Haugh (86-5.5) of Georgia and second-place Isaiah Rogers (80-1) of Georgia. Berg was a seven-time All-American with the Wolves, winning the 2022 NCAA DII national championship in the hammer throw. Haugh, a former DI national champion in the hammer throw, competed in the hammer throw in the 2021 Olympics.
Feb. 16-17: The NSU men’s basketball team lost two heartbreakers in its final home games of the season. First on Friday night with 1.7 seconds left, Winona threw a three-quarters of a court-length pass to Connor Dillion, who banked home a 35-foot buzzer-beater as he was falling out-of-bounds to
defeat the Wolves 80-79. Jacksen Moni, who put the Wolves up 79-77 with six seconds left, led the Wolves with 40 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The next night, No. 5 Mankato (24-2) defeated the Wolves 85-83 as Malik Willingham drove to the basket and hit a game-winning floater for the Mavericks with 3.5 seconds left. NSU’s Moni had tied the game at 83 with 22 seconds left. Josh Dilling led the Wolves with 35 points and eight assists.
Feb. 17: On senior night, the NSU women’s basketball team took down No. 14 Mankato 92-87 and ended the Mavericks’ 19-game winning streak. Pacing the Wolves were Madelyn Bragg (23 points and nine rebounds), Rianna Fillipi (18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists), Decontee Smith (18 points) and Alayna Benike (17 points).
Feb. 17: The first-year Augustana hockey team blanked Lake Superior State (MI) 3-0 for its first shutout in program history. Augie senior goalie Zack Rose stopped 30 shots.
Feb. 19: In their first-ever meeting, the St. Thomas More boys’ basketball team defeated Rapid City Central 49-23. The Cavaliers got 18 points and seven rebounds from Lee Neugebauer.
Feb. 19: Nine people will be inducted into the South Dakota Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the state wrestling championships Feb. 24 in Sioux Falls. Among the honorees are former state champions Eugene Hoffart of Redfield; Jon Madsen of Doland; Greg Lanners of Clear Lake; Jeff Heumiller of Salem; and Greg Sayler of Freeman. Also honored will be Tim Steffensen (long-time official, former NSU wrestler and Aberdeen Roncalli coach); former Aberdeen Central athletic director Gene Brownell; long-time Highmore and Miller coach Tim McMahon; and former Sully Buttes coach and long-time official Bob Graff of Onida.
Feb. 20: It was a special night of basketball for the home teams at the Mitchell Corn Palace. Coach Dave Brooks and his No. 2 Mitchell girls defeated No. 3 Brandon Valley 62-56 to win its first outright Eastern South Dakota Conference title since 2013. The Kernels (18-1) were led by Sawyer Stoebner with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Then Mitchell coach Ryker Kreutzfeldt and his top-rated boys took the court and defeated No. 3 Brandon Valley 59-54 to win a share of the ESD title for the third year in a row. The Kernels (18-1) were led by Gavin Soukup, Marcus Talley and Colton Smith with 15 points each and a combined 22 rebounds.

Feb. 20: No. 15 Creighton blitzed No. 1 Connecticut 85-66 in front of a home crowd and a national TV audience. Plenty of fans in the Dakotans were tuned in and up for the Bluejays. It was the 600th career win for Creighton coach Greg McDermott (600-352 in 30 seasons), a former coach at UND, NDSU and Wayne State. One of his assistants at Creighton is former NSU standout Ryan Miller of Mitchell. And two of Creighton’s starters are Mason Miller (son of Mitchell’s Mike Miller and Ryan Miller’s nephew) and former SDSU standout Baylor Scheierman.
Feb. 20: The Sioux Falls City Council is moving forward to end a decades-old $100 per year tax on bowling centers. Decades ago, a popular tax used by a variety of governments on bowling centers was placed on each of their lanes, such as $15 per lane per year.
Feb. 22: Dakota State has hired Todd Stank of Michigan as its inaugural women’s soccer coach. The Trojans will begin playing their 14th varsity sport this fall. He has more than 25 years of experience coaching soccer at all levels.
Feb. 23: The Sioux Falls Public School District announced it will continue gymnastics for at least three more seasons. The district had planned to cut the sport after the 2022-23 season, but the issue was brought before the legal system and the court ordered the district to stop its elimination of the sport for now.
Feb. 23: The $36.4 million, 91,000 square foot Prairie Lakes Ice Arena in Watertown held its first hockey game with the Watertown Lakers’ boys junior varsity and varsity teams hosting Mitchell. Mitchell won the varsity game 5-2, but the two-rink facility wowed fans, players and coaches. Also, Watertown’s new $200,000 Zamboni was put to work as well. The new arena will replace the Maas Ice Arena, which has been in use since the late 1980s. The first big event in the new facility will be the South Dakota girls’ hockey varsity state tourney March 1-3. This fall, Watertown will welcome a new North American Hockey League team to the facility as well.
Feb. 24: The SDSU men’s basketball team defeated St. Thomas (MN) 77-72 in the program’s final game at Frost Arena in Brookings. On Senior Day, the three SDSU starting seniors (Luke Appel, Charlie Easley and Matt Mims) combined for 39 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and five assists. SDSU closed out its 52nd and final season in Frost Arena as the Jackrabbits will play in the new, reconstructed First Bank and Trust Arena next fall. The South Dakota State men’s basketball program went 573-139 (.805) during the Frost Arena era inside its home facility. Fittingly, South Dakotan Kalen Garry of De Smet scored the final point in Frost Arena for a SDSU men’s basketball player.
Feb. 24: The SDSU trio of Brooklyn Meyer (26 points), Paige Meyer (23) and Maidson Mathiowetz (20) paced the Jackrabbits’ to a 97-63 win over St. Thomas. The win gave the SDSU women’s basketball team a share of their 10th Summit League title for the fifth time in the last six seasons. SDSU has gone 63-1 in the last four seasons of Summit League play and has won 45 conference games in a row.
Feb. 24: The Canton boys’ wrestling team won its seventh straight state title behind individual championships from Carter Kendrick (106), Ashton Keller (132) and Ayson Rice (150). In his final high school match, Howard senior Jackson Remmers not only won his third state title, but he also tied Winner Area wrestler Kaden Keiser for all-time career wins (286).
Feb. 24: Navarro Schunke of Brandon Valley won his fifth Class A wrestling title, the first Class A wrestler to do so. He ended his career winning 165 matches in a row. In Class B, Kirk Wallman of Freeman and Logan Storley of Webster each won six state titles while Caden Lamer of Tri-Valley; Lincoln McIlravy of Philip, Hannon Hisek of Bon Homme and Alex Kocer of Wagner each won five state titles. Schunke won the 220-pound state title as an eighth grader, and then the four state heavyweight titles in high school. He will play football at Kansas State this fall.
Feb. 24: Wall senior Burk Blasius of the Philip/Kadoka Area/Wall Badland Brawlers won his fourth state wrestling title. So did Ayson Rice from state team champion Canton.
Feb. 24: The Pierre girls’ wrestling team won its third straight state title, barely. The Governors scored 139 points to top second-place Canton’s 138.5. Pierre’s lone state champion came at 152 pounds in Abbigail Lewis. Lakota Tech, which opened in Pine Ridge in 2020, got its first-ever state champion in Giada Scherich.
Feb. 26: Britton-Hecla High School girls’ basketball coach Terry Nelson is the first recipient of the “Larry Luitjens Coach of Influence” Award. The award’s objective is to pay tribute to Luitjens and honor coaches that stood for his core coaching values. Nelson will receive the award at the State A girls’ basketball tournament in Brookings. The boys award recipient will be announced at a later date. Luitjens, a legendary boys’ basketball coach who won multiple state championships at De Smet and Custer, won a state-record 748 games. He died in 2023. Nelson has coached basketball for 36 seasons, including stops at Deubrook, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, Chamberlain, Hecla, Frederick-Hecla and Britton-Hecla. A Flandreau High School graduate, Nelson was a multi-sport athlete in high school and at Huron College.
Feb. 26: The South Dakota Amateur Hockey Hall of Fame, established in 2022, announced its second class of 12 people. To be inducted on April 12 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center is former Aberdeen standout player Abby (Taffe) Trettin.
Feb. 27: Centerville coach Bill Marquardt (500-282 in 38 seasons) is now one of 11 South Dakota prep boys’ basketball coaches with 500 or more career wins. A Salem, NSU and SDSU graduate, Marquardt also is one of three (Marv McCune and Kent Mueller) South Dakota head high school coaches in prep history to have teams that have won state basketball and football titles. Marquardt joins these boys’ basketball coaches with 500 or more career wins: Larry Luitjens, Gary Munsen, Burnell Glanzer, Gayle Hoover, Mike Tuschen, Paul Raasch, Frank Cutler, Jim Schlekeway, Doug Groth and Dave Hollenbeck.
Feb. 24: Lifelong Brookings and SDSU supporter Bob Bartling died at age 97. He was born on Aug. 26, 1926, in Brookings where he was a multi-sport standout for the Bobcats and then the Jackrabbits. Bartling was a life-long businessman (Standard Oil, furniture and funeral home and shoe store operator — he was South Dakota’s first Nike dealer) and a sports historian whose volunteer work benefitted SDSU’s Briggs Library and Jackrabbit Athletics. “Bob truly was an amazing man who brought boundless energy to the many things he was passionate about, including Jackrabbit Athletics,” SDSU athletic director Justin Sell said. “You never saw Bob have a bad day — his positive attitude and infectious personality resonates with all of us who were fortunate to have had him in our lives.” 
Feb. 27: The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected 40 men’s college players to be on its ballot for the 2023-24 Oscar Robertson Trophy for player of the year and the group’s All-American teams. Among those nominated are former SDSU standout Baylor Scheierman of Creighton. The former Summit League player of the year ranks in the top 10 in the Big East Conference in points, rebounds and assists.
Feb. 28: The South Dakota High School Activities Association’s board of directors appointed Trent Osborne of Ipswich to join the board as its East River At-Large Member. Osborne, the Ipswich superintendent, will fill out the term of former board member Tom Culver of Avon who resigned. Osborne’s term will last until June 30, 2025.
Feb. 28: Former SDSU star Baylor Scheierman of Creighton became only the 11th DI men’s basketball player in history to score 1,000 points or more at multiple schools. Scheierman went over 1,000 career points at Creighton with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Bluejays’ 85-64 win over Seton Hall. He played 90 games for SDSU, collecting 1,114 points, 635 rebounds, 320 assists and 83 steals.
Feb. 29: In a back-and-forth battle for the Summit League men’s basketball regular-season title, SDSU beat UND 72-62 in Grand Forks. SDSU got 26 points, eight rebounds, four steals and four assists from Zeke Mayo. It was the Jacks’ ninth regular-season league title in the past 12 seasons. Eric Henderson is the SDSU coach, while former NSU coach Paul Sather guides UND.
Feb. 29: USD assistant coach Mike Jewett has been filling in as the USD women’s basketball coach for a portion of this past month. USD head coach Kayla Karius was ill and then she had travel restrictions with the approaching due date of her baby.
Feb. 29: The SDSU women’s basketball team beat UND 103-47 to wrap up sole possession of the Summit League regular-season crown. Brooklyn Meyer paced the Jacks with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Coach A.J. Johnson’s Rabbits have won 46 consecutive conference games and have gone 64-1 in league play over the last four seasons. SDSU has won at least a share of five of the last six regular-season titles.
Feb. 29: Dakota State will host the first and second rounds of the women’s basketball NAIA national tourney March 15 and March 16 in Madison. It is the first time in program history that the school has been selected as a host site for the first two rounds. The Trojans have won 43 of their last 46 games at the DSU Fieldhouse.

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