South Dakota
Brandon Valley’s girls and Harrisburg’s boys capture team championships in conference meet
BROOKINGS — Watertown and Aberdeen Central athletes won a combined six events on Saturday during the Eastern South Dakota Conference Track and Field Championships.
Aberdeen Central’s girls scored 110.25 points and finished third for the second-straight year behind champion Brandon Valley (201.75) and runner-up Harrisburg 144. The title was the 10th in a row for the Lynx. Watertown added a fourth-place finish with 89, up three spots from last spring. Pierre was fifth at 69, followed by Mitchell 61.75, Yankton 54, Huron 25.75 and Brookings 24.5.
Harrisburg ended Brandon Valley’s two-year run of titles in the boys division, winning by a 171.5-117.5 margin. Yankton was third at 106, followed by Aberdeen Central 94, Pierre 78, Mitchell 64, Brookings 62, Watertown 69 and Huron 27. Aberdeen Central took third and Watertown eighth in 2023.
Top Performers, Meet Records
Mia Wentzy, Sarah VanDeBerg and Lily Rude led Brandon Valley’s girls to another title. Wentzy won the 800-meter run in 2:19.53 and VanDeBerg the 1,600 in 5:06.46. Wentzy, VanDeBerg and Rude also ran on the winning 1,600 (4:03.45) and 3,200 (8:59.5) relays. Rude also ran on the winning medley (4;20.7).
Shelby Bergan added a win in the 300 hurdles (45.35) and ran on the winning 800 (1:42.78) relay, and Madison Pederson ran on the 400 relay along with winning the long (18-0.75) and triple (37-6) jumps for Brandon Valley’s girls. Kali Ringstmeyer of Pierre took the 100 (12.09) and 200 (25.4) dashes in the girls division.
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Tate Larson led Harrisburg’s boys by winning the 110 hurdles (15.56) and 200 dash (21.89) and also running on the winning 800 relay (1:29.51).
Jon Kahler of Brookings won the 800 (1:57.78) and ran on the winning 1,600 (3:28.37) and 3,200 (8:08.17) relays. Austin Gobel of Yankton took the 100 (10.77) and ran on the winning 400 (43.22 relay).
New meets record included Brandon Valley’s girls in the 3,200 relay (8:59.5, old record 9:26.77 set by Aberdeen Central in 2012); Hannah Genrich of Harrisburg in the girls’ 3,200 run (10:55.10, old record 10:57.44 set by Annie Kruse of Yankton in 2014); Bergan in the girls’ 300 hurdles (45.35, old record 45.58 by Jeana Hoffman of Mitchell in 2003); Logan Smidt of Brookings in the girls’ javelin (111-6, old record 110-8 set by Kaityn Disbrow of Harrisburg in 2022); and Jared Lutmer of Pierre in the boys’ 3,200 (9:27.09, old record 9:27.4 set by Larry Beesley of Madison in 1975).
Watertown Highlights
Boaz Raderschadt provided the big highlight for the Arrows, winning the boys’ shot put (57-8) and discus (165-8), both with personal-record throws. Malia Kranz won the girls’ discus in 124-1 and also was fourth in the shot put (39-9).
Other Watertown boys’ place winners were Bayley Steiner and Isaiah Norton, seventh and eighth in the 800; Dane Stark, fifth in the 1,600; Jereome Zebroski, fifth in the 300 hurdles; Simon Hendricks, fifth in the javelin; Owen Spartz and Tommy Foley, second and seventh in the pole vault; and Aaron Bruns and Jonas Geier, seventh and eighth in the triple jump.
The Arrows placed fourth in the 400 (Noah Wallenmeyer, Shey Coltrin, Austin Redfield and Lincoln Schutt), sixth in the 800 (Coltrin, Schutt, Austin Moen and Redfield), eighth in the 1,600 (Schutt, Redfield, Norton and Zebroski) and seventh in the medley (James Clendenin, Mlan Moen, Ayden Steiner and Ty Sullivan).
Other Arrow girls who placed include Alayna Smith, seventh 100 and 200; Andi Olson, eighth in 200; Grace McElroy, second in 3,200 and sixth in 1,600; Grace Corey, sixth in discus; Jordan Remmers and McKenzie Lewis, fourth and eighth in javelin; Reese Munger and Mayla McGhee, third and sixth in high jump; Jordyn Padgett, Ericka Woolley and Marli Wadsworth, second, third and eighth in the pole vault; and Makenna Blank, third in the long jump.
The Arrows took sixth in the 400 (Blank, A. Smith, Hayden Thomas and Anna Hirtz), fourth in the 800 (Victoria Smith, A. Smith, Hirtz and Hauger), fifth in the 1,600 (V. Smith, Grace List, Olson and Hauger), fourth in the medley (Kate McElroy, G. McElroy, Remmers and Olson) and eighth in the medley (Ashlynn Andrews, Emma Reihe, List and Lola Barrett).
Aberdeen Central Highlights
Ciara Frank won the girls’ high jump (5-5), took second in the long jump (18-0) and fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.64) and ran on the winning 400 relay (50.26) and second-place 800 relay (1:43.69) to lead Aberdeen Central. Gracie Rife took second in the 100 dash (12.49) and fourth in the 200 dash (25.73) and also ran on the 400 and 800 relays. Keyana Stillman, Lucy Fritz and Kamdyn Borge rounded out the 400 relay and Stillman and Madison Hochstetter the 800.
Other place winners were Stillman, sixth in 200; Juna Ramey, sixth in 3,200 and eighth in 1,600; Mya Arampatzis, second in 100 hurdles and fourth in 300 hurdles; Hochstetter, fifth in 100 hurdles and second in high jump; Taryn Hermansen, third in shot put; Regan Lust, tied for seventh in high jump; and Jaidyn Forsyth, fourth in pole vault and seventh in triple jump.
Aberdeen Central was also sixth in the 1,600 relay (Eme Mounga, Allyson Bauer, Grace Richter and Charlee Williams-Smith), sixth in the 3,200 (Angie Lopez, Khloe Cochran, Allison Brenner and Kaylie Peldo) and fourth in the medley (Fritz, Lust, Lauren Joosten and Lopez).
Tyler Bain won the high jump (6-3) to lead Aberdeen Central’s boys. Other placers were Avery Ligon, sixth in 100; Brendan Phillips, fifth in 400 and sixth in high jump; Grant Fritz, eighth in 400; David VanVeen, second in 1,600 and seventh in 3,200; Tate DeVries, fifth in 3,200; Kyson Fayant, seventh in 110 hurdles and sixth in 300 hurdles; Colby Dauwen and Jack Podoll, fourth and eighth in 300 hurdles; Joran Foss, fourth in shot put and eighth in discus; Evan Hauer and Jaxon Henley, sixth and seventh in shot put; Jack Bertsch, third in discus; and Jett Carlson, second in javelin.
The Golden Eagles took seventh (Kalen Larson, Ligon, Eli Biegler and Karson Borge) in the 400 relay, fourth in the 800 (Larson, Ligon, Biegler and Borge), second in the 1,600 (Biegler, Fayant, Phillips and Dauwen), seventh in the 3,200 (Philipp Abel, Christian Wells, Esten Foss and Dauwen) and third in the medley (Ligon, Borge, Biegler and VanVeen).
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Central South Dakota Conference
MILLER — Potter County’s girls and Mobridge-Pollock’s boys captured team championships in the CSD conference track and field meet on Saturday.
PC won the girls division with 151 points, followed by Wolsey-Wessington at 131. Mobridge-Pollock repeated as the boys division champion by a 147-126 margin over Miller. Seven schools competed.
Emma Schlachter, Paige Ahlemeier and Dannika Kaup led the way for Potter County’s girls. Schlachter won the 800-meter run in 2:24.78, Ahlemeier the 3,200 run in 13:01.43 and Kaup the 300 hurdles in 47.92. All three girls also ran on PC’s winning 1,600 (4:12.62) and 3,200 (10:11.56 relays). Kayden Cronin (triple jump, 32-11.5) and Megan Seurer (100 dash, 13.68) each won events and ran on the winning 400 (53.54) relays).
Ryli Thompson of Mobridge-Pollock won the 200 (26.9) and 400 (1:01.31) dashes and ran on the winning 800 (1:48.97) relay in the girls division. Other area event winners were Heidi Olson of Mobridge-Pollock (1,600 run, 5:20.71) and Carley Cotton (100 hurdles, 17:07) and Savanna Hayes (shot put (33-11.5) of Faulkton Area.
Andrew Fulkerson (100 dash, 11.88), Simon Fried (300 hurdles, 41.95), Carter Hinsz (shot put, 45-5.5) and Kellen Pfitzer (discus, 132-2) each won events for Mobridge-Pollock’s boys.
Other area event winners included Carter Luikens (200 dash, 23.54), Nicholas Schlachter (3,200 run, 10:22.74) and Landon Larson (long jump, 19-4) of Potter County; Spencer Melius of Faulkton Area (javelin, 165-1) and Tarrence Mickelson of Sunshine Bible Academy (triple jump, 38-1.75). Faulkton Area won the 800 (1:53.81) and Sunshine Bible Academy the medley (8:49.86).
Complete results of both meets can be found at https://www.athletic.net/events/us/south-dakota/2024-05-11.
ESD and CSD Results: https://www.athletic.net/events/us/south-dakota/2024-05-11
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
ST. GEORGE, Utah — — Noa Gonsalves’ 22 points helped Utah Tech defeat South Dakota 92-87 on Thursday.
Gonsalves shot 6 for 13 (6 for 11 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Trailblazers (4-10). Beon Riley scored 21 points while going 7 of 11 and 6 of 9 from the free-throw line and added 14 rebounds. Samuel Ariyibi shot 5 of 7 from the field to finish with 11 points, while adding 12 rebounds.
Kaleb Stewart led the Coyotes (9-5) in scoring, finishing with 26 points and two steals. Chase Forte added 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for South Dakota. Isaac Bruns also had 12 points and six rebounds.
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
South Dakota
Phonics-based ‘science of reading’ on track for South Dakota implementation • South Dakota Searchlight
Phonics-based instruction could soon be a state standard in South Dakota. The Department of Education is working to align state standards for English and language arts with the phonics-based “science of reading” framework.
The proposed standards revision had its second hearing Thursday in Sioux Falls during a South Dakota Board of Education Standards meeting. It’ll be discussed at the board’s meetings in Pierre and Rapid City next year before approval.
The revision follows a global debate — often called the “reading wars” — about how best to teach children to read. One side advocates for an emphasis on phonics, which is understanding the relationship between sounds and letters. The other side prefers a “whole language” approach that puts a stronger emphasis on understanding meaning, with some phonics mixed in. The “balanced literacy” approach gained popularity in the 2000s, which is phonics-inclusive but favors whole language instruction.
Gov. Kristi Noem and the Legislature invested $6 million earlier this year to train teachers in the science of reading.
The timing for the standards review “couldn’t be better,” said Shannon Malone, director of the Department of Education’s division of learning and instruction, during Thursday’s meeting.
Noem’s phonics literacy effort advances in Legislature
Most of South Dakota’s teachers who were trained in phonics before “whole language” and “balanced literacy” was the standard have retired. Just under 50% of South Dakota students last school year didn’t meet standards for English and language arts, according to the state report card.
“We hope to see those numbers go up. I believe there’s good evidence they will,” state Education Department Secretary Joe Graves told the board.
The department is wrapping up its current voluntary training program on phonics-based teaching and transitioning to courses through the South Dakota Board of Regents, using part of the $6 million in funding from the Legislature. The department hopes to begin classes in fall 2025, open to all public, private and tribal school teachers in the state.
As part of the higher education system, state Department of Education officials hope the program will be used to train college students majoring in teaching before they graduate.
A $54 million Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant awarded to South Dakota from the federal government will also be used to help local school districts implement a phonics-based approach over the next five years. Those competitive grants, with applications opening in early 2025, can go toward improvements such as literacy coach salaries, teacher training or curriculum reviews.
The board also held hearings for optional content standards for computer science and the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings, which educate students on culture and traditions of Indigenous South Dakotans. The computer science standards would be new standards to explore technology, such as artificial intelligence, in the classrooms and workforce. One person spoke against the revised OSEU standards, saying that the standards needed more tribal consultation and more representation of the Nakota and Dakota tribes.
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South Dakota
Hunting lodge in South Dakota to add golf course, with famed author as one of its designers
The design team of Craig & Coyne has partnered with planning and construction firm Landscapes Unlimited to build a golf course at Lazy J Grand Lodge in Ideal, South Dakota.
In rebranding to Lazy J Sporting Club, the facility is adding a par-72, 7,216-yard, 18-hole course scheduled to open in 2027. In a media announcement introducing the plans, the site in the southern/central portion of the state was described as featuring gentle hills, dramatic ravines, elevation changes and waterways.
Craig & Coyne is a partnership formed in 2022 between golf architect Colton Craig and noted author Tom Coyne. Coyne gained famed for several books such as “A Gentleman’s Game,” “Paper Tiger,” “A Course Called Ireland,” “A Course Called Scotland” and “A Course called America.” He is now the editor of the magazine Golfer’s Journal and also a part-owner and operator of Sullivan County Golf Course in New York.
Landscapes Unlimited will bring Craig & Coyne’s design to life, and sister company Landscapes Golf Management will oversee pre-opening activities including membership campaigns and financial management.
Lazy J – set on 20,000 acres – has long been a pheasant hunting destination, and its operators said golf would be a natural addition in turning the lodge into a private destination club. Limited memberships of various levels will be offered.
“Research shows hunters love playing golf and vice versa,” Nick Jorgensen – CEO of Jorgensen Land and Cattle and whose family owns the property – said in a recent media release announcing the course. “We are determined to provide them with a fun and safe destination escape to create unforgettable lifetime memories and experience ultra-friendly Midwest hospitality and camaraderie on the land we love.”
Planned amenities include a state-of-the-art short-game practice area and a 12-hole short course. The existing 42-bed lodge, including a lounge and restaurant, will see interior and exterior renovation.
“The Jorgensen family is world-class in everything it does, and we expect the new golf course to meet the same standards,” Tom Everett, president of Landscapes Golf Management, said in the media release. “With significantly growing participation in golf and hunting, and the premium caliber of Lazy J Sporting Club at large, members will absolutely love their experiences time and again.”
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