South Dakota
South Dakota’s state cheer & dance, cross country championships scheduled for this weekend
This is a big weekend for South Dakota high school sports, with state championship events scheduled for competitive cheer and dance and cross country.
The 19th annual cheer and dance competition is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24 (Class A) and Saturday, Oct. 25 (Class AA) in the Watertown Civic Arena.
The three-class state cross country meet is slated for Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron.
Here’s some pertinent details from each of the state events.
Cheer & Dance
- Where & When — Friday and Saturday in the Watertown Civic Arena.
- Schedule — Class A competition will run from 5:15 p.m. to around 7:20 p.m. on Friday, with awards scheduled for approximately 8 p.m. Class AA competition opens at 11:15 a.m. Saturday and continues past 3 p.m. with awards to follow at about 3:30 p.m. (Dance teams can perform in two of three dance categories: hip hop, jazz and pom).
- Teams & Defending Champions — Class A features 20 schools in cheer and six dance. Sioux Valley has won all 18 cheer titles in state history and Dakota Valley has won the past 15 dance titles. Class AA includes 19 schools in cheer and 18 in dance. Defending champion Harrisburg has won two of the past three cheer titles and Brandon Valley is the four-time defending champion in dance.
- Judges — Cheer: Performance judges include Renee Cummings of Watertown (head judge), Christian Bennett of Pierre and Krista Inman of Rapid City and safety judges are Brandy Gangle of Lake City and Katrina Schnabel of Aberdeen. Dance: Performance judges are Tammy Griffith of Aberdeen (head judge), Dacia Starks of Pierre and Darcy Nagel of Rapid City along with safety officials Taylor Hageman of Watertown and Salena Reimer of Sioux Falls.
- Awards — Grand champions will be crowned in cheer and dance with other awards related to the number of teams in each division.
- Tickets — Tickets for adults are $15 and students $10 per day.
- Northeastern South Dakota Squads — Area Class A competitive cheer squads include Deubrook Area, Elkton-Lake Benton, Faulkton Area, Iroquois-Lake Preston and Sioux Valley. There are no area Class A dance squads. Watertown and Aberdeen Central each will field cheer and dance squads in Class AA.
Cross Country
- Where & When — Saturday at the Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron.
- Schedule — Races (all 5,000 meters) include Class A boys at noon, Class AA boys at 12:30 p.m., Class B boys at 1 p.m., Class A girls at 1:30 p.m., Class AA girls at 2 p.m. and Class B girls at 2:30 p.m. Awards will be held following the conclusion on the final race.
- Returning Individual Champions — Returning individual race champions include Ella Boekelheide of Northwestern, Class B girls; Faith Wiese of Flandreau, Class A girls; and Brianna Reilly of Harrisburg, Class AA girls; Tate Grabow of Hill City, Class A boys and Cole Reilly of Sioux Falls Washington, Class A boys. There will be a new champion crowned in Class B boys.
- Defending Team Champions — Kimball-White Lake (Class B girls), Sioux Falls Christian (Class A girls, 3-time), Harrisburg (Class AA girls), Philip (Class B boys, 3-time), Sioux Falls Christian (Class A boys) and Sioux Falls Lincoln (Class AA boys, 2-time).
- Officials — Tim Casper of Lake Preston, meet referee; Bob DeBoer of Huron, assistant meet referee and starters Tina Baum and Steve Carron of Huron.
- Awards — The top 25 indivdiuals and six teams in each division receive awards.
- Tickets — Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students in grades 1-12.
- Northeastern South Dakota Runners — The field includes 14 area runners in Class AA girls (Watertown and Aberdeen Central), 31 in Class A girls (including school eligible for team honors Milbank, Aberdeen Roncalli, Sioux Valley and Clark-Willow Lake), 35 in Class B girls (eligible teams Gettysburg, Herreid-Selby Area, Ipswich, Arlington, Northwestern and Deubrook Area), 14 in Class AA boys (Watertown and Aberdeen Central), 29in Class A boys (eligible teams Milbank, Deuel and Sisseton) and 35 in Class B boys (eligible teams North Central, Frederick Area, Herreid-Selby Area and Northwestern).
ESD Cheer & Dance
A number of the Class AA cheer and dance squads tuned up for state by competing in the ESD Championships on Oct. 16 at Brookings.
Harrisburg won the cheer division for the eighth-straight year with a score of 295.5, followed by Brookings (288.0), Watertown (275.5), Yankton (245.5), Tea Area and Mitchell (each 244.5), Huron and Pierre (each 213.5), Brandon Valley (192.5) and Aberdeen Central (188.5).
Brandon Valley won the dance division for a third-straight year with 40 points, followed by Harrisburg with 39, Yankton and Pierre each 37, Aberdeen Central 35, Watertown 33, Tea Area 32, Mitchell and Brookings each 29 and Huron 26.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 22, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from April 22 drawing
24-29-32-49-63, Powerball: 11, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from April 22 drawing
15-20-32-46-48, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 03
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Dakota Cash numbers from April 22 drawing
05-06-09-14-32
Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 22 drawing
17-26-43-44-53, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
The University of South Dakota announced on Wednesday, April 22, that Athletic Director Jon Schemmel has received a five-year contract extension running through the 2030-31 academic year.
Schemmel has been in his position since January 2024 and was South Dakota’s senior associate athletic director for development from 2012-2017.
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“The University of South Dakota and Vermillion community is where our family wants to be,” Schemmel said in a press release. “I am humbled and grateful for the continued trust from President (Sheila) Gestring and the South Dakota Board of Regents to continue leading this athletics program. Coyote Nation has the best fans and donors, and we have a group of coaches, staff and student-athletes who are committed to competing for championships and continuing their excellence in the classroom and community.”
The athletics department has raised $49 million since Schemmel took over as AD, including $35 million in the 2025-26 academic year.
The Coyotes have won a Missouri Valley Football Conference championship and Summit League volleyball and men’s indoor track and field titles with Schemmel at the helm.
“USD’s athletic programs continue to thrive under Jon’s leadership,” Gestring said. “His knowledge of Division I athletics, forward-thinking vision for our teams and strength in fundraising have all been assets to our university. Our program is in great hands, and I am looking forward to seeing what Jon, his staff and our student-athletes achieve in the next five years.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota extends AD Jon Schemmel through 2030-31 academic year
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 21, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from April 21 drawing
01-36-43-56-58, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 21 drawing
01-04-40-47-58, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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