PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:

— Wrestling: Friday, @ Brookings; Saturday, @ Brookings invitational.

— Gymnastics: Saturday, home triangular (with R.C. Stevens and R.C. Central).

— Boys basketball: Friday, @ Harrisburg; Tuesday, @ Mitchell.

— Girls basketball: Friday, home vs. Harrisburg; Tuesday, home vs. Mitchell.

Gymnastics: At the Rapid City Gym-o-rama, Pierre placed second behind champion Dickinson with a 138.375 score, followed by Hot Springs and Chamberlain. Mikah Moser was third in the all-around at 36.700, Sophie Bullard sixth at 34.200 and Meg Erwin seventh at 33.275.

Wrestling: The Governors swamped Yankton in a Friday dual, 61-13, putting up six pins and two forfeit wins for 48 of their 61 points. At the annual East-West duals hosted by Pierre, the Governors swept the West River teams, beating Rapid City Central 39-19, Stevens 36-19 and Sturgis 47-15.

Girls basketball: The Lady Govs defeated Watertown, 39-33. Emily Mikkelsen scored 16, Kylie Kessler six and Ericka Stout six. On Tuesday Pierre lost to Aberdeen Central, 68-48, as Mikkelsen had 17 points, Abigail Foster nine and Kessler eight. Pierre stands at 3-9.

Boys basketball: It was a three-loss week for the Governors, starting with a 64-53 loss at Sturgis. Garrett Stout had 18 points there, Peyton Zabel 16 and Jack Maher seven. The next night on the other side of the state Pierre lost at Watertown, 50-29, as Zabel scored 15 and Stout five. On Tuesday the Govs fell to Aberdeen Central, 59-40, led by Zabel with 23. Pierre is 2-10.

Class “AA” boys basketball standings: The Governors desperately need some wins in the final month of the regular season to even make it into the Round of 16, the eight games which determine who goes to the state tournament. As of today the Govs rank 16th out of the 18 “AA” boys teams, and only the top 16 make it into the Round of 16. Right now the two teams out of the picture are #17 Brookings (2-8) and #18 Mitchell (0-12). The seed points standings at this moment:

• (1) Rapid City Central 12-1
• (2) Sioux Falls Lincoln 8-3
• (3) Harrisburg 10-1
• (4) Rapid City Stevens 11-2
• (5) Yankton 8-4
• (6) Douglas 8-4
• (7) Sturgis 9-3
• (8) Sioux Falls Washington 7-6
• (9) Brandon Valley 8-4
• (10) Sioux Falls Roosevelt 4-7
• (11) Sioux Falls O’Gorman 6-7
• (12) Aberdeen Central 6-7
• (13) Watertown 6-5
• (14) Spearfish 4-8
• (15) Huron 4-8
• (16) Pierre 2-10
• (17) Brookings 2-8
• (18) Mitchell 0-12

In the Round of 16, the #16 team plays at #1, #15 plays at #2, etc., so the top eight teams have home games in that round.

Class “AA” girls basketball standings: The Lady Govs are also on the brink of not making it into the Round of 16, so upcoming games are looming as crucial, especially the must-win games against Watertown and Huron. Today Pierre is #15 out of 18 schools, and only the top 16 make it into the Round of 16, where eight games determine the state tournament qualifiers. As of today the two teams out of the picture would be Douglas and Huron. The standings at this moment:

• (1) Aberdeen Central 12-1
• (2) Sioux Falls Lincoln 11-2
• (3) Brandon Valley 10-2
• (4) Harrisburg 8-2
• (5) Rapid City Stevens 10-2
• (6) Sioux Falls O’Gorman 7-5
• (7) Brookings 6-4
• (8) Sioux Falls Washington 3-8
• (9) Sturgis 5-7
• (10) Rapid City Central 6-8
• (11) Mitchell 4-7
• (12) Yankton 3-8
• (13) Sioux Falls Roosevelt 2-10
• (14) Spearfish 4-7
• (15) Pierre 3-9
• (16) Watertown 2-9
• (17) Douglas 3-8
• (18) Huron 0-12

PONDER THIS

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:

— Girls basketball: Thursday, @ Crow Creek; Saturday, home vs. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte; Tuesday, @ Todd County.

— Boys basketball: Thursday, @ Crow Creek; Saturday, home vs. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte; Tuesday, @ Todd County.

— Gymnastics: Friday, @ Hot Springs invitational.

— Wrestling: Thursday, @ Sully Buttes; Saturday, @ Wagner invitational.

Girls basketball: In the Southern Plains tournament the SCHS girls lost first to Kadoka, 67-30, then lost to Jones County in the consolation semifinals, 49-41. In the seventh-place game they lost to Gregory, 41-25.

Boys basketball: The Buffaloes somewhat contained Sully Buttes’ front line for a time but eventually lost to the Chargers, 63-47. Joey Fscher had 18 points and Cale Meiners 13 for the Buffs, who trailed at halftime by 34-23. SCHS is 8-5 for the year to date.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:

— Wrestling: Thursday, home vs. Stanley County; Saturday, @ Wagner invitational.

— Girls basketball: Thursday, @ Hitchcock-Tulare; Saturday, @ Warner; Tuesday, home vs. Jones County.

— Boys basketball: Thursday, @ Hitchcock-Tulare; Saturday, @ Warner; Tuesday, home vs. Jones County.

Girls basketball: The Chargers went to Mobridge and swamped Strasburg-Zeeland, N.D., 71-20. On Monday the girls won big again, 67-39, over Philip. Lauren Wittler scored 23 and Rachel Guthmiller 21. SBHS is now 11-0.

Boys basketball: The Chargers are 9-1 after two more wins this week. SBHS beat Strasburg-Zeeland, N.D., at Mobridge, 73-45. On Tuesday the Chargers won at Stanley County, 63-47, leading by 34-23 at halftime and 48-35 after three periods. Jacob Howard scored 18, Lincoln Jordre 16, Nick Wittler 10 and Devan Kleven 10.

Schedule updates: The Charger girls’ opponent at the Warner-Stratford Lions Club Classic in Warner on Feb. 10 will be Little Wound with a 7 p.m. tipoff time. The boys’ opponent at the Classic there on Feb. 17 will be Langford with a 6 p.m. game time.

COUNTDOWN

• 1 day: Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo, Rapid City (Jan. 26-Feb. 4).
• 2 days: Riggs High one-act play (Jan. 27 and 29).
• 3 days: Grammy awards, CBS-TV (Jan. 28).
• 5 days: State of the Union address (Jan. 30).
• 7 days: State one-act play festival, Brandon (Feb. 1-3).
• 10 days: Super Bowl LII, Minneapolis (Feb. 4).
• 15 days: Winter Olympics, Pyeongchang (Feb. 9-25).
• 15 days: State gymnastics meet, Watertown (Feb. 9-10).
• 20 days: Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday (Feb. 14).
• 20 days: Summit League swimming championships, Sioux Falls (Feb. 14-17).
• 22 days: Pheasants Forever national pheasant feast, Sioux Falls (Feb. 16-18).
• 26 days: Georgia Morse Middle School musical (Feb. 20-21).
• 28 days: Minnesota Twins spring training opener (Feb. 22).
• 29 days: Pierre Players’ “The Three Musketeers” (Feb. 23-25, March 1-3).
• 29 days: State wrestling tournaments, Sioux Falls (Feb. 23-24).
• 30 days: NSIC basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (Feb. 24-27).

TOM SWIFTS

“That’s the last time I pet a lion,” Tom said offhandedly.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Black Hills State women (Remi Wientjes, Racquel Wientjes): The BHSU women throttled Westminster (Utah), one of their conference opponents, 58-38, to improve to 9-4 in the RMAC. Remi was 6-of-12 in field goals, including 2-of-5 in threes, for 14 points with six rebounds and an assist. Racquel had two rebounds. Now 15-4 overall, BHSU goes to Grand Junction and Gunnison to play Colorado-Mesa Friday and to Western State Saturday.

Black Hills State men: The Yellowjackets lost to Westminster, 66-58. Fraser Malcolm led BHSU with 15, and Stefan Desnica had 14. Now 11-6 overall and 8-5 in the RMAC, BHSU goes to Colorado-Mesa and Western State this weekend.

Mount Marty men: The Lancers lost to Morningside, 98-87, as Marcus Mathieu scored 28. MMC is now 4-17 overall and 1-10 in the GPAC. The Lancers played Dordt last night.

Mount Marty women: The Lancer women lost to Morningside, 88-77, led by Sarah Castaneda’s 25 points. Now 10-10 overall and 1-10 in the GPAC, Mount Marty hosted Dordt last night and hosts Doane Saturday.

South Dakota women (Ciara Duffy, Chloe Lamb): The Coyotes swamped Omaha, 70-46, led by Allison Arens’ 18 points. Ciara was 5-of-12, including 2-f-7 in threes, for 12 points with five rebounds, five assists, one block and two steals. Chloe went 2-of-4 and 1-of-1 for five points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Now 15-5 overall and 6-0, USD plays at SDSU tonight (7 p.m. on Midco Sports Network) in a clash of the two remaining teams unbeaten in league play. USD then goes to Denver at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Summit League women’s standings: USD 6-0, SDSU 5-0, Western Illinois 5-2, Oral Roberts 4-3, Denver 3-4, NDSU 1-5, Omaha 1-6, Fort Wayne 1-6.

South Dakota men: The Coyotes defeated Omaha, 85-71, led in scoring by Tyler Hagedorn with 25 points, Matt Mooney with 17 and Nick Fuller with 16. Last night USD gave a thorough thumping to SDSU in Vermillion, 87-68, and jumped a half-game ahead of the Jackrabbits atop the Summit League. Down 27-22 in the first half, the Coyotes went on a 14-0 run to take a 36-27 lead which they never relinquished. Early in the second half USD went on an 18-3 surge that gave them a 25-point lead. USD outrebounded SDSU, 42-32, led by Trey Burch-Manning with 11. Mooney scored 30, Triston Simpson 20, Peterson 14 and Fuller 11 off the bench. USD plays at Denver at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Summit League men’s standings: USD 6-1, SDSU 5-1, Fort Wayne 3-3, Oral Roberts 3-4, NDSU 2-3, Denver 2-4, Omaha 2-4, Western Illinois 1-4.

South Dakota Mines men: The Hardrockers lost to Westminster, 76=43. Logan Elers led Mines with 15. Now 6-12 overall and 3-10 in the RMAC, Mines goes to Western State and Colorado-Mesa this weekend.

South Dakota Mines women: The Mines women lost to Westminster, 69-65, led by Anna Haugen’s 18. Now 12-7 overall and 7-6 in the RMAC, Mines plays at Western State Friday and at Colorado-Mesa Saturday.

Tennessee women (Caleb Currier): The Lady Vols completed a two-week stretch of four games against ranked teams with a pair of losses—84-70 to Notre Dame and 71-62 to Mississippi State. Now 16-3 overall and 4-2 in the SEC, Tennessee is home vs. Mississippi tonight and at LSU Sunday.

South Dakota State women (Sydney Palmer): The Jacks defeated Western Illinois, 84-48, led by Macy Miller with 31 points. Sydney was 2-of-4 for four points with four rebounds, one assist and two steals. It was the 144th Summit League win for Coach Aaron Johnston, making him the all-time winner in the league. Now 16-4 overall and 5-0 in the Summit, SDSU hosts USD tonight at 7 p.m. (Midco Sports Network) and hosts Fort Wayne at 2 p.m. Saturday (Midco Sports Network).

South Dakota State men (Lane Severyn): The Jackrabbits on Saturday defeated Western Illinois, 98-70, as seven men were in double figures, headed up by David Jenkins with 27. Lane did not score in six minutes of action. In last night’s first meeting of the year with USD, the Jacks were held to 68 points, their season low in the Summit League for a team averaging 87 points per game. Daum scored 18 points and had 14 boards. Skyler Flatten and Tevin King scored 14 each. Lane did not score in three minutes. The final score was 87-68. SDSU is home vs. Fort Wayne at 4:15 Saturday on Midco Sports Network and home again Tuesday at 7 p.m. vs. Omaha, also on Midco.

Augustana women (Katie Bourk): The Vikings defeated Upper Iowa, 102-55, led by Presley O’Farrell’s 15 points. Augie topped Winona State, 91-71, as Naomi Rust scored 20. Now 17-1 overall and 13-1 in the NSIC, the Vikings host Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State this weekend.

Augustana men (Steven Schaefer): The Viking men defeated Upper Iowa, 86-69, as Jordan Spencer scored 16. Steven went 2-of-5, including 2-of-3 in threes, and 2-of-2 for eight points with three boards and two assists. Augie lost to Winona State, 84-80, led by Spencer’s 26. Steven was 6-of-10, including 3-of-6 in threes, and 1-of-1 for 16 points with two rebounds, a steal and two assists. Now 12-8 overall and 7-7 in the NSIC, Augie is home vs. Minnesota-Duluth Friday and St. Cloud State Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan women: The Tigers lost to Dordt, 87-64, led by Rylie Osthus with 20 points. DWU then beat Doane, 84-49, led by Kynedi Cheeseman’s 23. Now 18-4 overall and 10-3 in the GPAC, the Tigers hosted Jamestown last night, host Hastings Saturday and host Mount Marty next Wednesday.

Dakota Wesleyan men: The Tigers lost to Dordt, 78-66. Ty Hoglund had 24 points in that loss and 27 in Saturday’s 94-64 win over Doane. Now 17-7 overall and 7-5 in the GPAC, DWU hosts Hastings Saturday and Mount Marty next Wednesday.

University of Sioux Falls women: The Cougar women edged Minnesota State, 74-71. Kaely Hummel led USF with 18. Moira went 3-of-7 for six points with five rebounds, an assist and seven blocks! In an 84-56 win over Concordia-St. Paul, Mariah Szymanski set a one-game school scoring record with 43 points. Moira was 1-of-4 for two points with five boards and two assists. USF is now 13-5 overall and 10-4 in the NSIC and goes to Northern and MSU-Moorhead this weekend.

University of Sioux Falls men: The Cougars lost to Minnesota State, 99-82. Drew Guebert scored 28 and Trevon Evans 24. USF then beat Concordia-St. Paul, 85-64, led by Evans’ 22 points. Now 13-7 overall and 8-6 in the NSIC, USF goes to Northern Friday and to MSU-Moorhead Saturday.

Northern women: The Wolves lost a squeaker to St. Cloud State, 61-57, led by Miranda Ristau’s 16 points. Ristau scored 31 in an overtime win over Minnesota-Duluth, 84-83. Now 16-4 overall and 11-3 in the NSIC, Northern hosts USF and Southwest Minnesota State this weekend.

Northern men: The Wolves lost to St. Cloud State, 76-61, led by Carter Evans with 12 points. NSU then beat Minnesota-Duluth, 92-71, with six men in double figures. Logan Doyle and D.J. Pollard scored 16 each. Now 20-2 overall and 13-1 in the league, Northern is home vs. USF Friday and Southwest Minnesota State Saturday.

Dakota State women: The Lady Ts lost to Presentation, 73-69, led by Jamie Tebben’s 19. DSU then lost to Jamestown, 116-62, led by Cassie Jones with 18. Now 8-15 overall and 5-5 in the NSAA, DSU goes to Valley City State and Dickinson State this weekend.

Dakota State men: The Trojan men lost twice. In a 75-74 loss to Presentation, Justin Folkers scored 27. In a 104-88 loss to Jamestown, Brendan Boomsma scored 17. Now 9-14 overall and 3-7 in the NSAA, DSU goes up to Valley City State Friday and out to Dickinson State Saturday.

COLLEGE SWIMMING ROUNDUP

South Dakota State (Daniel Jacobson, Chris Rumrill, Wyatt Rumrill, Ashley Theobald): The Jackrabbit men lost a dual to USD, 164-136, and the women won, 172-127. Daniel won the 100 backstroke in :51.60, was second in the 100 freestyle in :47.37 and placed third in the 50 freestyle in :21.59. He and Chris swam on SDSU’s “A” team in the 400 freestyle relay, placing second in 3:08.57. Chris placed second in the 200 freestyle in :44.36, second in the 100 butterfly in :52.77 and fifth in the 200 individual medley in 1:57.49. Wyatt was fifth in that 200 IM in 2:02.42. He also placed third in the 200 medley in 1:36:08, second in the 100 breast in :58.55 and second in the 200 breast in 2:08.48. Ashley placed sixth in the 200 IM in 2:18.00 and swam on the “B” team in the 400 freestyle medley, placing third in 3:13.15. SDSU swims next Feb. 2-3 at the Coyote Invitational held in Sioux Falls.

COLLEGE TRACK ROUNDUP

South Dakota: At the Jim Emmerich meet at SDSU, the Coyote women placed first and the men second. Chris Nilson remained first in the nation in the pole vault with a leap of 18’6 1/2″. The Coyotes compete Friday and Saturday at the Jack Johnson Classic in Minneapolis.

South Dakota State (Rachel Propst, Max Reinke, Riley Sears): The SDSU men placed fourth at the Jim Emmerich meet behind Minnesota, USD and NDSU, and the women were third behind USD and NDSU. Rachel placed 34th in the 3,000 meters in 11:23.08. Riley placed eighth in the high jump at 6’4 3/4″. In the shot put Max was 23rd at 49’3 3/4″. The Jacks compete Saturday at the Messersmith meet at Northern Iowa.

Black Hills State (Kelsey Van Den Hemel, Allan O’Donnell, Sam Fjelstad): Idle last week, the Yellowjackets return to action at their own Dave Little meet Saturday.

South Dakota Mines (Theron Singleton): The Hardrockers, idle last week, go to Spearfish to the Dave Little meet Saturday.

Liberty University (Cortney Dowling): Cortney did not compete as the Flames competed at VMI’s meet. Next up is Liberty’s home kickoff meet Friday and Saturday.

BUMPER STICKER OF THE WEEK

INTROVERTS UNITE
SEPARATELY IN YOUR OWN HOMES

COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP

Midland women (Traci Corcoran): Idle last week, the Warriors return to the ice at Minot State Friday and Saturday.

Nebraska men (Derek Burke): The Husker club team, playing in a Big 10 event at Rosemont, Ill., defeated Northwestern, 10-2; defeated Indiana’s D2 team, 7-1, and lost to Indiana’s D3 team, 4-1. Nebraska plays two at Dordt College in Iowa this weekend.

Division I men’s hockey: When the NCAA awarded the West Region to Sioux Falls for this March, it was guaranteed that North Dakota will be assigned to that region (and bring its capacity crowd of fans along), but the problem is that the Fighting Hawks may not even be selected for the tournament. On the other hand, national champ Denver, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State may be three teams that could go to Sioux Falls two months from now.

Omaha (12-11-1, 5-9-0): Lost to Denver 5-0 and 4-0; Friday-Saturday, home vs. Western Michigan.
Denver (14-6-4, 5-4-2): Beat Omaha 5-0 and 4-0; Friday-Saturday, @ North Dakota.
St. Cloud State (14-5-3, 8-3-1): Lost to Minnesota State 5-2; Friday-Saturday, @ Minnesota-Duluth.
North Dakota (12-8-6, 6-6-2-2): Lost to Minnesota-Duluth 5-3 and 5-2; Friday-Saturday, home vs. Denver.
Colorado College (10-11-3, 4-8-2): Lost to Western Michigan 3-2 in overtime; beat Western Michigan 6-5 in overtime; Friday-Saturday, home vs. Miami (Ohio).
Western Michigan (13-10-1, 8-6-0): Beat Colorado College 3-2 in overtime; lost to Colorado College 6-5; Friday-Saturday, @ Omaha.
Bemidji State (13-7-6, 10-4-4): Beat Ferris State 2-0 and 4-1; Friday-Saturday, @ Alabama-Huntsville.
Minnesota (15-12-1, 6-9-1): Beat MJichigan State 5-4 and 2-1; Friday-Saturday home vs. Notre Dame (Friday 7:00 ESPN2; Saturday 7:00 FSN+).
Miami (Ohio) (9-11-2, 4-7-1): Idle last week; Friday-Saturday, @ Colorado College.
Wisconsin (12-12-3-0, 6-8-2-0): Lost to Notre Dame 4-2; beat Notre Dame 5-0; Friday-Saturday, home vs. Penn State.
Minnesota State (19-7, 15-5): Beat St. Cloud State 5-2; beat Minnesota-Duluth 1-0; Saturday, home vs. USA NTDP.
Minnesota-Duluth (13-10-3, 7-7-0): Beat North Dakota 5-3 and 5-2; lost to Minnesota State 1-0; Friday-Saturday, home vs. St. Cloud State.

COLLEGE WRESTLING ROUNDUP

South Dakota State: In a home dual against Wyoming, the Cowboys led 10-0, but David Kocer had a major decision and Martin Mueller a pin to tie the match. Nate Rotert’s major decision and decisions by Alex Macki and Connor Brown gave SDSU a 20-18 Big 12 Conference win. Earlier Seth Gross, rated #1 in the nation at 133 pounds, was allowed to move up a weight to challenge Wyoming’s Bryce Meredith (#1 at 141). Meredith won that one, 4-2. On Sunday #15 SDSU beat #11 Northern Iowa, 22-16. Brown and Gross opened the dual with pins, and later Luke Zilverberg’s major decision and decisions by Logan Peterson and Rotert kept the Jacks ahead. Now 9-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference, SDSU goes to Oklahoma for a 2 p.m. Sunday dual.

Augustana (Lane Lettau, Jebben Keyes): The Vikings are now 3-0 in NSIC duals after swamping Southwest Minnesota State, 27-9, and MSU-Moorhead, 30-12. Now 8-2 overall in duals, Augie goes to Minnesota State tonight.

Northern: The Wolves lost a conference dual to Southwest Minnesota State, 37-6. The only NSU wins came from Josh Moore at 141 and Kaden Campbell at 174. NSU is home tonight vs. St. Cloud State. The Wolves are 1-8 in duals and 0-2 in the NSIC.

Dakota Wesleyan: Idle last week, the Tigers wrestle Saturday at the GPAC duals in Fremont, Neb.

STRANGE FACTS ABOUT THE U.S.

In western Michigan there is a giant lavender labyrinth so big you can see it on Google Earth.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Jan. 25:

Seth Hipple, Luke LeBeau, Shawna Erickson, Stephanie Bowers, Nate Neufeld, Stephen Nielson, Irene LaFurge, Tawna (Williams) Milliington, Audrey Perli, Aidan Dozark, Reed Ludwig, Mary Joyce Rounds, Jonathan Kreycik.

Friday, Jan. 26:

Ruth Rehn, Sandi (Ahrendt) Beckman, Solomon Erlandson, Logan Bouchie, Dustin Ortbahn, Diana Tibbs. We fondly remember Luke Melius on the day he passed away six years ago.

Saturday, Jan. 27:

Maxwell Fergen, Shana (Holsteen) Read, Dean Nelson, Karen Wyly, Tanya (Hoagland) Hardiman, Andy Woster, Peggy (Huebner) Urquhart, Rory (Groseclose) Mennenger, Megan (Linn) Bertsch, Matt Kelley, Aidan Javurek-Humig, Matt Jensen, Josh Schwartzkopf.

Sunday, Jan. 28:

Katie Schultz, Josh Dehne, Zachary Deal, John Culberson, Cindy Jaeger, Kathy (Dalton) Smith.

Monday, Jan. 29:

Ramona Lomheim, Jim Ulmen, Alex Beckwith, Tyson Nafus, Howard Grinager, Chuck Bartlett.

Tuesday, Jan. 30:

Rebecca Gruba, Cory Holmes, Isaac Stoeser, Weston Williams, Randy Pool, Julie Osnes, Laura Hofer, Kelly (Neiles) Brindza, Michele Hoscheid.

Wednesday, Jan. 31:

Tony Bevers, Jeff Pierce, Kevin Stiles, Jane Stewart, Elsie Vogel, Darin Newcomb, Don Hoepfer, Wendy Ramler, William Toiusley, Blake Freidel, Tracy Berg.

Thursday, Feb. 1:

Ed Jacobson, Carl Hawkinson, Colin Brown, Mary Hoover, Jeremiah Oltmann, Nicholas Edwards, Kallie (Dresbach) Hall, Jim Severson, Andy Gerlach, Katrina Hewlett, Tracy (Shangreaux) Boom, Cole Severson, Kaylee Kampfe, Blake Norman, Lygia Garrett-Davis Libel.

PHILOSOPHICAL TWISTS

If you think nobody cares whether you’re alive, try missing a couple of payments.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Vikings: After a great regular season and a memorable victory in their playoff opener the week before, the Vikings lost in an NFC championship game for the sixth straight time, failing miserably at Philadelphia, 38-7. Minnesota took a 7-0 lead in the game and briefly looked great before a pick-six on a Case Keenum pass turned the tide, and the Eagles rolled into the Super Bowl against New England.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Midco Sports Network live games this week:

— Thursday, USD @ SDSU women, 7 p.m.

— Thursday, Omaha @ NDSU men, 8 p.m. (MSN2).

— Friday, USF @ Northern women, 6 p.m.; men, 8 p.m.

— Saturday, Fort Wayne @ SDSU women, 2 p.m.

— Saturday, Western Illinois @ NDSU men, 2 p.m. (MSN2).

— Saturday, Fort Wayne @ SDSU men, 4 p.m.

— Saturday, Denver @ UND men’s hockey, 7 p.m.

— Tuesday, Omaha @ SDSU men, 7 p.m.

Toyama Grouses (Sam Willard): After a three-week holiday break the Grouses returned to league play with a two-win weekend. In an 83-78 win over Shimane, Sam was 2-of-7 in twos and 0-of-3 in threes and 2-of-3 in free throws for six points with six rebounds and four assists. Toyama beat Shimane again, 77-71, and Sam was 2-of-3 in twos and 1-of-2 in threes for seven points with five boards, three assists and a block. The Grouses have moved into second place at 15-15 but still eight games behind the leader. Toyama plays San-en (14-16) twice this weekend.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Skyforce defeated Salt Lake City, 112-106; lost to Fort Wayne, 131-130, and beat Canton, 103-100. Sioux Falls goes to Texas tonight, to Rio Grande Valley Saturday and back home vs. Iowa Monday.

Minnesota Timberwolves: After a 116-98 loss at Houston, the Wolves have defeated Toronto, 115-109, and the Clippers, 126-118, to take over the #3 seed in the West. After a home game vs. Portland last night, Minnesota goes to Golden State at 9:30 p.m. tonight on TNT, hosts Brooklyn Saturday (8:00, FSN); goes to Atlanta Monday (6:30 FSN) and then to Toronto Tuesday (6:30 FSN+).

WORD PLAY

When a clock is hungry, it goes back for seconds.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour: Tom Byrum did not play in the season-opening Mitsubishi event in Hawaii. The next tour stop is the Boca Raton Championship in Florida Feb. 9-11. Winner at Mitsubishi was Jerry Kelly at -18.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Hockey Day in South Dakota: Our own Oahe Hockey Association is joining with other entities to be part of the first Hockey Day in South Dakota on Saturday, Feb. 10. The schedule of games in Sioux Falls that day: 11:15 a.m. (at Scheel’s IcePlex), Oahe boys JVs vs. Sioux Falls boys JVs; noon (at Denny Sanford Premier Center), Oahe Bantam A vs. Sioux Falls Bantam A; 2 p.m. (at Denny Sanford Premier Center), Oahe Capitals boys varsity vs. Sioux Falls; 7 p.m. (at Denny Sanford Premier Center), Sioux Falls Stampede vs. Omaha. A $12 ticket gets you in to all three games at the Premier Center. Those tickets can be purchased in advance from the Stampede office.

Gillette Wild (Coleman Varty): Gillette lost to Great Falls 2-1 in a shootout and 5-1. The Wild plays at home twice this weekend against Yellowstone.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd beat Central Illinois, 5-2, and lost to Team USA in Michigan, 6-3. The Stampede plays at Des Moines Friday, at Sioux City Saturday and at Waterloo Sunday.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush went on a brief winning streak, taking out Utah 4-3 in overtime and 8-2, then lost to Utah 6-3. Rapid City, after playing at Allen last night, plays two at Kansas City this weekend at another at Tulsa Tuesday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild trimmed Tampa Bay, 5-2, then beat Ottawa, 3-1. The Wild is at Pittsburgh tonight (6:00 FSN), has the weekend off, then goes to Columbus Tuesday (6:00 FSN).

Oahe Capitals: The boys varsity swept a weekend league pair over Sioux Center, 5-2 and 6-3. In the Saturday game the Caps got goals from Talon Griese, Spencer Wedin, Caden Davis and Carsten Mueller, and goalie Tristan Fuerst made 18 saves. In the Sunday win Spencer Wedin scored twice, Riggs Sanchez scored twice, and Jackson Lake and Andrew Gordon each scored a goal. Tate Mueller made 13 saves. The Caps are off this weekend, awaiting a great home weekend Feb. 2-4—Friday at 8:15 p.m. vs. Rushmore, Saturday at 5:45 p.m. vs. Huron, Sunday at 1:15 p.m. vs. Mitchell.

SDAHA boys varsity standings (W-L-T-OTL-pts):

• Rushmore             9 – 1 – 1 – 0 – 19
• Sioux Falls             8 – 1 – 0 – 0 – 16
• Oahe                      8 – 3 – 0 – 0 – 16
• Brookings              7 – 1 – 1 – 0 – 15
• Watertown           4 – 5 – 0 – 0 –   8
• Huron                    3 – 4 – 0 – 0 –   6
• Mitchell                 3 – 5 – 0 – 0 –   6
• Sioux Center         3 – 7 – 0 – 0 –   6
• Fremont                1 – 7 – 0 – 0 –   2
• Aberdeen              0 – 12 – 0 – 0 – 0

Oahe Lady Capitals: The girls varsity could score only one goal in each game as they lost twice to Rushmore, 2-1 and 6-1. In the Saturday game Jessa McTighe got the Caps’ goal on a Mahala Nelson assist. Mariah Nelson made 39 saves in goal. In the Sunday contest Amy Gilkerson converted assists of JKulia Snoeijen and Layna Tibbs for a 1-0 lead. Nelson had 37 more saves. The girls are home this weekend at 7:30 Friday vs. Aberdeen and at 1:00 Saturday against Sioux Falls.

SDAHA girls varsity standings (W-L-T-OTL-pts):

• Aberdeen             14 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 29
• Sioux Falls            12 – 3 – 1 – 0 – 25
• Watertown             9 – 8 – 1 – 0 – 19
• Mitchell                   8 – 5 – 1 – 1 – 18
• Brookings                8 – 5 – 0 – 0 – 16
• Rushmore               6 – 11 – 0 – 0 – 12
• Oahe                       3 – 12 – 0 – 0 –   6
• Omaha                    0 – 14 – 0 – 1 – 1

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre Trappers: The latest additions to the roster for this summer include freshman right-handed pitcher Anthony Fidanza from Holmes Community College in Mississippi. His hometown is Zachary, La. Also added to the roster is sophomore right-handed pitcher A.J. Fell from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. His hometown is Aurora, Colo. The latest addition won’t have as far to travel as the other guys. He is Seth Brewer, who played for Rapid City Post 320 in his Legion ball days. He is now a freshman pitcher/infielder at Bismarck State College.

WORDS OF WISDOM

If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table, not a taller fence.

WEDDING DAYS

• March 3: Kyle Cichos/Ali Meister.
• March 3: Corbin Mannis/Emily Barnhill.
• April 7: Scott Pavlisich/Denise Wilson.
• April 14: Kai Hanson/Kayla Saxe.
• April 28: Chris Pope/Morgan Peterson.
• May 19: Prince Harry/Meghan Markle.
• June 2: Ethan Fife/Heather Mangan.
• June 2: Cole Cruse/Kadence Feininger.
• June 16: Matt Blaseg/Taryn Wolf.
• June 16: Brandon Vockrodt/Kayla Nuese.
• June 29: Jack Markel/Eileen Leong.
• July 7: Matt Tetzlaff/Korie Lebeda.
• July 14: Shawn Hlavacek/Rebekah Hartmann.
• Aug. 11: Steve Long/Cassie Amundson.
• Aug. 18: Jason Noyes/Micki DeCurtins.
• Sept. 29: Tyler Arbach/Rachel Hartmann.
• Oct. 6: Rodd Bauck/Megan Vockrodt.
• Oct. 6: Cale Pell/Sarah Lihs.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #22

Last week only Jon Boer and Shawn Hostler picked both the Patriots and the Eagles to win their respective championship games, so each man gets 10 points in the last of our 22 contests this season. Picking one of the two games played Sunday correctly and earning eight points each were Laurie Johnson, Gabriel Mambo, Jeff Adel, Debra Bollinger, Levi Neuharth, Mikal Kern, Jessi Herrscher, Kyle Richards, Jason Knox, Joey Knofczynski, Bill Stevens, Jason Noyes, Greg Dean and Nathan Vetter. As soon as your editor gets time to do so, I will compile the total scores earned by each contestant all season and determine this year’s winner.

Thanks to all who participated ever since we started at the beginning of September.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Unfortunately next fall’s NFL season-opening game on that Thursday night in September won’t be in Minneapolis since the game is traditionally hosted by the Super Bowl champion. So it will be either in New England or Philadelphia. So let’s guess whom the NFL schedule makers will send to the Super Bowl champ’s field as opening-night opponent. It could be the Vikings because both the Patriots and the Eagles will host Minnesota next fall. They both also host Indianapolis and Houston, but neither of those seems to be a worthy opening-night opponent. Philadelphia’s other home-game foes will be Carolina, Atlanta (a possibility?) and its NFC East fellows—Dallas, Giants and Washington. The Patriots’ other home-game foes will be Green Bay (an attractive possibility?), Kansas City, and its AFC East fellows—Buffalo, Jets and Miami. So let’s predict that the opening-night game will be either Atlanta at Philadelphia or Green Bay at New England.
• An observation: Some of the same people who say the college football playoffs should always include the four best teams, meaning Alabama, (regardless of conference titles or records) are whining (again!) because the Patriots are in the Super Bowl (again!). So do you want the best teams or not?
• This is historical fact—the Super Bowl games back in the day were absolute bores. In the past two decades they finally have, for the most part, become competitive and interesting. This is also historical fact—the best Super Bowl games have been those in which the Patriots play. Take a look at the seven Super Bowls in which the Brady-Belichick era Patriots have participated—at the end of the 2001 season, beat the Rams by 3 points; 2003 season, beat Carolina by 3 points; 2004 season, beat the Eagles by 3 points; 2007 season, lost to the Giants by 3 points; 2011 season, lost to the Giants by 4 points; 2014 season, beat the Seahawks by 4 points; last year, beat the Falcons in overtime. Personally I’d take a comfortable 35-point blowout win by the Patriots, but that’s unlikely.
• Our legislature is hard at work at the Capitol these days. For example, there are more than 30 sponsors of a bill to name chislic as the official nosh of South Dakota. Boy, do we need THAT legislation! Of course there are the annual guns and abortion bills, too. We’ll save education matters for the last day of the session.

WORST PUN OF THE WEEK

I swallowed a dictionary. It gave me thesaurus throat I’ve ever had!

— Unknown Punster

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The next pancake breakfast to raise funds for the Post 8 baseball program will be served at the American Legion cabin from 7 to 11 a.m. this Saturday. This time the breakfast is sponsored by Overhead Door of Pierre. The cost is $3 per person or as much as you wish to contribute.

Sarah Zellmer and Allan Johnson were married in Sioux Falls on Jan. 20.

Kristin (Rau) Hayward of Sioux Falls, who graduated from Riggs High, has joined the staff of Democratic candidate Tim Bjorkman, who is running for the state’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives this year. She will serve as communications director for the campaign. Kristin has 15 years of experience in broadcast journalism.

The Riggs High School chamber choir directed by Rodd Bauck performed by invitation at the winter conference of the South Dakota chapter of American Choral Directors Association in Rapid City last Friday night. The Pierre choir received a standing ovation at the concert, the only group on that evening’s program to do so, after they finished performing in Our Lady of Perpetual Help cathedral.

“Floating Horses: The Life of Casey Tibbs,” the documentary film by Justin Koehler, will be shown at the Journey Museum in Rapid City at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3. There is no charge for seeing the film.

James Rankin, a 1974 graduate of Stanley County High School who became president of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology earlier this month, will be Stanley County High’s graduation speaker in May.

Riggs High alumnus Sam Leidholt recently became engaged to Ashley Mohr, and they are planning a summer wedding. Sam lives in Minneapolis where he is a program manager for Minnesota Special Olympics. Ashley is a teacher in Edina.

The fall semester Dean’s List at Augustana University includes these students: Caryn Brakke, Trevor DeSchepper, Dagne Ode, Nolan Ortbahn, Peter Sanchez.

Named Avera Athletes of the Week by the Pierre Athletic Coaches Association last week were William Turman of the wrestling team and Ericka Stout of the girls basketball team. This week those honored students were Elise Carda of the gymnastics team and Pryce Dyk of the wrestling team.

The wedding photo of Will Vogel and Lindsay Uhrich appeared in the Custer newspaper last week. Will, who graduated from Stanley County High School and Black Hills State with a degree in environmental science, works at American Engineering. Lindsay, a native of Custer, also graduated from BHSU with a degree in art. She heads up the floral department at the Hobby Lobby store in Rapid City. Their wedding occurred last summer on July 15.

Pierre Players’ “The Three Musketeers” will be performed on the evenings of Feb. 23-24 and March 1-2-3 and the afternoon of Feb. 25. Tickets go on sale Feb. 12 at 224-7826. There will also be a $5 preview performance on Feb. 21. Cast members include Kalder Ness, Jared Doud, Andrew Yaeger, Carl Morris, Paul Joseph, Matt McQuistion, Mike Gibson, Kathy Riedy, Rose Anderson, Dara Ness, Rachel Pearson, Tariqa Joseph, Glen Harris, Braden Grace, Josh Easter, Zarabeth Joseph, Dick Smith, Dylan McQuistion, Aaron Siebersma and Rhonda Burns.

Among the six educators, athletes and contributors who will be inducted into the Custer High School Hall of Fame on Feb. 2 is former Pierre resident Jim Welsh, now of Sioux Falls. The 1963 graduate of Custer High actually lived in Keystone while attending CHS, going home on weekends and staying in Custer during the school week. He played football, basketball and track and earned 11 varsity letters in his four years. Welsh earned all-conference and All-State honors in football as a fullback and a linebacker, and his senior year team went undefeated. He played varsity basketball for three years, helping the team to an unbeaten conference record his senior year and three wins over Rapid City High School. In track he threw the shot put and ran the 100 and 220 dashes and the 400 relay. Welsh earned a business administration degree at Northern and played four years for the Wolves football team as fullback, wingback and punt and kickoff returner. He worked for 24 years for the state Department of Labor in Pierre. After living in Idaho and Washington state, he returned to South Dakota. A year ago he moved to Sioux Falls to be near his son Nathan and daughter Macy and his four grandchildren. (News courtesy of The Custer Chronicle)

The fall semester Dean’s List at Northern State University includes these students: Dustann Norris, Spencer Sarringar, Tori Thorpe, Catherine Woodmansey, Dawn Smith (4.0), Will Ellwanger (4.0), Alex Gray (4.0) and Joni Willoughby (4.0). Part-time students who earned Dean’s List recognition were Janet Ott, Micaela Mennenger (4.0), Brianna Bolger (4.0), Ashley Even (4.0), Darin Ries (4.0) and Haelly Pease (4.0).

Pierre city commissioner Jim Mehlhaff has announced he will seek re-election to another term on the commission in the June election. Earlier commissioner Jamie Huizenga announced he too will seek re-election. Three seats on the commission are up for grabs this time. (News courtesy of “Today’s KCCR News.”)

The 1977-78 boys basketball team at Stanley County High School, coached by Ron Lawrence and Leon Breske, will be inducted into the Stanley County Hall of Fame during the SCHS-Wall boys game on Saturday, Feb. 10. Coming out of an always difficult district that included Gettysburg, Sully Buttes, Agar, Harrold and Highmore, the Buffaloes beat Gettysburg in the district finals, then took out Jones County and #3 Chamberlain in the regional. At the state “B” tournament the Buffs stunned defending champ #2 Webster on opening day, but lost to #1 Armour in the semifinals. SCHS finished the season by beating Custer in the third-place game. Team members included Eddie Christensen, Ray Boardman, Sanford Deal, Sean Deal, Dan Duffy, Mark Hackett, Ben Smith, Ron Jeffries, Andy Murphy, Tim Oleson, Randy Pederson, Mark Reinhard and manager Rob Louder. (News courtesy of “Today’s KCCR News.”)

Onida native Joey Stahl, a graduate of Mount Marty College, began work this week at the state forensics lab in Pierre.

Dave Potter, who was a member of the Class of 1992 before moving with his family to California before starting high school, works for FirstService Residential in Orange County, Calif. This week he was named one of the nominees for Speaker of the Year in the Orange County chapter of CAI (Community Associations International), the international trade organization for the homeowners association industry. Dave’s parents, Dennis and Mary Potter, live in Sioux Falls. His older brother, Doug, lives in Bloomington, Minn., and works for a computer firm in St. Paul.

Jack Alexander passed away at the age of 87 Jan. 17 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. His funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Feigum Funeral Home, preceded by visitation at 12:30. Jack grew up on the family ranch in western Sully County. He and his wife, Helen, ranched and farmed on the family property. Jack was an avid rodeo participant. He and his son built the Little Bend Campground/Baitshop and housing development on their property along Lake Oahe. He is survived by his sister, Colleen Cottrill; his son, Rocky Alexander; his daughter, Jacque Miller; nine grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

Korie Lebeda, who will be married in July to Matt Tetzlaff, has been named head volleyball coach at the University of Mary in Bismarck. For the past three years she has been assistant coach at Black Hills State, and earlier in her coaching career she coached at Wayne State in Nebraska. A native of Omaha, Korie played college volleyball at Creighton University, and she was inducted four years ago into the Creighton Athletic Hall of Fame.