THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“March is the month God created to show people who don’t drink what a hangover is like.”
— Garrison Keillor

TOURNAMENT TIME UPDATE

STATE GIRLS HOCKEY

The tournament in Sioux Falls begins Friday with these quarterfinal pairings: #6 Oahe vs. #3 Brookings, 9 a.m.; #2 Sioux Falls vs. #7 Sioux Center, 11:30 a.m.; #4 Rushmore vs. #5 Mitchell, 2 p.m.; #1 Aberdeen vs. #8 Watertown, 4:30 p.m. The tournament continues Saturday and concludes with three place games Sunday. All of the tournament games will be broadcast in the Pierre area on Capital City Rock (104.5 FM).

STATE BOYS HOCKEY

Brookings will host the boys varsity state tournament but not until next week. The tournament begins Friday, March 10, with these quarterfinal pairings: #3 Oahe vs. #6 Sioux Falls 2, 9 a.m.; #2 Brookings vs. #7 Aberdeen, 11:30 a.m.; #4 Rushmore vs. #5 Mitchell, 2 p.m.; #8 Watertown vs. #1 Sioux Falls 1, 4:30 p.m. The tournament continues Saturday, March 11, and concludes with three place games Sunday. All of the tournament games will be broadcast in the Pierre area on Capital City Rock (104.5 FM).

STATE J.V. BOYS HOCKEY

The state JV boys tournament comes to the Expo Center in Fort Pierre this weekend. Just as in the two varsity tournaments, the Oahe team will play the opening game. Here are Friday’s quarterfinal pairings: #6 Oahe vs. #3 Brookings, noon; #2 Sioux Falls 1 vs. #7 Brandon Valley, 2:30 p.m.; #4 Rushmore vs. #5 Mitchell, 5 p.m.; #8 Aberdeen vs. #1 Sioux Falls 2, 7:30 p.m. The tournament continues with four games Saturday and Sunday.

CLASS ‘AA’ BOYS BASKETBALL

The Class “AA” boys SoDak 16 games will all be played this Saturday, and the pairings are set up so we will know the quarterfinal pairings for the state tournament in Rapid City as soon as the games end. Here are the matchups:
— Top bracket of the state tournament:
* Game 1: #16 Rapid City Stevens at #1 Sioux Falls Jefferson; #9 Harrisburg at #8 Brandon Valley.
* Game 2: #13 Aberdeen Central at #4 Yankton; #12 Huron at #5 Sioux Falls Washington.
— Bottom bracket of the state tournament:
* Game 3: #15 Rapid City Central at #2 Sioux Falls Lincoln; #10 Sturgis at #7 Sioux Falls Roosevelt.
* Game 4: #14 Watertown at #3 Mitchell; #11 Sioux Falls O’Gorman at #6 Pierre.

CLASS ‘AA’ GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Class “AA” girls SoDak 16 games will all be played this Friday, and the pairings are set up so we will know the quarterfinal pairings for the state tournament in Sioux Falls as soon as the games end. Here are the matchups:
— Top bracket of the state tournament:
* Game 1: #16 Sioux Falls Roosevelt at #1 Sioux Falls Washington; #9 Sioux Falls Lincoln at #8 Watertown.
* Game 2: #13 Aberdeen Central at #4 Sioux Falls Jefferson; #12 Mitchell at #5 Brandon Valley.
— Bottom bracket of the state tournament:
* Game 3: #15 Brookings at #2 Pierre; #10 Huron at #7 Rapid City Stevens.
* Game 4: #14 Rapid City Central at #3 Sioux Falls O’Gorman; #11 Spearfish at #6 Harrisburg.

CLASS ‘A’ GIRLS BASKETBALL

The SoDak 16 games will be played across the state tonight (Thursday). After the eight winners are known, the state tournament pairings will be compiled by placing #1 vs. #8, #4 vs. #5 in one bracket and #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6 in the other bracket. These are the SoDak 16 matchups, and in each case the winner qualifies for the state tournament next week at Watertown:
* #1 Hamlin vs. #16 Milbank (at Watertown).
* #2 Wagner vs. #15 Tea Area (at Corn Palace).
* #3 Sioux Falls Christian vs. #14 Lennox (at Harrisburg).
* #4 Red Cloud vs. #13 Garretson (at Winner).
* #5 Rapid City St. Thomas More vs. #12 Flandreau (at Pierre).
* #6 Pine Ridge Lakota Tech vs. #11 Dupree (at Rapid City Central).
* #7 Sisseton vs. #10 Parkston (at Volga).
* #8 Rapid City Christian vs. #9 Miller (at Philip).

CLASS ‘A’ BOYS BASKETBALL

Class “A” teams are playing their regionals this week, and the two semifinal winners in each of eight regions advance to the SoDak 16 games to be played next Tuesday, March 7. Those eight winners qualify for the state tournament at Sioux Falls March 16-18.

Stanley County had defeated Miller in the first game of the season way back in early December, but the Rustlers got even when it mattered Tuesday night, eliminating the Buffaloes, 64-52, in the quarterfinal round of Region 6A and ending the SCHS season with a 3-19 record.

CLASS ‘B’ GIRLS BASKETBALL

The eight SoDak 16 games will be played statewide tonight (Thursday), and the eight winners will qualify for the state tournament at Huron next week. Once tonight’s winners are known, the eight state qualifiers will be pitted according to their seed-point averages with #1 vs. #8 and #4 vs. #5 in one bracket and #2 vs. #7 and #3 vs. #6 in the other bracket. Tonight’s matchups:
* #1 Wolsey-Wessington vs. #16 Leola-Frederick Area (at Huron Arena).
* #2 Ethan vs. #15 Corsica-Stickney (at Corn Palace).
* #3 Viborg-Hurley vs. #14 Lyman (at Salem).
* #4 Sully Buttes vs. #13 Harding County (at Gettysburg).
* #5 Wall vs. #12 Warner (at Fort Pierre).
* #6 Howard vs. #11 Wessington Springs (at Huron Arena).
* #7 Castlewood vs. #10 Timber Lake (at Redfield).
* #8 Jones County vs. #9 Centerville (at Chamberlain).

CLASS ‘B’ BOYS BASKETBALL

Class “B” teams are playing their regionals this week, and the two semifinal winners in each of eight regions advance to the SoDak 16 games to be played next Tuesday, March 7. Those eight winners qualify for the state tournament at Aberdeen March 16-18.

Sully Buttes lost in its quarterfinal game in Region 6B at Highmore-Harrold Tuesday night, 58-53 ending the Chargers’ season with a 6-15 record. Last Friday Sully Buttes had beaten North Central in the last regular-season game, 78-65.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: pineapple.
Friday-Saturday-Sunday: strawberry.
Monday-Tuesday: lemon.
Wednesday-Thursday: coffee.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
—FRIDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Brookings in SoDak 16, 6 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Boys basketball: home vs. Sioux Falls O’Gorman in SoDak 16, 3 p.m.

Girls wrestling: The only school to ever win the state championship of girls wrestling is Riggs High, and it will stay that way for at least another year. The Governors compiled 167 points to outscore runner-up Canton with 134.5 at Rapid City last weekend. Following the top two teams were Spearfish at 72, Lakota Tech at 71 and Rapid City Stevens at 64. Pierre claimed one individual state championship as sophomore Ciara McFarling at 285 pounds won her third title. Three other Governors reached their championship matches where they lost and settled for second place. Sydney Uhrig at 106, Gianna Stangeland at 132 and Marlee Shorter at 190 were runners-up in their weight classes. Other Pierre placers: Dani Ringstmeyer, third at 126; Lexie Hillmer, fourth at 113; Abby Lewis, fourth at 142, and Ireland Templeton, fifth at 170. Ciara’s state title run showed her dominance. After a first-round bye she clamped down on opponents with three straight falls, one in 1:14, the next in 2:47 in the semifinals and finally a 5:29 pin in the championship match. Other Pierre wrestlers who participated in the state tourney but who did not reach the medal stand were Kezrey Benning at 120 pounds and Hattie Baldwin at 154.

Boys wrestling/individual competitions: The Governors led the Class “A” individual tournament after the first day, but the Governors went 1-4 in their five championship matches and settled for third place in the team standings behind Brandon Valley at 208.5 points and Watertown at 184.5. Pierre had 182, followed by Sturgis 129 and Harrisburg 107. Deegan Houska brought home an individual state title at 160 pounds, winning by falls in 1:43 and 5:07 to reach the semis, scoring a 7-4 decision there and winning his title with a 10-6 win over an O’Gorman man in the title match. Placing second after losing in their championship matches were Alex Oedekoven at 113, Tristan Spencer at 138, Trey Lewis at 170 and Chance Carda at 182. Other placers: Josh Rydberg, third at 285; Lucas Chamberlin, fourth at 152; Gavin Stotts, fourth at 195; Elijah Boutchee, sixth at 220 and Chase Carda, seventh at 145. Four Pierre state qualifiers were eliminated on the first day—Jacob Mason at 106, Lincoln Schoenhard at 120, Lincoln Houska at 126 and Hudson Shaffer at 132.

Boys wrestling/team dual competition: Pierre and Brandon Valley showed they were the two best teams at the state “A” tournament, and their championship match in the team dual portion of the tournament showed how close they are. To get that far the Governors first defeated Rapid City Stevens, 46-20, in the quarterfinals as Spencer, the two Cardas, Lewis, Chamberlin and Boutchee scored falls, Deegan Houska won on a major decision, and Shaffer and Rydberg won by decisions. In the semifinals Pierre dominated Sturgis, 54-18, led by falls from Spencer, both Cardas, Lewis, Deegan Houska and Boutchee; decision wins from Lewis and Rydberg; and injury default win for Mason and a forfeit win for Oedekoven. In the championship match Pierre found itself down 13-0 at the start, but Lewis won by decision, Deegan Houska won by decision, Lewis won by forfeit, Chance Carda won by fall, Stotts won by fall and Boutchee won by fall to spring the Govs into a 30-13 lead. But the Lynx rallied strongly with a fall, a tech fall and a fall to tie the match at 30-30. Oedekoven put Pierre ahead by 33-30 with a decision win, but that was matched by Brandon Valley’s last wrestler. So it was 33-33 and time for tie-breakers to take effect. The first tie-breaker was most wins in the match—Pierre 7, Brandon Valley 7. The second tie-breaker was most pins—Pierre 3, Brandon Valley 3. The third tie-breaker was maximum-points wins—Pierre three pins and a forfeit for a total of 4, Brandon Valley 3 pins. So the tie-breaking team point went to Pierre, resulting in a 34-33 Governor victory and another team dual title, Pierre’s second in three years.

Girls basketball: It was a four-game Pierre sweep over Sioux Falls teams Friday and Monday. The girls did their part by rolling over Roosevelt, 57-26, after leading at halftime by 38-12. Then on Monday the girls concluded their regular season with a 17-3 record by defeating Jefferson in the Riggs gym, 65-58, making 13 of 16 free throws to help their cause. Lennix Dupris scored 16, Ryann Barry 16, Remi Price 14 and Reese Terwilliger eight points.

Boys basketball: The boys defeated Roosevelt, 68-63, led by Jackson Edman with 22 points, Lincoln Kienholz with 19 and Jacob Mayer with 13. On Monday the Governors went to the home court of once-beaten #1-ranked Jefferson and won in Sioux Falls, 84-73, sinking 16 of 18 free throws and dealing the Cavaliers only their second loss all season. Edman scored 25, Ben Heisler 24 and Kienholz 19. Pierre’s record improved to 13-7 as the regular season ended.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Wrestling: Chase Hanson at 126 pounds and Colton Brady at 152 pounds reached the medal stand among the five Buffalo wrestlers who had qualified for the state “B” tournament in Rapid City. A champion last year, Hanson won by fall lost a tough 3-2 decision to a Winner wrestler in the quarterfinals, won by tech fall and won by two decisions to get into the third-place match, and there he avenged his quarterfinal loss by beating the same Winner wrestler 3-1 for third place. Brady lost by decision, then won by decision twice to reach the seventh-place match where he lost to a Parker wrestler to get his eighth-place medal. Spencer Sargent at 132 pounds, Hayden Roggow at 145 and Case Kolda at 160 were the other SCHS qualifiers, but all three were eliminated on the first day. Sargent did win one match there.

Girls basketball: The Buffaloes lost their first game in the Region 6A tournament to Dupree, 54-17, as their season came to an end.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedule:
— THURSDAY
Girls basketball: vs. Harding County in SoDak 16 game at Gettysburg, 7 p.m.

Wrestling: At the state girls tournament in Rapid City the Chargers’ Cateri Yellowhawk scored two falls and a decision to reach the championship match of her weight class before losing on a 1:39 fall in the title match. The other Charger in the girls’ tournament Saige Heath lost a decision, had a bye and lost in a fall. On the boys’ side Lucas Yellowhawk lost by fall, won by fall and lost by fall at 152 pounds.

Girls basketball: In the Region 6B tournament the top-seeded Chargers defeated Ipswich, 54-36, in the quarterfinal round, then won over Herreid-Selby Area in the semifinal, 49-31. Stevie Wittler had 13 points, Ally Wittler 11 and Lydia Hill 11 in the latter game as the Chargers, now 19-3, earned their spot from out of the region into the SoDak 16 this Thursday.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: Girls basketball Class “AA” SoDak 16 games (March 3).
1 day: Summit League men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (March 3-7).
1 day: Girls state hockey tournament, Sioux Falls (March 3-5).
2 days: Boys basketball Class “AA” SoDak 16 games (March 4).
4 days: Riggs High talent show (March 6).
5 days: Riggs High National Honor Society induction (March 7).
6 days: World Baseball Classic begins (March 8-21).
7 days: Georgia Morse Middle School fine arts festival (March 9).
7 days: Last day of legislature (March 9).
7 days: State girls basketball tournaments, “AA” Sioux Falls, “A” Watertown, “B” Huron (March 9-11).
8 days: Boys state hockey tournament, Brookings (March 10-12).
10 days: The Oscars, ABC-TV (March 12).
10 days: Daylight Saving Time begins (March 12).
12 days: Riggs High fine arts festival (March 14).
14 days: State boys basketball tournaments, “AA” Rapid City, “A” Sioux Falls, “B” Aberdeen (March 16-18).

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• You Pierre basketball fans who need a shot of basketball tonight (Thursday) ahead of the two big Governor games this weekend can find some right at home tonight. Two of the SoDak 16 girls games will be played on hometown courts. In Class ‘A” at the Riggs gym at 6 p.m. St. Thomas More and Flandreau vie for a state tourney berth. At Parkview gym at 6:30 Wall and Warner play their Class “B” SoDak 16 game.
  College-level volleyball is a big deal at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are sure to set a new all-time national record for volleyball attendance on Aug. 30 when they open up Memorial Stadium, the 85,000-seat football stadium, for a volleyball doubleheader involving four in-state schools. At 4:30 that day Wayne State will face Nebraska-Kearney. Then at 7 p.m. the Huskers take on Nebraska-Omaha. A national recording artist yet to be announced will perform a concert in between the two matches. The volleyball court will be set up at the north end of the football field, and the concert stage will be approximately at midfield.
  At 3:15 a.m. last Saturday I woke up and immediately sensed something was wrong. The furnace which I can easily hear from my basement bedroom was making a louder noise than usual. When I reached the bathroom, I discovered that the extra noise was not from the furnace but from a broken water pipe. The bathroom floor was already flooded as was the garage. We learned where the water shutoff valve is located—behind the bathroom wall and, on the other side of that wall, behind the furnace. A great place to put it, wouldn’t you say? My son got it shut off after desperately removing part of the bathroom wall. By midday the garage water was drying up. Fans were going everywhere to dry up the bathroom floor and the bathroom hallway carpet that was also soaked. And we had running water again! But it was not an average quiet Saturday.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Where else are your doors opened for you, is your travel all over the world provided free of charge, can you meet with world leaders who would otherwise never let you into their countries, have your bad jokes laughed at and your boring speeches applauded? It’s the ultimate place to have one’s ego massaged, over and over.”
— Former U.S. Sen. James Abourezk in his 1989 memoir, describing the U.S. Senate

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Aric Williams, Tyson Johnson): Aric is in Wichita, Kan., for the NAIA national tournament Friday and Saturday, having qualified by placing third in his conference tournament.

South Dakota Mines track-field (Erick Colman): At the RMAC conference meet in Alamosa, Colo., Erick placed 13th in the weight throw at 52’9″ and 13th in the shot put at 48’1/4″.

Black Hills State track-field (Frank Becker): The Yellow Jackets placed 11th in the RMAC conference meet men’s standings with 11 points.

University of Sioux Falls track-field (Jessica Lutmer): At the NSIC conference meet in Mankato Jessica placed third in the 3,000-meter run in 9:58.31 and fifth in the 5,000-meter run in 17:42.84.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): In an 82-70 loss to Oral Roberts, Max was in the starting lineup and in 24 minutes he went 2-of-5 (1-of-2) and 2-of-2 for seven points with five rebounds, three assists and a steal. In an 82-48 win over Kansas City he got in for 18 minutes and went 1-of-3 (1-of-1) for three points with a rebound and two assists. USD finishes the regular season at 12-18 overall and 7-11 in the Summit League.

University of Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): Lincoln did not wrestle for the Marauders at the NCAA Super Region V meet in Aberdeen.

University of Mary women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): In Chloe’s first season as an assistant coach the Marauders won their opener in the NSIC tournament over Wayne State, 79-72, but their season ended with a quarterfinal loss to Minnesota State, 81-66.

Texas State baseball (Peyton Zabel): The Bobcats went 1-2 against Oral Roberts of the Summit League, winning 3-2 and losing 6-3 and 8-4. Then TSU won over Incarnate Word, 12-8. Last night Peyton got his first action of the season on the mound, starting the game against Sam Houston State which the Bobcats won 6-2. Peyton retired Sam Houston in the first inning without any runs being scored, and they got two off him in the second. He pitched two innings, faced 11 batters, struck out three, walked one, hit one batter and allowed three hits and two earned runs. The Bobcats, now 6-2, go to Phoenix to play three against Grand Canyon this weekend.

Augustana women’s basketball (Aislinn Duffy, Katie Bourk): The top-seeded Vikings opened their NSIC tournament run with a 78-67 win over Northern in the quarterfinals. Aislinn was 8-of-16 (2-of-4 in threes) and 9-of-9 for 27 points with 18 rebounds, four assists and two steals. But in the semifinal Monday, Augie fell hard to Minnesota-Duluth, 76-59. Aislinn went 10-of-24 (1-of-4 in threes) and 3-of-3 for 24 points with nine rebounds, two assists and three steals. Augustana’s record of 25-5 overall and 17-4 in the conference may still most likely get them an at-large bid into the NCAA regional next week.

Northern track-field (Addison Cumbow): The Wolves competed at the NSIC conference meet in Mankato to finish their indoor season.

Rollins College baseball (Spencer Sarringar): Rollins won five in a row this week and now stands at 9-3. The team took three from Nova Southeastern (4-2, 11-0 and 3-0), beat Assumption 20-3 and beat Findlay yesterday 12-11. Rollins hosts Lynn University for three games Friday through Sunday, then plays nine games in six days next week.

Augustana track-field (Elizabeth Schaefer): Elizabeth was named the 2022-23 NSIC Elite 18 award winner for women’s indoor track and field. This award goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the finals site for each of the NSIC conference’s 18 championships. Elizabeth, daughter of Troy and Kim (Merkwan) Schaefer of Rapid City, is a senior biology major with a 4.0 GPA. At the conference meet in Mankato last week she placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles in :08.69, a time that makes her a provisional qualifier for NCAA postseason competition in that event.

ONE YEAR AGO IN THE MIDWEEK UPDATE

March 2, 2022: Olivia Swenson of the Capitals girls varsity team received the Obey Baker Character Award at the state girls hockey tournament.

HOCKEY UPDATE

State tournaments: At the Bantam B state tournament the Oahe Bantam B team lost to Sioux Falls, 7-0; lost to Yankton, 4-3, and won seventh place with a 5-4 overtime win over Watertown.

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: What a final weekend to the regular season! The Caps went 3-0. On Friday it was a 15-2 demolition of Huron as Jarron Beck had a hat trick; Jonathan Lyons, Andre Carbonneau and Ashton Griese all scored two goals each, and Devin Dodson, Dylan Dodson, Carter Gordon, Barret Schweitzer, Aidan Dozark and Luke Miller each found the net once. Colin Lee had a lot of free time in goal, making eight saves. On Saturday the Capitals edged Watertown, 4-3, as Devin Dodson and Schweitzer each scored two times and Lee made 16 saves. The sweetest win of them all came Sunday as the Capitals won on home ice over Rushmore, 3-2. Aidan Dozark scored twice, then Ayden Behm put in the game-winner at 13:26 of the second period. Lee was constantly busy in goal, making 41 saves, while the Capitals fired 30 shots on the Thunder goal.

Sioux Falls Stampede: In a home-and-home weekend against Lincoln the Stampede won twice, 4-3 in overtime and 4-2. Sioux Falls goes to Kearney to play Tri-City Friday and Saturday.

Badlands Sabres: The Sabres lost twice at Butte, 8-1 and 8-0. Badlands plays Friday and Saturday at Sheridan.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings tied North Iowa after overtime, 3-3, then lost to North Iowa, 6-3. Aberdeen plays at home vs. Minot Friday and Saturday.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush took two of three at Tulsa, winning 7-3 and 6-4 and losing 5-2. Rapid City plays at Allen Saturday and Sunday.

Minnesota Wild: It has been a week of close games for the Wild. They beat Columbus, 2-0; lost in overtime to Toronto, 2-1; beat Columbus in overtime, 3-2, and won over the New York Islanders, 2-1, in a shootout after overtime. Minnesota plays at Vancouver Thursday, at Calgary Saturday, home vs. Calgary Tuesday, and at Winnipeg Wednesday.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Midco Sports Network live games this week:
— FRIDAY
12:30 and 3 p.m.: Women’s basketball, Summit League tournament first round.
6 and 8:30 p.m.: Men’s basketball, Summit League tournament first round.
6:30 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Omaha (MS2).
— SATURDAY
12:30 and 3 p.m.: Women’s basketball, Summit League tournament quarterfinals.
6 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Omaha (MS2).
6 and 8:30 p.m.: Men’s basketball, Summit League tournament quarterfinals.
— SUNDAY
12:30 and 3 p.m.: Women’s basketball, Summit League tournament quarterfinals.
6 and 8:30 p.m.: Men’s basketball, Summit League tournament quarterfinals.
— MONDAY
12:30 and 3 p.m.: Women’s basketball, Summit League tournament semifinals.
6 and 8:30 p.m.: Men’s basketball, Summit League tournament semifinals.

Summit League final update:
* MEN’S BASKETBALL
— USD (12-18): Lost to Oral Roberts 82-70; beat Kansas City 82-48.
— SDSU (18-12): Beat Kansas City 73-50; lost to Oral Roberts 69-65.
* WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
— USD (14-15): Beat Oral Roberts 77-63; beat Kansas City 74-73.
— SDSU (25-5): Beat Kansas City 86-52; beat Oral Roberts 92-67.

Summit League women’s tournament schedule:
— FRIDAY
12:30 p.m.: St. Thomas vs. Western Illinois.
3 p.m.: Denver vs. Kansas City.
— SATURDAY
12:30 p.m.: quarterfinal, SDSU vs. St. Thomas-WIU winner.
3 p.m.: quarterfinal, NDSU vs. Denver-KC winner.
— SUNDAY
12:30 p.m.: quarterfinal, USD vs. Oral Roberts.
3 p.m.: quarterfinal, UND vs. Omaha.
— MONDAY
12:30 p.m.: semifinal, winners of the Saturday/Sunday 12:30 games.
3 p.m.: semifinal, winners of the Saturday/Sunday 3:00 games.
— TUESDAY
1 p.m.: championship game.

Summit League men’s tournament schedule:
— FRIDAY
6 p.m.: Denver vs. UND.
8:30 p.m.: Kansas City vs. Omaha.
— SATURDAY
6 p.m.: quarterfinal, Oral Roberts vs. DU-UND winner.
8:30 p.m.: quarterfinal, SDSU vs. KC-Omaha winner.
— SUNDAY
6 p.m.: quarterfinal, Western Illinois vs. St. Thomas.
8:30 p.m.: quarterfinal, USD vs. NDSU.
— MONDAY
6 p.m.: semifinal, winners of Saturday/Sunday 6:00 games.
8:30 p.m.: semifinal, winners of Saturday/Sunday 8:30 games.
— TUESDAY
8 p.m.: championship game.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force won twice this week, 118-109 over Mexico City and 107-99 over Oklahoma City. Sioux Falls is home Friday and Saturday vs. Iowa, then plays Monday and Wednesday at South Bay.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves lost to Charlotte, 121-113; lost to Golden State, 109-104, and beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 108-101. Minnesota stays out west to play at the Lakers Friday and at Sacramento Saturday, then comes home to host Philadelphia Tuesday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Rapid City Marshals: The CIF indoor football season begins for the Marshals on the road at Sioux City Saturday. The Marshals won their lone preseason game.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): Idle last week, the Champions Tour resumes Friday through Sunday at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons won their MLS season opener, 1-0, at FC Dallas. Their next game is at home against New York March 11.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold; when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade.”
— Charles Dickens

BASEBALL UPDATE

World Baseball Classic: Spring training games are meaningless, but there is meaningful baseball just ahead in March. The World Baseball Classic returns this year, starting at the end of next week and continuing through March 21. There are four pools of teams playing around the world and the top two teams from each pool advance to an eight-team single-elimination bracket. The USA is in Pool C with Mexico, Colombia, Canada and Great Britain with pool games to be played in Phoenix March 11-15. Then come the quarterfinals—March 15-16 in Tokyo and March 17-18 in Miami, followed by the semifinals March 19-21 in Miami and the championship game March 21 in Miami. There aren’t any Minnesota Twins players involved on the roster I saw, but there are some big names on the USA team, such as Mike Trout, Kyle Tucker, Cedric Mullins, Kyle Schwarber and Mookie Betts among the outfielders, J.T. Realmuto catching, Nolan Arenado at third base, Paul Goldschmidt at first base and Trea Turner, Pete Alonso and Tim Anderson among the other infielders. Among our pitchers will be Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Kyle Freeland and Adam Ottavino. Batter up!

Minnesota Twins spring training:
— Thursday, Tampa Bay, 12:05 p.m. (Bally Sports North).
— Friday, Boston, 12:05 p.m.
— Saturday, Atlanta, 12:05 p.m.
— Sunday, Pittsburgh, 12:05 p.m., and Detroit, 12:05 p.m. (Bally Sports North).
— Tuesday Baltimore, 12:05 p.m.
— Wednesday, Toronto, 12:07 p.m. (Bally Sports North).
— Thursday, Dominican Republic, 12:05 p.m.

Twins scores this past week:
Beat Tampa Bay 8-4; lost to Baltimore 10-5; lost to Philadelphia 10-8; lost to Boston 4-1; beat Atlanta 10-7; tied Philadelphia 4-4.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, March 2:
Sawyer Weinheimer, Sandy Zimmerman, Julie Morris-Holter, Karen Gerdes, Patricia Labahn-Kuchta, Rev. Teri Johnson, Curt Roddewig, Lindsey (Lower) Uecker, Fletcher Ruby, Kate Boyd, Brianna Neuhauser, Addison Salmonson.

Friday, March 3:
Jacob Wagoner, Brooke Goff, Jesse Flottmeyer, Justin Flottmeyer, Will Vogel, Leah (Anglin) Hammersley, Carol (Sanborn) Koehn, Kollyns Gorter, Lori Fisk-Neitzel, Kenyon Kuiper, Chad Pitlick, Amanda Redden, Alena Axlund.
— 5th anniversary, Kyle/Ali (Meister) Cichos.
— We fondly remember Brooks Monfore, who passed away 11 years ago today.

Saturday, March 4:
Tamra Downs, Jon Gober, Ken Starks, Claribel (Seaman) Stahl, Holly (Curtis) Thompson, Nancy (Lamb) Weischeel, Sarah (Shepherd) Schulte, Sheena Erickson, Kadin Johnson, Lauren Jarvis, Drew Nafus, Becca Jordre, Chris Schumacher.

Sunday, March 5:
Brenna Martin, Katelyn Decker, Mary Deichert, Jill Aadland, Brandon Ogan, Drew Osnes, Kera (Olson) Boaz, Parker Anderson, Brecken Ottenbacher, Cindi Pochop, Genie (Wood) Lauing, Austin Myers, Jessica Smith, Judy Holzwarth, Carter Gilmore, Pat Swartz, John Sutton, Evangeline Baughn.

Monday, March 6:
Sara (Goeden) Richardson, Swede Larson (#88), Laura Waack, Octavious Kerver, Erin Briggs, Matt Hanson, Ryan Krueger, Debra Nold, Kay McLain, Camerom Ahlers, Jessica (Callahan) Carr.
— 1st anniversary, Jake/Savannah Stewart.
— 25th anniversary, Carl/Chris Hawkinson.

Tuesday, March 7:
Kim Easland, Dana Hess, Greg Goodman, Anne Gormley, Kevin Grunewaldt, Emily Ketteler, Matt Graves, Anna Weingart, Estella Jungman, Sally Christenson, Jenny Sampson, Nikki (Grandpre) Wilson, Gray Schuetzle, Shiela Mangan, Charlene (Squires) Keller.
— 8th anniversary, Jeremy/Kelly Kelley.
— We fondly remember Jeremy Dodson on his birthday.
— We fondly remember Robert Disburg, who passed away 20 years ago today.

Wednesday, March 8:
Brad Johnston, Dewayne Robbins, Stephen Nelson, Jessica (Paxton) Deal, Katie (Thompson) Rochelle, Cassie (Kinsman) Deffenbaugh, Kerry Freidel, Eric Feiler, Cade Currier, Pat Witte, John Hamilton.
— 20th anniversary, Sam/Nicole Molseed.

Thursday, March 9:
Theresa Beastrom, Kasi Nystrom, Allison Meintsma, Alex McLain, Ted Parsons, Terry Hipple, Caleb Olson, Raeann Schlenker, Gretta Durick, Jon Schaack, Larry Kuszmaul, Kieran Williams.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Riggs High alumnus and former Governor wrestler Aric Williams, who is wrestling this weekend for Dakota Wesleyan in the NAIA nationals in Wichita this week, was named to the Great Plains Athletic Conference’s all-conference second team for wrestling.

Cody and Kashia (Axthelm) Rosenau, who live in Eugene, Ore., are the parents of their third son, and he is a big boy. Arlo James Rosenau was born Feb. 22, weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces, and measuring 22 inches. The Rosenaus have two older sons, Ezra, 5 1/2, and Otis, 2 1/2.

Steve Stewart, 66, died Feb. 23. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Feigum Funeral Home, followed by a prayer service at 7 .m. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the former Southeast United Methodist Church building. Steve graduated from De Smet High School in 1975, served in the South Dakota Army National Guard and completed a degree from Southwest Minnesota State University. He married Ronette in 1979. In 1987 he began work with the Division of Rehabilitation Services as a rehabilitation engineer and worked for 30 years until retiring in 2017. He is survived by his wife, Ronette Stewart; his children, Sarah (Lance) DeHaai and John Stewart; four grandchildren; his mother, Donna Stewart, and his sisters, Karen Brown and Susan Stewart.

Rylan Derry of Pierre’s team is one of the nominees for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader’s South Dakota High School Sports Awards in the area of boys soccer. The awards in all of the sports will be presented in June at the end of the current school year.

Steven Schaefer, who played college basketball at Augustana and now is back in his hometown of Rapid City, played with the Rapid City We Are Farmers team in the state amateur basketball tournament at Madison.

Alice Horsley passed away Feb. 7, 16 days shy of her 102nd birthday. She graduated from Draper High School in 1940. She did domestic work in homes in many states and cared for family members in several locations over the years. For 18 years she worked as a housemaid at motels in Murdo and Pierre. She is survived by her daughter, Caroline (Bernie) Sullivan; three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A celebration of her life took place Feb. 25 in Anchorage, Alaska. Another service is planned for May 25 at the Methodist church in Draper.

Regina Stoeser of Harrisburg High School, daughter of Chance and Erika (Rounds) Stoeser, won the 120-pound weight class at the state girls wrestling tournament last weekend, scoring a 2-0 decision in her championship match over a wrestler from Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon.

George Finlay, 72, died Feb. 18. A celebration of his life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Feigum Funeral Home. He came to South Dakota from his native Texas in 2004 and worked at Shamrock Ranch where he cared for and trained horses. He is survived by his son, Patrick (Nick) Cleveland of Pierre; his brothers, James Finlay and Clarence Robinson in Texas; two grandchildren, and his dear friend, Bobbie Country, and her three children.

Aislinn Duffy of Rapid City, whose dad is Fort Pierre native Dan Duffy, was named most valuable player in all of the South Division of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for women’s basketball.

Kevin James, 62, died Feb. 16 ar Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. A celebration of her life is tentatively planned for Fathers Day weekend in June. Kevin graduated from Riggs High School in 1979, served in the South Dakota Army National Guard and married Lori Witte in 1983. They raised four children. Kevin worked for Klocker Furniture, Pepsi-Cola, the South Dakota State Lottery and Days Inn. He is survived by his children, Eric (Megan) James, Kristi James and Michelle James; three grandchildren; a sister, Tandra James, and a brother, Terry (Demarie) James.

Sales & Marketing Executives, Inc. (SME) of Sioux Falls has named 84 nominees for its Women of Excellence awards to be presented March 21 at a Women in Business event. Among the nominees are at least three names at least some Pierre area folks will recognize: (1) Stephanie Larscheid (wife of Slade) of Prairie Family Business Association. (2) Kim Malsam-Rysdon of Avera Health. (3) Valerie Melmer of Leadership South Dakota.

Eli Schipper, son of Jason and Sandy Schipper and a student at Augustana, was in Las Vegas Monday night, representing his store (Fareway in Harrisburg) and South Dakota in the National Grocers Association’s bagger competition. He did not place in the Las Vegas competition, but he had won the state-level contest at the State Fair last fall. His paternal grandparents are former Pierre residents Lloyd and Jeannette Schipper.

Pierre native Sam Holden moved from Spearfish to Brookings in early February. He has taken a new position with the South Dakota State University athletic department as assistant A.D. for premium sales. Sam had returned to his alma mater, Black Hills State, to work in the athletic department there.

Kristy Lynn (Turman) Carter, 79, Hermosa, died Feb. 27 at Monument Health Hospice House in Rapid City. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Monday, March 6, at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home in Rapid City. A private burial service for the immediate family will be held at Scotty Philip Cemetery in Fort Pierre. Kristy’s early years were spent in California, then she moved with her family to Fort Pierre where she graduated from high school in 1961. She married Art Carter, and they had three children who were raised in Rapid City. Kristy worked for the Douglas school system, then returned to college for a degree in tourism at Black Hills State. In Las Vegas she worked in the guest relations department at Circus Circus, then was promoted to head of that department at Reno. Back in South Dakota she worked as an assistant manager for Custer State Park Resorts. Survivors include her children, Todd (Denise) Carter of El Dorado, Kan., Kevin (Sarah) Carter of Fort Pierre and Kari (Brian) Lund of Hermosa; eight grandchildren; her sister, Janice Yee of Rapid City, and her brother, Vance (Zuzani) Turman of Rapid City.

PONDER THIS

“It is entirely possible that neither side will accept losing the 2024 election. Such political clashes hurt productivity and create an inhospitable environment, which hurts capital flows.”
— investor Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates