2022 Fall Sports Preview 40pgs by Black Hills Pioneer

SPEARFISH SPARTANS I BHSU YELLOW JACKETS I LEAD-DEADWOOD GOLDDIGGERS I BELLE FOURCHE BRONCS I STURGIS BROWN SCOOPERS I NEWELL IRRIGATORS SPECIAL SECTION CROSS COUNTRY : CHEER : DANCE : FOOTBALL : GOLF : RODEO : SOCCER : SOFTBALL : TRIATHLON : TENNIS : VOLLEYBALL SPORTS PREVIEW Fall 2022

Wademan knows the team still has areas they need to improve on. “We are going to have to be good up front. That’s going to be something that we will continue to hammer, guys are going to have to step up, we’ve got to be one unit, and we’ve got to pro tect,” said Wademan. “At times we’ve struggled at that the last two years, and we’ve got to put it all together this year on offense.” 57783,

FALL 2022PAGE 2 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

The Spartans football team started football practice Aug. 1. “We’ve got right around 50 kids, which we love those numbers, and hopefully we will be able to stay away from injuries. We are happy about the numbers, and we are excited to play varsity games where kids can compete, develop, and be ready for big games on Friday nights,” Wademan said.Wademan said the team has six or seven guys on offense and defense that will be returning this year. “Like I said, we had a big senior class, and big shoes to fill too. We have to fill a couple of skill spots, seniors that graduated, and with the young guys it’s fun too watch our competi tion right now, as to who is going to go and get that spot.” Wademan said the team has been working on fundamentals. “We have been working on our fun damentals right off the bat, and then get our offense and defense in,” said Wademan. “We are at about the point where all of our install is done, and now we are going to gears and start focusing on St. Thomas More.” Spearfish travels to St. Thomas More Aug. 26 to kick off its season. Wademan talked about the teams. “On offense we are skill positions are very good. Our offensive line is coming along, and we have a couple of guys returning there. At our skill posi tion we have three, four, five guys that are competing, said Wademan. “On defense, our line backing corps will be a strength.

(605) 642-2761 • (800) 676-2761 • www.bhpioneer.com Letitia Lister, publisher Mark Watson, managing editor Sona O’Connell, advertising manager Melissa Barnett, layout The publisher will not be responsible or liable for misprints, misinformation or typographic errors herein contained. Publisher also reserves the right to refuse any advertising deemed not to be in the best interest of the publication. © 2022 BLACK HILLS PIONEER, all rights reserved. 605-642-2944638E.ColoradoSpearfish,SD Lets Tackle aSeason!Winning GOODSPARTANS!LUCK 2535 E. COLORADO BOULEVARD | 605-642-3822 HOURS: MONDAY-FRIDAY: 9:00AM-6:00PM | SATURDAY: 9:00AM-5:00PM BEST OF LUCKto all student athletes DINER Spearfish: 447 N. Main St. 605-559-0366 • unclelouiesdiner.com Creating Memories & Much Much More! ServedBreakfastAllDay! We Salute our AthletesSchool Wishing all our school teams a safe successfuland season. Good Luck! SPEARFISH football schedule Aug. 26 at St. Thomas More....................... 6 p.m. Sept. 9 hosting Douglas 6 p.m. Sept. 16 at Brookings 5 p.m. Sept. 23 at Belle Fourche 6 p.m. Sept. 30 hosting Mitchell 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at Tea Area 5 p.m. Oct. 14 at Watertown 5 p.m. Oct. 20 hosting Sturgis Brown 6 p.m. Yourbhpioneer.comArea Sports Connection Yourbhpioneer.comArea Sports Connection Yourbhpioneer.comArea Sports Connection Yourbhpioneer.comArea Sports Connection

2022 Fall Sports Preview is produced by the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper, 315 Seaton Circle, Spearfish, SD,

Spearfish football on the rise

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The Spearfish Spartans football team is hoping to build on last year’s 3-5 record. As the year progressed, players bought in to head Coach Dalton Wademan’s philosophy for the pro gram.“Our kids came together, and they’ve done a great job in buying in to what we are doing. We’ve had great senior classes the last two years, and really led this team,” said Wademan. “Last year we graduated 12 guys, they were our foundation to our team, and they did a great job of leading the oth er players, and they did a great job to snap that 25 game losing streak.” The Spartans have been working hard all summer to get ready for 2022 football“Overallseason.wehit the weight-room all summer long. We wanted guys to get in and lift with our team. We were a little slow in the weight room as far as number wise, but it has picked up now that we are in season and guys are do ing well there,” Wademan said. Wademan said one of the camps the team went was at Chadron State. “We went to Chadron State camp, which was a great experience for us. We took 40 guys there, and those guys did a great job, and it was fun to com pete,” said Wademan. “We were in the bigger schools camp, so we got to play against some good teams, and guys stepped up, and we competed at times, and it was fun to see our guys step up andWademancompete.“sad at that camp they had some“Oneseven-on-sevens,wehostedhere with Sturgis and Campbell County, and that was to go out against somebody else oth er than our self, and then we had a couple of open fields to this summer, where guys got to get out and get some skill work in,” he said.

Front row from left: Ian Chau, Seth Hamilton, Izaak Limbo, Brayden Delahoyde, Laithan Lucas, Hunter Walters, Hudson Walters, Cody Chapman, Dylon Doren, Nick Bosh,and Braden Lueders. Second row from left: Dalton Ferrel, Seth Norman, Michael Zoller, Antonio Serrano, Sam Gaddis, Carter Lyon, Bridger Neihaus, Cade Parks, Haven Bissell, Levi Poling, Caden Langenfeld. Third row from left, assistant coaches: Brice Harmless, Cody Powers, and Jim Martin. JaShawn Anderson, Aiden Meverden, Darin Crooks, Evan Wilson, Kamren Davis, Ashton Eixenberger, Aiden Kracht, Cole Malo, Ian Rath, Brady Hartwig, and Tim Raysor. Assistant coaches, Tom Tiesen, Brady Sudbeck, and Bailey Norton. Fourth row from left: Jacob Brewer, Sam Markus, Matthew Medina, Markus Medina, Isaiah Lahoe, Dawson Wood, Matthew St. Pierre, Ruben Lucio, Ben Allred, Blake Kaiser, and head coach Dalton Wademan. Back row from left, assistant coaches: Morgan Harmless, Darren Douglas, Payten Storbech, Aiden Haught, Quinton Carlson, Asher Peil, Kolter Robbins, Carson Brandenberg, Michael Gonzalez, Rees Baatz, and Layton Loup. Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles

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FALL 2022 PAGE 3SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

Coach Kooima said the schedule is more difficult than in 2021, in part be cause defending state Class 11B cham pion Winner is on the slate. He added teams that the Golddiggers defeated last season will be improved. Hot Springs should contend for the Black Hills Conference Crazy Horse di vision title, and coach Kooima said the race will be highly competitive.

FALL 2022PAGE 4 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER You bet we’re behind you, Diggers! here’s to a filledseasonwithlucky7s! The 677 MAIN STREET, DEADWOOD 605.578.1555 • THEMIDNIGHTSTAR.COM and Lynn’s YourNeighborhoodHometownMarket! Lynn’sGroceryDakotamartStore 145 Glendale Dr., Ste. #3 • Lead, SD 605-584-2905 Dakotamart Gas 103 Glendale Dr. • Lead, SD 605-584-1226 GOOD LUCK DIGGERS! Diggers aim to build on past success

Versatility is one of the biggest things players will need to keep working on, according to coach Kooima. He also cited the importance of players trusting one another for Lead-Deadwoodsuccess.opened its season Aug. 19 when it hosted Rapid City Christian. The Golddiggers dropped a 36-30 decision in a game that lasted three overtimes.

Lead-Deadwood’s football team includes, back row from left: head coach Kyle Kooima, Miles Crippin, Tyler Williams, Walker VandeVelde, Preston Lowery, Beau Wichterman, Connor Harrison, Crew Rainey, Joey Osowski, Brady Rantapaa, Ryan Rantapaa, Ethan Hess, assistant coach Mark Jacobs, assistant coach Cody Brodsky. Middle row from left: Landen Mattson, JT Gifford, Channing Bloedel, Dylan Meade, James Pierce, Jacob Smith, Sam Kooima, Mekhi Hayes, Tyrel Seaman, Cruz Mollman, Miles Renner, and Rylan Burnham. Front row from left: Winter McMahon, Tanner Millard, Peyton Percy, Finn Cain, Ben Wichterman, Canon Rogers, Luke Harris, and Drew Janke. Cooper Quenzer, Logan Nelson, Connor Bender, and Baelyan Greenfield are not pictured.

Official practice sessions got under way Aug. 4. Players engaged in individ ual drills, learned technique, and going through mental repetition.

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer LEAD — Lead-Deadwood’s football team seeks to continue the growth it ex perienced last season, when it finished 5-3 and missed a spot in the Class 11B playoffs by only one spot. “We’ve got kids that are so hungry,” second-year head coach Kyle Kooima said. “They’re not just trying to have a winning season; they want to make playoffs; they want to go deep in the play offs.”Coach Kooima cited senior running back-linebacker Ryan Rantapaa, senior tight end-linebacker Crew Rainey, se nior running back-defensive lineman Jacob Smith, senior lineman Miles Crippen, junior quarterback-linebacker Sam Kooima, and sophomore lineman Connor Harrison as key players for the Golddiggers this season. Four other seniors are on the roster as of press time: running back-defensive back Tyler Williams, lineman Walker VandeVelde, lineman Preston Lowery, and wide receiver-defensive back James Pierce.Theroster includes 10 other juniors. They are running back-defensive backs Luke Harris and Mekhi Hayes; running back-linebacker Cooper Quenzer; line men Rylan Burnham, Dylan Meade, Channing Bloedel, Ethan Hess, Joey Osowski, and Connor Bender; and wide receiver-defensive back Winter McMahon.Quarterback-linebacker Beau Wichterman and quarterback-defen sive back Drew Janke are among the other sophomores. That list also in cludes running back-defensive back Tanner Millard, lineman JT Gifford, tight end-defensive lineman Baelyan Greenfield, tight end-linebacker Ben Wichterman, and running back-defen sive back Cruz Mollman. Seven ninth-graders round out the roster. Those players are wide receiv er-linebacker Canon Rogers, running back-linebacker Tyrel Seaman, quar terback-defensive back Finn Cain, tight end-defensive lineman Brady Rantapaa, and linemen Landen Mattson and Logan Nelson.“Wedefinitely have some solid skill players,” coach Kooima said in describ ing this year’s team. “We have some pret ty solid lineman, too.” Coach Kooima said the Golddiggers’ defense should be able to play aggressive ly. He added the entire squad is physical ly stronger, as numerous players have spent quite a bit of time in the weight room.“Ijust think that really helped our overall team strength,” coach Kooima said of those weight room sessions. “We’re still looking to continue to get stronger, continue to improve.”

“I think all the teams are relatively evenly matched,” coach Kooima said. He added teams absolutely want to win games, but the process is more about growth and having fun.

Everything’s got to be to the best of your ability,” coach Kooima said. Stryder Greenfield, David Morris, Rocke Rainey, Tyler Percy, Tristen Fierbach, Carter Estes, and Eli Heisinger graduated from the team last season.

“If we want to be great, you’ve got to do those little things every single day.

LEAD-DEADWOOD football schedule

Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

Other regular-season home games at Ferguson Field are Sept. 9 against Miller/Highmore-Harrold, Sept. 23 against Hot Springs in the homecoming game, and Oct. 14 against Lakota Tech.

Aug. 26 at Hill City 6 p.m. Sept. 3 at Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central 6 p.m. Sept. 9 hosting Miller/Highmore-Harrold 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at Winner 6 p.m. Sept. 23 hosting Hot Springs 6 p.m. Sept. 30 hosting Custer 7 p.m. Oct. 14 hosting Lakota Tech ...................... 6 p.m

“When you do the right things every day, all the time — and you’re a disci plined person and you have self-belief — you have a lot of confidence in any situa tion that you’ll be in,” Walker said when asked how he sees the Broncs stacking up against conference opponents. He agreed that will also be required for suc cess and how it is defined. Official practices began on Aug. 11, with players working on a deep offense. Walker anticipates playing physically on defense.BelleFourche finished 3-6 last season and did not qualify for the Class 11A playoffs.Ryker Audiss, Dalton Davis, Aidan McCarty, Cayden Wolfe, Gabe Heck, Dagan Burns, Cade Bickerdyke, Brooks Clooten, Sean Wahlfeldt, Riley Newman, Ryan Evans, and Devin Burns graduated from last season’s squad.

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Walker said players will need to work on their jobs as practices and games progress. He cited the importance of understanding the game plan and what is being done weekly to succeed against thatBelleopponent.Fourche opens its season Aug. 26 at Douglas before hosting Dell Rapids in its Sept. 2 home opener at Lou Graslie Field.The Broncs host Spearfish in their homecoming game on Sept. 23. Home games against Sturgis Brown (Oct. 7), Sioux Falls Christian (Oct. 14), and Vermillion (Oct. 20) close the regular season.“It’sgoing to be extremely challeng ing,” Walker said in describing the slate. It includes three Class AA opponents (Douglas, Sturgis Brown, Spearfish) and a Class B foe (St. Thomas More) that is one of the state’s best. Walker said Sturgis Brown will likely be the Black Hills Conference favorite based on past records.

Belle Fourche’s football team includes: back row from left: Brayden Meemken, Dawson Davis, Trigg Olson, Kameron Webster, Jayden Hunt, Mason Nehl, Payton Jackson, Joseph McLennan, Gavin Pearson, Tyson Kracht, Emmitt Lipp, Marek Menke, Tucker Hughes, Riley Hunt, and Raif Parmeter. Middle row from left: Jaimen Sechser, Daniel Krajewski, Earl Jordan, Harvey Walding, Kyren Nulle, Garet Huston, Trey Smeenk, Carter McKenna, Jordan Sandoval, Nolan Wahlfeldt, Haydon Nickerson, and Jordan DuBray. Front row from left: Tatin Yackley, Lucas Green, Lane Longbrake, JT Hahne, Evan Vissia, Gunnar Geib, Thomas McCoy, Jayden Sechser, Andy Tonsager, and Devin Nowowiejski. Spencer Bush, Caleb Dosch, Andrew Newlander, Alex Norlin, Jazlyn Olson, Jamie Sexton, Anthony Staley, and head coach Justin Walker are not pictured.

FOURCHE

“The juniors are nipping right at their heels, just trying to be even better than them,” Walker said. He cited McKenna, Nulle, Jordan as juniors who have also stood out in the early going. Wide receiver-defensive back Payton Jackson, lineman Brayden Meemken, and running back-linebacker Harvey Walding are sophomores. Nineteen ninth-graders round out the roster.

“Leadership and accountability, in leaps and bounds,” Walker said when asked about team strengths. “They have been unbelievable leaders in making sure everybody just does their job.”

BELLE football schedule

Aug. 26 at Douglas 6 p.m. Sept. 2 hosting Dell Rapids 6 p.m. Sept. 10 at St. Thomas More 6 p.m. Sept. 16 at Chamberlain 6 p.m. Sept. 23 hosting Spearfish 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at Prospector Bowl 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at Sturgis Brown 6 p.m. Oct. 14 hosting Sioux Falls Christian 6 p.m.

Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

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Broncs,

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer BELLE FOURCHE — Belle Fourche’s football season opener Aug. 26 will also mark the debut of head coach Justin Walker. He succeeds Scott Slotten, who resigned following the 2021 campaign. Walker said junior quarterback Nolan Wahlfeldt is a definite key player for the Broncs. Senior running back-line backers Thomas McCoy and Devin Nowowiejski are among others whom Walker cited. “I really can’t say enough about this senior class,” Walker said. “They’re challenging everybody to do better. They want to end this year on a higher note than they have ever left.” That senior group includes nine other players. They are linemen Gunnar Geib and Thomas Green, wide receiver-de fensive lineman Joshua Hahne, wide receiver-defensive backs Tatin Yackley and Lane Longbrake, wide receiver-line backers Evan Vissia and Jayden Sechser, placekicker-punter Anthony Staley, and offensive lineman-linebacker Andrew Tonsager.Nineother players complete the junior class group. They are linemen Earl Jordan, Daniel Krajewski, Haydon Nickerson, and Trey Smeenk; wide re ceiver-defensive backs Carter McKenna and Jordan Sandoval; running back-de fensive backs Andrew Newlander and Kyren Nulle; and offensive lineman-line backer Jaimen Sechser.

new coach to make grid debut

By Tim Potts Black Hills Pioneer STURGIS — The Sturgis Brown High School football team has 70 athletes fight ing for playing time as they prepare for the 2022 football season. Chris Koletzky starts his seventh sea son as the Scoopers head football coach, and he shared team goals and the out look for the 2022 season.

Three Cheers for the Sturgis Scoopers!

Senior Reese Jacobs led the team in tackles with 40 solo and 50 assisted for a total of 90 tackles “My goal is to not only surpass the amount of tackles I had last year, but beat it, another goal of mine is to be a useful player for the offense with now playing at tight end. We got some good dudes that play the other receivers po sitions and the offensive line is looking sharp so far. I think if we all play togeth er and work hard, it will be a good sea son and I’m very excited for it,” Jacobs saidKoletzky praised Jacobs for his contri butions to the team. “Jacobs is as good as it gets! His heart, his effort, competitiveness, leadership, he is the heartbeat of our team and he does everything you ask of him as an athlete, and from a character standpoint, he would bend over backwards for any one on this team, and it is great to have a pillar like that,” said Koletzky. Cass, the Scoopers quarterback for the past two seasons, threw for 1,329 yards with a 49.78 percent completion, nine touchdowns, 185 rushing yards, 20 punts, averaging 29.1 yards in the 2021 season.

STURGIS BROWN football schedule Aug. 27

Mitchell TBD Sept. 10 hosting Aberdeen Central 6 p.m. Sept. 16 hosting Mitchell 6 p.m. Sept. 23 at St. Thomas More 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at Tea Area .................................... 5 p.m. Oct. 7 hosting Belle Fourche 6 p.m. Oct. 14 hosting Douglas 6 p.m. Oct. 20 at Spearfish ..................................... 6 p.m.

Wishing all of the teams an exciting and successful season.

“Some of those guys just can’t be re placed, and that happens every year, but I think we have guys that are stepping up,” he said.

RC Central 7

“We teach Xs and Os, how to block and tackle, but we don’t teach them how to be leaders, and we have been using this leadership training for the past couple months and I like it,” he said.

“I think that one of our main goals this year, at least in my mind, is to win the Black Hills Conference. We tied with Spearfish and St. Thomas More last year, so we’d really like to have sole posses sion of that title,” said Cass. “Another goal is to just compete with the East River teams, and make some noise in the playoffs.”“Theguys around Owen are all back, except Berndt, and that is exciting, all of the skills guys and receivers are back. Owen has made some big strides, he has taken on leadership, he is in better shape, and I see it on the field,” said Koletzky.TheScoopers have 70 athletes out this season and Koletzky said that was about average, but it is not where he wanted the senior class numbers to be. “We would like to have around 20 seniors playing and we are at 10 so we need to work on keeping those athletes out, and keep them interested,” Koletzky said.The Scoopers lost 17 seniors from last season and Koletzky said it will hard to replace some of those players.

Konner Berndt led the team last sea son in rushing yards with 170 carries, gaining 1,218 yards, scored 10 touch downs, and was the leading rusher in Class AA, and will be missed in the lineup.“Gunner Rohloff will be getting a good numbers of carries, followed by Byron Holt and Owen Udager, and remember we have Owen Cass, the quarterback, that can run. Cass has showed that he can get out of the pocket and scramble,” Koletzky said.

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown football team include, back frow left: Assistant Coach Derris Buus, Head Coach Chris Koletzky, Assistant Coach Pat Cass, Assistant Coach Justin Burnham, Assistant Coach Carter Williams, Aiden Werlinger, Aiden Hedderman, Gunner Sarkela, Owen Cass, Revan Wilde, Aaron Morovits, Caleb Weishaar, Noah Schaefers, Cale Jolley, Jake Vliem, Teigen Wormstadt, Dalyn Dschaak, Brayden Ruff, Zak Juelfs, Gavin Ligtenberg, Terrence Lara, Dawson Inhofer, Conner Schmidt, Caeldyn Kennedy, Ward Anderson, Assistant Coach, Reese Jacobs, Tyler Lewis, Assistant coach, Dusty Hess, and Tom Donney, Assistant coaches. Kneeling from left: Yaden Miller, Jadon Blair, Tyan Buus, Byron Holt, Joey Valle, Austin Atyeo, Preston Ray, Owen Udager, Ben Storm, George Hamer, Gavin Sundstrom, and Celca Manzano and Lexi Hopkins, student managers. Sitting from left: Jake Krog, Jackson Hauer, Dylan Cutts, Barrett Patterson, Elliot Smith, Gunner Rohloff, Lance Septka, Chase Temple, Gage Studer, Jesse Lane, and Adam Hyman and Kaylee Hoesing, student managers. Not pictured are: Adam Flohr, Cade Willnerd, Dee Daniels, and Kalvin Ketelsen. photo by Tim Potts at p.m. Sept. at

An area that challenged Sturgis Brown last season was turnovers, with the Scoopers having 25 versus the opponents with 14, and that was the difference in a lot of their games.

“We talk about our goals at the team camp, and everyone wants a state cham pionship, we know that, they also want the conference championship, and we know that,” said Koletzky. “The coaches have been emphasizing getting 1% better in five areas. The weight room, on the field effort, classroom effort and attitude with the teachers, eating right and sleep ing right, and if we can focus on those things, we will get better as an athlete and a person every day.”

“Lead Them Up”, is a new curriculum that is leadership training, and Koletzky said it really hit home as something the Scooper coaches needed.

“The first thing we worked on was to eliminate turnovers on offense, that definitely hurt us last season and then we need to force the turnover with the defense, we are just not getting enough,” said Koletzky. “We continue to empha size it in practice, so we give little in centives, we are not getting the strip at tempts and tipped balls, and that is what we need, we have to turn that around.”

Pioneer

FALL 2022PAGE 6 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER 2327 Junction Ave., Sturgis, SD 605-347-4507 Good luck this season! HEART. DEDICATION.TALENT. We salute our area athletes for their excellent performance as individuals and teams. 4415 E. Colorado Blvd., Ste. #3 Spearfish, SD 605-642-8870 DRIVE COFFEETHRUSHOP Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6:00am - 4:30pm; Sat. 5:45am - 1:00pm; Sunday Closed Two locations in Sturgis: 2216 Junction Ave. & 2703 Lazelle St. 605-490-2166

Scooper football team sets big goals

Aug. 26 at Faith 7 p.m. Sept. 2 hosting Timber Lake 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at Herreid/Selby Area 6 p.m. Sept. 16 at Harding County 6 p.m. Sept. 23 at Lemmon/McIntosh 7 p.m. Sept. 30 hosting Dupree 6 p.m. Oct. 7 hosting Philip 6 p.m.

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NEWELL football

Chase VanDerBoom was the lone senior, and Bonnet noted he filled a lot of roles and excelled as a leader. “I think we’ve got some seniors this year, and a couple of juniors as well, that learned a lot from Chase (VanDerBoom),” Bonnet said. “They learned that leadership role is very im portant.”Attitude and aggression are what Bonnet said the Irrigators will need to work on from last season to this.

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer NEWELL — Newell’s football squad will embrace the team concept for a sea son that features four home games. Head coach Tyrel Bonnet said num bers look better than usual. He is in his fifth season and added roster size could be 15 or Twelve16.players are on the roster. Colton Burtzlaff is the lone senior. The junior class representation consists of seven players. They are Jameson Duncan, Colton Niles, Charlie Clements, Gavin Tesch, Orin Bender, Will Juelfs, and Austin Wise. Chase Johnston and Evan Byrom are sophomores this fall. Ninth-graders Jacer Gross and Jaden Tesch round out the“Anybodyroster. that’s a returning player — whether they started last year or not — they’re going to bring a lot to the table,” BonnetBonnetsaid.went on to say the Irrigators’ offensive line could be really good, along with quarterback Jameson Duncan. He agreed those serve as team strengths.Whatwill players need to work on as practices and games progress?

Pioneer photo by Jason Gross schedule

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“Football’s one of those sports where you kind of almost have to have a bad attitude, at least when it comes to the field,” Bonnet said.

Newell will have four home football games during the 2022 regular season. Team members include, back row from left: Austin Wise, Jacer Gross, Colton Niles, Colton Burtzlaff, Gavin Tesch, and Jameson Duncan. Front row from left: Jaden Tesch, Evan Byrom, Orin Bender, Chase Johnston, and Charlie Clements. Will Juelfs and head coach Tyrel Bonnet are not pictured.

“If we can maintain a physical start to each half and game, I think we’ll be all right,” Bonnet said. He added that approach will go a long way. “Daily improvement will go a long way,” Bonnet said in describing how the Irrigators will measure success in 2022. “Staying healthy is going to be a bigBonnetdeal.” added this year’s ninth-grad ers played middle school football in the past, but that is so much different from high school ball. Official practice sessions began on Aug. 4. Conditioning received heavy early emphasis, and Bonnet told his players they must be in it for the long run. Fundamentals later took center stage.Bonnet said last season’s 0-7 record would not qualify as a success to most people.

“Staying in good shape, staying healthy, working hard and maintaining a positive attitude goes a long way,” BonnetNewellsaid.opened its season Aug. 19 at home against Potter County and dropped a 54-28 decision. Three other home games are on the regular-season slate: Sept. 2 against Timber Lake, Sept. 30 against Dupree in the homecoming game, and Oct. 7 against Philip. Bonnet noted Potter County and Herreid-Selby Area made deep playoff runs in 2021. He said Timber Lake, Harding County-Bison, and LemmonMcIntosh always boast strong squads. Harding County-Bison earned Bonnet’s nod in the Little Moreau Conference race. He said LemmonMcIntosh will also contend.

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“Those guys were both starters for us last year, and you’ll see them anchoring down our defensive line,” BreskeReturnerssaid. at cornerback are Deunte Moody (a sophomore from Little Rock, Ark.) a starter last year, and Lovenski Simon (sophomore from Nacogdoches, Texas). “They were very good for us last year.” Breske said. Returning linebackers are Ryder Blair (a junior from Parker. Colo.), and Aaron Thiele (a sophomore from Buffalo,“ThoseWyo.).guys were some of our lead ing tacklers in the linebacker group this past season. They are two really solid leaders,” Breske said. Returning at safety will be Bailey Rosenstrauch, a senior from Monument, Colo. “He’s one of our senior safeties, the best leader on my football team. He’s the guy that I go to and talk to a lot,” BeskeRosenstrauchsaid. said the preseason workout have been going good. “Preseason has been pretty great. Honestly, I’m just going to put it out there. We’ve got a pretty small group of returners comparably to what we’ve had in the past, but we are bringing in a lot of good, new talent,” Rosenstrauch said. “Camp is going really well. Camp has gotten a little bit chippy. Everybody has been facing against the same people every single day, so it’s kind of fun to see the com petitiveness come out of everyone.” Rosenstrauch has been sporting a walking boot on his left boot, but he said he would be ready for the season opener.“Right now I’ve been told by the training staff to just wear the boot. Keep off of it for a week, and make sure when the time comes I’m ready to play when it matters,” He said. “We have worked really hard this summer. Last season we set four goals. We set some football goals, we set some academic goals, we set some commu nity service goals, and then a rivalry goal,” said Breske. “And of our four goals, we only hit one. So we sat down and we really spent a lot of time just thinking about what’s going to be most important for our football team.”

“This year we set two goals. Our goal is to win six of our 11 games. If we go above .500, to me, that’s a great step in the right direction. Our other goal is to have a GPA (grade point average) of 3.0. We are going to focus on being great competitors and contributors to the football team, but be good students as well. Our team GPA last year was a 2.8, now our team goal is a 3.0.” Breske said the defensive line will be where they have the most depth, and wide receivers will be where the Yellow Jackets have the least depth.

The Jackets return several starters from the 2021 season.

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FALL 2022PAGE 8 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER 19730 Red Hill Rd., Spearfish 605-642-5760 • GOODawww.fisherind.comLUCKATHLETES! If you can believe it, you can achieve it. Get the Facts Confirm you are pregnant with a free reliable pregnancy test and ultrasound. 605-642-4140 bellapregnancy.com Erin L. Melling Attorney at law Licensed in SD, ND, and MT Aaron W. LicensedAttorneyRoselandatlawinSD&ND South Dakota Office: 1409 5th Ave Belle Fourche, SD 57717 Phone: (605) 773-4109 Email: mrlawpc@mrlawpc.net North Dakota Office: 602 Adams Ave Suite 1 Hettinger, ND58639 Phone: (701) 567-2418 Fax: (701) 567-4290 Email: mrlawpc@mrlawpc.net Good Luck and Have Fun! Jackets football team hopes to improve in the RMAC this season

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH The Black Hills State University men’s football team hopes to improve on its 4-7 overall, and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record last season. Third year head coach, Josh Breske, is excited about the upcoming season that kicks off Sept. 1 in a night game at Dickinson State.“We open up on the road Sept. 1 at Dickinson State. This is the second year of a two-year contract with them, and we go up there (Dickinson, N.D.) on a Thursday night, and play an evening game. It should be a pretty packed house,” said Breske. “Those of you familiar with Dickinson, they built a brand new stadium about 10 years ago. It will be a packed crowd and a very nice venue for our guys to open the season.”

“With our wide receiver depth its just small, number wise. For whatever reason we had guys graduate and we didn’t really chase as hard as we need ed to on wide receivers. We are very talented in that group (wide receiv ers), we’ve just got to stay healthy,” Breske said.

At quarterback, Black Hills State returns two quarterbacks: Chance Eben, (a junior from Greeley, Colo.) and Aidan Willard (a senior from Napa,“TheCalif.).twothings I love most about these guys is they’re best friends. Which is really cool in a quarterback battle. They root for each other, they get on each other. It’s a great battle,” BreskeBreskesaid.said he hasn’t decided on a starter just yet. “We are going to continue (to evalu ate) through fall camp,” he said. On defense the Yellow Jackets have two returning defensive tackles: Nik Arnold, (a junior from Florence, Ariz.) and Morgan Tigner (a junior from Worland, Wyo.).

“We return Nolan Susel (29) at tail back. He had a great season last year backing up Matt Collier. Matt Collier graduated, and Nolan is going to step up and lead that running back group. He’s been having a great camp. He was here all summer training with the team,” said Breske. “We’ve got tackle Sam Ambrogio (a senior from St. Charles, Ill.) returning to lead our offensive line. Then we bring back a group of wide receivers, a bunch of small guys. We got a bunch of small guys that are really fast.” “So you’ll see Hasaan Williams, Connor Boyd, Jamin Wurtz, and TJ Chukwurah. TJ was a red-shirt fresh man for us last year,”

6 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Dickinson State Sept. 10 hosting William Jewell College Sept. 17 at Chadron State College p.m. Sept. 24 hosting Colorado Mesa University Oct. 1 at South Dakota Mines p.m. Oct. 8 (Sat) at New Mexico Oct. 15 hosting Western Colorado University Oct. 22 (Sat) at Colorado School of Mines Oct. 29 hosting Fort Lewis College Nov. 5 at Adams State University p.m. Nov. 12 hosting Colorado State University-Pueblo

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football schedule

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noon Go.Win.Fight. Good luck to all area athletes! Ryan & Elizabeth Heggem 605.631.9688 • blackhillsco2@gmail.com SPEARFISH FOREST PRODUCTS Spearfish, South Dakota (605-642-7741 Great Forestry • Great Products • Great People Play hard Give it your best shot! Located in the 12th Street Plaza 725 N 12th Street, 605-559-2265Spearfish GOOD LUCK to all area athletes and coaches during the 2022-2023 school year. Pioneer file photos The Yellow Jackets will be adding more of a quick game this season. “After last season we decided to add more quick game on offense, to help out our quarterback out,” said Breske. “We were running for our lives quite a bit in the second half of the season. We have to put our team in a better position, so installing a lot more quick game, snap the ball and catch it, and throw it to Hasaan Williams, who is wide open for five yards.”

FALL 2022 PAGE 9SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

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volleyball has new coach

SPEARFISH volleyball schedule Aug. 25 hosting Red Cloud 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at Huron Tourney 8 a.m. Aug. 30 at Hill City 7 p.m. Sept. 6 hosting RC Christian 7 p.m. Sept. 10 hosting Pierre T.F. Riggs 2 p.m. Sept. 13 hosting Lead-Deadwood 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at Mitchell 12:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at Sturgis Brown 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at Custer 7 p.m. Sept. 27 hosting St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at Sturgis 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Belle Fourche 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at Hot Springs 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at RC East/West Duals TBD Oct.22 Oct. 21 at RC East/West Duals TBD

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By Dennis Knuckles

Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles.

Spearfish

Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — When the Spearfish High School volleyball team takes the court this year they will be playing un der the direction of a new coach. Shelbie Richards replaces Christine Skoglund who resigned in the spring. Area fans and athletes know Richards by the last name Budmayr, from when she was a standout volleyball player at Belle Fourche High School. Richards has been the Lady Spartans freshmen volleyball coach the past three seasons.Oneof the things she is excited about is coaching the players she coached on the freshmen team the past three sea sons.“The seniors now were with my first group of freshmen, so we kind of made a full circle together. I forget it has been three years since they played for me, and we are re-learning each other, making sure we are in the same page has been a fun process,” said Richards. “They’ve kept me on my toes, and it is nice knowing what I taught them as freshmen, and kind of where they’re at, and where we should end up at the end of the Richardsyear.”has big plans to move the program forward. “Our goal is to be over .500. We want the 11th to 14th spot in SoDak Sweet 16, and then compete in that Sweet 16 tournament game and hopefully get ourselves in the state tournament,” RichardsRichardssaid.said the Lady Spartan has been busy this summer attending camps, to prepare for the 2022 volleyball season.“Wehad open gyms twice a week ev ery week except for our dead week in July. We invited the seventh and eighth graders to join us, and we had 50+ girls at every open gym,” said Richards. “We’ve done a lot of touches, getting them in and having some fun. They are just a fun group to have.” Fall practices began Aug. 11 and team focused on figuring out who was going to be on what team. “Our focus was first off making the teams. The biggest part is going to be putting the puzzle together for the var sity. We have very talented senior and sophomore athletes. Now it’s just put ting the pieces together. We also really concentrated on fundamentals, and then we will progress as we go,” Richards said.The first couple of matches of the sea son, Richards said she will concentrate on the Lady Spartan side first. “We will kind of get our self settled in the game, focus on what we can control, and hopefully progress into analyzing what is happening on the other side, but really get ourselves settled from consis tency, and rock’n roll,” she said. Richards talked about the transition from assistant coach to being the head coach.“The biggest change has been the behind the scenes stuff more than the court stuff,” said Richards. “Just the organization of everything behind the scenes, and these girls’ are at a very high level, so making sure that we keep pushing them, but making sure we have the fundamentals very solid before we progress.”Ahomegame against Red Cloud on Aug.“Then25. after that, we travel to Huron for a tournament against some East River teams, they go to Hill City, then to a tournament in Gillette, Wyo. and I’m excited to see different teams down there, and it will be another opportunity to get the puzzle to fit perfect,” Richards said.Spearfish returns home Sept. 6 to face Rapid City Christian.

Members of the 2022 Spearfish High School volleyball team are, front row left: Lainey Ewing (manager), Sierra West, Callie Wince, coachBauman,OlivaMuth,KyliecoachBackcoachGrubb,AnnaRummelAldiWork,AssistantMiddleTudorDuncan,andTaylerSophia(manager).rowleft:coachHeidiKaliReiners,Reiners,Lola(manager),Hoffman,BayleeandheadShelbieRichards.rowleft:assistantTraciFranzen,Wheaton,AvaVaidaPeterson,Heairet,MariaandassistantGretchenWeir.

Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

Aug. 25 hosting Belle Fourche 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at Custer Tournament 8 a.m. Aug. 30 hosting Hot Springs 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at Wall High School 6:30 p.m. Sept. 6 at Edgemont 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at Spearfish 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Sept. 20 hosting Hill City 7 p.m. Sept. 22 hosting Philip 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at Red Cloud 6 p.m. Oct. 1 hosting Mile High Tournament 9 a.m. Oct. 4 hosting Harding County 7 p.m. Oct. 11 hosting New Underwood 7 p.m. Oct. 13 hosting Sturgis Brown 7 p.m. Oct. 18 hosting Douglas 7 p.m. Oct. 21 hosting Rapid City Christian 7 p.m. Oct. 25 at Custer 7 p.m.

GoodLuck,Diggers!

“I thought about my relationship with the girls. I’ve been with them for a few years; this year’s seniors were my first group when I was coaching sev enth grade,” Kappen said. Kappen went on to say she thinks she can bring many good things to the table. She has served as a Lead-Deadwood as sistant coach for four seasons. “I know I’ve got a great group of girls, and they know I’m going to do anything I can to make them better,” Kappen said. She added the players are willing to make sacrifice and work hard. Heart, hard work, and fundamentals form the cornerstones of Kappen’s coaching philosophy. Five seniors are on the varsity roster: hitters Allison Mollman, Tilli Katon, Gayle Thompson, Kennedy Grangaard, and Kaylee Bauernfiend. Junior class representation consists of three players. They are hitter Erica Hansen, libero Sydnie Percy, and defen sive specialist Allison Keehn. Setter Piper Rogers and hitter-setter Taylor Hansen are sophomores. Ninthgrader hitter Maeve Campbell rounds out the roster. “I’ve seen a lot of positivity from a lot of my upperclassmen,” Kappen said in outlining team strengths. She added she has also seen this from younger players. Kappen will look for commitment as practices and matches progress. “The girls are really going to need to buy in,” she said, adding that players missing practices must make up those sessions. “I’m going to be a lot more strict on playing time,” Kappen said. “Those who are at practice are earning their play ingThetime.”Golddiggers’ home opener is Aug. 25 against Belle Fourche. Other home matches at the Lead-Deadwood High School gym in Lead are against Hot Springs (Aug. 30), Hill City (Sept. 20), Custer (Sept. 29), Harding County (Oct. 4), New Underwood (Oct. 11), Sturgis Brown (Oct. 13), Douglas (Oct. 18), and Rapid City Christian (Oct. 21). Sioux Falls will host the state Class A tournament Nov. 17-19. “We’ve got a lot of great opponents in our conference and in the tournaments that we’re playing,” Kappen said in assessing the schedule. She added the Golddiggers could begin surprising some opponents in the season’s second half.Rapid City Christian and Hill City are Kappen’s favorites in the Black Hills Conference race. She said early-season play could pose quite a challenge before later-season improvement. Success for Kappen and the Golddiggers centers on players buying in to the new concepts she is introduc ing. She also cited the importance of communication and hustle. Practice sessions officially began on Aug. 11. Fundamentals dominated the early days, followed by game-like situa tions.The Golddiggers finished 4-22 last sea son and fell to Hill City at the Region 8A tournament. Jayna Prince and Rachel Janssen graduated from last season’s team.

Digger VB team undergoing change

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer LEAD — Lead-Deadwood volleyball will assume a different identity during a season that began Aug. 23 at Newell. Brooke Kappen is in her first season as head coach, succeeding Kim Hansen who stepped down after the 2021 cam paign. Kappen said the style of play will also differ from that of past teams. Kappen said changes include serve receive, defense, and serving styles. “It’s going to be a whole new ball game for us,” she added. Many players returning for this sea son boast a really strong fundamental base, Kappen said. She added the team atmosphere is also great. Her “improvement list” from last sea son to this includes grittiness and being willing to dive on the floor. Serving as head coach is not some thing Kappen had planned. One factor stood out above all else as she consid ered whether to take the next step.

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Lead-Deadwood’s varsity volleyball team is preparing for its 2022 season. Pictured are, back row from left: Kenney Grangaard, Kaylee Bauernfiend, Maeve Campbell, Erica Hansen, Taylor Hansen, and Tilli Katon. Front row from left: Sydnie Percy, Piper Rogers, Allison Mollman, Gayle Thompson, and Allison Keehn. Head coach Brooke Kappen is not pictured.

LEAD-DEADWOOD volleyball schedule

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Region 8A tournament play is slat ed for Nov. 1 and 3, with the Class A SoDak 16 event on Nov. 8. The state Class A tournament is in Sioux Falls, Nov. 17-19. “I think we have an awesome schedule,” Schlichtemeier said. She

cited Rapid City Christian, Hill City, Aberdeen Roncalli, the Lennox tour nament, Tea Area, and the Redfield tournament.Schlichtemeier tabbed Hill City and Rapid City Christian as favorites in the Black Hills Conference. She said the conference will be tough, and the Broncs will be competitive against all of those squads.

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BELLE FOURCHE

volleyball schedule

Sept. 2 hosting Mobridge-Pollock 3 p.m. Sept. 6 hosting St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Winner 6 p.m. Sept. 10 at Lennox Volleyball Tournament 7 p.m. Sept. 15 hosting Hot Springs 7 p.m. Sept. 20 hosting Rapid City Christian 7 p.m. Sept. 24 hosting Belle Fourche Tourney 9 a.m. Sept. 27 hosting Custer 7 p.m. Sept. 30 at Aberdeen Roncalli 7 p.m. Oct. 4 at Faith 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at Douglas 7 p.m. Oct. 11 hosting Spearfish 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at Red Cloud 6 p.m. Oct. 18 at St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Oct. 25 hosting Hill City 7 p.m.

Players worked on improving their physical conditioning during official practices starting on Aug. 11. That launched two days of tryouts, with team workouts beginning Aug. 15. Skills also receive a lot of emphasis. Belle Fourche fell to Hill City in last season’s Region 8A tournament to fin ish“I26-9.think we’d like to go back and have a better very last game,” Schlichtemeier said of 2022. Terlin Cazer, Allison Labrier, McKenzie Lyons, and Kaylin Garza gradated from last season’s team.

Belle Fourche’s varsity volleyball squad features, back row from left: Grace Clooten, Sloan Young, Mataya Ward, Ayden Kummer, Ava McLennan, and Dylan Stedillie. Front row from left: Adryana Hovland, Lily McCarty, Chloe Crago, and Avery Cherveny. Head coach Loree Schlichtemeier is not pictured. Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer BELLE FOURCHE — A roster fea turing seven seniors and three juniors will lead Belle Fourche’s Broncs into a varsity volleyball season that began Aug. 23 at Sturgis Brown. Setters Lily McCarty and Ayden Kummer, middle hitters Ava McLennan and Grace Clooten, right-side hitter Dylan Stedillie, outside hitter Adryana Hovland, and libero Chloe Crago rep resent the senior class. Juniors com pleting the roster are outside hitter Mataya Ward, outside hitter-middle hitter Sloan Young, and defensive spe cialist Avery “ExperienceCherveny.willbethe top thing. We’ve got some positions that have been filled pretty well,” said Broncs’ head coach Loree Schlichtemeier, who is in her 15th season. She hopes de fense will be another strength. “We’re really working on getting our offense, defense kind of stuff ready to go,” Schlichtemeier said. She add ed players are trying to get as many touches on a volleyball as possible. Belle Fourche’s home opener is Sept. 2 against Mobridge-Pollock. Other regular-season home matches at Edwin Petranek Armory are against St. Thomas More (Sept. 6), Hot Springs (Sept. 15), Rapid City Christian (Sept. 20), the Belle Fourche Invitational (Sept. 24), Custer (Sept. 27), Spearfish (Oct. 11), and Hill City (Oct. 25).

“We want to have a good finish to the season,” Schlichtemeier said. She add ed a state tournament berth would be the ultimate prize. Success for the season includes hav ing fun and being a better person, ac cording to Schlichtemeier.

1 hosting Rapid City Central 7 p.m.

By Tim Potts Black Hills Pioneer STURGIS — The lady Sturgis Scooper volleyball team will be re building this season after losing 12 seniors from last season but the play ers preseason goals are still to be in the top three teams in the conference and host a playoff game. Debbie Cano is in her third year as head coach said the number of athletes trying out this season is 53, with many that will be new to playing varsity and many individuals com peting for all positions. There are ten seniors, eleven juniors, twelve sopho mores, and twenty freshman.

Lady Scoopers volleyball team in rebuilding year

Cano said they hope to be one of the top contenders for the BHC title and the preseason team to beat would be Rapid City Christian. Cano will be assisted this year with Timmi Keisel and Tori Christopherson as assistant coaches. The Scoopers open the season on August 23, against the Belle Fourche Broncs.

Mitchell 6 p.m.

8 hosting Douglas 1:30 p.m.

Lead-Deadwood 7 p.m.

9 hosting Pierre T.F. Riggs 7 p.m.

Belle Fourche 7 p.m. Aug.

Tournament 9 a.m.

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Pioneer photo by Tim Potts

Hill City ..................................... 7 p.m.

Aug. hosting 26 at Aug. at Huron VB Aug. hosting at Sept. Sept. Sept. at Sept. hosting Sept. at Sept. at Oct. at Oct. Oct. at Oct. at Nov.

Spearfish 7 p.m.

Cano talked about several areas the Scoopers will be concentrating on this season. “We are looking to improve our blocking and our defense this sea son.”Team captains are the start of the season will be Zoey Holt, Sage Graham, and Faith King. Brianna Neuschwander and Lane Septka will be starting as the libero. The lady Scoopers lost 12 seniors from last season, losing a lot of ath letes that saw most of the varsity ac tion so this year they will be rebuild ing.Zoey Holt, a senior this season said she wants to learn from each win and loss this season. “As our volleyball season is about to begin, there are many fun and exciting things about this season that we are looking for ward to. One of our strong points is that we have chemistry that some of our teams in past years have not had. On and off the court we are recog nized as a group of girls that work well together,” said Holt. “As for my goals this year, I hope that we obvious ly have more wins than loses and my main focus for my senior year is to be able to learn something from every win and loss we have. I think this can help us achieve our goals and become a better and well-rounded team.” Sage Graham, a senior, commended on growing relationships within the team. “As a senior, my biggest goal for this season is to be the team the younger girls look up too. I hope we can show them how to play as a team and how to have each others backs, on and off the court,” said Graham. “I expect to build upon and grow new relationships between my teammates, and of course win!”

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown High School volleyball team are, back row left: Avreigh Long, Sage Graham, Faith King, Emmy Sargent, Zoey Holt, Norah Iverson, Kelsy Costello, and Macy Wise. Front row left: Emmie Sargent, Tessa Gary, Brianna Neuschwander, Emma Weinberger, Rachel Banks, Layne Septka Allyson Tedder, Avery Fogelman, and Taesha Monahan.

10 hosting Aberdeen Central 1 p.m.

Red Cloud 2 p.m. Oct. 25 hosting Rapid City Stevens 7 p.m.

St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Sept. 6

Douglas ...................................... 7 p.m.

Hot Springs 7 p.m.

Spearfish 7 p.m.

Custer........................................... 7 p.m.

STURGIS BROWN volleyball schedule

SCOOPERS!WINNINGHAVEcare!ASEASON

it hosts Lead-Deadwood at Austin Auditorium. The Irrigators also host Harding County (Aug. 29), Bison (Sept. 13), McIntosh (Sept. 27), Wall (Sept. 29), New Underwood (Oct. 13), Takini (Oct. 17), and Faith (Oct. 24). Faith will host the Little Moreau Conference tournament on Sept. 24, with the Region 8B tournament start ing Oct. 31. Sioux Falls hosts the state Class B tournament Nov. 17-19. McDonald said the Irrigators’ sched ule is customary, with a number of familiar programs.

“They know what this program means to their community. They know we fought hard to have a program that’s tough and top of their region,” McDonald said in outlining the Irrigators’ strong suits. McDonald said the most fun aspect of teaching these athletes is the pro gram growth along with yearly im provement.“Theone thing we have to work on is keeping our winning mentality,” said McDonald, who is in her fifth season as Irrigators’ head coach. She added the squad tends to reflect too long on difficultNewelllosses.began it season Aug. 23, when

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Newell’s varsity volleyball squad features, back row from left: Hailey McCann, Megan Jackson, Jaelyn Wendt, and Taylor Gaer. Front row from left: Kiara Stomprud, Kim Johnson, and Stacy Mahaffy. Head coach Tysha McDonald is not pictured. Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer NEWELL — A squad of seven play ers will represent Newell to begin its varsity volleyball season. Head coach Tysha McDonald cited senior outside hitter Taylor Gaer and junior right-side hitter Kim Johnson as key returning players, adding both lead well and are quite versatile on the court.Setter Stacy Mahaffy and libero Kaira Stomprud also represent the senior class. Middle hitters Megan Jackson and Jaylen Wendt are juniors. Sophomore Hailey McCann rounds out the roster.

McDonald anticipates a close Little Moreau Conference race among Faith, Newell, and possibly Lemmon. She said the Irrigators match up very well against all conference opponents. “Coaches want to create good kids and kids we’re proud of in the future,” McDonald said in outlining require ments for a successful season. “They left our program better people for their lives.”Official practice sessions began on Aug. 11. Players worked on learning an offense McDonald said takes advantage on players’ athleticism. Rotations and boosting volleyball knowledge also as sume a portion of practice sessions. “This year, we need to work better as a team,” McDonald said. She added it is not always easy for coaches to learn how players may connect as a group.

“We know what we’ve got to work on in order to get ahead of them,” McDonald added. “I’m certain it’s the same for them; that’s always fun to see how we can battle it out.”

Newell finished 13-18 last season and fell three games to one to Harding County in the Region 8B tournament. Sydnee Kjellsen graduated from that squad.

Aug. 29 hosting Harding County 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at Custer 7p.m. Sept. 8 at Oelrichs 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at Bison 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at Triangular with Tiospaye Topa 4 p.m. Sept. 22 at Hill City 7 p.m. Sept. 27 hosting McIntosh 7 p.m. Sept. 29 hosting Wall 7 p.m. Oct. 4 at Dupree 7 p.m. Oct. 11 Edgemont 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at New Underwood 7 p.m. Oct. 17 hosting Takini 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Timber Lake 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at Dupree Triangular 11 a.m. Oct. 24 hosting Faith.................................. 7 p.m.

NEWELL volleyball schedule

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“This is my fifth year doing pre season and fall camp. I can really say this year, more than others, our team has just meshed in the past, and something com ing in as a senior I was a little concerned about. With the fact there insigne return ers and seven new people just made me nervous. I wondered f everyone is going fit in, I wondered if everyone going to mesh together, especially coming into last year,” said Hoopman. “I can confidential ly say that every new person that came in has an amazing personality, and they have stepped up not only meshing wise, but also play wise. They come in and they were intimidated at all. They just stepped on the court, and they pushed every sin gle return. So, it has been really special.” Hoopman said she was also nervous having a new coaching staff come in. “I was a little nervous bringing in a new coaching staff different from what we’ve had in the past, but it’s been awe some. Coach Bree (Davis) and Coach Jess (Hibl) have come in and they brought transition, so its been a pretty great pre season so far, and we’ve definitely had some highs and lows, but being able to bounce back from those mental hurdles, and stuff like that, has been super im pressive to me”, she said. Davis praised junior libero Haedyn Rhoades and freshman Katie Bell. “Haedyn Rhoades returns as our libero. Again, I think she is playing some of her best volleyball I’ve seen her play. Katie Bell is a libero out of Colorado Springs, Colo. Not only is she truly a special kid, I think everybody fell in love with her right away. She is also a pretty solid back row player for us,” said Davis. ” It’s been kind of fun seeing our kids hit our stride at the same time.”

BHSU volleyball schedule

Lady has interim head coach

Black Hills State kicks off its 2022 preseason schedule Aug. 26-27 at a tourna ment at Rockhurst University in Kansas City,ThereMo.we are going to see No. 16 Hillsdale (Hillsdale, Mich.), I am super excited,” said Davis. “The RMAC sent five teams to nationals last year, one of the best volleyball conferences in the country, and so having a big preseason helps us prepare us for what we are going to hit when we get to the RMAC. “It’s going to be a heavy preseason for us, but I do think our athletes are ready. We have 16 players on the roster, which is kind of a sweet spot for us, having that even number, and even with our new people I like how our team has just really meshed so far,” Davis said.

Aug. 26 vs. Rockhurst University noon Aug. 26 vs. Missouri Western State University 4 p.m. Aug. 27 vs. Minnesota State University-Mankato 10 a.m. Aug. 27 vs. Hillsdale College 4 p.m. Sept. 1 vs. Alaska Fairbanks 7:30 p.m. Sept. 2 vs. Arkansas Fort Smith.......... 9:30 a.m. Sept. 2 Alaska Anchorage 5 p.m. Sept. 3 Florida Southern College 5 p.m. Sept. 6 hosting South Dakota Mines ........ 7 p.m. Sept. 10 Colorado State University-Pueblo 3 p.m. Sept. 16 hosting Chadron State College 7 p.m. Sept. 17 hosting Colorado School of Mines .. 3 p.m. Sept. 20 at South Dakota Mines TBD Sept. 24 at Regis University TBD Sept. 30 at Colorado Christian TBD Oct. 1 at Metro State-Denve TBD Oct. 7 hosting Colorado Mesa University 7 p.m. Oct. 8 hosting Westminster College 3 p.m. Oct. 14 hosting Western Colorado University 7 p.m. Oct. 15 hosting Fort Lewis College 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at Adams State University TBD Oct. 22 at New Mexico Highlands University TBD Oct. 28 hosting U-C Colorado Springs 7 p.m. Oct. 29 hosting Colorado State University-Pueblo 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Colorado School of Mines TBD Nov. 5 at Chadron State College TBD

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — Bree Davis is the inter im head coach for the Black Hills State University women’s volleyball team, replacing Kristin Carmichael, who was named the new assistant athletics direc tor for student-athlete success and senior woman administrator (SWA). Davis was an assistant under Carmichael for the 2021 season. “I am super excited to be taking over this position, and I am super honored. I feel very lucky and grateful that I go to take over such a wonderful program that Kristin has built,” said Davis. “A lot of times when you take over a new program, you’re kind of rebuilding, and doing all the cultural things to kind of make it your own, but I am super fortunate to inherit a program that had a really firm foundation and culture. So it’s been fun to the that over after learning from Kristin lastTheyear.”Lady Jackets volleyball program will be bringing in some new players this season.“This year we brought in seven new comers, which is about half of our team. Eight newcomers if you count our trans fer that we got in the spring. We have three from Wyoming (right-side hitter Alysom Louderback, pin hitter Emily Freeland, and libero Erin Weibel, and two for Colorado (Katie Bell and Audrey Brgoch), and then a freshman from Phoenix, Ariz. (setter Jadyn Armstrong). We also had a transfer from Western, Wyoming, who is originally from Henefer, Utah (setter Hannah Lamond). During the spring we gained a middle transfer (Casey Widdoss) from Oceanside, Calif., so we are all over the map there.” Davis said.“We are also returning five seniors (Karly Marx, Brooke Franklin, Kindra Cerrone, Mariah Robinson, and Madison Hoopman), and we do have a great group coming back,” said Davis. “Kindra Cerrone is going to play a new role for us. In the past she’s more of six-row outside hitter, and she’s going to be playing on the right side this year. I think we are going to see her shine out there. Her blocking and defense has improved alot in the last year, and I’m really excited to see what she can do out there.” Hoopman said initially she was con cerned about team chemistry.

Jackets volleyball

Pioneer file photos

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By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH —The Spearfish high school cross country team is looking forward to another successful season thisAndyfall.VanDeest, the Spearfish cross country coach, said both teams had a good“Lastyear.year was a great season for the girls team. They placed sixth overall at the state meet, and that was incredible,” said“ThisVanDeest.yearI think we are going to be focusing on trying to better our per formance at conference, and at state as well,” VanDeest said. “Hopefully we can improve on that sixth place finish, with having a good chunk of those girls’ com ingSpearfishback.” hopes to perform better at the Black Hills Conference meet this year.VanDeest said the Lady Spartans had a few standout performances at state. “Peyton placing as high as she did (sixth, with a time of 18:28.03) as a sev enth grader was pretty awesome. Kori Keil getting in the top 25 (21st with a time of 19:57.39) was pretty cool. So we will be looking for those two girls to per form well again this year, and hopefully get some help from the other girls as well.

Members of the 2022 Spearfish High School boys cross country team are, front row left: Preston Davis, Casey Nauta, Darrell Walking, Hugh Roles, Kyler Pietzyk, and Thomas Anglin. Back row, left: assistant coach Dylan Moro, Will Scharf, Paul Hourigan, Jase Dee, Ben Baloun, Chase Dowdy, Jack Faulkner. Not pictured are Owen Bruner, Treighton Noteboom, and Nyra Schultz. Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles

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Members of the 2022 Spearfish High School cross country team are, front row left: Auna Taglioli, Jonnie Jensen, Madeline Schlup, Ella Urdiales, Madi Donovan, and Kori Keil. Back row left: assistant coach Dylan Moro, Maria Eisenbraun, Peyton VanDeest, Chloe Cottrill, Sierra Sandford, and head coach Andy VanDeest. Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles SPEARFISH cross country schedule

On the boys’ side, the Spartan boys’ finished 14th at state last year, and were led by Keenan Urdiales, who earned run ner-up honors in the boys’ division, with a time of “Having15:53.76.Keenan gone this year will hurt us a little bit, but the young fresh men squad we had last year performed really well. So, we will be looking for those guys to really step up,” said VanDeest. “I know a lot of them put in some offseason mileage this summer. Again just trying to improve on our fin ishes from conference and state on the boys“Caseyside.(Nauta) didn’t have a real good state meet (finished 78th in 18:02.92), but he has put in a solid summer of training. Paul Hourigan (80th place in 18:03.16) is a senior this year, and we will be looking for him to step up and help kind of lead these young boys. Those two guys will be the ones, and if they can put it together and share, and lead by example, I think the rest of the boys will fall in pretty good,” VanDeest said. The team numbers for the Spearfish cross country this year has grown. “I’m very happy with where our num bers are at, this year,” said VanDeest. “This is probably one of the biggest teams we have had in a long time, so I think once school starts, we will have about 20 kids on the roster, so that is a pretty good size.” VanDeest said he was pleased with both teams physical condition when they arrived for the first practice Aug. 11.“The girls’ had a good group that trained together all summer, and kind of the same with the boys. They were just kind of meeting on their own and every thing and putting in some miles, so I’m very pleased with their conditioning,” heSpearfishsaid. will host a cross country meet Sept. 2, at Evans Park, in Spearfish.

Aug. 25 at Douglas 9 a.m. Sept. 2 hosting XC meet at Evans Park 10 a.m. Sept. 8 at Belle Fourche noon Sept. 15 at Custer 2 p.m. Sept. 17 at Huron 8 a.m. Sept. 23 at RC Hart Ranch 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Lead CC 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at Sturgis XC 1:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at Hot Springs 1 p.m. Oct. 13 at RC Hart Ranch 2 p.m. Oct. 22 at state (Huron) TBD

Lead-Deadwood’s cross country teams begin their season Aug. 30. Members include, back row from left: assistant coach Joseph McKeown, Ethan Van Tassel, Jonas Runge, Tyler Todd, Greyson Baumberger, Claire Hannah, Hallie Pearson, and head coach Erik Person. Front row from left: Ezias Nelson, Kale Williams, Nevada McMahon, Clarissa Heisinger, and Harlow McCauley.

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Senior Clarissa Heisinger, plus sophomores Claire Hannah and Hallie Person, boast the most experience on the Golddigger girls’ team. Ninthgrader Nevada McMahon and sev enth-grader Harlow McCauley complete the“We’veteam. got some strong returners and a couple of good senior leaders,” Person said of the Golddiggers’ team strengths. He cited Heisinger, Baumberger, and Hallie Person (the 2020 state Class B girls’ champion at Burke).

Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

Ethan Van Tassel and Greyson Baumberger represent the senior class on the boys’ team. Sophomores Ezias Nelson and Jonas Runge, ninth-grader Tyler Todd, and eighth-grader Kale Williams round out the squad.

Most runners will need to continue work on building their base, Person said. He said other runners will move into speed workouts and build their strength.RapidCity Christian will host the Black Hills Conference meet on Oct. 6. The Region 5A meet is slated for Oct. 13 at Rapid City’s Hart Ranch. Huron will host the state A meet on Oct. 22.

“We’ve got a variety of meets rang ing from the Augie Twilight in Sioux Falls to the Huron Invitational on the state meet course,” Person said of the Golddiggers’ schedule. He added LeadDeadwood also has some smaller meets for younger team members to gain suc cess.Person’s Black Hills Conference fa vorites include Custer and Hill City in the girls’ division, along with St. Thomas More and Belle Fourche. “Our goal is to be competitive, teamwise, at the end of the season,” Person said in comparing the Golddiggers to the conference teams. He added it would be a challenge to have four athletes, for each team, on the starting line in the conference and region meets.

LEAD-DEADWOOD cross country schedule

Aug. 26 at Newcastle Invite 11 a.m. Sept. 2 at Yankton Invite 6 p.m. Sept. 8 at Belle Fourche Invite noon Sept. 15 Knudson Custer Invite 2 p.m. Sept. 17 Clyde Cotton Invite 9 a.m. Sept. 23 Hart Ranch Invite 1 p.m. Sept. 27 at Tomahawk Country Club Invite 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29 Sturgis Invitational 1 p.m. Oct. 13 at Hart Ranch Region 5A 12:30 p.m

“The number 1 measure of success for us is going to be: at the end of the season, are we better than we were in the first week?” Person said. He added season-long health is also a priority for theSuccesssquads.depends on continuing to build mental toughness, Person said. He agreed hard work, confidence, and coming in every day ready to improve are also Officialkey.practice sessions began on Aug. 11. Focal points include base build ing and long interval work. Person said the 2021 Golddigger squads largely improved as the season progressed. He added that squad built a solid foundation for the 2022 campaign. Improvements from one season to the next come down to the individual, according to Person. He said teams are stressing each individual’s task to place as highly as they can. Landen Williams graduated from last season’s team.

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer LEAD — Eleven Lead-Deadwood cross country runners begin their seasons Aug. 30 as Dr. Erik Person makes his coaching debut for the Golddiggers. The Golddiggers open their season at home Aug. 30 at the Tomahawk golf course. Person succeeds Will Malde, who stepped down to guide the varsity girls’ basketball team this winter. Six boys and five girls are on the ros ter as of press time. “Everybody is vital to the team’s success,” Person said.

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Aug. 26 at Douglas Invite 9 a.m. Sept. 2 at Northern Hills Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 8 Belle Fourche Invite noon Sept. 15 at Eldon Knudson Custer Invitational 2 p.m. Sept. 23 Hart Ranch 4A 1 p.m.

Belle Fourche girls competing in high school cross country include, back row from left: Allison Hayes, Ayseluna Hockenbary, Lily Nore, and Alanah Pomrenke. Front row from left: Kyra Vandenberg, Adeline Hayes, Ava Allen, and Shaine Weishaar. Head coach Jeremy Elsom is not pictured. Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

your team

BELLE FOURCHE cross country schedule

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer BELLE FOURCHE — Belle Fourche returns the defending state Class A boys’ cross country champion and everyone else from a team that placed fourth at state for a campaign set to begin Aug. 26 inSawyerDouglas.Clarkson won the individual title in 2021 and returns for his senior season.Junior Aiden Voyles claimed ninth place at state. Eighth-grader Lennon Clarkson (37th place), sophomore Zach Tonsager (49th), junior Harley Rivera (57th), and senior Nic Lambert (76th) also contributed to Belle Fourche’s fourth-place state finish; believed to be its best ever. Lane Krautschun, a junior transfer student from Bison, has also joined the boys’ team. He claimed the state Class B individual title in 2021. Seven other high school boys are on the roster. They are junior Justus Funk; sophomore Grey Carlson; and ninth-graders Carsyn Hahne, Sern Weishaar, Malachi Funk, Owen Walding, and Tegan Fredrickson. The Belle Fourche girls’ team includes eight members. Eighth-grader Kyra Vandenberg placed 30th at last season’s state Class A meet. Junior Ava Allen claimed 77th place. Ayseluna Hockenbary and Alanah Pomrenke represent the senior class on the girls’ roster. Juniors Shaine Weishaar and Allison Hayes, sophomore Lily Nore, and ninth-grader Adeline Hayes round out the squad. Returning experience and dedication represent strong suits for the Broncs. “They’ve shown their dedication to the team by putting in all the preseason work,” head coach Jeremy Elsom said. He is in his second season. Elson said the Broncs will increase the program’s intensity this season. Belle Fourche begins its season Aug. 26 at the Douglas Early Bird meet. Its invitational is slated for Sept. 8 at Belle Fourche Country Club. Black Hills Conference meet action is set for Oct. 6 at Rapid City Christian. Rapid City’s Hart Ranch hosts the Region 5A meet Oct. 13, with the state meet Oct. 22 in Huron. Elsom said the competition in Douglas will be stiff, and the slate is very similar to that of past years. As for the Black Hills Conference race, Elsom prefers to focus on his squad and let things fall wherever they do.

“The ideal goal would be to better our standing at state from last year,” Elsom said when asked how the Broncs would define success this fall. Official practice sessions got under way on Aug. 11. Athletes have engaged in long runs along with time trials. Belle Fourche athletes may use last season to begin setting a foundation for 2022.“They can look back on last season and see the hard work, dedication, and determination they showed then,” Elsom said. “It’s going to take that level and greater this season.” Elsom said it is important for athletes to work together as a team. He added athletes would jockey for positions.

Belle Fourche boys competing in high school cross country include, back row from left: Lennon Clarkson, Owen Walding, Aiden Voyles, Harley Rivera, and Tegan Fredrickson. Middle row from left: Justus Funk, Grey Carlson, Saryn Weishaar, and Malachi Funk. Front row from left: Nic Lambert, Lane Krautschun, Sawyer Clarkson, and Carsyn Hahne. Zach Tonsager and Head coach Jeremy Elsom is not pictured. Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

“Ray was a phenomenal kid and his presence and attitude that he brought to the program every day, every year, will certainly be missed. Ray left some big shoes to fill, however we have a few guys that I think are eager to step in and attempt to take on that role,” said Proefrock.Thisyear’s boys team will have 4 senior runners: Graf, Bruch, Koontz, andPetrocco,Lurz. a junior, said the team has big goals for the season.

Proefrock said the depth and expe

“Custer, Hill City, and Spearfish have recently had some very good teams, so it will be extremely difficult to win the conference again this year,” said Proefrock.Overallboth teams are just really excited to get back going again this season, and there is undoubtedly a lot of optimism in the program this year. If the Scoopers can stay healthy and continue to put in the work, they hope to surprise some people at the state Class AA State meet.

Deron Graf, placed 13th with a time of 16:41.73, followed by Ty Petrocco who came in 31st place, Morgan Papenfuss finished in 32nd place, and Beck Bruch finished 34th. For the Lady Scoopers, Lucy Hamer placed 23rd, Keelin Dinkins placed 39th, Iris Zylstra placed 50th, Paige Willnerd placed 59th, and Emilie Reedy finished 78th. Ray Henderson was the only senior last season, and his leadership will definitely be missed.

Pioneer photo by Tim Potts

Blake Proefrock is in his eighth year as Sturgis Browns cross country head coach, and he said the team forward to this fall season that begins at the Douglas Invitational Aug. 26, at the Prairie Ridge Golf Course, in Box Elder.“We are very optimistic about the upcoming season. We have pretty good goals set and a few runners that put in some extra mileage this summer. We are really looking forward to com peting at every meet,” said Proefrock.

rience both teams have coming back, definitely bodes well for this season, though they will be challenged in the Black Hills Conference.

“The Black Hills Conference is so tough every year that it is very hard to predict. So many schools have strong runners, however I would hope that both our boys and girls teams have a chance to contend,” said Proefrock.

“Many of our athletes feel that they have a lot to prove. So many things have to go right to be successful, for instance our girls team had a pretty good showing at state last year with an eighth place finish and two of our girls finished the race with just one shoe, so who knows how it could have turned out!” Proefrock said.

“Our boys team would like to go for a third consecutive conference title and again reach the state meet podium. Our girls team also thinks they might have what it takes to knock off some of the tough competition that this con ference holds. It really is always fun to start another season and get back to a meet and see so many familiar faces.”

FALL 2022 PAGE 19SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

Returning lettermen on the boys team are: Deron Graf, Ty Petrocco, Morgan Papenfuss, Connor Lurz, Owen Koontz, and Beck Bruch. Returning female letter winners are: Paige Willnerd, Lucy Hamer, Iris Zylstra, Emilie Reedy, Josie Reedy, and KeelinProefrockDinkins.mentioned several run ners to watch this season, as they placed well at the state meet last year.

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Kneeling from the left: Morgan Papenfuss, Manny Jaramillo, Ty Petrocco, Taylor Colunga, and Kale Fenner. Sitting from left: Chase Walker, Trinity Thomson, Quinn Bruck, and Kian Loftin.

Good Luck!

By Tim Potts

Black Hills Pioneer STURGIS — The Sturgis Brown High School cross country team will challenge themselves with some lofty goals for the fall season, including retaining the boys conference title and for the girls to capture the confer ence title, and both teams striving to be on the podium at the state meet in October.Theboys team returns all but one runner from last season where they won the Black Hills Conference meet, and took sixth place at the state meet. The girls team returns all of their run ners that placed third at conference and eighth at state.

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown boys cross country team includes, back row from left: Deron Graf, Connor Lurz, Owen Koontz, Beck Bruch, Cash Daigle, and Hunter Barnhart.

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown girls cross country team include, back row from left: Emilie Reedy, Lucy Hamer, Paige Willnerd, Iris Zylstra, and Josie Reedy. Front row from left: Charlee Bierle, Keelin Dinkins, Brinna Sheldon, and Jade Mueller. Pioneer photo by Tim Potts

STURGIS BROWN cross country schedule

“I think overall as a team we have big aspirations for this upcoming sea son and we are all looking forward to it. For our boys team, we are coming off a sixth place finish at state. I would say a one of our main goals as a team is to come home with a top three finish at the state meet as well as another conference title. Overall I’m ready to work hard and can’t wait for the sea son to start,” Petrocco said. The boys team won a few meets last year including the conference meet and also placed high in many others. They were able to get on the podium at state with a sixth place finish. The girls team was runner-up at one meet and third at a few others.

Sturgis Cross Country team sets lofty goals

Aug. 26 at Douglas Invite 9 a.m. Sept. 2 at Northern Hills Invitational noon Sept. 8 at Belle Fourche Invite noon Sept. 15 at Eldon Knudson Custer Invitational 2 p.m. Sept. 17 at Clyde Cotton Invitational 9 a.m. Sept. 23 at Hart Ranch 1 p.m. Sept. 29 Sturgis Invitational 1 p.m. Oct. 13 Hart Ranch 4A 2 p.m.

Newell cross country teams for this fall feature, back row from left: Evelyn Ahart, Natalie Yates, Bethany Mahaffy, Rachel Erk, Sarah Kirby, and Stacy Mahaffy. Front row from left: David Kirby and Clint Winkler.

NEWELL cross country schedule

Photo courtesy of Kyle Sanderson

FALL 2022PAGE 20 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

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Oct. 12 Region 5B

noon Oct. 22

Huron TBA

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer NEWELL — Seven athletes will rep resent Newell in a cross country season slated to begin Aug. 26 at the Douglas Early Bird meet. Stacy Mahaffy and Sarah Kirby represent the senior class on the Irrigator girls’ team. Junior Rachel Erk, eighth-grader Natalie Yates, eighth-grader Bethany Mahaffy, and sixth-grader Evelyn Ahart round out theErkroster.finished 28th at last season’s state Class B meet. Bethany Mahaffy earned 51st place, with Stacy Mahaffy finishing 106th, Natalie Yates 109th, and Sarah Kirby 114th as the Irrigators placed 13th as a team. Two sophomores will compete for Newell in the boys’ division. They are Clint Winkler and David Kirby. Newell head coach Kyle Sanderson said the program is low on numbers, but the girls will be able to field a full team at meets. He is in his 10th season and agreed every member is key. “The strong point on the girls’ side, I would say, is experience,” Sanderson said. He added Sarah Kirby and Stacy Mahaffy are longtime competitors in the sport, with Erk enjoying much suc cess at conference and state meets. “On the boys’ side, we’ve got some youth, but we’ve got some really hard workers,” Sanderson said. Current focus centers on rounding athletes into racing shape, according to Sanderson. He added future aims in clude being stronger during the middle portion of races, which span 5 kilome ters. Longer workouts aim to bolster that strength, Sanderson said. Newell will host the Little Moreau Conference meet on Sept. 16. This year’s Region 5B meet is set for Oct. 12 in Philip, with the state B meet in Huron on Oct. 22. “We see quite a bit of variety throughout the season,” Sanderson said in outlining the Irrigators’ sched ule. It begins with Class B competition before featuring other leading runners in the Black SandersonHills.envisions a wide-open boys’ division in the conference, with Bison the probable favorite. Lemmon is Sanderson’s favorite in the girls’ di vision.“Ithink we’re going to be able to hang in there just fine,” Sanderson said in comparing his athletes to others in the conference. He added he would like to see the boys compete for top-10 fin ishes, with the girls in the top three at conference and region. “Week in and week out: if we can stay healthy and go into every meet ready to run our best race, that’s all I can ask for,” Sanderson said. He add ed success also builds on season-long progress.Official practice sessions started on Aug. 11. Early efforts centered on build ing speed and strength with endurance. Sanderson said he would like to see returning athletes used last season’s success to motivate them for 2022. He added he is looking for the younger runners to not be afraid of making moves in Garrettmid-race.Winklergraduated from last season’s team.

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Small Newell XC teams ready to go

Aug. 26 at Douglas Early Bird meet 9 a.m. Aug. 30 at Lead-Deadwood Invitational 9 a.m. Sept. 2 at Faith Invitational 9 a.m. Sept. 8 at Belle Fourche Invitational noon Sept. 16 Little Moreau Conference meet at Newell 2 p.m. Sept 23 at Rapid City Invitational, Hart Ranch 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Lemmon Invitational 1 p.m. Sept. 29 at Sturgis Invitational, Fort Meade 1 p.m. Sept. 30 at Timber Lake Invitational 1 p.m. Oct. at Philip Invitational a.m. meet at Philip State B meet at

you, your

BHSU cross country schedule

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BHSU XC has big goals for 2022 season

Medigovich explained why scoring wise you want the least amount of points“Scoringpossible.wise, it is like golf in a way, the lower the score the better,” MedigovichMedigovichsaid.added that it doesn’t

On the men’s side, returners are Keith Osowski, Matt Parker, Hayden Grosz, Lincoln Fleischman, Britton Elkin, Wyatt Dooley, and Tim Brown. Osowski, was an All-American last year in the steeple chase, he placed fourth overall, and he will be counted on to be the one of the team’s leaders. Osowski discussed training when he is not in school, and when he is in school.“Ithink my training is a little easier in the all and spring, because I’m not working. Obviously there is time man agement involved, and I think all ath letes have managed to do that,” Osowski discusses his role as a team leader.“Ilike leading by example for one thing. Every single day this summer I just like to get outside and it’s like 90 degrees outside to go run, but we’ve got to go do it, and a lot of the guys are al ready fit right now. I think its just kind of fine tuning at this point, and listen ing to what coach tells us,” Osowski said. “Small details like stretching make sure we are injury free, and hav ing all of our eyes set on the nationals. I think we are all pretty set on making it this year as a team, and I believe we really can make it.”

“With the women’s team we are still kind of small number wise. We have kind of a big, good size incoming class, but most of the freshmen will redshirt this year, Medigovich said. “We have four returners on the women’s side, so we don’t have a big squad by any means, that will be racing, so most like ly on the ladies side we will be kind of going for individual glory.”

Understand Commitment

your

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The Black Hills State University cross country team is hoping to make some noise this sea son in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.BrianMedigovich begins his second season as the Yellow Jackets cross country coach, and this season he is also the director of track and field and crossMedigovichcountry. discussed the distances the men and women cross country run ners“Onrace.the guys side, they typically race at eight-kilometers, which is roughly just shy of five miles (4.97). From re gionals on they do 10-kilometers, which is just over six miles,” said Medigovich. “The ladies go five-kilometers until we get to conference, and then it’s six-kilo meters, which is roughly 3.66 miles.”

Sept. 9 hosting Gage McSpadden Memoria TBD Sept. 17 at Chadron State Open TBD Oct. 7 at Yellowjacket Open TBD Oct. 22 at Pre-Nationals 10 a.m. Nov. 5 at RMAC Championships TBD

matter how many runners you have in the race, only the top five runners from each team score points.

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you

Black Hills State will open at the Gage McSpadden Memorial, Sept. 10, in Spearfish.

Returning for the women’s team are: Senior, Xiomara Robinson. She was an All-American last year, she was 21st in the NCAA championships, the highest finisher in BHSU history on the wom en’s side. Also returning are: Sylvia Brown, Jillian Brennan, and Katie Knutson.Themen’s team will have strong numbers.“Evenwith some of the freshmen redshirting, we should still have about 14 or 15 running this year, so our side we are hoping they will have a chance to bring a team to the national cham pionships this year,” said Medigovich. “We will be considerably better on the guys side. We basically return ev eryone, plus we have some new guys, transfers and stuff like that.”

Pioneer file photos

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — Jim Hill, the Spartans head soccer coach, said the team has high expectations going into the 2022 season.“Going into the season last year I thought we would have a good year, and season, and just hoping we could do well, not expecting to be ousted in the first playoff game,” Hill said. He said the team was in position to make a deep run in the Class AA state playoffs“Weleft ourselves in a good spot going into the playoff,” but the goalkeeper from Rapid City Central had the game of his life,” said Hill. “As we went back through film, he saved nine shots that was considered world class saves if you are at the professional level. You just don’t predict those things happening to you.”Hill said in the playoff game against the Cobblers the players were frustrated they couldn’t score, but they were most worried about going into a shootout. “But what scared them was we had a brand new keeper last year. He had never kept before, never played soccer before, and we just did not want to go to a shootout,” Hill said. “That was prob ably the scariest part for them was at that point, they knew their chances were diminished.”Spearfishwill have a young team this season, with the junior class being the strong point of the team. “We have a very skillful team, and have a lot of young talent. Our junior class is very strong. There is a lot of quality in that class, along with our seven seniors we have out. Our problem this year is going to be, can we consis tently play very well,” Hill said. “We went to the Rushmore Cup and did real well there, and then we went down to Colorado and did well, but at times did not play real well.”

SPEARFISH boys’ soccer schedule

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“Anytime we go east and have to play two games, if we can go 1-1, it was a good weekend,” Hill said. Against Aberdeen Central, Hill said the score at Aberdeen was close at 3-2, when Aberdeen Central scored two goals to win “Those5-2.were two goals that they never should have gone in, but that’s life,” Hill said.Hill said he was pleased with how the team played in a 2-0 win over Pierre. “We played real well against them (Pierre). They played a little more phys ical than we are used to in the first half, and we dealt with that well,” said Hill. “We came out the second half and they really showed they wanted to win. They were willing to work hard to make sure they came out with at least one win, on theHilltrip.”said the team came out of those two games, mostly injury free. “We came out of those two games pretty healthy. We had a couple of little dings here and there, but nothing that’s serious,” he said. Hill wants his team to set themselves up in a good position, come playoff time. ”If we can be in the six, seven, or eight position at the end of the season, that would be great. That way you at least get your first game at home,” said Hill. “Depending on how we do over the next two weekends (Aug. 19-20 and Aug. 26-27) will make a real determination for where we will be at the end of the season.”

Aug. 26 at O’Gorman 6 p.m. Aug. 27 at Yankton 11 a.m. Sept. 6 hosting Belle Fourche 7 p.m. Sept. 13 hosting Sturgis Brown ................ 7 p.m. Sept. 15 hosting Douglas 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at Sturgis Brown 6 p.m. Sept. 24 hosting RC Central noon Sept. 27 hosting St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at RC Stevens 7 p.m.

Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles

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First row left: Gavin Yackley, Caleb Verhulst, Evan Duncan, Jayce Sanford, Rodriguez,Dragoand Connor Chapman. Second row left: Isaac Ranek, Tayte Schatz, Connor Kline, Ryder Allbright, Coy Hamilton, Kadin Gonzales, and Riley Skavang. Third row left: Trey Ludens, Owen Schave, Ryder Niesent, Riley Pollreisz, Kaleb Ranek, Nick Wise, and Max Engen. Back row left: Head Coach Jim Hill, Nate Allred, Ayden Verhulst, Brody Janvrin, Jacob Donner, Rudy Isburg, Kelen Scott, Leo Isburg, and Reagan Niesent.

Spearfish opened its season Aug. 12 at Pierre, and won 2-0, but the next day they lost to Aberdeen Central, 5-2.

Spartans soccer has high expectations this season

By Dennis Knuckles Back Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The Spearfish Spartans are excited for the start of the girls high school soccer season to begin. In 2020, Spearfish was 10-5, and im proved to 11-4 last season under Justin Griffith, who begins his second season as the Lady Spartans head coach. Spearfish suffered a disappointing loss, 2-0, to Rapid City Stevens in the Class AA state playoffs last season

Hannah Bjorkman is a senior captain on this year’s team. Bjorkman has been played soccer for the Lady Spartans since she was in the eighth grade. “ I am looking forward to bonding more with my team and getting closer with some of the JV girls, especially the ones in the eighth grade, just so they can have a greater experience than what I experienced in middle school. That way it will create that bond as they get older, and I’m excited just to win,” Bjorkman said.Bjorkman still remembers losing 2-0 to Rapid City in the state Class AA playoffs last season. “I think attitude is a big one because at that Stevens game when we got scored on, we really got down on ourselves, and I’d like to see us improve on our attitude when we get scored on. Not let it get into our heads, so we can bounce back and try and score again.” Bjorkman said. Griffith said he knows his team is not going to sneak up on anybody this sea son.“I think last year we probably did sur prise some people. I am not 100% sure what they were thinking in their locker room,“ said Griffith. “I think our team’s perspective though, going into those games last year, we could compete with anybody.”

SPEARFISH girls’ soccer schedule Aug. 26 at O’Gorman 6 p.m. Aug. 27 at Yankton 11 a.m. Sept. 6 hosting Belle Fourche ................... 7 p.m. Sept. 13 hosting Sturgis Brown 7 p.m. Sept. 15 hosting Douglas 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at Sturgis Brown ......................... 6 p.m. Sept. 24 hosting RC Central noon Sept. 27 hosting St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at RC Stevens 7 p.m.

“It was definitely a tough end to our season. I was really proud of the way that the girls progressed throughout the season, as a whole. From the first game to the last game we made significant strides in a lot of areas,” said Griffith. “I thought our organization defen sively was much better, our ability to attack from different angles was better. I thought our chemistry and our team bond was better as we headed into the Stevens game. It was a heartbreaking loss and we are looking to kind of run it back this year.”

Lady Spartan soccer looking to improve in 2022

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Spearfish returns a veteran squad for the 2022 “We’veseason.gotanumber of returning starters that will help lead us. Really, we are just excited to get back on the pitch this season,” said Griffith. “We have a tough start to our season. We face Aberdeen Central and Pierre and I lost to both of them, so we are hoping we can change the result this year, and get some points out of it. “ I am really excited for these girls. They’ve worked hard over the summer through camps. We took a group of them to Steamboat, Colo. this year to help prep for our season. So they put in the work, and we are hoping to see the re sults on the field.”

Griffith said he thinks this year there’s a recognition that Spearfish can hang with the top teams, but he knows that isn’t going to come easily. “With that does come some pressure, but they are expected to compete and expected to be in those games, so I think that is something we need to manage psychologically, but I think the team also knows that they can win those big games. They have proven that they can win and be competitive against anyone in the state. Now it’s just balancing that, coming out with fire, but also having the confidence to know we can manage those tough situations,” Griffith said. Spearfish opened its season Aug. 12 losing at Pierre 5-2, and the next day they lost to Aberdeen Central 6-1. Members of the 2022 Spearfish Spartan girls soccer team are, front row left: Morgan Little, Sevana Thompson, Sara Heine, Cora Pierson, and McKenna Ardis. Second row left: Adelaide Lebsack (manager), Daniela Rodriguez, Lauren Peotter, Hailey Ardis, Isabella Conklin, Charlie Nickles, and Madie Donovan. Third row left: Kate Scharf, Ava Gooch, Desaide Gates, Kate Fjelland, Sofie Guthmiller, Hollie Wise, and Emma Pruss (manager). Back row left: Assistant coach Caleb Ardis, Lily Simek, Sierra Sandford, Kenya Johner, Hannah Bjorkman, Emilee Hunsley, Breanna Dietrich, Brooke Peotter, assistant coach John Elder, and head coach Justin Griffith. Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles

Belle Fourche finished 7-6 last season and reached the second round of the Class A Trimbleplayoffs.saidthe five seniors from that squad (Tristin Hendricks, Elijah Pomrenke, Charles Alberts, Hunter Cherveny, and Ethan Jensen) played together for a long time and should in spire for younger team members to stay in the sport. He added the success in 2021 should also provide motivation. Communication and the mental game are two of the areas Trimble said the team is working on for this season.

Aug. 26 hosting James Valley Christian 6 p.m. Aug. 30 at St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at Spearfish 7 p.m. Sept. 10 hosting St. Thomas More 11 a.m. Sept. 15 at Sturgis Brown 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at Custer 5 p.m. Sept. 27 hosting Hot Springs 5 p.m.

Trimble said some younger members not receiving a lot of playing time in 2021 would see a lot of time this season. He cited players like Biehl, Walker, and Brill.“The biggest strength we’re going to have this year is just a love for the game,” said Trimble, who is in his second season. “It’s what helped the players show up to practice and put in theTrimblework.” said players will need to pol ish working together as a team. That includes moving the ball and defending as a “Fromunit.years’ past, this year’s season schedule is probably right about in the middle,” Trimble said. “We’ve got some tough opponents like STM (St. Thomas More) and Spearfish, and of course playing Sturgis (Brown) and More twice.”Belle Fourche started with road games against Hot Springs and Douglas/Rapid City Christian. The Broncs scored twice in each half to defeat Hot Springs 4-0. Belle Fourche downed Douglas/Rapid City Christian 6-2 thanks to a four-goal second half that snapped a 2-2 tie. Belle Fourche’s regular-season schedule includes four more home games. The Broncs host James Valley Christian on Aug. 26, St. Thomas More on Aug. 30 and Sept. 10, and Hot Springs on Sept. Trimble27.tabbed Spearfish as the fa vorite in the Black Hills Conference, which also includes Sturgis Brown, St. Thomas More, and Douglas/Rapid City Christian as well as Belle Fourche.

“They just have a really good pro gram. I’ve observed the past couple of years and definitely noticed some things they do really well,” Trimble said in describing the Spearfish Spartans.Trimble said Belle Fourche should do well against the conference schools. He cited the importance of the right tactics and game plans. “Our goals, obviously, are to get bet ter each and every day,” Trimble said. He added wins and losses do not neces sarily measure success, but personal and team development do.

The Belle Fourche boys’ soccer team features, back row from left: head coach Lucas Trimble, Cody Foos, Anthony Staley, Ethan Staley, Drake Sutter, Isaac Voyles, William Bryan, and assistant coach Michael Ryan. Middle row from left: Keagan Walker, Griffen Biehl, Brayden Carbajal, Darian Pesicka, Josh Brill, and Turner Williams. Front row from left: Logan Willert, Hunter Brown, Chase Robinson, Jaxson Kirksey, Jaezdyn Jones, and Brahnson Brink. Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

FALL 2022PAGE 24 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER Highway 212 West • Belle 605-892-2766FourcheWHERE YOU'D SEND A FRIEND Best of luck to all theathletes!area 605-892-4773 500 STATE STREET, BELLE FOURCHE HOURS: Monday-Friday: 8:30-6, Saturday: 8:30-4 • Sunday: Closed Belle Fourche boys’ soccer team aims high

Official practice sessions began Aug. 1. Morning workouts centered on con ditioning, with evening practices focus ing on work with the ball.

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer BELLE FOURCHE — Belle Fourche aims to build on the success of a 2021 season in which the Broncs advanced past the first round of the class A play offs.Head coach Lucas Trimble cited se nior defender Anthony Staley, senior defender Brayden Carbajal, sophomore midfielder Drake Sutter, and sophomore midfielder Isaac Voyles as players the Broncs will look to this season. Others on the roster are junior de fenders Ethan Staley and Cody Foos; sophomore midfielder Darian Pesicka; ninth-grade midfielders Hunter Brown and William Bryan; ninth-grade for wards Josh Brill and Griffen Biehl; eighth-grade defender Logan Willert; eighth-grade forward Keagan Walker; seventh-grade forwards Brahnson Brink, Turner Williams, and Chase Robinson; and seventh-grade midfield ers Jaxson Kirksey and Jaezdyn Jones.

BELLE FOURCHE boys’ soccer schedule

BELLE girls’ soccer schedule 26 at West Central 5 p.m. 27 at Dakota Valley 10 a.m. at St. Thomas p.m. at Spearfish p.m. hosting St. p.m. at Sturgis p.m.

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The Broncs also host Sioux Falls Christian on Aug. 20, Sturgis Brown on Aug. 23, and St. Thomas More on Aug. 30 and Sept. 10 during the regular season. Trimble tabbed Spearfish as the fa vorite in the Black Hills Conference race. She said Belle Fourche should do well against other conference teams (St. Thomas More and Sturgis Brown) based on 2021 and what she anticipates for 2022. “I want the girls to find some success,” Trimble said. “I’m trying to create a cul ture that’s based on them: a player-cen teredTrimbleculture.”said that should help players in their decision-making and help them with team goals. She served as a Bronc girls’ assistant coach for three seasons before accepting the head coaching position. That should help her during this next phase. “I was able to build a relationship with the girls already,” Trimble said. “We don’t have to start all the way from scratch, and I was able to learn things from the past head coaches.”

The Belle Fourche girls’ soccer team features, back row from left: assistant coach Chamberlain Bridge, assistant coach Alyssa Mehlhaff, Tessa Stearns, Jessica Dudley, Payge Oakes, Ava Walker, Lainna Ruby, and head coach Rebekah Trimble. Middle row from left: Lynley Seaman, Alexis Pickett, Alexa Swaney, Lydia Main, Joselyn Shockey, and Leah Lambert. Front row from left: Tori Brill, Jazlyn Olson, Aleyah Carbajal, Natalia Biehl, and Kyra Vandenberg.

Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

Aug.

Trimble said she wants to see the Broncs grow and persevere. Reese McKenna, Alexis Allen, and Dru Keegan graduated from last season’s team.

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Sept. 6

“We have some really great chemis try. We’ve all played together before, and they’ve played together for years,” Trimble said in describing team strengths.Conditioning and injury prevention will need to be worked on, according to Trimble. She said passes must be pre cise.“Our first couple weeks of the in-game season is going to be pretty rough,” Trimble said as she outlined the sched ule. “We have seven games within 14 days from Tuesday to another Tuesday.” Belle Fourche opened the season Aug. 16 at Douglas-Rapid City Christian. Each squad scored one goal per half as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

FOURCHE

Sept. 15

GLASS Of Belle Fourche Auto Glass Replacement Specialist Bronc girls dealing with low team numbers

Thomas More 1

Brown 5

FRONTIER

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer BELLE FOURCHE — Numbers pose a concern for a Belle Fourche girls’ soccer team that aims to improve on last sea son’s 1-9 record. “Our team is our focus this year,” said first-year head coach Rebekah Trimble, who oversees a group of 16 players. Eleven take the field at any given time. The roster includes five seniors: for wards Jessica Dudley, Natalia Biehl, and Payge Oakes; midfielder Tori Brill; and defender-forward Ava Walker. Lainna Ruby represents the junior class and will play various positions.

Aug.

Sophomores are goalkeeper Aleyah Carbajal, defender-midfielder Lydia Main, defender Joselyn Shockey, plus defender-forwards Alexa Swaney and TessaMidfielderStearns.Jazlyn Olson, forward Leah Lambert, and defender-forward Alexis Pickett are in the ninth grade. Eighthgraders Kyra Vandenberg (forward) and Lynley Seaman (defender-forward) round out the roster.

Aug. 30

Sept. 10

Official practice sessions began on Aug. 1. Players focused on fundamentals and on-field scenarios. “Last year really put all the girls on the same page. They were able to agree and be open more,” Trimble said. She added they found new relationships.

The Sturgis Scooper boys soccer team, back row from the left: Tyler Louder, Sturgis varsity coach; Tayten Smeenk, Jacob Schnobrich, Christian Lemcke, Dash Schuster, Caleb Allen, Paul Smith and Micah Ortiz, assistant coaches. Kneeling from the left: Karsen Berndt, Taylor Colunga, Nathaniel Jones, Ty Ferguson, Ryne Bostrom, and Owen Hanks. Front from left: Luke Hosman, Elliot Smith, Carsen Wolter, Carson Oedekoven, and Talan Kullbom. Pioneer photo by Tim Potts 605-347-2277

STURGIS BROWN boys’

Aug. 25 at Pierre T.F. Riggs 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at Rapid City Central 7 p.m. Sept. 3 hosting Rapid City Stevens 11 a.m. Sept. 6 hosting St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Sept. 8 hosting Douglas/RC Christian/New Underwood 5 p.m. Sept. 13 at Spearfish 7 p.m. Sept. 15 hosting Belle Fourche 7 p.m. Sept. 20 hosting Spearfish 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at St. Thomas More 7 p.m. Oct. 1 at Douglas/RC Christian/New Underwood 10 a.m.

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FALL 2022PAGE 26 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

The Scoopers lost eight seniors that will be missed. “Last season we had eight seniors that did everything they could to push this team forward. We had players step out of their comfort zone to help the team however was needed. They showed leadership, strength, and the ability to push past their limits that will translate down to this year’s Assistingsquad.”Louder will be Paul Smith (sixth season as JV coach) and Micah Ortiz (eighth season with the team, five as a player and three as the goal keeperSturgiscoach).Brown opened its season with wins over Hot Springs (10-0) and Mitchell (3-1), before losing to Huron (4-3.

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“This team has a great chance to establish themselves as a new squad after we have lost 24 players over the last two seasons,” said Louder. The team has established four goals that include increase scoring, lower goals allowed, push teams into the final minutes of games and remain healthy.TheScoopers ended the last season with a 4-9-1 record and were just short of making the playoffs. It all came down to players’ health in the end. “We played a total of three minutes all season with our starting 11 players and had a total of nine varsity mem bers miss two or more games,” Louder said.This year’s team will have three seniors, Ryne Bostrom, Carson Oedekoven and Tayten Smeenk.

By Tim Potts Black Hills Pioneer STURGIS -- The Sturgis boys’ soccer team will be reloading this year after losing 24 seniors in the past two sea sons and set goals to increase scoring and lower goals allowed. Coach Tyler Louder, will be starting his eighth season as head coach and looks to this year’s team to take a step forward from the previous year.

soccer schedule

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Scooper boys’ soccer looks to step forward from previous year

“I expect this senior class to be dif ferent than most. With such a small number they will have a chance to stand out more, but will now get to show off how they can lead. All three of these players are physical leaders who give it their all every game and will play until their bodies won’t let them. Effort will not be an issue with these three,” said Louder. Ryne Bostrom, a senior, shared his thoughts and hopes for to play in the state“Thistournament.yearIthink our goals are to be competitive just because we are such a young team, but I think we can improve and impress a lot of people. I also think that this year with how young we are that we will play well as a team,” said Louder. “We can show people what we have to offer and impress and hopefully upset a lot of teams. I’m very excited to see where this team will end up this year and hopefully we can make the state tour nament.”Lastyear the team scored 31 goals and was led by Carsen Wolter with eight, and seven assists, and he was fol lowed by Luke Hosman with four goals. Wolter, a sophomore, has a personal goal of scoring at least 10 goals and 10 assists, and to make all conference player. “I think the team has improved from last year; we have a couple new kids that are pretty good. And anoth er goal I have this year is to make the SoDak 16 Christianplayoffs,”Lemcke, now a sophomore, is the goalkeeper and had 115 saves last season. Louder commented on Lemcke and his “Lemckeexpectations.hasbeenputting in a lot of offseason work to get ready for his second season at goalkeeper. Last year being his first season he played very well, but looked at where he needed to improve and went to work every day to get ready,” Louder said.” Karsen Berndt, a junior, was a team captain last season and has already shown the growth as a leader in our short time this season. “Berndt has been communicating well with not only his fellow varsity members but also the younger players on JV. His growth as a leader is crucial for the success of our team this sea son,” said Louder.

Coach Fitzpatrick said he wants to improve on last year’s performance by focusing more on the offense. “We struggled last year in the of fensive third of the field, so this year we are going to try some different approaches. We will work hard on getting the ladies to work together to create scoring opportunities, rather than relying on a fast break attack or individualFitzpatrickeffort.”shared his thoughts on the Black Hills Conference.

Adam Fitzpatrick, in his ninth season as head coach of the Lady Scoopers, discussed the team’s outlook for the 2022 season.

Taking leadership roles this year included team co-captains and seniors, Cali Ewing and Chaylen Murphy.

STURGIS BROWN girls’ soccer schedule

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown High school girls’ soccer team are, back row left: Emilee Copeland, Chaylen Murphey, Rowan Swift, Maggie Brink, Sawyer Dennis, Avery Marler, and Mya Moyers.

Avery Marler, a sophomore talked about the key for the team to do well all season, and make the playoffs. “I’m looking forward to the up coming season. I feel we have a lot of talent and hoping that we can come to together as a team to be competitive.” said Marler. “My goal this year is to make it further in the playoffs.”

“We have several returning players that are now se niors including Emilee Copeland, Cali Ewing, Sawyer Dennis, Maggie Brink, Chaylen Murphy and Lilly Carlson, and all are very athletic seasoned play ers that have been key members of our team over the past few seasons.”

The Lady Scoopers finished with a 5-9-1 record in 2021, and were the 15th seed in the state Class AA playoffs, where they lost to Brandon Valley.

“While Spearfish lost some quality players, we know they will still be the team to beat in the BHC,” he said.

Sitting from left: Issy Larson, Lily Age, Lilyana Carlson, Carsyn Kastaneski, and Isabella Tobias. Pioneer photo by Tim Potts

Aug. 25 at Pierre T.F. Riggs 4 p.m. Sept. 1 at Rapid City Central 5 p.m. Sept. 3 hosting Rapid City Stevens 9 a.m. Sept. 6 hosting St. Thomas More 5 p.m. Sept. 8 hosting Douglas/RC Christian/New Underwood 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at Spearfish 7 p.m. Sept. 15 hosting Belle Fourche 5 p.m. Sept. 20 hosting Spearfish 5 p.m. Sept. 22 at St. Thomas More ...................... 5 p.m. Oct. 1 at Douglas/RC Christian/New Underwood 10 a.m.

The team will also have several oth er very talented eighth graders, fresh man, and sophomores that will all most certainly see varsity action.

By Tim Potts Black Hills Pioneer STURGIS — The Sturgis Brown High School girls’ soccer team members are optimistic about the upcoming season, with a core senior group, and a strong group of younger athletes.

“We are optimistic about the upcom ing season. We did lose five seniors, including defensive backs, Hope Fiddler and Tayah Bertolotto, our two starting goal keepers, Mikayla Kullbom, Braelynn Moser, and Jessica Matthew, a senior leader,” said Fitzpatrick.

The senior core will be augmented by a strong group of younger players, led by junior forward and midfielder, Jenna Burk and sophomores Avery Marler, who was the leading scorer last year, and Iris Zylstra, who was a key component of the Scooper defen siveJuniorgame.Izzie Larson, and sophomore Nellie Wetsit, will be the team’s goal keepers this season.

FALL 2022 PAGE 27SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

“Both Cali and Chaylen are very physical, strong, extremely compet itive, and always give great effort in practice and games. They have both been key players over the past few seasons. We will be leaning on them to inspire and lead the younger players,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Both Izzie (Larson) and Nellie (Wetsit) played goalie for us last year on our junior varsity squad, and both have shown good potential to be suc cessful in the goal,” said Fitzpatrick.

Kneeling from left: Nellie Wetsit, Cali Ewing, Keira Muchow, Jordyn Richter, Iris Zylstra, Lucy Hamer, and Jenna Burke.

Lady Scooper soccer team has athletic players

Lady Jackets soccer looks to improve on the pitch

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By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The Black Hills State women’s soccer team was 3-11-1 overall, and 2-9-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last year. This is my sixth season as head coach in the RMAC, my second season here, and this is the group I have enjoyed the most. They really respond to everything we do, and they are really supportive of each oth er,” said Andrew Conniff, the BHSU wom en’s soccer coach. “Looking at characters and how they’ve grown. We had some players that I think really struggled last year in terms of meeting the demands I was asking, setting higher standards, and seeing them now it’s not really where they are now, it’s about how far they’ve come.” Conniff said the team has been focusing on“Atcompeting.thispoint in the season we’ve done almost nothing tactically. We’ve really just worked on competing. Trying to be clean er technically. Getting better skills at that first touch, the ability to pass, the ability to finish,” he said. Conic said his team wants to play that first game of the season. “The team feels they have the residence, I think they want to take that on, and feel ready, maybe even more than I do,” said Conniff. “They’ve known exactly their role. Right now we just focus on what we call intangibles. Being brave with your body, being ready to head the ball, being willing to initiate contact instead of re ceiveConiffcontact.said the teams’ philosophy right now is if you don’t have those pieces of performance you can’t have a good perfor mance. If you like to see people compete, hopefully we are a good place to do that.” Black Hills State has 27 players on its roster.“You are going to hear about five of them. There are plenty more I’m not mentioning that deserve it,” Coniff said. “Returning from last year’s team is Emma Avery. She was honorable mention all-con ference. She led us in scoring, and we put her in a new role that suits her much bet ter. Being with her I understand how we can best use her. She went back to Rapid City and trained extremely hard. She’s performing at a level I’ve never see her before.”Another player to watch is goalkeeper Makayla Dannelly, a sophomore from Broomfield, Colo. “I’ve been around girls’ and womens’ games for a long time, and I’ve never seen a goalkeeper who is as good at extension saves. Which is potentially laying out your full body to get your fingertips to a ball,” said Coniff. “Makayla is willing to put her entire body on the line, she loves that showtime piece. Some call it a Hollywood save, because it looks like they are doing it for the cameras. She does it better than anyone I’ve seen, and there are parts of her game she is still working on. She asks if she can work on diving, work on com ing out of the goal.”

FALL 2022PAGE 28 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

Black Hills State faces University of Mary Aug. 25 in Billings, Mont.

BHSU women’s soccer

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Pioneer file photos

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The new signees follow. Rylee Barnes is a 5-3 defender from Flathead High School in Kalispell, Mont. During her time on the pitch, she to taled three goals and 12 assists with all three goals scored in her senior year. Leah Day: a 5-5 midfielder from Brighton High School in Colo. where she has been a team captain all four years.

Black Hills State signed six new players for the 2022 season. “I am really excited about this group’s athletic ability,” said Conniff. “Some of these players have real versatility in terms of their ability to play different po sitions. Where others bring some unique quality at their primary position, I expect that we will see an immediate increase in training and competition levels as these players enter the program.”

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Aug. 13 hosting Casper College 1 p.m. Aug. 20 vs. Western Nebraska Community College 1 p.m. Aug. 25 at Billings, Mont. 1 p.m. Aug. 27 at Billings, Mont. noon Aug. 29 hosting Minot State University 3 p.m. Sept. 9 hosting MSU-Billings 3 p.m. Sept. 16 hosting Colorado Christian 3 p.m. Sept. 18 hosting Colorado Mesa University 11 a.m. Sept. 23 at Colorado School of Mines 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 at Regis University 11 a.m. Sept. 30 hosting CSU-Pueblo 5 p.m. Oct. 2 hosting UC-Colorado Springs 11 a.m. Oct. 7 at Adams State University 1 p.m. Oct. 9 at New Mexico Highlands 11 a.m. Oct. 14 hosting Westminster College 3 p.m. Oct. 21 at Fort Lewis College 1 p.m Oct. 23 at Western Colorado University 11 a.m. Oct. 25 hosting MSU-Denver 11 a.m.

Coniff said there is one newcomer that has really stood out, and that’s Ainsley Wildson.“Ionly saw her play once in person. at a camp last year. She knew one of the play ers on our team. She was really proactive in the process of communicating, always being professional. I knew she was a char acter that we wanted in our program, and she has come out and performed really well. She can play multiple positions, and she has fit in right away,” Coniff said he was proud of the number of players who stayed in the area to train all“Wesummer.had13 of our 21 returners stay in Spearfish over the summer,” he said. Coniff touched on the team goals for this“Weseason.have two categories of goals, and it’s all about comparisons for us. We are going to compare us, and what I mean by that is we want to be better than we’ve ever been. We want to break every pro gram record in terms of goals scored, terms of results, so that’s comparing us to us,” said Coniff. “All of those things motivate us. Look, we are very aware of what the previous score records are, the previous season results, and we want to be better than that.

Tamara Jager: a 5-6 defender out of Rapid City Central High School where she was awarded Second Team All-State as a Junior before earning Top Defensive Player as a senior. Bresha Keegan: a 5-9 defender and mid fielder from Stevens High School in Rapid City. She has been named Best Defensive Player all four years and has played in two stateNittanychampionships.Vega:a5-6 goalkeeper from Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Fla. The younger sister of current football student-athlete Victor Vega, She helped her team to the Florida State Cup Elite Eight in 2019. In her junior year, she helped that team record a school-record 10 consecutive shutouts.

Jennifer Coyle, Kayla Chadwick 127 W. Illinois St., Spearfish 605.559.1394Accounting, Tax Service, and Bookkeeping GoodAthletes!AreaLuck Good Scoopers!Luck Sturgis

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schedule

Ainsley Wilson: a 5-8 defender from Mountain View High School in Loveland, Colo. who will graduate fourth in her class with a 4.2 GPA. On the pitch, she has totaled one goal and three assists on nine shots, while accumulating 286 steals. She was All-Conference in her soph omore and junior seasons. Wilson also played for the United Soccer Club Team.

Spearfish started the season losing to Madison 5-4. In single matches Ava Iszler and Allie Mondloch picked up wins. In dou bles competition, Katie Mondloch and Lindsey Huck, and Ava Gill and and Allie Mondloch picked up wins. They lost to Aberdeen Central, Pierre, and Huron 9-0. They lost to Rapid City Christian 9-3. Katie Mondloch and Berberick picked up wins in singles completion, and Katie Mondloch and Huck won in doubles. Aug. 16 they lost to Rapid City Stevens, 9-0.They will be competing at the Rapid City Invite Aug, 26, at Sioux Park in Rapid City.

Members of the 2022 Spearfish High School girls’ tennis team are, front row left: Katie Mondloch, Annika Brandenburg, Elena McCade, Brooklyn Domogalski, and Allie Mondloch. Second row left: Kimberly Heisler, Lucy Abbott, Lindsey Huck, Emma Frye, Soriano.andBecker,Berberick,Iszler,coachAbbott.Brandenburg,IsabelleandClaraBackrowleft:HeadSusieMondloch,EllaEmmaGottlob,AvaJillHeisler,EllieAvaGill,AvaIszler,assistantcoachPaul Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles

Aug. 25 at Sioux Park (Rapid City) .......... 8 a.m. Aug. 26 at Sioux Park (Rapid City) 8 a.m. Sept. 3 hosting St. Thomas More 4 p.m. Sept. 9 at Sioux Falls Jamboree 8 a.m. Sept. 10 at Sioux Falls Jamboree 8 a.m. Sept. 13 Rapid City Christian 4 p.m. Sept. 15 at St. Thomas More 4 p.m. Sept. 17 at Mitchell 8 a.m. Sept. 23 Sioux Falls East/West duals 8 a.m. Sept. 24 Sioux Falls East/West duals 8 a.m. Sept. 29 at RC Central 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at Rapid City Christian 9 a.m. Oct. 3-4 state (Rapid City) TBD

SPEARFISH tennis schedule

FALL 2022 PAGE 29SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

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Three Cheers for our Student Athletes

For their performance on the field, on the court and in the classroom, we recognize the students who go above and beyond to achieve academic and athletic success. We salute their hard work, and we hope for futures filled with wins! 1876

The Spearfish tennis team numbers are up this year. “We have 18 girls this year. We have four people that have never played ten nis before. It’s nice to have a big team,” MondlochSpearfishsaid.began practicing on Aug. 1, the team worked on some basic skills. “When we started practicing for this season we worked on more movement, footwork, and be more aggressive,” said Mondloch.Spearfish has all ready had a few matches to start the season, and Mondloch said she has seen some good things from her team. “First of all, we have a really good attitude this year,” said Mondloch. “We don’t have the people getting in their heads and slamming rackets. We have played hard, and I think you can tell the development between a few years ago, andMondlochnow.” said there are still things the team needs to work on as the season progresses.“Weneed to work on going to the net more, and playing tough offense,” she said.The Lady Spartans will be facing some tough competition all year. Mondloch said that is a good thing. It will make the team better. “The tough schedule definitely makes our team better. Against Rapid City Stevens (Aug. 16), we played better than we have against all the smaller teams,” MondlochMondlochsaid.said she wants her team to win more games. “We are getting more game wins, even though we are not winning more match es, we are winning more games. I’d like to see that go up, and eventual win more sets,” Mondloch said. Mondloch shared who she thinks will do well at state this year.

“I think our No. 1 doubles team, Lindsey Huck and Katie Mondloch, will do good at state,” said Coach Mondloch. ”I also think my No. 2 doubles team, Ella and Ava Iszler, and my No. 3 doubles team, Allie Mondloch and Ava Berberick, will win some at state. In singles competition, Katie Mondloch, Ava Iszler, Ella Iszler, Lindsey Huck, Allie Mondloch, and Ava Berberick are all expected to have suc cess at state this year.

Spearfish girls tennis team looking to improve

~ Since

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The 2022 Spearfish High School girls’ tennis team is looking to build off of last seasons success at state.“Last season was good. We kind of peaked at the end, so we played our best at state, and that was kind of nice,” said Susie Mondloch, the Spearfish girls’ ten nis“That’scoach.what we are looking for this year, hopefully the right way to do it.”

Spartans have dominated the Black Hills Conference the past couple of years, but Ligtenburg sees competi tion on the horizon. “I think Belle Fourche might be the favorite in the conference,” said Ligtenburg. “My boys have got to get ready for some competition. I think the last two years, and I don’t want to sound like we dominated, but we have been able to maintain our status in the Black Hills Conference pretty handily.”

“I think we’re right there, we’re not threats. There were good enough pos itive things that we can improve on to early see an impact on their scores,” he said. ” I think sometimes the thing that hinders you most as golfer the fastest is the short game. “You can hit the ball, but it’s the feel, it’s the distance control. It’s the” putting that takes a little time to come back, but put in a few good practices in for a week, and I think some of that will come back to Theus.”

Douglas 10 a.m. Sept. 22

state (Mitchell) TBD Oct. 4 at state (Mitchell) ............................... TBD Spearfish boys golf facing challenges in BHC

FALL 2022PAGE 30 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

RC Meadowbrook 3 p.m. Sept. 9

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The Spearfish High School boys golf team is coming off a good year in 2021. Last year we had more success than we did disappointments,” said Eric Ligtenburg, the Spartans head golf coach.Ligtenberg said he thought his team played better than expected during the season.“Ithink we overachieved my expecta tion. We shot team scores that were com parable to my 2018 year. That year was the most successful team that I’ve had since I became the head golf coach in 2007,” said Ligtenberg. “We shot scores this year that kind of shocked me, at some of the local events. Beating teams by 40 or 50 strokes, they were the next team closest to us sometimes. We had some really good tournaments during the school year, regionally in the Black Hills.”Spearfish finished 10th, out of 19 teams, shooting a 36-hole 670, at the Class AA state golf tournament in Huron.TheSpartans return a robust team team.

Ligtenburg added, “But Belle Fourche is definitely going to bee very good com petition. They’d placed some really good scores. They’ve got a really good team. It’ll be a good competition, and I’m look ing forward to seeing eat the boys are going to do, and stop up, and we’ll see if they can handle that pressure and go train it (the conference title). Spearfish will face an uphill battle when they play at the state tourna ment against East River schools, but Ligtenburg things his team’s goal is to finish in the top six at state this year.

Custer 10

Spearfish has already had three matches this season. They finished seventh at Brandon Valley, 12th at the Sioux Falls Washington Invitational, and second at the Rapid City Invite. Ligtenburg said he likes where his team is this point in the season

Sept. 12

Hot Springs 10

Sturgis West River Challenge 3 p.m. Oct. 3

Belle Fourche CC 9

Douglas ................................... 10 a.m. Sept. 26

Sept. 13 hosting golf invite ..................... 10

SPEARFISH boys’ golf schedule Aug. 25

“Our goal is to get closer and closer to the top six in the state. If these boys could get top six and that means hard ware. That would be a major accom plishment,” said Ligtenburg. “We were 10th in the state last year, so six would move us up a few places. It would be nice to place in the single digits. If you embrace that 10th, then you are ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth. That would be a big accomplishment.” at at a.m. at at a.m. at a.m. a.m. at at at at at

Douglas Pre-BHC 9 a.m. Aug. 30

“We had a really good team last year. We only lost one golfer, Trey Wood. He was a key piece of the team,” said Ligtenburg. “Anytime you graduate a good senior, you lose his leadership, maturity, and also his skill, his game, his scores, his consistency, but we are making more kids step up into other leadershipSpearfishrolls.”willreturn a veteran team with five varsity starters returning from last year’s team. “We’ve got three seniors, two sopho mores and kind of like a freshmen on my top six,” Ligtenburg said. The boys’ golf team’s first practice was Aug. Ligtenburg8. said while its good to re turn so many veterans, the team did not have the best offseason when it comes to workouts.“Someof my boys played a lot, and they put a lot of time in, in the summer, and some did not,” said Ligtenburg. “That is always somewhat of a challenge when you did better in the offseason. It doesn’t matter what sport you are play ing.”Ligtenburg said the team is good, “but I don’t know if we got a lot better. I knew we were going to be pretty good walking onto the course, but getting better is what we always try to do.”

Sept. 1

Sept. 16

Members of the 2022 Spearfish boys’ golf team are, first row left: Dean Lafayette, Parker Reede, Levi Taglioli, Bennett Kortan. Back row left: Charlie Rasmussen, Caden Johnson, Josh Sundsted, and Jack Hight. Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles

Mitchell 10:30 a.m. Sept. 20

FALL 2022 PAGE 31SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER Property Management Proudly Supporting Area School Athletes 1222 Main St., www.metroplains.com605.347.3077Sturgis HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm • Sat. 8am-4pm • Sun. Closed 605-269-2434 • 1-800-564-0224 1020 LAUREL ST., WHITEWOOD, SD 57793 Family owned & operated since 1968 WE SUPPORT OUR STUDENT ATHLETES Good luck to all of our local school athletic teams. We’re proud of you! L-D boys’ golf team enjoys increased numbers

Lead-Deadwood did not lose any ath letes to graduation from last season’s team.

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer LEAD — The Lead-Deadwood boys’ golf team enjoys what head coach Tim Hansen referred to as greatly improved numbers. Nine players are on the roster, com pared to six that began the 2021 campaign.

“We’d love to be in that upper half if we possibly could,” coach Hansen said of the conference race. He added the team would like to be able to turn in a quality team score.

Aug. 25 at Pre-Conference, Douglas 9 a.m. Sept. 6 at Sturgis Invitational 1:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at Custer Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 12 at Hot Springs Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 13 at Spearfish Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 20 at Black Hills Conference tournament 10 a.m. Sept. 22 at Lead-Deadwood Quadrangular 10 a.m. Sept. 26 at Region 4A tournament 10 a.m. Oct. 3-4 at State A tournament TBA

The Lead-Deadwood boys’ golf team features, back row from left: Ethan Keehn, Jaxson Burleson, Ethan Finn, Cooper Hansen, and Christian Johnston. Front row from left: Johnathan Burleson, Weston Dahlstrom, Eric Kosters, and Ascher Blair. Head coach Tim Hansen is not pictured.

“I think it’s important that we really work hard at being good from 100 yards on in,” Hansen said. “We want to be able to hit greens and put (golf) balls in the cup.”The Golddiggers began their season Aug. 15 at the Sturgis Invitational. Ethan Keehn fired an 18-hole 87 to place seventh and pace the Lead-Deadwoodteam.hosts the pre-regional tournament Aug. 23 at the Tomahawk course, with Box Elder hosting the Black Hills Conference tournament on Sept. 20. The Tomahawk course will also host a quadrangular on Sept. 22 and the Region 4A tournament on Sept. 26. Aberdeen will host the state Class A tournament Oct. 3-4.“There are some really strong teams in our region and our conference,” coach Hansen said in outlining the schedule. “It will be very interesting to see how we start to stack up a little bit now that we’ve got some Hansenexperience.”addedtheGolddiggers will play amazing courses like Boulder Canyon Country Club (Sturgis), Spearfish Canyon Golf Club, and Southern Hills Golf Course (Hot Springs). He added the team is thrilled to host the region tournament. Spearfish and St. Thomas More are the Black Hills Conference’s top teams, Hansen predicted. He said it will be inter esting to see how things fill in after that with Belle Fourche, Sturgis Brown, Hot Springs, and Custer.

“For defining success, I think we need to start becoming more competitive meet in and meet out: not only as individuals, but hopefully with our team scores as well,” Hansen said. Official practice sessions began Aug. 8. Focal points have included playing the Tomahawk course, using the driving range at the Elkhorn course, and working on the Hansenfundamentals.saidplayers may use last sea son’s disappointment to start preparing for this season. He noted Keehn had to withdraw from last season’s region tour nament, and Johnston missed state quali fication by only two spots.

“We’re hoping that some of that will kind of lead into a more determined push to get to that state tournament this year,” HansenConsistencysaid. is the key word Hansen used when asked about the biggest im provements he would like to see the play ers make from last season to this one.

“We’re looking to try to build a pro gram,” Hansen said. He added it is excit ing to have younger players getting their chance to develop. Hansen said the things to work on, vary from golfer to golfer. He added consisten cy is the main item for varsity players, with younger team members gaining tournament experience.

LEAD-DEADWOOD boys’ golf schedule

Hansen said senior Ethan Keehn, sophomore Christian Johnston, and eighth-grader Cooper Hansen are key re turning players for Lead-Deadwood. Junior Jaxson Burleson, sophomores Ethan Finn and Eric Kosters, ninth-grad er Johnathan Burleson, seventh-grader Ascher Blair, and sixth-grader Weston Dahlstrom round out the roster.

Hansen added the players love to spend time on the course. He is in his seventh season and added they are great to be around.

“We’ve got some guys that have some varsity experience,” coach Hansen said in outlining team strengths. “They kind of know what it takes and what’s expected to be able to compete.”

Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

Good luck to all athletes!area WORKING TO KEEP YOU IN THE GAME! (605) 892-4845 1515 5th Ave. #101, Belle Fourche 1700 5th Ave., Belle Fourche, SD O: 605.892.2613 | F: 605.892.6093 wellsplumbingsupply@rushmore.com Whether you’re a professional or a do-it-yourselfer, we have the parts, supplies & expertise to make your project flow smoothly.WELL S S UPPLYLLC PLUMBING | ELECTRICAL | SPRINKLER SYSTEMS | FARM & RANCH Good luck area&Haveathletes!asafefunseason. BELLE FOURCHE boys’ golf schedule Aug. 25 at Pre-Conference 9 a.m. Aug. 30 Belle Fourche Ryder Cup 10 a.m. Sept. 6 at Sturgis Invitational 1:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at Custer Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 12 at Hot Springs Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 13 at Spearfish Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 20 at Black Hills Conference tournament 10 a.m. Sept. 22 at Lead-Deadwood Quadrangular 10 a.m. Sept. 26 at Region 4A tournament 10 a.m. Oct. 3-4 at State A tournament .................... TBA

“We’re coming back with some ex perience,” Burr said in outlining team strengths. “They had fun at the state tournament, and they want to repeat. They played a lot this summer.” Ball contact, plus the short game, are what Broncs’ players will need to work on as practices and events progress. Patience and mental mindset are other factors.“Youcan’t hit every shot perfect,” Burr said. “Sometimes you have to lay up. Sometimes you have to take that bogey and be able to settle with it and go to the next hole.”

Box Elder will host the Black Hills Conference tournament on Sept. 20, with Lead-Deadwood hosting the Region 4A event on Sept. 26. “Everything on the schedule, we’ve played. The kids are not going in blind, so that will help,” Burr said. The state Class A tournament is set for Oct. 3-4 in Aberdeen. Teams qualify by placing first, second or third at their respective regional events.

Belle Fourche’s schedule remains rather similar every season. The Broncs opened at Sturgis on Aug. 15, with the home event Aug. 30 in an event called the Belle Fourche Ryder Cup. The Broncs claimed top honors in Sturgis by shooting an 18-hole 329 score.

The Belle Fourche boys’ golf team will aim to replicate a 2021 season in which the Broncs qualified for the state Class A tournament as a group. Thirteen players attended early prac tices, and head coach Bill Burr said that is similar to the 2021 campaign. He is in his fifth season. Burr cited senior Brayden Carbajal; juniors Aiden Voyles, Rexton Audiss, Lange Shockey, Harley Rivera, and Jordan Sandoval; and sophomore Isaac Voyles as key returning players for the 2022Otherseason.players on the press-time roster are seniors Chase Horst and Anthony Budmayr; ninth-graders Riggin Lutter and Merik McNeese; eighth-grader Silas Carson; and sev enth-grader Kavin Linch.

The Belle Fourche boys’ golf team features, back row from left: Isaac Voyles, Rexton Audiss, Anthony Budmayr, Aiden Voyles, and Merik McNeese. Middle row from left: Lange Shockey, Brayden Carbajal, Chase Horst, Harley Rivera, and Jordan Sandoval. Front row from left; Kavin Linch, Riggin Lutter, and Silas Carson. Head coach Bill Burr is not pictured. Pioneer photo by Jason Gross

By Jason Gross Black Hills Pioneer BELLE FOURCHE —

FALL 2022PAGE 32 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

Burr picked Spearfish as the favor ite in the Black Hills Conference race, with St. Thomas More also boasting goodReturningtalent. team members played a lot more this summer than they did last year, according to Burr. He said that hopefully helps with experience, com posure and confidence.

Bronc boys aiming for returning state trip

Burr reiterated the team wants to return to state and said, “That’s going to kind of define the season for us.”

Aiden Voyles and Isaac Voyles tied for medalist honors at 79, with Carbajal fifth at 83. Budmayr carded an 88 for eighth place.

Official practice sessions got un derway Aug. 8. Focal points included spending time on the putting green, working on individual swings, and playing to find out who the top six will be.Burr said summertime play was even more important, as only seven days elapsed before the season opener. As for building from last season to this, Burr cited the confidence level. He said they now know what it is like. Course management remains some thing to work on, according to Burr. The Broncs did not lose any team members to graduation from last sea son’s squad.

By Tim Potts Black Hills Pioneer STURGIS – The Sturgis Brown Scooper boys’ golf team is young, but have hopes to a successful season with 15 golfers fighting for varsity positions.

The Sturgis Scooper boys’ soccer team for 2022, back from left: Jackson Habrock, Braxtan Teiman, Cason Sabers, Kayden Vasknetz, and Kael KneelingSecrest. from left: Landon Bey, Jaxon Dodson, Sundstrom,Sundstrom,DrakeKjellJace Owens, and Levi Meirose. Sitting from left: Ryan Hale, and Makien Browning. Not pictured: Bennett Gordon and Max Vliem. Pioneer photo by Tim Potts 3441 Whitewood Rd., Sturgis, SD 57785 - 605.347.5550 GO SCOOPERS! your hard work and dedication both on and off the field.

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BROWN boys’

Steve Keszler, the varsity coach, said we have a relatively young team with a couple golfers returning from last year and one state qualifier on the team, so for the most part we are a young team.

“We just try to keep getting better, I did notice some kids did get rounds in this summer so hopefully that will pay off for them in the high school season,” KezlerJacksonsaid.Habrock, has golfed two years now with the Scooper team and was the only Sturgis golfer qualified for the state tournament last year.

We appreciate

FALL 2022 PAGE 33SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

Aug. 25 at Douglas Pre-Conference 9 a.m. Aug. 30 at Belle Fourche Ryder Cup 10 a.m. Sept. 6 Boulder Canyon Golf Club Invite 1:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at Custer Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 13 at Spearfish Invitational 10 a.m. Sept. 16 at Mitchell Invite 10:30 a.m. Sept. 20 at Douglas Black Hills Conference Tourney 10 a.m. Sept. 26 hosting West River Challenge 3 p.m. Sept. 27 at Rapid City Meadowbrook 3:30 p.m. Oct. 3-4 at State tournament TBA

“Last year wasn’t to bad, I made it to state and placed in the middle of the field at the state tournament and my goal for this season is to consistently break 80. My personal goal is to make state and have fun,” said Habrock. Braxton Tieman said he struggled last season but talked about his goals for this season. “My goal this year is to break 80 or 85 at each tournament and make it to the state tournament.”

In the Black Hills Conference, Keszler said the team to beat would be Spearfish.TheScoopers opened their season Aug. 15 with the Sturgis Invitational at the Boulder Canyon Country Club. Belle Fourche took team honors with a total of 329, and Sturgis took second with a team score of 357. “The weather was a little wet but it was a good job by the golfers for the first tournament of the season,” said Keszler, Sturgis Brown’s golf coach. Habrock, a Sturgis senior, placed fourth overall shooting an 82 at the Sturgis Invite. “It was a little wet, the first nine was not bad, and the last nine was pretty good. I finished really well, the first nine was sketchy but the last nine was good,” Habrock said. The rest of the Scoopers individ ual scores were: Bennett Gordon 86, Braxton Tieman 94, Jace Owens 95, Cason Sabers 95, Landon Bey 98, and Jaxon Dodson 99.

Young Sturgis golf team prepares for season

STURGIS golf schedule

Marsh said the team has nowhere to go but “Lastup.year we finished towards the bottom, but we did beat Adam State, so if we can just continue to climb the ladder, and improve as a team, and keep bringing in talent, I think we can do that,” Marsh said.

Marsh said he wants to see his team as one when the season starts.

FALL 2022PAGE 34 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

The short game was the most import ant thing Marsh wanted his players to work on over the summer. “I asked them to prioritize their short game. Chipping and putting obviously is crucially important in golf, and they can better, the more confident they can be at that, the stronger we will be as a team, I asked them to be mindful of their sleep, their nutrition, and to come in mentally and physically healthy to start the year,” Marsh said.

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The Black Hills State University women’s golf team will have a young team when it opens the 2022 season Sept. 12 at the Swan Invitational, in Denver, Colo. The team will feature seven fresh men, two sophomores, one junior, and oneCraigsenior.Marsh enters his second full season as the BHSU women’s golf coach.Hecame to Black Hills State in the spring 2021, after Kelly Welker, stepped down to accept the assistant women’s golf coach position at Georgia Southern University.“Wewere pretty short on members last year. We had a couple of returners, but we were pretty freshmen heavy, and we came in to fall without a lot of experience. It was incredible how much they grew, matured, and learned throughout thee course of the year. The accomplishments they made last spring at the RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) Championships with per sonal best scores was pretty remark able,” Marsh said. Four members of the BHSU women’s golf team wrapped up competition at the RMAC Championships recording season and career low rounds through out the Jocelyntournament.Olsonled all BHSU golfers throughout the tournament after earn ing a 167 through the first two rounds of Olsonplay. held on to the top spot during round three recording an 86 (+14), and she finished in 47th place. Olson’s 81 in round one was a career low for her throughout her time at BHSU.Reese Robinson finished 52nd with a total tournament score of 264. She shot an 83 (+11) in round two, which was a season and career low round for her in her freshman cam paign at BHSU. Cami Langley earned a 194 through the first two rounds of tournament play before shooting an 86 (+14) in the final round.Langley’s 86 in round three was a season and career low round for her freshman campaign, and she finished the tournament in 55th place. Anna Talarico was in the No. 4 spot for BHSU and shot a tournament score of Talarico302. shot a 116 (+44) in round one, a 100 (+28) in round two, and a season and career low 86 (+14) in round three. After improving her score after each round, Talarico finished 57th overall. Returning this season for the Lady Jackets are Olson, Marissa Garcia, Langley, and Talarico. Marsh challenged his players to get out and hit the links this summer to help prepare for the fall season.

“The most important part for me is they go out and compete. Any com petitive round they logged was really important, and I had several athletes go out and do that, and I know a lot of the incoming freshmen have good golf instructors that they work hard with her over the summer to prepare for fall golf,” said Marsh. “My expectation is they work hard over the summer, be cause we just don’t have a lot of time to do a lot of skill improvement, in the fall before we get going.”

BHSU women’s golf schedule Sept. 12-13 at Swan Invitational TBD Sept. 19-20 at Hardrocker Invitational TBD Sept. 27-28 at Beartooth Invitational TBD Oct. 3-4 MSU Billings Yellowjacket Classic TBD All BookkeepingBalancedllc South Dakota (605) 717-2500 Wyoming (307) 686-1380 Office@allbalancedbooks.com allbalancedbooks.com Fast, Accurate and Affordable Bookkeeping & Payroll Services. Call us today! CASINO, LAUNDROMAT & CONVENIENCE 1322 Laurel St., Whitewood, SD • 605-717-1003 • Fax: 605-717-1004 WE SALUTE OUR STUDENT ATHLETES HAVE A GREAT SEASON! Pioneer file photos

BHSU women’s golf fields young team

“Number one, I want to see team uni ty. I want to see them prioritizing their team and encourage their teammates to play better golf. I want them to grind out every shot, because ultimately we are a team, and our team score is really important in how we perform.” said Marsh. “I expect them to work hard and come in to practice with a good attitude. Bring maximum effort, enthusiasm, and do the things I’ve asked them to do, and hopefully they will buy into that and we will see a strong improvement throughout the course of the year.”

“We race similarly to cross country where we can race seven maximum at the higher tier races, and we score five, and the other two athletes just place,” FeistReturningsaid. triathlon athletes from last year are: seniors Myna Buckley and Hannah Hirschi; junior Madelynn Potter; and sophomores Sydney Gasper, Lilja McKendry, Natalie Moose, and Cassidy Teeslink. Feist said athletes come in and they specialize in different areas of the tri athlon.Some will come in as multi-sport athletes out of high school, the swim run combination is most common, and some come in as a mountain biker. Cassidy Teeslink, from Rapid City, is one of the athletes who specialize in mountain biking.

AMERICAN COLLOID – MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. WINBIG! When you power up this season with a winning attitude! Good Luck Teams! Pioneer file photos

There will be 10 members on the BHSU triathlon team this season.

BHSU triathlon team ready for new season

“We are fortunate enough to have built our roster 10 student athletes, which is pretty much what we cap it at, due to our coaching constraints and the way that we want to work with them and 10 is a really good number,” Feist said. “There are four races we are doing this fall, and we have two again in the spring. We do train all school yearShelong.said they will race all 10 athletes at the first two races, and they will bring seven of their athletes to the regional qualifier, and seven of the BHSU athletes to nationals.

“I have been biking my entire life, mostly mountain biking, but all through middle school and high school, I did cross country. While that was going on, my sister (Kennedy) started competing on the BHSU triath lon team, so I got to travel and watch all the races and all I could think was “wow, I would love to be a part of this,” and I was so happy when I got to be on the same team with my sister, and I think that made it so special.” said Cassidy Teeslink. “We are kind of a small, tightknit group of girls, and I know that every single one of my coaches care about me specifically, so that makes the transition really easy from high school to college, because there are a lot more practices, and the volume of training is pretty intense, but our coaches are so supportive it makes it a lot easier. Teeslink added, “adding swimming was kind of a shock to my system at first because I didn’t even know how to flip-turn, and it was hard to keep up with these girls who had been swim ming their entire life. Triathlon is so neat because everybody shines at something different, we help each oth er out a lot.” Black Hills State opens its season Sept. 10, at Angostura Recreation Area in the Black Hills, just south of Hot Springs.“Sowe really have to hit it hard, get ready to get there and get ready to race,” Feist said.

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH — The Black Hills State University triathlon team is looking forward to the 2022-2023 triathlon sea son.Connie Feist starts her seventh sea son as the BHSU triathlon coach.

“If you don’t know what a triathlon athlete is, it is a multi-sport athlete who is able to swim, bike, and run, said Feist. At the collegiate level they swim a 750-meter open water swim, which can be lakes, oceans, rivers. From that they transition onto their bikes, and they bike a 20K (12.4 miles), and in collegiate triathlon its draft legal meaning they can get in draft paths, somewhat like NASCAR. After that they transition into their running shoes and they run a 5K.”

FALL 2022 PAGE 35SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER BHSU triathlon schedule Sept. 3 at Southern Hills Triathlon TBD Sept. 24 at Oktoberfest Triathlon TBD Sept. 24 at Desert’s Edge Triathlon ............ TBD Oct. 15 at West Regional Qualifier TBD

Women’s team qualifiers were: Brooklyn Hanson – Breakaway Roping, Sydney Maher – Barrel Racing, Cashae McGee – Goat Tying, and Emilee Pauley – Goat Tying and Barrel Racing.Men’s team qualifiers were: Clayton Backhaus – Team Roping, Riley Hannum – Team Roping, Austin Madison – Steer Wrestling, and Riley Staton – Team Roping. At the CNFR, Hanson finished tied for 13th in breakaway roping with a 9.5 after a 3.2 in the first go, 3.1 in the sec ond go and 3.2 in the third go. Maher finished 39th in barrel racing with a 49.59 after a 15.27 in the first go, 19.65 in the second go and 14.67 in the thirdMcGeego. finished 51st in goat tying with an 18.0 after a 9.9 in the second go and 8.1 in the third go. Pauley placed 44th barrel racing with a 29.74 after a 15.24 in the first go and 14.50 in the second go. She finished 22nd in goat tying with a 21.5 after a 6.8 in the first go, 6.8 in the second go and a 7.9 in the third go. Backhaus finished 30th in team rop ing with a 14.5 in the first go. Madison finished tied for 21st in steer wrestling with a 6.9 in the first go and 6.2 in the second go. Of the eight CNFR qualifiers, only Madison will not return this fall.

“Experience is valuable. You can prepare of do a lot of things to get our student athletes ready when we go out there, but the reality is until you experience it (the CNFR), it doesn’t really become real for you, and I think that’s where that experience is really gonna be asset for us coming into this season,” said Lammers. ”You suddenly come from there, and we talk about that after the finals that you either win or you learn. We had some good perfor mances, but we left a lot out there too, I thought.Lamessaid the CNFR experience has been motivation for the seven return ing CNFR qualifiers.

“What we see is a real hunger com ing out of them. They are craving getting back to that premiere event, so getting back on the stage at the largest college rodeo is kind of the start with the end in mind. “That’s what we want to get back to, and be even more prepared than we were last Lammersyear.”hopes this year’s CNFR, lit a fire under his team to work harder at practice, and get better.

“I thought there was definitely im provement with the men’s team, and they definitely got stronger, and I think it was just that desire to win is what I saw with our men’s team,” said Lammers. “They were wanting it bad. That’s kind of what motivated them to work harder, and really go after their goals.“Ithink that was one of the high lights of our spring season was defi nitely the Will Lantis Yellow Jacket Stampede with being able to win both the mens and the women titles that was really are high of the regular sea son.”Black Hills State had eight athletes qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. The eight CNFR qualifiers included four from the women’s team, and four from the mens team.

rodeo ready to get in the

BHSU saddle

The Yellow Jackets first practice is Aug.Lammers25. said he had urged his ath letes to compete this summer. “I really encourage them to not only practice and work on their skill set, but the reality is until you go out and test it, which means going to compe titions like rodeos and jackpots, and different things like that, that’s how they are really going to get better,” Lammers said. Black Hills State opens its fall sea son Sept. 9-10, at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls.

1306 Main Street, Spearfish 605-642-7727 • www.danadentalarts.com We’re Cheering For You! Michael R. Dana, DDS, PC Nicole D. Dana, DDS, MICOI Bradly R. Dana, DDS, MICOI Monique M. Dana, DDS, MICOI A General & Cosmetic Dental Practice Pioneer file photos

FALL 2022PAGE 36 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER BHSU rodeo schedule Sept. 9 at University of Wisconsin-River Falls TBD Sept. 15 at North Platte Community College TBD Sept. 23 at Iowa Central Community College TBD Sept. 30 at Dickinson State University TBD Oct. 21 at Buena Vista University TBD Nov. 4-5 at North Dakota State University TBD

By Dennis Knuckles Black Hills Pioneer SPEARFISH —The Black Hills State University rodeo team is looking to have a banner year during the 20222023 rodeo season. After the fall season ended last year the BHSU women’s team sat in second place and the men were fourth in the Great Plains Region.

again

“I thought we were in a good position coming out of the fall. We had some highs, and we had some times where I thought that we kind of let some things slip by, but overall, I thought we were pretty resilient, as far as being able to bounce back from some of the lows quickly,” said Glenn Lammers, BHSU’s rodeo coach. The women’s team improved during the spring season, but the men’s team really stepped it up.

FALL 2022 PAGE 37SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER SEASON!GREATAthletesWishingAlla NortherN hills Federal Credit UNioN Doing Business With People You Know and People Who Know You.

Members of the 2022 Spearfish High School football sideline cheerleaders are, front row from the left: Laurie Vifquain, Sydnee Lawlar, and Ali Johnson. Back row, from the left: Malaya Naescher, Jayden Wenzel, Taylor Ihde, Genisis Raysor, and Lilli Pridie. Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles

T.F. Riggs 10 a.m. Sept. 10 at Winner Nike Invite ............... 11 a.m. Sept. 12 hosting dance competition 5 p.m. Sept. 24 at RC Stevens 11 a.m. Oct. 1 at Custer ......................................... 11 a.m. Oct. 6 at Sturgis 5 p.m. Oct. 13 at Douglas 5 p.m. Oct. 22 at state (Brookings) .......................... TBD

Members of the 2022 Spearfish High School competitive dance team are, front row from left: Kenzie Routh, Alicia Rhoades, Brooklyn Jeffery, Alyshya Wild, Kate Heine, and Tailee Leuders. Back row from left: Kelsey Keith, Kaelei Kapust, Maquelle Strawn, Paylyn Bower, and Lexy Linares. Not pictured are coaches Jessie Jeffery and Lauren Grove. Pioneer photo by Dennis Knuckles Pierre

SpearfishDance

SpearfishCheer

SPEARFISH dance schedule Sept. 1 at Belle Fourche 10 a.m. Sept. 3 at

Sturgis Brown Dance

FALL 2022PAGE 38 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown High School competitive cheer team are, back row left: Zara Wallace, Ashley Standen, Kaylin Snow, Brenna Whitford, Teran Biscaino, Emma Jobgen, Breckin Esser, and McKyla Tarrent. Kneeling from left: Natalie Walker, Mya Jordan, Tania Biscaino, Christine Jordan, Brylee Dillon, Paige Gorczewski, Kira Willnerd, and Nevaeh Werlinger. Pioneer photo by Tim Potts

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown High School competitive dance team are back row from left: Garbiella Isburg, Bella Cramer, Allyson Tish, Mariah Muchow, Jayda Evans, and Gracie Williams. Front row: Mya Jordan. Pioneer photo by Tim Potts

SturgisBrownCheer

Members of the 2022 Sturgis Brown High School varsity football cheerleaders are, back row left: Zara Wallace, Shyloh Salazar, Brenna Whitford, Teran Biscaino, Emma Jobgen, McKyla Tarrent, and Breckin Esser. Kneeling from left: Mya Jordan, Gracie Williams, Christine Jordan, Brylee Dillon, Paige Gorczewski, Kira Willnerd, and Gabriella Isburg. Pioneer photo by Tim Potts

STURGIS BROWN dance schedule

Aug. 27 at Hub City Invite (RC Central) 10 a.m. Sept. 1 at Belle Fourche Invite 5 p.m. Sept. 3 at Pierre Spirit Invite 11 a.m. Sept. 12 at Spearfish Invitational 5 p.m. Sept. 10 at Winner Invitational 5 p.m. Oct. 13 at Douglas Black Hills Conference Competition 5 p.m.

Sturgis Brown Competitive Cheer

BELLE FOURCHE competitive cheer schedule Sept. 1 hosting Belle Fourche Invite 5 p.m. Sept. 3 Pierre Spirit Invite 10 a.m. Sept. 10 at Winner Invitational noon Sept. 12 at Spearfish Invite 5 p.m. Sept. 17 at Douglas Invite 11 a.m. Oct. 13 Black Hills Conference Competition 5 p.m.

FALL 2022 PAGE 39SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER twistedapparelcompany@gmail.com Best of luck to all area athletes! LEVERINGTON FUNERAL HOME OF THE NORTHERN HILLS Mark & Debra Leverington 715 National St., Belle Fourche • www.LeveringtonFH.com605-892-3320

The Belle Fourche sideline cheerleading squad features Selene Walker, Kalika Nulle, Lucy Merjil, Cierra Erhart, Julie Swanson, Hailey Anderson, Amiyah Gomez, Naomi Bricker, Kiana Tingley, Aubrey Wilbur, and Janessa Secher. Head coach Michaela Hallam is not pictured. Photo courtesy of Michaela Hallam

Photo courtesy of Michaela Hallam

Belle Fourche Competitive Cheer

Good LuckBroncs & Athletes!Area Belle Fourche’s competitive cheer squad features, back row from the left: Cierra Erhart, Amiyah Gomez, Selene Walker, Kalika Nulle, Josie McCord, and Janessa Secher. Middle row from the left: Fiona Krug, Alexis Coleman, Julie Swanson, Chelsea Zinke, Aubrey Wilbur, and Baylee Clendening. Front row from the left: Hailey Rodriguez, Hailey Anderson, Kiana Tingley, Naomi Bricker, and Lucy Merjil. Head coach Michaela Hallam is not pictured.

FourcheBelleCheer

The Lead-Deadwood cheerleading squad for this fall features, back row from left: December Graveman, Kaylee Atkins, Myah Buccholz, and Aspen Heupel. Front row from left: Daytona Finch, Aliannah Hansen, Hailey Buccholz, Delanie Berglund, Jayda Hunter, J-Vette McKeown, and Makayla Hunter. Head coach Lexi Lux is not pictured. Photo courtesy of Lexi Lux

Lead-Deadwood Cheer

FALL 2022PAGE 40 SPORTS PREVIEW/ BLACK HILLS PIONEER