Winter 2006 Rabbit Tracks

RABBITtracks

Volume 12, No. 2

South Dakota State University

Winter 2006

Mid-Continent Conference SDSU celebrates membership

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A message from Fred Oien

Go Jacks!

Athletic Department in final phase of Division I transition What probably has been the most difficult aspect of transition to Division I has been resolved. With acceptance into the Mid-Continent Conference, we now have twenty of our twenty-one sport programs in a position to compete for regular season championships by the 2007-08 seasons.

Beginning with the 2008-09 seasons, these twenty sports will be competing for regular season championships, conference post-season competition and NCAA post-season national championships. Equestrian is the only sport for which there are no conferences or an NCAA championship yet. Schools sponsoring equestrian now compete for the Varsity Equestrian National Championship.

The wrestling and volleyball programs are eligible for NCAA post-season competition in their current season.

Conference membership is a crucial aspect of any athletic program. Foremost, it provides student-athletes opportunities for team and individual recognition. For fans, it provides substantial meaning to the regular season schedules. For the department, it provides consistent scheduling and structure to the everyday affairs of the program. For the University, it defines relationships with other universities.

One large task remains in the transition. It is called NCAA Division I Athletic Certification. Currently, the Certification Committee on campus is conducting a yearlong self study of three operating principles in the Athletic Department.

Mary Kay Helling, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, heads the steering committee.

According to NCAA bylaws, the committee will study: • Governance and commitments to rules compliance; • Academic integrity; and • Equity and student-athlete welfare.

Assembled from across campus, a committee of twenty-two individuals representing student leadership, the Alumni Association, the SDSU Foundation, the Board of Regents, and the faculty, will prepare the self study for NCAA review in fall 2007. The NCAA Certification Committee will act on the report and determine if certification is granted in February 2008.

As a department we were fully aware of the tremendous task we faced. We had been well advised by our consultants. With conference membership determined and certification about to come to fruition, the transition has gone as planned.

Our student-athletes have been remarkable in their loyalty and dedication to make this process happen as have been our supporters of Jackrabbit athletics. It has taken extreme patience and dedication on the part of everyone. Even in these early years of the process, we have shown that we can compete and we belong to Division I.

— Fred Oien

SDSU Athletic Director

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Mid-Continent Conference — State starts play next fall .2 Q&A — Ten questions with Fred Oien on the Mid-Con .5 Backyard — Improvements enhance stadium tailgating . .6 Burger Pete — Binkers feeds Jacks in many ways . . . . . . .8 Preparing the fields — No shortcuts in priming fields . . . .10 Kathy Heylens — She knows the ABC’s of the NCAA . . . .11 Off-season — More athletes stay in Brookings to workout .12 Fall camp diaries — Jeff Hegge, football . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Fall camp diaries — Becca Mansheim, cross country . . .14 Fall camp diaries — Liz Lane, soccer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Fall camp diaries — Emily Rooney, volleyball . . . . . . . . .18 Briggs Scholars — Duffy, Grimsrud, Tschetter . . . . . . . . .20 Summer vacation — Athletes share their favorite trips . . . .22

Rabbit tracks Winter 2006,Vol. 12, No. 2

Rabbit Tracks is produced by University Relations in cooperation with the SDSU Athletic Department at no cost to the State of South Dakota. Please notify the Athletic Department office when you change your address.

SDSU President Peggy Gordon Miller SDSU Athletic Director Fred Oien SDSU Sports Information Director Jason Hove SDSU Sports Information Assistant Director Ryan Sweeter Assistant to AD/External Affairs Keith Mahlum Editor Andrea Kieckhefer, University Relations

Athletic Department South Dakota State University Box 2820, Brookings, SD 57007 Telephone: 1-866-GOJACKS Fax: 605/688-5999 Website: www.gojacks.com

Contributing Writers Dave Graves, Kyle Johnson, Denise Watt, University Relations

President Peggy Miller at the conference announcement.

Cover photo:

Designer Kristine Madsen, University Relations Photographer Eric Landwehr, University Relations

Front cover photo by Eric Landwehr, University Relations 1,200 copies printed by the SDSU Athletic Department at no cost to the State of South Dakota. PE069 12/06

Mid-Continent

Conference

Home sweet home SDSU celebrates membership in Mid-Continent Conference ong-time rivals North Dakota State and South Dakota State find themselves together again as three new members join the MidContinent Conference July 1, 2007.

Both Dakota schools got the big news August 30, the day after the University of Indiana-Fort Wayne was invited to join the Mid-Continent Conference.

The new schools and the exit of Valparaiso University will provide a ten-team league for the 2007-08 season.

“I think the addition of SDSU, North Dakota State, and Fort Wayne will make us a stronger conference,” Commissioner Tom Douple said in a late-September phone interview.

“We’re all very excited for all the new members to come in. [The existing schools] are all anticipating how they will fare against the [new] competition.”

SDSU will be competing for conference championships in eighteen of the nineteen sports sponsored by the Mid-Continent Conference.

(SDSU doesn’t offer men’s soccer.)

The Mid-Continent sponsors championships in eighteen of the twenty-one sports fielded by SDSU. The other three are football, wrestling, and equestrian. State participates in the Great Western Football Conference and the Western Wrestling Conference. There is no conference for the collegiate sport of equestrian.

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Bring on the band State formally accepted the invitation to join its new conference at an August 31 press conference/celebration.

Gathered in the remodeled Volstorff Ballroom, about 100 members of the Pride of Dakotas Marching Band blared out the school songs on their shiny, new silver instruments while yellow, blue, and white balloons greeted students, faculty, and fans flocking in for the historic event.

Four television cameras were pointed to the 2 • Rabbit tracks

head table, which included everyone from the governor of South Dakota to the conference commissioner.

Pride Director James McKinney brought the crowd to its feet, clapping in rhythm, as he led the band in Ring the Bell and Yellow and Blue. After hearing the invitation to join the conference, the crowd of 450 Jackrabbit boosters rose to a standing ovation that was mixed with clanging cowbells.

The celebration, which included free SDSU ice cream at the conclusion, capped a five-year process.

A deliberate process SDSU decided to move from Division II to Division I athletics in 2002 after gaining support from the Alumni Association, the SDSU Foundation, and the student and faculty senates as well as the Board of Regents. Their votes followed an encouraging report from a private consulting firm.

Finding a conference, which State hoped to do directly after leaving the North Central Conference, proved challenging.

That made August 31 all the sweeter. “We’ve been waiting a while,” Athletic Director Fred Oien said as he took the press conference microphone. Oien, who has served as AD at his alma mater since 1990, hailed the foundation laid by mentors Jack Frost and Harry Forsyth.

But he called particular attention to the current staff, who received an ovation when Oien directed them to stand.

“Our staff is in tack because of the quality we have and their commitment to the student athlete.

I got to be the cheerleader out front, but you did all the work,” said Oien, who was wearing a MidContinent Conference pullover and cap that he and President Peggy Gordon Miller received earlier.

Mid-Continent

Conference

All eyes on conference crowns

South Dakota State University Jackrabbits Brookings, S.D. Centenary College Gents (m), Ladies (w) Shreveport, La. Indiana UniversityPurdue UniversityFort Wayne Mastadoons Indiana UniversityPurdue UniversityIndianapolis Jaguars North Dakota State University Bison Fargo, N.D. Oakland University Grizzlies Rochester, Mich. (suburban Detroit).

Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles Tulsa, Okla.

Southern Utah University Thunderbirds Cedar City, Utah University of MissouriKansas City Kangaroos Western Illinois Leathernecks (m), Westerwinds (w) Macomb, Ill.

Among those staff members were volleyball coach Andrew Palileo and swimming and diving coach Brad Erickson.

After three seasons of playing as an independent, Palileo is excited about the opportunity to play for a league title. “This is what all the kids and coaches have been working for. It’s a good day for them,” Palileo said after the press conference, which had the elements for a pep rally except for a bonfire.

“We’ll be able to compete right away. . . . Our players are good enough to compete right away,” the coach said.

The Mid-Continent offers a chance to build new rivalries, will help with travel, and provide a recruiting base, Palileo said. “We’ll be recruiting more in the [Mideast] area because kids will be able to go back home some,” he said. Though spread widely, most schools are on a band from Kansas City to Detroit.

Testing the waters Erickson’s tankers have a jump on the rest of the SDSU athletes.

They competed in the Mid-Continent Conference last season as an affiliate member and are doing so again this season.

“I was very impressed with the whole conference from the first week that we got in. They had just great press releases, kept track of every team’s top ten times, and athlete-of-the-week honors. I was just very impressed with it. For the detail they gave, it seemed like swimming was the only sport they had,” Erickson said.

Athlete-of-the-week and conference medals helped motivate his swimmers last season, he said.

As for competitiveness, Erickson said, “It’s a conference that for our sport of swimming, we fit very well. Oakland University is far and above any other program in the conference. They were a Division II national championship team before they switched [to Division I] in 1999-2000.

“Beyond Oakland, it’s a very competitive race for No. 2 and we hope we can be there.”

‘The University was ready’ Women’s basketball players Ketty Cornemann and Andrea Verdegan share similar enthusiasm.Verdegan, a junior, said, “It’s really exciting that everything is taking place.You want to play for a conference title.You want to play in a conference. It means you’re getting somewhere.”

That somewhere could be the NCAA tournament. The MidContinent Conference champ is an automatic qualifier.

While freshman Cornemann hasn’t had to deal with the headaches of playing an independent schedule, the opportunity to play in a conference is “just as exciting for me because I get more chances to compete for conference titles,” she said after the press conference.

The press conference crowd included Nancy Neiber, associate athletic director and former women’s basketball coach with twentythree years experience here. “I view it as an opportunity for our student-athletes to compete against the best. The University was ready.

“The ultimate will be when one of our teams, men or women, gets the opportunity to compete for an NCAA championship,” she said.

Dave Graves

Rabbit tracks • 3

Mid-Continent

Conference

“The ultimate will be when one of our teams, men or women, gets the opportunity to compete for an NCAA championship.”

— Nancy Neiber, associate athletic director

Clockwise from lower left: • President Peggy Gordon Miller stands to give a Jackrabbit yell at the conference announcement gathering at SDSU’s Volstorff Ballroom in The Union.

• Miller addresses the August 31 gathering.

• Tim Van Alstine, of Western Illinois, and head of the Mid-Continent’s athletic directors’ council, left, is joined by President Miller and Athletic Director Fred Oien at the August 31 selection announcement.

• Pride members Lance Hellstrom and Katie Jo McGuire pep up the crowd by joining other Pride of the Dakotas members in playing the school song at the August 31 announcement.

• Dignitaries gather at an August 9 reception for officials from the Mid-Continent Conference, who visited SDSU before selecting State to join.

• Some 450 community members, students, and faculty members nearly filled the Volstorff Ballroom for the August 31 conference annoucement.

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Mid-Continent

Conference

Q&A with the AD Athletic Director Fred Oien tackles ten questions about the Mid-Continent Conference and SDSU. 1. When does SDSU begin play in the MidContinent Conference?

2007-08 2. When will SDSU be able to participate in post-season conference tournaments?

In 2007 for volleyball; in 2008-09 for other sports. [Note: In 2005, the NCAA granted the volleyball team a waiver to compete in postseason play.]

3. What was your gut feeling when the conference finished its site visit in August?

Both the site visiting committee and our staff felt everything had been looked at. . . . When you have that kind of examination and don’t see any glaring comments at the end, I thought it was the right fit. It was a very positive feeling.

4. What was the first thing you did after taking Tom Douple’s call to report on the conference vote?

Actually, President [Peggy] Miller got the call.

She called me and I smiled.

5. Why is SDSU a good fit with the MidContinent Conference?

There are eighteen sports that we sponsor that will have championships in the MidContinent Conference. From a conference perspective, the more depth you can add to these sports and the greater stability you can bring to them, the stronger it makes your conference.

6. What sold SDSU to the Mid-Continent Conference?

The rich traditions that have occurred at South Dakota State. There is tremendous community and student support for the program. They loved how strong our students are academically.

7. What is the strong point of the MidContinent Conference?

Its academic institutions. Athletically, it’s been successful at a lot of sports. There are

tremendous leaders, both at the institutions and at the conference level.

Those leaders have a high standard of what they believe the student-athlete experience should be. The experience is about how they are treated as student-athletes. There is respect and dignity for them as individuals.

8. How does the number of athletic scholarships given by SDSU compare with other schools in the conference?

It varies from sport to sport. Our plan is to be at or above the conference average. The scholarships will be very comparable to existing membership. [Note: State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams and the volleyball team are already at the maximum set by the NCAA.] 9. What will it take for SDSU to host a conference tournament?

The men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are on a bid basis using neutral courts. Other sports are on a bid basis with some requiring a financial guarantee and others just requiring the host school to foot expenses.

10. Is this the final step in the transition to Division I? The certification process for the NCAA is the final step. We will file a report in 2007. The NCAA will review the document and then there will be a site visit, much like accreditation for academics. In February ’08 the report goes to the NCAA Executive Committee for action.

With the committee’s approval, we become a full-fledged member with the right to participate in all areas of NCAA Division I in ’08-’09.

[Note: Full membership provides SDSU voting rights at the Division I level, revenue sharing from the NCAA and the conference, NCAAfinanced academic grant programs for student-athletes, and the right to play in post-season tournaments.]

Athletic Director Fred Oien listens to comments at an August 10 press conference at the conclusion of a visit

by Mid-Continent Conference representatives to SDSU. He had a big smile August 30 when SDSU was invited to join the Division I conference.

SDSU Corporate Partners: Anchor – Avera Brookings Medical Clinic, Coca-Cola, Daktronics, First Bank and Trust Founding – ARAMARK, Farm Credit Services of America, Larson Manufacturing, State Farm Insurance Major – Brookings Health System, Burger King, Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill, Dacotah Bank, De Smet Farm Mutual, First Premier Bank, Northwestern Energy, South Dakota Beef Industry Council, SDSU Bookstore Rabbit tracks • 5

Backyard gives tailgating new meaning hen it comes to tailgating, there’s nothing that quite compares to The Backyard. “Tailgating is a big part of game day atmosphere,” says Facilities Manager Matt Thorn. “We’ve done a lot of improvements, and we try and improve it every year. This is something we are really excited about.”

The Backyard is a three-acre spread on the north side of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Separated by a groove of cottonwood trees, the area is home to 3,000 to 5,000 tailgaters, who faithfully gather prior to each home Jackrabbit football game.

“It’s certainly one of the biggest improvements since I’ve been going to games there,” says fellow tailgater Matt Einsphar. “It makes the game that much more of an event.”

On game day, tailgaters quickly transform the tranquil set into a true pregame sporting bonanza.

After setting up shop outside their motor homes, campers, and tents, complete with flags, tables, chairs, and even big screen television sets for viewing of other top college games across the country, tailgaters settle in before departing for the stadium to cheer on the Jacks.

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What’s for lunch?

The Backyard is also the place for some of the best cooking around. There are traditional items like burgers, brats, ribs, and hot 6 • Rabbit tracks

dogs. For others, like Einsphar and his tailgate group, dining gets a little more serious with chili, seafood platters, and jambalaya, a cajun rice dish.

“We’ve even had fried pickles,” remarks Einsphar. “This is a chance to get together with friends and have a great time, cook some good food, and go to the game.”

The Backyard atmosphere wouldn’t be complete without music and radio station pregame shows serving as the entertainment backdrop.

Tailgating is nothing new, but five years ago SDSU officials decided to change the dynamics and have “organized tailgates,” thus the birth of The Backyard.

A place of their own This year tailgaters could purchase a reserved spot to tailgate.

The largest spots are fifty feet wide and sixty feet long and sell for $350 for the season. The middle ones are thirty-by-fifty and go for $210, while the smaller spots are thirty-by-twenty-five and cost $140. Single-game prices are $100 for the large spots, $75 for the middle tier, and $50 for the small ones.

For areas that aren’t reserved, tailgaters can enter on a firstcome, first-serve basis for $5, provided they have a vehicle.

All income generated goes toward athletic scholarships and operating expenses for the Athletic Department.

Tailgating “It’s not meant to be a big party, but instead an event where family, friends, and fans alike can assemble and have a good time before going into the stadium to watch the Jacks.”

– Matt Thorn, facilities manager

Fun for everyone Would-be tailgaters only have to contact the Jackrabbit ticket office to reserve a spot. A detailed map of the layout and parking passes are mailed, according to Thorn, who relates the public is pleased with the arrangement.

“People like it because when they drive up they know they will have their spot,” he says. “We provide everybody who buys a spot with a nice looking road sign with their name on it.”

The Backyard also features a “fun zone” for children. They can climb a big castle and slide down the other side, or enter a giant blow-up balloon and bounce in the inside. They can also be seen interacting with SDSU student-athletes, who offer a variety of skill lessons, such as putting, shooting a basketball, and guiding a soccer ball.

“All-in-all, what we are trying to do is create a fun, family atmosphere,” says Thorn. “It’s not meant to be a big party, but instead an event where family, friends, and fans alike can assemble and have a good time before going into the stadium to watch the Jacks.”

Kyle Johnson

The grassy area north of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, known as The Backyard, has become an increasingly popular place to start the fun before kickoff.

This year marked the second season that fans could buy designated area to grill their dogs. All proceeds go to scholarships and Athletic Department operating expenses.

Rabbit tracks • 7

‘Burger Pete’ gives SDSU athletics a special flavor “I can feed people . . . I’m good at that . . .

I can cook on the grill.” ndeed, it’s something many people in the state, especially the SDSU Athletic Department, have come to know and appreciate about Pete Binker. Dubbed “Burger Pete,” Binker, and his wife, Jo, are owners of Burger King in Brookings. They are also proud supporters of the Jackrabbit athletic teams, a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed by the staff.

“Pete and Jo have been long-time loyal friends of SDSU,” says Associate Athletic Director Keith Mahlum. “Their names have been synonymous with many Jackrabbit events over the years. Their generosity has provided numerous opportunities for our student-athletes.”

The Binkers have three scholarship endowments. It started in 2000 with a $500 scholarship going to one volleyball player per year. In fall 2006 they created a $1,000 softball scholarship, and another $1,000 scholarship for a member of the Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band.

“We get a great deal of personal satisfaction supporting the students,” says Binker. “My goal is to make things better. I want them to be successful, and whatever I can do to help them achieve success, I want to do it.”

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Looking for pictures Originally from the Twin Cities, the Binkers moved to Sioux Falls, where Pete graduated from the University of Sioux Falls and played football for the Cougars.

Binker took a job with the Juvenile Detention Center and eventually became a probation officer. However, he decided to change course and bought into the Burger King franchise business. In 1979, he came to Brookings and the “Burger Pete” saga soon took shape.

“I’m a big sports fan,” says Pete, who ventured to the SDSU sports information office, where he inquired about obtaining Jackrabbit pictures and memorabilia to display on the walls inside Burger King.

That visit spawned a relationship that lasts to this day: Burger King double cheeseburgers delivered to the press box crew and members of the media at halftime of the Jacks’ football games. Later in the season, when the weather gets cooler, Binker’s chili makes an appearance. Cheeseburgers are also served to the press box staff at the basketball games.

And, there’s much, much more.

Since the late 1980s, he donates his time cooking Burger King Whoppers at the annual Stan Marshall Golf Tournament. He also serves meals when the Jackrabbit coaches host their basketball, volleyball, and football camps during the summer. For the last five years, he has donated money to the Pride so band members can be outfitted in a set design T-shirt.

Recently, the Alumni Association approached the Binkers about a feed for alums tailgating in The Backyard for the Jacks’ home football games; they obliged and served up Whoppers and refreshments.

“We cook right there and serve under the tents,” notes Pete. “It gives the 8 • Rabbit tracks

Pete

Binker

Servin’ up stewardship

Above: Freshmen Justin Mitchell, left, and Corey Jeske sink their teeth into hamburgers at an August 21 contest at Burger King in Brookings.

Neither won. The best burger eater was fellow freshman Tyler Duffy, who downed six in the five-minute contest.

Below Right: SDSU football team members enjoy the Whopper feed on a beautiful fall day outside of the Burger King rstaurant in Brookings, SD. Bottom: Enough for a meal. SDSU Assistant Football Coaches Rob Sarvis, left, and Daren Wilkinson each grab trays full of hamburgers from Burger King owner Pete Binker.

A look at the Binkers generosity: • $500 volleyball scholarship • $1,000 softball scholarship • $1,000 marching band scholarship • Double cheeseburgers to the press box crew at halftime of Jacks’ football games. (Chili on the menu for cold-weather games.)

• Cheeseburgers to the press box staff at the basketball games.

• Whoppers served at the annual Stan Marshall Golf Tournament.

• Meals for basketball, volleyball, and football camps hosted by SDSU coaches during the summer.

• Donations to the Pride so band members can be outfitted in a set design T-shirt.

• Whoppers for alums tailgating in The Backyard at Jacks’ home football games.

• Women’s and men’s basketball teams have steak dinners at the Binker home.

• Volleyball players and parents gather at the Binkers for a kickoff meal.

alums who come back a place to go and be involved with tailgating before going to the game.”

Hosting, having fun Whopper feeds aren’t only confined to SDSU. For the last twenty years, the Binkers have taken Burger King to towns around the state, raising close to three-quarters of a million dollars in fund-raising events.

“I charge whatever it costs me and they keep the rest,” says Pete, who recently was in Howard for its 125th anniversary, and Flandreau and Madison for their county 4-H fairs. “We’ve done about 1,500 of these in about sixty different towns.”

The best clients, though, are the ones wearing yellow and blue. Each fall they host a picnic for the football team at Hillcrest Park. And, one evening during fall camp, the team is invited to dine at Burger King, except for a select few who skip the meal so they can partake in a hamburger-eating contest outside the building in the parking lot.

“They get ten hamburgers and a glass of water, and it’s who can finish the most in five minutes,” explains Pete. “It’s a tradition we started about eight years ago. It adds a little fun for the guys, so it’s a neat thing.”

The Binkers have also opened up their Brookings home. For the last five years they have invited the women’s and men’s basketball teams over for steak dinners. And, they have a volleyball kickoff for players and parents at the beginning of fall camp.

“It’s simply a matter of getting involved and being interested,” says Pete of his stewardship. “We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t enjoy it. The important thing is to help out and make things better.”

Kyle Johnson Rabbit tracks • 9

Preparing the fields: Time, toil, artistic finesse M aintaining State’s athletic fields takes time, toil, and even a tad of artistic finesse. The grounds crew uses forty to fifty gallons of white paint before each home game to create the lines on the football field alone. Another thirty gallons each of blue and yellow is used to paint the end zones. It takes four men two days, weather permitting, to complete this endeavor, ideally as close to game day as possible.

“We watch the weather closely the week of a game,” says Matt Thorn, athletics facilities manager. “We like to start painting on Thursday. The paint lasts a week, but the later you put it down, the brighter it will be.”

The crowning touch is the SDSU logo at midfield, hand painted every fall by grounds supervisor and assistant facilities manager Doug Hagman.

“He does it freehand,” Thorn says. “It takes a lot of guts to do that without a template. Most schools have a template. The first logo takes Doug a half day. Then we go back every week and spray the outline, so we’re not laying it out every week.

“We built our own template for the checkerboard end zones.”

Growing & mowing Watering and mowing, of course, depends on what Mother Nature provides.

“When it’s very dry, we mow every other day,” Thorn says.

“When it’s gotten lots of rain, we mow every day. We use a National Reel mower.You can see the lines on game day. It gives the field a better look.

“We water once a day for a week, then do heavy watering. Then we let it dry out, which stresses it a bit and promotes growth. But nothing replaces rain water.”

When it comes to chemicals, less is more.

Careful with the chemicals “We put very little chemicals on the field,” Thorn says. “We fertilize once every twenty days, but we struggle a bit to keep the weeds away. We spray once in the fall to prevent dandelions and other weeds. We use Confront, which is campus approved. Other schools use other chemicals, like 2-4D. “We have to be careful of any chemicals we use because of the greenhouses. When we do spray, we let everybody know. And the day 10 • Rabbit Tracks

Groundskeeper Doug Hagman, right, prepares the midfield logo at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium with Pat Holmes before the season opener.

has to be perfect, no wind at all. That’s the one thing that always hampers us. We have a great field of turf, but we can’t treat the field. We’re basically an organic field.”

On game day, the crew has to ensure all water is off the field.

“Safety is number one,” Thorn says. “It has to be a safe environment for the players, so they don’t lose their footing. And it has to look as good as possible for the fans coming to the game and the “That’s the guys’ players.

“It takes some time. I have three baby. They’re pretty full-time people on my grounds crew proud of the field on and they also take care of the rugby/cricket field, the soccer field, game day.” the softball and baseball fields, and –Matt Thorn, facilities three practice fields,” he says. manager

New softball field in use Before a game at the softball field, Thorn says, workers spend about an hour mowing and dragging the infields and painting the batter’s box, foul lines, and pitcher’s circle.

“We’ve put a ton of work in this summer,” he says. “This fall is the first time we’ve held competitions there. The women played the men’s fast-pitch team, the World Series champs, on September 9.

They’ve won multiple national tournaments and placed in the world tournament a couple of times. Then we had an alumni game October 7. Next spring, we have a thirty-game schedule out there.”

They’ll put in portable bleachers for now, he says, and contractors will complete the dugouts this fall or next spring.

For soccer, the grounds crew maintains the practice field on the northwest side of the HPER Center. The team plays at Fishback Field, which is maintained by the city.

“We run the games out there, but the city mows and paints the lines,” Thorn says.

The grounds crew leaves its mark on many fields, but the football field is the granddaddy of them all.

“That’s the guys’ baby,” Thorn says. “They’re pretty proud of it on game day.”

Cindy Rickeman

Kathy

Heylens

Kathy Heylens

“Kathy’s energy and her willingness to work with all coaches in all situations is what really makes her wonderful at her job.”

— Nancy Neiber, associate athletic director, commenting on Kathy Heylens, compliance officer

Understanding the ABC’s of NCAA athy Heylens has come a long way from not knowing what NCAA stood for to becoming the Athletic Department’s in-house NCAA expert.

“Kathy Heylens is our NCAA,” says longtime women’s basketball coach and current Associate Athletic Director Nancy Neiber, “Kathy is very deserving of our fans knowing just how important she is to our department. “ Heylens began her eighteen-year Athletic Department career as secretary to former head Harry Forsyth. Neiber says now you’d never guess Heylens once asked her about the NCAA acronym.

“Kathy has to know [the NCAA Rule Book] front to back,” she says.

As the sole NCAA compliance officer, Heylens keeps a busy schedule.

“It’s a wide variety of tasks with this job,” she says. Heylens does everything from determining the eligibility of each player to monitoring the coaches during recruitment.

She is in regular contact with athletes, parents, coaches, and even the booster clubs.

“I think what makes Kathy good is just that she’s so approachable. She welcomes people into her office. They go to see her when they have concerns,” says Neiber.

That’s the part of her job description that Heylens loves best.

“My favorite part is working with the student-athletes. The athletes are fun and enthusiastic. It keeps you young,” she says.

Fred Oien, head of the Athletic Department, notes that Heylens takes her job seriously, but “because of her demeanor, Kathy is so fun to be around. She’s kind of our inhouse counselor—keeping our spirits up—and she does it very well.”

The transition to Division I has brought on new responsibilities and challenges for Heylens.

“There are a lot more rules that we need to be aware of,” says Heylens. For example, she

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is in charge of making sure the coaches follow scheduling rules that state the number D-I schools the Jacks are required to play.

“It was such a learning process when we started this in our exploratory year,” says Heylens, who often takes on the role of teacher.

Heylens, with the help of the coaches, monitors the academic eligibility of each student-athlete. She interprets rules, advises coaches on recruiting matters, and sorts out athletic scholarships and financial aid.

“She holds one of the most crucial posts in our Department,” says Oien.

Heylens’ style makes her well suited for the post. “I’m really organized and really detail oriented and maybe that’s why I like this job,” she says from her office lined with file cabinets. Each document has its place.

During the five-year reclassification to D-I, which began with the 2003-04 academic year, the NCAA requires a yearly strategic plan.

Heylens leads the team that puts that report together.

“This is a challenge. We have to address the philosophy of D-I and how we are going to meet these,” says Heylens. “Each year you should be progressing more and more.”

Next year the NCAA will do a site visit. Heylens will spend several weeks preparing for their visit and self-study.

The busy job does have its perks, says Heylens. A selfproclaimed “music person,” Heylens enjoys taking in Jackrabbit sporting events.

“It’s probably more fun for me because I know all of the students,” she says.

Miranda Reiman

Below: Kathy Heylens lets out a cheer during the men’s basketball game against North Dakota State University February 18. Helping her cheer on the ’Rabbits is Bert Neiber, father of associate athletic director Nancy Neiber.

Rabbit tracks • 11

Volleyball player Minette Ridenour struggles to balance a 72.5-kilogram (145-pound) power clean during testing on the first day of fall camp August 10. Her work is witnessed

by Assistant Coach Phil McDaniel; left; strength and conditioning coach Nathan Moe; and teammate Minette Ridenour.

Athletes spend summer staying fit Increasing number of athletes stay here for off-season workouts fter nine months in Brookings, freshmen Chris Johnson and Brad Herman took the opposite path that most of their classmates followed.

They stayed in Brookings. Although Herman did find a job while they were in town, the main motivation for Johnson, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Herman, of Luverne, Minnesota, wasn’t to get to know the campus town better or earn big bucks working at Brookings Municipal Utilities.

They stayed in Brookings because fifty of their football teammates did. That represents half of the entire squad.

And football players weren’t the only athletes to make Brookings their summer home as well as their school-year address.

Strength and conditioning coach Nathan Moe reports a significant increase from 2005, when he arrived here from Eastern Illinois.

Veteran observers say the summer athlete count was the highest in recent memory.

In addition to more than fifty football players working out with Moe four times a week, there were thirteen women’s basketball players, a dozen men’s basketball players, six soccer players, seven volleyball players, an equestrian rider, a wrestler, and a couple track athletes.

The basketball teams included incoming freshmen, some for five weeks, but most for eight weeks.

A

A Division I commitment Moe says the athletes “understand what it takes to be successful at the Division I level.

12 • Rabbit tracks

They’ve made a real commitment to be successful at the Division I level, and this is what they need to do.” After two years of play at Division I, athletes understand the need to be bigger, stronger, faster.

While it might seem like that would be the attitude at every university, Moe says that is not so.

“We’ve got more athletes here [in the summer] than we ever had at Eastern Illinois, which is a similar sized school in a similar sized community. Part of the attraction to SDSU was the commitment of its athletes,” Moe says.

Those athletes expect that commitment to pay off.

“The main thing is there is a lot more camaraderie, more people to push you through your workout; [there is] more accountability to get things done,” says Johnson, who spent the previous summer working out with former Abraham Lincoln High School buddies that were heading to other programs.

No coaches allowed Coaches can’t participate in the off-season training, but Moe and his assistants can direct players in the weight room as well as on the practice field. But there can be no footballs, formations, or anything that would resemble a football practice, Moe says.

The NCAA rules also restrict the start of directed workouts for football players to nine weeks before the opening of fall camp, he adds.

There are more regulations about summer workouts for football than there are for other sports.

Moe customizes the workouts for each sport. In general terms, Nathan Moe the football and men’s basketball players lift and run four days a week for about an hour a day. The running is a mix of agility work and conditioning.

Other sports lift three days a week and run four to five times a week.

Getting to the practice field for 6 a.m. stretching and running drills sets a standard for commitment.

But Herman says it isn’t his alarm clock that forces him out of bed so early on a summer morning as it is his fellow defensive linemen. “They hold you accountable.You make friendships and get closer. It helps with team chemistry,” Herman says of the sessions.

Extolling the off-season workouts, linebacker Johnson notes, “You’re with your football family, and they’re all relying on you.”

Dave Graves

Fall

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Jeff Hegge Humidity, enthusiasm, appetite high at football camp Football Camp Diary:

By Jegg Hegge Editor’s note: Jeff Hegge, #28, is a senior safety and two-year letterman from Watertown. The history major would have been a returning starter at corner, but made the switch to free safety during spring ball.

Sunday, Aug. 6 We checked in today at Larson Commons; went over paperwork and had physicals over at the HPER. It was good to see all the guys again and the excitement everyone shared.

Monday, Aug. 7 Our morning was filled with strength and conditioning tests. The conditioning test seemed to be tough for some of the guys.

In the afternoon we had our first practice.

Wednesday, Aug. 9 The morning practice was hot with humidity near 100 percent. In the afternoon we had media day, taking pictures and doing interviews. We had a skills competition between the classes and then for supper we ate at Pizza Ranch.

Thursday, Aug. 10 Had our first lift of fall camp and then practice in the afternoon.

Friday, Aug. 11 First full-padded practice today; a lot of pads popping. Many of the guys having problems with their hamstrings.

Saturday, Aug. 12 First two-a-day practice. Rain delayed the morning practice; defense had a good second practice.

Sunday, Aug. 13 Great day! No practice, light day of lifting and meetings.

Monday, Aug. 14 Very competitive day. Everyone felt fresh from the day off. Burger King fed us Whoppers at Hillcrest Park for supper.

Tuesday, Aug. 15 Another two-practice day. Full pads both practices and the young guys scrimmaged.

It was nice to see what they have learned.

That night we went to the pool with the volleyball and soccer teams.

Wednesday, Aug. 16 One practice in the morning. Seniors went to the Performing Arts Center to record the intro for our games. It went well and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Friday, Aug. 18 Good, hot practice in the morning. Lifted in the afternoon then ate again at Pizza Ranch. Pizza Ranch really treats us well.

Saturday, Aug. 19 Light, mental practice in the morning.

Scrimmaged in the afternoon. Defense looked solid with the offense making some big plays. Received the night off from meetings.

Sunday, Aug. 20 Lifted and watched film from Friday’s scrimmage. Coaches graded film and made changes to depth charts and adjustments to the defense.

Monday, Aug. 21 The burger eating contest highlighted today. Tyler Duffy [a freshman running back from Brookings] won by eating six cheeseburgers the fastest. The contest is a tradition to stay.

Tuesday, Aug. 22 Two shorter practices; trying to perfect our skills and get guys healthy.

Wednesday, Aug. 23 Began Wisconsin-LaCrosse preparation today. More of a mental practice than a physical one. Meetings were shortened down tonight.

Thursday, Aug. 24 Rusty, slow practice in the morning, extremely humid and muggy. Came back in the afternoon and had a great practice.

Tonight, I gave my senior speech on the highs and lows I have experienced in my four years at State. A lot of the guys understood what I said.

Friday, Aug. 25 Practiced under the lights for a night practice. Much of the day we had off to relax. Came out sharp and had one of our best practices of fall camp.

Saturday, Aug. 26 Last day of fall camp; simulated a gameday situation. Mood was light and everyone was in good spirits. Rookie show was awesome, a great finale to fall camp. Most of the guys watched the volleyball game that night.

Rabbit tracks • 13

Fall

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diaries

Becca Mansheim Cross-country camp — no walk in the park Cross-Country Camp Diary:

By Becca Mansheim Editor’s note: Becka Manshiem, a senior from Brookings, is one of fourteen nursing majors on this year’s women’s squad. She placed sixth at the Division I Independent Championships in fall 2005 and won the Division I Independent Outdoor 1,500and 5,000-meter titles in the spring.

Monday, Aug. 21 The cross-country team met at the HPER at 10 a.m. to caravan to Maplewood State Park, Minnesota, to get a solid week of training on trails (nice change of scenery from Brookings!) with the team during our final week before school starts.

I cannot believe this is my senior year—my last year at cross-country camp, my last cross-country season—it goes too fast!

Twenty-two men and women crosscountry athletes were able to make it to our fall camp outing this year. After setting up our campsites, we girls went for our first run of the week, which consisted of never-ending hills and rough trails.

Surprisingly, the pace remained steady throughout the run, which is unusual for our first women’s team run together (normally, everyone gets a little excited and the pace gets faster quickly). After our eight-mile run together, we finished the workout session with core strengthening exercises.

The night ended with us eating and catching up with everyone’s summer around the campfire.

Today’s mileage: 8

14 • Rabbit tracks

Tuesday, Aug. 22 I didn’t wake up as sore as I thought I would due to the uneven trails we ran on yesterday and sleeping in a tent.

Today, I went nine miles in the morning and three miles in the afternoon working towards my seventy-mile week.

We started out our morning run as a women’s group again. Some of the younger girls turned back earlier, so Katie Tornberg and I ran the last five or so miles together. We were able to find some gravel with better footing than the trails, so we were able to pick up the pace a bit and get a harder run in together. For the afternoon, we went swimming in the lake by our camp and played a little whiffle ball on the beach.

I finished off the night by eating too many s’mores!

Today’s mileage: 12 Wednesday, Aug. 23 Yesterday during our afternoon run, Katie Tornberg and I found some soft grass trails that we lead the women’s group to this morning. Although we still couldn’t avoid the constant up and down of the hills, the grass was a pleasant break from dodging the rocks, branches, roots, and holes. This morning I went eight miles without any complaints except for some blisters on my feet.

My body is starting to feel slightly fatigued due to the different terrain than I’m use to in FLAT Brookings, but I’m still without aches or pains. We did core strengthening exercise after our morning run, then went into town, played whiffle ball with the guys at a baseball field in

Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, and stopped by the Dairy Queen for some ice cream.

Three girls joined me for an easy fourmile afternoon run to loosen up the legs.

Today’s mileage: 12 Thursday, Aug. 24 Today, I woke up stiff, and my teammates echoed with the same complaints. We made sure to stretch longer than usual today before our run. This morning I went nine miles with core strengthening exercises after the run. The women’s team also made a train to give each other much-needed massages to loosen up our knots and tight muscles. Ahhh! That felt awesome!

I also noticed that a blister on my right pinky toe was starting to get red and look infected. Two years ago, I had a blister get infected on the same toe, and it turned out that I got blood poisoning from it, so I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

During the afternoon, we had a competitive game of co-ed kickball. My team won! It also started to rain this afternoon during our easy three-mile run.

Once we got back to camp, we found out that we were in the path of major thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.

After many calls to our parents to check the weather on the Internet, we made the decision to pack up camp a day early and go home, although many of the guys wanted to “tough it out.” We later learned that some tornadoes touched down about fifteen to twenty miles away from our camp.

Today’s mileage: 12

Fall

Friday, Aug. 25 Although we weren’t camping anymore, the girls stayed in Brookings for a final run together before everyone left for home to get their belongings packed up to be back for Sunday’s cross-country meeting and the start of school. My legs were sure glad to be back on the flat roads of Brookings.

We went for an easy five-mile run, and Katie and I tacked on one more mile to make it six for the day.

I went to the doctor today to have my pinky toe checked out because it was three times as big as my pinky toe on my other foot, and it was very irritated and felt like it was pulsating after my run. He diagnosed me with blood poisoning due to my infected blister and gave me an oral antibiotic to take for ten days. Since I knew what I was looking for, I was lucky to catch it early, before it made me sick with a high fever and body aches like it

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had it the past.

Today’s mileage: 6 Saturday, Aug. 26 I ran nine miles with the girls still in Brookings—Caitlin Berry, Sarah Hanson, and Claire Steinke. I tacked on three miles to get my weekly long run of twelve miles in one training session.

My toe is still bothering me and is not looking any better. It worries me more that I won’t be able to fit it in a running shoe more than that it is hurting.

Today’s mileage: 12

Sunday, Aug. 27 I met with the girls that have moved back to school for a morning run together. I ran eight miles to finish off the seventy miles for the week.

My legs feel strong. Although the trails at Maplewood made us sore and slowed down our runs, they, without question, made us stronger. My blister has turned into a blood blister and is looking infected as ever. I’ll have to call the doctor or see the trainers tomorrow.

Today’s mileage: 8 TOTAL weekly mileage: 70 Editor’s note: Mansheim had the blood blister popped, took antibiotics for ten days, and never missed any training.

On Friday, Sept. 1, she won the women’s 5K at the NDSU Cross Country Open in 17:54:13 and was named Division I Independent Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week.

Rabbit tracks • 15

Fall

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Liz Lane Soccer camp: Mental focus, physical drive, and a little bit of fun Soccer Camp Diary:

By Liz Lane Editor’s note: Liz Lane, #6, is a junior midfielder and two-year letterman from West Des Moines, Iowa. The mathematics major started ten games as a freshman and played in another ten in 2005.

Wednesday, Aug. 09 Today we reported to fall camp. I was a little nervous coming in, but seeing all the girls again reaffirmed my excitement for our season.

Today, we just had meetings and dinner with all of our parents.

Tomorrow is when the fun starts— playing soccer.

Thursday, Aug. 10 First day of actual practice! We did 1 vs.

1, 2 vs. 2, and 3 vs. 3 in the morning. It was really exciting to see how much we progressed on our individual skills over the summer. In the afternoon, we reviewed our defensive tactics, since that was our emphasis for the day.

During our night practice, the defense went off with [Coach] Lang [Wedemeyer] to work on defensive movement, while the midfielders and forwards, myself included, played a fourgoal game. I ended up rolling my ankle slightly, so I had to sit out the rest of practice.

As practice progressed, we moved into 11 vs. 11, employing the tactics we learned throughout the day. After practice we took our team pictures in the dark. I am really excited to see how they turned out.

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Friday, Aug. 11 This morning we had a classroom session on building confidence and mental preparation.

Various girls shared how they prepared themselves for a game or training. It was very beneficial because I tend to look at my faults before I play, creating unnecessary anxiety.

Afterwards, we had practice, with the emphasis still on defense.

We played small-sided games, and then moved into 11 vs. 11. The 11 vs.

11 was initially another defensive walkthrough, but then we were allowed to play, all out, for about twenty minutes.

This preseason is different from those of past. Usually, we aren’t this far along, so the coming season is looking very promising.

Saturday, Aug. 12 Today was our first three-a-day. My body is a little tired, to say the least, but the cold baths after practice really help rejuvenate tired legs.

We had our first scrimmage today, though. It was an intrasquad scrimmage, blue vs. white. We were only able to get a half in though due to thunder and lightning.

I was a little disappointed because I felt that I was connecting with the forwards. When that happens, the game is so much easier, and I felt like I could have played forever.

Sunday, Aug. 13 We had the morning off, giving us the chance to sleep in and regenerate our bodies. It was much appreciated.

During the afternoon session, we focused on our attack, walking through various patterns. It was very mentally intensive. The night session was very similar, but we split up into our

positions. The midfielders, myself included, worked on turning away from the defense and playing a long ball. It was very functional.

The practice concluded with a fun shooting game called three shots and a cross. Overall, the day required a lot of mental focus.

Monday, Aug. 14 Our first day off of practice. We had team bonding in the morning. We did three different activities, but the one that was the most fun was being blindfolded. We had to run across the field and through an obstacle course.

At one point we had to dribble a soccer ball while blindfolded. It was probably the most fun we’ve had.

Tuesday, Aug. 15 Attack, attack, attack. After having a day off, I expected my legs to be under me, but the focus was on attack, and my legs were tired. We did a lot of sprinting and shooting.

The afternoon practice allowed the legs to recover. We went over various plays for dead balls. This practice was more mentally demanding then physically.

At night, all the athletes—football, volleyball, and soccer—went to the pool. It was a good bonding experience for the Athletic Department. It was also funny to see people doing belly-flops off the high dive.

Wednesday, Aug. 16 Once again, our practices were offensively minded. We had two practices, each focusing on our attack.

The morning practice consisted of crossing and finishing, while the afternoon session was comprised of restarts and possession games.

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Thursday, Aug. 17 We finally get to scrimmage someone other than ourselves. We had an early morning stretch to get our legs under us and get mentally prepared.

That evening, we scrimmaged the SDSU men’s club soccer team. They ended up beating us, primarily because we were always one step behind them. It was very frustrating.

Friday, Aug. 18 We did a regeneration session in the pool in the morning. In the afternoon, we had a walkthrough and went over our game plan for our scrimmage against Northern State on Saturday.

Saturday, Aug. 19 Game day, finally! We had an optional practice in the morning to stretch out and just wake up.

Most of the team came; showing their eagerness to play.

That afternoon we faced off against Northern. We won 4-1. The game was very beneficial, because we accomplished our goals, but we also learned what we needed to work on.

Sunday, Aug. 20 We had the whole morning and afternoon off, giving us time to catch up on sleep. It was greatly needed.

In the evening, we watched film from our game against NSU, then we had a regeneration session.

Monday, Aug. 21 We hit the field running today. We started out practice with a lot of fitness with the ball. It was very fatiguing, but it also made the rest of practice game-like (since we will be that tired towards the end of the game).

The rest of practice we played small-sided games. Our night practice was much lighter and more functional. The defenders worked on switching the point of attack, and the forwards worked on finishing. The midfielders got mixed in between the two groups.

I can’t wait for tomorrow morning because we have a pool session.

Tuesday, Aug. 22 We did fitness in the pool today. It was pretty fun, but still a good workout.

We had the whole afternoon off, and got right back into practice that night. We played 11 vs. 11 for the most part, so it was very functional and game-like.

diaries

Wednesday, Aug. 23 The morning practice was very light. Three shooting stations were set up, and we moved between them. It was a very technical session.

In the afternoon, we added pages to our team scrapbook. After that, we had a light lift. Our evening session was a little more intense. We went over attacking and clearing on crosses.

Thursday, Aug. 24 We left for the University of Northern Iowa for our first game. Upon arriving in Cedar Falls, we walked the game field and got a little practice in.

We played the three-grid game and three shots and a cross, our two favorite games.

Game day tomorrow and the excitement is building.

Friday, Aug. 25 Game day has finally arrived. In the morning, we jogged and got some touches on the ball, just so we weren’t sedentary all day.

We played the University of Northern Iowa that night. We outplayed them and ended up winning 3-0. It was a good starting game for the year, building our confidence while allowing all twenty-three girls playing time.

Saturday, Aug. 26 We drove to DeKalb, Illinois, today in order to face Northern Illinois on Sunday. Upon arriving, we had a walk-through, going over the possible formations they would play.

The rest of the day was filled with free time.

We ended up doing some team bonding that evening, playing Pictionary and Spoons.

Sunday, Aug. 27 This morning we faced off against Northern Illinois University. Today was our test. Northern Illinois was more physical and faster than Northern Iowa, so we were anxious to see if we could match them, as well as outplay them. We ended up winning 3-2.

It was probably the most exciting game I have played in since attending SDSU. We went up 2-0, but then they came back, scoring two goals.

With about 15 minutes left, our outside back dribbled forward and scored a beautiful goal. It bent around the goalie to the far side of the net.

Northern Illinois was not able to recover.

The big win made the ten-hour drive home more cheery and lively.

Rabbit tracks • 17

Fall

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Emily Rooney Legs grow weary at volleyball camp Volleyball Camp Diary:

By Emily Rooney Editor’s note: Emily Rooney, #12, is a 6-1 sophomore middle hitter from Red Wing, Minnesota. The journalism/mass communication major played in all thirty-five matches in 2005, making twenty-nine starts. She ranked second on the team in hitting percentage and blocking average.

Friday, Aug. 11 We started this morning by testing our maxes in the weight room at 7:30. I went up in my weight maxes on all three lifts—squat, power clean, and bench press.

We had three practices today, which all went well. I got home at about 10:30 tonight, and I am definitely ready for bed.

Saturday, Aug. 12 Breakfast this morning was tough; we were all so sore today.

Blisters, muscles, and our shoulders were sore.

After a three-hour practice, coach said we get the afternoon off. We tried to relax till our evening practice, which seemed to last years. We ended strong, but still need to pick it up for tomorrow.

Sunday, Aug. 13 We looked really good today playing. We had the morning off and practice at 2 and 6 p.m. Between them we had dinner and a meeting about attitudes. I think mine is OK. I played right side tonight while we scrimmaged, and I put the last ball down, which made me feel good.

Monday, Aug. 14 This morning we got our body composition tested, had a compliance meeting to sign a lot of papers, and took our head shot photos for the program and scoreboard.

Our afternoon practice started out good but didn’t end very well, and coach was not impressed. The second practice started out really intense, and we ended with a competitive scrimmage.

Tomorrow morning we get to eat brunch at coach’s house!

18 • Rabbit tracks

Tuesday, Aug. 15 At 11, we got an amazing brunch at coach’s house. Then we had time to buy schoolbooks and do other stuff we needed to do. We had a three-and-a-half hour practice that went well, not perfect, but we competed.

At 6:30, the football team, soccer team, and us all went to the pool, where the freshmen in all three sports had to show off sweet tricks off the diving board.

Wednesday, Aug. 16 Today was the world’s longest. Individual practice in the morning, followed by lifting, and long practice, which involved a lot of running, and finally a third practice at 6:45. I left the HPER at 10:15 tonight after I took a fifteen-minute ice bath to try and prevent my soreness.

We ended the evening session with good play again. I think I played pretty good defense, for being a middle hitter anyway.

Thursday, Aug. 17 Last night coach taped our scrimmage and by watching it he decided that our middles (me, Amy [Anderson], and Carley [Boll]) weren’t transitioning, getting on and off the net, fast enough.

So today at our three-and-a-half hour practice we did the hardest middle drill of all time called “blue lip” because you get so tired that your lips turn blue.

Today marks seven more days until our first game!

Friday, Aug. 18 We took our team photos this morning and I took care of some school stuff.

Practice was really tiring again today. Almost four hours of straight transitioning for us middles, and our legs were dead.

Coaches took us out to a movie and to dinner at Cubby’s tonight. Cubby’s definitely hit the spot.

Saturday, Aug. 19 The first three hours of practice were not bad, we actually played pretty good, but as soon as we started playing each other in a scrimmage it went down.

Coach wasn’t happy at all. He had us take the nets down and he told us he’d see us at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow and to be ready for three practices. Yuck.

Sunday, Aug. 20 4:30 this morning came way too fast, and we left our house for practice while the stars were still out. Despite the time, we practiced really well, which hopefully won’t inspire coach to have morning practices a lot.

Our afternoon practice went good too, so coach cancelled our third practice and we got the night off to sleep.

Monday, Aug. 21 Breakfast at 8, lunch at noon, lifting at 1:30, and practice till 5:30. It was an exciting day because they moved the lines on the court to one main court instead of two practice courts. We now have one game court.

We practiced our game warm-up and then scrimmaged each other in the teams that we will have tomorrow for our intrasquad scrimmage.

Even though we’ve been going for eleven days without a break, knowing three days till game day is reassuring.

Tuesday, Aug. 22 We had an intersquad scrimmage tonight, and the team I was on won all three games. It was really fun and gave us the chance to get our nervousness out before our first tournament this weekend.

Wednesday, Aug. 23 Today’s practice was two T-shirts worth. It was really intense and we all got really sweaty. We basically just went over defense and tried to tune up everything for the big tourney this weekend.

We ended on a good note as we scrimmaged each other. . . . One more practice!

Thursday, Aug. 24 This morning after breakfast we all swam in the pool for a while to loosen up our muscles.

Our legs were still pretty tight for practice, but we made it through our last practice of fall camp just in time for the other three [tournament] teams to get into the gym for practice.

The tournament is tomorrow and our first game is against NDSU. I hope I can sleep tonight.

Friday, Aug. 25 We came out of the first day 2-0. Our first win [at 12:30 p.m.] was against NDSU in five games. We won the first game, lost the second and third game, and we ended up winning the last two games to win the match.

Then at 8 p.m., we beat Weber State in three games. They pummeled us last year, so beating them easily felt great.

Saturday, Aug. 26 We finished our first tournament 4-0, which was the best we could do, so hopefully coach is satisfied, because I know we are.

We beat Gonzaga today in five games, we let down for a bit, but came out ahead again.

Then we took Washington State in four games. They are a good team; so beating them should hopefully boost our confidence going into our next tournament this coming weekend against Wisconsin, Oregon State, and Oklahoma.

Rabbit tracks • 19 17

Making the grade Briggs scholars balance books, competition

“T

o whom much is given, much is expected.” Those words of biblical wisdom certainly apply to Briggs Scholars, who receive the University’s largest scholarships ($6,500 per year) and would be embarrassed not to meet the minimum grade point average of 3.0. The demands and stiff competition for the awards mean that few can also balance the load of a collegiate athlete.

But basketball player Courtney Grimsrud and swimmer Jane Tschetter have proved it can be done, and football player Tyler Duffy is seeking to follow their lead.

Grimsrud, a 20-year-old junior from Sisseton, carries a 3.95 GPA while majoring in biology/premed. Tschetter, a 21-year-old senior from Brookings, carries a 3.93 GPA while majoring in business economics. Duffy, also of Brookings, is a first-semester engineering major.

Each of them could teach seminars on time management and priorities.

Majoring in time management The women agree that time management is the biggest challenge in being a college athlete and a Briggs scholar. “I was in three sports in high school, so I was kind of used to it. But once you hit college, everything becomes more intense,” says Grimsrud, who was the top student in her graduating class of seventy-four.

“I just have to use every free moment to get more homework done or more time in the gym. I’m just really focused on academics and basketball.

“You’ve got to have a planner, definitely,” she says with a smile.

Tschetter, who suffered a career-ending shoulder injury after her sophomore season, says, “I came to South Dakota State University to be a student, so academics came first. I had to give up other things—a social event or sleep—so I could go to swim practice.”

Duffy, a 1,552-yard all-state running back in his senior season at Brookings High School, admits he was attracted to State by the opportunity to play football for the Jacks. It was later that the

20 • Rabbit tracks

former National Honor Society member learned that he was selected for one of the twelve Briggs Scholarships to be awarded

by State in 2006.

FB helps GPA While sports can be seen as a distraction from academic progress, Duffy says just the opposite.

“If I manage my time, I should be able to succeed in both areas,” he says. “Football will help me manage my time. There is study table on Tuesdays and Thursdays, grade checks, and we fill out reports on when assignments are due,” says Duffy, who took Advanced Placement classes in high school.

Because an “A” in an Advanced Placement class scores 5.0 on the grade scale, Duffy finished his high school career with a GPA above 4.0.

However, “I had to work for my grades. In the second semester of my senior year I didn’t have a free period. Our teachers pushed us pretty hard,” Duffy reports.

As a college student, much of the responsibility for academic success lies in the individual student.

Grimsrud says, “I’ve always had a drive to do my best in whatever I try. If you’re going to do it, you should do it right. I’ve always been taught that.” That attitude instilled by parents Kim and Cory Grimsrud can be seen on the basketball court, where she was South Dakota Miss Basketball as a senior.

A team effort But it also can be seen on road trips, where she joins her teammates in breaking out the books.

In fact, Grimsrud and crew posted a 3.73 grade point average during the 2005-06 school year. That was the highest GPA of any women’s basketball team in the nation—NCAA Division I, II or III or NAIA. “It was really exciting” to gain the honor, Grimsrud says.

While it’s the first time for State to gain that honor, the Jacks women have been in the Top 25 Team Honor Roll for three straight years.

Briggs

Scholars

“I learned the true definition of dedication. It wasn’t easy or fun to get up at 5:15 and walk across campus before the snow was cleared from the sidewalks to go to swim practice.”

–Jane Tschetter Swimmer and scholar

Courtney Grimsrud

When Grimsrud made her campus visit to Brookings, she was hopeful that she was joining a team that wanted to do well in school. Early in her freshman year, she realized that was true. “It helped knowing that I wasn’t the only one that wanted to excel academically.”

Think tankers The swim team mirrored that picture.

Tschetter recalls that during her sophomore year (2004-05) SDSU had switched from Division II competition to a Division I independent. “We traveled more. I really noticed an effort in how team members prepared themselves academically,” she says.

As a result, the swimmers finished with a 3.42 GPA, placing them twelfth in the nation and earning the team’s first AllAmerican Academic Team Award. “[Coach] Brad [Erickson] has done an excellent job of recruiting athletes who also excel in the classroom. On bus trips, pretty much everyone was studying—reading their textbooks, rewriting their notes, or reviewing their notes. We still had fun, but there was a time when we would turn the movies off and focus on academics,” Tschetter recalls.

The definition of dedication The effort did more than help Tschetter maintain a Briggs Scholarship.

Through being a collegiate swimmer and a Briggs scholar, “I learned the true definition of dedication. It wasn’t easy or fun to get up at 5:15 and walk across campus before the snow was cleared from the sidewalks to go to swim practice,” Tschetter underscores.

However, there are benefits to dedication.

“That extra hour of study frequently was the difference between an A or a B . . . . It almost became a mental game to push yourself through another week of practice. But it was so rewarding to push yourself and see your times fall,” Tschetter declares.

The discipline shown by Grimsrud and Tschetter as highly

Jane Tschetter

Tyler Duffy

performing students and college athletes challenge another piece of biblical wisdom—you can’t serve two masters.

Dave Graves

What will the future bring?

By fixing their eyes on the future, Briggs scholars Jane Tschetter and Courtney Grimsrud have been able to stay the academic course while competing in Division I athletics.

During her first three years at State, Tschetter took seventeen to nineteen credits per semester so she could have the option of taking an internship during the school year and still be able to graduate in May 2007.

She ended up taking an internship this summer in Washington, D.C., at The Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the AmeriCorps program.

After graduation, Tschetter plans to go to law school, preferably one in which she also can earn a master’s degree in nonprofit management.

Tschetter, who suffered a career-ending injury as a sophomore, still swims recreationally a couple times a week. “I miss [competitive swimming], I miss my teammates, I miss the camaraderie. [But] my best friend from college, Mariah Pavlicek, I met my first day of practice and I think she will be my friend well into adult life,” Tschetter says.

Grimsrud says her long-term goals and her faith in God keep her from the temptation to slack off.

“My values that I’ve been taught from my family—my mom and dad and grandparents—have always taught me to do my best, and I’m looking toward my future. If I want to be a doctor, I can’t be out partying or doing other things a college student does sometimes,” she says.

After shadowing a family practitioner in Sisseton for the last two summers, Grimsrud has decided to become a family practitioner.

— Dave Graves

Rabbit tracks • 21

My

Favorite

Summer

Vacation

Daniella Pappas Goalkeeper goes to Norway with club team for tourney y the time she was a highschool freshman, SDSU soccer player Daniella Pappas could already be considered a world traveler.

As a sixth-grader, she went to Europe with her family. When her club soccer team traveled to Norway for a soccer tournament the summer after her freshman year of high school, Pappas admits she had a slight advantage over her teammates.

“I was used to the flight time”

B

and the jet lag, she says.

Pappas, of West Des Moines, Iowa, and seventeen teammates played in a weeklong tournament, the Norway Cup, which featured nearly 100 teams, she says. Her club crew advanced to the top sixteen.

“I loved it. It was so much fun,” she says of the trip, her favorite summer vacation.

After a tough loss ended the team’s tournament run, the team had more time to relax and sightsee, she says. “We could’ve gone farther,” she recalls. “We were bummed, but in the long run I think we were glad.”

Every day of the trip included sightseeing, with destinations such as the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Pappas says. On the first day of the trip, the group of nearly forty people took a boat tour around the pier. “It pretty much started us off for the fourteenday trip,” she says.

After a week in Oslo, the group traveled to Scotland, where they spent a few more days. “Our coach is from Scotland,” Pappas says. The team met the coach’s parents and visited their house.

The group’s trip to Scotland included a visit to Edinburgh Castle, situated at the top of a hill, which provided the tourists 22 • Rabbit tracks

with yet another opportunity for exercise. “We always took a train to places. We always walked,” she says. “A lot of girls did the shopping thing.”

While the group saw many new places, Pappas says people didn’t take advantage of the local food culture. “We always ate at T.G.I. Friday’s,” although she had been dared to eat caviar at one point during the trip. “I was used to my parents making me try new things,” she says.

Pappas now names Norway on her list of favorite places. “It’s hard to explain. It’s so cool,” she says, naming the atmosphere as her favorite element. “It’s just kind of one of those places you want to retire to.”

While Pappas enjoyed both countries, her favorite part of the trip came on the way home when the girls played a pick-up game of soccer in Iceland. Five or six locals joined the game. “It was really cool playing with a different type of person,” she says.

After the game, the group visited a hot springs spa called the Blue Lagoon.

“It was very relaxing. It was a good way to end the trip,” she says.

Pappas has played soccer since second grade. “It’s natural,” she says. The freshman elementary education major has played on three teams during her career. “It’s always been fun” getting to know other girls, she says.

The goalkeeper’s love of travel matches her love of the game.

She says she doesn’t take her experiences for granted “because some people can’t afford to take a trip like this, or have seen the sights I’ve seen.”

Pappas plans to continue traveling, and hopes to go to Australia with a group of friends in the next year or two. Thanks to a family vacation to Waikiki, she would like to one day teach in Hawaii. “If not there, then we’ll see,” she says.

Denise Watt

My

Favorite

Summer

Vacation

My favorite summer vacation Editor’s note: Fall camp is no vacation for SDSU athletes, who report for pre-season practice in early to mid-August. But before they started running windsprints at State, they recalled some less exhausting days.

The responses below are sampling of those received in a request to each of the fall sports.

Maggie Eilers, soccer (defender), fourth-year athletic training major from Brookings.

During the summer before my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to visit Spain for a school Spanish Club trip. We traveled through the southern beaches and tourist cities, north through Madrid and ancient monasteries, and ended in Maggie Eilers Barcelona.

Our trip lasted seventeen days and included bus tours of cities, hikes through mountains, visits to grand churches and ancient ruins, and cultural trips to strictly Spanish-speaking restaurants.

I loved this vacation because I experienced a deep amount of culture in a short period of time while learning the language, the people, and gaining respect and knowledge of another country.

Karoline Brause, soccer (defender), senior health promotion major from Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

In the summer, my family usually rented out a lake home near our hometown, and we would fish, tube, water ski, and relax by the lake for a week. We did this every summer that I can remember.

We don’t do this anymore Karoline Brause because my parents bought a lake home, but it still feels like a vacation every time I go home in the summer because my family will all get together.

Spending a week at the lake with my family is my favorite summer vacation because we can all forget about our busy

lives and catch up with each other while enjoying the outdoors.

Natasha Swift, soccer (defender/midfielder), freshman prenursing major from Littleton, Colorado.

My favorite summer vacation was hanging out at a teammate’s house in Minnesota with our whole soccer team. She lives on a lake, and we got to take out her boat and just hang out for a while. At night we played board games and yard games, then we had Natasha Swift a huge bonfire and made s’mores. It was an awesome way to get to know the soccer team before we came into preseason.

Rachael Tritz, soccer (defender), junior health promotion major from Sioux City, Iowa.

My favorite summer vacation would have to be last summer when I went to the Ozarks with a few friends from college. We went up for five days, went boating, skiing, went to Party Cove … oh, it was a great time. I also laid out every day and got a tan!

Rachael Tritz It was just a very relaxing vacation and it was really fun. The Ozarks are beautiful, and I definitely am planning on going again!

Emily Rooney

Emily Rooney, volleyball (middle hitter), junior advertising major from Red Wing, Minnesota.

My favorite summer vacation memory has been going up to my family’s cabin in northern Wisconsin every year since I was young. We go every possible weekend, and we fish, ski, tube, and eat campfire food.

There’s never any worries, and I get to be with my family and in the sun. It’s perfect.

Rabbit tracks • 23

My

Favorite

Summer

Kristina Martin, volleyball (outside hitter), junior consumer affairs major from Hubertus, Wisconsin.

My favorite summer vacation was the summer before my freshman year of high school. My family and I went to Eagle River, Wisconsin, up north, and stayed at a cabin. Our neighbors also came and stayed at the neighboring cabin. We water skied, went tubing, Kristina Martin canoeing, boating, and swam. The weather was perfect, and we have made it a family tradition ever since.

Corey Jeske, football (quarterback), freshman health, physical education and recreation major from Buffalo, Minnesota.

I’ve never been on a summer vacation, but I’ve been on a spring vacation. I went to British Columbia, Canada, to go snowboarding at a mountain called Whistler. It was sweet, and I fell off a huge fifty- to sixty-foot Corey Jeske cliff that had frozen water on the side—like icicles. Landed on my back in really deep, powdery snow. I was fine, . . . but it was pretty intense.

Colin Cochart

Colin Cochart, football (tight end), a freshman from Kewaunee, Wisconsin.

My favorite vacation memory would have to be when I went on a cruise ship when I was a sophomore in high school.

It was a weeklong cruise, and we stopped at islands and just hung out. It was probably the most relaxing time of my life.

Dan Priddy, football (kicker), a freshman engineering and Spanish major from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

My favorite summer memory was going to my girlfriend’s cabin with two other friends. I was 18, and it was my last summer before college. It was very relaxing and fun to just hang out by and in the lake. The night sky was filled with stars, satellites, the Dan Priddy Northern Lights, and shooting stars.

This is my favorite memory because I was with people very close to me in a very stress-relieving place.

24 • Rabbit tracks

Vacation

Willie Jones, football (defensive line), senior health promotion major from Yankton.

Two years ago, my girlfriend, her family and I all went to Seattle, Washington. We were there for a week. I was 20 years old. We went to Mount St. Helens, downtown Seattle, and we went to a Seattle Mariners game.

Willie Jones It was my favorite vacation because it was so beautiful out there, and the mountains were awesome. It was also my first vacation with my son Cameron, who was eight months old at the time. That was my favorite vacation ever.

Conrad Kjerstad, football (defensive back), freshman prelaw major from Wall.

My favorite summer vacation took place when I was around three years old. My family drove to Florida to go to the beach. Good thing I don’t remember the drive. The beach was awesome. We built a huge sand castle, and I also got to catch little Conrad Kjerstad crabs that burrowed under the sand and tickled my feet. The beach was a dream come true for a kid my age.

Ryan McKnight, football (offensive lineman), freshman construction management major from Sioux Falls.

My dad and I went on an archery hunt for black bear in Canada when I was 18. It was my favorite because I have always wanted to go on a bear hunt.

Ryan McNight

Marty Kranz

Marty Kranz, football (linebacker), senior health, physical education and recreation major from Watertown.

When I was younger, my family was taking its first vacation. We went to Okoboji, but when my parents went to check in to the hotel, my two oldest brothers got into a fight and my parents got mad and brought all eight of us kids back home, never getting to actually have the vacation.

A message from Keith Mahlum

“21 Reasons to Give” For decades the focus in the Athletic Department has been to improve the quality of life for Jackrabbit student-athletes. In recent years, we’ve shared with you that we evaluate our program’s success based on academic achievement, athletic competitiveness, social responsibility and the positive moments experienced by our student-athletes.

Our departmental mission is crystal clear: To be a premier student-centered collegiate athletic program. We expect to be a nationally recognized athletic program. Our program consists of twenty-one intercollegiate sports, and all of them are gearing up for conference membership and potential post-season competition.

As friends of our program, you’ve been an integral part of our past success and you will definitely play a vital role as we build our championship programs at the highest level within the NCAA. Often times you have asked, “How can I help?” One of the most important ways you can help today is to continue or expand your financial support of the Jackrabbit Club. We have developed case statements for each sport outlining specific needs and aspirations. The next step is for all of us to work towards achieving these goals.

We understand that many of you have a personal interest in specific sports or capital improvement projects within our program. You have the opportunity to direct your gift to your point of interest.

The bottom line is there are twenty-one great reasons to give: (1) Baseball (2) Basketball – Men (3) Basketball – Women (4) Cross Country – Men (5) Cross Country – Women (6) Equestrian (7) Football (8) Golf – Men (9) Golf – Women (10) Indoor Track – Men (11) Indoor Track – Women (12) Outdoor Track – Men (13) Outdoor Track - Women (14) Soccer (15) Softball (16) Swimming/Diving – Men (17) Swimming/Diving – Women (18) Tennis – Men (19) Tennis – Women (20) Volleyball (21) Wrestling.

We appreciate all that you’ve done to support our student-athletes in the past and look forward to the awesome opportunities your continued generosity will provide future Jackrabbits. Please take a moment and consider how you or others you know can facilitate the next generation of Jackrabbit success.

Thank you for your consideration.

— Keith Mahlum

Associate Athletic Director / Development Director

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