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Collegian photos by JOCLYN HAVEN and ZOEY SHENTZEL(SHE/HER)

Hunter Dustman prepares to kick a field goal at Saturday’s game.

Grand Pooba Regen Wiederrich drives the Bummobile at Saturday’s parade.

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News

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November 2, 2023

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Talk of Renevations in Student Union Basement

Photo courtesy of sdstate.edu

GRETA GOEDE Editor-In-Chief New student clubs were approved and updates on the construction of Larson Commons were provided at the weekly Students’ Association meeting.

Michael Alex and Samuel Pichura, both senior business economic majors who started The Brookings Consulting Club, addressed the senate with a constitution. The club will offer services to businesses around Brookings for free.

“The purpose of our club is to offer an opportunity where students specifically ness school available to any student the opportunity to apply their business knowledge in marketing and finance,” Alex said.

The constitution was approved, and if students are interested in joining the club they can look out for posters that will be around campus.

Chief of Staff Benjamin Connor announced that student tailgating will take place Saturday, Nov. 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with University Program Council (UPC). The tailgating will have bags, tables, a tent, and music.

Government Affairs Chair Michael Garofalo announced that the Student Promotion Fund Committee met last week and tabled an application for the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Rally and Rave.

Diversity Chair Asledi Castillo announced that she will be resigning from her position effective immediately. Since the chair is now vacant, applications are now open and students who are interested in applying can email Vice President Hayden Bentz for an application. The applications are due Thursday, Nov. 2 at 8 a.m.

The American Indian Students Association is having a beading circle Wednesday, Nov. 1 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and a drum group Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. in the American Indian Center.

Black Student Alliance is hosting a cultural ball Friday, Nov. 3, in Jack’s Place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will also be a canned food drive and a raffle at the event.

The Gender and Sexuality Alliance is preparing to host their drag show Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. Students interested in purchasing tickets can scan

the QR codes located on the posters in the Union.

UPC is hosting a paint and sip event in the Volstorff Ball Room Thursday, Nov. 2 starting at 6 p.m. The organization is also hosting a self-defense class in the Miller Wellness Center Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.

Larson Commons Renovation Sen. Grace Barnett discussed the upcoming remodel of Larson Commons that will be starting next year, and she is looking for students input on what they would like to see in this remodel before meeting with architects.

Communication Chair, Hannah Dayaget, said Larson will be out of commission until July 2025.

Pulse also mentioned that Larson will still exist during the remodel, but it will just be in a different location that has not been determined yet.

The American Institute of Architecture Students requested $1500 from the New Venture Fund so the organization can attend a national conference in New Orleans, Louisiana in January.

The venture fund was approved.

Topics for Future Discussion

Sen. Grace Peterson is working on a resolution to make November Native American Heritage Month at SDSU. Garofalo is working on a resolution to make November Veteran and Military Families Appreciation Month on campus as well.

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NEWS

November 1, 2023

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Ad club visits New York City to attend Ad Week ALEXIS MORAN Reporter Last week nine members of the Ad Club and their advisor Heather Solberg traveled to NYC to attend Advertising Week for a chance to meet advertising professionals, see brand activation displays, and hear about the latest trends in the advertising industry.

Advertising Week is a week-long event that attracts over 12,000 people from advertising and marketing. There are a variety of sessions from technology in advertising to campaign creative work to advertising on social media platforms.

“I wanted to go on this trip because I had never been to New York before, and I thought it would be a wonderful experience,” said Emily Olson, member of the Ad club. “We had also been working on funding for this trip for over a year and were all so passionate about going.”

The students of the Ad club spent all last school year fundraising for this trip, so they didn’t have to pay too much out of pocket. They had a t-shirt and sweatshirt sale, cleaned up after athletic events, and some worked as research assistants for Professor Roxanne Lucchesi.

The Ad club was in NYC from Oct. 17 to Oct. 21 and so they made sure to explore New York City’s finest attractions when they were not attending Ad Week.

On Tuesday, Oct. 17 they traveled most of the day, but once they arrived at NYC, they had a group dinner at Carmine’s family style Italian restaurant in Times Square.

Wednesday, Oct. 18 was their first day attending Advertising Week, where many of them learned bmuch more about their major.

“Something that I brought back that helps me with my major is that we listened to many inspiring speakers,” said Brianna Loosbrock, current president of Ad club.

“It made me want to figure out how to get in their positions and it starts with hard work in classes now and then further into entry level positions.”

Later that day, the group then went

Photo courtesy of SDSU AD CLUB Nine members of the Ad Club traveled to New York for Ad Week Oct. 17 to meet with advertising professionals and learn more about the industry

on a City Lights cruise on the Hudson River with Circleline Tours, where the group all got to see the skyline from the water at night as well as seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.

On Thursday, Oct. 19 the group attended Advertising Week for the second and last time, where many of them got to hear from more professionals in advertising and some even got inspired by them.

Olson said, “One person that I found to be the most interesting to listen to was Molly Sims. She is a model, actress, entrepreneur, Author, and mom. She started from the ground up and ended up creating her own world of skincare, books, and modeling all while learning that the world can sometimes be unfair, and it is important to see the good.”

Loosbrock shared, “A specific speaker that really inspired me was the Vice President of Marketing at Starbucks. I love the brand Starbucks, and to be able to hear about their marketing strategies for some major yearly campaigns like the Pumpkin Spice Latte or the red Christmas cups was really inspiring.”

Many of the members of the group were very satisfied with the information they got from listening to different professionals, and a lot of the professional advertisers not only shared helpful tips, but many shared their story and how they got to where they were.

Later that day, the group was able to watch a play on Broadway. Half of the group saw Moulin Rouge while the other half saw Aladdin.

“It was the best musical I had ever seen, and the lead actor was Casey Cott from Riverdale. The scenery was spectacular, and the dances were incredible.” Olson explained after she saw the Moulin Rouge musical.

Friday, Oct. 20 the group took this day as a tourist day. They started by visiting the American Museum of Natural History and then visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Saturday, Oct. 21 was the day the group left NYC and made their way back to S.D. “I would 100% do this again, and I really hope this inspires freshman and sophomores to join the club now and be

able to go on a trip like this as well during their time at SDSU,” Loosbrock said “We found that not only the trip itself but with the whole fundraising and planning process we really gained a lot of members in the club and solidified friendships that will go beyond the club itself.”

These students were able to experience once in a lifetime experience that South Dakota State University was able to help them with. Now these students have more of an understanding of what advertising does in the world, which will help them out since most of them are majoring or minoring in advertising.

“If you want a strong job, going to this conference would be very beneficial to anyone. Ad club is not a high commitment club and therefore gives anyone of any major the benefit of big networking opportunities.”

Olson said which makes a great point on how you don’t have to be studying advertising to join Ad club, if you like networking, broadcasting, and even marketing. Ad club can offer many opportunites to get more invovled with those.

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NEWS

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Construction to begin on downtown hotel in the spring of 2024

Photo courtesy of Linchpin The Armory Building on Main Street will be brought back to life as a new hotel in downtown Brookings.

HANNAH MUTH Reporter Contruction on a new hotel is set to begin in spring 2024 will transform downtown Brookings and give new life to the historic Armory on Main Street, city officials say.

The Armory at 221 Main Avenue was built in 1937 and has been a Brookings gathering space for decades. It also is on the National Register of Historic Places, and Community Development Director Mike Struck says the city was looking for an opportunity to redevelop the area to make better use of the space.

When the opportunity of re-development came, the city selected developer Linchpin to spearhead the project. The re-development is an opportunity to save a

historic building, Struck said.

City council member Andrew Rasmussen said the city is looking to help grow economic development in town.

“Really exciting, especially for the downtown area,” Rasmussen said. “So, utilizing that space in a way that is really going to benefit the downtown area and the greater community will be good.”

Linchpin’s proposal for The Armory creates an event space for weddings, corporate events and conferences with dinner-style seating for up to about 400 people.

The basement of The Armory will be converted into The Foxtrot Restaurant Bar and Lounge, which will seat about 120 people.

Linchpin also proposed a hotel to be built with 73 rooms, a fitness center and a business center. The fourth floor of the hotel will have small event spaces named

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NEWS

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UPD Daily Crime Log

The following were included in the University Police Department daily crime log from Oct. 22 to Oct. 28: •

•

• •

• Photo courtesy of Linchpin The new hotel downtown will have hotel rooms along with event spaces and a cocktail lounge.

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and a cocktail The city will try to keep these times as lounge named The Delta. The Delta will brief as possible but it could be a week or seat 80 people with 20 seats on a rooftop two.

Businesses near the construction site patio. will be affected but will not At this time, the city’s combe closed. The businesses mitment to the project is impacted will be those along about $130,000. This project 3rd Street, between Main won’t cost taxpayers, but it will cause a disruption.

Avenue and 3rd Ave. These Struck says it will be an businesses will still be open inconvenience during confor business, it will just cause an inconvenience at times struction because there will as on-street parking may be short periods of time that become limited. portions of the street will be Kurt Osborn, owner of closed.

Kool Beans Coffee and Struck says the proposed Roasterie, located next streets that will be tempoto The Armory, said he is rarily closed for utility work excited for this addition to are 3rd Street and potentially Andrew Rasmussen the neighborhood.

Front Street. It will not be the “This venture will bring a variety of entire portion of 3rd Street, but the south side of the street that is adjacent to where guests who will frequent the downtown area in addition to being able to stay, the hotel will be constructed.

Struck added that during these times of eat and shop from a central location,” inconvenience, there will be some limited Osborn said. “The collaborative possibilparking on the streets because of staging, ities are many and bringing new energy construction safe zones and fault zones. and excitement for the downtown area

About the project What: A new hotel When: Construction starts in spring of 2024 Where: Downtown Brookings at the Armory Building What’s inside: 73 room hotel, fitness center, business center, event spaces and a cocktail lounge will pay dividends for all.”

Struck says that the city is constantly evolving and is trying to enhance the downtown area to create more vibrancy, engage people and bring them downtown. The hotel project is “just good for the community,” Struck said.

SUNDAY, OCT. 22 2:39 a.m., 4100 block of Western Avenue, DUI MONDAY, OCT. 23 10:30 p.m., liqour/posession/consumption THURSDAY, OCT. 26 1:30 a.m., Binnewies Hall, intentional damage/vandalism 7:08 p.m., 1400 block of Medary Avenue, drug/narcotics violation FRIDAY, OCT. 27 9:24 p.m., Schultz Hall, ficticious/ false identification

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November 1, 2023

Student Union aims for renovation in 2025 KENNETH REBELLO Asst. News Editor Planning for South Dakota State University’s Student Union Phase 4 renovation of the basement and student engagement center has started and the university is aiming of completion by start of fall 2025.

Consisting of three levels, the Student Union is located at the heart of the campus comprising of various student services, meetings rooms, dining options, Jackrabbit Central, student media and much more.

The fourth phase will address two things, firstly, discuss student engagement and co-locate student life and groups that are located in the building such as the student organization storage spaces and student lockers.

“Looking at how we enhance our student lockers, we know that it is not vertically sufficient and they’re not super deep, but they do meet some basic needs,” said Jennifer Novotny, asistant vice president for student life. “So, if you’re a group that’s bringing stuff to the main street to do a big promo for the week of events, you have a small space that you can reserve and rent throughout the year, but they’re really limited spaces which are located between the Collegian office and the food service office.”

Secondly, Phase 4 also aims on co-locating student groups located in the basement along with general space use such as the lounge. Replacing student meeting rooms that were temporarily offline too would be improved during this phase.

“We also know that we have to look at how we fit all of those needs into the space because we’re not going to expand but really just a renovated effort to update space, to make it more student-friendly and to make it obvious for our students.”

The Office of Career Development, co-located with Student Activities and Students’ Association Office are also being considered for Phase 4 renovations.

“We’ve asked our architect to look

Collegian photo by Kenneth Rebello A group of students are seen studying in the basement of South Dakota State University’s Student Union on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. The Student Union basement and student engagement center would be the main focus of the phase 4 renovations.

at how do we build space for intuitive flow for student use,” Novotny said. “We would want to re-configure that space and our mission for all these projects have been ‘how do we make this building more readily accessible for all students’ and also to have a lot of student activity at the student engagement area.”

The first phase included renovations for Office of Multicultural Affairs, which was moved from the basement to the upper level of the Student Union.

The second phase observed updating the meeting rooms, since the last improvements were made was in 2004 and hence needed painting and new furniture. Phase 2 also developed plans to portray a sharperJackrabbit branded image throughout the building, inclusive of blue, yellow and grey tone throughout the building.

“Technology was initially a part of that [phase 2], but once we started looking at it, the price point for updating technology brought the budget way up,” Novotny said. “So, we had to split that phase into Phase 2 and 3.”

The third phase focused on the

audio-video technology (AV) updates in all the meeting rooms, including the Volstorff Ballroom (VBR).

“In the Student Union, the ballroom was definitely an area of need because it had a tremendous use over the last 21 years,” Novotny said. “One of the major components to improving that space was to updating finishes such as carpets, walls, acoustic materials on the walls, some of the lighting and technology effects.”

First built in 1971, the concept of the Student Union originated in 1969 with Students’ Association pushing forward for the new building then. Prior to the current Student Union, Pugsley Union had been the main Student Union back in the days.

According to Novotny, the reason behind the new Student Union then was due to space requirement for students and addition of more dining options.

Although dining space was provided in Pugsley and Grove Hall, students had outgrown the space.

“Another thing they [Students’ Association] were really passionate about

and I’ve done a lot of reading about it over the years because every time we’ve done a renovation, I want to continue to retain some of the historical features of that building,” Novotny said. “So you’ll see like red brick, even though we’ve painted some of the bricks, there’s a lot of red brick because that was part of the original building.”

Student Union played a major role for students at that time as they needed a new space to socialize, to dine, and places to study that took them away from their residence hall atmosphere and from the library too.

“Upstairs in the gallery lounge-- that space when this building, was built was dedicated for a space of an art gallery, where University Program Council (UPC) at that time was really excited about the idea of bringing art to everyday life here,” Novotny said. “They committed to having a permanent gallery in this building and that group would help monitor and curate what the art was, ranging from student exhibitions and organizing shows for purchasing the displayed art.”

Initially when Student Union had been built, the North side of the building didn’t exist. The gallery in which the Bummobile is currently showcased along with the meeting rooms didn’t come in until much later, Novotny explained.

“Over the years, we expanded and renovated several times,” Novotny said.

“We did a major expansion in 2004, which actually started in 2001 and again started with our Students’ Association really tapping into needs that were not being met and that particular project, we hadrequested the Board of Regents (BOR) to increase the general activity fee (GAF) and that was dedicated money just to build a larger building.”

Novotny said that the fourth phase renovation process of the Student Union started roughly five years ago planning with Student Leadership, Students’ Association and Student Union Activity Committee (SUAC).

She said the committee assessed at that time about things that students had been vocal about on accessibility, mainly

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accessibility to the Office of Multicultural Affairs, which Increase in construction costs throughout the state was located in the lower level at that time. may affect the increase in budget. The source of funding “Another thing students had communicated their for the Student Union renovation would solely arrive interest in having a more updated and renovated from the MNR budget. Renovation of the Student Union student union that reflected the jackrabbit brand a bit will be helmed by Architecture Incorporated based in better than it had,” Novotny said.

Sioux Falls, S.D. The reason behind having ‘phased projects’ for Novotny mentioned that staying within the budthe Student Union was due to non-availability of major get of MNR is the current plan after having spoken to funding component, due to which minor improvements Student Bodies and Board of Regents (BOR). In situawere made to the facility using the tions where additional budget would maintenance and repair budget (MNR). be required, university administration Novotny expressed her desire of would help with bond payments being having the renovations completed by made the end of summer 2025. throughout the years.

“We are not going to be moving As of now, no current floor plan forward with that project this year, but has been set, although Novotny hopes it’ll be the following year,” Novotny to get a conceptualized drawing from said. “Spring 2025 is when we’re hoping the architect sooner. to begin that construction effort and “I think having a whole lower levpart of that reason is because we also el dedicated to student life is exciting have a Larson dining project coming up because students naturally develop the in 2024.” synergy by being in close proximity to Larson going offline for an eneach other,” Novotny said. “My hope tire year would mean more students is that when we bring tours through using the Student Union and making there, our prospective students would adequate space is necessary. Most of be excited and take it as an invitation Photo from sdstate.edu the food services sites are located in the to be there.”

Student Union and maximizing the use Jennifer Novotny, assistant vice presiNovotny reminisces post Phase 3 dent for Student Life. of the kitchens and storage for food serrenovations on student’s reactions to vice would help keep services going on new flooring. She stated that at around during Larson Commons’ construction. a million students walk through the Novotny believes it is much quieter during the sum- Union, multiple amount of times by the end of October, mer time to work on renovations in the Student Union which further requires more floor tiles bring replaced in as the crowd becomes much less and smaller projects the union as compared to any dorms on-campus. can be covered during that envelope of time. In 2004, Accessibility during the Phase 4 renovations would the Student Union had been shut down for an entire not hinder use of the Student Union. A lot of scheduling year, with food services moved to DePuy hall. is done with Facility and Services, the contractors and While Novotny hopes for the project to reach the Student Union staff to keep the building open and completion before fall 2025, delays on things such as fully functional. lighting, equipment or any issues, if occurred, would “What we try to do is do the work while keeping the be worked around without shutting down the Student building fully active and occupied,” Novotny said. “We Union. work closely with Facility and Services and sometimes Current budget of Phase 4 renovations for the Studue to certain issues, we cannot shut down the building dent Union are still in talks as the numbers are tentative. and so instead we can do those things on weekends “We haven’t determined it yet because that comes without impacting the usage.” after we determine the final scope of the design,” NovotThe planning committee would meet with groups ny said. “But what we would imagine is that it could be like the KSDJ, the Collegian, BluePrint and other offices around $3.5 million depending upon cost of constructo understand their daily routine, facilitate their needs tion that could certainly change.” and most likely re-locate them to meeting rooms in the

Volume 139• Issue 8

The Collegian is the independent student newspaper at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. The Collegian is published by and for South Dakota State University students under the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and a free press.

Opinions expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of the student body, faculty, staff or administration.

The Collegian is published weekly on Wednesday during the academic year of SDSU.

building.

Novotny shared her excitement on every phase renovation of the Student Union and how both students and architects bring in great ideas to keep improving the space.

“This facility is really committed to keeping it very student-centered and having a lot student interactions both in the outcome and in the design,” Novotny said.

“It is really important that we have students using it all over through recommendations they have suggested.”

Jennifer Colt, a senior psychology major states that she enjoys studying in the Student Union basement due to lesser crowd as compared to the main and upper level. Colt believes addition of a coffee place or a dining option in the basement would help eliminate some of the rush out on the main level.

Melody Reisdorff, a sophomore animal science major uses the main level of the Student Union to study rather than the basement as she feels a lot of meetings or events take place down there. Reisdorff feels the basement does not sound too appealing for studying and instead enjoys the noise rather than the quiet nature of the basement to study.

Greta Goede

Brayden Byers

Evan Patzwald

Joclyn Haven

Anna Lockrem

Kenneth Rebello Assist. News Editor

Jack McCarty

Entertainment Editor

Jordan Roemeling

Marshall Minihan

Bosten Morehart

Natalie Dean

Editor-in-Chief News Editor

Sports Editor

Managing Editor

Asstist. Sports Editor

Zach Simon

Ad Sales Manger

Design Editor

Sara Erazo

Copy Editor

Ad Sales Representative

November 1, 2023

Photo Chief

Assist. Entertainment Editor

Nadio Pinos

Social Meda Manager

Madelyn Murphy

Ad Sales Representative

Letters to the Editor Send letters to Editors@ sdsucollegian.com or to USU 069 Box 2815, Brookings, S.D. 57006.

You can also post comments online at www.sdsucollegian.com.

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Main line: 605.688.6164 Newsroom: 605.688.6166 Editor-in-Chief: 605.688.6178

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PRCA Rodeo Preview

November 1, 2023

SDSU Athletes are set to compete this Friday and Saturday KAYLIN DE ALMEIDA Reporter Six South Dakota State University rodeo athletes will be competing in the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association Rodeo set for Friday and Saturday at the Dacotah Bank Center in Brookings.

The PRCA Rodeo is a professional rodeo held annually in Brookings. The rodeo includes events such as bareback riding, tie-down roping, saddle-bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing and bull riding, as well as kid’s events including kids’ mutton bustin’, boot scramble, specialty acts and rodeo clowns.

Skovly said he thinks this professional event creates needed exposure for the rodeo community. “Brookings is actually a really good rodeo town, people have always supported rodeo here,” he said.

There are 44 rodeo students on the SDSU travelling team this year. The six athletes who will be participating this weekend are Rafe Wientjes and Trey Frank, team roping; Arabella Cook, barrel racing; Kaden Wooters and Dalton Kunkee, steer wrestling, and Seth Gaikwoski, tie down roping.

“We started the SDSU rodeo team in 1952,” Skovly said and yeah, we have had huge support there. The pro rodeo is a great rodeo to gain support too.” The rodeo usually attracts between 4,000 and 5,000 spectators.

Arabella Cook is a 20-year-old junior at SDSU from California, competes in the barrel racing event at the PRCA rodeo.

Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and a rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time.

Cook was not raised in a rodeo family but despite that this will not be Cook’s

first PRCA rodeo event.

“When I turned 18, I got my PRCA permit, and since then I have been competing in the PRCA for a few years now,” she said. “None of my parents or siblings even ride horses.”

Cook’s interest in rodeo began in kindergarten because a friend of hers had horses. Since then, Cook rode whenever she could. She got her first horse freshman year of high school and she began competing in rodeo as a sophomore.

When asked why she chose SDSU, Cook said: “I’m from California, pretty far away. But I was looking for a school that had a good rodeo team and I wanted something different.”

Cook also reflected on how happy she is here and how accepting and supportive her teammates are.

“We have a pretty close-knit team,” Cook said, “We’re all really good at helping each other and lifting each other up.”

Cook is excited to watch the tie-down roping event at this PRCA event, but she is most excited to compete and show off her rodeo skills in her own event.

“It (tie-down roping) definitely has the most going on, it’s very exciting,” Cook said.

The rodeo is known for excitement and is full of adrenaline as these athletes show off their skills as they compete.

Skovly is looking forward to watching the calf roping, or tie down roping, as he was a calf-roper himself, but many people are attracted to the bull riding.

SDSU rodeo team coach Ronald Skovly participated and won an event in this professional rodeo himself. “I actually won this rodeo in calf-roping about eight years ago,” Skovly said.

Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The

Photo courtesy of DACOTAH BANK CENTER Athlete competing in the bullriding compettion at the PRCA Rodeo in 2022

goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by tying three legs together, in as short a time as possible.

Tickets are still available. They range from $27 to $100 for VIP tickets. SDSU students can purchase tickets for $23 on Reserved P2 & P3. These tickets will only be available at the box office. Students must present their student ID to receive these discounted tickets. One student ID per ticket.

Photo courtesy of DACOTAH BANK CENTER Rodeo athlete riding a bucking bronco at the PRCA Rodeo in 2019

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November 1, 2023

Longtime rodeo family helps make event a reality KATRINA BUNTJER Reporter Eight seconds is the goal for many participants in the upcoming Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assocation Brookings Rodeo, but it takes many more to organize and produce the best event.

Every year, the first weekend of November is set aside at the Dacotah Bank Center, for the PRCA Rodeo in Brookings. It is organized and produced

by Sutton Rodeo, a sixth-generation family rodeo business. According to Steve Sutton, the general manager, they hosted their first rodeo back in 1926 on the family ranch.

Planning, between the Sutton Rodeo and the Dacotah Bank Center begins about six months out from the event weekend. They work together on contracting, along with planning the advertising, marketing and budgets needed.

For the Dacotah Bank Center preparation for the rodeo begins a few weeks in advance. General manager of the Dacotah Bank Center, Michael Logan said, “We begin setting up the north barn, and all the horse stalls a few weeks out from the rodeo.”

Next, the dirt must be laid down before the Sutton Rodeo arrives for the arena setup. “It takes about 80 truckloads of dirt inside to get the desired 14 inches deep, which makes the barrel racing and other events safe,” Sutton said.

Once the dirt is down and the two semis full of steel have arrived, set up begins a few days in advance. Sutton

Rodeo oversees the setting up of all the bucking shoots and all other steel setups, along with the animal pens outside. “It takes about five to six hours to set up everything, and then we would be ready to rodeo,” Sutton said.

Once all the shoots are up, the sponsorship banners are hung, the barrel markers are placed and the numerous little details that add to the rodeo experience are completed, the animals begin to arrive.

While that’s happening inside, there’s much more happening outside as well.

“We use 75 to 80 panels for the livestock pens and then we lay down cornstalks for bedding,” Sutton said. Once all livestock is placed in their pens, they are fed and watered.

The number of entries the PRCA has for the rodeo will then determine how much rough stock Sutton Rodeo will need to provide. “The number of livestock we will bring is dependent on entries,” Amy Muller, who does pre-event planning and advertising for Sutton Rodeo, said. “But it will be around 150 to 200 animals.”

The following day, the final touches are finished, and the livestock is familiarized with the setup. “We like to run all the animals through the shoots prior to the rodeo so they are familiar with the entry and exit points,” Muller said.

With the animals and crew now prepared to rodeo, all that’s missing is the crowd. “Rodeo is an entertainment now, so it’s really great that the public gets interested and enjoys it,” Sutton said.

Photo courtsey of DACOTAH BANK CENTER The PCRA Rodeo and its livestock. The number of animals are dependent on entries, but it is estimated that there will be 150 to 200 animals this year.

“Everyone thinks it happens at the snap of your fingers and it doesn’t.”

So, while it takes a lot of moving parts and time, Sutton Rodeo and Dacotah Bank Center are excited to produce the 2023 PRCA Brookings Rodeo and hope to see a great crowd out Nov. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. to witness those eight second rides.

“Rodeo is an entertainment now, so it’s really great that the public gets interested and enjoys it.”

STEVE SUTTON GENERAL MANAGER OF PRCA RODEO

PRCA RODEO What: PRCA Brookings Rodeo Where: Dacotah Bank Center When: Nov. 3 & 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: New this year is presale reserved ticketing for seats from $23 to $100

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November 1, 2023

Davis Dairy Plant’s “McCrory Maple” ice cream

KENDRA FOLKERTS Reporter

South Dakota State’s “McCrory Maple” ice cream has grown in popularity since being released in early 2023.

South Dakota State University is famous for its SDSU ice cream, produced by the Davis Dairy Plant on campus. A majority of the employees at the plant are students at SDSU. McCrory Gardens is a botanical garden near campus that has maple trees.

The idea to collaborate with the dairy plant came from McCrory Gardens grounds manager, Christopher Schlenker, according to Lisa Marotz, director of operations for McCrory Gardens. The gardens staff reached out to the dairy plant on a Zoom call in April 2022 with the idea of a collaboration on a maple ice cream flavor.

The employees at McCrory Gardens usually tap the maple trees for sap in the spring. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, and five gallons of syrup for the finished ice cream batch.

“It’s going to be reliant on what we get for syrup,” Marotz said when asked if the flavor will become a permanent flavor for SDSU. The amount of syrup produced depends on the spring weather.

For maple sap collection, it would ideally be freezing at night, and above freezing during the day. “Last year was not a good year,” Marotz said, because the weather went from freezing cold to warm very fast.

The ice cream is made by adding maple syrup to the ice cream base, which is made of milk, cream, and sugar, and then freezing it. Additionally, a small amount of maple flavor is added.

“The only real challenges are making sure it maintains the safety and quality that we have for all of the products that come through SDSU,” said Steve Beckman, manager of the Davis Dairy Plant. This includes making sure ingre-

UPCOMING HOME EVENTS FOR

JACKRABBIT ATHLETICS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NOV. 1ST AT 6 P.M.

MEN’S BASKETBALL NOV. 1ST AT 8:30 P.M.

FOOTBALL NOV. 4TH AT 2 P.M.

VOLLEYBALL NOV. 4TH AT 7 P.M.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NOV. 6TH AT 6 P.M.

MEN’S BASKETBALL NOV. 6TH AT 8:15 P.M. Collegian photo by Kendra Folkerts South Dakota States newest ice cream flavor takes around five gallons of syrup to make one batch

dients are coming from a safe place.

“Luckily, this is right here on campus, and maple syrup is produced in a way that is pretty food safe,” Beckman said.

“I really enjoyed the ice cream,” said SDSU student Aubrey Kerkaert. “I will be going back to get more.”

Marotz said that when the ice cream was first released, they couldn’t keep up with it, and that the release went well.

“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Beckman said.

McCrory Maple Ice Cream is sold at the Dairy Bar on campus, through the Davis Dairy Plant, and at McCrory Gardens.

VS. MINNESOTA-DULUTH

VS DAKOTA WESLEYAN

VS NORTH DAKOTA STATE

VS ORAL ROBERTS

VS ARKANSAS STATE

VS AKRON

A11 OPINION

sdsucollegian.com

November 1, 2023

MOVIE REVIEW: “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is a confused mess and I love it

JACK MCCARTY Entertainment Editor

After nearly a decade of troubled production and a revolving door of directors, the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie is finally here.

Going into this film, I really had no idea what to expect. Movies based on videogames have had a reputation for being terrible, so I guess I wasn’t really expecting much. Then again “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” came out earlier this year, and that made over billions of dollars and people really seemed to enjoy it, so who’s to say this movie didn’t have potential? And after watching it myself, I found it to be a fun yet an incredibly flawed experience.

One aspect of this movie that I can’t give enough credit for is how it looks.

Everything from its lighting, use of color, and practical effects really help capture the atmosphere that the games set out to create. Even without comparing it to the games, the movie still looks phenomenal.

It honestly might be the best-looking movie I’ve seen this year, and I saw “Oppenheimer” in IMAX. The choice to use real suits for the animatronics was an amazing decision.

The production team partnered with The Jim Henson Company to make the costumes for the movie and had real life puppeteers inside them which really helped bring this movie to life.

I was also impressed with its attempts at horror. To my surprise the movie really doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares even though this would have probably been the one movie where this would have made sense to do that. This is because the primary way the games scare the player is through violent jump scares.

If you let Freddy into the room or the power goes out you lose, and he screams in your face. Nothing like that happens in the movie.

Instead, the movie goes for scares the

old-fashioned way through suspenseful build ups and maintaining a creepy environment. That’s not to say that these attempts necessarily pay off, but I at least appreciate the effort.

I also understand that despite the movie’s PG-13 rating, the movie is made with younger audiences in mind, so I think it’s important to take that into consideration. When making horror media designed for kids, you have to make some compromises on what’s scary for kids and what’s just straight up inappropriate.

Despite the fact this movie’s main theme is child murder, I think it does an alright job at maintaining that balance.

I thought the actors’ performances were great. Matthew Lillard absolutely sells his role as an awkward yet creepy job recruiter, and Elizabeth Lail delivers an extremely powerful performance.

Even the child actors are pretty good.

The one exception to this is the movie’s lead, Josh Hutcherson. I don’t know the last time I’ve seen an actor with a back catalogue of such classic and widely popular films look so disinterested in his own career. Even looking back to his other movies like “The Hunger Games” his performance just feels so wooden. It seems like he just gives the same performance in every movie he’s been in for the past decade and a half.

My hypothesis is that when he was a child star growing up, he got a lot of praise for being good for a child star, and that kind of went to his head, and that kind of stunted his growth as an actor. The reason I think this is because his performance just feels shallow and borderline armature. It doesn’t feel like I’m watching an adult in his late 20s to early 30s trying to be an effective father figure to his younger sister, it feels like I’m watching the kid from “Bridge to Terabithia” pretend to be an adult.

With all that being said, this movie is absolutely killed by its writing. Where the movie’s set design and lighting are

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” is now streaming on Peacock.

an A+, the writing is a D-. It is barley functional.

The worst thing about its bad writing is that its problems bleed into other aspects of the movie that are otherwise well done.

While the actors give it their all and try to work with what they are given, their performances still come off as painfully stilted and awkward at times.

The tone of the movie is also impacted. At times the movie goes from a standard horror film to a dark comedy, to a half-baked “Home Alone” knockoff, all the way to a psychological thriller.

It’s just all over the place. I wasn’t sure whether the movie was trying to make me laugh or scare me, so most of the time I did neither.

Even the pacing is affected by the poor writing. Scenes either drag on for too long or go so fast you don’t even realize what happened. There is a child custody plotline that’s introduced at the beginning of the film, and they focus on it for the first two acts, but it spontaneously ends out of nowhere and doesn’t get brought up again.

There are also a couple of times where the film feels the need to dump exposi-

Photo courtesy of NBCUniversal

tion on the audience for way too long.

The plot becomes so convoluted that it feels like they need to look the audience in the eye and explain to them what they just saw. This is disappointing because I think that, at its best, this movie has some excellent instances of visual storytelling, but there are just so many minor details that the movie wants to include that it makes the rest of the film seem shallow by comparison.

Despite all its flaws, I can’t bring myself to hate it, and would still recommend giving it a watch. Maybe it’s just nostalgia speaking, but I’m glad this movie finally came out. Even though it misses the mark in a lot of ways, you can tell them that the people behind this project made an earnest attempt to make this movie something special. The scares don’t land, and the dialog doesn’t work, but in the context of the film they feel like goofy quirks more than anything.

The movie is fun, visually appealing, and doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it is brought down by its confused and shallow writing. A younger version of myself would have ripped this movie to shreds, but I just can’t bring myself to do that now. Because of that I give it a 6/10.

A12 SPORTS

sdsucollegian.com

November 1, 2023

In the right place

Assist specialist Reilly helps set Jacks up for success MADELINE REMUND Sports Reporter As a competitor, Raegen Reilly assists the Jackrabbits volleyball team on campus and off the court.

Reilly, a junior setter on the South Dakota State volleyball team, has been a key player for the Jacks continuing into her second year. Reilly is native to Sioux Falls but committed to North Dakota State University out of high school.

Following her freshman year, Reilly entered the transfer portal and returned to South Dakota to compete as a Jackrabbit.

“I just didn’t feel like I was at the right place, and it didn’t really feel like the best fit for me,” Reilly said on her transfer from Fargo. “I wanted to come closer to home and if I had the opportunity, I think that would be what was best for me.”

South Dakota State appealed to Reilly for several reasons. She appreciated the path the coaches were creating for the program, the culture they brought and the passion SDSU provides to their athletic and academic community.

“I was really happy to represent the state that I’m from in an athletic standpoint,” Reilly said.

Reilly was fortunate enough to find an immediate match and was welcomed by teammates, coaches, and professors as a new asset for the Jackrabbits.

“Being a transfer from in-conference and a rival school, I didn’t really know how that would go,” Reilly said. “But there were no issues at all. I just felt like I fit in right away and gelled with the team.”

Reilly surpassed the team’s single season assist record last year with 1,307 assists, becoming the leader her first year at SDSU. She averaged 9.98 assists per set, tallied 25 assists in all but one match

Collegian photo by EVAN PATZWALD Raegen Reilly (1) sets the ball to teammate Sydni Schetnan (11) during a volleyball match against Kansas City Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 at Frost Arena in Brookings.

Raegen, a Sioux Falls native, transfered from North Dakota State after her freshman year. “I just felt like I fit in right away and gelled with the team.”

during the 2022 season and ranked second on the team compiling 27 aces. In the future, Reilly wants to remain focused on team goals rather than individual accomplishments.

“For me, it’s just about continuing to get [SDSU] into a contending program,” Reilly said. “I want to make an impact, so that I can leave this program better than when I came into it.”

The role of setter is not an easy one to play, but Reilly rises to the occasion and delivers.

“She puts the ball where I need it every single time,” Katie Van Egdom, sophomore outside hitter, said. “We both have this mutual trust with each other, where I know that she’s going to deliver the ball that I need, and she has faith in

me to put the ball away.”

Regardless of those prosperous moments, being a key component to the offense definitely proves to be a challenge as well.

“Being a setter, you have to be very mentally tough,” Reilly said. “You have to know that you’re not always going to get recognition. It’s a huge role, but that’s what I signed up for and I want to make decisions of where I want the ball to go.”

Reilly comes from a victorious background of a winning high school program at Sioux Falls O’Gorman. She’s a three-time all-conference and all-state honors recipient, Class AA South Dakota Miss Volleyball and owns many more accolades.

“When you have someone like [Rae-

gen] at the setting position, it’s like the quarterback of the volleyball team,” said Dan Georgalas, head coach for the SDSU volleyball team.

In the setting position, Reilly is often looked to as a leader on the court in both low and high times.

“I think she’s a really good leader by example,” Georgalas said. “She’s a very competitive person who’s super sweet and a great student. I feel like she’s a really hard worker and just tries to show people how to do that.”

The Jackrabbits are 7-16 overall, 5-6 in the Summit League. They own a threegame win streak heading into Thursday’s match at North Dakota State.

With the loss of several veteran

sdsucollegian.com

SPORTS

November 1, 2023

A13

Jacks take win streak to Fargo

BRAYDEN BYERS Managing Editor

Collegian photo by EVAN PATZWALD Reilly poses for a photo with South Dakota State head coach Dan Georgalas before their match against Denver Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 at Frost Arena in Brookings. Reilly set the program single-season record for assists with 1,307 last year.

players and the additional abunher freshman year. Eventually, Reilly dance of new teammates, the Jacks slipped into the role of setter, alonghave had side her sister, to make Bergen, running numerous a 6-2 offense the REILLY BIO adjustments rest of her high throughout school career.

Name: Raegen Reilly the season.

Reilly strives Class: Junior Reilly has to be, above all Major: Business adapted to else, a good teamPosition: Setter those changmate. She aims to es and been encourage those High School: O’Gorman moved to other around her to be Hometown: Sioux Falls positions on their best and be Next Game: Thursday @ the court as a positive leader NDSU, 7 p.m. well. on the court.

“I’m doing “We all have what the team different perneeds me to sonalities on the do,” Reilly court, but she’s said. “It’s fun the one who to do different things and I get to see brings the fire when we need it,” Van the court differently. It helps me give Egdom said. “But when we’re in a people a little more grace too.” little rut, she knows what to say. She Luckily, Reilly has previous exknows how to calm everybody down perience from her high school years and get the best out of us, which is to draw from when she wasn’t always what a great teammate is.” a setter. In junior high, she played primarily the middle hitter role and advanced to outside hitter during

Collegian photo by EVAN PATZWALD Reilly sets during warmups before a match against North Dakota State Oct. 5 at Frost Arena in Brookings.

The Jackrabbit volleyball team is riding a three-game win streak into the Peace Garden State for a match against North Dakota State Thursday before a home match Saturday.

Coming fresh off wins against St. Thomas, Kansas City and North Dakota, South Dakota State is in prime position to make a move up the conference ladder.

The Jacks sit at fifth with a 5-6 conference record.

They bounced back after losing four out of their first five Summit League games, their one win coming against Oral Roberts in Tulsa.

Their opponents this week sit two above, North Dakota State (8-4), and three below, Oral Roberts (1-10) the Yellow and Blue.

“We’ve got the longest winning streak of the season.” head coach Dan Georgalas said, “And that whole message of we’re going to be playing our best volleyball at the right time of the year has kind of come to fruition.”

The Jacks and Bison faced off earlier this year with NDSU getting the sweep Oct. 5. Sylvie Zgonc led the team with 13 kills while Raegen Reilly notched three blocks.

The match will take place at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse in Fargo, which has proved to be a tough place for opponents. The Bison have a 6-2 record while defending home court this season.

The Jacks then travel back down I-29 to take on Oral Roberts which sits at the bottom of the league. Their one conference win this season came against St. Thomas in a 3-1 match in St. Paul Oct. 7.

In their first matchup earlier this year, the Jacks beat the Golden Eagles in four sets behind 17 kills from Katie Van Egdom and five blocks from Elyse Winter.

The match Saturday will be part of the ‘Hike & Spike’ double-header as the top-ranked football team hosts NDSU for the Dakota Marker game earlier in the day.

The Volleyball match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first-serve at Frost Arena with free admission to whoever attends the football game first.

“We had a football-volleyball double-header last year and had great attendance.” Georgalas said, “This year’s no different. We’re super excited.”

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NEWS

November 1, 2023

photo by DAVE EGGEN/ SUMMIT LEAUGE

SDSU women’s soccer looking to earn thier seventh championship

BOSTEN MOREHART Asst. Sports Editor

With a win in the semi-final game, the SDSU women’s soccer team looks to earn its seventh championship this coming weekend.

The Jackrabbits took care of business in their game against Oral Roberts scoring five goals to the Golden Eagles’ two.

Winning this match advanced SDSU into the championship game where they will be facing Omaha.

Making it to the championship game means a lot for junior middle fielder, Avery LeBlanc.

“It means everything to get to where we are today, I mean going into this season, we were all expecting a great year.”

LeBlanc mentioned that throughout the season they had several injuries and setbacks but making it to the championship game and host it “means” in LeBlanc’s words.

The last time the Jacks faced off against Omaha, the match resulted in a tie between the two with both sides scoring one goal. SDSU is the number two seed in the tournament while Omaha is the four seed.

LeBlanc is not satisfied with how their last meeting with Omaha went during the season.

“I think we have a little bit of unfinished business from this season and we’re ready.”

In their journey to the championship, Omaha started out the tournament playing fifth seed South Dakota. With two goals scored late in the game, the Mavericks defeated the Coyotes,advancing into the semi-final game In their semi-final game, the Mavericks faced off with top-seed Denver.

The Mavericks won this match through penalty kicks in extra time, advancing to the championship.

The Jackrabbits won their first Summit League Championship in 2008 followed

by championships in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 and their most recent in 2021. The Jacks enter the championship game with an overall record of 12-3-3.

For SDSU, the team’s leading scorer is Avery Murdzek with seven goals, her twin sister Laney Murdzek leads the team in assists with five. As a team the Jacks have 41 goals on the season averaging 2.28 goals per game, putting them first in the league for goals scored.

The Jacks have allowed 16 goals from opponents this season, which is the lowest amount let up by any team in the Summit League.

For the Mavericks, Emillie Erland and Marissa Gohr lead the team with three goals apiece, while Grace Crockett leads the team in assists with five. The Mavs have 29 goals on the season averaging 1.61 goals per game.

They have allowed 18 goals from their opponents averaging one goal given up per game. They are fourth in goals scored as a team in the Summit League.

Although the Jacks are the two seed and the Mavs the four, the game will be one to watch. The Mavs have proven already this tournament that seeds do not matter as they knocked off the number one Denver on Denver’s home field.

Coach Brock Thompson knows the importance of playing your best and not playing down to your opponent’s level no matter their seed or record.

“Let’s not understate the challenge that’s ahead, the Summit League’s a fantastic soccer conference this year and Omaha is a very difficult team to play,” he said.

Although they are tough competition and the last meeting ended in a tie, LeBlanc is coming into the game with confidence. “We don’t lose at home, that’s our motto,” Leblanc said.

The Jackrabbits take on the Mavericks Sunday, Nov. 5, at Fishback Soccer Park.

The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. and can be watched on The Summit League Network with live stats on GoJacksLive.com.

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SPORTS

November 1, 2023

SDSU men finish first, women take second at Summit League Cross Country Championships MARSHALL MINIHAN Sports Editor With winter flurries and a high of 31 degrees, both South Dakota State cross country teams excelled at the Summit League Cross Country Championships as the men finished first and the women in second.

SDSU showed out in front of the home crowd, for the first time the championship was held in Brookings.

The men’s team finished with a total of 46 points, tying NDSU, but due to guidelines from the NCAA, the Jackrabbits took home the win since their team had the Crowd Champion.

Carson Noecker, a true freshman on the SDSU men’s team took home the gold and more with his time of 24 minutes and 17.2 seconds in the 8k. The Nebraska native is the first-ever male athlete to win the Championship MVP and Newcomer of the Championship awards since the awards started.

However, he wasn’t the only SDSU runner to place top-5 in the men’s race. Junior Josh Becker took fifth with his impressive time of 24:51.3 while Daniel Burkhalter finished in sixth, less than two seconds behind Becker at 24:53.1.

Freshman Christian Noble and junior Cody Larson took 16th and 18th place respectively. Noble ran a 25:15.4 while Larson finished with a time of 25:23.3.

Jackson Dutcher took 20th at 25:29.7, Will Lohr’s time of 25:44.0 put him in 26th while Luke Johnson finished at 26:09.1 which placed him in 38th.

SDSU had two more men’s runners compete; Mason McDonald who placed 54th at 27:27.6 and Andrew Moeller who ran a 28:17.2 for 58th place.

For the women’s 6k, it was Leah (Hansen) Hisken who paved the way for the Jackrabbits, ending up in second place with a time of 21:06.8 while Jessica Lutmer (21:24.5) and Mya Kizer (21:28.8) finished back-to-back for 9th and 10th place.

South Dakota State had two more runners in the top 20, Claire Beckman who took 14th place and Caitlin

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Bright who finished in 20th place. Beckman ran a time of 21:54.1 while Bright finished at 22:11.8.

Nicole Greyer grabbed 23rd at 22:21.7, Grace Waage finished in 27th place with the time of 22:32.3 and Emma Gonzalez’s 22:35.6 put her in 29th place for the day.

Sophomore Emma Ecker crossed the finish line at 22:56.0, earning 35th place and rounding out the Rabbit runners was Sierra Watterud, who finished in 43rd place at 23:10.7.

Both Jackrabbit teams will travel down south to Stillwater, Oklahoma, home of the Oklahoma State Cowboys for the NCAA Midwest Regionals on Friday, Nov. 10 at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course.

Collegian photo by MEGAN IVES Men’s and women’s cross country at the Summit League Cross Country Championships on Oct. 28 in Brookings. The teams competed at the Edgebrook Golf Course where the men took first and women took second.

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A16

SPORTS

November 1, 2023

Men’s basketball to host Marauders in exhibition game at Frost Arena today CLARE SCHOELERMAN Reporter

South Dakota State University was predicted to place first in conferences at the 2023 Summit League Media Day on Oct. 10.

Head coach Eric Henderson says this would not be possible without the team’s dedication and the players’ bonds. He credits the leadership of the older players to the bonding of the players and their striving towards connectivity.

“Well, we got some older guys, Mims, Charlie, and Appel, that have been in our program for a long time and so they know what it means and feels like to have expectations,” Henderson said. “And those three in particular older guys have really helped those new guys in a positive way.”

Point guard Zeke Mayo was named Preseason Player of the Year at the 2023 Summit League Media Day. Mayo from Lawrence, Kanas, says this accomplishment would not be possible without putting in the work and the support of the coaches and his teammates.

“I mean, I’m blessed to be in this position for sure,” Mayo said.

The accomplishments and hopes for the year will not be possible without the hard work and friendships the players and coaches put in.

Henderson says they try not to focus on what could happen in the season and stick to what they can control and hope the chips land where they want them.

However, two teams within the conference pose a challenge for the upcoming season. Oral Roberts and North Dakota State University both of whom South Dakota State lost to last year. The loss to NDSU caused the team to lose their first game in the NCAA tournament last season. Other teams like Omaha, St. Thomas, and University of South Dakota are also on Henderson’s radar.

“You know you’re not going to have any nights off,” Henderson said. “But if you were to ask me who I think is at the top, it’s probably Oral Roberts and North Dakota State.”

Luke Appel, a redshirt senior, was out most of the season last year due to multiple injuries, particularly his shoulder. He is excited to play with his team again this year.

“Just coming back and being able to do whatever I can to help our team get there,” Appel said. “Just trying to stay as positive as I could and cheer on my teammates.”

Photo by Clare Schoelerman Junior guard Zeke Mayo charges the paint against newly transferred forward Nate Barnhart in a drill during a practice in October.

6-foot 9-inch sophomore, William Kyle III, worked with Appel last year and both are blessed to be able to play together again.

“Sometimes I joke around like this sucks that you got hurt but I’m very, very glad I get to play a year with him,” Kyle said. “Because he did help me out a lot last year, and it brought us very close together, and I really appreciate everything he did for me.”

Luke was not the only player back on the court this year either, Charlie Easley and Matthew Mors are now back from injuries. As well as a few new additions including the seven-foot transfer from Wyoming, Nate Barnhart.

Henderson encourages fans to join them in Frost Arena to see the new players and the connectivity of the team. Their season opener is on Nov. 1 in Frost Arena against the University of Mary. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

“I think the atmosphere can be terrific and how the students have shown up and supported the football program is absolutely phenomenal,” Coach Henderson said.

“We can’t wait for them to join us in Frost and create an atmosphere that’s challenging for opponents.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL NONCONFERENCE GAMES Today vs University of Mary 8:30 p.m.

Nov. 6 vs Akron 8:15 p.m.

Nov. 8 vs Dakota Wesleyan 7 p.m.

Nov. 13 @ Kansas State 7 p.m.

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SPORTS

November 1, 2023

Jacks open basketball season today against Minnesota-Duluth MADELINE REMUND Sports Reporter

The South Dakota State women’s basketball team is all set to begin their 2023-24 season while facing a new challenge.

The Jacks are looking to fill the shoes of two dominant players- Myah Selland and Paiton Burkhard- who finished their careers last season. While battling to remain on top, the Jackrabbits are still forecasted to finish triumphant after receiving 27 of 36 first-place votes in the preseason poll conducted by the league’s coaches.

If two high-performing player losses weren’t enough, SDSU will also be deprived of guard, Haleigh Timmer and forward Kallie Theisen, after both suffered season-ending injuries during the preseason. Each girl played significant roles on last year’s 29-6 winning team.

Timmer ranked second on the team with 12.1 points per game and Theisen secured her crown with most rebounds and blocks for the Jacks last season.

However, those setbacks haven’t stopped the Jackrabbits or shrink their chances at success. It all boils down to an extremely superior team that owns nine regular season titles and 10 tournament championships, while being led by head coach Aaron Johnston, who sits with a 571185 record entering his 24th season.

“He’s very consistent,” forward Tori Nelson said on what makes Johnston a great coach.

“He’s been here a long time; he has a good game plan, and you always know what you’re going to get from him.”

South Dakota State went 18-0 during

NEXT THREE GAMES Nov. 6 vs Arkansas State 6 p.m.

Nov. 14 @ Wisconsin 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 18 @ UT Martin 1 p.m.

the 2022-23 season, the first time a Summit League women’s team went undefeated in the regular season since 1993-94.

Some returning key players for SDSU include Nelson, second team All-Summit League and Paige Meyer, first team AllSummit League. Nelson is entering her fifth and final year with the Jacks, starting every game over the past two seasons and accumulating the most minutes played of any Jackrabbit in that span.

She averaged 7.9 points and snatched 3.4 rebounds per game in 2022-23. Meyer averaged 10.5 points, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 2022-23, shooting 54.5% on the floor and 48.8% from beyond the arc, which are both team bests. In addition, she ranked second in the Summit League for her 2.0 assist/turnover ratio.

Looking to the bench, there is a lack of experience considering injuries took a toll in that area. The contributions that these players will bring to the floor is still unknown. However, the Jackrabbits are frequent contenders and have made 11 appearances at the NCAA Tournament proving that they can rely on previous success to assemble a competitive team throughout the course of the season.

“It’s really tough losing [Kallie and

GoJ

Photo by Joclyn Haven Paige Meyer letting it rain from deep in the 87-60 victory in the semifinals against Oral Roberts in the 2022-23 season. Meyer, a junior from Minnesota was selected to the 202324 All-Summit League second team.

Timmer], they’re both great players for us and we’re going to miss them on the court,” Nelson said. “Obviously there’s going to be some bumps in the road, but we’ve got a lot of great players ready to step up and fill those roles. So, I’m excited to kind of help them with that and see how they do.”

The Jacks will jumpstart their season Wednesday as they face off against Minnesota-Duluth at 6 p.m. in an exhibition match that features a double header with men’s basketball.

Their first regular season game will start at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 against Arkansas State at Frost Arena.

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November 1, 2023

DAKOTA MARKER

Collegian Photos by JOCLYN HAVEN Safety Tucker Large and the Jackrabbit defense celebrate after forcing a turnover against the Coyotes Saturday at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion. Large had 4 total tackles in the win and an interception.

NO. 1 JACKS RETURN HOME FOR RIVALRY GAME AGAINST NO. 10 BISON MARSHALL MINIHAN To many, a 75-pound quartzite replica of a boarder marker isn’t considered valuable, but to NDSU and SDSU, it’s one of the most important things they can get their hands on.

The Dakota Marker game has been one of the most anticipated games each season since SDSU and NDSU first played in 1903. In those 114 games, NDSU holds the winning record of 63-46-5.

Though recently, South Dakota State has shown it’s their time now. In their last four games, the Jackrabbits have beaten the Bison once in Brookings, South Dakota (2021), twice in Fargo, North Dakota (2020 and 2022) and on the biggest stage in the FCS: the National Championship (2023).

The Jacks are currently one win away from tying their longest winning streak against one of their biggest rivals (1910-11-13-15-17).

These two Missouri Valley Football Conference power houses haven’t shared the

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SPORTS EDITOR

gridiron since Jan. 8 when SDSU beat NDSU 45-21 in the FCS National Championship.

Currently, the 8-0 Jacks are ranked No.1 in the FCS with the 6-2 Bison sitting at No. 10. NDSU spent four weeks ranked No. 2 before losing to USD in week four and UND in week six, two teams the Jacks have already beaten this season.

BISON You can’t speak FCS football without bringing up NDSU. Despite being a team who has been considered the best, they now come in as the underdog against the top ranked Jackrabbits.

Though underdogs, head coach for South Dakota State isn’t taking this game lightly.

“We are well aware who is coming to town, and the talent that is on this football team,” said coach Jimmy Rogers. “13 preseason all-conference players and led by Cam Miller who is right now playing his best football of his career.”

Senior quarterback Miller still sits at the helm of the No. 6 ranked offense in the nation. Though a quarterback, Miller leads the team in rushing with 388 yards on the

sdsucollegian.com ground and nine touchdowns. TaMerik Williams (387 yards), Barika Kpeenu (306 yards) and backup quarterback Cole Payton (300 yards) all have at least 300 rushing yards this season.

Miller has excelled in the air just as he has down on the ground, passing for 1,411 yards on a 76.1% completion percentage which currently leads the FCS. The Iowa native also has ten total touchdown passes on the season.

Zach Mathis took over as the go-to Bison receiver after the departure of Christan Watson to the Green Bay packers at the end of the 2021 season and has shown great strides since then. In 2022, Mathis finished the year with 520 receiving yards. In eight weeks this season, 507 receiving yards and three touchdowns (45th most in the nation).

Wide receiver Eli Green has been a reliable second option for NDSU. The 5’11 sophomore has put up a total of 328 yards in the air this season though he hasn’t seen green, one of eight targeted players who hasn’t scored a touchdown this season for the Bison.

Tight end Joe Stoffel has been Miller’s redzone guy in this impressive passing attack. Stoffel currently leads the Bison in touchdown receptions with five while also racking up 244 receiving yards.

In eight total games, the Bison have allowed 2,289 yards (286.1 yards per game) and 18 opponent touchdowns. This powerful NDSU defense led by Logan Kopp is ranked 10th in total defense in the FCS. Kopp, a sophomore from Missouri currently leads the team in tackles this season with 51 total and tackles for loss with five for a total loss of 23 yards. The linebacker also has two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three interceptions, 2.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry.

Safety Cole Wisniewski leads the team in picks this season, with four and bringing them back for 129 yards while also recording 33 tackles and a forced fumble.

Defensive monster Dylan Hendricks has put up three sacks this season, in which he leads the category, 4.5 tackles for loss and 20 tackles. Marcus Sheppard and Luke Weerts join Hendricks this season with 20 total tackles.

JACKRABBITS Now returning home after back-to-back away games, the No. 1 ranked South Dakota State Jackrabbits are set to take on yet another rival in North Dakota State. The Jacks swept the floor with their in-state rival USD, a team the Bison lost to earlier this season 24-19.

The No. 9 ranked offense in the FCS is led by a guy who has yet to lose to NDSU, Mark Gronowski. This season, Gronowski has been the most efficient quarterback in the nation, passing for 1,528 yards, 16 touchdowns, three interceptions and completing 112 of his 162 total passes for a passing efficiency rating of 177.25 with North Dakota State’s Miller at 168.88.

It isn’t a surprise Gronowski has been so productive when looking at his receivers. 6th year senior Jaxon Janke has been a threat to any corner who deems themselves

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Linebacker Saiveon Williamson in the Jacks’ 34-point win over the USD Saturday at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion. Williamson tied for first on the team in tackles, with 48 total on the year. He has 18 solo tackles and 30 assisted.

worthy to cover him. So far this season, Jaxon Janke has pulled in 29 receptions, 458 yards and three touchdowns, averaging nearly 60 yards per game.

His identical twin Jadon Janke has been an offensive weapon this season despite the fact he missed two games due to an injury. Jadon Janke currently has 235 yards and 17 receptions on 17 catches. Freshman Griffin Wilde has been a great addition to the South Dakota State passing attack this season. In his first year, Wilde has caught four touchdowns, in which he leads the receivers in, racked up 267 yards (20.54 yards per reception) on 13 catches.

Joining the triple threat receivers is tight end Zach Heins. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native has four touchdowns on 17 receptions for a total of 223 yards.

Leading the 6th ranked rushing offense in the nation is s e n i o r tailback Isaiah Davis. In just eight games, Davis h a s

Running back Amar Johnson in the Jacks’ 37-3 win over the Coyotes Saturday at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion.

Johnson had 8 carries for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns.

managed to put up 754 rushing yards (15th in the nation) and eight touchdowns on 109 carries. The Missouri native also has racked up 145 yards and a score in the passing attack.

The Johnson duo of Amar Johnson and Angel Johnson has proved this Jackrabbit offense has talent deep in their depth chart. With 76 carries, Amar Johnson has put up 510 yards and three touchdowns with Angel Johnson putting up 284 yards and four scores on 30 rushes. Gronowski joins the rushing leaders for the Jacks with 180 of his own along with six touchdowns.

“I’m proud of Angel Johnson because he has come a long way,” said Rogers in his weekly press conference.

“He’s been green to college football, I mean green. He has always been the fastest and he’s still probably, arguably the fastest guy on our football team but he keeps getting better as a true running back.”

SDSU’s stellar defense has been putting offenses in the turf this season. As the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation, the Jacks have allowed 10 touchdowns and 257 yards per game, the lowest in the FCS. Linebackers Jason Freeman, Saiveon Williamson and Isaiah Stalbird lead the team in tackles. Freeman and Williamson lead the team in totals with 48 each while Stalbird follows closely with 45.

With an interception against USD Tucker Large now leads the team in picks with two while six other Jackrabbits have one of their own.

Defensive end Cade Terveer has been a wrecking ball to offensive lineman, recording six tackles for loss and five sacks, in which he leads both stats for the Jacks.

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COYOTES GO QUIETLY TOP-RANKED JACKRABBITS BLOW OUT NO. 4 USD TO STAY UNDEFEATED, PGS. 18-19.

Photo by JOCLYN HAVEN

November 1, 2023