Rehn, Ruth
The Lyons High and 1966 South Dakota State grad was an assistant executive director for the S.D. High School Activities Association for 34 years, starting in 1974. During her tenure, South Dakota added basketball, volleyball, cross country, and competitive cheer and dance for high school girls, and she was the overseeing administrator for all the […]
Roger, Nelson
A 1954 Brookings High and 1958 University of South Dakota grad, Nelson has been a referee/official/umpire for more than 50 years in a host of sports: football, boys/girls basketball, volleyball, wrestling, track, baseball and softball. And he was an outstanding athlete and coach as well. He began officiating in 1955 while in college, mainly football […]
Neuharth, Al
Born a poor country boy in South Dakota in 1924, Neuharth became a self-made multimillionaire who built the nation’s largest newspaper company (Gannett) and started the nation’s most widely read newspaper (USA Today). He is an Alpena High and University of South Dakota grad. Neuharth’s start in journalism involved sports, and much of the success […]
Young, Bob
A Beresford High grad, Young is the winningest football coach in University of Sioux Falls history with a 172-69-3 record in 22 seasons. Young was raised on a farm and participated in three sports in high school. He went on to play football for Sioux Falls College, where he played linebacker and offensive guard and […]
Van Goor, Lisa
A 1980 Yankton High grad, Van Goor was the first female to be inducted into the Colorado University Athletic Hall of Fame, in 1999. The 6-foot-3 center is still the all-time leading scorer (2,067), rebounder (1,145) and shot blocker (289) in Colorado basketball history – and she did all that despite missing more than half […]
Kirby, Peggy
The Sioux Falls native is among South Dakota’s greatest amateur golfers, having won the women’s stroke play championship five times – 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1982 – and the Sioux Falls city tournament 17 times. Since the state women’s tourney switched from match play to stroke play in the 1960s, no one has won […]
Hisek, Lee
A 1967 Tyndall High and University of South Dakota grad, the “Tyndall Tornado” was one of the state’s greatest track sprinters. He was state prep champ in the 100-yard dash three times, and he was a three-time state prep champ in the 220 as well. Known for his blazing start, Hisek set state records in […]
Hughes, Frank
At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, the 43-year-old won a gold medal in the team clay pigeons competition and a bronze medal in the individual trap. The Sept. 2, 1924 Mobridge Tribune reported: “Never has a man gone out of Mobridge that has attracted as much attention throughout the world as Frank Hughes. His name […]