Hanson, Rich
The 1954 Aberdeen Central and 1958 Northern State grad has been officiating high school and college sports since 1959. He also has been a contributor to many local organizations. Hanson was a high school and college basketball referee from 1959-79 and a football ref from 1963-84. He reffed the first football game at the DakotaDome […]
Olson, Bob
The Aberdeen Central and 1977 Northern State grad helped Northern succeed in athletics for almost 40 years. He served the Wolves in the role of athletic director for 13 years, taking over the position in 1999 for the retired Jim Kretchman. Prior to that, he coached the NSU men’s basketball team for 14 seasons, winning […]
Long, Tom
Perhaps the state’s greatest prep wrestling coach, the 1944 Forestburg High and 1951 Dakota Wesleyan grad coached in Rapid City for 33 years – the first 13 at Central and the last 20 at Stevens. Long is perhaps best known for winning eight state titles (1963-65, ’75-76, ’80-81, ’88) during his tenure and coaching Randy […]
Trudeau, Joe
The 1969 Jefferson High and University of South Dakota grad starred on one of the most famous prep football teams in state history. Trudeau was a four-year, two-way starter at end on a Jefferson team that went 35-1 with a 33-game win streak under Coach Matt Mottice. As a junior, he scored 20 touchdowns and […]
Reisdorfer, Patricia
The 1976 Adrian (Minn.) High grad was the first woman inducted into the Augustana Athletic Hall of Fame (in 1990). She lettered in basketball, volleyball and track at Adrian. She ran the mile for the track team but never made it past the region meet. After high school, she took up running to maintain her […]
Schlepp, Doug
The 1970 Java High grad left the South Dakota School of Mines as the all-time leading men’s basketball scorer among South Dakota colleges with 2,440 points. The 5-foot-9, 155-pound guard did so before the advent of the 3-point shot. He also held the scoring record for NAIA District 12 (South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska). […]
Mitchell, Jim
The national deaf basketball player of the year as a senior in 1954, the 6-foot-1 Mitchell averaged 27.2 points a game for the South Dakota School for the Deaf that season, including a 52-point effort against Worthing. The 27.2 was a national deaf record. In the 52-point game, he was 17 of 24 from the […]
Leber, Ben
The 1997 Vermillion High grad played 10 seasons as a linebacker in the NFL, mostly as a starter. The 6-foot-3, 244-pounder was a third-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in 2002 and was an immediate standout as he was named to the Pro Football Weekly and Football Digest All-Rookie teams, finishing the year […]
Hansen, Greg
The 1970 Hurley High and Dakota Wesleyan grad averaged a double-double for eight consecutive seasons – four at Hurley and four at DWU – and was all-conference all eight seasons. At Hurley, the two-time all-stater had 1,989 points and 1,663 rebounds with career highs of 62 points and 34 rebounds. He averaged 13 points and […]
Heidenreich, Steve
The 1971 Watertown High grad is the greatest miler that South Dakota has ever produced, breaking the 4-minute barrier eight times. He is a member of the Watertown High, Indiana University and Howard Wood Dakota Relays halls of fame. In high school, he was a two-time state champ in the mile run and medley relay […]