Amundson, George

Aberdeen (Aberdeen Central High School). Iowa State. On May 17, 1969, at the state Class AA track meet in Spearfish, the 6-2, 200-pound Amundson threw the discus 211 feet, 4 inches, farther than any U.S. high schooler had ever thrown it. No South Dakotan since has come close to that mark. The record was never […]

Anderson, Cliff

The 1969 Dell Rapids High grad was one of the last great four-sport college athletes in South Dakota, excelling in basketball, football, baseball and track at Dakota State. At DSU, the 6-foot-5 Anderson was all-South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference in basketball three years (1971-73) and all-NAIA District 12 twice while playing for Coach Ed Harter. He […]

Andrzejewski, Rich

1969 Arlington HS grad. 1974 Northern State grad. Voted the best all-around male athlete in the history of Northern State, Andrzejewski earned 16 varsity letters, the most by an athlete at any South Dakota college ever. The 6-foot-3 Andrzejewski lettered four years each in football, basketball, baseball and track. He played on Northern teams that […]

Bartling, Herb

A 1947 Brookings High grad, Bartling was an All-American quarterback on the undefeated 1950 South Dakota State football team. SDSU hasn’t gone unbeaten since. The 6-foot, 175-pound Bartling was named Most Valuable Player in the North Central Conference after guiding the Jackrabbits to a 9-0-1 record and a league championship in 1950 under Coach Ralph […]

Besanson, Kay

The 1954 Delmont High grad was one of Yankton College’s all-time greats in basketball and track. Besanson ran the 220-yard dash in 20.9 seconds in 1956, breaking the school record set by the legendary Joe Mendel. That time was the fourth fastest in the nation in 1956 and it remained a Yankton College record until […]

Birrenkott, Janel

Janel Birrenkott graduated from Lemmon High School in 1982 and Northern State University in 1987. Despite a 100 percent hearing loss obstacle, she was a two-time All-State basketball player in high school. She left NSU as one of its all-time leading scorers and went on to play professionally, nationally, and internationally. In 1986 she earned […]

Bosanko, Scott

Considered one of the best at basketball-rich Aberdeen Central High School, Scott Bosanko was all-state as a junior and senior when he led the Eastern South Dakota Conference in scoring in both seasons. He graduated from Central in 1977 and was chosen a McDonald’s All-American. He led the Golden Eagles to their first state championship […]

Braase, Ordell

Mitchell High School. University of South Dakota. A 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end for the Baltimore Colts from 1957-68, he helped the Colts win NFL titles in 1958, ’59 and ’68 (the Colts lost to the Joe Namath-led New York Jets in Super Bowl III to end the ’68 season). The ’58 NFL title game is […]

Brown, Steve

One of the state’s finest prep and college basketball players, the Hamlin High and South Dakota State grad had a knack for scoring. And he was a terrific baseball player as well. At Hamlin, the 5-foot-10 guard was a three-time first-team all-stater and led the Chargers to the 1974 state Class B title, scoring a […]

Burnett, Amy

The 1991 Huron High and 1996 University of Wyoming grad was the women’s basketball Player of the Year in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conference in 1994 and ’95. At Wyoming, the 5-foot-11 forward was honorable mention all-conference as a freshman and first-team all-WAC the next three years. As a junior she led the […]