Youngworth, Carl
Born Nov. 5, 1898 in Tyndall. 1915 Tyndall HS grad. 1919 Yankton College grad. As an athlete at Yankton College, he was all-conference as a quarterback in football and guard in basketball and competed in track as well. His first coaching job was in 1921 at Winner, where one of his first stars was Frank […]
Zephier, Andy
The 1949 Flandreau Public High grad made the Flandreau Indian School one of the most successful cross country programs in the state. Zephier, a 1957 Augustana grad, coached and taught at the Flandreau Indian School for 33 years (1957-1990). He coached excellent teams in track and basketball, but it was in cross country where FIS […]
Abbott, Cleve
Born Dec. 9, 1894 in Yankton. 1912 Watertown High School grad. 1916 SDSU grad. Won 16 varsity letters at Watertown and at SDSU he earned 14 more (in track, football, baseball and basketball). Hired by Booker T. Washington to teach and coach at Tuskegee Institute in 1915, Abbott became one of the most respected coaches […]
Ruml, Ken
Wrestling has been Ken Ruml’s life for over 50 years. He graduated from Letcher High School in 1967 and Dakota Wesleyan University in 1971. He competed in football, wrestling, and track & field all four years and was a three-sport letter winner all four years. Ruml coached wrestling at Howard High School from 1976-2011. His […]
Schroeder, Bob
The Miller High and University of South Dakota grad was an extremely successful high school football, basketball and track coach at Miller from the 1940s to the mid-1970s, and he coached two of the greatest teams in state history. Schroeder was an accomplished athlete at Miller while competing in those three sports. He was the […]
Seely, Brad
A 1974 Baltic High School and 1978 SDSU graduate, Brad Seely was considered one of the greatest special teams coaches in NFL history. He coached for the three New England Super Bowl-winning teams in 2001, 2003, and 2004. Seely was an All-State high school football player, all-conference basketball player, and state track & field meet […]
Seiler, Dawn
The winningest girls’ basketball coach in South Dakota history as of 2022, Dawn Seiler, retired with a 629-244 record in 37 seasons. She graduated from McLaughlin High School in 1979 and from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND in 1983. She was a high school and college basketball star. In 1977, she scored a […]
Sherrill, Marv
The most successful high school wrestling coach in state history, Sherrill guided Watertown for 35 years before retiring after the 2003 season. Sherrill’s Arrows earned eight state Class A titles and had nine runner-up finishes. No coach has won more state wrestling titles. Watertown also won 14 Eastern South Dakota Conference championships and was region […]
Swisher, Clark
Born March 27, 1916 in Vermillion. 1934 Vermillion HS grad. 1938 USD grad. Was a coach and/or athletic director at Northern State from 1946-1986. When he started at NSU, he coached football, basketball, track, tennis and golf – with no assistants. The winningest football coach in NSU history, he was 146-42-4 with four perfect seasons […]
Taplett, Howard
Born May 23, 1921. 1939 Tyndall High and 1943 University of South Dakota grad. Taplett built Tyndall into a Class B track power. In 16 years as Tyndall’s coach, Taplett coached the Panthers to seven state Class B titles (1953-56, 1960 and 1966-67) and one runner-up finish (1965). The four consecutive titles is a feat […]