Glanzer, Burnell

The 1971 Freeman High and 1975 University of South Dakota grad was one of the most successful boys basketball coaches in state history, guiding Armour (and Tripp-Delmont/Armour) to a 617-209 record in 37 seasons. He was just the third South Dakota boys basketball coach to reach the 600-win mark. He led Armour’s Packers to a […]

Godfrey, Vic

The 1958 Aberdeen Central and 1963 Northern State grad has been a track and/or cross country coach for more than 50 years – much of it at Watertown. Godfrey began his coaching career in Indonesia while in the Peace Corps from 1963-65. During that time he worked with Olympic gold medalists Emil Zatopek and Charlie […]

Gottsleben, David

A Brookings native and 1971 Montrose High and 1975 South Dakota State grad, Gottsleben is in his 31st season as the University of South Dakota head men’s track and field coach. While at USD, he’s been a conference coach of the year a total of 18 times (in the North Central Conference, Great West and […]

Greeno, Rich

Born near Amherst, S.D. 1946 Langford HS grad. 1950 Northern State grad. A cross country and boys track coaching legend at Lincoln High in Sioux Falls, Greeno’s coaching career spanned six decades. He coached at Lincoln from 1968-90. The Patriots won 11 state cross country titles, including all but one in the 1970s, and the […]

Greeno, Rollie

The 1944 Langford High and 1950 Northern State grad coached the Milbank football team to 44 consecutive victories before embarking on a 37-year coaching career at Jamestown College. The Amherst native began his coaching career at Wessington Springs from 1950-56, coaching four sports with great success. His football teams there were 37-9-3, including a 27-game […]

Haensel, Wayne “Hawkeye”

A 1954 graduate of Walnut Grove High School (MN) and a 1959 graduate of SDSU, Haensel was an All-American, all-conference, three-year starter, and senior co-captain for the Jackrabbits, helping SDSU secure three North Central Conference Championships with a 23-11-2 record during his tenure. Drafted in the 25th round of the 1958 NFL Draft by the […]

Hansen, Elmer

Born June 13, 1905, in Kanaranzi, Minn. Luverne (Minn.) HS. 1930 Morningside College grad. Hansen was one of the state’s most successful track coaches, winning 12 state titles in his 21 years as head coach at Washington High. The Warriors’ nine consecutive state titles from 1953-61 is the best such streak in state history. While […]

Hawk, Max

Born March 19, 1933. 1951 Wessington Springs HS grad. 1957 Northern State grad. The winningest prep football coach in state history (284-78-2), Hawk coached Yankton for 30 years, ending with a perfect season and state Class 11AA title in 1994. He coached Scotland for eight years starting in 1957 before coming to Yankton in 1965. […]

Heinitz, Jim

Jim Heinitz graduated from Mountain Lake (MN) High School in 1968 and from SDSU in 1973, where he was an all-conference linebacker. In 1977, he became the head football coach at Rapid City Stevens, leading the Raiders to a 7-2 record and a #2 state ranking with seven shutouts. He retired in 1978 to go […]

Wipf Wiebe, Janel

The 1976 Freeman High graduate was among South Dakota’s first female long-distance runners – and she still ranks among the best. Her running career started with track and cross country in the early 1970s, when distance races first became available to girls. Her early successes included three consecutive state titles in the mile run and […]