Williamson, Warren
Born Jan. 4, 1927 in Hurley. South Dakota State’s wrestling coach for 16 seasons (1956-73), the 1945 Hurley High and 1951 SDSU grad led the Jackrabbits to national prominence in the sport. Williamson also was a standout athlete at SDSU – he was the first Jackrabbit football player to rush for 1,000 yards in 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 […]
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 […]
Prendergast, Harry
Harry Prendergast graduated from Milbank High School and was a 1953 graduate of Huron College. At Huron he was All-SDIC in football and basketball. He was a member of three SDIC championship basketball teams and started 39 straight games in football. Prendergast is the only football coach in South Dakota history to have coached 6-man, […]
Ploof, Dave
With Ploof as its coach for 47 years, Rapid City Post 22 was one of the most successful American Legion baseball programs in the country. The Austin, Minn., native and Mankato State grad coached the Hardhats from 1965-2011, compiling a 2,483-808 record, making him the winningest coach in the history of Legion baseball. Under Ploof, […]
Houska, John
John Houska graduated from Chamberlain High School in 1961 and Black Hills State College in 1965. He was a multi-sport high school star athlete who became a Hall of Fame athlete at Black Hills State College. Houska coached for 50 years in football, cross country, track & field, and wrestling. Schools that he coached at […]
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 […]
Kessinger, Ted
A Sioux Falls native who was a 1959 Washington High and 1963 Augustana graduate, Kessinger is one of the few South Dakotans to be inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame, in 2010. He was the football coach at Bethany (Kan.) College for 28 years, compiling a 219-57-1 record with 16 conference […]
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 […]
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 […]