South Dakota Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association announces six hall of fame inductees

MITCHELL — The South Dakota Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association announced six inductees into the hall of fame for the 2023 class.

Inductees include Scott Embry, (Sioux Falls Lincoln, sprints and relays), Richard "Doc" Michel (Rapid City Stevens, distances and cross country), Bob Judson (Pierre, hurdles), Georgia Adolph (Flandreau, horizontal jumps), Jerry Miller (Sioux Falls Lincoln, vertical jumps) and Max Hawk (Yankton, throws).

Tom Freece of Spearfish, who was unable to attend the ceremony last fall, will also be inducted as a head cross country coach.

Adolph is a native of Platte and graduated from Platte High School in 1970. She was a varsity assistant for the track and field team at Flandreau, coaching boys and girls and specializing in the long, triple and high jumps, as well as helping with the sprints and relays. She coached several conference and regional champions as well as individual girl state champs in the long jump (Tami Johnston, 1995) and triple jump (Ramona Zephier, 1997). Adolph is a member of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association and South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Miller is a native of White Lake, graduating from White Lake High School in 1959 before he went on to Dakota Wesleyan to play football. While coaching the vertical jumpers at Lincoln, Jerry coached six pole vault and three high jump state champions. Miller then assisted track and field at Roosevelt High School for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. In 2002-04, Miller went to Waverly/South Shore to be the head track and field and head football coach. Miller is a member of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association and South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, as well as the Dakota Wesleyan University, Lincoln High School and Roosevelt High School Hall of Fames.

Hawk, a Wessington Springs native, graduated high school in 1951. Hawk began his teaching career in Scotland in 1957, where he was head football and assistant basketball and track and field coach. In 1965, Hawk began his 30-year tenure as teacher and coach with the Yankton Bucks and Gazelles. Hawk, who died in 2021, was a member of the Northern State University, Yankton High School and South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 27, at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, immediately prior to the team awards for the State Track and Field Championships at approximately 1:30 p.m.