Marcus Traxler
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GREGORY — Jackson Eklund is humble and unassuming. But the Burke/Gregory sophomore wrestler poses a serious threat in the Class B state wrestling tournament this weekend in Sioux Falls. Eklund stands at 32-1 on the season wrestling at 132 pounds and has been especially tough as of late.
VERMILLION—An 11-point deficit in the third quarter mattered little to the University of South Dakota women's basketball team Wednesday. The Coyotes slowed down a hot-shooting South Dakota State team in the fourth quarter and outscored the Jacks 22-12 in the final 10 minutes to seal an undefeated Summit League regular season in an 80-75 win at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
I was just a little kid but it's probably the defining moment of my college basketball fandom. In 1997, the University of Minnesota men's basketball team won the Big Ten, was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, won four games and made it to the Final Four, the first in school history. In the NCAA's view, none of that happened. An academic fraud scandal wiped all of that out and officially in the record books, those games are gone. In college sports, it's a common go-to for a scandal to sweep through and the whitewashing of history to follow.
PARKSTON—The Parkston wrestling team is finding a good time of the season to be at full strength. The Trojans, who finished second at the Region 3B tournament in Miller, have been without stalwarts Dawson Semmler and Lucas Bietz in the lineup due to injury. It's only been in the last three weeks that the Trojans have both back on the mat, and Parkston coach James Boehmer said they're important assets to the team. "They just bring a lot of confidence and that will to win to our team," Boehmer said. "They have that experience of knowing what it takes."
MILLER — The team favorite in Region 3B heading into Saturday's competition, the Winner Area wrestling team did not disappoint. The Warriors had four region champions at the state-qualifying meet, cruising to the region title with 180 points. Parkston led a tight contest for second place, scoring 130 points. Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes finished third with 128.5 points.
Most of the area's top Class B teams will make the trek to Miller to try to punch a ticket to the South Dakota State High School Wrestling Tournament, as the Region 3B Tournament takes place today. As usual, the region has many of the state's top teams in Class B. Winner Area is the state's No. 2-ranked team, according to the Dakota Grappler rankings, in large part due to four wrestlers ranked No. 2 in the state rankings. Bon Homme/Scotland/Avon is ranked No. 4, with No. 8 Parkston, No. 9 Wagner and Burke/Gregory and Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes also ranked in the top-12.
Mitchell High School had not one but two award-winning coaches on its gymnastics coaching staff this season. On that basis, it's not a surprise the Kernels won a fourth state championship in five years and dominated most of Class AA gymnastics all season long.
The Hanson boys basketball team took another Class B power to the wire Thursday night at the Corn Palace. And in response, No. 5-ranked Corsica-Stickney had the final answer. Caysen Eide’s 3-pointer with 2 minutes and 30 seconds left put the Jaguars ahead for good late and Corsica-Stickney staved off the Beavers 51-49 in non-conference action.
Watch the Mitchell High School gymnastics team on the balance beam. And then watch them on the vault and the uneven bars, on the floor exercise. Watch the Kernel gymnasts do their routines and regularly rack up the 9-point-plus scores. They win state championships and fill out the individual award stand, like it's no big deal.
The Harrisburg Tigers were the aggressors Tuesday night at the Corn Palace. The No. 2-ranked team in Class AA boys basketball dictated every aspect of its Eastern South Dakota Conference contest with Mitchell in a 70-38 win. The win was the sixth in a row for the visiting Tigers (16-2), while a frustrating season continues for Mitchell, now 0-18.