By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
Boys Basketball: AA All-State Team Announced
The South Dakota High School Basketball Coaches Association has announced its Class AA All-State basketball team selections.
The first team is led by Watertown’s Josh Hanson, who led the Arrows to the state championship in March. He averaged over 14 points and four assists in helping Watertown win the state title in March.
“It was evident early in the year that he was taking it upon himself to be our best player and I think that started on the defensive end,” Arrow head coach Brian Norberg told the Watertown Public Opinion. “The trust he showed in his teammates this year made it easier for him but he also knew it was time for taking over.”
Hanson had to show leadership when it counted, helping his team overcome an off-court incident that resulted in six players leaving the squad.
He then took over on the court during the state tournament by scoring 65 points in three games.
The other Class AA first team players were Yankton senior Colton Iverson, Mitchell senior Jordan Miller, Sioux Falls Lincoln junior Anthony Muilenberg, Huron senior Jordan Buddenhagen, and Sioux Falls O’Gorman senior Alex Scholten.
A Minnesota recruit for next season, Iverson was the only returning player from last year’s All-State team.
Association Looks at Transfer Policy
The South Dakota High School Activities Association is looking at open enrollment and how it will affect high school athletics in the Rushmore State.
The state’s schools will be asked to vote on an amendment to the Association’s constitution that makes students ineligible for a year when they move to another school, due to open enrollment.
It was petitioned for a vote after signatures from 46 schools were submitted to the SDHSAA. The voting deadline on the issue is June 3. Sixty-percent approval is needed for the proposal to be adopted.
Currently, South Dakota students receive immediate eligibility if they open enroll before the start of a school year. Only one move is allowed once they enter high school. If they change schools in the middle of the school year, they cannot play for 45 days.
Supporters of the policy change say integrity of state events is at issue. Colman-Egan coach and administrator Terry Stulken led the effort to put the amendment to a vote.
“I have felt for the last three or four years that things are getting out of hand,” Stulken told the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader. “Every time I go to a state tournament, I see teams that have benefited from open enrollment."
Wrestling: Two South Dakota Wrestlers Commit To SDSU
Two South Dakota high school wrestling standouts are among three athletes signing national letters of intent to compete at South Dakota State University.
The trio includes Redfield’s Brock Edgar and Aaron Pickrel of Watertown.
Edgar was a Class B state champion for Redfield this season at 125 pounds, capping a perfect 42-0 record this year. He was 179-17 as a varsity wrestler, a state runner-up as a junior and a third-place finisher as a freshman, and again as a sophomore.
Pickrel was a Class A state runner-up at Watertown High School this season at 119 pounds. His career record for the Arrows was 152-11 with 85 pins. This season, Pickrel posted a 40-2 record. He was a third-place finisher at the state meet as a sophomore and again as a junior.
The Watertown senior also won a national AAU title after his freshman high school season.
South Dakota State also signed Huron’s Dustin Walraven during the fall signing period. He won his fourth state championship this season and recently took fourth in the NHSCA Senior Nationals at 135 pounds.
Rotert Takes Over as Activities Director at Huron
Terry Rotert is set to become Huron’s new activities director on July 1. This will be his first administrative position after teaching and coaching in three schools during the past 17 years.
Rotert first coached at Menno for three seasons as basketball coach and assistant football coach. He moved to Sioux Falls and was involved in coaching junior high football and was an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Washington High School for one season, before moving to Huron, where he’s been ever since.
During his time with the Tigers, Rotert has coached golf and basketball. He was head boys’ golf coach for 16 years, leading the Tigers to a fourth-place finish last fall. As the girls’ coach, his teams have placed among the top-six in the state for several years and he has coached several ESD Conference championship golfers.
As boys’ basketball coach, Rotert took the Tigers to the 2004 state championship.
Challenges await Rotert when he takes over in July. Huron is readying to add boys’ and girls’ soccer to its athletic programs. The programs will likely start in 2010, but Rotert will need the time to develop schedules, determine home fields, and select coaches for the programs.
