MaxPreps Mascot Mondays: South Dakota high school mascots

Just as important as a school's name and its location is its mascot. Options abound, and some teams go with the commonplace while others go with the truly unique.

In South Dakota, there are 176 schools with mascots listed in the MaxPreps database. Listed below are the Top 19 most popular mascot names in South Dakota, the mascot names that only one school owns and other mascot facts/stats.

A PRECEDENT FOR THE LeBRONS?
It doesn't matter that Jim Thorpe is not from South Dakota. It's still an appropriate namesake for the Pine Ridge mascot name. The school's website tells some facts about it, and it makes total sense why the school honors the nation's most famous athlete of Native American descent. The school is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, part of the Oglala Lakota Nation, and in 1957 changed its mascot name to Thorpes. Thorpe was an athlete for the ages: Multiple Olympic medals, college and pro football, pro baseball and pro basketball were some of his endeavors. An ABC Sports poll once found that Thorpe was regarded as the most famous athlete of the 20th century. It would be interesting to see if more schools in the future change their mascot names to align with star athletes.

THESE KIDS REALLY ROCK OUT
The town where "South Dakota Rocks" is also home to the only Quarriers in the nation. Dell Rapids is serious about promoting its heritage and claim to fame. The school's mascot name pays homage to the "rich vein of red quartzite that runs 2,600 feet deep and hundreds of miles between the Wisconsin Dells and eastern South Dakota. The outcroppings of quartzite inspired the century-old quarry industry and the unique downtown architecture of Dell Rapids." All those quotes come from the City of Dell Rapids website. We love the local history, and we especially love the mascot logo.

PERHAPS CORNY, BUT NOT A JOKE
The Kernels mascot name is not unique to Mitchell, as another school in Washington shares the same mascot name. It's where the Kernels do battle that really makes this mascot name stand out over the others. The Kernels play their home games at the Corn Palace, a facility that is famous worldwide due to its murals made of corn and other agricultural materials, not to mention amazing architecture on the outside. South Dakota's agricultural prominence and the attraction that nets about 500,000 visitors a year certainly were enough reason to name the teams the Kernels. Aside from the Corn Palace, the school's claim to fame is producing Miami Heat player Mike Miller.

TAKING THE PLUNGE ON DIVERS
We have to go to Marc's Distinctive High School Mascot Collection to find out why Lake Preston chose Divers as its mascot name, unlike any other school in the nation. Sources told Marc that the town was the first in the state to get a diving board, and the school's mascot name pays homage to that. Now we don't have a year, and we don't know how long the board was, but we have to say that it's a pretty big achievement for a town with an estimated population of around 600 people.

WAMBDI: THE MYSTERY MASCOT
The Native American heritage in South Dakota shines through again with the Wambdi mascot name from Tiospa Zina (Agency Village). It's difficult to find translations online, but enough clues can be put together to know that it is a word that means eagle or eagles. Tiospa Zina, located in the northeastern part of the state, features a robust athletic program. What isn't featured is much about how the mascot name was chosen. This one certainly piqued our curiosity, and we'd love to see comments below if you know more.

TOP 19 MOST POPULAR MASCOT NAMES
# Tigers 12
# Raiders 7 (There is 1 Red Raiders)
# Bulldogs 5
# Warriors 5
# Wildcats 4
Patriots 4
Pirates 4
Cardinals 4
# Eagles 4 (There are 2 Golden Eagles)
# Trojans 3
# Vikings 3
Flyers 3
Redmen 3
# Mustangs 3
# Panthers 3 (There is 1 Black Panthers)
Cavaliers 3
Chargers 3
Comets 3
Braves 3
# Denotes mascot name is in America's Top 15

MASCOT NAMES USED BY ONLY 1 SCHOOL

Arrows Battlers Bearcats Bears Beavers Bison Black Panthers Blue Dragons Broncs Bucks Buffalos *C-E Hawks C-Hawks Chieftains *Cobblers Cobras

Cossacks Cougars Cyclones *Divers Dragons Elks Express Falcons Fliers Golddiggers Gorillas Governors Greyhounds Hawks Highlanders Indians Irish

*Irrigators Kernels *Kiotes Knights Kougars Longhorns Lynx Midgets Moguls Monarchs Nighthawks Orioles Owls Packers *Quarriers Rams

Ranchers Rangers Rebels Red Raiders Rough Riders Scoopers Scotties Seahawks Skyhawks Tanagers *Thorpes Thunderhawks Tornadoes *Wambdi Warbirds *Watchdogs Wolverines

* Denotes that no other school in America has that mascot name

MASCOT STATS
Most popular mascot name is used by 6.8 percent of schools.
There are 100 different mascot names for 176 schools.
9 schools have mascot names that no other American school has.
South Dakota's Top 19 features 10 of America's Top 15 mascot names.