Monthly Archives: April 2023

Winner prom is April 29

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Sweet Dreams will be the theme of the Winner High School prom to be held on April 29 in the Armory.

The grand march will be at 6:30 p.m. and the doors will open at 6 p.m. Advance tickets for the grand march can be obtained at the high school office.

Lynnelle Anderson will be the announcer for grand march.

The king and queen of prom will be crowned following grand march.

The prom servers will be Adysen Pravecek, Preslie Petersek, Keelie Kuil, Ava Craven, Cora Moss, Daisy McIntyre Karson Keiser, August Bartels, Landon Calhoon, Evan Bartels, Ryder Halligan and Shawn Hammerbeck.

A banquet and dance will be held in the auxiliary gym following the grand march.  The prom dinner  is provided by the Catholic Daughters.

Outlaw DJs will provide the music for the dance.

Prom advisors are Karyl Clay and Val Ewing. The junior class puts on prom and their class officers are: Ellie Kaiser, president; Lexie Klein, vice president and Garret Phillips, secretary-treasurer.

There will be an after prom party following the conclusion of the dance. The after prom party will be held in the  Armory. There are 104 students who have signed up for the after prom party which is put by parents of the juniors and seniors.

The after prom attendees have to be signed in by midnight and it goes till 4 a.m.

There will be prizes awarded to the students who attend.

There will be  lot of  fun activities. There will be black light dodge ball tournament, canvas painting, poker tables, pitch tables, several corn hold boards, temporary tattoos, 9 square inflatable game, inflatable boxing ring. A hypnotist will also be featured.

There will be plenty of food from a taco bar, coffee bar, cotton candy, fruit/veggie trays and cookies and soft drinks.

The after prom committee appreciates all the businesses and organizations who have donated prizes and money to ensure the students have a  safe and fun evening.

Wrestling best of the west

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Three Winner wrestlers have been named to the Rapid City Journal’s Best of the West.

Named to the honor list were Riley Orel, 160 pounds; Karson Keiser, 126 pounds and Derek Fenenga, heavyweight.

Orel finished his high school wrestling career with another outstanding season.

The senior amassed a 57-2 overall record and defeated Custer’s Jonathan Lewis in overtime to claim a Class B state championship.

Orel finished his career as a four time placer and five time state qualifier.

Keiser had a 52-11 overall record enroute to a fourth place finish in the state tournament.

Fenenga had an overall record of 24-21 and finished 8th at state.

Maxton Brozik and Jack Kruger were named as the best of the rest.

Owen Hansen of Burke/Gregory was named the Class B wrestler of the year.

Weather Record

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Only a week after winter weather brought snow and ice to the Winner area, the temperature in Winner on April 11 set a new record. The record high last Tuesday was 93 degrees.

This breaks the 38 year old record of 90 degrees set in 1985.

Relative humidity fell into the teens and twenties across most of western South Dakota, plunging much of the area, including Tripp County, into a red flag warning and extreme fire danger.


A handful of fires broke out in western South Dakota and north central Nebraska with the biggest in the Cody, Kilgore area of Nebraska.

Though warm on April 12, the temperature was not as hot as the day before and the wind was not as strong. As of 1:30 p.m. on April 12 the temperature in Winner was 78 degrees.

Colome seniors at prom

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Julie Rohde Photo
Colome seniors at prom on April 14 are in front from left Paige Paulson, Morgan Gill, Sophie Hofeldt, Ashlyn Hoffine, Jordyn Ring, Toree Ringing Shield, Landi Krumpus and Devan Dougherty. In back from left are Sully Shippy, Billy Looking Cloud, Taitin Ringing Shield, Taylor Nelsen, Burner Schenefeld, Alec Thieman, Kash Heath, Aidan Muller and Kaden Pechota.

Girls softball opens on April 13

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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo
Playing for the Winner Area softball team are in front from left Jaelyn Assman, Emma Vandenbark, Kalene Preslicka, Katie Pederson, Tila Harter, Shannon Rank and Alexis Bennett. In back from left are Reagan Vaughn, Madelyn Danford, LaShanna Connot, Maree Pravecek, Melanie Brozik, Aleya Miller, Ellison Kaiser, Sophie Hofeldt and Brindy Bolander. Not pictured are Shayne Day, Tianna Evans and Emily Sachtjen.

History will be made when the first pitch is thrown in the Winner Area softball game on April 13.

Winner Area will host Wagner at 5 p.m. at Jaycee Field.

This is the inaugural season of girls softball in South Dakota.

Cheyenne Dougherty is the head coach with Shawna Kaiser as the assistant coach.

Dougherty is a 2020 graduate of Colome High School and she grew up playing softball and having a love of the sport.

She is excited for the season to start.

There are 19 girls on the team which are made up of Winner and Colome girls in high school and middle school. Dougherty says five of the members of the team are from Colome.

Playing on the team are: Jaelyn Assman, Alexis Bennett, Brindy Bolander, Melanie Brozik, Lashanna Connot, Madelyn Danford, Shayne Day, Tienna Evans, Tila Harter, Sophie Hofeldt, Ellison Kaiser, Aleya Miller, Maree Pravecek, Katie Pederson, Karlene Preslicka, Shannon Rank, Emily Sachtjen, Emma Vandenbark and Reagan Vaughn.

The seniors on the team are: Brindy Bolander, Melanie Brozik, Aleya Miller, Shayne Day, Sophie Hofeldt.

Dougherty said the girls have had two outdoor practices with the rest inside at the Armory.

“We are trying to get our hands on the ball and get some conditioning going,” said the coach.

In addition to afternoon practices, there have been some early morning sessions.

When asked what she is looking forward to, Dougherty said “I am hoping we can have fun and learn about softball. Wins and losses don’t matter to me as long as we are having fun and learning softball,” she said.

Dougherty explained Shawna Kaiser had reached out to her to see if she had the time to be the head coach. Dougherty was also contacted by Brett Gardner, Winner High School activities director.

Dougherty says she enjoys the role of a coach.

There are six games scheduled with the April 13 game the only one in Winner. There will be a Sweet 16 game where teams will qualify for the state tournament which will be held in Aberdeen the first three days of June.

A game planned for April 1 in Mobridge was postponed due to the weather.

The board of directors of the South Dakota High School Activities Association sanctioned high school softball in November of 2021 with spring of 2023 being slated as the inaugural season.

The schedule includes:

April 13—Wagner in Winner

April 17—at Hanson

April 22—at Marion High School

May 6—Watchdog classic

May 8—In Wagner playing in a triangular