Category Archives: Sports

Winner boys basketball team set several records or came close to a new record  this season.

The 21 wins in a season is the fourth best.

The 91 percent  winning percentage and 15 wins in a row is the second best.

The 41. 7 points allowed per game is the best ever.

The 70 percent from the free throw line is the second best ever and the 224 turnovers was the second fewest.

Blake Volmer had three records. He had the third most career points with 1,275, 755 rebounds—the most ever and 296 career assists—6^th most ever.

Blake Volmer of the Winner basketball team will take part in the 3 class shootout March 25 at the McCook Central Auditorium in Salem.

All three classes in both boys and girls will be represented by many of the top seniors in South Dakota.

At 5:15 p.m. the Class AA boys will take on the Class A boys.

Winner suffered its second loss of the season when they fell to Hot Springs 47-43 in the SoDak 16 game in Chamberlain on March 7.

The Warriors (21-2) entered the game riding a 15 game win streak. They won two Region 7A games to make it to the SoDak 16. Winner was looking to make back to back state tournament appearances.

The Bison earned their first trip to the Class A state tournament since 2019 when they also took down Winner. This will be Hot Springs second trip to the state since 1945.

Hot Springs knocked down eight 3-pointers in Chamberlain with six coming in the second half and two back to back with under a minute to play.

The 3-point looks were the result of the Bison setting a screen and popping out to the three point line after setting the screen rather than rolling to the basket according to Winner coach Brett Gardner.

Also, Winner could not come back from four big free throws by the Bison at the end of the game.

The game was tied at the half 20-20. A free throw by Blake Volmer in the third quarter tied the score again at 23-23.

A shot by Silas Chasing Hawk gave Winner a 33-31 lead.

Winner had the lead going into the fourth quarter, 36-34. A big basket by Volmer gave the Warriors the lead.

Volmer led the scoring for Winner with 24 points. Aiden Barfuss and Silas Chasing Hawk both added 6 points.

Winner shot 37 percent from the field and made 9 of 11 free throws for 81 percent from the free throw line.

The Warriors made 4 of 17 three point shots.

Volmer and Shawn Hammerbeck each had 7 rebounds with 5 for Ethan Bartels and 3 for Barfuss.

Barfuss had 6 assists, Hammerbeck, 3 and Bartels, 2.

Bartels had 2 steals.

“Hats off to Hot Springs as they really played physically and made every possession difficult,” said Gardner.

“We were able to battle back and take the lead going into the 4^th quarter but they made a couple more plays than we did. It was a great game and one that we just came up short in. This game does not take away anything that we accomplished this year. We are so proud of our young men,” said the coach.

By Dan Bechtold

Editor

For 30 years, Johnyne Horstman has been the official scorekeeper for Winner High School home boys and girls basketball  games.

Friday, March 3 at the second round of the Region 7A boys game was her last night in her official capacity.

It is bittersweet for Horstman, a Winner 6^th grade teacher, who has a love for the game and had two children play basketball.

“It is just time to quit,” she said.

Playing into this mix of emotions is the death of both of her parents, Carroll and Janet Bruun, within the past year.

“I can’t see my mom sitting in the same spot at every game and I do not get to hear my dad call after every game asking who were the high scorers,” she said.

Janet Bruun never missed a Winner home game and always sat in the “nosebleed” section of the Armory. As Horstman was keeping the book she could always see her mother sitting in that same spot.

In 1993, Harvey Naasz, who was then athletic director, asked Horstman to take over keeping book.

She was teaching fourth grade at the time and the classroom was in the Armory.

Prior to being the official scorekeeper, Horstman was taking tickets at football and basketball games.

Horstman is part of trio of women who keep things running efficiently at the scorers table. Jo Striefel runs the scoreboard and Lisa Jankauskas runs the shot clock.

Horstman said when her kids were playing it kept her focused.

When asked if she ever missed a game she said when Zach was playing at SDSU should would attend the college game and Glen Carlson would fill in with the scorebook at Winner home games.  

“It is different when you don’t have kids playing. Maybe I want to spent time with Zach’s daughter, Murphy. This way I don’t have to be so scheduled and it gives me more freedom,” she explained.

When her kids were playing basketball she did both home and away games. I would keep the away game book for Jim Drake and Larry Aaker,” she said.

Asked if there was any one game that stood out and she said the game with Platte where Zach had 11 3 pointers.

She said it has been fun working with the crew at the scorers table. Over the years, she has gotten to know the referees. “When the referee blows the whistle I better have the jump ball right and the jump ball arrow turned on.”

Horstman said she and Jo along with Lisa make a good team.

Horstman says it has been fun keeping the official book.

She got to keep book for the SoDak 16 girls game between Red Cloud and Garretson on Thursday.

“It was great doing this all these years,” she said.

Friday night when Winner boys played Lakota Tech it was her last time to make an official entry in the scorebook.

No. 4 Tripp-Delmont/Armour topped No. 5 Colome boys 49-29 in Region 5B action Feb. 28.

Eli Vobr led the scoring for Colome with 13  points. Joseph Laprath added 7 points.

Alec Thieman pulled down 5 rebounds. Vobr had 2 assists.

The Cowboys shot 24 percent from the field and TDA shot 51 percent.

At the free throw line, Colome was 2 of 6 for 33 percent. Colome ended the season with 10-11 record.

Wyatt Turnquist of Winner was one of three Northern State University wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA national championships in March.

Turnquist took third at the super regionals held in Aberdeen. This will be the second straight season Turnquist has made it to nationals.

Turnquist fell in the semifinals but battled back and earned a third place finish at 149 pounds.

The Winner High School graduate opened his day in a dramatic fashion, defeating Ethen Doty of Upper Iowa by technical fall, 16-0.

Turnquist faced off against No. 6 Jaden Spuhler of Wisconsin Parkside in the semifinals. The match went to a tie breaker round with Spuhler recording a 3-2 victory.

Turnquist needed two wins to punch his ticket to national.

He handily defeated Kelby Armstrong of Minot State in consolation semifinals with a score of 13-3. Then, the Winner wrestler won 4-3 over Caleb Meunier.

Colome High School football and volleyball teams have received an academic achievement  team award from the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

The program is designed to honor varsity athletic teams and fine arts groups for their academic excellence.

All varsity athletic teams and fine arts groups that achieve a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher are eligible to receive this award.

Some schools may not have been able to submit February information at this time. They will be added to the next listing of academic achievement.

Apollo Willuweit won first place at the South Dakota middle school state wrestling tournament in Pierre.

Willuweit had three pins on his way to a state title. In the championship, he won 16-0 over Sullivan Sigman of Sturgis.

Also placing for Winner were: Gus Tobin, 8^th; Roukyn Robbins, 5^th; Jed Blare, 5^th; Mason Curtis, 3^rd; Evan Littau, 5^th; Legend Benedict, 2^nd.