The Winner Elks Hoop Shoot was held Jan. 14 at the auxiliary gym.
The girls winners are:
Ages 8-9—Roslyn Konechne, 1st
Ages 10-11—Kenli Pollard, 1st; Taylee Gant, 2nd and Allie Tideman, 3rd
Ages 12-13—Katie Pederson, 1st
Boys winners include:
Ages 8-9—Lincoln Zeigler, 1st; Dawson Peppel, 2nd and Liam Grossenburg, 3rd
Ages 10-11—Haydon Grossenburg, 1st; Kyzn Bartels, 2nd and Carter Peppel, 3rd
Ages 12-13—Levi Heenan, 1st; Langston Dutt, 2nd and Riley Peppel, 3rd
Eight West River football teams reached the 11 man state playoffs this season but Winner was one of the teams that stood out.
Winner has five players on the Rapid City Journal’s Best of the West 11 man football team.
Winner reached its fourth straight championship game and ninth title game in 15 seasons as it finished with an 11-1 record and state runner-up.
A summary of the Winner players on the team.
Aiden Barfuss proved to be a force on both sides of the ball for the Warriors. He earned Class 11B all-state honors for his efforts in the backfield.
Barfuss rushed 138 times for 1,050 yards to average 7.6 yards per carry and racked up 18 rushing touchdowns. He added 36 tackles, six tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup on defense.
On special teams, he averaged 42 yards per kickoff return, with a touchdown and kicked off for an average of 45 yards per attempt.
Jack Kruger anchored an offensive line that allowed the Warriors’ backs to rush for over 3,600 yards. Kruger’s efforts earned him all-SESD and all-state honors.
Ethan Bartels made a difference on all sides of the ball. The senior caught seven passes for 181 yards and five touchdowns as a tight end. As a kicker he averaged 48.5 yards per punt and 45.7 yards per kickoff.
Bartels also stood strong in the trenches with 10 tackles, four tackles for loss, a pass breakup and an interception. He earned all-SEDS honors and a Class 11B nod as a defensive lineman.
Riley Orel and Blake Volmer were both defensive backs.
Orel was exceptional for the Warriors on both sides of the ball. At running back he rushed 79 times for 880 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 11.1 yards per carry to earn all-state honors.
On defense, Orel racked up 25 tackles, broke up 12 passes and intercepted a pass.
Volmer stepped up as quarterback this season and locked down opponents as a defensive back.
Volmer racked up 18 tackles, six pass breakups and six interceptions to earn Class 11B all-state honors.
Named honorable mention was Jack Peters.
Three Winner wrestlers competed at the Lakota Nation Invitational wrestling tournament in Rapid City.
Abe Kaiser was first at 152 pounds and Jude Sargent was first at 170 pounds. Gus Bartels took 2nd at 145 pounds.
Kaiser in the first round won by fall over Justice Child of Little Wound. Kaiser had a bye the second round and then pinned Eddie Rousseau of Tiopsa Zina in 5:15.
In the championship bracket Kaiser pinned Zuya Romero of Red Cloud in 1:54. For first place he wrestled Rousseau again and won by pin in 32 seconds.
Sargent had a bye the first two rounds. In the third round he pinned Adonis Runs After of CEB in 12 seconds.
In the championship bracket, Sargent pinned Uziel Munoz of Lakota Tech in 28 seconds. Then for first place he pinned Cameron Dekle of CEB in 51seconds.
Bartels had a bye the first two rounds. In the third round he pinned Tayne Pucket of Lakota Tech in 29 seconds. In the championship bracket, Bartels pinned Cody Provost, Lakota Tech in 29 seconds.
Semni Big Crow of Pine Ridge won a sudden death victory over Bartels in the championship match.
Basketball scrimmages for the Winner High School boys and girls basketball teams have been set.
The girls scrimmage will be Friday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m in the Armory. This year the girls team will be doing a free will donation and there will also be baked goods up for a silent auction. All proceeds will be donated to the Winner Pix Theater.
The Winner boys Gatorade scrimmage will be Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. in the Armory.
The two teams open the season on Dec. 9.
Kaden Keiser of Winner has had an impressive start to his college wrestling career at Appalachian State in Boone, N. C.
On Dec. 20 Keiser wrestled at the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa.
Team competing were from Penn, Drexel, Appalachian State, Arizona State, George Mason, Duke, Rider, F&M, Virginia Tech, Sacred Heart and Harvard.
Keiser, a four time South Dakota state wrestling champion, wrestled six times at the classic.
He defeated Matthew Hoelke from Rider, 11-6.
Keiser got beat by No. 15 ranked in the nation Doug Zapf from the University of Pennsylvania, 19-8.
The Winner wrestler came back and defeated Kylan Montgomery, Virginia Tech, 4-2; defeated Rocco Demartino, Sacred Heart, 16-0; defeated Vincent Mannella, University of Pennsylvania, 5-4.
Keiser got beat by Jack Crook, Harvard, 8-5.
Keiser could not wrestler the 7th and 8th place match because he can only wrestle six matches in a day. He placed 8th.
Keiser won the open division in the Mountaineer Invitational in Boone.
He won four matches. Keiser defeated Zach Soda, Edinboro with a pin in 3:24; defeated Mason Stefsnelli, Virginia, 5-4; defeated Nicholas Grizales, App State, 14-4 and defeated Kai O’Dell, 6-3.
Wyatt Turnquist, who wrestles for Northern State University, won two matches in Oklahoma.
He received a pin in 2:19 over a wrestler from Carl Albert State and then won a 6-4 decision over the No. 3 wrestler Brik Flippo of Central Oklahoma.
Turnquist is ranked No. 11.
Focused. Determined. Locked down and ready to play.
That was the Winner Warriors Friday night as they defeated McCook Central/ Montrose 46-6 in the semifinals of the state football playoffs.
The victory sends the undefeated Warriors to the DakotaDome in Vermillion on Friday for the Class 11B state championship. The game will be at 2:30 p.m. and the Warriors will take on Elk Point-Jefferson.
The Warriors are the two time defending state champions and have won 34 consecutive games.
The Warriors are attempting to win a third consecutive state title.
“You could tell how focused they were, how much film they were watching just based on the questions they were asking in practice,” said head coach Trent Olson.
“I am very proud of the kids. They have worked really hard for this. MCM is a very good team but the boys were extremely focused and took care of business,” explained Olson.
Winner put the first points on the board and that was crucial to setting the tone of the game.
Using his versatility to pass the ball, quarterback Blake Volmer completed a 9 yard pass to Shaw Hammerbeck for the first touchdown.
MCM drove to mid-field on the next drive and failed to convert a fourth down which allowed Winner to take over and five plays later the Warriors were on the scoreboard again. This time Volmer completed a 31 yard pass to Riley Orel.
Rounding out the first half, Aiden Barfuss scored on a one yard run. Winner took a 20-0 lead into the lockerroom at half.
Volmer said that first touchdown set the tone for Winner. “They are a good team. We knew they were not going to let up and that first possession set the tone and showed them Winner was ready to go,” said Winner’s quarterback after the game.
Winner scored two touchdowns each in the third and fourth quarters.
Barfuss scored his second TD on a 3 yard run with 5:17 left in the third period.
With 52 seconds left in the third period MCM got on the scoreboard.
However, Winner was going to respond right away. On the ensuing kickoff, Karson Keiser ran 76 yards for a touchdown and Winner is now up 34-6.
The third touchdown for Barfuss came in the fourth quarter on a 78 yard run. Four minutes later Jude Sargent plunges in from two yards out for the score.
The Warriors had a total of 397 yards of total offense with 332 of those yards coming on the ground.
Winner had 20 first downs to 13 for MCM.
Barfuss was the rushing leader with 162 yards. Keiser had 55 yards, Jack Peters, 48 and Riley Orel, 47.
In passing, Volmer was 4-9 for 65 yards.
Jack Peters said the victory was a great team effort. “We were locked down and focused that is for sure. We wanted it more than they did,” he said.
Winner again had a strong defense. Jack Kruger and Jack Peters both had 7.5 tackles. Jude Sargent had 6 tackles. Dalton Petersen had 3.5 tackles, Barfuss and Karson Keiser, 3 each, Shawn Hammerbeck 2.5 and Sam Scholz, 2.
The next step for Winner in their undefeated season is defending its state championship as they face Elk Point-Jefferson on Nov. 11 at 2:30 p.m.
“We have a great opportunity in front of us,” said Olson.
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