Northern State track and field athlete Tanner Berg won the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship in the Hammer Throw Thursday. He is the first Northern State men's hammer throw national champion. This is also the first national championship of his career. The Watertown native clinched the championship on his second throw, which went 68.77 meters. However, he actually threw even better on his next attempt throwing 69.40 meters. He is just the second men's track and field national champion in Northern History. He is also the eighth individual national champion in all of Northern State Athletics.

National Champ! 69.61m #trackandfield #hammerthrow pic.twitter.com/sl7qdybAaR

— Tanner Berg (@tjberg99) May 27, 2022

Aberdeen Central head football coach Scoot Svendsen has announced he has resigned from his position. Central will begin a search to find his replacement immediately. This was Svendsen's second stint as head coach of the Golden Eagle football program and cited differences in philosophy as to why he is stepping down now. The Golden Eagles went 3-6 in the regular season last year, won one playoff game against Brookings, but ultimately lost to Pierre in the Class AA State semifinals.

Trevor Flemmer has been chosen as the new Men’s Basketball coach at Presentation College. Flemmer is a graduate of Presentation College, and played on the Saints men’s basketball team from 2012 to 2016. 

“Not many people get the opportunity to coach for their alma mater and I am extremely excited to do so. I cannot wait to reconnect with Presentation College and the Aberdeen community and bring excitement back to not only the men’s basketball program, but Presentation College as a whole,” said Flemmer about returning to his alma mater. 

Flemmer, a Mitchell, SD native, joins the Saints after spending four seasons at Dakota State University. He spent the first three years with the Trojans as an assistant coach, and was named the associate head coach for this past season. Additionally, he was the head coach of the Trojans’ junior varsity team. 

Presentation College will have its third different head coach in as many years, and Flemmer “[hopes] to give the men’s basketball program some stability. Building a great program takes time, but bringing in high character hard working people, from the staff to the student-athletes, will lead to sustainable success. I plan to build this program in a manner that will make Presentation College and the Aberdeen community proud to be Saints fans. Basketball is just an extension of the education process and will set up these young men to be successful in life when the ball stops bouncing.” 

As a player at Presentation College, Flemmer appeared in 56 games, starting 26 of them. He averaged 3.5 points per game, and 2.8 rebounds per game. He was named the NSAA Champion of Character award winner during the 2015-2016 season. Flemmer graduated from Presentation College with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. 

“I am really excited to have Trevor Flemmer returning to PC to lead our men’s basketball program. As a PC alum, Coach Flemmer understands the culture of the college and he will be a great leader for the student-athletes in our program. Trevor had a great playing career at PC, and since then, he has had the opportunity to build his coaching career working as part of some very strong programs in this region. Additionally, Trevor’s familiarity with the NSAA and the teams that we compete against will help prepare our team night in and night out. I look forward to watching our team grow under Coach Flemmer’s leadership. The future of Saints basketball is very bright,” said Marcus Garstecki, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Presentation College. 

Prior to his time at Dakota State, Flemmer was a graduate assistant at Briar Cliff University during the 2017-2018 season when the Chargers made it to the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Tournament quarterfinals. Before that he was an assistant coach at Riverland Community College in Austin, MN. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves made a huge splash in the front office market Monday, signing away the Denver Nugget's President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly to fill the same roll in Minnesota. Connelly has helped lead the Denver Nuggets to become a perennial playoff team and did so mostly through stellar drafting. Connelly is largely credited with selecting two time and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic 41^st overall in 2014. According to the online outlet “The Athletic” the deal is for five years, worth $40 million and a stake in ownership of the team itself. Wolves current general manager Sauchin Gupta is expected to stay on, filling a number two role in the front office.

The Summit League announced the bracket for the 2022 Baseball Championship Saturday following the conclusion of the regular season. North Dakota State earned the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history as the Bison won all seven league series they completed this season.

NDSU will look to defend their 2021 tournament title won in Omaha last May. The Bison, who are under the direction of first-year head coach Tyler Oakes, finished 17-5 in league play and arrive in Tulsa having won nine of their last 10 conference games.  

The four-team tournament will be played May 25-28 at J.L. Johnson Stadium and feature the same quartet of squads from 2021. The double-elimination tournament starts Wednesday with identical matchups from a season ago, just different seeds. 

The top-seeded Bison take on No. 4 seed Omaha in game one at 12:05 p.m. CT. The Mavericks won the tournament the last time it was played in Tulsa in 2019. NDSU took two-of-three games to win the series at Omaha in the middle of April.

Wednesday's second contest features No. 2 seed and tournament host Oral Roberts vs. No. 3 seed South Dakota State at 6:05 p.m. CT. The Golden Eagles have won 19 Summit League tournament titles during their program history, while the Jackrabbits won their lone title in 2013. This game will be a rematch of a series that just took place in Brookings with ORU winning the first two games before SDSU salvaged a 7-3 victory in the finale, which was its first win over the Golden Eagles in six tries this season.

Thursday's action will feature two tilts with the loser's of Thursday's games squaring off in game three at 12:05 p.m. CT, which will be the first elimination game of the event, and the winner's playing at 6:05 p.m. CT. Friday's lone game will feature the loser of game three vs. the winner of game four at 4:05 p.m. CT.

First pitch for Saturday's championship game will be at 1:05 p.m. CT with an if necessary game to follow approximately 30 minutes later. The Summit League Champion will earn the League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

All games will be streamed live on the Midco Sports Plus app (subscription required) and televised on Midco Sports Network.

Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 25^th
G1: (1) North Dakota State vs. (4) Omaha | 12:05 p.m. CT
G2: (2) Oral Roberts vs. (3) South Dakota State | 6:05 p.m. CT
 
Thursday, May 26^th
G3: G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser | 12:05 p.m. CT
G4: G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner | 6:05 p.m. CT
 
Friday, May 27^th
G5: G3 Winner vs. G4 Loser | 4:05 p.m. CT

Saturday, May 28^th
G6: G4 Winner vs. G5 Winner | 1:05 p.m. CT
G7: If Necessary | 30 minutes following G6

The Orlando Magic won the NBA draft lottery last night and will pick first in the upcoming NBA draft June 23^rd. This is the fourth time the Magic have won the #1 overall pick, which is the second most lottery wins in the lottery era behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. This will be the first time the Magic pick first since 2004 when they selected center Dwight Howard. Rounding off the top five includes in order Oklahoma City, Houston, Sacramento and Detroit.

2022 NBA draft order

1. Magic
2. Thunder
3. Rockets
4. Kings
5. Pistons
6. Pacers
7. Trail Blazers
8. Pelicans (via Lakers)
9. Spurs
10. Wizards
11. Knicks
12. Thunder (via Clippers)
13. Hornets
14. Cavaliers  

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin and head coach Dean Evason addressed the media Tuesday following the team's disappointing first round exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs yet again. The Wild have missed the playoffs just once since 2013 and won its first round playoff series just twice during that time.

The Wild came into this post-season with high expectations as the franchise experienced its best regular season success in its history. The team scored more points than any other Wild team in history and shattered individual offensive records.

Due to all this, a first round exit was a let down to Guerin, but he was also quick to point out the positives...

The Wild enter an uncertain offseason now with little cap space to work with and the need to resign some key players. The Wild traded for hall of fame goaltender Marc Andre Fleury before the traded deadline. He played the majority of the post-season, benching Cam Talbot who remains under contract with Minnesota.

Guerin says he wants to bring both goaltenders back and there is no controversy between Talbot and the team...

Another player who's future is up in the air is that of Wild forward Kevin Fiala. Fiala is entering his last year of restricted free agency and recorded career highs in goals, assists, and points this regular season, but failed to live up to that hype in the post-season. Guerin used the word uncertainty when it came to Fiala...

The Wild's special teams were not great during the regular season, but were last in the playoffs of all the first round teams. Wild head coach Dean Evason says they will look at things from top to bottom and some changes will be made...

Augustana Hockey has announced it has accepted an invitation to join the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Vikings will begin play in the 2023-24 season and will become the state's first ever division I hockey program. The CCHA is home to teams including Minnesota State – Mankato, Bemidji State, St. Thomas, Ferris State, Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State , Northern Michigan and finally Bowling Green.

Former University of South Dakota Coyote star Hannah Sjerven made history Saturday when she became the first USD alum to play in a WNBA game. Sjerven was drafted in 28^th overall in the WNBA draft by her home town Minnesota Lynx. She ultimately was cut before the start of the regular season. However, using what the league calls a “hardship exception” which allows a team to sign players temporarily due to injury, Sjerven signed with the Lynx and played in Saturday's game against the Chicago Sky. Sjerven played four minutes against the defending WNBA champions.

The Vikings on Monday announced the signing of linebacker William Kwenkeu (kwen-kuh) after his participation as a tryout player in the team's rookie minicamp.

Kwenkeu spent six seasons at Temple (2016-21), playing in 47 games and tallying 131 tackles with 10 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. The Waldorf, Maryland, native led the team in tackles for loss with 10.5 and scored his first career touchdown at Akron in 2021, which helped him earn AAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Kwenkeu wore No. 4 during the 2020 season, as part of Temple's single-digit jersey number program, which recognizes the toughest players on the team. The former Owl was college teammates with Vikings CB Harrison Hand (2019) and DL Jullian Taylor (2016-17).

Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to a three-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2022-23 season.
 

Wallstedt, 19 (11/14/02), went 11-9-2 with a 1.98 goals-against average (GAA), a .918 save percentage (SV%) and three shutouts in 22 games with Lulea HF in Sweden's Elite League this season. He led the Swedish Elite League in GAA, ranked fourth in SV% and T-6th in shutouts. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound native of Vasteras, Sweden, allowed two goals or less in 16 of his 22 starts. Wallstedt went 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA, a .962 SV% and one shutout in two games for Sweden at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. He stopped all 48 shots faced in a 3-0 win vs. Slovakia on Dec. 27, 2021.
 

Wallstedt went 11-8-3 with a 2.23 GAA, a .907 SV% and two shutouts in 22 games with Lulea in 2020-21 and ranked fourth in the Swedish Elite League in GAA. He also appeared in two games for Sweden at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, going 0-1-0 with a 2.40 GAA and a .923 SV%.
 

The Wild selected Wallstedt in the first round (20th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft.

The Minnesota Vikings announce the hiring of Demitrius Washington as vice president of football operations. In his role, he will help manage football operations, while contributing to the executive team in decision-making. Washington, who spent the past seven seasons in the San Francisco 49ers’ football research and development department, brings nine total seasons of NFL experience to the Vikings front office.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Demitrius join the Vikings front office,” General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “He is one of the most uniquely gifted people I have met in my time in the NFL. He is able to learn complex ideas, make them simple, and apply them in all facets of the organization. He has learned from some of the best minds in the game today and he will continue to flourish in his role with Vikings.”

In his previous role as manager of football research and development for the 49ers from 2020-21, Washington managed and oversaw the department’s efforts in optimization and process improvement and developed predictive and statistical analysis for player evaluation, acquisition and strategy.

Prior to his role as manager of football research and development, he served as the 49ers analyst for the football research and development department from 2015-20, where he worked alongside Adofo-Mensah. Washington got his start in the NFL as a game charter intern for the Cleveland Browns from 2013-15.

Washington received his bachelor’s in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Central Arkansas in 2011, where he served as president and treasurer for the Beta Delta chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, on campus. He also obtained his master’s of business administration with an emphasis in finance and analytics from the University of Missouri in 2014.

he Minnesota Vikings have announced the following 2022 draft selections have signed their rookie contract:

Former Michigan State star player and one time Minnesota Timberwolve Adreian Payne died early Monday morning after being involved in a shooting. According to authorities the incident occurred in Orange County Florida and a man named Lawrence Dority has been arrested on first-degree murder charges. Payne was selected 15^th overall in the 2014 NBA draft and played four NBA seasons. Two of those between 2015 to 2017 were with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The New York Islanders have fired head coach Barry Trotz after missing the post season and finishing the season with 84 points. This was the first time Trotz missed the post season in his four seasons with the Islanders. Trotz was 152-102-32 in four seasons in New York including going 28-21 in the playoffs.

ESPN reports Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic has been named the NBA's Most Valueable Player for the second consecutive season. A formal announcement from the league is expected later this week. Jokic's raw stats were better this year than last year when he was also named MVP. He averaged career highs in points with 21.7, and rebounds with 13.8 per game. He also averaged 7.9 asists. Jokic is 27-years-old and becomes the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season.

The 2022 Summit League Softball Championship will take place May 11-14 at the Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in Brookings, S.D. The winner of the Summit League Championship receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Championship Schedule

• Wednesday, May 11, 2022

  • 2:00 P.M. Brookings, S.D.
    South Dakota(27-23)Kansas City(13-33)4:30 P.M. Brookings, S.D.
  • North Dakota(14-38)North Dakota State(28-21
     

Northern State University head women's basketball coach, Paula Krueger announced the addition of Dalton Smith to her staff. Smith will hold the second assistant role with the Wolves after two seasons on staff at Wayne State College.
 
"We are excited to add Dalton Smith to our staff," noted Krueger. "Dalton has worked for two very solid programs in UNK and WSC. His experience in the NSIC, as well as the Central Region is a huge plus. We are excited to get him to Wolves Country and get rolling."
 
"I am extremely excited to join Coach Krueger's staff at Northern State," explained Smith. "This program has a long history of success on and off the court, with a very bright future that I can't wait to be a part of."
 
With the Wildcats, Smith worked with two NSIC South Division Players of the Year in Erin Norling and Kylie Hammer. In addition, Norling was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American® and three Wildcats tallied all-conference honors. On staff with WSC, he assisted with team recruiting, organized off season workouts, and handled the team's academic success plan.
 
Smith opened his career as a student assistant at the University of Nebraska Kearney. UNK registered 62 wins and had 12 all-conference selections in his three seasons on staff. Smith assisted the UNK coaching staff with skill development during practices, reviewed game film to assess opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and handled team equipment on road games.
 
Smith earned his bachelors in Health and Physical Education from Nebraska Kearney and masters in Organization Management from Wayne State.

(KOKK - Huron, SD) Tim Buddenhagen is returning as head boys basketball coach of the Huron Tigers. Buddenhagen has been Huron's girls coach the past four years, and before that spent 18 years as the boys coach, and 13 years in a previous stint with the girls. Buddenhagen says it was tough to leave the girls...

Huron boys return one starter plus three others who played significant minutes off the bench last year. Buddenhagen says he will go into the boys job with an open mind...

Buddenhagen won four ESD titles and also the 2004 boys championship during his first round as boys coach. He replaces Jon Schouten, who stepped down last month as boys coach. Huron is now looking for a new girls coach.

Northern State University football has announced its schedule for the upcoming 2022 season.  Northern will open the sesason Thursday Sept. 1st at home vs. Upper Iowa.  Northern will then follow that game up with its first road game of the season @ Wayne State September 10th.  Homecoming will take place vs. Winona State Saturday Oct. 8th at 2:30 p.m.  The last game of the season will be at home vs. Minnesota Duluth.  Kick off will be at 1:00 p.m. 

Sept. 1 – vs. Upper Iowa, 6:00 p.m.
Sept. 10 - @ Wayne State, 6:00 p.m.
Sept. 17 – vs. Minnesota State – Mankato @ 6:00 p.m.
Sept. 24 - @ Augustana, 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 1 - @ University of Mary, kick off time TBD
Oct. 8 – vs. Winona State, 2:30 p.m. (Homecoming)
Oct. 15 - @ Minot State, kick off time TBD
Oct. 22 – vs. Concordia – St. Paul, 6:00 p.m.
Oct. 29 – vs. Minnesota State – Moorhead, 1:00 p.m.
Nov. 5 - @ Bemidji State, 1:00 p.m.
Nov. 12 – vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1:00 p.m.

Former University of South Dakota women's basketball star Hanna Sjerven was one of eight players cut by the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA on the team's final day to trim the roster before the season opener this Friday. Sjerven was drafted by the Lynx in the third round of the WNBA draft, but it is generally considered for a third rounder to make the team despite being drafted. In a statement following the news Sjerven said she is keeping her options open, including possibly playing in Europe.

The reigning Summit League player of the year has announced where he will play next season. South Dakota State's Baylor Schierman announced Tuesday he will return to his home state of Nebraska and play for Creighton University next season. In March Schierman announced he was entering the NBA draft. Shortly after that he announced he was entering the transfer portal to keep his options open. Schierman helped the Jacks last season to an undefeated Summit League record as well as a Summit League tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

(KWAT - Watertown, SD) The Watertown Athletic Department has selected Pat McClemans as their next head boys basketball coach and promoted Chad Rhode from assistant to head girls basketball coach.

"We felt this was an excellent way to meet the needs of what we wanted with both basketball programs," said Watertown Athletic Director Craig Boyens. "Both coaches have high expectations of their teams as well as themselves. The teams they have coached have played hard and we believe will continue to do so due to the established expectations and relationships.”

McClemans is no stranger to the Arrow boy's program serving in an assistant role for many years before coming back two years ago to take the helm of the girl's program, his second stint as head coach. McClemens replaces Zach Wevik who is taking an administrative role in the Bon Homme School District.

Rohde has served as an assistant on the Watertown girl's staff on two different occasions including this past season and the state championship team of 2009 under McClemens.  Rohde has also saw success on the varsity level leading the Estelline boys basketball program to the State B tournament in 2007.  Rohde currently serves as the head Watertown track and field coach.

"Moving Rohde into the head role will provide the consistency we are looking for within the program," said Boyens.

The Watertown boys program finished last season with a record of 6-15 while the girls wrapped at 9-12.

The 2022 South Dakota Mr. and Miss Basketball were announced over the weekend. The award is given annually to who is considered the best boys and girls basketball player in the state. On the boys side De Smet's Kalen Garry received the honor for helping lead the Bulldogs to their second consecutive class B state championship. He will now head to Brookings and play for South Dakota State. On the girls side Sioux Falls Washington's Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was named Miss basketball. She averaged 18 points and eight rebounds per game last season. She is committed to play college basketball at the University of Texas.

20 FCS players were taken in the 2022 NFL draft, including some Missouri Valley Football Conference players. Local players drafted include from South Dakota State Pierre Strong Jr., taken in the fourth round 127^th overall by the New England Patriots. Another Jackrabbit selected was quarterback Chris Oladokun taken in the 7^th round 241^st overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. North Dakota State players selected include wide receiver Christian Watson taken in the second round 34^th overall by the Green Bay Packers and Cordell Volson, offensive lineman taken in the fourth round 136^th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. Other Missouri Valley players taken were Trevor Penning, offensive tackle out of Northern Iowa, selected in the first round 19^th overall by the New Orleans Saints. He was the highest FCS player selected this year. Offensive lineman Matt Waletzko out of the University of North Dakota was taken in the fifth round 155^th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. Eric Johnson, defensive tackle out of Missouri State, was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round 159^th overall. Finally Tight End out of Youngstown State Andrew Ogletree was taken in the sixth round 192^nd overall by the Indianapolis Colts.