BY JEREMY HOECKjeremy.hoeck@yankton.net

TYNDALL — Laura Nelsonhad already handily won hervarsity girls’ race, but her daywas done yet.

The Gayville-Volin sopho-more immediately became acheerleader for her team,which went on to win — sur-prisingly to those involved —Monday’s Bon Homme crosscountry invitational, whichwas held at Bon Homme Coun-try Club near Tyndall.

Nelson, last year’s Class Bstate champion, dominatedthe field with a winning timeof 15:01, and then watchedher Raiders make up for theloss of two missing varsityrunners.

“The team was sittinggreat, and they all steppedup,” Nelson said.

Because the meet wasscored as a Class B event,Gayville-Volin only needed toscore three runners to qualifyfor the team title. The Raidersmoved freshman Lanny Clarkand eighth-grader Ashley Em-mick up to the varsity race,and they responded by finish-ing eighth and 11th, respec-tively.

Not bad considering BonHomme has a hilly course,Nelson said.

“I love this course, it’s agreat atmosphere,” she said.

It was also rather competi-tive on the girls’ side. Harting-ton-Newcastle (Nebraska) wassecond in the team race with22 points, two in front of Free-man. Bon Homme (37), Burke-South Central (40) andPlatte-Geddes (41) weren’t farback.

The course terrain wasgood training for the statemeet, which is set for Oct. 25at Broadland Creek GolfCourse in Huron.

“It’s good to run here, be-cause Huron is somewhat sim-ilar, from what I remember,”Nelson said. “It’s good train-ing, no matter how fast yourun.”

Behind Nelson, the individ-ual finishes in the girls’ racewere rather close.

Freeman’s Cailey Roth wassecond at 16:17, followed bySierra Votaw of Burke-SouthCentral (16:23) and MaddisonHajek of Bon Homme (16:27).

On the boys’ side, Ne-braska runners dominated therace.

Hartington-Newcastle, anew consolidation, put fourrunners in the top 10, whileNorth Central (Bassett, Ne-braska) had two andCreighton one.

In the team standings,Hartington-Newcastle wasfirst with six points, followedby Burke-South Central (27),Bon Homme (30), Creighton(34) and Platte-Geddes (43).

The Bon Homme CountryClub 5,000-meter course wasnothing new to championColin Erickson of North Cen-tral, but the competition was

as challenging as ever, he said.“I’ve been up here before,

and in the past, it’s alwaysbeen a very tough meet,” saidErickson, who crossed the fin-ish line with a winning time of17:05.

Hartington-Newcastle hadplaces 2-3-4, with NoahNoecker (17:52), Jared Fuel-berth (17:57) and Brian Santi-ago (18:01), respectively.Creighton’s Garrison Hazenwas eighth, followed by Hart-ington-Newcastle’s SethWiebelhaus and North Cen-tral’s Phillip Lewis.

Monday’s meet was goodpractice for those Nebraskarunners, according to Erick-son.

The North Central Knightsrun a meet next week in Kear-ney, which also boasts a hill-filled course — it’s also thesite of the Nebraska statemeet.

“It’s great to see somethinglike that today,” Erickson said.

Even if the hills near Tyn-dall are a little higher, headded with a smile.

“Down where we run, therearen’t huge hills,” Ericksonsaid. “That’s what makes thispretty challenging.”

You can follow JeremyHoeck on Twitter attwitter.com/jhoeck. Discuss thisstory at www.yankton.net.

Tuesday, 9.23.14ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net

SPORTS DEPARTMENT: sports@yankton.net PRESS DAKOTANP A G E 7

sports

Record WinHasn’t Set InFor State’s

StiegelmeierBY JEREMY HOECKjeremy.hoeck@yankton.net

John Stiegelmeier clearlyremembers his first game ashead coach of his alma mater.

September 13, 1997 at UCDavis.

It wasn’t so much the out-come — South Dakota Statewon 17-7 — that he remem-bers most, it was what hap-pened later that sticks out toStiegelmeier, who was makinghis head coaching debut thatday in California.

“I got a big hug from mydad and he told me he lovedme,” Stiegelmeier recalled.“He told me, ‘God’s blessedyou.’

“And he was right.”One hundred thirteen vic-

tories later, the Selby nativeand 1979 SDSU graduate be-came the school’s all-timewins leader.

With the Jackrabbits’ 41-3victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday night,Stiegelmeier earned careerwin No. 114, passing RalphGinn (113-89-9 from 1947-68)in the history books.

Two days later, has therecord set in yet?

“Not really,” Stiegelmeiersaid Monday in an interviewwith the Press & Dakotan. “Ifelt blessed on day one beinghere and I still feel blessed.

“I’ve been surrounded byso many neat, hard-workingpeople,” he added. “To me, itwas an accumulation of a lotof people working hard.”

Stiegelmeier’s careerrecord now stands at 114-82in his 18th season in Brook-ings, and in that span, he hasguided the Jackrabbitsthrough the Division I transi-tion.

But it was those D-II daysback in the North CentralConference that set the stagefor SDSU to become a three-time FCS playoff participantat the next level, he said.

“I use the term ‘unbeliev-able,’ but it doesn’t do it jus-tice,” Stiegelmeier said. “It’sbeen unbelievable to seewhere the program has gone,from a new level, to new facil-ities, to a larger budget.”

Not to mention the sup-port from fans, he added.

A crowd of 13,731 filedinto Coughlin-Alumni Sta-dium for Saturday’s gameagainst Wisconsin-Oshkosh,an NCAA Division III program.That was proof that the fan-base has followed theJackrabbits on its progres-sion up the FCS ladder,Stiegelmeier said.

“Those things sneak up onyou, and it takes people to re-mind you,” he said.

In that way, Stiegelmeier isa lot like his standout run-ning back Zach Zenner.

Zenner, who rushed for209 yards Saturday, earlierthis season became the all-time leading rusher in theMissouri Valley Football Con-ference. Stiegelmeier jokedthat Zenner is “better at de-flecting praise than I am,” butpointed to the senior’s humil-ity as similar to whatStiegelmeier feels after set-ting the wins record.

“The linemen, the tightends, they won’t have theirname on Zach’s record, buthe understands it’s a teamsport,” Stiegelmeier said.

Which makes it difficult tostop and talk about your ownaccomplishments, he added.

“You hardly ever get thechance to look back,” saidStiegelmeier, whose Jackrab-bits are off this week. “Youessentially get three days toprepare for your next oppo-nent.

“And when you’re notlooking back, you’re trying totake a deep breath.”

You can follow JeremyHoeck on Twitter attwitter.com/jhoeck. Discussthis story at www.yankton.net.

Cross Country | Bon Homme Invitational

Nelson: Invite A Good Pre-State Test

Inter-StateShowdownSeveral teams from both SouthDakota and Nebraska convergedon Bon Homme Country Clubnear Tyndall for the annual BonHomme Invitational on Monday.

ABOVE: Laura Nelson ofGayville-Volin crosses the hillduring Monday's Bon Homme In-vitational at Bon Homme Coun-try Club near Tyndall. Nelson,the defending Class B statechampion, won the girls’ raceand helped the Raiders to theteam title in the event.

LEFT: Noah Noecker, right, ofHartington-Newcastle leadseventual champion Colin Erick-son of North Central during theboys' race Monday at the BonHomme Invitational, held at BonHomme Country Club near Tyn-dall. Noecker finished second,helping the Wildcats to the boys’team title.

JEREMY HOECK/P&D

No Date For Yankton-AberdeenCentral Football Game

Despite conversations Monday between bothschools, Yankton and Aberdeen Central have yet to find asolution to last Friday night’s postponed football game,according to Yankton activities director Ryan Mors.

The game at Crane-Youngworth Field was eventuallypostponed following a two-hour weather delay. AberdeenCentral held a 20-17 lead on the Bucks at halftime.

Officials from both schools will resume discussionstoday (Tuesday) in an attempt to find a date and timethat works for both parties, Mors said.

“Patience is a virtue in this case,” he said.Aberdeen Central is open the week of Oct. 3, but

Yankton —which visits Sioux Falls O’Gorman on Friday— has its open week during the final week of the regularseason (Oct 23).

ALCESTER — Vermillion’s Mad-die Lavin and Elk Point-Jefferson’sHunter Paulsen claimed medalisthonors in the Alcester-Hudson Invi-tational on Monday at Alcester GolfClub.

Lavin won the girls’ race, clock-ing a 15:41.17 over the 4,000-metercourse. West Central’s Hanna Wahl(16:08.43) finished second, with ElkPoint-Jefferson’s Josie Heeren(16:28.90) placing third.

Canton won the team title with19 points in the Class B format race(three scored). Sioux Falls Chris-tian (30) finished second, followedby West Central (33), Elk Point-Jef-ferson (34) and Dakota Valley (40).

Paulsen continued his strongstart, battling past West Central’sDerick Peters for the title. Paulsenfinsihed in 15:24.52 over the 5,000-meter race, nine seconds fasterthan Peters.

West Central put seven runnersin the top 10 to easily take teamhonors, 12-19 over Sioux FallsChristian. Freeman Academy fin-ished third with 49 points.

JAMES D. CIMBUREK/P&DVermillion's Maddie Lavin claimed the varsitygirls' race at the Alcester-Hudson Invitational onMonday in Alcester.

JAMES D. CIMBUREK/P&DElk Point-Jefferson's HunterPaulsen claims the boys' race atthe Alcester-Hudson Invitational.

Lavin, PaulsenTake AH Titles

MADISON — The Yankton Gazellessplit a triangular at Madison, beatingMadison 6-3 and dropping a 7-2 deci-sion to Brandon Valley in girls’ tennisaction on Monday.

Against Madison, Kaitlyn Frank,Mimi Garcia, Anne Knoff and AnnaKokesh each earned singles victories.Sarah Rockne and Frank, and Kim Capand Kokesh each scored doubles wins.

Rockne and Kokesh won in singlesplay for Yankton against Brandon Val-ley.

The Gazelles continue a busy finalweek fo the regular season, traveling toSioux Falls Washington on Thursday.Start time is set for 2 p.m.

YANKTON 6, MADISON 3SINGLES: Elle Graham M def. Sarah Rockne 10-1; Simone Droge

M def. Maddie Logue 10-1; Kaitlyn Frank Y def. Hannah Olson 10-2;Mimi Garcia Y def. Sydney Swenson 10-2; Anne Knoff Y def. LaceeFedeler 10-2; Anna Kokesh Y def. Katie Bergheim 10-3

DOUBLES: Rockne-Frank Y def. Graham-Droge 10-6; Kim Cap-Kokesh Y def. Olson-Swenson 10-7; Fedeler-Bergheim M def. Knoff-Garcia 10-0

JV: C.C. Graham M def. Sophie Kouri 10-4; C.C. Graham-MorgonWroy M def. Kouri-Logue 10-7

BRANDON VALLEY 7, YANKTON 2SINGLES: Sarah Rockne Y def. Jessica Sadler 10-8; Makenzie

Marso BV def. Maddie Logue 10-0; Hanna Mutschelknaus BV def. Kait-lyn Frank 10-4; Marie Schmitz BV def. Mimi Garcia 10-1; LoganHawkins BV def. Anne Knoff 10-7; Anna Kokesh Y def. ChandlerHarstad 11-10 (7-4)

DOUBLES: Sadler-Mutchelknaus BV def. Rockne-Frank 10-6;Marso-Schmitz BV def. Kim Cap-Kokesh 10-1; Hawkins-Harstad BVdef. Knoff-Garcia 10-5

Tennis: GazellesSplit At Madison

Dell Rapids Tops Tanagers For Dakota XII TitleDAKOTA DUNES — Led by

medalist Ty Hoglund, Dell Rapidsbeat out Vermillion for team hon-ors in the Dakota XII Conferenceboys’ golf tournament, held Mon-day at Two Rivers Golf Course atDakota Dunes.

Dell Rapids finished at 305,beating out the Tanagers (313)and Canton (320). Madison fin-ished third at 327.

Hogland shot a 72 to beatteammate Devon Weber andMadison’s Tanner Burg by twostrokes. Dell Rapids’ AdamKarst shot 76 to finish fourth.

Vermillion was led by JacobOdens, in a group tied for fifthat 77.

TEAM SCORES: Dell Rapids 305, Vermilllion 313,Canton 320, Madison 327, Sioux Falls Christian 341,Tea Area 347, Dakota Valley 349, West Central 354,Lennox 365, Elk Point-Jefferson 366, Tri-Valley 454

TOP 15: Ty Hoglund, Dell Rapids 72; DevonWeber, Dell Rapids 74; Tanner Burg, Madison 74; AdamKarst, Dell Rapids 76; Jacob Odens, Vermillion 77; Jor-dan Sehr, Canton 77; Alex DeJong, Canton 77; DevlinRue, West Central 78; Cooper Williams, Vermillion 78;Andrew Heine, Vermillion 78; Lee Wynja, S.F. Christian79; Kevin Frick, Canton 80; Carter Andre, Vermillion 80;Hunter Jamison, Madison 81; Kolby Newborg, Tea Area81

Jackrabbit Fall Inv.SIOUX FALLS — The South

Dakota men and North DakotaState women held the leadthrough two rounds of theJackrabbit Fall Invite golf tourna-ment, being held at MinnehahaCountry Club in Sioux Falls.

The USD men shot roundsof 290 and 280 on Monday tohold an 11-stroke lead on hostSouth Dakota State. NDSU sitsin third at 582, 12 strokes back.

USD’s Jordan Rykal andSDSU’s Dylan Baker each sit at4-under 138 after two rounds.Baker posted the low score ofthe first round, a 66. Rykal’s 68was the low score of the sec-ond round.

USD’s Sam Matthew is theonly other golfer under parthrough two rounds, threestrokes off the leaders.

In the women’s division,NDSU sits at 601 through tworounds, 18 strokes ahead of

Drake. SDSU sits third at 620.USD and Creighton are tied atfourth with scores of 642.

NDSU’s Alex Schmid shotrounds of 77 and 70 for a scoreof 147, three strokes ahead ofSDSU’s Hallie Getz. NDSU’sSarah Storandt and NatalieRoth sit at 151, four strokes offthe pace.

Also for SDSU, sophomoreMegan Mingo (Yankton) shot157 to tie for 11th.

USD was led by AbbyDufrane’s 156. Brenna Lervikshot 158 on the day.

The third and final roundbegins today (Tuesday) at 9a.m.