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Heinitz Competes in Lancer Indoor Open, Sets Class B Record

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Senior Ella Heinitz competed at the Lancer Indoor Open track meet in Yankton on Wednesday, March 24th, to start the 2021 Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal track season.  Heinitz competed in the 60m dash and the 200m dash events.

She finished second in the 60m dash with a time of 7.85.  That time was the sixth fastest of all time in South Dakota high school history and the now the fastest ever time in Class B.  The fastest time in Class B was 7.99, which was set by Carly Carper of Oldham-Ramona/Rutland.

Heinitz also finished second in the 200m dash with a time of 26.09.

Heinitz, along with the rest of the St Mary track team, will be at the Chester Booster Club Meet on April 13th.

33rd Annual 3-Class Shootout – March 27th

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Four local athletes will be participating in the 33rd Annual First Dakota National Back 3-Class Shootout on Saturday, March 27th at McCook Central High School in Salem.

Ella Heinitz (“B” girls), Connor Libis (“B” boys), Colin Rentz (“A” boys), and Connor Rentz (“A” boys), who was added as an injury replacement after the release of the roster, will all play in the games.

The Class “B” girls will play at 3:00 p.m., the Class “A” boys will play at 5:15 p.m., and the Class “B” boys will play at 7:00 p.m.

Poster Rosters Game Info

West Central Track Season Gets Started in Yankton

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The West Central Trojan track team had their first meet since the end of the 2019 season on Tuesday, March 23rd.  The Trojans traveled to Yankton for the Lancer High School Opener meet held indoors at Mount Marty University.

The Trojans had several top eight finishers in both the girls and boys events.

West Central will host their Early Bird meet on Tuesday, April 6th.

Individual Results

Girls

60m Dash

  • Emma Goehring (5th) – :08.45
  • Rylee Haldeman (8th) – :08.64
  • Melissa Anderson – :09.06

200m Dash

  • Sadie Berg (3rd) – :27.80
  • Molli Thornton (4th) – :27.92
  • Emma Goehring (7th) – :28.85

400m Dash

  • Keighlor Nolz (4th) – 1:08.80
  • Melissa Anderson – 1:11.84
  • Molly Anderson – 1:16.01

800m Run

  • Clara Nelson (8th) – 2:50.78
  • Peyton Meadors – 2:51.39
  • Shelby Sherard – 3:53.22

1600m Run

  • Drew Caffrey (6th) – 6:19.41
  • Elizabeth Johnson – 6:29.25
  • Abbie Cain – 6:49.26

3200m Run

  • Sayda Rolfson (4th) – 14:17.24

4x400m Relay

  • 3rd (Molli Thornton, Rylee Haldeman, Stormee Klien, Sadie Berg) – 4:32.85

4x800m Relay

  • 3rd (Ellie McDonald, Jazelle Jarding, Reagan Stallman, Tyenn Caffrey) – 11:44.28

Shot Put

  • Aysia Hall (2nd) – 31’6.25″
  • Josie Koch – 25’9.5″

Long Jump

  • Sadie Berg (3rd) – 15’2.75″
  • Stormee Klien (7th) – 13’10.75″
  • Clara Nelson – 12’2.75″

Boys

60m Dash

  • Gunnar Cuka – :07.84
  • Isaiah Colon – :07.89
  • Braden Diericks – :09.62

200m Dash

  • Wyatt Nielsen (4th) – :24.76
  • Braden Diericks – :25.60
  • Carson Berens – :28.23

400m Dash

  • Layton Johnson (4th) – :58.02
  • Tommy Berg – 1:01.73
  • Owen Heath – 1:01.81

800m Run

  • Dylan Stromer (7th) – 2:21.98
  • Cade VanderWoude – 2:23.71
  • Xzavian Ferris – 2:34.81

1600m Run

  • Blake Stark – 5:41.79

3200m Run

  • Ben Strunk (5th) – 11:28.17
  • Austin Brookfield – 14:44.98

4x400m Relay

  • 4th (Derek Eidsness, Justin Schumacher, Tommy Berg, Jude Jarding) – 3:53.21

4x800m Relay

  • 4th (Justin Schumacher, Erik Setten, Dylan Sherard, Ben Strunk) – 9:13.22

Shot Put

  • Josh Livermore (2nd) – 44’11.5″
  • Braden Traub-Jensen – 35’6.5″
  • Jacob Nelson – 35’6.5″

High Jump

  • Derek Eidsness (1st) – 6’4″

Long Jump

  • Braden Diericks (5th) – 17’5″
  • Isaiah Colon (7th) – 17’4″
  • Caleb Schulte (8th) – 17’1.5″

Join in to Fight Critical Blood Shortage / Keep Local Supplies Strong

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Dell Rapids, SD – Avera Dells Area Health Center and Community Blood Bank come together to host the spring community blood drive on Thursday, April 1 from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at CPA / Law Office (301 East 4th). To schedule your donation call the Avera Dells Area Health Center Lab at 605-428-5431.

The struggles continue as Community Blood Bank fights a never-ending battle between “just having enough blood” and “critically in need of donations”. Community members have been generously giving blood during the COVID pandemic for one year now. One year ago, Community Blood Bank experienced cancellations totaling over 5,000 units. Throughout the pandemic, multiple organizations and donors have come to the aid of our hospital patients and hosted very successful blood drives.

“We are asking Dell Rapids residents to remember the need for blood this spring. Please make sure to schedule a time for your next donations in order to keep our blood supply strong,” states Lauri Hoffmann, Program Coordinator. “Volunteers donating blood on the bloodmobile is the only way we can keep up with the demand we are seeing. We are still maintaining COVID social distancing policies that limit the number of donations we can have each hour. It is very important that each blood drive has a full schedule.”

Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with a signed parent consent form), weigh 110 lbs or more and be in good general health. It is recommended that a person eat and drink plenty of fluids prior to donating blood. Please bring an ID with you at the time of donation. For more information log onto www.cbblifeblood.org, call Community Blood Bank at 1-877-877-3070.

Community Blood Bank is not affiliated with other blood bank organizations and takes pride in being a self-sufficient organization, thanks to the generosity of our local blood donors.    

Cardinals Take Third, Libis Wins “Spirit of Su” Award

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The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals ended their 2020-2021 season on a high note by taking third in the 2021 South Dakota Class B State Tournament on Saturday, March 20th.  The Cardinals defeated the Viborg-Hurley Cougars 76-58.

Photo taken and used with permission by Lee Palmer

The two teams put on an offensive show in the first quarter.  They combined for 55 points trading shot for shot the entire quarter.  Neither team had more than a four point lead, and it was the Cardinals that held the 29-26 advantage at the end of the quarter.  St Mary continued the hot shooting in the second quarter.  They built an 11-point lead, 46-35, after a field goal by Connor Libis with 2:45 in the half.  The Cougars, though, finished the half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four at 46-42.

Viborg-Hurley scored the first three points of the third quarter and pulled within a point, 46-45.  The Cardinals were able to keep the lead throughout the first half of the third quarter.  The Cougars were within two points, 54-52, after a field goal with 3:29 to go, but the two teams struggled to score the remainder of the quarter.  Libis made two free throws with :27 for the only other two points in the quarter, and St Mary lead 56-52 heading into the fourth.  The St Mary defense locked down the Cougars in the final quarter, holding them to just six points, while the offense scored another 20 points to cruise to the 3rd place win.

Three players finished in double figures.  Libis finished with 29 points, five rebounds, and three assists.  Sam Palmer added 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists.  Ashaun Roach-Valandra had 13 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.  Max Herber added nine points and two rebounds.  Ty Brown had five points.

Photo taken and used with permission by Lee Palmer

Libis also earned the big honor of winning this year’s “Spirit of Su” award, which he was awarded at halftime of the championship game.  Libis and Roach-Valandra were named to the All Tournament team.

St Mary finishes their season with a 21-5 overall record.

Quarriers Finish Fourth, Rentz Hits 1,000 Points

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Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

Even though the game didn’t end in the favor of the Dell Rapids Quarriers, there was still plenty to celebrate for the Quarriers on Saturday, March 20th.  The Quarriers played in their final game of the 2021 South Dakota State A Tournament and season against the Dakota Valley Panthers.  The Panthers  won the game 69-60 giving the Quarriers a fourth place finish in the state tournament.

The Panthers and Quarriers were tied two times early in the first quarter at 10-10 and 13-13.  Dell Rapids took their only lead of the game, 15-13, after a basket by Carter Nelson with 2:23 in the quarter.  The Panthers finished the quarter on a 7-0 run for a 20-15 lead.  Dakota Valley pushed the lead to 12 points, 29-17, with 5:38 left in the half.  Dell Rapids got within five points, 33-28, after a three-pointer by Colin Rentz with 2:26 to go in the quarter.  Dakota Valley ended the half leading 34-28.

The Quarrier fans were brought to their feet early in the third quarter as Colin Rentz surpassed 1,000 points for his career in his final game as a Dell Rapids Quarrier.  Dell Rapids chipped the lead down to three points, 48-45, after a three-pointer by Connor Rentz with 1:23 in the quarter.  The Panthers pushed the lead back to five points, 45-40, heading into the fourth.  The Quarriers again got the lead down to just a single possession, 52-50, this time after a three-pointer by Brayden Pankonen with 7:07 in the game, but that was as close as Dell Rapids could get.  The Panthers extended the lead back to 10 points with 4:08 to go and hung on for the win.

Colin Rentz finished with 29 points, five assists, and three rebounds.  Connor Rentz had eight points and four rebounds.  Carter Nelson finished with six points, three blocks, and two rebounds.  Pankonen had six points, two rebounds, and an assists.  Avery Boechler finished with three points.  Coby Maeschen added two points, three rebounds, and an assist.

Colin Rentz was also named to the All-Tournament team.

Dell Rapids finished fourth in the 2021 South Dakota Class A State Tournament and had a 17-8 overall record.

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

Late Rally Falls Short for Cardinals in Semifinals

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A late fourth-quarter rally by the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals fell a little short as the Aberdeen Christian Knights defeated the Cardinals 60-53 in the semifinals of the South Dakota State B Tournament on Friday, March 19th.

Both teams were on fire to start the ball game.  The two teams combined for 21 points in the first four minutes of the game.  St Mary held an 11-10 lead with 4:15 to play after a Connor Libis field goal, but it was the Knights that continued to shoot lights-out the rest of the quarter.  Aberdeen Christian went on an 11-0 run for a 21-11 lead and ended the first quarter leading 26-16.  St Mary got within six points early in the second quarter after two made free throws by John Pica, but the Knights kept the lead around 10 points for much of the quarter.  They led 36-26 at halftime.

Aberdeen Christian continued to keep St Mary in check throughout the third quarter.  The Knights held a double-digit lead throughout most of the quarter and led 46-34 heading into the final quarter.  The Cardinals found themselves down 14 points, 51-37, at the final media timeout of the game with 4:16 to play in the game.  The Cardinals then went on an 8-0 run and cut the lead to 51-45 after two free throws by Sam Palmer with 2:54 to go.  Ashaun Roach-Valandra made a three-pointer from the corner with 1:47 to go to cut the Knights lead down to five, 53-48, but that was as close as St Mary could get.  Aberdeen Christian made enough free-throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

The Cardinals finished the game shooting 35% (17-49) from the field, 29% (6-21) from three-point area, and 72% (13-18) from the free-throw line.

Libis had a team-high 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists.  Roach-Valandra ended with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists.  Ty Brown added 10 points and six rebounds.  Palmer finished with nine points, five rebounds, and two assists.  Max Herber had six points and eight rebounds.

The Cardinals (20-5) will play Viborg/Hurley in the 3rd/4th place game on Saturday, March 20th at 5:00 p.m.

Shots Don’t Fall for Quarriers in Semifinal Loss

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Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

The Sioux Falls Christian Chargers took advantage of some offensive struggles by the Dell Rapids Quarriers in the middle quarters and defeated the Quarriers 64-52 in the semifinal round of the South Dakota State A Tournament on Friday, March 19th.

The Quarriers found themselves down by six points early in the first quarter, 10-4, but ended the first on an 8-2 run to end the first quarter tied 12-12.  Dell Rapids took their first and only lead of the game, 15-14, after a Landon Ruesink free throw with 6:12 to play in the second quarter.  The Chargers went on a 5-0 run and eventually pushed the lead to nine points, 28-19 with 2:01 to go in the half.  Connor Rentz scored the final two points of the half, and the Quarriers trailed 28-21 at halftime.

Sioux Falls Christian took advantage of the shots not falling for the  Quarriers in the third quarter.  The Chargers extended their lead to as many as 16 points, 46-30, with just under a minute to play in the third quarter.  They led 48-33 heading into the final quarter.  Dell Rapids could not get any closer than 12 points in the fourth quarter.  The Quarriers trailed 50-38 with 5:10 in the game after two free-throws by Connor Rentz, but every time Dell Rapids tried to make a run, the Chargers shut the door and extended their lead.

Dell Rapids shot just 34% (17-50) from the field, only 22% (4-18) from three-point area, and 67% (14-21) from the free-throw line.  The Quarriers were out-rebounded 40-27 by the Chargers.

Colin Rentz had 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists.  Connor Rentz had 13 points and four rebounds.  Coby Maeschen had six points and six rebounds.  Brayden Pankonen had five points.  Carter Nelson and Ruesink both finished with three points each.

Dell Rapids (17-7) will play in the 3rd/4th place game against Dakota Valley on Saturday, March 20th at 5:00 p.m.

Cardinals Advance to State B Semifinals

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Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals took a step closer to their first state title since 2004 after a 75-69 win over the #3 seeded White River Tigers on Thursday, March 18th at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen. 

These two teams had seen each other earlier in the year.  The Cardinals and Tigers did battle in the 2nd Annual Sacred Hoops Classic in Mitchell on January 2nd.  The Cardinals also won that game 89-72.

The Cardinals got out to a quick 6-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game.  White River responded with a 5-0 run for a 7-6 lead with 4:36 to play in the opening quarter.  The Cardinal offense then scored 15 more points and led 21-13 at the end of the quarter.  White River kept the deficit within single digits until the 2:17 mark of the second quarter.  The Cardinals were then able to push the lead to 15 points by halftime, 39-24.  That lead was just enough to hold off a second half rally by White River.

The Tigers slowly chipped away at the lead in the third quarter.  They were able to cut it in half by the end of the quarter, and the Cardinals led 47-40 heading into the fourth quarter.  White River got the lead down to four points after a three-pointer by Colbe Scott with 7:24 left in the game.  The Cardinals shut down the rally at that point.  St Mary went on an 8-0 run capped off by a three-point basket by Connor Libis to give the Cardinals a 55-43 lead with 6:31 to play.  The Tigers made one more attempt at a come back.  Joe Sayler cut the Cardinal lead down to six points, 66-60, with 1:30 left in the game, but a three-point basket and two-free throws by Sam Palmer in a span of fifteen seconds sealed the victory for the Cardinals.

St Mary finished the game shooting 55% (29-53) from the field, 44% (8-18) from three-point area, and 53% (9-17) from the free-throw line.  They had a total of 31 team rebounds, 11 assists, and five steals.

Four players finished in double figures for the Cardinals.  Libis had 28 points, six rebounds, and six assists.  Ashaun Roach-Valandra had 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.  Palmer finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists.  Max Herber added 10 points and seven rebounds.

The #6-seeded Cardinals will play #7 Aberdeen Christian on Friday, March 19th.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.

Ruesink Sinks Game-Winning Three, Quarriers Give Tanagers First Loss of Season

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Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

One of the best things about March basketball is that anything can happen.  That statement rang true in the opening game of the 2021 South Dakota Class A Boys State Tournament in Sioux Falls on Thursday, March 18th.

The #8-seeded Dell Rapids Quarriers controlled most of the game against the #1-seeded Vermillion Tanagers.  The game was tied only three times and only had four lead changes.  But as expected with these two teams, the final three minutes of the game is what makes March basketball so special.

The Quarriers made the first basket of the game, but Vermillion tied the game after two made free-throws for the first tie.  Dell Rapids went on to shoot 6-11 from the field and 3-4 from beyond three-point area to build a 19-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.  The lead grew to as many as 11 points, 30-19, after two made free-throws by Brayden Paknonen with 2:48 in the first half.  The Tanagers cut the lead back down to eight points by halftime, 32-24.

The third quarter was a grind-out, defensive battle between the two teams.  Vermillion pulled within three points a couple of times in the quarter.  Jake Jensen made a three-pointer with 2:13 to play to cut the Dell Rapids lead to 37-34.  Dillion Gestring’s field goal with 1:32 in the quarter pulled the Tanagers within two points, 38-36, but Dell Rapids ended the quarter on a 3-0 run to push the lead back to five points, 41-36 heading into the final quarter.

Dell Rapids kept about a three-point advantage throughout much of the fourth quarter, but Vermillion took their first lead of the game after a Gestring field goal, 44-43, with 2:48 in the game.  The two teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes, and the game was tied 48-48 (1:39 to go) and 50-50 with :55 on the clock.

The Tanagers had possession of the ball with :31 to go, and after a timeout, the play went to Gestring.  Gestring drove baseline straight to the hoop and was fouled on his shot attempt.  Gestring missed both free-throws, and Dell Rapids secured the rebound with the game still tied 50-50.  After two Quarrier timeouts, Dell Rapids tried to inbound the ball with :09 only to have the pass stolen by Jakob Dobney.  Dobney sprinted to his basket and laid the ball in with :05 on the clock giving Vermillion a 52-50 advantage.  Colin Rentz took the inbound pass and sprinted down the court.  Colin Rentz found an open Landon Ruesink on the left wing.  Ruesink, staying behind the three-point line, let got of the shot just before the buzzer, sinking the three-point shot to give the Quarriers a 53-52 victory and sending the Quarrier players to a pile on half court.  This was the first loss of the season for Vermillion

Pankonen finished with 15 points, three steals and two rebounds.  Connor Rentz also had 15 points along with three rebounds, and two assists.  Colin Rentz had 10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and four steals.  Ruesink added seven points, three steals, and two assists.  Coby Maeschen had four points and nine rebounds.  Carter Nelson was a defensive force with five blocked shots in the game.

The Quarriers will take on Sioux Falls Christian in the semifinal round on Friday, March 19th.  Tip-off is at 5:00 p.m.

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