Homecoming Kings and Queens Crowned
Both Dell Rapids St Mary and Dell Rapids held their coronation ceremonies on Monday, October 11th as part of the homecoming week. Both schools crowned their Homecoming King and Queen during the ceremonies.
The Dell Rapids St Mary Homecoming King is John Pica, and the Homecoming Queen is Courtney Brown.
The Dell Rapids Homecoming King is Weston Mason, and the Homecoming Queen is Yazmin Garcia.
The week will continue with activities at both schools. The homecoming parade will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, October 15th downtown Dell Rapids. The Cardinals will host De Smet for their homecoming football game, and the Quarriers will host Dakota Valley. Both games will kickoff at 7:00 p.m.
33rd Annual 3-Class Shootout – March 27th
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.
2019 Fall Sports Awards
Several Cardinal and Quarrier student athletes received recognition for their seasons during the 2019 fall sports season.
Eli Longville, Weston Geraets, Logan Wolles, and Connor Libis were Dakota Valley Conference All-Conference selections for the football season. Payton Park was an honorable mention selection. Longville was named Co-MVP for the conference this season. Head coach of the St Mary Cardinals Ross Flemmer was named the 2019 DVC Coach of the Year. Longville and Libis were also honorable mentions for the Argus Leader Elite 45 team.
Courtney Brown was a DVC All-Conference selection in volleyball this year. Ella Heinitz was an honorable mention.
Paige Bunkers, Maggie Klein, and Brown were 2019 South Dakota All-State Cheer team selections.
For the Dell Rapids Quarriers, Logan Ellingson, Brayden Gee, Mason Goeken, Coby Maeschen, Noah Randall, Colin Rentz, Cody Schultz, Drew VanRegenmorter, and Tyler Wood were 2019 Dak-12 Conference All-Conference selections. Carter Rentz and Landon Ruesink were honorable mentions. Ellingson was also named to the Argus Leader Elite 45 team. Maeschen was an honorable mention for the Elite 45 team.
Gabi Rus was a 3rd Team Dak-12 Conference selection in volleyball. Mallory Haak was an honorable mention.
Hannah Heiberger, Olivia Godwin, and Katelyn North were 2019 South Dakota All-State Cheer team selections.
Busy Weekend for Cardinal and Quarrier Sports
It was a busy weekend of events for the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals and Dell Rapids Quarriers varsity sports teams. The Cardinals volleyball and cross country teams were in action on Saturday, September 7th, while the Quarrier cross country, competitive cheer, and soccer teams all competed on Saturday.
The Cardinal volleyball team went to Estelline for the Estelline Tournament. St Mary finished 2-2 at the tournament to see their season record move to 5-2. St Mary’s boys cross country team won the 12-team Deubrook Invite. Jacob Vogel placed second individually with a time of 18:12. Thomas Eining was 15th with a time of 19:59, and Seth Roemen placed 19th at a time of 20:14.
The Quarrier cross country team was in Luverne on Saturday. Adisen 
Stadem finished 9th with a time of 22:19.80. Aspen Hansen finished in a time of 23:53.60, and Hannah VanOverbeke had a time of 25:06.90. Logan Anderson was 3rd for the boys with a time of 18:32.90. Canyon Lowman had a time of 20:01.60, and Mitchell Heinemann had a time of 20:23.20. The Quarrier competitive cheer team took first place at the Dakota Valley Invite. The Garretson/Dell Rapids Blue Dragon girls soccer team won their third match of the season after a 7-1 win over Worthington, MN during their annual Kick Out Cancer game.
Cardinal and Quarrier Athletes Earn Post Season Awards
Several Dell Rapids St Mary and Dell Rapids athletes have earned post season awards for the 2018 fall sports season.
Carly Maxwell was named to the Dakota Valley Conference All-Conference team for volleyball. Veronica Beck was an Honorable Mention. Eli Longville and Connor Libis were DVC All-Conference team selections for football, while Weston Geraets and Ethan Geraets were Honorable Mentions. Maddie Schwebach earned a Class A Competitive Cheer All-State selection this year.
For the Dell Rapids Quarriers, Hannah Fletcher was a Dak-12 All-Conference 1st Team selection. Jayda Knuppe earned a 2nd Team nomination, and Brooke Klein was an Honorable Mention. Eddie Price, Nick Boever, Kenyon Shellum, Logan Ellingson, and Coby Maeschen were all Dak-12 Football All-Conference selections. Tayte Gleason and Tyler Wood were Honorable Mentions. Emily Dorn, Katie Jaycox, and Carter Wynja were Cross Country Academic All-State members this year.
Cardinals Fall in Five-Set Match to Hendricks
The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals fell to Hendricks, MN in a five-game match on Tuesday, October 10th in Hendricks, MN. Hendricks won by scores of 25-15, 17-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-6.
The Cardinals used a balanced offensive attack at the net. Maddie Schwebach had seven kills. Veronica Beck and Cassie Mullaney finished with five kills each. Ella Heinitz and Rhiannon Glazier both had four kills, Cassy Geraets finished with three kills. Mullaney had six blocks, while Schwebach added three blocks. Adyn Heinricy had 17 digs. Glazier finished with 12 digs, and Heinitz had seven digs. Geraets had 28 set assists in the match. Geraets also had five ace serves. Heinricy added three ace serves.
St Mary (8-14) will travel to Deubrook Area on Thursday, October 12th.
Fall Sports Awards for Dell Rapids Athletes
Several Dell Rapids athletes earned post season recognition for their performances in the 2015 fall sports season.
Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal Volleyball:
- Junior Kennedi Mullaney – Dakota Valley Conference All-Conference Team Selection
- Junior Jackie Wolles – Dakota Valley Conference All-Conference Honorable Mention
- DRSM Awards Night Offensive MVP: Kennedi Mullaney
- DRSM Awards Night Defensive MVP: Haley Michel
Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal Football:
- Josh Brown – 9B All-State Selection
- Jacob Frost – 9B All-State Selection
- Christian Schnieders – 9B All-State Selection
- Noah Fiegen – 9B All-State Honorable Mention
- DRSM Awards Night Hustle Award: Logan Gaspar
- DRSM Awards Night Most Improved: Tate Hansen
- DRSM Awards Night Offensive MVP: Josh Brown
- DRSM Awards Night Defensive MVP: Christian Schnieders
- DRSM Awards Night Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Jacob Frost
- DRSM Awards Night Outstanding Defensive Lineman: Noah Fiegen
Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal Girls Cross Country:
- DRSM Awards Night Most Valuable Runner: Christina Vogel
- DRSM Awards Night Most Improved Runner: Ella Heinitz
Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal Boys Cross Country:
- DRSM Awards Night Most Valuable Runner: Connor Libis
- DRSM Awards Night Most Improved Runner: Hunter Griffin
Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal Competitive Cheer:
- DRSM Awards Night Coach’s Award: Bridget Dunn
- DRSM Awards Night Most Improved: Courtney Geraets
Dell Rapids Quarrier Volleyball:
- Senior Mikaela Stofferahn – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Honorable Mention, 2015 SDHSAA Academic All-State Team
- Junior Chloe Solberg – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Honorable Mention
- Senior Hannah Welbig – 2015 SDHSAA Academic All-State Team
- Senior Kiah Schumacher – 2015 SDHSAA Academic All-State Team
- Senior Megan Miles – 2015 SDHSAA Academic All-State Team
Dell Rapids Quarrier Football:
- Junior Hunter Hansen – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Team Selection
- Junior Tanner Heim – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Team Selection
- Junior Dawson Kerzman – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Team Selection
- Senior Sam White – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Team Selection
- Senior Griffen Ellison – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Honorable Mention
- Junior Anthony Miller – Dak-12 Conference All-Conference Honorable Mention
Changes to 2015-2016 Sports Season
The 2015-2016 high school sports season has arrived, and this year will bring changes to both Dell Rapids and Dell Rapids St Mary schools for the upcoming seasons.
The biggest change will be for the Quarrier football team. Class 11A football will be completely different this year. The first change the Quarriers will face is no “open” date. Class 11A football will be moving from an eight game schedule to a nine game schedule. After the Quarriers complete the new nine game schedule, they will see a change in the playoff format. 11A will move to the same format that 11AAA and 11AA use. Only the top eight teams in powerpoints will advance to the playoffs, thus eliminating one playoff game. Class 11A will play the quarterfinal game on October 29th, and the semifinal game will be played on November 6th or 7th.
Head coach Steve Hansen said that he was a little hesitant about the change in the playoff system. “With our schedule, the Dak-12 Conference, we are going to be playing the top teams in 11A week in and week out, and with the west river schedules, they will probably end with better records than some of the schools around here. With the new power point system, they say that won’t matter, the best teams are going to make the playoffs. We will have to see how it all shakes out this year.”
Both Dell Rapids and Dell Rapids St Mary will see new teams this year. Canton and Sioux Falls Christian both make the jump from 11B to 11A this year. Dell Rapids St Mary will have a couple of new teams on their schedule this year. Arlington and Lake Preston have entered into a co-op for football this year. Castlewood and Estelline have also entered into a co-op for football. The Cardinals will have games against both of those combined teams this year, and have added Canistota and De Smet to fill the two empty spots created by the co-ops.
Both schools will have a change in their respective district and region plan. Baltic has made the jump to Class A this year, meaning District 7B will now be a five-team district. Baltic will now join Dell Rapids, Flandreau, Flandreau Indian, Garretson, Madison and Sioux Falls Christian in Region 3A making that a seven-team region.
St Mary 5th Grade Boys Win Tri-State Tournament
On Friday night, March 28th, and Saturday, March 29th, the St. Mary Cardinal 5th-grade basketball team finished their season at the 85th Annual Tri-State Tournament put on by the Sioux Falls YMCA. The Cardinals won the “B” Division of the tournament in dramatic fashion over the Sioux Falls Wildcats.
The Cardinals came out with tenacious defense and opened up a 7-2 lead early in the game. The Wildcats came back though to tie the game up at 17-17 by halftime. To start the second half, the Wildcats came out and put the clamps down on St. Mary to open up a 28-19 lead. The turning point, to get the Cardinals back in the game, came at about the 13-minute mark of the second half when a Wildcat player kicked St. Mary’s center Max H. in the face when he was on the ground. A technical foul was called, and St. Mary’s received two points and the ball. St. Mary’s eventual came back and took the lead around the 3-minute mark. As St. Mary started to build a lead the Wildcats started to foul putting St. Mary’s at the free-throw line. With the Cardinals struggling with free throws, the Wildcats got back in the game to tie it up at 34-34.
With :31 seconds left, the Wildcats had the ball and set up the play they wanted. After a missed shot and two offensive rebounds, the Wildcats finally lost the ball out of bounds to the Cardinals. The Cardinals brought the ball across half court and called their final timeout with :13 seconds left in the game. In the time out, Coach Craig Libis set up an inbound play for the last shot. The Cardinals inbounded the ball to Connor L. With immense pressure he dribbled the ball to the top of the key. With five seconds left, he began to drive. The Wildcats shut down the lane, and Connor L. tried to back in closer, but with one second left, he turned and threw up the last shot that fell in for a 36-34 win.
Earlier in the tournament, the Cardinals came away with wins over DeSmet (40-27) and Sibley, IA (35-28). The Cardinals finished 40-7 in their season.
Front row L to R: Clay W., Connor L., Colin W., Jon B., Nick W., Hunter G., Connar K., & Sam P. Standing L to R: Coach Lee Palmer, Noah D., Coach Craig Libis, Max H., Coach Jason Griffin, Thomas E., Austin G., and Coach Matt Herber.