In our final newscast of the semester, we get an update on South Dakota’s NIL lawsuit, preview an end of year event and take a look at a finals week forecast.
South Dakota artist Tim Peterson captivated the audience with an open showcase titled “Illuminated Noir” at the South Dakota Art Museum earlier this month.
Looking back, i’m not sure what I was thinking.
Picking up and moving 425 miles to a different state to a town 283 miles from home where I didn’t know anyone. A complete reset.
But, in the middle of a health scare, not yet certain what I was
going to do with my life, I decided to take the leap of faith. That turned out to be the best decision I have ever made.
And now, as out last issue prints and I hand the baton off to Emily DeCock, there are a few people I would like to thank, and memories I would like to relive.
EMILY DECOCK
Asst. News Editor
One of newly elected SA president Sophie Spier’s key initiatives was highly debated before ultimately failing in the Senate on Monday at the last meeting of the year.
Spier was looking to get approval for the constitution of the Blue Bridge Project. The Blue Bridge Project is a mental health awareness initiative, and is one of the pillars that Spier and vice president Wesley Siira ran on. It is SDSU’s version of the Green Bandana Project, which was created in 2014 at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls.
The project aims to increase mental health advocacy among students and staff, train individuals to provide mental health resources for those in need and collaborate with existing mental wellbeing entities on campus. Students that wish to complete the training would be able to wear a blue “visual” to signal that they are a safe space for those going through a mental health crisis.
Students looking to be a “safe space” would go through a one hour long QPR training. QPR stands for question, persuasion, refer, according to Spier. The training would aim to teach these students how to refer those in a mental health crisis to the appropriate resources.
Senators expressed support for the idea of the project, but they had concerns about the logistics of mandated reporting within the organization and keeping students that reach out safe. The final vote was 7-3 against, with five senators abstaining.
Senator in the College of Nursing Grace Barnett voted no on the constitution. She voiced concerns on mandated reporting and HIPPA.
“We have amazing trained staff here on campus for a reason,” Barnett said. “They have gone through years and years of education and certification. I just have
concerns with students dealing with these kind of complex situations.”
SA adviser Christopher Schmit invited senators to consider the club’s first amendment right to exist.
“I don’t know the answer to this in a legal sense, if there’s a first amendment right for these constitutions also. You can’t vote against a group you don’t agree with, because they have a right to exist … You have legitimate concerns, but I don’t know how that plays a role in voting whether an organization can or can’t exist.”
Schmit added, “This conversation would normally take place if they were asking for money or something like that. Then you guys would have a say in it. We’ve run into this in the past, where students didn’t agree with an organization’s goals, but they’re bound by the first amendment - they have a right to exist. It’s a little confusing.”
Spier said she will continue to work on this project, and she’s still committed to bringing it to SDSU.
“At the end of the day, they [the senators] were just doing what’s best for their constituents and asking questions they felt was necessary … If this program takes
a year, I’m gonna stick it out for a year, just because it is something that’s really important to me,” Spier said. “I would really hate to see it die down just because of one mishap.”
In other business:
Keena Melville, director of the Lucas P. Wintrode Autism Support Services, addressed the Students’ Association to give an update of the program. The program was started last year and is sponsored by the Wintrode family.
The program strives to make SDSU more inclusive for students on the autism spectrum. They serve about 32 students on campus and have 11 peer mentors involved in the program, Melville said.
Melville also told senators about common struggles that autistic college students face. For example, students on the autism spectrum have higher dropout rates.
The office offers students one-to-one coaching, peer mentorship, life skills and group workshops. The office is located in Wagner Hall room 229.
“We have 32 students, but I know there are so many more autistic students on campus,” Melville said. “Not every autistic student needs to come to our
program, but we want every autistic kid to know that our program is there.”
Five new senators-at-large were sworn in as well. Megan Christoffels, Shishir Roka, Malachi Swift, Supriya Paudel, and Brandon Kampsen will now serve in SA for the upcoming school year. Seven people applied for senator-at-large positions.
Two club constitutions were approved unanimously at the Monday meeting.
The accounting club constitution was one of the two approved. Sophomore accounting major Autumn Iverson said the club aims to bring students interested in accounting together.
“Our mission is to promote academic and professional development for students interested in accounting and finance,” Iverson said. “However, this doesn’t just stem to accounting majors. We’re open to all the majors within the Ness School and anyone else that would like to join us.”
Lecturer in the Ness School Victoria Dubblede said numbers in the accounting major are higher than what was projected when the major was started.
“When we put our intent to plan together, we put 42 [students] as our two-year projection,” Dubbelde said. “We’re now at 73 in the accounting major already, and it was just started last fall, so we’re seeing some growth in it.”
Also approved was the Matthews Hall government club constitution.
Jonathan Hueftle is the Residence Hall Director for Mathews, as well as the adviser for the Mathews Hall Club. He said that hall government has been in the process of turning all hall governments into more officially recognized organizations on campus.
“That way, we can better connect with all of our other organizations, as well as have different opportunities that were previously unavailable to us,” Hueftle said.
SA meetings will resume in the 20252026 school year.
JORDAN ROEMELING
News Editor
South Dakota State University administrators are working with Sodexo to improve the food vendor’s services after many complaints have surfaced in the two-plus years since the company came to campus.
Problems Arise Sodexo replaced Aramark in July of 2022 as the university’s food service vendor. Since then, complaints from students, the Students’ Association, faculty and President Barry Dunn have indicated frustration with various aspects of Sodexo’s performance.
“We’ve had a lot of turnover of Sodexo leadership on campus and the catering team has changed several times,” Dunn said. “Labor’s been a problem and there’s been a lot of turnover.”
During Sodexo’s first year, issues such as long lines and unscheduled closings of some dining locations – often blamed on short staffing – caused problems, said Jennifer Novotny, assistant vice president for student life. Some restaurants like Qdoba and Mein Bowl weren’t operational when Sodexo took over.
Issues in Larson Commons
Sodexo operates 20 dining locations on campus, with the Student Union and Larson Commons ranking as the most
popular. More recently, problems have surfaced at Larson Commons.
Larson Commons, located between Young Hall and Binnewies Hall, has been undergoing a renovation since last spring and is expected to be completed in summer 2026. The commons have been open to diners despite the construction, which has brought about issues with the building.
Novotny, who says she receives reports from Larson and visits the building multiple times a week, pointed to an incident during which birds got into the building.
“It was awful for students and the staff were really not happy,” Novotny said.
Work crews fixed the bird problem by closing Larson for one lunch period and clearing them out.
Another issue with Larson Commons happened in January when the cafeteria experienced cold temperatures.
“We had these really bad cold temperatures,” Novotny said. “So, further investigation showed the Residential Life Department was already working on it. A piece of equipment was going down, so they were getting it addressed.”
Students who eat at Larson Commons have reached out to Novotny saying problems like these have impacted their days, and she has said that she will continue to be attentive to issues that arise and address them with Larson Commons staff.
Novotny works with Sodexo daily to monitor the student dining experience and has regular conversations with Dunn and Vice President of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management Michaela Willis about these matters, according to Dunn.
“I want people to know that [for] those kinds of things we are keeping a close watch on it but don’t ever hesitate to reach out if those things happen,” Novotny said. “I always want to be aware of it and make the Larson staff aware of that.”
In February, a member from the International Relations Council at a Students’ Association meeting reported that some international students who hosted events
on campus have been frustrated working with Sodexo’s catering.
“It’s been a really big struggle to get genuine, authentic international food for these nights,” SA President Trinity Peterson said. “It’s something we’re trying to address. I know some have had to move their event off campus so that they can more easily cater things.”
Novotny said that for catering larger-scale events, the Sodexo staff will take a recipe from student groups and put that into their software, to create recipes for attendees, who can be hundreds of people.
“Those events are big undertakings for the students…[and] for the crew that facilitates that,” Novotny said. “When you’re making things for 800 versus 100 [people]… it really does have variable degrees of difference.”
Aramark previously allowed student organizations to cook for events, but Sodexo does not, Peterson said.
“Sodexo makes the food, and it’s just not as authentic as people want it to be,” Peterson added. “It’s hard to just follow a recipe and have it taste exactly the same as the food…made by someone who has experience in making that particular [kind of] food.”
Also, if students want food from a restaurant in the region that can make the food they want for their event, the restaurant has to provide certification of their insurance and have to meet “the requirements of being a licensed food service provider.” Some student groups haven’t been happy with this process, Novotny said.
Some groups have wanted to make their food, but aren’t allowed to for these events.
“We’re not able to just allow people to just provide food at that large scale and not run the risk of foodborne illness and greater concerns,” Novotny said. “And so that’s why there’s rigorous process in place. They [Sodexo] did go through rigor to make sure that that is safe and certified. And that really is what we bind Sodexo in [the] contract about, which is why they have that exclusivity contract.”
Because of these problems, students have complained to faculty and the student government about Sodexo over the last two-plus years.
Students’ Association Responds
Student frustrations led the Students’ Association to address Sodexo’s service issues at a Board of Regents meeting in 2022. As a result, students across South Dakota’s six regional institutions received meal plan refunds, with the highest reaching $200. Students’ Association leaders continue to advocate for improvements and encourage students to voice their concerns.
“If this does continue to where Sodexo is consistently and not providing students with a satisfactory experience here at SDSU, then I think we would have the credence and the precedent to go to Sodexo and request that refund again for students,” said SA Vice President Hayden Bentz.
Peterson said she has heard complaints from students about Sodexo, with the most regarding the service issues at Larson Commons. However, she thinks that the issues should be alleviated once construction is completed.
Regardless, Bentz said that students should bring up their frustrations to SA about Sodexo.
“I know they’re (Sodexo) always very willing to hear student feedback and are very receptive to it, so don’t stop complaining by any means,” Bentz said. “I continually bring up things to them. If you’re a student or bring things up to us on Students’ Association, as well, and we’ll communicate those to Sodexo as well.”
President Dunn Responds
Sodexo’s catering problems have not been limited to student functions. Some scholarship events and SDSU sports events also have seen problems, Dunn said.
“We’ve had some really great experiences there, and then we’ve had some that weren’t so good,” Dunn said. “We’re trying to elevate that.”
Dunn also said that since the university is the largest among the SDBOR institutions, SDSU requires different needs than other schools and feeds a larger number of students day to day as well as holds larger scale events, multiple times per month.
“SDSU welcomes thousands of visitors to a football game who purchase items from the concession stand, attend the game in a premium seating area, or potentially attend another event on campus prior to the game,” Dunn said. “All of this requires the well-preparedness of Sodexo’s staff to meet the needs of an influx of people to campus. Those are important areas we continue to work through to provide a positive experience for our students, faculty, staff and visitors.”
Although issues have been occurring, the university and Sodexo communicate frequently and have improved some areas for the university and its students, Dunn said.
“Last year, I thought we had really good food service at Larson, and then Chick-fil-A has been a big hit,” Dunn said. “Qdoba’s really popular this year. So, there’s been some really good things about the food service.”
The transition during summer 2022 brought several challenges to the university. One of the main issues was the difficulty Sodexo faced in hiring and retaining staff later.
Novotny, who works in the Student Union and the university’s liaison with Sodexo, said Aramark’s food service employees had already been experiencing a “pretty steady decline” in the labor market post-pandemic, even before Sodexo took over.
Due to the timing of the transition, along with the already strained labor market and rising food prices, Sodexo struggled to hire staff. These challenges led to high turnover, particularly in management positions.
The new Sodexo staff also had issues adjusting to the university post-pandemic because they did not know the students or their trends yet.
“I think overall staffing was a concern at the very beginning,” Novotny said. “They had to solidify the staffing that was currently in place…look at increasing new hires, and they didn’t know the student campus yet. So that took a lot of effort, and I do think that that probably rolled out slower than what we had anticipated.”
For this fall, though, Novotny said that there has been close to a 98% return rate of the Sodexo staff that was here last year, which has made staffing “more solid.”
In fact, she said that all of SDSU’s operations require
300 to 400 staff to support food service.
“All of our operating hours have been more consistent because of that,” Novotny said. “Our catering operation really depends very heavily on some full-time staff, but also a lot of hourly students.”
Because their staffing has been more solid, Novotny says that more places have been at standard operating hours, such as Union Coffee and the Dairy Bar.
“We do get some feedback that students are still looking for some things to be open evenings and weekends,” said Novotny.
To improve this, James Quinn, Sodexo’s resident district manager, will look at student trends to build stronger operations and meal service times for each food service operation.
One complaint that Novotny has seen this year is about small protein portion sizes at Larson Commons. Novotny said that to reduce food waste, protein is served to students in one-ounce servings, and if they want more, they can go back for another serving.
“There’s a reason we do this,” Novotny said. It’s to keep costs down for everybody, but it’s also so you don’t waste it. You might think you want a bunch, and you sit down and you’re like “Oh, I’m so full,” and then you
dump it all.”
Other than that, complaints this year have lessened. However, she will receive occasional complaints about food service and quality. She said that they include some photos of burnt toast sent to her, and messages about chips from Qdoba running out before closing.
“Overall, I really am not getting the frequency [of complaints],” Novotny said. “[But they do] need to be addressed from time to time…And that helps us too, because when there’s a thematic concern, like chips, then, we know we’ve got a little bit bigger issue…either we don’t have enough supply loaded…or maybe we’re understaffed and they’re not keeping up.”
Another area that the university is working on with Sodexo is “fine-tuning” the operations on the west side of campus for the Dairy Bar and the Hansen Hall C-Store, Novotny said.
“And we’ve been focusing on, how do we bring more food options to the west side of campus,” Dunn said. “As well as our restaurants also know full and we have more students over there, so definitely have been focused on that.”
As far as a plan goes for resolving the issues, Novotny said for each year in contract with Sodexo, there have been ‘strategic goals that are enhanced to dining performance,’ which is the Larsons Commons Project, and ‘freshening up’ their dining spaces. She said that most of that was happening during the first year of the contract with Sodexo. For years two and three, the university has been focusing on the Larson Commons Project, and if other issues come up, according to Novotny.
“As we move forward, there’s always going to be discussions with the university leadership too, about what other priorities might emerge,” Novotny said. “But yeah, those are laid out pretty clearly in our contract agreement.”
In the meantime, if students have any complaints regarding food service, they are encouraged to reach out to university leadership.
“We’re committed to providing students [with] the best,” Dunn said. “You make a huge investment here in your education, which includes several years in the dorm and then food service throughout here for three to five years…[We] want that experience always to be very good.”
Sodexo did not respond to multiple requests for comment before publication.
EMILY DECOCK Assistant News Editor
Pulitzer Center grantee Elyse Wild shared her Pulitzer project on the opioid crisis in Native American communities with South Dakota State University students, faculty, and staff on April 8.
Wild’s project, “Two Medicines: Reporting on How Culture is Healing Native American Communities from the Opioid Crisis,” is a three-part series that examines how Native communities are addressing the crisis.
“[The project] looks at the spectrum of addiction care, from prevention, to harm reduction, to recovery,” Wild said.
The project took Wild across the United States. Her three articles featured subjects from Native communities in Oregon, Oklahoma and Maine.
The first article, “‘You Can’t Gangster a Horse’: Native Youth Connect With Culture To Break Cycles of Addiction” introduced John Spence, a citizen of the Gros Ventre tribe. Spence works with youth at the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest in Oregon at a 90-day prevention program.
Spence specifically works with youth by leading them in Native horsemanship practices. This prevention program aims to help youth with troubled pasts by connecting them to their culture. Wild noted that the success of prevention programs can be difficult to measure.
“You might not see results for another generation or two,” Wild said. “But these kids – what they’re expressing and what they’re feeling, that’s the measure of success in these programs.”
Wild visited with Choctaw Nation Behavioral Health workers in Oklahoma for the second article in her series, “Choctaw Nation Found a Better Way To Deliver Harm Reduction. It’s Working.” She explained how Choctaw Nation uses OD maps, a technology requiring first responders to report overdoses, to strategically distribute harm reduction resources like naloxone, clean needles and fentanyl testing strips.
Harm reduction practices often come with stigma. The use of OD maps allows the harm reduction drive to be set up in areas of the community where they are most needed, according to Wild.
“It’s this signaling to people like ‘You are still welcome in our community. We still love you. You are our people,’” Wild said.
Her final article, “‘I Came Back to My Culture, and I
Healed,’” focused on recovery. She traveled to Maine, where she met Steve Knockwood, a Mi’kmaq Nation citizen and peer recovery coach for Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness. Wild highlighted the unique challenges faced by Maine’s tribal communities, such as being the only state that does not recognize tribal sovereignty, which limits their access to federal funding.
“The situation overdose-wise is very, very bleak,” Wild said.
Wild said Knockwood works directly with those actively using drugs, connecting those ready for recovery with treatment centers and offering support to those still in active addiction.
Before becoming a peer support specialist, Knockwood spent time in prison after getting caught trafficking drugs. In prison, cultural programming helped him connect back with his culture and begin to heal, according to Wild.
“They had cultural programming in the prison, and that’s where, as [Knockwood] puts it, he ‘came back to his culture,’” Wild said.
In addition to her public lecture, Wild visited various
classes to share her project with students and held office hours during her visit to South Dakota State University.
“There’s nothing better than young, excited journalism students,” Wild said. “I learn from you guys, too.
Just seeing your guys’ enthusiasm ... just the part of life that you guys are in right now is such a great part of life, and it’s really fun to interact with students and hopefully inspire you guys a little bit with some of my story.”
Annie Witt, a junior journalism major who attended both Wild’s lecture and her multimedia reporting class that Wild visited, said she appreciated Wild’s focus on an often-overlooked issue.
“It’s a really interesting topic that’s not talked about often,” Witt said. “So, to have someone who has researched so deeply into it and has the chance to meet all these people across the country, it’s eye-opening and unique.”
Wild is a first-time Pulitzer Center grantee and is a senior editor of Native News Online. Her next project will take her to Alaska, where she will be reporting on maternal health in remote tribal communities.
LANCE SPRACKLIN Reporter
The Prairie Repertory Theatre will begin its 54th season this summer opening with the iconic musical “Grease,” followed by the timeless classic “Romeo and Juliet.”
The third performance will be the fast-paced comedic British farce “Out of Order,” and the season will close with the charming musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”
The season kicks off June 11 at the Oscar Larson Theatre and the first production will transport viewers back into the 1950s with “Grease.”
The performance of “Romeo and Juliet,” is a partnership with the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. Their professional actors along with students will perform at the Sylvan Green.
According to Bill Wilburn, artistic director of the Prairie Repertory Theatre, this marks the first outdoor performance in recent years, with the last taking place over 20 years ago. Parking will be available at the Alumni Center as well as handicap parking in the Pugsley lot.
The performances return to the Oscar Larson Theatre with the chaotic comedy “Out of Order.” The story written by Ray Cooney follows a government minister’s attempt to lie his way out of an embarrassing situation.
The season will conclude July 19 with “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” a lively musical set in 1850s Oregon. It will be a meaningful end to the season as it was chosen in honor of former Director of Theatre Ray Peterson who passed away last year. The performances will be at the Oscar Larson Theatre.
“One of his favorite shows that he ever worked on was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. We picked the show to do it in honor of him,” Wilburn said.
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” will also have a sensory friendly performance for those with sensory needs. The lights will be dimmed, noises will be dialed back and it won’t follow traditional theater rules. It will be a good choice for families with young children and first-time theater goers as well.
Each show will be about two hours long, with a 15-minute intermission.
Tickets are available online now at SDState Prairie Repertory Theatre or in person at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center lobby box office, which is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Students can buy individual performance tickets for $11.50. A single performance ticket is $27 for adults and $25 for children, seniors and military. Also offered is the Prairie Repertory Theatre Season subscription that includes one ticket to each performance for $88 for adults and $82 for children, seniors and military.
The theatre will also provide many experiences after shows for no additional cost including backstage tours and cast meet and greets most nights. A talk back with the cast will be held after performances of “Romeo and Juliet.”
Every Tuesday night before each performance is the final dress rehearsal and will be open to the public. Rather than requiring tickets for this event patrons pay what they can.
“Everyone should have access to the arts, if you can’t afford anything, come join the show for free,” Wilburn said.
More experiences will be announced on the Prairie Repertory Theatre website as they are developed.
Production for this season began in the fall with the hiring of designers and technicians. Auditions for actors took place from January to February.
Over 600 people were auditioned, with half from SDSU and the rest from all over the world. This year’s company features 44 students.
“People come in from around the world, more recently PRT has said from a local SDSU thing to a more international group of people,” said Carl Steinlicht, a senior theatre major and math master’s student from
Brookings.
Rehearsals for this season will begin May 19, just 23 days before the season opens with “Grease.”
A musical takes about 93 hours of rehearsals and 60 hours for plays.
“They [performances] go back-to-back-to-back, and it takes a small army to put them together,” Wilburn said of the productions.
Students working in the Prairie Repertory Theatre will receive a $2000 stipend directly funded from ticket fees.
“For people who want to work in theatre, it’s a great way to meet others and build your resume.” said Peyton Weise, a senior in theatre and public relations from Milbank, the publicity and box office head for Prairie Repertory Theatre.
The most important aspect of the internship is the connections students build.
“It builds lifelong friendships.” said Grant Taylor, a senior in theatre from Brookings.
“There is something for everyone,” Wilburn said. “It’s going to be a dancing summer.”
CORYN WOLFF Reporter
South Dakota State University’s most recent graduating class of pharmacy students achieved a 100% pass rate on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX), becoming the highest in the nation. This is an outstanding accomplishment that highlights the university’s commitment to excellence in education.
SDSU is home to the only pharmacy school in South Dakota. The program accepts up to 65 students every year through a competitive admissions process based on academic performance and communication skills. The accredited program is six years in length, made up of different stages for students; four years on campus in Brookings, one year at the Sioux Falls Metro Center, and the last year involves eight clinical rotations. Students graduate with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm. D.) and experience what will prepare them for professional practice. In the months
following graduation, students become eligible to take a standardized exam, the NAPLEX, to evaluate and ensure they are prepared to practice pharmacy.
“The NAPLEX is a bar or benchmark for evaluating student preparedness for entering practice,” said Shanna O’ Connor, Department Head and Associate Professor of pharmacy practice. “It is a long exam, it’s hours, it’s really hard, and essentially testing all of the information that a pharmacist needs to know.”
Students use the knowledge gained through their coursework to prepare for the exam. SDSU Pharmacy graduate, Tara Gilk, explained her time leading up to the exam day.
“I spent about two to three weeks, six hours per day, studying, utilizing the RxPrep book, video, and test question bank,” said Gilk.
Students are given six hours to complete the rigorous 225 question exam. Once completed, they await results for about a week. “I studied to the best of my ability prior to the exam so I tried to keep
those good thoughts running through my head during the exam,” Gilk said. “I was so relieved when I walked out of the testing site. The thought of taking the NAPLEX weighs on your shoulders for weeks and to finally be finished is a good feeling.”
In 2024, the national average pass rate on the exam was 77.5%. SDSU’s students ranked the highest with 100%. Dean and Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Dan Hansen explained what this means to him and the program.
“This result builds upon a long history of success. I am proud of the students, faculty, staff and preceptors,” Hansen said. “Accomplishments like this take a team and each and every one of them played an important role.”
The combination of rigor and support has positioned SDSU as a leader in pharmacy education. The program focuses on not only preparing students to succeed academically, but also to excel in their careers.
“There’s a culture of high expectations
and accountability for students that helps them develop as a professional but there’s also a culture of support for students and making sure they’ve got help when they need it,” O’Connor said.
The balance between support and challenge is something students say makes SDSU feel like home.
“I had a great experience at SDSU. I felt at home from the minute I stepped onto campus,” Gilk said. “The class size is the perfect size to have quality individual time with faculty members and interacting with the members of the class.”
Hansen promotes growth in the program by encouraging prospective students and those interested in the field to explore SDSU’s pharmacy program.
“The demand for our graduates is close to an all-time high right now,” Hansen said. “If you enjoy math and science and are considering a career in healthcare, I encourage you to reach out to learn more about the profession.”
ELIZABETH COUDRON Reporter
SDSU soil judging competes at the national level while teaching students real-world skills for their future career.
The team recently competed in Canyon, Texas in the open nationals competition, where they had the chance to explore soils with different parent materials that are not commonly seen in South Dakota. The team placed sixth out of 15 teams.
“It was my first soil judging trip and it was amazing to see parts of soil I’ve never seen before,” Harlee Nielson, a freshman on the team studying agronomy and biochemistry said. “Seeing different soil parts and parent materials was my favorite part. It’s great to compare what we learn in the field to what we see in the classroom.”
But their trip was not just about competing. They made stops at Alibates
Flint Quarries National Monument and Palo Duro Canyon near Canyon, Texas, where they climbed the lighthouse trail, said senior agricultural communications major Danielle Nowell.
The team attends one competition each semester – the regional competition in the fall and the national competition in the spring. If the team does not qualify for nationals in the fall, there is an open nationals that can be entered instead.
At competitions, teams analyze five-foot-deep soil pits and identify characteristics like color, friability (breakability) and the texture, which is the percent clay, silt and sand in the soil, said Nowell. These details help determine how soil can be used.
Soil judging is about learning how to describe the different soil horizons, describing soil morphology, and deciding land use interpretations, said Kristopher Osterloh, the soil judging coach.
Behind every soil pit is a new learning opportunity, Osterloh said. “There is only so much learning in the classroom.”
A typical practice includes opening a soil core, examining its contents and identifying its characteristics. If a core isn’t involved that week, students will work with soil bags that contain known clay, sand and silt contents.
“Try it, it’s worth it, I’ve enjoyed it,” senior agronomy major Daniel Schmidt said.
Being on this team has helped students in many ways.
“It is good to understand the facets of agriculture,” said Nowell, who plans to manage social media for an ag business after she graduates. “If you’re gonna write about it, you gotta know it.”
Schmidt said the club experience has given him a different look on farming practices and how soil affects farming.
Nielson said knowing how soils are
made, how drainage works, learning about exact names of soil and knowing what certain landscapes look like will help her in her career of bioremediation of soil research or formulation of herbicides.
The soil judging team has seven members, but with four graduating this spring, the team will be looking for new talent and knowledge. Students from any major are encouraged to join, and no prior soil knowledge is required.
Coach Osterloh’s goals for the team in the coming years include successful fundraising, maintaining an enthusiastic group of six to ten members passionate about soils and qualifying for nationals.
SDSU’s soil judging team practices judging a soil pit in Texas.
Crosstown Vinyl, one of many independent record stores sell various secondhand vinyl records with genres including classic rock, jazz and indie. These shops - along with other factors - have contributed to a resurgence of the popularity of buying record albums.
JORDAN ROEMELING
News Editor
From the 40s to the 70s, vinyl records were once the most popular medium for listening to music.
New inventions made music more compact and convenient. In 1979, the Sony Walkman overtook vinyl. In the 1990s, portable CD players and MP3s became popular followed by the iPod in the 2000s.
e launch of Spotify in 2008, preceded by Apple Music in 2011, began the streaming era of the 2010s. However, vinyl began its comeback in 2008.
“At the time, we thought this town needed a dedicated record store that carried more indie, punk and just some under-the-surface type stu ,” said Dan Nissen, owner of Total Drag, a record store in Sioux Falls, along with his wife, Liz Nissen.
In the early 2010s, Nissen noticed a demand for vinyls and opened their doors almost 11 years ago in 2014, just as vinyl’s popularity returned.
“It makes more sense for bands to press their (music) on vinyl because people want it on vinyl,” Nissen said. “A lot of cool issues of records that were impossible to nd until now…I think it was starting to come back in certain bigger cities, even when we opened in 2014, and I think it’s just been a slow increase [since then].
In 2007, independent record store owners and employees created “Record Store Day,” to sell exclusive and limited edition records. It became a national celebration of record store culture.
Record Store Day honors customers, sta , and artists—those who make record stores meaningful to their communities.
Today, about 1,400 independently owned record stores take part. Many sell special vinyl and CD releases. is year, Record Store Day was April 12. Nissen said it was a success for Total Drag.
The graphic above compares vinyl LPs/EPs, cassette tapes and CDs and their sales from the years 1973-2024.
“It was crazy,” Nissen said. “By the time we opened at 8 a.m., the line was around [the] block.”
ere’s also “Black Friday Record Store Day,” held annually. is year it’s on Nov. 29.
“ ey added kind of a second Record Store Day, which happens on Black Friday,” Nissen said. “And it’s maybe not as many releases, but it’s equally as huge.”
CDs are still sold in stores, but vinyl is outselling them.
In 2022, the Recording Industry Association of America reported vinyl outsold CDs in the U.S. for the rst time since 1987. at year, 41 million vinyl albums were sold, compared to 33 million CDs. In 2023, vinyl led again—43 million vs. 37 million.
Retailers like Target and Walmart have taken notice of this. Both now o er vinyl sections.
ey even sell exclusive colored vinyl records of various artists like Taylor Swi and Nirvana.
Swi ’s album, “ e Tortured Poets Department: e Anthology,” was sold as a CD and an exclusive vinyl at Target. It became the top-selling album of 2024, according to Statista.
e record includes four translucent, marbled discs and an exclusive poster. e CD cost $17.99, and the vinyl $59.99–before it sold out.
Record album’s return has also brought higher prices. Billboard reported vinyl prices in the U.S. rose 25.5%
between 2017 and 2023. Labor shortages, material costs, and post-COVID delays were the main reasons.
While many buy from big retailers, a Luminate yearend report of vinyl album sales from 2016-2023 showed that out of 100 million sales, 45% of vinyl albums were from independent record stores.
Steve Zastrow, owner of Crosstown Vinyl in Sioux Falls since 2015, notices the price gap between major chains and secondhand vinyl.
“Right now…people are real nervous about the economy,” Zastrow said. “Used secondhand stuff can actually thrive during those times because, I mean, are you gonna go up to Target to pay 25, 30 bucks for that record? You come in here, and buy it for three or four (dollars) for that.”
Nissen says he carries mainstream vinyl, but focuses on
independent artists.
“I think…what’s most important, and a lot of the best music, in our opinion, is not necessarily on mainstream radio,” Nissen said. “Supporting artists, especially indie artists, is what I focus on.”
He also said hosting all-ages shows matters to both his store and the Sioux Falls community.
“That was really lacking at the time in this town, a place for people under the age of 21 to see live music,” Nissen said. “Which is super important for a scene to thrive and flourish.”
Zastrow also said he has been collecting records for 51 years, starting at ten years old.
“I’ve always been a record collector,” Zastrow said. “I thought I’d be open one year and that would be that, [but] I’m very fortunate that we’re still here.”
Bull Riders Inc., has collected records for years and tries to add more to his music library when he can.
“I travel with the professional bull riders and every city I go to across the United States, I will seek out record stores and look to find those great records that I don’t have in my collection,” Strong said.
He also said “A Fifth of Beethoven” by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band was the first to enter his collection.
“I remember [it was] the first record I ever bought, I was probably nine or ten,” Strong said.
While browsing 45s in the store, Strong found the record and asked Zastrow to play it.
So, is vinyl here to stay?
Both store owners say that customers range from younger first-time buyers to lifelong collectors. Zastrow says classic rock and jazz are his best sellers.
A customer at Crosstown Vinyl, Jerret Strong, who is a senior manager and sponsor fulfillment at the Professional
“I mean people will come and go from it,” Nissen said. “But just like anything, people get into something. I think physical media is really important to a lot of people.”
Claire Booth, a junior journalism major from SDSU, shares the same sentiment.
“I think a lot more people should get into collecting vinyl because it’s just like a fun, smaller community [for talking about] and enjoying music.” Booth said. “Everyone can really learn something from that.”
Three weeks ago The Collegian published an opinion article titled “Slavery: Not Up for Moral Debate,” in which the author made several incorrect assumptions and misrepresented key facts regarding the purpose of the booth and the intentions of those participating. This response is my effort to give readers clarity.
It seems to me that a central reason for that opinion piece’s particular take on the booth was a refusal to accept or understand the actual exercise of the booth. As was explained, the board exercise is always an engagement on the reasons one believes what one believes. If the statement were “Abortion is Not Healthcare: Agree - Disagree”, it is not a statement of the opinion of those at the booth. It could as easily say (and has) “Abortion IS healthcare: Agree - Disagree”. One can frame it in an unclear manner such that the idea is communicated “slavery is up for moral debate”, but that’s not helpful. I would’ve preferred that the opinion piece accurately reported this, but at least the exposure offers an opportunity to clear up what has unfortunately been made muddy. That’s the headline, but a few other specifics seem in order: a few corrections, clarifications, agreements and disagreements.
“I’ll spare you the analysis just on the tone-deaf absurdity of calling the slave trade boring.” — As she quoted me directly above that, what I mean by “boring” is exactly what I said: no one disagrees that the slave trade was morally evil. This makes conversations (potentially) “boring” in that there is no disagreement, which can make discussion less engaging. If someone is going to insist the word “boring” means something equivalent to “the issue wasn’t a big deal,” then I can only encourage such a person to read in context.
“If manufactured controversy was needed to ‘start the conversation,’ it seems a lot like they just wanted to use the shock value to wrangle people into speaking to them.” — As I told the author, this simply is not true. She’s welcome to her opinion about the inside of our hearts and heads, but this was not the goal. We’ve never tried to merely “shock” people into conversation. We have lots of conversations around lots of topics, and it’s never been an intention, nor would it be necessary to manufacture controversy.
“Put bluntly, Equip wasn’t creating discussion.” — This assertion is false, as there actually were lots of discussions, and most of it was productive.
The back side of the board that stated “The Slave-Trade was Morally Evil: Agree - Disagree” on Wednesday, March 31, 2025.
“They promoted rage-bait and the fabrication of controversy. Their goal wasn’t education, but rather provocation.” — This too is false, and though I told this to her in person, she chose to assert that she knows our real motives. Again, you can hold this opinion, but a major goal of every booth engagement is discussion and education, which usually happens — often a great deal.
I’ll just point out one last correction. The opinion piece says,
“Equip provided a space for racist rhetoric to be expressed.” — I think I understand why someone would say this. Someone might imagine that the mere option
to say “disagree” might somehow encourage the person with racism in their heart to publically feel affirmed (or something along these lines). I think it takes a preset determination to see it this way. If someone expresses to me that they don’t think the slave trade was evil, far from a “safe space,” what they’ll hear from me is that the slave trade was wicked, and they need to repent of such sin. Also, there wasn’t any racist rhetoric expressed anyway.
Near the end she says, “True accountability…requires recognizing the realities of systemic racism.” This implies I/we don’t recognize racism. As I shared with her, I do in fact believe racism is a real, present sin. God hates racial vainglory or racial animosity. Is the idea that even talking about why slavery was evil, somehow condones it? That certainly doesn’t follow, and we don’t.
The author suggested “If moral reasoning was truly their purpose, a question like, ‘How do you know something is morally evil?’ would have been far more fitting…”. Was there a reason why only the one side of the booth was chosen for the opinion piece picture? Perhaps. Because, as I in fact explained to her, that WAS almost exactly what was written on the other side of the board: “Where does morality come from?” So, in this case, agreed, moral reasoning was truly our purpose.
A brow-furrowing complaint has come from the fact that our standard operating procedure is to put a couple of tally marks on each side of whatever topic we’re talking about. You can dislike this, think it’s dumb, etc., but the fact is that that is what we always do. It wasn’t “rage baiting,” and on multiple occasions we’ve mentioned it to people when they ask about the “score.” Whatever else it is, it wasn’t designed to “stir up controversy,” though obviously it did. I put this under the agreements section because in hindsight (on this issue, at least), I understand why this might look deceptive or “rage baiting.” I get that. I wouldn’t personally put tally marks on (at least) some topics to avoid this confusion in the future. Live and learn.
One can theorize that a discussion-centered booth somehow stirs up the racists, but there’s no evidence to think so.
Near the end she says “real suffering is reduced to a Speak out, next page
rhetorical exercise…” This is, I have to say, just silly. No one was reducing suffering to anything. Having an epistemological exercise is not equivalent to reducing the topic to it. To repeat what should be obvious, talking about the slave trade is not the same thing as condoning it.
Clarifications:
As stated, the other side of the board said “Where does morality come from?” That was a part of the same project, which was digging deeper into our moral foundations of our convictions. This is not, mind you, the same thing as suggesting that the slave trade is “up for moral debate”, and I’d suggest even a modicum of a sympathetic eye can see this.
Yes, it is in fact correct to say that I do not believe in separate “races.” I believe God has made all mankind as one race, the race of Adam and Eve, and therefore we are of one humanity. I’m unclear what is controversial about this, save that in our modern climate the
emphasis is on how different and separate we should be (based on skin color, ethnic background, etc.). Ivy league schools have even held segregated graduation ceremonies in some cases. I think that’s racist, because I don’t believe we should judge one another on the color of our skin, and the more we view ourselves as a part of one race of humanity, the better.
So, why put the statement up that says “Slavery was a moral evil,” and “Where does morality come from?” What does this have to do with Jesus? As a Christian, I believe that everything has to do with Jesus. He is Lord of all, and discussing slavery without reference to Him only leads to hopelessness and despair.
In our postmodern, relativistic culture, most people don’t actually have a good answer to either explain evil nor a solution to it. The exercise at the booth was to help us consider the ground of our moral reasoning, rather than assume it. With a topic like the slave trade,
it is helpful to consider why it was evil. For me, as a Christian, it is because all humans are made in the image of God. But if you don’t start with that presupposition, then you just may side with the atheistic character Ivan Karamazov in Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov, who says, “Without God, all things are permissible.”
As a friend said, “The whole point of [this board] is to help people understand that they lack a foundation to call something morally wrong, even though it is, and even though they do.” Amen.
Since God is God, and his Word is true, we have a basis to declare the slave trade as evil. And with any evil, Jesus can forgive sinners, whether they be racists, abortionists, self-righteous religious zealots, or anyone. Jesus came not for the healthy, but for the sick. He comes not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Jesus calls everyone of the human race to repentance, to turn and live.
— Luke Perkins, Equip Campus Ministries Director
Collegian Media was named a finalist in multiple categories of regional organizations last month.
“The Collegian Report” and producer Annie Witt were the Best Collegiate Newscast finalists at the Upper Midwest Emmy Student Production Awards. The newscast was listed with the student-produced newscasts at the University of South Dakota, St. Cloud State University, and the University of Iowa.
Witt was also named a finalist in the Best Collegiate Talent category along with Blake Petersen of Iowa State University and Noah Grant, Zach Rudeen and Olivia Stephe of St. Cloud State University.
In the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association Eric Sevareid Awards, the “Jackrabbit Sports Hour” was given an award of merit in the Student Market Radio Sportscast/Program category. The program, hosted by Brent Bowen and Austin Senger, was listed with “The Sports Page” from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and “Scarlet Sluggers” from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
SDSU alum wins state media association award
Former Collegian reporter and COJO
Members of Collegian Media (from left) Ella Stiefvater, Annie Witt, Emily Attrill, Brayden Byers, Ryann Davis and Emily DeCock, pose with the Eric Sevareid Award plaque following the awards banquet on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
alum Wren Murphy has been named an Outstanding Young Journalist by the South Dakota NewsMedia Association.
Murphy works for the Madison Daily Leader following stops at the Mobridge Tribune and the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota.
This is the second year a COJO alum
has earned the recognition in a row. Last year, it was Makenzie Huber from South Dakota Searchlight.
Murphy received the award this past weekend at the association’s 142nd annual convention in Aberdeen. Amelia Schafer of the Rapid City Journal also won the award.
SDSU agricultural communications major Gabby Fink was awarded third place in the South Dakota NewsMedia Association’s Better Newspapers Contest.
Fink, who is an intern with the Volga Tribune, earned the honor in the Division II – Editorial category of Best Feature Story/Profile for her story titled “Not All Heroes Wear Capes.”
The story was named a finalist along with stories in the Potter County News, Hamlin County Republican, Timber Lake Topic, Brandon Valley Journal, West River Eagle, South Dakota News Watch, and Rapid City Journal.
Collegian Editor-in-Chief Brayden Byers and Digital Media Manager Zach Simon were each awarded the Mary Arnold Leadership Award Tuesday Night during the annual COJO Graduation & Awards Celebration. This is the first time ever that this award has been split between two people.
Byers began as a reporter for The Collegian but served as both editor-in-chief and station manager this year while contributing to the Collegian Report. — Collegian Staff
by MARSHALL
Cross Country
Cross Country ended the season strong with a Summit League Championship victory before participating in the NCAA Midwest Regionals and NCAA Championship. The victory marked SDSU’s ninth consecutive victory with SDSU’s Carson Noecker taking second overall in the event. Noecker took second place with a time of 32:51.47 and beat the previous SDSU record of 24:44.8 set by Chase Cayo.
Four Jackrabbits achieved All-Summit League First Team Honors. In regionals, the SDSU men’s team placed sixth while the women’s team finished 12th. Noecker continued a fantastic performance as he broke another Jackrabbit record in the 10k, finishing with a personal record time of 29:25.80, beating out Michael Krsnak’s time of 30:22.70. Noecker became one of three Jackrabbits to compete in the NCAA Championship. Out of 252 racers, he finished 44th overall after achieving a time of 29:29.60.
Equestrian ended their season with a 4-9 record while going 3-3 against Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference foes. The Jackrabbits advanced to the semifinals in the ECAC conference tournament before falling to UT Martin 11-9.
The 2024-25 season marked the first year under head coach Kamerra Brown. Before SDSU, Brown was at William Woods University as the hunter/jumping instructor and assistant professor for equine studies for the last four years. Brown competed as an undergraduate at Delaware State before spending time as a graduate assistant and assistant coach at South Dakota State.
Of South Dakota State’s four wins, three came by way of Minnesota Crookston. The Jacks beat Minnesota Crook-
ston on Nov. 2 (12-4), March 8 (11-6) and March 27 (11-9).
Hannah Steele was a standout rider for the Jackrabbits this season. Steele competed in both jumping seat disciplines (flat and fences) in every meet this season. The senior tallied a flat career-high ride of 91 in SDSU’s final meet of the regular season.
The Jackrabbits couldn’t carry on their two years of FCS dominance as they fell to the 2025 FCS National Champions NDSU in the semifinals. Overall, South Dakota State ended the season 12-3 in the final season under Jimmy Rogers. Two of the three defeats this season came by way of the Bison as the Jacks fell in the regular season and in the playoffs. SDSU also lost to Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State 44-20 in the opening game of the season.
South Dakota State averaged 36.67 points per game this season while scoring 26 touchdowns through the air and 43 on the ground. SDSU’s ground attack excelled this season as four players rushed for over 400 yards in Amar Johnson (1,222 yards), Angel Johnson (646 yards), Kirby Vorhees (581 yards) and Chase Mason (464 yards).
In his final year with SDSU, Mark Gronowski threw for over 2,700 yards on 61.13%, 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Gronowski’s favorite target was Sioux Falls native Griffin Wilde as he racked up 1,147 yards and 12 touchdowns on 70 catches.
SDSU was hit heavily with the transfer portal this season as they lost a plethora of talent on both sides of the ball. Gronowski, defense tackle Bryce Hawthorne, Wilde and offensive lineman
Evan Beerntsen joined teams in the Big 10 conference with Gronowski and Hawthorne heading to Iowa and Wilde and
Beerntsen reuniting with Zach Lujan at Northwestern.
30 players and commits followed Rogers to Washington State including Angel Johnson, Vorhees, Tucker Large, Cale Reeder, Caleb Francl, Matthew Durrance and Max Baloun.
With the departure of Rogers, Dan Jackson was named as the new head coach for the Jackrabbits. Jackson is a former player at SDSU and was most recently the defensive coordinator at Idaho. SDSU is set to open its 2025 season against Sac State on Aug. 30 at the Dana. J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Jackrabbits sent a program record of nine wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships this year after a suc-
cessful Big 12 season. In the Conference tournament, nine Jackrabbits finished on the podium.
Soccer
Soccer finished off with a record of 15-5-2 thanks to strong performances at home as well as against Summit League opponents, going 5-2-2 at home and 5-2-1 against the conference.
They eventually earned the No. 3 seed and would go on to play the No. 6 Coyotes. For the Summit League title, the Jacks took on Oral Roberts. Katelyn Beulke recorded two goals as SDSU beat ORU 3-1 after scoring the first three goals of the game. After winning their ninth conference championship, they turned their attention to their NCAA first-round
opponent Minnesota. The Gophers put up 18 shots with nine being on goal as they bested the Jacks 2-0 to eliminate them from the tournament.
The men’s swimming and diving team finished 4-3 while the women finished 2-6 in the 2024-25 collegiate season.
For the men, SDSU took third out of seven opponents at the Summit League Championships and qualified five swimmers for the national competition.
At the National Invitation Competition, the Jackrabbits took 20th and scored 135 points.
Cody Vertin tallied an eighth-place finish in both the 400 individual medley and an eleventh-place finish in the 200 individual medley.
Zavier Kranz, Austin Smith, Denilson Cyprianos and Sam Johnson competed in the 400 freestyle relay and took 16th out of 24 relay teams with a time of 2:59.79 seconds.
The women’s swimming and diving team qualified one swimmer for the NIC in Jenna Currier. The junior from Iowa took 33rd in the preliminary round of the 50-yard backstroke with a prelim time of 26.16 seconds.
Sylvie Zgonc was the bright spot on an underwhelming 2023 Jackrabbit team. Zgonc won Summit League Freshman of the Year and making the 2023 All-Summit League Volleyball Team First Team.
Zgonc was as good as advertised in her sophomore season though. She led the Jacks to a hot start. Through non-conference play, the Jacks boasted a record of 11-0, more wins than the entire previous season. They kept rolling to a 22-0 start before losing in a five-set thriller to St. Thomas to give the Jacks their first blemish of the year.
That would be the only loss of the regular season and the Jacks came into Summit League Tournament as regular-season champions and the number-one seed with a 26-1 record.
They emerged from the tournament with a few award winners. Zgonc won the Summit League Player of the Year, scoring a total of 551.5 points with 494
kills. Madison Burr won Summit League Freshman of the Year with 305 points and 130 total blocks. Sydni Schetnan was awarded the 2024 All-Summit League Volleyball First Team alongside Zgonc. Head Coach Dan Georgalas was also awarded Summit League Coach of the Year.
In the conference championship, the Jacks would see familiar foes in the USD Coyotes. The Jacks would draw first blood, winning set one before USD came back to take a 2-1 lead. Which once again put the Jacks in a must-win set. The Jackrabbits came through to force a fifth set, where they fell short 15-10 to USD. The Coyotes handed SDSU their second loss of the season.
Even though the Jacks fell short of winning the Summit League Tournament, they were selected to be a part of the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament. SDSU was slated to play the eight-seed Miami Hurricanes for the first round. The Jacks had an uneventful tournament, getting swept 3-0 by the Hurricanes. The sweep was the first and only time the Jacks were swept in the season.
The Jackrabbits men’s basketball team found themselves down two of their highest volume scorers due to the transfer portal by the start of the season. Despite the vacancies, they were able to field a formidable team that made its way to the Summit League quarter final, while ending with a 20-12 record.
Washington State transfer Oscar Cluff quickly made an impression on the team as he became the team’s scoring, blocks and rebounding leader. By the end of the season, he was second in the country in rebounding average, with 12.3 per game. SDSU found themselves as the no. 3 seed in the Summit League tournament and faced off against no. 6 UND in the Quarterfinals.
South Dakota State led at the half 38-33, but a 52-point half gave UND the game. Following the loss, the Jacks will again be losing multiple players to the transfer portal, including freshman starter Owen Larson and Cluff, who transferred to Purdue. Larson will be joining former head coach Eric Henderson with
the Drake Bulldogs.
The 2024-25 women’s basketball team came into the season with a lot of expectations after being crowned back-to-back Summit League Champions. SDSU started the season with strong showings, beating Creighton, losing by four points to a Duke team that would end the season as a top-ten ranked team and defeating a ranked Oregon Ducks team.
SDSU had a mix of new faces and veterans that led the Jackrabbits this year. Brooklyn Meyer averaged a career-high in points with 17, which helped her reach All-Summit League First Team alongside her teammate Paige Meyer, who averaged over 12 points per game. Freshman guard Katie Vasecka made a splash this year for the Jacks, making the All-Freshman Team while averaging 8.4 points per game while playing an average of 21 minutes.
Led by Brooklyn Meyer, the Jackrabbits came into conference play with a record of 14-3. Their losses came at the hands of Duke, Georgia Tech and Texas. SDSU went on to be undefeated in conference play and were the number one seed in the Summit League Tournament.
SDSU then went on to beat Oral Roberts to advance to the national tournament.
With a record of 29-3, SDSU then moved on to the NCAA Tournament, where they would be a number ten seed set to play No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowgirls. In the opening round of the tournament, the underdog Jackrabbits found themselves trailing 31-24 at halftime. But the Jackrabbit trio of Brooklyn Meyer, Madison Mathiowetz and Paige Meyer helped take a two-point lead going into the fourth and the Jacks maintained the lead, winning 74-68. Brooklyn Meyer ended the game with 19 points, followed by Mathiowetz with 17 and Paige Meyer with 16.
The Jacks were then faced with their toughest task of the year, Paige Bueckers and UCONN. After the first quarter, SDSU found themselves down by just five points before the Huskies erupted and pulled away in the final three quarters. Bueckers ended the night with 34 points while the Jacks were outscored
91-57. UConn went on to win the whole tournament, defeating South Carolina in the Championship. Bueckers then went on to be selected first overall in the WNBA draft just 22 days after defeating the Jackrabbits.
The Jackrabbits had an eventful 202425 season on the track, which led the men and women to the Summit League Championship Meet in Brookings. The Men had a few standout performances when it mattered. Cody Larson grabbed gold in the 5000-meter. James Pierce also took first in the 400-meter. Jared Wipf won the 60-meter and tied his own program record time. Multiple other bigtime performances led the Jackrabbits to win their first Indoor championship since 2022.
The women also had big-time moments in the championship meet. Brielle Dixon won gold in the 60-hurdles with a time of 8.61, the 23rd fastest time in the nation and a record for a Summit League championship meet. Multiple other Jackrabbits medaled in events, including Madison Kizer, Grace Waage, Jessica Lutmer and Courtney Stadter. The Jackrabbits went on to finish fourth in the conference with NDSU taking home the victory.
The Jackrabbits sent a program record of nine wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships this year after a successful Big 12 season. In the Conference tournament, nine Jackrabbits finished on the podium.
Cade DeVos was South Dakota State’s highest placing athlete at nationals, taking sixth place as the No. 13 wrestler in the 174-pound weight class and earning All-American honors for the second time. The sixth year student athlete was SDSU’s only placer at the tournament.
SDSU’s Bennett Berge was the highest-ranked Jackrabbit heading into the tournament at fifth. Berge’s weight class featured notable names such as Carter Starocci of Penn State, Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State and Parker Keckheisen of Northern Iowa. Nebraska’s Silas Allred upended Berge in the second round of the tournament by way of pin.
Two former SDSU football players joined the ranks of the NFL this past week, with Dalys Beanum and Amar Johnson signing undrafted free agent contracts following the 2025 NFL Draft.
Johnson, who is just coming off a 1,222-yard rushing season, will team up with former Jackrabbit tight end Tucker Kraft in Green Bay with the Packers. Competition will be stiff with the Packers fielding an experienced and talented running back room. Packers back Josh Jacobs finished sixth in the league in rushing yards with 1,329, and backup Emanuel Wilson finished the year off with 502. The Packers placed third in the NFC North after an 11-6 season and were eliminated in the Wild Card Round following a 22-10 loss against the would-be Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Beanum will join a New Orleans Saints team that saw four defensive back signings this offseason. After a four-year career with the Jacks, Beanum tallied 12 interceptions, 87 solo tackles and 34 pass deflections. He also served as a punt returner this last season, returning 15 for 146 yards while also scoring a touchdown. The Saints were last in the NFC South with a 5-12 record, and had the ninth-worst record in the league.
On top of the two signings, linebacker Adam Bock received a camp invite with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The invite will provide Bock the opportunity to prove himself in the Buccaneers training camp and potentially earn a spot on their roster. Bock collected 48 solo tackles, 43 assisted tackles, two interceptions and three sacks this past season with SDSU. The Buccaneers won the NFC South with a 10-7 record and were eliminated in the postseason by the Washington Commanders.
-Jacob Brende, Assistant Sports Editor
Dallas Goedert: Philidelphia Eagles TE
Tucker Kraft: Green Bay Packers TE
Mason McCormick: Pittsburgh Steelers OL
Christian Rozeboom: Carolina Panthers LB
Four Jackrabbits from the women’s basketball will compete in the 2025 USA Basketball 3X Nationals from May 2-4.
Brooklyn Meyer, Madison Mathiowetz, Mahli Abdouch and Claire Sheppard will represent SDSU’s squad. The event will have a total of 16 teams.
Games will be played on a half court with a shot clock of 12 seconds and the first team to 21 points or lead after ten minutes will be the winner.
The seeding for the tournament will be based on the preliminary round which will take place on Friday, May 2.
Other colleges that will be participating are Fairfield, Florida, James Madison, Oklahoma State, University of Richmond, South Carolina, Stephen F. Austin, TCU and Vanderbilt.
This tournament will help select future USA Team Basketball 3x3 teams for the 2025 FIBA 3x3 in June as well as and roster spots for USA Basketball 3x3 World Tour, 3x3 Women’s Series, 3x3 U23 Nations League and 3x3 U23 World Cup teams.
-Collegian
Staff
The 2025 Jackrabbit Athletic Scholarship Auction set a record for the fourth consecutive year, raising more than $2.55 million this past weekend.
The Jackrabbit Athletic Scholarship auction raised $2.55 million last weekend, which set a new record.
Over 500 items were bid on either online or in person in a silent auction. Over a thousand people showed up at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in person for the silent auction event.
“To have the Jackrabbit Athletic Scholarship Auction continue to set records solidifies what may be our most successful athletics year ever,” SDSU Director of Athletics Justin Sell said.
The total came out to $2,552,557, which was helped out by a two-for-one matching gift from an anonymous donor. The event has now exceeded $1 million for nine straight years.
-Collegian
Staff
Editor
Both SDSU teams finished in the top four of the Summit League Golf Championships.
The SDSU women’s golf time finished second in the Summit League Championship last week while the men took fourth on Tuesday.
The eight total Summit League teams faced off at the Longbow Golf Course in Mesa, Arizona from April 2022. Longbow Golf Course is a par 71 and is 6,175 yards in length.
Denver took home the title and had three golfers place inside the top in Clara Gestsdottir (first), Emma Bryant (tied for third) and Logan Hale (tied for fifth). Shakira Kuys was the highest finisher for SDSU and was named to the Summit League All-Tournament team. Kuys, a native of Port Augusta, south Australia shot four over in three rounds of play and tied for fifth in the conference tournament.
Three more Jackrabbits finished in the top 20 with Piper Stubbs, Reese Jansa and McKenzie Mages. Stubbs tied Haven Ward of Denver, Anna Swan and Avery Blake (both from Oral Roberts) for eighth place and shot five over while Jansa took 15th shooting nine over.
After going seven over in the first round of action, Jansa would finish the next two rounds over two (two over for round two and even for round three). Mages took 19th and shot 11 over par through three rounds.
Ireland native Molly O’Hara rounded out placing for the Jacks as she placed 30th with North Dakota’s Gigi Lund shooting 18 over.
Men
After leading the conference going into round three, the Jacks fell to the fourth spot by the end final round.
Tyler Seeling tied Kevin An of Oral Roberts and Willis Panz of Denver all shot seven under and tied for first. Seeling was the only first-place finisher to shoot above par in the final round. Seeling finished the tournament seven under.
Oral Roberts ended the tournament in first place and will advance on.
Drew Teeter finished the second-highest for the Jackrabbits and tied four other golfers for sixth place. Teeter went even in the final round for SDSU which was the team’s best shooting for the round and shot three under
par overall.
Bryson Mercier shot one over throughout the tournament, going two under in round two. Mercier finished in 14th, tied with South Dakota’s Joe Rohlwing.
Tied in 29th was Ty Kretz who went six over throughout the course of three rounds. Kretz went two over in
Clara Gestsdottir, Denver
Isabelle Lynch, St. Thomas
Emma Bryant, Denver
all rounds of the tournament.
Jake Olson finished up the placing for SDSU, taking 42, tied with St. Thomas golfer Tyler McNeive. Though shooting six over through two rounds, Olson struggled in the final round, finishing at seven over for the day.
Madison Hicks, North Dakota State
Logan Hale, Denver
Shakira Kuys, South Dakota State
Katie Ruge, Omaha
Kevin An, Oral Roberts
Jaeseung Na, Northern Colorado
Willis Panzarello, University of Denver
Ryllin Petry North, Dakota State
Tyler Seelin South, Dakota State
JON AKRE
Sports Reporter
The Jackrabbit baseball team remains a late riser in the Summit League after winning three of four games against North Dakota State this past weekend.
The Jacks moved into the fifth seed with the series win and now sit just one game shy of Omaha for a spot in the Summit League tournament.
“We played pretty well in every aspect,” said SDSU head coach Rob Bishop. “We’ve been trending in the right direction, but we made it show up on the scoreboard this week. It was good to see our guys get some results from what we think is a really good process.”
SDSU faces the now-bottom seed in the conference, Northern Colorado, in a three-game series this weekend. The first game will be Friday at 3 p.m., followed by 1 p.m. games on Saturday and Sunday.
Friday (SDSU 6, NDSU 3)
The Jacks’ offense collected 13 hits in the series opener to take Friday’s contest. Jess Bellows and Bryce Ronken each drove in two runs on a double, while Nolan Grawe and Luke Luskey each had three hits and an RBI in the win.
Dylan Driessen earned the win in 2.1 innings of relief, allowing just one run on one hit and three walks, striking out four.
Saturday (NDSU 8, SDSU 4)
A consistent NDSU offense tacked on runs in seven of nine innings to take game one of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Carter Sintek and Owen Siegert each had two hits and one home run, driving in three combined runs, while Nolan Grawe batted 2-for-5 with an RBI in the loss. Caleb Duerr took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks in six innings pitched, striking out seven.
Saturday (SDSU 8, NDSU 6)
The Jacks came back in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, scoring six runs over the final three innings to stun the Bison.
Bryce Ronken led the Jacks’ offense, batting 4-for5 with a double and three RBIs. Nolan Grawe added two hits, a double, a walk, and two RBIs, while Dagen Schramm tallied a 2-RBI double in the win.
Jake Goble earned the win on the mound in 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, fanning eight batters.
Sunday (SDSU 9, NDSU 6)
The Jacks closed out the series with a couple of dominant pitching performances from Ty Madison and Dylan Driessen.
Madison allowed just one hit and one walk in three innings of relief, striking out three batters to take the win, while Driessen closed the final 1.1 innings, allowing just one walk, striking out three more batters.
The offense was powered by Adam Benes’ three-run homer, while six other batters each drove in a run in the win.
Northern Colorado
SDSU gets its chance at redemption this coming weekend in its rematch with the Bears of Northern Colorado.
The Jacks dropped two of three in the last series with UNC, but it came down to a seven-run ninth inning for the Bears to come back and steal the series.
“It’s easy to make our head-to-head with them more important, but the head-to-head with everybody is important,” said Bishop. “The Summit League has continued to have a lot of parity, and I just don’t feel like there’s
that much difference between the top and the bottom of the league.”
The Bears’ strongest aspect this season has been their hitting, bolstering a .281 team batting average. In conference play, UNC holds two of the top-5 leaders in batting average with Jake Bullard (.433) and Kai Wagner (.371) sitting at second and fifth, respectively.
On the flip side, the pitching has been subpar for UNC. Murphy Gienger leads all Bears with 62 innings pitched with a 5.37 ERA, while Jake Storey has an 8.52 ERA in 49.2 innings pitched.
The 3-game series between the Jacks and Bears can be watched through the Summit League Network.
Game 1: Friday May 2 @ 3 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday May 3 @ 1 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday May 4 @ 1 p.m.
UNC Record: 7-14 (15-26)
UNC Record vs SDSU: 2-1
JORDAN RADDATZ Sports Reporter
South Dakota State softball took a 2-1 series loss in their penultimate series last Friday and Saturday as they look toward their final series before the Summit League Softball Championship.
Game one (Omaha 2, SDSU 0)
The series started scoreless, forcing extra innings. It took until the 10th inning when the Mavericks got a two RBI single by Sydney Thomason, allowing Rylee White and Ava Rongisch to score. The Jacks were unable to answer.
Sylvia Shromoff for the Jacks and Maddie Groff for the Mavericks pitched all ten innings. Groff struck out 11 Jacks batters and gave up only four hits.
Game two (SDSU 7, Omaha 6)
The scoreless drought lasted two and a half innings before Abby Gentry hit a three-run home run. The lead went to Omaha the next inning with two homers and a two RBI single by Rylinn Groff but only briefly as Brooke Dumont hit an RBI single to tie and Mia Jarecki walked to home on a bases-loaded walk for the lead. Rylinn Groff hit a two RBI double in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to one but could not get the Mavericks closer. Tayler Becker started on the mound, pitching a complete game and striking out six Mavericks.
Game three (Omaha 9, SDSU 8)
Omaha held a considerable lead, scoring nine runs by the fifth inning, which was just enough to hold off a Jackrabbit comeback. Brooke Dumont put the Jacks on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run home run before a wild pitch score, two RBI double, RBI single and another RBI brought them within one. Caitlyn Wells’ fly-out ball
was caught in center field in the seventh inning, ending the hopes of a comeback.
Akayla Barnard started on the mound, pitching for the first two and a third innings before Madi Mangulis was sent to the mound for relief. Hailey Herman finished the game in the last one and two-thirds innings.
“[There were a] lot of highs and a lot of lows during that series,” head coach Kristina McSweeney said. “I think what sticks out to me the most is the fight of this Jackrabbit team. These young kids just keep trying to find ways to win.”
SDSU falls to 10-5 in the Summit League, placing third in the conference. Omaha improves to 14-4 in conference play.
SDSU’s final series of the regular season takes them to Grand Forks for a three-game series with North Dakota. UND ranks fourth in the Summit League with a 7-8 conference record and is coming off a three-game non-conference losing streak against Pittsburgh and Minnesota last Saturday.
Callie Honig leads the Fighting Hawks in batting average with .331 while scoring 42 hits and 23 runs off 127 at-bats. Honig also leads the team in runs batted in, but trails behind Camryn Lasota in home runs. Lasota, who has hit seven homers this season, has batted .283 on the season. UND ranks fifth in team batting average with .260 and fourth in pitching with an earned run average of 4.14.
“I look at [North Dakota] and they’re very similar to us,” McSweeney said. “They’ve played solid softball all year, so yeah, they’re a quality club.”
The series starts with a doubleheader on Friday with first pitches at 2 and 4 p.m. The series will conclude with a game on Saturday at 1 p.m. The series will be available to watch on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.
