A pair of state record-breaking quarter milers highlight the Flandreau Athletic Hall of Fames Class of 2024 to be inducted on Sunday, July 7.
Fourteen inductees in all will enter the local sports hall of fame this summer, including six athletes, three amateur athletes who used their sport to give back and provide opportunities for others, three teams of excellence, a state and nationally decorated coach, and a longtime fixture in our community who built a youth program that put athletes on a path to success in high school and later in life.
The 2nd Annual FAHOF Banquet and Induction Ceremony will be held on Sunday, July 7th at the Royal River Casino. The ticket price is $30 and will go on sale to the public sometime in June with an announcement coming later.
The FAHOF will be sponsoring two golf tournaments this summer.
A 4-person scramble takes place at Edgebrook in Brookings on June 22 and another 4-person scramble will be held at Rivers Bend Golf Course east of Flandreau on July 5th, with a related two-person Alumni team event on July 6th. Watch for the flyers for these events.
The FAHOF committee is also sponsoring a street dance on Saturday, July 6 from 8:00-midnight on main street Flandreau, featuring O.I.T. (formerly Plan B), who play a variety of hits from B.T.O. to Big & Rich to the Gear Daddies.
2024 Inductees:
Billy Cone, FHS – 1954
Broke Don Maskers 1949 mark of 50.3 seconds, in winning the 440-yard dash in 49.8 seconds, at the state meet in Huron in 1954. He tied the state mark in the 220-yard dash at the same meet in 22.6 seconds. FHS football 4-year letterwinner, starter for three seasons, leading scorer; basketball lettered three years, leading rebounder, second in scoring. He is still a FHS school record holder in the 400 meter dash
Rollyn Samp wrote in his book, If You Liked the 50s, Youll Love These He was an inspiration to hundreds of young athletes who wanted to be just like him. I doubt whether he ever realized the impact he had on so many other young people in the community who tried harder to do their best, because they knew setting a state record was actually something that could be accomplished.
Mike Talks Different, FIS 1963
Broke Cones mark in the prelims of the 440 at the 1963 state meet in Mitchell, with a 49.6 second clocking. He went on to win the final in 50.8 seconds in less-than-ideal conditions.
But it was at the 1962 state meet that Talks Different almost single-handedly ended the mighty SF Washington Warriors streak of 9 straight state titles, by winning the 100 (10.6), 440 (49.9), and tying Rapid City for first in the medley relay (220 leg). The Indians were behind Canton by 2 points going into the last event, the mile relay. Trailing badly in the race, Mike took the baton in the anchor position and clocked a 49.1 quarter mile split to vault the Indians to second place. When Huron was disqualified for interference, the Indians quartet was awarded first, and the FIS track and field program won their first and only state title under the guidance of Coach Andy Zephier. (24 points Canton 22 points.)
Daryl Christensen, FHS 1950
Chris wasnt much into sports while a Flandreau Flier, as his dad, Art, had plenty of work for him on the family farm. Chris enlisted in the Navy, a teleman 3rd class, after high school and found himself a member of the U.S. Navy bowling team. He wrote home in the winter of 1955, telling his parents of the 6 trophies he won which earned him a spot on the Far East All-Star Team.
Daryl played some church league softball before enlisting and learned how to throw a curve ball in the service. His introduction to these non-traditional sports would occupy his recreational time as a highly competitive amateur athlete for 4 decades in softball and 5 decades in bowling. He purchased Playdium Lanes in his hometown in 1960 and passed his love of bowling on to many generations of youth bowlers, many of whom went on to be successful themselves in local, state and national competitions.
Unfortunately, he lost almost all his softball memorabilia from his younger days, but a conservative estimate has him a part of the winning battery in over 660 fastpitch games.
1950s One Class – FIS State Cross Country Champs:
While the Fliers were winning a state record setting 34 games in a row from 1946 to1951in 11-man football, the Indians created their own dynasty in cross country with state titles in South Dakotas one-class system in1951, 52, 53, 55, 56, and 1957. They also copped a runner-up finish in 1954. Coaches Syd Beane (FSST) and Don Bartlett were responsible for the Indians dominance in the 1950s. Mark Running Wolf finished second at the 1952 state meet.
In 1953, Dwight Sun Rhodes and Running Wolf copped the top two places. In 1955 Harvey Pequette and Ivan Red Horn did the same while it was Vernon Birdsbill and William Lone Bear finishing 1-2 in 1957.
Cornelius Neil Teer, Jr., FHS 1966
will be the FAHOFs first inductee in the newly created Legends category. Neil lettered in football, basketball, and track for the Fliers.
It was on the track that the Fliers sprint and hurdles ace would make a name for himself. He was often the meets outstanding performer. He would consistently win his four specialties, like he did in the Class A Region 5 meet in 1965: 100-10.3, 220-23.3, HH-15.6, LH-20.5. Neil placed 5th in the 220 and HH at the State A in 1965 and 5th in the HH, 4th in the LH, 3rd in the 100 and 2nd in the 220 at the 66 state meet. These performances didnt meet Teers expectations but did catch the eye of the Dakota Wesleyan track program where he would continue his career in the sport until his graduation.
Vern Halter, FHS 1967
Was a Flier wrestler for 3 years. Vern earned his undergraduate degrees in economics and political science from USD in 1971. He became a 2nd lieutenant in the US army while serving in Germany from 1971-73. He went back to USD for law school and became a lawyer in 1977.
From Fletcher 28, a one room schoolhouse in northeast Moody County, to Kodiak, Alaska, as a superior court judge, one wonders what sparked Verns interest in becoming a musher, likely, the only one who will ever enter his hometowns sports hall of fame. Alaska is the largest of the 50 states, comprising more total area than the next three largest states combined.
The Iditarod is an annual sled-dog race held in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome and is comprised of two routes, the northern route covering 975 miles is run on even years while the southern route covering 998 miles runs on odd years. A musher and his team of 12-16 dogs covers the distance in 8-15 days or more. The Father of the Iditarod, Joe Redington, Sr., came up with the idea for the race in 1973. Over the span of 22 years (1983-2005), Vern and his teams finished the Iditarod 19 times, with 9 – top ten finishes and 3 top fives. His fastest time was in the 2002 race in 9d 7h 47m 48s, good for 5th. Additionally, Vern ran the grueling Yukon Quest, (the most difficult sled-dog race in the world), a 1000-mile race from Fairbanks to Whitehorn, Yukon, placing 4 times: 11th in 1988, 6th in 1991, 2nd in 1989 and 1st in 1990.
Craig Severtson, FHS 1970
Participated in football, basketball and weightlifting in high school. His sports passion, however, became a calling. Craig played little league, teeners, American Legion and amateur baseball. He has coached at each level as well. He started his amateur baseball playing days in 1971 with the Flandreau Cardinals and Renner Monarchs. As a pick-up player, a pitcher and 1st baseman, he has been on state champions with Canova and Renner.
From 1988 to 2014, he represented South Dakota on the SD Rushmores over 30-40-and 50 teams, playing in the Mens Sr. World Series and Roy Hobbs Sr. World Series, winning 2 national championships. Helping Kids Round First it all started on a baseball diamond in Flandreau. On the HKRF website, the Board of Directors link states that Craig Severtson is the CEO & Founder. He is a farmer and rancher from Flandreau, SD. He was a baseball player for many years. Craig helped develop Helping Kids Round First as a way to continue professional baseball player Roberto Clementes legacy of giving underprivileged youth opportunities through baseball.
HKRF is a non-profit based in Flandreau committed to improving the lives of people in Nicaragua through sustainable projects in Sports, Farming, Education and Health Care. Every year they bring baseball (now softball as well) equipment and provide instruction to youth in rural Nicaraguan communities. HKRF ships 20,000 pounds of baseball and softball equipment and distributes it all over Nicaragua every 18 months. As a result of their Working for a Dream baseball academy, they have signed ten 16-year-old prospects to MLB contracts. At the banquet, youll hear the rest of the story.
FHS Girls Track and Field – 1976 State A Champs
The 1972 Flyer Yearbook, on page 43, states, For the first time in FHS history, girls participated in track. In their first season, the team placed second at Madison and the Interstate Conference meets. They placed 5th in the Regional Meet and qualified one girl for state. (Joan Schmidt) Pat Nelson and Babs Keck were the only seniors on the squad. 1973 saw program improvements with 5 second place team finishes, a 2nd at Regions and 7th place at state. The 1974 team continued its ascent with a second at Regions and 7 girls qualifying for state. Of the 5 meets the team attended in 1975, they brought home two firsts, two second places and a fifth place. Ten girls went to state.
Well, you can see where this is going. In five short years, the Flier Girls were state champs. In 1976, they finished second in four meets, first at Elk Point and the Big 8 Conference, first at Regions, and were co-champs with Burke at the state meet in Spearfish.
Eighteen girls participated at the 1976 State A meet, with a 1st in the 440 relay (Nancy Ramsdell, Jody Entringer, Kathy Johanson, Marcie Lokken); 2nd in the Medley relay (Lokken, Lori Duncan, Johanson, Ramsdell); 3rd in the 880 relay (Lokken, Duncan, Johanson, Ramsdell); 4th in the Mile relay (Teresa Mach, Ramsdell, Diane Ellefson, Johanson); Teresa Erickson was 2nd in the Long Jump and 3rd in the 220; Mary Lynn Jepsen was 4th in the High Jump; and Lokken was 5th in the 100.
But it was the supporting cast that helped the Lady Fliers win the Region meet, which made a title run possible – throwers Kathi Oldenkamp, Monica Neal and Deb Sanderson; Enid Ekern in the 880 and Nelda Ekern in the mile; and the school record setting 2 mile relay with Teresa Duncan, Lisa Larson, Lois McMahon, and Enid Ekern.
Several of these ladies are still school record holders at FHS.
FHS Boys Golf – 1983 State B Champs
Gordy Jones, Brian Emter and Randy Tollefson were on the Flier varsity golf squad in 1980, with Emter and John Burshiem leading the way by qualifying for state. 1981 saw the squad post a 3-0 dual record. They won their Conference by 17 strokes, they were 2nd at the Region meet and the team qualified for state (Carl Boyd-166, Burshiem-167, Tollefson-176, and Jones-178, Emter), for the first time since 1974, where they finished 4th. Tollefson led the charge with an 11th place. In 1982, Jim Cochran joined the varsity and after posting a 3-1 dual record, the Fliers got 2nd at the Region meet and 5th at state. It all came together in 1983 when the Flier linksters would tie Regions with Beresford with a team total 231 and take home the team trophy based on Cochrans tie-breaking score of 80. They went on to beat Webster by 4 at state, with Tollefson leading the way with a 3rd place finish.
Theresa (Moss)
Oldman FIS 1984
Another athlete being inducted into the Legends category is arguably the greatest female athlete the Flandreau Indian School has ever seen. She epitomized the phrase all-around athlete. Theresa participated and lettered in cross-country, basketball (both were fall sports), volleyball and track and field.
The niece of former FIS track and cross-country standout, Paul Moss, both from Wyoming, she still holds the school records in the 400-63.4, 800-2:17.9, 1600-5:12.05, 3200-11:41.8 and was part of record-setting 1600m and 3200m relays. She was 4th in the Howard Wood Relays Special Event 800m in a time of 2:22.24 in 1984, she was 5th in State AA cross-country meet in 1983 in a time of 11:20, she was 5th in the Howard Wood open 1600 in 1984 in 5:15.72, she placed 2nd at the 1984 State AA cross-country meet in 10:59, and was 2nd in the 800 (2:17.0) and 1600 (5:12.05) at the 1984 AA State Track Meet.
She was a busy girl, leading the Lady Indians with 18 points in a 75-37 win over Dells St. Marys on 10/14/83 and 12 points in a 51-47 win over their cross-town rival Fliers on 10/19/83, then placed 5th at the state cross country meet on 10/30/83. She had even better performances in the fall of 84.
Charissa (Sheppard) Covey – FHS-1999
The first Lady Flier basketball player to crack the 1000-point mark, Charissa was a three-sport star for FHS.
She lettered in basketball 5 years, volleyball 4 years, and track 5 years. She led the Fliers to a 6th place finish at the State A basketball tournament in 1997 as they dropped their tournament opener to eventual champion Wagner 49-51. She earned 2nd Team All-State honors her senior year. Charissa was also All-CVC in basketball for 4 years, All-CVC in volleyball for 3 years, and ran in the state track meet.
She would continue her hoops career at Augustana College from 1999-2003, where she was a three-year starter, All- Academic NCC, All-NCC 1st team in 2003; finishing as the Vikings 7th leading rebounder (720), 4th in blocked shots (130), while scoring 845 career points. She would be one of nine student-athletes chosen as the North Central Conferences female Honor Athletes for the 2002-03 academic year.
Sioux Falls holds an annual Honor Athlete luncheon, where the FCA and Chamber of Commerce recognizes one Sioux Falls high school male and female athlete as well as one female and male athlete from Augie and USF. Charissa was Augies female athlete choice at the 33rd annual luncheon.
Charles Knutson FHS 2001
As an 8th grader, Charles won the JV portion of the Beresford Invitational cross-country meet, covering the 3000m course in 11:14. He was off and running! Two years later, the Fliers returned to the Beresford Meet and Chuck led his team to the title, winning the varsity race in a time of 17:45 over 5000m. This would become a familiar refrain for the two sport Flier star.
His high school coach, Jim Keyes recalls, In his early years as a runner, he didnt have a lot of success, but as Charles started to understand that hard work and a dedication to what you are trying to achieve makes a huge difference, he began to see results. His summer training would start to pay off as a sophomore and by his junior year, he would become a force to be reconned with in Class A cross country and on the track. He captured an 18th place finish at the 2000 state cross country meet and he would win the 800m in 2:03.41 and finish 7th in the 1600m at the 2000 State A Track meet. He repeated as state 800m champ in a school record (still stands) 1:57.2 and was edged out of first in the 1600m by .05 seconds in the 1600m in a number two all-time Flier record 4:29.7.
Charles continued his love of running as a two-time national meet qualifier at the University of Sioux Falls. Chuck would enter active duty with the Army after college and bravely served his country for 18 years. MSG Knutson was a veteran of the Global War on Terror, Operations Iraqi Freedom, and Inherent Freedom, New Dawn, Enduring Freedom and Inherent Resolve. He was the recipient of numerous awards and citations for his bravery, conduct and professionalism. He was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
Georgia Adolph FHS Coach
Georgia began her coaching career as a Flandreau Flier in 1980 and is still going strong. She was the Head Volleyball coach for many years and her squad qualified for the state tournament in 1987. She has also coached athletes in many track and field events, but focused on the jumpers, with two triple jump state champs (Tami Johnston and Mona Zephier).
She was inducted into the National Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2019, the SD Cross-Country and Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2023 and received the prestigious Ralph Ginn Award from SDSU in 2023 as well. She has been the defacto athletic trainer for all things Fliers athletics for over 40 years.
Georgia also received the SDHSAA Girls and Women in Sports Leadership Award in 2011, she was named the SDHSCA assistant coach of the year in 2004, received the Max Hawk Award in 2001 and her SDHSAA 25 Year Coaching Certificate in 2002. Finally, Georgia will receive the SDHSCA Distinguished Service Award this summer.
John Shaeffer Contributor
For the better part of the last 6 decades, John has answered the call when parents, organizations, and kids asked for help.
He started a 5th and 6th grade boys basketball program in 1966 and switched to girls hoops in 1983 when daughter, Colleen, was a 5th grader. He tried to retire in 1996, but 4th graders asked for help in 2014 and 2018 and, of course, he couldnt say no.
After 33 years he coached 310 youth basketball games. He drilled his charges in the fundamentals of the game and would creatively use training aids like an extended dust broom during layups and shooting drills to get his players to develop arch in their shot. John was the scorekeeper at FHS basketball games for 15 years.
He helped organize Flandreau Little League baseball in 1966. He refereed youth basketball and football. He provided free legal counsel for the Golf Course for over 40 years and did FHS Booster Club taxes for 45 years, gratis.
The Flandreau Athletic Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit LLC whose objective is to recognize the athletic achievements of alumni of the Flandreau Public High School, the Flandreau Indian School, coaches, administrators, and contributing community members, who have demonstrated outstanding performance, leadership and community involvement in sports and organized recreational programs and activities, including post high school amateur and professional athletes, coaches and contributors.
Last year, they packed 315 guests into the Royal Room to honor the Class of 2023 and the committee looks for an equally successful event this summer to help honor the Class of 2024.
They exist due to the generosity of local businesses and individuals and are sponsoring the golf tournaments and street dance as fund-raisers. Donations are accepted no matter how small, and would accept items for the silent auction held at the banquet and items for pin prizes.
Use VENMO, username = @FAHOF2023. Like them on Face Book and look for more information prior to this years banquet.
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