The White River Lady Tigers play Kadoka in the semi-final round of District 13B in Kadoka.
The match up was the third time the two teams had met this year. The Lady Tigers won the first match up in the first game of the season and then lost to the Lady Kougars in the Souther Plains Tournament.
The Lady Tigers came out playing hard with a first quarter score of 13-16 in favor of Kadoka. The first half ended with a score of 33-36 still in favor of Kadoka.
The second half saw the Lady Tigers fighting to get back in the game with a score at the end of the third, 44-49 still in favor of Kadoka.
The final quarter saw the Lady Tigers getting into foul trouble and losing three key players. The Lady Tigers came within six of the Kougars and never quit and in the end came up short. The final score was 60-71. Kadoka went on to lose to Lyman in the championship of District 13B by a score of 66-46.
Practices for teams competing through the Fall are set to begin soon.
Volleyball will begin with a parents/rules meeting on Tuesday, August 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the Janklow Room. Practice will be held on Thursday, August 14 and Friday, August 15 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Football practice for the high schoolers starts on Thursday, August 14. That day's session will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Practice on Friday begins at 8 a.m. and will end around noon.
Cross country practice for grades 6 though 12 will begin on Monday, August 18.
Middle School practice for football and volleyball will begin on the first day of school, Tuesday, August 19.
White River High School and Middle School students planning to participate in extra-curricular activities must have a physical and parent/guardian consent form on file. Practice and participation in any physical extra-curricular activity is prohibited without the necessary forms.
The first cross country meet will be on Friday, August 29 at Winner beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The first football game will be hosted by White River on Friday, August 29 against Wall starting at 8 p.m.
The Lady Tiger Volleyball team will travel to Presho and take on the Lyman Raiders for their first match of the year on September 2 at 6:30 p.m.
The State High School Rodeo Finals were held in Belle Fourche over the weekend with only a handful of locals who had qualified.
Olathe Schmidt of White River participated in both the cattle cutting and bull riding at State. He had 23 points going into State in the cutting and after earning points in both the first and second rounds at State, he ended up 13th overall with 30.5 points to end the season. He scored a 129 in the first go for 12th place and then had a good run of 138 in the second go and tied for 8th. He scored a 125 in the short go, placing 11th. In the bull riding, Olathe covered one bull, scoring a 62 in the second round for 3rd place. He went into the Finals with 14 points and finished with 33 for 9th position overall at season’s end.
Bill Chauncey of Mission competed in the saddle bronc riding and the team roping. With 19 points going into the Finals, Bill covered just one bronc at State. He scored a 49 in the short go and placed 4th. He finished 7th overall with 32 points. In the team roping, Bill and partner Lane Fawcett had 9 points going in but came up empty in the Finals with no qualified runs.
Shayna Gustafson of Wood was a State qualifier in the Queen Contest though the winner in Belle Fourche was Shaelynne Heitsch of Hermosa.
Little League made its official return to White River with games at the ball diamond on Thursday evening, June 19. White River hosted Wall for a pair of games, minors and majors, and it was good entertainment for the many who stopped by to see the games.
The minors got started at 4 p.m. and Wall had the advantage in that one. They won 9-0.
In the game that followed, it was White River with the advantage. Colbe Scott got the home team off to a good start when he belted an RBI double in the first inning that scored three. White River rolled from there taking a 10-0 win. Jaden Eagle Bear was the starting pitcher for the majors and led the way in the shutout victory.
After a couple scrimmage games earlier in the year, the teams got their first league games in June 12 when they travelled to Philip. Philip recorded two wins, taking the first game 7-0 and the second in a close one, 10-7.
White River played in Wall Tuesday night and will travel to Kadoka for games Thursday night beginning at 6 o’clock central. On Saturday the minors have their league tournament in Wall.
Also in the mix locally are the t-ballers. They have a game set for Wednesday evening, June 25, in White River beginning at 7 against Mission.
The Western Great Plains All-Conference team has been selected for the 2013-2014 season. White River High School senior Tavis Burbank headlined the group as Conference MVP. He averaged 13 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game through Region play and was named to the All-Tournament Team at State. Burbank was also named to the Conference 1st team list.
Three other Tigers were also named to the All-Conference list. Tré Iyotte (13.3 pts, 2.8 rebs, 4.6 assists, and 3.2 steals) was a member of the 1st Team All-Conference. Justin Prue (11.6 pts, 1.9 rebs, 2.4 assts, 2.8 stls) was among those on the 2nd Team All-Conference. Third Team All-Conference honors went to Link Tucker (8.6 pts, 5.9 rebs, 3 assts, 2.2 stls).
1st Team
Tavis Burbank - WR
Tre Iyotte - WR
Clay Farland - NU
Jackson Volmer - JC
Curtis Stahlecker - RCC
2nd Team
Nelson Holman - Philip
Tanner Brindley - NU
Justin Prue - WR
Trevor Anderson - Wall
Paul Guptil - Philip
3rd Team
Wyatt Weber - JC
Brandon Koch - NU
Link Tucker - WR
Jadd Evans - RCC
Clancy Lytle - Wall
New Underwood went undefeated through conference play, winning the regular season Conference Championship. White River was second with a record of 7-1.
The annual Western Great Plains Senior All-Star games were held at Barnhart Gymnasium Tuesday, April 8 in White River. Seventeen schools were represented with over forty athletes showcasing their talents. In addition to a pair of exciting basketball games, the extras included a dunk contest, won by Eriq Swiftwater of Oelrichs and both girls and boys three point shooting contests. Chesney Garnos, Lyman, won the girls’ shootout, while Skyler Bertram of Chamberlain won the boys’s long range battle.
The girls opened the evening with a competitive match-up that went down to the wire. Cassidy Hanson (Winner), 19 points, led the Pink team to a 78-73 win over Yellow. Yellow was led by Tania Risse, Bennett County, with 17 points. Dusti Good Shield (8 points), Georgie Larvie, and Casey Fairbanks (6 points) represented the WRHS Lady Tigers.
Point totals:
“PINK”
Chey Brushbreaker (St. Francis) 9 pts
Casey Fairbanks (White River ) 6 pts
Anna Flitner (Lyman) 5 pts
Chesney Garnos (Lyman) 6 pts
Cassidy Hanson (Winner) 19 pts
Sara Husher (Winner) 12 pts
Taylor Merchen (Kadoka Area) 12 pts
Santana White Dress (Pine Ridge ) 9 pts
“YELLOW”
Dusti Good Shield (White River) 8 pts
Caitlin Jensen (Todd County) 4 pts
Taryn Lessert (Bennett County) 10 pts
Leah Marsh (Hanson) 10 pts
Tania Risse (Bennett County) 17 pts
Kelsey Sharkey (Todd County) 8 pts
Christi Sioux Bob (Red Cloud) 3 pts
Bailey Tibbs (Stanley County) 4 pts
Kennedy Wagner (Chamberlain) 9 pts
In the boys contest, it was another close one, though Green pulled away in the end, topping Blue, 122-112. Jacob Brown (Pine Ridge) paced the Green team with 22 points, while the winners were led by Chamberlain’s Reuben Estes who tallied a game high 28 points. White River’s Christian Bartlett had 15 points in the contest. Bill Chauncey and Bubba Young both scored 8 points. Tré Iyotte had 6 points, and Mat Beardt scored 4 points.
Point totals:
“GREEN”
Christian Bartlett (White River) 15 pts
Skyler Bertram (Chamberlain) 17 pts
Charles Broken Leg (St. Francis) 6 pts
Jacob Brown (Pine Ridge) 22 pts
Bill Chauncey (White River) 8 pts
Jacob Dreamer (Pine Ridge) 11 pts
Brendan Fast Horse (Oelrichs) 6 pts
Tre Iyotte (White River) 6 pts
Bailey Pourier (Red Cloud) 10 pts
Jeffrie Shaving (Cheyenne-Eagle Butte) 5 pts
Jackson Volmer (Jones County) 10 pts
“BLUE”
Trevor Anderson (Wall) 2 pts
Mat Beardt (White River) 4 pts
Jacob Black Bear (10 pts)
Tavis Burbank (White River) 11 pts
Reuben Estes (Chamberlain) 28 pts
Jeremy Long (Todd County) 2 pts
Xavier Norris (Cheyenne-Eagle Butte) 21 pts
Sean Stinson (Todd County) 5 pts
Eriq Swiftwater (Oelrichs) 21 pts
Bubba Young (White River) 8 pts
David Collins was the coach for the Pink and Blue teams. Orlana Schmidt coached team Yellow and Cheyenne Schmidt was coach for team Green.
Of course with the first spring snow storm comes a Track preview! WRHS athletes started track on March 24, and are in the early stages of getting prepared for the upcoming season. As always, the goal is to make it to State which is in Sioux Falls the last weekend in May.
Returning State Qualifiers from last year that are working to get back are Tomas Martinez, a senior, will be back competing in the distance races this year. Tanner Larvie, a junior, who qualified in the sprint relays and long jump last year is also returning. James (sophomore) and Russell (8th grade) Leader Charge will also return from state qualifying performances in the sprint relays.
Other boys competing at the Varsity level will be Mat Beardt (senior), Chris Eagle Bear (sophomore), Dusty Bechtold (freshman), Alvin Bettelyoun Jr. (freshman), and Gabe Beardt (freshman).
On the girls side of things, Rachel Astleford is the only returning State Qualifier as she returns for her junior season and will compete in the throws. Also competing for the Varsity girls are seniors Dusti Good Shield and Georgianne Larvie. Sophomores Julia LeBoeuf and Lizzy Cameron and then freshmen girls Morgan Venard, Morgan Taft, Cassie Colombe and Shaynee Bettelyoun.
We are not a very deep team as we are lacking in numbers, but these kids all have a great attitude and are working very hard. We look to be very competitive in the boys’ sprints and jumps and hope to have our girls’ competing at a high level in some of the sprint relays along with the throws.
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The first meet is April 10 in Mission.
Corey Sayler returns as head coach this year, along with assistant coaches Deb Zens, Amy Cameron, and Kayla Earl.
Fans got what they came for Thursday night in Wall where White River and Oelrichs faced one another for the Region 7B crown. The match-up marked the second straight year the two teams met in the championship. White River came in looking to extend their run of appearances at the State tourney. Oelrichs came looking to send a squad laden with seniors out with a bang.
Oelrichs came out with energy and led 5-0 to get their crowd going early on. White River had five turnovers in quarter one and never led through the first eight minutes. It was an exciting atmosphere with a standing room only crowd and two teams that laid it all on the line in an effort to advance. Oelrichs led by four after the first period.
Tavis Burbank was big for the Tigers in the first half and he opened scoring in the second with a steal and layup that made it 13-15. Moments later, though, it was Eriq Swiftwater for Oelrichs who capitalized on an and one to give his team a 20-13 lead. The first tie of the game came at 22-22 with a three by Tré Iyotte. Burbank had six in the final two minutes of the half, propelling the Tigers to a 28-25 lead at intermission.
Turnovers hampered both teams as the third quarter started. Though fouls began to mount for a short-benched Oelrichs, they kept things close with their ability to score easy points by finding the open man on the interior. They also hit a number of clutch threes, namely Jon Garnier, who finished with a game high 22 points. He hit a three with twenty eight seconds to go in the period to tie the game at 38. Justin Prue broke the tie at the buzzer with a jumper to return the lead to White River.
White River was deliberate in the half court throughout the game and as play continued they got the looks they hoped for. Justin Folkers had a strong second half for White River. He finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and took two charges. Link Tucker was also a key factor, especially on the defensive end, despite an ankle injury that left it unclear until late whether he would be available for the contest.
Oelrichs led only once in the second half, though the two teams were seldom separated by more than three points. Oelrichs suffered a significant loss when Swiftwater fouled out with 4:02 to go. The score at that point was 48-45. Oelrichs tied it at 48 less than a minute later before White River took over down the stretch. They went 12/14 from the free throw line (9/10 by Iyotte) in the final three minutes and Oelrichs was unable to counter. The Tigers posted the win, 60-50 in a game that was closer than the final score indicated.
Oelrichs was led by Eriq Swiftwater with 11 pts, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists and Jon Garnier with 22 pts, 6 rebs, and 2 assists.
White River shot 50% from the field (1/5 threes) and 83% (24/29) from the free throw line. Oelrichs was 20/59 from the field (6/22 threes) and went 6/9 from the free throw line.
The Tigers had 34 rebounds (9 offensive) and 6 assists; Oelrichs had 36 rebounds (16 offensive) and 13 assists. White River committed 21 turnovers to 17 for Oelrichs.
It wasn’t as close as the final score indicated but it was an entertaining battle nonetheless, when the Tigers faced James Valley Christian at this year’s DWU Classic February 15.
JVC had the momentum in quarter one, scoring on jump shots and layups, offensive rebounds and three pointers. White River led 2-0 but quickly fell behind, though a three by Tre Iyotte midway through the quarter made it 9-10. A buzzer beater from about sixty feet back ended the quarter for JVC and they led 22-14.
Christian Bartlett brought a spark in second quarter play for White River, and he hit back to back baskets in a 12-4 run by the Tigers that tied the score at 26. White River was patient in the half court through first half play and their defense in quarter two limited JVC to just six points. An and one by Iyotte with 1:20 to go in the half returned the lead to White River and they led 30-28 at intermission.
JVC came out with an aggressive style in quarter three and it was more than White River could handle. JVC went hard to the basket early, drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. They were six of seven from the line in just the first two minutes of the period. The Vikings extended their lead with a 9-0 run through the middle of the period and ended the quarter on a tough fade away jumper by Andrew Ulvestad that just beat the buzzer. Ulvestad, a 6’5” senior finished the night with a game high 24 points. JVC led 50-39 going into the final period of play.
White River hung tough in quarter four and the lead fluctuated for James Valley Christian. They led by ten on multiple occasions in the fourth, though White River trimmed the lead to four with six straight points, forcing JVC into a time out at 4:21. Untimely turnovers for White River saw the lead back up to ten only moments later. Justin Prue later hit a big three making it 55-59 as the Tigers refused to back down. Prue scored on an offensive tip in late in the game and with only eleven seconds to go, it was 59-62. Ulvestad hit two clutch free throws with 8.1 remaining, virtually sealing the win. Bartlett netted a three off a long rebound as time expired, making the final score 62-64.
Number two JVC improved to 17-1 (only loss to Ethan early in the year) on the season, while the number one Tigers went to 14-3.
White River hosted the Western Great Plains Middle School Boys Basketball Tourney Saturday, February 8, with ten teams competing.
White River went undefeated in pool play, posting wins over Kadoka Area, Bennett County, New Underwood, and Wall.
Stanley County was the top seed in their pool, which consisted of teams from Jones County, Lyman, Stanley County, Philip and Rapid City Christian.
Following pool play, the top seeds from the two pools met in the championship.
It was a good ending to a good day of basketball as the final game went down to the wire, providing for an entertaining finish. After pulling ahead 10-5 after the first period of play, White River led through much of the game. Stanley County, though, kept it close, and trailed just one at half time, 17-16.
The Buffaloes got the first basket of the second half, taking a momentary lead, but it was five straight from Dale Medicine Bear that returned the lead to White River. The Tigers led 23-20 going into the final period. With 1:17 remaining in the game, Stanley County hit a field goal that gave them a one point lead. Later it was Medicine Bear again with a clutch free throw that tied the game, 27-27. The seconds ticked by and with only nine to go, the Buffaloes got the shot they needed. White River couldn’t answer and it was Stanley County who took the win, 29-27.
Scoring for White River in the final game were Medicine Bear with 6, Russell Leader Charge with 8, John Petrik and Kash Colombe with 4, Isaac Larvie and Toby Krogman with 2, and Jadice Morrison with 1.
