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The one-person Warner gymnastics team has advanced to the State A Meet on Feb. 15-16 in Rapid City.
During the regular season, junior Erin Punt met the qualifying standards for the state meet. Punt is the only Monarch gymnast and she trains with the Aberdeen Central gymnastics team. Her mother Denise Punt serves as her coach and the Central junior varsity coach. Last week Punt spent a lot of time at the Central high school complex. Punt competed in a quadrangular on Jan. 24 in the auxiliary gym and gymnastics center, and on Friday she performed with the dance group Just for Kix at halftime of the Central and Sturgis boys’ basketball game.
Punt qualified for state early in the season to take the pressure off.
“I qualified my first three meets,” she said. “You need three 33s (in the all around) and you pre-qualify. I didn’t have to worry about qualifying. Since then I’ve been working on some new stuff.”
Punt does not belong to a full team so on team day at the state meet she will perform an exhibition floor exercise routine.
“Floor is my best event and my favorite one,” she said.
Her all time best score is 9.2 on floor and 34.45 in all around. Punt might be the only Warner gymnast, but she is still surrounded by teammates.
“I consider Aberdeen my teammates because I practice with them every day,” said Punt. “I’m pretty much part of their team, but my score doesn’t count for them. They are really supportive of me. They treat me like a teammate. They motivate me. I don’t have anyone to compete for spots with but they push me to be the best I can.”
Sports writer Deb Smith
Mobridge-Pollock heating up
They may not be undefeated or among the top-rated boys’ basketball teams, but you would be hard-pressed to find any squad much hotter these days than the Mobridge-Pollock Tigers.
After dropping three straight games to start the season, the Tigers have won 10 in a row and have not tasted defeat since Dec. 15.
“Right now I think we’re playing pretty well,” said Tigers coach Tim Frederick. “We’re playing solid defense. We have seniors that are showing leadership on the court and getting us going in the right direction.”
Interestingly enough, the Tigers changed direction after their early-season setbacks.
“Early on we were trying to find ourselves,” Frederick explained.
Mobridge-Pollock decided to play a more uptempo style and the change has done wonders.
The Tigers have taken advantage of their depth and balance during the recent winning streak.
“On any given night, there’s three or four different kids that can step up and be our leaders,” Frederick said.
Despite their current surge, Frederick is not about to get caught up in the numbers.
“It’s nice to have that,” Frederick said of winning 10 straight contests, “but the reality of it is, we just talk about getting better each day in practice.”
The Tigers understand their biggest games of the season lie ahead when the post season starts in less than a month.
“I’m definitely proud of our kids. I think they have surprised people,” Frederick said. He said he tells his players, “If you outwork your opponent, on most nights that’s going to give you an opportunity to win.”
Sports writer Dave Vilhauer
Central player hits milestone
An Aberdeen Central basketball player scored her 1,000th career point on Friday in a win at Sturgis.
Samantha Knecht was presented with the game ball at halftime of the Huron game on Tuesday. Knecht, who played for Faulkton for three seasons and Central for two seasons, was told that she was close to the mark last week.
“Coach (Dawn) Seiler told me earlier in the week that I was getting close, but I didn’t know exactly how close,” said Knecht, who became a starter her freshman season at Faulkton.
Also present at the halftime celebration were Samantha’s parents Rick and Jennifer Knecht and Brice Cunningham, Samantha’s coach at Faulkton.
“That was really nice that he came over and was a part of it because he was a big part as my coach in Faulkton,” she said.
Knecht does not look at 1,000 points as an individual achievement.
“A lot of people think 1,000 points is a really big individual thing, but you have to remember that without the four teammates around you, you can’t get those points. Not only is it an accomplishment for me, but it says a lot of both of my teams,” said Knecht.
Sports writer Deb Smith
Sole possession of LRC at stake
A share of the Lake Region Conference boys’ basketball championship will be on the line when Warner travels to Leola to take on Leola-Frederick on Friday night. Both teams are 4-0 in the LRC and each team has one conference game remaining after the showdown.
The key contest was originally set for this evening, but was moved because of the frigid weather conditions.
Both teams along with Langford Area ended up with a share of the conference title last year. However, with every team except Warner and Leola-Frederick already having two league losses, it will turn out to be a two-team battle this year.
Leola-Frederick has won five straight games and appears to be hitting its stride.
“I think we’ve started to find our identity and how we’re going to win games,” said Leola-Frederick coach Luke Bruns. “I think the guys have really boughten into that. These last five games, they’ve seen the success by playing our way of basketball.”
The Titans have fueled their surge with defense and hard work.
“A lot of what we do is based around the defensive end,” Bruns said.
The Titans have allowed more than 60 points just once all season and have not given up as many as 50 during their recent five-game winning streak.
While Brian Sumption, who recently scored his 1,000th career point, is still a main option on offense, it has been a team effort that has allowed the Titans to pick up the pace.
“I think it helps that we’re not just trying to run a play for him every time down,” Bruns said. “He has developed into an extremely unselfish player.”
The Titans have already played in seven games decided by eight points or less. Bruns is hoping that being battle tested will pay major dividends in the post season.
“I definitely think that’s helping us,” Bruns said. “That’s really going to come in handy come district time.”
Sports writer Dave Vilhauer
Central girls number one
The Aberdeen Central girls’ basketball team has been rated in the top five in Class AA all season.
This week the Golden Eagles (14-0) moved up to first after a loss by Sioux Falls Washington (14-1). Sioux Falls Lincoln downed Washington 44-39. Washington is coached by Nate Malchow, an Aberdeen Central graduate.
Central girls’ basketball coach Dawn Seiler is aware of the ranking but doesn’t have a top ranking as one of her team’s goals.
“Those polls are for fan interest,” she said. “They are good from the standpoint that they generate that interest. What we have to remember as a coaching staff and a team is that every practice and every game is an opportunity for us to get better.”
After an Eastern South Dakota Conference game on Saturday against Yankton, Central will next face Mitchell (10-2) at Mitchell. The Kernels losses have been to Central and Washington.
“We can’t worry about where the rest of the teams are. We can’t worry about the rankings. We just have to continue to find a way to get better,” said Seiler.
Sports writer Deb Smith
Central basketball time changes
The Aberdeen Central girls’ and boys’ basketball games on Saturday have been moved up three hours.
The Central boys will play Yankton at the Summit Activities Center on Saturday with the varsity game at 4:30 p.m. The Central girls will host Yankton on Saturday at Golden Eagles Arena with the varsity start time at 4:30 p.m. That is a different start time from the original schedule. The junior varsity game is set for 1 p.m. followed by a freshman game at 2:30 p.m. and sophomore game at 2:45 p.m.
The Aberdeen Central wrestlers will also be at home for two key Eastern South Dakota Conference dual matches. The Golden Eagles host Yankton on Friday at Golden Eagles Arena using two mats. The varsity and junior varsity matches will both begin at 5 p.m.
The Aberdeen Central wrestlers will host Huron on Saturday at the Aberdeen Civic Arena. The junior varsity match will start at 6 p.m. and the varsity will wrestle at 7:30 p.m. The Central seniors will be honored at the dual.
The Aberdeen-Huron wrestling dual was moved downtown so the girls’ basketball team could use the arena at the high school.
Sports writer Deb Smith
Quickly
- The Grant-Deuel boys’ basketball team has scored 39 points in five of its 13 games this season, including its last four in a row.
- Mitchell senior Kerri Young is nearing her school’s girls’ basketball scoring record. Young, who did not play against Pierre Tuesday due to illness, has 1,533 career points. Jeana (Hoffman) Krome has the record with 1,565 points from 1998-04. Young also has a shot at the school’s all-time mark of 1,743, set by Mike Miller from 1994-98.
- The Langford boys’ basketball team has a tough stretch of games ahead. Starting Saturday, the Lions will play seven games in 11 days.
- Rachel Knapp of the Aberdeen Swim Club was also a participant in the All Star meet in Lawrence, Kansas. She swam for Team South Dakota at the meet.
- A sure sign that spring is on its way is that this past Monday was the first allowable practice for pole-vault participants in track and field this season. All other competitors in track and field can begin practicing on Feb. 25.
If you have an idea for Prep Plus, please send an email to jpapendick@aberdeennews.com.