A look back at some of the sports happenings during the week of Oct. 19-25, 2025:
Last year on Oct. 19, 2024: No. 11 Tennessee nipped No. 7 Alabama 24-17 in a nationally-televised college football clash between two historically great programs. The coaches were both South Dakota natives who grew up within 100 miles of each other in northeast South Dakota. The Crimson Tide’s Kalen DeBoer graduated from Milbank in 1993 and the Volunteers Josh Heupel graduated from Aberdeen Central in 1996.
10 years ago on Oct. 24, 2015: The Ipswich girls cross-country team won a record six consecutive state titles with its latest Class B championship. The Tigers accomplished the feat without their standout runner Macy Heinz, who exited midway with a hamstring injury.
20 years ago on Oct. 23, 2005: The Yankton boys’ and girls’ cross country teams of coach Dan Fitzsimmons won the State AA titles. His boys prevented Rapid City Stevens from winning their 11th straight title.
30 years ago on Oct. 21, 1995: Jaime Pauli won the State A cross country title and led her Milbank girls to the team title.
40 years ago on Oct. 19, 1985: Earlier in the season, USD bounced SDSU to become the nation’s No. 1 NCAA DII football team. Still in that spot later in the season in their second match-up, SDSU knocked USD from the top with a 24-12 win in front of 16,193 fans at Hobo Day. The Jacks got a great defensive game from Bruce Klosterman while the Coyotes (6-1) got three interceptions from Todd Salat.
50 years ago on Oct. 22, 1975: A 64-year-old basketball trick shot artist from Minneapolis entertained a crowd at Colman High School. Wilfred Hetzel bills himself as the world’s greatest basketball freak shot specialist. He has been entertaining crowds for more than 40 years and travels some 40,000 miles a year. He holds several world records; 92 straight free throws made standing on one foot with his eyes closed;
four dropkick baskets in a row from 20 feet and 35 straight bounce off the floor and banked in shots
from 12 feet out.
