Aug. 1: Sports Illustrated listed its five greatest athletes from each state. WNBA legend Becky Hammon topped South Dakota’s list followed by NFL Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri, Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills, pro football’s Garney Henley and Marlene Hagge, a LPGA founder. North Dakota’s list: Roger Maris at No. 1 followed by Darin Erstad, Carson Wentz, Andy Hampsten and Phil Hansen.
Aug. 4: Webster native Brock Lesnar announced his retirement from pro wrestling on the Pat McAfee Show. Lesnar, 49, was a seven-time pro wrestling world champion plus an Ultimate Fighting and mixed martial arts champion. He was a four-time All-American in college, winning national titles at Bismarck State College and the University of Minnesota. He also was a two-time Big Ten champ for the Gophers and a multi-sport standout for Webster.
Aug. 7: Gov. Larry Rhoden proclaimed this day as Ace Boschee Day in South Dakota. Boschee was honored in Redfield as he threw out the opening pitch in the South Dakota Class B American Legion Junior Baseball Tournament. Boschee was the head umpire for the event and the 75-year-old has been umpiring for almost 60 years in the Aberdeen area. He started umpiring when he was 17.
Aug. 8: Rapid City Central and South Dakota State graduate Adam Vinateri was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton (OH). He is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and won four Super Bowls. The only other South Dakota-born NFL hall of famer is Norm Van Brocklin (1926-1983), born in Parade (near Eagle Butte in Dewey County). Last year, Vinateri came to Sioux Falls where he was inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. His sister, Christine Erickson, is the mayor of Sioux Falls.
Aug. 10: All-American setter Bergan Reilly of Sioux Falls and her Nebraska volleyball teammates are rated No. 1 in the nation in the first poll of the season. Reilly has led the Cornhuskers to three Big Ten titles in a row, a three-season record of 99-6 and a national runner-up finish.
Aug. 13-Aug. 16: The 4-H Finals Rodeo celebrated its 55th anniversary in Fort Pierre. It features some of the state’s best rodeo performers from ages 8 to 18.
Aug. 18: The Athletic (New York Times) published its annual freak list featuring the best athletes in college football. Coming in at No. 29 was SDSU quarterback Chase Mason of Viborg-Hurley. Only six quarterbacks in total made the 101-player list and Mason was the first listed. Reasons why Mason made the list include his vertical jump of 40 inches, his 22.7 mph recorded speed on a football field and his ability to throw a football 82 yards.
Aug. 21: Freeman defeated Alcester-Hudson 36-17, taking the field as the Freeman Flyers for the first time since 2014. Low numbers left Freeman without varsity football teams in 2015 and 2016. From 2017-21, it was the Canistota/Freeman Pride. From 2022-25, it was the Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy Phoenix, which won the Class 9AA state championship last fall. It’s the first win for a Freeman football team playing as the Flyers since Sept. 30, 2011 (42-8 vs. Marion), when they finished the season 1-7. Freeman went winless in 2012, 2013 and 2014 (27-game losing streak from 2011-14).

Aug. 21: The Huron girls’ soccer team snapped a 111-game winless streak when the girls registered a 2-0 win over Douglas/New Underwood. The program’s last win come on Aug. 16, 2016, when the Huron girls defeated Douglas 3-1. In the last 10 years, the Huron girls had one tie (0-0 in 2019) against Sturgis.
Aug. 22: Former Minnesota State-Moorhead standout Jack Strand quarterbacked Atlanta to a 34-6 road win over Indianapolis. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Strand threw for 212 yards for the Falcons. He threw a 13-yard TD pass to Cash Jones as well as running for a 16-yard TD. In his college career against conference foe Northern State, Strand went 1-2 against the Wolves and had a hand in 10 touchdowns.
Aug. 24: SDSU football captains for the 2026 season: Quinten Christensen (Wessington Springs), Chase Mason (Hurley), Logan Green (Northboro, IA); Coleman Kuntz (Beaumont, CA); Dawson Ripperda (Larchwood, IA); and Chase Van Tol (Tea). For the 11th season in a row, the Jacks have had at least one captain from South Dakota: Mason and Christensen in 2025; Gus Miller of Brookings and Tucker Large of Sioux Falls Roosevelt in 2024; Mason McCormick of Sioux Falls Roosevelt in 2023 and 2022; McCormick, Wes Genant of Parkston and Xavier Ward of Freeman in fall 2021; Genant and Preston Tetzlaff of Brookings in spring 2021; Evan Greeneway of Yankton in 2019; Dalton Cox of Aberdeen Roncalli in 2018; Taryn Christion of Sioux Falls Roosevelt in 2018; Christion and Dallas Goedert of Britton in 2017; Shayne Gottlob of Salem in 2016; and Nick Mears of Milbank
in 2016.
Aug. 27: Augustana opened its football season with a 63-58 win over Missouri Western. Harrisburg graduate Max Carlson led the Vikings with four touchdowns.
Aug. 27: The South Dakota Mines football team made history with the program’s first win over a Division I school. The Hardrockers defeated Drake in Des Moines (IA) 38-35; Drake won the Football Championship Series’ Pioneer League the last three seasons. Mines led 31-13 with less than 12½ minutes left in the game when Drake scored three touchdowns in 4½ minutes to take a 35-31 lead. But the visitors responded with a 16-play, 79-yard drive with Dawson Dunbar (Chadron, NE) scoring the winning touchdown. Drake then started a drive of its own, but Mines’ Charlie Johnson (Waverly, NE) sealed the win with his interception at midfield with less than a minute to play.
Aug. 27: Northern State opened its football season with a 42-17 win over No. 21 Chadron State. Timber Lake native Hank Kraft had four touchdowns and 278 yards of total offense.
Aug. 28: Warner clipped North Central 17-6 as Alec Mikkelsen kicked a 50-yard field goal for the Monarchs.
Aug. 29: Long-time rivals Dakota State and Dakota Wesleyan met for the 80 th time in football, with the host Trojans nipping DWU 35-27. DSU quarterback Tray Hettick (Selby) threw for 429 yards and five touchdowns. DWU leads the series 41-38-1.
Aug. 29: SDSU senior punter Max Pelham (Ankeny, IA) had a 70-yard, in-the-air punt in the Jackrabbits’ 70-7 win over Stetson (FL). It had former NFL punter and ESPN personality Pat McAfee and other national outlets buzzing about the feat. McAfee has a special place in his heart for SDSU as he is also a former holder for NFL Hall of Fame kicker and his good friend Adam Vinatieri (Rapid City/SDSU).

Email us at dave@sdsportscene.com if you think we missed something or if you have an event you would like us to consider for this feature.