Dear Kadoka,
As playoff sports quickly approach, we celebrate our first success of the extracurricular season. Our One-Act play was able to land three superior actors/actresses at the state competition in Rapid City in the past weeks. Mia Fernandez, Tyrel Mansfield, and Allie Madsen were able to gain the distinction on the state level, and Farynn Knutson was able to gain honorable mention for her performance. Besides these great performances from these specific students, we also saw substantial work from our seniors and appreciate their leadership.
Looking ahead, mid-February signals the start of playoff basketball for our girls’ basketball team is coming soon. The first game of the Region tournaments will be coming on February 21st. The SoDak 16 for girls’ basketball will be on the 3rd of March. Boys Basketball will start their Region Tournament a week later, on February 28th. SoDak 16 for boys will be March 8th, or the Tuesday before the start of state girls’ basketball on March 10th. The Class B boys’ tournament will be from March 17th to the 19th.
Kadoka Area has in the past hosted SoDak 16 events in our gymnasium, and I want to be clear, at the time of this writing, no bids have been placed to host a SoDak 16 event. The team at KAHS may choose to bid for the chance to host such an event, and if that happens, it will be as exciting as last year. However, hosting a SoDak game is not sure at this writing, but it may occur as it did last year. Keep in touch with the school, watch our school Facebook page, or read this column in the Kadoka Press for up- dates on a potential SoDak 16 game in Kadoka.
If a fan were just interested in watching state tournaments, Class B girls’ tournaments would occur in Watertown this year, and I hope we all get to watch the KAHS girls there this year. Games will be held at the Water- town Civic Arena. Our Kougar boys are pushing for a spot at the state tournament on the Northern State Campus in Aberdeen. Locally, the Class AA girl’s tournament will occur in Rapid City at the Monument for the generic basketball fan who may read this column. The Class A boy’s tournament will be held in Rapid City at the Monument.
Overall, the average basketball fan will have ample opportunities to check out many basketball teams from around the state in many different venues in the next month. In advance, we thank all Kougar fans for the stellar sportsmanship we have seen in many students, parents, and families. We hope that all can come and enjoy the highly competitive environment of playoff basketball in the same civil and upstanding way we have seen in the past year.
In support of the Kougars,
Mr. Robert Lukens