HURON The induction ceremony for the 2025 class going into the Huron High School Athletic Hall of Fame will be held at 5 p.m. today at Huron Arena.
Heres a look at this years inductees.
Vicki Coyle Nelson
Vicki Coyle Nelson was a 1978 HHS graduate. She was on the very first girls cross-country team in 1976. Those teams finished 6th and 3rd the next 2 seasons. Vicki would be an All ESD-Conference runner and would achieve All-State status during her career for HHS.
She took her talents to SDSU and helped lead the Jackrabbits to the National Championships in 1980 and 1981. Vicki was an All-American runner as she finished runner-up at the 1981 National Collegiate Meet. She also was a North Central Conference Champion for SDSU in track and field by winning the 3000 meter race at the outdoor conference championship. She would then go on to become an All-American runner by placing 5th for SDSU at the National Collegiate Meet.
Neal Campbell
Neal Campbell is a 1994 graduate of HHS. He helped lead the Tiger basketball team to the 1993 South Dakota AA State Championship, 3rd place finish in 1994, and a 5th team finish in 1992. Neal was a three-time All ESD Conference selection. He is the HHS all-time assists leaders. He was an State AA All-Tournament selection 2 times. Neal was the first player to have a triple-double (15 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists) in Class AA state tournament history.
Neal was an outstanding sprinter in track and field for the Tigers. He ran on State Champion and ESD Champion Relay teams. Neal helped lead the Tiger boys track and field team to a State Runner-up finish in 1994, 3rd place finish in 1992 and 1993 He is a member of relay teams that still hold HHS records.
Neal would take his basketball skills to Gustavus Adolphus. He would be a 3 year letterwinner and a 2 year starter. He helped lead his team to 2 appearances in the NCAA Division 3 National Tournament.
1966-67 Girls track and field team
The girls track and field team from 1966-67 are being inducted in the contributor category. Their contributions to the movement to get girls athletics sanctioned by schools and the SDHSAA were instrumental in reaching that goal in the 1970s.
This team had to pay their own expenses to compete in meets and the coaches received no pay. Harry Mansheim and Ron Gogolin were their coaches. Thez Lanbehn was an HHS student that played a big part in organizing this first HHS girls track and field team.
1993 boys basketball team
The 1992-93 boys basketball team is being inducted in the team category. This team finished 12-2 in the tough ESD Conference to be the outright ESD Champions. They went 20-4 on the season and won the State AA Championship.
This helped make Huron the first AA school to win State Football and Basketball State Championships the same school year. All five starters from this team are inductees in the Huron High School Athletic Hall of Fame ( Neal Campbell, Jay Ellwein, Ryan Mors, Mike Struck and Brad Peterson). To win the ESD conference, they would have to win their last 4 games on the road. The Tigers beat Brookings and Pierre, to set up title matches against the other 2 contenders, Watertown was defeated 84-83 in a classic up and down game The Tigers then defeated Aberdeen Central 63-61 for the ESD Conference title. At the State Tournament in Sioux Falls, Huron slipped by Sioux Falls Lincoln and Sioux Falls OGorman to get to the championship game to face defending state champion Watertown. In a close state championship game, the Tigers broke free in the last two minutes to win 75-65.
The Tigers were coached by Tom Reid and assisted by Kim Krull and Al Steffen. Jay Ellwein was a first team All-State and All-Tournament selection and Ryan Mors a second team All-State selection. Neal Campbell was also an All-Tournament selection.
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