HHS Hall of Fame banquet, induction set for Saturday

HURON — Two athletes, a longtime coach, an energic contributor and a title-winning team are set to join hundreds of others in the Huron High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
The induction banquet and ceremony will take place beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Huron Arena.
Tickets for the event are available at the Huron High School Activities office, but need to be purchased soon, so an accurate head count for the meal can be reached.
The HHS Athletic Hall of Fame was created in 1996 to recognize individuals who were outstanding athletes, coaches, contributors or team members at Huron High School. A select committee chooses up to four athletes, one coach, on contributor and one team.
The ceremony was held annually until 2012 and has been conducted every two years since then.
Let’s meet this year’s inductees.

1974 BOYS GOLF TEAM
Two seniors, a junior, a sophomore, and an eighth grader made up the Huron Tiger 1974 fall season golf team for the South Dakota AA State Golf tournament. Rob Sondreal, Kevin Carlson, Al Bales, Craig Rink, and Jim Entwisle were the five young men chosen to represent the Tigers for the last three matches of the year, which included the ESD Conference Tournament, Regional Tournament and the State Tournament  - if they would qualify.
These five had proven themselves after competing  with 17 other Huron Tiger hopefuls, some of whom had already competed in varsity action during the season. At a time when the Tigers perfect record had but a single second-place blemish prior to the State Tournament,they had earned a vote of confidence from Head Coach Hobe Richards.
Coach Richards, the long time PGA Pro at Huron Country Club, is also in the Huron High School Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as the school’s golf coach and is also a member of the South Dakota Golf Association Hall of fame.
On a cold, rainy day the Tigers won the ESD Championship at the Huron Country Club course by two shots over Yankton. A week later they finished second to Brookings at the Regional which was their only loss that season. Brookings was automatically entered into the State Tournament. The Tigers were only allowed to bring their fifth golfer to the State Tournament by virtue of having the other four golfers finish in the Top Ten at the Regional tournament.
After the first day of the State Tournament, a two-day affair in Yankton, the Tigers held a narrow two shot lead over Brookings and led Yankton by seven strokes.
On the second day, the Tigers matched their first day total. This proved good enough to edge Yankton by three shots and Brookings and Sioux Fall O’Gorman by 13 strokes.
That “5th golfer” the Tigers were allowed to bring to the State Tournament, Jim Entwisle, led Huron’s victory with a 3rd-place finish.
Entwisle is also a member of the Huron High School Hall of Fame for his high school, collegiate and amateur golf accomplishments. Rob Sondreal, Al Bales, Craig Rink and Kevin Carlson went on to be among the best amateur golfers in South Dakota.

GARY HARRINGTON
Gary Harrington graduated from Huron College in 1972 and began a lifelong service and commitment to the Huron community in many different ways.
Gary is known statewide as a leading sports official who dedicated himself to serving the youth of South Dakota. He was a high school and college football referee for 28 years and had the privilege and honor to officiate three “AA” South Dakota High School Activities Association Football Championship games.
He also was a coordinator for Regional high school football and basketball which meant he helped officials of different levels of experience become better officials. For his dedication, the South Dakota High School Activities Association awarded him their highest honor with their Distinguished Service Award.
Gary received the Doug Koester Memorial Award in 2007 by the South Dakota Officials Association in recognition of outstanding officiating and community service in South Dakota. He also officiated high school and college basketball for 18 years along with officiating professional indoor football for six years. Gary officiated lower level football, boys’  and girls’ basketball for the Huron School District for more than 30 years.

Gary was the State Deputy Commissioner for ASA Softball for 29 years in which he organized and directed nine State Softball Tournaments per year for the 650 Men’s slow-pitch softball teams. He umpired in four National Softball Tournaments and was inducted into the South Dakota Softball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Gary has served as President of the Huron College Booster Club and the Huron Tiger Booster Club for 25 years.
Gary was employed by the State of South Dakota Department of Social Services for 39 years and is now in his second term as a Huron City Commissioner.
Gary is married to lifelong Huron resident Rosie, who recently retired from her American Family Insurance Agency.
Their daughter, Cassie, is married to Leo Castro, and they live in New Richmond, Wis., with their daughter Ella, 18, and son Connor 11. Cassie is a special education teacher and Leo is a Lt. with the Metro Police in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Gary, Rosie, Cassie and Leo are all proud graduates of Huron College/University.

JOSH SAMMONS
Josh Sammons is a 1992 graduate of Huron High School. ‘Big things come in small packages’ is a very good way to describe Josh and his athletic accomplishments.
Since high school wrestling programs began in the 1960s, Huron’s program has been one of the very best in South Dakota and Josh was one of the program’s finest to ever wear the Tiger singlet.
He was coached by Huron High School Hall of Fame coaches Ken Cihak and Steve Peters, and Josh was a five-time wrestling letter winner.
He was a two-time State Champion in 1991(130 lbs.) and 1992 (140 lbs.). He led the Tigers to a 4th-place team finish in 1991 and a runner-up finish in 1992 at the State Wrestling Tournament. He achieved every award a wrestler could achieve by receiving the most inspirational, most pins, most takedowns, Mr. Hustle, most dedicated and the Dale Westerberg Inspirational Athlete Award. He finished his Tiger career by becoming an All-American placing 8th in the nation at 132 lbs., at the USA Junior Nationals.
Josh was an outstanding football player for the Huron Tigers. He was a three-year letter winner and a member of the 1991 Tiger football team that finished runner-up at the Class “AA” State Football finals.
Josh took his wrestling skills to South Dakota State University and competed for the Jacks from 1992-1997. He was a four-year letter winner and team captain at SDSU. He wrestled for Jackrabbit teams that placed 4th, 5th, 4th, 4th at the National Tournaments during his time in Brookings.
Josh was a four-time Academic All-American in NCAA Division 2. He achieved All-American status with his 4th-place finish at 142 lbs. in 1995 at the National Tournament.
Josh graduated from SDSU in 1997 with a BS degree and in 1999 received his Masters from the Mayo School of Health-Related Sciences in Physical Therapy. He is a 2013 graduate of the University of Sioux Falls with a Masters in Business Administration with a Healthcare Emphasis. Josh is the Director of Clinic Operations for Sanford in the cities of Windom, Mountain Lake, Tracy and Westbrook, Minn.
Josh and his wife of 20 years, Nicole, reside in Windom with their four children, son Kade is 16, and daughters Kendyl, 14, Hadley, 12, and Haidyn, 10.

BOB TIMM
Bob Timm was a 1957 Huron High School graduate. He was an outstanding three sport letter winner for the Tigers in football, basketball and track and was also active in fine arts at HHS, being selected to All-State Chorus.
Bob was a 1961 graduate of Huron College. While at HC, he lettered in football all four years and played on four consecutive South Dakota Intercollegiat Conference championship teams. He was an All-SDIC defensive end for two years with an Honorable Mention one year. Bob was inducted into the SDIC Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Huron University Hall of Fame in 2000. Huron University selected Bob as the Educator of the Year in 1995.
Bob began his teaching and coaching career as an assistant football, basketball and track coach at Wessington Springs from 1961-1962. He became the head football coach in Elk Point along with coaching basketball and track. he remained in Elk Point through 1965 and then became the head football coach in Kadoka along with coaching basketball and track.
After teaching and coaching in Kadoka, Bob came home to Huron in 1967 to spend the rest of his career in teaching and coaching.
He started as an assistant football coach and helped coach the 1969 Huron Tiger football team to the ESD championship. Bob was the head Tiger football coach from 1973-76 and coached many All-State football players. Bob was the first Tiger coach to have his team play in Tiger Stadium.
Bob was assistant track coach for the Tigers for 34 years and coached many state and ESD cChampions in the shot put. Bob is widely regarded as one of the greatest shot put coaches ever in South Dakota.
He was voted by the South Dakota Coaches Association Assistant Track Coach of the Year in 1999. Bob was awarded the ESD Award of Merit in 2001.
Bob was a basketball official for more than 40 years and officiated several state basketball tournaments. He also officiated football. Bob probably officiated more lower level games in football and basketball than anyone in the history of the Huron School District. Also, he was the Jump Rope for Heart coordinator in Huron for more than 15 years.
Coach Timm was a mentor, coach, and friend to literally thousands of young men and women, helping to profoundly shape their lives. Many of his former student/athletes to this day, credit Coach Timm for instilling in them a positive work ethic, a sense of humor and a winning attitude.
Bob and his wife, Betty, raised two sons Rob (Melanie) Timm of Hill City, and Patrick (Jennifer) Timm of Aberdeen, one daughter, Shelly (Bill) VanWyhe of Huron, and grandchildren Tyler VanWyhe, Annie VanWyhe, Cooper Timm, Samantha Timm, Grayden Timm, and Andie Timm and great-grandchild Elijah Strote.

STEPHANIE TSCHETTER
Stephanie Tschetter is a 1999 graduate of Huron High School. During her high school career in athletics, she established herself as one of the very best three-sport athletes in South Dakota.
She was All-State and All-ESD Conference in volleyball, basketball and track. She was also a Scholar-Athlete during her career at HHS.
Steph led the Tigers to two straight State AA Volleyball Championships in 1998 and 1999 and the ESD Conference championship in 1999. She was a four-year volleyball letter winner for the Tigers. She was a First Team All-State selection and a First Team All-ESD selection in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
She was selected to three straight AA State All-Tournament teams and capped her volleyball career by being named Miss Volleyball for the State of South Dakota and a member of the South Dakota All-Star Volleyball team.
Steph currently holds Huron High School records for digs and kills. After high school graduation, Stephanie took her volleyball skills to Northern State University where she was a two-year captain during her four years playing for the Wolves from 1999-2003.
Steph was a three-year letter winner in basketball for the Tigers and was All-ESD two years. She led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding as a junior and senior and was selected to the State AA All-Tournament team in 1997.
In track and field, Stephanie was one of South Dakota’s best long and triple jumpers. She was a State AA placer in the jumps her junior and senior seasons. She helped lead the highly successful girls’ track team to consecutive runner-up finishes in the South Dakota AA State Track and Field Meet.
Stephanie accumulated many awards during her high school career as she had a tremendous work ethic, a positive attitude and always put the team first. She was voted Huron High School’s All-Around Athlete in 1999 by the HHS coaches.
Stephanie is a graduate of Northern State University with a BS degree and minor in Business. She is a 2007 graduate of Clarkson College with an Associate of Physical Therapy degree.
Stephanie recently moved back to Huron to be closer to her family after being a Physical Therapist in Seattle, Wash. She is presently a substitute teacher for Huron Public Schools. She has two children; Kai is 5, and Keanu is 1.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

Pictured  is the 1974 State Champion Huron High School golf team.