Missouri Valley Conference football rivals South Dakota State and North Dakota State advanced to the championship game of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs with home wins.
The Jackrabbits were 39-18 winners over Montana State while the Bison downed Incarnate Word 35-32.
When SDSU and NDSU meet for the national title on Sunday, Jan. 8 in Frisco, Tex., there will be local and Big South Conference connections on each side.
For the Jackrabbits, Jackson County Central graduate Rudy Voss is a sophomore quarterback and there are two other players from Big South Conference schools on the SDSU roster. Reece Winkelman of Marshall is a senior defensive end and Waseca’s Saiveon Williamson is a senior linebacker.
Also, JCC grad Haley Tvinnereim is a cheerleader for South Dakota State.
Meanwhile for the Bison, Fairmont grad Hudson Artz is a freshman safety and Marshall graduate Bryce Lance is a freshman wide receiver.
Voss saw playing time in Week 1 of the season (a 7-3 loss to Iowa in Iowa City) and in Week 3 (a 45-17 home win over Butler. He ran for a touchdown in the win over the Bulldogs.
An injured back then kept him out of game action until Saturday’s semifinal win in Brookings where he was 1-for-2 passing for three yards.
SDSU has a 13-1 record heading into the national championship game that includes a 23-21 win over NDSU in the Dakota Marker game in Fargo on Oct. 15.
South Dakota State is playing for the national title for the second time in school history. The Jackrabbits lost to Sam Houston State in Frisco in the season that was played in the spring of 2021 due to the pandemic.
Rudy’s dad Rod, who has had some health concerns of his own this fall, tweeted after the semifinal win:
North Dakota State is in the championship game for the 10th time in 12 seasons. The Bison have won the national title nine times in that span.
Hudson’s dad, Kelly, also tweeted after the semifinal win for the Bison:
Augustana wrestling
Six former area wrestlers wrestled at least one match for Augustana University at a triangular in Kearney, Neb. The eighth-ranked Vikings defeated York 50-3 before falling 31-14 to No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney.
Four Martin County West grads wrestled for Augustana.
No. 5 Jaxson Rohman won his only match by fall at 125 pounds in the Kearney match; while No. 7 Miles Fitzgerald was 1-1 at 157, dropping a 7-6 decision vs. York and winning 3-0 vs. Kearney.
Also, Connor Simmonds (149) and Payton Anderson (165) were both 1-0.
Jackson County Central grad Jacob Tvinnereim (174) was 0-1 and Windom graduate Kade Sammons (133) was 1-0.
The Vikings are idle from competition until the NWCA National Duals on January 6-7 in Louisville.
Lange ranked
MCW graduate Katie Lange, a sophomore with the Augsburg University women’s wrestling team, is ranked third at 143 pounds in the latest NCAA Women’s Coaches rankings.
Lange has a 16-4 record on the season with eight technical falls and seven pins. Her career record is 34-5 with 17 technical falls and 14 pins.
She has won tournaments at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Waldorf this season and placed second at North Central, Ill., losing in the finals to top-ranked Ana Luciano of King University.
Women’s basketball
Martin County West grad Alyssa Williamson, a 5-6 senior guard at Hamline University, played 20 minutes and four points, three assists and two rebounds in the Pipers’ final game before a holiday break, a 79-55 nonconference win over Crown.
Williamson has started all nine games for Hamline and has played just under 24 minutes per game. She’s shooting .500 from the field (29-58) including .400 (4-10) from three-point range and is averaging 7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
The Pipers are 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the MIAC, good for a four-way tie for first in the conference with St. Benedict, Gustavus and Bethel.
Hamline’s next game is at home vs. Saint Mary’s on Wednesday, Jan. 4.
Fairmont grad Taylor Crissinger is a 6-foot senior forward with Wisconsin-River Falls.
She’s played in seven games for the Falcons, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds (four offensive) and coming away with two steals. Crissinger is shooting .444 from the field (4-9).
UW-River Falls is 9-2 overall, 1-1 in conference play. The Falcons play two games in the UW-Superior tournament this weekend, facing Finlandia Friday and the host Yellowjackets Saturday.
Men’s basketball
JCC grad Pat Garvin is the head coach at Bethany Lutheran College, which won its first 10 games before a 98-85 loss to Buena Vista in Storm Lake.
The Vikings are fifth in the country in scoring among NCAA Division III teams, averaging 93.6 points per game.
Bethany’s next two games are nonconference matchups, Friday at Carleton and Tuesday, Jan. 3 at home vs. Finlandia. The Vikings, 2-0 in the UMAC, return to conference play Saturday, Jan. 7 vs. Martin Luther College.
Martin County West graduate Christian Bachenberg is 5-8 freshman at Martin Luther College.
He’s played in all 10 games this season for the Knights, averaging 12 minutes per game. Bachenberg scored a season-high five point in MLC’s most recent game, a loss to Wisconsin-Superior.
Martin Luther hosts Valley City State in an exhibition game on Wednesday, Jan. 4 and then returns to UMAC play Saturday, Jan. 7 at Bethany Lutheran.
Indoor track and field
Fairmont grad Wyatt Quiring, a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College, set a school record in the 300 meters with a time of 35.92 seconds at the University of Minnesota Ice Breaker Open. He placed second in that event.
Quiring also took ninth in the 200 meter with a time of 22.83, which ranks in the Top 15 in Division III this season.