Top seniors get high school hoops sendoff at South Dakota All-Star game
Apr. 20—SIOUX FALLS — The top high school seniors in the class of 2024 took the basketball court once more on Friday, April 19 at the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game at the Sanford Pentagon.
In the boys all-star game, Team Navy topped Team White 114-110. Watertown's Dylan Rawdon had the key 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to put the Navy squad ahead for good on the way to the victory.
The Navy squad had 23 points from Jacoby Mehrman (Harrisburg), with 17 points each from Tage Ortman (Canistota) and Daniel Mitchell (Gregory), and 14 points each from Gavin Soukup (Mitchell) and Alec Squires (Sioux Valley). Mitchell's Ryker Kreutzfeldt and Parkston's Cole Knippling coached the Navy team.
For the White team, Braeden VanBockern (Harrisburg) had a team-high 26 points, Jaxson Wingert (Dakota Valley) scored 20 points, with 13 points from Jackson Schauer (Faith). Kolt Koepsell (Howard), Tyson Stevenson (Hamlin) and Porter Ihnen (Lennox) each had 11 points. The White team was coached by Rapid City Christian's Kyle Courtney and Timber Lake's Cody Lawrence.
In the girls matchup, the Navy squad won 86-74 over the White team. For the Navy squad, Caylin Kelly (Florence/Henry) had 17 points, with 12 points for Claire Sheppard (Flandreau) and 11 points for Mahli Abdouch (Sioux Falls O'Gorman). Abby Flanagan (Harrisburg) had nine points, with eight points each for Mara Grant (Tea Area), Courtney Sees (Avon) and Megan Reiner (Tripp-Delmont/Armour), and six points each for Jaidyn Dunn (Sioux Falls Jefferson) and Sawyer Stoebner (Mitchell). The team was coached by Centerville's Tucker Tornberg and Mitchell's Dave Brooks.
For the White squad, Emilee Fox (Mount Vernon/Plankinton) had 17 points, with 12 points each from Katie Vasecka (Tea Area) and Avery Orth (Wessington Springs) and 10 points from Paige Kjerstad (Wall). Lily Klein (Flandreau) had eight points and Abby Aslesen (Howard) scored seven points. The White team was coached by Vermillion's Jon Brooks and Colman-Egan's Tyler Husby.
The night also included the awarding of the All-Star player of the year awards from Sanford Sports. Sioux Valley senior Alec Squires won the boys award, which included Dakota Valley's Jaxson Wingert, Pine Ridge's Martin Richard III, Sioux Falls Christian's Griffen Goodbary and Harrisburg's Jacoby Mehrman.
The girls award was won by Tea Area senior Katie Vasecka. The nominees included Sioux Falls O'Gorman's Mahli Abdouch, Wagner's Ashlyn Koupal, Mount Vernon/Plankinton's Emilee Fox and Mitchell's Sawyer Stoebner.
