Inking their futures

BV seniors sign with 6 different programs

 

Six Brandon Valley student-athletes took the next step last week in solidifying their collegiate futures on fall signing day. While all six of the Lynx prep athletes will compete for a South Dakota school, four of the seniors committed to track and field programs, one to cross country, one to women’s golf and lastly, one to women’s basketball. 

 

Josh Donahoe – Track & Field – South Dakota State University

Josh Donahoe is literally following in his parent’s footsteps to South Dakota State. The BV senior, who was one of 16 to ink his future with the Jackrabbits on fall signing day, will compete for the college where his parents, Brian and Judith, also attended.

“SDSU was my best offer on the table, and plus both of my parents are South Dakota State alumni, so that made the choice easy,” he said. Donahoe will major in human biology, with plans to receive his doctorate in preparation for a career as a family doctor.

“Their facilities are the best in the state and I’ve had practice at the S-Jack (Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Facility), which is where they practice all the time. It’s incredible, it’s all new, it’s really good for the athletes,” he said.

Donahoe’s Class AA state title finish in the 300-meter hurdles this past spring elevated him to a scholarship opportunity. He also captured sixth place in the 110m hurdles at the state meet, where he is a three-time all-state honoree in both hurdle divisions. His personal best in the 110s is 14.90 and 39.78 in the 300s. 

“It’s what I’m best at,” Donahoe said. “Not everybody runs the hurdles but I really like hurdles and some people may be faster than I am, but I’m faster when there’s stuff in my way.”

 

Liz Duncan – Golf – University of South Dakota

Liz Duncan doesn’t want to live with any regrets. And that’s ultimately what led the BVHS senior to sign with the University of South Dakota’s women’s golf program.

“It was a really hard decision because both (Augustana University and USD) are great schools, especially with great golf programs, but it was kind of at the point that if I don’t go to a Division 1 school, would I regret it 20 years down the road? So, I took my chance and I signed with USD,” she said. “I really like the coach (Nick Hovden), he’s super personable. He’s like Mr. (Todd) Geerdes, my coach here, and the facilities that they provide are out of this world, and I already know a lot of the girls that are on the team, so it’s kind of that part and the coach part that really sealed the deal of where I want to be.”

Duncan heads to USD with a wealth of accolades she’s accrued since the eighth grade when she took on a role on the varsity team. Coming off her junior season, Duncan is the reigning Metro Conference champ and placed fifth at the Class AA state tournament, which is the highest individual finish for the Lady Lynx program. She’s also collected Metro All-Conference for three seasons, and is tuned in to reclaim the Eastern South Dakota Conference individual title and to be a contender for the state title this spring.

Filling a varsity role since she was in the eighth grade, Duncan has strived to better her game. And she’s done just that.

“From eighth grade to ninth, I dropped 13 strokes and from my sophomore year to my junior season, I shaved five to six strokes off,” she informs. 

She credits some of her improved scores to Rick Krsnak, who has been helping her to perfect her swing since the eighth grade.

“Every Saturday at 2 o’clock, I’m always at Willow doing my lesson. He’s really helped me come along ways,” she said.

The 2018 BVHS senior said she’s gained leadership skills from playing the game she coins as “a lifelong sport.”

“It’s given me very good leadership (skills). I’m the current captain, and leading our team in our conferences has been kind of an eye-opener, and it has given me other things I might need in life, like how to problem solve. … It’s a fun sport, and I really love it, and my teammates have become like family.”

Troy and Arnell Duncan’s daughter selected field of study is biology-health science. Her tentative career plans are to become a pediatrician or a pediatric surgeon.

 

Hannah Hendrick – Track & Field – Black Hills State University

Hannah Hendrick has her mother to thank.

Heidi Hendrick advised her daughter to schedule a visit at Black Hills State University while the family was in Rapid City.

“We bantered back and forth, and I decided to contact the coach, who said they’d love to have me, to please come and meet with us and meet the other athletes,” she recalled. After submitting her resume and portfolio, Hendrick soon learned she would be on scholarship.

“It definitely was a last-minute decision to go there, and it’s crazy to think that my mom was right, and I had to tell her, ‘You were right.’”

And while mom was right, BHSU women’s track and field coach Seth Mischke is elated to gain Hendrick, who holds the school pole vault record (11 feet, 3 inches) at BVHS.

“We are very excited to have signed Hannah during this early period,” said Mischke. “She had a very solid junior year in track and field, and in learning more about her during the recruitment process, her dedication and desire to get better will allow her to make an instant impact on our team and within the RMAC. She is a very strong student and it will be fun to watch her develop during her time here at BHSU both academically and athletically.”

While Mischke believes Hendrick will be a good fit for the Yellow Jackets program in 2018, Hendrick believes BHSU is the right fit for her as well. 

“Coach Mischke is a good match for my style of learning and I also love Black Hills State because of the atmosphere and the (academic and athletic) opportunities that I am going to get from going there,” she said.

Hendrick was a member of the Lady Lynx state record holder 4x400 relay team that has won the state event three consecutive years. She’s also run a leg on the 4x200 relay team that captured state champion honors her junior year. Individually, she placed fourth in the state in pole vault, an event she’s had a “love-hate relationship with.”

“I can’t find words to describe the impact that it’s (track and field0 made on my life, the relationships that I’ve built and the amount of work that our coaches make us put in, but honestly, it’s worth it in the end, for sure,” she said. “The biggest thing about the whole experience of track and field is the team atmosphere. People don’t think it’s going to be a team sport, but individually you work throughout the season, and that’s when the team aspect comes into play, that’s when you build relationships.”

Hendrick, the daughter of Heidi and Harlon, plans to major in business administration and plans to work in project management.

 

Felicity Klinkhammer – Basketball – Dakota Wesleyan University

At Brandon Valley, Felicity Klinkhammer has competed in a trio of sports: volleyball, basketball and track and field. And, next year she’ll continue to play one of the three – basketball – at the collegiate level.

Klinkhammer, who’s been playing the game since the second grade, last week signed her letter of intent paperwork with Dakota Wesleyan University. 

“My mom played. My sister played,” she said, “and it’s just been a sport that I’ve done forever and I’ve just always loved it. I love the team aspect that comes with it and the atmosphere, and that’s why I really wanted to pursue it,” she said.

Klinkhammer is one of 10 student-athletes signed by DWU head coach Jason Christensen. And like many of her peers, DWU “just felt right.”

“When I was on my visit, it just felt right at the moment,” she said. “The coaches were really awesome. They were very straight-forward with me, they were awesome, telling me they wanted me to be part of the program. There was just an instant connection.”

Klinkhammer, a two-year letter winner in basketball, was the team’s “Coca Cola Unsung Hero Award” winner her junior season. She’s also participated in volleyball and track and field, is a fixture on the honor roll, winner of the Presidential Award and All-Academic for three years. 

Nancy and Tobin Klinkhammer’s daughter has selected nursing has her major and plans to be a nurse anesthetist.

 

Marya Schiltz – Track & Field/Pole Vault – University of Sioux Falls

Marya Schiltz will continue to reach for new heights at the University of Sioux Falls next year, where the 2018 BVHS senior inked her future as a pole vaulter for the Cougars.

USF was at the top of her list for a single reason. “The number one thing is that it’s a faith-based school,” she said. “Just being on campus, it was way different than being in Sioux Falls, and I was kind of worried about that. But it’s so different on campus, it’s its own little community.”

Schiltz has selected nursing as her major. “I’ve always been sold on the medical field or anything dealing with that, but the nursing side I liked the feeling of caring for and helping people,” she said.

The pole vault grabbed Schliltz’s attention early on, noting the competitiveness and the challenge the event presents.  

“You compete against others but it’s mainly trying to get that next PR (personal record), trying to keep getting better,” she said. “At first, it’s something you’ve never done before but as the years go, you just grab another pole and keep going.”

The sport has also led her to “do better in sports and other things,” said the daughter of Bryan and Jane Schiltz.

 

Haylee Waterfall – Augie – Track & Field/Cross Country

Haylee Waterfall wasn’t happy when her parents encouraged her to run cross country and give up soccer in the seventh grade.

“I really didn’t want to, but I’m so glad that I did,” she now admits. “It’s so fun to be around and at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what place you come in, because I feel like everybody supports each other.”

Her years of pounding the pavement caught the attention of Augustana University’s women’s track and field and cross country coaches, leading Waterfall to sign with the Vikings.

“Their team is really close, and that’s something I’ve always liked about Brandon Valley, is our team has always been really close,” she said. “Their academics were also the best, and their admissions counselor was so much more understanding about majors, so I really appreciated that.’

Waterfall will major in exercise science/pre-physical therapy, with plans to go on to graduate school for physical therapy.

Waterfall defines inking her future as “definitely future.”

“It’s good to see all your hard work payoff, but at the end of the day, I’m so proud of the team and how we’ve come together. Honestly, there’s no way I could get better without any of them. I actually feel like our team improves each other just so much more. Everybody comes to practice and we’re all just so hard working, so enthusiastic to just go out and run, and that’s so weird to some people, but I just love it.”

Waterfall has certainly left her mark on the Lynx cross country and track and field programs since taking her first steps in both sports. She currently possesses the school record in the open 800, and was part of school record relays teams, the 4x800 and the medley. Elevating her scholarship worth, Waterfall ran a leg of BV’s 4x400 relay team that not only set a school record, but broke the state record, too. 

This fall, Troy and Rachel Waterfall’s daughter led the Lady Lynx cross country team to the program’s first-ever state title.