South Dakota School of Mines punter and pole vaulter Kolten Jelden recently placed fourth in the Men's 1 Slalom at the 2011 11-state Western Regional Waterski Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
The Eaton, Colo., native will be a junior this fall for Mines, where Jelden is a mechanical engineering major. Jelden had a solid season as the Hardrockers punter last year and capped off his athletic year with a trip to the NAIA National Outdoor Championships as a pole vaulter.
“This kind of shows you what kind of athlete Kolten Jelden is,” Hardrocker football coach Dan Kratzer told the Rapid City Journal. “Kolten is a competitor.”
GOLF
Byrums to enter shrine
Onida natives Curt and Tom Byrum will be inducted into the South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame during a ceremony August 8 at Westward Ho Country Club in Sioux Falls at 5 p.m., following completion of the 16th annual Orion Classic.
Curt Byrum is currently a member of Golf Channel's live tournament broadcast team. Prior to joining the network in 2001, he competed for more than 15 years on the PGA Tour, accumulating 19 top-10 finishes, highlighted by winning the 1989 Hardee's Classic. During his amateur career, Curt Byrum won the SDGA Men's Amateur Championship three times. He also won the 1979 Men's Match Play Championship, one of only four golfers who have won the Men's Amateur and Men's Match Play championships in the same year.
Tom Byrum also had a very successful professional career, including winning the 1989 Kemper Open. When Curt won the Hardee's Classic later that same year, it marked the first time since 1972 that brothers had won PGA Tour events in the same year. Tom also competed in the 1990 and 2003 Masters Tournaments.
The Byrums become the 40th and 41st members of the South Dakota Golf Hall of Fame, which was established in 1977.
BASKETBALL
Skyforce coach returning
Mo McHone will return to coach the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2011-12.
McHone came back to take over the club last season when Tony Fritz was fired. McHone is the franchise leader in wins at 180. Sioux Falls is coming off its worst season since joining the NBA Development League at 10-40.
Tibbetts coaching Team USA
Former Sioux Falls Roosevelt and University of South Dakota standout Nate Tibbetts will be the head coach of the USA men's basketball team in the 2011 Pan American Games.
The games will be Oct. 13-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Tibbetts is the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers in the NBA Development League. All the players will come from the D-League.
FOOTBALL
Coyote tickets available
Single-game tickets for the University of South Dakota football team go on sale Monday at 9 a.m.
Prices start at $10 for bleacher seating and $15 for reserved seating. Youth tickets start at $5 for bleacher seating and $8 for reserved seating.
Coyote Ticket Office: 605-677-5959.
RODEO
Cowboy finds relief in Deadwood
More than 650 pro cowboys and cowgirls are in the Black Hills this weekend for the 89th annual Deadwood Days of '76 rodeo.
The rodeo continues with performances at 7 (MDT) tonight and at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday. Among the competitors is two-time world champion steer roper Rocky Patterson of Pratt, Kan.
“You gotta come to Deadwood,” Patterson told the Rapid City Journal. “The first thing is that they put up a lot of money and it's a good rodeo. The climate and the scenery are unbelievable, which is why everybody likes to come up here and kick back. I left my house in Pratt, Kan., (Tuesday) and the temperature was 106, and we've had 38 days in a row over 100. So I was really ready to be in Deadwood.”
