PREP PLUS: Players hit big screen at Northwestern

Volleyball and basketball players at Northwestern High School can see their names and pictures in lights.

 The school unveiled a new Daktronics scoreboard in the gym. Daktronics, which is based out of Brookings and has developed scoreboards from high school to the Olympics to the pros, built the board with a lighted picture portion.

 “We have it for volleyball and basketball, but it can be used for just about anything,” said Northwestern superintendent and athletic director Ray Sauerwein. “If we have awards night in the gym, we can turn on the board and have all the kids’ pictures. We can use the Daktronics board without using the scoreboard. With different software, the board can show video.”

 A new scoreboard for the Wildcats became a necessity when the old scoreboard reached the end.

 “One of our scoreboards quit and we couldn’t get parts. We had no choice but to replace them,” said Sauerwein. “We purchased our last scoreboards in 1985 and they were starting to get some age on them. The Daktronics people said you can usually get 10 to 15 years on a scoreboard.”

 The cost of the scoreboard was $49,000, but no school district funds were used. The Northwestern community used fundraisers and sold advertising on the board to offset the cost. Sauerwein noted that Northwestern followed a plan similar to one used by Trent Osborne at Ipswich.

 “Trent got the community involved and sold advertising,” said Sauerwein. “The ads paid for the scoreboard itself. We assembled it and put it together ourselves. Daktronics sent one guy out here who was supposed to know how to put it up, but he was just a software guy. It took a lot of people to make it work.”

 The Northwestern journalism classes helped with the ads and students in the computer classes learn to run the scoreboard, which is operated by computers.

 “It didn’t cost the school any money, so it’s hard to have negative comments,” said Sauerwein. “Ipswich, Redfield and Miller have all bought new scoreboards. The Miller one has a few more toys. You can buy clocks to put in the locker room or lunchroom, so people know how much time is left.”

 Plus, the players can be in the spotlight.

Sports writer Deb Smith

 

One-shoe wonder

 Competing in a state cross country meet can be a tough task in itself, but covering nearly the entire course with just one shoe is beyond difficult.

 McLaughlin’s Jeremiah McCauley accomplished that feat last Saturday when he lost his shoe shortly after the gun went off for the 5K race.

 “He grabbed it right away and held onto it until toward the very end when he saw me on the sideline,” said McLaughlin coach Derek Stewart. “It was toward the finish line when he started sprinting where he handed me the shoe so he didn’t have to carry it anymore.”

 The course was anything but smooth and featured some areas of concrete designed as a cart path for golfers. Other spots on the course were a bit soft and muddy from a previous rain. Yet McCauley stayed the course and defeated 21 runners despite running with just one shoe on.

 “Jeremiah is an extremely dedicated young man. He is only in 10th grade and is doing extremely well both in school and on the track,” Stewart noted. “He is a young man with a bright future. It was kind of funny to see him lose his shoe and continue running like it wasn’t anything to worry about, because he knew he had a race to finish.”

Sports writer Dave Vilhauer