Forty-five Years Ago

A student of our vintage recently sent me a newspaper clipping of the spring 1969 honor rolls for BHS.

This is also the time of year for state tournaments:  gymnastics, wrestling, girls and boys basketballs.  South Dakota now has three classes in some sports, such as basketball and track and field.  This has perhaps resulted in a drop in attendance at some events, while others have seen an increase.  The basketball tournaments are still quite popular.  Overall attendance for the tree tournaments may be higher than it was in our day.  Remember how packed the "B" basketball tournaments were?  It was really difficult for a school to make it to the final eight.  With fewer schools in a division, it is still difficult, but it's not quite the challenge it was.  In class "AA" for instance, there are only 16 schools.  Half of the schools make it to state.  In our day, there were 32.  If a school lost in the region tournament, it was out.  Presently, there are only four regions.  The winners get an automatic bid.  The second place teams play a  third place team from a different region to fill out the remaining four teams.  For example, the Region 1 second place team might play the Region 2 third place team.  The teams are also seeded: 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 5.

Because there are three divisions, the tournaments are hosted by different towns.  The girls state "AA" basketball was played here in Brookings at Frost Arena on the SDSU campus.  Brookings has hosted a number of state tourneys in basketball and gymnastics over the last few years.  The Swiftel Center on the east part of town has a basketball floor that has hosted numerous basketball tournaments as well as the state gymnastics tournament.  The Harlem Globetrotters even made an appearance there this winter. 

Also in town this weekend  was the state hockey tournament.  Hockey has become very popular in Brookings and throughout the state.  There are a number of teams for all age groups, from the pee-wees up to the varsity for both boys and girls. The Brookings team, the Rangers, have had great success, and are consistently among the best teams in the state. There's even a Junior A team, the Brookings Blizzard (http://gobrookingsblizzard.pointstreaksites.com/view/gobrookingsblizzard#.UyXj9s405eE).

Have recently been informed that there is a Facebook page called "I Grew Up In Brookings SD in the 70's," where memories of well-known businesses such as Pizza King, Purple Cow, Nick's, Zesto, et al. are posted.  Those of you in Facebook may already be aware of this.