Yankton High School officially announced in a press release this morning that new head coaches had been hired for the school’s wrestling, volleyball, and girls basketball programs.
Taking over as wrestling coach is Robert Coyle III. Coyle is a Watertown high school alum, and during his time with the program he was a three-time state placer, two-time Region 1A champion, and two-time all-conference ESD selectee.
In College, Coyle wrestled at Northern State University, winning NSU’s most improved award, and being named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic team five times.
Coyle will graduate from Northern State this Spring with a Master’s degree in the Accelerated Special Education program and, alongside his coaching duties, has accepted a special education teaching position at Beadle Elementary School in Yankton beginning in the 2023-2024 school year.
Tayler Stacey has been named the new head volleyball coach for the Yankton Gazelles. Stacey, like coach Coyle, is also a Watertown high school alum where she was the Libero for the Arrows, helping her team place 4th and 3rd in the state tournament. Stacey was also awarded all ESD and all-tournament team at the state tournament.
Stacey attended Dakota State University, where she majored in elementary education with minors in ESL, reading, and technology. While at DSU, she was also a member of the volleyball team, helping them qualify for the national tournament. Stacey most recently served as the assistant/head coach for the Vermillion Tanagers last season.
The new man in charge of the Yankton Gazelles basketball program is Yankton Bucks basketball assistant coach Matt Decker. Decker started as a volunteer coach for the Bucks in 2018, and has been an official member of the Bucks staff since 2019, helping the team qualify for the state tournament all five years, including a state title last season.
Decker is also an alum of Watertown high school, graduating in 2015, and starting on an Arrows squad that made the state tournament in his senior season. Decker graduated from the University of South Dakota in 2019, and has been Social Studies Teacher at YMS for four years (2019-2023). Coach Decker says that he looks forward to growing the program and being a part of a great basketball tradition in Yankton.
The Mount Marty Lancers have a new home run king following their Sunday double header against Doane, as Billy Hancock hit 3 home runs to pass Jason Nelson for the top spot in school history.
Hancock’s first home run of the day was a grand slam in game one, as the Lancers would fall to Doane 8-7. Hancock then would hit two more long balls in a high scoring game two as the Lancers came away with a 20-13 victory.
Hancock currently sits at 47 home runs and counting, with his next chance to add to his record coming up in a double header against Dordt on Friday.
Mount Marty Lancers men’s Tennis earned their first GPAC victory in program history over the weekend, as they defeated Hastings College 5-2 on Saturday.
Heinrich Lindeque, Jeronimo Wagner, Marcos Moreno and Ignacio Gomez each won in singles play for the Lancers, with the duos of Lindeque and Wagner, as well as Moreno and Daniel Anderico winning in doubles play.
The Lancer women’s Tennis team was also in action over the weekend as they fell to Hastings on Saturday, and were swept by College of Saint Mary yesterday.
Next up for the Lancer men is a home duel with Buena Vista this afternoon, while the women are off until their season finale against Morningside on April, 25th.
Mount Marty Women’s Golf took home a second place finish in the The Tatanka Spring Invite over the weekend, with MMU’s Kelsey Heath posting the top score of the invitational.
Kelsey Heath shot a 79 en route to her victory, while Courtney Heath earned a 7th place finish, shooting an 87. Tanna Lehfeldt also finished in the top 20, ending the event tied for 19th.
Three members of the men’s team also competed in the event, as Ted Bengston was the top finisher, ending the event tied for 37th, shooting an 85.
The Lancer women are next scheduled to compete in today’s Dordt Invitational, while the men are off until the GPAC championships on April 24th and 25th
Mount Marty track and field braved the elements over the weekend as they took part in the Sioux City Relays.
On the men’s side, the Lancers were led by Nathan Simons (400 meter) and Cristobal Gonzalez (10,000 meter) who both posted event victories. Simons also finished 3rd in
the 200 meter, while Donovan Breckenridge (2nd in the 200 meter) and Brian Santiago (6th in the 10,000 meter) also posted high finishes for MMU.
The Lancer women were led by Calli Davis who picked up a pair of runner-up finishes in both the 200 and 400 meter runs. Two other Lancers also took home podium finishes, as Eliana Clark was 3rd in the 200, while Ashinee George was 2nd in the 100 hurdles.
Next for MMU is a meet at Northwestern College, April, 21st through 22nd.
The Mount Marty Lancers softball team are currently 13 and 14 overall, 6 and 6 in GPAC play, as they are set to host the College of Saint Mary in a double header this afternoon.
First pitch of game one between the Lancers and the Flames is set for 4:00 PM, both games will be held at Sertoma Park in Yankton.
Yankton Bucks baseball returns to Riverside Field this evening, as the Bucks host the Mitchell Kernels in a double header beginning at 5:30 PM.
Pregame coverage on KYNT and KYNTV will begin at 5:00, Brayden Butler will be on the call.
Yankton Gazelles softball will also be at home tonight, as they host the Tea Area Titans at Sertoma Park. Only one game is scheduled between the two squads, with first pitch set for 5:00 PM.
Yankton track and field are set to travel to Mitchell for the Corn Palace Relays this afternoon. The Relays were originally scheduled for Saturday, but were postponed due to weather. Today’s events are set to begin at 4:00 PM.
The Bucks and Gazelles will also compete tomorrow at 3:00 PM against Brandon Valley, Sioux City Bishop Heelan, Sioux Falls O’Gorman, and Sioux Falls Washington, with the events set to take place at Sioux Falls O’Gorman high school.
Yankton Gazelles golf has a quadrangular tomorrow afternoon, as they travel to Brandon Golf Course to take on Brandon Valley, Brookings, and Harrisburg. The meet is set to begin at 1:00 PM.
Yankton Bucks tennis returns to the courts for the first time in nearly two weeks tomorrow afternoon, as they are in Sioux Falls to battle SF Jefferson at 1:00 PM, and SF Washington at 4:00.
