LOCAL SPORTS 6-13-23

The Yankton Fury Black softball team are 4 and 2 on the year, as they return to action this evening against SD Thunder. Yankton will host SD Thunder for their double header at Riverside Park, with first pitch of game one slated for 6:00 PM.

            The Yankton Fury Red softball squad are off this week, as they gear up for a Father’s Day Tournament in Yankton.

            Yankton Post 12 Legion baseball are off for a few days, as they prepare for their third tournament in as many weeks. Yankton will take part in the Dakota Classic in Sioux Falls, alongside thirty-five other teams from six different states.

Post 12’s first games of the Classic will take place on Friday, as they are guaranteed to play at least four games over the course of the event.

The University of South Dakota women’s outdoor track and field team had four athletes earn All-American honors following last week’s National Championships.

            Pole vaulters Gen Hirata (Jen Her-ah-ta) and Marleen Mulla (Moo-la) earned first team honors following 3rd and 6th place finishes at the national meet. Jacy Pulse and Danii Anglin received second-team honors, as Pulse took 10th in the 400 meter hurdles, and Anglin finished 14th in the high jump.

            The Coyotes were the only Summit League team to have a first team honoree, and their eight All-American selections between the indoor and outdoor seasons are the most in program history at the division one level.

            The University of South Dakota announced the appointment of a new head diving coach yesterday, as Jill Smolczyk (S-mole-chick) will take the reins next season.

            Smolczyk, a Coyote Sports Hall of Famer, carries an impressive resume into the role, as she was a six-time All-American during her time at USD, and was named the 2008 NCAA Division Two Women’s Diver of the Year. Smolczyk has been around the diving program as a coach for several years already, as she’s been a volunteer assistant since 2018.