JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER For those who have been waiting for the tide to turn for the Freeman Public boys basketball program, it appears that time has finally arrived.

By Dana Hess - For the S.D. Newspaper Association PIERRE — A week set aside for the appreciation of game officials is part of an effort to inspire sportsmanship in high school athletics.

The Freeman Public girls opened their 2022-23 basketball season at home against Platte-Geddes Tuesday night, Dec. 6 and lost to the Black Panthers 49-39. The Flyers will host Viborg-Hurley in a doubleheader with the boys Friday night, Dec. 9.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER A brand-new wrestling facility like The Hangar at Freeman Public certainly doesn’t equate to success on the mat, but it certainly doesn’t hurt in building energy for the program, and that’s what head coach Chris Sayler is seeing at the onset of his 15th year as a coach for the Rebels.

For the second season in a row, Freeman High School seniors Kate Miller and Erin Uecker have been selected to the Cornbelt Conference First Team. They are joined by Viborg-Hurley’s Coral Mason (MVP), Kate Connor and Piper Thompson of Howard, and Annalyse Weber of Hanson. Freeman junior Cami Fransen was named to the third team and junior Ashlin Jacobsen was the Flyers’ honorable mention.

When the Freeman High School girls volleyball team stepped foot on the Class B volleyball court at the Sanford Premier Center late Thursday morning, they did so as the No. 8 seed. A little more than 48 hours later, early Saturday afternoon, the Flyers walked off the same court in the same arena in the same position — eighth.

Twenty-five: That’s the number of kills posted by Northwestern standout Ella Haven. Four: That’s the number of aces the senior had.

In February of 1998, when South Dakota high school volleyball was still played in the winter and sets were played to 15 in a best-of-three format, No. 8-seed Freeman High School knocked off No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian in the opening round of the Class B state tournament. 

Parents, family and fans are invited to pep rally/sendoff for the state-bound Freeman Public volleyball team at 9:30 a.m. at the high school gym Wednesday, Nov. 16. The Flyers will then leave for Sioux Falls from the school’s parking lot at 9:45 a.m., via an escort from the Freeman Volunteer Fire Department.

Click here for a look at what was a thrilling night for the Freeman volleyball team.