The inaugural South Dakota Esports State Tournament took place in Brookings over the weekend with 140 esports athletes competing in four events to conclude the organization’s groundbreaking season in the state. Six athletes from Woonsocket were part of the competition, with four competing and two as substitutes.
…Read on and see an additional picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!
The 2023-2024 school year featured a new state sanctioned sport in South Dakota: ESports. Due to the groundwork laid by 2023 Woonsocket graduate Blake Howard in his senior project to set up an ESports club last year, this year’s official ESports team was ready to take the new sport’s league by storm to qualify for the State Competition and compete in Brookings on March 22-23. The ESports team also coordinated with the Woonsocket Chess Club this year to allow for a crossover activity.
ESports athletes competed with other schools throughout the season in a variety of video game challenges. The Woonsocket team was successful, winning many of their competitions. These accomplishments led to many team members qualifying for state. In the Rocket League game division, Woonsocket state qualifiers include Brendan Evans, Oscar Anderson and Teagen Eggleston, with Chance Machado and Garrett Aldrich as subs. Electronic Chess qualifiers are Brendan Evans and Oscar Anderson. In the Smash Bros. video game category, state qualifiers are Brendan Evans, Oscar Anderson and Briley Viktora.
The state tournament is free to attend, with doors opening to the general public at 9:30 a.m. at Club 71 inside of the Dana J Dykhouse Stadium. The event will also be live-streamed on Fensworks’ Youtube, Twitch, and Facebook pages.
…See a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!
It was going to take two upsets on their opponents’ home courts for the Blackhawks to earn a trip to the SoDak 16, but they did not back down from the challenge laid before them and brought home two Region Tournament victories to land their spot in the SoDak 16.
The first obstacle was traveling to Platte on Tuesday, Feb. 27 to take on Platte-Geddes. The SCW Blackhawks overpowered the Black Panthers by outscoring them 26-17 in the second half and brought home their first Region 5 Tournament win with a 48-43 victory.
Next up was a rematch with the Parkston Trojans, who the Blackhawks had lost to earlier in the season by an 11-point deficit. The SCW boys shocked the Trojans with a response for anything the Parkston boys threw at them, and the Blackhawks rallied in the second half to keep their lead and never look back, winning the game 75-66 and earning a trip to the SoDak 16.
Leading the way for the Blackhawks was Boschee with a stellar performance, scoring 33 points, including his 1,000th career point that was announced and celebrated at the end of the game.
The Blackhawks went into the SoDak 16 seeded as number 16, which brought them up against the number one seed, Sioux Falls Christian. They played Tuesday night, March 5, in Hartford. Results will be printed in next week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal.
…Read individual results and see a picture of Jeff Boschee in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!