For the first time in program history, Hill City Rangers volleyball is going to the state tournament.
This, said head coach Lindsy Wathen, is a big deal and has been a goal for her team since she took the reins as coach four years ago.
“Every year we have gotten just a little bit, one step closer,” Wathen said on making the tournament. “So it’s pretty exciting, but we don’t want to limit it there. We want to go as far as we can in the state tournament.”
The Custer girls volleyball team closed out its season Thursday with a 10-10 win-loss record after being defeated by St. Thomas More (STM) in first round Region 7A/8A play at Rapid City. The Cavaliers beat the Wildcats in three sets, but only after a valiant comeback by the ‛Cats in set two.
Having faced the No. 4 seeded Cavs on two previous occasions this season, the Wildcats spent time in practice working to match STM’s strengths.
Following a nerve-wracking first set, the Custer High School girls volleyball team rallied mightily to beat the Lead-Deadwood Golddiggers in three sets Tuesday, Oct. 27, to finish out the regular season with a 10-9 record.
The Custer Wildcat football team finished the season with a record of 4-4, with senior running back/fullback Daniel Sedlacek leading the statistical charge at season’s end.
Sedlacek was by far the team’s leading rusher, as he picked up 939 yards on the season on 145 carries, good for a 6.5 yards-per-carry average. The team’s second-leading rusher, Chance Harsh, picked up 370 yards on 32 carries and had the longest run of the season at 91 yards.
The Hill City Rangers girls cross country team overcame cold and snowy conditions at the state meet and won the Class A state championship at Hart Ranch Oct. 24.
In addition to that, freshman Abby Cutler was the individual champion for Class A.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said head coach Joe Noyes. “To do all the work and have it pay off this way, it doesn’t get much better.”
Hill City Rangers volleyball easily put away Custer High School during their match Oct. 20.
The Rangers were able to cruise to a 3-0 win (25-14, 25-13, 25-11) thanks to some good play all around.
Custer did jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first set, but then the Rangers came roaring back due in part to some impressive offensive play by the Rangers, which included an ace by Hailey Wathen.
After winning back to back state championships the last two years, the Custer girls cross country team came away from a cold and snowy state meet at Hart Ranch Saturday with a third place trophy. Meanwhile, in the boys race, the Wildcats took home a fourth place trophy.
Junior Kadense Dooley was the frontrunner for the girls, placing sixth in the state with a time of 19:53.70.
It was Dooley’s highest placing ever and she tied her personal record, according to coach Karen Karim.
Despite losing two team members at the end of the season, the Custer competitive cheer team finished its 2020 season by placing eighth out of 13 schools in the small team category at the state finals Friday. At the state cheer and dance competition held at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, Custer also placed 14th among all A schools in the state with its score of 161.
After two previous defeats at the hands of the Hill City Rangers already this season, the Custer Wildcats knew they in for a tough battle on the volleyball court Oct. 20 when they traveled to meet the 22-2 Rangers on their home court. However, in spite of advance preparation in practice, the Wildcats were disappointed once again as the Rangers won easily in straight sets, 25-14, 25-13, 25-11.
For the second consecutive year, the Custer High School football team will be spectators for the Class A football playoffs.
And, for the second consecutive year, it was the Belle Fourche Broncs who escorted the Wildcats out of the playoff race, besting the Wildcats by a field goal—the same margin of victory as a year ago—in a 17-14 win at Wildcat Field last Thursday evening.
This year’s loss was even more heartbreaking for the Wildcats, as it came on a 29-yard field goal as time expired.
