A young, upset-minded Centerville squad gave the Menno girls all they could handle, but the Wolves survived the scare and hung on for a 46-42 win the second round of the Region 5B Tournament in Menno Tuesday night, Feb. 23.

A game that went back and forth in the first half gave way to Freeman Public dominance in the second as the Flyers ran away with a 55-40 win over Canistota in the first round of the Region 5B Girls Basketball Tournament Monday night, Feb. 22 in Freeman.

Freeman High School seniors Ethan Ortman and Clayton Smith and seventh-grader Riley Tschetter have all qualified for the 2021 State Wrestling Tournament while competing at the Region 2B Tournament in Salem on Saturdays.

The Region 5B Girls Basketball Tournament bracket is set, and Freeman Academy/Marion and Freeman Public will both play at 7 p.m. Monday night, Feb. 22, with Menno taking the court Tuesday.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER The upcoming Region 2B Wrestling Tournament may have been moved from Freeman Public to Salem, but for wresters from Marion/Freeman, the goal remains the same: Compete hard and try to advance to state.

The 2021 Region 2B Wrestling Tournament has been moved from Freeman Public to the McCook Central gymnasium in Salem, region officials announced on Tuesday. The change in location comes because the South Dakota High School Activities Association is requiring a reduction in fan attendance by 50%, said Freeman Athletic Director Kristina Sage. Because McCook Central’s gym is larger than Freeman’s — which has a capacity of just under 1,000 — more fans will be able to attend.

JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER The new football cooperative between Menno and Scotland will be known as the Jim River Trappers and will compete at the 11-man level — not 9-man as was originally expected. Both announcements came last week after football players settled on the team name and the South Dakota High School Activities Association denied an appeal from Menno Superintendent Tom Rice, on behalf of the cooperative, to remain 9-man.

FREEMAN ACADEMY/MARION BOYS Dec. 15: Bearcats 63, Centerville 46 (1-0) Dec. 18: Bearcats 53, Ethan 42 (2-0) Dec. 22: Bearcats 57, TDA 43 (3-0) Jan. 2: ’Cats 63, Lower Brule 81 (3-1) Jan. 5: ‘Cats 66, ORR 48 (4-1) *Jan. 9: 'Cats 52, Mitchell Christian 44 (5-1) *Jan. 12: 'Cats 62, Avon 28 (6-1) *Jan. 16: 'Cats 58, Scotland 27 (7-1) Jan. 19: 'Cats 43, Canistota 67 (7-2) Jan. 26: 'Cats 56, BE 59 (7-3) *Jan. 28: 'Cats 74, Irene-Wakonda 50 (8-3)

A number of local student-athletes have earned postseason accolades for their efforts during the 2020 fall sports season. Those players include, for volleyball: Rijjy Peterson, Odalite Pankratz and Kate Miller from Freeman Public; Alivea Weber and Maria Cortes from Freeman Academy/Marion and Jesse Munkvold, Kaylie Schempp and Kylie Harriman from Menno. For football, they include Tyce Ortman, Clayton Smith, Cole Papendick, Logan Katzer, Isiah Robertson and Blake Anderson from Canistota/Freeman and Treyton Sayler and Logan Langrock from Menno/Marion.

Freeman High School's Rijjy Peterson and Menno's Jesse Munkvold were both named to the 2020 Cornbelt Conference First Team for their play on the volleyball court this past season. Freeman's Odalite Pankratz was named to the second team while Freeman's Kate Miller and Menno's Kaylie Schempp and Kylie Harriman were named to the third team.