In the Huddle

Northern State senior Luke Wicks and his men's basketball teammates will open play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this weekend. NSU will host Upper Iowa on Friday and Winona Saturday at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen (women play at 6 p.m. and men at 8 both nights). Wicks talks about the upcoming conference season and his experiences at Northern State.

Northern State athletic director Bob Olson has served on the NCAA Division II championships committee for the past four years. This is a prestigious group as only 12 people from across the nation serve on the committee. Olson talks about his experiences and some of the issues ahead for Division II institutions such as Northern State.

Wachs Arena on the campus of Northern State in Aberdeen will be the site for four girls' high school classics and two for boys this season. This week's guest is NSU men's basketball assistant coach Steve Smiley, who played a key role in setting up the boys' classics. He talks about both the boys' and the girls' classics. The first Pepsi/NSU men's classic for boys will be Dec. 14.

Hoven girls' basketball coach Twila Rausch is this week's guest. Rausch and her fifth-ranked team (5-0) will be playing in Abedeen this weekend at the Northern State Classic. The Greyhounds will be playing Groton at 8 p.m. Saturday at Wachs Arena. Rausch talks about her team and players on the show.

White River senior basketball standout Louie Krogman is this week's guest. Krogman recently set the South Dakota high school boys' basketball all-time scoring record. He now has 2,901 career points. Don Jacobsen of Lake Norden set the record in 1957 when he finished his career with 2,825 points. Krogman talks about his great teammates, how humbled he was at the great reaction from basketball fans at the Lakota Nation Invitational when he broke the record last weekend in Rapid City and his future at the University of South Dakota.

Aberdeen Swim Club assistant coach Kileen Cleberg is this week's guest. She talks about this weekend's upcoming indoor swim meet in Aberdeen. The meet will be held at the Northeast Regional Health and Fitness Center Saturday and Sunday.

This week's guest is Presentation College women's basketball coach Adam Houdeshell. The Saints' program has flourished under Houdeshell who has led his college to three conference titles and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championship in 2005. The Presentation basketball teams will play their next three games in Aberdeen.

This week's guest is University of Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne. The College Football Hall of Fame coach will be the featured speaker for the Aberdeen Boys' and Girls' Club annual burger buffet Monday at the Aberdeen Ramkota Inn. Osborne talks about his passion for helping children and his love of hunting and fishing in South Dakota. The coach who led the Cornhuskers to three national football championships also talks about how he is enjoying his return to the Nebraska campus after a six-year stint in politics.

This week's guest is Northern State women's swim coach Elyce Kastigar. Her team will host the University of Minnesota-Morris at 4 this afternoon in Aberdeen. The dual will be held at the YMCA pool inside the Northeast Regional Health and Fitness Center. Kastigar talks about that meet, her team and how things have gone during the first year of this new program at NSU. The Wolves have 10 swimmers and hope to double that number in the coming year. She also talks about possibly phasing in diving for the team as well. Kastigar, also the coach of the Aberdeen Swim Club, also talks about Aberdeen hosting the indoor state championships Feb. 29-March 2.

The third annual Northern State Football Team Bench Press Competition will be Saturday at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen. This week's guest is NSU strength and conditioning coach Derik Budig, who will talk about the event. The competition is between a NSU football player and two members of the community to see who can bench press 225 pounds for the most repetitions. The event will be at halftime of the men's basketball game on Saturday between NSU and Southwest Minnesota State. The men's game will start at 8 p.m., the women at 6 p.m. Representing the community will be Aberdeen firefighters J.R. Huebner and Joe Reiter. The NSU football player is Wes Uepi. The Wolves football team is 2-0 in this competition.

This week's guest is Northern State football coach Chris Boden. Boden and his staff announced 29 recruits this week. Boden also discusses how the recruiting process works, the benefits of redshirting and the start of spring football at the end of March.

Aberdeen gymnastics coach Jennifer Deutsch is this week's guest. Coach Deutsch and her team are competing in this weekend's State Gymnastics Meet at Brookings. She talks about her young team, their successful season and their stratagy for this weekend's final competition.

This week's guest is Aberdeen Central wrestling coach Toby Bryant. He talks about Aberdeen hosting this weekend's State A Wrestling Tournament at Wachs Arena Friday and Saturday. Bryant also talks about his Golden Eagles, who will send 11 wrestlers to the state tournament.

Aberdeen Swim Club coach Elyce Kastigar is this week's guest on the Aberdeen American News Sports Internet radio show. She talks about this weekend's upcoming indoor state swimming championships in Aberdeen.

This week's guest is Fellowship of Christian Athletes state director Brian Hansen of Sioux Falls. Hansen talks about his organization and its plans to break ground on a 30,000 square feet, $4 million building this summer. About 75 percent of the funds have been raised and the group is looking for more donations (www. southdakotafca.org) to have a debt-free building. FCA plans to occupy about 2,000 square feet of the building that will be near Sioux Falls Christian High School and the Sanford Health Sports Complex. Hansen was an NFL punter for 15 years. He was a two-time football All-American at the University of Sioux Falls in 1982 and 1983. Since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been challenging coaches and athletes on the amateur and professional level to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ.

Aberdeen native Nate Malchow is this week's guest. Malchow talks about his Sioux Falls Washington girls' basketball team, which won the State AA Tournament last weekend in Rapid City. Malchow is in only his third year with Washington. Two years ago, his team went 3-18 and then 10-13 last season before going 22-3 this season.

This week's guest is Frank Cutler. Frank is the head boys' basketball coach at Platte-Geddes, which won the State A tourney last weekend in Sioux Falls. Frank is a Claremont native who graduated from Langford High School. Frank talks about his team and his hometown area.

This week's guest is Cheryl Gapp of Salem. She is the manager of the United States Bowling Congress South Dakota Women's Bowling State Tournament that starts today at the Village Bowl in Aberdeen. It runs March 28-30; April 4-6; April 11-13; April 18-20; and April 24-27. Gapp talks about the tourney and what a great job Aberdeen volunteers do of hosting the event.

Former Presentation College men's basketball coach Randy Jordan is this week's guest. Jordan is now the boys' basketball coach at St. Cloud Technical School in Minnesota. He recently led his young team to a 29-3 season and a third place finish in the Class 4A tourney. Class 4A is the largest class of schools in Minnesota's 4-class system. Jordan's son, Nick, was the junior point guard on the team.

This week's guest is John Jave, deputy project leader at Sand Lake Wildlife Refuge. John talks about the refuge's auto tour that is now open during daylight hours only. It's a great time to view the waterfowl migration as new species are arriving daily. The wildlife drive is a 15-mile route (by car or bicycle) that travels through the heart of the refuge, whose headquarters from Aberdeen is east on U.S. Highway 12 to Bath, and then north 18 miles on Brown County 16. Headquarters has information that will guide you through 12 stops along the route to help you better understand refuge management and the habitat and wildlife you are seeing.