- Publish date:
Who & Where
1 Eric Piatkowski
The Rockets forward and 10-year NBA veteran is from Rapid City.
2 Becky Hammon
The New York Liberty guard and former Colorado State All-America
is from Rapid City.
3 Lincoln McIlravy
The 2000 Olympic wrestling bronze medalist is also from Rapid
City.
4 Kerry Ligtenberg
The Blue Jays righthander, born in Rapid City and raised in
Mitchell, has a 3.09 career ERA over six years.
HOT SPOT
5 Sturgis
The Black Hills town is the home of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum
and Hall of Fame and draws a half-million riders to its annual
rally. Started in 1938 as a way to attract tourists, the event
includes concerts, a Rocky Mountain oyster-eating competition and
the World Pickle Lickin' Federation's Pickle Lickin' Contest.
6 Jesse Bail
The No. 2-ranked pro rodeo cowboy hails from Camp Crook.
7 Jim Scherr
The Mobridge native and former Olympic wrestler is acting CEO of
the USOC. Twin brother Bill won a bronze medal in wrestling in
1988.
8 Tom and Curt Byrum
The PGA Tour pros from Onida each won events in '89, making them
the first brothers to do so since '72; Tom still plays on the
Tour full time.
9 Josh Heupel
The Aberdeen native quarterbacked Oklahoma to the national title
in 2000 and is now a Sooners graduate assistant.
10 Brock Lesnar
The 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion at Minnesota and
current WWE star grew up in Webster.
11 Sioux Falls
The state's SI Sportstown, for having the best community sports
programs, is home to the Northern League's Canaries (baseball)
and USHL's Stampede (hockey).
12 Mike Miller
The Grizzlies forward, a two-time state player of the year at
Mitchell High, was the 2000-01 NBA Rookie of the Year.
13 Daktronics
The Brookings-based scoreboard maker, founded by two professors
at South Dakota State, employs more than 1,200 people.
14 South Dakota State
The school won the '02 D-II women's basketball crown and has
taken six men's national cross-country titles.
15 Mike Martz
The Rams' coach was born in Sioux Falls and moved to San Diego at
age eight.
16 Kris Tschetter
The LPGA star from Sioux Falls won the state's women's amateur
four times.
17 Ben Leber
The Chargers linebacker is from Vermillion; brother Jason was an
All-America fullback at South Dakota.
18 University of South Dakota
The Vermillion school has three alums active in the NFL, and its
women's basketball team features NCAA national player of the year
Mandy Koupal, a senior forward from Wagner.
19 Rod DeHaven
The U.S.'s lone entrant in the 2000 Olympic men's marathon (he
finished 69th) is from Huron and went to South Dakota State.
COLOR PHOTO: JAY L.CLENDENIN/POLARIS (RALLY) Rally participants come in all sizes.
COLOR MAP: MAP ILLUSTRATION BY JOE ZEFF PIERRE
An SI flashback story on sports adventures in the historic Black
Hills and a gallery of photos and facts about Adam Vinatieri and
other Mount Rushmore State stars at
si.com/magazine/features/si50/states/south_dakota
