Ryan Bozer:
Hey, good morning, thanks for joining SDPB News. I'm Ryan Bozer here with Your Morning In Play. With me this morning is our sports and recreation reporter, Nate Wek, and he and I got talking last time about maybe having a nice little feel good story first thing in the morning for you. And Nate, I think you brought one of those for us today.
Nate Wek:
I did. We've got a program that will feature four really good stories about South Dakota High School basketball in South Dakota, it's called Tales from the Hardwood, and it'll air on February 29th, so next Thursday. And one of those stories is on something pretty cool that happened up in Onida, South Dakota at Sully Buttes High School just this past December here, so a few months ago. They dedicated the court to Mark Senftner, who was a longtime girls basketball coach. He sadly passed away during a battle with cancer in October of 2022.
So it was an emotional time when they dedicated the court, but we were there to capture it. And we spent the whole day in Onida for that moment, interviewed a lot of different people, just to really get an idea of who Mark was and what he meant to the community and the school, not just as a coach, but as a person as well. So it was a pretty emotional shoot, as you can imagine, but certainly one where everybody was very much willing to talk about Mark, because he did leave quite an impact on the community of Onida.
Ryan Bozer:
So without spoiling too much, what did you learn about Mark and his legacy in the community?
Nate Wek:
So he won four girls basketball titles during his time at Sully Buttes. So a lot of people that maybe didn't know Mark know the success that his programs had with the state tournament appearances, and all that. But the one thing we really got to know about Mark was just how much he cares about kids. Not just the kids that he had the opportunity of coaching, but kids that were in band, kids that were in theater, kids that were singers. He would just go to all of these different events to support kids in the community, and that's something that we really got on grasp on.
So one of the people that we obviously had to talk to was Mark's wife, Lynn Senftner. And when we talked to her we asked her, "What does this court dedication mean to you guys?" And she gave a pretty cool answer, here's what she had to say.
Lynn Senftner:
But the dedication is really special because it is going to allow us to celebrate Mark in a place that he loved, and a place that our family spent a lot of time in. And there's heartbreak in that gym for our family, and much joy, and a place that's just always felt like home to all of us. We've spent a lot of time there.
Ryan Bozer:
Really a legacy and an impact that Mark had on the community, what a tribute then to put his name on the court, right?
Nate Wek:
Absolutely. And you think of Onida and you think of the Byrums, you think of some of the other big names like Kent Hyde and the Suttons, and stuff like that, some of the big sports names that come out of that Onida community. So for Mark's name, and I think it makes sense to have it on the court because, you heard Lynn mention it, this was a spot that meant not just a lot to him as a coach, but all of the extra hours that he spent in that gym, it kind of was like his second home in Onida, that gym at Sully Buttes High School.
Ryan Bozer:
Yeah, I mean that's how you know that not only did he have an impact on the community, but the community had an impact on him, if that was a second home for him.
Nate Wek:
Absolutely.
Ryan Bozer:
That's incredible that we have that union, and what a phenomenal story to feature. So again, that's Tales from the Hardwood, airing on February 29th, that story, and what, three other ones?
Nate Wek:
Yep, we'll have three other ones, and we'll feature another one of those stories next week, and I can also give a little preview of the other two stories that we'll have as well.
Ryan Bozer:
Sweet. And then let's also look forward a little bit, we got state wrestling championships coming up this weekend. How can we watch those?
Nate Wek:
Yep, so Thursday through Saturday this week is the state individual state wrestling championships. All eight mats will be streamed live throughout the duration of the event at sdpb.org/wrestling. And then as well the championship session at 1:00 on Saturday, 1:00 PM Central Time, that will also air live on SDPB TV-1.
Ryan Bozer:
Wow, that sounds like another busy weekend for you, Nate. I look forward to getting to catch up with you again next week about how these championships shake out and talk more about Tales from the Hardwood. Thanks for joining me again for another Your Morning In Play, we'll check back in next week.
Nate Wek:
All right, thanks Ryan, appreciate it.
