Prior to winter break, the Panther esports team had a successful week of competition. Many victories were tallied and Dakota Valley continued to show the state that they are one of the top high schools for esports in South Dakota.

The Panthers boys basketball team hosted Beresford to start their season on December 17, 2024. Starters for Dakota Valley were: Luke Bruns, Logan Collette, Drew Lukken, Tyler Cornelsen and Seth Reinhardt.

The Watchdogs of Beresford came to face the Panther girls basketball team on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. It was the home opener for Dakota Valley and the varsity girls started strong right away versus the competition. That stamina stayed with the Panthers as they won 71-51.

It was another exciting week for Panther esports athletes as Dakota Valley faced opponents on multiple days from December 9-12, 2024. “We started off the week with Mario Kart,” remarked Head Coach Mike Oberg.

The Panther varsity wrestling squad was in Elk Point on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. They faced off against the Canton C-Hawks and the Elk Point-Jefferson (EPJ) Huskies in a triangular. Good matches were observed, but ultimately Dakota Valley fell 11-68 to Canton and 29-41 to EPJ.

A tough contest awaited the Dakota Valley girls basketball team on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. The Panthers were in Lennox for their first game of the regular season.

It was a full week on the mat for Dakota Valley wrestlers as Panthers were in action multiple days to kick off the regular season. The team was in Orange City on Saturday, December 7 where they went 2-2 in duals. On Monday, December 9 the girls wrestling team saw action in Sioux City followed by a varsity boys quadrangular, at Kingsley-Pierson (KP), on Tuesday, December 10.

After a tough 3-1 loss Saturday December 14th, Sioux City Metros Varsity defeated the Omaha Jr. Lancers 4-3 on Sunday. Down 2-0 going into the second period, Metros defenseman and North High Senior Noah Dirkschneider sets a win in motion with an unassisted goal. Dirkschneider would then assist Sioux Center Senior Tegan Doelman score with 1.21 left in the period. In the third, South Sioux City Senior Ryan Hedquist scored twice for Sioux City.

Last year high schools in South Dakota embarked on a pilot program for esports with only a select number of school districts participating. Things will be a bit different for this 2024/25 season as esports is now sanctioned and growing in popularity. Esports involves competitive video game play, often with multiple players.

Sioux City Metros are currently ranked #1 in the Midwest High School Hockey League after recent results. Sioux City Metros Varsity scores; November 29th FINAL: Sioux City Metros 7, Fremont Flyers 1 November 30th FINAL: Sioux City Metros 1, Dubuque Saints 2 December 1st FINAL: Sioux City Metros 3, Dubuque 0 December 7th FINAL: Sioux City Metros 2, Des Moines Oak Leafs 1 December 8th FINAL: in Overtime: Sioux City 3, Des Moines Oak Leafs 4 Metros Junior Varsity stands with 12 total wins and one loss ranking the second in the league.