The Panther boys varsity basketball team closed out February with a siren as they won huge in the first round of South Dakota Region 4A play against the Parker Pheasants. Dakota Valley (DV) played at home and outscored their opponents in every quarter to win 85-31 on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The South Dakota High School Sports Awards announced the nominees for all of the fall sports played in the state of South Dakota. The winners of each of the following sports will be announced during the live show to be held June 12 at the Mary W. Sommervold Hall at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls.

Four Dakota Valley wrestlers travelled to Rapid City on Feb. 23-25 to wrestle for a chance to be a state placewinner. Sophomore Jackson Boonstra was impressive on his way to a 6th place _nish in a highly competitive 145-pound weight class. Cameron Curry gained valuable experience as a 7th grader on the state stage while Gracie Delgado and McKenzie Scott both saw success past their invitation for the double elimination state tourney.

Dakota Valley’s senior night for boys basketball brought a lot of emotion and cheers for the class of 2023 players. Prior to the game, Coach Jason Kleis described what the senior boys have meant to the team and to the season as they looked to take on Lennox on Friday, Feb. 24. It was the last regular season home game and the Panthers started strong to never once relent en route to an 89-57 victory.

The Sioux City Metros hosted Nebraska’s Fremont Flyers Friday, Feb. 23. The JV squad took a 9-1 win while Varsity landed a 7-1 victory. Saturday, the Metros took to the road to compete against the number one team in the Midwest High School Hockey League (MHSHL), the Kansas City Jets. After a score of 1-2 on Saturday, JV lost their _nal game of the season on Sunday in a shootout with a _nal score of 3-4. After a 2-4 loss on Saturday, Varsity battled hard on Sunday. The team tied up the game quickly in the third but the Jets dropped the winning goal with two minutes remaining in the game. The _nal score 1-2 Jets.

The Panther girls basketball team played their _nal game versus the Lennox Orioles in a tough _rst round regional contest. Dakota Valley (DV) would enter the game as the #6 seed while the Orioles would be ranked #3.

The Dakota Valley girls basketball team closed out the regular season with a resounding victory versus the Madison Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 17. The Panthers had great shots on offense and played tough defense to secure the away game win by a score of 5228.

It was another big game for the Panther boys basketball team as they travelled across the river to take on Sioux City West High School on Valentine’s Day. Dakota Valley (DV) did not need chocolates, roses or any help from cupid to get the victory as they led the whole game to win 79-69 on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The South Dakota High School Region 2A boys wrestling meet was held at Brandon Valley on Friday, Feb. 17. With a chance to go to state on the line, sophomore Jackson Boonstra, who has been solid all season, would punch his ticket as would 7th grader Cameron Curry.

The Panther wrestling squad will be sending four varsity wrestlers to state competition in Rapid City this year. Jackson Boonstra and Cameron Curry placed high enough at the region meet on Feb. 17 in Brandon Valley to become individual boy state quali_ers. Gracie Delgado and Kenzi Scott will represent Dakota Valley for the girls individual meet at the state level after being ranked in the top 16 at their designated weight class.