Tag: dsu blue hawks

Sanders making impact for Hawks after getting another opportunity to play

Dickinson State senior Johnie Sanders, right, goes around Black Hills State (S.D.) senior Rob Johnson during a men’s basketball game against Black Hills State on Nov. 3 at Scott Gymnasium.

Johnie Sanders’ time at Dickinson State is already supposed to be done.

Before the 2011-12 season, Sanders had committed to spend his final year of college basketball eligibility playing for the Blue Hawks. Then, he ran into eligibility issues that forced him to bail on DSU and return to Northwest Oklahoma State, where he had played his junior season.

When DSU head coach Ty Orton gave Sanders a second chance to be a Blue Hawk last spring, he jumped at the chance.

“I should have been here last year, but things happen for a reason,” Sanders said. “I’m here this year. I’m happy that coach Orton took me back under his wing.”

Continue reading “Sanders making impact for Hawks after getting another opportunity to play”

DSU must learn from this season

There are two ways to remember the 2012 Dickinson State football season:

One is to forget about it and act like it never happened. The season is over. Bring on the next.

The second, and undoubtedly better, option is for it to be evoked as a lesson learned and as the season which helped the program take a step toward improving in every aspect.

Truth be told, the Blue Hawks’ 2-9 finish in their first season in the Frontier Conference wasn’t entirely unexpected. They came into the season picked to finish second-to-last by the league’s coaches and their projected fifth-string running back, senior Presley Straub, was thrust into a starting role before fall practice even began.

Continue reading “DSU must learn from this season”

No. 10 Hawks are a promising group

Dickinson State head coach Thadd O’Donnell, right, sits next to assistant coach Justin Schlecht during the DSU alumni wrestling dual Friday night at Scott Gymnasium.

There is something good happening in a noisy room tucked away in the basement of Weinbergen Hall.

Back where very few even lay an eye, in a room encased with brick and typically blasting hard rock music through its lone door, is perhaps Dickinson State’s most consistent program of the past decade — its wrestling team.

This year, the Blue Hawks look like a team that could find its footing early.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been on such a talented team, as far as not just wrestling but dedication and focus,” said senior Jesse Hellinger, who is ranked No. 11 in the NAIA and third in the North Region at 184 pounds.

The Blue Hawks enter the year ranked No. 10 in the NAIA and stand a good chance of moving up as the season wears on.

Continue reading “No. 10 Hawks are a promising group”

Running down their dreams

Dickinson State junior cross country runners and brothers Denis Patrick, left, and Daniel Patrick parents fled Sudan and Uganda for America when they were children.

More than a decade after their family fled Africa, the Patrick brothers are living the American dream as cross country runners and students at Dickinson State.

Run! The word has so many meanings for Denis and Daniel Patrick. As children, it meant escaping danger. As students at Dickinson State, running is helping Denis, 23, and Daniel, 21, build their lives in ways they never would have believed possible a little more than a decade ago. “I always tell these kids, ‘Running’s not everything, but it can get you to where you want to go,’” Dickinson State head cross country coach Mike Nekuda said.

The Patrick brothers are living by that attitude.

Refugees from war-torn Uganda and sons of Sudanese refugees, the Patrick brothers are soaking in every aspect of life and savoring the chances they have been given to make lives for themselves half a world away from where they were born.

“I look at it as a blessing,” Daniel said. “There’s not many people who get opportunities like us. We were blessed enough to get an opportunity to come here. We’re doing whatever it takes to take advantage of it. We’re using running. We love running, but we have bigger dreams than running.”

Continue reading “Running down their dreams”

Time-tested tackles: Hawks senior offensive linemen Dynneson, O’Connor wrapping up standout careers

If Dickinson State head football coach Hank Biesiot can think of one attribute that best characterizes his starting senior offensive tackles, Carl Dynneson and Ry O’Connor, it is their consistency.

“They’re there every day, every practice,” Biesiot said. “The number one thing a football coach looks for is that consistency, that everyday thing, and those guys have been there every day.”

Every day means five years in O’Connor’s case and four in Dynneson’s.

Both players were thrust into action as true freshmen.

Continue reading “Time-tested tackles: Hawks senior offensive linemen Dynneson, O’Connor wrapping up standout careers”