Dickinson State interim volleyball coach Jennifer Hartman, center, speaks with junior Linaya Schroeder during a game against Valley City State on Oct. 4 at Scott Gymnasium. Hartman, just 22 years old and still pursuing her education at DSU, was named the team’s interim head coach after head coach Maura Bronte resigned on Sept. 18
Perhaps no person in southwest North Dakota sports exhibited more courage than Jennifer Hartman did in the fall of 2012. The 22-year-old former Dickinson State volleyball standout was put in a position she had never expected less than a year after she completed her final season playing for the Blue Hawks.
On Sept. 18, the day of a road match against Jamestown College, Hartman was named DSU’s interim head volleyball coach following the resignation of second-year head coach Maura Bronte.
“I was surprised,” said Hartman, who is still a student and was in her first season as an assistant coach. “That’s the best word. I went into a little bit of a shock state.”
Courtesy Photo by Annika Plummer A floragraph in the likeness of Tyler Plummer, a longtime supporter and volunteer for the Dickinson State wrestling team, stands on a table at the Lions Eye Bank in Bismarck on Dec. 18. The floragraph will appear on the Donate Life America float during the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day. Plummer died Jan. 25 of a heart condition. His corneas were donated to two people after his death.
Tyler Plummer was one of those people who was easy to like.
“He was someone who it didn’t matter if you knew him for a little bit of time or a lot of time, he made an impact and people just loved him,” said Annika Plummer, his wife.
Plummer continues to make an impact in people’s lives, almost a year after his untimely death.
The Dickinson State graduate and passionate supporter of the Blue Hawk wrestling team died on Jan. 25 at age 33. The Baker, Mont., native had battled cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease, since he was diagnosed with a heart infection as a 19-year-old DSU freshman.
In addition to being an avid wrestling fan and a cowboy whose claim to fame was his role as a stunt horse rider in the North Dakota-filmed movie “Wooly Boys,” Plummer was also an organ donor.
After his death, Plummer’s corneas were donated to the Lions Eye Bank of North Dakota. Today, there are two people whom Plummer’s family does not know who can see again because of his gift.
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.”
Dickinson State graduate Derrick Atkins races for his home country of the Bahamas in a men’s 100-meter heat during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on Aug. 4. AP Photo
Derrick Atkins envisions himself, a little less than four years from now, bursting out of the starting blocks at João Havelange Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
It’s a specific picture to paint. But there is nowhere else Atkins wants to be in August 2016 than The Marvelous City on Brazil’s eastern coast. The Dickinson State graduate’s sights are set on representing his native Bahamas in his third consecutive Summer Olympics.
The road there, however, won’t be easy.
At the 2012 Olympics in London last summer, Atkins was one of the few elite track and field athletes competing on the world stage without corporate sponsorship.
The 100-meters sprinter learned the difficulties of trying to navigate the ultra-competitive sport without the help of sponsors after Adidas, a worldwide athletic apparel company, dropped their sponsorship of him in 2010. He had all but disappeared from the international track scene in mid-2010 because of knee injuries and didn’t compete in 2011.
“If you don’t really have a major shoe company or a major sponsor, it’s kind of difficult to maintain the level of performance you need to because of upkeep,” Atkins said. “That’s where most of the expenses go.”
Despite being his own coach and sponsor, the 28-year-old Atkins said his isn’t considering his career on the downslide.
Dickinson High senior outside hitter Abby Grove hits over a Minot High defender on Sept. 8 at the DHS gymnasium. In two seasons, Grove has gone from a part-time varsity player to the Midgets’ offensive leader.
Abby Grove has a certain confidence on the volleyball court. The Dickinson High senior’s poise has been built through both steady and sudden improvements. In Grove’s case, confidence is a new development — and it’s one she and the Midgets have used to their advantage this season.
“I just expect to do well and I want to do good, no matter what,” Grove said. “I figured this year might be a good year for me.”
The 5-foot-10 outside hitter, who was only inserted into the Midgets’ varsity rotation as a contributor halfway through her junior season, is at the top of her game.
Grove has a team-high 357 kills, an average of 11.2 per match and more than double any of her teammates. Senior Ali Moody is second on the team with 175 kills.
Using a powerful and directional spike on her attacks, Grove has accumulated a .308 hitting percentage while also playing well defensively. She is third on her team in digs (232) and aces (40) and has 21 total blocks.
Dustin Monke 