DSU mulls forming new conference: League eyeing Blue Hawks would consist of 4 former DAC schools, Presentation College

After less than one school year in the Frontier Conference, Dickinson State officials are mulling a move that would send its athletic programs to a proposed league consisting primarily of its former Dakota Athletic Conference rivals.

Kurt Patberg, a consultant representing five schools, contacted Dickinson State in late January to gauge the university’s interest in creating a new NAIA conference made up of teams in North and South Dakota.

DSU President D.C. Coston and athletic director Tim Daniel said Friday that the school is carefully examining what Patberg and the schools he represents have to say.

“We have to look at this,” Daniel said. “This affords us some opportunities to maybe address some problems that we are experiencing right now.”

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Hansen leads DSU offensively, but also plays big role on defense

Dickinson State senior Jarek Hansen isn’t a type of basketball player who can be easily categorized. Hansen has steadily increased his output each of the three seasons he has been with the Blue Hawk men after transferring from Williston State College.

He is averaging 10.6 points and three rebounds per game while shooting 89 percent from the free-throw line and 39 percent from 3-point range, all of which are by far the best marks of his collegiate career.

“My role has changed every year,” Hansen said. “My sophomore year, I was expected to bring a spark off the bench when the time was there for me. Last year, I got put in a starting role right at the beginning of the season and was expected to put some points on the board, score for us and play hard, tough defense as well.”
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Nadeau an emotional leader for Blue Hawks

Ask Yianna Nadeau what she brings to the Dickinson State women’s basketball team and her answers have little to do with the traditional aspects of the game.

“Energy, intensity, a positive attitude,” she says without skipping a beat.

Yes, the 5-foot-10 senior forward from Portland, Ore., can shoot the ball and is one of DSU’s best defenders.

But Nadeau’s greatest attribute, players and coaches agree, is the way she can lead the team through her actions and words.

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FUTURE IS NOW: Sophomore Janae Moore shining bright setting the standard for young Hawks

Janae Moore, shown on Nov. 26, 2011, drives to the basket.

Janae Moore is trying to set a standard.

The Dickinson State sophomore has the attitude and demeanor of an upperclassman — of which there aren’t many on the Blue Hawks’ roster — and all season she has played like one too.

“That’s what makes me most excited is if she just stayed where she is right now, she’s a great player,” DSU first-year head coach Caleb Harrison said. “We’ll get to the end of the season and her numbers are going to go up and she’s going to be playing at an even higher level.”

Moore, a 5-foot-11 forward from Sidney, Mont., leads the Blue Hawks in just about every major category coaches expect a frontcourt starter to lead — and even some they wouldn’t.

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DSU graduate Ramon Miller’s epic gold medal run in Olympic mile relay final is The Press’ No. 1 sports story of 2012

Bahamas’ Ramon Miller, left, beats Angelo Taylor of the United States as he crosses the finish line to win gold in the men’s 4×400-meter relay final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Before the Olympics began last summer in London, Ramon Miller made one thing clear. He was the captain of his ship. “This year, I’m doing everything on my own,” Miller said in a July 29 article in The Dickinson Press. “I’m sailing my own ship, so if anything goes wrong, I’m to blame. I’m the captain of everything right now.”

Miller went to London hoping to make an impact and lead his 1,600-meter relay team to the medal stand.

He returned a gold-medal winning national hero.

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