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Apr. 10—COLOME, S.D. — There will be no varsity basketball at Colome High School during the 2025-26 season.
According to the minutes from the Colome School Board meeting on March 10, the board voted unanimously to vacate the girls and boys varsity basketball schedules for next season and proceed with a junior-varsity team only.
At the Feb. 13 school board meeting, Colome Activities Director Kathy Hrabanek reported on a meeting she had with the basketball coaches, who suggested going to a JV-only schedule for 2025-26. That prompted the school board to put it to a vote on the March agenda. Hrabanek said that Colome did not explore any potential cooperative opportunities with neighboring school districts.
"We felt that our numbers right now justified playing that JV schedule and building our program," Hrabanek told the Mitchell Republic. "We have some good numbers coming up in the middle school program, and we want those kids to continue to get better and build their skills with people their own age, instead of moving them up to play older competitors."
This past season, Colome listed nine players on both its girls and boys varsity basketball rosters. Of those 18 total student-athletes, eight were freshmen or eighth-graders. Per the South Dakota High School Activities Association database, the two programs had a combined record of one win and 37 losses during the 2024-25 season.
The school district reported 138 students for the 2024-25 year in October, with 39 in high school in grades 9-12 and 34 in grades 6-8, according to data reported to the South Dakota Department of Education. The Colome High School average daily membership (ADM) and overall district enrollment have steadily fallen in the last five years. In 2020-21, Colome had a grades 9-12 enrollment of 64 and had 210 total students in the district. In the last two SDHSAA enrollment cycles, Colome's ADM for grades 9-11 fell from 50 students in fall 2021 to 26 students in fall 2023.
At the March school board meeting, it was announced that boys basketball coach Dustin Christensen and girls basketball coach Cheyenne Heath had tendered their letters of resignation.
Adversity due to concerns with roster size also cropped up last year for Colome, which put having a varsity nine-man football season during fall 2024 to a vote last February. At that time, the Colome School Board voted 4-2 in favor of the Cowboys playing a varsity schedule. Last fall, Colome listed 14 players on its roster, had a 0-8 record and had to forfeit one game due to lack of available players.
"At the end of the day, you want to do what's best and what's right for your kids," Hrabanek said of the situation facing the basketball programs. "It's difficult when they're just not having a great season. It was a hard decision, but we felt it was best for those kids and the kids coming up. You want those kids to have enjoyment out of that sport and you want them to grow in that sport. We felt, at this point, that might be the right direction for us to go in.
Hrabanek added: "We're in hopes that this move will help us play at the right level, improve those skills and bring back that varsity program."
Of note, Hrabanek will retire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 academic year. Hrabanek has been involved with Colome athletics as a coach and then administrator for a decade and a half, including the past five years as activities director.
Hrabanek was adamant that her decision to retire was not influenced by the challenges currently faced by Colome athletics. She formally announced her decision at the February school board meeting.
"I would never just leave these kids," Hrabanek told the Mitchell Republic. "It's just time for me to retire."
Continue reading...
According to the minutes from the Colome School Board meeting on March 10, the board voted unanimously to vacate the girls and boys varsity basketball schedules for next season and proceed with a junior-varsity team only.
At the Feb. 13 school board meeting, Colome Activities Director Kathy Hrabanek reported on a meeting she had with the basketball coaches, who suggested going to a JV-only schedule for 2025-26. That prompted the school board to put it to a vote on the March agenda. Hrabanek said that Colome did not explore any potential cooperative opportunities with neighboring school districts.
"We felt that our numbers right now justified playing that JV schedule and building our program," Hrabanek told the Mitchell Republic. "We have some good numbers coming up in the middle school program, and we want those kids to continue to get better and build their skills with people their own age, instead of moving them up to play older competitors."
This past season, Colome listed nine players on both its girls and boys varsity basketball rosters. Of those 18 total student-athletes, eight were freshmen or eighth-graders. Per the South Dakota High School Activities Association database, the two programs had a combined record of one win and 37 losses during the 2024-25 season.
The school district reported 138 students for the 2024-25 year in October, with 39 in high school in grades 9-12 and 34 in grades 6-8, according to data reported to the South Dakota Department of Education. The Colome High School average daily membership (ADM) and overall district enrollment have steadily fallen in the last five years. In 2020-21, Colome had a grades 9-12 enrollment of 64 and had 210 total students in the district. In the last two SDHSAA enrollment cycles, Colome's ADM for grades 9-11 fell from 50 students in fall 2021 to 26 students in fall 2023.
At the March school board meeting, it was announced that boys basketball coach Dustin Christensen and girls basketball coach Cheyenne Heath had tendered their letters of resignation.
Adversity due to concerns with roster size also cropped up last year for Colome, which put having a varsity nine-man football season during fall 2024 to a vote last February. At that time, the Colome School Board voted 4-2 in favor of the Cowboys playing a varsity schedule. Last fall, Colome listed 14 players on its roster, had a 0-8 record and had to forfeit one game due to lack of available players.
"At the end of the day, you want to do what's best and what's right for your kids," Hrabanek said of the situation facing the basketball programs. "It's difficult when they're just not having a great season. It was a hard decision, but we felt it was best for those kids and the kids coming up. You want those kids to have enjoyment out of that sport and you want them to grow in that sport. We felt, at this point, that might be the right direction for us to go in.
Hrabanek added: "We're in hopes that this move will help us play at the right level, improve those skills and bring back that varsity program."
Of note, Hrabanek will retire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 academic year. Hrabanek has been involved with Colome athletics as a coach and then administrator for a decade and a half, including the past five years as activities director.
Hrabanek was adamant that her decision to retire was not influenced by the challenges currently faced by Colome athletics. She formally announced her decision at the February school board meeting.
"I would never just leave these kids," Hrabanek told the Mitchell Republic. "It's just time for me to retire."
Continue reading...
