Curt Fredrickson of Aberdeen is no stranger to the South Dakota Sports Writers Association year-end awards.
Today, he wins his sixth such award. There are no stats that are kept on the awards that started in 1954, but the Northern State women's basketball coach is surely among the leaders.
Fredrickson was named the 2012 women's college coach of the year for all sports. It is his fifth time winning in that category. In 1977, he was named independent male athlete of the year for his standout play as an amateur baseball player.
A state baseball Hall of Famer and former NSU and Aberdeen Central multi-sport standout, Fredrickson is often mentioned as one of the best baseball players in South Dakota history. He also is one of the winningest women's basketball coaches in the nation.
His NSU teams have 714 wins, two national titles and numerous post-season appearances in Fredrickson's 34 seasons at NSU. The honors have been coming fast and furious for Fredrickson as of late:
Earlier this year, he was inducted into the Aberdeen Central Hall of Fame.
On March 5, he will be inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame in Sioux City.
On April 13, he will be inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in Sioux Falls.
Here are the other winners:
|Prep Girls' Coach|
|Todd Thorson|
Todd Thorson of Ipswich has been named the association's girls' coach of the year for all sports.
Thorson's teams have become the gold standard for cross country since he initiated the program in 2000. Since that time, the Tigers have won four girls' state championships, one boys' state title and three combined state titles.
Last spring, the Ipswich girls also won the State B team title in track and field.
"He is incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about both track and cross country," Frederick cross country coach Janelle Barondeau told the American News about Thorson earlier this year. "His enthusiasm is contagious with his athletes as he gets great numbers of athletes out for cross country year after year."
While Thorson has a resumé to envy, he is not one to rest on his past accomplishments. He is always searching for a better technique, a faster way.
"I guess I'm a knowledge seeker," Thorson told the News earlier this year. "I'm always thinking there's something better around the corner."
|Prep Girls' Team|
|Warner volleyball|
The awards keep coming for the Warner volleyball team.
The Monarchs are the association's prep girls' team of the year for all sports. Warner created a perfect season with a State B championship and a 34-0 match record, winning all 90 of its individual games on the season.
Warner, its coach Kari Jung and senior leader Rachel Rogers have all earned national acclaim as well as statewide fame.
Jung was named the CBS MaxPreps Small Schools Coach of the Year, the Monarchs were named the Small Schools Team of the Year, and Rogers was selected as a Second Team All-American member.
Jung, who is in her 15th year at Warner, guided the Monarchs to their third state championship in the past six seasons this fall. Rogers, a 6-foot-2 senior and Northern State recruit, and her teammates have a combined a 122-5 record in the past four seasons.
|College Men's Coach|
|John Stiegelmeier|
Selby native and South Dakota State football coach John Stiegelmeier guided the Jackrabbits to a 9-4 season, including the first playoff victory in school history, while eclipsing the 100-win mark for his career.
South Dakota State completed its seventh winning season in nine years at the FCS level - and made its second postseason appearance in four years - while tying the school record for wins in a season.
SDSU finished second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings with a 6-2 league record. The season was highlighted by a 58-10 romp over Ohio Valley Conference champion, Eastern Illinois, in the first round of the FCS Playoffs on Nov. 24 in Brookings.
Stiegelmeier has a career record of 101-76 (58-43 at the Division I level) in 16 seasons as a head coach.
|Independent Female|
|Kim Kaufman|
Clark native Kim Kaufman of Texas Tech capped her junior season in May by tying for eighth to earn honorable-mention All-American honors in the NCAA Championships.
She continued preparation for her senior season by qualifying and then reaching the match play semifinals in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in June; finished third in the Royale Cup Canadian Amateur Championship in July; and defended her South Dakota Women's Amateur Championship in August.
Back at Texas Tech, she opened the fall portion of her senior season with a bang - notching top 15 finishes in all four events, including a victory at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C. She averaged 71.5 strokes per round in a fall season that ended with her being ranked as the nation's No. 1 golfer by Golfweek Magazine, which also named her the player of the fall.
"It's always nice to get recognition for all of your hard work," Kaufman said. "At the same time, winning an award doesn't make you a better player. I know I can't stop working or setting new goals."
She'll close out her collegiate golf career during the spring season at Texas Tech.
|Independent Team|
|Brookings Legion|
|Baseball|
Post 74 won the first state American Legion baseball title in Brookings history.
The Bandits beat defending champion Sioux Falls East 11-10 in the title game on Aug. 5, a few hours after knocking off perennial power Rapid City Post 22 by a 3-1 margin. In all, the Bandits won four consecutive elimination games to reach the top of the podium at Fossum Field in Aberdeen.
Brookings got what coach Rob Hirrschoff called a "heroic" pitching performance from Matt Thomas on championship Sunday. The right-hander, who earned Tournament MVP honors, tossed a five-hitter on two days rest in the win over the HardHats before returning later in the day to throw two scoreless innings and earn the save in the victory over Post 15.
|Prep Boys' Team|
|Pierre Wrestling|
The Pierre Governors were nothing short of dominant in 2012 at a school not necessarily known for it's excellence on the wrestling mat.
Pierre wasn't defeated by another South Dakota team in a tournament or dual throughout the year. That dominance culminated in late February at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen when the Governors won Pierre's first wrestling championship since 1974.
|Prep Boys' Athlete|
|Alex Kocer|
Wagner High School wrestler Alex Kocer won two of his five State B wrestling titles at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen.
He also helped the Red Raiders win three State B team titles, with the 2009 team title coming in Aberdeen.
|Celebrity|
|Mike Miller|
Mike Miller of Mitchell has made an NBA career hitting three-point baskets.
But none were as important as the seven he knocked down for the Miami Heat in Game 5 of last season's NBA Finals.
Miller was 7-of-8 from behind the three-point line, finishing with 23 points and helping clinch the championship over the Oklahoma City Thunder in his second season with the Heat.
Miami won the game 121-106 on June 21 to help Miller to his first championship in his NBA career. Playing with a bad back and ailing knees, Miller played 21 minutes in the previous four games in the Finals. Through that stretch, he had made two field goals, with no 3-pointers and eight points.
|College|
|Men's Athlete|
|Nate Wolters|
South Dakota State men's basketball point guard Nate Wolters put up huge numbers during his junior season: 21.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game.
He led the Jackrabbits to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament. Despite fighting an ankle injury, the now senior has SDSU off to another good start this season as the Jacks recently defeated No. 15 and previously unbeaten New Mexico on the road.
"God willing, he's going to prove to be the best basketball player ever to play here," SDSU head coach Scott Nagy said of Wolters, who has caught the eye of NBA scouts. "So obviously, when you're talking that many years at the university and all the players that have played there, it kind of speaks for itself just how important he is to our basketball team."
Wolters, 21 and a native of St. Cloud, Minn., was coached at St. Cloud Tech High School by former Aberdeen coach Randy Jordan.
|College|
|Men's Team|
|SDSU Basketball|
The Jackrabbits capped a school-record tying 27-win season in 2011-12 with the first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in SDSU men's basketball history.
"I always use the word overwhelming," SDSU head coach Scott Nagy said about last season. "It's kind of like everybody that was involved with it, that was their dream to get to the NCAA Tournament and be a part of what everybody calls the Big Dance. So it was overwhelming - a great experience - but certainly one that we don't want to be the last one."
|College Women's|
|Team|
|SDSU Basketball|
Four years of postseason eligibility - four NCAA Tournament appearances.
South Dakota State won 17 of its final 20 games to finish the 2011-12 season with a 24-9 record following a 7-6 start. The Jackrabbits won their third Summit League regular-season title with a 16-2 mark, before winning their fourth Summit League tournament title.
Mitchell native Jill Young finished her career with a Summit League record 305 three-pointers while ranking 15th on SDSU's career scoring list with 1,356 points.
|College|
|Women's Athlete|
|Amber Hegge|
Amber Hegge of Crofton, Neb., native, guided the University of South Dakota women's basketball team to a 23-8 record and a berth in the WNIT during her senior year last season.
She led the Summit League in rebounding (8.5) and was second in scoring (19.2). She closed out her career as the Coyotes' second all-time scorer (1,739), second in blocks (173) and fifth in rebounding (834).
|Prep Girls' Athlete|
|Kari Heck|
Kari Heck continued her assault on the South Dakota high school record books in 2012, making her mark as one of the top track and field athletes in state history.
The Sioux Falls Washington standout, now continuing her career at Nebraska, set an all-time record in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 6.5 inches as a senior. She also has top-10 personal sprint bests in the 100 (11.9), 200 (24.75) and 400 (55.5), with her 400 time ranking third all-time behind Rapid City Central's Jasmine King and Mitchell's Jill Theeler.
Heck was named Class AA girls MVP at the state track meet as a junior and senior, winning four individual titles in 2011 and three in 2012. She was a 4.0 student at Washington as well.
|Prep Boys' Coach|
|Adolph|
|Shepardson|
Sturgis native Adolph Shepardson led the Deubrook Dolphins to their first-ever state football title in his second year at the helm.
The 9AA Dolphins dominated the Dakota Valley Conference for its first league title, before battling their way through the playoffs while completing an undefeated (12-0) season with a 25-22 victory over Howard in the DakotaDome.
Shepardson, 34, who played at South Dakota State and was later a graduate assistant coach at South Dakota, has posted a 20-3 record at Deubrook. The Dolphins had never advanced to the semifinals prior to his arrival and now have two such appearances in as many years.
|Independent Male|
|Shane Van Boening|
Rapid City native Shane Van Boening capped a stellar 2012 with his second U.S. Open title at the 37th Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.
Van Boening also won the 2007 U.S. Open. The 27-year-old Rapid City Stevens graduate, who is hearing impaired, is currently ranked No. 1 by the United States Professional Pool Players Association.
|2012 South Dakota Sports|
|Writers Association Awards|
Celebrity: Mike Miller, Mitchell, Miami Heat.
Independent Men's Athlete: Shane Van Boening, Rapid City, billiards.
Independent Women's Athlete: Kim Kaufman, Clark, Texas Tech golf.
Independent Team: Brookings American Legion Baseball.
Prep Boys' Athlete: Alex Kocer, Wagner wrestler.
Prep Boys' Coach: Adolph Shepardson, Deubrook Area Football.
Prep Boys' Team: Pierre wrestling.
Prep Girls' Athlete: Kari Heck, Sioux Falls Washington track and field.
Prep Girls' Team: Warner volleyball.
Prep Girls' Coach: Todd Thorson, Ipswich cross country and track and field.
College Men's Athlete: Nate Wolters, South Dakota State basketball (second year in a row).
College Men's Coach: John Stiegelmeier, SDSU football.
Coach Men's Team: South Dakota State men's basketball.
College Women's Athlete: Amber Hegge, USD basketball.
College Women's Coach: Curt Fredrickson, NSU women's basketball
College Women's Team: SDSU women's basketball.