RAMONA — A showdown between two of the South Dakota's best Class B high schoool softball teams proved to be exactly that on Saturday Castlewood smacked two homers in the bottom of the fifth inning, including a walk-off blast by Lilly Jacobsen with two out, to pull out an 8-7 win over Deuel that was part of a triangular Games were shortened to five innings because of the triangular which also included host Oldham-Ramona-Rutland 1 seed in Class B along with Alcester-Hudson "I've never doubted this group and their ability to come back in tight games," Castlewood coach Craig Horn said "They always battle and they're always there It was the middle game that was the closest and matched the two area teams who have enjoyed the most success since the sport was sanctioned in South Dakota prior to the 2023 spring season Castlewood won the first State B championship in 2023 and returned to the title game last June before falling to Chester Deuel has finished seventh in both of the state tournaments after losing in the first round the eventual champions each year Here's three takeaways from Saturday's tripleheader: 20 FAVORITES WATERTOWN SOFTBALL: Sisters top list of Watertown's best high school softball players since 1999 There's no doubt a major reason for the success of Castlewood and Deuel in Class B softball has been the pitching of Castlewood freshman Claire Horn and Deuel senior Katrina Hagberg who have handled a large majority of the pitching duties for their respective team's the past three years Both pitchers went the distance in Saturday's battle and each fanned seven batters There were some errors that led to some runs also some pretty good hitting by each team which was aided by a decent breeze blowing out A run-scoring double by Jacobsen and a two-run inside-the-park homer by Bridgette Horn highlighted a four-run bottom of the first for Castlewood The Warriors increased their lead to 5-0 after two innings Hagberg helped her cause and sparked Deuel's comeback with a three-run homer in the third that was later followed by a three-run double by Rylynn Streich for a 6-5 Cardinal lead "Castlewood's always tough but I felt this was the best we've played against them," Deuel coach Sarah Hagberg said tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the third Deuel's Aubrey Lanners appeared to put Deuel back ahead with a homer in the top of the fourth but Lanners still came around to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch It stayed 7-6 Deuel into the bottom of the fifth when Castlewood's Cydni Kudrna homered to center with one out to tie the game Her sister Sophia followed with a single and moved to second on the throw before being tagged out trying to go to third Jacobsen overcame an 0-2 count to end the game with another homer to center "Lilly kind of bailed me out of the baserunning blunder on my part," coach Craig Horn said both Castlewood and Deuel are in position to host SoDak 16 state-qualifying games on May 27 and likely would be favored to return to the state tournament June 5-7 at Aberdeen realizes there's still a lot of season left and nothing can be taken for granted Castlewood's two wins Saturday increased its winning streak to seven games after losing to Alcester-Hudson 5-3 in a season-opening indoor tournament March 29 at Sioux Center "We haven't played our best game," Craig Horn said so I'm excited with where we're at as a team right now We're still pretty young but I like what I see." Kayla Goens and Jacobsen each had two hits for the Warriors in the win over Deuel Sophia Kudrna went 4-for-4 with three doubles and a triple Cassidy Kirwan and Kayla Goens each added three hits Claire Horn fired a one-hitter with nine strikeouts Don't count out DeuelWith Hagberg on the mound the Cardinals are definitely a team capable of not only making it to state but also having success there Saturday's loss was Deuel's first since it fell to Class A West Central 5-2 March 29 in the same season-opening indoor classic in Iowa That means the team's two losses have come to the state's top-seeded A and B teams COLUMN: Writer claims he first unveiled the phrase "and one" during a boys basketball game in 1979-80 Even in defeat, coach Hagberg said Saturday's tight game should be beneficial. "It's fun to win 22-1 or 10-1 even, but I don't know if you learn as much in those as you do in a game that is close all the way," she said. Eden Schiernbeck joined Hagberg and Streich with two-hit performances for Deuel in the loss to Castlewood. Lanners took to the hill against ORR and tossed a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Hagberg drove in three runs with a couple of doubles and Tory Engebretson added a single and a double. Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com ABERDEEN – Top-seeded Castlewood was the first of two teams to punch its ticket to the Class B boys state tournament championship with a 64-45 victory over fourth-seeded Wessington Springs on Friday night in Aberdeen. The Warriors’ offense was the catalyst for the victory, working high-low for most of the night. Outside, point guard Jamison Keszler was as much of a facilitator as he was a scorer, finishing the night with 17 points and five assists. With Wessington Springs’ Colby Flowers, listed at 6-foot-4, handling the defensive duties against Bryon Laue, listed at 6-foot-9, the height advantage came into play, even when the Spartans sent double-teams his way. Laue finished with a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double. He also was incredibly efficient from the field, going 8-for-10 on field goals. Castlewood head coach Paul Raasch said finding Laue in the paint early was a focal point not only to get the offensive paint established but to try and force Flowers to foul. “[Flowers is] a good player and we were making him work hard on the [defensive] end,” Raasch said. “Those guys had a good battle in there. I just told Bryon, ‘We’ve got to win this matchup head-to-head tonight.’ And he took it upon himself to do that. Flowers had a good game, but I thought Bryon had a really terrific game, and we needed that.” Wessington Springs head coach Joey Mitchell said they wanted to limit Laue’s touches inside the paint and make him work from farther out, but they said as the game went on, it became more difficult to keep him farther outside. “The key was limiting his touches and, trying to keep them all to 8-10 feet,” Mitchell said. “There were some times we did that, and we had success when we did that. Even if he takes two dribbles, we can get hands on [the ball] or create a little more pressure. As we got tired, he started getting back down that block area. Anytime he got down there, especially late, he started getting some fouls.” Even though Castlewood didn’t surrender the lead in the second half, there were times when the Spartans looked as if they could make an extended run to work themselves back to within a few possessions. Multiple times in the second half, Wessington Springs was within 11 points of the Warriors' lead and looked as if momentum had shifted in its favor. But every time, the Spartans made mistakes that stunted any type of meaningful run from forming. “We’d get two, three stops in a row, we’d get two, three scores and get fouled to get a fourth score. And then we did something careless,” Mitchell said. “We started doing some uncharacteristic things that I hadn't seen since December. Guys were just throwing the ball right into other guys' hands, jumping to throw passes and then having to throw bad passes just to bail yourself out.” Flowers paced the Spartans with 15 points to go along with five rebounds. Ryder Michalek finished with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Warriors also did a solid job slowing down Karter Mebius, who finished with only seven points on six shot attempts. Castlewood (23-2) moves on to the title game to face the winner of Dell Rapids St. Mary and Viborg-Hurley at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, at the Barnett Center. Wessington Springs (22-3) will be in the third-place game at 6 p.m. For the first time since 2001, Castlewood has won a state boys basketball championship. The Warriors defeated Viborg-Hurley 52-31on Saturday night in Aberdeen to claim the title. This was also a big moment for Castlewood head coach Paul Raasch. Earlier this year he joined the 600 wins club, and now he’s won his very first state basketball championship. “I actually told [my team] today, “none of this is about coaches, it’s about you kids. I’ll feel the same tomorrow whether we win or lose. I’m still the same guy, still come back and go to work and try to get another one, whether we win one tonight or not.” Best fun you can have is to win it and it’s a great feeling,” said coach Raasch. Castlewood came out of the gate red hot. They led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter and continued their stretch into the second quarter. It was 19-3 in the first nine-minutes of the game. Viborg-Hurley did start to find a groove from there as they tried to claw their way out of the early hole. At halftime it was a 21-14 lead for the Warriors. “I can’t ask for a better start. But when you get that you know that they’re good enough to make a run, so that’s the thing you have to deal with when they do,” explained Raasch. “Our guys kept their poise and hung tough. That zone game gave us some trouble for a while, then we finally hit a few shots against it in the third quarter that opened the game up.” It was 38-26 through three quarters of play. Castlewood kept the pedal down to outscore the Cougars by nine-points in the final eight-minutes. “They’ve been doing that all year. This has been a great group. From day one we’ve been locked in on a goal, a mission and we didn’t really spread it around. We kept it in house and talked about it. We wanted to get a shot at it,” Raasch told. “Last year we missed out in the semi’s. We wanted to get at it this year and we got that. We said in the locker room “the table is set, let’s go out and eat tonight,” and our guys did that.” As a team, Castlewood shot 45% from the floor and 35% from beyond the arc. Senior center Bryon Laue finished the game with a double-double. He led the team with 13-points, grabbed ten rebounds, and had a couple of blocks as well. “I just knew I had to be a leader. Showing up to practice early and everything like that,” told Laue. “Last year we came short and that really hurt us. We took that personally and we used that as fuel. We came into it this year with a goal, and we did everything we could to reach that goal.” Luke Baumberger also contributed on offense for the Warriors with 12-points. Brody Bass also had a nice night with 11-points, seven rebounds, and a couple of steals. Another senior leader for this year’s Castlewood squad was Jamison Keszler. He had seven-points, five assists, and a pair of rebounds in the winning effort. “That’s really what we came for,” said Keszler. “We came to win and it happened, so it paid off.” Viborg-Hurley and Castlewood met up earlier in the season at the Hanson Classic. The Cougars won that one in a tight game, but it was the Warriors getting revenge on the biggest stage in March. This is the third state boys basketball championship for Castlewood. They won it in ’99 and ’01, and now can add ’25 to their trophy case. Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered. Don’t miss our weekly town hall. Castlewood man found guilty of multiple child sex crimesby WCYB (WCYB) — A Castlewood man was found guilty by a jury of child sex crimes on Thursday according to the Russell County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office was found guilty of three counts of sodomy and two counts of indecent liberties of a child The prosecution had accused Meade of sexually abusing a child multiple times over a four-year period “We are grateful the jury reached the right result and held the defendant responsible for these horrific unjust acts against an innocent child," Commonwealth's Attorney Zack Stoots said "My office will be seeking the maximum penalty allowed by law Law enforcement did an excellent job in this investigation The efforts of law enforcement combined with the forensic interview performed by the Care Center were essential to outcome of this case.” Meade is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29 Home » State B » State B: Castlewood pulls away for victory over Lyman Top-seeded Castlewood overcame a somewhat sluggish start and surged to a 64-38 win over Lyman in the quarterfinals of the.. The 2025 State B boys basketball state tournament kicked off with four games on Thursday Castlewood head coach Paul Raasch said it after the game His late father Robert was in the building 5 Wall storm back from a 16-point deficit to knock off eighth-seeded Lyman 59-55…… The formula that worked for Aberdeen Christian in the Region 1B Tournament worked again in the Class B SoDak 16…… A country music group from Southwest Virginia gave back to their Russell County community in a big way (WCYB) — A country music group from Southwest Virginia gave back to their Russell County community in a big way The band 49 Winchester partnered with Fender to present all current seventh graders at Castlewood Elementary School with their very own guitars on Tuesday The group chose to focus on seventh graders because that was the age when they first became interested in music Members of 49 Winchester are alumni of Castlewood Elementary and expressed a desire to give back to the community that has supported them throughout their musical journey "We had some guitars but they don't have the strings and my mom's been trying to get the strings so to have a guitar that has all the strings is what I wanted," said student Alexia Leighton "It's amazing to have a group like 49 Winchester come back and want to give back to the community that they came from and we're very thankful for them," Principal Adam Pagett said the group donated 50 guitars and also sponsors Little League Baseball in the area KeVee’s hometown grocery is providing the local community what it needs — without having to go far Owner Kevin Pribbenow bought the historic building in downtown Castlewood — originally called The Reid & Co General Store — for his new grocery in April 2024 He said the building has been a retail store going back well over a century It was previously called Castlewood Corner Market and owned by Vicki Plagman Pribbenow worked about 20 years in retail with Nabisco More: Mane Reflection Salon & Sugar Studio moves to new Watertown location "I was looking for other things to do to occupy time…and checked in with the owner of the grocery store to see if she needed any help in the mornings unloading the truck," he told the Public Opinion and the Castlewood Historical Society granted them money to refinish floors in order to expose historic brass lettering Pribbenow also reset the store to appear what a normal grocer would look like if one walked into a big chain or a small-town store trying to provide the best," Pribbenow said "We have customers who come in every week." More: New Watertown butcher shop brings local meat to area he offers a chance to win $20 at the end of each month if you spend $80 This encourages everyone to shop locally and not leave town KeVee's has Dakota butcher products out of Watertown as well as Papa Murphy's take-and-bake pizza and produce from Wadena and happy with all the updates across the five-aisle store on the lower level of a building that was rebuilt with brick in 1913 after a fire but there is always the opportunity to grow and get new customers," he explained decided to join the Watertown Chamber of Commerce earlier this year which provided close to $1,000 in free radio advertising opportunities over the next couple of months The store can be reached at (605) 793-2544 but we know that the community is here to support us and we don't plan to go anywhere any time soon," Pribbenow said ABERDEEN – After falling in the semifinals of last year’s state tournament Castlewood was determined to make it all the way this year defeating Viborg-Hurley 52-31 in the Class B boys state tournament title game on Saturday night in Aberdeen Defense was the name of the game for Castlewood the Warriors made it difficult for the Cougars to find any easy shots While the Warriors finished with a 45% mark from the field The 3-point defense was even better as Viborg-Hurley only hit 11% of its attempts Castlewood head coach Paul Raasch said the heartbreak from last year fueled the run this season citing how determined the Warriors were to avenge the semifinal defeat We thought we were good enough to win it last year and we just didn't get it done and our guys learned from that,” Raasch said “You could see the focus on their faces all year great leadership and that's what it takes to do this.” who finished the day with a team-high 13 points and 10 rebounds said last year’s loss gave the Warriors so much motivation they were determined to win the title this time around We got it done this year and it feels amazing.” the Cougars were still very much in the game in the second half Castlewood only held a two-point lead with Viborg-Hurley threatening The Warriors were struggling to score consistently after the Cougars switched to a zone defense in the second quarter once the Warriors began to break through the zone Castlewood ended the third quarter on a 13-3 scoring run to take a 12-point advantage into the fourth And the momentum carried over as they went on another scoring run this time putting six straight points on the board to take a 17-point advantage Viborg-Hurley’s poor offensive night and inability to string stops together all but ended its postseason run dead in its tracks Cougar head coach Shane Warwick said those scoring runs made it difficult enough to come back but mixed with a lack of offensive rhythm made it impossible they had the three 3s late in the second half they kind of pushed it out again and we started to shoot the ball,” Warwick said “It just wasn’t a good night shooting the basketball They played great tonight and they were the better team tonight.” But besides avenging last year’s semifinal defeat the Warriors had even more motivation to win this one Raasch is one of the most accomplished high school coaches in state history coaching for 39 combined seasons at Alpena Langford Area and now his alma mater Castlewood He’s only one of four high school coaches in state history to reach 600 wins but there was always one glaring gap in his resume: a state title he finally adds the elusive title to his trophy case and it’s a gift his players wanted to give him dearly “With him losing his dad last year or two years ago it really kind of took a toll on him and we wanted to do this for him That's something we just really wanted to do for him Raasch said the title victory isn’t about him and that a win or loss wouldn’t have changed who he is But the way his team handled themselves this season was what made him the most proud it’s about our team and our team getting to this point,” Raasch said “Getting them here is more special to me than anything ‘I'll wake up tomorrow and be the same guy you go get what you want tonight.’ That’s what they did.” Luke Baumberger finished with 12 and six rebounds Brody Bass ended his night with 11 points and seven rebounds Kamden Keszler added eight points and four rebounds while Jamison Keszler finished with seven points and five assists Nicholas Hanson finished with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds Owen Niederbaumer had eight points and four rebounds Brady Schroedermeier finished with seven points The Cougars end their season with a 23-3 record while Castlewood ends its campaign with a 24-2 mark Home » State B » State B: Castlewood’s execution sinks Wessington Springs in semifinals Castlewood executed wonderfully at the end of first and second quarters to build a 10-point halftime lead en route to.. but Wessington Springs found its shooting touch near the end of a mostly ragtag first half…… Top-seeded Castlewood overcame a somewhat sluggish start and surged to a 64-38 win over Lyman in the quarterfinals of the…… The Virginia High Bearcats were at it again on Monday night Luke Whitt drove in three runs and Calloway Jordan pitched well in relief as VHS rallied for a 5-4 Southwest District baseball win over the Richlands Blue Tornado at DeVault Stadium VHS (9-4) overcame a 4-0 deficit and improved to 5-0 in one-run games this spring Jordan tossed three scoreless innings with four strikes in relief of Foy to notch the victory A three-run fifth inning put VHS ahead to stay Witt notched the save and ended the game by starting a 1-4-3 double play “Proud of my guys for finding a way to get this one,” said Virginia High coach Adam Moore and that all begins with how you come to the field.” Max Herndon went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Richlands “Richlands came ready to play,” Moore said “They competed for seven innings and had great energy from the get-go Mark Miller stole home on a failed suicide squeeze attempt to give the J.I Burton Raiders a Cumberland District victory via the walk-off win Miller and Alex Colley each finished with two hits for Burton while Brody Garrett and Dru Peters combined to pitch a three-hitter Jacob Finch drove in all three of the runs for Twin Springs Brennon Weddle scored two runs and Clay Ross had two hits in the loss Brody Whitt went 3-for-4 and scored three runs from the leadoff spot as Marion notched a win over Smyth County archnemesis Northwood Owen Parnell and Caden Hutton combined to pitch a five-hitter Eli Williams had two hits and Dawson Prater scored two runs for Northwood Logan Dotson and Milo Fletcher scored the runs for Twin Valley as the Panthers were mashed by Mount View Gabe Ramsey went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and also teamed with two other pitchers to toss a no-hitter as the Rye Cove Eagles overwhelmed Council for a non-district victory Ramsey struck out four of the five batters he faced in tossing 1 1/3 innings in relief He took over for starter Hagan Rhoton and was relieved by Jake Osborne The trio combined to fan 10 with two walks Landon Lane and Peyton Fonseca each finished with two hits for the Cove which pushed across 10 runs in the first inning Levi Mackey and Caleb Mullins walked in accounting for Council’s baserunners Jasper Salyers and Ayden Skeens combined to pitch a no-hitter while Brayden Houchins tallied six RBIs as the Castlewood Blue Devils bopped the Jenkins Cavaliers and improved to 7-6 Jared Glovier and Aden Phillips each finished with two hits while Skeens and Salyers drove in three runs apiece scored two runs and tallied two RBIs as the Honaker Tigers outslugged George Wythe for a non-district victory Eli McGlothlin’s two hits and Christian Ball’s two hits were also a key part of a 13-hit attack Cade Bralley went 4-for-4 and scored four runs to pace George Wythe Carson Stanley and Cody Sisk drove in two runs apiece for the Maroons Honaker will make the trip up Interstate 81 again today as the Tigers meet Chilhowie in a key Hogoheegee District clash going 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs as the Rural Retreat Indians overwhelmed Holston in a Hogoheegee District contest two RBIs) and was also the winning pitcher as he allowed four hits and struck out eight in six innings four runs) also had noteworthy performances Noah Tweed went 3-for-3 and drove in a run for Holston Creed Manness and Collin Widener scored the runs for the Cavaliers Logan Justice homered to highlight Ridgeview’s beating of the team from the Bluegrass State Austin Rose and Will Mullins each finished with two hits while Colin Hill tripled and drove in two runs Alyssa Lindsey was grand as the Abingdon Falcons padded their first-place lead in the Mountain 7 District with a win over Wise County Central Lindsey launched a third-inning grand slam to put AHS up 5-1 and the Falcons held off Central in beating the Warriors for the second time this spring “I’m super proud of their determination today,” said Abingdon coach Chelsea Campbell “It was a full team effort because we knew how important this game was and playing at Central is a tough place to play with talented players Alyssa is a great athlete to have in the box with bases loaded and the pressure to score I had full confidence she was going to pull something off.” Lindsey and Aubrey Fullen each had two hits Mariah Branscomb scored two runs and Ada Gillenwater was the winning pitcher Adele Dingus and Maci Gibson each had two hits for Central with Dingus hitting a dinger Lexus Mullins scored on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Castlewood Blue Devils a walk-off win over defending VHSL Class 1 state champion Rye Cove Anna Summers and Charleigh Hall scored two runs apiece for the Blue Devils Summers struck out nine in getting the win in the circle “It was a total team win with multiple girls making crucial plays and having quality at-bats but Lexus Mullins and Anna Summers had great outings,” said Castlewood coach Shannon Casteel Franklin Morgan Edwards went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the way for Rye Cove The Honaker Tigers overcame a 6-2 deficit to earn a non-district victory at George Wythe Alyssa Grace Wilson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Honaker at the plate while Lincoln Bush drove in two runs and Jailey Gross collected two hits Winning pitcher Gracie Shelton struck out nine in spinning a six-hitter Honaker plays at Chilhowie today in a first-place Hogoheegee District showdown Ashley Layne and Morgan Layne each had two hits for GW Rily Cobler had another big day at the plate (3-for-4 three runs) and in the circle (complete-game five-hitter with 12 strikeouts) as the Holston Cavaliers won a Hogoheegee District game Katie Remine also had three hits for Holston Rural Retreat was led by Kailey Davidson’s two hits She also scored the only run for the Indians Payton Hester had two hits and Madi Preston drove in two runs as the Chilhowie Warriors earned a key Hogoheegee District victory over the visiting Patrick Henry Rebels Winning pitcher Emmaline Dowell struck out seven Abby Widener and Lindsey Widener each had two hits for PH Chilhowie (12-1) hosts Honaker today with first place in the Hogo on the line Sadie Amos went 3-for-4 and scored two runs as the Marion Scarlet Hurricanes edged Northwood for a non-district victory Jaylin Ferland and Allie Totten each had two hits and Skylar Pike was the winning pitcher who passed away in December from injuries sustained in an auto accident Bailey Keen went 3-for-4 and scored two runs to lead the way for the Council Cobras in a loss Union’s Aliyah Davidson prevailed over Ridgeview’s Bella Viers in a Mountain 7 District pitching duel Davidson struck out 11 in spinning a five-hitter and Viers whiffed 13 in crafting a five-hitter Kylee Castle had two hits for Union with Davidson and Alexis Shupe scoring the runs for the Bears Alyssa Kiser had two hits for Ridgeview with Makinley Owens scoring the lone run for the Wolfpack Victoria Browder’s two-out RBI single in the top of the seventh inning put the West Ridge Wolves ahead to stay in a non-conference win Jenna Latham led THS (10-16) with two hits Kaylie Hughes scored the only run for the Vikings in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from Macie Strouth Shayla Arnold and Ava Wallace scored the goals for the John Battle Trojans in a non-district victory Elizabeth Nichols scored six of Abingdon’s 10 goals as the Falcons blasted Lee High A hat trick from Hannah Repass highlighted George Wythe’s Mountain Empire District triumph   Council’s Ella Rasnake finished third in the girls 800-meter run at last year’s Virginia High School League Class 1 state track and field cham… The Twin Springs Titans triumphed in a Cumberland District softball classic on Tuesday nine-inning win over the Eastside Spart… Burton senior Jordan Mooney tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out 15 as the Raiders recorded a 2-0 win over the visiting Eastside Spart… – With his trusty 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac and its high-mileage odometer in the shop Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account WATERTOWN — Three days after surviving an overtime battle with De Smet in the Region 2B semifinals, Castlewood High School's boys basketball team wasted little time in punching its fourth-straight trip to the State B tournament The top-seeded Warriors (21-2 overall) scored 15 unanswered points in the first five minutes and rolled to a 55-19 SoDak 16 state-qualifying win over No 16 Ipswich Tuesday night in the Watertown Civic Arena Castlewood advanced to the State B tournament March 20-22 in the Barnett Center at Aberdeen and kept alive its quest for its first state championship since 2001 so we just wanted to come out and play the best we could," Castlewood 6-foot-9 senior center Bryon Laue said and we didn't want to overlook these guys either so we just prepared like they were the best team and got the job done." Now having a close battle against a De Smet team that saw its bid for a fourth-consecutive State B title come up short in an overtime loss to Howard last March a night after the Bulldogs slipped past Castlewood in the semifinals but Castlewood did win the regular-season matchup by 20 points it was a big deal for Castlewood to take advantage of an outmanned and undersize Ipswich team (14-9) on Tuesday "We knew Ipswich was kind of out of its element a little bit without having played in a game like this in awhile," Castlewood coach Paul Raasch said The fast start just seemed to boost Castlewood's confidence brothers Kamden and Jamison Keszler also played well as did fellow starters Luke Baumbeger and Brody Bass 35-8 at halftime and 45-8 before turning the game over to reserves with just over three minutes left in the third period Laue made 7 of 9 field-goal attempts for 14 points and also added eight rebounds in the limited time Baumberger drained a trio of 3-pointers for nine points The Keszlers each scored eight points and Bass six Castlewood shot 53% from trhe field and owned the boards 31-14 the Warriors now have the chance to make a run at a championship next weekend but we don't want to overlook anybody," Laue said "We just want to take it one game at a time play who's in front us and then we'll look to the next game." Shay Knust and Max Kulesa each scored four points for Ipswich and Jake Kopsas 20 to lead the way for Dell Rapids St which halted Waverly-South Shore's bid to end a long state tournament drought A 1926 trip to state by Waverly is the only state tournament appearance in the history of the two schools four assists and four steals for the Cardinals seven rebounds and five assists and Trimmier Hanson eight points Sam Appelhof finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for Waverly-South Shore (14-9) Colton Kranz and Bryan Ramirez each contributed nine points 6 Lemmon 33FAITH — Aberdeen Christian qualified for the State B for the fifth time in six years by outscoring Lemmon 33-14 in the second half Luke Kaiser produced 18 points and Dylan Hofer 11 for the Knights (18-5) Grady Jett had seven points and Brooks Jett 12 rebounds Lemmon (19-3) received 10 points from Arlus Yalowizer and eight each from Jacob Sonsalla and Blake Drayton BASKETBALL: SoDak 16 Class A, B boys basketball matchups set; Watertown, Aberdeen Central girls lose March 20-22 at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen March 20's pairings (All times are Central): Home » Sports » State B: Raasch ends 39-year drought Castlewood executed wonderfully at the end of first and second quarters to build a 10-point halftime lead en route to…… 21-2 record Head coach: Paul Raasch Best wins: Clark/Willow Lake — Against defending Class B softball champion Castlewood the Warriors provided the knockout blow on Saturday A walk-off single by Lilly Jacobsen in the final frame won Castlewood the Avon Invitational on Saturday defeating the Pirates 4-3 in the championship game All tournament contests played were five-inning games but were held scoreless in all but the second inning plating three runs on a Jordyn Voigt groundout and Rilyn Thury’s RBI single after the Pirates loaded the bases on three-straight hits Castlewood (5-1) rallied in the bottom of the third inning tying the game on Cydni Kudrna’s base hit to score Ciara Kjetland Kudrna later scored on a wild pitch in the inning and was intentionally walked in the fifth to set up a force play with Jacobsen at the plate who blasted a line drive to center field to score Kjetland and seal the victory Jacobsen ended the game 2-of-3 with an RBI and Kudrna collected two hits Claire Horn struck out six batters across all five innings Horn also had a double in the game with a walk at the plate Eight Avon players collected hits in the game as Voigt went 2-of-3 while driving in a run and Thury collected two RBIs Macy Voigt worked four innings in the loss allowing five hits and four walks with five strikeouts Avon reached the championship game at its home tournament after dispatching Elkton-Lake Benton 16-4 in the first round Macy Voigt tallied 11 strikeouts on the mound in a 5-1 victory over Winner with Thury driving in three runs two courtesy of a home run in the first inning Jessica Kills In Water drove in the lone Winner run for the game and was handed the pitching loss despite striking out nine in four innings of work Castlewood began its tournament with a 7-2 victory over Wagner before edging Scotland/Menno 7-5 in the semifinals The Trappers nearly erased a five-run deficit in the third inning with a three-run frame but Horn struck out Kimmy Kubal with runners on first and second to end the threat Kayla Goens and Natalie Akin finished with two RBIs for the Warriors Trinity Bietz hit a two-run home in the third inning and Kylie Guthmiller collected two hits Scotland/Menno defeated Winner 7-6 for third place Hanson defeated Viborg-Hurley 19-9 for fifth and Wagner put up a tournament-best 21 runs en route to a seventh-place finish eighth-seeded Lyman boys basketball hung with top-seeded Castlewood Only leading by one with two and a half minutes remaining in the first half of play the Warriors seized control and carried momentum over into the second half cruising to a 64-38 quarterfinal victory in the Class B state tournament quarterfinals at the Barnett Center The upset-minded Raiders seemed primed to contend throughout the entire game but the Warriors went on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 32-22 advantage into halftime Castlewood head coach Paul Raasch said the team talked about how crucial the final minutes would be during the last media timeout of the first half He also mentioned how important the defense was to that run “We wanted to make a little run before the end of the half and get a little space “Our defense is what’s carried us all year and they were getting to the rim on us early in the game Lyman coach Cooper Garnos said the Raiders played as well as they had hoped up to that point and then you start to get no man's land,” Garnos said “We were hoping it's going to be maybe a five or six-point game The one thing that I’ve found over the years with a team like [Castlewood] Even though Castlewood found their footing in the late moments of the first half the Warriors’ offense and defense fired on all cylinders in the third quarter the Warriors scored the first 13 points in the period building a 21-point advantage with 2:18 to go in the third holding Lyman scoreless for over six minutes to open the second half “We talk about the first three minutes of the third quarter all the time,” Raasch said “We went seven to nothing and then we talked about trying to put together two 7-0 runs I think we did and we got control of the game that way.” Garnos said those opening minutes of the third quarter all but made a comeback impossible citing again how difficult competing with Castlewood is “We don't have great possessions on the offensive end and of course The Warriors had 14 players score in double-figures Jamison Keszler finished with 13 and Kamden Keszler finished with 10 Big man Bryon Laue finished with a 12-point Cole Kieffer finished with nine points while Aksel Ehlers finished with two points Lyman (17-7) will play in the first consolation round game against Wall at noon on Friday Castlewood (22-2) moves to the Class B semifinal round Three of South Dakota's best high school boys and girls basketball teams took the court Friday night in the Hamlin Education Center The event was a high school basketball doubleheader between Class A Hamlin and Class B Castlewood improved to 4-1 by rolling to a 54-20 win in the opener before Hamlin's boys followed with a 74-52 win over top-rated Class B Castlewood Hamlin's girls rebounded from a 49-46 loss to Ethan and Hamlin's boys (also 4-1) bounced back from a 74-71 loss to a talented Houston (Tenn.) team both on Monday in the Hoop City Classic at Mitchell's Corn Palace It's just part of a tough stretch of schedule for Hamlin's boys the defending state Class A champions who will visit top-rated Sioux Falls Christian on Saturday every day in practice our coaches just tell us to take it one game at a time and when the next game comes up we go play that one," Hamlin senior guard Easton Neuendorf said It's just next game up and focus on the next one after that." Here's three takeaways from Friday's games: the general consensus is that Sioux Falls Christian which was unbeaten last season before falling to Hamlin 53-50 in overtime in the state championship game Christian did edge Hamlin 54-52 in the regular season before Hamlin got even in March Hamlin can't be counted out in its bid to repeat Coach Todd Neuendorf's squad did graduate Tyson Stevenson but younger brothers Turner (a senior) and Boden (a sophomore) have picked up more playing time for a squad that pretty much returned everybody else: Easton Neuendorf; fellow seniors Evan Stormo Zac VanMeeteren and Dawson Noem; and junior Jackson Wadsworth Noem made his first appearance of the season Friday after having thumb surgery an injury he suffered while leading Hamlin to an unbeaten season and a Class 9AA state football title this fall talented and 47-8 since the start of the 2022-23 season 20 FAVORITES: Links to the stories highlighting the best northeastern South Dakota athletes since 1984 Hamlin rolled to a 71-47 regular season victory last January at Castlewood a team that went on to go 22-4 and finish third in the state B tournament The Chargers got off a quick start in that game but led only 16-14 after one quarter on Friday before Neuendorf took over who will head to Briar Cliff University in Sioux City (Iowa) for college ball scored 21 of his game-high 34 points in the period The outburst fueled a 29-8 surge that put Hamlin in control for good they played zone to start and we hit shots right away," Easton Neuendorf said it took a little bit for us to get going and once we got going Wadsworth added 15 points and Stormo 11 for the Chargers who visit Tiospa Zina on Thursday before what should be (depending on the new poll that comes out Monday) a No "Obviously last year we beat them in the (state) championship and they've probably got this one circled on their calender it's going to be a good game and it's going to be just a dogfight." It was the second time in two years that a big showdown with Hamlin turned into a one-sided loss for the Warriors few teams in the state have Hamlin's athleticism and group of weapons University of Sioux Falls commit Bryon Laue is a key player for the Warriors and led the way Friday with 17 points Senior Luke Baumberger and junior Brody Bass Brother Jamsion (a senior who scored 10 points) and Kamden Keszler (a sophomore) round out the lineup for veteran coach Paul Raasch who recently became only the fourth boys basketball coach in state history to accumulate 600 or more wins The Warriors struggled with some turnovers against Hamlin's aggressive defense There were also times when Castlewood seemed to forget about getting the ball to Laue but the Chargers likely played a role in that the Warriors suffered regular-season losses to Class B state-tourney entrant Viborg-Hurley (one point) and Class A tourney teams Hamlin and Sioux Valley A bid for the school's first state B title since 2001 ended a 40-37 semifinal loss to three-time defending champion De Smet in the semis Castlewood shouldn't have any problem putting Friday's loss in the rear-view mirror unless something catastrophic happens Hamlin's girls had back-to-back state runner-up seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22 before going 25-0 on the way to winning the state Class A championship in 2022-23 The Chargers missed state during a 14-8 season last winter but are looking to rectify that situation for coach Tim Koisti this winter The Chargers have 5-6 junior guard Addison Neuendorf back leading the way and have been bolstered by the addition of senior twins Addie and Jo Steffensen and their sophomore sister Issie who helped lead Arlington a runner-up finish in the state B tournament last winter THE NEUENDORFS: Two coaches, three players from same family part of resurgence for Hamlin hoops rounds out a really athletic starting linup for Hamlin The Chargers don't have the inside presence of their recent state tournament teams but they can get after things defensively and are capable of scoring in bunches A 22-4 start put Friday's game out of reach early Addie Neuendorf led the way with 14 points and was honored after the game for surpassing the 1,000-point mark for her career The Steffensens combined for 30 points (Jo 11 We always do whatever we can to help each other out Whatever it takes to make each other successful we're going to do it," Easton Neuendorf said Junior Cassidy Kirwan scored five points and sophomore Lilly Jacobsen grabbed five rebounds for Castlewood Raasch is the Region 2 Head Coach of the Year and Lockner the Region 5 Assistant Girls Coach of the Year Raasch guided Castlewood to a 24-2 record and state Class B boys basketball championship in March Lockner assisted for a Brandon Valley girls team that went 21-3 and finished second in the state Class AA tournament Other area Region Coaches of the Year include Jerome Nesheim of Clark-Willow Lake Region 1 boys; Andrea Begeman of Clark-Willow Lake and Matt Locke of Groton Area Region 1 girls; Brad DeBeer of Deubrook Area Region 2 girls; and Stephen Hettick of Mobridge-Pollock Clark-Willow Lake's boys went 18-7 and finished eighth in the state Class A tournament Deubrook Area's girls went 18-8 and played in their first-ever State B tourney (taking 8th) Mobridge-Pollock's girls went 19-5 and placed sixth in the State A tournament Groton Area's girls were 15-7 and Clark-Willow Lake's girls 12-9 2024 SDBCA Region Coaches of the Year: Twelve leaders received 2024 Region Coach of the Year awards Area assistants honored include Paul Fischer of Aberdeen Roncalli Region 1 assistant boys; Amanda Bain of Aberdeen Roncalli Region 1 assistant girls; Jeffrey Sikkink of Castlewood Region 2B boys; Ryan Kemnitz of Mobridge-Pollock Region 4 assistant girls; and Trey Frederick of Mobridge-Pollock who shared the Region 4 assistant boys honors with Adam Courtney of Rapid City Christian Denise Clemens of Northwestern (girls) and Hank Taken Alive of Mobridge-Pollock (boys) each were honored as the top lower-level coaches in Regions 1-4 ABERDEEN — The focused and talented Castlewood High School boys basketball team emphatically completed its mission Saturday night Castlewood wrapped up a dominant run through the three-day tournament by capturing its first state title since 2001 and giving the Warriors' legendary coach Paul Raasch the first state championship of his illustrious 39-year coaching career "I'm really happy for our kids and a little bit relieved a 1982 Castlewood gradaute who returned home to coach his hometown team three seasons ago "You could see how mature our guys were and how focused they were all tournament 1 most of the season before suffering a 49-44 loss to Viborg-Hurley in the Hanson Corn Palace Classic in late January It was the team's only loss to a Class B foe all season (the other came to state Class A runner-up Hamlin) The Warriors nearly suffered a devastating loss to another Class B team (perennial power De Smet) in the Region 2B semifinals winning 47-45 in overtime after posting a 20-point win during the regular season The Warriors weren't challenged again in the postseason beating Ipswich 55-19 in a SoDak 16 state-qualifying game before posting 64-38 64-45 and 52-31 wins in the state tournament "If somebody would have said were were going to be up 19-3 "Then it goes through your mind that they're going to make a run and we have to get those runs stopped They did make their run a couple of times but our kids have been locked in on the goal all year and they weren't going to get denied tonight." coached by 1983 Castlewood graduate Shane Warwick should have known it was in trouble early when the Warriors' 6-foot 9-inch senior center Bryon Laue opened the scoring with a 3-pointer answered with a field goal 14 seconds later — at the 5:40 mark on the first quarter didn't come until more than eight minutes later and left Viborg-Hurley playing catchup "We missed some easy layups right away and ended up 2-for-18 from the 3-point line Castlewood showed throughout the season and definitely in the tournament that is a well-rounded squad The Warriors' defense had a lot of do with Viborg-Hurley's struggles and the offense got contributions from all five starters our defense was perfect," Castlewood senior guard Jamison Keszler said we made the mistake of going zone a few times but we just stuck with man-to-man tonight but also had trouble figuring out how to stop Castlewood Laue and Keszler have been the two leaders all year and Laue did produce 13 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday Viborg-Hurley did piece together an 11-0 run in the second quarter to cut Castlewood's lead to 19-14 and got even closer The Warriors closed the period with a decisive 16-6 run that include seven points from junior Brody Bass five from senior Luke Baumberger and three from sophomore Kamden Keszler All three players drained 3-pointer during the surge Baumberger finished with 12 points and six rebouds Bass 11 and seven and Kamden Keszler eight and four "Jamison and Bryon learned to run our offense really well," Bass said we know our role and when it's time to step up Hanson led Viborg-Hurley with 14 points and eight rebounds Owen Niederbaumer added eight points and Brady Schoedermeier seven Castlewood enjoyed an impressive run of success from 1996 through 2003 making eight trips to state that including state titles in 1999 and 2001 runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2003 and third-place finish in 2002 The Warriors returned to state in 2011 and 2012 before a this recent run of three-straight trips to state They lost to De Smet in the semifinals last year and finished third They took the final step this winter with the help of Baumberger who played in Watertown before heading to Castlewood last winter "It felt like family as soon as I got here and I've never looked back," Baumberger said "Viborg-Hurley has a good team and they beat us early in the year but if we work hard We knew that coming in and we just knew we had to work as hard as we could." An added bonus for the championship is for Raasch the hometown guy with a 621-261 record in 39 years as a boys basketball coach at Alpena He is one of the winningest coaches in state history He did coach Langford Area to a state football title in 2015 but the Lions twice finished as state runner-ups in boys basketball (2008 and 2015) He not only got his first state basketball title on Saturday but also joined a select group of coaches to lead teams to state football and boys basketball championships I've been competitive my whole life and to be honest "We've been here a couple of times and we didn't get it That game still bothers me because that bunch of kids was the same as this one." STATE A BOYS BASKETBALL: No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian settles score with No. 2 Hamlin in state A boys tourney final Wessington Springs 54) — Second-seeded Dell Rapids St Mary led throughout on the way to its 24th win against two losses The Cardinals were led by Trevon Beckman with 21 points Trimmier Hanson 16 points and Jake Kopsas 12 points and 13 rebounds Fourth-seeded Wessington Springs (22-4) was led by Colby Flowers with 15 points and seven rebounds and Karter Mebius with 14 points Freeman 57) — Fith-seeded Wall (19-7) closed its season with the win getting 26 points from Teelan Kjerstad and 25 from Emmett Dinger Trevor Schulz added 13 points and Jace Mohr 11 Sixth-seeded Freeman (20-6) got 27 points from Tate Sorensen and 10 from Tayden Kerrigan Lyman 46) — Seventh-seeded Aberdeen Christian closed out a 19-7 season with the win over eighth-seeded Lyman (17-9) Dawson Volmer's 16 points and MJ Diehm's 12 sparked Lyman Viborg-Hurley's Hanson won the Spirit of Su Award and Castlewood's cheerleaders the Spirit of Six Award Members o of the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association's all-tourney team included Laue Jamison Keszler and Baumberger of Castlewood; Hanon and Brady Schroedermeier of Viborg-Hurley; Beckman and M Mary; Dinger and Kjerstad of Wall; Flowers of Wessington Springs; Sorensen of Freeman; and Brooks Jett of Aberdeen Christian Wessington Springs 45 — Top-seeded Castlewood earned a trip to the championship for the first time since 2003 by methodically pulling away 13 rebounds) and Jamison Keszler (17 points who used Keszler's last-second 3-pointer to grab a 19-14 lead after one quarter Castlewood increased its advantage to 36-26 at halftime and to 48-31 early in the third "Those two guys have been leading us all year," Castlewood coach Paul Raach told South Dakota Public Broadcasting Kamden Keszler contributed nine points and Luke Baumberger and Brody Bass eight each for Castlewood "Our guys have been on a mission," Raasch said The Spartans received 15 points from Colby Flowers and 13 points and 11 rebounds from Ryder Michalek Mary 49 — Third-seeded Viborg-Hurley built an 11-point lead in the third quarter and held on by holding second-seeded St DRSM cut the lead to 52-39 on Lincoln LeBrun's 3-pointer with 3:14 left Viborg-Hurley made four free throws in the final 27.5 seconds to secure the win Hanson recorded 20 points and eight rebounds and Niedebaumer 11 points for Viborg-Hurley Beckman's 25 points and eight rebounds topped St STATE AA BOYS BASKETBALL: Second-seeded Brandon Valley stops Mitchell bid to repeat in state Class AA championship Lyman 55 — Wall overcame a 13-point deficit to prevail 17 from Dinger and eight points and 11 rebounds from Younger Amiotte Vollmer's 19 points and eight rebounds led Lyman Aberdeen Christian 44 — Freeman won the close battle behind Sorensen's 17 points and seven rebounds Kerrigan's 14 points and Luke Peters' 12 points Brooks Jett garnered 16 points and 16 rebounds and Kaiser 12 points for the Knights the Viborg-Hurley and Castlewood boys basketball teams knew the goal was to survive all 32 minutes 3-ranked Viborg-Hurley upended top-ranked Castlewood 49-44 as part of the Hanson Classic at the Corn Palace ending the Warriors’ seven-game winning streak and extending its own to 11 games Knowing the type of team Castlewood presents each night Viborg-Hurley head coach Shane Warwick said the victory was big for his team “I have a lot of respect for Castlewood and for (head coach Paul) Raasch,” Warwick said That’s a game that could have gone either way We made some shots and we’re fortunate it went our way tonight.” A slow start for both teams yielded to the Cougars pulling ahead by eight points at the end of the first quarter Nick Hanson scored the first six points of the game and V-H’s Brayden Morrison hit a pair of three-point baskets in that span The lead grew to 10 in the second quarter before Castlewood began to battle back into the game answering with a 9-3 scoring run to cut it down to six points at halftime both teams went cold from the field to start the third quarter Bryon Laue picked up eight points in the quarter to keep the Warriors close as V-H contended with Castlewood switching defenses on the floor “(Castlewood) switching defenses was really tough,” forward Nick Hanson said “We didn’t really know what to do because we had to talk if it was either man or zone We started swinging the ball and reversing really got us those open lanes to score.” The Cougars held serve in the fourth quarter even as the Warriors came within one point following a Laue layup off an offensive rebound Braydyn Morrison hits consecutive triples to extend the lead back out to seven finishing with a team-leading 17 points off the bench and providing a boost to Viborg-Hurley on the floor “He loves the big-time shot and he’s fearless,” Warwick said of Morrison “He’s just playing better and better as the season’s going along And he’s a reason why we are winning some games too.” A 3-pointer and a layup off a fast break by Jamison Keszler brought Castlewood back within two with a bit over 30 seconds remaining but clutch free throws from Morrison and Jake Austin and a turnover by the Warriors effectively sealed the win for the Cougars as the Cougars shot 46.2% from the 3-point line for the game and both Brady Schoedermeier and Owen Niederbaumer tallied seven points Laue led all players with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds and Kamden Keszler had six points and three steals Castlewood (11-2) returns home to host Colman-Egan on Tuesday Viborg-Hurley (12-1) will travel home to take on Centerville on Thursday — With its rich history and diverse natural landscape Castlewood Canyon State Park near Franktown is gearing up for a new management plan The plan serves as a guiding document for the park and its staff and gives Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) a blueprint for how to manage the park for the next 10 years Park manager Larry Butterfield has been heavily involved in drafting the plan and it will be his job to ensure that CPW staff is adhering to the plan “I really appreciate having a guiding document to ensure that I am doing the absolute best for the park visitors the natural and cultural resources,” said Butterfield “And just coming up with the best ways of caring for this facility and all that it has to offer.” The plan guides current and future park staff provides a framework for maintaining natural resources and identifies opportunities to enhance the park through upgrades to facilities and new projects “The thing I really like about the plan is it's going to give connectivity from one group of staff from now to 10 years from now,” explained Butterfield “It's going to ensure we're caring for the park and there's consistency for the plan and the park.” CPW will be holding two public meetings for people to ask questions and give feedback about the plan before it is implemented. To register for the meetings, you can go to CPW’s management plan website here. The first meeting is virtual and takes place at 6 p.m The second meeting is in person at the Philip & Jerry Miller Library at 5:30 p.m “This resource is the people’s park,” said Butterfield “It’s very important for the residents of Colorado to get to have a say in how their state parks are managed They’ll have an opportunity to ask questions and seek answers for how the plan is going and provide feedback for all that the plan has within it.” Feedback from the public will be considered with possible changes to the plan forthcoming “We're going to collect all that information,” said Butterfield “And we're going to utilize that and see how it works with the draft plan that we have.” If you would like to see the draft plan yourself, you can follow this link to CPW’s website. Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above. CASTLEWOOD, VIRGINIA – Barbara “Bobbi” Nadine Sexson, 86, passed away on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at Johnson City Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee. She was born in St. Paul, Virginia, the daughter of the late Jeff and Verna Miller Hicks. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Elizabeth Matda and Lois Hulsey; and one daughter, Karen Castle. Bobbi was a member of Union Baptist Church in Dante, Virginia. She will truly be missed by her family and her church family. She is survived by her husband, Tommy Gene Sexson; one daughter, Robin Phillips and husband, Mack; two sons, Tim Sexson and wife, Carol and Rick Sexson and wife, Heather; one brother, Larry Hicks and wife, Annette; two sisters, Beverly Fletcher and Norma Davis; eleven grandchildren, Jamie Castle, Shauna Castle, Dustin Phillips, Derick Phillips, Daven Phillips, Paula Collins, Amber Sexson, Ashley Sexson, Ellie Sexson, Ethan Sexson, and Karen Sexson; several great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral Services for Barbara “Bobbie” Nadine Sexson will be conducted at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Castlewood Funeral Home Chapel, Castlewood, Virginia, with Pastor Estol Amburgey and Rev. Dwaine Rasnick officiating. Interment will follow at Temple Hill Memorial Park, Castlewood, Virginia. Pallbearers will be grandsons. Honorary Pallbearers will be the men of Union Baptist Church, Dante, Virginia. The family will receive friends from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2025, at Castlewood Funeral Home, Castlewood, Virginia. The family would like to give special thanks to the staff at Johnson City Medical Center and to Paul and Tince Skeens. Online condolences may be sent to the Sexson family through our website and a video tribute may be viewed at www.castlewoodfuneralhome.com. Castlewood Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Tribute Archive BREAKING NEWS: Former Campus Choir director arrested Monday This is the final weekend for Lee University Theatre’s latest production tells the story of a young girl who is sent away from the city during the London Blitz of 1940 In the country she meets an eccentric young boy and together they create imaginative worlds in the woods.  There is a “little bit of secrecy involved in what exactly the plot looks like,” according to theatre faculty Anna Marie Brendel “But we hope that people will come out for it Brendel enjoys ushering students through the production process and I'm grateful to be able to continue directing while I'm here as well,” Brendel said adding she is now “really learning the ropes of academia and teaching and what all of that means to impact students who are several steps behind me now and bringing them up through the ranks and helping prepare them for the professional world.” Sydney Kruger (left) and Ella Knight appear as Fern and Winnie in the LeeU Theatre performance of  “Castlewood” by Bethany Paulsen.  “Castlewood” has given several students the opportunity to work on- and off-stage during the production The show’s cast includes students Ella Knight “This marks a unique opportunity for our students to engage with and bring visibility to a new work of play literature This student cast and crew have done a great job collaborating on bringing a new story to life and have fully committed to the process.” Brendel said.  The production crew includes Lee students Hannah Kendrick as stage manager Gabrielle Banker as assistant stage manager Minnie Brock as set designer and costume designer The show will be performed at the Buzz Oats Black Box theatre located in the Communication Arts Building staff and faculty can check their email from Lee Theatre to find the code for a free ticket For more information or to purchase tickets visit Lee Theatre on Eventbrite Alex Wright also contributed to this article.  Information provided to the Lee Clarion from our local community ABERDEEN — Top-seeded Castlewood and the other three top seeds each posted first-round wins Thursday in the state Class B boys basketball tournament in the Barnett Center Castlewood (22-2) opened the day with a 64-38 win over Lyman STATE A BOYS BASKETBALL: Hamlin wins, Clark-Willow Lake and Groton Area drop opener in state A boys basketball tourney Lyman (17-7) did what it could early to stay in the game and trailed only 23-22 with 2:37 remaining in the first half Castlewood (22-2) tightened up its defense and took over from there. The Warriors closed the first half with a 9-1 scoring spurt and then outscored the Raiders 18-4 in the third quarter "We played well defensively," Castlewood coach Paul Raasch said "At the end of the second quarter and the start of the third The Warriors also displayed good galance on offense Luke Baumberger led the way with 15 points Laue also contributed 11 rebounds and three blocked shots and Brody Bass snared seven rebounds MJ Diem scored 12 points and Cole Kieffer nine for Lyman Mary (23-1) didn't give the Knights much of a chance racing to a 23-9 lead after one quarter on the way to the victory Maverick LeBrun 18 and Trimmier Hanson 15 for the Cardinals 11-rebound performance paced Aberdeen Christian (18-6) Jett Johnson and Grady Jett each pitched in with nine points coached by Castlewood native Shane Warwick settled a score from early in the season with a big second half The Cougars lost their season opener 57-53 to Freeman The Cougars (22=2) led only 33-28 at the half before taking over behind 21 points from Brady Schroedermeier and 20 from Owen Niederbaumer David Walter scored 15 points for Freeman (19-5) STATE AA BOYS BASKETBALL: Defending champion Mitchell one of four winners in state AA boys basketball tournament 5 Wall 52Like Castlewood did in Thursday's opener the Spartans (22-2) broke open a close game late in the first half and gained full control with a big third quarter Colby Flowers tallied 24 points and 16 rebounds Karter Mebius 20 points and Ryder Michalek 19 points and 11 rebounds for Wessington Springs Wall (17-7) received 19 points from Emmet Dinger and 13 from Teelan Kjerstad – Eastside freshman Phil Clay was looking forward to Tuesday’s Cumberland District baseball showdown the 5-foot-11 and 150-pound freshman left-hander delivered a dominant performance as the Spartans took a 11-3 win over the Castlewood Blue Devils Clay is the son of Eastside assistant coach Tim Clay who was a standout baseball player at Coeburn High School and Ferrum College Did the younger Clay feel any nerves taking the mound in the battle for Cumberland supremacy and my teammates helped me by scoring runs.” Clay was slowed by an elbow injury that occurred during the opening scrimmage of the season so his first experience on the mound came in a one inning stint last week against Holston “I was just kind of easing into things for that game,” Phil said Phil recorded nine strikeouts Tuesday and allowed just three hits over the first five innings Powerful sophomore left-hander Keldan Hamilton pitched the final two innings who played at the college level with Coastal Carolina “I’ve spent a ton of time on pitching with dad and Chris,” Phil said The slender Phil Clay is a max-effort athlete who puts his entire body into each delivery and I just try to bring as much I can all the time,” Phil said Clay drove in two runs with a single and double Phil Clay said he has learned lessons in tenacity from his cousin Taylor Clay who leads the softball team at UVA Wise with a .358 average while starting all 47 games “We go 100 percent in my family with no excuses Chris Clay was pleased with the well-rounded effort of his new look squad “Castlewood has had the same group of players on the varsity for nearly 70 games 3-0) compiled a total of 14 hits against three Castlewood pitchers “We practice bunting and take pride in it,” Coach Clay said We were kind of able to dictate the pace tonight.” 9 batter Will Johnson suppled two hits each for Eastside Hamilton slammed a solo homer in the third inning which has averaged 15 runs in five straight wins began the season with nine new players on the varsity roster “We feel like there’s still some improvement to be made,” Coach Clay said “We hope to be playing our best late in the season.” Castlewood coach Hunter Neece was impressed with the Cumberland pitching debut of Clay “I think Phil is one of the better hitters in the district and he throws excellent,” Neece said “We’ve seen Keldan a lot the past couple years so I wasn’t shocked to see Clay on the mound today.” 3-1) banged out five hits and scored a couple runs on aggressive baserunning But the Blue Devils were hurt by four errors “There’s a lot of baseball left in the season and we have a good shot to be where we want to be if we continue to work at it.” Phil Clay has honed his pitching and hitting skills the past three years with the Virginia Fire travel ball squad which includes athletes from school such as Liberty Christian Academy Did Clay expect to play such a significant role in his freshman season “I was just ready to do what whatever the team needed from me,” Clay said Eastside will travel to traditional Class 1 power Auburn (10-3) on Wednesday agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544 Email notifications are only sent once a day Billy Testerman has paid his dues and bided his time as an assistant coach and will now get to test his skills as the leader of a high school … With possible changes to state zoning laws governing single-family houses on the horizon let’s look at a few on the market in the city now each city with a population of 25,000 or more shall allow the development of all middle housing types on lots or parcels with a total area greater than 5,000 square feet and that are zoned for any type of residential use.”  With all this discussion about single-family residences let’s check out some new listings in Chicago that have just hit the market — in some cases for the first time in decades which is apparent in the burn scars on the basement wood The current owners have added their own spin on the interior with numerous stained glass pieces and a stone fireplace in the family room all-brick home — one of seven on the same block in Uptown designed by architects Edward Raap & Associates — has been listed for the first time since its construction in 1990 Situated on an almost double lot (a rare find in the city) three-story residence features four bedrooms the property is within walking distance of all the amenities one is looking for in the city: the lakefront trail entertainment venues such as the Aragon Ballroom including the Red Line and two express bus routes to downtown this home in Sauganash certainly fits with the theme of our other listings The 1930s Tudor Revival design features a striking brick exterior adorned with multiple gables and a prominent chimney Described as “carefully maintained” in the listing the nearly 1,500-square-foot home has three bedrooms Some notable interior features include a vintage pink-tiled bathroom and a wood-paneled sunroom The property is conveniently located close to I-94 that would be ideal for any buyer seeking historic character at an affordable price in the city I could not find any sales history for this 1,600-square-foot home which has the possibility of four total bedrooms It is evident from the photos that someone lived here a considerable amount of time but there is plenty of potential for renovation preserved hardwood flooring lies beneath the carpet “ready to be exposed.” One of the three bathrooms features vintage cream-colored tile plus there’s a linoleum floor in the basement which would be the perfect space to set up a man cave or bar area Let’s finish up this real estate round-up in the Irving Park neighborhood with this updated three-bedroom three-bathroom bungalow that is for sale for the first time in almost 10 years the nearly 3,000-square-foot residence has been completely renovated In addition to a gourmet kitchen and primary bedroom suite the fully finished basement features a spacious recreation area and a laundry room The modern upgrades are clearly reflected in the current asking price which represents a 42% increase since it was last on the market Sign up for our Home & Real Estate newsletter We hope you enjoy our newsletters.To subscribe to the print edition of Chicago magazine, go to chicagomag.com/subscribe Chicago magazine newsletters have you 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