By Jaxson Miller

The West Fargo Sheyenne boys’ basketball program and girls’ basketball program both wrapped up their eighth season as varsity programs.

The girls’ team had a new coach this year, Kenyon Wingenbach.

Wingenbach was an assistant coach for the Bismarck Century boys’ basketball program for five years and for the Bismarck Century girls’ basketball program for eight years.

Kenyon Wingenbach succeeded Brent Hintz, who was the coach for the first seven years of the West Fargo Sheyenne girls’ basketball program.

The boys team finished 20-7 overall with a fourth-place finish at the state tournament.

This was a team that graduated five seniors last year and lost 80 percent of their scoring, which came from Jacksen Moni and Jah’Heem Leake.

The girls’ program had their best season in program history, by going 20-6 overall, and had a 16-game winning streak that spanned for a little over two months.

Kenyon Wingenbach was glad to be a part of such an amazing experience, “I’m looking forward to next season, but this team was very special. I’ve been a part of a lot of successful teams, but I’ve never been a part of something like this. It’s a team I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”

Both the girls’ and boys’ teams punched their tickets to the 2022 North Dakota High School Basketball Class A State Tournament, which was held at the Bismarck Event Center from Thursday, March 10, to Saturday, March 12.

Sheyenne’s boys team punched their ticket by getting to the EDC (Eastern Dakota Conference) championship game for the third year in a row.

Fargo Davies beat Sheyenne 66-60, to get the East number one seed in the state tournament. Sheyenne beat Fargo Davies in the EDC championship last year, 92-55, and in 2020, 68-48.

Sheyenne’s girls team punched their ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2019, by beating the Shanley Deacons, 68-51, in a state qualifier match. They earned the East number three seed in the state tournament.

Head coach Kenyon Wingenbach talked about his team being underestimated going into the season and winning 20 games in his first year as head coach, “I thought it was possible next season, but we exceeded everybody’s expectations this season. I thought we could make a run by tournament time and possibly upset a team or two to make it to state. Our main goal was to get acclimated to a new style of play, compete, improve, and form the foundation moving forward.”

The 2022 Class A State Tournament featured many tight games and great matchups. In the boys’ bracket, there was two games that went into overtime in the quarterfinal round.

Minot defeated Fargo North 73-72, thanks to Darik Dissette’s game winning floater, after trailing 71-64 with 1:21 to go in overtime. Fargo Davies outlasted Bismarck Century in overtime, 84-72.

Sheyenne defeated Mandan in the quarterfinal round for the second straight year, 61-48. The Mustangs marched to their third straight semifinal appearance.

West Fargo Sheyenne took on Minot in the first boys semifinal game on the evening of Friday, March 11, 2022. The Mustangs were up 19-11 before the Magicians made a late first half comeback to go up by one at halftime, 24-23.

Both teams shot below 35 percent from the field. The second half was back and forth, and it was anyone’s game.

The Magicians built a lead late in the second half before the Mustangs made a comeback of their own, thanks to another double-double performance from senior Michael Nhial, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Dominic Dosmann hit clutch shots down the stretch to keep the Mustangs in it.

Sheyenne struggled with foul trouble as the Mustangs’ second leading scorer, Kaleb Larson, fouled out late in the game.

The Mustangs tied it up at 51 to send the game to overtime. One overtime was not enough to determine a winner. Michael Nhial hit two out of three free throws to tie the game at 57 and force a second overtime.

Sheyenne came out with a couple of buckets to go up by four and a chance to put the Magicians away and punch a ticket to the state championship game. But Minot did not go away.

Minot got the lead back down to two and forced a stop. Then, the Magicians’ junior guard, Jaeger Gunville, hit one of the most clutch shots of the entire tournament, from NBA range, to take the lead 62-61.

The Magicians forced another stop and hit two free throws to go up by three. The Mustangs had one more chance to send the game to a third overtime.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, Sheyenne senior forward, Zander Newton, was blocked in the corner and the Minot Magicians survived just barely. This win punched their ticket to the Class A title game for the second straight year.

“This group was one play away from being the favorite in the championship. It takes a lot of hard work and effort to get to state and once you make it, you must find another level. The 2022 team had it and the 2020 team never got a chance to complete their season,” Tom Kirchoffner said.

Kirchoffner completed his eight season as head coach for the boys’ basketball program at Sheyenne.

The Magicians would get revenge on the West Fargo Packers in a rematch from last year’s state title game, with a 73-62 victory, to win their first title since 2017, and 19th in school history.

The boys’ team did prove tons of people wrong, and this is a program that should not be overlooked.

Head coach Tom Kirchoffner felt the same way, “We will always have that internal drive to do well. We want our players to do their best on and off the court. The challenge with this team was that we lost all of our starters from the previous year. It was a great challenge for this group of seniors, and they exceeded everyone’s expectations this year. I’m really proud of them.”

The Mustang girls’ basketball squad did not have the brightest finish to the best season in their program’s history. They lost both of their games at state. However, they kept it close in both of their games.

In the Mustangs’ quarterfinal game against Minot, who went on to win the Class A girls basketball state title, they were behind by as much as 20 points in the first half and made a huge comeback.

The Mustangs were able to get the lead down to single digits late in the first half and were able keep it that way throughout the second half.

The Majettes were able to hold on for the win by a score of 71-63. They went on to defeat Fargo Davies 64-57 in the semifinals, and snap Bismarck Century’s 50 game winning streak in the state championship, with a stunning 75-68 win.

This was just the second time the Minot girls’ basketball team won the state title. The first came in 1978.

The Mustangs lost to Bismarck Legacy 61-58 in the consolation semifinal round and the season came to end.

The Sheyenne girls’ basketball program is going to miss Alivia Manson and Lauren Fagerland as they are graduating this year. They contributed as deadly shooters from beyond the arc and were significant role models for the rest of the team.

The boys’ team is graduating a staggering nine players. These players are Michael Nhial, Kaleb Larson, Dominic Dosmann, Zander Newton, James Hagen, Trent Freih, Matthew Gooselaw, Kellen Entz, and Derrick Lobbo.

Nhial, Larson, Gooselaw, and Dosmann have interest to play at the next level.

Matthew Gooselaw is committed to go play for the Spartans at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Fergus Falls. Kaleb Larson just recently committed to NDSCS in Wahpeton.

Dominic Dosmann has growing interest from Concordia College in Moorhead. Michael Nhial committed to Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Nhial will team up with former Sheyenne Mustang Jacksen Moni next year along with Fargo Davies guard, Ian Motschenbacher, who committed to Northern State back in October.

Both Wingenbach and Kirchoffner will continue to have optimistic expectations for their teams.

“The expectations are high for next year, but almost every team that finished in the top seven this year has everyone back,” head coach Kenyon Wingenbach said. “It’s going to be a very competitive league, but we will continue to set and adjust our standards of excellence to pursue. We will need to continue to emphasize the little things, start from zero, and embrace new roles with the departure of our seniors.”

Kirchoffner had similar comments, “Expectations are the same – to work hard every day, have a great attitude, and be a good teammate.”

The girls’ team will bring back a ton of varsity experience and will have a large senior class next season. The boys’ team on the other hand will bring a group of players who have not had experience at the varsity level.

Kenyon Wingenbach is excited for the years to come, and Sheyenne is grateful to have him as head coach for the girls’ basketball program.

Wingenbach had great advice and lessons to give to players that participate in high school sports, “The ups and downs of any given season are an extreme version of real life. Basketball can be used as a vehicle for a higher purpose,” Wingenbach stated.

“I think everyone in our program learned a lot about themselves throughout our journey. The collective confidence we had as a team allowed all our members to feel more comfortable with who they truly are. Ultimately that’s the biggest takeaway from this season. Each season is different. Each group is different.”

As for Tom Kirchoffner, he emphasizes the importance of a great attitude, “Attitude is everything. I learned that at a young age when I would go to my dad’s basketball camps as that is what we had on the back of the camp t-shirts,” Kirchoffner said. “Also, you need to work hard to have success. Good things come to those who work hard.”

The Mustang faithful can be sure that both programs will continue to make remarkable things happen in the years to come.

By Jaxson Miller

Lex Lunde, the 2021-2022 EDC and Class A Wrestling Coach of the Year, started the wrestling program at Sheyenne with the help of his two brothers, Logan, and Lane. The journey began in the fall of 2015.

“I was super excited to get the call from Mr. Grooters (former Sheyenne High School principal) and also a little bit nervous,” head coach Lex Lunde said. “But I was excited to move up to the high school level and start a program. That’s what I’ve always dreamed of.”

The Mustangs went 0-10 in their inaugural season. The inaugural season was the first year Sheyenne High School had seniors, so the numbers were tough, and it was a stressful experience for Lunde and his brothers.

“The first season was stressful for sure. My two older brothers, Logan, and Lane, are assistant coaches, and we’ve always been a part of talented teams. We coached the same way that we were coached throughout college and even a little bit of high school. We realized quickly that didn’t work, especially with five kids and having four of them not knowing if they wanted to be there or not. So that was the most stressful thing.”

Lex, Logan, and Lane realized that they needed to change up their style to get on the right track.

Lex Lunde talked about that change, “We cared as coaches more than a lot of these kids cared themselves in the first couple of years, so we had to change our style a little bit.”

Long time Sheyenne wrestler Kellen Hoornaert, who finished his high school wrestling career as the program’s career leader in wins, escapes, takedowns, total matches, dual-meet wins, decisions, major decisions, and nearfalls, was with the team for six seasons.

Hoornaert joined the team when Sheyenne was in their second season as a program.

In an interview with Logan Campbell, a sports reporter and host from WDAY, Hoornaert talked about what his experience was like when he first joined the program, “I joined the team when I was a seventh grader. During our first year, we had lost every single dual 60-0, 70-3, it was just consistent loss after loss.”

Sheyenne began to grow as a school and the Mustangs began to make progress gradually.

“For me it’s kind of a relief,” said head coach Lex Lunde. “We knew that we were doing the right things and knew that the kids were also doing the right things. It was just a waiting game essentially for kids to start getting bigger, to find different weight classes, and then for the team to spread out from there.”

Last season, the Mustangs achieved their first ever winning season going 13-8 overall and finishing 6-3 in conference play, which put them at the number four spot in the EDC.

This also gave Sheyenne their first dual state tournament appearance. They dropped both games at state, losing to Bismarck 62-7, and Devils Lake 48-27.

Sheyenne was geared up for another winning season. After that first winning season one year ago, Sheyenne has now transformed into a complete and utter dominant program.

It’s certain that head coach Lex Lunde is thrilled to see his team succeed, “It’s been exciting to see the kids have success. Hard work does pay off.”

It was the awakening of a sleeping giant. The Mustangs captured their first EDC regular season title this season and won the EDC regional tournament for the first time on Saturday, February 12, 2022, at the Devils Lake Sports Center.

Sixteen Sheyenne wrestlers qualified for the individual state tournaments, which was a program record.

Marcus Johnson was one of those sixteen wrestlers. He finished his junior season with the program this year, and joined the team during his 8th grade year back in 2018.

Johnson has already set the school record for most pins in a career which currently stands at 80. He also broke his own record of 41 wins in one season, which was set during his freshman year (2019-20), by recording 44 wins this season.

In addition, he holds the school single-season records for reversals, dual-meet points, dual-meet wins, and winning percentage.

Sheyenne tallied 258.5 points at the EDC Tournament, the most ever in program history, and no other team came close to that mark.

West Fargo High finished in second place but finished a whopping 36 points behind the Mustangs.

Sheyenne went a perfect 9-0 in EDC dual play this year and finished 16-6 overall, the most dual wins the Mustangs have recorded in one season.

Sheyenne also set team records for team points at the state tournament for both boys and girls, team points in a season for dual matches with an outstanding 1,039 points, most points in a single dual match with 84 in a dual match against Grand Forks Red River earlier this season, and most consecutive wins with six.

The Mustangs were able to achieve historic milestones as their victories over Fargo Davies and Valley City during the regular season, were the first ever wins for West Fargo Sheyenne against those programs.

Jamestown knocked Sheyenne out of the running for a state championship with a 37-33 victory in the first round of the Class A Wrestling Dual State Tournament, inside the Fargodome.

Despite this, Sheyenne bounced back and finished this year just right by beating Fargo Davies and Valley City once again, 54-22 and 39-33 respectively.

This resulted in a fifth place finish for the Mustangs in the dual tournament.

Although Sheyenne didn’t win a state title this year for duals, this was a historic season for this program.

Many of the sixteen Sheyenne wrestlers at the state tournament achieved success in the individual state tournaments.

Sheyenne finished in fourth place, with 130.5 points in the individual state tournament standings.

There was eight boys and four girls who placed at state for the Mustangs, which were also program records.

Landon Zink made a run to the championship match in the 106lb weight class tournament and Stetson Gisselbeck made a run to the championship match in the 113lb weight class tournament.

The most historical win from an individual wrestler came from Morgan Strandberg.

Strandberg pinned Bismarck Legacy freshman Elizabeth Youboty at 1:17, to capture the Sheyenne wrestling program’s first ever individual state title at the 115lb weight class.

Strandberg was the number one seed going into the 115lb tournament. This was the first year of NDHSAA-sanctioned girls wrestling individual state tournaments.

One of the best things in sports is to watch a new team that gets established and progressively get better until they reach the mountain top in their conference.

Lex Lunde and his coaching staff are going to make sure that the team does not regress.

“We’re not content. I think that’s the big thing because a lot of times for young adults and for kids on this wrestling team, they have some success and then think they can relax a little bit,” Lex Lunde stated. “That’s not what we intend do. We have a lot of kids returning next year and a lot of younger kids who are super talented.”

Lex Lunde also has some goals for the program to accomplish next season, “Our goal is the same thing. We want to win EDC next year and then at state, place higher than fourth in the individual tournament, and then higher than fifth in the dual tournament.”

The EDC had a new champion this year. West Fargo Sheyenne will look to defend their title next season and to continue to climb the latter of progress. Rudy Tomjanovich, who coached the Houston Rockets and led them to their first NBA title in 1994, once said, “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”

By Logan Staska

The NFL (National Football League) has just come to an end on February 13th, with the Los Angeles Rams beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 with a game winning touchdown hauled in by Cooper Kupp.

With the season Kupp had, racking in 1,947 yards and stacking 16 touchdowns to his stat chart, he’ll shoot to a round 1 pick in Fantasy Football.

Football is known as a fall sport in America, and NFL fans have a 5 month wait until their desired sport comes back on their television screens.

But this year football is going to be played in the spring with the return of the USFL (United States Football League).

The league will officially be back April 16th, 2022, after being ceased 1986.

The League will go from April to June with 40 regular season games, 2 playoff and 1 championship. 8 teams are ready to battle for the championship, and on those teams are blood-thirsty players looking for their chance to get to the NFL.

The teams are the New Jersey Generals, Michigan Panthers, Philadelphia Stars, Pittsburgh Maulers, Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, and the Tampa Bay Stallions.

The first day of drafting players was on February 23rd. Quarterbacks were the chosen as the required first round pick.

Michigan Panthers had the first overall pick selecting Shea Patterson out of the University of Michigan.

Another notable pick in the USFL draft was Kyle Slotter, a quarterback who was passed around the NFL being with 6 different NFL teams.

He was with the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Before heading to the USFL he will put his NFL career on hold, leaving his current NFL team the Minnesota Vikings. Kyle will no longer have to trail Kirk Cousins as a back up and is ready for his time to shine.

Mike Pereira, head of officiating for the USFL, explained some of the different rules for the USFL in comparison to the NFL.

Stating, “You don’t like that roughing the passer call that was made. Well guess what? I’m in the replay center and neither do I. So, we’re going to take it off.”

Pereira also explained how instead of bringing the ball to the spot of the foul on pass interference calls, which means a team could move up 40 yards with no guarantee of the receiver catching the ball, they will just make it a 15-yard penalty copying off NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) ruling.

But along with the pass interference call, Pereira say’s “maximum is going to be 15 yards, instead, unless someone deliberately tackles the guy, like you saw the play in the NCAA National Championship, the guy got beat by the double move, grabbed the jersey and pulled him all the way to the ground, that a spot of foul, if its beyond 15 yards.”

Even though the teams are representing different cities, all games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama. All games will be played in Protective Stadium and Legion Field.

Owners say, “They are happy to be playing in the Magic City.”

Along with the USFL, the XFL is going to make a comeback in the year 2023.

The XFL started in the spring of 2020, but due to COVID-19 the league was forced to stop play and cancel the rest of the season.

With the league being a fresh organization, it didn’t make the amount that was invested in it. COVID eliminated all games and cut off all their funds with TV deals and tickets sales.

But fortunately, a beloved celebrity known as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson bought the league. This revival of the XFL is going to be a major impact of spring football. Along with the USFL, the XFL will have 8 teams.

Those teams being the D.C Defenders, Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, New York Guardians, Seattle Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks, and the Tampa Bay Vipers.

The season will have 10 games being shorter then the USFL.

When the league was being played 2 years ago it was a major hit with star players such as P.J Walker.

With Walkers intense arm strength, being able to make long accurate passes. Not only was his arm strength was at a high level, but his vicious speed was also a major bonus allowing him to escape collapsing pockets, escape a tackle and make a touchdown pass.

With 5 games played before COVID ended the season, he ended the season with a 65% completion rate, 1338 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

His longest passing touchdown was 84 yards. NFL teams saw the talent he possessed in the XFL and finally the Carolina Panthers picked up P.J Walker.

However, in the NFL he wasn’t as deadly as he was in the XFL.

With the new leagues coming in the spring football it will finally become a year-round sport for fans. These leagues won’t be as big as the NFL and won’t take over the league, but it will be good entertainment while we wait for the NFL.

The sports world took a major blow when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020. Sports were some of the greatest casualties.

For West Fargo Sheyenne, the boys basketball team was preparing for their state semifinal matchup against the 2019 state champion Jamestown Blue Jays.

The 2019-2020 West Fargo Sheyenne Mustangs boys’ basketball team was one of the major favorites to win the 2020 state title.

It was a 23-2 season that was taken away from them right at the end, when they were looking to claim a spot in the Class A title game, North Dakota high school basketball’s biggest stage.

In addition, all the spring sports were forced to cancel their seasons and it was a heartbreaking end for the athletes of the 2020 class.

Throughout the world, sports shut down for the rest of the spring. In the United States, sport leagues started to resume around June of 2020.
West Fargo Sheyenne athletics were able to return as well going into the 2020-2021 school year.

But the atmosphere of the games wasn’t the same as before. Precautions took place and the number of fans that were able to attend the game were limited.

Heartbreak returned when the boys soccer team was having arguably one of their best seasons in program history.

They made it to the semifinal round of the 2020 state tournament before COVID infected most of the varsity squad, forcing the junior varsity players to play against varsity competition. It was a 6-0 loss to Bismarck Century for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs’ football team made their second straight state title during the fall of 2020 but came up short to Bismarck Century 34-0, in front of a limited crowd in the Fargodome.

The volleyball team achieved a seventh-place finish in 2020.

Going into the winter season, the boys basketball team had a motto that stuck with them, “Unfinished Business.”

The 2020-2021 squad was one of the tallest in the history of North Dakota high school basketball. It featured four players that were over 6’5 which were Jacksen Moni at 6’10, JahHeem Leake at 6’9, Dominic Dosmann at 6’8, and Michael Nhial at 6’6.

This squad also featured Ben Manson, one of the best shooters to come through the program, along with Gage Anderson and Barika Kpeenu.

It was another dominant season for head coach Tom Kirchoffner and his crew. After losing the season opener to West Fargo High, 87-84, the Mustangs went on to win a school record 24 straight games.

They captured their first EDC regular season title, giving them the number one seed in the EDC conference tournament, and their third EDC conference tournament championship, which gave them the East number one seed for the state tournament.

The dominant season came to an end as West Fargo High knocked off the Mustangs 78-73 in the semifinal round of the 2021 Class A State Tournament, at the Bismarck Event Center.

For the Mustangs, it was like getting punched in the gut after a season filled with COVID safety roadblocks.

Despite this, this was a team that broke almost all their team records that were held from previous years. Jacksen Moni is now excelling at Northern State University, one of the best NCAA D-II schools in the country.

Barika Kpeenu is playing football at NDSU, who just won their ninth FCS title in the last eleven years back on Saturday, January 8.

Likewise, the spring season of 2021 was a huge success for West Fargo Sheyenne. The baseball team captured their first state title, along with the boys golf team winning their first state title.

The Mustangs’ track and field teams featured a lot of stars as well. Jordan Aus, the boys track and field head coach at Sheyenne, won EDC and State Coach of the Year honors.

Mimi Gu, who is now a senior at Sheyenne, won the girls singles state tournament last year. She’ll be looking to repeat this year.

The sports world started to return to normal during the summer of 2021 and heading into the fall of 2021. Restrictions on fan capacity were lifted and Sheyenne athletes could finally once again enjoy the energy the Mustang faithful produced.

The momentum from the 2021 spring season continued into the fall season of 2021.

Sheyenne’s 2021 football team had one of the most dominant seasons in all of North Dakota high school football’s history. They posted a 12-0 record, scored 364 points, and only gave up 90 points, which were all team records.

Five out of the twelve wins were shutout wins. The Mustangs made it look easy on the gridiron and as the season progressed, they knew it was their year to win it all.

It was third times the charm for Sheyenne in the Dakota Bowl.

After losing to Bismarck Century in the Dakota Bowl two years in a row, Sheyenne was able to beat their cross-town rival, West Fargo High, 27-7 this past November, in the Fargodome, to capture their first state title in program history.

Aiden Johnson, a sophomore at Sheyenne, finished first in the individual standings at the cross-country state meet, posting a time of 15:35.

Boys soccer took third place at state this past October, which was a good way to bounce back after last year’s unfortunate finish.

Basketball, hockey, and wrestling fans have been able fill up the seats once again for the 2021-2022 winter season.

Last year, Sheyenne Mustang Media came in handy when they started streaming a variety of events at Sheyenne High School. This included multiple sports and concerts.

The purpose was to provide a new way to watch these events as a lot of parents and grandparents could not make the games last year due to capacity restrictions.

Sports fans are relieved that sports are making a return to normal, and the athletes are thrilled to enjoy the full atmosphere when they step foot onto the field or court.

The Mustangs’ boy’s and girl’s basketball teams are enjoying winning seasons once again. Both teams are in the state polls.

Sheyenne’s wrestling team had their most dominant season in program history. After acheiving their first ever winning season as a program, they went even further this year. The Mustangs captured the EDC title, going undefeated in EDC dual play.

The best time of the year for basketball is right around the corner, with March being a couple weeks away.

Both Sheyenne’s boy’s and girl’s basketball teams conclude their regular seasons against Valley City on February 22. The EDC tournament will be up next.

The play-in and first round games will be at the higher seed, while the second and third round games will be played up at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, the home of NDSU’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.

The 2022 NDHSAA Boys’ and Girls’ Class A Basketball State Tournaments will be out at the Bismarck Event Center in downtown Bismarck, from Thursday, March 10 to Saturday March 12.

It’s going to be another exciting postseason of North Dakota high school basketball. Sports fans know, when it’s March, expect the unexpected.