The Ekalaka Eagle - Your Community Builder

Since I am not as familiar with the great athletes in all of Carter County, I will focus on the great athletes that were born or raised in the Tie Creek area of the county.

In the early years, most every community had a baseball team. For several decades a somewhat organized league of baseball was played. Lute Waterland was a pitcher that played mostly for the Capitol team, I believe. The Waterland family lived near Sheep Mountain. My dad talked about Lute as being the top pitcher of those days. He could put a lot of mustard on a fastball. Dad thought Lute could have played in the big leagues.

My next choice is a fellow who was born on his mother's homestead on Tie Creek, just across the creek from Alan's and Lasater's. He and brother Dick were top athletes who attended Camp Crook High School. This fellow once scored 39 points in a high school basketball game but was probably more noted for his baseball skills. Even though track was not offered as a sport in school, foot races were always a part of community events. My mother said she had never seen him beaten in a foot race. I remember him winning a foot race in Camp Crook at the fair when he was well into his 40's. This same fellow sheared sheep for over 30 years and was considered by many as the top shearer in the area. In the mid 70's, one of the events at the county fair was a sheep shearing contest. Most of the top shearers, including Whitey Jardee and Jerry Stenerson were entered. Being 60 years old and not having sheared for several years, he was persuaded to enter the contest. Dressed in street clothes, he borrowed a hand piece and sheared three sheep faster and cleaner than the other contestants and won the contest. I knew this man for 50 years. His name was Bob Cordell.

Lloyd Townsend, in his early years lived near Tie Creek. He attended school at CCHS graduating in 1948. Lloyd was a good all-around athlete. He won the free throw shooting competition at the tournament one year. I've been told he could really hold his own in the independent basketball tournaments. I believe he was the quarterback on the football team. Lloyd was a well respected referee in Montana for many years.

Another Tie Creek athlete in those same years was Benny Padden. As a kid, I worked for Benny and he was somewhat of an idol to me. He went to school at CCHS and excelled in all sports. To Benny's disadvantage, he had been set ahead in grade school and was playing against kids a couple of years older than he was. Benny was only 16 when he graduated. After graduation Benny continued to play baseball and basketball in the county leagues. He was considered one of the top players. Benny's commitment to sports continued as he coached the younger kids for many years.

This Tie Creek boy started school at CCHS in 1951. He starred in three sports and led his team to some of the greatest teams ever. The ‘51-’52 basketball team won 24 of 28 games. He was fullback on the undefeated team of ‘53. The ‘54 baseball team never lost a game. I don’t know the records of all the teams he played on but maybe some of your readers can help out. He went on and had a distinguished career at Dickenson State College. Bobby Lasater should be considered an all-time great at Carter County High School.

Lowell Cordell was born in 1944. He lived his early years with his parents on Tie Creek but, eventually moved about a half mile into South Dakota. He played basketball and ran track at Belle Fourche High School. I remember a meet when he was entered in the 100, 220, long jump and high jump. He walked away with 3 firsts and a second. After high school he played baseball and basketball in the county league and did exceptionally well.

Even though my next pick didn’t exactly grow up on Tie Creek, he was only a stones throw away. Herb Kerr spent his early years in the Sheep Mountains before moving to Ekalaka. I remember seeing him play ball. He was a good all-around athlete.

The Padden boys were all three-sport athletes at Harding County High School. Sprinters in track, they all qualified for state. Brandon four times, B.J. twice and Kelly three times. They were all selected as All-State football players, Kelly making this team two years. They all played in a State Championship football game, Brandon one year, B.J. two years and Kelly three years. All three were State Champions in wrestling, B.J. winning two years. They were all named by the SD Coaches Association as Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Year. In 2000 they all won their division at the AAU World Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Brandon capped the 2000 season off with a 36-0 record. He went on to win the prestigious High School National Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he went up against 64 other wrestlers from across the nation. Sixteen of these entries were undefeated going into this tournament. Brandon and B.J. both won at the 2001 AAU World Championships in Pontiac, Michigan. Both Brandon and Kelly were winners at the Big Sky Games in Billings. B.J. won championships at both the AAU Junior Olympic Games and the AAU Disney Duals in Orlando, Florida, where he was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. At one time B.J. won 46 consecutive high school matches. Kelly won the 2002 Junior Olympics in Knoxville, Tennessee where he was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Wrestler. B.J. went to the University of Nebraska where he won The Big Twelve Conference in 2005-06. He was named the Nebraska Most Outstanding wrestler in 2005 and 2006. B.J. wrestled internationally with much success. In 2008 he finished fifth at the Olympic Trials in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was inducted into the SD Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. Which one of these boys was the better athlete? Kelly was the biggest and fastest and looked 5 years older than his age. At 6’1” and 215 pounds he packed a helluva wallop. B.J. was the quickest and grittiest. Brandon was .......... well maybe the best looking!!!

Through the years there has been many outstanding athletes from Carter County that went on to high school in another county. Junior Capra of the Boyes area was considered one of the best ever at Broadus. Rose Ann Capra and Lanesa Stradtman were two of the best female athletes. Lanesa still holds a track record after almost thirty years. The Alzada area had the likes of Jack Foster, Tom Courtney and Jim Nikodym. Jim held the long jump record for many years at Belle Fourche. In my opinion the two greatest all- around rodeo athletes in Carter County were from Alzada. Tom Larsen and Delane Nixon both went to school in Belle Fourche, Delane won the SD State all-around title 3 of the 4 years he was in school. Most people will remember Ivan Tiegen as a High School Champion and a 7-time qualifier to the NFR in steer wrestling. Few remember he was also the 1976 South Dakota High School State Champion in bareback riding.