A quick look at the 2022 Great Plains Lutheran fall athletic teams

The 2022 fall high school sports season has also arrived for the Great Plains Lutheran football, volleyball and boys and girls cross country squads.

Here's some things you need to know about each of the Panther teams:

FOOTBALL

• Head Coach — Aaron Schleusener, 7-40 in six seasons at GPL.

• Assistants — Darin Mack, Keith Muhl, Jason Bartels, Rodney Noeldner and Jacob Buri.

• 2021 record — 3-5 overall, 1-2 in the Eastern Coteau Conference.

• 2021 Highlights — The Panthers snapped a 24-game losing streak dating back to 2017 with a season-opening win over Sunshine Bible Academy. Great Plains also recorded wins over Langford Area and Waverly-South Shore and fell one spot short of qualifying for the state Class 9A playoffs. GPL has moved up to Class 9AA this fall.

• Top Returnees — Junior running back-defensive back Thomas Erickson (814 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns, 38 tackles and 3 interceptions); 265-pound senior guard-defensive tackle-kicker RJ Perry (24 tackles including 13 for a loss, 3 quarterback sacks, 8-for-11 in point-after kicks with a 36-yard field goal); senior wide receiver-defensive back Roland DeVries (184 yards receiving with 2 TDs and 14 tackles); junior wide receiver-defensive back Alex Heil (91 yards receiving with 1 touchdown, 24 tackles, 6 passes defended and an interception); 250-pound junior guard Myles York; junior tight end-quarterback-linebacker Jacob Bartels (208 passing yards with 1 TD pass and 34 tackles, including 5 for a loss); and 240-pound senior defensive tackle Joseph Dahlberg (16 tackles)..

• Others to Watch — Sophomore fullback-linebacker Kowynn Muhl, sophomore running back-defensive back Micah Holien, sophomore quarterback-defensive back Brody Scharlemann, sophomore tight end-linebacker-punter Austin Rubendall and senior running back-defensive back Parker Walkins.

• Season Outlook — The Panthers had a very positive season last fall with three wins, but Schleusener knows a return to Class 9AA could present some challenges.

"9AA will be very tough this year," he said. "It will be interesting to see how some of newly-formed co-ops and those that dropped co-ops to stay in 9-man this year."

Erickson had a breakout season at running back and Perry, York and Dahlberg will form the basis for solid lines on both sides of the ball. Erickson and Perry each earned All-Eastern Coteau Conference accolades.

Quarterback Sam Hansen has graduated and the development of a new signal-caller will be a factor.

"We need to be ready for every challenge that comes our way and not freak out at the first negative thing that happens," said Schleusener.

The Panthers visit Britton-Hecla in their season opener on Friday and have a solid schedule that also will include Hamlin, Florence-Henry and Deubrook Area.

"Hamlin will be tough as always and Florence-Henry also will be strong," said Schleusener. "Deubrook returns all of its athletes and will be much improved from last season."

• Schedule Highlights — The Panthers technically have only two home games this fall, both at Watertown Stadium. They host Waverly-South Shore on Aug. 26 and Florence-Henry on Oct. 1.

VOLLEYBALL

• Head Coach — Joe Giovannettone, first year as a head volleyball coach after officiating high school volleyball and basketball for 18 years.

• Assistants — Jacklyn Karli and Sandy Giovannettone.

• 2021 record — 18-13 record, including 4-1 in the Eastern Coteau Conference.

• 2021 Highlights — The 18 wins, including a 3-1 win over Sioux Valley in a Region 2A quarterfinal match. The team won 12 more matches than they did in 2020.

• Top Returnees — Senior setter Kyrie Roberts (242 assists and 131 digs), 6-foot-1 junior middle hitter Olivia Holmen (128 kills, 12 solo blocks and 28 block assists),  senior outside hitter Kim Goens (24 kills, 15 blocks and 51 digs) and 5-11 senior middle hitter Lanaya Hayes (12 kills).

• Season Outlook — The Panthers graduated Eastern Coteau Conference most valuable player Bryn Holmen and fellow All-ECC performers Mali York and Olivia Giovannettone. Head coach Anna Swanson also departed after three seasons.

With Roberts back to run the offense and Olivia Holmen, Goens and Hayes returning as hitters, GPL has some experience back. Still, the squad will have a lot of new faces.

"We will be young with 23 sophomores and freshmen out for the team," said Giovannettone.

Hamlin, which has qualified for the state Class A tournament each of the past two seasons, will again be the team to beat in a region that will also include Sioux Valley and fellow state Class A tournament team Elkton-Lake Benton.

Florence-Henry is likely the team to beat again in the ECC.

"We have enough experience to be competitive in our region," said Giovannettone.

• Schedule Highlights — The Panthers have home matches scheduled for Sept. 1 (Tri-State), Sept. 8 (Wilmot), Sept. 20 (Castlewood), Sept. 22 (Waverly-South Shore), Sept. 29 (Deuel), Oct. 6 (Langford Area), Oct. 18 (Waubay-Summit) and Oct. 24 (Milbank).

The Region 2A matches are scheduled for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 and 3 with SoDak 16 state-qualifiers set for Nov. 8. The state Class A tournament will be held Nov. 17-19 at Sioux Falls.

BOYS-GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

• Head Coach — Ken Nelson.

• Assistant — Carina Rahn.

• 2021 Highlights — GPL's girls won the Eastern Coteau Conference meet and finished second in Region 1A and eighth in the state Class A meet. The Panther boys took second in the ECC meet.

• Girls Returnees —  Junior Halle Bauer, sophomore Taylor Bendix, senior Catie Neumann, junior Hannah Berg and senior Emma Kanzenbach. Bauer won the ECC and Region 1A meets and also placed eighth in the state meet. Bendix was 54th, Neumann 84th, Berg 119th and Kanzenbach 122nd in the state Class A race.

• Boys Returnees — Senior Cale Reiner and sophomores Thad Kratz, Isaiah Berg, Dominick Clark and Seth Grams.

• Season Outlook — Both GPL teams return their entire squads from last fall and that could mean some good things against this fall for the Panthers.

"Some tactical errors put us (the girls) down to 12th at state, but coach learned his lesson so look for the ladies to move up this year," said Nelson. "They were in the mix at every meet they participated in."

The Panther boys gained some experience last fall and are ready for more.

"Last year was a completely new squad, but the boys ran well and nearly qualified two runners for state," said Nelson. "They're all back this year, so they should be exciting to watch. Kratz comes back as the top runner from last year but the rest are hot on his heels."

Bauer, it should be noted, is a three-state place medalist already and one of the top runners in all of Class A.

"Bauer leads the charge for our girls. Bendix and Neumann will be battling to see who will be our No. 2 runner. Practices could get intense," said Nelson.

Nelson expects some good battles this fall between Bauer and other talented area runners Ashlynn Batchelor of Milbank, Isabelle Bloker of Sioux Valley, Madison Zirbel of Dakota Hills and Faith Wiese of Flandreau.

Zirbel is a junior, Bloker a sophomore and Wiese and Batchelor each freshmen. Bloker placed 3rd, Wiese 12th, Zirbel 13th and Batchelor 17th in last year's state Class A girls' race.

• Schedule Highlights — The Panther runners are scheduled to open their season on Monday, Aug. 29 with a meet at Milbank. The Eastern Coteau Conference meet is scheduled for Oct. 3 at Castlewood.

The Region 1A is set for Oct. 13 at Webster with the state cross country meet slated for Saturday, Oct. 22 at Huron.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Preview of GPL's football, volleyball and cross country squads.