HURON — Jean (Boomsma) Rose couldn’t help but get nostalgic this week.

In 1977, the Wolsey Cardinals won their first and only Class B girls basketball championship at the Huron Arena. Wolsey hasn’t qualified for a state tournament since and Wolsey-Wessington is playing its first-ever as a co-op.

Rose, who now lives in Sioux Falls, recently started tracking the Warbirds and watched videos on Facebook of their state tournament send off.

“I looked at a few videos actually just last night and it’s just fun watching them go through the grade schools and the girls giving all the high fives to the grade school kids,” Rose said. “That’s something we did way back when. It makes a real impact. It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s a real special time for them.”

It was a special time for Wolsey in 1977. The Cardinals nipped Clear Lake, 37-36, for the state championship. In the title tilt, Wolsey was clinging to a 35-34 lead over Clear Lake with 23 ticks left. That’s when Debbie Jungemann nailed two free throws, her only points of the game, to help secure the state championship. 

It capped a 24-0 season and state championship just 15 miles from home. 

“We were definitely not the favorites going in,” Rose said. “We were the underdogs and it was really fun to have it so close to home. So our entire town shows up, which I think you will see that this year as well. The whole community really gets behind you and the support is amazing.” 

In 1976 and ‘77, the Wessington Warriors and Wolsey Cardinals collided in some tight District 13B girls basketball championship games. In 1976, Wessington defeated Wolsey (30-23) en route to a seventh-place finish and its only state tourney appearance. In 1977, Wolsey outlasted Wessington (37-36) in the District 13B championship game en route to the state championship.

Rose said Wolsey and Wessington, separated by 15 miles, brought out the best in each other on the hardwood. 

“I think that happens anytime you play in pretty much anything,” Rose said. “When you have higher competition you bring it and you bring it a little stronger than you do with somebody you don't have as high of competition with. Sometimes if it’s a team you don't quite have a rivalry with then you don’t quite play as hard. We always played hard against Wessington.” 

Rose especially remembers one player in particular that was a thorn in the Cardinals’ side. 

“Susan DeHaven, oh man, she could shoot them from the outside,” Rose said. “She was fantastic and we knew we had to try to shut her down, but it was always a battle against Wessington. We always had real close games with them.” 

Rose and Janelle (Frank) Barondeau were all-tourney selections for the Cardinals. Boomsma totaled 42 points in the three games. Frank added 38 points in the tourney. They were both all-state selections. 

The 1976 and ‘77 teams were the only times Wessington and Wolsey qualified for the state tournament. Now, the Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds are one win away from playing for a state championship as a co-op and Rose feels similar traits to the 1977 crew. 

“A championship team isn’t just about talent,” Rose said. “It’s about the environment that the coaches create and that’s a whole team working cohesively. You don’t see many teams that had one or two-star players and they all just count on them. You have to count on every team member to be a part of the team and work together and that’s what it looks like has been created there against this year. I can see a championship team by how the people treat each other.”