By Rich Winter

605 Sports

When the Sisseton girls punched their ticket to the 2023 Class A girls state tournament the small town located on the Lake Traverse Reservation began to buzz. 

Sisseton hasn’t been to a state tournament since 2012 but Jessie (Nielan) Leverson, a member of the 1990 state championship team, and mother of 2023 Sisseton standout Hannah Leverson, said the team qualifying this year caused quite a stir. 

“I chuckle when we go to our local gas station and people are like ‘Hi Hannah, good job,’ ” Jessie Leverson said. “It is really huge when we have something that really brings the community together. We have the local Tribal school Tiospa Zina and I feel like our schools have bonded a bit over this.” 

Hannah Leverson and Tara Nelson fight for a rebound against Wagner in Friday's Class A semifinals - Rodney Haas - 605 Sports

Jessie Leverson was part of a Sisseton team that qualified for the state tournament for the first time in 1990. Intimidated not at all the girls defeated Winner 45-38 to hoist the championship trophy for the first time in school history.

A sophomore on that 1990 team, Leverson helped lead the Redmen back to the tournament in 1991 (third place) and again in 1992 (seventh place). 

The 1990 team was coached by Cheryl Jenner and Cory Grimsrud. The 1991-92 teams were coached by Cory Grimsrud and Cal Schubert. 

“Back then I was one of the youngest,” Leverson said. “We just had a good group of girls. We were a well rounded team that had guards that could shoot, posts with size and talent in the low block. We could count on the other people to score and our defense was really good.” 

Leverson remembers playing with her cousin Stacy Christensen on the championship team of 1990 and playing with her younger sister Jackie in 1991 and ‘92. 

In their first ever trip to the Class A state tournament Sisseton defeated Winner for the Class A state championship - Photo courtesy of Aberdeen American News

The trip down memory lane this week brought back a host of memories for Leverson. 

“Doug Langager was a year younger than me and he is the father of 2023 team members Krista and Chloe Langager,” Leverson said. 

2023 team member Emmalie Nielson is the daughter of Emily Nielson who graduated high school the same year as Leverson (1993). 

2023 team member Kennedy Hanson’s father Cody graduated in 1993 while her mother Shawn graduated in 1994. 

Dig a little deeper and the connections to the past just keep coming. 

“Devon Bursheim is an aunt to 2023 team member Isabelle Herrick,” Leverson said. “Laurie Kranhold is an aunt to assistant coach Ethan Kranhold. My sister-in-law Jody Leverson is Hannah’s aunt and Lila Huff is related to 2023 team member Rylie Huff.” 

The state championship team for Sisseton in 1990 - Courtesy Photo

Sisseton had a great run in the 1990s but an even better run in the early 2000s. Sisseton won state titles in 2000, ‘02 and ‘04. The Redmen were runner-ups in 2003, the first year girls basketball switched from being played in the fall to the winter. 

Sisseton won another state title in 2011. 

While there will be no state title in 2023 coach Sara Lincoln returns every player from this year’s roster for the 2023-24 season. 

Sisseton plays Red Cloud Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CST for third place in the Class A state tournament. 

The 2023 state tournament team for Sisseton will have the entire roster back for the 2023/2024 season - Rodney Haas - 605 Sports