For the first time ever, there were multiple winners of the KORN Tom Maxwell Coach of the Year award as Jeff Meyerink (girls golf), Audra Rew (gymnastics) and Ryker Kreutzfeldt (boys basketball) were all honored at Mitchell’s annual High School Athletic Banquet at the Corn Palace on Wednesday night, May 8.
Meyerink led Mitchell to the 2023 State AA Championship this past June for the first time in school history, while also being named the SDHSAA Golf Coach-of-the-year. The Kernel girls were back-to-back state runner ups in 2021 and 2022 and were the 2021 and 2023 ESD champions. Mitchell has already won three of their six tournaments during the 2024 season. Meyerink will take over full-time as Dakota Wesleyan’s men’s and women’s head golf coach.
Mitchell gymnastics, led by head coach Audra Rew, won its ninth state title this past February with a school record performance of 151.444 points. It was the third state championship in the past four years for the Kernels. This past May, Rew was named to the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
For the second straight year, Ryker Kreutzfeldt is a recipient of the KORN Coach of the Year award, leading Mitchell boys basketball to its first state title in 19 years this past March with a 23-1 record. Kreutzfeldt has a 57-15 career record in his three seasons as Kernels head basketball coach.
