Top 10 high school mascots in South Dakota: Vote for the best

From Cobblers to Kiotes to Thorpes, meet the best high school mascots in South Dakota

Pine Ridge High School in South Dakota adopted Thorpes as its mascot in honor of legendary athlete Jim Thorpe. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY NETWORK

There might come a day when U.S. high school teams choose to be called the Jordans or Ohtanis, since South Dakota has set the precedent with the Thorpes.

We've cobbled together the best high school mascots in South Dakota, which range from historical to practical to clever.

Over the past few months, SBLive/High School on SI has been featuring the best high school mascots in every state, giving readers a chance to vote for No. 1 in all 50.

The winners and highest vote-getters will make up the field for our NCAA Tournament-style March Mascot Madness bracket in 2025. The Coalinga Horned Toads (California) are the defending national champions.

Here are High School on SI's top 10 high school mascots in South Dakota (vote in the poll below to pick your favorite):

The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. ET Friday, Feb. 7.

1. C-E Hawks (Colman-Egan HS)

Seahawks are everywhere in the sports world, and there are even a couple of C-Hawks out there in high school sports. But these are the only C-E Hawks in the country, proudly displaying hyphenated school spirit.

2. Cobblers (Rapid City Central HS)

Yes, a cobbler is a job (shoe mender/maker), but these Cobblers are named after an important man in the school’s history. Coach Euclid Cobb led the Central football team to 144 wins, 43 ties and 13 losses, including his undefeated teams in 1922, ’23, ’25, ’27, ’31, ’32 and ’43.

3. Divers (Lake Preston HS)

Think more cannonball than SCUBA on this one. Lake Preston is home of the first swimming pool that came equipped with a diving board in the state.

4. Irrigators (Newell HS)

Newell is the only high school in the country with a nickname honoring mechanical farming devices used to water crops and fields. The area supplies water to surrounding farmland.

5. Kiotes (Kimball HS)

The coyote is the state animal of South Dakota, and Kimball chose a more alliterative, phonetic version by calling themselves the Kiotes. Kimball also competes as a co-op with White Lake to become the WildKats.

6. Moguls (Edgemont HS)

Was a major media mogul born in Edgemont? Is there a man-made mountain resort in Edgemont with excellent skier-made moguls? No and no. A Mogul railroad steam engine, common on late 19th century American railroads, had the wheel arrangement of 2-6-0, meaning 2 leading wheels, 6 driver wheels and no trailing wheels. The Mogul 2-6-0 was known for its strength, as is Edgemont.

7. Quarriers (Dell Rapids HS)

Step aside, all you Warriors. Here come the Quarriers, named after the large Sioux Quartzite rock quarries that are also in Dell Rapids.

8. Scoopers (Sturgis HS)

According to the school’s website, the history of “Scooptown” was derived from the nickname given to Sturgis by the cavalrymen stationed at nearby Fort Meade in the late 1800s. Cavalrymen, who claimed they were “scooped” every payday by the merchants of Sturgis began referring to Sturgis as “Scooptown.” Merchants didn’t mind the nickname and claimed that the cavalrymen spent so much money in Sturgis that it could be literally “scooped” from the streets.

9. Thorpes (Pine Ridge HS)

From the Pine Ridge website: “The school has had various mascots since 1879. Known first as the Pine Ridge Indians, Pine Ridge Braves, and Oglala Indians, then renamed as the Oglala Community Scarlet Warriors until 1957 when the high school mascot was changed to the Thorpes in honor of the Olympic Champion, Jim Thorpe. Oglala Community Thorpes later was renamed the Pine Ridge Thorpes in 1983.”

10. Watchdogs (Beresford HS)

Beresford chose to be different from all the Bulldogs out there by being the only high school in the U.S. to go with Watchdogs. Roger the Watchdog is even known to get festive during the holidays.

Top 10 high school mascots in South Dakota: Vote for the best (Poll Closed)

• Cobblers (Rapid City Central HS)  20%  (2 votes)  
   
• Moguls (Edgemont HS)  20%  (2 votes)  
   
• C-E Hawks (Colman-Egan HS)  10%  (1 votes)  
   
• Irrigators (Newell HS)  10%  (1 votes)  
   
• Kiotes (Kimball HS)  10%  (1 votes)  
   
• Scoopers (Sturgis HS)  10%  (1 votes)  
   
• Thorpes (Pine Ridge HS)  10%  (1 votes)  
   
• Watchdogs (Beresford HS)  10%  (1 votes)  
   
• Divers (Lake Preston HS)  0%  (0 votes)  
   
• Quarriers (Dell Rapids HS)  0%  (0 votes)  
   

 

Total Votes: 10

 

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports