Photos by Brett Nachtigall/Fall River County Herald-Star
LEFT: Camron Maciejewski (center) signs his Letter of Intent to play football at Augustana while surrounded by his parents Sarah and Tim, brother Caleb and his girlfriend Madilyn Palo. CENTER: Caleb Rickenbach (second from left) signs his Letter of Intent to play football at South Dakota Mines while surrounded by his parents Josh and Mindy and younger sister Sarah. RIGHT: Colin Iverson (second from right) signs his Letter of Intent to play football at Dakota State surrounded by his football coach Max Jirsa, cousin Derek Mills, brother Landon and brother Preston.
Maggie Preuss (second from left) signs her Letter of Intent to play soccer at Coe College surrounded by her parents Heather and Bob, brother Winston and sister Emma.
HOT SPRINGS – National Signing Day is an important time in the college recruiting calendar and a day of celebration for the entire family as they witness their son, daughter, brother or sister put pen to paper and commit on the next step towards their future.
Last Wednesday, Feb. 7, the Hot Springs School District hosted a special Letter of Intent Signing event in Case Auditorium for four HSHS seniors – Maggie Preuss, Camron Maciejewski, Caleb Rickenbach and Colin Iverson. The entire high school faculty and student body attended and heard Activities Director Mike Deming and each of the studentathletes’ respective coaches make introductions and explain where each would be headed next year.
The lone female athlete of the group, Preuss, is headed out of state to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to play soccer at NCAA Division III Coe College, while the three boys, whom were all members of the 2023 S.D. Class 11B State Championship team, are all staying in South Dakota to play football. Maciejewski signed with Division II Augustana in Sioux Falls; Rickenbach with D-2 School of Mines in Rapid City and Iverson with NAIA Dakota State in Madison.
Maggie Preuss, whose parents are Bob and Dr. Heather Preuss, is a multi-sport athlete for the Bison and is currently the leading scorer on the girls basketball team and has also competed in track and field. She said that she considered several different schools but was predominantly focused on D-3 institutions due to the “studying abroad” opportunities that many of them offer through partnerships with other overseas institutions.
Coe College is a private liberal arts college and its mascot is the Kohawks. They are part of the American Rivers Conference with an enrollment of about 1,400 students.
While she is uncertain yet what her major will be at Coe College, Preuss said she is also being offered a significant academic scholarship for her 4.0+ GPA, which more than makes up for the lack of athletic scholarships available at NCAA D-3 schools.
Some of her on-the-field accomplishments as a five-year letterwinner on the Hot Springs Bison soccer team include being named First Team All-State and All-Black Hills Conference her junior year in 2022 and Honorable Mention All State and Honorable Mention All-Black Hills Conference her senior year, despite missing much of the season due to injury. She was also Academic All State this year and voted team captain of the Bison soccer team for three seasons (2021, 22, 23).
Her career stats for the Bison include 40 games played and 40 games started with 38 shots on goal along with five goals and four assists on offense. Defensively, she had 124 tackles, 152 inteceptions, 28 clearances and five blocked shots.
She also plays club soccer for the Black Hills Rapids where she was a member of the 2022 President’s Cup State Championship team. In basketball, she was first team All-Black Hills Conference for two seasons, a member of the West River Tournament All-Tourney team for two seasons and was the West River Tournament MVP last year. In track, she was a state meet qualifier in 2021 and 2022.
“Maggie is going to be really successful,” said Mike Remington, who is her basketball head coach and her assistant soccer coach, behind her dad Bob who is the head soccer coach. “She works really hard and cooperates with her teammates. She likes to achieve at a high level. She sets a high standard for herself and she strives to reach that level all the time.”
Camron Maciejewski, the son of Tim and Sarah Maciejewski, may be considered one of the most decorated football players in Hot Springs Bison football history, not to mention a current standout on the basketball court as well.
Some of the football honors he earned this year include being named a 2023 Class 11B All-American and winning the South Dakota Football Coaches Association Jack Manders Legacy Award for Running Back of the Year and the Class 11B SD State Championships Joe Robbie MVP Award Winner. He is also the Midco Sports Class 11B Player of the Year and the Rapid City Journal Best of the West Player of the Year.
Maciejewski has twice been named All State – this year for running back and last year for linebacker. He is also Academic All State this year and a three-time All-Black Hills Conference player.
His stats this past season as a two-way player for the Bison include 1,860 yards rushing on 173 attempts (10.75 yards per carry) which is just 40 yards short of Joe Beehler’s school record set in 2003. Camron also had 29 rushing touchdowns this year, along with 73 yards receiving and one receiving touchdown. Defensively, he had 113 tackles (31 solo, 82 assists) including 17 tackles for loss, three sacks, three interceptions with two of those returned for touchdowns.
As a soon-to-be college athlete, Camron is following in the footsteps of three older siblings who all earned college athletic scholarships, including sister Camille (track at Dickinson State), Caden (football at Northern State) and Caleb (football at Dakota Wesleyan).
Camron said he chose the Augustana Vikings as his next team largely because of the coaching staff there and their interest in him playing linebacker. At this point, he is uncertain what course of study he plans to pursue.
“Augustana is a great fit for Camron,” said Hot Springs football head coach Ben Kramer. “They are coming off an NSIC Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. I’m excited to see him progress in the weight room and on the field. I think Camron will be very successful at linebacker for the Vikings.”
Caleb Rickenbach, the son of Josh and Mindy Rickenbach, said he has wanted to be pursue a career as an engineer for a very long time. His choice then to attend the South Dakota School of Mines and play defensive line seems to be a logical fit, especially since both his father Josh (1992-97) and uncle J.T (198792) played football for Mines as well.
However, as one of the top prep wrestlers in the state of South Dakota – with over 200 career wins, two third place state medals and a runner-up state medal last season – Rickenbach said he also considered wrestling in college instead. But, the School of Mines does not offer wrestling as one of its sports.
“Winning state football helped me make the decision,” said Caleb, as he described how the thrill of earning a team championship with his teammates pushed him towards football over wrestling.
At this past season’s State 11B Championships in Vermillion, Rickenbach earned the Most Valuable Lineman award for his performance on both sides of the ball, tallying nine tackles and two tackles for loss. He also ended the year with Academic All-State, All-State, All-Conference and Best of the West honors.
His regular season stats include leading the state in sacks with 15, which is also being considered by Coach Kramer as a school record, despite there not currently being a sack record on the books. Rickenbach also had a total of 79 tackles on the season with 31 solo, 49 assists and 18 for loss.
“Caleb was heavily recruited by the SD School of Mines and will continue the tradition of Rickenbach’s playing for the Hardrockers,” Coach Kramer said. “Caleb knows what it takes to be successful and will take that work ethic to the next level.”
Colin Iverson, the son of Cory Iverson, is yet another Bison football player following in the footsteps of older family members. His older twin brothers Preston and Landon, who graduated last year in 2023, are both NAIA football players. Colin will likely be playing either running back or linebacker at Dakota State with brother Preston, as they both compete against brother Landon, who is at rival Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell.
“Colin will fit in just fine at Dakota State,” said Coach Kramer of his starting QB and All-BHC linebacker. “His football IQ and competitive fire will carry him a long way at the next level. There’s some great things happening on campus in Madison and I’m excited that Colin will get to be a part of it.”
Colin’sstatsthispastseasoninclude completing 28-of-53 passes for 555 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for 240 yards on 74 carries for six TDs. Defensively, Colin had 71 tackles (29 solo, 42 assists), one sack, seven interceptions (1 returned for a TD), nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
“All three of these guys are going to schools on the rise,” added Coach Kramer. “They have the opportunity to be a part of building a tradition while getting a top-notch education. We are very proud of what they have done in their time at Hot Springs and look forward to seeing what they can do at the next level.”