Record Books

Dawson Community College Athletics began in earnest with men’s basketball in 1958 when the college was still using the high school for classroom and office space. There was a short ten game season back in 1940-1941, but then nothing again until 1958. Dick Starr was their coach in that first year.  It wasn’t really until 1962 when Don Kettner became the head basketball coach and athletic director that Dawson started making a name for itself, going 19-5 in his third season in charge. Kettner also gave Dawson their mascot. He had previously taught in Beach, ND and grew fond of the Buccaneers mascot at Beach High School. Since DCC didn’t have one, they adopted the Buccaneer. 

Dawson also became a founding member of the Mon-Dak Conference in 1963, along with six other schools in Montana and North Dakota. Dawson joined the National Junior College Athletic Association early on and have always been a member of Region IX until 2014 when they moved to Region XIII.

Kettner also started a cross-country and track program in 1964 and coached them for seven years, winning four conference championships and five region championships.  Kettner went on to hold several administrative roles at Dawson and eventually became the President and remained in that role for several decades. After 1971, the cross-country and track programs went dormant until 2018 when it was revived. Coach Alex Chase built it up, brought in good numbers and helped several athletes reach the national championships. Dempster Jackson has continued to grow the program in terms of numbers and success, individually and as a team. 

The rodeo program began in 1969 under the direction of Rose Marie Aus. Tom Ree and Carol Hilliard joined the coaching staff in the early 70s and were instrumental in the program’s success for over 30 years.  This trio of leadership produced multiple men’s and women’s teams that finished in the top 10 both regionally and nationally.  The highest achievement came in 1981, when the men’s team won the National Championship.  The highest finish for the women’s team was 5th in 1980.  Over time, Bill and Joyce Ayre, Phil Lohman, Jeanie Nelson, Seth Weishaar, Jim Baisch, Bill Blankenship, Rod Paschke, Kortney Diegel, Shaylee Wahl and Shawn McGinley all have coached the DCC rodeo team to numerous trips to the College National Finals Rodeo.

Women’s basketball took off with a bang in 1970 with Lois Steele guiding the Lady Bucs to a 40-7 record in her three years, including a perfect 15-0 in 1971-1972. After Coach Steele left, there was no one else to take over and the program didn’t field a team for the next five years. Fortunately, after the Dawson County High School team won a state championship, college administrator Paul Fasting had the foresight to recruit several of those local girls, including Cheryl Van Dusen and Geri Lohman, and hire Dave Oswald from Wibaux to coach the team. there was no looking back after that. Joyce Ayre took the reins in 1982 and coached them for the next 27 years, highlighted by her best teams from 1994-1997. 

Through the 1970’s, 1980’s and the first part of the 1990’s, men’s and women’s basketball and rodeo were the only athletic programs Dawson offered. 

In 1997 Dean of Students Paul Fasting helped bring college baseball and softball to Dawson. Brent Diegel was the first baseball coach and recruited their first team.  He served as the head coach for 14 years, winning the Mon-Dak Conference in their first 3 seasons (1998, 1999, and 2000) and two other times (2002 and 2004). In the Buccaneers most memorable season of all time, the 2001 team won the Mon-Dak Conference Tournament, the Region XIII Tournament and then finished in 7th place at the NJCAA Division III World Series.

The softball program didn’t start as strong, but eventually entered the national stage in the early 2000’s under the direction of Bill LaFond who guided them to four straight World Series. Their most impressive finish was 3rd place in 2001. B.L. Baker Memorial softball field and the Kolberg baseball field were constructed in 2003 with generous donations by Hilde Baker, the Kolberg Family and a grant was secured from the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to complete the project.

Both baseball and softball began as D3 programs, and eventually moved up to D1 from 2008-2012 before settling into the D2 level from 2013 until now. After softball moved to D2, another golden era dawned with Jim LeProwse guiding the Lady Bucs to record setting seasons during his 11 years at the helm. Tami Lagmay and Casey-May Huff have continued that dominance of the Mon-Dak Conference and Region XIII, winning more than 10 conference championships and region championships. The Lady Bucs won a program record 43 games in 2019 with only 5 losses. 

After playing their basketball games at Dawson County High School for over 45 years, the Toepke Center opened its doors in 2006 to be the home of the Buccaneers.  It was funded through a local bond and many private contributions, including a generous donation from the Wes Toepke family.

Volleyball launched in 2008, led by Coach John Marble. The program was suspended in 2014, but came back strong in 2017. Dina Fritz took over and led the Bucs to an 11-12 record in their first year back. Volleyball games are a great draw for students and fans in the community during the first part of the school year.  

Former player Tracey Clingingsmith took over the women’s basketball for Ayre in 2009 and led the Lady Bucs for the next five years, including a magical 2013-2014 season when All-American Janiqua Thomas helped them win a program record 25 games.Romeo Lagmay seceded Clingingsmith for the next 9 years, winning over twenty games three times. They reached the Region XIII Championship Game in 2021. 

The men’s basketball program had a great run of success in the 1970’s and 80’s, led by Dennis Perryman for 12 years and John Morrison for 8 years. They combined to win 11 Mon-Dak Conference Championships, 3 Empire Conference Championships and 3 Sub-Region Championships. Perryman’s two best years were a stellar 28-8 season in 1970-1971 and a 31-5 season in 1978-1979. 

Don Mast became DCC’s all-time leader with 439 wins in 25 seasons from 1990-2015. In 2003-2004 the Bucs went 25-6, won the Mon-Dak Conference, Sub-Region Championship and reached the Region IX Championship Game. 

Joe Peterson took over after Mast retired in 2015, winning three conference championships and four region championships over the next decade. In the 2020-2021 season, Peterson guided the Bucs to a 23-3 record in the COVID-shortened season, and earned the program’s first ever trip to the D1 National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Every year, the coaches and student-athletes at Dawson continue to work hard to build more success athletically and academically, bringing great pride to the institution and the surrounding community. There are many more success stories right around the corner for Dawson athletics!