Iroqouis, Lake Preston to Form Co-Op

Iroqouis, Lake Preston to Form Co-Op

KOKK Huron – Iroquois and Lake Preston schools will form a new co-op for athletics this fall.  The schools are 26 miles apart along highway 14 in Kingsbury County. Both schools have struggled with numbers, with Iroquois not fielding varsity football in recent years, and Lake Preston not having varsity girls basketball in the 2020-21 school year. Iroquois superintendent and athletic director Mike Ruth says conversations between the schools have been ongoing for a while….

Iroquois has had a co-op with Doland in all sports the past three years, and while that worked well, Ruth said the distance between the schools was an issue…

Lake Preston has had a football co-op with Arlington the past several years.  Iroquois has been a long time member of the 281 conference, while Lake Preston has been in the Dakota Valley, and Ruth says the new co-op will be a member of both, which takes care of most of the scheduling….

Iroquois/Lake Preston’s mascot will be the Sharks, the first high school team in South Dakota to use the name. Ruth says both schools and communities participated in selecting the mascot…

Primary colors will be blue from Lake Preston and Black from Iroquois.  Ruth says the co-op will include all sports, with plans to add fine arts as well in the near future.