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Craig Mattick: Welcome to another edition of In Play. I'm Craig Mattick. Today's guest is one of the all-time, multi-sport athletes. She saw success in three different sports. A track champion in the 8th grade, a seven-time gold medalist at the state track meet. She was a two-time state volleyball champion and add a national college basketball championship. The Huron Tiger and South Dakota State Jackrabbit, Heather Sieler. Now, Heather Sieler Goehner. And Heather, welcome to In Play.
Heather Sieler: Thank you so much for having me, Craig. This is a big honor and I'm excited to be here.
Craig Mattick: Well, let's go back to 1998. You're an 8th grader at Huron. You're already involved with multiple sports, but how involved were you with sports when you were back like the 6th and 7th grade?
Heather Sieler: So growing up, I was involved in just about everything. I played soccer. I did gymnastics. I played softball, swimming, tennis, golf, you name it. So I was one of those kids that did a little bit of everything. And then, actually, in 7th grade was when I first moved to Huron from Yankton and that was a big change for me but I continued to play multiple sports. I did basketball, volleyball, and track, and that's what I had settled on then moving forward.
Craig Mattick: Was everybody in the family involved with sports?
Heather Sieler: No. Not everyone. We always enjoyed sports growing up. We played a lot of basketball in the driveway. And I have a brother and a sister who played sports. And then, another sister who was not as involved in athletics, but she did a little bit of the dance team.
Craig Mattick: Well, you had an amazing year as an 8th grader. Back in 1988, volleyball in South Dakota, it was in the winter, there was no rally scoring, no libero. Huron had never won a state volleyball championship. But in 1998, you're an 8th grader. You started the year playing for the Huron sophomore team. You were the setter on that team. What was it like playing against athletes a couple of years older than you?
Heather Sieler: Well, I think part of that started, as a 7th grader, I did get moved up to varsity for track. And so, I had gotten to know some of the older girls through track and just going to open gyms and playing basketball with them. And so, basketball was in the fall. I had gotten moved up as an 8th grader to play on the sophomore team for basketball too. So that ended up being a lot of the same girls. And then, partway through the season or actually it was towards the end of the season of my 8th grade volleyball year, for whatever reason, Coach Buddenhagen decided that she wanted me to try hitting during practice. And so, she put me on the left side and tried me as an outside hitter and I think the rest just kind of fell into place.
Craig Mattick: Yeah. You stepped right in and became a part of the puzzle that apparently they needed. So what were you thinking? You're thinking, "Wow. I was a setter, now I'm an outside hitter."
Heather Sieler: I was just always so thankful to be on the court. Honestly, I have never cared what position I'm in or how I'm going to be used. I was just so thankful to have that opportunity. And so, it honestly didn't matter to me one way or the other. I was just happy to bring what I could and help my team.
Craig Mattick: Did you ever have that deer in the headlight look as a youngster?
Heather Sieler: My teammates would probably say yes and maybe my coaches too, but I always just tried to fake it until I made it, I guess. And just take all the opportunities I had. And I was always surrounded by a lot of upperclassmen, so the pressure wasn't on me to be the superstar at that point. So I was able to learn and grow from the upperclassmen and they really did take the pressure off and I had some amazing teammates. That volleyball team in '98 and then again in '99 was stacked. I mean, there were several girls that went on to play college volleyball. So maybe a little bit of a deer in the headlights. But again, I didn't have the pressure all on me for any reason.
Craig Mattick: You talked about being stacked but that '98 year, you only had one senior on that volleyball roster. And you guys go to state and it was a different volleyball state format at the time. You beat Aberdeen in the first round, but then lost to a really good Sioux Falls Washington team. And then, you come back and beat Yankton which, I mean, you guys had a hard time beating Yankton for so long.
Heather Sieler: We did not beat Yankton all season. No, we did... Yankton was very, very good. They had Heather Nelson who was a phenomenal player and just all around they were a great team. And so, that was a big upset for us to come through the losers bracket and beat Yankton and then continue to be able to play.
Craig Mattick: Well, you had to beat Washington twice in the finals. And you did and you win Huron's first state volleyball championship. How did you beat Washington twice that year?
Heather Sieler: I don't even really know all the details anymore, but we were just a very much together team and we had weapons throughout the court. And then, we just played confidently and we just always believed that we could do it. And it was very unlikely for us to come back and have to beat them twice, but we never believed that we couldn't do it. We always had that belief and I think that just helped us play confidently and just go out there and try our best. And it worked out for us.
Craig Mattick: Back then, there was no rally scoring. You had to get to 15 and win by two. I would assume you remember some matches which took forever to get over with.
Heather Sieler: Oh, forever. Because if you missed a serve, there was no point, it was just a side out, and the other team got to serve. So yeah, there were some marathon matches. We would get home super late, in the middle of the night, and that's the dead of winter. I just remember some of those long bus rides home after a match would go so long. But yeah, I'm really glad that the rules have changed. It's just so exciting to watch the rally scoring now and just how far volleyball has come in our state. It's amazing to watch and I'm a huge fan of volleyball, so I love to watch it and just see the talent that our state has.
Craig Mattick: Your freshman year, 1999, Huron volleyball stacked and you guys get back to the state tournament. You finish 37 and 3 and you beat Washington again for a state title, but you guys cruised that year. Was there any pressure on you guys to win at all?
Heather Sieler: Yeah. There was a lot of pressure. So that year was a little bit different because we were top of the ranks the entire season. And like I mentioned earlier, we were just stacked. We had so many great players. I mean, all-time best for Huron were on that team like Stacey Rotert. She was our setter. She was phenomenal. Stephanie Tschetter, Molly Veenhof, Sarita DeBoer, Nicole Rieck, just so many girls that had been playing for so long and were multi-sport athletes and just great all-around people and teammates.
Craig Mattick: Let's go back to 1998, your 8th grade year. You win a state volleyball title. And then right after the season, it's track and field time. And it wasn't too long after volleyball, you're asked to be a part of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays Special 800-meter dash as an 8th grader. How did you first get interested in running?
Heather Sieler: I always thought I was just a sprinter growing up, I would have never dreamed that I would eventually become a middle distance runner. I did not do any distance running at all. But then, when I did move to Huron in 7th grade, Roger Lecher saw me do some running in middle school PE and he said, "Oh, I think she can run a little bit. We're going to see if we can make a half-miler out of her."
And so, that's how the story goes. And I talked it over with my parents. And the opportunity to get moved up to try varsity and this whole new event that I had never even thought about before, the 100-meter dash seemed like a long way at that time for me. And I said, "Or I can just stay back and compete as a middle schooler and just do the short sprints like I always thought I would do."
And so, I was just, again, thankful for the opportunity and I just wanted to take advantage of trying something different. And they saw something in me that I didn't even know that I had. And so, that's how it all started with the 800. And my 8th grade year, they put my name in the hat apparently to nominate me for the special event and I was so surprised when I got picked. I did not see myself as one of the top runners at that point. I knew I was getting better and better. I was working hard and my times were improving. But again, they saw something in me that I didn't even know that I had.
Craig Mattick: That Special 800 at Howard Wood Relays, you ran 2:18:40. You beat Mary Bennett of Scotland by about two seconds, Brianna Schenk of Washington, Marionne Hansen of Gerritsen, Melissa Hitchcock of Pierre, Meg Larson, Aberdeen Rancholy, they were all in that special event. Was that a PR for you for that event?
Heather Sieler: I don't remember specific times. But I think probably at that point, it was a PR or close to it. I don't remember what times I was running in some of those earlier years. But that was a pretty good time for me at that point, I think. And that was the going time during the late '90s, early two 2000s. Now, we see some really, really fast times, so I'm glad I don't have to compete against the girls that are running now. But yeah, I was definitely not favored to win. I was thankful to be in the race and everything just worked out for me. And I was able to have a strong kick at the end, because I wasn't in the lead the entire race until just towards the end.
Craig Mattick: Your special 8th grade year wasn't over. You'd go on to win three gold medals at the state track meet that year, including winning the 800. Man, name another 8th grader who's had more success than what you experienced when you were at Huron. That's pretty good, Heather.
Heather Sieler: Thank you. Again, some of those were relays and so we just had such amazing teammates and athletes. And it was just really fun to be part of the relays. And sometimes, I enjoyed the relays even more than the individual events. Just because I liked the teamwork and working together and you're in it together. You're not just out there by yourself.
Craig Mattick: You would go on to win seven medals at the state track meet in your career, 800-meter champ three times. Who pushed you as a track athlete to stay competitive?
Heather Sieler: Well, I remember as a 7th and 8th grader, there was a runner on our team who had an amazing work ethic, Kara Fuhrer, and she was a cross-country runner and a distance runner. And she went on to run at Augustana after high school. And she was a big role model for me early on and just had an incredible work ethic. And I remember hearing the coaches talk about her in that way and I just thought, "Wow. I would love to be someone who has that kind of a work ethic." And there was a lot of good competitors throughout the state just as there are now. And so, just always knowing that you got to bring your best, every single meet, every race. That really pushed me to try to be my best and just to see how far I could go.
Craig Mattick: Well, you saw success in volleyball and in track at Huron, but you were also involved with basketball. Back in the late '90s, you got to remember basketball was in the fall, volleyball in the winter. And so, you're going from basketball in the fall to right volleyball and then right to track in August to June. I mean, you're busy with athletics all the time. Did you have time for anything else?
Heather Sieler: Not really. That was pretty much what I enjoyed doing. I did sports year round one thing or... Multiple sports. I never did focus on one specific sport while I was in high school. And so, I liked the change throughout the year and just to be able to do something different for a few months. And summertime, it was a lot of basketball and I did get on a few travel teams and things like that. And we'd play in AAU tournaments during the summer months. And of course, we would do our morning workouts and we'd be out there running the stadium stairs at Tiger Stadium and lifting weights. And just doing all those things that you have to do in the off season to be able to compete.
Craig Mattick: Well, Huron only made it to the state basketball tournament one time, I think. During your time at Huron, the year 2000. I think you were a sophomore that year. Do you remember that at all?
Heather Sieler: I was a sophomore, yes. Yep.
Craig Mattick: Not a lot of success in basketball. Not like you had in volleyball and track.
Heather Sieler: Right. And my junior year, the team made it to the state tournament, but I was out with an ACL injury. So I was not able to play my junior year. But we did get third my sophomore year and that was during the time when Roosevelt was just undefeated and-
Craig Mattick: Winning 111 wins in a row. Yeah.
Heather Sieler: Yeah. The win streak. So we also competed really well with Brandon Valley. They had a really good team at that time. Mitchell was always good. So yeah, we had some good competition. And that was back when we would have to make it out of your district in order to then make it to the region and then eventually to the state tournament. We didn't have the SoDak 16 back then and we had a very tough district. And it was hard to make it out of just our district to be able to move on and have the chance to make it to state. But yeah, we did run into a little bit of difficulty making it to the state tournament. But it still was my favorite sport and I just loved playing basketball. And I got to play for Coach Tim Buddenhagen as well and he is still coaching and he is just a legend.
Craig Mattick: Your junior year, you tear your ACL. How'd that happen?
Heather Sieler: It was actually playing in a three-on-three tournament right before the season started. And I just felt a pop in my knee and I kept playing. And then later on, I got an MRI and it showed a partial tear of my ACL. So I thought, "Okay. Well, I'm pretty tough. I can put a brace on it and try to play through this," and that didn't work. So I ended up tearing it all the way and then doing the surgery and going through all that process.
Craig Mattick: Yeah. What was recovery like? I mean, ACL tears are treated quite differently today than 20 to 25 years ago.
Heather Sieler: Yeah. That was a long time ago. I would wake up early every morning. And before school, I would go through a whole workout routine and just work on my strength and range of motion. And this was just in the early phases. I was so determined to make it back to being able to do what I loved, which was play sports. And so, I was extremely motivated. I went to physical therapy and I lifted and I worked really hard to be able to come back from that injury.
And one of my teammates had been through that a year or two prior to when I tore my ACL, Sarita DeBoer. She had torn her ACL too and so I had seen her go through that process and knew that it was possible to come back. And so, that motivated me knowing that she had been through it and it was just one of those things. It was unfortunate, but we had that in common and we could really lean on each other and help each other get through that.
Craig Mattick: What was the first event following your recovery of the ACL injury?
Heather Sieler: Yeah. So I had surgery in October. So I missed basketball, which was the fall, and then volleyball season, which was in the winter. And then, I was able to compete in track that year as a junior. So that was my first event or competition coming back after the ACL.
Craig Mattick: When it came to deciding on going to college, was there a tough decision whether it was going to be volleyball or basketball or maybe even track?
Heather Sieler: It wasn't a really tough decision for me. I was getting recruited in all three areas. But basketball was my favorite and I knew if I was going to be doing something in college that was going to be pretty much like a job and year-round, I definitely wanted it to be something that I loved.
And I enjoyed track and I really enjoyed volleyball, but basketball was always my first love, my favorite sport. So that was a pretty easy decision for me. I was really thankful that I could play for SDSU and stay close to home. That was important to me. So I was actually in the process of recovering from my ACL surgery when I was offered the scholarship from AJ there at SDSU. So that gave me a ton of confidence to know that even though I wasn't back yet, he believed in me that I would get there and offered me the scholarship anyway.
Craig Mattick: Your freshman year at SDSU, oh man, was that team stacked. Melissa Pater, Brenda Davis, Shannon Slagle, and you start every game as a freshman at point guard for the Jacks. How long did it take you to become comfortable on the team as a freshman?
Heather Sieler: I don't really remember. Again, I feel like I'm repeating myself a little bit. But I honestly feel like anytime I was given an opportunity, I just tried to make the most of it and I worked really hard to be ready. The starting point guard from the previous year's team, she had graduated. And so, there was a spot kind of like up for competition. And so, I worked really hard in the preseason. And then, it's just trying to be a sponge, because there's so much to learn. And so, it's a faster-paced game. But fortunately for me, I had some speed, so that... I really tried to use that to my advantage and saw that there was an opportunity there. Especially with being able to hustle on defense and pick up full-court press kind of things. I really think that helped me earn that spot as a starter my freshman year.
Craig Mattick: Yeah. During that season, you only lost three games during the regular season. Two of those were against North Dakota. Why did they have your number that year?
Heather Sieler: I don't know. We just always had such a hard time against them. They were such a tough matchup for us at every position. They had some really talented scorers. They had quick guards. They had some really talented post players in the inside. And we could always compete with them, but just for whatever reason, they just had our number that year. But we still had a great regular season and we just knew we had to make it into the postseason. And then, it was anybody's game.
Craig Mattick: Well, you finished 29 and 3 off to the Elite Eight. You take on Cal State Bakersfield and you win by 21. I mean, it was kind of a snoozer. What do you remember about that win?
Heather Sieler: That was so exciting. The Elite Eight, back then, was in St. Joseph, Missouri. And I remember hearing that this team was just so good and they were beating everybody by a ton of points all the time and it was going to be a tough matchup for us, but we just came ready to play. I mean, AJ had us so ready for that tournament and we had peaked at the right time. That's kind of the goal is you want to peak right at the end when it matters most. And I just look back at that time and realizing how young AJ was as our head coach. He was phenomenal. He was such a good coach and I'm just amazed at what he was able to get us to do, even though he was such a young, new head coach.
Craig Mattick: So it's off to the Final Four. Oh, and what a game it was with Bentley College out of Massachusetts, goes into overtime. Maybe the biggest assist of your career. In the final seconds of regulation, the Jacks are down three, five seconds to go. What happened?
Heather Sieler: So we had to go the full length of the court and AJ drew up a play and it was going to be for Sizek to take the shot at the wing. And it honestly just unfolded just as he drew it up or... Well, I guess I shouldn't say that, because it did end up banking in, but it was just a miracle shot. And again, it was just one of those games where we just worked so hard to come back. And then, to have a chance to tie it on that big of a stage in that tournament, that was so crazy. And then, after the shot went in, we all just celebrated and we just couldn't believe it. And then, it was overtime. And really, I think in overtime, we just controlled the rest of the game from that point on.
Craig Mattick: You did, you scored first. And you didn't give up the lead and you go on to win the National Championship, 69 to 62. You didn't score in the game, but you had five assists in 30 minutes of play. What else do you remember from overtime?
Heather Sieler: I don't really remember a whole lot. I do know... Scoring zero points, that doesn't really surprise me because I was never someone who-
Craig Mattick: You didn't have to-
Heather Sieler: ... was looking to take shots.
Craig Mattick: That's right. Right.
Heather Sieler: Yeah. I feel like my job was to run the offense, pass the ball, and play defense. We had Melissa Pater. We had Shannon Slagle. We had Brenda Davis. Those girls can score. That was never my role and I didn't care. I didn't mind that I wasn't scoring a whole lot, but I played hard and I tried to just do the things that the coaches were asking me to do.
Craig Mattick: So what was the preparation like now getting ready for the National Championship game that you were going to take on Northern Kentucky?
Heather Sieler: By that point, you're playing three games in three days, I think it was. I think it was three straight. There was no break in between. So by then, you're just really trying to conserve energy, get your body ready, your legs are dead tired. But the other team is in the same boat. Northern Kentucky had also played the two previous days and just playing our game. Just stick to what we do best and not really worrying about what they're doing, but just going into the game with confidence and knowing that we can win. And after that... Winning that game in overtime, I think we just had all the confidence in the world going into that championship game.
Craig Mattick: Yeah. You and Pater and Davis all score layups early in the game. Jacks are up six to nothing and you don't look back and you win the title by 15. What an impressive freshman year for you at SDSU. You'd get back to the Elite Eight the following year and that was the last year that the Jacks played Division 2 basketball. Speaking of that Elite Eight, in '04, you lost to California of Pennsylvania, a loss by 17. What do you remember about that game?
Heather Sieler: I remember just from a personal standpoint, I was dealing with a bad ankle injury, so I remember just trying to gut it out and knowing that the season is on the line. And just trying to play through that, even though it was hindering me quite a bit. I had heard it in the regional games the previous round. And so, I remember that being an issue and we just got behind. And we weren't making our shots and we just couldn't quite get into a rhythm that game. And there was a lot of us that were returning from the previous year. And so, there could have been a little bit of, "Okay. We're here. We're just going to roll through it like we did last time." Maybe a little bit of that. I don't specifically remember. It was so many years ago. But it was definitely disappointing to get there and then just end up losing in that first round of the Elite Eight.
Craig Mattick: Well, it was the end of an era too, because the Jacks were moving on to Division 1 athletics. You would be in the transition years the next two years, but you got to play at a number of Division 1 arenas. You got to go to Kentucky and Southern Cal, Purdue, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Colorado State. What was that experience like knowing you weren't going to be able to qualify for postseason play, but you're playing some Division 1 basketball teams?
Heather Sieler: It was definitely a lot to learn moving up to Division 1. The speed of the game was so much faster. The athleticism of the girls that we were up against was on a whole nother level. So I remember that being probably the biggest challenge. And then, of course, the travel was really crazy at that time. We were flying all over the country to play games in some of those big arenas, like you said. And it was just really cool to be able to walk into these historic places and places that you see on TV. And sometimes, against opponents that have been ranked and things like that.
And so, it was very eye-opening, but I'm so thankful that I was able to go through that transition time. It was tough to not have a postseason to look forward to. But it was such a good move for the university and it was just part of the process to get to where they are now, which is so exciting. And knowing that I've been a part of that process of going to Division 1, it just makes it really special for me to watch their success now.
Craig Mattick: What was going on through your mind that last year of basketball at SDSU because you knew that that was probably going to be it for you when it came to athletics? What were you thinking that final year?
Heather Sieler: The four years of college go so fast and you're just busy all the time. And so, it is good to stop and reflect and just take it all in. And I think I was trying to do that the best I could. But then, you're also taking classes and you're traveling a lot and staying ahead of all those things. I also got engaged my senior year of college. And so, I think part of me was knowing that, "Okay. Sports are going to be done," and this has been pretty much my whole life. But looking forward to the next chapter, which was getting married to my high school sweetheart.
Craig Mattick: It's been almost 20 years now since SDSU. Where have the travels taken you since those days in Brookings?
Heather Sieler: Yeah. So after I graduated from SDSU, I went to USD for grad school and I got my doctorate in physical therapy. And from there, we moved to Yankton and lived there for a few years. Before returning back to our hometown, which is Huron. So we've been living here in Huron now since 2011 and we're just... We love our hometown. We love being here. It's a great place to raise our family. And so yeah, we're back being here on Tigers.
Craig Mattick: And what keeps you busy?
Heather Sieler: Well, I work for the school district as the physical therapist for the school and we have two sons who are involved in a lot of different things. So they're 14 and 12 and they keep us really busy. So right now, we're in the middle of track season for our 8th grader and then our 6th grader is just starting baseball here this spring for the season. So we're moving a lot of directions, a lot of times.
Craig Mattick: Five years ago, you're inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. What does that mean to you, Heather?
Heather Sieler: That was a big surprise. First of all, I didn't think I was old enough to be in that company. What an incredible honor. And I just read the names of the athletes who have been inducted and I just felt like, "I do not fit in here. This is not the place for me. They must have made a mistake." I was completely humbled to be inducted into a hall of fame of that caliber. Just totally threw me for a loop. But really proud of the things that I had done as a high school athlete and college athlete and... I was good at all three sports that I competed in, but it wasn't like I was like a Mike Miller or somebody who went on to play professionally or somebody who set just a ton of records or something like that. So it just really surprised me that I would be chosen for such an honor.
Craig Mattick: It is crazy all of the changes that you were involved with, change of seasons for high school volleyball and basketball in South Dakota, the change from Division 2 to Division 1 for SDSU Athletics. But the coaches I've talked to about you, Heather, says, even through all those changes, your attitude never changed. You were always aggressive and knowledgeable of the game no matter what sport you were playing.
Heather Sieler: Well, that's a huge compliment because I really did work hard. Not only at whatever sport I was in at the time, but just to have a good attitude and be a good teammate and a good leader. I tried to learn as much as I could and just be a sponge. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of things in life that you can't control, but you can always control your effort and your attitude. And so, I feel like I tried to live that out throughout my days as an athlete and I was just surrounded by such amazing teammates and I really did have the best coaches. Like looking back, I'm so blessed with my high school coaches, my college coaches. I stay connected with all of them still to this day. And so, it was just a big part of my life and I was just very grateful for all the opportunities that I did get.
Craig Mattick: In Play with Craig Mattick is made possible by Horton in Britton, where smiling at work happens all the time. Apply now at hortonww.com. If you like what you're hearing, please give us a 5-star review wherever you get your podcast. It helps us gain new listeners. This has been In Play with me, Craig Mattick. This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
