The Gregory Athletics Club hosted the 32nd Annual East-West Shootout on Monday, March 24, 2025, at Gregory Memorial Auditorium. The event features area high school seniors getting together to play a fun and eventful game with their peers from opposing towns. The games consist of two halves, 18 minutes each.

The evening started off with the East team winning the girls game 73-54. At halftime the score was 43-24 with the East team leading. Each team scored 30 points in the second half, giving the East team the win. At the free throw line, East was 6 of 8 and West was 2 for 4. The girls appeared to have great camaraderie on the court.

The next action on the court was the 3 pt. shootout competition. Each player took their chance at the 3 pt. line, shooting from three locations in 35 seconds. The first three balls on each rack were worth one point and the last ball on each rack was worth two points for a total of 15 possible points per round. The top two girls and boys shoot a second round to determine the winner, based on their total score from both rounds. Advancing for the girls was Mahpiya Irving (AC/DC) with 10 points and Mya Thruringer (Parkston) with 8 points. Irving was the overall winner with 16 points over Thuringer’s 13 points.

The top two boys to advance were tied with 10 points each in the first round. Hayden Sprik (Platte/Geddes) took the championship by scoring 17, just one point better than Jackson Bolander (Gregory).

The final event had the boys teams taking the court. They had a close halftime score of 5551, with the West leading. In the second half, the boys seemed to show off their dunking and half court shot skills; some were majestic while others were flamboyant. The West pulled away with a 106-81 win.

The volunteer coaches for the evening were Katie Bolander (West girls) and Jeff Determan (East girls). Something new this year was allowing the three Gregory seniors who were not playing to get the opportunity to coach. They gladly accepted the offer, so Nick Kenzy was in charge of the East boys, while Jad Leber and Rane Kenzy headed up the West boys. Volunteer officials were Max Klundt and Wade Juracek. Jared Opp was the amazing announcer and Ian Opp proudly sang the National Anthem. Concessions were provided by Lonnie Klundt and his girls basketball team.