RAPID CITY - The Officials and the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce celebrated the role athletics play by honoring 10 different people who have contributed to this area through sports.

Four men - Scott Benson, Carl Loock, Todd Lowery and Kevin Phillips - were inducted into the Rapid City Sports Hall of Fame on the night. Benson, the South Dakota state high jump record-holder from his days at Rapid City Stevens, echoed the sentiments of many in attendance in his induction speech.

"What I took away from my sports career is not height, not feet and inches, but the experience," Benson said. "It was a good one. I met a lot of people from all over the world, I got to see places all over and I embraced the opportunity that I was given. What I didn't realize was that along the way it was preparing me for life, and I honestly wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for sports and the people who helped me."

On the prep level, Rapid City Stevens' Amy Sykora and St. Thomas More's Nathan Jacobson were honored as the 2008 Rapid City High School Athletes of the Year.

Sykora, a standout on the volleyball and basketball courts for the Raiders, was named the Female Athlete of the Year ahead of Rapid City Central's Michelle Sosa, Rapid City Christian's Tarra DeCastro, Douglas' Tara Huebner and St. Thomas More's Annie Bloom. Jacobson won the male award over Central's Chad Gibson, Stevens' Tyler Niederwerder, Christian's Richard Stecher and Douglas' Chandlor Mikkonen.

The other honorees were Minnesota track standout Julie Schwengler (Rapid City Stevens) for College Female Athlete of the Year, Stevens High School wrestling teammates Chas Welch and Matt Anderson as co-College Male Athlete of the Year for their careers at Northern State and South Dakota State, respectively, and pool player Shane Van Boening for Pro Athlete of the Year.

When his own program was cut out from under him this year, Lowery, a two-time national champion as a volleyball coach at National American University, emphasized the need for sports in education.

"You see so much in the papers about cuts in education and cuts in school districts," Lowery said. "And it's nights like this where you wish everybody in town could be here. It's about so much more than numbers and wins and losses. It's about the experiences that these kids are able to get, and the impact these coaches have on young people in this town. That's what's most important and that's what we need to remember."

Welch, for one, didn't need to be reminded. After thanking his coaches from grade school on up, the all-American wrestler announced that he is going to start giving back to the sport that has given him so much.

"I spent a lot of time injured last year," Welch said of his senior season. "So I started feeling more like a coach than an athlete. I got to get a taste of it a little bit, and now I can't wait to get out of school and start teaching and coaching."