By Journal staff

Todd Lambrecht has accepted the head football coaching position at Spearfish High School, taking over for Chuck Syverson, who stepped down earlier this month to take the same position at Thermopolis High School in Wyoming.

Lambrecht, who is originally from North Dakota, said Spearfish presented the chance to get closer to home and to head his own program.

"I've always admired Spearfish and the tradition they have had in sports," Lambrecht said. "I used to wrestle against Spearfish when they would come up to the Bismarck Rotary back in the late 1980s, early '90s. It's just a bigger school, closer to home and it seemed to be a good situation."

Lambrecht just finished as a physical education instructor and assistant football coach at Mitchell High School in Mitchell, Neb. Lambrecht has held the position since 2000. Lambrecht will also be a physical education instructor at Spearfish High School.

"We are excited to have (Lambrecht) join our teaching and coaching staff. In our extensive search, he had all the qualities we were looking for," Spearfish High School principal Steve Morford said. "Out of the many qualified applicants we received and interviewed, Todd exemplified the leadership characteristics that were important to us, as well as having the background and experience necessary to be successful with the student athletes at Spearfish High School."

Lambrecht also taught at Standing Rock High School in North Dakota prior to his stint in Mitchell and has also been an assistant football coach at Bismarck High School and the University of North Dakota.

Syverson left the Spartans after three seasons at the helm where he compiled a 6-24 record as the head coach, including a 2-8 record in 2008.

"I'm excited to be around the kids, to see what the kids can offer me and what I can offer the kids," Lambrecht said. "Hopefully, we get a good mesh together and get the program moving up the way it has been."

In Mitchell, Lambrecht was a defensive coordinator and coached the offensive and defensive lines. Lambrecht said he has used several different types of defenses and will tailor a package that suits the talent at Spearfish.

"It will just get down to seeing what the other coaches are familiar with and trying to run with that," he said. "We will see what kind of kids we have, where our athletes are going to be."

Lambrecht has also served as a head wrestling coach and golf coach in his time at Mitchell and was recently selected to serve as an assistant coach for the Western Nebraska All-Star game.

"I'm just looking forward to working with the staff there and being part of Spearfish school system," Lambrecht said. "I'm very excited about the transition and what he have ahead of us."