The 2009 South Dakota VFW Baseball Annual Meeting will be Sunday in Huron at VFW Post 1776 at noon MST. A record 192 teams registered in 2008 and each is entitled to one vote at the annual meeting.

Commissioners will meet at 11 a.m. before the annual meeting. Tournament sites for 2009 and 2010 will be determined along with pairs for 2009 and dates for 2011.

Questions concerning the annual meeting can be directed to the VFW State Headquarters at 605-332-7441 or vfwsd@aol.com.

COYOTE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE RELEASED: University of South Dakota head football coach Ed Meierkort has announced the Coyotes' fall football schedule as USD embarks on its second season of Division I FCS competition.

USD will not shy away from quality competition in 2009, as the schedule includes eight games against Division I FCS foes, including two that qualified for the postseason a year ago in Northern Iowa and Cal Poly.

"This program is moving forward at an accelerated pace, and if you look at the 2008 schedule compared to 2009, you can see it right away," Meierkort said. "We have some very good home games, including a big Dakota Days game with Cal-Davis. We're right where we need to be. It's time to get ourselves amped up and ready to go."

The schedule includes five home games for USD and five games on the road. The Coyotes will also play all four Great West Conference schools in 2009: North Dakota, UC Davis, Southern Utah and Cal Poly. In addition, USD is also continuing discussions on adding one more game for 2009.

JUST JYMNASTICS COMPETES AT COWBOY STATE GAMES: The Just Jymnastics Levels 4 and 5 girls competitive gymnastics teams traveled to Douglas, Wyo., to compete in the 2009 Cowboy State Games. The Level 4 team had a breakthrough performance to claim the first-place team trophy with a team score of 109.4.

Logan Haggerty and Tiffany Hanson led the Level 4 squad to victory with their first-place all-around performances. Haggerty won the Level 4 All-Star Award, attaining the highest level all-around score at 36.4 of all age groups. Other first-place finishes include Danielle Schmidt (bars), Taylor Pingrey (vault), Taya Barber (bars), Jacey Sawyer (beam), Emily Iverson (beam) and Jaycherie Little (bars).

The Level 5 team came up just short of first place when its 110.4 team score was matched by the Casper, Wyo., team which won the tiebreaker and left the Jymstars with second place. Skylar Larson was a team standout with her first-place all-around score of 36.55. Other first-place finishers include Caitlynn Emick (floor, bars) and Taylor Whittle (beam). The girls competitive team next travels to Sioux Falls this weekend to compete in its final matchup before the South Dakota State Junior Olympic Championships.

The boys are off to Lincoln, Neb., on Sunday to compete in the Nebraska State Championships.

MINES TO HOST YOUTH BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team will be holding the MDU/Bank West Classic Basketball Tournament on

March 27-29 for boys and girls in grades 4-12 at the Mines and National American University campuses.

The cost of the tournament is $125 per team (10-player roster) plus $10 for each additional team member. Payment must accompany an entry form that can be obtained from www.gorockers.com.

Teams in the tournament are guaranteed three games and the event will be held in an excellent facility that benefits athlete and spectator alike.

Registration deadline is set for Friday and no refunds will be given after that date. Cancellations will receive full refund before the deadline.

For tournament questions, contact Scott Jacobson at 605-342-1266 or 605-381-5363 or e-mail him at thejacobsons@rap.midco.net. Make checks payable to MDU/BankWest Basketball Tournament and mail them to: Scott Jacobson; 414 Enchantment Road; Rapid City, SD 57701.

LINDSEY WINS AERIAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: After placing fifth at world championships in Japan last week, Black Hawk native Jana Lindsey won the freestyle skiing aerial national championship held Sunday in Park City, Utah.