Hall of Fame

Oral Interpretation State Champion, Miss South Dakota 1980 and arguably, the most well-known O’Gorman alumni; Carol Nesbitt continues to be an advocate and a voice for Catholic education. During her high school career, Carol competed in Oral Interpretation and won the state title in the humor category, earning a ticket to the National tournament. She had starring roles in theatrical productions in high school, college and played a leading role in the Children’s Theatre of Minneapolis’ production of “Frankenstein”, broadcast nationwide as a CBS Afterschool Special. 

 

Carol launched her singing career at 18-years-old when she won the title of Miss South Dakota in 1980. She was named to the prestigious Miss America USO Troop, traveling across Europe entertaining servicemembers. She continues to give back to the program by serving on the Miss South Dakota Board and mentoring young women in talent and interview. 

 

Carol was often heard over the South Dakota airwaves as the voice of popular jingles. Carol has sung at many conventions, corporate gatherings, Chamber events, and once sang for a former First Lady. She was the featured vocalist in many bands and recorded three Christmas CDs for charity, raising over $100,000 in addition to her volunteer work with The Banquet, Dougherty House, Avera NICU, Catholic Family Services and various parish ministries.

 

As Alumni Director for Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools for 23 years, she built a strong alumni community, hosted large Cathedral and regional alumni reunions, helped launch fundraisers including Go Give OG Day and the Alumni 10x12 Program and was a familiar voice at 24 Dakota Bowls. 

 

As Carol’s mentor, Ron Schallenkamp, once told her, “You’ve been given gifts from God. It’s your obligation to share those.” She hopes that will be her legacy, that she shared her gifts and inspired others to share theirs as well.

Greg and Phyllis are not Bishop O’Gorman graduates but with their sons’ enrollment, they soon became immersed in the O’Gorman community. Greg was the first ever non-alumni to serve as Dakota Bowl chair. He chaired the Rec center campaign, co-chaired the Building on Excellence campaign for the renovation of O’Gorman High School including athletic facilities and theatre. He subsequently received the Woody Drey Everyday Hero award for his years of service in 2005.  Phyllis served on the Sioux Falls Catholic School Board and continues to be a voice for parental choice in education with her legislative sponsorship of SD Partners in Education scholarships. They are active members of St. Mary Parish and serve on the Catholic Community Foundation Board.

Their three sons, Robb ’92, Mike ’96, Nick ’98, and their families continue the tradition with a strong commitment and active participation in their children’s Catholic schools. They value the faith enriching experiences Catholic schools offer the next generation. Their combined eight children all attend Catholic schools in Sioux Falls and Kansas City.

Robb, a graduate of Notre Dame, is involved with Sporting KC, a professional soccer team, and Homefield, a complex of youth sport facilities. Mike and his wife, Susie are both graduates of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and are members of St. Mary Parish. Mike is President of the Sioux Falls Skyforce professional basketball team. He is currently serving on the Bishop O’Gorman school board and was a past chairman of the Dakota Bowl. Nick and his wife, Renee are both graduates of Notre Dame and are members of Holy Spirit Parish. Nick owns and operates Look’s Marketplace in Sioux Falls.

A fierce soccer competitor, unmatched track and field athlete and volleyball state champion; Katie (Bunkers) Bartling was a standout athlete at O’Gorman from 1998-2002. In her high school soccer career, she led the Knights to four state championship matches and helped bring home two state champion titles. She was named to the Class AA All-State First Team all four years and served as team captain for two seasons. Katie was named Gatorade Player of the Year for Soccer in 2001-2002. 

Katie was the State Champion, as well as the Howard Wood Relay Special Event Champion in the 400m dash. She holds the school record in the 400m dash (57.7 seconds), is third place all-time for the 100m dash, and fourth place all-time for the 200m dash. As a member of the volleyball team, she was a starter during the 2002 State Championship. Off the field, track, and court, Katie participated in chorus, student council and was named Homecoming Queen during her senior year. 

Katie went on to play Division I soccer at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Big 12 All-Tournament Team in 2002. Her college coach, John Walker, described her as “the rock of the backline and a versatile athlete who brought speed and explosiveness to the Huskers.” 

Katie graduated from UNL in 2007 with a degree in Journalism. She lives in Sioux Falls with her husband Tyler Bartling (class of 2002) and daughter, Eva. She is currently the Vice President of Marketing & Customer Experience at Sammons Financial Group. In addition, she gives her time and talents to the community through her service as a member of the Sioux Falls CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Board and involvement at her childhood grade school and church, St. Mary.

Dr. Thomas R. Loveland graduated from O’Gorman High School in 1970, where he was a member of the wrestling and football teams. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. South Dakota State University, where he discovered a love of geography and a growing desire to explore our changing planet. Tom continued his education, completing a Master of Science degree in geography from SDSU and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

Project EROS, “a program aimed at gathering facts about the natural resources of the Earth from Earth-orbiting satellites,” gave Tom his first internship in the 1970s, and formed the basis for his nearly fifty-year career in remote sensing. Tom began his career using the EROS-managed Landsat satellite imagery to map land cover and vegetation. Tom retired in 2022 as the EROS Chief Scientist. 

 

Tom was a leader of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme global land cover initiative, which resulted in global recognition for the USGS as a land use and land cover innovator. He led the land use and land cover component for the U.S. Global Change Research Program and was an author for two of the congressionally mandated periodic National Climate Assessments. Tom’s leadership defined and led the NASA/USGS Landsat Science Team, a group of scientists and engineers dedicated to advancing the use of Earth observations, was crucial in the design and launch of Landsat satellites. 

 

Tom served as an adjunct professor at SDSU for 35 years, played a vital role in the establishment of the SDSU-USGS Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence and served as its co-director for twelve years. He was the recipient of numerous awards, most notably the William T. Pecora Award in 2019 for outstanding contributions to earth science and his 2018 induction into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

 

Tom Loveland passed away on May 13, 2022, having shared a lifetime of love with his wife Cam, daughter Shannon, son Bill, and their spouses and children. 

Will Powell was a standout athlete in football, basketball and track at O’Gorman from 2005-2009. In football, Will was an electrifying multi-purpose skill player, utilized as a running back, wide receiver, and defensive back. He was named to the Class 11AA All-State Team as a safety his junior and senior seasons, in addition to being selected to the Argus Leader Elite 45 in 2008. 

In basketball, Will helped lead the Knights to the 2007 11AA State Championship as a sophomore point guard. He was selected to the 11AA All-Conference Team in 2009 and received the Lee Dolan Award for Male Athlete of the Year in 2009.  

Will went on to play Division I football for the University of South Dakota where he became the all-time leading receiver for the Coyotes. He became a two-time all-conference wide receiver (Great West & Missouri Valley). He was named a team captain in 2012 and named MVP both his junior and senior seasons. 

As a finance major at USD, he was named to the Beacom School of Business Dean’s List all eight semesters, was selected to the ESPN Academic All-District Team three consecutive years, and the Missouri Valley Academic First Team. Will earned a BA in Finance and a minor in Spanish with honors. 

Powell went on to play professional football abroad in France, Germany, and Serbia. He became the MVP of the Serbian Football League in 2015, helping bring the Dukes their first ever championship. After retiring from football, he continued pursuing his passion for sports and travel by founding Podyum, an international sports recruitment agency helping pro players sign contracts with international teams and helping high school athletes get recruited to college. Podyum has placed more than 500 pro athletes with football teams around the world and helped over 50 high school athletes earn scholarships to college. Today, Will owns several businesses and works in construction development locally in Sioux Falls. 

There is one phrase that comes to mind when thinking of the 1995-1996 O’Gorman Knights Girls’ Basketball team: “Cinderella Story.”  These Lady Knights put on the glass slipper and left the 1995 State Tournament with O’Gorman High Schools’ first-ever basketball state championship. Entering the state playoffs with a losing record, the team went on a five-game winning streak against teams who had all beat them previously in the season. With strong team chemistry and the leadership of seven seniors, the eighth-seeded Knights won their first-round game versus an undefeated Yankton, their semifinal game against Watertown, who had beat them twice before, and the final match up against Mitchell in overtime with a score of 44-41 to clinch the state title! 

Team Members: Laurie (Billars) Iliff ‘96, Sarah (Daughters) Sample ‘96, Jayne (Even) Gust ‘96, Erin (Foy) Bosch ‘96, Stacy (Kluck) Best ‘96, Mandy (Lewis) Schumann ‘96, Jana (Weeg) Koch ‘96, Melissa (Butler) Wagner ‘97, Jenny Hill-Schumacher ‘97, Desiree (Hortness) Howe ‘97, Meghan (Hurley) Gibbs ‘97, Angie Kent, Sarah (Pospischil) Kenyon ‘97, Jen (Carr) Whiting ‘98, Melissa Eberhard ‘98, Carmen Morrison ‘00. Managers: Johanna Ollerich Ream and Mike Puepke ’90, Head Coach: Gregg Talcott, Assistant Coaches: Kent Anderson and Leo Lorang.