The Buffalo Hall of Fame Selection Committee is pleased to announce the fifth member of its Class of 2025: Deanna Deering ’82.
Deanna Deering ’82 was a two-sport athlete remembered most for her groundbreaking track and field career in the shot put, becoming the first female athlete to score at a state track meet, then the first female state track champion, in school history.
In basketball, Deanna was a defensive and rebounding specialist. She helped lead the Lady Buffalos to the 1981 Little Central Athletic Conference championship with an 11-9 record and grabbed 140 rebounds on the season. Deanna earned a varsity basketball letter all four seasons.
Deanna will be remembered most for her accomplishments as a track and field athlete, however. She is one of the best field event performers in school history and perhaps the best thrower in school history. Although Deanna also qualified for the state meet in the discus, it was in the shot-put event that she specialized.
In the shot-put event, Deanna dominated central South Dakota track meets, and eventually the state of South Dakota. She was a four-time LCAC champion, a three-time Three Rivers Conference champion, a three-time Region champion, and the 1980 state champion. A four-year track and field letter winner, Deanna is remembered as one of SC’s best field event throwers ever.
In 1979 Deanna helped propel SC to the Region 4A championship title with her Region championship throw of 34’11”. At the 1979 State Track & Field Championships, Deanna earned a 5th place finish, becoming the first female SC track athlete to score at the state meet.
In 1980, Deanna threw herself into the history books. She won five invitational meets, two conference titles, broke the school record, and was crowned a state champion. She set the LCAC record at 36’11” and the White River Relays record at 38’7”, the longest regular season throw in South Dakota. At the state meet, Deanna dominated the competition, becoming the first female athlete in SC school history to be crowned a state champion. She won the event with a throw of 38’8”, besting the second-place finisher by over a foot.
Deanna owns her own business and lives in Fort Pierre.
The Stanley County School’s Buffalo Hall of Fame was established to honor the contributions of student-athletes, coaches and fans of Fort Pierre HS and Stanley County HS athletics. The 2025 Induction Ceremony will be held on June 21, 2025, during the All-School Reunion in Fort Pierre, following a noon luncheon. All alumni and Buffalo fans are invited to attend.
Comments