MITCHELL — Mitchell High School and the Mitchell Athletic Booster Club is excited to announce the Mitchell High School Hall of Fame Class of 2022. An open house will be held at The Depot on Friday, September 2, 2022, from 6:00pm-8:00pm with a program being held at 7:00pm. Inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the Kernel Bowl football game on Saturday, September 3, 2022. The Class of 2022 inductees are Ron Wiblemo Sr. ’47, Ron Wiblemo Jr. ’71, Phil Collins ’76 and Carla Snedeker ’83. See below for additional information on each candidate.

Ron Wiblemo Sr. ‘47
Ron Wiblemo Sr. was a 3-sport letter winner in football, basketball and track, receiving 9 varsity letters throughout his high school career. He was named to All-Conference teams as a guard in basketball and as a quarterback in football. He was also a standout baseball player for the Legion team.

Ron was signed as a pitcher by the Brooklyn Dodgers at the age of 17 and spent 2 years in the Dodgers organization. He went on to play 7 years of semi-pro baseball in South Dakota, first for Fairfax and then the Mitchell Kernels of the Basin League. After his stint with the Dodgers, Ron attended Mankato State Teachers College for 2 years, playing football and baseball. He then transferred to Dakota Wesleyan University where he was an All-Conference basketball player.

He coached basketball for 16 years at Alexandria, Fedora and Wagner, while also coaching baseball most of his adult life. He was named to the Class “A” 1940s All-Decade High School Basketball Team. Ron passed away on December 2nd, 1983, at the age of 54. His legacy continues today in his 10 children, 42 grandchildren and 71 great-grandchildren. He joins his son Ron Wiblemo Jr. as the first father-son duo to be named to the Mitchell High School Hall of Fame.

Ron Wiblemo Jr. ‘71
Ron Wiblemo Jr. participated in football, basketball, golf and track and field during his time at Mitchell High School. He led the basketball team to a runner-up finish at the 1971 Class ‘A’ State Basketball Tournament and the track and field team to the 1971 ESD Conference Championship. As a senior he was named to the First Team All State Football team as a defensive back. That same year during the basketball season he led the ESD Conference in scoring, was named First Team All Conference, First Team All State, MVP of the All Tournament Team and received Honorable Mention All American honors. He was later selected to the 1970s Basketball Team of the Decade. That spring he was the conference champion in the triple jump and finished in 5th place in the high jump at the 1971 AA State Track Meet.

Ron went on to a successful collegiate basketball career at South Dakota State. He became a member of the 1,000 point club, finishing 4th on the career scoring list and was selected to the First Team All North Central Conference Team as a senior.

Ron is currently retired, living in Camdenton, Missouri, with his wife Lana. He joins his father Ron Wiblemo Sr. as the first father-son duo to be named to the Mitchell High School Hall of Fame.

Phil Collins ‘76
Phil Collins was a 3-sport letter winner at Mitchell High School, competing in football, basketball and track & field. He was a 3 time recipient of the Golden ‘M’ Award, given to those student-athletes who letter in 3 sports in a year. He was named MVP of the football team in 1975 and selected to the All-State Team that same year. He led his basketball teams to state tournament appearances in 1974 and 1976, an Eastern South Dakota Championship in 1975 and was named 2nd Team All-State in 1976. He was on the 2nd place Sprint Medley Relay at the State Track Meet in 1974 and 1976, setting the school record in 1976. At the State Track Meet in 1976 he finished 3rd place in the discus and 3rd place in the shot put. He went on to play football and run track at Dakota Wesleyan University. He was a 4-year starter on the football team, a conference champion in the discus in 1978, 1979 and 1981 and the shot put in 1981. He set the school record in the discus in 1978 and was a member of the school record Sprint Medley Relay team in 1979.

Phil currently lives in Mitchell with his wife Sue, working in Commercial Insurance Sales.

Carla Snedeker ‘83
Carla Snedeker began running on the varsity Track and Cross-country teams as an 8th grader. She won many races throughout her 5 years including the 1600 meter run at Howard Wood Relays and the SD State Meet in 1980 – breaking several school and meet records along the way. She was a 5 year letter winner and her highest finishes in the state cross-country meet were 4th and 10th along with being in the top 25 for 4 years.

After graduating in 1983 – she went on to compete on the cross-country and track teams at South Dakota State University for 4 years. Carla ran at the National cross-country meet in California and was part of a school record setting team in the 4 X 800 relay at Drake Relays.

Carla still runs today competing in road races and marathons including the Boston Marathon in 2015. From 2016 to 2019 – she became an assistant track coach at MHS and a volunteer cross-country coach helping out on days she wasn’t officiating high school volleyball. She wanted to give back to the school that gave her so much and hoped to make an impact on student athletes like Keith Christensen and Marcy Jones did for her.

Carla resides in Mitchell and is the purchasing manager at AKG North American Operations.