Cheryl Huddleston’s athletic journey began early, growing up in a family where sports were part of everyday life. She and her siblings spent countless hours outside—often with Cheryl and her sister teaming up against their three younger brothers in backyard softball—and shooting hoops on the concrete court her father built.

At Hot Springs High School, Cheryl competed in the only two organized sports available to girls at the time: track and basketball. In track, she ran the 220-yard dash, the 880 relay, high jumped, and long jumped, qualifying twice for the state meet in the long jump. Girls basketball was less formal, consisting of evening practices after the boys finished and Saturday round-robin tournaments where teams played multiple games against whoever fielded a team.

Cheryl continued her basketball career at the collegiate level, first at a junior college in Missouri and later as a starter on the inaugural women’s basketball team at Chadron State College in Nebraska. After earning her degree, she returned to Hot Springs, accepting a teaching and coaching position that included head gymnastics coach and assistant roles in basketball, track and field, and eventually cross country.

Coaching at Hot Springs became one of the most meaningful chapters of Cheryl’s life. She loved working with young athletes, even as she navigated the challenges of advocating for girls sports during a time when opportunities were still expanding.

Along the way, she was profoundly influenced by mentors such as Jim Tays, Dave Scott, Larry Schuck, Dianna Hough, and Josh Roberts, who taught her how to guide students toward reaching their fullest potential.

Over more than 30 years of coaching, Cheryl’s greatest rewards came from watching athletes exceed expectations, learn resilience, work together, and develop into young men and women of character. These moments meant far more to her than wins or titles. Her dedication was recognized with several honors, including the 1997–98 South Dakota Assistant Girls Coach of the Year award and a 25-year coaching award from the South Dakota High School Activities Association in 2002.

Career highlights also included coaching multiple individual state-placing gymnasts as head gymnastics coach and contributing to numerous conference, regional, and state titles in track and cross country.