October 20, 2026
   
MADISON, S.D. — Rachelle (Lengkeek) DeBeer established herself as one of Dakota State University's most versatile student-athletes, excelling in volleyball and both indoor and outdoor track & field while also achieving at an exceptional level in the classroom.

DeBeer made an immediate impact at Dakota State, earning Trojan volleyball's Rookie of the Year honors in 1993. A year later, she earned outdoor track & field All-Conference honors and was named Dakota State's Track Most Valuable Player.

Her career reached another level in 1995. Competing as Rachelle Lengkeek, she set a Dakota State school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.00 seconds, earned outdoor track All-Conference honors and was selected as Dakota State's Female Athlete of the Year. She also received Academic All-American honors in volleyball that fall.

DeBeer was an important contributor during one of the most successful stretches in Dakota State women's track and field history. She helped the Trojans capture three consecutive South Dakota-Iowa Conference Outdoor Track and Field team championships from 1995 through 1997.

After marrying Brad DeBeer in August 1995, she competed under the name Rachelle DeBeer for the remainder of her collegiate career. In 1996, she was part of Dakota State's school-record 4 x 100-meter relay team with Meranda Reese, Michelle Butash and Erin Jankord with a time of 49.33 seconds.

She qualified for the NAIA national Indoor Track & Field meet in the 55-meter hurdles and advanced to the national outdoor track & field meet in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles. 

DeBeer also earned Academic All-American honors in track and field and was named to the 1996 SDIC All-Conference Volleyball Team.

DeBeer continued adding to her accomplishments during her senior season in 1997. She helped Dakota State capture the SDIC Indoor Conference team championship for the first time in program history.  She earned indoor track & field All-Conference honors. She qualified for the NAIA national indoor track meet in both the pentathlon and 55-meter hurdles before qualifying for the national outdoor track meet in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles.

She also contributed to three school record relay performances in 1997. DeBeer joined Butash, Reese and Amy Hansen on the record-setting medley relay, which is still intact today with a time of 4 minutes and 13.25 seconds.

She teamed with Heidi Klinkhammer, Sonja Kamrud and Reese in the 4 x 200-meter relay, and ran with Hansen, Reese and Butash on the school-record 4 x 400-meter relay with a time of 4 minutes, 3.98 seconds.

In addition to her school records, DeBeer established a DSU school record in the indoor 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.73 seconds during the 1995 season and later improved her school record time of 8.55 seconds in 1996, and 8.50 seconds in 1997.  DeBeer also produced indoor pentathlon school record of 2,967 points in 1997, a record where she held for 28 years.

Her accomplishments in competition were matched by her performance in the classroom. DeBeer earned NAIA Academic All-American honors in volleyball in 1995 and track and field in both 1996 and 1997. A regular on the President's Honor List, she graduated summa cum laude with a cumulative grade-point average of approximately 3.94. Her commitment to Dakota State athletics was evident at the very end of her career, as she missed her college graduation ceremony to compete in the SDIC Track and Field Championships in Mitchell, S.D.  She was scheduled to compete in the high jump during the graduation ceremony.

DeBeer's DSU career was defined by versatility, determination, excellence, and an unwavering commitment to both academics and athletes. 

Following her Dakota State career, DeBeer devoted three decades to education and coaching, teaching high school mathematics and reading while continuing her involvement in athletics. As a volleyball coach, she compiled a 496-395 career record and guided three teams to state tournament appearances.

Her accomplishments in track and field included being named the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Girls Track Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2019, along with nominations for National Girls Track Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2025.

Her track and field teams enjoyed considerable success at the South Dakota state level. Her girls program finished as the Class 'B' state runner-up in 2016 before winning three consecutive Class 'B' state team championships from 2017 through 2019.

Later teams earned SDCCTFCA (South Dakota Cross Country and Track & Field Coaches Association) Combined Team titles in 2023 and 2024, while her 2023 girls team finished second at the Class 'B' State Meet and her 2023 and 2024 boys' teams each placed third.

DeBeer also coached numerous individual and relay state champions. Among those accomplishments was her daughter, Shaylee DeBeer, who captured the 2019 Class B state championships in the 300-meter hurdles and triple jump and was named the meet's Outstanding Field Athlete.

Throughout her career as a student-athlete, educator and coach, DeBeer has demonstrated the same qualities that defined her time at Dakota State — discipline, perseverance, teamwork and a commitment to excellence. Her legacy extends beyond championships, school records and awards through the generations of students and student-athletes she has taught, coached and mentored.

Rachelle and her husband, Brad, have been married for 31 years. Their daughter, Shaylee Schultz, is a 2023 Dakota State graduate who competed in women's basketball and track and field for the Trojans.  Shaylee is a fifth-grade teacher at Menno, S.D. High School.  She is married to Spencer Schultz, and they have a son Leo which added Rachelle's favorite title of 'grandma' to her resume.

Rachelle is the daughter of Jon and Diane Lengkeek who taught her the benefit of working hard at a very young age.  She is the proud sister to Danielle Kruse, Jennifer Knutson, and Ally Shepardson, two of which she had the pleasure of teaching and coaching much to their chagrin. 

Rachelle's connection to the Dakota State Athletics Hall of Fame also extends through her father-in-law, LeRoy DeBeer (who passed away in the fall of 2019), who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.  She has also been blessed and encouraged by her mother-in-law Dianne DeBeer for 35 Christmases.
 

2026 DSU Athletics Hall of Fame Series
Tuesday, October 20	Rachelle (Lengbeek) DeBeer '97
Wednesday, October 21	Earl DeBates '65
Wednesday, October 21	Rick Alfson
Thursday, October 22	Pat (Wagner) Bruinsma '86
Thursday, October 22	Lynn Schuett '78
Friday, October 23	1977 DSC Men's Golf SDIC Championship Team