Submitted photo Lauren and Brent Wherry take a photo together after officiating a prep girls basketball game between Canby and Westbrook-Walnut Grove at Southwest Minnesota State University on Dec. 27.

MARSHALL — The past few weeks at Southwest Minnesota State University were bustling with prep basketball. The university hosted a pair of prep basketball classics featuring teams from across southwest Minnesota. None of those games could have been held without the hard work of local referees. Among the officiating crews were the father-daughter duo of Brent and Lauren Wherry of Marshall, who reffed Canby’s game against Westbrook-Walnut Grove on Dec. 27th, along with Kevin Wilts.

“It’s fun to stay active in the game, but he called me and asked if I would help him out because he couldn’t find anyone to ref this game with him, so it was kind of like a save-the-day moment, I guess,” Lauren said of the experience.

Like Lauren, Brent had also picked up officiating from his father, Dick Wherry. Brent had been a cross-country runner as well as a basketball player in his prep sports days in Aberdeen, S.D. before he started officiating with junior varsity games. Like Lauren, he also had reffed with his dad on a handful of occasions, something he described as a full-circle moment.

A 2023 graduate of Marshall High School, Lauren competed in volleyball and softball as well as basketball. As a member of the Marshall girls basketball team in her senior season, the Tigers were in charge of running a tournament. She got her first taste of officiating when assistant coach Stephanie Bot asked her if she’d be interested in refereeing instead of working the table. That first game she covered was also one that she was on the same crew as her dad.

For more than a decade, Brent has been working with Wilts and Brad Wendorff on a consistent basis. Both Wilts and Wendorff have had their kids take up officiating as well, with Marshall senior Noah Wilts working some youth basketball tournaments and Lauren’s Tiger teammate Randi having worked with her father at the youth level. The main difference for Brent in working the game with Lauren was that he watched her positioning a bit more.

“The three of us have been together, so I kind of know where they’re going to be and don’t have to pay as much attention, whereas when it was just her and I reffing, it was just two people reffing… it’s a little different rotation in different areas that you look at as an official.” Brent said of the duo’s first outing. “I was very proud to have her ref with me. It was a great dad moment to have her on the court and ref, and she does a really good job.”

Brent added that he heard from coaches that they also felt Lauren did well reffing in the match, and that hearing that meant a lot to him.

While referees are an integral part of the game, younger officials have been hard to find. Veteran multi-sport official Jared Buttman said to the Minnesota State High School League’s John Millea that they’re, “hanging by a thread… it’s pretty bad,” regarding the high school league’s ability to assign refs to games. As someone who is fresh out of her own experience as a player, Lauren and other young officials bring a unique perspective to the profession. 

“I understand the game. I’ve played it since I was however-many years old… When coaches ask questions and stuff, I understand where they’re coming from,” Lauren said. “It’s a lot easier to have that two-way conversation.”

“They’re obviously going to fight for their team, and they might see it a different way than we see it,” Brent said. “We’re on the court and you see these plays at different angles than coaches and fans do, so we just try to get them to understand that but also try to communicate with the coaches that, ‘Hey, this is what I saw, I might have missed it.’ We’re not perfect… We’ve got to make a split-second decision on a call. It’s not going to always be right, but we try to minimize that, do as good of a job as we can and try to communicate with the coaches as best we can. I think they appreciate that instead of ignoring them.”

Lauren’s experience with the sport came full circle in more ways than one when she worked a crew with Brent. Aside from the fact that Dick came to town to watch the duo, marking three generations of Wherry officials at the game, Wherry’s now been a part of prep sports in every way possible. 

She’s been a player, an official, a scorer and has also coached. She’s done some work in softball and currently coaches a volleyball team in South Dakota at the Sanford Pentagon.

“I’ve been a player, a coach and a ref, so I’ve got all the points of view. I understand where everyone coming from,” Lauren said.

Since the 2018-19 season, about 50,000 people nationwide have stopped refereeing according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, marking about a 20% decrease in refs. Fan etiquette has been an increasingly prominent factor in that shortage. As such, the participation of younger refs such as Lauren is crucial to the ability of prep sports to function.

“They’re scared to be yelled at. Everyone’s a critic,” Lauren said. “You’ve got to find older, more experienced people [to start with as a younger official]. The league has set up a leadership program that they did new this year, so that’s something positive to look forward to that’ll help, hopefully.”

“That’s what eliminates a lot of these younger officials is they get a bad experience and then they just quit,” Brent added. “If we can get them to treat us better, especially the younger ones- I don’t mind. I listen to it and just, whatever. But for the younger ones, because none of us are getting any younger.”

Even while she’s at college at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls, Lauren regularly comes back to Minnesota to help fill that void and help pocket some extra cash while she’s at school.

“[We’re] just slow trying to get those younger kids who have either graduated or are juniors and seniors in high school to start at that youth level. I think once they try it, they realize, ‘Hey, I can do this,'” Brent said, adding that it’s not uncommon to make $200-300 to cover 10 or 15 for a youth tournament. “That’s pretty good money for a college or high school kid.”