Catching up with former area athletes: Keiser shines for Appalachian State men's wrestling
· Yahoo Sports
Apr. 3—BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State's Kaden Keiser turned in a standout 2025-26 season, establishing himself as one of the Southern Conference's most consistent wrestlers at 149 pounds.
The Winner native compiled an impressive 27-11 overall record in his junior season, including a 10-5 mark in duals and a 7-1 record in SoCon dual competition. Keiser spent the majority of the season ranked nationally and delivered five wins over ranked opponents.
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Keiser was named SoCon wrestler of the week in December after battling to a 2-2 record and a top-12 finish in Las Vegas, and he claimed an individual title at the Mountaineer Open on Nov. 23. He also went 3-0 at the Appalachian Open on Jan. 24, further highlighting his consistency throughout the season where he recorded four major decisions, eight technical falls and four pins.
At the SoCon Championships March 6-7, Keiser went 2-2 with both losses coming by a single point. Over four collegiate seasons, Keiser has built a 75-34 career record, progressing from a limited role in 2023-24 to a full-time starter and 2025 SoCon runner-up.
As a team, the Mountaineers finished the season with a 10-6 dual record and 7-1 mark in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State also took home first-place honors in the SoCon Championships for the fourth straight year.
SPEARFISH, S.D. — A standout season both on the court and in the classroom has earned Mitchell native Sawyer Stoebner recognition for the Black Hills State University women's basketball program.
The sophomore guard was named to the College Sports Communicators academic all-district team for the 2025-26 season, marking the first such honor of her career. Stoebner, a key contributor for the Yellow Jackets, has balanced elite academic performance with steady production on the floor, maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in Criminal Justice and Multimedia Journalism. She also earned first team academic all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors in her first year of eligibility.
In Stoebner's sophomore campaign, she averaged 7.9 points per game, ranking fourth on the team in scoring, while leading BHSU on the glass with 6.4 rebounds per contest — a mark that placed her 10th in the RMAC. Stoebner's presence was especially felt on the offensive glass, where her 2.8 rebounds per game ranked third in the conference.
Stoebner recorded two double-doubles on the year, and in total, she reached double figures in scoring 10 times and grabbed six or more rebounds in 16 games.
As a team, Black Hills ended its 2025-26 campaign with an 18-11 record, falling in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Colorado Mesa University.
ORANGE CITY, Iowa — The Women's Basketball Coaches Association named McCook Central High School product and Northwestern College women's basketball senior Ashtyn Wobig as an NAIA All-American honorable mention pick.
Notably, Wobig, a 5-foot-9 senior guard out of Salem, was the only Great Plains Athletic Conference women's basketball player to make it onto the All-American list.
Wobig led the team in scoring with 421 total points at a clip of 14 points per game in the 2025-26 season. Wobig finished fifth in the GPAC for free-throw percentage, where she shot 81.3% from the line. Wobig played in all 30 games, contributing 155 rebounds, 67 assists, 30 steals, and eight blocks on the year. Wobig shot 42.2% from the field, 36.1% from the 3-point line, and converted 91-of-112 attempts at the free-throw line.
The Red Raiders ended their season in the first round of the national tournament with an 82-79 loss to Tennessee Southern in Spring Arbor, Michigan, completing their 2025-26 campaign at 16-14.
BROOKINGS — South Dakota State University equestrian rider and Hanson High School alumna Emma Riggs posted a 6-2-4 record for the Jackrabbits this season.
Riggs, a Western rider, competed 12 times in reining events with a team-best scoring average of 70 points per competition. Riggs, a sophomore, competed in fourth events in the spring, tallying a 2-1-2 record.
In reining events, riders guide horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops and team members compete on the same horse as their opponent, seeking to win the head-to-head competition against their opponent to score a point for their team.
South Dakota State's first appearance in an Eastern College Athletic Conference Equestrian Championship final ended March 28, with the Jackrabbits falling to top-seeded UC Davis, 12-7. SDSU wrapped up the postseason tournament, and season, with a 6-8 team record in head-to-head competitions.