Dec. 25—HAYS, Kan. — Tabor native Peyton Hellmann has started her collegiate wrestling career strong at Fort Hays State University, with a 12-3 individual record to her name.
She won a title in her first collegiate tournament at the Maverick Open at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado, going 4-0 on Nov. 2. At 138 pounds, Hellmann was second at the Bob Smith Women’s Open at Fort Hays State on Dec. 6. Hellmann won three matches to reach the championship round before falling to teammate Nichole Moore in the title round 5-1. She has a 2-0 record in duals and five pins to her name this season.
She is ranked No. 3 in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA regional rankings at 138 pounds, and the Tigers are ranked No. 10 as a team.
The Open Mat wrestling website has Hellmann ranked No. 18 in their individual rankings at 138 pounds. FHSU is an NCAA Division II school, but all NCAA women’s wrestling programs compete in a single division.
Hellmann won five state championships in the first five years of sanctioned high school wrestling in South Dakota while at Bon Homme High School.
FHSU is back in action for the NWCA National Duals on Jan. 9-10 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
SPEARFISH, S.D. — Winner product Blake Volmer has been a key contributor for Black Hills State University men’s basketball, as the Yellow Jackets are ranked in the top-20 in Division II after a strong start to the year.
Volmer has played all 11 games in BHSU’s 10-1 start, including one game in the starting lineup on Dec. 13 against Colorado Christian. The 6-foot-4 junior guard is playing nearly 18 minutes a game, averaging 4.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. For the season, Volmer is shooting 16-for-25 from the field and is 11-for-16 on 3-pointers.
Volmer set a new career-high with 13 points for the Yellow Jackets on Dec. 11 against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, powered by 4-for-4 on 3-point shots.
BHSU is ranked No. 17 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II top-25 poll. The Yellow Jackets continue to be the lone Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) team to be ranked or receiving votes in the poll.
BHSU (10-1, 4-0 RMAC) plays next on Jan. 1, and the Yellow Jackets will play at Northern State in Aberdeen.
BROOKINGS — South Dakota State University equestrian rider and Hanson High School alumna Emma Riggs has posted a 4-1-2 record to start the season for the Jackrabbits.
Riggs, a Western rider, has competed seven times in reining events with a team-best scoring average of 70.3 points per competition. Riggs has won three of her last four outings, with victories at UC Davis on Oct. 11, against South Carolina on Oct. 31 and at Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 22.
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.
Riggs is one of only two South Dakotans on the Jackrabbits’ equestrian roster, joined by senior Adisyn Kuxhaus, of Pierre.
As a team, SDSU is 3-4 in equestrian events and resumes the season on Feb. 6 against TCU and Feb. 7 against Delaware State, with both competitions in Brookings.