Sports

The Wagner Red Raiders closed out a successful 2025–26 boys basketball season Tuesday night in the SoDak 16, falling to Sioux Falls Christian in Madison. Wagner entered the matchup as the No. 15 seed while Sioux Falls Christian came in as the No. 2 seed in the state.

The Avon Pirates traveled to Alcester on March 2 to take on Alcester/Hudson in an exciting matchup that went into overtime, with the Pirates pulling out a 63-60 victory. Zander Fathke led the Pirates with 24 points, along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals.

PIERRE — Scheduling difficulties, as well as other factors, may lead to the demise of the state wrestling duals tournament.

PIERRE — While no one has tracked whether it was worse than last year, officials of the South Dakota High School Activities Association noted that there seemed to be a rise in unsportsmanlike activity at this year’s state wrestling tournament.

The Andes Central/Dakota Christian Thunder earned a dramatic postseason victory before seeing their season come to an end a few days later. The Thunder traveled to Marty on March 3 for an exciting matchup against the Marty Braves.

After finishing as state runner-up the past two seasons, Gannon Knebel of the Wagner Red Raiders made sure his final trip to the top stage ended just the way he had envisioned since he was four years old, standing alone at the top of the podium.

The Wagner boys basketball team jumped out to an early lead and nnever looked back Tuesday night, defeating Bon Homme 77-42 in the opening round of the Region 5A tournament. Wagner set the tone early, building a 20-9 advantage by the end of the fifirst quarter.

The SDHSAA State Wrestling Tournament was held last week in Sioux Falls. Results from the tourney are: Summyt Larson: Champ. Round 1 - Judd Hansen (Winner) 36-9 won by decision over Summyt Larson (Bon Homme/ Avon) 34-20 (Dec 6-0); Cons.

The Avon Lady Pirates varsity basketball team closed out their season with a narrow 55-50 loss on the road against Gayville-Volin Lady Raiders in region action. The game was a back-and-forth battle from the opening tip. Avon trailed 13-12 after the first quarter but pulled ahead 27-26 by halftime.

The Avon Pirates hosted Burke on February 27 and defended their home court with a strong 79-66 victory, improving their season record to 9-11. The Pirates had a balanced scoring attack with five players reaching double figures.