Catching up with former area athletes: USF's VanDriel leads top shot put throwers in NSIC

Apr. 21—SIOUX FALLS — University of Sioux Falls senior thrower and Scotland High School graduate Delanie VanDriel has hit the NCAA Division II qualifying standard in two events and is the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's leader in the shot put throw.

VanDriel posted the NSIC's best shot put throw on April 17 at the Dewey Donat Classic at Northern State University in Aberdeen, winning the event. Her personal-best throw was 46 feet, 2.5 inches, which is the conference's best throw by more than a foot. Nationally, it ranks No. 28 this season. The throw also ties VanDriel with teammate Tobi Peterson for the fourth-best throw in USF women's shot put history.

VanDriel also reached the NCAA Division II mark in the discus with a personal-best throw of 149 feet, 8 inches at the Minnesota State Stomper Open on April 8 in Mankato, Minnesota. That mark ranks No. 6 in the NSIC this season.

The top-22 individuals in Division II will be selected to the national meet in each event. The NSIC outdoor championships will be held May 7-9 in Duluth, Minnesota, while the NCAA outdoor nationals will be held May 21-23 in Emporia, Kansas.

BROOKINGS — South Dakota State equestrian student-athlete Emma Riggs was honored earlier this month as a member of the 2025-26 Ariat All-America Reining First Team. Awards are presented by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association.

A sophomore from Alexandria, Riggs posted a 6-3-5 record in head-to-head competition during the recently completed 2025-26 season while averaging a team-best 68.8 points per ride. She also earned Most Outstanding Performer honors for reining in a pair of competitions.

Riggs is the seventh Jackrabbit to earn either first or second-team Ariat All-America recognition in reining since the 2010-11 season.

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.

MADISON, S.D. — Winner product Aiden Barfuss has been among the key contributors for Dakota State University's baseball team in 2026.

Barfuss, a 5-foot-11 utility player, has started 36 of 39 games for the Trojans as a sophomore, regularly starting in left field. He is hitting .272 with a .744 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has 31 hits, two home runs, 20 RBIs and 25 runs scored for DSU.

He's also 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts, which is the most for the Trojans without being caught. Most recently, he had a strong series against No. 3-ranked Bellevue, which included going 8-for-13 at the plate with three RBIs. He also had a game-winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning of a game March 30 in Mitchell, which the Trojans won 7-6 over Dakota Wesleyan.

The Trojans (16-26-1, 8-12-1 Frontier) play Northwestern at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Orange City, Iowa, followed by a four-game series with Mayville State in Madison, starting at 1 p.m. Friday for the regular-season finale. The Frontier Conference baseball tournament begins April 30 in Dickinson, N.D.