CASPER, Wyo. –– Emma Hager is not a fan of public speaking. The Kelly Walsh High School senior held a ceremony on Wednesday to announce her signing with Black Hills State University, where she will compete in both volleyball and track and field. After signing her ceremonial letter of commitment, Hager took questions from media, and she laughed nervously throughout the entire Q&A session.

Luckily, she was not alone. The room at KW was full of friends, family and fellow athletes — all of whom gathered to show their support for her.

When asked what it meant to her to see such a large crowd, all gathered to support her, she said that “It’s great. It’s kind of scary, but it’s great.” The crowd laughed with her as she spoke about her decision to sign with Black Hills State, what she was most looking forward to in the coming years, and more.

Hager, a 6-foot-0 athlete who will graduate in 2026, is planning to major in Exercise Science at BHS, with the goal of eventually going to graduate school and becoming a physical therapist.

She stated that she was just “looking for something new” with her college decision, which is exactly what she will get at Black Hills State.

She said that it was the coaches at Black Hills State that first drew her interest, and she’s looking forward to being a part of the team as a freshman. She said she met a few of the team’s current players and she felt a good kind of chemistry with them.

Hager, who was there with her entire family, said another big reason why she chose Black Hills State was because it was still within driving distance of her home.

She also spoke about being a dual-athlete at BSU, noting that volleyball was her first love but that she’s just as enthralled with track and field.

“I’ve always loved volleyball,” she said, “ever since I first started playing. And track — I didn’t want to like, give it up after only doing it for a year. I wanted to keep doing both of those.”

So she will. Hager competes in long jump and said that her longest jump was 5 feet, 5 inches. Though track and field is her new passion, volleyball will always hold a special place in her heart. She said that she started playing volleyball in fourth grade and acknowledged that it will always remain her first love.

Hager said her teammates are her favorite part of playing volleyball.

“I really enjoyed playing with them this year,” she said. “I feel like I was able to build some really good relationships with them. I was able to build much closer relationships with the girls on my team than I have in any of the other years. So that was really awesome.”

Many of those friends were at her signing, an, after she signed the letter of commitment, a handful of friends and family members gathered to take pictures with the star athlete.

Hager answered a few more questions, smiling and giggling the whole time. When she was asked what message, if any, she would give to all of her supporters, she took a minute to think and then “phoned a friend.”

“Abby,” she pleaded with one of her nearby friends. “If I could tell everyone one thing, what would it be?”

“What would you tell us?” Abby responded.

“Yeehaw,” Hager said with a smile. “I love you all.”

Photos from the signing ceremony can be seen below:

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The most successful season in Texas A&M volleyball history continues following the No. 3-seed Aggies’ sweep of No. 1-seed Pitt, 3-0 (29-27, 25-21, 25-20), in Thursday’s NCAA Championship semifinal match inside the T-Mobile Center.
The Aggies became just the third No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament history to dispatch of two No. 1 seeds joining UCLA in 2011 and Nebraska in 2021.

A&M will face either Wisconsin or Kentucky in Sunday’s national championship match (2:30 p.m., ABC).

More to come.

On Thursday evening, Doris Lemngole was awarded with the 2025 Bowerman Title; the most prestigious honor in NCAA Cross-Country/Track and Field.

This year, Lemngole won three NCAA titles for the University of Alabama during cross-country and the indoor/outdoor season, topping it off with a collegiate record-breaking 8:58.15 in the 3000m Steeplechase at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

She most recently defended her cross-country national title at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Columbia, Missouri.

Lemngole also boasts personal bests of 4:09.28 (1500m), 8:41.83 (3000m), 14:52.57 (5000m), and 18:02 (6k (XC)).

“I would not be here without th Thank you so much to Coach Nick and Coach Dan for believing in me and pushing me beyond what I thought was possible; and to my teammates, thank you for making everyday better and every mile worth it; and to my family, friends, and support staff, and of course Scholarbook,” said Lemngole after receiving her award.

“Running has shaped who I am, I started this sport simply because I love it and along the way, it taught me resilience, patience, and confidence,” she continued with and closed out with “Competing at Alabama has been an incredible honor and wearing this uniform has represented everything I worked for.”

She caps off a historic year with the highest honor in collegiate track and field. Lemngole also recently inked an NIL deal with On back earlier back in August.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky combined for 34 points to lead Texas A&M to a 29-27, 25-21, 25-20 sweep of Pittsburgh on Thursday, punching its ticket to the national championship game in women’s volleyball.

Stowers led the way with 18 points and 16 kills on a 53% kill rate, while Lednicky had 16 points and 14 kills on a 45% kill rate. It was Lednicky’s 22nd consecutive match with double-digit kills. Maddie Waak had 47 assists.

The No. 3-seeded Aggies (28-4) reached the final for the first time in program history after never having advanced beyond the Elite Eight. It’s the second No. 1 seed the Aggies have defeated in the tournament after stunning previously undefeated Nebraska in a regional final. Texas A&M also knocked off No. 2 seed Louisville.

Pitt had not been swept this season before Thursday.

Olivia Babcock, a finalist for American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year, led the Panthers (30-5) with 25 points, finishing with 22 kills and a 54% kill rate. No other Panthers player had double-digit points. Brooke Mosher had 31 assists.

Texas A&M will play the winner of Thursday’s late match between Wisconsin and Kentucky.

GRAPEVINE, Texas – Alabama track and field phenom Doris Lemngole has been named the recipient of The Bowerman, as announced Thursday at the Gaylord Texas Resort & Convention Center. It marks the first time in program history that a Crimson Tide student-athlete has captured collegiate track and field’s most prestigious award.

The program’s ace, from West Pokot County, Kenya, topped an impressive group of finalists that included Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico and Savannah Sutherland of Michigan. All three student-athletes were their school’s first-ever finalist for The Bowerman.

Thursday marked the sixth time in the last seven years that a female athlete from the Southeastern Conference has won The Bowerman. Lemngole joins 2024 winner Parker Valby (Florida), 2022 winner Abby Steiner (Kentucky), 2021 winner Athing Mu (Texas A&M), 2019 winner Sha’Carri Richardson (LSU) and 2018 winner Keturah Orji (Georgia).

Doris Lemngole – 2025 Track and Field Résumé

• Two national titles

  • Indoor 5,000m
  • Outdoor 3,000m Steeplechase

• National runner-up
  
• Three SEC titles

  • Indoor 3,000m
  • Outdoor 3,000m Steeplechase
  • Outdoor 5,000m

• Two collegiate records

  • Indoor 5,000m
  • Outdoor 3,000m Steeplechase

• USTFCCCA National Women’s Athlete of the Year
• Honda Sport Award finalist for Track and Field
• Additional accolades during the 2025 season include:

  • Finished fifth at the World Championships in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, representing Kenya
  • Two-time SEC Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year (indoor and outdoor)
  • Named the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Women’s Track and Field Academic All-America Team Member of the Year