DULUTH — The best athlete in the Plante family, according to the oldest son, is heading into the

University of Minnesota Duluth Athletic Hall of Fame.

Duluth native Kristi (Duncan) Plante, a standout two-sport athlete for the Bulldogs in the early ’90s,

is among nine members of the Class of 2025

who will be inducted into the UMD Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 26.

Plante was an all-conference performer in both basketball and softball between 1991-95, leading both programs to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles. She was named UMD’s Most Outstanding Female Senior Athlete in 1995 when she captained the women’s basketball program to an NSIC championship and its first NCAA Division II North Central playoff berth. She was the NSIC’s RBI champion in softball in 1994, when she was also named all-region.

File / Duluth Media Group

This will be the second Duluth sports hall of fame induction for Plante,

who went into the Duluth East High School Hall of Fame in 2015

after earning 14 letters in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was also named all-conference in all three sports and made all-state teams in softball and volleyball.

Plante’s husband, Cloquet native Derek Plante,

is also a member of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame

after a storied hockey career where he was named a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist in 1993. They have three sons, including two — Zam and Max — who will be sophomores on the Bulldogs men’s hockey team in the fall. Their youngest, Victor,

is committed to UMD for the future.

It was Zam Plante on

the News Tribune’s Bulldog Insider Podcast

who declared his mother the best athlete last fall.

Here’s the rest of the nine-member UMD Hall of Fame Class of 2025:

Justin Hayworth / File / Duluth Media Group

The Olympian from Finland and member of the

UMD Women’s Hockey 25th Anniversary Team

helped the Bulldogs win three-straight national championships between 2001-03 with five goals and three assists in six NCAA Frozen Four games. She’s fourth all-time at UMD in scoring with 220 career points in 123 games and third all-time in career goals with 100.

The Minneapolis native played three seasons in the UMD crease before signing an NHL contract with the New Jersey Devils after being drafted in the seventh round in 1988. He was an All-American during his sophomore season of 1989-90 and started 64 consecutive games for the Bulldogs.

Ingrid Young / File / Duluth Media Group

The Bulldogs won three NCAA championships, six NSIC all-sports titles and a combined 55 conference titles in the NSIC and Western Collegiate Hockey Association under Corran’s tenure, including 11 of a possible 13 conference titles during the 2002-03 season. He oversaw the addition of NCAA Division I women’s hockey at UMD and hired three coaches — Bob Nielson in football, Shannon Miller and Scott Sandelin in hockey — who would go on to win all 10 of UMD’s NCAA titles to date.

Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group

A finalist in 2009 for the Harlon Hill trophy, the All-American running back helped the Bulldogs win NCAA Division II national championships in 2008 and 2010. He holds UMD records for rushing yards in a season (1,808) and career (4,242); rushing touchdowns in a season (29) and career (72); and all-purpose yards in a game (354), season (2,496) and career (5,593). He signed an NFL deal with the San Diego Chargers after college.

UMD’s Outstanding Female Athlete in 2002-03 has a lot of “firsts” on her resume. She’s UMD’s first American Volleyball Coaches Association First-Team All-American, first four-time All-NSIC pick, first in NSIC history to be named MVP twice and first to captain UMD to a No. 1 ranking in the AVCA Division II poll in 2002. UMD won the NSIC title with an 18-0 record that year in league play.

Steve Kuchera / File / Duluth Media Group

A transfer from Tennessee State who played two seasons at UMD, Booker put together a historic campaign in 2009-10 when she became the first ever in the conference to be named both NSIC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

She was also the Central Region Player of the Year that season and a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American after leading the NSIC in scoring and steals. She’s one of just five Bulldogs to be named a WBCA All-American.

Amanda Odeski / File / Duluth Media Group

UMD’s Outstanding Senior Athlete for 2008-09 was a five-time All-American in indoor and outdoor track and field in the 800-meter run and distance medley relay. She’s one of the first two UMD women to earn All-American honors in more than one event at an NCAA championship in 2009. She was twice the national runner-up in the 800 meters and qualified for the 2007 NCAA Division II cross country championship.

A native of Proctor, Malec was an All-NSIC pitcher in 1983 and 1984. His career earned run average of 1.39 and 124 career strikeouts are both UMD records. Malec went on to pitch for three seasons in the Minnesota Twins’ minor league system.

BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger, the masked man who snuck into a rental home near the University of Idaho campus and stabbed four students to death in late 2022, is expected to face the families of his victims in court Wednesday at his sentencing hearing.

Whether those families will get any answers about why he did it or how he came to target the home on King Road in Moscow remains to be seen. But Kohberger, 30, is expected to be sentenced to life in prison for murdering Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin in the rural college town of Moscow.

He pleaded guilty earlier this month in a deal to avoid the death penalty. He will have an opportunity to speak at the sentencing — as will the loved ones of his victims.

Here’s what to know about Kohberger’s sentencing.

A plea deal was reached before a trial

Mogen, Kernodle, Goncalves and Chapin were found stabbed to death on Nov. 13, 2023. The crime horrified the city, which hadn’t seen a homicide in about five years, and prompted a massive hunt for the perpetrator.

Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, roughly six weeks later.

Police said they recovered DNA from a knife sheath found at the home, and used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect. They accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements and used surveillance camera footage to help locate a white sedan that was seen repeatedly driving past the home on the night of the killings.

A Q-tip from the garbage at his parents’ house was used to match Kohberger’s DNA to genetic material from the sheath, investigators said.

Kohberger’s attorneys got the trial moved to Boise after expressing concerns that the court wouldn’t be able to find enough unbiased jurors in Moscow. But Judge Stephen Hippler rejected their efforts to get the death penalty taken off the table and to strike critical evidence — including the DNA — from being admitted in trial.

The trial had been set to begin next month.

In exchange for Kohberger admitting guilt and waiving his right to appeal, prosecutors agreed not to seek his execution. Instead, both sides agreed to recommend that he serve four consecutive life sentences without parole for the killings.

The victim’s families were split on how they felt about the plea deal.

Kohberger’s motive and many other details are unknown

If they know why Kohberger did it, investigators haven’t said so publicly. Nor is it clear why he spared two roommates who were home at the time.

Cellphone location data did show Kohberger had been in the neighborhood multiple times before the attack.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson has said that Kohberger used his knowledge about forensic investigations to attempt to cover his tracks by deep cleaning his vehicle after the crime.

Police say Kohberger’s Amazon purchase history shows he bought a military-style knife as well as the knife sheath found at the home. But the knife itself was never found.

The case drew widespread interest and judges feared the publicity could harm Kohberger’s right to a fair trial. A sweeping gag order was imposed and hundreds of court documents were sealed from public view.

After Kohberger pleaded guilty, a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press asked that the gag order be lifted and the documents be unsealed. Hippler agreed, but said unsealing the documents will take time and that process won’t begin until after the sentencing hearing. It’s not clear how many answers they might contain.

Kohberger can speak at sentencing or refuse

The families and surviving roommates of the victims will have the opportunity during the sentencing hearing to describe the damage the killings have done to them. Because there are so many of them, the hearing could stretch into Thursday.

Kohberger will also have the opportunity to speak. Defendants sometimes use such chances to express remorse, ask for mercy, or to say whatever else they think the court should hear before sentencing.

But Kohberger also has the right to remain silent — despite a suggestion from President Donald Trump that the judge should force Kohberger to explain himself.

“I hope the Judge makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders,” Trump wrote online on Monday. “There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING.”

Foundations honor Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan

Friends and family members have sought to commemorate the victims’ lives by raising money for scholarships and other initiatives.

Ethan’s Smile Foundation, started by Chapin’s family, honors his “love of life, people, and new adventures by providing scholarships that enable others to follow their dreams,” its website says.

The Made With Kindness Foundation honors the legacy of Mogen, Goncalves, and Kernodle through scholarships, wellness support and empowerment initiatives. “Our mission is to inspire and uplift the next generation, turning their dreams into realities in a world that values compassion and community,” its website says.

The University of Idaho built the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial in memory of all students who passed away while enrolled at the school.