Wall Eagles – Epic Season

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><span style="text-decoration: underline">The SD high school basketball season is in the rearview mirror, but we are taking a look back! Prep Hoops Dakotas is publishing a series of Season Reviews to help recap and celebrate the season.</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are looking at one of the elite Class B squads in SD, the<strong> Eagles</strong> from <strong>Wall!</strong> Coach Kjerstad's team won 19 games, went 2-1 at State, and took home the Consolation Championship Trophy. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px","fontStyle":"normal","fontWeight":"100"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-weight:100">The Eagles had an epic season, players, coaches, and fans will never forget this year of basketball!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Head Coach:</strong>&nbsp;Ryan Kjerstad</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Class:</strong>&nbsp;B</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Region:</strong>&nbsp;7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Record:</strong>&nbsp;19-7 (5th Place at State)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontStyle":"normal","fontWeight":"500","fontSize":"14px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Shou-out &amp; congrats to [player_tooltip player_id='2311913' first='Emmet' last='Dinger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2126219' first='Teelan' last='Kjerstad'] for be being selected as All-State Players!!</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontStyle":"normal","fontWeight":"100"}}} --> <p style="font-style:normal;font-weight:100">The Eagles also had 5 players get recognized as All-Conference Players: [player_tooltip player_id='2311913' first='Emmet' last='Dinger'] (1st Team &amp; MVP), [player_tooltip player_id='2126219' first='Teelan' last='Kjerstad'] (1st Team), [player_tooltip player_id='2275483' first='Dawson' last='Handcock'] (3rd Team), [player_tooltip player_id='1894285' first='Jace' last='Mohr'] (3rd Team).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2832370,"width":"329px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/image_beb273.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/image_beb273.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2832370" style="width:329px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"25px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:25px"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Player/Team Comments from Coach Kjerstad</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“<em>We had a very challenging schedule this season, which tested us early and often.&nbsp;We were able to expose some weaknesses that needed to be fixed, and we were able to do so.&nbsp;Our players learned a great deal about dealing with in-game adversity and overcoming challenges.&nbsp;We were one of the fastest and most athletic teams in the state.&nbsp;A common theme that kept coming up at the state tournament was, ‘we never played anyone as fast as you guys, before we turned around, you guys were already scoring.' We were able to make our 2nd ever appearance at a state tournament in school history and get our 1st ever win as a program at the State Tournament.&nbsp;We finished the State Tournament 2-1, winning the Consolation Championship.&nbsp;Our defense and mental toughness were our biggest assets this season, and we were able to continuously improve on those as the season progressed.</em>”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"25px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:25px"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Player Stats</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2832396,"width":"812px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/image_4a6a09.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/image_4a6a09.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2832396" style="width:812px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2832397,"width":"262px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/image_9d79c3.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/image_9d79c3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2832397" style="width:262px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"25px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:25px"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">With Ryan Kjerstad</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: How would you sum up the season?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em>The most successful season in the history of Wall Basketball.</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: Do you have any fun memories you want to share with us?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em>To make the 2nd Tournament appearance and get the 1st ever win at the State Tournament is something these boys will always have, nobody can take that away from them-something that no one else will be able to say.</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: How did your team overcome adversity?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em>We leaned heavily on each other.&nbsp;This group of boys have been playing basketball together since grade school, and they are best of friends on and off the court.&nbsp;We understand each other well, and are great at lifting each other up when needed.</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: What are a few things your&nbsp;team improved on throughout the season?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em>Our defense was what we focused most of our attention on. We were able to force turnovers and create transition points in doing so.</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: Who are some role players that stood out to you?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2527947' first='Younger' last='Amiotte']</strong>, <strong>Austan Kjerstad</strong>, &amp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2275466' first='Carter' last='Sundall']</strong> were a few guys that played a tremendous unsung role for us.&nbsp;They were willing to be lockdown defenders and rebound the basketball.&nbsp;In a world where most kids want to score, they found their niche in the less popular part of the game, and in doing so helped our team reach success.</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: Can you talk about your seniors?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em><strong>Riley Gay</strong> was our only Senior.&nbsp;Although he didn't play a ton of varsity minutes, he was a tremendous asset to the team in his positive attitude and being a great teammate.</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: Who are some up-and-comers to look out for in the future?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em>All remaining 13 guys on our roster are phenomenal, and I look for them all to work hard this offseason.</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">PHD: Any last comments/thoughts on the season?</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"<em>There were 8 teams with 15-man rosters at the State Tournament (120 players).&nbsp;The Tournament recognizes 12 players of those 120 players in a special way, awarding them to the All-Tournament Team.&nbsp;We were able to land 2 players to the All-Tournament Team. [player_tooltip player_id='2311913' first='Emmet' last='Dinger'] (Junior scored 61 points in 3 games) &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='2126219' first='Teelan' last='Kjerstad'] (Sophomore also scoring 61 points in 3 games).</em>"</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"20px","fontStyle":"italic","fontWeight":"1000"}}} --> <p style="font-size:20px;font-style:italic;font-weight:1000">BEST OF LUCK TO THE EAGLES THIS OFFSEASON!!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2832341,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/WallEagles-crop-1860x1221-1743942626.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/WallEagles-crop-1860x1221-1743942626.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2832341" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->