Disc Golf | 4/11/2026 6:03:00 PM
April 11, 2026-Emporia State had three top three finishes, highlighted by the men's D2 national championship at the College Disc Golf National Championships in Rock Hill, S.C. The Hornet men's D1 team finished second nationally for the second time four years while Emporia State's women placed in the top three for the third straight year.
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Men's D2
The foursome of
Isaiah Esquivel,
Caden Stucky,
Joshua Sterner and
Grant Yoder overcame a three stroke deficit entering the final round to win the Men's D2 National Championship.Â
The Hornets were at -8 while North Carolina State was at -11 to start the day. Emporia State started strong, with birdies on four of the first five holes. A bogey on #4 by the Wolfpack gave the Hornets a one stroke lead. A bogey on #12 pulled NC State back into a tie.  The two teams matched each other for the next two holes before ESU went back in front with a birdie on #15. The Wolfpack pulled back into a tie with a birdie of their own on #17, A par on the 18
th for Emporia State and a bogey by NC State gave the Hornets their first disc golf team national championship.
There were a total of 48 teams competing in men's D2 at the national championships.
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Men's D1
Emporia State's foursome of
TJ Reel,
Jaden Rye, Carter and
Tyler Ahrens had a one stroke lead entering Saturday's finals and birdied the first three holes to take a three stroke lead on Milligan.  The two teams matched each other over the next seven holes with Emporia State sitting at -26 through ten holes with Milligan at -23 and North Carolina State at -19. The Hornets parred the next two holes while the Buffaloes and Wolfpack each recorded birdies. ESU bogeyed #13 to drop into a tie with Milligan at -25. The two teams each parred #14 and #15. A Milligan birdie on #16 along with the seventh straight birdie for NC State gave the Buffaloes a one stroke lead over both the Hornets and Wolfpack. All three teams parred #17. Milligan and Emporia State both birdied #18 while NC State parred the final hole giving Milligan the national championship and Emporia State the runner up spot by themselves.
There were a total of 48 men's teams competing at the national championships in D1.
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Women's
For the third straight year Emporia State had a team place in the top three of the women's College Disc Golf National Championships.
The Hornet Black team of
Madeline Joiner and
Isabella Parker placed third at -12 while the Gold team of
Atlanta Krueger and
Maya Ringgold finished fifth at -8 for the tournament. Emporia State's White team of
Sariah Pittenger-Reed and
Olivia Evans shot +26 to finish in 13th place.
There were a total of 32 women's teams competing at the national championships.
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| Men's D2 Top Ten Teams |
 |
| 1 Emporia State |
-15 |
| 2 North Carolina State |
-14 |
| 3 Liberty |
-11 |
| 3 Ferris State |
-11 |
| 3 Ohio State |
-11 |
| 6 Trinity Western |
-8 |
| 7 Cincinnati |
-7 |
| 7 Tennessee |
-7 |
| 9 Mississippi State |
-6 |
| 9 Missouri S&T |
-6 |
| 9 Milligan |
-6 |
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 |
| Men's D1 Top Ten Team Scores |
 |
| 1 Milligan |
-27 |
| 2 Emporia State |
-26 |
| 3 North Carolina State |
-25 |
| 4 Minn.-Duluth |
-23 |
| 5 Mississippi State |
-21 |
| 6 Cincinnati |
-20 |
| 7 Auburn |
-18 |
| 8 Redeemer |
-17 |
| 8 UNC-Charlotte |
-17 |
| 8 Texas A&M |
-17 |
| 8 North Carolina |
-17 |
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 |
| Women's Top Ten Team Scores |
 |
| 1 Milligan |
-27 |
| 2 Liberty |
-26 |
| 3 Emporia State Black |
-12 |
| 3 Western Michigan |
-12 |
| 5 Emporia State Gold |
-8 |
| 6 Eastern Mennonite |
+1 |
| 7 LSU |
+4 |
| 7 Trinity Western |
+4 |
| 9 Redeemer |
+7 |
| 10 Hesston College |
+8 |
| 13 Emporia State White |
+26 |
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