valley winter sports 2014
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Valley Area FEATURING:St. Peter Saints • Le Sueur-Henderson Giants
Tri-City United Titans • Cleveland Clippers
PreviewWednesday, November 26 • Thursday, November 27
WINTER SPORTS
By DANA [email protected]
Tri-City United boys basket-ball
Head coach: Ben Haugen, 2{sup}nd{/sup} year
Assistant coaches: John Ryn-da, Bruce Davis, Dick Milinkov-ich, Jamie Nelson
KEY PLAYERSJamison B eulke, senior
guard, captain, returning starter. “Jamison is a leader for this team. He has the ability to be make shots from outside and attack the bas-ket.” – Coach Haugen
Charlie Simonette, senior 6-foot-3 center. “Charlie is a strong athlete and good rebound-er on both ends. He is very unself-ish and will be a key player in our o� ense.”
Carter Rynda, junior forward, returning starter. “Carter is a play-maker on o� ense. He is a good shooter and rebounder.”
Keegan Oak, junior guard, re-turning starter. “Keegan’s strength is his outside shooting. His shoot-ing ability opens up the � oor to get the ball inside.”
KEEP YOUR EYE ONKelly Nordling, senior guard.
“Kelly is a good athlete who can make plays in transition and make shots from outside.”
Josh Maxson, senior forward, captain.
Jackson Feddema, junior guard; Sam Ehlers, junior for-ward; Michael McCrady, junior guard; Trevor Smisek, junior
guard. Feddema, Ehlers, McCrady and Smisek all played on the TCU B-Squad team last year that won the conference with a 17-4 record.
Others listed on the initial Ti-tan boys basketball roster includ-ed senior forward Scott McCabe and junior center Tim Colwell.
MOVED ONPat Lloyd: Last year’s senior
guard tore his ACL mid-season, a huge blow to the 2013-14 Ti-tans. Coach Haugen called him the team’s best perimeter defender and leader.
Nate Chadderdon: Last sea-son’s senior center at 6-foot-8, a double-double machine in points and rebounds.
Aaron Dwyer: Hit game-winning shot in big come-from-behind victory Feb. 18, 2014 over Norwood-Young America.
2014-15 SEASON OUT-LOOK
Last year’s TCU Titans boys basketball record was 10-12 over-all, with a section record of 7-9 and a Minnesota River Confer-ence record of 6-8. The Titans finished 5th in Section 2AA-South and 6th in the conference. Waseca is the subsection favorite for 2014-15.
“Our section will be very com-petitive and several teams will be in the mix. We expect to take a big step this year and compete to be one of the better teams in the section and conference,” says Haugen.
Mayer Lutheran won the Min-nesota River Conference last sea-
son with a 12-2 record and 18-6 overall. Jordan � nished second at 9-5, followed by Belle Plaine at 8-6 and Watertown-Mayer at 7-7. TCU was bunched at 6-8 with Le Sueur-Henderson and NYA. Sib-ley East � nished at 2-12.
COMMENTS FROM THE COACH“We have big expectations this
year. We hope to be an improved team on both ends of the � oor. We have multiple key players coming back from last year. Several play-ers from last year’s successful B-squad team will also make an im-pact. We expect to have improved depth and play from our bench. We recently scrimmaged Mar-shall, Austin and Prior Lake at our high school. We competed with all three teams and I was encouraged by our performance. We will be tested early with our � rst game being at home against Waseca on Nov. 21.” – Coach Haugen
BY THE NUMBERS17-4: TCU Titan boys B-
Squad record last year; won the conference.
24-3: Last season’s record of Section 2AA favorite Waseca, the Titans’ opening-game opponent Nov. 21.
55.3: TCU Titans’ offensive points-per-game average, which Coach Haugen expects to improve in 2014-15.
Reach reporter Dana Melius at 507-931-8568 or follow him on Twitter @SPHdanajohn Junior forward Carter Rynda is a returning starter for the TCU Titans boys basketball team,
which hopes to challenge for a Minnesota River Conference title. (Le Center Leader � le photo)
Titan boys basketball team expected to challenge for conference title
PAGE 2 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014
may you have a
#1 season!
winter sports athletes!
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By RICHARD ROHLFINGCorrespondent
Tri-City United WrestlingCOACHESHead coach: Brian Mikel,
fourth year as head coach, 17 years as an assistant.
Assistant coaches: Corey Block, 4th year as assistant; Cory Immerman, 1st year as assistant; Bryan Balma, 1st year volunteer assistant; Nate Friederich, 2nd year assistant, 1st year volunteer assistant.
KEY PLAYERSMax Arroyo – Senior, 152? lbs,
4th in section last year, 3-year let-ter winner.
“Max is very quick on his feet and is able to win tight matches late with his conditioning,” Mikel said.
Levi Nelson – Senior, 138? lbs, 3-year letter winner.
“Levi is good on his feet,” Mikel said. “He has battled in-jury in the past and needs to stay healthy this year.”
Alex Burns – Junior, 285lbs, 3rd in section last year and lost a true second match in the �nal seconds, 3-year letter winner.
“He is very strong and pretty good on his feet,” Mikel said. “We will look to Alex to provide lead-ership.”
Mason Rutt – Sophomore,
5th in section last year, 2-year letter winner. He won at least 25 matches the last 2 years.
“Mason is very smooth on his feet,” Mikel said. “He could con-tend for a state appearance this year.”
Jonah Johnson – Sophomore, 5th in section also last year, 2-year letter winner.
“Jonah is exciting to watch from the feet,” Mikel said. “He has a lot of ways to beat an opponent.”
KEEP YOUR EYE ON�e Titans’ coaches look for
these wrestlers to step up this year and make their name known in
Tri-City United wrestling combines experience with youth
Senior Levi Nelson looks to take down his opponent. (Le Center Leader �le photo)
See WRESTLING on 3C
Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW PAGE 3
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Good Luck toAll the teams!
the section: Thomas Franek (junior, 120 lbs), Justin Kopet (freshman, 120 lbs), Jack Mueller (freshman, 145 lbs), Zach Mikel (freshman, 120 lbs), Tyler Sladek (eighth grader, 106 lbs), Jack Hill-er (eighth grader, 106 lbs).
MOVED ONJosh Selly (170 lbs state cham-
pion last season), Mason Brown-lee (four-time state-place winner), Marko Arroyo, Kyle Hubert, Joe Kalina
2015 SEASON OUTLOOKLast year’s overall dual meet
record was 8-10. The Titans made it to the second round of the section before bowing out to Hutchinson, which had a very solid team. TCU’s conference re-cord was 2-3.
“�is year could be a bit of a struggle dual meet wise due to the fact that we are quite thin in the upper weights (182 and 195).” Mikel said. “We will be putting a
lot of 8th-, 9th- and 10th-graders out on the mat for varsity. We will do our best to move guys around to be competitive.
“I think we have, without a doubt, one of the toughest sec-tions in the state. New Prague, Scott West, Hutchinson, Water-town Mayer and Waconia all put out very good teams year to year. But competing against this level of completion will only make us bet-ter. I would have to put Scott West and Sibley East up as conference favorites this season.
“Section wise it will be a battle between Scott West, New Prague, and Hutch once again. Don’t be surprised if Waconia or Glencoe-Silver Lake sneak in as well.”
COMMENTS FROM THE COACH“I am looking forward to this
season to see how our younger wrestlers have progressed. We will be quite younger this year with only two seniors who have more than one year of varsity experi-
ence. “We have a few underclassmen
whose time has come to step up to the next level. If that happens, we could see a pretty successful season.
“Filling all of the weights could be an issue, but we do have a good number of experienced wrestlers who, if they work very hard and stay focused, will help us team wise.
“Individually we have a few guys who have the ability to make it through the section this year. It comes down to staying healthy, focused, and disciplined.” – Brian Mikel, head coach
BY THE NUMBERS3 — �is is the third season
the for the Tri-City United Titans.2 — Number of seniors with
more than one year of varsity ex-perience.
Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck at 931-8566, or follow him on Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat
WRESTLING: Tri-City United wrestling team hopes competition makes it better
From Page 2C
PAGE 4 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014
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By DANA [email protected]
Tri-City United girls basket-ball
Head coach: Eric Specht, 2nd year coaching TCU girls
Assistant coaches: Lora Ang-ileno, 4th year coaching TCU; John Schmeissing, 3rd year coaching TCU girls
KEY PLAYERSDani Angileno, senior forward,
two-time letter-winner, 6.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg. “Dani will be asked to control the blocks for us this year. Dani has spent quality time in the gym this summer improve her in-side game. “ – Coach Specht.
Courtney Hentges, senior guard, two-time letter-winner, 8.3 ppg, 2.2 spg “Courtney provides an outside threat for us. Courtney also does a real nice job for us on the defensive end, usually guarding the opponents best outside player.”
Sarah Holicky, senior guard, returning letter-winner, 5.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg “Sarah runs the point for us and does a real nice job managing the game. We will look for senior leadership out front.”
Joslyn Vargo, sophomore guard, returning letter-winner, 9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg. “Joslyn is our re-turning leading scorer Joslyn is our biggest o� ensive threat, but does an excellent job on both ends of the � oor. “
KEEP YOUR EYE ONKristi Frederick, junior guardSydney Vargo, junior guardEmilee Trcka, junior guardGabby Robinson, freshman
forwardMOVED ONAlyshia Angileno, Nora Miller,
Maddie Chadderdon, Edith Marti-nez, Molly Ehlers
2014-15 SEASON OUTLOOKSection 2AA-South favorites:
St. Peter, NRHEG, WEM. “I expect our team to � nish in the top four of our subsection again, earning a home playo� game. If we continue to improve as a ball team, I think we might be able to surprise some teams once tournament play rolls around. “
Last season overall record: 10-17
Conference: 6-8 (5th Place)
Section: 4 seed, lost in second round to NRHEG
COMMENTS FROM THE COACH
“� e 2014-15 basketball sea-son should be an exciting season for our basketball team. We re-turn four starters from last year’s squad that earned 10 victories and a � rst-round home playo� game, both of which were � rst time in our school’s short girls basketball history. Overall, I think our team quickness is our biggest strength, which will rely on heavily for suc-cess this year. Our girls have had a great first two days practice, competing at a very high level. If we continue to come together as a team, we have the potential to take steps and surprise some teams on our schedule.“ — Coach Specht.
BY THE NUMBERS4: Returning starters from last
year’s team10: Victories last season (most
in TCU’s short school history)54: Regular season ppg (again,
most in TCU’s short school his-tory)
Senior guard Sarah Holicky will provide leadership at the point for the 2014-15 Titan girls basketball team. (Le Center Leader � le photo)
TCU girls basketball hopes to challenge in Section 2AA
Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW PAGE 5
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By JOSIE [email protected]
Le Sueur-Henderson Boys Basketball
COACHESHead coach: Don Marcussen,
3rd season coaching at LS-H, 26th year coaching boys basketball
Assistant coaches : Brad Schmidt, Kyle Savage
KEY PLAYERSRiley McGraw is a senior
6-foot-5-inch center. He is a three-year letter winner. Last year he had the best free-throw percentage for the team, shooting 80.6 percent. He was the second-leading scorer and averaged 10.7 points per game. McGraw was the third leading rebounder averaging 4.4 per game. He was the leading blocker with 1.4 per game.
“Riley has been our ‘big guy’ the past couple of years, but he has really worked on becoming a pretty good outside shooting threat as well. He has great foot-work and has really improved on his � nishing around the rim. He
also gets up the � oor very well for a big guy,” Marcussen said.
Luke Smith is a senior 6-foot-1-inch guard. He is a two-year letter winner and was voted “Mr. Hustle” by the team last year.
“Luke has been our point guard for the past two years and has done an excellent job of get-ting the ball down the � oor and setting us up into our half-court offense. He also is assigned the toughest match-up most nights on defense as well and really takes pride on this part of the game as well,” Marcussen said.
Jordan Kahlow is a senior 5-foot-10 guard. He is a two-year letter winner. Kahlow led the team in steals last year, averaging 2.2 per game. He earned Minnesota River Conference Honorable Mention last year. He was the third lead scorer last year averag-ing 10.5 per game and was second in rebounding averaging 4.7 per game.
“Jordan has developed into one of the better outside shooters in the MRC the past year. He also
does a great job of getting to the rim on his driving to the lane and has very good body control when he is airborne with the ball. Jor-dan also is a very good rebounder
for someone of his size,” Marcus-sen said.
KEEP YOUR EYE ONTyler Eccles is a 6-foot-2-inch
junior forward. He is a one-year
letter winner. Last year Eccles was voted “Most Improved” by the team.
“He is a very aggressive layer around the basket and did a great job coming o� the bench last year for us,” Marcussen said.
Coleton Nelson is a 6-foot-5-inch senior center. Alex Nelson is a 6-foot forward senior. Both are one-year letter winners. “Both will be strong role players that need to log some very good minutes for us if we are going to be successful,” Marcussen said.
Joey Luna, 5-foot-10-inch, and Ben Barron, 5-foot-8-inch, are both junior guards. “They both will be counted on to come o� the bench and give our start-ing guards a break,” Marcussen said. “Joey brings good o� ense but even better defense to the � oor and Ben gives us another deep threat shooter from the 3-ponit line.”
MOVED ONBrady and Bradley Rose were
starters and MRC All-Conference players. � ey are both playing at
Bethany Lutheran in Mankato.Ethan D w yer and Tom
Schwarz both came o� the bench for the Giants last year.
2014-15 SEASON OUT-LOOK
“I feel that we have enough ex-perience to be competitive in the MRC as well as in the Section. We made a nice run last year at the end of the season to get into the Section Championship game, but nothing is given from one year to the next. We will build o� of what we do best and try to add new things as the season progresses,” Marcussen said.
Marcussen said the MRC favorites should be Watertown-Mayer, Jordan and Tri City-United. Section favorites should be Waseca, Glencoe-Silver Lake and TCU.
� e Giants’ overall record last year was 16-12, 6-8 in the MRC.
Reporter Josie Oliver can be reached at 931-8576. Follow her on Twitter @LNHjosieoliver.
Le Sueur-Henderson boys basketball returns experienced players
Jordan Kahlow dribbles around GFW’s Seth Schuette. (News-Herald � le photo)
PAGE 6 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014
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By JOSIE [email protected]
Le Sueur-Henderson Girls Basketball
COACHESHead coach: Ryan Graff,
sixth-year coaching, second year as girls head coach.
Assistant coaches: Anne Lew-is, 13 years coaching
KEY PLAYERSKayla Stowell is a senior guard.
Stowell is a two-year letter winner, and she earned Honorable Men-tion in the Minnesota River Con-ference last year. She averaged � ve points, four rebounds and three assists per game last year. Gra� said her strengths are her quick-ness and defense. “She does a lot of different things for the team and will be looked upon to score a little more this season,” Gra� said.
Carlie Brandt is a junior guard. Brandt is a three-year let-ter winner and was named All-Conference in the MRC last year. She averaged 14 points and three rebounds per game last year. Gra� said her strengths are her shoot-
ing and her determination. “As our leading scorer from last year, she will continue to be relied on to score, but this year we will also look to her to be a defensive stop-per,” Gra� said.
Sam Winter is a junior guard. Winter is a two-year letter winner. She averaged six points and three rebounds per game last year. Gra� said her strengths are her shoot-ing and work ethic. Winter is the second leading scorer returning from last year’s team. “I expect her scoring will naturally increase and she will have the chance to get more rebounds with two of our top rebounders graduating from last year’s team,” Gra� said.
KEEP YOUR EYE ONMandy Doerr: junior guard/
forward and one-year letter win-ner. She averaged two points and three rebounds per game last year. “We will look for her to make a lot of plays on the defensive end with her length and athleticism,” Gra� said.
Quinn Hynes-Marquette: ju-nior forward and one year-letter winner. She averaged 1 rebound
per game last year. “With two starting forwards graduating, she
has a great opportunity to play more minutes and grab a lot of
rebounds,” Gra� said.Breanna Kroehler: junior for-
ward and one-year letter winner. She averaged three points and three rebounds per game last year. “She is one of our best scoring for-wards, will look to her to pick up the lost points and rebounds from graduating players,” Gra� said.
MOVED ONSelena Wiederich and Steph
WinterSEASON OUTLOOK� e Giants ended their 2013-
14 season 0-25, 0-14 in the confer-ence and were last in the section and conference.
Gra� said he expects Jordan, Norwood Young American and Watertown-Mayer to be at the top of the conference. “With NRHEG graduating a lot of key players, I think the section will really be up for grabs with Jordan, NYA and St. Peter probably leading the way,” Gra� said.
“The last couple of years we have struggled in the win column. But these girls have worked very hard the last couple of years. I think we are coming off of our
best summer in a few years and truly believe this is the year that things turn around.
“We are returning six letter winners, 76 percent of our scoring and 62 percent of our rebounding. We have the experience and tal-ent on this team for this to be an exciting year. We did lose a good chunk of our rebounding, but we have several girls who are more than capable to � ll that void.
“We have set many goals for this season that we think will help us focus and achieve success this season. From winning a game and winning a conference game all the way to � nishing in the top half of conference and hosting a playo� game. But the most important thing for us to do is take it one day at a time. If we focus on that, bring great e� ort and attitude to practice and achieve a daily goal of to simply ‘get better every day,’ I see no reason why we can’t hit our season goals,” Gra� said.
Reporter Josie Oliver can be reached at 931-8576. Follow her on Twitter @LNHjosieoliver.
Giant girls basketball believes this is year to turn around winless season
Sam Winter passes to a teammate as Mayer Lutheran’s Marie Kuntz defends. (News-Herald � le photos)
Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW PAGE 7
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Le Sueur-Henderson Giants Wrestling
Head coach: Scott Wilson, 24 years coaching
Assistant coaches: Ben Wil-son, 10 years coaching. Mike May, six years coaching. Jason Sunder-man, 4 years coaching. Billy Exlin, two years coaching.
KEY PLAYERSAustin Anderly is a senior cap-
tain. He is a two-time state cham-pion. Anderly has competed na-tionally over the last year and is a member of Team MN throughout the o� -season. “Austin continues to be explosive and deliberate as a technician on the mat. Austin is a pure and natural competitor,” Wilson said.
Clayton Colling is a senior captain. Last year he was a state entrant. He has bulked up in mus-cle, competed in the o� -season competitively and has developed into his large, muscular frame, Wilson said. “Clayton is hungry for a medal at the state tourna-ment and we anticipate that he will be our anchor in the upper weight as well as a leader on the team,” Wilson said.
KEEP YOUR EYE ONSenior Joe Abrahamson placed
third in the section last year, just missing a state tournament berth.
Sophomore Keon Naranjo also placed in the section last year and hasn’t moved up in weight much since last year. He has grown into his body and improved his coor-dination, Wilson said.
Sophomore Luke Wilson placed in the section last year
and finished fourth at the state freestyle tournament on the o� -season. “Luke trained all sum-mer and fall and has bulked up in muscle, has improved upon his de� ciencies from last year and has increased his con� dence,” Wilson said.
Freshman Tucker Colling trained hard and diligently on the o� -season. “Luke and Tucker put in two-a-day workouts with weights and cardio. They push each other to new levels. Tucker is a competitor and is looking to seek out challenges. Tucker is lev-el headed and is able to think on his feet, which serves him well on the mat. Tucker is quite mature as a freshman and with his extra mat time on the o� -season and train-ing e� ort we look for him to be a capstone on our lower weights,” Wilson said.
Sophomores Jordan Carlson, Mason Straub and Trevor Block are coming off a season where they were hungry for more, Wil-son said. “� ey are all three natu-rally stronger than last season and we are hopeful that it will help in-crease their performance and gain team points in key weight classes,” Wilson said.
Sophomore Dylan Pauly is hoping to compete at 126 pounds and at that weight class we know he will be a force, Wilson said. “Dylan did well for us last season at 120 pounds and staying at a comparable weight we know he will have the ability to dominate. Dylan’s technique leads itself to pinning combinations where he can pick up big points for the team. He’s an exciting wrestler and has a lot of � urry action in
how he delivers his attacks,” Wil-son said.
Senior Connor Boettcher is a captain and naturally is a guide for all the wrestlers. Sophomore Trenten Rogich competed quite a bit in the spring and was suc-cessful with his biggest asset being able to roll with guys that are stronger using his quickness. “Connor and Trenten are physi-cally strong athletes and will be an asset in the upper weights along with Clayton and Joe,” Wilson said.
MOVED ONNone. � ere were no seniors
on the team last year.2014-15 SEASON OUT-
LOOK“Some very experienced,
very talented kids in the lineup. I think we’ll do quite well and have a good season. Last year we were close to winning more matches than we could. � is year we have the maturity, more overall natu-ral strength from the sophomore class and a number of kids that worked extremely hard compet-ing and training the o� -season,”
Wilson said.COMMENTS FROM THE
COACH“I’m looking forward to the
season specifically because I, along with the other coaches, have been looking forward to the phys-ical maturity level of the kids to get to this point. � is year we can see that maturity and we feel we can � nish out the close matches and minimize the big team points, such as not giving up as many pins as we’ve been accustomed to in the past,” Wilson said.
BY THE NUMBERS3 — Anderly is going for his
third state championship, which would be the � rst in any sport at LS-H.
7 — As head coach, Wilson has had seven individual state champions in as many years.
Reporter Josie Oliver can be reached at 931-8576. Follow her on Twitter @LNHjosieoliver.
Clayton Colling lifts up Mankato West’s Zachary Jakes in the 2013-14 season. (News-Herald � le photo)
Maturity, experience key strengths for Le Sueur-Henderson wrestling
PAGE 8 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014
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By RICHARD ROHLFINGCorrespondent
Cleveland Girls BasketballCOACHESHead coach: Jason �ompson,
�rst yearAssistant coach: Kris Holicky,
fourth year coachingKEY PLAYERSAnna Ely – Senior, Captain,
Guard, 3-year letter winner. She led the team last year in 3-point-ers made with 40. She also brings her 7.3 points per game average back to the team.
“Anna has a great outside shot. As last season’s team Of-fensive Player of the Year, we will rely heavily on her this upcom-ing season,” said head coach Jason �ompson. “She can be a domi-nate scorer.”
Cassidy Kopet – Senior, Captain, Forward, 3-year letter winner. She is the top returning rebounder on the team with a 4.4 average per game. Kopet also averaged 4.4 points per game last season.
“Cassidy has tremendous
leaping ability that will translate well into her rebounding skills,” �ompson said.
Megan Hobson – Senior, Cap-tain, Guard, 2-year letter winner. She returns as the leader in steals on the team with 1.3 per game.
“Megan will bring great quick-ness to the team,” �ompson said. “She will be one of our shut down defenders, applying constant pres-sure to the opponent’s guards. We will look to get her more involved o�ensively.”
Amy Den Herder – Junior, Forward, 2-year letter winner. She brings back her 3.5 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game average. She is the lead-ing o�ensive rebounder and free throw shooter returning from last season.
“Amy will be looked upon to be an inside presence and get to the foul line,” Thompson said. “She will be an impact on the in-side for us.”
KEEP YOUR EYE ONStephanie Holicky – Junior,
Forward, 2-year letter winner. Stephanie returns with her 3.9
rebounds per game and 1.9 points per game.
“We will look for Stephanie to continue her strong rebounding e�orts while being more aggres-sive o�ensively,” �ompson said.
Cheyenne Kunkel – Sopho-more, Center, 1 year letter win-ner. She is the leading returning player in blocks.
“We will need Cheyenne to
bring an inside presence both defensively and o�ensively to the team,” �ompson said.
Amanda Smith – Sophomore, Forward, 2-year letter winner.
“Amanda is an aggressive player who will �t nicely into our defensive-minded team,” �omp-son said. “We will need her to as-sert herself o�ensively.”
“We also have a group of
underclassman that will be con-tributors throughout the season,” �ompson said. “�ey are Brian-na Baker, Shania Weber, MaKen-zie Baumgartner, Gabbi Wenker, Laura Smith and Rachael Kunkel.
MOVED ONTaylor Holicky and Cylie Han-
kins. Holicky, a 6-0 forward, has the school records of 1452 career points and 1141 rebounds. She went on to join the Southwest Minnesota State women’s basket-ball team this season. Hankins was a quick guard who worked the ball into Holicky.
2015 SEASON OUTLOOKCleveland �nished last season
with a 10-12 overall record and a 10th place �nish in the Section 2A North division with a 2-10 record. �e Clippers �nished 9th in the Valley Conference with a 3-10 record last season. Six of their games were lost by eight points or less.
“Expect to see a much di�er-ent team this upcoming season,” �ompson said. “With no player over 5-foot-9, this year’s team will look to play a much more up-tem-
po, aggressive, defensive style. We would like to �nish in the upper half of the section. However, we will have to contend with strong teams such as MN Valley Luther-an and Lester Prairie in our sub-section and then a tough Mankato Loyola and United South Central team in other side of our section.”
COACH’S COMMENTS“�e Clippers will be a defen-
sive-minded team that will look to create turnovers and take advan-tage of them. We will be a team that brings our top e�ort each and every game. With three key se-niors coming back, there is a nice core of players to build around. We have some underclass players that will get a great opportunity to make a di�erence this season while continuing to build for the future.” – Jason �ompson, head coach
BY THE NUMBERS100 – It’s Cleveland’s 100-year
school anniversary this year.13 – Number of players in
grades 9-1210 – Returning letter winners
Shorter Cleveland girls basketball team stresses defense
Senior Megan Hobson’s quickness will make her a threat on de-fense. First year head coach Jason Thompson hopes to get her involved more on o�ense as well. Beside Hobson is sophomore Amanda Smith. (File photo)
Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW PAGE 9
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By RICHARD ROHLFINGCorrespondent
Cleveland Boys BasketballCOACHESHead coach: Dan Fredrickson,
third yearAssistant coaches: Joe Remi-
ger (2nd year), Lon Voss (1st year, was Fredrickson’s assistant at Glennville-Emmons)
KEY PLAYERSChandler Barrie – 5-11 junior
guard, 1-year letter winner“Chandler is 100 percent hus-
tle,” said head coach Dan Fred-rickson. “He is very unsel�sh on o�ense. Defensively he’s a disrup-tor and will be a major asset for us on the defensive end of the �oor. He is going to see a lot of playing time this year.”
Spencer Davies – 5-10 senior guard, captain, 1-year letter win-ner, Hustle award and MIP last season
“Every night, he’s probably the top athlete on the �oor,” Fredrick-son said. “His speed and quick-ness make him a disruptive force on the defensive end of the �oor. His ball handling on o�ense really stands to blossom this season.”
Carter Kopet – 6-0 freshman guard, Captain, 2-year letter win-ner, All-Conference Honorable Mention last season
“�e o�ense will run through Carter a lot this year,” Fredrickson said. “He’s a gi�ed scorer and an excellent �oor general. He is an outstanding competitor and plays with experience beyond his fresh-man grade.”
Spencer Lynch – 6-3 senior forward, captain, 2-year letter winner, Best Defensive Player award last season
“Spencer has a very good skill set o�ensively,” Fredrickson said. “He’s a tough player around the basket. Defensively he hustles all over the �oor. As a captain, he will be a tremendous senior leader. He has stepped up to that role nicely.”
Tyler Piotter – 6-3 junior for-ward, 1-year letter winner
“Tyler is a hard worker,” Fred-rickson said. “He worked really hard this summer. He can provide o�ense. He has a nice shot and a big frame. We will need rebound-ing out of him and some low post play. He is a player who will have
a very valuable role.”Austin Plonsky – 5-6 fresh-
man guard, 1-year letter winner“Austin is a great shooter and
an excellent ball handler,” Fred-rickson said. “His o�ensive game is very complete. To have the skill set he has as a freshman is some-thing special. �e best thing about him is that he’s not afraid of any-body. He’s a hustler; he’s a �ghter; he’s a bulldog. He plays beyond his size.”
Jacob Zimmerman – 5-10 freshman guard, 1-year letter winner
“Jacob has a really good shot; he will provide scoring punch on offense,” Fredrickson said. “He also knows the defensive system really well. He is a very heady player and plays the game very disciplined.”
KEEP YOUR EYE ONBrandon Seitz – 5-8 sopho-
more guard“He will be a player to �ll in
o� the bench,” Fredrickson said. “He is good on the transition. His game is very good for our style of play.”
Jaiden Zishka – 6-1 sopho-
more guard
“Jaiden is an outstanding ath-lete,” Fredrickson said. “He’ll step in to play some very valuable min-utes. He’s de�nitely a di�erence maker, especially on defense. We expect big things from him this season.”
MOVED ONJordan Phillips and Grant
Germscheid. Last year Phillips, the only returning starter from the 2013 season, had the team’s most points (393), most steals (85) and most rebounds (216).
“Jordan will be missed,” Fred-rickson said. “�e kid played with an intensity that I loved. But our players this year will be better for seeing the level he competed at last season. �ey want to step up to that role.”
2015 SEASON OUTLOOKLast year the Clippers strug-
gled through a 7-19 record but lost six games by three points or less and a few more in the last minute. Their season ended in the �rst round of the section at Minnesota Valley Lutheran. Fred-rickson said that the conference is wide open this year. �e Clip-pers have gi�ed athletes and will
be strong on defense, but to be successful, they need to trim the number of turnovers, which hurt last season.
COMMENTS FROM THE COACH
“I know it sounds cliché, but expect us to be competitive every single night. We have a very ath-letic team. It’s a team that from last year was very defensively ori-ented. O�ensively we hurt our-selves with a lot of turnovers last year, and with just one returning starter, we came from an inexperi-enced team. �is year our players are more used to playing at the varsity level, and we’re poised to have a very good season.” – Dan Fredrickson, head coach
BY THE NUMBERS55.8 – �e number of points
the Clippers allowed last season, which was the second lowest in the conference and also the sec-ond lowest in the 21-team section.
2 – �e number of seniors on the team this season.
3 – This is the third season for coach Fredrickson, who has worked hard to build the program at Cleveland.
Senior Spencer Lynch has basketball in his bloodline. His grandfather Bob (Buck) Wendelschafer was one of Cleveland’s top career scorers. (File photo)
Cleveland boys basketball hopes to turn around close losses
PAGE 10 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014
By PAT [email protected]
St. Peter Boys BasketballCOACHESHead coach: Sean Keating, 2nd
seasonAssistant coaches: Tyler Kaus,
Neil Doose, Derek Homrighausen“We return seven letter winners
from last year’s team,” Keating said. “However, we only return 170 points of last year’s team that scored a total of 1,677. We have four returning players that played signi�cant min-utes of last year’s team, and they will be relied upon this season.”
KEY PLAYERSNoah Hildebrandt (Jr, F, lettered,
“Noah is a strong rebounder and de-fensive player,” Keating said. “He is a very cerebral player who is always in the right spot. �is year he will be asked to increase his production on the o�ensive end while improving his ability to defend the other team’s best player.”)
Aaron Leeb (Jr, PG, lettered, “Aaron is our �oor leader,” Keating said. “Aaron has a great ability to handle the ball against pressure and make good decisions. His ability to penetrate the lane is phenomenal. He will need to continue to im-prove ways to score the basketball and make his teammates better by getting them the ball in spots where they can be successful.”)
Colton Lusty — (Jr, F, lettered, “Colton has an ability to score and rebound the basketball,” Keating said. “He has a unique ability to shoot for a player his size. He will need to work on his e�ciency on the o�ensive end, and work to become an even more improved rebounder.”)
Mitch Johnson — (Jr, G, letter, “Mitch started a few games last sea-son,” Keating said. “Mitch has the ability to �ll it up from beyond the arc. He needs to improve his shoot-
ing mentality and continue to im-prove his ability to handle the ball against pressure and defend.”)
KEEP YOUR EYE ONKoleman Lund (Jr, F, lettered,
“Koleman is a 6-foot-7 post who can really shoot the ball,” Keating said. “As he grows into his body he has the potential to o�er some sever mismatches for the opponent. We need him to control the rim on the defensive end”
Jack Olinger (Jr, G, lettered, “Jack is our most improved player,” Keat-ing said. “He has an ability to handle the ball, score via drive and the three point line. He has potential to keep getting better.”)
Brady Hanson — (Jr, F, lettered, “Brady is a tough, physical player who brings a mentality we lack,” Ke-ating said. “He improved a lot over the course of last season and we are expecting more of that this season.”)
Jordein Marquette (10th, So, “Jordein is a natural scorer,” Keat-ing said. “He needs to adapt to the physicality of the varsity level, but he has a unique ability to make big plays.”)
Antoine Williams (10th, So., “Antoine is a tough player who has a nose for the ball,” Keating said. “He
is a tenacious rebounder who brings a lot of energy. �e key for him will to be consistent and bring that e�ort on every possession.”)
MOVED ONTommy Steidler, Kolin Bartlett,
Cody Erickson, Brendan Reese, Nick Rosburg, Ben Johnson, Liban Omar, Tanner Nadeau, Ridwan Abdi
SEASON OUTLOOKLast season: 14-15, State Tour-
nament appearance, 3-7 conference record, placed 5th out of 6 in con-ference.
“Favorites in our subsection:
Waseca, NRHEG, and WEM,” Ke-ating said. “Waseca returns the sec-tion’s best player in Nick Dufault. NRHEG returns all their key play-ers and has a lot of talent. WEM is an up and coming team that will be dangerous as well.
“Glencoe-Silver Lake is the fa-vorite in the section as they return all their players from last season and they had a very productive summer season.
COACH’S COMMENTS“We have turned the page on
last season’s state tournament team. �ere is a saying that if you enjoy looking in the past, we can’t expect much from you in the future. We have a very young and inexperienced team this season. As coaches we will have to be patient and extremely process-oriented in our teachings. Players will make mistakes and the key will be making sure they keep their con�dence up and continue to persevere through those mistakes. We are excited to have some players that can really shoot the ball from the perimeter. We hope to play an up style tempo which is fun for the kids and the fans to watch.
“Most teams in our conference lost key seniors who were leading scorers. With a lot of youth around the conference the team that can learn the fastest will have an advan-tage. We believe if we win two out of the following three categories, we will have a great shot to win every night: rebounding, turnovers, and free-throws made. We lack the size we had last season, so our players will need to develop a toughness to rebound and win loose ball battles. If we can limit our turnovers and hang tough on the boards, I am ex-cited about our ability to score and
defend.“We have two seniors out for
basketball that have no varsity ex-perience. So, we will expect a lot out of those key juniors that played signi�cant minutes last year: Colton Lusty, Aaron Leeb, Noah Hildeb-randt and Mitch Johnson. We need those players to continue to improve and emerge in our program. �ey are a great group of kids that I love coaching and I am excited about having them around for the next two seasons.
“We have 45 kids in grades 9-12 out for basketball, with close to 40 in 7th-8th grade as well. Numbers are high, which means St Peter basket-ball is healthy. Now we need to teach and instruct the best we ever have and keep working to have a fun and successful season.” — Sean Keating, head coach
BY THE NUMBERS70 — Colton Lusty is the high-
est returning point scorer, and he totaled 70 last season.
18 — Aaron Leeb had 18 as-sists last year. “We believe he could register well over a 100 this season,” Keating said
1 — Aaron Leeb also registered nearly a steal a game last season.
10 — “We return as a team 10 percent of our scoring from last sea-son,” Keating said.
19 — “We averaged 19 turnovers a game last year in the regular sea-son, and 12.3 TO/game in the play-o�s,” Keating said.
21 — “We open the season on the road Friday, Nov 21 at Medford, a section opponent,” Keating said.
25 — “Our �rst home game is Tuesday, Nov. 25 versus USC,” Keat-ing said. �ere is no St Peter Holiday Tournament this year.
St. Peter sophomores Noah Hildebrandt and Colton Lusty double team Le Sueur-Henderson guard Brady Rose. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)
St. Peter boys basketball team hopes to make up for lost scoring
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Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW PAGE 11
By PAT [email protected]
St. Peter/Le Sueur-Hender-son/Tri-City United/Cleveland Bulldogs Girls Hockey
Head CoachTom Blaido, 3rd yearAssistant CoachKelley Wilmes, 5th yearKey players (years lettered)Seniors — Captains Hannah
Kleschult (3), defense, 2 goals, 5 assists; and Bailey Wilmes (3), wing, 8 goals, 6 assists;
Juniors — Captain Maddie Kleschult (3), center, 12 goals, 8 asists; and Holly Gibbs (2), wing, 6 goals, 7 assists;
Sophomores — Maggie Ring-ler (2), defense, 1 goal, 4 assists; Anna Amos (2), wing; Kallie Steuck (2), wing, 0 goals, 5 as-sists; and Taylor Witte (2), center, 2 goals, 5 assists
Moved OnVeronica Sinell (3), Goalie
— St Benedict’s women’s hockey team.
Chloe Bachman (4), Forward – Concordia, WI, women’s hockey team.
Chelsea Kaelberer (3), Not playing college hockey – St Bene-dict’s.
2013-2014 SeasonRecord 6-18-1, Conference 1-52014-2015 Outlook“Big South Conference — Lu-
verne and New Ulm look to be the front runners this season with the Bulldogs, Fairmont and Mar-shall close behind and Waseca, Worthington and Windom to-ward the bottom due to the large number of under classmen on their squads,” Blaido said.
“Section – Mankato East has a strong squad this year and should be the section favorite,” Blaido said. “Litch�eld will also be strong in defending their 2013-2014 sec-tion title.”
Coach’s Comments“As I have stated the previous
two seasons, we are still a young team with the bulk of our players being sophomores.
“�e di�erence between this season’s young team and the pre-vious two years is the increase in team speed and skating abilities. Prior to this season, we just didn’t have the capability to skate as a team with some of the more ex-perienced teams that we faced, we should have much more success in that area this year with a strong group of athletes.
“Our leadership on this year’s
team is strong with tri-captains Hannah Kleschult, Bailey Wilmes and Maddie Kleschult. �eir sup-porting cast brings a very capable, committed and intelligent brand of hockey, these kids are a very smart group, just being able to identify the play as it’s develop-ing is a huge step forward. For the most part, it’s the same offense and defense we’ve had for the past couple years, it is a little on the complicated side but I can tell that it’s starting to set in; the �rst practice the kids stepped right up and were running the plays and breaking to the areas that were designed to open up.
“To be successful this year, Hannah Kleschult will need to continue to lead, she is very well respected by everyone on the team, they all follow her lead be-
cause they know she always has their best interest in mind, that’s a recipe for success. Hannah leads on and o� the ice, when she is on the ice, it’s fun to watch her take control, the whole sheet of ice be-longs to her, she is de�antly the person in charge out there.
“Players to watch this season on o�ensive will be Senior Bailey Wilmes, Juniors Holly Gibbs and Maddie Kleschult and Sopho-more Anna Amos. When these players are on the ice, they are like a loaded gun waiting to go o�, every time they are on the ice, you are on the edge of your seat because anyone of them can score from anywhere at any time. Kal-lie Steuck, Taylor Witte and new comer Ashley Pudwill are a trio of sneak attack artists that can make an opponent regret their
decision real quick to leave these three unaccounted for with their deceptive speed and their super hard wristers.
“�is season we bring in a lot of scoring punch with three lines which we hope will be enough to keep our opponents o� balance and make it very di�cult for them to match their defense with our o�ensive lines.
“Defensively we are very young which bodes well for the future. Alongside of Hannah Kle-schult we are expecting a strong year from Sophomore Maggie Ringler who is able to read the ice very well and has the physical presence to keep the oncoming rush to the outside. Our other
defensive players to watch are fellow sophomore Francesca Lo-Faro who also has no problem throwing a hip into an oncoming attacker and a very talented group of freshmen who undoubtedly will mature into game changers in the near future, Kendall Wenner, Emma Doherty-Bohn and Zoe Haugen.
“�e bulk of this season’s net-minding duties will be performed by freshman Jordan Keeley. Jor-dan may be young, but I don’t want people to get the idea that she is inexperienced. She is the type of kid you just can’t seem to get o� the ice. She has a real thirst for knowledge when it comes to the position and the game in gen-eral.
“Jordan will be backed up by �rst-year player Hailey Ken-nedy. Hailey is the type of kid that knows no fear, so having hard rubber projectiles being shot at her doesn’t seem to phase her like it would the rest of us. She is also the type that doesn’t like defeat. �ese are good qualities to have while learning such a important position.” — Tom Blaido, head coach.
By the Numbers2 — 8th-graders5 — freshmen11 — sophomores3 — juniors2 — seniors
Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck at 931-8566, or follow him on Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat
Senior tri-captain Hannah Kleschult (4) leads the Lady Bulldogs’ defense. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)
Lady Bulldogs girls hockey remains young but experienced
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By PAT [email protected]
St. Peter/Le Sueur-Hender-son/Tri-City United/Cleveland Bulldogs Boys Hockey
Co-Head CoachesDave Swanberg (17th season
as head coach)Shea Roehrkasse (1st season)Junior Varsity CoachJesse Morgan (2nd season)Top returning letterwinners:Forward Sam Wenner (12) 28-
40 68 ptsForward Alex Hoehn (11) 22-
25 47 ptsForward Brett Zallek (11) 13-
18 31 ptsForward Isaac Westphal (10)
14-8 22 ptsDefense Jackson Keeley (12)
7-6 13 ptsDefense Sam Gerdts (12) 1-11
12 ptsGoalie Zeke Haugen (11) 11-
5-1 3.03 GAAGoalie Killian Bixby (12) 5-3-1
3.29 GAAOthers to Watch:Forward Mac Malecha (12) 6-9 15 pts Forward Nate Wenner (11) 7-6 13 pts
Defense Avery Bachman (11) 2-7 9 pts
Moved OnCJ Pavlo, Mick McGuire, Cole
Miller, Ryan Hoehn, Beau Sulli-van, Marty McGuire and Matt Dolan.
Season OutlookLast season’s overall record
16-8-2, conference Record 5-1, section 1-1
“Last season we were able to tie for the conference champion-ship with New Ulm,” Swanberg said. “�is season we would like to be more sel�sh and just win it outright.
“�e conference will be a lot di�erent this season with the ad-dition of Luverne, Marshall, Win-dom, Worthington and Redwood Valley to go along with Fairmont, Waseca and New Ulm.
“Luverne will be the favorite in the conference and teams like us, New Ulm and Marshall will also be strong contenders.
“Section favorites include New Prague, Rochester Lourdes & Mankato West.
“�e season outlook is bright. We have a lot of talented forwards returning who have proven they can score. Both of our goalies return after successful seasons in 2013-14. We have three solid defensemen returning for us and hoping to �nd a fourth.
“�e key to every successful season is playing good sound defense and being able to capi-talize on your scoring chances. I am con�dent that if we can stay healthy this could be an extremely successful season for the Dogs.
“�e loss of Alex Hoehn, who is out 9 months, to a knee injury during the football season is dis-appointing and a huge loss for our team. We wish him the best in his rehab and hope that he will be able to return in the 2015-16 season.” — Dave Swanberg, head coach
Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck at 931-8566, or follow him on Twitter.com @SPHSportsPatBulldogs wing Sam Wenner stick handles around Waseca forward Richard Volkmer. (Pat Beck/St.
Peter Herald)
Bulldog boys hockey shoots for another strong season
Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW PAGE 13
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St. Peter Girls BasketballCOACHESHead coach: Bob Southworth
— 5th yearAssistant coaches: Bill Stuewe
(B Squad) — 14th year; Dave Nix-on (C Squad) — 3rd year; Ashley Hughes (8th grade) — 2nd year; Amanda Rapp (7th Grade) — 1st year
RETURNING PLAYERSOlivia Hass, Sr, Post, 3 year
letter winner, All Conference, 11 pts, 10 reb, 2.5 Blocks per game
Logan Retzla�, Sr, Guard, 3 yr letter winner, All Conference, 10 pts, 3 reb, 2.5 Ast, 2 stl per game
Sidney Welp, Jr, Wing, 1 yr let-ter winner, All Conference, 7 pts, 4.5 reb, per game
Emily Carpenter, Jr, Guard, 2 yr letter winner, 5 pts, 2 reb, 1.5 Ast per game
Alyssa Lokensgaard, Jr, Post, 1 yr letter winner, 4 pts, 4 reb, 1 Ast per game
Maggie Anderson, Jr, Guard, 1
year letter winner, 3 pts, 1.5 Ast, 2 Stl per game
Ella Wiebusch, Jr, Guard, 1 year letter winner, 3 pts, 2 Reb, per game
Jade Fondie, Jr, Guard, 1 year letter winner, 4 pts, 1 reb per game
Kellie Hanson, So, Guard, 1 year letter winner, 4 pts, 2 reb per game
Val Bresnahan, Sr, GuardJana Quick, Sr. PostKaylee Neubauer, Sr, PostMarta Springer, Sr, PostMOVED ONShawna Zabinski, Olivia
Gullickson, Dani LeonardSEASON OUTLOOKLast year’s record: 17-11. St.
Peter lost to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown in the subsection semi�nals.
Conference record: 7-3, tied for 2nd
“�e Section should be more wide open than it has been in the last four years,” Southworth said. “There is any number of teams that I think could make a run at the section title. On our half
of the Section I expect NRHEG, WEM and Tri-City United to be three of the top teams. In the North half of the section I believe Norwood-Young America, Jordan and Glencoe-Silver Lake to be to-ward the top.
“I am excited for our group because I believe we will be able to compete with most of the teams in the section. The key for our team will be to continue to im-prove throughout the season and hopefully we are playing our best ball at the end of the year.
“Our half of the Big South Conference will be much more improved over last season. I think every team will be better than last year. �ere won’t be any easy wins during conference play. �e favor-ite on the west side of the confer-ence has to be Marshall, and I feel they have to be favored to win the Conference Championship.”
COMMENTS FROM THE COACH“I am really looking forward
to start this season. We return a lot of girls who were able to get
some experience on the varsity last season. But as I told the girls this summer, ‘just because you played last year doesn’t automati-cally make you a better player this upcoming season.’
“I am really excited to see who has worked on their skills and improved themselves since last season. For our team to reach our goals we will need our best players to play at a consistent level and will need to have two or three girls take that next step in their development and be consistent contributors.”
BY THE NUMBERS311 — �e number of points
Olivia Hass is away from 1,000.323 — The number of re-
bounds Olivia Hass needs to set school career record.
Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck at 931-8566, or follow him on Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat
St. Peter girls basketball returns experienced team
Facing a triple team, Olivia Has rises above the crowd by tak-ing a jump shot. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)
PAGE 14 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014
(507) 931-2200 | (507) 934-84801900 North Sunrise DriveSt. Peter, MN 56082
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COACHESHead Coach Stacy Kurth,
6th year head coaching, 17 years coaching
Assistant coaches: Wally Kurth 5th year, Kris Glidden “3rd year with us…she brings years of knowledge!, Erin Krenik is a for-mer gymnast we hired last year to coach with us and we hope to bring her back again this season,” Stacy Kurth said.
KEY PLAYERSRebekah Berry, senior, all-
around competitorHalla Dontje Lindell, senior,
she works out and competes for both varsity and B-Squad on all events
Lexi Wilkins, senior, vault, floor and beam are her strong areas
Keegan Kurth, sophomore, �oor, “although we would like to convince her to start looking at other events,” Stacy Kurth said.
Maddy Rimstad, freshman, all-around
Tegan Weiss, freshman, all-around
Kenna Zelenka, 8th-grade, she
works out and competes both Var-sity and B-squad on all events
KEEP YOUR EYE ON“I have an AWESOME group,”
of girls and not just in the talent area they are so fun to be around,”
Stacy Kurth said.“Upcoming talent to watch for
would be:Josie Carlson (freshman)
vault, �oorEmily Putz (8th-grade) beam,
barsMiranda Bresnahan (fresh-
man) bars, beamMakenzie Kienholz (fresh-
man) hopeful all-aroundMOVED ON
St. Peter lost two gymnasts to graduation (neither letter win-ners) Brianna Jaycox and Kailey Gibbs.
“We lost two other gymnasts this season, too<” Stacy Kurth
said. “Martha Stelter has decided to focus on swimming, so that she can prepare for college compe-tition. Megan Overgaard will be traveling with family, and it just wasn’t in the cards for them to be with us. �ey’re absence will be noticed, but we all wish them well.”
2014-2015 SEASON OUT-LOOK
“As with every season, we are just looking to do better one meet at a time. We do well when we compete with ourselves. We also have some young talent that can be pulled out and polished. As of today we currently have ap-proximately 27 on the roster 7-12.
“This season our new home will be at Gustavus where we will not only practice but hold compe-titions too and that is more than we could ask for. I’m hoping this will help with bringing out some harder skills. We will have a pit to work harder tumbling skills, bar dismounts and bigger vaults without thinking too much about the spotting and repeat landings.” Stacy Kurth, head coach
Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck at 931-8566, or follow him on Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat
Bekah Berry �ies through the air in placing third in �oor exercises in front of her teammates. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)
St. Peter gymnastics blends experience with youth
Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW PAGE 15
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St. Peter WrestlingCOACHESHead coach: Keith Hanson 22
years, 12 as head coachAssistant coaches: Trent
Nielsen 8 years; Zach Vine 1st year
KEY PLAYERSWyatt Gillette, 10th, 3rd place
Section last season 27-7Manny Gomez, 10th, 5th place
Section last season 16-20Travis Brock, 11th, 5th place
Section last season 20-16Tony Putz, 9th, 6th place Sec-
tion last season 23-13KEEP YOUR EYE ONSage Loredo-Hollon, 8th, SCC
champ last year 17-11Major Brock, 12th, 3rd place
SCC last year 13-18MOVED ONKyle Bosacker career 103-45
Collin �ompson career 97-80Nick Milliman 12-20 at heavy-
weight last season2014-15 SEASON OUTLOOK“We are going to be a young
team, but they are hard working and looking to improve as the sea-son goes on. We have a large num-ber of seventh-graders out which is real exciting to see. Last season we finished the year 5-19 and hope to �nish somewhat the same as our schedule has not changed much. We are entered into the Redwood River Riot which will give our kids some good individ-ual competition. Section 2AA is still very tough with Scott West, New Prague and Hutchinson looking to be the top teams.” — Keith Hanson, head coach
Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck at 931-8566, or follow him on Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat
St. Peter wrestling hopes young blood sparks team
St. Peter senior Major Brock at 182 pounds hopes to pin down another all-conference season. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)
PAGE 16 VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW Wednesday, November 26-Thursday, November 27, 2014
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