The Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity boys’ basketball game at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, postponed Monday, Jan. 12 has been rescheduled to Monday, March 2.
Also, the HLWW boys’ game at Pierz and the LP/HT boys’ game against New Life Academy, both scheduled for tonight (Thursday, Jan. 15) have been postponed. No make-up dates have been set.
By Aaron Schultz
Sports Editor
It was a big week for the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers’ wrestling team as they had a pair of triangulars over two days.
“We set a goal of going 4-0 at the beginning of the week,” head coach Jeff Granrud said. “We have lost to Pierz by a total of three points in the last two years, and our focus for the week was beating Pierz.”
Well, hosting Pierz and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Tuesday, the Lakers opened the triangular against the Pioneers, and did something that Granrud doesn’t believe the Lakers have ever done – beat the Pioneers.
HLWW topped Pierz 51-21 to get the week off to a great start.
Following the win over Pierz, HLWW beat Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 42-28 to start the week a perfect 2-0.
The Lakers then traveled to Meadow Creek Christian Thursday for another triangular, picking up another two wins.
HLWW beat St. Croix Lutheran 63-16 and Meadow Creek Christian 51-26 to finish the dual week 4-0.
“We did what we had to do to win – wrestled well all week,” Granrud said. “This week was our most consistent week of wrestling at our ability and some wrestlers even wrestled above where we hoped that they would compete.”
The Lakers were also in action Saturday at the Norwood Young America Invite. Look for complete results in next week’s Herald Journal.
With the win over Pierz and BBE, the Lakers are perfect in Central Minnesota Conference action, and control their own destiny towards a conference title.
HLWW can go a long ways in locking up a CMC title this week with another busy schedule ahead.
The Lakers travel to Royalton for a quadrangular Tuesday, Jan. 13.
Beside wrestling Royalton, which is a CMC team, the Lakers will also battle Holdingford, another CMC team, along with Osakis, a team in the same section as HLWW.
“This week is going to be tough,” Granrud said. “Tuesday has major conference and section implications.”
The Lakers will then be back home Thursday, Jan. 15 to host CMC rival Eden Valley-Watkins, and will wrap up the week at the May-Port-CG Invite in Mayville, ND.
With Eden Valley-Watkins and Royalton being the biggest road blocks for the Lakers gaining a CMC title, this is going to be an important week n the mat.
HLWW 63,
St. Croix Luth. 16
ANDOVER, MN – In dominating fashion, the Lakers topped St. Croix Lutheran 63-16 Thursday.
“Again, the team wrestled very well,” Granrud said. “The younger wrestlers are now seeing that their success has an impact on how the older guys wrestle.”
Eighth grader Chris Cox got the Lakers off on the right foot at 103 pounds, picking up his first varsity pin.
In total, the Lakers picked up nine pins and a forfeit on their way to winning 11 of the 14 weight classes.
Match results vs. SCL (1/8)
• 103: Chris Cox – won by fall, :56
• 112: Dylan Youngren – lost by fall, :28
• 119: McKenzie Rehmann – won by fall, :14
• 125: William Schanus – won by decision, 15-10
• 130: Zach Horstman – won by fall, 1:03
• 135: Jacob Demarais – lost by fall, 4:34
• 140: Jake Grangroth – won by forfeit
• 145: Cameron Lehner – won by fall, :53
• 152: Derek Youngren – won by fall, :33
• 160: Austin Torres – won by fall, 1:09
• 171: Tony Hausladen – won by fall, 1:30
• 189: Matt Schmieg – won by fall, 2:37
• 215: John Long – won by fall, 1:07
• Joel Koch – lost by major decision, 9-0
HLWW 51, MCC 26
ANDOVER, MN – Against the always tough Meadow Creek Christian, the Lakers trailed 26-15 midway through the dual.
However, HLWW was able to win the final six matches of the night on their way to a 51-26 victory.
“Meadow Creek has been a rival since I have been at HLWW. When we think we should win big, Meadow Creek some how finds ways of keeping things close or beating us,” Granrud said. “They have some very tough kids.”
Cox picked up his second win of the season at 103 pounds to get things started.
Meadow Creek, trailing 15-10 at the time, picked up a fall, an injury default, and a major decision to take a 26-15 lead.
At 152 pounds, Derek Youngren got the momentum back on the Lakers’ side with a first-period fall, and HLWW cruised from there.
Over the final six matches, the Lakers picked up four first-period falls and two forfeits to lock up the win.
Match results vs. MCC (1/8)
• 103: Chris Cox – won by decision, 4-0
• 112: Dylan Youngren – lost by fall, :55
• 119: McKenzie Rehmann – won by fall, :47
• 125: William Schanus – lost by major decision, 14-4
• 130: Zach Horstmann – won by fall, 5:27
• 135: Zach Fenske – lost by fall, 1:02
• 140: Jake Grangroth – lost by injury default
• 145: Cameron Lehner – lost by major decision, 12-2
• 152: Derek Youngren – won by fall, :45
• 160: Austin Torres – won by forfeit
• 171: Tony Hausladen –won by fall, 1:11
• 189: Matt Schmieg – won by fall, :19
• 215: John Long – won by fall, :37
• 285: Joel Koch – won by forfeit
HLWW 42, BBE 28
HOWARD LAKE, MN – In what turned out to be the Lakers tightest dual of the week, HLWW was able to sneak out a 42-28 win over Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Tuesday.
“BBE has a number of very good kids. While they did give up three forfeits, we did beat them without the help of the forfeits,” Granrud said. “Again, our younger kids worked had and kept the team in a good position to finish with our strong top end.”
As in other duals, the Lakers found themselves down through the early weights, but not by much.
Through 140 pounds, BBE had a 22-15 lead.
However, over the final seven matches, the Jaguars were only able to win two matches, both by decisions.
“The older, more experienced wrestlers got big pins to make sure that a victory was secured,” Granrud said.
Meanwhile, HLWW picked up two forfeits, got falls from Cameron Lehner and John Long, and won an exciting 5-4 decision.
That 5-4 decision came at 160 pounds via eighth grader Austin Torres.
Torres trailed 4-0 with just seconds remaining in his match when he picked up a reversal and three near fall points to pull out the one-point win.
“Austin is coming along very quickly at the varsity level,” Granrud said.
Match results vs. BBE (1/6)
• 103: Chris Cox – lost by major decision, 16-6
• 112: Dylan Youngren – won by fall, 5:43
• 119: McKenzie Rehmann –won by forfeit
• 125: William Schanus – lost by fall, 3:15
• 130: Zach Horstmann – won by decision, 8-6
• 135: Jacob Demarais – lost by fall, 1:40
• 140: Zach Fenske – lost by fall, :48
• 145: Cameron Lehner – won by fall, 3:04
• 152: Derek Youngren – lost by decision, 8-1
• 160: Austin Torres – won by decision, 5-4
• 171: Tony Hausladen – lost by decision, 3-1
• 189: John Long – won by fall, :28
• 215: Matt Schmieg – won by forfeit
• 285: Joel Koch – won by forfeit
HLWW 51, Pierz 21
HOWARD LAKE, MN – Doing something no Laker wrestling team may have ever done, the Lakers beat Pierz 51-21 Tuesday.
“This was the first time HLWW has beat Pierz in wrestling, as far as I can find in the records,” Granrud said. “The was possible because our younger wrestlers, with very little varsity experience, won matches.”
The Lakers trailed early 6-0, but fought back quickly, and never trailed again.
HLWW extended its lead to 15-6, when Pierz picked up its second fall of the night to cut the lead to 15-12, but that was all the closer the Pioneers would get on the night.
Rattling off six straight wins, the Lakers took a 42-12 lead and cruised to the win.
One of those big wins came from Zach Fenske, who won his first varsity match at 140 pounds, with a pin no-less.
“Pinning was contagious against Pierz,” Granrud said. The Lakers had five pins in the win.
Match results vs. Pierz (1/6)
• 103: Chris Cox – lost by fall, 4:11
• 112: Dylan Youngren – won by decision, 9-5
• 119: McKenzie Rehmann – won by fall, 2:53
• 125: William Schanus – won by fall, 2:51
• 130: Zach Horstmann – lost by fall, 1:50
• 135: Jacob Demarais – won by fall, 2:42
• 140: Zach Fenske – won by fall, 4:27
• 145: Cameron Lehner – won by fall, :47
• 152: Derek Youngren – won by forfeit
• 160: Austin Torres – won by decision, 11-4
• 171: Tony Hausladen – lost by decision, 7-4
• 189: John Long – won by decision, 7-0
• 215: Matt Schmieg – won by forfeit
• 285: Joel Koch – lost by fall, 1:59
By Aaron Schultz
Sports Editor
Wins just keep on coming for the Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity Bulldogs boys’ basketball team.
LP/HT won two more games last week, both in Minnesota Christian Athletic Association play, and are now 7-2 overall and 3-0 in MCAA action.
The Bulldogs opened the week with a 62-29 dismantling of Bethany Academy, then fought for a tough 70-67 double overtime win over Southwest Christian Thursday.
The win over Southwest Christian, the only other undefeated team in the MCAA at the time, puts LP/HT on top of the conference standings all by themselves.
“We are now in the driver’s seat to win the conference, and don’t need any help from any other teams,” head coach Dean Neumann said. “However, we know there are a lot of games left, and can’t take anything for granted.”
LP/HT will step out of MCAA action tonight (Monday) when they travel to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted to battle the Lakers.
However, the Bulldogs jump right back into MCAA action Tuesday, Jan. 13 when they travel to Providence Academy.
The final game of the week for LP/HT will be Thursday, Jan. 15 when they host MCAA foe New Life Academy at Holy Trinity.
The game against HLWW should be a good one, as both teams have just two losses on the season.
Also, senior Chris Neumann will enter the game just four points from becoming Holy Trinity’s all-time leading scorer in school history. Neumann currently trails Dana Chalupsky.
LP/HT 70, SW 67, 2OT
ST. BONI, MN – In about as tight of a basketball game as you’ll see, LP/HT snuck out of Crown College Thursday night with a 70-67 double-overtime win over Southwest Christian.
“It was just an overall, good team effort,” Neumann said.
The game was tight from beginning to end, with LP/HT leading 36-33 at halftime.
It stayed tight throughout the second half, which ended with the score tied at 54, sending the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, neither team managed to do much offensively, each scoring just three points, which sent the game into a second overtime.
The second overtime belonged to the Bulldogs as they led by four with just a few seconds left on the clock.
But the game was sealed when freshman Jared Kadrie stepped to the line and sank a pair of free throws to extend LP/HT’s lead to six points.
“Jared (Kadrie) must have ice in his veins as he sank two big free throws at the end of the second overtime to seal it for us,” Neumann said.
Southwest did manage to hit a 40-footer as time ran off the clock to cut the final margin to three points.
As a team, LP/HT did a very good job taking care of the basketball in the win, turning it over just 15 times.
The turnovers LP/HT did commit came from rushing just a little bit too much, according to Neumann.
That team effort extended to LP/HT’s defense, especially when it came to controlling Southwest’s star senior forward, the 6’7” Caleb Palkert.
Palkert, who is among the metro leaders in scoring, was held to 19 points through the double-overtime game, thanks in large part to David Andersen’s defense.
The younger Andersen, who didn’t score in the game, worked tirelessly on the defensive end to control Palkert, and did it well.
“David did a good job defending Palkert, who is a very special player,” Neumann said.
When David Andersen wasn’t guarding Palkert, older brother Daniel Andersen and Brandon Schaust both took turns guarding him, and also played well defensively.
“Overall, those three guys did a good job controlling Palkert,” Neumann said.
Meanwhile, on the offensive end of things, Chris Neumann had his best game of the season.
Neumann scored 31 points, and was 9-for-14 from the free throw line. “Chris had a great offensive night,” Neumann said.
Playing a strong floor game for LP/HT was senior Aaron Ruwersma, who dished out nine assists. “Aaron had a very nice floor game while playing extended minutes,” Neumann said.
Game stats vs. SW (1/8)
• Chris Neumann: 31 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals.
• Brandon Schaust: 16 points, 7 rebounds.
• Jared Kadrie: 10 points.
• Daniel Andersen: 8 points.
• Aaron Ruwersma: 3 points.
• Cory Dammann: 2 points.
LP/HT 62, Bethany 29
WINSTED, MN – In rather easy fashion, LP/HT topped Bethany Academy 62-29 Tuesday at Holy Trinity.
“Bethany is not going to be the best team we play all year, but it was a good opportunity for a number of guys to see playing time,” Neumann said. “It was good not to have a nail-bitter for once.”
LP/HT jumped on Bethany from the start, and never let up, cruising to the 33-point win.
Defensively, the Bulldogs played a strong game, only allowing 29 points to Bethany.
“We played strong defense, stayed focused throughout the game, and shared the basketball,” Neumann said.
Neumann led three Bulldogs in double figures with 15 points, while Kadrie with 13 and Schaust with 12 were also in double figures.
Having a very good all-around game was Dammann, who scored six points, added eight rebounds (six of which were on the offensive glass), and came away with seven steals.
Game stats vs. Bethany (1/6)
• Chris Neumann: 15 points, 6 rebounds.
• Jared Kadrie: 13 points.
• Brandon Schaust: 12 points.
• Cory Dammann: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals.
• David Andersen: 6 points.
• Daniel Andersen: 6 points.
• Aaron Ruwersma: 3 points.
• Cody Cuhel: 1 point.
By Aaron Schultz
Sports Editor
Bouncing back from a tough game against Jordan, the state’s top ranked team in Class 2A, the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers girls’ basketball team cruised to a pair of easy wins last week.
The Lakers opened the week against Foley on the road, and pulled out a 71-52 win.
Although HLWW won the Foley game, they didn’t play their best basketball.
Well, the Lakers showed exactly what kind of team they were Thursday by dominating Pierz from the start on their way to a 56-25 win.
In the win over Pierz, the Lakers led 31-4 at halftime.
“I thought we bounced back from Tuesday night,” head coach Jason Kuehn said.
HLWW is now 8-2 overall, and are 2-1 in the Central Minnesota Conference thanks to the win over Pierz.
This week, the Lakers will look to continue to improve their CMC record with a pair of conference games.
HLWW will travel to Maple Lake Tuesday, Jan. 13, and will be back home Friday, Jan. 16 to host Rockford.
HLWW 56, Pierz 25
HOWARD LAKE, MN – This CMC game wasn’t much of a game at all. It was more a show of pure domination, especially in the first half.
The Lakers hosted Pierz Thursday, winning 56-25.
But the story of the game was the total control the Lakers showed in the first half.
Up 8-4 early on, the Lakers finished the first half on a 23-0 to take a 31-4 lead into the locker room.
“We set the tone early defensively, and forced them to try and score from the perimeter,” Kuehn said. “We rotated well defensively, and created easy scoring opportunities.”
Pierz did give a little better showing the second half as the Lakers let off of the gas.
However, HLWW still outscored the Pioneers 25-21 in the second half.
The Lakers had a very balanced scoring attack against Pierz with nine different players scoring, and junior Ellie Wessling being the only player in double figures with 14.
Game stats vs. Pierz (1/8)
• Ellie Wessling: 14 points.
• Clare Chalupsky: 8 points.
• Katie Pettit: 8 points.
• Katelyn Klinkner: 7 points.
• Christina Gruenhagen: 6 points.
• Kayla Gross: 5 points.
• Taylor Williams: 4 points.
• Heather Lehner: 2 points.
• Alesha Remer: 2 points.
HLWW 71, Foley 52
FOLEY, MN – After a strong opening three minutes, the Lakers put it into cruise control to beat Foley 71-52 in non-conference action Tuesday.
“In the first three minutes of the game we played with intensity and controlled the tempo,” Kuehn said. From that point on, we really struggled to be consistent on both ends of the court.”
The Lakers opened the game on a 10-0 run.
However, after that nice start, the Lakers played down to Foley’s level, and it showed the rest of the half.
Foley outscored the Lakers by one through the final 15 minutes of the first half.
But, despite the lackluster play, HLWW still had themselves a 43-34 lead at the break.
“We really stress defensive fundamentals in practice, but we gambled and played out of position on many occasions,” Kuehn said. “In the second half, we improved, but we were still lacking the intensity and focus that we expect.”
As coach Kuehn said, the Lakers played a better second half, outscoring Foley 28-18 to lock up the win.
While the Lakers had some defensive breakdowns in the win, they did do a good job offensively, especially balance wise.
Four different Lakers scored in double figures, and nine in all scored.
Pettit led the way with 18 points, followed by Ellie Wessling with 17, Clare Chalupsky with 12, and Christina Gruenhagen with 10.
“Offensively, it was nice to have a more balanced scoring attack,” Kuehn said. “We never could get a consistent rhythm going, but we were able to score in key situations.”
Game stats vs. Foley (1/6)
• Katie Pettit: 18 points.
• Ellie Wessling: 17 points.
• Clare Chalupsky: 12 points.
• Christina Gruenhagen: 10 points.
• Taylor Williams: 4 points.
• Sam Hackbarth: 3 points.
• Heather Lehner: 3 points.
• Kayla Gross: 2 points.
• Alesha Remer: 2 points.
By Aaron Schultz
Sports Editor
Alex Jenson went three-for-three in matches at 140 pounds at Montevideo’s Dave Roder Invite Jan. 3, including a 6-5 win over Andrew Leddy of Milbank, SD in the championship match, as the Glencoe-Silver Lake/Lester Prairie junior wrestler improved his season mark to 10-0.
No other Panther finished higher than sixth, and the team finished ninth in the 10-team tourney.
Lester Prairie eighth grader Mitchell Hartwig, wrestling at 103 pounds, placed sixth on the day.
Former US Olympians skated in Hutchinson
Five former US Olympians were skating at Hutchinson’s Burich Ice Arena Friday when the Minnesota Whitecaps women’s hockey team faced off against the Strathmore Rockies, another team with top Division 1 college graduates and Canadian National Team players.
Julie Chu, Tricia Dunn-Luoma, Jenny Potter, Angela Ruggiero, and Caitlin Cahow and their Whitecaps teammates showcased their talent in the Western Women’s Hockey League showdown.
Other games in the Strathmore series took place Saturday at Mound’s Thaler Ice Arena, and Sunday at Maple Grove West Arena.
For more information, contact Kristie Minkoff, Minnesota Whitecaps, at (612) 710-2329, or visit www.minnesotawhitecaps.com.
Laker girls among metro leaders
A pair of Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Laker girls’ basketball players are among the metro leaders in scoring.
Senior Katie Pettit and junior Ellie Wessling are those Lakers among the leaders.
Wessling is averaging 17.8 points-per-game, while Pettit is right behind her teammate with a 17.5 average.
The highest-ranked girl in the area is Glencoe-Silver Lake’s Brittany Thiesfeld, who is second in the metro with a 25.2 points-per-game average.
STMA wrestler signs with Gophers
St. Michael-Albertville senior David Thorn recently signed a national letter of intent to wrestle for the University of Minnesota.
Thorn is a three-time state champion in wrestling and a two-time Junior National Freestyle All-American. He is the brother of current Gopher wrestler Mike Thorn, and is currently ranked number one in the Class AA wrestling poll at 125 pounds.
DCL swimmer among metro leaders in sprints
Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield boys’ swimmer Tim Walker is among the metro leaders with his times in the 50- and 100-freestyles.
Walker’s time of 22.50 in the 50 free puts him fifth in the metro, while his time of 49.34 in the 100 free puts him sixth.
After these rankings were determined, Walker surpassed those times with a 22.01 in the 50-free and a 49.33 in the 100-free Tuesday at Dassel-Cokato.
Outdoor broomball tourney in St. Paul
The 32nd annual St. Paul Winter Outdoor Adult Broomball Tournament will take place Saturday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan. 25 at McMurray Quadrinks in St. Paul.
To get off the couch and into the action this winter, visit the Minnesota Sports Federation web site at www.msf1.org, e-mail staff@msf1.org, or contact Tami at (763) 488-9995 ext. 11.
Area grapplers ranked in state
A number of area wrestlers have found themselves included in The Guillotine’s state rankings.
Below is a complete list of all of the area wrestlers listed in the latest rankings published Jan. 2.
Class 3A
• Justin Stevens (10), Mound-Westonka, 8th at 112 pounds.
• Mike Simeon (8), Buffalo, 10th at 112 pounds.
• David Backer (12), Buffalo, 6th at 130 pounds.
Class 2A
• Max Anderson (11) Dassel-Cokato, 3rd at 103 pounds.
• Nick Clobes (9) Hutchinson, 4th at 103 pounds.
• Zach Johnson (9) Rockford, 8th at 103 pounds.
• Drew Fleming (11) Watertown-Mayer/Mayer Lutheran, 1st at 112 pounds.
• Dalton Sowers (11) Delano, 9th at 119 pounds.
• Eli Stangret (12) Waconia, 3rd at 125 pounds.
• Ryan Arne (11) Orono, 4th at 135 pounds.
• Joe Hessing (11) Delano, 5th at 135 pounds.
• Alex Jenson (11) Glencoe-Silver Lake/Lester Prairie, 6th at 140 pounds.
• Noah Patnode (12) Rockford, 8th at 140 pounds.
• Joey Falde (11) Orono, 9th at 140 pounds.
• Ryan Madson (12) Hutchinson, 2nd at 145 pounds.
• Jake Anderson (12) Annandale/Maple Lake, 4th at 145 pounds.
• Max Poikonen (11) Watertown-Mayer/Mayer Lutheran, 8th at 145 pounds.
• Jake Bohler (12) Delano, 8th at 160 pounds.
• Jared Pawlek (12) Waconia, 6th at 189 pounds.
• Brian Broll (12) Waconia, 4th at 215 pounds.
Class 1A
• Clint Poster (10) Pierz, 4th at 119 pounds.
• Adam Bates (11) Sibley East, 6th at 119 pounds.
• Devin Scott (11) Holdingford, 6th at 130 pounds.
Delano’s Offerdahl makes the leader board in scoring
Last week, Delano’s Joey Offerdahl cracked the leader board for scoring average among the metro boys’ basketball scoring leaders. Offerdahl is averaging 18.8 points-per-game.
Girls’ volleyball state tourney
The Minnesota Sports Federation will conduct its 21st annual girls’ volleyball state championships beginning in mid-January and running through early May.
Ages 10-under through 18-under divisions are offered.
For information, visit the Minnesota Sports Federation web site at www.msf1.org, e-mail staff@msf1.org, or contact Anne at (763) 488-9995, ext. 10.
Youth BB state championships
The Minnesota Sports Federation will conduct its 21st annual girls’ and boys’ basketball state championships the last weekend in February, and the first weekend in March at various locations around the Twin Cities.
Tournaments are offered in fifth through ninth grades in a range of ability levels.
For information, visit the Minnesota Sports Federation web site at www.msf1.org or e-mail staff@msf1.org, or contact Steve or Anne at (763) 488-9995.
H.S. boys’ B.B. poll
(Associated Press, Jan. 
• Class 1A – 1. Granada-Huntley-East Chain (6-0); 2. Minnesota Transiitions (6-2); 3. Chisholm (7-1); 4. Bethlehem Academy (7-1); 5. Bertha-Hewitt (8-0); 6. Mankato Loyola (6-1); 7. Westbrook-Walnut Grove (7-0); 8. Spring Grove (7-1); 9. Ellsworth (6-2); 10. Sebeka (4-1).
• Class 2A – 1. St. Bernard’s (6-1); 2. Pelican Rapids (9-0); 3. Plainview/Elgin-Millville (9-0); 4. Braham (8-0); 5. Minnehaha Academy (7-1); 6. Sibley East (6-0); 7. Minnesota Valley Lutheran (9-0); 8. Redwood Valley (6-1); 9. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (5-0); 10. Virginia (6-1).
• Class 3A – 1. Mankato West (7-1); 2. St. Paul Johnson (7-3); 3. Minneapolis Washburn (4-3); 4. St. Cloud Apollo (9-1); 5. Monticello (6-2); 6. Worthington (8-1); 7. St. Thomas Academy (5-3); 8. Willmar (7-2); 9. St. Michael-Albertville (6-1); 10. Minneapolis Henry (6-3).
• Class 4A – 1. Hopkins (8-0); 2. Henry Sibley (8-1); 3. Cooper (7-0); 4. St. Cloud Tech (6-0); 5. Osseo (7-1); 6. Wayzata (8-1); 7. Edina (9-0); 8. Burnsville (8-0); 9. Tartan (6-2); 10. Eden Prairie (8-3).
H.S. girls’ B.B. poll
(Associated Press, Jan.
• Class 1A – 1. Barnum (8-0); 2. Ada-Borup (10-1); 3. Adrian (7-0); 4. New Life Academy (6-3); 5. New Ulm Cathedral (9-0); 6. Brandon-Evansville (7-0); 7. Red Lake County Central (8-0); 8. Bigfork (8-1); 9. Parkers Prairie (9-1); 10. Mountain Iron-Buhl (7-0).
• Class 2A – 1. Jordan (9-1); 2. New London-Spicer (11-0); 3. East Grand Forks (8-1); 4. Caledonia (12-0); 5. Eden Valley-Watkins (9-1); 6. Hayfield (8-0); 7. Esko (9-0); 8. NRHEG (8-0); 9. Fairmont (8-0); 10. Winona Cotter (10-0).
• Class 3A – 1. New Prague (7-2); 2. Worthington (9-0); 3. Totino-Grace (10-0); 4. Hill-Murray (7-2); 5. Minnehaha Academy (9-1); 6. DeLaSalle (10-2); 7. Orono (8-2); 8. Minneapolis North (4-4); 9. Grand Rapids (7-4); 10. Willmar (7-2).
• Class 4A – 1. Minneapolis South (10-2); 2. Hopkins (12-1); 3. Centennial (9-2); 4. Champlin Park (9-0); 5. Woodbury (9-1); 6. Chaska (8-2); 7. Bloomington Kennedy (9-2): 8. St. Paul Central (8-3); 9. Bemidji (8-1); 10. Eden Prairie (8-3).
H.S. boys’ hockey poll
(Let’s Play Hockey, Jan.
• Class 1A – 1. St. Thomas Academy; 2. Little Falls; 3. Hermantown; 4. Breck; 5. Warroad; 6. St. Cloud Cathedral; 7. Rochester Lourdes; 8. Mahtomedi; 9. Duluth Marshall; 10. Thief River Falls; 11. Hibbing; 12. South St. Paul; 13. Alexandria; 14. Totino-Grace; 15. Virginia.
• Class 2A – 1. Bloomington Jefferson; 2. Edina; 3. Hill-Murray; 4. Centennial; 5. Eden Prairie; 6. Holy Angels; 7. Blaine; 8. Duluth East; 9. Minnetonka; 10. Wayzata; 11. Woodbury; 12. Maple Grove; 13. Benilde-St. Margaret’s; 14. Cretin-Derham Hall; 15. Moorhead.
H.S. girls’ hockey poll
(Let’s Play Hockey, Jan.
• Class 1A – 1. Blake; 2. Breck; 3. Warroad; 4. Roseau; 5. Crookston/Red Lake Falls; 6. Mound-Westonka; 7. Northfield; 8. Silver Bay/Two Harbors; 9. South St. Paul; 10. Mankato West; 11. Orono; 12. Henry Sibley; 13. Hutchinson; 14. Alexandria; 15. Totino-Grace.
• Class 2A – 1. Roseville; 2. Stillwater; 3. Hopkins; 4. Hill-Murray; 5. Edina; 6. Minnetonka; 7. Grand Rapids/Greenway; 8. Centennial; 9. Proctor/Hermantown/Duluth Marshall; 10. Duluth; 11. Bemidji; 12. White Bear Lake; 13. Eagan; 14. Irondale; 15. Maple Grove.
H.S. wrestling poll
(The Guillotine, Jan. 2)
• Class 1A – 1. Canby; 2. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg; 3. Frazee; 4. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City; 5. Kenyon-Wanamingo; 6. Minneota; 7. Medford; 8. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River; 9. Jackson County Central; 10. Blue Earth; 11. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial; 12. BOLD.
• Class 2A – 1. Simley; 2. Perham; 3. Foley; 4. Scott West; 5. Plainview/Elgin-Millville; 6. St. Michael-Albertville; 7. Thief River Falls/Goodridge; 8. Totino-Grace; 9. Milaca; 10. Kasson-Mantorville; 11. Adrian; 12. New London-Spicer.
• Class 3A – 1. Apple Valley; 2. Hastings; 3. Albert Lea; 4. Cambridge-Isanti; 5. Anoka; 6. Coon Rapids; 7. Owatonna; 8. Centennial; 9. Bloomington Kennedy; 10. Prior Lake; 11. St. Francis; 12. Alexandria.
H.S. gymnastics poll
(AP, Jan. 6; scores are an average of each team’s top three scores)
• Class 1A – 1. Perham (145.617); 2. Becker (141.625); 3. Detroit Lakes (141.225); 4. Martin County West (140.7); 5. Mound-Westonka (139.413); 6. Big Lake (138.425); 7. Jackson County Central (137.775); 8. Melrose (135.55); 9. LeCrescent (134.317); 10. Sartell-St. Stephen (134.058).
• Class 2A – 1. St. Cloud Tech (147.133); 2. Cambridge-Isanti (146.327); 3. Roseville (144.65); 4. Lakeville South (142.892); 5. Eagan (142.024); 6. Rosemount (141.725); 7. Woodbury (141.225); 8. Eden Prairie (141.067); 9. Lakevile North (140.142); 10. Northfield (139.725).
H.S. boys’ swimming poll
(State coaches association, Jan. 6)
• Class 1A – 1. St. Thomas Academy; 1. Blake/Breck; 3. Red Wing; 4. Simley; 5. Sartell; 6. Willmar; 7. Hutchinson; 8. Mankato West; 9. Fergus Falls; 10. Spring Lake Park.
• Class 2A – 1. Edina; 2. Minnetonka; 3. Rosemount; 4. Rochester Century; 5. Wayzata; 6. Maple Grove; 7. Stillwater; 8. Brainerd; 9. Burnsville; 10. Eden Prairie.
Anyone with any information for Sports Shorts, please contact me, and let me know about it.
I can be reached by e-mail at aaron@heraldjournal.com, or by phone at (320) 485-2535, or you may drop the information off at any of our offices or drop boxes.
By Aaron Schultz
Sports Editor
Opening up Central Minnesota Conference action with a pair of road games last week, the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers boys’ basketball team earned a split.
The Lakers fell in their CMC opener Tuesday at Eden Valley-Watkins 50-43, but bounced back Friday to defeat Kimball 68-46.
HLWW is now 5-2 overall, and are 1-1 in the CMC.
This week, the Lakers will host Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity tonight (Monday), then get back into CMC action Thursday, Jan. 15 when, on the road again, they will travel to Pierz.
HLWW 68, Kimball 46
KIMBALL, MN – Defense, and a strong inside game, allowed the Lakers to run away with a 68-46 road victory over Kimball Friday.
“Our posts were very physical tonight (Friday) on the offensive and defensive end,” head coach Chad Gagnon said. “However, we won the game on the defensive end contesting all shots and not giving them second shots.”
How strong was the Lakers’ inside game Friday? Well, just take a look at the offensive rebound numbers and you will get the idea.
The Lakers grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in the win, while limiting the Cubs to just four.
Besides controlling the glass, the Lakers were also able to score inside, which opened up the outside shot for HLWW.
Meanwhile, on defense, the Lakers were able to contain Kimball’s top player, Scott Nystrom.
Nystrom did manage to lead all scorers with 23 points, but that wasn’t nearly enough for Kimball to keep them in the game.
A combination of Keith Diers, Joe Uter, Quin Leaf, and Jace Whitcomb all took their turns guarding Nystrom, and did a good job doing it.
As for the Lakers, they didn’t rely on any one player to shoulder the scoring load, as four different players were in double figures.
Senior Zach Grangroth did lead the Lakers with 20 points, but Jeff Hammer, Nash Faulk, and Eddie Wessling were all also in double figures.
“It was nice to see the balanced scoring with four guys in double figures,” Gagnon said.
HLWW took control of the game in the first half, and led 36-21 at halftime.
In the second half, the Lakers outscored Kimball 32-25 to cruise to their first CMC win of the year.
Game stats vs. Kimball (1/9)
• Zach Grangroth: 20 points.
• Jeff Hammer: 14 points.
• Nash Faulk: 14 points.
• Eddie Wessling: 10 points.
• Stephen Diedrich: 3 points.
• Luke Swedberg: 3 points.
• Keith Diers: 2 points.
• Jace Whitcomb: 2 points.
EVW 50, HLWW 43
EDEN VALLEY, MN – A tough night from the field cost the Lakers against Eden Valley-Watkins Tuesday as HLWW fell 50-43 on the road.
“We had an opportunity to win a tough road game, and we let it slip through our hands,” Gagnon said. “We need to capitalize on our easy buckets and free throws when we our having a difficult time scoring.”
The Lakers actually led 24-20 at halftime, but the Eagles stepped up their defensive intensity in the second half, which gave HLWW trouble.
In the second half, EVW held the Lakers to just 19 points, while scoring 30 themselves to come-from-behind to get the win.
The Lakers had a rough stretch in the second half turning over the basketball, which gave EVW some easy baskets.
Also, the Eagles forced HLWW into tough shots much of the night.
“EVW did a nice job on the defensive end,” Gagnon said.
However, when the Lakers were able to get an open look, they had a tough time draining them.
Foul trouble by Hammer also hurt the Lakers, as HLWW was forced to play more zone than they would have liked.
Despite playing more zone than Gagnon wanted to, it wasn’t the Lakers’ defense that cost them this game.
“When you give up 50 points you should win the majority of those games,” Gagnon said.
Game stats vs. EVW (1/6)
• Nash Faulk: 13 points, 2 assists.
• Zach Grangroth: 10 points, 5 rebounds.
• Jeff Hammer: 6 points, 3 blocks.
• Keith Diers: 4 points.
• Eddie Wessling: 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists.
• Joe Uter: 3 points.
• Stephen Diedrich: 2 points.
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