Maddie Guler

Pelican Rapids senior Maddie Guler has etched her name in school history with her game-winning shot in the Section 8AA girls’ basketball championship. But Guler is also a state champion in track. Gul er spoke about this past season and how she would dream the spring season to be.

Q: You have a unique situation because your team was in the middle of com peting at the girls’ state tournament when MSHSL canceled it because of the potential health impact, how did you take hearing the news?

A: I was sad, everyone was sad but I wasn’t focused on the cancelation, I was more focused on we had one game left to play and that was before our game, so I was still trying to stay focused on that game because I wanted to end my high school ca reer on a win.

Q: If the tournament had continued how do you feel the team would have finished?

A: I think we would’ve finished strong since we won the last game we played it would have been a fifth-place game and that would have been good to be a part of.

Q: As a state champion in track what’s been the hardest thing to process about possibly not having a final high school season?

A: That there’s always going to be unfinished business even when you do graduate and to not have the chance to go back to state or conference and all that, it’s hard to comprehend.

Q: How have they been handling the situation?

Birchwood GOLF COURSE

$ 25 9 hole round of golf with cart*

* Must present this coupon for discount

- Driving Range - Par 34 - Cart & Club Rentals

218-863-6486 19711 430th St. Pelican Rapids, MN www.golfbirchwood.com

A: Just hoping that we will get the chance to get to be on the track one last time together, the seniors with every body else, but we know that life is more than just sports and that there are things going on that are bigger than us right now out in the world.

Q: Describe how your dream spring sports season would have gone? A : The same as last year’s. We made it to the state meet and we weren’t looked at as potentially placing first and we really did surprise a few people. So this year we would have come in probably with a target on our backs — people wanting to take us down — but I would’ve loved to have ended my senior spring sports season with another blue medal around my neck.

Q: What has been the highlight of your senior year both academically and athletically?

A: Athletically it would be going to state in basketball, that’s always been my dream ever since I was a little girl. It’s just awesome to represent Pelican Rapids in that way because I know that when I was younger I always looked up to the girls who made it to state. When I was in elementary school I remember going to a game, going down to the barn when they played there, I was all oranged out to represent Pelican Rapids in that way. So to inspire the young er girls meant a lot to me. Academically I would say the highlight of my year would be winning the ‘Triple A’ (arts, athletics and

academics) award or being top 2% in my class.

Q: Having your senior year cut short what will you miss most about your senior class and high school sports?

A: With high school sports I’ll miss the family aspect of it. I’m involved in three sports and one of the sports, cross country and that one not too many people are in it that are in my school, and so I’ll miss the closeness of that and how I got to meet some of the younger kids through that area because we all work together. For my senior class, I’m going to miss how we were always the fun of the school, we were always causing … sometimes the problems (laughs), we were just the ones that could make the teachers laugh but also have fun ... I’m going to miss that.

Q: After going through coronavirus, distance learning, a delayed spring season, what would you tell upcoming classes, and what have you taken away from this whole ordeal?

A: Never take anything for granted, I know you hear that from the other seniors, saying ‘things go by too fast,’ ‘you never realize what you have until it’s gone’ but that has really come into play this year especially. No one ever thought that a pan demic would end our senior year, put it on hold how it did. I don’t think this has happened to anyone and it’s really put a perspective on things, that you really don’t have control over what’s going on.