Winter Sports Tab 2014-15

2014-15

SPORTS

FRAZEE • DETROIT LAKES • LAKE PARK-AUDUBON

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

2

THE FRAZEE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM Front row (L-R): Dustin Parsons, Jacob Roble, Harley Ellingson, Wesley Erickson, Colton Olson, Nathan Nguyen, Gunnar Hilde. Back row: Logan Gaetz, Mathew Daggett, Austin Torma, Matt Tangen, Brady Bellefeuille, Matt Barker, Parker Nudell, Colton Bakkila. Not pictured-Chance Willette.

Hornets start season on positive note

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

football season and should be a confident presence down low. Matt Tangen, a six-foot-two senior guard The Frazee boys’ basketball team returns after missing most of last got a win in the season opener this season with an injury. year and that alone is a big step for a Coach Tangen is working on team that lost 20 of 26 games during creating depth from the bench with the the 2013-14 campaign. luxury of seven seniors on the team Boys basketball in Frazee has including Chance Willette, Mathew struggled, as the six wins from last Daggett, Colton Olson and Harley Ellingson.

Junior forward Parker Nudell leads the underclassmen.

Coach Tangen takes over for Jason Reierson who is now Head coach Brian Tangen after first win an assistant coach on the girls’ basketball year’s team are the most in a season in team under Dave Conzemius. the past 10 years.

Tangen was the head boys’ coach for Brian Tangen is in his second stint Frazee in the latter half of the 1990’s at the helm for the Hornets and has taking over for Denny Anderson. a go-to player in six-foot-five senior The Hornets were winless (0-12) Brady Bellefeuille, who can play at the in the Heart O’Lakes Conference last post as well as carry the team’s scoring season. This year’s HOL has a distinct from outside. favorite in the Hawley Nuggets, but the He scored 27 points and hauled in 15 remainder of the conference should play rebounds to kick the year off with an far more evenly than in the recent past. impressive double-double in a win at Pelican Rapids will need to replace Menahga.

Ryan Bruggeman’s game-changing Bellefeuille will be joined by six- output on the score sheet. Perham is foot-one senior Austin Torma in the retooling a year past a three-year run paint. Torma is fresh off a successful as the Section 8AA champions. rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

“I was really proud of our team, they played together and battled to the end of the game.”

Both Pelican Rapids and Hawley will start the year under new coaches.

Jeff Stoa takes over in Hawley with a team ready to win. John Gullngsrud, a former Perham girls’ basketball coach and a girls’ assistant in Pelican Rapids, takes over the Vikings.

The Nuggets and Yellowjackets shared the HOL title last year with 9-3 records and Barnesville, the eventual 8AA South Champions, were third with a record of 8-3.

Frazee was eliminated by the Trojans in the opening round of the playoffs last year.

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Breckenridge and Frazee will all be improved with equal chances to move up from the bottom three spots in the conference standings.

BOYS BASKETBALL ROSTER NO.

NAME

GRADE

Wes Erickson

G

11

10 14 20 21 23 24 30 32 33 40 44

Chance Willette Dustin Parsons Colton Olson Gunnar Hilde Mathew Daggett Matt Tangen Harley Ellingson Matt Barker Parker Nudell Austin Torma Brady Bellefeuille

G G G F F G G C F C F

12 10 12 11 12 12 12 11 11 12 12

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210 Maple Ave. E. • Frazee, MN

218-334-2866

218-334-2131 • Frazee, MN Heath & Cindy Peterson, Owners

POS.

4

www.bethlehem frazee.org Pastor William Aufdenkamp Sunday Worship 8:00 am and 10:30 am Church Services Wednesday 7:30 pm

BOYS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE DATE

TIME

OPPONENT

SITE

11/21

7:30 PM

Menahga (5A)

Menahga H.S.

12/2

7:30 PM

Frazee H.S.

12/5 12/9 12/11 12/16 12/18 12/23 12/29

7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 3:30 PM

Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8AA) Mahnomen (8A) Sebeka (5A) Breckenridge (8AA) Hawley (8AA) Pelican Rapids (8AA) Battle Lake (6A) Park Rapids Area (8AA)

12/30

2:00 PM

1/6 1/9 1/13

8:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM

1/17 1/20

8:00 AM 7:30 PM

1/22

7:30 PM

1/27

7:30 PM

1/29 2/3

7:30 PM 7:30 PM

2/5

7:30 PM

2/7

11:45 AM

2/10 2/12

7:30 PM 7:30 PM

2/13 2/17 2/20

8:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM

Park Rapids Area (8AA) Barnesville (8AA) Perham (8AA) Wadena-Deer Creek (8AA) Crookston (8AA) Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8AA) NCE/UH Titans (6A)

Mahnomen H.S. Frazee H.S. Breckenridge H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Battle Lake H.S. Park Rapids Area H.S. Park Rapids Area H.S. Frazee H.S. Perham H.S. Wadena-Deer Creek H.S. Concordia College Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. Ulen-Hitterdal H.S. Frazee H.S.

Walker-HackensackAkeley H.S. (8A) Waubun (6A) Frazee H.S. Pelican Rapids (8AA) Pelican Rapids H.S. Lake Park-AuduFrazee H.S. bon (6A) Bagley (8AA) Frazee H.S. Breckenridge (8AA) Wadena-Deer Creek (8AA) Barnesville (8AA) Perham (8AA) Hawley (8AA)

Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Barnesville H.S. Frazee H.S. Hawley H.S.

2/28 7:15 PM Wadena-DC (8AA) Wadena-DC Please check www.frazee.k12.mn.us for schedule changes

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

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THE FRAZEE GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM Front ro L-R: Anne Winter, Michela Sanders, Shania Lehman, Hailee Oswald, Hailey EillingsonWirth, Madison Oswald. Back: Brianna Blauert, Josi Tappe, Mandy Donahue, Kennady Barlund, Katie Smith, Whitney Janu.

Hornets alive in the conference race

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

The Frazee girls’ basketball team is comprised of familiar names that made an impact this fall in volleyball and have the confidence from that successful season to take into this year’s basketball campaign.

The Hornets are building on two straight winning seasons 19-7 in 201213 and 14-13 last year but suffered a 2-10 record in the Heart O’Lakes Conference, finishing last.

Hawley and Pelican Rapids dueled for the conference championship with the Nuggets winning the HOL with a mark of 10-2.

“We expect to be back in the mix this year,” Head Coach Dave Conzemius said.

Frazee placed third two seasons ago with a 7-5 conference record.

Frazee will have to work from outside as the team has only one player over five-foot-eight inches tall in junior center Whitney Janu.

A strong defense and efficient rebounding will be keys to the Hornets’ success.

The Hornets have six seniors, including last year’s leading scorer Josi Tappe. Tappe led the team in three categories: 520 points, 103 steals and 129 assists. Tappe’s 103 steals was a school record, along with setting a new record with 42 points in a game in a win at Mahnomen.

Senior Kennady Barlund was second

last year in scoring with 293 points, followed by other top scorers junior Hailee Oswald (170), and seniors Katie Smith (127) and Mandy Donahue (91).

Tappe and Oswald led Frazee from the three-point line with 48 and 49 threes, respectively.

Smith, Barlund and Tappe are Frazee’s tri-captains.

Shooting is a definite plus for this year’s squad.

Frazee will have to replace the lone departed senior Taylor Tappe who scored 269 points and had a team-high 248 rebounds, while nearly averaging a double-double per game. Taylor Tappe averaged 10 points per game and 9.2 rebounds.

The HOL will be stacked with talent this year, especially in Pelican Rapids with the return of Mackenzie Korf.

Korf led the Vikings to an 18-2 mark last year before missing the rest of the year with knee surgery. Korf led Pelican Rapids to the section title two seasons ago as a freshman.

The remaining Vikings gained a lot of experience playing without Korf last year and should present a stiff challenge to Hawley for the conference title.

Hawley returns their entire starting five players and are the preseason favorites after reaching the section final with a record of 21-7.

Frazee took Hawley to overtime at home last year and proved they can play with the top teams despite clawing HOL wins at home versus Barnesville and at Perham.

Frazee was 0-10 against the rest of

the conference.

Janu will be matched up with a number of talented players with height in the HOL. Breckenridge senior six-foot center Kennedy Conzemius leads the Cowgirls.

D-G-F returns the Rebels’ starting lineup with last year’s leading scorer, Alyson Brenna, a five-seven junior.

Lincoln Haiby took over for Korf in Pelican down the stretch and the five10 senior will be a nice compliment to work the ball in and out of the paint.

Perham had a successful summer season but will not return with Ella Von Ruden, who was a strong presence down low. The Yellowjackets will be quick and will count on Maria Rutten’s scoring ability to lead the way.

Like the volleyball team in Frazee, ending a streak of early playoff exits will be a main goal. Frazee’s volleyball team advanced to the subsection final.

The Hornets have three consecutive

GIRLS BASKETBALL ROSTER NO.

NAME

POS.

GRADE

1

Shania Lehman

G

10

2 4 10 14 20 22 24 34 42 44 54

Hailee Oswald Madison Oswald Katie Smith Kennady Barlund Anne Winter Hailey Ellingson-Wirth Mandy Donahue Josi Tappe Whitney Janu Brianna Blauert Michela Sanders

G G G F G G G G F F F

11 11 12 12 12 10 12 12 11 12 11

first round basketball playoff losses dating back to their last postseason victory Feb 28, 2011 against Park Rapids.

Having tasted playoff success this fall will definitely be a boost to this hungry team.

GIRLS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE DATE

TIME

OPPONENT

7:30 PM

Mahnomen (8A)

Frazee H.S.

12/4

7:30 PM

Frazee H.S.

12/8

7:30 PM

12/11 12/13

7:30 PM 3:30 PM

Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8AA) Wheaton/HermanNorcross (6A) Breckenridge (8AA) Badger/GB-MR (8AA)

12/16 12/18 12/22 12/30

7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM

1/5 1/6 1/9 1/12 1/16 1/17 1/20 1/22

7:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 12:00 AM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM

1/23

7:30 PM

1/29 1/31

5:45 PM 3:30 PM

Bemidji State Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. Lake ParkAudubon Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S.

2/3

7:30 PM

Roseau (8AA) Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8AA) Lake Park-Audubon (6A) Waubun (6A) Park Rapids Area (8AA) Battle Lake (6A)

2/6 2/10 2/13 2/19 2/24

7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM

Pelican Rapids (8AA) Breckenridge (8AA) Barnesville (8AA) Perham (8AA) Hawley (8AA)

Frazee H.S. Breckenridge H.S. Barnesville H.S. Perham H.S. Frazee H.S.

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Frazee H.S. Greenbush-Middle River H.S. Pelican Rapids (8AA) Pelican Rapids Bagley (8AA) Bagley H.S. Menahga (5A) Frazee H.S. Wadena-Deer Creek Frazee H.S. (8AA) NCE/UH Titans (6A) Frazee H.S. Barnesville (8AA) Frazee H.S. Henning (6A) Frazee H.S. Perham (8AA) Frazee H.S. Hawley (8AA) Hawley H.S. Crookston (8AA) Concordia College

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

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Nagel’s return boosts Hornet wrestling Wrestlers set sights on state tourney berth

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

It’s state tournament or bust for Frazee wrestling.

The lofty goal seems more of an automatic assumption for the the Hornets. Year after year, Frazee keeps pumping out quality wrestling teams and this year Frazee fans and wrestlers will take a quick step back in time with the return of Clay Nagel at the head coaching position.

Nagel, the former Concordia College wrestling coach thought his wrestling coaching days were over after resigning from the Cobbers’ staff in May to take a teaching job at Frazee High School.

Nagel returns to coach a Hornet squad he coached for 18 seasons from 1987-04.

“I’ve always said Frazee is a great community and a great school,” Nagel said on Friday. “Whether you’re 0-20 or 20-0, it’s just coaching and helping each person be as accomplished a wrestler as they can be. I’m just excited for all aspects of it, from beginning wrestlers to more advanced wrestlers.”

Nagel is certainly not a beginning

THE FRAZEE WRESTLING TEAM is ranked No. 2 in Class A in The Guillotine’s Dec. 12 state polls. The Hornets will inevitably make a run at the state championship as the program continues to evolve and find success year in and year out. the tank to give back to the sport and thought I’d give it a try,” Nagel said.

“A lot of the wrestlers I’ll be coaching are the sons of wrestlers I coached and cousins and nephews.

“It’s a very strong community, and I’m looking forward to connecting with the parents and kids.”

Frazee entered last year’s Class A team tournament with a dual record of 18-1 and the No. 2 ranking in the state.

The Hornets were knocked out in the semifinals by No. 3 Chatfield 38-19 and fell by one point in the third place match 3332 to Jackson County Central.

The Huskies have been a familiar foe for Frazee at Xcel Energy Center.

JCC defeated Frazee 38-22 in the 2013 state finals and the two teams tied at 28 points each in the state finals in 2011.

The Hornets have seven wrestlers ranked in the preseason led by Byron Byer and Garret Malstrom from the 2014 state all-tournament team. Malstrom is ranked No. 1 at heavyweight to start the season.

Tanner Schermerhorn, Tanner Reetz, Grant Jepson, Austin Skillings, Jonah Lang are all ranked in the top nine of their respective weight classes.

Skillings and Malstrom, both seniors, placed third at state last season.

Malstrom led the Hornets with a 47-7 season record. Skillings was second

“A lot of wrestlers I’ll be coaching are the sons of wrestlers I coached...”

Head coach Clay Nagel wrestling coach. He was 285-54-3 with 13 state tournament appearances and three state titles in his 18 years at Frazee.

Nagel was with the Cobbers for eight seasons, but it was the commute from Frazee that got old for him.

“I really enjoyed my time at Concordia, but I never moved from Frazee,” Nagel said. “I drove back and forth every day, and that was part of the decision-making process. Driving 110 miles a day versus driving 10 miles a day.”

As for wrestling, that hasn’t gotten old for Nagel yet.

“I thought my coaching days were over, but the job opened up, and I felt like I still had something left in

JUTZ

on the team in wins going 39-12, along with Reetz, a sophomore, who was 396.

The Hornets will be tested in the section by Greenbush/Middle River, last year’s section runners-up. The Gators lost only two wrestlers to graduation and return five state qualifiers.

The Hornets lost five wrestlers to graduation who all recorded at least 20 victories last season in Kody VanDenEykel, Ryan Brandt, Hunter Sorenson, Nate Starry and Brandon DeGroat.

As is typical in Frazee, those holes in the lineup will be filled with wrestlers who have waited their turn and fought for a place in the starting 14 spots.

WRESTLING ROSTER NO. 106 106 120 120 120 126 132 132 138 138 145 145 152 160 170 170 195 220

GRADE

NAME Roforth, Ricky Schermerhorn, Tanner Byer, Ethan Eischens, Tanner Reetz, Tanner Byer, Byron Drewes, Toby Jepson, Grant Schermerhorn, Isaac Skillings, Austin Beaty, Austin Miller, John Streeper, Calvin Bachmann, Tanner Lange, Jonah Splonskowski, Alex Tappe, Tanner Malstrom, Garrett

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12/12

TIME

OPPONENT

12/16

Brainerd/Pillager (8AAA) 10:30 AM Brainerd/Pillager (8AAA) 5:00 PM Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8A) 6:00 PM Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8A) 6:00 PM Pelican Rapids (6A)

12/18 12/20 12/20 12/20

7:30 PM 0:00 AM 0:00 AM 0:00 AM

12/13 12/16 12/16

12/20 12/20 12/20

2/20 2/21 2/10 2/13 2/19 2/24

0:00 AM

Moorhead (8AAA) Becker (6AA) Perham (8AA) Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Area (4A) TBD Minneota (3A) 10:00 AM Pierz (7A) 11:00 AM Annand/M Lk Lightning (6AA) 6:00 PM Perham (8AA) 7:30 PM Perham (8AA) 7:00 PM Barnesville (6A) 9:30 AM Alexandria (8AAA) 11:30 AM Alexandria (8AAA) 6:00 PM Detroit Lakes (8AA) 7:30 PM Detroit Lakes (8AA) 7:15 PM Blackduck/Cass Lake Bena Bears (7A) 0:00 AM Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8A) 0:00 AM Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (8A) 7:30 PM Breckenridge (8AA) 6:30 PM Barnesville (8AA) 7:30 PM Perham (8AA) 7:30 PM Hawley (8AA)

SITE Brainerd H.S. Brainerd H.S. Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. Moorhead H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Barnesville H.S. Alexandria H.S. Alexandria H.S. Detroit Lakes H.S. Detroit Lakes H.S. Blackduck H.S. Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. Breckenridge H.S. Barnesville H.S. Perham H.S. Frazee H.S.

2/28 7:15 PM Wadena-DC (8AA) Wadena-DC Please check www.frazee.k12.mn.us for schedule changes

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

5

THE FRAZEE FLY GIRLS Front Row – L-R: Lindsey Sternberg (Captain), Hannah Conway, Isabella Matjeka, Kaitlin Wake, Kaitlyn Guhlke, Greta Nelson, Delaney Matjeka, Cecelia George & Darcy Mortenson. Middle: Juliana Diemert, Taylor Wutzke (Captain), Desiree Bauer, Kiara Dekarske, Jaden Ketter, Faith Conway, Jocelyn Giefer and Cassidy Nelson. Back: Kaitlyn Borah, Maddie Rue, Bailey Tinjum, Kyliegh VanDenEykel, Mollee Byer (Captain), Sarah Wendt, Brittany Lormis, Cassidy Shipman, Maddie Williams and Justice Gustafson.

Experienced Fly Girls after state titles

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

The Frazee Fly Girls dance teams placed third in high kick and fourth in jazz at the state Class A Dance Team tournament last season and bring back a seasoned group to try to better that mark this year.

“I have high expectations for both my jazz and high kick Team,” Head Coach Ta Fett said. “My high kick team brings a lot of experience, but even the new girls have either been on junior varsity high kick or they have taken high kick at Northern Lights Dance Academy in Frazee.”

Fett is assisted by coaches Julie Wake, Kiala Velde, Kelsey Hoff and Kellie Case Swanson, along with team managers Kelly Reishus and Brooke Sperl.

The team graduated five seniors but that has a distinct difference in dance, as opposed to other sports.

“Dance really does not rely on one or two people. There are no stars on the dance team. They have to look like one when they dance - so all must have similar talent and skills. Unison is key and one star dancer will not make or break a team.”

Fett has the largest team she’s assembled at Frazee with 48 girls participating on the varsity and junior varsity taking up both gymnasiums at the Frazee Elementary school during practice.

There are 27 girls total on the varsity kick team and 13 the jazz team.

“In Jazz, “I have a young team, but they are very talented. Again, they are studio dancers and many have danced together since they were seven or eight years old. This is the most difficult jazz dance we have ever done. I have faith in this group.”

While dance teams may get less publicity than many other winter sports, the sport itself is continually growing.

There are nearly 200 schools with dance programs and more than 4,000 dancers in kick and nearly 5,000 in jazz in Minnesota based on MSHSL numbers from 2012-13.

Frazee’s high kick team has 27 girls, 18 of whom have state experience and five with significant studio competition experience.

Three moved up from junior varsity.

“They learn fast and have incredible enthusiasm.”

This year’s captains are seniors Taylor Wutzke, Mollee Byer and Lindsey Sternberg.

“My team brings a lot of commitment and passion for dance. These girls are like sisters - they are definitely a bonded group. They know that talent can only get you so far and they have made the very conscious decision to be united as one team with one goal.”

For a team that was top five in both state competitions, it leaves less room to go up but big steps to take for

Frazee’s program.

School size has a far less effect on dance competitions, as shown

by Aitkin. Aitkin has the lowest enrollment numbers since 1985 this year, but their dance team has been stellar. The All Starz have six state titles since 2001.

Frazee is on the same quest and have the experience at the state level to get a state championship.

DANCE ROSTER GRADE

NAME Brittany Lormis

10

Cassidy Nelson Faith Conway Greta Nelson Isabella Matejka Jaden Ketter Jocelyn Giefer Julie Diemert Kaitlin Wake Kaitlyn Borah Lindsey Sternberg Maddie Rue Mollee Byer Sarah Wendt Taylor Wutzke

9 11 7 8 11 12 9 7 10 12 11 12 11 12

“They know what it takes to do well and they are willing to put in the work. I have wonderful captains, a great coaching staff and we are supported by an amazing booster club,” said Fett.

DANCE SCHEDULE DATE

TIME

OPPONENT

SITE

12/6

12:00 PM Detroit Lakes Invite

Detroit Lakes H.S.

12/12

TBD

Frazee H.S.

12/12 12/20 1/10 1/17 1/24

Marshall School, Duluth (4A) 6:30 PM Pelican Rapids H.S. 6:30 PM Crookston (4A) 6:30 PM Dilworth-GlyndonFelton H.S. (4A) 6:30 PM United Clay-Becker Mystix (4A) 6:30 PM Mahnomen/Waubun Sparklers (4A) 6:30 PM Wadena-Deer Creek (4A) 6:30 PM Frazee Invitational 12:00 PM B.O.L.D. Invitational TBD Alexandria Invite 12:00 PM Hawley Invitational 11:00 AM Pelican Rapids Invite

2/7 2/13

12:00 PM Sections 4A TBD State Tournament

12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12

Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. Frazee H.S. B O L D H.S. Alexandria H.S. Hawley H.S. Pelican Rapids H.S. Sections 4A State Tournament

Please check www.frazee.k12.mn.us for schedule changes

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

7 LAKER BOYS HOCKEY TEAM: Row 1 (L to R): Sam Boomgaarden, Josh Bollig, Mac Steele, Tristan Wimmer, Austin Fritz, Cooper Heimark, Adam Lund.

Row 2: Hunter Suedel, Jace Engelstad, Byron VanGerpen, Johnathan Hallisey, Bailey Tulius, Tanner Berby, Jacob Herrmann, Tanner Steele, Jon Richards, Sam Nelmark. Row 3: Jeric Giwoyna, Jack DeConcini, Tyrel Berby, Carson Tunheim, Carter Schwan, Andrew Dahl, Joe Solberg, Ryan DeConcini.

Laker hockey resets with new coaches

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

River,” Dwyer said. “I think those are the three top teams in the section and I think we’re right in the mix.”

DL returns their top two scorers in junior Jon Richards (22-33-55) and senior Ryan DeConcini (24-29-53).

“DeConcini and Richards will be a big part, but I think our defense will be a big part as well.”

Junior defenseman Josh Bollig will lead the Lakers on the blue line.

“Bollig is right there with them; He’s a stud athlete.

Cooper Heimark and Andrew Dahl are right there too, they just play different styles.”

The Lakers’ style of play will be hard-nosed and attacking under Dwyer, who coached the BreckenridgeWahpeton Blades for six seasons prior to coming to DL. “I don’t believe in sitting back. You lose the puck, go get it. Get the puck deep, no turnovers in the neutral zone and attack. We’re not going to pack it in; that’s for sure. We’re going to make teams beat us. We’re not going to beat ourselves.”

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

First year head coach Todd Dwyer and the Laker boys’ hockey team kick off their season Saturday afternoon at Fergus Falls in the season opener for both teams.

Dwyer replaced Chris Denardo, who was head coach for six seasons amassing a record of 76-77-5. Denardo’s

“We’ve got a good goaltender battle going on.”

Head coach Todd Dwyer best season was his final year when the Lakers went 17-8-1 before being knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the eventual Class A state champions from East Grand Forks 8-1.

“We’ve got to beat East Grand; we’ve got to beat Warroad and Thief

The Lakers are deep in net with goalies MacKenzie Steele and Austin Fritz.

Steele had a record of 10-7-1 as the starter in his junior season last year.

Fritz was undefeated in six contests as the sophomore backup.

Dwyer has yet to name a starter in goal, nor has he cemented his lines for the upcoming opener allowing for competition in practice and making players earn their roles.

“Right now I think we’ve got a good goaltender battle going on and we’re a deep team and that competition is good.”

Seniors Jonathan Hallisey (10-919), Tanner Steele (2-12-14), and Sam Boomgarden (6-4-10) all return as top 10 scorers from last season, along with senior Joe Solberg, a Perham hockey co-op player like DeConcini.

With a team of experienced juniors and a lead group of seven seniors, the goals for the team are high to move past the second round of the section playoffs, something that has eluded the Lakers for more than a decade.

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appearance since back-to-back runs in 1995-96. The Lakers were winless in those four state games.

“Our goal is to go to the state tournament. That’s what we’ve talked about since day one.

I came here for an opportunity to go to the state tournament.”

To get there, the team will need to buy into Dwyer’s change in playing style and perform to the new coach’s standards on and off the ice.

“Too much fancy gets you in trouble. I have more of a blue collar work ethic. I think the discipline level is a lot different on and off the ice.

They’re held to a really high standard in school, including their conduct, grades and everything. Playing hockey is a privilege in my eyes. The way we carry ourselves off the ice will go a long way. Every team I’ve coached has been that way. We’ve got to take care of business.”

DL and the Otters face off at 2 p.m. at the Fergus Falls Community Arena Saturday, Nov. 22.

Fergus Falls has won the last two meetings between the teams.

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

8

Laker girls primed for run at section title

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

The defending co-Mid-State champion Laker girls basketball team will look to build on a 20-win season last year and will do so with opposing defenses trying to clamp down on star senior Shay Nielsen in the paint.

“Shay brings a lot to the table,” Head Coach Mike Hoganson said.

“You hope that you can build on that.”

Nielsen nearly averaged a doubledouble per game last year scoring 17 points per game with nine rebounds and led the Lakers in scoring with 470 points setting a DLHS all-time singleseason scoring record, along with new records in field goals made (180), free throws made (110) and field goal attempts (171).

Nielsen’s presence is going to draw multiple defenders and the Lakers have three outside threats in seniors Kyley Foster and Hailey Jorgenson and juniors Kyra Vagle. The trio were starters last year and consistent from behind the arc.

Jorgenson, especially, who returns as the three-point specialist. She made 41 threes and a shot 33.9 percent mark from long range.

Foster scored 291 points on the year (10.8 ppg), adding a team-high 141 assists and 55 steals at the point guard position. Besides dishing the ball around, Foster proved she can drive the lane and take over the scoring burden when necessary. She tied Jennie Bowers (1992) for most assists in a game with 13 in January.

Vagle adds another three-point threat sinking 21 last year and shooting 37.5 percent.

Foster made 33 shooting 35.5 percent and Grace Swenson added 18

LAKER GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM L-R: Mikayla Markuson, Kyra Vagle, Marissa Gilbert, Casey Brodsho, Hailey Jorgenson, Shay Nielsen, Annie Mettert, Kyley Foster, Danica Greer, Grace Swenson, Abby Schramel, Halle Jordan. play dictates.

“Grace Swenson has really stepped up,” Hoganson said. “Grace is one of those unique players that can shoot the three as well as go inside as a dual threat.”

Annie Mettert brings length as a six foottwo senior coming off knee surgery.

“Before she got hurt, her inside defense was fantastic. We’re hoping she really brings that back to the table this year.”

Senior Danica Greer and juniors

“We return 70 percent of our scoring from last year.”

Head coach Mike Hoganson threes shooting 28.6 percent. Swenson, a junior, will round out the starting five playing down low with Nielsen and moving out to the perimeter when

Casey Brodsho, Sarah Larson, Marissa Gilbert, and Halle Jordan bring depth to the team, along with more height from underclassmen in the middle with six-foot-one sophomore Mikayla Markuson and five-eight Abby Schramel.

“We return 70 percent of our scoring from last year. We’ve got to play together. I really like the chemistry of this team. They play together and share the basketball. I’m encouraged that way and how hard they work in practice. My biggest thing is how we pass the ball. If we pass the ball well, we’ll shoot the ball well.”

Hoganson projects the potential four 20-win teams with Thief River Falls,

Alexandria, and Albany challenging the Lakers for the top spot.

“The door is open without a team like Fergus in it.”

The defending section champion Otters should be in a rebuilding year after graduating all five starters from last year’s state tournament team.

The Lakers finished the season last year with a record of 20-7 ending with a disappointing overtime loss in the first round of the playoffs.

DL opens this season with a chance for revenge Friday, Dec. 5 at Alexandria.

DL has a rough start to the season playing 12 of their first 17 games on the road.

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

9

Big expectations for Laker dance team

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

The Detroit Lakes Dance team comes off a learning year and has a full lineup of experienced dancers for the coming season.

“I feel like we will be better because we don’t have to deal with so many rookies,” Head Coach Britton Ramsey said. ”The girls coming in know what to expect. They know what the competitions look and feel like and who we are competing against.”

Last season, 60 percent of

different and it was fun but the judges didn’t love that on the score sheet. We knew going in that they weren’t going to score well because of the style we chose.”

This season’s performances will add on to that learning experiment.

“I expect more this year.

We have routines that are going to be competitive.”

Nearly 50 dancers tried out for this year’s team with 40 making the squad, 17 on varsity, 23 on the junior varsity. Dancers were given the option to tryout for both

“Our style is better suited for us this year.”

Head coach Britton Ramsey the varsity team was made up of first-year dancers.

“Last year was a pretty tough year because we had a lot of seniors the year before so a lot of our leaders were out. They were young, inexperienced and it was kind of, OK, let’s get through this kind of a year — let’s learn and see where we go.”

Given the nature of the 2013 team, both the Jazz and Kick dance teams were able to vary their routines and experiment with what works and what doesn’t.

“Our style is better suited for us this year,” said Ramsey.

“Last year, we decided to do something fun and totally

the Jazz and Kick teams, but weren’t mandated to do so.

“We tried to make it a little more appealing to everybody that way.”

The dance team will be led

by Kalley Waller a senior and two-year captain and junior, first-year captain Sadie Boeckel.

DL opens their season with a home invitational Saturday, Dec. 6 at 11 a.m., with 320 dancers from 11 towns and 20 teams in attendance.

“It’s going to be huge.”

The home date is the only team appearance on the schedule in Detroit Lakes.

The remainder of the season will be on the road.

LAKER GIRLS DANCE TEAM: Row 1 (L to R): Sadie Boeckel, Maddie Ramsey. Row 2: Morgan Gerdes, Madi Anderson, Cherish Johnson, Natalie Nelmark. Row 3: Megan Gilsdorf, Chenoa Vizenor, Kalyn Willson, Casey Jenson, Abi Skinner. Row 4: Kendra Gilsdorf, Ivy Branden, Kalley Waller, Megan Vogt, Mirella Grimm, Debbie Gilster “If we’re going to compete, we have to travel.”

With the jam-packed winter schedule, space is an issue in hosting competitions as the dance team competes with all the other sports for gymnasium time.

Wrestling meets and basketball games at home frequently interrupt practice, which is done on the stage at the high school. Congruently, the dance practice competes

with bouncing basketballs during practice sessions making the Ralph Anderson gym a noisy place to work out after school.

“It’s interesting, for sure. I don’t think that’s necessarily uncommon. We are so fortunate to have so many sports in DL. We’re big enough to offer something for everybody. We try to do our best and work together.”

Last season, DL was

accepted into the Northern Lights Conference, which includes mostly Mid-State Conference teams with dance programs. The Lakers will compete in Section 4AA, comprised of 13 teams, three of which advance to state.

The team also has two web platforms: Facebook.com/ DetroitLakesDanceTeam Website: http://lakerdanceteam. weebly.com/

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

10

Underclassmen to compliment core senior group for Laker girls’ hockey

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

Head Coach Gretchen Norby has a core group of experienced seniors that will be complimented by a talented group of underclassmen for the Laker girls’ hockey team this season.

Veronica Badurek will be the senior starting goaltender. Badurek has loads of experience having been the starter in net since her freshman year.

“That’s a treat as a coach when you can have the same goaltender for four years,” said Norby.

While winning seasons have been tough to come by for Detroit Lakes, the team returns players who made the trip to the state tournament in 2011-12, Norby’s first year behind the bench.

Randa Larsen is a four-year player with state experience and will wear the “C” as the senior captain.

“She’s a great leader for us, a hard worker and does a great job.”

Alternate captain Emily Seebold also brings four years of experience to the team.

“Great leadership in those two,” Norby said.

Senior Tarissa Wheeler returns from a year away as an exchange student in Croatia.

“She has a heck of a shot. She’ll step in and play well for us and it will be exciting to see how she has improved.”

Ana Sturdevant is a transfer from Perham. Sturdevant played last season as a defenseman for the Long PrairieGrey Eagle/Wadena-Deer Creek Blue Devils.

“That’s a nice thing when you look at a smaller senior class, we’re not going to lose a ton for next year, but definitely their experience is invaluable to us.”

DL is coming off a 9-11-4 season last year and a 5-22 mark in 2013.

Alexandria has knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs the past two seasons.

“We play a tough schedule.”

The Lakers have a tough start to the season also, embarking on a four-game road trip against top section opponents Alexandria and Fergus Falls, and trips to Thief River Falls and International Falls, before opening the home schedule Nov. 25 against Park Rapids Area.

“Our goal is to compete and I think that with the team we have this year it’s a definite possibility for us. I think we’re going to be very successful within our section. Fergus and Alex will be tough again and those are the teams we’re going to need to get through to get to the state tournament

LAKER GIRLS HOCKEY TEAM: Row 1 (L to R): Shannara Wheeler, Veronica Badurek. Row 2: Karrigan Hallisey, Payton Carlblom, Annie Ingebrand, Ana Sturdevant, Danielle Unruh, Emily Seebold, Savanna Nolan, Samantha Benson, Jamie Bollig. Row 3: Hannah Rhodes, Emily Schiltz, Hailieyn Wenger, Tarissa Wheeler, Chandra Johnson, Lily Burnside, Abagail King, Hailey Sonstegard, Randa Larsen again.”

Underclassmen will be counted on to contribute to make the Laker season a success.

“Talent-wise, and depth-wise we’re stacked; this is the best team I’ve ever had since being here.”

Two top defensemen are underclassmen in Chandra Johnson, a junior and sophomore Jamie Bollig.

Sophomore Emily Schiltz will also play important minutes at the blue line.

“Back there, I’m feeling pretty positive about that, but the big thing for us is we’ve got to put pucks in the net. That’s where we’ve always struggled.”

Junior Hailey Sonstegard led the team in scoring last season.

“She’ll step in and get some goals for us and she consistently gets that done.”

Larsen is also expected to lead on the score sheet, along with sophomore Hannah Rhodes, who has really come on, according to Norby.

“We will have a little more spread out scoring, instead of having to depend on Hailey. I think we’ll see multiple names on the board.”

Depth is also a benefit to this year’s squad.

“Something that we’ve never been

able to do before is run three lines consistently. The times we did last year, we were very effective. I think that’s something we’re going to have the luxury of doing this year.”

Norby had 38 skaters on the ice for tryouts from eighth grade to seniors.

“Some of those younger kids that are moving up from the youth level might step in and have a role on that third and fourth line. I can see that

happening at this point.”

DL will compete in the Mid-State Conference and Greater Minnesota Conference, which features successful teams in Moorhead, Warroad, Roseau and East Grand Forks, among others.

“Those are all great teams. We see a lot of those teams - great opportunities for us to compete against those big teams.”

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

11

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

12

Laker gymnasts to defend section title

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

LAKER GYMNASTICS TEAM: Row 1 (L to R): Mackenzie Ostlie (Manager), Jordyn Peterson, Leah

Chavez, Kennedy Hegg, Lydia Gag, Lexi Yliniemi, Cora Okeson, Skylar Deboer, Emma Disse Row

2: Jackson Hegg, Mathia Olds, Molly Lyngaas, Allison Berg, Katie Crawford, Johanna Jernberg, Danielle Kulka-Fain, Brooke Saunders, Sidney Lundberg.

“It was nice to finally have that,” Head Coach Steve Zamzo said.

This season, on Valentine’s Day, the Lakers will defend the section championship in their home gymnasium.

Until then, the Lakers

“We’ve got two, three rookies, other than that, we’re golden.”

Head coach Steve Zamzo championship meet.

The Lakers went to Perham to take the title away from the Yellowjackets in 2013.

will have time to tinker with the lineup and get a lot of gymnasts time in competition to fine tune the team.

“We’ve lost a couple of our bigger meets; some teams canceled, so we’ve got a variety of meets and we’ve got a lot of athletes so we kind of split them up. We want to try to mix them up and give everybody a chance to perform and get our best five for True Team and our best five for sections so that we can score high.”

With a team full of experience and young, proven talent, the Lakers should also be a favorite for the Class A state championship.

“We’ve got two, three rookies, other than that we’re golden. Even the seventhgraders have all competed since they were little. There’s

nothing new to any of them.”

Thia Olds, Lexi Yliniemi, Jordyn Peterson, Cora Okeson, Alexis Ostlie and Johanna Jernberg all return with state meet experience.

Yliniemi and Disse also bring more state experience from this fall’s state diving meet.

“Coming off of diving, I hope the gymnastics appearance helped them at state so they weren’t nervous. They’re good athletes; so hopefully they can keep that going.”

Jordyn Peterson is the lone junior and the remainder of the team is made up of gymnasts from seventh-grade to sophomores.

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The Detroit Lakes gymnastics team snapped an 11-year drought last season by knocking off the Perham Yellowjackets for the section title and qualifying for the state meet placing third as a team finishing 1.125 points behind state champion Melrose Area.

Individually, Molly Lyngaas and Emma Disse placed seventh and 13th overall, respectively, in the all-around.

Allison Berg and Leah Chavez both qualified for state vault. Berg placed third and Chavez was 14th.

Berg is one of only three seniors on the team, along with Hannah Okeson and Katie Crawford.

The Lakers are the favorites to repeat in Section 8A with the entire team returning to competition this year. DL has a great chance to start their own streak of section titles.

Another benefit to the Lakers is Detroit Lakes is the site of the Section 8A

the lineup as Molly Lyngaas will miss the first two months of the season recovering from a broken foot. Lyngaas is expected to return to competition in January in time for the big push to sections and the state meet.

“Having Molly injured does take some points away, but we’ve got some kids who will step up,” Another infusion from the talented girls’ swimming team are seventh-grade twins Jackson and Kennedy Hegg.

“They’ll help us out a lot.”

The sky’s the limit for this year’s team on a quest for the school’s first-ever state team championship.

Detroit Lakes does hold four individual event championships and have had two, recent, state, all-around runners-up.

Jessica Stelter was the 2012 vault champion and finished in second place allaround to Melrose Area’s Hailey Brinkman by a mere 15-hundredths of a point.

Amy Crawford was a backto-back state balance beam champion 2010-11 and won the state uneven parallel bars title in 2011. Crawford tied a state meet record with her 2011 beam performance with a score of 9.725 and was the state runner-up in the all-around to Perham’s Kelsi Vomacka.

The Lakers are scheduled to open their varsity season at the Betsy Mann Invitational in Perham Friday, Nov. 29 at 10 a.m.

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

13

Ramstad-Skoyles, Askelson ski leaders

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

Dan Josephson’s Nordic ski teams each have a team leader with a unique streak when it comes to the state meet.

Berit Ramstad-Skoyles leads the girls and the senior is looking to make her fifth trip to state in February at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.

Ramstad-Skoyles placed 68th as a junior, 77th as a sophomore, 69th as a freshman, and 106th as an eighth grader.

In between all that, she skipped a year of skiing as an exchange student in Chile.

Austin Askelson leads the boys’ team.

The junior has suffered two near misses in qualifying for state the past two seasons and will strive to get over the hill and avoid those near misses this year.

“He’s back and hungry and wants to get to the state meet this year.”

Last season, it was a five-second difference and the year prior Little Falls losing to St. Cloud Tech by one point was the deciding factor.

One thing both skiers and both teams have going for them this season is the reopening of Detroit Mountain.

The Mountain provides a massive improvement in facilities and training terrain that has both teams more ahead of schedule than any team of the last decade.

“Every day I smile,” said Josephson.

“It’s wonderful we have the facility, snow and something to ski on besides grass.”

In prior seasons, ski practice was held at the high school on the

THE LAKER NORDIC SKI TEAM Row 1 (L to R): Mason Van Gerpen, Anna Hokanson, Natcha Kaewsim, Tianna Schwartz, Madeline Lembke, Emily Skjonsberg Row 2: Jordan Ryan, Axel Lindquist, Bridget Bergen, Sarah Schumacher, Berit Ramstad Skoyles, Mason Sampson, Aaron Oakes Row 3: Micah Rintamaki, Jack Richards, Austin Askelson, Aaron Johnson, Aaron Conklin, Ellen Teiken, Jirkyun Park. football practice field and sometimes without any snow before moving to Mountain View Recreation Area later in the season.

While the trails at Mountain View were solid, the facilities, or lack thereof, made some aspects of practice, including safety, an issue.

“It made for interesting practices.

The trails were great but lacked some of the comforts of a warming house or the ability to have the kids safely out there day in and day out.”

The artificial snow at Detroit Mountain and the increased elevation and terrain have made for tougher training early in the season and the team will attack smaller hills at meets already used to climbing

larger ones here at home.

Just having snow to practice on is a big deal.

“The first time we were on snow was typically the first meet of the year.”

The past few seasons have been

in less than ideal conditions with frigid temperatures.

This year’s teams combine to have 23 participants, which is slightly down. Josephson believes inclement weather the past few winters is indirectly to blame.

“It’s down some, given the past few years of being brutally cold and lack of snow. With the mountain opened up, I think our numbers will increase from here.”

Skiers race in two styles, a classic traditional style where skiers race in tracks, and freestyle or skate skiing on a wider, flat, groomed trail.

To qualify for state meet need to perform well in both skate and classic as combined times are used in pursuit style.

For instance, if a racer finishes 30 seconds behind after the first race in the morning, they will begin 30 second back in the afternoon race.

Some meets the teams will ski only one race depending on location and weather conditions.

The section meet has changed format this year with the top two teams advancing to state meet, along with the next six skiers not on state qualifying teams, much like is done in cross country running.

Prior years, only the top team advanced along with the next eight non-team qualifiers.

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

14

Lakers led by top-ranked wrestlers

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

The Detroit Lakes wrestling team opened their season with a victory at Waubun and as is typical of early matches the lineup is in flux as wrestlers make weight and prepare for the long season ahead.

The Lakers enter the season with three wrestlers capable of winning an individual state championship.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” DL Head Coach Rob Ullyott said.

“You come out of that first dual and that’s what it is. We kind of shook the rust off and we’ll get moving from there.”

The Lakers were a match away from a team appearance at state falling in the Section 8AA final to the Pequot Lakers/Pine River-Backus Road Crew 40-23 in Thief River Falls.

DL returns four wrestlers who qualified for state individually in freshman Braydon Ortloff at 106, the preseason No. 1 at that weight.

Ortloff was DL’s youngest ever to place at state finishing sixth last season.

Junior James Huwe at heavyweight, also ranked No. 1 in the Guillotines’ initial poll.

Huwe pinned his way to the semifinals before meeting top-ranked Sam Stoll of Kasson-Mantorville in the semifinals. Stoll recorded an amazing 65th consecutive pin when he sent Huwe to the third place match.

With Stoll gone via graduations, a healthy Huwe is a favorite for the state final.

Huwe’s finish was the top mark out of all Section 8AA wrestlers at state.

Senior Parker Jackson is ranked No. 2 at 152 pounds behind Brady Berge of Kasson-Mantorville.

THE LAKER WRESTLING TEAM Row 1 (L to R): Jordan Skadsem, Isaiah Thompson, Connor Yamane, Marcus Jasken, Tyler Bellefeuille, Payton Jackson, Brayden Ortloff, Austin Baker, Matt Andreesen, Fabyon Greer Row 2: Noah Olds, Luke Tweeton, Bryant Swiers, Mason Vogt, Manny Plaza, Scott Heinecke, Trey Greer, Isaac Eggebraaten, Jordan Mackner, Gabe Bellefeuille, Blake Weber. Row 3: Jacob Retz, Taylor Swenson, James Huwe, Nathan Francis, Parker Jackson, Logan Twigg, Jacob Hanson, Dillon Oien, Ethan Black, Brennen Sather, Sean Lundeen Jackson is Detroit Lakes’ all-time career leader in wins with 168. He should push close to 40 more on to that total if able to stay healthy.

More importantly, Jackson has a bead on a first-ever state championship for the Lakers.

He is no stranger to the placing rounds. He finished fourth last season and sixth the prior year.

Freshman Payton Jackson, Parker’s brother, joined Ortloff qualifying for the first time at state last season. Payton went to St. Paul as a 113-pound eighth-grader and enters the season unranked with something to prove.

Good Luck to all Area Athletes!

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44-7 over Fosston-Bagley.

Perham returns a team led by six experienced seniors, William Parks, Jesse Bucholz, Trent Jahnke, Cole Schmitz, Patrick Glynn and Colin Neitzke. All six wrestled on Perham’s back-to-back tournament teams in 2012 and 2013.

The Lakers have five seniors in Tyler Bellefeuille, Bryant Swiers, Logan Twigg, Parker Jackson and Nathan Francis.

The Lakers begin the season with five duals, including a rematch with the Road Crew Dec. 11, before the Sertoma Duals Tournament the following weekend.

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With departed seniors Jarett Nosal and Kirby Siewert, the sixpack of Lakers was a school-high for participation in the individual tournament topping a five-wrestler visit in the mid-2000’s.

Section 8AA was a four-team race last season with Perham (20-8), Detroit Lakes (17-8), Thief River Falls (13-7) and the Road Crew (19-5) battling in the tournament.

The Road Crew took out top-seeded Perham and followed it up with the section title win over the Lakers before finishing fifth at state.

DL eliminated Thief River Falls 4028 after cruising in the opening round

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

15

Boys swim team young, but talented

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

The defending Mid-State Conference champion Laker boys’ swimming and diving team begins the season as a young team comprised of mainly underclassmen.

“It is going to be fun working with these boys this season, and it will be interesting to see how much they grow as a team. The talent and work ethic is definitely there,” Detroit Lakes Head Swimming Coach Rian Heimark said.

The Lakers have two seniors Caleb Howard and Jared Olson. Both return with state meet experience from 201314.

The duo was both on the state 14th place 200-medley relay team. Olson also swam in the 100-backstroke, placing 23rd, and is the only returning team member from the 10th place 400free relay team.

Howard swam a personal best when it counted last year at sections to propel the Medley team to state.

Howard and Olson are this year’s team captains.

Sophomore Zane Freeman returns off a 14th place finish in diving as a freshman.

Freeman will be under the tutelage of returning diving coach Bobbi Jo Koons, who is fresh off a very successful girls’ diving season that put two underclasment in the state diving competition.

DL placed 17th in team rankings at the state meet earning 43 points.

Departing seniors who made state appearances last year were Austin McCullough and Isaac Clem who placed 12th and 13th in the 50-freestyle.

Michael Richter recorded DL’s best finish at state placing seventh in the 100-breaststroke.

One thing this year’s team has is

THE LAKER BOYS SWIM TEAM Row 1 (L to R): Jared Olson, Caleb Howard, Tanner Olson, Austin Gedrose, Spencer Heimark, Jake Anderson, Landon Lindsey, Isaac Howard. Row 2: Tucker Strawsell, Garrett Bakken, Quinn Bakken, Connor Haugrud, Elliot Musielewicz, Zane Freeman, Jesse Livermore, Gabriel Kitzmann. Row 3: Ethan McCullough, Connor Bunn, Charles Wakonabo, Justen Bellefeuille, Lance Parzyck, Gunnar Feddersen, Elijah Kitzmann Missing: Brady Labine, Edward Johnson, Dyson Mois. youth. The Lakers have “We have 26 boys on our team this season, and we will be working on finding out which other boys are willing to step in to some key spots, after losing some strong swimmers to graduation,” said Heimark.

Despite the youth movement going on in Laker boys’ swimming, team goals are not of a novice nature.

The Lakers have a total of five guys in the junior and senior classes, and a very solid 16 athletes in the sophomore and freshman classes, according to Heimark.

“I feel we have a very solid team, with a lot of depth, which is going to

be very helpful in our dual meets and True Team,” Heimark said.

Construction has been completed at the Detroit Lakes Community Center pool, which hampered the girls’ season

moving a number of big meets.

The blocks are installed and should be ready for competition in the Lakers’ home opener Friday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. in a dual with the Moorhead Spuds.

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Seasoned seniors lead Laker hoops

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

Head Coach Robb Flint has the luxury of a dozen seniors on this year’s Laker boys’ basketball team coming off an 18-win season that came to a disappointing end.

“It’s always good to have senior leadership, guys that know what we expect and have been in the program a long time,” Flint said. “It’s a lot of competition because they’re all pretty talented and we have some juniors fighting for some playing time too and we get better every practice and that’s what we need.”

Detroit Lakes was ousted in the opening round of the Section 8-3A playoffs last year at rival Fergus Falls 47-43 in overtime.

Detroit Lakes begins this year’s campaign with a five-game home stand opening the year against a very talented team in the Class 2A Hawley Nuggets. The Lakers interrupted a Nugget eight-game win streak beating Hawley on their home floor in midFebruary last season.

Memories of big wins and the season-ender will not be forgotten with such a big group of upperclassmen.

The Lakers will be battling every game day and during practice just to get on the court.

One big advantage is on any given day the Lakers can run two lines like a hockey team and substitute all five.

Foul trouble can be easily avoided and fresh legs can be on the court at all times.

“We talked about it,” said Flint.

“It’s all predicated on how they play. If they all play well, they’re going to get to play.”

The Lakers return the top two scorers from last year in the backcourt duo of Ryan Cihak (305 points) and Christian Hedstrom (291).

There is also plenty of size in the frontcourt with the senior trio of 6-foot-5 Briton Thompson, 6-foot5 Trey Lyngaas and 6-foot-7 Ben Hokanson.

“Our frontcourt — we’re long and we’re big. We need the ball in the hole there. That was an issue last year. We didn’t have enough scoring from our front court. We’re going to need that

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THE LAKER BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM Row 1 (L to R): Lance Singer, CJ Manning, Christian Hedstrom, Corbin Duncan, Ryan Cihak, Sam Priem. Row 2: Connor Johnson, Jake Richter, Sam Champa, Austin Dodd, Jacob Pazdernik. Row 3: Trey Lyngaas, Ben Hokanson, Nicholas Nordmark, Briton Thompson, Matt Haire. this year and some more physicality from those big guys.”

Lyngaas led in the paint last season with 220 points and 144 board and 33 blocks. Hokanson had 139 rebounds and 22 blocks.

Cihak and Lyngaas are the captains of this year’s team.

Sam Champa and Nick Nordmark will add versatility down low and Corbin Duncan and Connor Johnson return with experience as well. Other seniors on the team are C.J. Manning

and Austin Todd.

Jackson Lyngaas, a two-year starter, was the lone 2014 senior lost to graduation.

The junior class has talented players recognizable to Laker football fans in Matt Haire and Jacob Richter, along with Jacob Pazdernik, Lance Singer and Sam Priem.

The upperclassmen heavy Lakers have lofty goals for the season in chasing the school record of 23 wins and getting back to the state

tournament.

DL last went to state in 2012.

The Lakers were the Co-Mid State Conference champions (9-1) with Crosby-Ironton last year. The Rangers are ranked in Class 2A at No. 10.

Defending that title will be a stepping stone to making a run at the 8-3A section championship.

The Lakers and Nuggets open the season at Ralph Anderson Gymnasium Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m.

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW 2014-2015

THE RAIDERS BOYS’ BASKETBALL TEAM — Front row L-R: Mike Vohnoutka, Tim Brekken, Sam Whitehead, Reese Mattson, Tory Haglund, Paul Jensen. Back row: Chase Johnson, Roman Frederick, Justin Hanson, Jesse Bergh, Ryan Olson, Lane Ulmer, Mitchell Hall.

New head coach motivating Raiders

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

While the majority of boys basketball teams have gotten their seasons underway, the Lake ParkAudubon Raiders are one of the last teams to get going after having to wait until tonight to start this year’s campaign at a four-team tournament in Fosston.

The wait does give extra practice time for first-year head coach Kyle Haberman and a core group of six seniors: Sam Whitehead, Tim Brekken, Justin Hanson, Roman Frederick, Tory Haglund and Chase Johnson on this year’s squad.

“I hope our seniors can help us in some ways,” Haberman said. “Ryan Olson is definitely a spark whenever he’s in the game. He hustles and works his tail off.”

Haberman was the head coach for one season at Dilworth-GlyndonFelton and also brings three years of junior varsity coaching experience to the job.

“We’ve got a good group of guys,” Haberman said.

The task for both coach and players at LP-A is to reverse a recent losing trend.

The Raiders have suffered five consecutive losing seasons dating back to 2009-10 when the team finished a game under .500 at 12-14.

The last winning season was a 1610 campaign in 2008-09, but ended in a

first round playoff loss to Mahnomen.

LP-A has won two playoff games against six losses since that season, including a 67-53 first round victory over New York Mills in 2012 and last season’s exciting 62-61 overtime thriller over Ada-Borup in Ada before being eliminated by Park Christian.

Last year’s club was 9-15 over and returning seniors have that playoff win to build upon this season.

The Raiders lost their top two scorers from in departed seniors: sixfoot-five Dalton Kohler and six-footthree Jordan Stockert. Developing a game strategy to replace the two big men will be key for the Raiders’ success.

Kohler and Stockert combined for more than 500 rebounds last year and each player had three times as many rebounds as any other Raider. Height on this year’s team comes in the form of six-foot-seven sophomore Jesse Bergh.

“Our big fella Jesse Bergh has a long ways to go but possesses all of the skills to be really good at this level, if he puts in the time in the practice and in the off season.”

Haberman has stressed uptempo play on both sides of the ball, especially playing a pressure style half-court defense.

Haberman is working on changing the mindset of the team and concentrating on bringing a new style to Lake Park-Audubon basketball.

In practice, Haberman has referenced

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The Raiders will need to pressure the ball to create turnovers and keep play outside the paint.

Senior Tim Brekken will lead this year’s team as the Raiders top returning scorer from last season.

Flashy play doesn’t always win games, but hard work does.

“What we have done as a team is ditch the scheming and get to fundamentals. We have dedicated ourselves to be better on the defensive end and hopefully, that shows.”

Sophomore Mitch Hall scored over 100 points last season as a freshman.

Junior Lane Ulmer joins Brekken and Hall with experience having played 20+ games in 2013-14.

“Lane Ulmer will have to be the floor general and that’s not necessarily something he isn’t comfortable with yet, but he will continue to grow into the position.”

Senior Justin Hanson is expected to crack the starting lineup, along with a mixture of Ryan Olson, Bergh, and Mike Vohnoutka getting playing time early in the season.

“I predict we will go as Justin Hanson goes. Mitchell Hall is our best all-around player, but how Justin defends and plays will make a huge difference in our ability to win games.”

The Raiders open the season against Blackduck, a team that has played four

GOOD LUCK TEAMS!

games already winning three. LP-A defeated the Drakes by 13 points to open last season.

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Raider girls have new starting lineup

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

Coming off a 17-9 season and a trip to the section semifinals, the Lake Park-Audubon girls’ basketball team has some shoes to fill and is playing catch-up after a shaky 0-3 start to the season.

Gone are Bailee Bartunek and Breann Hogie and the entire starting five from the 2013-14 team.

Bartunek was one of leading rebounders in the state and teamed up with Hogie presented opposing teams with a stiff one-two scoring punch.

This season’s Raider team needs a few games to determine who that will be.

Megan Hilfer and Jess Swegarden bring experience from last year’s success to the floor this season, but losing all the scoring leaders and starters leaves an entire lineup of holes for Head Coach Brad Dunham to fill.

That has come slowly to start the season as LP-A dropped their first three games of the season all by deficits of 40+ points.

The absence of all of last year’s offense has been evident as the Raiders have been outscored 172-46.

The good thing is room for improvement is aplenty and the Raiders should grow into a groove as the season progresses.

Many of these players were on the bench and need games under their respective belts to gain some unity on the court and find a comfort level between players for success.

History is also on the side of the team in that Lake Park-Audubon has recorded four consecutive winning seasons of 14 or more wins.

GIRLS BASKETBALL ROSTER NO.

The last losing season was in 200910, a 7-17 campaign.

Rebuilding seasons come and go and there are 20-plus games remaining to gain experience and pick up victories.

Defending champions Ada-Borup comes off an undefeated Pine to Prairie Conference run (16-0) and

should be the favorites to win the south division.

Waubun has shown promise early in the season to challenge the Cougars for the top spot.

The Raiders were the runners-up in the South last year with a record of 12-4.

2 4 5 11 14 20 21 22 23 30 34 40 42

POS.

NAME Taylor Renken Emma Osborne Kayla Olson Jess Swegarden Allie Herfindahl Megan Hilfer Sam Dahlgren Laina Nelson Kristen Rislund Brittanie Schafer Carli Raaen Rileigh Leininger Cassidy Holmstrom

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THE UNITED CLAY BECKER BADGERS are young but have increased numbers at the youth level coming off a three-win varsity duals season last year.

Big shoes to fill for Badger wrestlers

BY ROBERT WILLIAMS

rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com

Head Coach Nick Paur is in his third year of coaching and leads the United Clay Becker Badgers into Section 8AA wrestling this season.

The Badgers are coming off a tough 2013-14 season where UCB went 3-19 in duals and return starters Sanden O’Connel, Brayden Boe, Riley Byklum, Alec Korby, Jarrett Lange, Trent Rosing, and Nick Wamre looking to improve on that record.

“We have a good core of young wrestlers that have seen a lot of success in the past,” said Paur.

“Wrestlers need to stay healthy and continue the UCB tradition of working hard.”

Wamre and Byklum came into the season with winning records.

Wamre, the lone senior on the team, was 22-19 and recorded a pin in the Badgers’ opening dual against Pelican Rapids.

Wamre was fourth in the section individual tournament last year and has to be looking for a top two spot this year in his final shot at state.

Sophomore Byklum had a record of 19-15 and placed fifth in the section.

Junior Jarret Lange had an even record of 13-13 last year and also placed fifth at sections.

While participation numbers weren’t great for the Badgers last season, this year’s numbers are up and at the youth level - over two-thirds of the team is comprised of freshman or

middle schoolers.

It may be a challenge for this year’s varsity team to compete at the top of the talent level in the conference and section, but the future is stacked for UCB if those younger wrestlers put in the work and stick with the program.

The big hole in this year’s lineup will be that of graduated senior Mason Swegarden and his career record of 185-37.

Swegarden finished in fourth place at state his senior year at 145 pounds.

He was a captain last year and is the all-time leader in career wins and made the trip to Xcel Energy center with sophomore Jonah Lange.

Lange also leaves a hole in the lineup as he moved out of the district.

Making it tougher, Lange moved to conference rival Frazee.

Both Lange and Swegarden were section 8AA champions.

Byklum, Korby, Lange, Rosing, and Wamre were noted by Coach Paur as standouts this year to take up the slack and keep state meet appearances going for the Badgers.

To really compete in duals, other wrestlers will need to get into form to fill up the lineup card.

UCB dropped their season-opening dual at home versus Pelican Rapids 51-21 and had forfeits at 120 and 138, while both the Vikings and Badgers chose to forfeit the final heavyweight match. Finding a way to get a shot at the 12 lost forfeit points makes all the difference in many matches.

UCB will battle subsection favorites Perham and take on the likes of the Yellowjackets, Frazee and Barnesville to challenge for the top spot in the Heart O’Lakes Conference.

The Badgers will get after it the first weekend of the season with a quadrangle at New York Mills Dec.

DATE 12/2

5 and a weekend tournament the following day at Hillsboro, N.D.

WRESTLING ROSTER NO.

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113 120 120 126 132 138 138 138 145 145 145 145 160 160 170 170 170 170 182 182 106 106 145

Schlick, Jacob Byklum, Riley Mikkelsen, Gavan Lange, Jarrett Johnson, Baily Janssen, Arthur "AJ" Loberg, Trevor Stuhaug, Joey Korby, Alec Mattson, Jack Osborne, Jack Rosing, Trent Seley, Janai Stevens, Austin Coufal, Isac Ruhl, Isaiah Seley, Jordyn Wamre, Nick Felker, Seth Wamre, Sam Peterson, Garret Shultz, Cade Hines, Thomas

7 10 8 11 8 10 9 8 10 8 9 11 8 8 11 11 9 12 9 9 8 8 8

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