Spring Sports Preview 2019

SPRING SPORTS

PREVIEW DETROIT LAKES TRIBUNE 2019

DETROIT LAKES • FRAZEE • LAKE PARK-AUDUBON

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

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Frazee girls aiming at section and True Team titles

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Frazee’s Jim Jacobson begins his 13th year coaching track and field and ninth as Co-head coach for the Hornets heading into the spring season with the defending section champions.

One big hole in the lineup will be in distance running with the loss of Ellie Morgan to graduation.

Morgan is currently running track and cross country at the University of North Dakota.

She is the school record holder in the 1,600m and 3,200m, breaking her own 3200m record last year at the state meet.

Frazee’s recent success has participation numbers solid with 45 athletes on the roster and a number of standout performers.

Junior Jaryn Johannsen got off to a great start during the indoor season.

“Jaryn has worked hard in the off season and looks very strong already in the hurdles, long jump, and in her 400 splits,” Jacobson said. “She is excited to run a 300 hurdles too.”

Fellow juniors Paige Oswald and Paige Ziegler have been strong the past two seasons and both are coming off injuries during the winter season.

Oswald has been a state entrant in the 200m in the past and has been a part of all of Frazee’s state qualifying sprint relays in the last few years.

Ziegler is coming off of a knee injury from last summer and should be back into form in the hurdles by the end of the season. She will also be a contender in the sprints or sprint relays.

Freshman Rylee Moore and sophomore Ellie Reierson are the others that

have competed on state relays.

Moore won the high jump indoors at Bemidji State and will be very competitive in the triple jump and 100 hurdles. Reierson is a quality sprinter and placed in the long jump.

Senior Megan Danielson and freshman Braylee Riewer will be filling Morgan’s shoes in distance and should have stellar seasons. Danielson has been a multi-state entrant in cross country and is hoping to have a good track season in the distance and 300m hurdles races.

“Riewer is a fighter and we hope can turn some heads in the 1600 and 3200 this year,” said Jacobson.

Team goals include both a section title and a return to the top of the True Team section.

“We are very excited to see what the season will bring,” said Jacobson.

“Last year, we got beat out in the True Team meet and I know our girls would love to earn another trip to state. We were team section champions last year and are working hard to try to repeat.

We have a lot of great leaders, returning talent, and some great junior high kids that are already competing for spots. “Right now, we are looking forward to getting some good outdoor training and competing outside.”

Jacobson said.

According to Jacobson, Park Rapids and Pelican Rapids have great programs and will be tough again this year.

“We have seen Park Rapids already and they have a lot of depth and talent,” he said. “Pelican always has great middle distance athletes and are well coached.”

Frazee boys track looking to get back into medal contention

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Head coach Brian Tangen begins his 28th year as the head coach at Frazee for boys track and field and has three senior captains to help steer the Hornets back into the top three in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference, Section 8A and Section True Team.

Vincent Helmers, Joby Giefer and Caleb Wutzke all bring years with the program and leadership to the team.

The trio is three of the five seniors on the team with a couple newer members to the program in their senior seasons in Brandon Carpentier and Eddie Croucher.

While the senior class has just five athletes that is three more than in 2018.

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Senior trio leads Frazee girls golf team

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Frazee girls golf team has a trio of seniors leading the way this spring.

All three players, Isabella Matejka, Delaney Matejka and Savanna Bauer, come into the year with four years of prior experience for head coach Dave Conzemius in his ninth season as head coach.

The Hornets did not lose a player to graduation in 2018 returning all eight members.

“Our strength is we return all of our golfers from last year,” Conzemius said.

Other returning golfers who saw varsity time last year include freshman Madeline Matejka, who will be in her third year on varsity. Freshman Alexis Mack and eighth-graders Krysten Halverson, McKenzie Wake and Sophie Nelson make up the rest of the returning lineup.

Frazee has three new seventh graders in Madeline Kilde, Brandy Johnson and Olivia Eckre.

SENIOR GOLF continued on PAGE 4

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By Robert Williams all-conference golfer in the Heart O’ Lakes last searwilliams@dlnewspapers.com son after missing the distinction by two strokes as The Frazee boys golf team is coming off more of a sophomore. He competed well at the Section 6A an individual season than a team year in 2018. The championships last year but just missed a trip to the Hornets had only five golfers to start last season and state tournament by one stroke.

Getting a state berth for Kellerhuis would put him were one short of enough players to compete as a in rare air for Frazee golf the past seven years. team in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference.

“We did not have enough guys last year to have FRAZEE GOLF continued on PAGE 5 a team score so we are hopeful to be able to have a team score with 11 guys on the team this year,” seventh-year head coach Jason Reierson said.

Eleven golfers is a high number over the past three seasons. Frazee had nine on the team in 2017.

While the team will compete to get back in form and back in contention, the Hornets have a potential state entrant at the top of the lineup card.

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

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Infield will have a fresh look for Frazee baseball

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Frazee Hornets baseball team looks to continue a streak of four consecutive seasons with a record of .500 or better with five holes to fill in the starting lineup.

The Hornets finished 14-10 last season. Three of those losses came to Perham, including a season-ending 12-0 defeat five games into the Section 8AA playoffs. The Yellowjackets and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton tied for the Heart O’ Lakes Conference championship with matching records of 10-2.

Frazee finished in the middle of the pack tied with the Hawley Nuggets at 5-7.

Frazee has finished with winning records in four of the past five seasons.

The Hornets are a combined 64-55

SENIOR GOLF Continued From Page 3 “Our goals are to lower our scores from a season ago,” Conzemius said.

“We have been practicing indoors and are looking forward to getting outdoors so we can focus on our short games. We are excited about having 11

FRAZEE TRACK Continued From Page 2 Lost to graduation were Caleb Drescher and Michael Miller.

“They will be very tough to replace as they did a lot for us in many different events,” Tangen said.

The team, as a whole, reached the highest number of athletes in the past two decades this spring with 42 boys out for the team.

(.537) for head coach Andy Mekalson in his fifth season at the helm.

“Our team goal is to compete at the highest level each and every day while learning the rewards of hard work on and off the field and of course have respect and have fun playing the game,” Mekalson said.

Frazee graduated five talented players in 2017-18, including a pair of all-conference players in shortstop Logan Wacker, the 2017 league MVP, and first baseman Thomas Stenger.

The entire starting infield is open to competition this season. Also gone from last year’s starting lineup are third baseman Tanner Tappe, second baseman Tanner Schermerhorn and pitcher Nick Endersby. Tappe and Endersby earned HOL honorable mention after last season.

“We have holes to fill, but have talented players that know the game,” said Mekalson.

Returning players from last season are seniors Gabe Drewes, Cody Pausch, Colten Pausch, and Christian Welden.

“They’ll be taking on a bigger role this season along with returning juniors Jaden Guhlke and Mason Newling,” Mekalson said. “We have a bunch of underclassmen that will contribute and earn their role on the team.”

Frazee will look to improve in conference play after going 9-3 outside of the HOL. All HOL games are played as doubleheaders and Breckenridge, D-G-F and Perham all earned sweeps against the Hornets accounting for all but one conference loss.

Perham and D-G-F will be the favorites in the Heart O’ Lakes again

this season.

The Rebels defeated Wadena-Deer Creek 6-5 in the Section 8AA championship game to earn the co-op’s second trip to the state tournament.

D-G-F dominated last season losing only two regular season games, one at home to Hawley and one at Perham en route to a 23-4 season.

D-G-F was blanked by No. 2 Maple Lake 9-0 in the opening round at state, defeated Paynesville Area 4-3 in consolation finishing fifth overall after a 7-3 loss to Minnehaha Academy.

All area teams will be behind the eight ball to start the season. Frazee has missed one scheduled game and a tournament in early April. The HOL schedule is slated to begin Tuesday, April 16 with Frazee playing at Breckenridge.

girls out and we will get some of the younger girls that do not have a lot of tournament experience to some junior varsity meets and possibly some varsity meets this year.”

Defending champions Perham are back as the favorites in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference. The Yellowjackets have been dominant the past half-decade having not dropped

a single conference meet in four straight years. Perham will be looking for a new No. 1 golfer after twotime HOL Golfer of the Year Kolbey Bormann graduated.

Frazee struggled last season in the back of the HOL pack and look to move up with more experience.

“I am hoping we can finish in the top half of the conference and advance

the team to the second day of the section meet and see where we fit in from there,” said Conzemius.

Park Christian is a heavy favorite in Section 6A. The Falcons are the defending section champions coming off a medal finish in third at state last season and return most of their team. Ottertail Central is also an early contender.

Frazee placed fourth at subsections and sixth out of 30 teams at the Section 8A meet sending the 4x200 relay team (Caleb Drescher, Cole Fleisher, Caleb Wutzke and Miller) to state with alternates back from that team in Giefer and Kaden Hiemenz.

The Hornets finished third in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference behind Perham and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.

According to Tangen, both teams are always the teams to best in the conference because of the size of school and

numbers they have out.

At section True Team, Wadena-Deer Creek is the early favorite as the defending champions. The Wolverines scored 844 points to win last year to Frazee’s second place 739.5 that relegated the Hornets to a shot at one of three wild card teams to the state True Team meet.

Seniors and some juniors on this year’s team were members of Frazee’s last trip to state True Team in 2016.

The Hornets have had a number

of standout performances during the indoor season in April.

Junior Cole Fleisher won the triple jump at Little Amik. Helmers recorded the lone shot put over 50-feet winning with a throw of 52-05. Freshman Nathan Johannsen was the 3,200m runner-up at the Lion’s Invite. Giefer placed in the top three in hurdles at both meets held at Bemidji State University.

Frazee will compete on the road all season aside from one scheduled home meet Thursday, May 9.

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

5

Pitching depth a strength for Frazee softball ners-up Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and third place Perham. The Nuggets and Rebels are slated as favorites again this season in the conference.

New York Mills will be a heavy section favorite again this season. Head Coach Brian Dunrud’s Eagles have captured six consecutive section championships and back-to-back state titles.

New York Mills has not lost more than two games in each of the past three seasons and are 78-4 during that span.

FRAZEE GOLF Continued From Page 3

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come together as a team and get to ‘us’,” said Bauer. “They are a talented group of ladies that have played a lot of ball together over the last few years and now it’s their time to step up and make a deep run into the playoffs.”

Frazee split four games in the Section 6A playoffs last season defeating Ashby and Brandon/Evansville.

The Hornets lost to the eventual state champions New York Mills and were eliminated by Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in a tight 10-9 game.

Frazee was 5-7 in Heart O’ Lakes Conference play finishing in fourth place behind undefeated Hawley, run-

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By Robert Williams the battery with catcher Alexis Bauer. rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com “Pitching will be a strength for our team this year,” he said. “HavThe Frazee girls softball team is looking to continue to add to the win ing juniors Abby Wothe and Clara column in head coach Matt Bauer’s Scolley return to the circle for their third year on varsity and junior third year at the helm.

The Hornets were 4-17 in Bauer’s Alexis Bauer behind the plate for first season and made a big jump her fourth year will be a strength for our team.” last year with an 11-13 campaign.

Sophomore Madison Starry will Frazee has 16 players on the varsity also see a lot of time in the circle and roster with only two seniors in Emily Gigstead and Annie Bachmann. The will help junior, three-year starter, Hornets lost two key players from Brenna Mahoney anchor the outfield.

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The last Hornet to advance to state was Beau Hanson in 2012 when he completed a four-year run and captured the 2010 state individual championship. Zac Ziegler also qualified for state in 2011.

Returning to Heart O’ Lakes team competition will make for a steep learning curve for the younger players.

Barnesville captured the team title in 2018 winning all eight events and the Trojans return conference medalist Grant Inniger in his senior season. Hawley was the HOL runner-up; Perham held off Pelican Rapids for third place.

In Section 6A, Ottertail Central looks to defend their title. The Bulldogs placed fourth at state last year.

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

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DL softball aiming for program history this season

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Head coach Phil Kirchner’s Detroit Lakes girls softball team enters this season with high expectations coming off a third place finish in Section 8AAA last season.

Kirchner will coach his 18th and final season with a squad that is seasoned and looking to make a deep run in the playoffs, with the lofty goal of making it to the state tournament in Mankato in June.

“Pitching and playing hot during playoffs will be the key,” Kirchner said.

Detroit Lakes has never made a state softball tournament appearance.

The Lakers finished with an overall record of 14-9 last season dropping back-to-back games to Bemidji 2-1 in the section semifinals and Sartell-St. Stephen 8-5 in the ensuing elimination bracket game. Bemidji advanced to the state tournament winning one of three games and placing sixth overall.

DL will be led by senior pitcher Madilyn Kirchner and junior Laura Prussia.

Both players were all-conference and all-section players last season. They will serve as captains along with junior Taylor Prussia and Mercedez Bellanger.

Kirchner finished with a record of 9-6, a 2.51 ERA and fanned 109 batters in 86.3 innings. Madilyn is a threeyear starter and is expected to be the workhorse in the circle. She is 24-10 since her freshman year and has a lot of experience on the mound.

“If she can throw strikes and mix up speeds and locations she can be effective in a loaded Mid-State Conference and very competitive Section 8AAA,” coach Kirchner said.

Prussia continued a family tradition

of leading the team in hitting. Her sister Sydney plays for the University of Jamestown and swung a big bat in her time as a Laker. Laura hit .462 last season with nine home runs to lead the team. She also made her mark in the state record books tying the state record for home runs in a game with four in a victory over Alexandria.

Prussia will be seen in multiple spots on defense playing in the outfield with sister and fellow junior Taylor and at second base along with sophomore Laken Weaver.

“Both put a lot of time into softball and will do a great job,” said coach Kirchner.

Bellanger, a senior, returns at first base and also gives the Lakers a left-handed pitching option. She was 5-3 last year with a 3.84 ERA. According to Kirchner, Mercedez is crafty lefty with ample experience on the mound. Junior Heather Haarstick or one of the Prussia sisters will backup at first when Bellanger pitches.

Senior Lauryn Manning was an all-conference shortstop last year and returns at that position. She provides an experienced third pitching option as well giving DL three seniors in the circle.

“I am very confident in the three pitchers we have,” coach Kirchner said. “I expect them all to flourish and be leaders this year.”

Senior and University of Minnesota-Morris softball commit Matteya Borah completes a veteran infield at third base.

“Matteya has a tremendous glove and will make many plays for us,” coach Kirchner said.

She also proved she can come up with timely hits in crunch time last year hitting a dramatic home run from the No. 9 spot in the batting order and spurring a late, two-run rally to lead the No. 3 Lakers to a 3-2 victory at No. 2 Sartell-St. Stephen in the second round of the championship bracket of the section playoffs.

Junior Josey Allen and sophomore

Dakota Moran are both going to be counted upon at catcher.

“Catching is the most important, yet difficult position that needs to excel this season for our success,” said coach Kirchner. “I need a general or boss out there to take charge and lead.”

Outfield spots to join the Prussia sisters are up for grabs.

Players with a chance to get varsity playing time are senior Natalie Eidenschink, juniors Sara Freeman, Rhiannon Triggs, and Haarstick and sophomore Autumn Kulik is in the running to play a utility role depending on the day’s lineup.

Kirchner expects Bemidji, Sartell-St. Stephen and Alexandria to be frontrunners with Detroit Lakes in the section.

The Mid-State will again be highly competitive with defending champions Park Rapids (9-1) and Pequot Lakes joining the Lakers in vying for this year’s title. DL finished a game back of the Panthers last season at 8-2.

The Lakers split two games with each team.

Kirchner is assisted by Tom Vagle, Aimee Truedson, and Markus Okeson.

The Lakers’ numbers are plentiful with 47 girls signed up to play this season.

DL begins the season Tuesday, April 16 at 4 p.m. versus Staples at Snappy Park. Three early games at Bemidji and Thief River Falls were canceled due to weather.

The Lakers added a 4AAAA tournament this year and will travel to the Eagan Invitational on Saturday, April 27 to face Eagan, Bloomington Jefferson and Big Lake.

DL baseball under new leadership in Eiter

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Terry Eiter is moving from an umpiring role to the dugout to take over the Detroit Lakes baseball program this season.

In 2014, Eiter received a distinguished service award for decades of work at games across Minnesota and running the regional officials association.

Eiter began officiating in 1982 at city rec leagues and intramurals as a student at North Dakota State College of Science. He moved around North Dakota umpiring American Legion and amateur baseball, along with refereeing football and basketball.

Eiter moved back to Detroit Lakes in 1992 and coached basketball for two years so he has been on both sides of the whistle before.

He takes over a Detroit Lakes baseball program that could use a change from the past few seasons.

The Lakers have had only two winning seasons since 2012-13 a 12-8 overall and 11-1 Mid-State Conference champion year in 2015 and a 16-5 and 9-3 Mid-State title run in 2013.

In that six-year span, the Lakers are a combined 56-71 after a 6-16 season last year.

Outside the conference has been sketchy territory. DL beat up the MidState going 11-1 to win the title in

2015 but struggled losing six of seven outside the conference. In 2016, DL was 8-0 in conference play and 1-13 outside the Mid-State.

By 2017, Mid-State teams caught up.

DL placed fourth in 2017 going 3-5 and 5-17 overall. The Lakers were 6-4 last season, but 0-12 against non-conference teams.

DL was knocked out of the Section 8AAA playoffs last year in back-to-back losses to Fergus Falls and Bemidji. Alexandria returns as the defending section champions. The Cardinals opened the

state playoffs with a victory before falling to eventual state champs Mahtomedi. Alexandria placed fourth after an 8-2 consolation loss to New Ulm. While the state tournament may be a stretch for this year’s Laker team, that is nothing new in DL. The Laker program is still chasing a first-ever state appearance in the modern era beginning in 1947.

Leading the way for this year’s team will be senior tri-captains Ben Stearns, Sully Wood and junior Cooper Hermanson. The trip comprises the only three

returning hitters from the top 11 batters last season.

Three other seniors join Stearns and Wood on the 16-man opening day roster in Caleb Inwards, Jared Renney and Jeff Newburey.

Back from last year’s lineup besides the three captains is first baseman and pitcher Blake Itzen a junior. All four have pitching experience. Blaine Henderson and Jaden Thorson are in competition for the starting catching spot.

With a new head coach, starting spots are all up for grabs, but more so given the fact there are so many new faces in the dugout.

Wood will pitch and be the top glove at shortstop. Hermanson will see a lot of time on the mound as well. Around the infield, expected starters are Hank Komrosky at second, Logan Lund at third and Zach Oistad at first. In the outfield: Hunter Cheska, Ben Stearns, Jared Renney, Jeff Newburey and Dylan Maneval. Trevor Schnathorst will be used at multiple positions.

Several junior varsity players that could break through including Jordan Tucker, Tanner Brend, Jake Bishop, Kobe Braukman and others.

Eiter will be assisted by Steve Fuhs who was coaxed out of retirement for one more season and Peter Paulson and Tim Siewert.

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

7

DL tennis season crunched into five weeks

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Zach Biggar begins his second season as head coach of the Detroit Lakes boys tennis team with experience at the top of the lineup.

Biggar has a large group of players and will have plenty of options as the season progresses but not a lot of time to figure things out. The season will be crunched into five weeks as sections are scheduled for May 20.

Seniors and co-captains Gabe Hanninen and Trey Seebold bring years of experience and can fill both the top singles spot and hold one of the two top doubles positions for this year’s Lakers.

Hanninen teamed up with graduated exchange student Pedro Lacasa last season and made a run at a state berth in doubles placing fourth at the Section 8A meet.

This year is a last shot at Class A competition as the Lakers will move up to Class AA next year joining the girls team that moved during the last Minnesota State High School section realignment.

As a team, Detroit Lakes broke a long drought of not advancing past the first round of the section playoffs defeating Crookston in the quarterfinals 5-2 before falling to the eventual section champions

Thief River Falls 6-1 in the semis. East Grand Forks had dispatched of the Lakers the two prior seasons.

The Lakers have a large group of graduated seniors to replace from that team besides just Lacasa: Tanner Doppler, Garrett Knopf and Conner Froke in singles and Austin Baker, Jake Hanson and Isaac Eggebraaten in doubles. Also missing is sophomore Jens Richards who opted to continue his hockey career at Northland Christian Academy in Alexandria.

Braeden Wimmer was set for the lineup last season with Richards but missed much of the season after an injury during hockey.

DL qualified two doubles pairings and two singles players for sections last season.

Lacasa and Hanninen were seeded No. 2; Seebold and Doppler were No. 6.

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Baker and Froke were DL’s singles representatives.

Weather has abused the tennis schedule early in the season causing a cramped and busy campaign as April wanes into May. DL has only competed once by mid-April falling at home to Thief River Falls 6-1 in wet and cold conditions.

Biggar’s lineup to start the year consisted of sophomore Braeden Wimmer at No. 1 singles followed by senior Sam Spry, sophomore Tommy Fritz and sophomore Austin Miller.

Miller picked up a victory in his first varsity start at No. 4 doubles in the match versus the Prowlers.

The doubles card had Seebold and Hanninen in the top spot followed by eighth-grader Connor Zamzo and freshman Nate Cihak and junior Caden Smith and senior Will Stowman.

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

Trapshooting continues to grow exponentially each year

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Minnesota Clay Target League is coming off a 2018 spring season that had just short of 12,000 students participating, including more than 50 from Detroit Lakes.

“This League continues to be one of the largest high school sports in the state of Minnesota,” said Jim Sable, President of the MNSHSCTL, “Such high participation shows the continued demand for alternative high school activities related to Minnesota’s long-standing outdoor traditions.”

Sable, the founder of the USA Clay Target League, has announced that he has stepped down from his roles as Board Chair and President of the League.

Sable, the former owner of a Twin Cities communication agency, is a longtime clay target shooting enthusiast who started an after-school mentoring program at the Plymouth Gun Club in 2001. The success of that program led to the creation of the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League in 2008, where just three teams and 30 students participated in its initial year.

John Nelson, who had previously served as Vice President and Board Member, has been elevated to the position of President by the League’s Board of Directors. Nelson has been involved with the League since its inception.

“The success of the League is because of Jim’s vision and determination,” said John Nelson, “Jim’s devotion to youth shooting sports, and his unrelenting drive to create a lasting, safe, school-based program has resulted in the League being a beacon in the shooting sports world. His program has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of student athletes, parents, and family members, along with

thousands of coaches and volunteers.”

High schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, North Carolina and Wyoming joined the league this spring, bringing the total number of league-affiliated state programs to 25. More than 7,200 volunteers serve as coaches, range safety officers and provide additional support.

The popularity of clay target shooting continues to grow at the high school level, and 26,678 Minnesota student athletes representing 1,042 high school teams and 1,696 North Dakota students from 63 high schools are participating this spring in league programs, officials say.

The league has quickly become a phenomenon spurring other non-traditional high school sports like archery and fishing leagues to follow its path to success. In part, the mountain bike series can also attribute its growth to what Sable started with trap and skeet.

The League’s co-ed and adaptive nature are key attractions to high schools in Minnesota. The League is fully Title IX compliant with both male and female athletes competing on the same team. Additionally, it’s an ‘adaptive’ sport, which allows students with physical disabilities to take part.

Upon completion of the Spring League’s regular season, all student athletes are invited to participate in individual and team competitions at the 2018 MNSHSCTL Trap Shooting Championship. The event – the world’s largest shooting sport event with about 8,000 competitors expected – is scheduled for June 11th-19th at the Alexandria Shooting Park, while the Skeet Championship will be held at the Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake June 20-21.

The trap shooting season culminates with the State Tournament presented by the Minnesota State High School League on June 22nd in Prior Lake. The

State Tournament provides the opportunity for the highest qualifying individuals and teams from the MNSHSCTL to compete for the ultimate recognition as Minnesota State High School League State Champions. The Minnesota State High School League was the first state high school interscholastic athletic association in the United States to provide support and recognition for a high school trap shooting state tournament.

The Detroit Lakes trapshooting team finished the regular season in fifth place in Conference One of Class 5A last season.

The Lakers accumulated 16,316.5 points over five weeks of shooting finishing less than 50 targets behind fourth place Champlin Park.

Thief River falls dominated the season scoring 23,236.5, surpassing runners-up McGregor-Aitkin-Cromwell by over 2,300 points.

Individually, DL had three of the top eight shooters in the conference.

Jacob Teiken was ranked No. 2 behind only Zach Habedank of Thief River Falls. Teiken averaged 23.5/25 clays per round. Habedank led the standings at 23.8.

Kade Ramsey was third with 23.2 and Noah Olds averaged 22.7 to finish in eighth place.

DL did not have a state entrant last year. Ramsey was the last to qualify in 2017 recording an all-state performance during the regular season finishing in the top 100 shooters.

Also ranked in the top 25 conference shooters in 2018 were Dillon Oien (22.0) and Brady Amundson (21.50).

Jenna Tollefson led the DL girls with a 17.90 average, good for 13th overall; Kira Wolf earned a top 25 spot at 14.7/25, which ranked 22nd.

Teams tend to move between classes and conferences. Those will be available after the first week of competition in late April.

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Detroit Lakes boys golf team has four big spots to fill on the lineup card from last season’s state Class AA runner-up team.

The Lakers were in tight contention for a fourth program state championship last June but Holy Family Catholic erased a one-stroke Detroit Lakes advantage at the turn to win the title by three strokes.

“Everybody was disappointed, but second in the state is awful good,” Lakers head coach Bob Gorden said. “Three strokes is three strokes. I told the kids

we can shoot well and get beat and we shot well and got beat. It was a fun season.”

Gorden also noted how he and the team were going to miss departed seniors from last year’s team in Ryan Paskey, Ben Unruh, Wyatt Blomseth and Collin Ginnaty.

Blomseth was the lone Laker in the top 10 placing eighth. Paskey tied for 12th, Ginnaty 34th and Unruh 40th.

Three of the four moved on to collegiate golf.

Blomseth plays at M-State Fergus Falls and earned DL GOLF continued on PAGE 9

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

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Underclassmen highlight last golf season in Class AA

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Detroit Lakes girls golf team begins the season with no seniors on the roster and will be playing a final season, at least for the next two years, in Class AA. The Lakers were bumped up to Class AAA beginning in the 2019-20 season, something that has this year’s juniors a bit perturbed.

“It’s kind of annoying that we don’t get a lot of years to prepare, we just change up our senior year,” said junior captain Anna Cihak. “We’ve been playing at Ridges for so many years and the fact that it kind of came unexpected is annoying.”

Cihak and fellow junior captain Shelby Busker were both top six finishers at Ridges at Sand Creek during last year’s state tournament. The duo, along with North Dakota State University freshman Maddie Herzog all placed in the top 10 to lead DL to a

26-stroke victory.

Losing state rivalries and a course DL has dominated will be major differences after this season.

“Definitely, the last couple years it’s been Lake City or Red Wing and this year it will be Marshall and Red Wing,” Cihak said. “When we go up there’s going to be a lot more competition than we’re used to. We just have to pull together and play a lot of golf this summer and step up our game.”

Freshman McKenna Mallow was the fourth scoring golfer at state last season placing 51st overall and returns with sophomores Evan Westrum (70th) McKenna Burhans (78th) giving DL five golfers with experience at state.

The move to Class AAA will take DL off a course they have become comfortable in Ridges. The Lakers entered the state meet last year ranked third in the state but cruised to victory on day two.

One last go around in Jordan this June provides an opportunity to complete an impressive streak against AA competition.

Detroit Lakes girls golf has made 11 state appearances in AA placing in all 11 with seven championships, two runners-up finishes and two years finished in third place. The Lakers will also be going for a fourth straight team title, something the team has never done. DL has won three consecutive championships two times from 2012-14 and 2016 to last season.

The upcoming change in 2019-20 may not be as big of a jump as could be assumed.

DL and last year’s AAA champions Edina literally matched day one scores of 321 and day two at 317 to win their respective championships with the same total score of 638.

“We shot the exact same scores as Edina last

DL GOLF

Burnside who tied with Unruh in 40th place at state last season. Sophomore Lukas Justesen finished in 75th place in his state debut.

Both players led the way in the only meet held during a weather-delayed start to the season with top 10 marks at the Bulldog Invitational in Becker.

The Lakers placed third in a competitive field of 19 teams and were one stroke out of second place.

Coach Gorden employs competition in practice to make players earn their varsity spots and with four open behind Burnside and Justesen, the Lakers could have multiple looks before the postseason begins.

Making the early cut were: senior Daniel Rosza, sophomore Jake Green, junior Drew Schwan and seniors Logan Burhans and Jack Schramel.

Gorden and assistants Vern Schnathorst and Greg Unruh have 16 golfers on the varsity roster and the typical large group from junior high up to choose from.

The Lakers have won three consecutive Section 8AA team titles and will remain in Class AA unlike the girls team that bumps up to AAA next season.

Burnside (fourth) and Justesen (ninth) both had top 10 section finishes.

The second place finish at state was the second runner-up mark (2013) for DL in 12 appearances. The Lakers have three championships (2008, 2011, 2012) and one third place finish (2017) during that span.

Crookston was the last team to advance out of the section doing so in 2015; Fergus Falls made a trip to state in 2014.

Continued From Page 8 a trip with the Spartans to the National Golf Tournament at the Minnesota College Athletic Conference and Region XIII Championships in his first season.

Paskey is golfing at Concordia College in Moorhead. Unruh is making starts for the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City.

Back from last year’s state team are junior Hunter

GIRLS GOLF continued on PAGE 10

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

Laker girls eyeing a return to top half of section fields

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Detroit Lakes girls track and field team under second-year head coach Maggy Doll are poised to improve on last year’s finishes in the Mid-State and both sections and True Team.

As the season progressed in 2018, the Lakers got more contributions from underclassmen as the team showed a steady rise in competitiveness to the final section meet.

The Lakers were the Mid-State Conference runners-up last season to Pequot Lakes in a two-team race. The Patriots defended their title by 25 points.

Eight-grader Lauren Lokken and senior Breanna Price return this year with conference titles to defend. Lokken won the 1,600m run and Price was the discus champion.

Top three finishers earn all-conference. Kylee Price earned the distinction with a third place discus finish. Brean-

na Price added a third place shot put.

Sydney Lundberg had two top DL hurdles finishes as the runner-up in the 100m and third finisher in the 300m hurdles. She returns for her senior season.

Peyton Jernberg is back for her senior year as the Mid-State long jump runner-up.

Gabby Fredrickson was the high jump runner-up. Jackson Hegg had two allMid-State finishes placing second in pole vault and third in the 200m.

Anneka Lindstrom placed third in the 400m as did Brina Smith in triple jump.

DL has plenty of firepower to get back to the top of the conference, something a Laker girls team has not done since running away with the title in 2016.

At section True Team, the Lakers finished in the top half of the field of 10 teams placing fifth. Pequot Lakes again prevailed knocking off Perham with room to spare on the team scoreboard.

Breanna Price picked up another victory in discus. Lokken was third in the 1,600m in a tough field.

Then-freshman Jordyn Johnson, led the Lakers in triple jump placing third and incoming sophomore Gabbyy Fredrickson placed fourth in the high jump.

DL failed to send a competitor to the MSHSL state meet. Price was the closest to qualifying with a fourth place discus finish.

Fredrickson placed eighth in high jump. Hegg cleared nine-feet for ninth place in the pole vault.

Day two at sections brought a pair of impressive relay finishes.

The top finish came in the 4x800m race by then-seventh-graders Kaitlyn Jorgenson and Lokken, along with senior Emma Fegely and freshman Katelyn McConkey at anchor. The quartet bettered their previous best time by seven seconds to place seventh overall.

In the 4x200, then-seventh-grader

Abby Larson, Hegg and juniors Karrigan Hallisey and Teeya Doppler reached the finals and placed seventh also. All are back this year aside from Fegely and Doppler.

In the early indoor season this spring, DL has gotten strong results from freshman Anastasia Sekundiak picking up 200m dash win at Concordia.

McConkey added an 800m runner-up finish and Fredrickson cleared five feet to place second in the high jump.

Senior Brina Smith had the top girls finish at NDSU placing third in the triple jump.

In the one outdoor meet at Fergus Falls, Fredrickson picked up a victory in the high jump and Breanna Price won the discus throw handily.

DL hosts three meets at Mollberg Field this season the Craig Fredrickson Invite May 2, Section True Team May 7 and Mid-State Championships May 14.

GIRLS GOLF

of even par and Busker shot two-over to stake the Lakers to a six-stroke lead over Marshall before picking up more momentum on championship day.

Detroit Lakes can also go out of section play in style chasing a 10th consecutive Section 8AA championship.

Busker, Cihak and Mallow all placed in the top seven behind runner-up Herzog last year.

The Lakers have 13 other golfers vying for the sixth varsity spot vacated by Herzog and to fill out the junior varsity roster. Burhans and Westrum took that route to the state lineup last season and along with Mallow will look to jump up in the standings to stabilize DL’s push to the postseason.

Regular season play is scheduled to begin Thursday, April 11 in Becker at Pebble Creek Golf Club.

Continued From Page 9 year,” Cihak said. “We only lost Maddie (Herzog) this year. When we go up I feel we’ll still dominate and show who we are. It’s just going to take a little bit because we’ll be playing better competition.”

Edina has made Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids a home away from home and has been equally as dominant as the Lakers having won four straight AAA titles and five out of the last six. The Hornets also hold the state record for most state titles with 12.

While Herzog was the team leader last season, it was Cihak and Busker that got DL off to a strong start at state. Cihak shot a career-best round

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

11

Laker boys on track for fifth straight True Team appearance

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Detroit Lakes boys track and field season had a big highlight last season in a state discus throw championship for Jay Nielsen who entered as the top seed and backed it up winning by more than seven-feet in rainy and delayed conditions.

Nielsen, a two-time Section 8AA champions, was the lone representative from either the DL boys or girls team to make a Class AA appearance and has moved on to throwing for the University of North Dakota.

Track fans can expect big things from junior Isaiah Thompson who is looking to add accolades in the spring to match his single-season career rushing record in football and backto-back state wrestling championships. Thompson was a section finalist as a sophomore in both the 110m and 300m hurdles.

A pair of returning senior runners were near-misses for section finals.

Tanner Olson missed the 3,200m finals by two places finishing 10th; Will Green placed 12th in the 100m dash only 14-hundredths of a second behind a qualifying spot in eight place.

The Lakers won the Mid-State team championship handily last season repeating as conference champions.

DL returns two individual conference champions in Tanner Olson (1,600m) and Jackson Rhodes (long jump). The

Lakers had two champion relays in the 4x200 and 4x400 with five of eight runners back.

Jake Bettcher was all-conference as the triple jump runner-up with Rhodes right behind him in third place. Bettcher added a third place 300m hurdles finish in 43.28.

Will Green was the 100m runner-up; Ben Heimark placed third in the 200m and Thompson was third in the 110m hurdles.

The Perham Yellowjackets snapped a three-year run by Detroit Lakes as Section 8AA boys True Team champions winning by less than 10 points but the Lakers took advantage of a new rule allowing three wild card teams from

the top-scoring section runners-up to nab the last qualifying spot for state.

DL continued a streak of four straight state True Team appearances and made a big jump from the final qualifying spot in 2018.

The Lakers were in fourth place after 16 events with two to go before dropping behind Fairmont and Hutchinson late. The three teams finishes within less than 30 points of each other Fairmont taking fourth, Hutchinson in fifth and the Lakers in sixth. DL placed three spots in front of Perham despite losing to the Jackets at sections.

Detroit Lakes history at True Team dates back to the inaugural year, 1987, when the Laker boys won the Class 3A

state championship. The state championship was the first-ever state title in Detroit Lakes’ athletic history. That team has since been inducted into the Laker Hall of Honor.

This year’s squad is making the program’s sixth appearance at state and fifth in the last six seasons.

Last year’s sixth place finish was the second-best mark by a DL team and the fourth time in six appearances. DL placed ninth in 2015.

The Willmar Cardinals are the defending state True Team champions.

DL hosts three meets at Mollberg Field this season the Craig Fredrickson Invite May 2, Section True Team May 7 and Mid-State Championships May 14.

Bowlers on fast track to sections in early May

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Detroit Lakes Adapted Bowling team was one club not affected by weather and are well on their way to an early chance to qualify for state with sections looming the first week of May. The Lakers have a dozen bowlers on the team, a high number for participation in recent years.

Detroit Lakes also has a new head coach in former state champion girls golf leader Cali Harrier.

“The team has a lot of positive energy, they are very supportive of each other,” said Harrier. “Everyone cheers when there is a strike or spare, you can’t help but smile the entire time we are at the bowling alley.”

The Lakers have their meets virtually in town every week and have gotten some new swag from the Booster Club for this year’s campaign.

“I am very thankful Voyageur Lanes is available to us every Friday and the Laker Boosters have donated sweet new bowling bags for each bowler,” said Harrier.

Senior Matthew Branch has put up the biggest numbers so far this season rolling a 177 with six strikes and a spare.

Senior Clay King set his best mark with a 125 against Fergus Falls on April 5.

Sopohomore Ian Riggle is consistently scoring well with a three-pack of scores of 121, 121 and 141 in competitions.

Sophomores Erian Greydanus, Lily Gilbertson, freshman Hunter Lingquist and junior Nick Schouviller have all broke 100 in meets.

DL has picked up victories over Moorhead 1,710-1,669 and East Grand Forks 1,710-1,511.

“Each bowler has an average which gives them a handicap,” said Harrier. “The handicap is added to the athlete’s score after he or she bowls which is fantastic, it keeps all our athletes competitive.”

The section meet will be held Tuesday, May 7 in Fergus Falls.

Looking to make return trips to state are Shouviller who placed eighth last year in singles; Gilbertson and Branch competed in doubles placing 20th and the trio was joined by Kaitlyn Ahles in team competition where DL placed seventh out of 25 teams.

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

Third coach in three years for Raider baseball

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com The Lake Park-Audubon baseball team will begin the season with a third new coach in three seasons.

Last year, former head softball coach Bryan Anderson took over in an interim role when Mike Baune left the team for personal reasons prior to the start of the season.

Under Anderson, the Raiders finished 5-15 overall but came away with a playoff victory defeating Lake of the Woods 16-5 in the opening round of the Section 8A playoffs.

Back-to-back losses to Fosston and Win-E-Mac put an end to the

Raiders’ campaign.

Alex Becher, an assistant under Anderson last season, takes over this year with Anderson moving to an assistant role with Justin Hoskins.

The coaching staff had a solid returning senior class last season and were light in the sophomore and junior classes. That shows this season in that the Raiders; roster has only one senior listed in Justin How and one junior in Henry Jaster.

Becher will have a lot of holes to fill around the diamond.

LP-A lost starting third baseman Josh Cigelske, pitcher and shortstop Marcus Dickelman-Stassen, second baseman Trevor Loberg, and pitcher

and utility man Garrett Frank to graduation. Grant Pederson and Seth Felker are also gone from the outfield.

Jacob Anderson was a mainstay behind the plate for LP-A the past few seasons and also graduated in 2018.

Coaches will literally be building a team from scratch, aside from Jaster at first base and How back with some experience and will likely need to incorporate the six sophomores on the roster and junior varsity players.

The Raiders will have to start with small goals at the beginning of the season. A Lake Park-Audubon club has not won more than six games in a season the past five years.

The Ada-Borup/Norman County West

Cougars are the defending Pine to Prairie Conference champions.

Sacred Heart captured the Section 8A title last year with back-to-back victories over Fosston to eliminate the Greyhounds. The state tournament produced no victories but Sacred Heart faced eventual state champions, top-seeded Heritage Chrisitan Academy, and held a lead into the seventh before Heritage Christian Academy scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Sacred Heart 4-3 and score four unanswered runs to erase an early 3-0 deficit. Sacred Heart (15-7) was eliminated in consolation play by Wabasso 9-8.

Raider softball lineup full of returning players

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Third-year head coach Amanda Snyder enters this season with a lot of options around the diamond for her Lake Park-Audubon softball team.

“We have a team full of returning players this year, along with some new hopefuls coming up the ranks. This spring has been rough, but we look forward to games and being outside,” she said.

The Raiders have been in a waiting mode for a season that started the second week of March without a game being played until late April. Hopes are for the first game to be underway Tuesday, April 23 in Bagley.

LP-A had 10 returning players in 2018 and are right there this season with nine players back.

The Raiders have an experienced battery with senior starting pitcher Carlie Ecker leading the way and LPA SOFTBALL continued on PAGE 14

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

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By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Lake Park-Audubon enters a second season in the co-op with Hawley that formed the United Clay Becker track and field teams last year. The Raider athletes will also be led by coach Ashley Tingelstad, a former Raider and North Dakota State University track All-American.

The irony being Tingelstad is replacing another former NDSU All-American in Laura Januszewski who left after last season to join the coaching staff at Concordia College in Moorhead.

Tingelstad joins Peder Naatz and Jon Hinrichs as the head coaching staff along with assistants Aaron Haugen and Kim Ulven.

The Badger program will be looking to move up from the middle of the pack in Section 8A and 6A True Team.

The girls team returns top underclassmen finishers from last year in junior Siri Danielson, who placed third in the section True Team 100m dash.

Freshman Faith Rustad placed third in the 800m run.

The Badgers had two runners in the top five of the 1,600m run led by Rustad in second place and freshman Lily Peterson in fourth.

Peterson and eighth-grader Taytum Nelson finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 3,200m run. Both runners bring cross country experience to their track distance running. Peterson has state XC experience, as does Nelson, who was all-conference in the Heart O’ Lakes last fall alongside Peterson and Rustad. Peterson was hampered by injury during the fall after a broken bone suffered last summer.

UCB girls had three relay teams place in the top three at section True Team as the Badgers won the 4x400, placed second in the 4x200 and third in the 4x800.

The girls placed seventh at section True Team out of a field of 15 teams and sixth in the HOL. The co-op produced a number of Class A state entrants out of the section meet with a pair of relays and three individuals placing at the state

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

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Svare surrounded by experienced players in senior season

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Kyle Haberman begins his third season as head boys golf coach at Lake Park-Audubon and he and assistant coach Brian Robertson have five returning members from last year’s squad.

Senior Tyler Svare leads the group coming off a Pine to Prairie All-Conference season in 2018.

He is joined by juniors Justin Wetli, Andy Softing, Garrett Kleven and senior Jack Mattson.

“They knows golf very well and enjoy the range, which is where you get better,” said Haberman.

Team goals for the Raiders are to improve in the conference standings and to put a competitive team out for the section tournament but the camaraderie is as important as success on the links for Haberman.

“The van rides with the guys and seeing players improve in a lifelong sport,” he said.

Svare will benefit by having players around him with competitive experience. He anchored the team two seasons ago as the only experienced player.

Svare will be chasing a state qualification out of Class A this year which would put a Raider back at the state tournament for the first time since 2015.

Clay Anderson and Chase Widermann were the last two to qualify and both placed in the top 40 of 88 golfers at Pebble Creek golf course in Becker.

Ottertail Central will look to defend the Section 6A team title. The Bulldogs defeated Pine River-Backus by 11 strokes to advance and placed fourth as a team at Class A state last season led by a top 20 individual performance by Jackson Nyhus, a junior this year.

All six of the Bulldogs’ state participants were underclassmen which will make Ottertail Central a tough and experienced group to knock off in the postseason.

LPA SOFTBALL

and Raini Evans.

Joining Ecker in the pitching rotation will be Brynn Stalberger and Paris Roy. Snyder was admittedly in a learning mode during her first season and employed knowledge learned last year. Like her team, she is seasoned for her third stint at the helm as the Raiders look continue an upward trend.

Lake Park-Audubon was a 1-17 club two seasons ago and improved to 5-15 last year picking up a first round playoff victory over Sacred Heart before losing to Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal and AdaBorup/Norman County West to end the season.

The five victories were the most since the 2012-13 season when LP-A went 13-7, the last season above .500 for the program. The playoff victory snapped a streak of first round losses dating back to 2013 also.

The playoffs run through New York Mills in Sec-

tion 6A. Head Coach Brian Dunrud’s Eagles have captured six consecutive section championships and back-to-back state titles.

New York Mills has not lost more than two games in each of the past three seasons and are 78-4 during that span.

Continued From Page 12 freshman Maddie Thompson behind the plate.

The entire infield is back led by senior shortstop Kailee Lefebvre. Joining Lefebvre around the horn are senior Shadais Stalberger at first base, Kelsey Thompson at second and Etta Miosek at the hot corner.

Senior Allison Rohweller, junior Victoria Sheikh and junior Emily Thompson give the Raiders a full outfield as well with Sheike employed in a utility role with changes of pitchers.

LP-A also has a six-pack of new players on the roster with Chloe How and Lillie Clapsaddle lined up for outfield positions.

Backing up infield position will be Tressa Retz

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Raider girls adding depth behind Pederson on golf roster

By Robert Williams rwilliams@dlnewspapers.com Last season, one of the longest tenured coaches and teachers in the area Marge Beaudine completed her 45th school year with a Lake Park-Audubon girls that had little to no experience and no juniors or seniors.

The team is down one golfer with nine on the varsity roster and are still waiting another year to have a senior on the squad, but this year’s team consists of all sophomores and juniors.

Junior Kay Pederson was last year’s lone returning starter and will be the obvious team leader this and next season.

Pederson is joined by four other juniors in Emma Pederson, Morgan Kruger, Morgan Nelson and Hailey Miletto. All four were on the team last season.

Bethany Vareberg, DeAndra Williams and Katherine Pickett are all back for their sophomore seasons.

Rayne Nguyen, a sophomore, is a newcomer to the team.

LPA TRACK Continued From Page 13

Holding participation numbers should allow the Raiders to compete as a team after playing incomplete with individuals the past few seasons as players get acclimated to varsity golf.

Park Christian is a heavy favorite in Section 6A led by returning senior Emily Doeden.

Doeden held the first round lead at state last year in Becker before finishing in a tie for third three strokes off the pace.

The entire Falcon state team is back behind Doeden in senior Amy Jacobson, sophomore Emily Stueland, senior Amanda Strom, senior Grace Heinen and freshman Madison Doeden.

The Falcons are the three-time defending section champions defeating runners-up Pine River-Backus by a whopping 97 strokes last season.

All six Falcon golfers placed in the top 12.

Park Christian is coming off a medal finish in third place at state last season in Becker. The Falcons have moved up each year placing sixth in 2015-16 and fourth in 2016-17.

Senior Bailey Johnson returns form the state 4x400 team with Magnusson with two spots open from Tjaden and Osland graduating.

The UCB boys were fifth at sections out of 24 teams. The East Grand Forks Green Wave are the defending 8A boys team title holders; Frazee captured the girls 8A championship.

championships held at Hamline University in school record fashion.

The girls’ 4x800m relay team of Paige Thompson, Maria Vetter, Peterson and Rustad ran a co-op record of 9:56.34 to place 13th overall. All four return this year as underclassmen looking to improve on that mark.

Rustad also placed 15th in the 800m run with co-op record time of LICENSED IN MINNESOTA & NORTH DAKOTA 2:24.74.

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17th in the 300m hurdles and with Donovan will be two of the senior leaders for the boys team, which has upwards of 60 on the varsity roster.

The Badger boys finSPECIALIZING IN BIG TRUCK REPAIR ished fourth in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference.

Senior Noah Glad is a returning all-conference 001520399r1 performer after finishing third in the 200m.

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