ECM Post Review 2012 Spring Sports Preview

Spring Sports ’12 North Branch & Rush City

Sports preview is a supplement to the Post Review - April 2012

Introducing new North Branch Track and Field Head Coach Norm Nagel

Q: A:

What high school and college did you attend?

“Mandan (ND) High School, Bismarck State College.”

Did you play any sports in high school and college?

“High school track, baseball, and football and one year college baseball.”

Why did you decide to start coaching?

“I thought I could be an asset to the North Branch High School track team as pole vaulting became an increasingly popular event for both boys and girls.”

How did you become a pole vault coach?

“I pole vaulted in high school. I spoke with former coach Brian Haseliet to see if they needed any help with the team. It started out as a volunteer position and later as a paid position for assistant coaching.”

Did you coach anywhere else, if so, which sport?

“Little league baseball in Lead, South Dakota.”

Do you have any special memories as a coach?

“Coached several pole vaulters that went to the state meet. I enjoy working with the junior high athletes and seeing them grow into competitive athletes at the high school level. And becoming a mentor to athletes at the high school and college levels.”

Are you involved in any other sports?

“I enjoy golfing in my spare time.”

What do you do for a living?

“Full time Produce Manager at County Market.”

Do you have family involved in the sport?

“Yes, my wife Sara.”

Is there anything you would like to add?

“I like challenges and that is why I took the head coach position. We have many outstanding athletes that have a great shot at going to the state meet this year. It would be a great pleasure to see them experience that. That’s why it is a thrill to go to practice every day and work with the kids.”

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adapted bowling “Our goal for this season will be to earn some hardware at the state tournament in either the team competitions or the individual competitions.” ~ Coach John Grund

Strongest team to date 2011 Record: The adapted bowling PI team with members Alana Stahley, Chelsea Knutson, Iman Omar and Tayler Dyrda took State Champion Runner-up.

Charles Otto earned a medal in the PI boys singles division by placing eighth. (Note: CI stands for Cognitive Impairment, and PI stands for Physical Impairment. CI and PI athletes bowl within their division only, and each division is further broken down into a boys division and girls division. At the state level there is a CI and a PI team and single boy and girl champion, as well as a doubles champion.)

Top returners: Stahley, Knutson, Omar, Dyrda, Otto, Trevor Klein, Matt Rogers, Aaron Wahlstrom, Ashley Novak and Cheyenne Underdahl are all returning letterwinners.

Team depth: “We have an excellent core of returning bowlers this year and some impressive newcomers,”

North Branch

Rush City

Boys Golf............. page 2 Girls Golf............. page 2 Boys Tennis......... page 2 Baseball.............. page 3 Softball................ page 3 Track & Field........ page 4

Boys Golf............. page 5 Girls Golf............. page 5 Track & Field........ page 6 Baseball.............. page 8 Softball................ page 8

Sport Schedules found on page 7 Victoria Dahlin - North Branch and Rush City Sports Shelley Schmidt - Design/Layout

The 2012 North Branch Viking Adapted Bowling Team: Row 1 (l-r): Chelsea Knutson, Tayler Dyrda, Alana Stahley. Row 2: Cheyenne Underdahl, Ashley Novak, Iman Omar, Jade Anderson. Row 3: Matt Rogers, Matt Winberg, Aaron Walstrom, Trevor Klein, Charles Otto. said Coach Grund. “I think this is the strongest Viking team to date. If last year is any indication of our current talent pool, then our PI team and PI individual bowlers could have an outstanding season topped off by an excellent showing at state meet.”

State outlook: “Our goal for this season will be to earn some hardware at the state

tournament in either the team competitions or the individual competitions,” said Coach Grund. “Bowlers need to perform their best at the State Tournament because of the large field of contestants they are competing against.”

North Suburban Conference

Great River Conference

Benilde-St.Margaret’s Red Knights (St. Louis Park) Columbia Heights Hylanders Fridley Tigers Irondale Knights North Branch Vikings Robbinsdale Cooper Hawks (New Hope) Spring Lake Park Panthers St. Francis Fighting Saints St. Louis Park Orioles Totino-Grace Eagles (Fridley) Chisago Lakes Wildcats

Aitkin Gobblers Braham Bombers East Central Eagles (Finlayson) Hinckley-Finlayson Jaguars (Hinckley) Isle Huskies Onamia Panthers Ogilvie Lions Pine City Dragons Rush City Tigers Girls Track & Field only Mille Lacs (Isle/Onamia) Panthers

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boys golf “I expect to have one or more individuals qualify for the state meet this year.” ~ Coach Tom Moriarty

Anticipate conference championship Viking Boys Golf Head Coach: Tom Moriarty (36th year) 2011 Season: The team tied for eighth place in the section championships with no individuals qualifying to advance to state. The team took first place in the last 18hole conference tournament of the season and finished fourth overall in the North Suburban Conference. Joe Fairbanks and Jared Houle earned All-Conference honors.

Mitch Barg and John Buboltz were All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Top returners: Returning letter winners include: seniors Fairbanks, Houle, Mitch Barg; sophomore Buboltz; freshman Regan Nelson and eighth grader Nick Kress. Coach Moriarty is looking to challenge underclassman Joey Courtright and Nick Walker for varsity.

Team depth: “Challenges this year will be the same,”

The 2012 North Branch Viking Boys Golf Team: Row 1 (l-r): Regan Nelson, Nick Kress, Joey Courtright, Jake Olinske, James Weigel, Noah Erdahl, Austin Callahan. Row 2: Cole Pearson, Zach John, John Buboltz, Robert Hanson, Mitch Barg, Jake Hedberg, Jared Houle, Joe Fairbanks. (not pictured: Jacob Demulling, Nick Walker, Tim Courtright) said Coach Moriarty. “The golf course. You play the course not an individual. The weather. Cold and wind play a big factor in the spring. Challenge to play our game at our high level of ability and skill in each match, and bring it when we need to. If we do, we will be great!”

North Suburban Conference outlook: “I expect us to be competing for the conference championship,” said

Coach Moriarty.

Section and state outlook: (Section 7AAA) Andover, Anoka, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes Area, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East, Elk River, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Princeton, St. Francis, St. Michael-Albertville, Cloquet/ Esko) “I expect to have one or more individuals qualify for the state meet this year,” said Coach Moriarty.

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girls golf “Surprises happen all the time. I hope we’re the surprise in 2012.” ~ Coach Dave Ambers

Young team with potential 2011 Season: The team ended the season at the section championship with only three golfers, so they did not qualify as a team. No individuals qualified to advance to state competition. The team finished eighth in the North Suburban Conference. Lauren Ibinger earned All-Conference honors.

Top returners: Returning Letterwinners include senior Ibinger; sophomores Hannah Gomes, Sarah Harris and freshman Janice Elkerton. “Lauren Ibinger will be our best golfer and leader,” said Coach Ambers. “I expect her to

be be one of the better golfers in the conference in her final season. Hannah Gomes, Sarah Harris and Janice Elkerton played on the varsity last season and gained valuable experience. All three have the potential to be good golfers. If they spend enough time, and have the desire to be good golfers, there’s no reason they can’t continue to improve.”

Team depth: Returning junior varsity golfers include: junior Emily Lawrence; sophomores Madeline Alden and Emily Carlson; and freshman Grace DeVault. Newcomers include: juniors Alicia Martineau and Brittany Davis; freshman Sandra Fernow; and seventh graders Aleah Muellner and Ruth Elkerton. “Our returning (junior varsity) golfers are all nice, smart kids who improved last year,” said Coach Ambers. “I expect all of them to have the opportunity to compete for a spot on the varsity.”

North Suburban Conference outlook: “Irondale and Benilde always seem to be tough,” said Coach Ambers.

“They will likely be at, or near, the top of the conference standings at the end of the season.”

Section and state outlook: (Section 7AAA) Andover, Anoka, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes Area, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East, Elk River, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Princeton, St. Francis, St. Michael-Albertville, Cloquet/ Esko) “Grand Rapids, Forest Lake and Elk River have dominated the section in the recent past,” said Coach Ambers. “Surprises happen all the time. I hope we’re the surprise in 2012.”

The 2012 North Branch Viking Girls Golf Team: Row 1 (l-r): Ruth Elkerton, Janice Ekerton, Madeline Alden. Row 2: Sarah Harris, Emily Carlson, Brittany Davis, Sandy Fernow. Row 3: Grace DeVault, Aleah Muellner, Hannah Gomes, Lauren Ibinger, Eliza Thornberry. (not pictured: Emily Lawrence)

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boys tennis ���� ���� ��������

“We have a great group of guys and some big shoes to fill.” ~ Coach Chad Brusky

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Need to develop new players Viking Boys Tennis Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Chad Brusky; Assistant Coach, Tom McLaughlin 2011 Season: The season ended for the team with first round losses at both the subsection team and individual competitions, with the team having a 1-12 overall record and 1-9 North Suburban Conference record.

Top returners: Seniors, Carl Fisk and James Strzelecki.

Juniors, Eric Chilstrom and Jake Helbig.

Team depth: “The most important thing for us this season is to develop our new varsity players as fast as possible,” said Coach Brusky. “We have a great group of guys and some big shoes to fill after the loss of so many players from last year.”

Conference outlook: “It is our goal to be about .500 this year overall,” said Coach Brusky. “This will be a tough task considering the competition that awaits us, but I am optimistic that we will surprise some teams this year.”

Section and state outlook: (Section 7AA) Andover, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes Area, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East, Forest Lake, Princeton, St. Francis, Carlton/ Cloquet/Esko, Elk River/Spectrum/Zimmerman, Grand Rapids/Greenway, Hibbing/Chisholm) “We are in a very tough section,” said Coach Brusky. “But, we are hoping that some of our individuals can step up and make their way through sub-sections.”

The 2012 North Branch Viking Boys Tennis Team: Row 1 (l-r): Daniel Barnett, Cole Lee, Eric Chilstrom, Tony Turitto, Max Patraw, Ryan Wolkerstorfer, Tyler Byrkit. Row 2: Kolton Kiester, Jake Helbig, Tauhyum Yoon, Andrew Barnett, James Strzelecci, Petar Kosovic, Tim Courtright. (not pictured: Andrew Barnett, Carl Fisk, Grant Hyslop, Maxwell Hyslop, Newell Fisk)

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baseball “I’d like to finish in the top half of the conference and keep winning in the playoffs.” ~ Coach Steve Christensen

High Expectations Vikings Baseball Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Steve Christensen; Assistant Coach:, Bobby Lynch; Volunteer Assistant Coach, John Pilz; Junior Varsity Coach, Bryon Rogers; Ninth Grade Coach, Nick Brouwer; Managers: Emma Gustafson, Elly Ebnet, Kelly Porath, Sarah Romo 2011 Season: The team ended the season with a loss to Princeton in the first round of Section 7AAA playoffs and was ranked seventh in the North Suburban Conference with a 6-8 conference and 8-11 overall record. Brett Klun (senior) and Tanner Danks (graduated) were All-Conference, while Thomas Kinsella (senior), Christian Ehrnriter (graduated) and Tyler Zondlo (graduated) were All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Top returners: “We will be returning a group of players that can make various contributions, said Coach Christensen.

“Nine letterwinners return, which includes all the seniors.

Brett Klun gets on base and has a lot of range in the outfield.

Thomas Kinsella provides quality innings on the mound, plays shortstop outside of that, hit for average. Travis Anderson is a rangy outfielder, gets on base and scores runs. Travis Moreno plays catcher, pitcher and infield. Works really hard and very versatile position-wise. Cole Mattson plays second base and outfield, nice left-handed swing, hit for power and average. Kevin Johnson is a key starting pitcher, throws strikes.”

Team depth: “There are many juniors that can bring about good competition to improve the team’s play,” said Coach Christensen. “The numbers we had tryout this season are more than we’ve had in previous seasons. We will have a few of the juniors on the roster playing in JV games to keep

The 2012 North Branch Viking Baseball Team: Row 1 (l-r): Travis Anderson, Josh Benolken, Jake Pilz, Jordan Franklin, Ethan Fairbanks, Matt Solberg. Row 2: Zach Fairbanks, Brett Klun, Travis Moreno, Kerry Konrad, Cody Knobbe, Michael Naggatz. Row 3: Thomas Kinsella, Dylan Kraemar, Cole Mattson, Jake Schmitz, Blake Jorgenson, Jared Axberg. (not pictured: Kevin Johnson) getting them the at bats and innings they would need to be competitive for next year. Many players will have to be able to change positions within the game to stay competitive. It’s a tough role, but that’s also a part of high school baseball.”

North Suburban Conference outlook: Favorites are Benilde-St. Margaret’s and St. Louis Park. “I think everyone involved has high expectations for this season,” said Coach Christensen. “We were very competitive in most games last year. We had a lot of experience, and that should equate to confidence into this season. We need to work together and communicate on and off the field to win games. I’d like to finish in the top half of the conference and keep winning in the playoffs.”

Section and state outlook: (Section 7AAA) Andover, Anoka, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes Area, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East, Elk River, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Princeton,

St. Francis) Section favorites are Grand Rapids and Forest Lake. “We’ll see how the game changes, if any, due to the new bat regulations,” said Coach Christensen. “The change may make coaches think more about situations than before.”

(Rule 1-3-2: Effective January 1, 2012 the bat which may be a wood or non-wood product shall be a smooth implement, from the top of the cap to the top of the knob. All non-wood bats shall meet the Batted Ball Coefficient or Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard, and such bats shall be labeled with a silk screen or other permanent certification mark. For the 2010-11 academic school year the following types of bats will be legal: Any aluminum Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR); Select approved composite BESR baseball bats that can be found on the NFHS website; BESR compliant non-hollow core composite bats are legal; Any solid (one-piece) wood baseball bat; Any aluminum or composite Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) baseball bat.)

north branch

softball “Work to improve in practice every day and most of all have fun!” ~ Coach Ron Trunk

A ton of experience Viking Softball Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Ron Trunk; Assistant Coach, Hayley Lang; Junior Varsity Coach, Brian Robelia; Ninth Grade Coach, Tammi Minke; Managers: Cami Berggren and Erin Enstrand 2011 Season: The team ended the season in the first round of section playoffs with a 6-14 overall record. The team was ranked eighth in the North Suburban Conference with a 4-10 conference record. Kelci Lofboom and Angel Buzzay (both graduated) were All-Conference Academic. Lofboom was also All-Conference. Alley Carlson, Kari Berggren and Mikayla Carlson earned All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Top returners: Seniors; A. Carlson (first base) with four years varsity experience, Kallie Grote (second base) with two years on varsity, Chelsey Emery-Snaza three years on varsity, Jenny Huth (pitcher and outfielder) two years on varsity. Juniors; Emily Trunk (pitcher and outfielder) three years on varsity, and one year on varsity; Berggren (third base), Erin Kvam (pitcher and infielder), Syndey Mueller (outfielder and infielder), Abby Schrafunagel (pitcher). Sophomore; M. Carlson (catcher) one year on varsity.

Team depth: Newcomers competing for varsity include: junior Clair Peltier (outfield); sophomores Kaylee Lofboom (outfield and infield) and Casey Hovland (outfield) and freshman Sydney Meath (outfield).

Team Strength: “Experience!” said Coach Trunk.“We have a ton of varsity experience which should help us recover quickly when things don’t go our way. Our overall team batting average improved last season and with all of our top

The 2012 North Branch Viking Softball Team: Row 1 (l-r): Abby Schraufnagel, Mikayla Carlson. Row 2: Claire Peltier, Kari Berggren, Kayla Bauer, Sydney Meath, Chelsey Emery-Snaza, Kaylee Lofboom. Row 3: Emily Trunk, Sydney Mueller, Kallie Grote, Alley Carlson, Erin Kvam, Jeni Huth, Casey Hovland. hitters back I would look to see that continue to improve this season as well. Our pitchers need to throw strikes and be mentally tough and our defense needs to play well behind them. Simply put we can’t walk batters and give teams more than three outs an inning.”

North Suburban Conference outlook: “Should be wide open.” said Coach Trunk. “2011 NSC champs Totino-Grace lost a ton to graduation. I think St. Francis and Irondale have top returning pitchers and should be a force.

BSM, T-G, Spring Lake Park and Chisago Lakes all have good programs and should contend as well. Goals: Move into the top half of the NSC. Compete hard in every game.

Work to improve in practice every day and most of all have fun!”

Section and state outlook: (Section 7AAA) Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes Area, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Princeton, St. Francis) “The Dominate team in our section continues to be Forest Lake and will be tough to beat again this year,” said Coach Trunk.

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track & field “I am very optimistic that we do have some state meet kids.” ~ Coach Norm Nagel

Optimistic for individuals at state and a Section True Team win Viking Track and Field Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Norm Nagel; Assistant Coach (sprints), Mike Leadholm; Assistant Coach (distance), Kathy Robatcek; Assistant Coach (throws), Scott Olson; Assistant Coach (hurdles), Ashley Steele 2011 Season: Boys: Graduates Ben Besch (pole vault) and David Leason (triple jump) were Section Champion Runners-up and qualified for the state competition. Tony Ceroll and Zach Smith (both graduated) medaled at the section championships.

The team finished eighth in the conference with eight individuals being named All-Conference or Honorable Mention.

Girls: Kassie Salo broke the North Branch School pole vault record at the State Track and Field Championships.

Salo and Sherahlynn Linkert both were Section Champions and advanced to state. The team finished fourth place in the conference. Nine girls were All-Conference or Honorable Mention: seniors Salo, Becky Ramberg; junior Linkert; freshman Maddie Kunschier, sophomore Haley Huset; graduates Teagan Anderson, Maria Gozzi, Kendra Norman and Sadie Kolke.

Top returners: Boys: “We have a main group who really competed well in previous years,” said Coach Nagel. “We have some individuals who will win events at a lot of meets. They are all in different areas of team (sprinting, distance, throwers) and that helps with the team scoring. We have some really good athletes who need to keep improving and getting better as track athletes. I would like to see some of them at the state meet.”

Girls: “We have a lot of talented athletes on this team,” said Coach Nagel. “A number of these girls have had a lot of success not only last season, but also in previous years. Experienced girls who have shown that they have the talent to compete against some of the best. The older girls on this team are great leaders. They do an excellent job making the younger girls feel welcomed and this really helps the younger girls get comfortable and concentrate on getting better and competing. It’s a very good atmoThe 2012 North Branch Viking Boys Track and Field Team: Row 1 (lr): Carl Neumann, Arik Steele, Aaron Senne, Jack Kennedy, Cameron Hufford, Matthew Marrin, Max Southbloom, Kong Moua, Jacob Bear, Ean Charpentier. Row 2: Tyler Knobbe, Kyle Crandell, Seth Eastwood, Tennie Jacobson, Jack Klun, Tony Denn, Jake Souther, Kyle Granger, Tristin Haberman, Scott Yager, Austen Wek, Kyle Crowell. Row 3: Shawn Herubin, Eric Weisinger, Blake Degerstrom, Sean Foy, Connor Utschinski, Sam Peltier, Brandon Thauwald, Rance Ashley, Dominic Hufford, Jon Amundson, Jake Petrik, Riley Jacobson. (not pictured: Zack Peno, Cade Chouinard, Fletcher John, Andy Boatman, David Krey, Noah Hubbard, Josh Collins, Josh Fritch, Branden Heidelberger, Seames Hunter, Charles LeTourneau, Jon Peterson, Hector Rosales, Jack Tholen)

The 2012 North Branch Viking Girls Track and Field Team: Row 1 (l-r): Courtney White, Olivia Flynn. Row 2: Claire Schraufnagel, Rhianna Rinke, Jessica Clover, Jamie Salo, Megan Zimmerman. Row 3: Emily Forster, Hannah Zimmerman, Cathie Larson, Becca Hagert, Sheralynn Linkert, Abby Spence, Kylie Gatzke, Megan Piotrowski, Mirella Peterson (student manager). Row 4: Gina Amundson, Hope Bauer, Kassie Salo, Carla Neumann, Becky Ramberg, Mikayla Hensch, Kadie Mattson, Cassidy White, Erynn Downey, Marissa Morgenstern. (not pictured: Allie Anderson, Taylor Olsen, Valerie Weekes, Sierra Atkins, Mikayla Johnson, Corrinna Kratzke, Cassidae Kunshier, Maddy Kunshier, Morgan Morgenstern, Crystal Snaza, Haley Huset) sphere to improve which obviously helps the team as a whole.”

Team depth: Boys: “This is a younger team than we’ve had in the past,” said Coach Nagel. “There are also some people who we believe are going to contribute who haven’t been out for track in the past. We need all of our athletes to continue to get stronger and to contribute. In our first two weeks of practice our new athletes have shown a lot of ability. Our weakness of having little experience might turn into a strength by the end of the season when our newcomers show their athletic ability.”

Girls: We also need to improve in our field events,” said Coach Nagel. “We can compete with almost anyone on the track and if we can do that with our field events, we will be an even better team. We have some very good girls in our field events, but we need to develop some depth if we’re going to become a really good team.”

North Suburban Conference outlook: Boys: Irondale, Spring Lake Park, Fridley, and Robbinsdale Cooper are tough in the conference, while Grand Rapids is in True Team. “That is one goal of ours is to win true team,” said Coach Nagel. “We have been second fiddle to Grand Rapids the last few years.”

Girls: Biggest competition is St. Francis, Spring Lake Park/St. Anthony, St. Louis Park and Irondale in the conference. Grand Rapids in the True Team.“Being in the North Suburban Conference is probably our biggest challenge,” said Coach Nagel. “We have a lot of talented

girls, but our conference is so tough. We need to keep getting better so we can compete in this conference even better than in the past. We’re hoping to improve on what we thought was a very successful fifth place finish in the conference last year.”

Section and state outlook: (Section 7AA) Andover, Big Lake, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes Area, Cloquet, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East, Elk River, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Hermantown, Hibbing, Princeton, St. Francis, Zimmerman) Boys: “Until we have a couple of meets it will be a little difficult to tell how good we can be this season,” said Coach Nagel. “I am very optimistic that we do have some state meet kids who also have talent so I really think we’re going to have a pretty good season. Our kids have really been working hard this year. We really have a good group of kids who don’t mind pushing themselves to be better.

They really seem focused on doing well and reaching their goals. Everything needs to come together for the end of the season.”

Girls: “Our returning people will score points for us, but we need some of our newcomers to help us out a lot,” said Coach Nagel. “We need to stay healthy and have our young athletes add some much needed points for us if we’re going to be successful as a team. We’re also shooting to make a run at Grand Rapids in the True Team Sectional competition this year. I know this group of girls would really like to get to that True Team State Meet.”

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rush city

golf

“We have some newcomers who will get a lot of golf in this year.” ~ Coach Jeremy Albright

New assistant coach brings experience Tiger Boys and Girls Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Jeremy Albright; Assistant Coaches, Charlotte Thill and Greg Hills 2011 Season: Boys: The team ended its season at the section championship with no individuals qualifying to advance to state.

Freshman Dylan Fessenden earned All-Conference.

Girls: The team ended its season at the section championship. Senior Taylor Schellbach competed in the Section Championship finals, but did not qualify to advance to the state championships. Schellbach earned All-Conference honors.

Top returners: Boys: Fessenden as well as seniors Matt Strenke and Conner Bergman are the top returners. “You can see improvement in all of their games,” said Coach Albright. “We are looking for them to lead our boys this year.”

Girls: Schellbach, as well as freshman Sara Johnson and eighth grader Brea LeMon all return from last year’s squad. “Taylor should be one of the best golfers in the conference and is hoping to improve beyond making it to the second round of sections like she did last year.” said Coach Albright. “Both Sara and Brea have improved their swings as well.”

Team depth: Boys: Junior Alex Enns and sophomore Nick Schmidt.

Eighth graders Sam Gilbert and Brandon Henrichs. Seventh graders Eddie Johnson and Brent Hein.

Girls: Seventh graders Alice Schweigert and Allissa Thayer. “We won’t have a whole lot of team depth, said Coach Albright. “We lost several athletes on both the boys and girls side for various reasons. But, we have some newcomers who will get a lot of golf in this year.”

Great River Conference outlook: Boys: “Isle will be good, along with Moose Lake and Aitkin,” said Coach Albright.

Girls: “I think both Pine City and Aitkin will be right up there in the conference race,” said Coach Albright.

Section and state outlook: Boys: (Section 4A) Braham, FAIR (Minneapolis), Heritage Christian Academy, Legacy Christian Academy, Maranatha Christian Academy, Mayer Lutheran, Minneapolis North Community, New Life Academy of Woodbury, Saint Agnes, Southwest Christian School, St. Croix Preparatory Academy, Trinity School at River Ridge, West Lutheran, Liberty Classical Academy/Harper Home School) Girls: (Section 4A) Braham, FAIR (Minneapolis), Heritage Christian Academy, Legacy Christian Academy, Maranatha Christian Academy, Mayer Lutheran, Minneapolis North Community, New Life Academy of Woodbury, Saint Agnes, Southwest Christian School, St. Croix Preparatory Academy) “We are in a new class and section this year for golf,” said Coach Albright. “All of the teams are brand new to us, so we won’t know too much about them until after the season gets moving along. We have a new assistant coach this year, Charlotte Thill. Coach Thill played golf in high school, so we are excited for her to bring that experience to our program.”

Left: The 2012 Rush City Tiger Girls Golf Team: Row 1 (l-r): Allissa Thayer, Alice Schweigert. Row 2: Coach Jeremy Albright, Brea LeMon, Sara Johnson, Taylor Schellbach, Coach Charlotte Thill.

Pick up at these outlets: North Branch:

County Market Casey’s General Store Nelson’s Market Kath Oil Holiday Stations Skelton Drug Village Bakery Ace Main St. Hardware Country Valu Drug

Rush City:

Main St. Market Needs 2 Party R.C. Citgo

Harris:

Kaffe Stuga

Stacy:

Sunrise Grocery Stacy C Store Stacy/Lent Tesoro Tim’s Country Cupboard

Almelund:

Rod’s Country Corner

The 2012 Rush City Tiger Boys Golf Team: Row 1 (l-r): Brandon Henrichs, Brent Hein, Nick Schmidt, Sam Gilbert, Eddie Johnson. Row 2: Coach Jeremy Albright, Dylan Fessenden, Conner Bergman, Matt Strenke, Alex Enns, Coach Charlotte Thill.

Sports Schedules found on page 7

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rush city

track & field “We have a strong team that has been made stronger with a few new additions.” ~ Coach Mike Vaughan

Strong teams aiming to take conference championships Tiger Boys and Girls Track Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Mike Vaughan; Assistant Coaches, Erika Matzke and Mark Bingham 2011 Season: Boys: Junior Max Maher placed 13th and set a new Rush City school boys pole vault record at the state championship. Maher took Champion Runner-up at the section championship to qualify for the state competition. Earning medals at the section were Dan Taylor (senior) with fifth in the 3200m and Dan Weber (senior) with sixth in the 110m hurdles. The team took third place in the subsection meet. Taylor took first in the 3200m with a new personal record and second in the 1600m. Also placing second were Weber in the 110m hurdles and the 300m hurdles, as well as Brian Nessel (graduated) in the triple jump.

Coming in third were Nessel in the 100m, Isaac Johnson (senior) in the 800m and Maher in the pole vault to qualify to advance to the section championships. The team was Conference Champion Runner-ups. Taking first to earn AllConference were Weber, Taylor, Johathan Mielke (junior) and the 4x200m relay with Collin Franklin (junior), Hunter Leigland (freshman), David Schmidt (graduated) and Lorenzo Turner (graduated). Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention by coming in second were Maher, Nessel and the 4x400m relay (Johnson, Franklin, Taylor, Weber).

The team finished fourth at the True Team Section Meet.

Girls: Freshman Keanna Belau competed in the 100m at the state meet, but did not qualify to advance to the finals. Belau placed fourth in better than state qualifying time at the section championship to qualify for state competition, as well as earned a sixth place medal in the 200m. The 4x800m relay consisting of Courtney Arvidson (junior), Bryanna Koehnle (graduated), Alissa Mell (sophomore) and Ashley Swanson (senior) placed sixth.

The teams took third place in the subsection. Taking firsts were Arvidson in the 400m and Alecia Meier (junior) in the triple jump with a new personal record. Also qualifying were Belau placing second in the 100m and third in the 200m, as well as Koehnle finishing third in the 800m. The 4x800m relay with Mell, Swanson, Arvidson and Koehnle also came in second. The team took the Conference Championship. Meier took first, earning All-Conference, while Morgan Twingstrom (senior), Belau and Meier all placed second in events to earn All-Conference Honorable Mention. The finished second at the True Team Section Meet.

Top Returners: Boys: “We have a strong team that has been made stronger with a few new additions,” said Coach Vaughan. “We have a number of All-Conference runners returning. Dan Taylor is returning after a very successful cross country season and competed at the state meet last fall. Ike Johnson in the 800m, top hurdler Dan Weber, all-purpose senior sprinter Josh Nelson, and strong senior shot putter Jordan Nelson. Max Maher has been vaulting very high.

He is looking to improve his school record of 12’3. Junior Jonathan Mielke also balances us out in the throws. We have a large number of new juniors and seniors that will and should continue to provide leadership and hopefully help bring home a conference championship.”

Girls: “We have a strong distance team led by Ashley Swanson and Caci Cook (senior),” said Coach Vaughan.

“Our hurdlers are led by Morgan Twingstrom and Kristy Carlson (senior). Returning in the jumps is triple jump record holder Alecia Meier. Our group of throwers is led by shot putter Teri Jungles (senior) and discus thrower Rose Lekatz (senior). Kayla Nelson (freshman) and Keanna Belau are back to show our strength in sprints and middistance.”

Team Depth: Boys: “We have enough athletes to fill all the events and are certainly going to be strong on the track,” said Coach Vaughan. “Our jump events will need to improve, along with some other field events. We are looking at a solid boys team that may need some younger talent to fill in the gaps for some of the events.”

Girls: “We will need to rebuild some losses in the throws and hopefully the younger athletes will develop into the athletes we need them to compete in the conference,” said Coach Vaughan. “Our sprinting team is strong and we have well-balanced strength in all events. One concern is the lack of numbers in the distance events which may be filled by younger athletes and mid-distance runners as the season goes on. Our success will depend on the second and third athletes in these events.”

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Great River Conference Outlook: Boys: “I feel the boys can compete for conference champs,” said Coach Vaughan. “We have a couple of events that we hope some younger and newer additions to the track team can fill. Beating Pine City and Hinckley-Finlayson remains a challenge as it will be interesting to see what type of athletes they will return with and develop.”

Girls: “The girls hope to repeat as conference champs,” said Coach Vaughan.

“There are still a number of great girls competing in the conference and HinckleyFinlayson, Braham, and Mille Lacs will all be competitive.

With our group of girls we should be right in the mix of these teams and hopefully we develop our younger girls into great contributors.”

Braham, Foley, Holdingford, Howard Lake-WaverlyWinsted, Legacy Christian Academy, Litchfield, Maple Lake, Melrose Area, Milaca, Mora, New London-Spicer, Ogilvie, Paynesville Area, Pierz, Pine City, Rockford, Royalton, St. Cloud Cathedral, St. Cloud Christian, St. John’s Prep, Spectrum, Zimmerman, Eden Valley-Watkins/ Kimball Area, Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity, Upsala/Swanville. Girls only also have Isle/Onamia).

“Our True Team Section Meet is Sibley East and we look forward to finishing high at that particular meet,” said Coach Vaughan. “Since the girls finished second last year, we have high hopes. Eight out of nine athletes that competed in the section meet last year are returning and look stronger.

We have some athletes with state level experience in track and cross country that we hope to tap into this season Section and state outlook: (Section 5A) Albany, Annanand some talented athletes that finished high in the section dale, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, meet last year.”

The 2012 Rush City Tiger Boys Track and Field Team: Row 1 (l-r): Zane Draper, Dylan Mielke, Noah Griser.

Row 2: Kyle Groh, Karter Niessen, Grayson Devlin, Garrett Larson, Elija Nelson, Colton Baldwin, Joe Halbert, Cody Siefert, Dylan Groshens, Lincoln Fuhs, Ethan Rundquist. Row 3: Daniel Taylor, Luke Maher, Hunter Leigland, Logan Lekatz, Demario Peterkin, Josh Nelson, Mason Stevens, Isaac Johnson, Jacob Lynch, Ben Wolf, Brennan Anderson. Row 4: Jordan Nelson, Mitch Mallinger, Jordan Turner, Caleb Swanson, Hunter Kepler, Dalton Huston, Dan Johnson, Luke Rands, Alex Kristofferson, Tom Smith, Andrew Heavirland, Zeth Langworthy. Row 5: Kevin Nelson, Kyle Nelson, Matt Mallinger, Johnathan Mielke, Beau Carlson, Daniel Weber, Collin Yaritz, Caleb Anderson, Max Maher, Alex Scheffer, Collin Franklin. (not pictured: Adam Engel, Andy Johnson, Blaine Scheele, Dominic Montgomery, Jake Dahl, Jeremiah Smith, Mark Larter)

The 2012 Rush City Tiger Girls Track and Field Team: Row 1 (l-r): Desiare Dalhberg, Courtney Arvidson, Kaylee Becker, Alissa Flemming, Sami Smith, Riley McGough, Caci Cook, Elly Johnson. Row 2: Bailey Murawski, Brooke Nekowitsch, Lydia Moe, Keanna Belau, Raven Keehbler, Sammi Oscarson, Hazel Thorp, Morgan Twingstrom, Chelsea Hauner, Rose Lekatz, Mollee Patzner. Row 3: Emily Bergeron, Shayla McKinney-Buck, Alecia Meier, Alex Logan, Hannah Fleischacker, Victoria Halbert, Michaela Kost, Brittany Bergren, Jazmyn Kepler, Matrina Armindarez. Row 4: Jessica Bottomley, Brooke Hein, Ashley Swanson, Kayla Nelson, Erin Hutchenson, Alissa Mell, Teri Jungles, Kristy Carlson, Kelsey Dullinger, Payton Ramberg, Katlyn Keeley. (not pictured: Arayna Nieuwsma, Julia Westman, Kayla Kost, Lily Arcand, Taylor Metz)

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North Branch & rush city

sport schedules Home games in bold

rush city

north branch

baseball

boys tennis

April 12 East Central April 13 Isle April 17 Pine City April 19 Braham April 20 Ogilvie April 24 Hinckley Finlayson April 26 Aitkin May 1 East Central May 3 Pine City May 7 Isle May 8 Braham May 10 Hinckley Finlayson May 11 Moose Lake/Willow River May 14 Ogilvie May 15 Barnum May 17 Onamia May 21 Grantsburg

4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:15 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 7:30 PM 4:00 PM 7:30 PM 4:30 PM 7:30 PM 4:30 PM 5:00 PM

rush city

softball April 12 East Central April 13 Isle April 17 Pine City April 19 Braham April 20 Fredric April 23 Grantsburg April 24 Hinckley Finlayson April 26 Aitkin April 27 Ogilvie April 30 Barnum May 1 East Central May 3 Pine City May 8 Braham May 10 Hinckley Finlayson May 11 Moose Lake/Willow River May 14 Ogilvie May 15 Isle

4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:15 PM 4:30 PM 5:00 PM 5:00 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:00 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM

April 12 Totino-Grace April 14 Invitational Princeton April 17 Spring Lake Park April 20 Pine City April 24 Irondale April 27 Fridley May 1 Columbia Heights May 3 St. Francis May 5 Invitational Andover May 7 Robbinsdale Cooper May 17 Cambridge-Isanti

4:00 PM 9:00 AM 4:00 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 9:00 AM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM

north branch

boys golf April 17 Chisago Lakes GC April 24 Victory Links April 25 Columbia GC April 30 Conf. Tourn. Bunker Hills GC May 2 Majestic Oaks GC May 7 Mpls. GC May 8 Victory Links May 21 Conf. Tourn. TPC Twin Cities

1:45 PM 1:45 PM 1:45 PM 11:00 AM 1:45 PM 1:45 PM 1:45 PM 8:00 AM

north branch

girls golf April 17 North Branch GC April 24 Theo Wirth GC April 26 Majestic Oaks GC April 30 Conf. Tourn. Bunker Hills GC May 2 Victory Links May 8 Ponds GC May 15 Victory Links May 21 COnf. Tourn. TPC Twin Cities

3:00 PM 1:45 PM 1:45 PM 11:00 AM 1:45 PM 3:00 PM 1:45 PM 8:00 AM

rush city

Boys & Girls track April 19 East Central 4:00 PM April 27 Pine City 3:45 PM May 1 Tigerama 3:45 PM May 4 Hinckley Invitational 3:45 PM May 8 True Team Meet TBA May 15 GRC Meet (Hinckley Finlayson) 3:15 PM May 17 GRC Relays (Hinckley Finlayson) 3:45 PM May 22 Sub Section Meet TBA May 30 Section Meet St. John’s 10:30 AM June 8-9 State Meet Hamline TBA

north branch

adapted bowling April 13 Multiple Schools (JJs Bowl) April 20 Cambridge-Isanti (Junction Bowl) April 27 Multiple Schools (JJs Bowl) May 4 Multiple Schools (JJs Bowl) May 11 Multiple Schools (JJs Bowl) May 18 State Tournament (Brunswick Zone)

rush city

9:00 AM 9:00 AM 9:00 AM 9:00 AM 9:00 AM 9:00 AM

north branch

Boys golf

baseball

April 12 Pine City Scramble April 17 Pine City April 23 Moose Lake/Willow River April 26 Mille Lacs April 30 East Central May 3 Hinckley Finlayson May 7 Aitkin May 10 Braham May 14 GRC Meet May 17 Hinckley Finlayson May 23 Mora Scramble

12:00 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:30 PM 3:45 PM 10:00 AM 4:15 PM 12:00 PM

rush city

girls golf April 12 Pine City Scramble April 17 Pine City April 23 Moose Lake/Willow River April 26 Mille Lacs April 30 East Central May 3 Hinckley Finlayson May 7 Aitkin May 9 Mora Scramble May 10 Braham May 14 GRC Meet May 17 Hinckley Finlayson

12:00 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 4:30 PM 12:00 PM 3:45 PM 10:00 AM 4:15 PM

north branch

boys & girls track April 12 Triangular St. Francis April 17 Robbinsdale Cooper April 24 Triangular Fridley May 15 Conference Prelims Irondale May 17 Conference Championship Irondale

4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM

April 12 Spring Lake Park 4:30 PM April 14 Duluth East 11:00 AM

Duluth Denfeld 1:30 PM April 17 Totino-Grace 4:30 PM April 23 Irondale 4:30 PM April 24 Robbinsdale Cooper 4:30 PM April 27 Tournament Princeton TBD April 28 Tournament Princeton TBD Tournament Princeton 4:30 PM April 30 St. Louis Park 4:30 PM May 2 St. Francis 4:30 PM May 3 Columbia Heights 4:30 PM May 7 Fridley 4:30 PM May 9 Columbia Heights 4:30 PM May 11 Fridley 4:30 PM May 14 Spring Lake Park 4:30 PM May 16 Chisago Lakes 4:30 PM May 25 Cambridge-Isanti 4:30 PM

north branch

softball

April 12 Fridley (Double Header) April 14 Hermantown April 17 St. Louis Park April 19 Columbia Heights April 23 Zimmerman April 24 Totino-Grace April 30 Benilde-St. Margaret’s May 2 Chisago Lakes May 5 Sauk Rapids Tournment May 7 Robbinsdale Cooper May 9 St. Francis May 11 Princeton Tournament (dbl hdr) May 14 Spring Lake Park May 16 Irondale May 18 Chisago Lakes

3:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 9:00 AM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM

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rush city

baseball “We will be exciting to watch.” ~ Coach Kevin Smith

Young team up for challenge Tiger Baseball Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Kevin Smith; Assistant Coaches, Grant Nicholl and Robert Schlagel 2011 Season: The team’s season ended in the second round of subsection playoffs with a 4-15 overall record. The team finished the season ranked eighth in the conference with a 3-11 conference record. Sam Widman (graduated) earned All-Conference.

Top returners: Justin Marty is the only senior returning with game experience. “He will need to be a team leader as a shortstop, pitcher and batter,” said Coach Smith. “He had a season ending ankle injury last year and was a major contributor before that on both offense and defense. Isiah Morris was one of our leading hitters last year as a sophomore and will need to do that again this year as well as be our number one pitcher. He will play infield when not pitching and must provide us with solid fielding for team success. Brandon Koehnle was our starting catcher every game last year as a freshman and learned and improved consistently all year. He needs to be our defensive leader, helping pitchers and taking control, leading by example. He also needs to become one of our top hitters and showed great promise last season in this area.”

Team depth: “We do not have good team depth as we have only 19 players on the roster,” said Coach Smith. “We have some returning players with game experience in addition to Justin, Isiah and Brandon. Juniors, Austin Fessenden and Dalton Folkema in the infield, Sophomore Mason Ramberg in

The 2012 Rush City Tiger Baseball Team: Row 1 (l-r): Tom Jungels, Justin Marty, Jeff Kaltenhauser, Austin Fessenden. Row 2: Cole Anderson, Josh Gorman, Blake Cook, Brandon Koehnle, Jake Kleinsasser, Brandon Elmer, Chase Grant. Row 3: Nick Kost, Isiah Morris, Jesse Peterson, Willie Mies, Cody Dullinger, Eric Erdman, Mason Ramberg, Dalton Folkema. (not pictured: Adam Hendrick, Jesse Rasmussen) the outfield. We will be hoping the other team members can contribute both on offense and defense and learn as they gain experience with each game.”

Great River Conference outlook: “East Central is the reigning champion and will be very tough to beat again this year,” said Coach Smith. “I think both Hinckley/Finlayson and Braham will also be quite strong and Pine City has a very talented group of young players and may be a factor in the conference race as well.”

Section and state outlook: (Section 5A) Atwater-CosmosGrove City, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Braham, Browerville/ St. John Vianney Academy, East Central, Eden Valley-Watkins, Hinckley-Finlayson, Isle, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, Kimball Area, Ogilvie, Onamia, Osakis, Pillager, Royalton, St. John’s

Prep, Upsala/Swanville, PACT Charter/Spectrum).

“Eden Valley Watkins is in our section and they did not lose a game last year on the way to claiming the State Championship, so I expect them to be the overwhelming section power again this season,” said Coach Smith. “We are a young team and will work hard to improve each week. We will be exciting to watch and must learn not to give the opponent extra outs.

To do this we must limit our defensive mistakes. Our pitchers will get a chance to improve through game situations and that will be one of the big challenges, if not the biggest we face this season. I think these kids are up for that challenge, and baring any major injuries, time will tell us how they do.”

rush City

softball “My expectations are that these young ladies give 100 percent on and off the field.” ~ Coach Kim Erdman

Team depth is greatest strength

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The 2012 Rush City Tiger SoftballTeam: Row 1 (l-r): Haley Hoffman, Kiawna Forcier, Tara Sarago, Miranda Anderson, Kayla Forcier, Olivia Erdman. Row 2: Taylor Youngblom, Taniel Schellbach, Josi Trantanella, Hannah Pavek, Abby Scherer, Lindsey Williams, Liz Bolejack, Cheney Grant. Row 3: Coach Kim Erdman, Sydnie Sybrant, Randi Schoeberl, Danica Schellbach, Mackenzie Sherrill, Trista Sarago, Coach Lee Rood. time at first and could also see some varsity action. We have four uniforms sitting in a box, waiting for the next girl to show us that they are ready for a varsity uniform. It could be one of many. My expectations are that these young ladies give 100 percent on and off the field and work with each other as a team in order to succeed. They should be going above and beyond expectations, not making excuses, but creating opportunities. I do not see them as seniors, juniors, seventh graders, etc, I see them as the Rush City Varsity, no matter what grade they are in.”

Team depth: “Our greatest strength is our depth this year,” said Coach Erdman. “We have quite a few girls coming in early to get in some extra reps in the batting cage. Some are there at 6:15 a.m. and they are working hard, encouraging each other, and supporting each other. As a coach, I love to see this, and this does not go unnoticed. There are many girls that have skills similar to their peers. Their work ethic and how they perform on the field and at the plate will determine who is playing by mid-year.”

Great River Conference outlook: “There are no weak teams in our conference, so we will need to play our best

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Tiger Softball Coaching Staff: Head Coach, Kim Erman; Assistant Coach, Lee Rood 2011 Season: The team ended the season in the second round of section playoffs after winning four out its last six games. The team finished the season tied for fourth in the conference with a 4-9 conference record and 5-12 overall record. Abby Scherer earned All-Conference Honors, while Mackenzie Sherrill was All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Top returners: “I have two ladies (Trista Sarago, Abby Scherer) that are returning for their fifth year of varsity play,” said Coach Erdman. “Senior Trista Sarago is solid at first base and at the plate. Her work ethic is a great example for others, as she is in early in the mornings hitting and doing drills. Junior Abby Scherer is a very good catcher and led the team in batting last year. She is very capable of throwing out runners and she calls a good game. Junior pitcher Mackenzie Sherrill will see the bulk of the varsity work this year. She came in to pitch half way through the year last year and was a big reason we finished strong. We have two very capable girls that can give Mac and Abby a rest if needed, with sophomores Taylor Youngblom pitching and Kiawna Forcier catching.

Senior Liz Bolejack (center field), junior Kayla Forcier (left field) and eighth grader Miranda Anderson (right field) all are returning letter winners and will be starting in the outfield in the early part of the season. However, juniors Randi Schoeberl and Josi Trantanella, ninth grader Tara Sarago, as well as seventh grader Chesney Grant have worked hard in practice and could also see time in the outfield or at the plate. Senior Danica Schellbach will be starting at short stop and had a very hot bat at the end of last season, so we expect her to pick up where she left off. Eighth grader Lindsey Williams will be starting at second, and ninth grader Taniel Schellbach moves from right field to third this year. Ninth grader Hannah Pavek and eighth grader Sydnie Sybrant are sharing some

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in each game,” said Coach Erdman. “Hinckley and Isle have most of their team back, so they should be toward the top of the conference. Ogilvie always fields a good team and Aitkin and East Central were young last year and will be better this year. Pine City and Braham will also be competitive. However, I think if we play the way we are capable of playing, we can win any game we are in this year. We need to play within ourselves and do the little things right.”

Section and state outlook: (Section 5A) Atwater-CosmosGrove City, Barnum, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Braham, Browerville, Cromwell, East Central, Eden Valley-Watkins, Hinckley-Finlayson, Isle, Kimball, Ogilvie, Osakis, Royalton, Saint John’s Prep, Swanville, Upsala) “I do not concern myself with the section and state at the beginning of the year,” said Coach Erdman. “Because there are so many variables; injuries, kids not coming out, new players that move in; so I will wait until the season is in full swing to concern myself with that. Our main focus now is on our team and what we need to do to be competitive. We cannot control what the other team does or how they prepare, but we can take care of what we need to do.”

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