Minnewaska looks for a bounce-back season

Lakers see a large senior class as an opportunity for improvement

BY JOE BROWN | West Central Tribune

GLENWOOD — After a 4-23 showing in 2021-22, some fresh faces hope to lead Minnewaska in a bounceback season.

The Lakers lost four starters from last season: Hunter Kostelecky, Damon Uhde, Tate Reichmann and Ethan Quelle.

The lone returning starter is senior PJ Johnson. He is a 6-foot forward.

A pair of seniors look to jump into the fray for Minnewaska and secondyear head coach Hunter Salathe.

The first is Hunter Kloos, a 6-2 forward.

“(Hunter) had a great summer and really thrived as an inside/outside scoring threat,” Salathe said.

First-year Minnewaska head coach Hunter Salathe encourages his team after a defensive stop against Redwood Valley during the Lakers’ season opener on Saturday, Dec.

Forum Communications file photo

Another senior looking for a bounceback season is 5-foot-9 guard Blake Andreas.

“(Blake) missed all of last season due to injury,” Salathe said. “But he is back to help push our offense in transition.”

The youngest player on the varsity is also looking for a standout season. Sophomore Tenzin Dahl is a 6-2 forward who’ll be relied upon to stretch opposing defenses.

“(Tenzin) got some minutes last year as a freshman,” Salathe said. “We’re hoping to expand his role this season and get him into great scoring opportunities. He is a three-level scoring threat.”

Five seniors are slated to play on varsity in 2022-23: Andreas; Johnson; Kloos; 6-0 forward James Ward and 6-0 forward Noah Palmer. There are three juniors in the mix in 5-10 guard Alex Panitzke, 5-11 forward Ryland Martin and 5-10 guard Dylan Alexander.

Last season, the Lakers were 3-9 in the West Central Conference, with two wins over Benson and a double-overtime victory against Montevideo. The season came to an end in the opening round of the Section 3AA-North tournament against eventual section champion Morris/ Chokio-Alberta. ◀