Bears nip East Ridge for first state trip in 23 years

p.m. Thursday, with finals Saturday, 8 p.m. Consolation games will be 10 a.m. and noon Wednesday.

Jack Janicki led the No. 11 ranked Bears past the No. 6 ranked Raptors with 23 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Wyatt Hawks sank two clinching free shots and totaled 11 points and nine rebounds. Jeremy Kolb notched nine points, Jack Misgen eight points and six rebounds, and Sawyer Collins and Zach Nelson three points each.

In the other seven sections, all the No. 1 seeds won. “We were the only exception,” said Burke, cheerily.

East Ridge (22-7) beat the Bears 60-55 an 75-63 in conference play, thus the top seed. The Bears edged No. 3 Stillwater 52-50 in the semifinals.

BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR

White Bear Lake has a state tournament boys basketball team for the first time since 2000. The Bears edged top-seeded East Ridge 57-55 for the Section 4AAAA championship at Hastings to advance to the big show.

“It was a great night. What a fun game,” said coach Gregory Burke. “This group has played together since childhood. It’s great for them. Great for the community, too. It’s been a long time.

We’ve seen the hockey teams and girls basketball get to state, and now we have a boys team going. I think the girls last year, placing third in the state, really motivated the guys.”

The Bears (21-7) faced No. 3 seed Wayzata in the state tournament Tuesday at Target Center. See results online at presspubs.com.

In the same bracket were No. 2 Lakeville North vs. Buffalo. In the other bracket were No. 1 Park Center vs. Andover and No. 4 Minnetonka vs. No. 5 Eastview. Semifinals will be 6 and 8

“We felt like we didn’t give our best shot the first two times we played East Ridge,” Janicki said. “It was less about them and more about us, doing the little things right and staying positive.”

This was the biggest game of their lives after growing and playing together for many years. “Our mindset was to just go out and compete,” Janicki said. “Enjoy the moment, and stay even-keeled through good and bad. We knew we had a really good chance at doing something special the whole year.”

It was close all the way. East Ridge had three players with 14 points each: Alex Mattes, Parker Wellmann, and Charlie Bern.

The Bears took a seven-point lead. The Raptors surged within 55-53 in the final minute. The Bears missed a free shot with 10 seconds left but Hawks snagged the rebound, got fouled, and hit both free shots for a 57-53 lead. The Raptors got their last basket just before the buzzer.

“It was nerve-wracking, but we had the lead, and my coach and teammates had confidence in me,” said Hawks, who’s made about two-thirds of his freebies for the season. “I just went up and made the shots.”

The availability of the 6-foot-8 Hawks was crucial for the Bears, after an illness sidelined him for the first section game and limited his time in the second game.

“We never directly found out what (the illness) was,” Hawks said. “I had to take a week off to not give it to my teammates. I was over the sickness, but my endurance was still a little off. I had to sub out more often. I was really tired against Stillwater. It was better against East Ridge.”

White Bear Lake had not won more than one playoff game since 2000, usually losing in the first round. They did get one playoff win last year. So, advancing to state after 23 years is something to savor.

“It’s very exciting,” Hawks said. “We’ve all been friends forever and always working for this opportunity. It’s a great feeling.”

Janicki said he’ll be “excited to see the White Bear Lake community in downtown Minneapolis” rooting for the Bears.

Upcoming events:

Northern Lights

Community Reception

Thursday, March 30, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Celebrate the artwork of the artists featured in the 49th Annual Northern Lights Juried Art exhibition. Hear from the judges and stay for the award ceremony starting at 7 p.m.

By Nicky Torkzadeh

Go Figure! SelfDirected Life Drawing

Studio

4 Thursdays, April 6-27, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Have you always wanted to try life drawing? Are you looking for a regular session to get some figure drawing practice in? Try Go Figure, a life drawing class offered by WBCA. For 3 hours every Thursday, you’ll have time for a student-led experience of like-minded artists studying the human form in poses ranging from 3 to 30 minutes.

Beginning/ Intermediate

Handbuilding

4 Wednesdays, April 5-26, 6-8:30 p.m.

Looking for fun, freedom and flexibility in clay?

Explore the three ceramic techniques of handbuilding: pinch, slab, and coil building and an understanding of the handbuilding process from start to finish.

There’s a New Bear in Town

Robin Tost is a renowned artist and sculptor who currently resides in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, and grew up right here in White Bear Lake. Her work reuses found objects and pieces of metal, giving new life to these discarded pieces.

Tost is loaning one of her metal sculptures Spirit Bear, also affectionately known as Ursula Major, to White Bear Center for the Arts, which will be displayed temporarily at the art center. For Tost, the process of creating Spirit Bear was inspired by her connection with bears. “I’ve always liked bears,” she said. “I grew up on White Bear Lake, and there are lots of them around where I now live. Occasionally they spend time at my house, destroying my bird feeders and cooling off in my tiny pond.”

“Ursula Major started when I was flat on my back, recovering from ankle surgery,” Tost said. “I was going crazy with nothing to do,” so she made a small bear out of wadded-up newspaper and masking tape. She took this model to her blacksmith friend who made the frame out of steel rods. Tost then covered this frame with her metal quilting. “This was the first truly round 3-dimensional thing I’d made, and it turned out that every single piece of the quilting needed its own paper template.”

To ‘sew’ the metal squares on, she poked wire through drilled holes back and forth for every single stitch. “I spent a lot of time with my head inside her frame,” she said.

The sculpture is inspired by spirit bears, which are a rare subspecies of black bear found in British Columbia, and which have white fur.

“I was taken by the fact that they’re genetically the same as my local black bears,” Tost said. “I started thinking about bears in mythologies and lore. They are ubiquitous, often seen as teachers and keepers of knowledge.” You can find Spirit Bear now on display in the atrium of White Bear Center for the Arts, so stop in and say hello!

Imagine Art Youth Summer Camp has a Fresh Format

This June through August, White Bear Center for the Arts is offering youth art programs known as “Imagine Art.” These classes, taught by local professional artists, are for all students in grades 2-12.

and so much more. Brand new Intergenerational Fridays finish off every Imagine Art camp week, with hands-on projects, storytelling, movement, and art gallery-themed activities for kids and their families. For students in grades 9-12, WBCA is offering teen pottery classes throughout the summer with classes like Luminary Forms and Character Sculptures, among others, for a fun summer full of clay.

“My son has benefited tremendously from Imagine Art classes at WBCA,” parent Amber Guetebier said. “Every summer, they are a creative touchpoint for him to express himself and be exposed to new points of view, artistic and otherwise. His uniqueness is celebrated, something every kid should have a chance to be part of.”

Learn more and register for these classes at whitebeararts.org

Students can take week-long camps, offered as either full or half days Monday through Thursday, and explore painting, sculpture, writing, the outdoors,

WBCA is excited and fortunate to be a part of the Minnesota Summer Academic Enrichment Program (SAEP) for a second year, offered through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. This program provides stipends to cover the cost of tuition for low-income students in grades 3-11 to attend Imagine Art summer classes for youth. Any family that qualifies for free/ reduced lunch, or is able to demonstrate the State standards of financial eligibility, may receive up to $1000 in Imagine Art scholarships.

Alternatively to the state program, WBCA is able to offer up to three scholarships per student over the summer for anyone who needs them. Critical philanthropic support from the Joan and Oliver Washburn Family Fund as well as the estate of Diane Roth ensured Imagine Art remained accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Find more information and browse Imagine Art classes go to WhiteBearArts.org/imagine-art.

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SEASONAL PUBLIC WORKS POSITION.

The City of Hugo is currently accepting applications for a seasonal public works employee. This position is responsible for assisting the public works department in a wide variety of tasks including: park, street and utilities maintenance. This position will exist from May through September and will not exceed 40 hours per week. The rate of pay is $16 per hour. Applicants must have a valid Minnesota driver’s license and be at least 18 years of age.

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Applications are available at City Hall, 14669 Fitzgerald Av. N., Hugo, MN 55038, 651-762-6301 or on the City’s web site at www.ci.hugo.mn.us. Applications must be completed and returned to City Hall by 4:00 p.m., March 24, 2023.