5 Cougar spring teams have new coaches

BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR

Five Centennial spring sports teams have new head coaches, including four former Cougar athletes, as the 2023 seasons get under way this week.

Heading the track program for both boys and girls are John Kretschmer and Steve Thomsen. They were named late in the school year after Courtney (Ramsay) Johnson, former Cougar and Concordia-St. Paul runner who was slated to be coach, withdrew due to pregnancy. “Both Steve and I stepped in,” Kretschmer said, “and stated that with our combined efforts we would be able to take over the program for this spring.”

Kretchmer, an Obstacle Course

Racing athlete for about a decade, has a

Softball: Rebels trip Cougars

7-5 in opener

Centennial lost its season opener to conference rival Champlin Park 7-5 on Thursday at home in a game that was close despite the Cougars making six errors and just three hits. Reese Reimler pitched for the Rebels, long association with Cougar runners. He was a track volunteer assistant for the past nine years and a cross country assistant from 2005-21.

Johnson, a 2015 Centennial graduate, was a football assistant from 2016-21 and has been the throws coach in track the past five seasons. Throws were a strong part of both the boys and girls team last year. One of his state qualifiers, Lance Liu, joined the staff this year as an assistant.

Two longtime lacrosse coaches, Jon Beach with the boys and Gary Larson with the girls, stepped down after the 2022 season.

The new boys lacrosse coach is Seth King, who was a Cougar assistant coach the last two years. King was a standout midfielder at White Bear Lake and got started coaching in the Bears allowing three hits and seven walks, striking out eight. Centennial's Riley O’Connell gave up four walks and seven hits, striking out four, with four runs unearned. Anna Parent and Taylor Zahalka each had two hits for the Rebels. Getting RBI’s were Emma Husom and Zahalka for the Rebels and O’Connell for the Cougars. youth program. He spent three years coaching at Roseville Area, including one as head coach.

The new girls lacrosse coach is Hailey Berg, a former Cougar star who joined the staff in 2019, the year after she graduated. Berg, who has been assistant coach for three seasons, led the Cougars in scoring as a junior with 36 goals and as senior (on a 10-2 team) with 34 goals.

The new baseball coach is Robert Lynch, a Centennial 2007 graduate. Lynch was previously head coach at St. Thomas Academy (where he had one state tournament team) and Irondale, an assistant at Centennial and Mounds View, and Centennial VFW coach. He is a PE teacher at Mounds View.

Madi Newman, Minnesota State-Mankato softball junior outfielder from Centennial, is batting .304 with 18 runs and 12 runs-batted-in after 30 games. She has seven doubles, four triples, two homers, and 11 stolen bases for the Mavericks (18-12). Newman hit .328 with 32 RBIs as a freshman, and .345 with eight homers. 19 steals and 47 RBIs in 62 games as a sophomore.

DNR hosts I Can! Programs

I Can! is an award-winning series of outdoor programs hosted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that helps beginners of all ages and backgrounds learn new outdoor skills in a beautiful state park or recreation area setting. Programs begin the first weekend in June and continue through the end of August. They include:

• I Can Camp! – These programs provide hands-on instruction on setting up camp, starting a campfire, camp cooking and fun outdoor activities. All gear is provided, including the tent, air mattresses, cooking gear and other basic camping equipment. One-night, two-night and backpacking sessions are offered.

• I Can Paddle! – These programs teach the basics of canoeing or kayaking, including launching, paddling efficiently and planning a safe outing. These programs are designed for firsttime paddlers. Equipment is provided. Two-hour canoe or kayak programs, river day trips, sea kayaking and overnight canoe camping programs are available.

• I Can Mountain Bike! – This program teaches mountain bike riding techniques at Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area, Minnesota’s worldclass mountain bike park.

• I Can Fish! – These hands-on programs teach all of the basics, from fish identification to casting.

For more information about any of the programs, visit mndnr.gov/ican or contact the DNR Information Center at info.dnr@state.mn.us or 888-646-6367.

To register for I Can! programs, visit mndnr.gov/reservations or register by phone at 866-857-2757.

New payment options available at state parks, recreation areas, campgrounds

Minnesota DNR is modernizing payment options in state parks, recreation areas and forest campgrounds by discontinuing the use of on-site self-payment collection boxes and expanding electronic payment options. This includes deploying an app for mobile devices called Yodel.

Yodel is currently available for some transactions in state parks, recreation areas and forest campgrounds. For information about Yodel, and a guide to the full suite of payment options available, visit mndnr.gov/state_parks/ payment-options.html. Products available to purchase via Yodel will expand throughout the summer camping season. Visitors should follow instructions on signs in campgrounds to pay camping fees via Yodel, or by mailing in the fees if payment via Yodel is not possible. As always, vehicle permits are not required for visitors to state forest campgrounds. For more information, contact the DNR Information Center by email ing info.dnr@state.mn.us or by calling 888-646-6367 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday or 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Ages

Grades K - 12

5 to 11 Years

2 to 12 years

3 to 18 years

2 to 18 years

Grades 1 - 12

August