2021 Brainerd Warrior Spring Sports Preview

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Brainerd Dispatch | Wednesday, April 7, 2021

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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Spring Sports have sprung in Brainerd

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

The Brainerd Warriors girls golf team practices Thursday, April, 2021, at the lower site of the Brainerd High School. The girls are vying for three spots that remain as the Warriors return three players from its 2019 state tournament team. Anna Krieger, Katie Foley and Izzy Olson helped the Warriors to a seventh-place finish in the Class 3A state meet at Bunker Hills.

Girls Golf: Warriors eye return trip to Class 3A State tournament school circuit. She fired a 72 at Deacon’s Lodge Despite being two years away from and won by five strokes its last state tournament trip, the at Madden’s East.

She tied for eighth Brainerd Warriors still have three with an 84 at the Midplayers remaining from that squad.

In fact, all three of the returners western Showcase at were among the top four scorers for Geneva Golf Club in Todd Person the Warriors who finished seventh in Alexandria.

Katie Foley, who tied the Class 3A state tournament in 2019. for 48th with a two-day 173 at state, Senior Anna Krieger returns after firing a two-day 171 to tie for 44th finished tied for fourth at the Showcase last summer. The junior has been at state.

“She is going to play golf in college on the varsity since her seventh-grade and she’s a player when you’re out season.

“Katie has just worked and worked with her you notice she’s a solid playas you can only imagine,” Person er,” Warrior head coach Todd Person said. “She has joked that she’s on said. “Her scores are so consistent and the unlimited plan at Chris Foley Golf she was second overall in the (Central Schools. She puts in a lot of time and Lakes) Conference as a sophomore. not necessarily even playing, but she That really spoke to that. Her scores works at the driving range, she does don’t really go up or down a lot. When physical exercises as well to continue they do her demeanor is just really to gain more distance. calm. She’s a calm player and start“I’m sure Katie will be ready for a ed to play in our No. 1 slot right as a competitive season.” freshman. She’s just been solid for us Sophomore Izzy Olson finished 52nd ever since.” with a 176 at state. Her summer conLast summer, Krieger placed 20th sisted of winning the Minnesota Secin the Minnesota State Junior Girls tion PGA Pro-Junior Championship by Championship at Bent Creek Golf Club. teaming with PGA professional Ryan Krieger won back-to-back outings Sharpe, who is an assistant coach for during the Brainerd Lakes area high the Warrior boys team, and fellow Warrior Erik Stoxen and Pequot Lakes standout Tyler Seeling.

GIRLS GOLF Olson, along with Stoxen and SeelHead coach: Todd Person (ninth year) ing, also traveled to the National High 2019 finish: Second in CLC, first in School Golf Invitational at Pinehurst Section 8-3A, 7th in Class 3A State meet Resort in North Carolina. She finished Returning state team members: tied for 68th.

Izzy Olson, Katie Foley, Anna Krieger She also competed in the first flight Assistant coach: Leah Rasmussen of the Minnesota State Junior Girls

By Jeremy Millsop Sports Editor

WARRIOR SCHEDULE April 12: Central Lakes Conference

at Rich Springs 3:30 April 20: Central Lakes Conference

at Territory Golf Club 3:30 p.m.

April 26: Central Lakes Conference

at Eagle Creek 4 p.m.

April 27: Buffalo meet

at Wild Marsh Golf Course noon April 30: Bemidji meet at Bemidji Town

and Country 9:30 a.m.

May 3: Central Lakes Conference

at Madden’s Resort 3:30 p.m.

May 6: Central Lakes Conference

at Pebble Lake 4 p.m.

May 10: Central Lakes Conference

at Blackberry Ridge 4 p.m.

May 13: Central Lakes Conference

at St. Cloud Country Club 4 p.m.

May 14: Sectional viewing

at Headwaters May 17: Central Lakes Conference

at Alexandra Golf Club 4 p.m.

May 26: The Classic meet at

Madden’s Resort 9 a.m.

JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.

Championship. She finished tied for 10th after opening with a 92 and rebounding with a 78.

“It was great to see the success that she had last summer with Ryan Sharpe,” Person said. “It was good to see her play well.”

The fourth player returning from the 2019 team is freshman Sophia Karsnia. She just missed the section team, but enjoyed a solid rookie Central Lakes Conference campaign.

Last summer, Karsnia tied for 24th

at the Showcase. She topped the field at Cragun’s Legacy Courses in the fourth leg of the Brainerd lakes area high school golf event. She won with a five-over 77. Followed by Krieger in second, Foley in third and Olson in fourth. Anna Angland was fifth.

“Sophia played quite a bit as a seventh grader and just missed that section team to Ellie Bymark,” Person said. “Sophia has been another one that has played a ton of tournaments.

She has a simulator at her home so she hits year round. She’s got a lot of length, which is a huge, huge advantage for her.”

Angland, a junior, saw varsity time two years ago and Person expects the final slot to be an intriguing battle between the remaining six players.

“Anna, last year, would have been a solid varsity player for us. She just wasn’t quite ready two years ago,” Person said. “She’s a junior now and she continues to work with Chris Foley and has come a long way.

“I feel really fortunate that we have five girls coming back with varsity experience. Three of them from that state team. We’re really lucky.”

Person is excited about the development of eighth graders Karley Dunham and Madelyn Holmstrom.

“We have two eighth graders that also played in tournaments and have worked with Chris,” Person said. “Just in talking with them, they were both doing competitions and stuff. Just with lower numbers, they’re going to get a lot of experience.

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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Wednesday, April 7, 2021 | Brainerd Dispatch

brainerddispatch.com

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

Brainerd Warrior golfers Max Holmstrom (left), Keegan Davidge, Turner Person, Evan Quinn, Cole Proctor and Lance Zemke stop for a moment before practice Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at the Legacy Courses at Cragun’s Resort.

Boys Golf: 3 Warriors return from section team of 2 years ago

By Jeremy Millsop Sports Editor Since seventh grade, Erik Stoxen has been a member of the Brainerd Warriors varsity team.

While he and the Brian Wallace entire state missed last year because of COVID-19, Stoxen is prepared to make his last year his best one.

The senior lefty qualified for the Class 3A state tournament as a freshman and was tied for sixth after the opening round at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids. He fired rounds of 72-79 for a 25th-place 151.

“It’s amazing how long of a run he’s had and it’s really cool to see him progress throughout the years

WARRIOR SCHEDULE April 16: Central Lakes Conference

at Rich Springs 3:30 p.m.

April 20: Central Lakes Conference

at Alexandria Golf Club

3:30 p.m.

April 21: Pequot Lakes Invite

at Cragun’s Legacy Courses

8:30 a.m.

April 26: Central Lakes Conference

at Pebble Lake 3:30 p.m.

April 29: Central Lakes Conference

at St. Cloud Country Club

3:30 p.m.

May 3: Central Lakes Conference

at Blackberry Ridge 4 p.m.

May 4: Central Lakes Conference

at Eagle Creek 4 p.m.

May 7: Sectional meet at Rich Springs

9 a.m.

May 10: Central Lakes Conference

at Bemidji Town and Country

9 a.m.

May 11: Arnold Palmer Invite

at Deacon’s Lodge 2 p.m.

May 12: Warrior Invite at The Classic

at Madden’s May 13: Central Lakes Conference

at St. Cloud Country Club noon May 17: Central Lakes Conference

at Territory Golf Club 1 p.m.

May 18: Central Lakes Conference

at Cragun’s Legacy Courses

9 a.m.

June 1: Section 8-3A at Rich Spring noon June 4: Section 8-3A at Headwaters

9 a.m.

JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.

and really grow as a person and a player,” Warrior head coach Brian Wallace said.

Last summer, Stoxen teamed with fellow Warrior Izzy Olson, Pequot Lakes talent Tyler Seeling and PGA professional Ryan Sharpe to win the Minnesota Section PGA Pro-Junior Championship in August at Braemer Golf Course.

He also fired rounds of 75, 72 and 78 to tie for 36th in the National High School Golf Invitational at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina In June, Stoxen shot 77 at the Midwestern Showcase Tournament at Geneva Golf Club in Alexandria.

“Erik has always been there with his ability to golf,” Wallace said.

“Now we’re looking for him to take a different role in being the senior player on the team and the one with the most experience. We’re looking for a leadership role out of him. He’s always been the young guy. Now he’s in that leadership senior position. I think he’ll really thrive in that and do a great job and his game will lead by example.”

Stoxen’s sophomore season ended in the Section 8-3A finals as the Warriors placed third behind Alexandria and Buffalo. Stoxen placed 25th with a two-day 158. He isn’t the only Warrior on Erik Stoxen that roster to return as Cole Proctor and Evan Quinn are also back.

Proctor led the Warriors in the section final two years ago with a 10th-place 150.

“Cole is kind of a quiet kid and always been right there with his competitiveness in a quiet way,” Wallace said. “He definitely has the skills. He’s always had really good ball striking skills. He started putting it together two years ago with his scores overall. Now with another year of maturity, he’s looking to have a great year as well.”

Proctor fired a 92 at the showcase tournament in Alexandria, but found more success closer to home as he shot 6-over and placed fourth in the Minnesota Junior PGA Players Tour event Aug. 5-6 at Whitebirch Golf Course and Deacon’s Lodge. He fired a 70 to win the second leg of the

We think he’ll be one of our top players.

“Turner Person is a kid who could Seniors: Cole Proctor, Erik Stoxen, have a really good year. He’s played a Evan Quinn, Tyler Peterson million rounds over the last couple of Juniors: Lance Zemke, Turner Person, summers. He’s grown significantly Zach Schaeffer since two years ago so he has a lot Sophomores: Dawson Ringler, more power. He may be right in that Deegan Davidge, Max Holmstrom top four as well.”

Freshmen: Alex Ashe, Evan Shogren, Ringer is a sophomore. Person is Isaiah Hoffman, Landon Aulie, Marty a junior. Another junior creating a Timmons, Peter Yeager, Ryan Kennedy, lot of buzz due to his work ethic is Ryan Madsen sophomore Max Holmstrom.

“He worked at the Legacy and Brainerd lakes area high school golf basically lived there,” Wallace said. event at Madden’s Pine Beach East.

“He played a whole bunch over the Quinn finished 13th with a 152 at last two summers. I haven’t seen the 2019 section final. He landed in him personally swing a club, for 30th place in the Minnesota Junior a long time, from what I underPGA Players Tour in Breezy Point stand through our volunteer assislast summer. tant coach Ryan Sharpe, is that he “Evan is a kid that can score really, is really skilled. He may be one of really well on any given day,” Walthose top guys well. There are six, or lace said. “He hasn’t quite been able seven, or eight kids who could make to put it together in a high school this roster. We’ll just wait and see competition yet, but we’re hoping how it all shakes out.” for this to be his breakout year. He With the addition of Bemidji to is really skilled on the golf course the Central Lakes Conference, the and he could be our best player when Warriors will compete in nine conit comes to overall scoring in the ference events. They will also be in long run.” the Pequot Lakes event at Cragun’s Wallace was pleased with the work and the Arnold Palmer Invite at Deaeach of his returners put in on their own last summer and hopes that con’s Lodge. Brainerd will host an example carries down to a slew of event for the first time in more than 20 years at The Classic at Madden’s. freshmen on the roster.

“That will be fun,” Wallace said.

“Even though they missed a sea“That course is a favorite of most son, we know they’re coming back better than they would have been people around the area. It’s going to last year,” Wallace said. “We’re real- be fun to host an event where a whole ly looking forward to this. It’s a huge bunch of teams want to come.”

As with everything his season, advantage for us to know what we there will be restrictions because of have and where they are at.

“Even though we didn’t have a COVID-19. Teams are asked to keep high school season, they were all athletes socially distanced. There will involved with the junior PGA events, be designated spots on the driving the ones they could get to. They range. Many events will be moved to kept up with that summer stuff and tee times instead of shotgun starts. kept their games in tune. That will There will be no awards ceremony after events. Masks aren’t required really help.”

Wallace has options for the final on the golf course. three remaining spots on the varsity roster and believes it will be a tough BOYS GOLF task to narrow it down to six players.

Head coach: Brian Wallace, 20th year “Dawson Ringler, even two 2019 finish: Third in Section 8-3A years ago, was right there with Players with state experience: these guys,” Wallace said. “He just Erik Stoxen didn’t make our team as an eighth Returning section players: Stoxen, grader. But he’s played in a ton Cole Proctor, Evan Quinn of events over the last two sumAssistant coach: Brian Gustafson, mers and has played really well Ryan Sharpe (volunteer assistant) and put up some really good scores.

WARRIOR ROSTER

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Brainerd Dispatch | Wednesday, April 7, 2021

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Zakia Herron hits the ball during softball practice Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at Forestview Middle School in Baxter.

Softball: With solid pitching, Warriors primed to be a late season contender

By Jeremy Millsop Sports Editor

SOFTBALL

Olivia Tautges is cleared for play and her sister Emma Tautges also returns to give the Brainerd Warriors a 1-2 pitching punch Shane Jordan few teams will be prepared for.

And that’s a good thing since the Warriors schedule includes seven doubleheaders this season.

In 2019, Olivia pitched 32 innings and allowed 13 earned runs on 33 hits and 18 walks. She struck out 20 and finished with a 2.844 ERA. Emma Tautges pitched 48 innings and allowed 18 earned runs on 54 hits and 14 walks. She struck out 68 and posted a 2.172 ERA. “We’re very lucky in that we have a lot of pitching back,” Warriors head coach Shane Jordan said. “We have both Olivia and Emma back, who have pitched at the varsity for a couple of years.

“Olivia is coming off an ACL tear, but she is fully cleared for softball activities. Those two as far as pitchers have been great and we do have some younger pitchers coming up, too, that could get some varsity action. It’s kind of early to tell, but our pitching

WARRIOR ROSTER Seniors: Alletta Howard, Hillary Hoelz, Karlie Anderson, Kate Chaussee, Rachel Trusty, Samantha Stay, Zakia Herron, Grace Peabody, Haley Pickar Juniors: Aaliyah Lemm, Addison Hillman, Caitlin Banks, Emma Tautges, Cabbi Wills, Hannah Carlson, Kasia Kroll, Lindsy Busch, Meghan Smith, Olivia Tautges, Savannah Hardy, Zoey Zech, Grace Haglin, Abby Johnson, Ashley McClellend Sophomores: Allyson Weldon, Emily Ehlert, Molly Weiland, Amanda Trusty, Elise Derosier, Grace Loney, Isabella Chaussee, Jazzlyn McNaughton, Josie Kappes, Lexi Fanjoy, Madison Kelm, Sophia Robin, Sophie Mattson, Ivy Kassulker, Abby Benson Freshmen: Abi Anderson, Lindsey Dieter, Ebanni Moore, Maren Ceynowa, Elsa Borchert, Gabrielle Klukas, Dani Pindegayosh, Autumn Eastman, Autumn Larson, Shay Moline, Mallori Headley, Emily Rademacher, Jayna Hegstrom, Lacy Busch, Hope Gienger Eight graders: Mya Tautges, Joze Tautges

Head coach: Shane Jordan, seventh year 2019 records: Central Lakes Conference: 11-1; overall: 16-6 Career coaching record: 86-31 (.74%) Assistant coaches: Tim Hill, Amy Aho, Angela Krueger, Jolene Owen, Riley Atkinson Volunteer coaches: Dave Ellingson, Dawn Evans

looks good. We have good depth.”

An early question mark for the Warriors will be who receives the pitches. For the first time in a while, the catcher position is up for grabs.

Elaina Christiansen is in her junior year at Bemidji State University and Clare Ceynowa started her freshman season at the University of Minnesota.

“We have some people fighting for spots and at catcher, we definitely need someone to win that one,” Jordan said. “We’re looking at a senior and definitely looking at a junior and even a couple of sophomores.

That’s a position of need where we need somebody to step up and win that spot.”

Another strength for Brainerd has been its middle infield, but again without having a season last year, Jordan is hoping a few athletes step up and take over second base and shortstop.

“Those are, again, a couple of spots that are wide open,” Jordan said. “It’s been a long time since we played.

I should throw this stat out there.

When we play our first game, weather pending, it will be 686 days between games for our program. That’s a long time. We’re looking at 300 some days between our practices. Those are some pretty big numbers.

“It’s like we’re learning a new group. We haven’t seen these kids for a long time so up the middle, we have some options at second base.

Hilary Hoelz has played there in the past at the junior varsity level. She’s a senior. Kate Chaussee, who is a senior as well, could see some time at second base. Those kids and some younger kids are fighting for second base.

Shortstop is pretty wide open for us.

I can say we have five, six, seven, or eight kids that I’m looking at to play that spot.”

Junior Meghan Smith returns and will handle third base and maybe even

shortstop or catcher. In six games in 2019, Smith went 1-7 with two runs scored.

“She started for us the last time we played, but she’s strong at third,” Jordan said. “Olivia Tautges, depending on how her knee is doing, could see some time at third base. We also have Rachel Trusty, who has played third base in the past at the JV level is looking to win that spot.

“In all of these positions, the cupboard is not dry for sure, it’s just trying to figure where all the pieces of the puzzle are going to go.”

Karlie Anderson is a returning senior for the outfield. In 17 games in 2019, Anderson was 5-of-12 with a triple, five RBIs and 10 runs scored.

Jordan mentioned Alletta Howard and Kate Chaussee could handle an outfield spot. Kasia Kroll also returns.

The speedy center fielder was 28-of69 with two doubles, six RBIs and 18 runs scored. She walked four times to finish with a .406 batting average.

Jordan said the uncertainty of who will play where has been intriguing.

“I’ll be honest, it’s super exciting because everybody is new and everybody is fighting for their spot back,” Jordan said. “I know we technically have some kids who are returning and have played in the spots before, but it’s kind of like starting over and everyone has to fight and everyone has to win their spot. We have 55 kids at practice every day and all 55 kids have a chance to play. It’s just a matter of who shows that they can play that position best will be given that opportunity so it is exciting.

“It’s fun for us as coaches. We have a lot of kids. A lot of fresh faces. A lot of players we haven’t seen in a couple of years and it is exciting for us.”

Brainerd’s season begins with three straight road doubleheaders. Along with the Central Lakes Conference schedule, the Warriors added Centennial, who has an assistant named Abby Rehberger many Warrior fans might remember. Elk River and Coon Rapids are also on the schedule. The Coon Rapids game will be played at St. Ben’s in Collegeville. The Elk River game will be under the lights.

Brainerd will not be hosting its annual Warrior invite with three other teams.

“I’m a fan of doubleheaders,” Jordan said. “For us, it’s good because

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Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Megan Smith gets some advice on her swing from volunteer assistant coach Chris Ceynowa during softball practice Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at Forestview Middle School in Baxter.

WARRIOR SCHEDULE April 13: at Willmar (2) 4 p.m.

April 15: at Bemidji (2) 4 p.m.

April 22: at Rocori (2) 4 p.m.

April 23: hosts Centennial 5 p.m.

April 27: hosts St. Cloud Tech (2) 4 p.m.

May 4: at Sauk Rapids 4:30 p.m.

May 6: hosts St. Cloud Apollo 4:30 p.m.

May 7: at Elk River 7:30 p.m.

May 11: at Sartell (2) 4 p.m.

May 13: hosts Fergus Falls 4:30 p.m.

May 18: hosts Alexandria (2) 4 p.m.

May 20: hosts Moorhead (2) 4 p.m.

May 24: vs. Coon Rapids at College

of St. Benedict 2 p.m.

JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.

we have a lot of good pitching. We have depth and a lot of kids who can compete at the varsity level. For me, as a coach, I can get a lot of kids into doubleheaders.

“I’m super excited for the season.

We have talked every day in practice and we’ll continue to talk every day in practice about writing our own story in 2021. But we are also playing for the class of 2020. We had many seniors last year who never got to play their senior year of softball. We’ve talked about that every single day about playing for them while writing our own story.

“Our kids’ excitement is through the roof. They worked so hard in the first couple of days. But there is a bit of apprehension with COVID-19.

There is still a little scar tissue from last year, but the players, coaches — excitement level is through the roof.

We are just so happy to be together, bond together and compete together and get better together.”

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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Wednesday, April 7, 2021 | Brainerd Dispatch

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Baseball: A whole bunch of unknowns isn’t a bad thing for Warriors

By Jeremy Millsop Sports Editor Few people are as excited right now as Trent Grams.

He enters his third season as the Brainerd Warriors head coach, Trent Grams but it’s only his second year working with athletes during the spring season.

And while his team has no players returning from 2019, the unknown of where players will fit in seems to be adding to Grams’ excitement.

“It’s awesome right now,” Grams said. “We’re happy to be back. We’re excited and fired up. The kids are ready to go. There are not enough positive adjectives to describe it for sure.”

The Warriors were able to play about 20 games during the summer through the VFW season. Grams helped coach this year’s juniors and sophomores. He wasn’t able to work with this year’s seniors as American Legion baseball didn’t have a season.

“We had about 20 kids that were able to come out and play and we were able to get in 10 doubleheaders,” Grams said. “That little bit of experience, it wasn’t nearly as big as a regular schedule would have been, but just those small amounts of games helped those kids and our program.”

Grams said the focus in the early part of the season is paying attention to details and learning things correctly the first time. He said every position will have a positive, open competition. He hasn’t named any starters as he’s looking at everyone to fill their role.

“Everyone is on an even playing surface right now and nobody has any advantages over anyone else,” Grams said. “We’re really preaching that part of it and we’re getting good results from it, too.”

For the first time in many years, the Warriors were able to practice outside on Day One of the season.

Grams praised the lower site crew for preparing the facilities for the start of the season.

Another luxury is the amount of pitching Brainerd has. Grams said he’s got about 11 arms to work with.

Pitching prospects include Christian Augustine, Harold Carlson, Adam Jensen, Charles Johnson, Matthew Karlson, Theo Lund, Conrad Provost, Jack Schaefer, Kouper Seidl, Carter Springer and Andrew Zuk. “All of those guys in the junior and senior class will be competing for innings and starting spots and competing for relief depth,” Grams said. “That part we’re happy with.

WARRIOR SCHEDULE April 13: hosts Rocori 5 p.m.

April 15: at St. Cloud Tech 7 p.m.

April 20: at Bemidji 4:30 p.m.

April 24: vs. Rochester Century

at Anoka 1:30 p.m.

April 24: at Anoka 4 p.m.

April 27: hosts Alexandria (2) 4 p.m.

April 29: hosts St. Cloud Tech 5 p.m.

May 4: at Sauk Rapids (2) 4:30 p.m.

May 6: at Rocori 5 p.m.

May 7: at Rogers 4:30 p.m.

May 11: hosts Sartell (2) 4 p.m.

May 13: hosts Willmar 5 p.m.

May 14: hosts Duluth East 5 p.m.

May 18: at Fergus Falls 5 p.m.

May 20: hosts St. Cloud Apollo 5 p.m.

May 25: at Buffalo 4:30 p.m.

May 28: at St. Cloud Apollo 7 p.m.

June 2: Section 8-4A opening round JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Megan Smith gets some advice on her swing from volunteer assistant coach Chris Ceynowa during softball practice Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at Forestview Middle School in Baxter.

We don’t have any pitching experience, but we also believe a lot of the teams we’re playing don’t have a lot of varsity pitching experience either.

It’s just fun to watch them compete and get their bullpens in. That’s what makes our job pretty exciting, too.

We’re evaluating these guys as we’ve never met them before.”

The Warriors will have a couple of left-handed pitchers, but Grams said the rotation is about 85% right-handed.

Grams is very excited about his depth in the infield. He said there are two to three kids at each spot fighting for playing time and starting roles.

Along with most of the pitchers, those players include William Carlson, Cayden Kleffman, Noah Rushmeyer and Nash Slettom.

“We have 27 kids that are juniors and seniors and they’re all competing for playing time and the infield, especially, has a lot of depth at each position,” Grams said. “We’re in a situation right now that if a potential starter is struggling we can rely on their backups and we hope to not miss a beat that way.”

Grams is also excited about the team speed in the outfield. Again, it’s a spot with depth and versatility.

Those looking for the three outfield spots include Riley DeRosier, Jackson Dwyer, Jonas Ewald, Paris Hampton, Austin Harbo, Alexander Helmin, Payton Johnson, Reice Pikula, Jackson Scheinost and Nathan Staehling.

“We have 11 outfielders competing for three sports and kind of with the way speed works and the way it helps in the outfield we’re excited about that part of it,” Grams said “We’re also excited about the strength of the arms in the outfield, too. That combination of speed and arm strength is very exciting.”

There are three catchers getting bullpen work early in the season.

Good Luck Athletes! for your life.

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WARRIOR ROSTER Seniors: Christian Augustine (inf/p), William Carlson (inf), Harold Carlson (inf/p), Paris Hampton (of), Austin Harbo (of), Charles Johnson (inf/p), Conrad Provost (of/p), Andrew Zuk (inf/p) Juniors: Riley DeRosier (c/of), Jackson Dwyer (of), Jonas Ewald (of), Alexander Helmin (of/c), Adam Jensen (inf/p), Payton Johnston (of), Matthew Karlson (inf), Riece Pikula (of), Theo Lund (inf/p), Noah Rushmeyer (inf), Jack Schafer (inf/p), Jackson Scheinost (of), Kouper Seidl (of/p), Nash Slettom (inf), Nathaniel Staehling (of) Sophomore: Jonathan Benson (catcher)

DeRosier is one along with Helmin and sophomore Jonathon Benson.

“We like the fact that whoever doesn’t get the starting catching position that player is going to help us someplace else like the infield or outfield. But right now we are three deep right there.”

During Grams’ rookie season as head Warrior coach, Brainerd finished 9-5 in the Central Lakes Conference and 13-9 overall. The final two losses came in the Section 8-4A tournament; a 5-1 loss to Moorhead followed by a 5-4 loss to Elk River.

But because no players return with varsity experience, Grams hopes to prepare his players early for the varsity game.

“We’re going to focus on getting them ready for varsity game experience and what it’s going to be like,” Grams said. “The competition that they’re going to see is not like any competition they’ve seen before just because of the layoff and the summer that all schools had.

“That part falls on us. We’re just going to maybe goose it up a little bit in batting practice and maybe through a few more curveballs during batting practice, too, just to get them ready

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for the varsity game experience that none of these guys have ever dealt with before. That’s a challenge, but we’re excited and we’re ready for it.”

There are 26 players out for the Warriors and Grams said it’s a good number when varsity experience is low.

“It really challenges these players to compete hard against their teammates and stay positive with it,” Grams said. “It really challenges us as starters to find nine starters in 10 days to get ready for a very good Rocori team. That’s the fun part, too.

The challenges are the exciting part.

It’s also what brings the energy to every practice.”

Along with the Central Lakes Conference schedule, Brainerd will play a sort of doubleheader April 24 when they face both Rochester Century and Anoka at Anoka. Brainerd also added Rogers, Duluth East and Buffalo to its non-conference schedule.

The Warriors will play three doubleheaders, with two of those at home.

“I think we put together a good 4A non-conference schedule,” Grams said. “All of our non-conference games are against 4A schools, which really gets us prepared for section playoffs. Our conference is very strong in my opinion. I really think that the schedule we have, and all of the COVID-19 restrictions that will allow us to play a full schedule, are really going to help. We’re excited about it.”

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Brainerd Dispatch | Wednesday, April 7, 2021

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

Girls track and field athletes warm up during practice Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at Don Adamson Field in Brainerd.

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Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Girls Track and field: Competition is fierce to fill out Warrior roster

By Jeremy Millsop Sports Editor

Despite the loss of last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a buzz about relays for the Brainerd Warriors girls Ashley Rutman team.

And with good reason.

In 2019, the Warriors won Section 8-2A titles in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Brainerd’s 4x400 relay was just finding its groove as it finished sixth in the section meet two years ago.

While many of the faces graduated from those relays, there are still a few stalwarts remaining and the competition to fill the openings is a positive in the early season for first-year head coach Ashley Rutman.

“What’s hard is we just don’t know who is going to show up,” Rutman said. “We have Maddi Genz and Hanna Caughey, who is typically a thrower, but can throw down some really good times as well. We have some veterans who we might plug in there, but then we might be looking at our younger squad.

“We don’t know what any of our 10th graders can do in a varsity program. Our ninth graders haven’t been in track since seventh grade and our program works a little differently than our middle school program. I feel like

WARRIOR ROSTER Seniors: Sabrina Buffetta, Madison Genz, Ella Hannah, Erin Hoelzel, Chandler Niemeyer, Emma Storbakken, Emma True Juniors: Lily Birks, Hanna Caughey, Josie Gibson, Abby Johnson, Sophia Laube, Payton Lillo, Jaclyn Lorentz, Annie Loss, Myah Nelson, Kamryn Peterson, Lily Schaeffer Sophomores: Alison Bachman, Emily Bastian, Gabrielle Chalupsky, Brenna Deason, Ella Dirks, Allie Dwyer, Molly Hagelie, Katelyn Kennedy, Julia Rademacher, Joslin Ray, Elianna Riley, Emma Sheflo, Kate Stadum, Anna Tupy, Meghan Wirtz Freshmen: Nastya Biermaier, Tia Bruggeman, Abigail Cherne, Bridget Collins, Chloe Czech, Annika Gearey, Kiara Laube, Lydia Olson, Alyssa Schommer, Anja Storbakken, Abigail Tanner

WARRIOR SCHEDULE April 12: at Bemidji 4 p.m.

April 23: hosts Willmar 4 p.m.

April 27: at Rocori 4 p.m.

May 6: hosts Sartell 4 pm.

May 13: at Sauk Rapids 2 p.m.

May 18: hosts St. Cloud Apollo 4 p.m.

May 26: at St. Cloud Tech 4 p.m.

June 1: Possible Central Lakes

Conference meet June 7-12: Section 8-2A meet June 18-19: Class 2A state meet

there could be some stiff competition, but it will be exciting to see. We’re excited to get that first meet under our belt so we can have more conversation on where kids will plug in. It will be a good starting point.”

Junior Myah Nelson and sophomore Brenna Deason return from the sprint relays that own school records.

The 4x400 relay returns Emma Storbakken, Chandler Niemeyer and Erin Hoelzel.

With Rutman as the middle distance coach, she deals directly with the 4x400 relay, which is also where most of the seniors will be competing.

“It’s a fun group of kids and what’s kind of crazy is out of our seniors that are returning I have a pretty good chunk of them in my group with me as their event coach,” Rutman said.

“I just feel like it’s a great mix of personalities. I think one of the other things is that as seniors they look to each other to push each other. They all know they are at the end of their high school career and I think a lot of them it’s exciting and at the same time they’re really looking to see what they can do as their last go-round in track and field.”

While hired two years ago to take over for the retired Howie Jacobs, Rutman missed her inaugural campaign last season. But with warm-ish temperatures, she’s glad to be back doing what she enjoys.

“I’m just excited to have kids back on the track and getting to be around kids again and just share my passion for track and field with all the athletes,” Rutman said. “I feel like it’s just been a long wait for some normalcy. I know there have been sports seasons happening throughout the year, but I haven’t coached any

of those. Just being on the track with all the kids just feels a little more normal.”

Unfortunately, helping Rutman learn all of the faces on her team are lower than usual numbers. But she feels that gives athletes chances to maybe find other events they might be good at.

“Typically we’re around 68 athletes and we’re in the middle 40s right now,” Rutman said. “I feel like it’s just capitalizing on what we see as far as where kids can be plugged in. Where can we find some hidden gems? Kids who are in something, but maybe pushing them to try something new that we think they would be really good at. We’re a little low in the hurdle squad for the girls’ side.

We’ll have to see if we can pluck from just our pure sprinters and see if any of them can be good at the hurdles.”

In 2019, Bridget Collins was 23rd in the 1600 run and 25th in the 3200 run at the section meet. Lily Schaeffer helped the 4x800 relay to an eighthplace finish.

“We have Lily Schaeffer and Bridget Collins, who have had some good competition,” Rutman said. “Bridget had a good cross-country season and I think she surprised herself with her section performance in Nordic skiing so it’s exciting. I would say as far as our distance crew goes, we have some people who are trying track for the first time. They maybe were in cross-country and even though they are distance events, it’s very different. It will be fun to see how they respond to competition on a track.

“We are missing a couple of key players, which is hard because I miss them. We have some good athletes that will be missed for sure. But I think as far as our distance crew, there is some really good potential.”

Caughey placed 13th in the shot put for the section meet and was seventh in the discus. She’ll be one of the top returners for the throwers, which has two new coaches in Tracy and Will Riley.

“We do have a veteran (coaching) staff and Tracy and Will Riley as new coaches bring with them a wealth of knowledge and they see track and field as an opportunity to have fun.

They do some really unique things with their kids and really let loose

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when it comes to warmups. They’re really into team bonding as well, which is a good thing for our crew.

“With our veteran staff, one of the nice things is they are comfortable around the track or any field event so they are willing to help out and share their knowledge with kids.

Travis Raske is back. He was there a few years ago and last year would have been his first season back with us and it’s just been really fun to see him interacting with kids and really bringing with him a lot of energy. He has a lot of knowledge around track and field as well. Just in general is willing to connect with kids.”

Long, triple and high jump and even pole vault will feature many new faces as the long-time veteran Smith girls, Ellie Selisker and Eden Worden all graduated.

“For our long and triple jumps we’re missing our Smith girls in Emma and Gabbie Smith, but I think we have some really great athletes to plug into those spots as well. We have some veteran jumps, but we also have some kids who competed at the junior high level who were pretty good as well.

Now seeing them a little older and more specific training it’s exciting to see what they can do.

“In the high jump, we’re missing a couple of kids who graduated last year as well. It’s hard to say at this point as kids try to figure out where they fit. A lot of them haven’t done this in a couple of years or the last time they did it they were in junior high.

Hurdles we’re a little low, but we do have kids who have been contributors.

Annie Loss has been there so we have kids that are returning in some of those spots. We’re just light as far as numbers and depth, but we have kids who can contribute.”

GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD Head coach: Ashley Rutman, 2nd year 2019 finish: Second in CLC, fourth in Section 8-2A meet, 36th at Class 2A state Assistant coaches: Kris Smith (long and triple jumps), Dave Herath (middle distance), Rod Reuer (sprinters), Robb Kolodziej (pole vault), Landon Brainerd (high jump, horizontal jumps), Kelsi Brusehaver (hurdles, sprints), Travis Raske (sprint), Will Riley (throws), Tracy Riley (throws)

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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Wednesday, April 7, 2021 | Brainerd Dispatch

brainerddispatch.com

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Boys track and field athletes do warm-ups Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at Don Adamson Field in Brainerd.

Boys Track and Field: Warriors’ roster ready to go the distance

By Jeremy Millsop Sports Editor Rod Reuer was finally able to see his athletes face-to-face.

For more than a year he was sending emails, texts, group messages, perhaps even some smoke signals, to his athletes to stay in touch and help them through the COVID-19 pandemic that cost Minnesota schools last year’s spring athletic seasons.

On Monday, March 29, Reuer was finally able to talk to them in person.

“The first time we met as a team, I was looking out and I’m seeing all of these faces and I made the comment, ‘You guys really do exist,” Reuer said.

“I’ve been emailing and seeing messages for the last year not knowing whether these guys were really out there or if I was just sending messages to the electronic world.

“These kids this year, they’ve been able to participate, but how many distractions have they had to deal with? They’ve been in and out of school. They’ve done distance learning, blended learning. They’ve gone back to school and then they went back to distance learning. Now they’re all actually back in school at one time. Seasons were cut short.

Seasons started late. They’ve had to

WARRIOR ROSTER Seniors: Dante Bernal (throws) Ryan Cady (distance), Tristan Dawson (sprints), Ethan Klisch (distance), Max Lelwica (jumps, sprints), Atticus Osborne (distance), Brandt Patton (sprints, jumps), Aaron Stark (sprints), Quintin Taylor (distance), Marcus Yliniemi (sprints, vault) Juniors: Andrew Albright (jumps, throws), Baden Bastian (distance), Jacob Borgstrom (throws), Adam Cady (distance), Braden Capelle (distance), Bennet Capelle (distance), Mitchell Degen (throws, jumps, hurdles), Caden Jager (throws), Michael Kuehn (distance), Michael Olson (hurdles), Barrett Rezac (sprints), Thomas Ruhl (distance), Noah Schaeffer (distance), Gabe Wagner (vault, sprints) Sophomores: (Marcello Getty (sprints, high jump), Gavin Hoelzel (Hurdles, sprints, vault), Landon Johnston (distance), Dillon MacLaughlan (sprints, jumps), Logan McKay (distance), Steve Selisker (distance), Nolan Thiesse (distance), Gus Wagner (sprints, pole vault) Freshmen: Owen Brainerd (sprints, jumps), Dylan Gross (throws, sprints), Leif Hoffman, Jake Merseth (sprints), Sebastian Sawyer (sprints, jumps), Preston Siebolds (sprints, jumps), Brandon Stark (sprints, jumps), Mitch Wind.

deal with so many disruptions over this past year that we just hope we can get through this spring and finish the year on a much more normal note.”

Normally Brain- Rod Reur erd enjoys a roster of 60-65 athletes. This year, the Warriors will have 40 athletes to work with. Of those, 28 return with some varsity experience.

The lack of a season last spring and lower participation numbers this spring hasn’t put a damper on Reuer’s expectations for the season. There’s good reason for high optimism as the roster is filled with multi-sport athletes who found success earlier this year.

For instance, Gabe Wagner is coming off a third-place finish in the Class 3A state wrestling tournament.

As a freshman, he placed 19th in the pole vault at the Section 8-2A meet with an 11-2 effort.

“Gabe had a really strong finish on the vault as a freshman,” Reuer said.

“With a great finish to his wrestling season, he’s ready to go again this season. l think he’s got a chance to be a pretty good vaulter.”

Max Lelwica was a team captain on a successful soccer and basketball team. During his sophomore season, he went 40-11.5 in the triple jump at the Section 8-2A meet to place ninth.

In 19th place was Andrew Albright with a 38-6. Albright was 16th in the section long jump at 18-11.5 and Lelwica was 20th with an 18-6.5.

“Max is a senior and he’s been with the program for a while,” Reuer said.

“I’m expecting a really good year.

He was part of a really good soccer team and a really good basketball team. He’s a three-sport kid and he’s looking forward to finishing the year off and having a really good track season. He might be thinking about doing track in college and maybe going into the decathlon. So we might throw him into different events like hurdling and throwing. He’s up for it.

He’s a great kid and he’s going to be a great leader for us.”

Albright is a junior who along with jumping will be doing some sprints as well.

“Andrew finished 15th or 16th in the (Central Lakes Conference) in the long and triple,” Reuer said. “When you look at all the guys that were ahead of him back then, they’ve grad-

uated so he’s probably in the top five.

“But how much do kids change from ninth grade to their junior years? In his case, for the better. He’s a big strong kid right now. You can’t go back and base anything on what they did two years ago because those are years they change so much you really don’t know and, for me, that’s fun and exciting. It’s a wide-open field.”

Where Brainerd is the deepest is with its distance crew. The Warrior cross-country team placed third in the Section 8-2A meet last fall. Two years ago, senior Ethan Klisch put down a fifth-place time of 4:39.44 in the 1600-meter run at sections.

Ryan Cady is coming off a memorable Nordic ski season. Atticus Osborne was a key component on both the cross-country and Nordic ski teams.

Adam Cady came into his own during the cross-country season and Thomas Ruhl captured multiple victories in cross-country and went to state in four events in swimming.

“Our most veteran, returning crew will be our distance kids,” Reuer said. “They’ve had two cross-country seasons since their last track season.

This particular group, we saw them coming and they’re finally juniors and seniors. They’re probably the most veteran group coming in.”

Aaron Strack was part of the 11th-place 4x800 relay, but might be looked at for more sprinting events this spring. Other new sprinters will be senior Brandt Patton and Marcus Yliniemi.

“We’re a pretty distance-heavy team this year,” Reuer said. “Gabe Wagner might be a sprinter for us in some respects. Our other sprinters are young and we knew that was coming.”

WARRIOR SCHEDULE April 12: at Bemidji 4 p.m.

April 23: hosts Willmar 4 p.m.

April 27: at Rocori 4 p.m.

May 6: hosts Sartell 4 pm.

May 13: at Sauk Rapids 5 p.m.

May 18: hosts St. Cloud Apollo 4 p.m.

May 26: at St. Cloud Tech 4 p.m.

June 1: Possible Central Lakes

Conference meet June 7-12: Section 8-2A meet June 18-19: Class 2A state meet JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.

BOYS TRACK & FIELD Head coach: Rod Reuer, 40th year (three years head coach at Page, North Dakota, one year head coach at Napoleon, North Dakota, four years as a graduate assistant coach), 22 years head coach at Brainerd, eight years assistant at Brainerd, four years Brainerd junior high coach) Boys 2019 finish: Third in CLC, third in Section 8-2A, 18th at Class 2A state Assistant coaches: Kris Smith (long and triple jumps), Dave Herath (middle distance), Ashley Rutman (distance), Robb Kolodziej (pole vault), Landon Brainerd (high jump, horizontal jumps), Kelsi Brusehaver (hurdles, sprints), Travis Raske (sprint), Will Riley (throws), Tracy Riley (throws)

Where Brainerd is the most green will be in the throwing area with no athlete returning from the section meet. Newcomer Dante Bernal will be one of the earlier leaders.

“That’s going to be a brand new crew,” Reuer said. “We have a transfer student in Dante from Idaho. He was a thrower out there, but again, he lost his season, too. He’s probably got the most experience of any of our throwers coming into the season. We may have five throwers. Mitch Degen came out this year and he’s working in the discus area. We’ll look at getting him into some running events.

Caden Jager, a junior, is probably one of our most veteran guys coming back, but again, the last time he threw he was a freshman.”

Actual track competitions will also be different.

“For meets, the reason all of our meets are duals, and this has been relaxed from the original plans, is that we can only have 250 athletes and coaches on site,” Reuer said.

“As long as the total number of athletes and coaches doesn’t go over 250, we’re OK. That’s one reason the (Central Lakes) Conference has decided we’ll stick with duals. This way it allows all of our kids to participate in a meet. Obviously, the big invitational type meets are nonexistent this year.

“When we get down to the end of the season, True Team sections will be a dual meet and then you will send those results into the True Team association and they will do a virtual meet based on those results and then determine a section winner. Beyond that, they’re still working on some sort of plan to do an in-person state meet. That’s still to be determined.”

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Brainerd Dispatch | Wednesday, April 7, 2021

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Ben Boberg stretches to reach the ball during boys tennis practice Thursday, April 1, 2021, at the Brainerd High School tennis courts.

Boys Tennis: New coach, new faces, but the hope is success

By Jeremy Millsop Sports Editor When Ellen Fussy was the head girls tennis coach the Brainerd Warriors advanced to state three straight seasons.

Ellen Fussy She’s now the head coach of the Warrior boys team and will hope to bring that same kind of success to a thriving boys program.

The first order of business is to learn her players after COVID-19 took away her inaugural season as the head coach.

“We’re excited to be able to compete and we’re going to do better on May 20 than we were on April 20 and on March 29 when we started,” Fussy said. “I just want to see some growth because we do have some younger talent. It will be fun to watch them grow and work throughout the season and just keep the good tradition that we’ve developed over the last few years with Warrior boys tennis.”

Fussy was the head girls coach from 2009-12. She’s been a part of both programs before and after as an assistant coach so she knows her athletes, but the only returning player from 2019 is junior Beck Barber, who dabbled in both singles and doubles play for the Warriors two years ago as a freshman.

“He has put a lot of work into his game over the last year,” Fussy said.

“He’s vying for the No. 1 spot. The spot is still up for grabs as we’ve only

WARRIOR ROSTER Seniors: Benjamin Boberg, Rodney Campbell, Gabriel Maurer, Jarrett Osborne, Tyler Schaitberger, Noah Jocque Juniors: Beck Barber, Jalen Emslander, Benjamin Guida, Benjamin Karlgaard, Noah Madsen, Eli McConkey, Nicholas Moore Sophomores: Karlton Anderson, Ethan Diede, Micah Halbersma Freshmen: William Aadland, Cole Belton, George Campbell, Gavin Jacobson, Benjamin Baurer, Matthew Moraghan, Anthony Nelson Eighth grader: Clark Haglin

WARRIOR SCHEDULE Thursday, April 8: hosts Sartell 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 10: vs. Buffalo,

Delano, Becker at Becker 9 a.m.

April 13: hosts Fergus Falls 4:30 p.m.

April 15: hosts Willmar 4:30 p.m.

April 20: at St. Cloud Tech 4:30 p.m.

April 22: hosts Bemidji 4:30 p.m.

April 24: Buffalo Invite 8 a.m.

April 27: hosts Apollo/Sauk Rapids

4:30 p.m.

April 29: hosts Alexandria 4:30 p.m.

April 30: at Sartell 4:30 p.m.

May 6: at Willmar 4:30 p.m.

May 7: hosts St. Cloud Tech 4:30 p.m.

May 8: Warrior Triangular 10 a.m.

May 11: at Bemidji 4:30 p.m.

May 13: at Apollo/Sauk Rapids 4:30 p.m.

May 18: at Alexandria 4:30 p.m.

had two practices, but he will for sure be a singles player.”

Juniors Noah Madsen and Eli McConkey are also strong singles contenders and Fussy might look for a freshman or two to crack the top 10.

“We have Matthew Moraghan and sophomore Karl Anderson, who might be there,” said Fussy. “We have another Aadland. You might remember Ian Aadland, well Will Aadland is his brother and he’s a ninth grader. I have 14 kids and out of those, I have five that I know for sure will be in the top 10. The other five, there could be like nine people that we rotate in.”

AJ Campbell and Ben Boberg will be contenders for the Warriors’ doubles squads, as will senior Tyler Schaitberger.

Both Aadland and Moraghan had brothers who advanced to the Class 2A state individual tournament in 2019.

Patrick Moraghan won the Section 8-2A singles title and Ian Aadland and Garrett Goeden won the section doubles title.

“It’s always fun when you have kids that are from a ‘tennis family,’” Fussy said. “They’ve been around it so they know the ropes a little more.”

The first order of business will be to start thinking competitively while playing. Fussy said without having played last year that aspect of the sport is in most need of work.

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Matthew Morghan returns the ball during boys tennis practice Thursday, April 1, 2021, at the Brainerd High School tennis courts.

“I think that getting back into formalized play, we’ve had a lot of kids that have been playing on their own or playing with parents or friends, it’s getting back into talking about the basics and the strategies and things like that,” Fussy said. “They missed out on a year of competition so we’ve got to get back that mindset of what it’s like to be under pressure on the court when you’re playing an actual match.”

COVID-19 restrictions will have coaches wearing masks all the time.

Singles players do not need to wear masks as long as they stay 6 feet apart. Doubles players will have to wear masks. During practice, if players aren’t socially distanced they will be wearing masks. When traveling, the players will have assigned seats.

“We just started sharing numbers with other schools just so we know how many players to travel with,” Fussy said. “And numbers are a little bit down compared to what they’ve been in the past, but we’re seeing that across the board with every sport.

We’re in the high 20s right now and we’re usually in the 40s.”

Brainerd will open Thursday, April 8, when it hosts Sartell. It’s hard to know what other teams have coming back and Fussy said she’s just focused on her own team and trying to find the right fit for her own players.

“Right now we’re just trying to figure out who is going to play singles and who are our doubles players and the chemistry between our doubles players,” Fussy said. “Right now we do not really have any returning doubles team that has played together so we’re looking at combinations and we’re going to look at where we think people fall in the ladder. We’re having our eyes on as many kids as we can to make sure we’re given everybody a shot. Our lineup on next Thursday will probably change three or four times before we have to have that section lineup.”

The Warriors next go to a quadrangular invite at Becker. Fussy is excited to get a lot of matches early to see where her players succeed. Brainerd will attend a Buffalo Invite April 24 and will host a three-team invite May 8.

“We had a lot of kids play over the winter at Cragun’s so I do have some high expectations,” Fussy said. “If we come out ready to play and compete, I think we’ll do OK.”

BOYS TENNIS Head coach: Ellen Fussy, second year boys head coach (four years girls coach) 2019 record: CLC 5-5, overall 9-6 Assistant coaches: Briana Rademacher, Dan Egan, Garry Niemi

Lacrosse: Warrior lacrosse previews coming later The Brainerd Warriors boys and girls lacrosse teams started a week later than all of the other spring sports.

Because of that, they were left out season previews prior to their openof this spring preview to give the ing games. coaches time to see and evaluate The Warrior girls are scheduled their teams better. Look for their to open 7 p.m. Thursday, April 15

against Moorhead at Adamson Field.

The Warrior boys will also open against Moorhead noon Saturday, April 17 in Brainerd.

GIRLS GOLF

this season. “The St. Cloud Invite is going to be a conference meet and the Buffalo event is going to be a different format,” Person said.

“I’m hopeful as this is the third year they’ve tried to have this and it’s never worked out. They’ll take twosomes and they’ll play in a scramble or best ball and they’ll take the three scores for each team between your three groups and come up with Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch scores that way. I think the girls will Katie Foley, (left), Izzy Olson and Anna have a lot of fun with that.

Krieger prepare for the opening round “They’ve capped events at 72 golf- of the State Class 3A Golf Tournament ers so 12 teams at any one event. Our Tuesday, June 11, which will take place at match, or congregation of teams, Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids by or whatever you want to call it. The practicing their chipping. The three return Classic meet is just going to be sec- in hopes of making it back to state in 2021. tion and conference teams with a couple of local teams in Pierz, Pequot have at that event.”

Transportation will be an issue. and Crosby-Ironton. We won’t have all the metro teams that we usually The team will continue to use a van,

but may have to move up to a bus if COVID-19, which wiped out the entire 2020 season, increases.

Whatever happens, Person just hopes he gets to finish the season because his expectations are high.

“I’m hopeful that we’re going to go back to state as a team,” Person said. “Just knowing that Sophia Karsnia was so close and two years later she continued to work and get better. I think we have four players that are as good as anyone else’s in the section. Throw in Anna Angland in there and I think we can compete for that top spot in the section. We’ll always have to see where Alexandria is at. They always seem to pull out phenomenal players.

“It will be interesting since it’s been so long.”

From Page H1

There is one varsity spot up too so maybe they’ll compete for that.”

Golf events this season will not be labeled as invites or tournaments as the Minnesota State High School league outlawed those. Along with the normal conference schedule, Brainerd will have a few unique events

WARRIOR ROSTER Seniors: Anna Krieger, Hailey Nameniuk Juniors: Anna Angland, Katie Foley Sophomores: Camdyn Marohn,

Ellie Brown, Izzy Olson Freshmen: Ashlyn Stroot, Sophia Karsnia Eighth graders: Karley Dunham,

Madelyn Holmstrom

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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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Wednesday, April 7, 2021 | Brainerd Dispatch

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CHOOSE SHANNON’S AUTO BODY FOR COLLISION REPAIR IN BRAINERD, MN & BEYOND. We are proud to provide service to customers across Aitkin County, Cass County, and Crow Wing County.

Shannon’s Auto Body has provided auto body repair in Brainerd, MN since 1996.

We go above and beyond to make sure you receive the repair services you deserve.

We can repair vehicles of every make and model.

Our company is an I-CAR Gold Class Member, ASE Certified, and Sikkens Waterborne Certified.

Our team is committed to 100% customer satisfaction.

CONTACT US: 13540 Ironwood Drive, Brainerd, MN 56401 HOURS: Monday - Friday 8am-5pm

218.829.6764 www.shannonsautobody.com