Winter Sports Preview 2013

Valley Area

Winter

FEATURING:

St. Peter Saints • Le Sueur-Henderson Giants Tri-City United Titans • Cleveland Clippers

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 • Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

Preview

The 2013-14 St. Peter girls basketball team (front, from left): Kia Williams, Sid Welp, Olivia Gullickson, Shawna Zabinski, Dani Leonard, Emily Carpenter, Autumn Maas, Maryam Abubaker; (middle row) Ella Wiebusch, Allyssa Hagen, Kellie Hanson, Val Bresnahan, Kaylee Neubauer, Jaide Fonde, Alexis Reese, Alex Eberhart, Zenia Loredo Hollon; (back row) Logan Retzlaff, Jana Quick, Marta Springer, Annika Johnson, Olivia Hass, Zoey Bartlett, Megan Roach, Maggie Anderson, Hailey Kennedy, Taylor McCarthy, Mallorie Chabot, Kenna Burmeister. Not pictured: Alyssa Lokensgaard.

(Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)

St. Peter girls basketball team will have new look

By PAT BECK

pbeck@stpeterherald.com

St. Peter girls basketball HEAD COACH Bob Southworth, 4th year

ASSISTANT COACHES Bill Stuewe, 4th year, head coach 9 years; Dave Nixon, 1st year KEY PLAYERS Olivia Hass, junior center,

2 year letter winner, all conference last year, 11.5 points – 7.5 rebounds per game last season.

“We will be counting on Olivia this year to increase her points and rebounds per game,” coach

Bob Southworth said. “She is a difference maker on the defensive end with her ability to alter and block shots.”

Logan Retzlaff, junior point guard, 2 year letter winner, 5.5

points – 2 rebounds – 3 assists last season.

“Logan also needs to take the next step this year and increase her points, rebounds and assists per game,” Southworth said. “Her

speed allows her to create offensive opportunities in the open court which we will need a lot of this year.”

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PAGE 2

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

The 2013-14 St. Peter boys basketball team (front row, from left): Aaron Leeb, Bradyn Klubben, Jack Olinger, Joey Moore, Joe Siebels, Khalid Omar, Bill Chadwick, Jordan Hermel, Abdi Omar; (middle row) Javarrie Armwood, Chris Parker, Jacob Lamb, Liban Omar, Ben Johnson, Cody Erickson, Ridwan Abdi, Tanner Nadeau, Noah Hildebrandt; (back row): Mitch Johnson, Cullen Bruce, Nick Rosburg, Tommy Steidler, Kolin Bartlett, Colton Lusty, Koleman Lund, Brady Hanson, Abdi Abubaker. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)

St. Peter boys basketball team reloads

By PAT BECK

Keating said. “His defense and ability to stay out of foul trouble pbeck@stpeterherald.com will be critical.”

Forward Tommy Steidler, twoSt. Peter Boys Basketball time letter winner, 13.9 points per HEAD COACH Sean Keating, first-year head game, voted team captain. “Tomcoach, 4 years varsity assistant, 4 my offers great versatility with his ability to score, rebound and years AAU. ASSISTANT COACHES Varsity Assistant Tyler Kaus, 5 years Gustavus JV coach, B squad: Neil Doose, 25 years C squad: Derek Homrighausen, 4 years 9th grade and varsity assistant KEY PLAYERS St. Peter has three returning seniors with varsity experience: Point guard Cody Erickson, two-time letter winner, 3.4 points per game, versatile floor general, voted a team captain. “Cody will be asked to continue to distribute the basketball but will be challenged this year as he will need to pitch in and score more than he has in the past,” head coach Sean

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Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

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PAGE 3

St. Peter Saints wrestling team returns experienced line-up

By PAT BECK

pbeck@stpeterherald.com

Head coach: Keith Hanson, 22 years, 11 as head coach Assistants: Trent Nielsen, 7 years; Mike Hohenstein, 5 years KEY PLAYERS Senior Kyle Bosacker, 4-time letter winner, 5th place Section 2AA, 81 career varsity wins Senior Steve Pettis, 4-time letter winner Senior Collin Thompson, 4-time letter winner, 6th in Section 2AA, 75 career varsity wins Senior Cody Kurth, 3-time letter winner, 6th place Section 2AA Junior Chris Pettis, 3 time letter winner, 2nd Section 2AA, state participant, 71 career varsity wins KEEP YOUR EYE ON Eighth-grader Anthony Putz, 6th place Section 2AA MOVED ON Ashton Bartlett, 94 wins Bennet Baker, 37 wins Dylan Connor, 101 wins SEASON OUTLOOK Last season St. Peter finished 12-12. The Saints won the Pine City Dragon Invitational tournament and finshed 3rd in the South Cen-

The St. Peter wrestling team (front, from left): Brandon Cruz, Aaron Hunt, Kevin Melgar, Wyatt Gillette, Casey Osborne, Mario Gonzalez, Damian ferretti, Cody Seifert, Matthew Pettis; (middle row) Sean Driscoll, Gavin Thole, Bailey Kurth, Major Brock, Enrique Munoz, Manny Gonzales, Sage Loredo-Hollon, Alex Devins, Peter Hilligoss; (back row) Chris Pettis, Cody Kurth, Collin Thompson, Steven Pettis, Kyle Bosacker, Travis Brock, Matt theis, Nick Milliman. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)

tral Conference Individual Tournament as well as 2nd in the SCC dual meet standings.

“We could duplicate those stand-

ings this season,” St. Peter head coach Keith Hanson said. “Our section remains very competitive with New Prague, Hutchinson and

Watertown Mayer looking to be the match.”

COACH’S COMMENTS leading teams at this point. We could finish in the middle of the pack and “We return a lot of experience hopefully win a section dual meet and hopefully we can spread out

of St. Peter

throughout the weights to put a competitive team on the mat each dual meet.” — head coach Keith Hanson

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PAGE 4

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

St. Peter gymnastics team brings back experience, talent Saints return impressive group of varsity all-arounders

By PAT BECK

pbeck@stpeterherald.com

Kurth said.

2013 SEASON OUTLOOK • St. Peter won one conference meet (against St. James).

• St. Peter placed 4th at the conference meet.

• St. Peter placed 8th out of 11 teams at section.

• St. Peter’s all-time high score was 125.5.

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “The great thing about this sport is that we not only strive for improved team results but we can also hope to see individual improvement. Having said this, our last week in the gym we have already seen a great deal of talent.

This includes junior varsity. We have many girls with some natural ability that may surprise us in the near future. — head coach Stacy Kurth.

BY THE NUMBERS 131 — “Looking at the current roster for varsity, using last season’s top score for each event, we have the possibility of scoring a 129.875...I would like to shoot for a 131.00!” Kurth said. “It’s been a few years since that has happened.

I would have to do some research to see how far back, but not since I have been head coach.”

The 2013-14 St. Peter gymnastics team (front, from left) co-captains Martha Stelter and Rebekah Berry; (second row) Olivia

St. Peter gymnastics team HEAD COACH Stacy Kurth, 16th year ASSISTANT COACHES Kris Glidden, 2nd year; Wally Kurth, 4th year KEY PLAYERS Varsity All around Contenders: Kenna Zelenka (7); Maddy Rimstad (8); Tegan Weiss (8); Rebekah Berry (11); Megan Overgaard (11) Varsity Floor Contenders: Keegan Kurth (9); Martha Stelter (11) Varsity Vault Contenders: Lexi Wilkins (11); Halla Dontje Lindell (11) Varsity Bar Contenders: Halla Dontje Lindell (11) Varsity Beam Contenders: Martha Stelter (11); Kailey Gibbs (12) KEEP YOUR EYE ON “Rebekah Berry (11) all around…returning letter winner and all conference…she has turned on the energy in practice and is really pushing herself by setting goals,” St. Peter head coach Stacy Kurth said.

MOVED ON Crystal Ward (varsity bars and Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck vault) at 931-8566, or follow him on Erin Krenik (varsity beam) “Both have graduated, and we Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat miss their presence in the gym,”

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Young, Maddy Rimstad, Kenna Zelenka, Becca Gordy, Mryha Voss, Joy Zimmerman; (third row) Miranda Bresnahan, Kenzie Kienholz, Emily Putz, Kennedy Legg, Teagan Weiss; (fourth row) manager Roberta Leal, Keegan Kurth, Aliza Doherty, Josie Carlson, Chrissy Yauger, Ashlyn Schlueter; (top row) Halla Dontje Lindell, Megan Overgaard and Lexi Wilkins. Not pictured: Kailey Gibbs, Bianca Wilson, Courtney Kleschult, Dinajia Arnold and manager Jolene Smith. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)

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VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

PAGE 5

Bulldogs shoot for better record, conference title

By PAT BECK

pbeck@stpeterherald.com

St. Peter/Le Sueur-Henderson/ Tri-City United/Cleveland Bulldogs Boys Hockey HEAD COACH Dave Swanberg, 15 years; assistant 5 years ASSISTANT COACHES Jesse Morgan,1st year; Sam Weiers, 1st year KEY PLAYERS Ryan Hoehn (12) (SP) Forward and Defense, 5 goals, 20 sssists Sam Wenner (11) (SP) Forward, 21 goals, 22 assists Sam Gerdts (11) (LSH) Defense, 0 goals, 6 assists Brett Zallek (11) (SP) Forward, 14 goals, 12 assists KEEP YOUR EYE ON C.J. Pavlo (12) (LSH) Forward Jackson Keely (11) (SP) Defense Marty McGuire (12) (TCU) Defense Mick McGuire (12) (TCU) Forward Alex Hoehn (10) (SP) Forward Isaac Westphal (10) (SP) For-

FROM THE COACH “It’s always nice to return your leading scorer from the previous year. Sam Wenner and Ryan Hoehn will be called upon to provide a great deal of offense for us.

“Jackson Keely will be back in action after a year on the injured list. He will join Sam Gerdts, Marty McGuire on the blue line along with rookies Avery Bachman, Brandon Pelowski and Keenan Burg.

“The goaltending battle should be a good one between juniors Killian Bixby and Noah Weiers along with sophomore Zeke Haugen. To be successful we will need to play solid team defense and stay out of the penalty box. I have asked our players to take control over their effort and attitude. If the effort is great and the attitude is good everything The 2013-14 St. Peter/Le Sueur-Henderson/Tri-City United/Cleveland Bulldogs (front, from left): Zeke Haugen, Beau Sullivan, else will fall into place. — Dave Sam Wenner, CJ Pavlo, Ryan Hoehn, Isaac Westphal, Killian Bixby; (middle row): Assistant Coach Sam Weiers, Brett Zallek, Swanberg, head coach.

Keenan Burg, Mick McGuire, Cole Miller, Mac Malecha, Scott Crady, Alex Hoehn; (back row): McCray Grams, Jackson Keely, Marty

BY THE NUMBERS McGuire, Sam Gerdts, Matt Dolan, Assistant Coach Jesse Morgan and Head Coach Dave Swanberg. (Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald) 1,302 — Combined enrollment 3.5 — Goals per game in 2012ward Chris Amsden, Austin Braun, Brandon Billmeyer to improve upon last year’s record 13 2013-14 SEASON OUTLOOK and contend for a conference title,” Mac Malecha (11) (TCU) For- Luke Regner, Jonny Favre, Brock 2.5 — Goals against per game Solomon, Ryan Moriarty, Levi ward 13-13-1 record last season. Bulldogs head coach Dave Swanin 2012-13 MOVED ON Steuck, Nate Douglas, Cole Kubes, 4-2 in the SCC. “Our goal will be berg said.

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PAGE 6

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

Lady Bulldogs girls hockey team features a lot of young guns

By PAT BECK

pbeck@stpeterherald.com

anchor the defense with the help of newcomers Kendall Wenner and Zoe Haugen,” Blaido said.

MOVED ON Holes to fill due to graduation are winger Alison Plieseis, winger Briana Williams and defense Kelsey Skelly.

OUTLOOK “We have plenty of grit and determination however we are short on experience with 3 seniors, 2 juniors, 3 sophomores, 6 freshman and 4-8th graders, but with this type of youth we should see significant improvement as the season progresses,” Blaido said.

“Biggest obstacles will be effective breakout and aggressiveness in front of both nets.”

Last year’s record 6-19-0, conference record 2-4-0 for 3rd place, lost to Mankato East in first round of section.

COMMENTS “We have plenty of challenges because of our youth; unfortunately we are forced to put underclassmen into positions before they are ready forcing them to grow into their positions faster than we would ideally like. One of the positives with all our youth is we are able to install a more complex offense; while they may not catch on to quickly to start with, they will have more time to learn and identify the cycles, rotations and gaps which should make them a formidable opponent for years to come. — Tom Blaido, head coach.

St. Peter/Le Sueur-Henderson/Tri-City United/Cleveland Girls Hockey HEAD COACH Tom Blaido, 2nd year ASSISTANT COACHES Kelley Wilmes, 3rd year; Jen Gorny, 3rd year, 1st year JV head coach; Marc Bachman, 3rd year; Maggie King, 1st year; Molly King 1st year KEY PLAYERS Fourteen returning letter winners Of note: Senior center/defense Chloe Bachman. Two-year team captain, 2012/2013 all-conference, last season’s leading scorer and team MVP. Senior net minder Veronica Sinell. Four-year starter with more than 1,000 saves in 2012/2013 and team captain.

Senior center Chelsea Kaelberer. Two-year starter, 2012-2013 all-conference honorable mention and 2013-2014 team captain.

Junior defense Hannah Kleschult. Two-year starter and 20132014 team captain.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON “Junior wing Bailey Wilmes, two-year starter- sophomore center Maddie Kelschult and wing Holly Gibbs; freshman wings Anna Amos, Taylor Witte and Kallie Steuck; 8th-grade wing Emma Doherty-Bohn should all add scoring punch, while reReach Sports Editor Pat Beck turning defense letter winners freshman Maggie Ringler and at 931-8566, or follow him on Francesca LoFaro should help to Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat

The 2013-14 St. Peter/Le Sueur-Henderson/Tri-City United/Cleveland Lady Bulldogs (from left front) Kallie Steuck, Zoe Haugen, Taylor Witte, Anna Amos; (middle row) Maranda Sorenson, Chloe Bachman, Hannah Wilmes, Francesca LoFaro, Hannah Kleschult, Veronica Sinell; (top row) Kendall Wenner, Maggie Ringler, Maddie Kleschult, Bailey Wilmes, Holly Gibbs, Emma DohertyBohn and Chelsea Kaelberer. Not pictured : Jordan Keeley, Alison Helder(Pat Beck/St. Peter Herald)

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PAGE 7

Le Sueur-Henderson boys hoops relies on quickness, shooting

By CJ SIEWERT

csiewert@lesueurnews-herald.com

Le Sueur-Henderson boys basketball HEAD COACH Don Marcussen, 2nd year ASSISTANT COACHES The B squad coach is Brad Schmidt and the C squad coach is Gene Dwyer.

KEY PLAYERS The Giants return seven letter winners from last year’s group and three starters in Brady Rose, Luke Smith and Riley McGraw. Rose averaged 6.8 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists, and will be a leader on the floor. Smith averaged 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists, and plays mostly the point guard position. Smith was also named the team’s Mr. Hustle last year. McGraw averaged 7.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, and is the team’s tallest player at 6-feet-5.

Bradley Rose is also back from an ACL injury that had him sidelined last season. Tremaine Wadley returns as well after not playing last

“I would like for us to finish in the top four of the Minnesota River Conference and earn at least a first round home game in the subsections,” said coach Marcussen. “Watertown-Mayer, Mayer Lutheran and Jordan should all be good in the MRC. Basically, it is the same schools in our subsection as well.”

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “Our overall strength is going to be our shooting ability and running the floor. Both of these areas we do well and should help us on the offensive side. Our lack of height may hurt us a little on the defensive side at times but we will adjust to off set this problem.

“I think we will be much improved this year just from understanding what we want to do on The 2013-14 Le Sueur-Henderson boys basketball team. (Bottom row, left to right) Mason Zeiher, Jose Luna, Alex Borchardt, Co- offense and defense this year. The leton Nelson, Tyler Eccles, Alex Nelson, Ben Barron and Ben Kroehler. (Back row) Tremaine Wadley, Jordan Kahlow, Bradley Rose, guys played a lot of ball this summer Ethan Dwyer, Brady Rose, Tom Schwarz, Luke Smith and Riley McGraw. (CJ Siewert/Le Sueur News-Heald) together and it looks like they have a much better grasp of the system Kahlow, who came off the bench Most Improved Player and steals season.

Graduated players were Ty now. We are putting things in at KEEP YOUR EYE ON last year and all three got plenty of leader. He averaged 5.7 points per O’Brien, Matt Rinehart and Alex practice a lot faster as well.” – coach The Giants also return Ethan varsity playing time. game.

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PAGE 8

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

Le Sueur-Henderson wrestling gears up for run at state

By CJ SIEWERT

csiewert@lesueurnews-herald.com

HEAD COACH Scott Wilson ASSISTANT COACHES Ben Wilson, Jason Sunderman and Mike May KEY PLAYERS Junior Austin Anderly was a state champion at 106 pounds last season. He has continued to work on his game with off-season competition. Although he’s likely going to be heavier this year, he will continue to be a force on the mat with his individual goal being a returning state champion.

The upper weights (Clayton Colling, Conner Boettcher and Joe Abrahamson) are returning letter winners with a lot of mat experience.

With this experience the Giants are hoping that they can put together a strong top of the line-up. Colling is a team captain (along with Anderly) and the team knows that leadership will thrive from the two of them.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON The freshman class is eager and hungry to win. They have a sense of team spirit about them. They’re athletes and do not like to lose.

MOVED ON Chris Pfarr, who now wrestles for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. He’s a hard loss because of his multiple years on varsity, team captain and state medalist (several times).

2013 SEASON OUTLOOK “We want to improve on our record from last year,” coach Wilson said. “We’d like to have a .500 record.

Considering the tough competition on our schedule this is a challenge, but our team is developing and therefore the goal is realistic. Twothirds of our team are freshman and they have big roles to fill in their weight-classes.

“We want to return as a gold academic recipient. This means our overall team GPA must be higher than 3.5. Last year we were silver winners so we’d like to do a bit better.

“The key for us to winning matches and developing a quality team is continuing to house two-aday practices. We weight-lift in the morning and train with technique in the afternoon. Most of our team wrestled in the off-season with our

to the two-a-day expectation of practice with open arms.

“We are going to focus a lot on getting off the mat. This was a weakness last season and something we want to turn around in a big way to help our game.

“All conference matches are big for us. Scott West in particular. St. Peter match (our alumni event) is a rivalry. The two-day Redwood Valley tournament before Christmas is also a highlight.

“We look at our season as a progression where the ending is tournament time and everything before that is practice.” — coach Scott Wilson

BY THE NUMBERS 29 — The Giants have taken 29 kids to the state tournament in the last six years and placed 22 of them. Of those 22 kids, six have been state champions (six in six years is The 2013-14 Le Sueur-Henderson wrestling team. (Front row, left to right) Keon Naranjo, Brice Mitchell, Jose Hernandez, Jorge Her- showing results, not even the power nandez, Tucker Colling, Josue Garibay, Austin Anderly and Caleb Rohloff. (Middle row) Dylan Pauly, Matthew Thaele, Samantha Ash- house schools in LS-H’s class have ton, Luke Wilson, Jesse Kaelberer, Trenten Rogich, Jayson Rabaey and Grant Miller. (Back row) Joseph Abrahamson, Noah Hynesdone this).

Marquette, Clayton Colling, Connor Boettcher, Jordan Carlson, Trevor Block and Mason Straub. (CJ Siewert/Le Sueur News-Herald) 4 — LS-H has one of the best coaching staffs in the area as far as COACH ingness to work hard. The kids give freestyle program. The combination to compete at a high level.” expertise.

They are skilled practitio“A big strength for us is our will- 100 percent each day and have rose COMMENTS FROM THE of the above should be a recipe for us ners and collegiate athletes.

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PAGE 9

Le Sueur-Henderson girls hoops look to fly under the radar

The 2013-14 Le Sueur-Henderson girls basketball team. (Front row, left to right) Kayla Stowell, Selena Wiederich, Stephanie Winter and Carlie Bradt. (Back row) Katherine Cronk, Breanna Kroehler, Sam Winter, Mandy Doerr and Quinn Hynes-Marquette.

(CJ Siewert/Le Sueur News-Herald)

By CJ SIEWERT

csiewert@lesueurnews-herald.com

Le Sueur-Henderson Girls Basketball HEAD COACH Ryan Graff, first year ASSISTANT COACHES The B squad coach is Anne Lewis and the C squad coach Sherri Fritz.

KEY PLAYERS Senior forward and co-captain Selena Wiederich. One-year letter

winner and she makes up for a lack of size with great effort and attitude.

She is a team player who will do whatever you ask of her.

Senior forward and co-captain Stephanie Winter. One-year letter winner and was the second leading scorer and rebounder last year. She is a good inside player with a lot of hustle.

Junior guard McKayla Stowell.

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Sophomore guard Carlie Brandt.

Two-year letter winner who led the team in scoring and assists last year.

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Sophomore guard Sam Winter.

One-year letter winner and a good all around guard whose role on team may increase the most each year.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON

Sophomore guard Katherine Cronk is a good mid-rand shooter.

Sophomore guard Mandy Doerr is a good shooter who is always working hard.

Sophomore forward Quinn Hynes-Marquette has tremendous hustle and effort.

Sophomore forward Breanna Kroehler is a post player with good touch.

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year’s squad include LeaRae Enerson, Mary Heinz and Ali O’Brien.

2013 SEASON OUTLOOK Last year’s record was 1-24 overall and 0-14 in the conference, which placed last.

“I would expect the MRC favorites to once again be Jordan and Norwood Young America,” coach Ryan Graff said. “Section favorite will be returning state champion NRHEG. Our goal is to get better every day and be playing our best basketball at the end of the season. We hope to fly under the radar and surprise some people.”

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “We have an interesting dynamic this year. We are probably returning more varsity experience this year than last, but we are also younger than last year. Our numbers in the upper classes are down, which opens the door for a lot of sophomores to make an impact. Last year the wins didn’t add up as we would have hoped, but the attitude of last year’s team was outstanding all year long and we want to continue that into

this season. Practice started last week and we are off to a good start. The girls are really pushing themselves in practice and having some fun. I have a great staff in B squad coach Anne Lewis and C squad coach Sherri Fritz that help me out a great deal. This is my first year as varsity coach. As there is with any coaching change, there are some things that are changing for the girls. I expect it to take some time for them to get used to a different style of play, but I am excited to see them progress and put it all together. There will be many ups and downs with a young team but I expect the leadership from our captains, as well as many others, to get us through them. We want to be the aggressor on the court — taking the game to our opponents versus them taking it to us. It is a fun style of basketball to play and watch so hopefully that will draw more people to the games.” – Ryan Graff, head coach

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PAGE 10

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

The Tri-City United wrestling team has plenty of experienced wrestlers coming back, as well as a lot of young up and comers. (James Stitt/Le Center Leader)

Tri-City United Titan wrestling team pushes ahead

By JAMES STITT

jstitt@lecenter.com

Head Coach: Brian Mikel, third year as head coach, 17 years as an assistant.

Assistant Coaches: Nate Friederich, Corey Block and Joe Selly.

KEY WRESTLERS Josh Selly and Mason Brownlee, seniors, both have been to the state tournament. Brownlee finished fourth in state last year. Selly was

runner-up.

Marko Arroyo, senior, fifth in Section 2AA will be counted on as well at 160 pounds for his senior leadership.

Mason Rutt, freshman, fifth in Section 2AA. Max Arroyo, junior, fifth in Section 2AA. Alex Burns, sophomore, third in Section 2AA. Jonah Johnson, freshman, fourth in Section 2AA. Levi Nelson, junior.

“We have a nice group of five seniors this year that have a lot of varsity experience,” Mikel said. “They will have to step up this year if we want to have success in our dual meets.”

NEWCOMERS: Tyler Sladek, seventh grade.

Kody Glende, seventh grade.

Tyler Schroer, seventh grade.

Manuel Arroyo, seventh grade.

Nick Johnson, seventh grade.

Curtis Budin, seventh grade.

Jack Hiller, seventh grade.

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graders coming up from the youth program that we hope to develop into some tough young wrestlers,” Mikel said.

2013-14 SEASON OUTLOOK “Goals for the year would be to improve every day,” Mikel said.

“Improve mental toughness and eliminate some of the mistakes we made last year. Also, strive to be the best conditioned team on the mat.

Leadership from the upper classmen will be key as well. Our overall goal will be to send as many kids to the

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state tournament as possible and to increase our dual meet win total from last year. Making the section final four would be a reachable goal as well.

“Conference favorites would have to be Scott West and Sibley East and Watertown Mayer.

“Section favorites would be Scott West, New Prague and Hutchinson.”

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “We need to improve overall team strength. Hopefully it will show

this year that the boys spent some time in the weight room in the off season. We do have several returning letterwinners with varsity experience.” — Brian Mikel, head coach.

BY THE NUMBERS 7 - TCU wrestlers who medaled at the section meet last year 7 - Incoming seventh graders 2 - TCU wrestlers returning from state competition last year 1 - Win away from sending three wrestlers to state last year

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Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

PAGE 11

Tri-City United girls basketball team makes a fresh start

By JAMES STITT

jstitt@lecenter.com

Tri-City United Titans girls basketball HEAD COACH Eric Specht, 1st year ASSISTANT COACHES Lora Angileno, B-squad; John Schmeissing, C-squad KEY PLAYERS Alyshia Angelino, senior center, 2 year letter winner, all conference last year, 11.5 points – 7.5 rebounds per game last season.

“We will be counting on Alyshia this year to be floor general,” head coach Eric Specht said. “Offensively, Alyshia will need to increase her points and rebounds per game. Defensively, we need Alyshia to be a presence in the paint for us.”

Courtney Hentges, junior point guard, 2 year letter winner, 5.5 points – 2 rebounds – 3 assists last season.

“Courtney’s athletic ability allows her to do some nice things both offensively and defensively, which we will need a lot from her this year,” Specht said. “We will be counting on Courtney’s experience at the point guard position.”

Nora Miller, senior guard, 1 year letter winner Maddie Chadderdon, senior center, 1 year letter winner Molly Ehlers, senior guard, 1 year letter winner Edith Martinez, senior forward, 1 year letter winner Sarah Holicky, junior guard, 1 year letter winner Danielle Angelino, junior forward, 1 year letter winne

The 2013-14 Tri-City United girls basketball team. (James Stitt/Le Center Leader)

Joslyn Vargo, freshman guard, 1 year letter winner NEWCOMERS Megan Sklucazek, junior forward Autumn Gare, junior forward Casey Hintz, junior forward Molly Tiede, junior guard Marielys Ramirez, junior guard “We also have had several younger girls (8-10) put in a lot time this summer,” Specht said.

“I am very encouraged by their

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MOVED ON Megan Steffan, Coley Selly, Chelsey Walerius, Samantha Ruger SEASON OUTLOOK 2012-2013 record 5-22, Finished 3-11 in conference “Being it is my first year, all the girls truly have a fresh start,” Specht said. “It will be interesting to see which girls make the most of this opportunity. In the time I have spent with the girls, we have

high quality girls with some athletic ability.

“Heading into the 20132014 season, I think our biggest strengths will be the front court, size and the quickness of our guards. The area that needs the most improvement is our consistency. We need to become more consistent in all facets of the game of basketball (shooting, ball handling, decision making, and our defensive positioning). It will be exciting to watch our team grow

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“I think we have the potential to surprise some teams in the MRC this year. For this to happen, we need to continue to push each other every day in practice.

We have had a good first week of practice. This effort will need to continue if we want to reach our team goals that we have set.”

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “During the early part of the

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season we will be figuring out who fits where, as well as trying to put people where they can use their strengths to best help our team.

Some of these girls have put in a lot of time working of improving their skills. If we can come together as a team, I am confident we will find some success this year.”

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PAGE 12

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

The Tri-City United basketball team is looking to push the tempo this year. (James Stitt/Le Center Leader)

Tri-City United boys basketball looks to up the tempo

By JAMES STITT

jstitt@lecenter.com

Head coach: Ben Haugen, 1st year Assistant coaches: B squad John Rynda C squad James Nelson KEY PLAYERS Pat Lloyd, shooting guard, senior co-captain, 2 year letter winner, top returning scorer with 9.3 points per game last year.

Hunter Hinze, point guard, senior co-captain, 2 year letter.

Nate Chadderdon, post play-

er, senior, 2 year letter winner.

Aaron Dwyer, guard/forward, 2 year letter winner.

Jamison Beulke, guard, junior, 1 year letter winner.

Jordan Yetzer, forward, senior, 2 year letter winner.

Brandon Turgeon, forward, senior, 1 year letter winner.

Ted Christian, center, senior.

Josh Maxson, center, junior.

Scott McCabe, wing, junior.

Kelly Nording, wing, junior.

“This team has great leaders in Pat and Hunter,” Haugen said.

“They have bought into the new

system and have shown excellent attitude and effort in practice.”

NEWCOMERS Sam Ehlers, guard/forward, sophomore Jackson Feddema, point guard, sophomore Keegan Oak, shooting guard, sophomore Carter Rynda, forward, sophomore MOVED ON Andy Feddema, Alex Turgeon, Connor Oak, Ryan Iverson, Jordan Trnka, David Trcka and Matt Holicky

2013-14 SEASON OUTLOOK “The Titans are looking to improve upon a 7-16 season in 2012-13,” Haugen said. “We will attempt to utilize our athleticism by playing an up tempo offense and a high pressure defense. There is a lot to learn in the new system but our guys are off to a great start. We hope to improve every day and compete when sections start.

“The MRC is always a tough balanced league and we hope to compete in every game. We want

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COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “This is going to be an exciting year. We have a good mix of experience and youth. There will

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Our goal is to play our best basketball at the end of the year and I am confident that this group will deliver.”— Ben Haugen, head coach

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VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

PAGE 13

Cleveland Clippers boys basketball team focuses on defense

By RICHARD ROHLFING

Correspondent

Cleveland Boys Basketball Head Coach: Dan Fredrickson, 2nd year Assistant coach: Perry Kirsch, 2nd year KEY PLAYERS Jordan Phillips, a 6-2 senior captain, is the only starter the Clippers return from last season.

“He will help anchor us in the post this season,” said head coach Dan Fredrickson. “Jordan is a very skilled big man who is capable of stuffing the stat sheet for us. He is one of the top rebounders in the Valley Conference. I am excited to see him help Cleveland take another big step forward this season.”

Matt Archer is a 6-2 junior captain.

“He is a tough competitor,” Fredrickson said. “He is a very good defender as well as one of our reliable shooters. He is a player we need to help anchor our defense on a nightly basis. He is a very versatile player and will play inside and outside for us this season.”

Spencer Lynch is a 6-3 junior captain.

“Spencer has a chance to leave Cleveland as one of its most dominant players in recent memory,” Fredrickson said. “He has a skill set that just keeps improving every day.

I am so impressed by how his game has advanced in the last year. Defensively he is already a very special player. His offensive game in the low post is improving rapidly, and he will be a formidable task for opposing defenses this season.”

Grant Germscheid is a 6-0 senior captain who has not been on the court for the last several years due to a knee condition.

The 2013-14 Cleveland boys basketball team (from left front): Tyler Piotter, Dustin Boe, Carter Kopet, Spencer Davies, Jacob Zimmerman. Back: Head coach Dan Fredrickson, Matt Archer, Travis Meyer, Spencer Lynch, Grant Germscheid, Jordan Phillips, and assistant coach Perry Kirsch. Missing from photo is Chandler Barrie. (Richard Rohlfing/St. Peter Herald)

“This is Grant’s first season in our program,” Fredrickson said. “He has proven to be an excellent leader.

He was the quarterback on the football team and he has very good court vision. Grant is an excellent athlete who will help us improve immensely on the defensive end this season.”

Spencer Davies is a 5-10 junior who did not play last season.

“Spencer is an explosive athlete,” Fredrickson said. “His quickness and reaction time is amazing. Those who have seen him play football know exactly what an athlete he is. He will be a very disruptive force defensively for us. Offensively he is a very good shooter and a very capable ball handler. I am very excited Spencer is a part of our program. He is a game changer for us.”

Carter Kopet is a 6-0 eighthgrader who played his first varsity game during the Christmas break last season.

“Carter will essentially get the keys to our car,” Fredrickson said.

“He will be our starting point guard this season. He has an amazing feel for the game of basketball. He is a very good shooter and an exceptional passer and decision maker. He seems to have an unshakeable confidence on the floor, a confidence that cannot be taught. He is a true team player, and he plays with a burning desire to win.”

Travis Meyer is a 6-0 junior.

“Travis’ game has grown immensely over the course of the summer,” Fredrickson said. “He has a very good motor. He is a very good defender and is a player who understands what we expect defensively.

His offense keeps improving every practice. He will play valuable minutes for us this season. Things are really clicking for him right now. I’m proud of his work ethic.”

Dustin Boe is a 5-10 junior.

“Dustin is a cerebral player,” said the head coach. “He is a very good spot-up shooter. He is a player who should carve out a role off of our bench.”

NEWCOMERS Tyler Piotter is a 6-0 sophomore forward.

Jacob Zimmerman is a 5-10 sophomore guard.

Chandler Barrie is a 5-10 sophomore guard.

MOVED ON Joe Queen, Kyle Ziebarth, Tommy Kraft, Josh Plonsky, Derek Ely and Tyler Seitz to graduation. Also missing due to injury is starter Bryce Skistad, a senior.

SEASON OUTLOOK Last season the Clippers ended up with a 6-7 Valley Conference record, a 5-7 record against section opponents and an 11-15 overall record.

They were the eighth seed in the Section 2A North and were edged 65-63

in the first round at home by New Ulm Cathedral.

“For us it needs to start and end with defense,” said Fredrickson. “We got caught up too much in our scoring last season in my opinion. We gave up the most points per game (67.4) in our conference last season.

That was also third worst in our subsection. We were sixth in scoring in our conference with 63.4 points per game, and we were ninth in scoring offense in our 19-team section.

Those are statistics that needs to change in order for us to make the leap forward we want as a program.

I am a defensive-minded coach, and those point-per-game totals we gave up last season are 100 percent inexcusable. We need to get collectively better at that statistic this season. As a coach I need to reinforce what the points-allowed-per-game statistic represents.”

“That being said I believe a

strength of ours this season will be our defense,” Fredrickson continued. “We are long at most positions, and we have the ability to be a very disruptive defensive team. Rebounding should also be a strength for us this season. I would also count our toughness and focus as a strength as well. I believe in our players, and I know they will always show up ready to compete. Our overall team experience at the varsity level could be viewed a weakness early this season.”

“I am not overly concerned about subsection or section favorites at the moment,” said the head coach.

“We have plenty of work to keep us busy and plenty of work to keep the coach busy. I want us to take the step of going above .500 this season.”

COACH’S COMMENTS “We need to create an identity here at Cleveland. We need to start controlling the things we have control over first, starting with our attitude, effort, and focus. If we do that, this team will be one to remember, and Cleveland basketball will continue in the right direction. The future at Cleveland is very bright.

This will be an exciting season, and am very proud to be Cleveland’s coach.”— Dan Frederickson

BY THE NUMBERS 67.4 – The average points per game the Clippers gave up last season. It was the most of any Valley Conference team and the third most in the subsection.

1,859 – Last year graduating senior Tom Kraft’s career-point total.

His absence will result in a very different offense for the Clippers this season.

2 – This is the second season for head coach Dan Fredrickson.

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PAGE 14

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

Cleveland girls basketball has quality, not quanity

By RICHARD ROHLFING

Correspondent

Cleveland Girls Basketball HEAD COACH George Schoenborn, 3rd year ASSISTANT Kris Holicky, 3rd year KEY PLAYERS Taylor Holicky – Holicky, a 6-foot senior, was both the Clippers’ leading scorer (450) and rebounder (348) from last season and was an All-Conference player and team MVP. She reached the 1,000-point scoring milestone last season. She had a very low foul-to-block ratio and also had a team-leading 117 steals. Holicky has played varsity since her freshman year and will continue to play next year at a collegiate level. She will be one of the dominant girls basketball players in the area, Schoenborn said.

“With varsity experience returning around her, we will have a chance to have a very successful season. She has worked very hard on her game and continues to improve.”

Cylie Hankins – Also playing on the varsity team since being a freshman is 5-4 point guard Cylie Hankins. With 162 points, she was the Clippers’ third-leading scorer last season.

“Cylie does a great job at point guard,” Schoenborn said. “Having played varsity for this long, she knows and understands what we as a team want to accomplish.

Cylie excels both on offense where she runs the offense and on defense where she usually guards the opponent’s best guard. These two (Holicky and Hankins), with their experience, will be a good nucleus to build around.”

Amy Den Herder and Stephanie Holicky — Other post players with varsity experience from last year will be Amy Den Herder, a 5-6 sophomore, and Stephanie Holicky, a 5-7 sophomore.

Anna Ely and Cassidy Kopet – Other perimeter players who will play an important role this year, Schoenborn said are Anna Ely and Cassidy Kopet, both a 5-6 juniors.

The 2013-14 Cleveland girls basketball team Front (L-R): Megan Hobson, Cassidy Kopet, Cylie Hankins, Anna Ely, MaKenzie Baumgartner. Back: Head coach George Schoenborn, Taylor Holicky, Amy Den Herder, Amanda Smith, and assistant coach Kris Holicky. Missing from photo is Stephanie Holicky. (Richard Rohlfing/St. Peter Herald)

“Anna and Cass can play a few different positions, which is important with our numbers this year,” Schoenborn said. “Both are very athletic and, like the rest of the girls, extremely coachable.”

NEWCOMERS Megan Hobson – Hobson didn’t participate in basketball last year but is back in an orange and black uniform this season as a 5-5 junior.

“Megan will be a great addition to the team as she fits right in with

the others in regards to work ethic and athleticism,” Schoenborn said.

“And with missing a year, her basketball skills are good too, but will need some fine tuning.”

Amanda Smith and Mackenzie Baumgartner – Freshmen Amanda Smith and Mackenzie Baumgartner will also help out on varsity this season.

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missed, Schoenborn said.

“This group of four played together for years and, more importantly, modeled how to be a Cleveland Clipper athlete.”

2013-14 SEASON OUTLOOK Last year the Clippers ended in the middle of the Valley Conference and in the section with a 9-15 overall record and a 4-7 conference record. The season came to an abrupt end in the first round of the section with a road loss to Lyle-Pacelli. This season, the head coach thinks the Clippers will up their win-loss ratio.

“We should be a fairly successful club,” Schoenborn said. “We have a decent schedule with a lot of home games, where we can feed off the crowd. We should be able to end up with a record of .500 or better. We have some new teams scheduled this year that we haven’t played before and we have some teams that went to state last year.

Hopefully, by playoff time, we can at least get a home game in the first round and see what happens

after that.”

Mankato Loyola and Martin County West will likely be top teams in the Valley.

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “We will have a small, in numbers, team this year, but I think if we keep coming to practice, work hard to get better, we will surprise some teams. We should be ready to go for our first game.

This is a great group of girls, who’ve worked with us coaches for a number of years. This will allow us to advance and grow together as a team at a quicker rate.

It should be a fun year.”

BY THE NUMBERS 9 – The number of girls who will dress for varsity this season.

11/29/13 – The Clippers’ first game, as part of a Black Friday tournament in Cleveland.

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 & Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

PAGE 15

BOYS: St. Peter faces tough challenges in conference, section From Page 2C Center Kolin Bartlett, two-time letter winner, 10.9 points per game, voted team captain. “Kolin’s sophomore and junior seasons were cut short due to knee surgeries,” Keating said. “He will have to be patient as he is still recovering from his last surgery. His patience in his recovery will be critical as a healthy Bartlett will give our team a huge boost on both ends of the floor.”

KEEP YOUR EYE ON “Senior Nick Rosburg has played few varsity minutes, but he is ready to fill a role inside left over by Peter Kruize,” Keating said. “Others to watch for: Brendan Reese — Senior guard, Ben Johnson — Senior guard, Ridwan Abdi — Senior Wing. This group of players will look to step up and fill major voids left by last year’s senior class.”

MOVED ON Peter Kruize, Josh Peymann, Brad Rice, Nathan Kempenich, Braxton Raymond, Jordan Sorensen, Arik Lokensgard, Wesley Gillete.

SEASON OUTLOOK 2012-13 record 25-4, confer-

ence champions (9-1), section runner-up.

“Last year’s team had a tremendous season ending just short of a state tournament berth,” Keating said. “This year, section 2AA is realigned with Waseca joining St. Peter’s 2AA south subsection.

Maple River, Tri-City United, WE-M and Waseca all figure to contend for the subsection title. The 2AA North Section will feature favorite Jordan along with local teams Le Sueur-Henderson, Belle Plaine and Sibley East.

“This year’s Saints team will feature a lot of inexperience, as only three players have varsity experience. The leadership of senior captains will be pivotal in helping this team overcome early setbacks that are sure to come with youth.

If this team sticks together, there potential is enormous as they have a unique blend of size, athletic quickness and versatile big men.

“I am extremely excited to coach this senior-laden team. The South Central Conference will offer many challenging games as all teams return key players. The new section alignment will be intriguing as many teams are new and

coaches will have to familiarize themselves with each other.

“Steidler, Erickson and Bartlett will offer leadership and poise to guide this team throughout the season. Having experienced assistant coaches led by Neil Doose, will offer knowledge and experience that will help keep stability in the program. This year’s Saints team will undoubtedly have grow-

ing pains, but if they can stick together and persevere as a team, this team has the potential to make a deep playoff run.”

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “Taking over a program involves a tremendous effort to implement a new culture. Building our youth levels, building consistency throughout our pro-

gram, and developing a culture ing.

BY THE NUMBERS of respect and accountability are 9 — seniors keys to turning this program in a 2 — juniors new direction.” “I am excited to 18 — sophomores take over a program with such 11 — freshmen a proud tradition and look forward to adding to that by building a toughness in our players that Reach Sports Editor Pat Beck shows up every night we hit the at 931-8566, or follow him on floor and put on a Saints uni- Twitter.com @SPHSportsPat form.” — head coach Sean Keat-

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PAGE 16

VALLEY SPORTS PREVIEW

GIRLS: Saints lose 80% scoring, 70% rebounding From Page 1C Shawna Zabinski, senior guard, 1 year letter winner Dani Leonard, senior guard, 1 year letter winner Livy Gullickson, senior guard, 1 year letter winner Ingrid Karlsrud, senior forward, 1 year letter winner Marta Springer, junior forward, 1 year letter winner Emily Carpenter, sophomore, 1 year letter winner NEWCOMERS Janna Quick, junior forward Valerie Bresnahan, junior guard Kaylee Neubauer, junior forward Cali Sizer, junior forward “There are also a lot of girls in the sophomore class, who have put in a lot of work during the off season to improve themselves,” Southworth said.

MOVED ON Kelsey Carpenter, Lydia Kennedy, Tailor Raymond, Kierstin Karlsrud, Calleigh Carlson 2013 SEASON OUTLOOK 2012-2013 record 22-6, won the subsection championship and lost to NRHEG in the Section Fi-

nal. Finished 8-2 in conference, 2nd place.

“This year, more than my previous three years, we will feel the effects of graduation and be playing girls with very little varsity experience,” Southworth said.

“We graduated over 80 percent of our scoring and 70 percent of our rebounding.

“What I am excited about is we have some quality players in our program who will get opportunities. I am excited to find out who is able to take advantage of those opportunities. The cupboard is not bare; we have a few pieces to build upon. We may have to play a little different brand of basketball to take advantage of the strengths of the girls, but we will have to figure that out during the season.

“I do feel we will have enough talent to compete for the conference championship. I also think we will be competitive in the subsection and Section. I am predicting Fairmont and Waseca to be the favorites in the conference.

“We do have new section alignments this year which puts us in the same subsection as

NRHEG. They will be the favorite with everyone back from last year’s state title team. I don’t know a lot about the North half of the Section but Jordan should be the favorite in that half.”

COMMENTS FROM THE COACH “This year will be much different than prior years,” Southworth said. “During the early part of the season we will be figuring out who fits where and trying to put people where they can use their strengths. I am excited because most of the girls do not have any varsity experience, and it is always fun to see who takes advantage of their opportunities in practice and games and not let the pressure get to them.” — Bob Southworth, head coach.

BY THE NUMBERS 62.2 — Points for per game in 2012-13 48.2 — Points against per game in 2012-13 42 — Field goal percentage in 2012-13 62 — Free throw percentage in 2012-13

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