SPORTS AND OUTDOORS
JUNE 6, 2023
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QUAD COMMUNITY PRESS
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Cougars qualify for state in six events at section BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR
Centennial qualified for state in four boys events and two girls events at the Section 7AAA meet Wednesday and Friday at Forest Lake. The boys placed sixth of eight teams and the girls placed eighth. The Cougars had one section win, by the boys 4x800 with Eli Berg, Jacob Podratz, Charles Bolkcom and Kavan Johnson in 8:07.51. Cougar junior Timo- The Cougars' first-place 4x800 thy Ball goes to state in team of Eli Berg, Jacob Podratz, two events, finishing sec- Charles Bolkcom and Kavan ond in shot put (50-7 3/4) Johnson savored their moment and discus (159-3). Also on the podium.
advancing is sophomore Trystan Green, placing second in the 100 dash (10.96). Lauren Klein, a freshman, was the lone girls individual qualifier, placing second in the 800 with 2:17.40. The Cougars 4x400 team of Kylie Nelson, Klein, Emily Launinger and Julia Zalewski (4:07.39) advanced to state with a second-place finish. The state Class 3A meet will be held Friday and Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville. Three Cougars placed in the 200 dash as Isaiah Tandoh was third in the 200 (22.69) with Samuel
A LOOK AHEAD June 6
4 p.m. Baseball: Cougars vs. Anoka at Forest Lake Schumacher Field 7 p.m. Boys lacrosse: Cougars vs. Duluth East at Centennial High School 7 p.m. Girls lacrosse: Cougars vs. Andover at Andover High School
June 8
TBD Boys and girls track and field
June 10
TBD Boys and girls track and field
Centennial junior Marina Allen qualified for the state meet after placing ninth in Section 5AAA on Tuesday and JON NAMYST | CONTRIBUTED Thursday. Allen Marina Allen, shown shot 80-89-169 here earlier in the seaat The Links son, is a state qualifier. at Northfork in Ramsey. Eighth-grader Taylor Thor had the next-best score of 87-86-173 as the Cougars placed seventh among 12 teams. Allen and Thor both made the all-Northwest Suburban Conference team. The state tournament will be held June 13-14 at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids.
BOYS GOLF Centennial’s season ended with a fifth-place finish in the Section 5AAA meet on Wednesday while freshman Cooper Daikawa barely missed qualifying for state. Daikawa shot 74-74-148, tying for seventh place, and was one of three in a playoff for the final state berth, which Champlin’s Bryan Terhaar won right away with a birdie. Brady Zins, eighth-grader, placed 20th with 78-79-157 for the Cougars. Tanner Youngbauer, a junior, was 23rd with 8078-158. Maple Grove was team champion.
BOYS TENNIS Centennial seniors Sean Oslund and Zack Chaffey advanced to the state tournament in doubles by placing second in Section 4AA. They will compete Thursday at the University of Minnesota, and Friday if they advance. Oslund and Chaffey alternated at one and two singles in the regular season. Oslund has an 18-5 record and Chaffey is 17-4. They defeated teams from St. Paul Central, Stillwater and Mounds View to reach the finals, where they lost to Mahtomedi’s Jack Allaben and
PHOTOS BY JON NAMYST | CONTRIBUTED
Kylie Nelson (right) charged toward the finish line in an exciting 1600 race with Forest Lake’s Norah Hushagen (middle) and Anna VanAcker. Nelson finished third.
Baseball: Cougars trip Rangers, Huskies, lose to Anoka in section BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR
SPORTS BRIEFS GIRLS GOLF
Zeresenay fifth (22.83) and Gavin Moore eighth (23.17). Also earning podium finishes were Dylan Strom, third in triple jump (41-9 3/4); Berg, fourth in the 800 (2:03.92); Evan Pouliot, fourth in the 3200 (10:21.14); Podratz, fifth in the 400 (51.0); and Logan Huss, seventh in discus (127-4). Bolkcom pole-vaulted a personal best 11-4 but was relegated to 10th place in a strong field that included three who went 13-4. In other boys relays, the Cougars took third in the 4x400 with Berg, Bolkcom, Podratz and Zeresenay (3:24.84). They were fifth in the 4x100 and the 4x200. Kylie Nelson just missed qualifying in the girls 1600, placing third in 5:09.51, within a second of two Forest Lake runners. Also earning podium finishes were Alyssa Draheim, fourth, high jump (5-0); Lauinger, fifth, 400 (1:01.88); Abigail Wood, sixth, 3200 (11:55); Madeline Haider, seventh, 200 (27.41); Annie Trettel, seventh, discus (96-1); Zalewski, ninth, 400 (1:02.88); Miranda Sawvel, ninth, 800 (2:33.40); and Alexis Larson, ninth, triple jump (321/2). The Cougars were third in the 4x800, fifth in the 4x100, and sixth in the 4x200.
Brandon Pham 6-2, 6-0 on May 26 at the U of M. Centennial’s regular No. 1 doubles team, Joaquin and JJ Bliss, won two matches before losing in the third round. They beat teams from St. Paul Washington Tech and Irondale (a close one with two tiebreakers) and lost to the Mahtomedi duo 6-2, 6-2.
SOFTBALL Centennial’s season ended with a pair of Section 5AAAA losses to Maple Grove and its ace hurler Maddie Whilm, but the Cougars won three of five behind excellent pitching from sophomore Riley O’Connell throughout. They finished 14-10. In 33 innings, O’Connell allowed just 19 hits and seven runs (three earned) and struck out 34. After a 9-2 win over Irondale (reported last week), the Cougars nipped Champlin Park 1-0 on May 25 with doubles by Adrianna Thomas and Celsi Burn (RBI) producing the lone run off Marissa Rothenberger in the fifth. Whilm tossed a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts as the Crimson stymied the Cougars 2-0 on May 26. The Cougars stayed alive beating Spring Lake Park 6-1 Tuesday, getting RBI’s from Peyton Corbin (double), Thomas (single) and Jordan LeMire (sac fly and ground out). In the finals Thursday, needing to beat Maple Grove twice, the Cougars lost 3-1 as Whilm had a three-hitter and 11 K’s. Corbin singled home O’Connell, who had singled, for the lone run.
LACROSSE The Centennial boys and girls teams each opened Section 7 play with victories at home Thursday. The No. 2 seeded Cougar boys (10-4) beat Hermantown/ Proctor 17-7 will host No. 3 Duluth on Tuesday, 7 p.m., in the semifinals. The No. 3 seeded Cougar girls (10-3) beat Grand Rapids/Greenway 11-5 and will play at No. 2 Andover on Tuesday in the semifinals. Championship matches will be held Thursday evening. Scoring details were not available at press time. Bruce Strand
Three strong pitching performances netted Centennial two victories and a close loss in Section 7AAAA last week. The No. 3 seeded Cougars beat the Forest Lake Rangers 4-0 and No. 2 Andover Huskies 7-1 to reach the upper bracket finals, where they lost to the No. 1 Anoka Tornadoes 3-2. Centennial (14-9) was slated to face either Forest Lake or Andover again Monday, with the winner advancing to finals against Anoka (17-5) on Tuesday, 7 p.m., in Forest Lake, needing to beat Anoka twice. Against Forest Lake, Josh Lee twirled a four-hit shutout Wednesday at home. The lanky junior right-hander had no walks and five strikeouts. Aidan Lieser provided the big hits, a pair of doubles that knocked in three runs. Owen Hackett and Sam Menne also delivered RBI hits. At Andover on Thursday, Will Whelan struck out 16 batters, allowing just three hits, including a homer by Teddy Heller, and two walks. Whelan, a Gophers recruit, improved to 6-1 with a 1.85 ERA. He also had a double, single, and RBI in three at-bats. Vinny Wry was 1-for-3 (triple, two walks, RBI), Lieser and Menne had RBI hits, and Tyler Escobedo was 1-for-1 (walk, two runs). Josh Novak took
JON NAMYST | CONTRIBUTED
Aidan Lieser cracked a run-scoring double against Forest Lake. the loss for Andover (14-8). In Anoka’s 3-2 win over Centennial, Matt Hoheisel limited the Cougars to five hits, walking none, with three strikeouts, at Forest Lake on Saturday. Wry hit a solo homer and was 2-for-3 with two runs for the Cougars. Lee pitched three innings, giving up three runs, and Jack Dagostino threw three scoreless innings.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Riley O’Connell Centennial Softball
Riley O’Connell, Centennial softball pitcher, threw five strong games in the section tournament as the Cougars won three games while losing to No. 2 ranked Maple Grove 2-0 and 3-1. The 5-foot-8 sophomore allowed just seven runs (three earned) in 33 innings, striking out 34. She had a 1-0 win over Champlin Park. “There are a lot of great things she does on the field,” coach Rick Thomas said, “but one thing that stands out to me is her fire — to never give in.” O’Connell came on strong late in the season, finishing with a 9-9 record and 1.39 ERA for the Cougars (14-10). She hit .213 with 10 RBI’s.
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