2011-2012 Sports Yearbook

2 | 2011-2012 SPORTS YEARBOOK

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2011-2012 SPORTS YEARBOOK | 3

JUNE 29, 2012Design by Eric Johnson,

Text by Rocky Hulne

PPlleennttyy ttoo rreemmeemmbbeerrIt’s been quite a sports year and there

is plenty to take away from the yearthat was 2011-12 sports.There was Tom Aase’s alley-oop

dunk that sent the Packers boys bas-ketball team to their firststate tournament in 30years, Austin gymnastSela Fadness’s first placefloor performance atthe state meet, and theAwesome Blossomsfinishing second atthe Class ‘A’ statesoftball tournament.

Let’s not forgetthe Blooming Prairieand Southland foot-ball teams playing for a trip to the statetournament, the Southland girls basket-ball team winning its first Three Riverstitle and Austin eighth grader MadisonOverby making a splash at the statecross country meet.

The purpose of the yearbook is for fansto look back on the year in sports. Maybeyou’ll see something you forgot andmaybe you’ll see something that springshope for next season.

Either way, it never hurts to take alook back and reminisce.

Here’s to the memories.

Rocky Hulne

.........................Austin410 ...................Southland

14 ......................Hayfield

16 Austin Bruins Year.....................In Photos

17 ..................Lyle-Pacelli

19 .........Blooming Prairie

22 ...........Grand Meadow

23 ..........LeRoy-Ostrander


We’ve runthat play

all yearand weknew itwas

going towork. Oboyo seta good screenand Wesselsthrew a perfect pass.It was awesome.

— Tom Aase on his

game-winning dunk in the

Section 1AAA title game against

New Prague.

FOOTBALLThe Packers (0-9 overall) went winless for the second straight

season as the team featured just a handful of seniors and a lot ofsophomores.

Matt Schmit will not be back as head coach next season as for-mer La Crescent head football coach Brett Vessel takes over thehelm.

“The first thing we’re going to do is get a strength and speedprogram installed. I think that’s the most important thing I can dowith the kids,” Vesel said at his introductory press conference.

The Packers, who have now lost 19 straight games, will return amajority of their starters next season.

VOLLEYBALLThe Austin volleyball team had a

tough year under first-year headcoach Barry Brobeck as they fin-ished 3-18 overall after falling toRochester Mayo in the first round ofthe Section 1AAA tournament.

The Packers were led by senior hit-ters Babaye Oja and Haley Under-wood.

“They never gave up, and theyjust did the best they could do,”Brobeck said of his team.

BOYS SOCCERAustin made it to the Section 1A title game for the second time

in three years, but it fell short in a 2-0 loss to Rochester Lourdes.The Packers (12-4-3 overall) finished second in the Big Nine —

which was their best placing in school history. “We accomplished something really big this year, and we did

pretty good; although, we didn’t go to state,” Austin midfielder Fran-cisco Torres said after the season. “We’re going to work even harder toprepare for next season and, hopefully, next season we’ll go to state.”

Austin will return its top two scorers in Torres and Jake Hagen-Er-ickson.

GIRLS SOCCERThe Austin girls soccer team won more games in 2011 than it

had in the previous two years combined as new head coach EnriqueCamarena-Corzo took over.

Austin (5-12 overall) also won its first playoff contest in two yearswhen it beat Willmar.

The Packers’ season came to an end in a 1-0 loss at No. 1 seededAlbert Lea.


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FALL

Austin’s Trevor Feuerhak holds the ball after a reception as Red Wing’s MikeStegora (26) and Ryan Parr (87) converge on him against Red Wing at ArtHass Stadium. Herald file photo

Austin’s FranciscoTorres fends offRochester Lour-des’ BrianWilliamson dur-ing the first half ofthe Section 1AChampionship inRochester. For thesecond time inthree years thePackers made it tothe Section 1Atitle game but fellshort, losing 2-0to Lourdes. Heraldfile photo

WWee

aaccccoommpplliisshheedd

ssoommeetthhiinngg

rreeaallllyy bbiigg

tthhiiss yyeeaarr......

— FranciscoTorres


GIRLS TENNISThe Packers (2-10 overall) couldn’t get past the first round of the

Section 1A tournament as they fell to Red Wing 7-0.Austin had a young team as freshman Alicia Sforza was the No. 1

singles player throughout the year.

GIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVINGThe Austin girls swimming and diving sent four athletes to the

Class ‘A’ state swimming and diving meet this past season.Helen Heimark, a junior, took 15th in the 200-yard freestyle in

her fourth trip to the state meet.Heimark hopes to finish in the top-eight next season.

“I think that’s a very achievable goal,” she said. “It’s nice to getthe experience here today and know next year I will do better.”

Austin’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Heather Johnson,Mikayla Finney, Meredith Fritz andHeimark took 20th in the preliminar-ies at state.

CROSS COUNTRYAustin eighth-grader Madison

Overby made it to the Class ‘A’ statecross country meet for the secondtime in her career, and she increasedher placing by 69 spots as she took20th in the meet.

“It was like a dream for the firstmile or so, then I kind of settled intoreality where ‘I’m actually doing it,’”Overby said after the race.

Overby also won the Big Ninemeet.

The Austin boys team was led bysenior Nate Schwab. �

It was like adream for the

first mile orso, then Ikind of settled into

reality where,‘I’m actually doing it.’— Madison Overby

Austin's Helen Heimark swims the 200 freestyle against Mankato West atEllis Middle School. Herald file photo

Austin’s Nate Schwab leads the packduring the boys’ varsity race of theAustin Invitational at River Oaks.

Herald file photo

BOYS BASKETBALLThe Packers went to the Class ‘AAA’ state tournament for the first

time in 30 years, and theywon the Big Nine Conferencefor the first time since 1999.

Austin, which finished 23-6 overall and won everyhome game of the season,was led by juniors Joe Aase,who averaged 15.4 pointsand 6.7 rebounds and TomAase, who averaged 11.3points and 7.4 rebounds, andsophomore Zach Wessels,who averaged 13.5 points

and 4.1 assists per game.The Packers lost to St. Paul Johnson in the first round at state, which even-

tually took third in Class ‘AAA’, in the first round, but Austin head coach KrisFadness said the experience the team picked up will go a long way.

“This has been a great experience for our young guys, and we knowthe expectations are going to be really high next year,” Fadness said.“We’re not going to run from it, and we look to be back in this situationnext year with different results.”

Austin went to state when Tom Aase threw down an alley-oop fromWessels on the last play of the game to beat New Prague 43-41 in theSection 1AAA title game.

Joe Aase has drawn Division I full-ride offers from five schools.


WINTER

Austin’s Joe Aase shoots a three in the second half of their Class AAA Boys’ StateTournament first-round game against St. Paul Johnson at Williams Arena. Right:Austin’s Zach Wessels reaches for a rebound against Johnson. Herald file photos

We’re not goingto run from it,

and we lookto be backin this situation

next year.— Kris Fadness


GIRLS BASKETBALLThe Packers won their first playoff game in three

years, but their season came to an end with a 61-45 loss to Red Wing in the Section 1AAA semifinals.

Austin, which finished 11-16 overall, was led bysenior Babaye Oja, who averaged 15.1 points and7.7 rebounds per game and junior Jenna Svoboda,who averaged 10.3 points and 9.3 rebounds.

Oja will play at Iowa Central Community Col-lege on a partial athletic scholarship.

After the season, Austin head coach Gary Peter-son, who coached the Packers for 21 years, retired.Todd Johnson will take over next season.

BOYS HOCKEYThe Packers went 4-22 overall as their season

came to an end with a 6-0 first-round loss to AlbertLea.

Austin was led by junior forwards Marcus Stouliland Ethan Larson.

Austin will turn to a new head coach in ErikLaRock next season.

GIRLS HOCKEYThe Packers never got past the first round of the

playoffs as they lost to Waseca 5-1 in the Section1A quarterfinals.

Austin, which finished 11-15 overall, won fourof its first five games and won four of its last six, buta six-game losing streak put a damper on itsrecord.

The Packers were led by senior forward Abby Gallaher and senior de-fenseman Vanessa Talamantes.

WRESTLINGThe Packers sent two wrestlers to the Class ‘AA’ state meet, and both

of them lost their first matches.Devon Felten, who was making his second career trip to state and fin-

ished 22-8, was pinned with 31 seconds left in the third period againstScott West’s Zach Siegle at 113 pounds. Brennen Russell, who was mak-ing his first career trip to state and finished 28-9, was pinned in the firstperiod by Cody Weiland of Crookston at 126 pounds.

GYMNASTICSThe Packers had plenty of team and individual success at the state

level this past season.In the Class ‘A’ individual meet, sophomore Sela

Fadness won the Packers’ first state title since 2002when she tied Melrose’s Hailey Brinkman for thetop spot in the floor competition.

“Hailey Brinkman is a really good gymnast, andthat got me excited and pumped up to try and topher score. To tie with her is just an honor,” Fadnesssaid after winning the title.

Fadness also took third in the all-around, fourthin the bars and third in the vault.

Austin freshman Abby Bickler finished fourth inthe floor and was 16th in the all-around, freshmanCarolyn Hackel took 20th on the floor and 22nd onthe bars and eighth-grader Logan Tischer took32nd on the floor.

As a team, the Packers took fifth in their secondappearance in three years in the Class ‘A’ statemeet.

“If we want to do a little better next year, we’regoing to have to come in with a little bit better of aset,” Austin head coach Mark Raymond said of histeam’s finish. “We need to do more skills to getready to compete at this level. We’ve got a reallyyoung team, and if they work hard again this sum-mer, we can move up a little bit.”

BOYS SWIMMING AND DIVINGThe Packers sent five athletes to state, but none

made the finals in their event.Junior Nick Brehmer finished 10th in the 200-

yard freestyle and 15th in the 100-yard freestyle. Diver Caleb Bentley fin-ished 15th.

The Austin boys 400-yard freestyle relay team of Craig Heimark, IanChristopherson, Carson Hackel and Brehmer finished in 20th place in theprelims.

DANCE LINEThe Packer dance team competed in its 10th straight Class ‘AA’

state meet, and it finished in sixth place in the high kick division.“We did our best, and we are very proud to be in the company of

such incredible teams,” Austin head coach Jen Sims said after the statemeet. “This is something we’ve been working for all season and to seethe girls achieve this goal is very satisfying as a coach.”

Austin seniors Katelyn Joseph and Anissa Zynda were selected tothe all-tournament team. �

Austin’s Sela Fadness finishes off her unevenparallel bars routine during the MinnesotaState Girls’ Gymnastics Meet. Herald filephoto


BASEBALLThe Austin baseball team doubled its win total from a year ago,

but it lost its last four games of the season, including a 9-2 loss toRochester Century in the first round of the Section 1AAAtournament.

The Packers (6-14 overall) were in most of their games as six of theirlosses were by three runs or fewer and they lost four games by one run.

Austin got a boost from the bats of juniors Marcus Stoulil andGabe Kasak.

SOFTBALLAustin finished 7-14 overall

as its season came to an endon a tough 3-2 loss to Faribaultin the first round of the Section1AAA tournament.

The Packers started twofreshman in Abby Bickler andSydney Murphy and asophomore in Abbey Ball.

AHS head coach Tina Straussresigned after the season.

TRACK AND FIELDAustin freshman Carolyn Hackel had a breakout year for the girls

team as she broke a school record in the 100-meter dash. Hackelalso won Big Nine and Section 1AA titles in the 100-meter and200-meter dashes. She didn’t make it to the state finals in eitherevent, but she finished 10th in the 100 and 12th in the 200 in herfirst state meet appearance.

Austin junior Omot Okello qualified for the Class ‘AA’ state meet inthe 110-meter hurdles, where he finished 20th in the preliminaries.

The Austin’s girls team broke some other school records as juniorAbby Snater broke her own pole vault record with a height of 11-6,and eighth-grader Madison Overby set a new standard in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11 minutes and 28 seconds.

GOLFAustin had just one state qualifier as junior Alex Thorson finished

27th at the Class ‘A’ state boys meet in his first career trip to state.Thorson finished with a two-day score of 155 at the state meet. “Hopefully I’ll have a chance to come back and build on my

experience,” Thorson said after the meet. “Maybe I’ll be incontention next year.”

The Austin boys were also led by sophomores Isaac Christiansonand Tony Baudler.

The girls golf team was led by juniors Lauren Stasi and StephJustice.

BOYS TENNIS The Packers relied on a lot of freshman as they finished 5-8

overall and lost their Section 1AA opener to Lakeville North 7-0.Austin played six freshman on a regular basis — including

singles players Colton Detwiler and Jeremy Olmsted. �

Austin's Carolyn Hackel with Lakeville North Angelica Anyaogu in the firstheat of the Class AA girls' 100 meter dash at the Minnesota State Track andField Meet at Hamline University. Herald file photo

SPRING

Danielle Tschann tries to make a playon a foul ball against Fariabult atTodd Park. Herald file photo


... we’ve had a lot of seniorswho have worked their butts

off.— Shawn Kennedy

Southland football coach

FOOTBALLThe Rebels made it to

their first Section title gamein 20 years, but they cameup on the short end of a20-14 score to BloomingPrairie.

Southland, which fin-ished 8-3 overall, relied ona tough running game thatspread the ball out be-tween backs Tyler Kressin,Mike Goergen and NickSchmitz.

While their seasonended with a loss, South-land head coach Shawn

Kennedy was pleased.“I was really, really proud of

those guys. It wasn’t quiteenough, and we had our opportu-nities,” Kennedy said after the lossto BP. “It’s unfortunate becausewe’ve got a lot of seniors whohave worked their butts off.”

VOLLEYBALLThe Southland volleyball

team went 14-15 overall and itsaw its season end in a three-game loss to LeRoy-Ostrander.

The Rebels were led by thehitting of Celina Yunker. �


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FALL

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BOYS BASKETBALLThe Rebels finished 18-

10 overall and their seasoncame to end in the subsec-tion semifinals with a 72-49loss to Hayfield.

The Rebels were led byjunior forward Mike Goer-gen, who has 1,000 careerpoints and had the highestscoring season in Southlandhistory this past season.

GIRLS BASKETBALLThe Rebels season ended

with a little early as they lostto Blue Earth 71-68 in thesecond round of the sectiontournament for the secondstraight season, but it wasstill a year to remember asSouthland won its first ThreeRivers Conference title forthe first time since it joinedthe conference in 2001.

The Rebels, who finished24-4 overall, will return twokey starters in 1,000 pointscorer Jana Schammel andforward Haley Kirkpatricknext season. �

WINTER

Southland’s Michael Goergen goes overBlue Earth Area’s Steven Plocker for twoduring the first half of their Section 2A -South Division tournament game inAdams. Herald file photo

Southland's Madi Schmitzdrives during the first halfagainst Chatfield in Adams.Herald file photo

BASEBALLDespite starting the season

with only two players whohad any real varsity experi-ence, the Rebels ended theirseason two wins away fromthe Class ‘A’ state tournamentafter falling to Kenyon-Wanamingo 11-1 in the Sec-tion 1A baseball final round.

Southland (15-11 overall)was led by sophomorepitcher Lukas Anderson, whodeveloped as the team’s acethroughout the season.

“The future looks bright,”Southland head coach ScottRetterath said after the sea-son. “How can it not? Theunderclassmen got a lot ofexperience playing in thetournament and they grewup a lot this year.”

SOFTBALLSouthland team had its season

end in a 3-1 loss to Kenyon-Wanamingo in the Subsection 1AWest Division semifinals as the Rebelsfinished 9-13 overall.

Senior pitcher Kelli Smith was a leaderfor the Southland, as well as senior Lind-sey Bottema.

GMLOS TRACK AND FIELDThe GMLOS track and field team placed six of their seven state

qualifiers on the podium at the Class ‘A’ state track and field meet.Junior Danielle Hanson, who was making her fourth state meet

appearance, took seventh in the 300-meter hurdles, junior ElizabethMay finished ninth in the 400-meter dash, freshman McKenzie Kirtztook ninth in the 1600-meter run and the 4 x 200-meter relay teamof Sydney Bendtsen, May, Addison Tapp and Betsy Oswald broke aschool record and finished ninth.

GMLOS’s Morgan Schmitz finished 15th in the discus and the 4 x400-meter relay team of Bendsten, Hanson, Oswald and May took10th in the prelims and missed out on the finals.

GOLFSouthland didn’t send any golfers to the state meet, but Marcus

Johnson led the boys with 94 at the Section 1A meet and MeganHarvey led the girls with a 112. �


SPRING

Southland catcher Luke Anderson tagsout Plainville-Elgin-Millville’s JamesBurke during the first inning as Burkewas trying to score from first in Adams.Herald file photo

The underclass-man got a lot ofexperience play-ing in the tourna-ment and theygrew up a lot thisyear.

— Scott Retterath,Rebels baseball

coach

Southland’s Haley Kiefer steps upto try and tag Plainview-Elgin-Millville’s Catherine DeVetter inAdams. Herald file photo

Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Southland’s Danielle Hanson clears ahurdle in the 300 meter hurdle finals at the Class A Minnesota Track andField Meet at Hamline University. Herald file photo

FOOTBALLThe Vikings went winless and their season came to an end in a

42-7 loss to LeSueur-Henderson.Hayfield, which went 0-9, lost all of its games by at least 10

points.Hayfield will turn to a new head coach next season as Andrew

Weiers takes over.

VOLLEYBALLThe Vikings went 16-12, but saw their season end in a four-game

loss to Kenyon-Wanamingo in the Section quarterfinals.Hayfield was led by the hitting of senior Abby Blanchard, who

signed a partial athletic scholarship to play at Division II Briar CliffUniversity in Iowa.

Hayfield will turn to a new coach next season as Kim Seversontakes over the program. �

BOYS BASKETBALLFor the second straight year, Hayfield

saw its season come to an end in the Sec-tion 2AA South Division title game as theVikings lost 43-39 to United South Central.

The Vikings, who finished 22-6 overall,had led that contest 35-28 with 6:46 left,but they couldn’t hold on.

Hayfield did win a share of its first HVLGold Division title since 2001.

Hayfield senior guardBobbie Stephens, who willplay at Waldorf College nextyear, finished his careereighth in Minnesota historywith 326 threes and he isHayfield’s second all-timeleading scorer with 1,231points.

GIRLSBASKETBALL

The Vikings finished 14-13 overall and their seasoncame to an end with a 45-33loss to New Richland-HEG inthe subsection semifinals.

Hayfield was led by seniorguard Alyssa Selk, who aver-aged 12 points per game. �

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FALL

Hayfield’s BobbieStephens tortured oppos-ing teams from behindthe arc and would go onto finish his high schoolcareer with 326 threes,putting him eighth in thestate of Minnesota.Herald file photo

WINTER

Hayfield’s Alyssa Selk dribbles the ball outfront during the second half against South-land, in Adams. Herald file photo


BASEBALLThe Hayfield baseball team featured a new head coach and just

two upperclassmen, but they won a playoff game over Lyle-Pacellibefore bowing out to Kenyon-Wanamingo 7-0.

Hayfield didn’t graduate any players and head coach Kasey Krek-ling is hoping the Vikings will come back strong.

“The guys know we have a lot coming back and they’re excitedfor next year,” Krekling said.

SOFTBALLHayfield sophomore Dani Wagner hit over .600 and had seven

homers on the year, but the Vikings saw their season end in a 2-0loss to Blooming Prairie in the subsection semifinals.

Hayfield finished 10-12 overall.

TRACK AND FIELDHayfield senior Hunter Anderson won the Subsection 1A titles in

discus and shot put, but he wasn’t able to get back to the Class ‘A’state meet.

GOLFHayfield had two first-time state qualifiers as senior Kasey Dahlen

finished 44th in the girls Class ‘A’ state meet and freshman BradyBecker finished 41st in the boys state meet.

Dahlen shot a two-day score of 196 and Becker shot a two-daytotal of 170. �

Hayfield third baseman Will Waggoner tags Drew Chapek who was picked off third in the bottom of the fifth inning in their Section 1A West Division play-off game at Dick Seltz Field. Herald file photo

Dani Wagner, batting in the Subsection 1A West Division playoffs, hit over.600 for the Vikings in 2012. Herald file photo

SPRING

Hayfield's Hunter Anderson makes his second throw in the discus during theSubsection 3A track meet in Blooming Prairie.Herald file photo


Austin Bruins 2011-12Season in pictures

Austin’s John Kirby controls the puck in the second period against Alexandriaat Riverside Arena.

Bruins goalie Tyler Bruggemen loses his helmet during a scuffle for thepuck in front of the net during the first period against Bismarck.

The Austin Bruins' Christian Folin presses Coulee Regions' Mac Jansenagainst the boards during the firs period at Riverside Arena.

The Bruins’ Austin Nelson scores hissecond goal of a game against CoolieRegion at Riverside Arena.

Far left: The Bruins’ Jonathan Gehrtsings to the crowd with back-up fromteammates Nolan Kirley, from left,Connor Quinn and Trevor Waldochduring the Paint the Rink Pink auctionin February at Riverside Arena.

In its second season in Austin, the Bruinstook a huge step forward when they went fromnon-playoff team in2010-2011 to vyingfor the NAHL Cen-tral DivisionChampionshipthis year.

The Bruinsaccumulated a40-22-6 record,but lost to Bismarckin four games tobring its season to aclose.

Here is a look back in pic-tures to the Bruins’ second suc-cessful year in Austin that also saw anotherpopular Paint the Rink Pink, that was this yeartaken up by the city of Austin for Paint theTown Pink.

FOOTBALLThe Athletics struggled on both sides of the ball as they didn’t

win a game under first-year head coach Reid Olson.The Athletics, who finished 0-8 overall, struggled with turnovers

throughout the season.

VOLLEYBALLThe Lyle-Pacelli volleyball team

finished 5-15 overall and its seasoncame to an end with a three-gameloss to Spring Grove.

The Athletics had just two sen-iors and will bring back the core oftheir team.

CROSS COUNTRYPacelli sent its first girl cross

country runner to state in schoolhistory as freshman Sarah Kahleadvanced to the Class ‘A’ statemeet.

Kahle finished 88th out of 156runners at the state meet.

“I feel amazing. It’s a bigachievement that I just did,” Kahlesaid after the race. “I can’t describehow terribly anxious I’ve been feel-

ing for the last three days. I talked tomy teammates (before the race), andthey offered support as well as my fam-ily and friends.”

TENNISPacelli didn’t win any matches as it

didn’t have enough players to com-plete a full roster, but one of its seniorshad a good final match at the Section1A individual tournament.

Senior Abby Leif went out in style asshe gave Rachel Morice of RochesterLourdes all she could handle in the lastmatch of her career. All three sets were

decided in tiebreakers as Leif fell 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 14-12.“Abby left everything she had on the court,” Pacelli head coach

Mark Henderson said. “She fought off at least five match points in-cluding four in the final tiebreaker alone. Of course she would haveloved to win, but you only see matches like that once every fewyears, so people will be talking about it for awhile.” �


FALL

Grand Meadow quarterback Trenton Bleifus is wrapped up by Lyle/Pacellidefenders Sean Shapiro left, Teddy Emery, center, and Max Brennan on thegoal-line in Grand Meadow's 40-0 win over L/P in Lyle. Herald file photo

Abby left everything shehad on the court.

— Mark HendersonPacelli tennis coach

Lyle/Pacelli'sSarah Kahlefinishes sev-enth at theAustin Invi-tational atRiver OaksGolf Course.Herald filephoto

Pacelli's Abby Leif launches a shot over the net during her No. 1 singlesmatch at Paulson tennis courts. Herald file photo

Do you have a story idea?Do you have a story idea?Call Rocky Hulne, Austin Daily Herald Sports Editor, with all your sports-related story ideas.507-434-2234 [email protected]

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www.austindailyherald.com

BOYS BASKETBALLThe Lyle-Pacelli boys basketball team nearly knocked off No. 2

Goodhue in the subsection quarterfinals, but instead saw their sea-son end in a 68-63 loss.

“It’s a loss, but this was a huge step forward for us,” LP headcoach Casey Anderson said after the game.

The Athletics finished 11-15 overall and they will return their toptwo scorers in Skylar Meyer (14.6 points per game) and DavidDiang (14.2 points per game).

LP also got a boost from freshman Jordan Hart and Jonah Rohne.

GIRLSBASKETBALL

LP started two sopho-mores, two eighth gradersand a freshman, but theystayed competitive as theyfinished 17-8 overall afterlosing a first round playoffgame to Cleveland.

LP was led by sophomore guard Ann Rysavy, who averaged 16points and 7 rebounds per game and eighth grade guard CourtneyWalter, who averaged 13 points and 3 assists per game. �

BASEBALLThe Athletics finished

12-7 overall and won theSoutheast Conference title,but they had a short livedpostseason run as they lostto Hayfield 6-1 in the firstround of the Section 1Atournament.

LP relied heavily on thepitching and hitting offreshmen Jordan Hart andJonah Rohne and eighthgrader Daniel Bollingberg.

“I think we improveddramatically throughoutthe year. They came topractice and play hardevery day,” LP head coachBrock Meyer said after theseason.

TRACK AND FIELDThe Athletics were short on numbers but eighth-grader Sarah

Holtz was one of the bright spots in the triple jump.

GOLFThe Lyle-

Pacelli boysand girls golfteams failed tofield any statequalifiers asSpencer Holtorfmissed state bythree strokesfor the boysand JennieMarx missedstate by threestrokes for thegirls. �

WINTER

Lyle-Pacelli’s David Diang cuts through a pair of LeRoy-Ostrander defend-ers on the way to the hoop at Pacelli. Herald file photo

Courtney Walter brings theball upcourt against GrandMeadow in Lyle. Herald filephoto

SPRING

Lyle/Pacelli pitcher Jordan Hart deliversduring the first inning against Mabel-Can-ton at Riverland Community College. Her-ald file photo

I think

we improved

dramat-

cially

throughtout

the year.

— Brock MeyerLP baseball coach

Lyle/Pacelli’sSpencer Holtorfputts on No. 1 atRiver Oaks GolfCourse during adual againstGlenville-Em-mons. Herald filephoto



TThhee rreeccoorrddwwaassnn’’tt rreeaallllyy

oonn mmyymmiinndd.. WWiinnnniinnggwwaass ffiirrsstt

aanndd ffoorreemmoossttoonn mmyy mmiinndd.. MMaayybbeessoommeeddaayy wwhheenn IIhhaavvee ggrraayy hhaaiirr aanndd II’’mm oolldd ((II’’llll aapppprreecciiaattee iitt))..

— BP quarterback Luke Zellmer on breaking theMinnesota prep record with102 career TD passes in a

semifinal loss to Dawson-Boyd


FOOTBALLThe Awesome Blossoms made it to the Class ‘A’ state semifinals

for the second time in three years and once again they lost to theeventual state champ, as Dawson-Boyd knocked them off 50-27 inthe Metrodome.

“Right now (this loss) hurts a lot,” BP head coach Chad Gimbelsaid after the loss. “But five years down the road it’s going to be alot more meaningful. Not a lot of kids get to play in the Dome anda lot of these kids got to do it twice.”

BP senior quarterback Luc Zellmer threw his 102nd career TDpass in the loss to DB, which put him in first place for career touch-down passes in Minnesota prep football history.

“The record wasn’t really on my mind,” Zellmer said after thegame. “Winning was first and foremost on my mind. Maybe some-day when I have gray hair and I’m old (I’ll appreciate it.)”

VOLLEYBALLBlooming Prairie started three freshman as it went 17-13 overall

but its season ended on a sweep a the hands of Kenyon-Wanamingo.

The Blossoms were lifted by first-year players Taylor Hagen, Madi-son Worke and Nicole Inwards, but the season took a hit when jun-ior hitter Janelle Morem went down with a knee injury. �

BOYS BASKETBALLThe Awesome Blossoms played

in their first subsection title gamein at least 20 years, but their sea-son came to an end in a tough51-47 loss to Faribault BethlehemAcademy.

BP, which finished 13-14 over-all, got hot in the playoffs behindthe leadership of junior MichaelThomas, who averaged 15.3points and 7.9 rebounds pergame and freshman JohnRumpza, who averaged 15.6points and 9.9 rebounds pergame.

GIRLS BASKETBALLThe Awesome Blossoms fin-

ished 14-12 overall as their sea-son came to an end in thesubsection semifinals with a 64-38 loss to Faribault BethlehemAcademy.

BP’s season took a hit before iteven began when junior JanelleMorem, who was slated to be astarting guard, was injured andmissed the entire season.

Freshman center Taylor Hagenpicked up some of the slack asshe averaged 12.4 points and 8.7rebounds per game.

WRESTLINGBlooming Prairie junior Jarrod

Grunklee made it to the Class ‘A’state wrestling tournament forthe first time in his career, but helost in his second match of thewrestlebacks when he fell 17-4 at285 pounds.

Grunklee finished 31-12 on theseason. �

FALL

Blooming Prairie head coach Chad Gimbel gets celebratory dousing by play-ers Alex Fiebiger, left, and Jason Jirele as teammate Gabe Kartes watchesafter the Awesome Blossoms defeated the Southland Rebels 20-14 for theSection 1A championship, earning them a trip to the state tournament. Her-ald file photo

WINTER

Blooming Prairie’s John Rumpzagoes over JWP’s Brandon Janikeduring the second of their Section1A-West Division tournamentgame in Blooming Prairie. Heraldfile photo

BASEBALLThe Blooming Prairie baseball team finished 5-14 overall and had

its season end in the first round of the Section 1A baseball tourna-ment with a 7-6 loss to Randolph.

The Blossoms relied on the pitching of freshman John Rumpzaand the defense of shortstop Luke Hueman.

SOFTBALLThe Awesome Blossoms made it to their third straight Class ‘A’

state softball tournament, but they had to settle for second placeafter losing to Cherry 2-1 in the title game.

The Tigers scored the winning run with one out in the bottom ofthe seventh on a wild pitch.

BP’s Shelbi Swensonallowed just one hit outof the infield in the lossand both runs she al-lowed were unearned.

“There’s nothing tohang their heads about,”BP head coach Ali Machsaid after the loss. “Wetook second and weplayed as long as wecould and as hard as wecould. It just wasn’t ourday.”

The Blossoms willgraduate Tricia DeBoer,their leadoff hitter for allof their state tournamenttrips, and another long-time starter in catcher

Hunter Henderson, but Swenson will return, along with a few otherkey starters.

“Just to get here is unreal,” said Henderson, a senior catcher.“We had a great run and we have to be proud of that. I don’t likelosing, but we can’t feel bad about it. Blooming Prairie should beproud of us.”

TRACK AND FIELDBlooming Prairie senior Gabe Kartes made his first appearance at

the Class ‘A’ state track and field meet, where he finished 15th inthe triple jump.

Kartes jumped a distance of 40 feet, 9.75 inches at state.

GOLFBlooming Prairie sophomore Victor Peterson made it to his first

career Class ‘A’ state golf meet and he finished tied for 27th.Peterson shot a two-day total of 164. �

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SPRING

Blooming Prairiepitcher Shelbi Swensondelivers against Lewi-son-Altura in the firstround of the Section1A Tournament atTodd Park.Herald file photo

We had agreat run and

we have tobe proud ofthat. I don’tlike losing,but we

can’t feel bad aboutit. Blooming Prairieshould be proud ofus.

— Hunter HendersonBP starting catcher

FOOTBALLThe Superlarks started mostly underclassmen, but they still ended

up in the section title game, where they lost to Spring Grove 28-0.The Larks, who finished 8-3, started just two seniors as running

backs Perry Stesjkal and Landon Jacobson will return next season.

VOLLEYBALLThe Superlarks finished 13-13 and their season came to an end in

a sweep to Faribault Bethlehem Academy in the Section quarterfi-nals.

The Larks were led by the hitting of Cortney Olson and AudraDuhrman. �

BOYS BASKETBALLGrand Meadow finished 9-18 overall as its season came to an

end with an 81-38 loss to Spring Grovein the section tournament.

The Superlarks did beat LeRoy-Os-trander 68-52 in a play-in game.

GIRLS BASKETBALLThe Superlarks finished 12-14 over-

all and their season came to an endwith a 62-46 loss to Rushford-Peterson.

GM was led by junior point guardAutumn Thorsen and junior forwardCortney Olson.

GMLOK WRESTLINGThe Grand Meadow-LeRoy-Ostrander-Kingland wrestling team

sent two wrestlers to their first state meets.Lucas Roe advanced at 152 pounds, but lost in the wrestlebacks

and Noah Schlee advanced at 126, but lost in the wrestlebacks.Schlee, a senior, finished with a record of 35-5 overall and Roe, a

junior, finished with a record of 35-6 overall. �

GMLOK BASEBALLThe Grand Meadow-LeRoy-Ostrander-Kingsland baseball team

struggled to a record of 1-19 overall.It’s lone win was a 5-4 victory over Rushford-Peterson.

GMLOK SOFTBALLThe Bulldogs finished 9-11 overall on the season and GM senior

Stephanie Russell provided some pitching and hitting for the squad.

GMLO GOLFGrand Meadow-LeRoy-Ostrander’s Tyler Sloan shot a 97 at the

boys Section 1A meet but missed out on the state meet andGMLO’s Kaitlin Kling missed the girls state meet by one stroke. �


www.ffmbank.com

105 Main Street NorthGrand Meadow, MN(507) 754-5123

111 20th St NEStewartville, MN(507) 533-4081

19 East Main StreetRacine, MN

(507) 378-5121

FALL

Grand Meadow’s Richard Bain takes off on a 45-yard touchdown run in thesecond half against Glenville-Emmons in Grand Meadow. Herald file photo

WINTER

Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland's Lucas Roe flips Kasson-Man-torville's Corbin Hanson in overtime of the Section 2A 152-pound champi-onship en route to a 3-1 win at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Heraldfile photo

SPRING

FOOTBALLThe Cardinals went 2-7 as their season came to an end on a 41-

22 loss to Spring Grove in the first round of the Section tournament.Junior running back Lucas Roe led the Cards in most offensive categories.

VOLLEYBALLThe Cardinals finished 20-11 overall as they lost to Faribault Beth-

lehem Academy in the Subsec-tion semifinals.

The Cards were led by thebig hitting of seniors ChandaRiedemann and Krista Bunne. �

BOYS BASKETBALLThe Cardinals struggled

throughout the year as theyfinished 2-24 overall and had their season end in a 68-52 loss toGrand Meadow in a play-in game.

L-O was led by post player Zach Royston, a sophomore.

GIRLS BASKETBALLThe Cardinals went 18-6 overall and won the Southeast Con-

ference West Division title, but their season ended with a 62-44loss to Rushford-Peterson.

The Cardinals were led by sophomore Becca Bunne and sen-iors Chanda Riedemann and Krista Bunne. �


FALL

LeRoy-Ostrander’sKrista Bunne spikesagainst Lyle/Pacelli inLeRoy. Herald filephoto

WINTER

Documents

2011-2012 Sports Yearbook