extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. ALL VIEWS posted are strictly and without exception the opinions of the newspaper owner and no one else; they're written in first hand format. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Jaguars girls tennis picks up 4th win of the season over Class AA Little Falls
At the Melrose Triangular on Tuesday this week, the Jaguars girls tennis team won its fourth match of the season by a 4-3 score over Little Falls.
Against the host Dutchmen, however, they did not fare as well, losing 7-0. Melrose Area has a young (one senior) but experienced squad, as they return 12 varsity players from 2009. They defeated the Jaguars 6-1 in the sub-section playoffs last year. I expect that a second meeting with the Dutchmen, which takes place later in September, will be much more competitive.
The Dutchmen have had a couple down years, going 6-14 overall in 2009, but are poised for a rebound with great depth in their program, according to head coach Emily Schiffler.
The Jaguars sit at 4-7 overall going into a quadrangular at Parkers Prairie this week on Thursday. Also competing at Parkers Prairie will be Long Prairie/Grey Eagle-Upsala/Swanville Area and West Central Area.
A late note on the Ridgewater Warriors volleyball team
The Ridgewater Warriors volleyball team went 4-0 at the Ridgewater Volleyball Classic over this past weekend, sweeping two opponents on Sunday in 3-0 sets and winning twice on Saturday by 3-1 scores.
Ridgewater sophomore Emily Roelike helped pace the Warriors' offense with 36 kills, as she was one of two players with that many ace attacks. The other, Macy McKay, is a Yellow Medicine East graduate. Roelike was a standout B-B-E volleyball player, graduating in 2009.
Area volleyball results: Underwood 3, West Central Area 1 Minnetonka 3, Willmar 1 Maple Lake 3, Monticello 1 (Maple Lake is 4-1, they will challenge the Jaguars in the CMC this season - mark your calendar for September 30 in a home match vs. the Irish) Marshall Area 3, Alexandria 0 Mora 3, Albany 2 (big upset loss for Albany, whose conference title hopes are dimmed) Holdingford 3, Foley 2 BOLD 3, Renville County West 0 Little Falls 3, Pierz 0 (a tough loss for the Pioneers) Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 3, Benson 0 (a big win for K-M-S against their Swift County neighbors) Dawson-Boyd 3, Montevideo 1 (D-B hasn't beaten Monte in a long, long time!) MACCRAY 3, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 2 Melrose Area 3, New London-Spicer 1 (Ouch! I guess it wouldn't bother me if NL-S had a .500 season) Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Litchfield 1 Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Osakis 0 Annandale 3, Kimball Area 1 Providence Academy 3, Rockford 1 Bertha-Hewitt 3, Browerville 1 Menagha 3, Eagle Valley 0 Henning 3, Brandon-Evansville 2
Area girls tennis results on Monday this week: Osakis Triangular Pierz went 1-1 at the Osakis Triangular, defeating Parkers Prairie 4-3 and falling to Osakis 4-3.
Jaguars girls tennis falls in two matches at B/K-M-S triangular
The Jaguars girls tennis team lost to a powerful Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg squad by a 7-0 score on Monday afternoon. They had slightly more success against MACCRAY but lost that match by a 5-2 score.
Lengthy Jaguars volleyball season preview sent off to the papers
Just sent off to the local newspapers was an 800-word Jaguars volleyball season preview story. The Observer is published on Tuesday afternoons, while the Bonanza Valley Voice goes out on Wednesdays. Be sure to get your copy!
The newspapers will also include a Jaguars football season preview as well. (The football team should take note of the headline given for that story.)
Left out was a note from Coach Moscho that while he is very pleased with the record turnout for the team this year, he looks forward to adding foreign-exchange talent to the roster once school starts next week.
For the past few seasons, the Jaguars have benefited greatly from the addition of foreign-exchange students who usually have a strong boot for the kicking teams.
Jaguars volleyball season gets underway - opening minutes of their win at Sauk Centre below with other photos as well
The Jaguars were solid at the net, getting the blocks up on some powerful Sauk Centre hitters.
An excited bunch celebrating the close win in game one by a 25-22 score.
Smooth Magic 107 FM sports broadcaster Dave McClurg covered the season-opening match on Friday night. I look forward to working with him this fall to help promote Jaguars athletics.
*Scheduling note: Dave McClurg will be traveling to Barrett on Friday night to carry the B-B-E vs. WCA football game, the season opener for the 2010 grid campaign. Thanks for the coverage, Dave!
A thrilling volleyball match goes to the Jaguars tonight in five games
The Jaguars celebrate taking game three in tonight's barn burner of a match at neighboring rival Sauk Centre, a win that put them up 2-1 in games during the match. What a finish! The Jaguars volleyball team was victorious in their 2010 season opener at Sauk Centre tonight, winning in five sets over the state-ranked Class AA Mainstreeters.
Game scores were 25-22, 11-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-10. B-B-E senior Maggie Gruber finished off the Mainstreeters with a kill for a 14-10 lead in game five and then an ace block on a Kali Peschel attack for match point.
It marked the third straight win over Sauk Centre for B-B-E's volleyball team. The Jaguars have lost only one time to the Mainstreeters since 2001, while they have beaten Sauk Centre every time since that season in regular season match ups. Sauk Centre defeated the Jaguars in the third-place match of the Sauk Rapids tournament in September 2007.
This video clip ended with Sauk Centre leading 7-4 in game four. Take special note 58 seconds into the clip, when Maggie Gruber blasts a monster kill to open floor in the back corner. The Mainstreeters ultimately won the set 25-14 but lost the match in a 3-2 thriller.
Below, Coach Weller fires up his team with a pre-match pep talk. His words were golden by the time the match was complete.
B-B-E 25, Sauk Centre 22 - Game One
In tonight's see-saw battle, the Jaguars had the early edge with a close win in game one. Two straight kills by Maggie Gruber put them on top 6-2 for a lead that held the rest of the set. After the Mainstreeters closed the gap to 15-14, kills from Gruber and Brittany Roelike helped the Jaguars stay ahead even as the Maroon kept closing the game to one point five more times up to a 23-21 lead.
A Mainstreeters' hitting error and a kill from Taylor Braegelman closed out game one for the Jaguars, who won 25-22.
Sauk Centre 25, B-B-E 11 - Game Two
The second set was all Maroon, as they jumped in front 4-0 before a service error gave the Jaguars a side out. Sauk Centre scored four more unanswered points before they committed two hitting errors and then Gruber and Raeann Sorenson put up a tough block to close the gap to 8-4.
The Mainstreeters stepped it up another level and gave up only one kill while outscoring the Jaguars 9-2. After getting a side out on a Sauk Centre service error, sophomore Taylor Braegelman drilled an attack through a block. The Mainstreeters gave up only one more ace attack (Shyan Kuefler) to the Jaguars the rest of the set, though, finishing off the Jaguars with an 8-3 run.
B-B-E 25, Sauk Centre 22 - Game Three
The third set was controlled by the Jaguars, though Sauk Centre made two runs at big deficits to keep things interesting. The Jaguars took an early 7-2 lead with kills and a block from Gruber and an ace serve from Julie Hieserich.
Sauk Centre's Jena Klaphake served up four unanswered points for the Maroon to make it 12-8. A kill from Kuefler along with her ace block started another rally for B-B-E, who took a 21-12 lead. Kuefler's kill put the Jaguars at game point, leading 24-15, but Sauk Centre did not go quietly as they scored seven straight for a two-point gap.
Braegelman stepped up her game and fired down an ace attack straight down in front of her on the left side, putting the Jaguars ahead 2-1 in sets.
Sauk Centre 25, B-B-E 14 - Game Four
In game four, the Mainstreeters pulled ahead 4-1 before the Jaguars came back with two ace serves from Roelike to get within one at 7-6. They could not grab momentum their way, however, as Sauk Centre stretched the lead to double digits after scoring five unanswered to close out game four 25-14.
B-B-E 15, Sauk Centre 10 - Game Five
In the rubber match of volleyball, game five, an early lead is always important with the rally scoring format that's been in place in Minnesota since 2003.
Sauk Centre won the coin flip, but fortunately a service error nixed that advantage and put the Jaguars up 1-0 before they had even touched the ball. Sauk Centre's outstanding junior middle hitter Kali Peschel earned a kill, then Gruber hit a kill for a 2-1 Jaguars' lead. Peschel hit her final ace attack of the night (#20) to make it 2-2, and then Gruber answered that with her 14th kill of the night to help the Jaguars take a 5-2 lead.
The Jaguars stepped up their blocks and were able to keep Peschel in check the rest of the game. Three unforced errors allowed Sauk Centre to tie the game, though, at 5-5. Kuefler's ace attack started a brief see saw on the scoreboard, with Sauk Centre take their only lead of the set (8-7) after two straight kills from Shelby Deters.
Coach Weller promptly called a timeout, and whatever he said worked like a charm as the Jaguars scored three straight for a lead they did not relinquish. They came out fired up from the break and forced a tie, then took a 10-8 lead on two straight Braegelman attacks.
Sauk Centre's final kill of the night, again from Deters in cross court fashion, brought them within one point. Braegelman answered with her third kill of the game and the Jaguars coasted to the win with a match-ending 5-1 run.
Quite fittingly, after Gruber's ace attack brought match point at 14-10, she put up a solid solo block on Kali Peschel's attack and ended the 100-minute long marathon in Sauk Centre.
It was a great day in Jaguar country, as the girls tennis team also picked up a win earlier in the day at Morris. (See below for more on that)
Area volleyball results tonight, marking the official opener for prep volleyball across Minnesota:
MACCRAY 3, Yellow Medicine East 2 (a thrilling neighboring rivalry just like the one that played out in Sauk Centre)
Albany Tournament results: Maple Lake 2, Park Rapids Area 0 St.Cloud Apollo 2, Minnewaska Area 0 Albany 2, Little Falls 0 Albany 2, Park Rapids Area 0 Maple Lake 2, Little Falls 0 Rocori 2, Minnewaska Area 0 Albany 2, Maple Lake 1 Minnewaska Area 2, Park Rapids Area 0 (seventh place match) Maple Lake 2, Watertown-Mayer 0 (third place match) Rocori 2, Albany 0 (championship)
Jaguars girls tennis picks up their third win of the season in convincing fashion over Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta
The Jaguars girls tennis team stomped all over Morris Area/Chokio Alberta today in a dual meet by a 6-1 margin. They won in straight sets in five of their six wins. In the sixth win, which came at three-doubles, Morgan Pastian and Kelsey Loch lost a first set tiebreaker 7-5 before taking the second set 6-4 and the super tiebreaker 10-3.
The Jaguars are now 3-4 overall heading into a triangular at Benson on Monday. At the Benson/K-M-S triangular, they will face the 0-3 MACCRAY Wolverines and the host Fighting Braves. B/K-M-S is 7-2 overall after going 2-1 at the LP-GE/USA Quadrangular today.
B-B-E Jaguars volleyball geared for another section title run - they open Friday night in Sauk Centre
This year's edition of Jaguars volleyball will be built around the talents of senior hitter Maggie Gruber. They open the season on Friday night (Aug. 27) at Sauk Centre in a non-conference, rivalry match.
Though they have regularly played with a target on their backs since their first state tournament berth in 2005, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has faced immense regular season pressure throughout that period and regardless of how hard they are hit by graduation, they keep churning out wins in workhorse fashion. After facing heavy graduation losses in 2009, last year's edition of Jaguars volleyball fired on all cylinders to win a fourth straight Central Minnesota Conference title while compiling a 24-5 regular season record.
The Jaguars charged into playoffs and won a sub-section title for the sixth year in a row with a convincing performance over Bertha-Hewitt before falling to a red hot Nevis squad to finish 27-6, good for the third-most wins in B-B-E history. Nevis went on to win the Class A state consolation title.
This year's team will be led by third-year starter Maggie Gruber, who was the Sauk Valley Player of the Year in 2009, along with third-year starting setter Julie Hieserich, who passed the 1,000-set assist mark in her career at the Bethel Showcase Invitational last September. Both are seniors whose efforts will be bolstered by returning hitters Shyan Kuefler, a junior, and sophomores Taylor Braegelman and Brittany Roelike, who all had key roles in last year's success during their first year on varsity. Ashley Kirckof is a third senior who will enter her second year on the varsity roster.
Junior Brittany Winter will serve as libero. Junior Raeann Sorenson, who was the libero last year, has been moved to hitter in her third year of varsity action. Five other juniors who are new to the varsity lineup, Kim Kollman, Morgan Geer, Megan Rodgers, and Amy Bast, bolster the lineup with new talent. A second sophomore, Tia Halvorson, rounds out the varsity lineup that totals 13.
Fourth-year head coach Kevin Weller (85-14, 21-0 CMC, 12-5 playoffs) returns with assistant coaches Amanda Primus (third year) and Ashley Hart (first year).
Nothing less than a five-peat is what the Jaguars aim for in the Central Minnesota Conference, as the team has won every league match since September 28, 2006 - a streak of 24 straight wins in the CMC. Pierz will be the main challenger in the conference. Kimball, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, and Holdingford will also provide challenges for the Jaguars in their quest for B-B-E's 10th conference title in volleyball.
Upsala and Bertha-Hewitt will provide challenges for the Jaguars in Sub-Section 5A-South, while Nevis and Sebeka will be a factor in who wins the section title in November.
It all begins on Friday night, when the Jaguars make the short trip north into Mainstreeter country where they will face a loaded, veteran Sauk Centre team that has its own eyes on winning a conference title and making a state tournament run.
The B- and C-squad matches start at 6:00pm, with the varsity match to follow at 7:30.
This Jaguars volleyball season preview article is brought to you by:
Year-by-year look at the B-B-E Jaguars football team since 1988
Below are the records of every season of Jaguars football...seasons in which the Jaguars participated in the playoffs (meaning, they were eligible) are noted with either just "playoffs" or "playoffs" and the postseason record of that year.
Jaguars girls tennis goes 1-2 at the Minnewaska Quad today
The Jaguars girls tennis team defeated Parkers Prairie with a convincing 6-1 result today while dropping two close matches against Montevideo and the host Lakers.
The bright spot of the day was the number two doubles team of Mattea Eckstein and Nicole Dokken, who went 3-0.
Update at 8:00pm...The Jaguars raised their overall record to 3-3 going into a dual meet at Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta tomorrow. The match will take place at the Morris Area high school tennis courts on the southeast corner of town.
My prediction after seeing how they fared today...by the end of September the Jaguars will have broken the school record for team wins in a season. That record was set in 2007 at 10-14 in Coach Westrom's first year at the helm of the program.
Next Monday, the Jaguars travel to Benson to participate in the Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg triangular that includes the host Fighting Braves as well as MACCRAY/Renville County West. That Tri begins at 3:00pm at the Benson High School tennis courts.
Season preview: Jaguars girls tennis returns eight of 10 starters
Amber Meyer is one of two seniors who will lead the Jaguars girls tennis program on the courts this fall. The B-B-E Jaguars girls tennisteam's 2010 season has begun, after their home triangular last Friday in which they split two matches against Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area and Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd. The team's outlook is bright for this season, as they return eight starters from last year's playoff team. Lost to graduation were two-time Sub-Section 5A-West semi-finalists Laura Johnson and Tia Braegelman, who made it to the sub-section Final Four both their junior and senior seasons.
Entering her fourth year as head coach of the Jaguars girls tennis team, head coach Katy Westrom begins her second season with the assistance of J.V. coach Colleen (Radermacher) Borgerding, a 2005 graduate of B-B-E who was also a standout girls tennis player for the Jaguars during her prep career.
The Jaguars have two experienced seniors on the roster, Amber Meyer and Amy Knutson. Seven juniors comprise the heart of the varsity lineup, including Erin Anderson, Kelly Reller, Kelsey Loch, Michelle Sanders, Myranda Zarbok, Nicole Dokken, and Sara Welte. The Jaguars have one lone sophomore, Jordan Gruendemann. Freshmen on the squad are Daisha Meyer, Mattea Eckstein, and McKenzie Winter. Rounding out the lineup is eighth grader Morgan Pastian.
B-B-E 4, LP-GE/USA 3
On Friday the Jaguars had a strong showing against a very good LP-GE/USA team, who finished 12-11 last year and lost only two seniors to graduation. They are led by state entrant Kimmie Mrozek, a junior who made it to the second round of the Class A state tournament in 2009. The Jaguars were able to pull out the close with two third set tiebreaker wins at number two and three doubles.
The number-two doubles combination of Mattea Eckstein and Nicole Dokken picked up the lone point for the Jaguars against Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, winning in straight sets 6-0, 6-4. The number one doubles team of Amy Knutson and Kelly Reller battled through a second set tiebreaker and a third set super tiebreaker, losing 2-6, 7-6 (10-8), 10-8.
The Jaguars travel to the Minnewaska Quadrangular on Thursday, August 26, where Parkers Prairie and Montevideo will also be participating. The following day they are at Morris Area for a dual meet. Next Monday the Jaguars will be at the Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg invitational.
As they have been doing since the program was established at B-B-E in 1993, the Jaguars will compete in Section 5A for post-season honors.
This is wonderful news, just reported in the St.Cloud Times today
Four teams from the West Central North Conference are working with four other schools in their area (Little Falls, Princeton, Zimmerman, and Becker) to form a new conference in eastern Minnesota. The WCCN teams in the mix are St.Cloud Cathedral, Foley, Milaca, and Mora.
It is wonderful news to see these schools become pro-active on the conference issue. In one case, Little Falls, the Flyers' athletic program has been sending teams to Moorhead and Bemidji, not to mention down to Willmar, Alexandria, and Fergus Falls.
This shakeup cuts the West Central North Conference down to five teams, so it is a sure bet that teams in central Minnesota will be invited to that league to bring them back to at least six or seven members. You need at least that many in order to make any conference sustainable.
Thursday - Jaguars girls tennis is at the Minnewaska Quad
The Jaguars girls tennis team (1-2 overall) will compete at the Minnewaska Quadrangular on Thursday morning this week. They will face Parkers Prairie, Montevideo, and the host Lakers. The Quad begins at 9am at the high school tennis complex at Minnewaska Area High School.
The Jaguars volleyball opener is on Friday night at Sauk Centre. More on that will follow on Thursday. Stay tuned!
The votes are in - and the Jaguars volleyball team is ranked #12 in the pre-season coaches' poll
Hot off of the press - these were just released this afternoon (finally! I've been looking for this for the past two weeks) - the 2010 high school volleyball state rankings list the Jaguars volleyball team at #12 in Class A. Just ahead of them at #11 is Nevis, the team who defeated them in the 2009 Section 5A championship match.
2010 Class A pre-season coaches poll: 1. Minneota (4) 49 2. Bethlehem Academy (1) 43 3. Canby 41 4. Mayer Lutheran 32 5. Wabasha-Kellogg 25 6. Windom 23 7. Martin County West 16 8. Mabel-Canton 12 9. Northern Freeze 9 Win-E-Mac 9
Others receiving votes: Nevis (8), B-B-E (4), Heritage Christian (1), MACCRAY (1)
Other interesting notes in the first state rankings of the season for volleyball... The team that presumably will be the Jaguars' toughest competition in the Central Minnesota Conference has found themselves in the Class AA state rankings. Pierz, who went 21-8 overall and 4-3 in the CMC (tie with HL-W-W for fourth place) in 2009, is ranked #15. Just ahead of them a few places is one of the Jaguars' perennial non-conference rivals, Sauk Centre, who is ranked #11.
Sauk Centre hosts the Jaguars in the 2010 season opener this Friday night, August 27, with a 7:30pm match. (More on the Mainstreeters will be posted here on Thursday)
Another fun fact...this is the sixth straight year that the Jaguars have been state-ranked entering the season. They have been in every coaches' association poll since August of 2005.
Marshall, a team that has no business being in Class AA, is the top-ranked team in that class. They won the Class AA title in 2009 after winning all three state matches via 3-0 sweeps.
Class AA pre-season volleyball poll: 1. Marshall (2) 32 2. Hutchinson (1) 24 3. Jackson County Central (1) 23 4. Wadena-Deer Creek 17 5. Stewartville 16 6. Jordan 14 Hibbing 14 8 Belle Plaine 11 Delano 11 10 Byron 10
Others receiving votes:Sauk Centre (9), Le Sueur-Henderson (9), Concordia Academy (8), Kasson-Mantorville (7), Pierz (6), Visitation (4), Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (2), Watertown-Mayer (1).
The rankings are conducted by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association. Coach Weller was quick to remind me that all teams enter the regular season undefeated. What happens the rest of the way is earned.
Here's a quick rundown of how the Jaguarsfared at the recent first annual Minnesota Elite Preseason Tournament on August 7. In pool play, the Jaguars went 1-2, losing to Class AA Waconia and Class AAA Lakeville North (the eventual overall champion of the 32-team field).
In the Bronze Division final, B-B-E edged Nevis in two straight, 25-19, 25-13. The Jaguars defeated Win-E-Mac and Chaska to reach the final match, while Nevis beat Andover and Belle Plaine.
Quarterfinals B-B-E over Win-E-Mac, 25-22, 25-18 Chaska over Apple Valley, 25-22, 22-25, 16-14 Belle Plaine over Centennial, 19-25, 25-16, 15-12 Nevis over Andover, 25-19, 25-23
Semifinals B-B-E over Chaska, 25-13, 18-25, 15-10 Nevis over Belle Plaine, 25-21, 26-24
Bronze Division Championship: B-B-E over Nevis, 25-19, 25-23
In the Silver Division Finals, Jackson County Central defeated Hutchinson in a single set by a 25-14 score.
Elrosa Harvest Festival draws big crowds to town throughout the day Saturday - Tug of War event is a big hit
Darren Braegelman signals the end of the first heat of the Tug of War event.
Following the kiddie parade at the Elrosa Harvest Festival, a Salute to the American Flag ceremony was performed by members of the Belgrade V.F.W. on Saturday night.
Here's a glimpse of the kiddie parade held on Main Street during the Elrosa Harvest Festival.
Look for more photos in this week's issues of the Belgrade Observer and the Sauk Centre Herald.
An online photo gallery is being added to the Sauk Centre Herald's website with nearly a hundred photos from some of the evening activities, including the kiddie parade and the first annual Harvest Festival Tug of War. The website URL is: http://saukherald.mycapture.com
...have you bookmarked it yet?
These Elrosa Harvest Festival photos and video are brought to you by the proud support of:
Just like that, the Stearns County League goes 0-2 at the Class C amateur state baseball tournament
Lake Henry lost 11-6 to Raymond, while St.Martin was shut out 10-0 in seven innings to Sacred Heart on Saturday night. It was a surprising, disappointing end to the local amateur baseball action to say the least.
Now we just have to cheer for Raymond and Sacred Heart and hope they make a deep run into the 32-team field, now whittle down to 16 teams. Double-elimination starts after Round Two, when only eight teams are remaining.
In other news...the Jaguars girls tennis team dropped a dual match at Milbank, S.D. on Saturday by a 7-2 margin. Six singles matches were played, along with three doubles. Earning points for the Jaguars were senior Amber Meyer, who won at two-singles 6-1, 3-6, 10-7. At one-doubles, Kelly Reller/Amy Knutson won 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. It was a grueling day where five of the nine matches went into a third set tiebreaker or had a tiebreaker on the second set.
Jaguars girls tennis splits season-opening matches at home triangular
The Jaguars girls tennis team went 1-1 at its home triangular on Friday, losing 6-1 to Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd before pulling out a nice 4-3 win over Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area.
The win over LP-GE/USA came with two of the three Jaguars' doubles teams taking third-set tiebreakers. The duo of Jordan Gruendemann/McKenzie Winter won a grueling 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 match to give the Jaguars the win.
The team travels to Milbank, S.D. today for another triangular.
Many area sports fans will be traveling to Bird Island later today for the Class C state amateur baseball tournament. Lake Henry takes on Raymond at 5:00pm, with St.Martin vs. Sacred Heart to follow at 7:30.
A nice feather in first-year head coach Chris Moscho's hat - the Jaguars football roster totals 55 young men battling through pre-season practices
...Okay Coach Moscho probably never wears a cap, at least I've never seen him wear one...but if he did wear a hat it would have a nice feather included based on turnout for pre-season practices!
Not since the early 1990s has turnout numbered as high as 55 on theJaguars football team. Not only do they have a turnout of 55, but 12 of them are seniors who are ready to lead the team to its first winning season since 1997.
Last year they had 54 guys on the team. It's come a long ways since the 2004 season, when the program was down to only 35 in the 9th-12th grade ranks.
I'll be looking back in the archives to see what the highest turnout was for football at B-B-E since the 1988 pairing.
Look for more preview information on the Jaguars football team in next week's local newspapers.
It's that time of year - Jaguars sports kicks off fall season with a home girls tennis triangular tomorrow (Friday)
It's that time of year again, as we are through over half of August and the time for the fall sports season to kick off is here.
Tomorrow, Friday, the Jaguars girls tennis team opens up the 2010 season with a home triangular beginning at 8:30am.
Traveling to the B-B-E High School tennis courts to join the Jaguars will be Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area as well as Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd.
The opening match of the day will have the host Jaguars facing off with LQPV/D-B. Following that, LQPV/D-B will face LP-GE/USA in the middle match, with the Jaguars taking on LP-GE/USA in the final match of the day. The triangular will probably go until at least 2:00pm if not later.
Preparing for her fourth year as head coach of the Jaguars girls tennis team, head coach Katy Westrom begins her second season with the help of J.V. coach Colleen (Radermacher) Borgerding, a 2005 graduate of B-B-E who was also a standout girls tennis player for the Jaguars.
The Jaguars are hopeful for a very successful season, based on the fact that eight of the 10 starters at playoff time in 2009 return to the courts this season. They lost two-time Sub-Section 5A-West Final Four participants Tia Braegelman and Laura Johnson to graduation last spring.
The Jaguars have two experienced seniors on the roster, Amber Meyer and Amy Knutson. Seven talented juniors bolster the heart of the varsity lineup, including Erin Anderson, Kelly Reller, Kelsey Loch, Michelle Sanders, Myranda Zarbok, Nicole Dokken, and Sara Welte. The Jaguars have one lone sophomore, Jordan Gruendemann. Freshmen on the squad are Daisha Meyer, Mattea Eckstein, and McKenzie Winter. Rounding out the lineup is eighth grader Morgan Pastian.
Just a day after hosting the season-opening triangular, the Jaguars girls tennis team travels to Milbank, South Dakota, to participate in another triangular.
They then have three days of practice next week before traveling to the Minnewaska Quadrangular next Thursday, August 26, where Parkers Prairie and Montevideo will also be participating. The regular season is jam packed with matches scheduled, with 16 separate regular season dates that will include duals, triangulars, and quads culminating with a trip to Annandale on October 4.
As they have been doing since the program was established at B-B-E in 1993, the Jaguars will compete in Section 5A for post-season honors.
This marks the second year that all homeJaguars girls tennis matches will be played at the B-B-E High School courts.
This Jaguars sports update, the first of the Fall 2010 season, is brought to you by:
Elrosa's Harvest Festival is this weekend on Saturday beginning with a Little League tournament
The annual Elrosa Harvest Festival is this Saturday, August 21, beginning with a Little League tournament that goes from 8:00am to 3:30pm.
At 4:00pm, an outdoor mass will be held on Main Street. Following that, a host of events take place, highlighted by the Kiddie Parade at 6:30pm and the first annual Elrosa Tug of War at 7:15pm.
More will follow later.
This Elrosa Harvest Festival message has been brought to you by:
Here is action from the bottom of the sixth inning, which ended with the score dead locked at 2-2 between Elrosa and Lake Henry in an elimination game on Saturday, August 14 in Greenwald, MN during the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament.
More Tug of War action on Saturday night in Belgrade...
Another clip from the Tug of War on Saturday night in Belgrade...
Elrosa defeats Norway Lake-Sunburg 3-1 on Saturday to stay alive in the Region 15C baseball tournament in Greenwald. Here they record their final outs in the ninth inning.
In this video clip that has very terrible audio (poor positioning of the camera), Sharon Struthers receives an award during the Miss Belgrade Pageant from the Minneapolis Aquatennial Committee.
These August Fest and Region 15C baseball video clips are brought to you by:
Congratulations to the Region 15C tournament and Greenwald this past weekend - attendance record set
Attendance record set at Region 15C in Greenwald
A new four-day attendance record was set in Greenwald for the Region 15C tournament, as 593 attended on Sunday and 623 on Saturday. The four-day total stood at 2,641 in 10 games.
I'll be getting more photos and video posted throughout this week from the Region 15C tournament, the Belgrade August Fest, and the Pope County Fair.
Elrosa Saints' state tournament dreams end today vs. Lake Henry, the 2010 Region 15C champions
Elrosa lost 8-4 in a dramatic game against Lake Henry in the elimination final game of the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament.
Lake Henry went on to defeat St.Martin 5-2 in the championship later today, helped by a four-run third inning and a strong starting pitching performance from Josh Roelike, who earned the win on the mound for the Lakers.
Opening round of the Class C amateur state tournament: Region 9C champion Sacred Heart (26-13) plays St. Martin at 7:30 p.m. and Raymond (31-6) plays Lake Henry at 5 p.m. next Saturday in Bird Island in the first round. Sacred Heart upended the Rockets 8-4 Sunday in the Region 9C seeding game.
Photos from the weekend in Greenwald are available to check out at the Sauk Centre Herald's online photo gallery: http://saukherald.mycapture.com
Also being uploaded tonight are pictures from the Belgrade August Fest Tug of War and Miss Belgrade Pageant. And I can't forget to mention, the Pope County Fair as well. (Yeh, it was a terribly busy weekend!)
On Monday I'll begin uploading countless video clips from the Tug of War in Belgrade, the Pope County Fair, and of course the Region 15C baseball tournament.
Action from the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament on Saturday
In the top of the 8th inning of the Elrosa vs. Norway Lake-Sunburg amateur baseball game in the Region 15C tournament, Pat Illies hit a double deep into right field that dropped just inside the right baseline. Pinch runner Brandon Roelike scored the game winning on this play.
Not long after Pat hit this double, Brandon Roelike scored on a wild pitch for the game-winning run that broke a 1-1 tie.
Elrosa Saints are one win from the state tournament after defeating Norway Lake-Sunburg 3-1 today...Spring Hill is out
The Elrosa Saints erased Norway Lake-Sunburg from the Region 15C amateur baseball playoffs for the second straight year, after beating the Lakers 3-1 in today's elimination round of games at Greenwald.
In the following game, Lake Henry rode the strong arm of Scott Lieser (7 innings pitched) to a 6-0 shutout win over Spring Hill in the other elimination game today.
The results of both games today set up the Region 15C elimination final game, set for 12:00pm in Greenwald tomorrow (Sunday) when Lake Henry and Elrosa will face off for a state tournament berth.
The winner of that game plays St.Martin at 2:30pm in Greenwald, in the Region 15C championship (state seeding) game.
On to the Belgrade August Fest and Pope County Fair...
This Elrosa Saints amateur baseball update is brought to you by:
Oh, boy, this weather is giving me a workout staying up to speed on everything...
**Update at 7:19pm on Friday...The Pope County Fair carnival is underway tonight (kids' rides) and the turnout has been great, according to Fair Board president Paul Koubsky. The Kids' Day is moved to tomorrow, but the donkey races were canceled due to the flooded grandstand.
Koubsky also reported that the grandstand is scheduled to be ready for the Combine Demo Derby on Saturday night.
Also, as stated above, the Kids' Day which was supposed to be today will take place on Saturday, so all the prizes will be given out tomorrow.
Pope County Fair is shut down for today due to the flood!
The Pope County Fair is shut down for the day - no word on the evening activities. Currently, much of the fairgrounds is flooded after the Glenwood area picked up between 6 and 8 inches of rain on Thursday night. Not good!
Tornado touches down north of Brooten on Thursday night
Friday morning...I just heard that at the Larry Thompson, Gary Hanson, and Troy Walz properties, substantial damage occurred.
No need to drive out there and gawk, just take a look at the video clip below...
Below are photos from both Gary Hanson's and Larry Thompson's farm sites. In the bottom picture, you can see where two grain bins are supposed to be! They got blown into nearby cornfields. Uuf Da!
Here's where one of the grain bins lie...in Chuck Ampe's cornfield.
Could it get any busier this weekend? Pope County Fair in Glenwood - Belgrade August Fest - Region 15C baseball in Greenwald
The action is fast and furious this weekend, with the 124th annual Pope County Fair having Donkey Races (Friday night), a Combine Demo Derby (Saturday night), and a regular Demo Derby on Sunday afternoon. A whole host of other activities are scheduled as well. You can visit the Pope County Fair website by clicking here: http://www.popecountyfair.org/
In Belgrade, the annual August Fest begins tonight (Friday) and continues through Saturday. August Fest kicks off with a Firemen's Chicken Dinner from 4:30 to 7:30 on Friday night at the Belgrade V.F.W., followed by a street dance. The next day, dozens of activities get underway, beginning with registration for the 5K Walk/Run at 7:15am at the B-B-E High School parking lot. The Miss Belgrade Pageant is at 7:00pm later that night at the B-B-E High School Auditorium.
Up in Greenwald, the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament wraps up with two final days of action this weekend. Two elimination games take place on Saturday, with the winners taking one another on the following day at 12:00pm with a state tournament berth on the line. The winner of that elimination final game faces St.Martin at 2:30pm in Greenwald on Sunday for the Region 15C championship (state seeding).
More action from the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament last weekend in Greenwald
Here, the Saints record the final out on a grounder from Austen Hadley during their battle with Starbuck in an elimination game on Sunday. Final score: Elrosa 6, Starbuck 4.
From the Elrosa vs. Starbuck game on Sunday...
In the top of the fourth inning against Starbuck, Pat Illies scores on a dropped pop fly attempt for the second Elrosa run of the game.
