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!
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Such GREAT entertainment! (VIDEO)
A rodeo is SO worth the price of admission! Tonight's show at Smilin' D Arena was NO exception to that rule!
Here's a couple tries at the Lucky Buck Bull Riding show tonight:
Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township hosted a packed house for their second bull riding show of 2025.
Monday afternoon update...
The B-B-E speech team will host the Sub-Section 5A-1 meet this Friday, April 4 at the high school. Round One begins at 3:45 p.m.
In other scheduling news, the varsity events for the fastpitch team have been cancelled/postponed for this week. The home game with Swanville has been rescheduled to April 25.
I'll get more in a new blog post coming on Tuesday. It looks like we'll have wind and snow creating miserable conditions on Tuesday evening by sundown.
We've seen some nice glimpses of spring this week. For the most part, it's been seasonable weather for late March with temperatures during the day in the 40s and 50s. The most pleasant day was Thursday, when Coach Matt Goodwin had the golf teams directed to Prairie View Community Golf Course in Brooten, where they spent time on the driving range. It was a rare feat to have the golfers on the outdoor range in March! The golf teams have also spent practice time at Lucky Shots Bowling Alley on the golf simulators.
At the elementary fastpitch facilities, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team held outdoor practices all week. For the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team, they've been able to hold a large portion of their preseason practices so far on the high school JV diamond.
As it stands, it appears that the first outdoor meet for the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams will be on Tuesday, April 8 at the home facilities in Belgrade.
Here's Coach Funk working with fly ball practice today:
As it stands, the fastpitch team's season opener for next Thursday, April 3 is "questionable" - it all depends what amounts of snow we get early next week. Snow is dominating the forecast for April 1 and April 2. Yikes!
Speaker gives harsh assessment of energy drinks (VIDEO)
This was updated with another video link on Thursday.
At B-B-E high school's Olson Auditorium tonight, B-B-E Community Education hosted Danielle Rancourt of Grand Forks, who is a Registered Dietician and Certified Sports Dietician. She is also a former Division I athlete. Rancourt gave a presentation to the community and the student body and parents called "Fueling Performance: Fueling For Life" which also included a Q and A session at the end. One question was posed to her (by me) was about energy drinks and the dangers they bring for youth who consume these types of beverages.
I didn't quite start "recording" soon enough, but in her first comment, she stated that the daily recommended intake for caffeine for high school-age youth is 100 milligrams (and no more!)...this was confirmed by a simple search online with The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), who recommends caffeine limits for adolescent children (ages 12 to 18) of 100 milligrams.
VIDEO of her response:
Rancourt's professional website, which features a host of information and opportunities to learn more from her, is http://www.pivotnutritioncoaching.com.
More to come in the morning. It is time to sleep!
Update on Thursday afternoon:
To view another video clip from that evening, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/HFZul. A feature story from the evening was published in this week's newspaper issue. Part II is coming next week.
Another web article featuring coverage from the Thrills and Spills dirt bike racing show on March 20 has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. You can find that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/P3JUx.
A new blog post will be finally posted this week on Thursday night.
The B-B-E speech team is in their final regular season competition of the season today at Melrose Area high school. The awards ceremony is set to begin at about 3:30 p.m. at the Marit Elliott Performing Arts Center.
Update: the high finisher for the speech team was senior Tia Nelson, who took fifth place in Storytelling.
Before it becomes too distant of a memory...here's some boys' basketball coverage. Their postseason awards will be published next week.
Here's action late in the 1st half in the playoff game on March 6 in Brandon:
With under 4 minutes to go, Luke Illies knocked down a three-pointer to extend the lead for the Jaguars to 15-6. Illies had scored 10 points by that point. His team was on fire, but the Chargers fought back to cut the deficit to 15-12. At halftime, the Jaguars led 21-15.
In other news...
Today! The Elrosa Bar and Lounge holds their Grand Opening with a complimentary lunch from 4 to 9 p.m. They have a Deejay playing music from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township has a full day of action going on as well with the Wild Henky Youth Show. Busy, busy, busy!!!
On top of all that, Lucky Shots Bowling Alley in Brooten is hosting the annual Rick Thonvold Memorial Battle of the Businesses. They actually began their bowling competitions yesterday, and it continues today. Main Street in Brooten is jam packed with cars! Rick, a Brooten high school 1987 graduate. would be proud. It's been over 9 years since he passed away. His presence in the Brooten and Sunburg areas continues to be greatly missed. He passed away on March 1, 2016 at the young age of 47.
The Brooten city council's meeting agenda has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog, which you can find by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/7PaOI.
Smilin' D Arena hosts Thrills and Spills night - National Anthem plays (VIDEO)
Note: this blog post was updated again on Friday afternoon; one late update included a link to view girls' basketball coverage. (See below)
From tonight in Colfax Township! The Smilin' D Arena was the site of the first of back-to-back nights of their Thrills and Spills dirt bike racing competition.
The playing of the National Anthem prior to tonight's show in Colfax Township:
More to come. This was a fun night! AND! They are going to do it all again tomorrow night beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is just $15 a person! Children age 12 and under are admitted free. You can't go wrong.
Another video from the evening at Smilin' D Arena was posted on Friday to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website: https://shorturl.at/dYiUf. That web article also features a link to view the newspaper's photo gallery from tonight.
Let's change gears to college-level sports...
In college men's golf news
B-B-E Class of 2022 graduate Gannon Walsh is a junior for the Division II University of Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles golf team. At B-B-E, Walsh competed at the state tournament in boys' basketball, boys' golf and boys' tennis.
From Gannon Walsh's biography at the UM-C website: prior to joining the UM-C men's golf team, Walsh competed for two seasons at Alexandria Community and Technical College with the newly formed Legends men's golf team. Walsh shot rounds of 71, 76, and 74 at the North Central District Tournament...he carded an 80 at the Legends Spring Invite, as Alexandria College placed first...Walsh was named to the MCAC All-Academic Team...Walsh shot rounds of 78 and 77 at the Marauder Invite...he scored a 75 at the North Central District Fall Preview...and he helped his Legends squad to their first-ever ranking in the GCAA Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Division II Coaches' Poll...he tied for 20th with rounds of 73, 70, and 72 at the Minnesota Golf Classic...as a sophomore in 2023, Walsh shot rounds of 76, 80, 79, and 75 at Nationals...he carded rounds of 78 and 82 at the 2023 BSC Legends Classic...he scored a 78 at the Tatanka Spring Invite...and he carded rounds of 77 and 74 at the Maverick Desert Classic.
In high school sports news...
Part of Coach Anderson's season review speech for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is posted in a video at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website. This was during the team awards banquet that was held at the Padua Pub on March 11. You can find it by clicking on this short link: https://shorturl.at/ymlBD.
BBE high school Box Score sports podcast looks ahead to spring (VIDEOS)
The B-B-E high school broadcasting room has hosted Box Score sports during the 2024-2025 school year. They released their latest podcast recording today.
Fastpitch head coach Logan Funk is part of this recording:
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch teamwas able to split practice between indoor drills in the elementary gymnasium and also their softball diamond outside. Temperatures hovered in the low 40s today with little, if any, sunshine to speak of. Tomorrow looks colder and windier, but then it appears to moderate as the weekend approaches. The fastpitch team's varsity season opener is set for April 1 at MACCRAY in Clara City. I doubt that will take place, but it could happen if the last week of March warms considerably. The home opener on the schedule is on Thursday, April 3 against Swanville, the defending Prairie Conference co-champions.
Changing gears to this past weekend...
And now for a switch of the gears down to youth basketball. The Class of 2032 girls' basketball 5th graders competed at the Pacesetter region tournament on Sunday in St. Joseph. They lost the opener 14-2 to Fergus Falls, won the consolation semifinals 27-6 against Sauk Rapids-Rice and then lost a harsh heartbreaker 11-10 in overtime to Red Rock Central.
Here's a video from the consolation championship at CSB's Haehn Campus Center fieldhouse with the last 14 seconds of regulation play:
Right away in the video clip, you can see Adi Deters waving her arms and causing havoc for RRC's girl that was inbounding the ball. She did a terrific job of it, as she caused a turnover, and then you can watch her try to pass the ball in on the baseline right under B-B-E's basket. Deters got the ball in, and seconds later, she was fouled in the corner as time expired. The foul situation warranted bonus free throws, and you can see how it played out in the video.
The Catholic United Financial-St. James chapter in Elrosa will host a matching grant breakfast on Sunday, April 6. Everyone invited! They serve from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church basement with an all-you-can eat menu that includes ham, scrambled eggs, homemade hash browns, cinnamon bread, fritter bread, fruit sauce, cheese, milk and coffee. Prices: $10 for adults, children ages 6 to 11 are just $5 and children ages 5 and under eat free. This event is eligible for a matching grant from Catholic United Financial of up to $1,000.
The Belgrade city council meets tonight at 6 p.m. The meeting agenda can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/xd2th.
Also, there's additional activities and events coming up at the Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township. Click over to their website to read more. They've got bike races on Thursday and Friday nights this week. A Wild Henke Kids show is on Saturday, and team penning is on Sunday.
And for Tuesday...
The B-B-E speech team travels to Kimball Area high school for the Central Minnesota Conference championships. I am not sure if I can make the drive. Grr!! I am just far too backed up from the weekend. We'll see how the day goes.
Better late than never...! I added just a photo gallery to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's web article featuring elementary students singing the National Anthem back on February 27. You can find the video and web article by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/qRxjZ.
Robotics returned home, speech is at Dassel today - and stunning news
Late last night, the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team returned home from Grand Forks. They now have about 2 1/2 weeks to prepare for the Granite City Regional, which will be held April 2-5 in St. Cloud.
Around 6:30 a.m. today, the B-B-E speech team departed for Dassel-Cokato high school. It was raining at the time, and road conditions were good for their trip that passed just across the Meeker/Wright County line.
For Brooten...I have to fix the mistake of the recycling notice in the newspaper. Recycling Day was held on Feburary 21, and then it followed 2 weeks later on March 7. However, in the March 6 newspaper, I did not change it, and that also screwed up the March 13 issue. So let's get it right! Recycling Day is coming again in Brooten on Friday, March 21.
And now for the awful news...
The sentencing for the habitual drug user who was high on cannabis and meth when his GMC SUV collided with and killed Cassie Mithaugen of Belgrade took place on Thursday, March 13. You can read about it by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/thkRy.
Saturday afternoon update:the Belgrade Lions Chili Feed is a GO! They serve from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and this has been advertised for the past 4 weeks in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. The sun is shining at about 100 percent late in the afternoon. It's still very windy, and the snow is "heavy" but did not accumulate to be that deep. In fact, in many areas, it appears that one inch or less of snowfall was received today.
The B-B-E Knights of Columbus will hold the first of three Lenten season fish fry fundraisers tonight at the KaDe Shack in Brooten. They will be serving all-you-can-eat fish from 5 to 8 p.m. Ticket sales for their cash raffle is also underway. The Knights of Columbus organization is one of numerous local civic groups who support multiple events and activities - and families in need - across our Bonanza Valley area.
It is time to support them in return!!!
Here's a video recorded about a year ago (February 23) from the first Knights of Columbus fish fry of the 2024 Lenten season:
More to come. It is too nice outside to be on a computer! We have 71 degrees as of about 4 p.m. in Brooten.
In high school basketball news...
At the Class 1A state girls' basketball tournament today, both lower-seeded teams in the semifinals earned huge upset wins. In the first semifinal, No. 5-seeded West Central Area took out top-seeded Goodhue 58-50. In the other semifinal, No. 7-seeded MACCRAY stunned No. 3-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary's with a hard-fought 60-56 win. The Knights held a 36-28 lead with 15 minutes to go in the game. MACCRAY later tied it at 46-46 and then took over the game across the last 5 minutes.
Stunning, near crazy facts: for MACCRAY, they have just 2 seniors on the roster. For the SESM Knights, they have just one senior.
In college basketball news...
In the consolation bracket of the NJCAA Division III women's basketball national tournament, the Northland Community and Technical College Pioneers won 76-70 today against Joliet Community College of Illinois to keep their season alive. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer from Brooten scored 15 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. In the second half, while Joliet whittled what was a 13-point deficit down to 5 points on two separate possessions. During that stretch, Schwinghammer went 9-of-10 at the foul line to help keep the Wolves at bay. Next: the Pioneers (23-6) will fight for 5th place in the consolation championship on Saturday, March 15 at 10 a.m. at the Rochester Regional Sports Center. Their opponent will be Onondaga Community College of New York.
In other community news...
The community is invited to enjoy the Belgrade Lions chili cook-off at the Belgrade VFW on Saturday, March 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website community calendar has been updated. You can find that by clicking on the following link...it is a link you should bookmark! And refer to regularly: https://shorturl.at/KEBvf.
Elementary students sing National Anthem, and Friday Robotics updates (VIDEO)
This was prior to the girls' basketball team's home playoff opener on February 27. They did a fabulous job! I had originally planned to get this video posted the week after, but it totally got lost in a "mad shuffle" that was the first week of March for the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's operations. As the saying goes, "Better late than never!" I was successful at getting pictures up and down the full line of the students. Altogether, the teaching staff said that 38 kids were in attendance.
Video:
I'll preview what's coming this weekend later tonight at this blog post. Also, a photo gallery is being uploaded tonight with pictures taken while this video was recorded.
And here's the link to view the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug online gallery from the National Anthem performance: https://shorturl.at/ZAXIC.
**Update: the first match of Friday for robotics in Grand Forks is estimated to start at 10:04 a.m.
Friday morning scheduling update: B-B-E's Friday schedule includes matches at about 10 a.m. and then 10:37 a.m. Their third match of Friday is set for approximately 11:04 a.m., and the fourth match is set for approximately 1:04 p.m. They have two additional matches later this afternoon for a total of 9 qualification matches in the Great Northern Regional.
Also on Friday morning...I've got more to come featuring Friday results from Grand Forks. Stay tuned.
Here's the robotics update for Friday that's posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/7mJnc. Please refer to that web article for updates throught the day on Friday. It will be updated after each match that B-B-E competes in at Grand Forks.
*Update: B-B-E's next match should start around 1:10 p.m. on Friday. Their Blue Alliance includes teams from Grand Forks and Minnewaska. The Minnewaska team currently sits in 21st Place overall. This match is the 57th overall match out of 78 qualification matches taking place in Grand Forks.
*Don't forget: the B-B-E Knights of Columbus will hold a fish fry fundraiser on Friday night at the KaDe Shack in Brooten. They serve from 5 to 8 p.m.
Thursday afternoon update:
In B-B-E's first qualification match of today, which started at about 2:10 p.m., the Resistance Robotics team's Red Alliance lost a giant battle by a score of 79-70. It was close! Three ranking points earned by the Blue Alliance compared to just one ranking point by Red Alliance proved to be the key difference in scoring.
They have less than one hour to prepare for the second match of today. As of now, their next match is queued for 3:04 p.m. Further updates are posted to that web article at the newspaper website.
Another update to The Voice newspaper website's robotics article will be added between 3 and 4 p.m. today. After two matches are complete, B-B-E sits in 37th place out of 52 total teams in Grand Forks. Their next match is at about 4:35 p.m., and it will be the 20th overall match of the qualification round.
That web article at the Bonanza Valley Voice website will be updated again before 5 p.m., at which point you can read how the third match went and find out when B-B-E's fourth match will start.
In college basketball news from Rochester, MN...
With about 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, Anoka-Ramsey holds a 37-27 lead over the Northland Community and Technical College women's basketball team. The Golden Rams and NCTC Pioneers are squaring off in the NJCAA Division III national tournament quarterfinals. At this point, B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer has scored 10 points.
A defensive struggle played out in the first quarter, after which Anoka-Ramsey led 11-3. The Pioneers (22-5) trailed 24-17 at halftime.
Northland scored the last bucket of the third quarter with 11 seconds to go on a jumper by Josie Iverson, and they trail 42-31 going into the fourth. Update: with under 2 minutes to go, the Golden Rams have a 54-44 lead. Final score: Anoka-Ramsey 61, Northland 48. The Pioneers (22-6) fall into the national tournament's consolation bracket to battle back for as high as fifth place.
In the Class 1A girls' basketball state tournament today...
The No. 7-seeded MACCRAY Wolverines girls' basketball team pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament when they tagged No. 2-seeded and heavily favored Mayer Lutheran a 55-51 loss in today's state quarterfinals. The Wolverines improve to 24-5 overall and now face No. 3-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary's in Friday's state semifinals back at Williams Arena. Tip-off for that state semifinal game is set for 2 p.m. Against Mayer Lutheran, MACCRAY's Brielle Janssen poured in 27 points while playing all 36 minutes of the contest. She also hauled down 14 rebounds and had 6 assists. MACCRAY led 29-26 at halftime. The key difference in the game was found beyond the three-point line: MACCRAY shot 9-for-25 on three-pointers, while the Crusaders made just 2 of 17 attempts from long range.
The Goodhue Wildcats blasted Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 76-47 in another state quarterfinal today. Goodhue led 31-16 at halftime. The Wolves shot 4-for-17 on three-pointers, and Goodhue made 12 of 27 three-point attempts.
In another state quarterfinal game today, No. 4-seeded West Central Area won 61-54 against No. 5-seeded Cromwell-Wright. The game was tied twice, but Cromwell-Wright never held a lead. At halftime, WCA led 24-20. The Knights improve to 25-6 overall and now face No. 1-seeded Goodhue at noon tomorrow at Williams Arena. Field goal shooting was nearly identical (both teams made 6 three-pointers), but the Knights went 15-of-20 at the line compared to the Cardinals making 10 of 14 free throws.
The weather is busting up the week (VIDEO, UPDATES)
The impending wind and snowstorm that's in the forecast for Saturday has dramatically altered the schedule for the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Great Northern Regional at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. A potential exists for blizzard-like conditions across the Red River Valley region throughout the day on Saturday. Officials with F.I.R.S.T. made the decision to move the schedule "up" by about one day. Instead of the first competition matches starting around 9 a.m. on Friday, the competition matches will begin during the day on Thursday (tomorrow).
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team departed B-B-E high school just after 2 p.m. this afternoon. They are set to arrive in Grand Forks just shy of 7 o'clock tonight to unload the robot and equipment. I won't decide on a Grand Forks trip until tomorrow morning.
Here's the moment when the robotics team left the high school this afternoon:
The B-B-E robotics team has 14 players this season.
In college basketball news...
At the NJCAA Division III national women's basketball tournament today, the Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers earned a 70-46 win against No. 12-seeded Montgomery County out of Pennsylvania. The Pioneers, seeded No. 5 in the tournament, improved to 22-5 overall and now advance to the national quarterfinals. Next: the Pioneers advance to face No. 4-seeded Anoka-Ramsey on Thursday, March 13 at 2 p.m.
Against Montgomery, B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer scored 8 points with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot.
The national tournament is taking place in Rochester, MN.
In state girls' basketball tournament news...
Sauk Centre jumped all over Minnewaska to start their state quarterfinal game tonight and had an initial 8-0 lead. The Lakers stormed back to bring an 11-9 deficit with 12 minutes to go. These two West Central Conference rivals are playing in a rare state border battle at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The game tipped off just after 8 p.m.
With 11:13 to go, Sauk Centre held a 13-10 lead.
A deep three-pointer by Cierra Kortan with 9 minutes to go extended Sauk Centre's lead to 19-10 with their second straight three-pointer. The Lakers came right back just 8 seconds later with Addie Kath hitting a three to make it 19-13. Later, with 8:15 to go, Minnewaska's Jayda Kolstoe made a tough corner three-pointer to narrow it to a 20-16 deficit.
With 6:45 to go, Kortan scored on a stop-and-pop three-pointer that bounced high off the front of the rim before dropping to push Sauk Centre's lead to 24-18. On Minnewaska's next possession, Kolstoe hit a three-pointer for a 24-21 score. With 4:42 left, Minnewaska's Megan Thorfinnson canned a three-pointer to make it a 26-24 score. With 4:33 left, Jenna Reilly made her first shot of the game by scoring on a quick three-pointer on the left wing, which pushed Sauk Centre ahead 29-24. With 3:50 left, Olivia Danielson scored on a tough, driving layup to get the Lakers within three points at 29-26. With 3:22 left, Sauk Centre's Maddie Schuster hit a right-wing three-pointer for a 32-26 lead.
With 1:40 left, Sauk Centre extended their lead to 36-28. During the final seconds, Minnewaska senior 6'0" post Sydney Dahl drove down towards the right block before banging in a shot off the glass in double coverage just before time expired. Halftime: Sauk Centre 36, Minnewaska Area 30.
Kortan, who had 15 points in the first half, scored on a driving layup with 16:40 left in the second half for the first points of the second half, which made Sauk Centre's lead 38-30. Inside 15 minutes to go, Megan Thorfinnson hit a banked three-pointer. Later, with 13:53 left, Addie Kath scored on a layup to tie the game at 40-40.
With just over 11 minutes left in the game, Kortan scored on a left-side layup for a 46-42 Sauk Centre lead. With 10:18 left, Minnewaska's Lauryn Ankeny hit a wide-open layup to tie it at 46-46.
With 8:09 left, Kolstoe hit a layup to give Minnewaska a 48-46 lead. Later, with 4:11 left, the score is tied 50-50. The game was tied up 50-50 when Sauk Centre's Victoria Jennissen scored in the paint with 5:51 to go.
Final: Minnewaska Area 60, Sauk Centre 53. The Lakers (28-3) bashed the Mainstreeters in the game's last 4 minutes. They played a near-perfect game when it mattered. Next is a date with the defending Class 2A state champions, Providence Academy in the state semifinals on Friday, March 14 back at Williams Arena (6 p.m. tip-off).
Sauk Centre (27-3) entered the game with an incredible 68.3 points-per-game scoring average. The deciding factor in the game ultimately was Minnewaska's 38 points-per-game defensive average.
In boys' basketball playoff news...
Sauk Centre's Kevin Kuefler-coached Mainstreeters led 28-24 in the first half tonight at St. John's University's Sexton Arena, but No. 7-seeded Spectrum overcame Sauk Centre in the second half and advanced to the Section 6AA championship with a 63-54 win. With 7:33 to go in the game, Sauk Centre's Borderding drained a right corner three-pointer for a 50-45 lead. As the game approached the 4-minute mark, Spectrum had an 8-0 run going as they took a 56-50 lead. With 1:41 left, Herickhoff scored an open shot on the right block to break what was almost a 6-minute long scoring drought. At that point, the Mainstreeters trailed 56-52. After Sauk Centre had the game within reach and trailed 58-54, Spectrum scored the final 5 points of the game in the last 35 seconds to win by 9 points.
Spectrum (22-7) closed out the game on a 15-4 run, and they now have a date with top-ranked Albany in the state-qualifying section final. The Albany Huskies destroyed one of the better Holdingford boys' basketball teams in recent years in a 96-64 win during the other 6AA semifinal tonight.
Coach Kevin Kuefler's Mainstreeters finish 19-10 overall. By the Class 2A QRF rankings, Spectrum was at No. 39, while Sauk Centre was No. 22. If Sauk Centre came through with a win tonight, I feel they had a shot at beating Albany and advance to state. In the two team's meeting back on January 7 in Sauk Centre, the Huskies won 63-52.
In the Sub-Section 6A-South championship, top-seeded West Central Area ended Benson's Cinderella-like playoff run with a 61-50 win. The Braves finish a fine season 18-11 overall. The Knights improve to 21-8 overall and head to the Section 6A finals.
In the Section 5A semifinals in a game played at Wadena-Deer Creek tonight, Browerville lost 80-54 to Nevis.
In the other Section 5A semifinal game, Upsala faced Braham at Foley high school tonight. The Cardinals and Bombers fought to a 34-34 halftime tie. In the second half, Upsala, Prairie Conference runners-up, hammered Braham by scoring 50 points to win their 6th straight game with a final score of 84-64. Now 23-6 overall, Upsala is having their best season since 2014-2015. It was a mild upset on paper, as Upsala was ranked No. 23 in the Class 1A QRF rankings, while Braham (22-7) was No. 17. The Cardinals avenged an 87-85 double-overtime loss to Braham that was played back on January 3 in Upsala. The last state tournament trip for Upsala was in 2012-2013 when they went 31-2 overall and finished fourth at state (the only losses of the season were in the last 2 state tournament games).
More from the draft horse competition at Smilin' D Arena (VIDEO)
As reported over the weekend, the Smilin D Arena had a full house on hand on Saturday for the "Here Come the Boom" draft horse competition.
Here's a video recorded near the end in one of the final pulls of the night:
More to come later tonight. Today is an incredibly busy day while working on additional robotics and speech team coverage plus the upcoming girls' basketball banquet tonight in Padua.
A packed house was on hand tonight at the Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township for their second draft horse pull competition at this new venue. The same event was held last fall, and that also drew a full house for a crowd.
Here's a video featuring one of the pulls tonight:
I've got basketball scores to post from today's playoff action around the area.
And in basketball playoff news...
In a game that had many Jaguar fans paying attention, the West Central Area Knights boys' basketball team hammered No. 5-seeded Brandon-Evansville today by a 76-45 score.
In girls' basketball news, Sauk Centre will face Minnewaska Area at the Class 2A state tournament next Wednesday night with an 8 p.m. tip off at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The state tournament seeds were released today. The Mainstreeters earned the No. 4 seed at state, while the Lakers are the No. 5 seed.
In the Class 1A state girls' basketball tournament, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (25-4) earned the No. 8 seed. The Northwoods Conference-South champion Wolves won the Section 5A title on Friday night by defeating Braham 61-59 in overtime. This is W-H-A's second trip to state after going to state for the first time in school history last season, when they finished 6th with a 1-2 record at the big show. The Class 1A state tournament opens on Thursday at the U of M's Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis.
And in more news posted on Sunday night this weekend...
A video from the worship service held on Ash Wednesday last week at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/M5Q6a. This was a joint worship for the parish of Trinity Lutheran and West Lake Johanna Lutheran churches.
The Brooten city council's upcoming meeting agenda has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.
Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 8:
Upsala 68, Swanville 50
Albany 80, Osakis 40
Dawson-Boyd 81, Central MN Christian-Prinsburg 47
Holdingford 77, St. Cloud Cathedral 68
Henning 62, Park Christian 58
Sauk Centre 36, Melrose Area 30
Montevideo 65, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 59
Browerville 67, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 54
Step I: incredible defensive effort falls short in playoff opener, Winter Sports Show (VIDEOS)
This blog post is being updated and expanded on Friday morning; one update includes adding area scores from Thursday night.
It was an incredible performance to take in at Brandon-Evansville high school's brand new gymnasium. Punch, punch, counterpunch...that is how the game played out from start to finish.
In the Sub-Section 6A-South quarterfinals, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team suffered a 49-43 loss to Brandon-Evansville. In the final scorebox, the Jaguars shot just 22 percent in the second half when they were held to just 22 points. B-B-E shot 5-for-31 on three-pointers for the game compared to 4-for-13 by the Chargers. Ultimately, a big difference in the game was Brandon-Evansville shooting 1-for-8 on threes in the first half and then 3-for-5 on threes on the second half.
Here's a short video clip from the final minute of the game:
In his final high school basketball game, Luke Illies poured in 22 points on 41 percent field goal shooting (9-of-22) while hauling in a whopping 16 rebounds. Fellow senior Josh Walstrom also had a fine game with 10 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
The Chargers, who were bounced from the playoffs last year by the Jaguars, trailed 21-15 at halftime. They advance to the semifinal round, which will be this Saturday afternoon at Minnewaska Area high school. Brandon-Evansville is 14-13 overall, and they will face top-seeded West Central Area (19-8), who knocked Parkers Prairie out of the playoffs with a 77-33 quarterfinal win.
In an NBA-style game played in Hancock tonight, the No. 6-seeded Benson Braves won 93-84. Crazy. The Braves are 17-10 overall heading into Saturday's semifinals.
How the first half played out in Brandon...
The Jaguars played an outstanding first half and found their footing quickly after they trailed 4-0 to open the game. With a little over 8 minutes to go, the Jaguars carved out a 12-4 lead. At that point, they had held the 2023-2024 Little Eight Conference Player of the Year, Micah Fuller, to no points. Right at the 8-minute mark, Brandon-Evansville's second-best player, senior Tanner Riedel, scored his first bucket of the night. This broke what was a 12-0 run by the Jaguars, and the lead for the visitors was cut to 12-6.
The 12-0 scoring surge by B-B-E began with a midrange pullup shot by Luke Illies, which was the team's first field goal. The senior forward knocked this shot down with 12:03 on the clock, and the Jaguars trailed 4-3. Less than 20 seconds later, Illies stole the ball and drove it in for a two-handed slam dunk for a go-ahead basket. Dominic Ramos scored on the baseline, and Josh Walstrom hit a three-pointer at the top of the key with 9:20 left. Illies then hit a 10-footer with 8:30 to go for the 12-4 lead.
Illies hit a three-pointer with a little over 3 minutes to go for a 15-6 lead. Brandon-Evansville played over 15 minutes of the contest and had just 6 points on the scoreboard. For B-B-E, this was an incredible achievement defensively against a team that entered the contest averaging over 62 points per game. Riedel then scored on a layup with 2:48 left to cut it to 15-8.
After B-E cut it to a 15-12 score, Aiden Radermacher sank 2 free throws with 55 seconds left for a 19-12 lead. After B-E had an empty trip down court, Walstrom scored on the right block with 10 seconds to go. The 21-12 lead almost survived to the buzzer, but B-E's Riedel canned an off-balance three-pointer deep in the right corner to make it 21-15 at the break.
Here's a video featuring action in the final minute before halftime:
What can anyone say about that buzzer-beating three-pointer? It was an incredible shot. You could watch basketball for 10 years and not see something like that from beyond the arc.
Here's my latest sports show recording...it has been one month since I last recorded:
More to come after I review more game notes from Brandon...on Friday morning.
In the second half...the Chargers regained the lead on Tanner Riedel's pullup 12-footer with 13:47 left in the game. This put the home team in front 26-25. A little over 2 minutes later, a three-ball by Fuller extended B-E's rally to a game-changing 17-4 run. At this point, the clock read 11:26, and the Jaguars had an uphill battle on their hands. With 7:50 left, Illies drained a three-pointer in double coverage. With 6:18 left, Pieper scored on the arc to cap what was a 9-2 scoring run that lifted the Jaguars in front 36-35.
Josh Walstrom was fouled on a three-pointer and made 2 of 3 charity shots. The Chargers responded on the next possession with Fuller scoring in the paint and converting a three-point play. With 9:46 left, Riedel made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Chargers led 33-27. At that point, Brandon-Evansville had outscored the Jaguars by a 21-6 margin in a span of a little over 8 minutes of game time.
With 9:05 left, Illies scored on an underhanded layup and converted a free throw. Riedel scored on a fadeaway shot, and the Jaguars got back-to-back three-pointers with 7:50 left by Illies (in double coverage) and with 6:18 left by Pieper (with the ball dancing around the rim before dropping in). The three by Pieper capped a 9-2 run that lifted the Jaguars on top 36-35.
In a span of just over 2 minutes of game time, the Chargers scored 9 unanswered points starting with Fuller's three-point play with 5:54 left. B-B-E responded on the next possession with Walstrom hitting a three on the left wing. With 2:50 left, Illies stole the ball and drove in a layup on the right side to make it a one-possession game. With 2:09 left, Fuller knocked down what was a pivotal wide-open three-pointer on the right wing. The Chargers had three opportunities to widen the gap, but they missed the front end of bonus free throws twice heading into the final minute and a third time with 34 seconds to go.
With 23 seconds to go, Illies scored in the paint to make it 47-43. The Chargers held on for the win with Riedel sinking two free throws with 10 seconds to go.
In other news...
A web article has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website featuring the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team: https://shorturl.at/IwsmR. They are gearing up for two region competitions, the first coming next week in Grand Forks, and the other in the first week of April in St. Cloud.
To see some Smilin' D Arena coverage out of Colfax Township, click here: https://rb.gy/jf7vlz. They have a draft horse competition coming on Saturday night.
Section 6A boys' basketball (sub-section quarterfinal) playoff scores on March 6:
West Central Area 77, Parkers Prairie 73
Benson 93, Hancock 84
Border West 63, Breckenridge 62 (the No. 7-seeded Cowboys nearly knock out the No. 2 seeded Buccaneers in Wheaton)
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 67, Frazee 52
Ada-Borup-West 85, Rothsay 49
Henning 67, Underwood 29
Park Christian 75, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 49
Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 6:
Central MN Christian Prinsburg 76, Renville County West 37
Swanville 64, PACT Charter 58
Albany 102, Rush City 38
Melrose Area 66, Annandale 59 (in Annandale, a big upset win by Coach Duscha's Dutchmen, who are 8-19 overall)
Sauk Centre 67, Pine City 40
Osakis 69, Legacy Christian 59
Upsala 88, Maple Lake 36
Holdingford 76, Milaca 52
Mora 74, Royalton 64
Spectrum 70, Kimball Area 62
BOLD 79, Sleepy Eye 51
Springfield 74, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 53
Browerville 76, Sebeka 56
Irrigation Clinic...and the playoff opener! (RADIO, UPDATES, VIDEO!)
First, here's a link to the Bonanza Valley Voice website for any farmer interested in attending an upcoming irrigators clinic in Spicer: https://shorturl.at/WzdmY.
In girls' basketball action tonight in Marshall...
Late in the first half of the Section 3AA girls' basketball championship, Minnewaska Area has pulled in front 23-22 against Fairmont. This represents the first lead of the game for the Lakers.
Incredible: Minnewaska Area fell behind by as many as 12 points at two different times in the first half. At halftime: Minnewaska Area 23, Fairmont 22.
Update: from about the 10 minute mark to the 5-minute mark, the score in Marshall was Minnewaska 37, Fairmont 34...but the Lakers punched Fairmont right in the gut with a rapid-quick 11-0 run that blew the game open. The Lakers won 51-36 (I think?) to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 1999. Good for them! Bravo!
More to come...and in boys' basketball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team tips off at 7 p.m. tonight in Brandon. We have radio coverage! Tonight's game will be aired on 106.5 FM The Train of Norway Lake-Sunburg. Bill Dean, Belgrade High School Class of 1972, has his broadcast streamed online: https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train.
In the opening half...the Chargers took a 4-0 lead with 13:40 left on a paint shot. Both teams struggled mightily offensively across the first 6 minutes. With 11:43 to go, Luke Illies stole the ball and drove it in for a slam dunk, which gave the Jaguars a 5-4 lead.
Here's a video from the first half tonight...starting with just over 8 minutes to go:
Halftime:B-B-E 21, Brandon-Evansville 15. The Chargers got a wild three-point shot to go down right at the buzzer from the deep right corner.
To see the final score, reload the blog to view the new blog post.
Ash Wednesday Mass...and more college news (VIDEO)
The Christian season of Lent is underway, and multiple churches across the Bonanza Valley area kicked it off with Ash Wednesday worship services tonight.
Here's a short video clip from St. Donatus Catholic Church in Brooten tonight:
The video was recorded during Communion, which was near the end of worship at St. Donatus. Ash Wednesday worship services were also held at Grace Lutheran Church in Belgrade and at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten.
In college basketball news...
The Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team has earned the No. 5 seed in the NJCAA Division III National Tournament that begins on March 12 in Rochester, MN. The Pioneers (21-5) were given an At-Large bid to nationals after finishing as runners-up in the North Plains B District Tournament held this past weekend in Thief River Falls. Tiyana Schwinghammer, a B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate, is a sophomore on the Northland team. In the national tournament opener, Northland is paired up with the No. 12-seeded Montgomery County Mustangs, who are 25-2 overall. Their junior college is located in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.
Tip-off for the national tournament opener is at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 at the Rochester Regional Sports Center. From Jaguar Country, that's roughly a 200-mile trek. Yikes!
The Braham Bombers girls' basketball team has repeated as Sub-Section 5A-East champions. They defeated Upsala 65-53 at Foley high school to improve to 22-5 overall. They now face Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in a repeat of last year's Section 5A championship. The Wolves and Bombers square off this Friday at 7:45 p.m. at St. Cloud State University's Halenbeck Hall, and the winner advances to state. W-H-A won the section title last year for the school's first-ever trip to the girls' basketball state tournament.
In tonight's game, the No. 3-seeded Cardinals led 6-0 and 11-4 early, but the Bombers stormed back with a 14-0 run to lead 18-11. Upsala came back to lead 24-23, but Braham went into halftime ahead 31-27.
Wednesday afternoon update...in college news...
The Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team is heading to the national tournament! This afternoon, they received news that they earned an At-Large bid to the NJCAA Division III tournament that begins on March 12 in Rochester, Minnesota. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer is one of their leading scorers in her second year on the team. The Pioneers are 21-5 overall and were ranked No. 3 in the latest NJCAA polls. More to follow as I learn it...
Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 4:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 89, Paynesville Area 54
Montevideo 87, Minnewaska Area 56
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 66, New Ulm Cathedral 47
Playoff seeding and Parents and Seniors Night (VIDEOS*)
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has been seeded for the playoffs. They will get a rematch with Brandon-Evansville on the road with the Sub-Section 6A-South playoff opener coming on Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at B-E high school in Brandon. In the subsection seedings released on Saturday, the Jaguars earned the No. 5 seed with a 10-16 overall record. They are far and away playing their best basketball of the season with a 7-2 record since January 30.
The Jaguars look to avenge a 68-51 loss in Douglas County to Brandon-Evansville in the third game of the season (December 7). The B-E Chargers have a 13-13 overall record, and they went 8-8 in the Little Eight Conference.
It appeared that Hancock was destined to earn the No. 4 seed, but their late-season 78-69 overtime win against Border West helped lift them to the No. 3 seed in the subsection. The Owls (14-12) have a four-game winning streak going into their playoff opener with No. 6-seeded Benson. The full 1 to 10 seeding list is posted below the video.
Here's a video from Parents and Seniors Night last Tuesday:
Sub-Section 6A-South boys' basketball seedings:
1. West Central Area
2. Border West
3. Hancock
4. Brandon-Evansville
5. B-B-E
6. Benson
7. Breckenridge
8. Parkers Prairie The
9. Ashby
10. Ortonville
More to come after lunch!
Here's another video from the Paynesville game...
In this last video, the clip begins with the score tied 26-26 and 7:37 remaining in the opening half. The Jaguars ultimately defeated the Bulldogs in a shootout by an 86-78 score. This achieved a fourth-place finish in the Central Minnesota Conference with a 7-7 record.
In college basketball news...
The No. 3-ranked Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team took it on the chin today against Rochester Community and Technical College in the Region 13B national-qualifying championship game. The Pioneers, hosting the Region 13 tournament in Thief River Falls, lost 78-65. They are not necessarily out of the running for the NJCAA D-III national tournament, but they will have to wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to see their season continue. Their record with today's loss is 21-5. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer, a Northland sophomore, had one of the better games of her college career with a 26-point effort against the No. 1-ranked Yellowjackets. She played 37 minutes and shot 9-for-13 on field goals, 5-of-7 at the line while earning 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocked shots and 1 steal.
RCTC's women's basketball team improves to 21-4 overall with their 8th straight win.
Step II: semifinals is a bust, Jaguars suffer brutal loss; more state wresting success (VIDEO)
Note: video was added late Saturday night to this blog post...
First, I'll start off with the great news.
At the state wrestling tournament: Noah Jensen finished one of the most spectacular 8th grade wrestling seasons at B-B-E by winning a 17-0 tech fall (4:41) in the 107-pound third-place match. With that, he gains a small level of "bragging rights" against his big brother, Tyler, who also had a wonderful 8th grade wrestling season before finishing in 6th place at the state tournament. Tyler Jensen was a 2022 B-B-E graduate.
At 160, Brett DeRoo won an 11-5 decision in the consolation bracket to advance to the third-place match. DeRoo (41-3) faces Holdingford junior Simon Boeckman (44-8) in the third-place match.
More good news: Olive Olson earned a berth in the finals round in Humorous at the Chatfield speech invitational today. Olson ultimately placed 6th overall. In Great Speeches, Tia Nelson took second place with another berth in the finals. The B-B-E speech team left Chatfield at about 5:00 p.m. to head back to Jaguar Country.
Back to state wrestling news: Brett DeRoo finished a spectacular season as a Jaguar wrestler with a fourth-placee finish at 160 pounds at the state tournament. He lost by a 2-0 decision in the third-place match tonight with a final season record of 41-4.
At 215 pounds, Carson Gilbert meets United North Central sophomore Eli Roiko (35-4) in the championship match that comes later tonight at Xcel Energy Center.
In girls' basketball playoff news...heartbreak in Hinckley
In my humble opinion, the game was lost in the first 6 minutes of the opening half. It was tough to watch, as Upsala attacked the rim with a high level of intensity on offense while using their defense to push the tempo. Facing the No. 3-seeded Cardinals for the second time this season, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled nearly the entire game and came up short in a devastating 54-51 loss in the Sub-Section 5A-East semifinals.
Upsala's fast start helped them build early leads of 12-4 (with just over 6 minutes played) and later 17-10 (with 9:39 left).
Before the game, news had just been released that Region 5A officials moved the site for the upcoming subsection championship game from Hinckley to Foley high school. It was a terrific prize for either Upsala or B-B-E, but it required winning today's game to get that prize.
Here's a video from the first half today in Hinckley:
In that video, the clip begins right after Upsala scored in the paint with 5:15 left. This gave the Cardinals a 20-17 lead. Across the first 6 minutes, Upsala built a 12-4 lead, but the Jaguars clawed their way back to trail 18-17 when Macey Roering went 1-of-2 at the free throw line with 5:33 to go.
It was not meant to be for the Jaguars, who had an outstanding season from the outer view with a 19-9 final season record, a runner-up finish in the Central Minnesota Conference and a 2-0 record at the Granite City Classic over Christmas. This was all achieved with just 3 seniors on the roster and just 2 senior starters. However, earning playoff hardware was not in the cards. Upsala played a terrific game from start to finish and withstood an incredible second-half comeback by the Jaguars.
With 11:45 left, Upsala led 41-27 and appeared firmly in the driver's seat. The Jaguars slowly chipped away, and they tied it at 48-48 on two free throws by Kacey Fischer with 1:43 left. With under 1 minute to go, Teagan Dingmann's three-pointer forced a 51-51 tie, but the Cardinals won the game on a banked three-pointer by senior guard Isabel Ripplinger on the left wing with 23 seconds to go.
Upsala (19-9) advances to the subsection finals to face top-seeded Braham (22-6) next Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at Foley high school. Upsala has 6 seniors on the roster, and they earned a huge feat by getting Upsala into a playoff championship game for the first time in many years. (I'll look that up later.) This is all I have for now, as my laptop battery is nearing the end of its charge. This blog post will be updated again at about 7 p.m.
In Class 1A state wrestling news...the Jaguars have another state champion in the program. Carson Gilbert won by a 6-5 decision in the 215-pound state championship tonight to finish a perfect 42-0 overall. He's the third B-B-E wrestler to have an undefeated season, joining Adam Jaeger (2018) and Maximus Hanson (2024).
Gilbert trailed 4-2 after the first period but took the lead with a takedown with just 20 seconds remaining in the third period. The 3 points awarded at that point gave him a 6-5 lead.
In college basketball news...
Earlier today in the NJCAA Division III Region 13B tournament, Northland Technical and Community College (21-4) defeated St. Cloud Technical and Community College 70-49 to advance to tomorrow's national-qualifying championship game. The Pioneers, who include B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer, face Rochester Community and Technical College (20-4) tomorrow on back Northland's home court at noon in Thief River Falls. The winner gets an automatic berth in the NJCAA DIII national tournament.
The STCC Cyclones finish 11-13 overall after earning a region playoff berth for the first time since 2020 and just the third time in program history. They were led this season by B-B-E Class of 2024 graduate Brooklyn Fischer.
Schwinghammer and fellow sophomore Josie Iverson each scored 16 points to lead the No. 3-ranked Pioneers, who are the top seed in Region 13A. Also in the scorebox for Schwinghammer: 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots.
In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate College conference tournament quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, the Minnesota State University-Moorhead Dragons women's basketball team lot 87-79 to top-seeded Southwest Minnesota State University. MSU-Moorhead finishes 14-16 overall after they went 11-11 in the NSIC regular season. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Abby Berge scored 13 points with 6 rebounds for the Dragons.
Ridgewater College lost 74-53 to Minnesota West Community College in the Region 13A semifinals today in Thief River Falls. The Warriors, whose roster includes B-B-E Class of 2024 graduate Grace Jackson, went 4-20 overall this season.
Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 1:
Sauk Centre 68, Foley 48
Breckenridge 66, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 49
Annandale 58, Osakis 57
West Central Area 62, Hancock 57
Underwood 60, New York Mills 53
Royalton 49, Albany 43
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 69, Sebeka 30
Bertha-Hewitt 61, Pine River-Backus 46
Fergus Falls 59, Willmar 47
A big day lies ahead with postseason action taking place in Hinckley and St. Paul.
MAJOR afternoon update...Region 5A officials have already changed the venue (site) for Tuesday's subsection championship game to Foley high school. This is wonderful!!!! Now we have to get there!
At Xcel Energy Center, three members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team compete for hardware at the Class 1A individual state wrestling tournament. Noah Jensen at 107 pounds can battle back for as high as third place, while Brett DeRoo (160) and Carson Gilbert (215) are both in contention for state titles.
And shifting gears to basketball...
Coach Austin Rambow reported that the seeding for Section 6A has to be completed by 10 a.m. today. Shortly after 10 a.m., we should know the final seedings and the schedule for next week's boys' basketball playoffs.
UPDATE in the afternoon: please spread the word! Both local radio stations will carry today's playoff game in Hinckley. Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood (107.1 FM) also streams online with Brady Erdmann's coverage: https://www.kmgk1071.com. Also! Out of Norway Lake-Sunburg, 106.5 FM The Train will carry the game. Bill Dean's radio coverage can be heard online at: https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train.
Here's a video from Royalton on February 18:
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team faces Upsala in the sub-section semifinals today after an obnoxious, ridiculous 2 1/2-hour drive to face Upsala at Hinckley-Finlayson high school. For what it's worth, Upsala also has an extensive drive, but they have the "luxury" of not being forced to drive through the 83 stoplights of the St. Cloud Metropolitan area. The Upsala team and fans have about a 100-minute-long drive to go 89 miles. The drive for us is 120 miles and at least 150 minutes of driving.
MEANWHILE...Braham, the top seed with a 21-5 overall record, has just 26 miles to drive to play today's game. Braham faces No. 5-seeded Swanville (13-12) at 12 p.m. in Hinckley. Swanville has to travel 99 miles with what is about a 2-hour long drive that includes traveling through Little Falls. That would be a challening drive to complete in under 120 minutes. THINK about it: Braham has a 30-minute drive time today, while Swanville has a 120-minute drive. The playoff site of Hinckley-Finlayson high school creates one of the most over-the-top terrible decisions I've seen in over 20 years of sports reporting by the powers-that-be who create the playoff brackets. This is far and away a "Top 5" bad decision in anything I've seen. It's absolutely wild that officials did not seek out a site that's at a minimum closer to St. Cloud. There's "fair" and there's "wrong" and this is wrong!
Upsala has a roster that includes "lights out" good players such as Dakota Soltis, who can go off for 20+ points if she gets on a tear. The Cardinals are 18-9 overall while having one of their better girls' basketball seasons in school history. They have earned great success in fastpitch softball in the past 3 years, and this year's girls' basketball team includes players with extensive state fastpitch tournament experience (2022 state appearance and then 4th at state in 2023). Last spring, Upsala went 17-7 overall and finished third in Section 6A after going 6 games deep in the postseason. In fastpitch softball, Upsala's team has played in 21 postseason games in the last 3 years. In the Prairie Conference, Upsala's fastpitch team tied with Swanville for the title last spring, and the Cardinals earned solo Prairie titles in their state tournament seasons of 2022 and 2023.
UPDATE:you can listen to the Braham vs. Swanville girls' basketball playoff game (noon tip-off) by clicking here to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_X5SIFp43A. After Swanville took a 2-0 lead, they committed three straight turnovers while facing Braham's fullcourt press. The Bombers then racked up 5 team fouls in the game's first 3 minutes, but they have a 5-4 lead.
With 14 minutes to go in the first half, the Bombers had 5 team fouls, and Swanville was tagged with their first team foul. Braham led 7-6 at that point. The underdog Bulldogs clearly came to play! It will be interesting to see how they fare against Braham's fullcourt pressure.
UPDATE at state wrestling! Noah Jensen (37-8) won a 20-8 major decision this morning against Pipestone Area freshman Lane Fruechte (34-7) to advance to the consolation bracket semifinals. Additional updates to follow here after 11 a.m. Update: Noah's next opponent will be Chatfield freshman Jameson Priebe, the bracket's No. 2 seed. Priebe is 40-3 going into this match.
Brett DeRoo's semifinal match should start sometime after 12 p.m.
Afternoon update: Brett DeRoo lost a tough one in his state semifinal match by a 7-1 decision to the bracket's No. 2 seed. He will battle in the consolation bracket and try to fight back to take third place at 160. DeRoo faces Canby senior Blake Giese in his consolation semifinal match.
In his 215-pound semifinal, Carson Gilbert won a 7-2 decision to advance to the state finals.
At 107, Noah Jensen won a 14-7 decision to advance to the third-place match at state. It's a grand achievement for the 8th grader in his first appearance at the individual state tournament!
BASKETBALL UPDATE:Braham defeated Swanville 67-58 in overtime to advance to the subsection finals. At the end of regulation, the score was tied 53-53. I've got extensive game notes to post tonight from that game. The B-B-E vs. Upsala game should get started at about 2:10 p.m. in Hinckley. Updates to follow!
In the first half, the Cardinals have jumped out to an early 12-4 lead. With 11 minutes to go, the Jaguars trail 12-6.
Halftime: Upsala 23, B-B-E 19. It as been a mighty struggle.
In the 2nd half, with 12:40 to go, the Cardinals have a 39 to 27 lead. This blog post is a wrap as of 4 p.m. A new blog post is coming later this afternoon with the girls' basketball final score.
