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