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, April 05, 2025
Robotics stays hot for Day II of Granite City regional (VIDEOS**)
To start the second day of the Granite City Regional, the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team was part of another winning Red Alliance as they improved to 5-3 in qualification matches in St. Cloud. The final score was 134-80.
Here's a video clip from the team's pit after they earned the win to start Saturday's action:
B-B-E's second qualification match of Saturday is set to begin at about 10:45 a.m. ****Update: in the second match for B-B-E on Saturday, their Blue Alliance fell 106-89 in an excellent match. They were paired with teams from Hopkins and St. Francis. Now in 18th place, their final qualification match is set to start at about 11:25 a.m.
Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website for more Saturday updates from St. Cloud: https://shorturl.at/TdNAC. As of noon, B-B-E's team is in the running for a playoff spot!
On Saturday night, a video was added to that web article at The Voice website. Final results from the region playoffs was also added.
Here's that video which was also added at the newspaper's website:
GAME DAY! For Robotics and Speech - and big sports news
A big day is in store for fans in Jaguar Country, with two playoff-style events taking place at home and on the road.
During the day, theB-B-E Resistance Robotics teamis competing in 7 qualification matches at the Granite City Regional in St. Cloud.
For action at home, which fans are invited to, the B-B-E speech team hosts the Sub-Section 5A-West meet at the high school. The first rounds begin at 4:15 p.m.
Updates from St. Cloud...
In the first qualification match, B-B-E's Red Alliance lost a heartbreaker by a 70-66 score. It was a grueling loss. Their alliance held a 60-44 lead at the conclusion of the action, but the ranking points tipped the scales in favor of the Blue Alliance. A very tough loss to start the region tournament! Ouch.
In B-B-E's second qualification match at 10:33 a.m., their Blue Alliance won 128-54. This puts B-B-E's region record in St. Cloud at 1-1. Their alliance led 20-9 after the autonomous period, and when the clock ran to zeroes, the score was 102-50. This match's Blue Alliance included B-B-E, New London-Spicer and Detroit Lakes.
B-B-E's third match of the day is tentatively set to begin at 11:18 a.m.
FRIDAY night update from St. Cloud!
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team had a remarkable afternoon to finish out the first day of competition at the Granite City Regional in St. Cloud. After suffering two very close losses and sitting with a 1-3 record earlier this afternoon, they picked up three straight alliance wins and have climbed from 34th place out of 48 teams up to 17th! Outstanding!
Robotics UPDATE ON FRIDAY morning...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website with this link: https://shorturl.at/ooaVT...and there you can follow more updates on the team's progress today in St. Cloud. For the newspaper's sports department, we have "wheels up" at noon to head to River's Edge and take in the last 4 matches of the day in person. It's going to be a fund day!
**Friday afternoon: B-B-E's fifth match was terrific as they earned a 103-46 win. More to come.
In breaking sports news...playoff maps are set to change in Minnesota...
There's more to digest over the weekend, but I can share this right away...the B-B-E Jaguars football team has a revamped playoff map starting next fall. With new MSHSL classifications released this week, our football team has been placed in a new Section 5A for the postseason. The 2025 season will be their first as members of Section 5A since the fall of 2008.
Section 5A football teams for the fall of 2025 and 2026:
1. Benson
2. Long Prairie/Grey Eagle
3. Upsala/Swanville Area
4. Ashby/Brandon-Evansville
5. B-B-E
6. West Central Area
7. Browerville
For the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team, they remain in Section 6A for the playoffs. In basketball, the sections remain largely unchanged for our teams. I don't see any new additions for either of our winter basketball teams. The boys' squad remains in Section 6A, and the girls' team continues their quest for state tournaments in Section 5A. For the wrestling team, it's the same story: no major changes in Section 5A.
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).
Boys' basketball subsection finals, robotics at Grand Forks (VIDEOS*)
A robotics video was posted below on this blog post on Monday.
Here I'll get more videos posted on Sunday. I've been busy getting caught up from the past week of activities. I am finally done uploading all the videos recorded at Grand Forks last weekend. Remember! There's the Brooten Ambulance pancake breakfast, and the Padua Pub will host their second day of St. Patrick's Day weekend activities throughout the day Sunday. The parade in Padua starts at 1 p.m. sharp.
Here's action from the first half of Wednesday night's basketball game:
As I wrote in the last blog post, West Central Area's boys' basketball team is heading to the state tournament for the first time in school history. The Knights beat Ada Borup-West 60-56 last night (Friday) in Fergus Falls to claim the Section 6A title. Over the weekend, the Knights earned the No. 2 seed at the state tournament, which is quite noteworthy. Cherry is the top seed in Class 1A, while Fertile-Beltrami is the No. 3 seed, Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey is the No. 4 seed and Nevis is the No. 5 seed. WCA tips off in their quarterfinal game at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 21 at Williams Arena against unseeded Heritage Christian Academy.
**Here's action from the second half in the subsection finals:
I've got part of the robotics story that was published in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper posted in a web article on the newspaper website. It includes a video from Saturday at the Alerus Center last weekend: Voice robotics story.
Here's the first match of Saturday in Grand Forks a week ago:
As I wrote in The Voice last week, it was really a sight to take in to witness the robotics team recover from multiple mechanical issues that hampered the cause on Friday. They finished strong and have much to be proud of with how they performed under pressure! That's what matters.
Great Northern robotics regional: a day for redemption! (VIDEO)
This is a day for a comeback for the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team in Grand Forks. They have their eyes set on running the table to finish out the Great Northern Regional competition at the spacious Alerus Center! Their robot finished strong in Friday's matches while performing all of its functions in the sixth qualification match of the tournament.
The opening ceremonies and performances of the U.S. National Anthem and Canada's national anthem take place at 8:30 a.m., and the second day of competition starts at about 9 a.m.
Also taking place today: the boys' basketball team faces Brandon-Evansville in the subsection semifinals at Minnewaska Area this afternoon.
Here's video from the last match of yesterday!
Here's how Saturday is playing out in Grand Forks...
In their first match of today, B-B-E's Red Alliance earned an exciting 49-35 win after the autonomous period ended in a 14-14 tie. This moved them up from 55th place to 52nd place in the field of 56 teams.
Update at lunch time: B-B-E's Blue Alliance won their second match of Saturday 58-48 in a Blue Alliance with Willmar and Loretto. This moved them up to 51st place overall. In B-B-E's final qualification match, their Red Alliance with New London-Spicer and Delano lost a tough, close battle by a 44-39 score. They were confident of being in the running for getting selected to a playoff alliance, but that last loss took them out of the running. The region competition for the 2024 season has officially concluded. Five hugely valuable seniors graduate off the team: Davin Preble, Owen Paulson, Odin Jensen, Aiden Johnson and Jeffrey Cihlar.
Officially, the season record was 2-7, and they ended in 53rd place out of 56 teams.
********** Halftime: the boys' basketball team is ahead 35 to 24 at halftime against the Chargers in their playoff game this afternoon.
I am still making my way back to Fargo. The game is on both local radio stations.
Great Northern robotics regional: day two a steep uphill climb! (VIDEO)
B-B-E Resistance Robotics team's troubles that were on the horizon to conclude the practice day of the Great Northern robotics regional in Grand Forks were front and center nearly the entire day on Friday.
Through the first five matches, B-B-E's robot failed to complete an entire match without technical difficulties. By the sixth try, though, the robot ran flawlessly and pulled off a tremendous performance to conclude Friday at Grand Fork's Alerus Center. In the sixth match, the robot successfully performed its pre-programmed directive in the autonomous period and also successfully fired five game pieces during the tele-op period. To conclude the sixth match, B-B-E's robot pulled off a successful "hang" by its extendable boom lifts. This final hang earned the one ranking point, which ultimately pulled them out of last place in the tournament's 56-team field. During an afternoon match, the robot functioned without issue until halfway into the tele-op (driver control) period, at which point an ethernet cable became unplugged; this cut communications from the driver and stopped the robot cold.
So what happened...?
The problems initially started when as many as 13 of 16 controller motors on the robot malfunctioned. This sent the outlook into a tailspin as the team had to either repair or replace the faulty motors. Another issue arose when a key wire was crossed that sent 12 volts of power into a 5 volt system on the robot. For one of B-B-E's early qualification matches, only three of the four drive wheels were functioning.
Video from today's action in Grand Forks is uploading.
Here's Coach Reed Adrian providing a few comments just as the team was departing the Alerus Center to go find supper:
In basketball news today...
West sub-section champion Walker-Hackensack-Akeley punched their ticket to the Class 1A state tournament by defeating East sub-section champion Braham 67-63 in tonight's Section 5A championship at St. Cloud State University.
Southwest Minnesota Christian avenged one of their two regular season losses by throttling Minneota 58-38 tonight in the Section 3A championship at SMSU's R/A Facility in Marshall. The Eagles lost on their home floor to Minneota 57-53 on February 6. On paper it was billed to be a close match-up, with Southwest Christian sitting at No. 15 in the latest QRF rankings and Minneota at No. 12. The Eagles take a 28-2 record into state next week. Minneota finishes another incredible season with a 27-4 record.
In the Section 3AA finals, New London-Spicer buried South sub-section champion Windom 80-40. Ouch.
To the west in Section 6A, Underwood earned a mild 71-61 upset win against Hancock to punch through to the state tournament for the second straight year.
Over in Section 6AA, a powerhouse Albany team stopped Holdingford's season with a 76-50 win at SCSU tonight.
In Section 7A, Mountain Iron-Buhl appears destined to win a second straight state title after they buried the No. 8-ranked Cromwell-Wright Cardinals 77-35 in their section title game tonight at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Earlier in the season on December 9 down in Goodhue, MI-B defeated Cromwell-Wright 76-63.
B-B-E robotics is in Grand Forks! Ready to shine! (UPDATES, VIDEOS**)
Note: this blog post has received numerous updates throughout the day. Video has also been added from Grand Forks.
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team arrived in Grand Forks on Wednesday night for the F.I.R.S.T. Great Northern Regional competition.
As of Thursday night, a total of 56 teams were registered. The first qualification match starts at 8:55 a.m. this morning (Friday). B-B-E's team has their first match in the second overall match, which is set to begin at 9:06 a.m. Their second match is set for approximately 10:39 a.m., and their third match is set for around 11:28 a.m.
More to come later this morning. On my way up Interstate 94 and 29, I will make at least one stop to update this blog post with results from their first and possibly second matches. It is unlikely that I will arrive in time to watch the second match in person.
**Here's a video recorded a little over a week ago, on Wednesday the 28th, at B-B-E high school's CTE lab:
I've got a small robotics article added to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website...it includes a video from the February 27 practice session at the high school's CTE lab. The robot was working remarkably well that week: https://shorturl.at/mU356.
FRIDAY morning updates...
The luster came off of the day when B-B-E's robot failed to move in their first qualification match. Their blue alliance lost the match 75-27. It was a frustrating turn of events, after they had a great run through the practice sessions yesterday in Grand Forks.
**Match two update: B-B-E's robot underperformed throughout the entire match, and when it was over, their red alliance trailed by a wide margin. For a reason I did not understand, the match will actually get to be replayed at a later time today. On the master list, this is the 14th qualification match out of 84 total. B-B-E's Red Alliance included teams from Stillwater and Litchfield.
B-B-E's third qualification match will be in a Red Alliance with teams from Cando, North Dakota and Annandale. I'm estimating that this match should start at 11:38 a.m. The qualification matches are running about 7 to 8 minutes later from the original schedule.
Match No. 3 results: B-B-E's third match of the day started at 11:45. After the autonomous period (using artificial intelligence) was complete, B-B-E's Red Alliance had a small 14-12 lead. After that, their alliance got lit up, and they lost by a final score of 79-29. Ouch. Officially, B-B-E's record so far is 0-2. Their next match is set for approximately 13:52 this afternoon.
**UPDATE: B-B-E's second qualification match will get replayed at about 12:20. After that it is lunch time! I will be in the Alerus Center the rest of the afternoon.
Official results for B-B-E's second qualification match: (this was the replayed match) B-B-E's Red Alliance trailed 24-14 after the autonomous period was complete. From there it got worse, and B-B-E's robot failed for most of the tele-op (driver control) period. Their alliance lost by a wide 69-33 margin, sending their record to 0-3 in the regional. It was a very tough morning for B-B-E Resistance Robotics. They have the afternoon with three matches to redeem themselves.
Match No. 4 outcome: B-B-E's Blue Alliance, which included teams from Rolla, North Dakota and Ashby, lost 56-25. They trailed 17-12 after the autonomous period ended.
**Here's a video featuring the drive team heading out to the competition floor at Alerus Center this afternoon:
*Match No. 5 outcome: B-B-E's robot functioned properly and was able to shoot two game pieces after their Blue Alliance held a 22-19 lead after the autonomous period. Overall, it was great progress compared to the morning! An Ethernet cable became unplugged during the first minute of the tele-op period. Their Blue Alliance lost by a score of 60-31. One other team member in their alliance, Cambridge-Isanti, suffered a similar robot malfunction. The third team of their alliance was from Moorhead.
The fifth and final match of Friday will start at about 4:40 p.m.
Final match of Friday...the outcome: B-B-E's robotics team finished the day strong in spite of their alliance losing the match by a 79-53 score. I'll get a post-match interview with Coach Reed Adrian posted in a new blog post later tonight after I arrive at my family's hotel room in Fargo! That's 75 miles away right now...I am proud of our robotics team for hanging together through rough circumstances!! Tomorrow, the sun will rise on a new day!!! ##GRATEFUL
I'll circle back to this in tonight's blog post, but I wanted to quick mention that Braham's girls' basketball team will play for the state tournament tonight when they take on Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in the Section 5A championship. The Bombers and Wolves square off at Halenbeck Hall on the campus of SCSU with tip-off at approximately 7:45 p.m. Braham destroyed top-seeded Ogilvie 90-62 in the Sub-Section 5A-East championship on Wednesday night. Of course, it makes you wonder just how badly the Jaguars would have likely beaten Ogilvie if they had come out on top last Saturday against Braham. That's the world of sports! It can sometimes be a game of inches. In tonight's Section 3A finals, Minneota faces Southwest Christian of Edgerton for a state berth.
Section individual wrestling, robotics and speech today (UPDATES**** and VIDEO)
Today there are three big events taking place, including one that features state qualifiation on the line. Updates are being posted below on this blog post throughout the day. Note: my last morning update for section wrestling was a 11:20 a.m. (See below)
**Saturday mid-afternoon update...I've got additional notes posted below at the bottom of this blog post with wrestling updates out of Canby, where five Jaguars are gunning for a section title; others may be in the running for a state berth, but that's all yet to be determined with much to still shake out.
Final results from the Section 5A individual wrestling tournament will be posted in a new blog post at 7 p.m. tonight. Hit refresh of the blog to check that out and see how many Jaguars have advanced to state.
UPDATE at 5 p.m...more outcomes have been decided for the remaining Jaguars in contention for state...look at the bottom of this blog post for more on that...as of now, Ryan Jensen, Maximus Hanson and Carson Gilbert have earned guaranteed trips to the individual state tournament. Three other Jaguars are still in contention with true second matches forthcoming.
At Maple Lake today, the B-B-E speech team is competing in their fifth meet of the season. I will be reporting on their Browerville trip last weekend plus today's Maple Lake invitational in next week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
In robotics news! Saturday updates...
At Willmar high school, the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team is giving their robot its first run through real competition with the Week Zero scrimmage today. Action concludes before 4 p.m. this afternoo. I hope to be there after lunch! You can read a little about this year's robotics team and competition by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://rb.gy/9xvc12. The full article along with additional feature photos were published in the February 23 issue of The Voice.
**Here's a video from Willmar this afternoon...
At Canby high school...
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is competing in the Section 5A individual tournament. A few results of early matches are posted below. The section is experiencing the lack of wrestlers that has plaqued this sport across all corners of Minnesota. How incredibly lucky are we at B-B-E that we have a full wrestling room and ample depth that can overcome injuries throughout the lineup. We have such great student-athletes! This is not something to be taken for granted. It takes a mountain of hard work to get to where our wrestling program is.
107: Noah Jensen had a first-round bye and then lost a 12-5 decision in the quarterfinals to Paynesville's Jamison Meagher; this bracket has just 8 wrestlers, so he has a couple byes ahead of him in the consolation bracket.
114: Noah Welte (28-12) had a first-round bye in a nine-man bracket; he will face K-M-S's Oswaldo Moreno (18-24) in the quarterfinals. **Welte won by fall (3:14) against Moreno to advance to the championship semifinals, where he will face Benson sophomore Gavin Olson (32-7) for a berth in the championship.
121: Noah DeRoo (10-12) had a first-round bye in what is a six-man bracket; he faces K-M-S's Cole Froehlich (26-16) in the quarterfinals. **Noah DeRoo lost by fall (0:56) to Froehlich and has a least a couple byes in the consolation bracket.
127: in a 10-man bracket, Jace Mueller (12-18) won his opener by a 7-2 decision against K-M-S sophomore Zachary VanHeuveln; he will take on Benson sophomore Max Nygaard (31-8) in the quarterfinals. **Jace Mueller lost a tech fall (4:11) against Nygaard; he faces Quad County freshman James Hardin (9-22) in wrestlebacks. ****Jace Mueller lost by fall (4:46) against Hardin to see his seventh grade varsity season conclude with a final record of 12-20.
133: Dylan Koob (4-14) won his opener by fall (0:49) against Ortonville's Justus Romanoff; in the quarterfinals, Koob lost by fall (1:27) to top-seeded and undefeated K-M-S sophomore Trey Gunderson (47-0) to move into the wrestleback side of his nine-man bracket. **Koob had two byes in wrestlebacks and now faces Benson junior Mu tah Wah (13-26) in the wrestleback bracket.
139: top-seeded senior Ryan Jensen (40-0) had a first-round bye and faces BOLD sophomore Trey Zamarron (5-18) in the quarterfinals of an eight-man bracket. **Ryan Jensen won his quarterfinal match against Zamarron by fall (0:37) to advance to the championship semis. In the semis, he will face A-C-GC sophomore Joseph Sherwood (27-18).
145: senior Tanner Viessman (35-2) had a first-round bye in his nine-man bracket and faces Benson senior Derek Johnson (9-27) in the quarterfinals. **Viessman won his quarterfinal match against Johnson by fall (0:45) and now faces K-M-S freshman Taytan Nielsen (30-14) in the championship semifinals.
152: junior Brett DeRoo (34-5) had a first-round bye in his nine-man bracket and faces Canby senior Brodyrck Gravdal (15-16) in the quarterfinals. **Brett DeRoo won his quarterfinal by a 16-2 major decision against Gravdal and now faces Minneota junior Destin Fier (24-11) in the championship semifinals.
160: Ethan Mueller (33-9) had a first-round bye in his nine-man bracket and faces Minneota freshman Cael Fier (9-4) in the quarterfinals. **In his quarterfinal match, Ethan Mueller won a 5-3 decision against Fier to advance to the championship semifinals.
172 Maximus Hanson (42-0) had a first-round bye in his nine-man bracket and faces Ortonville junior Logan Omundson (10-29) in the quarterfinals. **Hanson won by fall (0:46) in his quarterfinal match against Omundson. His opponent is to-be-determined as of 11:21 a.m.
189: Hunter Laage (29-11) had a first-round bye in a seven-man bracket and faces K-M-S freshman Jake Holtkamp (16-15) in the quarterfinals. **Laage won by fall (1:10) against Holtkamp in the quarterfinals to advance to the championship semifinals; his opponent is to-be-determined as of 11:37 a.m.
215: Carson Gilbert (36-3) had a first-round bye in his nine-man bracket and faces Quad County freshman Owen Slettendahl (15-17) in the quarterfinals.
285: Harley Weber (25-7) had a first-round bye in his eight-man bracket and faces A-C-GC junior Juan Cardenas (12-15) in the quarterfinals.
Updates on Saturday afternoon...in a nutshell...at 107, Noah Jensen will wrestle for fifth place. At 114, Noah Welte will wrestle for fifth place. At 121, Noah DeRoo will wrestle for fifth place. At 160, Ethan Mueller will go for third place. At 189, Hunter Laage will wrestle for third place. At heavyweight, Harley Weber was injured in his semifinal match, and his status is unclear. He has been placed in the fifth-place match.
Going for first place for the Jaguars...at 139, Ryan Jensen will wrestle for a section title while facing Canby junior Blake Giese (26-19) in the finals. At 145, Tanner Viessman will also go for a state title as he is facing No. 2-seeded Sam Drietz (a junior with a 30-9 record) of Canby in the championship. At 152, Brett DeRoo earned an exciting upset semifinal win by a 7-2 decision against No. 2-seeded junior Destin Fier of Minneota. He will wrestle for a section title against BOLD's top-seeded and senior Austin Kiecker (42-4). At 172, Maximus Hanson will wrestle for a section title as he faces No. 2-seeded junior Aaron Jones (35-12) of K-M-S in the championship. At 215, Carson Gilbert will go for a section title against A-C-GC's No. 2-seeded senior Isaiah Renne in the championship.
Championship-round results... Ryan Jensen won the 139-pound section championship to punch his way back to state.
Tanner Viessman lost a hearbreaker in a 3-1 decision in sudden victory overtime to fall into a true second-place match, where he faces Kiecker of BOLD for a trip to state at 145 pounds.
Brett DeRoo also lost a heartbreaker by an identical 3-1 sudden victory decision to fall into a true second match, where he faces Straumann of A-C-GC for state at 152 pounds.
Maximus Hanson won the 172-pound title with a 17-2 technical fall in his championship.
Hunter Laage won the third-place match at 189 pounds and now gets a true second match, where he'll face Peyton Hemmesch of Paynesville for a trip to state. Carson Gilbert won the 215-pound title with a 3-1 decision in his championship.
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team made history today at La Crosse, Wisconsin, as they were selected to advance to the playoffs of the North Star regional competition. They finished the regular matches in 17th place overall with a 7-6 record.
Their third playoff match starts at about 14:50 today. At this point of the playoffs, they are 1-1 with a win in the first playoff match and then a close 129-123 loss that sent them into the loser's bracket.
UPDATE: B-B-E's red alliance won 162-146 in their third playoff match of the regional tournament.
The fourth playoff match for B-B-E starts at about 15:21. Coach Reed Adrian just reported that B-B-E's team is being subbed out in the next round, which is allowed, but it is unclear what this means for B-B-E's playoff run. The official F.I.R.S.T. page still shows they will be in the 3:28 p.m. playoff loser's bracket match.
Updates from the region playoffs will be posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website at the following web article (short link): https://bit.ly/3nr1gAQ.
FINAL update from La Crosse: B-B-E's robotics team's alliance lost the tiebreaker to go to nationals in Houston, Texas. Their blue alliance lost by a final score of 144-130.
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team started their regional competition with a 113-70 red alliance win in their first match this morning in La Crosse.
Their second match is at approximately 11:07 a.m.
**Update: BBE's blue alliance lost tight battle in their second match of the day by a 65-63 score. Their third match is at approximately 11:36 a.m.
In their third match of the morning, the robotics team's red alliance pulled out a close 65 to 58 win!
Fourth match outcome... the robotics team's blue alliance lost 114-63 in their fourth match of the day. The winning red alliance included Rocori's team, which was sitting in first place at the time. They are on a lunch break now. The next match is set for approximately 13:44...actually 13:55.
*NOTE: further updates to the region competition will be posted at a web article that's being developed this afternoon at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website (short link): https://bit.ly/3LRL1Hc.
SUNDAY morning update: B-B-E earned a win to square the record in La Crosse at 5-5 as their blue alliance won 130-103 in the first match of Sunday. Additional updates for Sunday will be added to the newspaper's website in the link posted above in this blog post.
UPDATE on Sunday: B-B-E's final match in La Crosse is set for approximately 11:58. They enter this match sitting in 17th place overall.
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team completed one match this morning at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. In that match, their Red Alliance lost 82-69. Their next match is at approximately 10:16 a.m. That's all I've got right now. It's double duty time again while reporting on robotics and more on the girls' basketball team.
B-B-E's next match is Qualification Match No. 77, which can be found on the list featured at this page: https://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2023ndgf. It should get started at about 10:20 a.m.
MATCH No. 9 outcome:
In the 10:20 match today, the B-B-E team earned its first win! Their Blue Alliance, which included Swanville and Sauk Centre, earned the win by a score of 104 to 45. The next and final match is at 10:51 a.m. in another Blue Alliance, this one including Hutchinson and a team from Minneapolis. They entered the final match ranked 50th out of 53 teams with a 1-8 record.
MATCH No. 10 outcome:
In the final match of the Great Northern Regional in Grand Forks, B-B-E finished with a win in their Blue Alliance as they earned a close 89-80 win.
Day TWO of the Great Northern Regional robotics competition is underway at the spacious Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
MATCH No. 1:
B-B-E Resistance Robotics just competed in their first match of seven matches to be held today. Things did not go well due to a major electrical connection issue. The robot performed flawlessly in the final practice session yesterday. Today it failed at both the initial autonomous stage and then the grid (stacking) stage. The robot successfully stacked one charging cube, but on its run out to the center of the playing floor, a connection failed, and it stopped dead cold.
Lead driver Dominic Finken and his able crew are assessing what went wrong and trying to fix it before the next match, which is at 11:01. Once it's fixed, they'll get the robot out on the practice field and give it a whirl.
More to come.
**Update at noon: matches 2 and 3 did not go well either. Radio transmitter issues have plagued BBE's robot all morning. Their official record is 0-3 with 5 more matches to go today. This is adversity, and they are working through it.
The fourth match starts at 1:35 p.m.!! They may be a bit ahead of schedule.
Match No. 4 update:
This match had a rough start, a good recovery and then another huge fail at the very end. First, the robot's autonumous period was a fail. Dominic then had no trouble driving it during the grid (stacking) period and made a good run at that. When it came time to climb onto the charging station for the final hang, the robot stalled cold. Once again it had a communication issue with the radio transmitter. Huge fail! Very disappointing for Dominic and his fellow crew.
Match No. 5:
B-B-E's fifth match of the day took place at 2:45 p.m., and the robot worked for the entire period. Their alliance lost, however, but they will keep plugging away. The sixth match is set for 3:55 p.m. The final match of today is set for 5:05 p.m.
**At 14:30 the newspaper's entourage left Grand Forks. Now we shift gears to girls' basketball at St. John's University. Grand Forks was great while it lasted. Because of the oncoming snow storm in this area, we will not be at robotics tomorrow for the final day.
B-B-E Resistance Robotics gears up for Regional No. 1! (VIDEO)
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team is settled in and ready to go for the Great Northern Regional competition at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This year's competition is called "Charged Up" with a nod towards the fact that countless modern-day devices (necessary or just amenities) rely on battery power. The basic regional schedule has the robotics team in an inspection and practice day today followed by two days of competitions on Friday and Saturday. The team's robot was ran through five practice scrimmages today on the arena floor. Progress grew with each time on the floor, and the fifth time was the charm! The robot completed all the tasks they wanted it to for that fifth run, which included operating in an "autonomous" auto mobility mode where no manual controls are used and then a period where the robot collected and stacked competition pieces in a grid before balancing itself in an endgame park on what is dubbed a "charging station" before the session was complete.
Day Two of the regional consists of seven matches each per team in their respective alliances. B-B-E's team is in the Blue Alliance. Day Three on Saturday will have three final matches.
*Here's a video featuring footage from that fifth practice scrimmage tonight in Grand Forks:
Robotics coach Reed Adrian was thrilled with that last try on the competition floor. What they accomplished today bodes well for the actual competition that gets started early tomorrow morning. The doors open at 8 a.m., and the competition heats should get going by 9 a.m. NOTE: late tonight, a formal schedule will be posted to this blog post for when the team's first heat of the morning takes place. They will run a rigorous schedule. It will be exciting!!
B-B-E's official F.I.R.S.T. robotics homepage can be found here: https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/4238/2023. FIRST stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" which is an international youth organization that operates the FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST LEGO League Challenge, FIRST LEGO League Explore, FIRST LEGO League Discover, and FIRST Tech Challenge competitions.
The newspaper's entourage arrived late in the afternoon after having a difficult drive north, plagued mostly with minivan mechanical issues. The drive from Fargo to Grand Forks was actually quite good with limited patches of icy interstate. We got here safe and sound, and that's what matters!
This weekend in Grand Forks is the first of two regional competitions that the team will compete in. The second takes place in LaCrosse, Wisconsin two weeks from now.
The Voice entourage is enjoying a peaceful evening of hotel time tonight. Everybody Loves Raymond is the feature show on our hotel room's TV. The rest is welcome. Tomorrow will bring about 15 straight hours of work, beginning with robotics coverage and ending with girls' basketball coverage!
***Friday morning update: the team's first match is at 09:40. The second match is at 11:01.
We have exciting seasons ahead of us in Jaguar Country with the B-B-E speech team and B-B-E Resistance Robotics getting their winter seasons underway soon. The speech team will have a turnout of about 25 which is the largest number in four years! The robotics team will be competing at the Grand Forks regional on March 9-11, and they head to LaCrosse two weeks later. I sure hope gas prices come down by then! The Bonanza Valley Voice could possibly travel to both regionals. We'll see.
And let's look back a little bit...
*Here's a video featuring the player introductions at the state tournament:
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team faced top-seeded Minneota that day. They gave a tremendous effort and had a win within reach in both games one and two. Minneota went on to win the state title by winning a fifth set over Mayer Lutheran by an 18-16 score. Crazy. Looking ahead, and this is important, I would like as many of you out there to put December 17 on your calendar...it's less than three weeks away. What's so special about that day? WELL! That is the day that our No. 8 preseason-ranked B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team travels to No. 6 preseason-ranked Minneota for a big non-conference showdown with the defending state runners-up. To put it bluntly: the Jaguars will learn quite a bit about their chances this season when they take the court that afternoon in Minneota. *The JV game starts at 11:45 a.m., and the varsity game is set for 1 p.m.
Here's a clip from Fergus Falls in the Section 6A finals...that seems so long ago:
Our volleyball team battled through tough teams to get to the State Final Four round. It was an unforgettable journey.
Saturday: another busy day for robotics and wrestling (UPDATES)
The B-B-E robotics team is off and running at the region competition in Duluth this morning. Their first match should start at about 9:12 a.m. You can track updates from today's robotics action by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website at this link: https://bit.ly/3tzhmrc.
More to come. Still getting a handle on state wrestling scheduling.
**Here's a short video clip featuring the signs hanging at Belgrdade Hadrware store on Wednesday:
State wrestling update:Maximus Hanson won his second wrestleback match while taking a 9-1 major decision this morning. He faces KMS's Coy Gunderson in his next wrestlback match. A win puts Hanson into the third place match tonight.
**Update: Ryan Jensen's state semifinal match should get started before 11 a.m. today, and Walker Bents will follow soon after that.
GREAT NEWS!
At 120 with Ryan Jensen against Eli Larson, no scoring took place in the first minute of the opening period. Jensen broke through with the first points of the match by getting a takedown with 24 seconds on the clock. He took a 2-0 lead into the second period.
No scoring took place in the second period, and Larson earned two back points with 1:49 left in the third period. Jensen earned an escape with 1:03 left to go ahead 3-2. Jensen earned a takedown in the final seconds to earn a state semifinal win by a 5-2 decision.
The same script played out early at 132 for Walker Bents against Owen Denstad. They went into the second period with no scoring. The second period ended with no scoring. Bents was given an escape to start the third period, and he then earned a takedown with 1:18 left to go ahead 3-0. Bents was awarded a penalty point (stalling) with 29 seconds left and won his state semifinal match by a 4-0 decision. These 126 and 132-pound semifinal matches both wrapped up by 11:03 a.m.
Now we wait for Blaine Fischer's state semifinal match at 152 pounds. I expect that match to get started by 11:20 a.m.
Updates on Blaine's match won't be posted until closer to noon. I've got too many irons in the fire.
**At 152, Blaine Fischer lost a heartbreaking 5-4 decision in the state semifinals. He had a 2-1 lead after one period. Jacob Leibold of Royalton/Upsala outscored Fischer 4-2 in the third period, getting a takedown with about 40 seconds left to take the win. He can still go for third place depending how his wrestleback match goes. In the 2021 state championships, Leibold was defeated by Fischer in a championship match. Updates to follow.
Next is Ethan Spanier in the 220 to state semis. **His match should get started at about 12:05 p.m. or soon thereafter.
**At 220, Ethan Spanier lost a 9-2 decision in his semifinal match. He was outscored 4-1 in the first period and 5-1 in the third period. Spanier faces Bryce Holm of Royalton/Upsala in a wrestleback match, and a win there puts him in the third place match.
Additional updates to come here after 2 p.m. Hanson and Spanier haven't been assigned to mats yet.
**Wrestlebacks were not kind to B-B-E wrestlers this afternoon. Maximus Hanson lost a 3-1 decision to Gunderson to fall into the fifth-place match. Ethan Spanier lost a 10-4 decision to also fall into the fifth-place match. At 152, Blaine Fischer lost a 6-2 decision to LPGE/Browerville's Landon Gode to fall into the fifth-place match.
**A new blog post will be added here after 4 p.m. once I get back to Xcel Energy Center. The fifth and third-place matches are in the final session, which starts at 4 p.m. today.
Another busy Friday: robotics and state wrestling (VIDEOS, UPDATES)
Today feels like it will be just as busy as yesterday, if not busier. Today is a HUGE day for the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team, as they begin competition at the Lakes Superior regional in Duluth. Their first heat is at 10:10 a.m. at the DECC arena floor. Their first heat is the eighth overall heat in the regional, which includes 58 teams.
Heat No. 2 is at 11:25 a.m.
Heat No. 3 is at 1:51 p.m.
Heat No. 4 is at 2:54 p.m.
Heat No. 5 is at 3:36 p.m.
Heat. No. 6 is at 4:32 p.m.
Heat No. 7 is at 5:35 p.m.; this heat concludes their competition rounds for Friday.
On Saturday, the two heats are at 9:19 a.m. and 10:22 a.m.
**Robotics fans! *Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website to follow updates on the robotics Lake Superior regional competition (short link): https://bit.ly/3MyOjNo. This web article is being updated regularly throughout the day. Update: as of 2 p.m. today, B-B-E has climbed from 37th place to 21st place out of 58 teams! Late afternoon update... after the fifth match, B-B-E has fallen to 30th place after climbing as high as 18th place at one point. Updated information has been added to that newspaper website article.
**Here's a video clip featuring the second heat for B-B-E's robotics team at 11:22 a.m. this morning. Their robot is numbered 4238. It moved and collected balls and made it back to the hangar with a final hang to help Blue Alliance score 42 points.
Soon after today's first heat takes place for the robotics team in Duluth, six members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team begin their journey into the Class 1A state individual tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The first round matches should start between 10:30 and 11 a.m. **UPDATES are posted below as of 1 p.m. today with first-round results.
Also today: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team completes the regular season with a road game at Hancock tonight. This big sub-section game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. The Hancock Owls are rated No. 3 in Sub-Section 6A-South with a 20-5 overall record. On Tuesday this week, the Owls picked up a big 60-47 win over state-ranked Ashby, who has been the No. 2-ranked team in the sub-section in the past couple of weeks. For most of this season, Ashby was ranked No. 1 in the sub-section but will likely end up seeded No. 3.
To help wash out the bad taste of yesterday's state tournament, let's go back to the high point of the season on February 19 when the Jaguars won the Section 5A title. Here's a video of the team and their families soaking up the two wins over Minneota and Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City...
State wrestling tournament updates will be posted here on this blog post throughout the day. I plan to post robotics updates on a web article at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website.
State individual wrestling tournament Round One results:
120: Ryan Jensen made quick work of his senior opponent, Ethan Elvebak (Maple River/United South Central), and won by fall with a time of just 32 seconds. He takes a 44-3 record into the state quarterfinals, which will be held tonight. Jensen will take on Trinity School at River Ridge's David Gregory, a junior with a 32-3 record.
132: Walker Bents also won by pin during his state tournament opener, as he recorded a fall with a time of 3:41 against Frazee freshman Bailey Peichel (20-11) to advance to the state quarterfinals. In tonight's match, Bents (43-1) will take on West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville freshman Hunter Gruchow (43-11).
152: Blaine Fischer won a 6-0 decision in his state opener today against Adrian Area senior Isaac Bullerman (18-6). Tonight in his next match, Fischer (41-3) faces United North Central junior Hank Tellers (37-9) in the state quarterfinals. Tellers defeated Fischer yesterday in their match during the team state consolation semifinals. In his state opener, Tellers won by fall (2:51) over Eden Valley-Watkins sophomore Isaac Ortiz (32-14).
160: in his state tournament opener, Maximus Hanson won a 2-0 decision over Maple River/USC junior Cooper Ochsendorf (44-6). Hanson (37-8) now faces Jackson County Central senior and top-seeded Payton Handevidt in the quarterfinals. In his opener, Handevidt won a 10-0 major decision. In Hanson's first meeting this season with Handevidt on February 11 in Belgrade, Hanson lost a 7-3 decision.
182:: in his state opener, Carson Gilbert won by fall (1:44) over Medford junior Dylan Heiderscheidt (31-11). In the quarterfinals, Gilbert (37-9) will face Kimball Area senior and No. 2-seeded Carter Holtz. Holtz won a 17-1 tech fall (4:16).
220:: in his state opener, Ethan Spanier won by fall in just 59 seconds over Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove junior Travis Willhite (35-18). In the state quarterfinals, Spanier (33-9) will face WCA/A/BE senior Colton Lindquist (40-9), who won his opener by an 8-3 decision against Barnesville junior Jordan Kroll (30-12).
The state quarterfinals will begin soon after 4:30 p.m. today.
**Update:three Jaguars are soon to get rolling in the state quarterfinals just a few minutes after 5 p.m....Ryan Jensen, Walker Bents and Blaine Fischer.
Updates from the 126 and 132-pound quarterfinals...at 126, Ryan Jensen won by pin in just 42 seconds to advance to the state semifinals. At 132, Walker Bents won a 10-1 major decision to also get into the state semis! The win was also his 200th of his career! He was also named to the Class 1A state tournament Wells Fargo All-Tournament team yesterday.
At 152, Blaine Fischer won a 10-0 major decision to become the third Jaguar to get into the state semis!
At 160, Maximus Hanson lost a 6-2 decision to his weight's top seed. He will be able to continue his tournament journey in the wrestleback round.
Carson Gilbert's quarterfinal match at 182 pounds started at 5:47 p.m. *Update: Gilbert lost a 3-1 decision in this match.
At 220 pounds, Ethan Spanier won an 11-5 decision in his state quarterfinal match! The Jaguars went 4-2 in the state quarterfinals tonight. Awesome! This concludes this blog post for Friday. Another blog post will be added tonight.
Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 4:
Minneota 58, MACCRAY 37
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 52, Southwest MN Christian 36
Montevideo 41, New London-Spicer 26
Fairmont 53, Luverne 42
The robotics team is 1-1 to start region competition in Duluth this morning. They just got a close 72-64 alliance win! They look for another win to set them up for playoffs!!
B-B-E's ninth and final qualifying region match is set to start at 11:40 a.m. Team Resistance just completed some modifications to the robot and are getting a final inspection.
*Update: they narrowly lost the final match to finish 5-4 at regions Their season has come to a close.
Here's video taken during the team photo shoot last night in Little Falls
And here's video of the fifth qualifying match for the robotics team yesterday in Duluth:
The Bonanza Valley Voice made it to Duluth shortly after midnight...now we are headed to the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center to cover the final three qualifying rounds of the Lake Superior Regional...and Hopefully playoffs in the afternoon!
Here it is! In their fourth match at regions, B-B-E's robotics team's alliance won! It was great!
Final score 102 to 42.
AND they won the fifth match! I think it was a 107 to 99 score. WOW!
They've climbed to 11th place overall out of 63 teams at the Lake Superior region competition!! *Update: once the first day of qualifying matches were completed, with all teams having six matches, B-B-E's team settled into 12th place as they head into Saturday's final three rounds.
Video of match No. 4 today:
Time to head to Little Falls!!
By the way both the Train and Smooth Magic will have the game tonight in Little Falls.
