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. 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!
The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa speech team hosted their second annual Jagtastic Invitational on Saturday at the high school with awards hosted inside Olson Auditorium. Full results are published in this week's newspaper.
High placewinners for B-B-E included juniors Marlie Schlangen and Surabhi Velez, who were both double entries. Velez placed 3rd in discussion and 4th in extemporaneous speaking - domestic issue. Schlangen placed 3rd in extemporaneous reading with poetry and 4th in poetry.
Here's a video featuring Velez during awards while Discussion results announced:
The speech team features 12 on the roster during a period of time where it is becoming more and more difficult for schools (not just B-B-E) to convince students to show they can show commitment and perseverance. It's a battle most people cannot imagine. For me, it is extremely frustrating. For the men and women who hold roles as Activities Directors and coaches, the battles they endure to get students on board with extra-curricular programming often later become the struggles that business owners have getting workers who can show commitment to this thing known as a "job"!
On a significantly brighter note, it's wonderful when I hear coaches and teachers speak about the high character displayed by B-B-E students. This week, readers of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper can read about this regarding Owen Roering. He is featured in the February 19 issue's Jaguar Spotlight.
UPDATES: At halftime against MACCRAY, the girls' basketball team is trailing 39-26.
In the Section 5A meet held at Annandale high school today, four members of the B-B-E speech team competed for spots in the state speech meet: Eliana Funes, Hailey Henderson, Kora Martinez and Tia Nelson. Nelson was the highest finisher for B-B-E, and the senior placed fourth in Great Speeches. Funes, a 7th grader, earned 8th place in Dramatic Interpretation.
While area diamonds continue waiting to become "game ready" across central Minnesota, some are good to go, and that's where teams are flocking to. Just down the road at Eden Valley, the No. 7-ranked B-B-E Jaguars baseball team faced defending Section 6A champion and No. 2-ranked Parkers Prairie in a non-conference game this afternoon. The Panthers racked up 12 hits off of four separate B-B-E pitchers on their way to a 16-3 win. This improves their record to 2-0; they beat Wadena-Deer Creek in a Park Region Conference game in their opener on Thursday in Wadena.
Now 1-1 overall, the Jaguars prepare for a road trip for a Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader at Maple Lake on Monday (4 p.m.) at Irish Stadium.
Let's reflect some more on robotics!
And here's a break from current events as I circle back to robotics coverage...
Here's a short video clip recorded two Fridays ago at the River's Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud:
In that shaky, rough video, B-B-E's Coby DenHartog and Owen Miller were at their driver's station as B-B-E's alliance was introduced prior to one of their 7 qualification matches they participated in that day.
Here's a video from a Friday afternoon win that day (April 4):
That win was the first of three straight that the B-B-E team's alliances earned to close out the day on Friday.
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team completed one of their best-ever showings at a region competition last weekend. Out of 48 teams in St. Cloud, they finished in 21st place. The robotics team, which was founded in 2012, had its best finish in program history at the 2019 region competition held in Duluth. That winter, the team finished in 19th place.
On Sunday! In Belgrade...
The St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church will hold their annual spring sausage and pancake supper tomorrow (Sunday). They are serving from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Parish Center on Martin Avenue in Belgrade.
Who else out there has gotten some garden planted? We have peas, spinach and zucchini planted outdoors. Indoors in pots, we have more peas, sweet corn, watermelon and zucchini planted. We've reached into the upper 60s on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend with moderate to "good" sunshine. The next week has a variety of weather plus a few freezing nights. Spring is trying to fully settle in, but it's not quite there yet.
The B-B-E Speech team hosted the Sub-Section 5A-West meet tonight at the high school. A total of 9 team members competed for spots in the upcoming Section 5A meet. Four members of B-B-E's team earned individual spots at the Section 5A meet by placing in 6th place or better.
B-B-E senior Tia Nelson won the subsection title in Great Speeches. In Drama, Eliana Funes earned third place. In Prose, Kora Martinez earned fourth place. In Poetry, Marlie Schlangen earned fourth place.
Here's a video featuring the post-meet group photo at Olson Auditorium:
The Section 5A meet is at Annandale high school on Saturday, April 12.
Tomorrow! It's a big, BIG day for the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team, as they are set for Day II of the Granite City Regional in St. Cloud. Their first qualification match is set for around 9:30 a.m.
Remember! Here's the livestream link that you can use to watch the action remotely if you cannot attend and cheer in person: https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires5.
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.
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.
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.
Further below on this blog post is a link to re-direct you to where wrestling results have been posted.
Noah Jensen at 107 and Brett DeRoo at 160 both won back-to-back matches at today's Section 5A individual wrestling tournament at Yellow Medicine East high school. This puts both of them in their respective championship matches. Noah Jensen is the No. 2 seed in his bracket, and he faces top-seeded Tyson Meagher of Paynesville in the finals.
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has all weights in play except 189 pounds.
Afternoon updates: at 215 pounds, Carson Gilbert won back-to-back matches with falls in the first period. He faces Minneota sophomore Cael Fier (26-10) in the championship.
At 285 pounds, Hunter Laage earned perhaps the biggest win of the tournament so far when he beat No. 2-seeded Juan Cardenas of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City by a 5-3 decision during the semifinals. Laage (29-8) faces Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg senior Logan Rudningen (17-15) in the championship.
Four other Jaguars are in the hunt for at least third place today: Noah Welte (114), Noah DeRoo (121), Andrew Spanier (152) and Ethan Mueller (172).
Going for fifth place today are Jace Mueller (127) and Louie Tensen (145).
These Jaguars have seen their 2024-2025 wrestling season conclude today in their respective wrestleback rounds: Dylan Koob (133) and McCoy Detloff (139).
Additional wrestling updates will be posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website's sports section: https://shorturl.at/0TvVx. That web article will include final standings for each weight division that the Jaguars competed in.
LATE afternoon updates...
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team earned the No. 2 seed in Sub-Section 5A-East. They host No. 7-seeded Mille Lacs in the playoff opener on Thursday, February 27 at 7 p.m.
The B-B-E speech team had an excellent day at Maple Lake today! They were led by Tia Nelson's runner-up finish in the Great Speeches category. More on that to come in a NEW blog post.
In a home J.O. volleyball tournament today at the B-B-E elementary school, the B-B-E Blaze volleyball 16s team took first place with a 5-0 record.
The B-B-E speech team is hosting the first-ever Jagtastic Invitational today. Approximately 87 high school speech team members from across central Minnesota are in attendance. Results will be posted on this blog post. The awards ceremony is set to begin at about 3:50 p.m. at Olson Auditorium.
In Duo Interpretation, Marlie Schlangen and Eliana Funes took sixth place. In Great Speeches, Tia Nelson took first place.
Here's a video featuring top 5 finishes in the Great Speeches category on Saturday:
Other information will be posted this evening. Video will also be added! (Has been added*!) Right now, it's time to manually wash our Chevy Suburban and get it into our heated garage!
Monday night update: due to the cold weather, B-B-E schools will open 2 hours late on Tuesday, February 18. As of 8:30 p.m. on Monday night, temperatures across the Bonanza Valley area have plunged to below negative 15 degrees. The forecast says that temperatures will reach 25 below zero tonight.
A team numbering five from the B-B-E Speech team competed at the Section 5A meet yesterday at Melrose Area high school. Three of the five advanced to the finals: Jeffrey Cihlar in Extemporaneous Speaking, Tia Nelson in Great Speeches and Samantha Baker in Prose. Cihlar finished in first place and advances to the Class 1A state meet for the second year in a row.
Nelson finished in fifth place at sections, and Baker placed seventh.
The state speech meet takes place on Friday, April 19 at Shakopee high school.
On Monday...the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf JV teamgets their first action of the spring. They travel to The Lynx National golf course in Sauk Centre for a 4 p.m. meet. This is the first girls' golf team action as the Jaguars since 2018. The girls' golf team was paired with Minnewaska for the 2019, 2021 and 2022 seasons - which all featured trips to the Class 2A state meet.
Also on Monday...the Belgrade city council meets in regular session at 7 p.m. You can read their agenda by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice editor's blog: https://t.ly/1msnr.
The fastpitch team travels to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City for a Central Minnesota Conference game on Monday. Also, the baseball team hosts A-C-GC in Elrosa. Both games start at 4:30 p.m.
Friday's a big day ...and never a dull moment (VIDEOS)
A big day lies ahead as the official opener for spring sports should take place with no weather issues. The forecast is outstanding! We should see a high in the mid-50s with full sunshine and a mild east/southeast wind.
The B-B-E Speech team travels west to Minnewaska Area for the Sub-Section 5A-West meet. It's set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team will open their season with a non-conference doubleheader in Swanville. They face Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at 4 p.m., and the second game will follow at about 5:30 p.m. against the host Bulldogs.
This is a throwback...to last June, when the baseball team was competing in the Section 6A finals:
Action in that video features the beginning of the start of the top of the seventh inning against Parkers Prairie.
Here's a video from April 25 a year ago, recorded in the post-game huddle with Coach Funk following the team's home opener against Paynesville:
More to come.
Never a dull moment!...Not for one second!
There's never a dull moment around here. Even when you think there's a break in action...there's always something. Last night I learned breaking news about newspapers in Hutchinson and Litchfield both closing. Done! Closing for good! Apparently there's no future there. It developed in quick, stunning fashion.
In fact...newspapers in Chaska, Chanhassen, Jordan and other Southwest Metro area communties are closing...all done by the end of April. Newspaper publishers across the state, including myself, are stunned at the news. I have quite a bit more to say about it - of course - for another time. I have to get ready this afternoon (Friday) for a road trip to Swanville!
Speech team shines in the Driftless Area, and a former Jaguar goes NJCAA dancing!
While the student body of B-B-E high school has been a giant disappointment in terms of the turnout provided for the B-B-E speech team, the students who are on the speech team have been having a remarkably strong season in spite of their small roster. Last weekend, the speech team had an overnight road trip to southeastern Minnesota's Driftless Area, to Chatfield high school. All members of the team who attended the meet placed fifth or better. Additional coverage of the team was published on page one this week of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
More to come. Remember that tonight the boys' basketball team hosts Benson with a 7 p.m. playoff game to begin the Sub-Section 6A-South tournament.
**Update on Thursday afternoon...I just got the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website updated. One of the added articles relates to the wrestling team. You can click over and read that while also taking in the end of the 172-pound state championship match on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center: https://shorturl.at/AILUW. Exciting times for our small but mighty wrestling program!
B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer and her Northland Community and Technical College Pioneers women's basketball team are going dancing! They are going dancing at the NJCAA National Tournament, which will be held March 13 to March 16 in Rochester, Minnesota. The Pioneers, 22-5 overall, lost 75-69 in overtime on Sunday in Coon Rapids to Minnesota West in the Region 13B championship. While the Lady Jays of Worthington earned the automatic bid to the NJCAAs, the Pioneers had to wait until yesterday to learn whether or not they received an at-large bid. They were in fact one of four teams who were given at-large bids to nationals, and they join eight region champions from across the United States from the NJCAA Division III ranks to earn national hardware.
The Northland Pioneers are the No. 5 seed in the tournament, and they open at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13 against No. 12-seeded Nassau Community College of Long Island, New York. You can read more by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/ceDT3. The NCC Lions led all NJCAA Division III teams with 22 steals per game. Their leading scorer is Aiyana Hamilton, the No. 5 leading scorer in the nation. Northland, meanwhile, has the No. 7-ranked offense in the country at 73 points per game.
Northland freshman Emma Osborn leads the Pioneers at 16 points per game, while Tiyana Schwinghammer is second on the team with 14.6 points per game. Schwinghammer leads the team at 10.3 rebounds per game, which is the eighth-highest in the nation.
Here's a change of pace...as readers of this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper know, last Thursday and Friday I was in Duluth with my wife on a small getaway. The big part of the trip included the Matt Rife comedy show at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center on Thursday night. Below is a video I shot the next day in the Canal Park business district in Duluth.
VIDEO:
Today I'm in the midst of preparing for a trip to Grand Forks tomorrow and Saturday, where I'll be taking in the F.I.R.S.T. Great Northern Regional robotics competition with B-B-E's team in action at the Alerus Center. Here's additional information on the competition: https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2024/NDGF.
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 Central Minnesota Conference speech meet is being hosted tonight at the B-B-E high school. The awards ceremony should take place at about 8:15 p.m.
More to come.
Here's a video showing you part of the fun that you miss out on when you don't get to attend a high school speech meet!
UPDATE: as a team, the B-B-E speech team earned third place with 48 points to edge fourth-place Royalton's 45 points. In first place was juggernaut Eden Valley-Watkins with 170 points. Maple Lake earned runner-up honors with 73 points. In fourth place was Kimball Area (30 points), and Paynesville Area took fifth with 21 points.
It's also exciting to announce that in a very crowded, talented field of speakers, the three seniors on the speech team all took second place in their respective categories: Dylan Hirman, second in humourous interpretation; Kara Wold, second in dramatic interpretation; and Paige Klaphake, second in storytelling. I have more results to share but can't get to the rest until tomorrow. It's time to get back to publishing the April 13 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper!
The B-B-E speech team recently competed at the sub-section meet this past Thursday. Senior Paige Klaphake earned a sub-section title! Exciting! The team now prepares for the Central Minnesota Conference meet, which is coming next week Tuesday (April 4) at the high school in Belgrade. The meet was rescheduled from its original date due to the weather.
To see the full list of area community events, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper: https://bit.ly/3zpfpAX.
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.
Speech showcase is today! and archive sports videos
The B-B-E Speech Teamshowcase is today from 3 to 5 p.m. at the high school. More on that was published on page 3 of this past week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
I recently dug up an archived video that was never posted from the 2015 boys' basketball playoffs. It features first-year head coach Chris Anderson speaking after the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team knocked off top-seeded and heavily favored Kimball Area by a 50-44 score in the Sub-Section 5A-South semifinals. The game was held at Little Falls high school. The playoffs that year were topsy-turvy through the subsection tournament. B-B-E was seeded No. 5 in the playoffs and had to drive over 120 miles to East Central high school in rural Askov to begin the tournament. They thrashed the Eagles and then faced conference nemesis Kimball in the semis. Midnight struck for the upstart Jaguars when they fell to No. 3-seeded Upsala Area in the Sub-Section 5A-South championship game. Upsala had defeated No. 2-seeded and neighboring and conference rival Swanville in their semifinal game which was also held at Little Falls (Noise from that game is heard in the background of the video below.)
VIDEO:
A key factor in this last team's run to the state championship game was the incredible coaching staff we are blessed with at B-B-E. Coach Anderson and assistant Coach Mike Brower have been coaching in the trenches since Anderson assumed the head coach position after Hall of Fame Coach Dave Montbriand geared down to eighth grade basketball in 2014.
**Here's a fun video that I also haven't posted before. This was recorded the night before that Little Falls game that's referenced in this blog post.
In the above video, third-year head coach Kristina Anderson talks to her team after they beat Pierz on Parents and Seniors Night to conclude the regular season. It was also Coach Anderson's 29th birthday! That was seven years ago...my how time flies!!!
First, a reminder! The Sunburg Fire Department invites everyone to their spring ham and turkey bingo fundraiser event on Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at the fire hall/community center. Sponsored by the Sunburg Fire Department and Ambulance Service. One card is just $6, while three cards are just $12. DOOR prizes! FREE coffee!
Also! Tonight The Hit List will be performing live at Heidi's Bar in busy downtown Sedan. The Belgrade V.F.W. Steak and Pork Chop Feed is tonight from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
TOMORROW! The big B-B-E speech team showcase takes place between 3 and 5 p.m. at the high school. Come one, come all! Before or after you go to that, you can take in the St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church pancake and sausage supper at their parish hall between 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
You can see the full list of area activities at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website by clicking here: https://bit.ly/3vpO7bB.
Speech show case!! Mark your calendars! (April 10)
Back by popular demand! After a many-year hiatus from holding this event, the B-B-E speech team will host a speech showcase event for the public on Sunday, April 10 at the high school from 3 to 5 p.m.
This is a special opportunity for the public to come and see the rich talent on the speech team. A total of three spaces will be in use for the public to catch the action: Olson Auditorium, the band room and room 550. Enjoy a variety of different speeches and then a sweet treat after the performances. Each speaker will perform at 15-minute intervals, so if you need to switch rooms to see someone, you can do that.
Additional coverage of this will appear in the April 7 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa speech team found a great deal of success at the St. Michael-Albertville invitational on Saturday. Head coach Rachel Clark was thrilled about how her speakers performed in what was a very large meet.
Top finishers for B-B-E are as follows: Aynsley Preble - fourth place in extemporaneous reading Billy Tensen - first place in the merit finals for informative Jeffrey Cihlar - first place in the honor finals for extemporaneous speaking Samantha Baker - sixth place in prose Kara Wold - honorable mention in creative expression To give an idea of how big the meet was, Jeffrey Cihlar reported that normally his extemporaneous speaking category brings eight to 10 competitors per meet. At STMA, the extemp speaking included 22 competitors. On Saturday, February 5, the B-B-E speech team traveled to Minnewaska Area. Three speakers earned top-three finishes: Kara Wold - third in creative expression Aynsley Preble - third in extemporaneous reading Jeffrey Cihlar - first place in extemporaneous speaking
Next for the speech team is an invitational at Maple Lake on Saturday, February 26.
Girls' basketball and wrestling won't be the only representation for B-B-E at state tournaments this year.
At today's Section 5A speech meet, B-B-E's Billy Tensen earned a trip to the Class 1A state meet with a first-place finish in the Informative category.
This is awesome news! The state meet is next Saturday.
