Track and field competes at subsections, fastpitch season ends (VIDEO)

It has been a day...with the temperature climbing to around 86 degrees this afternoon, multiple teams competed tonight in their respective spring sports. I have not had a handle on the boys' golf team, but the schedule showed them competing in Willmar. I am not sure about that, as they are also in Willmar tomorrow for the first round of the Section 5A playoffs.

At the Maple Lake football stadium, the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams gave it their all while competing in the Sub-Section 5A-West championships. I don't have official results at my fingertips, but I have one thoroughly exciting bit of news to report. In the triple jump, senior Tiyana Schwinghammer completely destroyed her personal record (31'9") and earned a Section 5A berth with an impressive best effort of 32 feet, 11 inches. By my math, that's an additional 14 inches above her personal best! The 32-11 was achieved in the triple jump finals just as the sun started to set on the horizon. I don't have official results on other events, but other Jaguars are on the bubble in terms of advancing to next week's section meet at St. John's University.

Here's senior Branton Jones in the shot put under the full sunshine at Maple Lake high school:


At Lac qui Parle Valley high school to open the Sub-Section 3A-North tournament, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team suffered a 7-0 loss to finish the season 2-19 overall. YME's Bayli Sneller held the Jaguars to just four hits, all singles, coming from Kenna Lieser, Faith Radermacher, Brooklyn Fischer and Taylor Shelton. They played the game tonight with a senior-less roster, and just 3 of the 10 players are juniors. The other 7 players are in eighth, ninth or 10th grade, which bodes well for the future of the program.

More to come. As I spent the evening in Maple Lake and had a one-hour return trip, I will be watering the garden by flashlight tonight before getting the newspaper ready for press. We will publish a 16-page issue in the morning. Good night!

Supremacy denied

In their bid to remain perfect in the Central Minnesota Conference, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team struggled at the net at the wrong times while the Maple Lake Irish earned a 3-0 road sweep. Game scores were 26-24, 25-22, 25-21. Overall, B-B-E's hitting percentage was fairly good, but not quite good enough to overcome a very fine performance by the Irish. In the blocks category, the Jaguars tallied no solo blocks and just two block assists.

The new CMC standings after tonight show:
1. Maple Lake (6-1)
2. B-B-E (5-1, a half match out of first place)
3. Paynesville Area 5-2
4. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted and Eden Valley-Watkins (both 3-3)
6. Pierz (2-4)
7. Holdingford or Kimball (their scores have not been reported on any media site as far as I can tell)

Next for the Jaguars (19-4) is a home match next Monday night against sub-section rival Browerville (10-12). The Tigers won the Prairie South Conference title outright with a 7-3 record. It will be vitally important that the Jaguars come out strong and rebound with gusto after tonight's loss. They travel to Pierz next Tuesday to wrap up the CMC schedule; they will need to win in order to claim a share of the conference title. If they lose, Maple Lake will win the CMC outright for the third straight season.

In the Prairie Conference tonight, Royalton swept Long Prairie-Grey Eagle to claim the Prairie North title outright with a 9-1 record. Osakis finished in second place at 8-2. The Royals (17-4) loom large on the horizon in the upcoming Sub-Section 5A-South playoffs.

More to follow. I need a break to catch my breath! It has been a very long week.

**Here's video from late in game one...the Jaguars had a 20-19 lead when I started recording:


**Here's the last points of game one, with the Jaguars falling 26-24 from a net violation:

Area volleyball scores on October 11:
Willmar 3, Fergus Falls 0
Brainerd 3, Alexandria 1

Wadena-Deer Creek 3, Sebeka 0

BOLD 3, Montevideo 2
Minnewaska Area 3, Melrose 0
Benson 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 1
New York Mills 3, Bertha-Hewitt 1

Verndale 3, Henning 2 (Verndale wins game five 15-13 to improve to 14-7; this was a battle of second-place teams in the Park Region Conference that is led by 21-1 New York Mills)
MACCRAY 1, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 1
Menahga 3, Pillager 2

"Live boldly. Push yourself. Never settle."
##ConquerEveryDay

Maple Lake

Match updates will follow tonight as often as I'm able to post!

Game one update: the Irish hold an 18-15 lead. B-B-E has called one timeout so far.

Later in game one, the Irish have scored two straight and now are ahead 22-21.

Final score: Maple Lake won game one 26-24.

*Update: the Irish won 3-0 to improve finish 5-2 in the Central Minnesota Conference. This was a rough night. In many ways. But the sun will come up tomorrow.

Note: a more complete review of tonight's match can be found here: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2018/10/supremacy-denied.html

"Live boldly. Push yourself. Never settle."
##ConquerEveryDay