Alumni Tracker: Schmitz wins Publinks Title

Sammy Schmitz poses with caddy (and father) Steve Schmitz after winning the Publinks title

Sammy Schmitz of the FHS class of 1999 continues to rank among the best amateur golfers in Minnesota. Two weeks ago the former Tiger and St. John's University standout won the Minnesota Publinks Tournament held at Baker National Golf Course for the second consecutive year. Schmitz, the two-time defending Minnesota Golf Association (MGA) Player of the Year, currently ranks second in the 2013 point standings....FHS boys' golf coach Jon Holmes also fared well at the Publinks Championship, tying for 10th place overall in the talented field.

2010 Tiger grad Nick Albano, who played football for two seasons at Rochester Community and Technical College, earned a scholarship at Idaho Sate and will play for the Bengals this fall. Albano is following in the footsteps of his brother, Tiger assistant coach Brad Albano, who played two years at North Dakota School of Sciences before finishing his college career at Bemidji State.

Nick Albano

2013 Tiger male Athlete of the Year  Darren Beenken is one of two freshman quarterbacks on the Winona State University roster this fall...2009 Tiger grad Josh Zitzmann, one of the top receivers in Minnesota Junior College football last year, is back for his sophomore season with Rochester Community and Technical College.

Two former FHS football players, 2012 male Athlete of the Year Drew Hegseth and high school classmate Austin Bassett are playing for St. John's University.

2013 Tiger grad Athen Ashton, who missed much of his senior season after tearing his ACL, is slated to be the starting tailback for Central Lakes Community College in Brainerd...Another member of the FHS class of 2013, Alex Chadwick, will join nationally ranked University of St. Thomas when freshman drills begin next week.

Bubba Friedlund is a returning starter on the offensive line for Bethel University...Dillon Pariseau plays on the offensive line for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire...Tyler Barnes, who played center for the Tigers, is a long snapper/tight end for the Minnesota State, Moorhead...CJ Record is a sophomore defensive back at Southwest State University.

2005 Tiger male Athlete of the Year Matt Simon is the tight ends coach for Rutgers who will officially join the Big Ten Conference next fall...1989 Tiger male Athlete of the Year Matt Walter returns as head coach at Annandale High School where he guided the Cardinals to the Class 3A state tournament last season...Ex-Tiger Ben Froehling, son of Tiger football coach Mark Froehling, is coaching the sophomore team at Wayzata High School this fall...Another former Tiger, Andy Pierskalla, who coached at St. John's University last fall, is now the defensive coordinator at Bloomington Jefferson.

After playing on back-to-back NCAA Division III national championship teams at Concordia-University-St. Paul, former Tiger standout Katie Habeck has transferred to Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she does not plan to play vollevball...Danielle Dombeck who played with Habeck  on Farmington's only state tournament team, is a senior defensive specialist at North Dakota State University.

Danielle Dombeck

Three players from the 2011 Tiger boys soccer team are playing collegiately this fall. Chad Stivers is a goalie for Edgewood College in Madison Wisconsin; Brandon Scott is a forward for St. Scholatsica in Duluth and Sam Leske is a defender at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Ex-Tiger girls' soccer players on college rosters this fall include Ashley Kimmel, St. Olaf College; Kayla Sievert, University of Wisconsin-Stout; Kelli Harstad, St. Mary's University and Sydney Eckert, Vitebro College (Wisconsin).

Kaitlin Mincke, former Tiger state track meet performer, is a senior on the University of Minnesota cross country team...Ex-Tiger Bailey Opsal is in her sophomore season with the St. Scholastica University cross country team.

Stephanie (Swedin) Johnson was one of the finishers of the Brewhouse Triathlon in Duluth this summer...1991 Oscar Lubke Award winner Christopher Rupp, who now lives in Lyon, France, is coming back home to run the Twin Cities Marathon on October 6.