Girls Lacrosse: Reaching for more

All things considered the inaugural season of Tiger girls' lacrosse went pretty well. Coach Dan Pickens' inexperienced squad, dominated by underclassmen, won only two of 11 starts but was competitive in most and showed great improvement from the beginning of the season to the end.
As year two of the fledgling program approaches, Pickens said he is optimistic about his team's chances in 2011.
"I am very confident and excited about this year," he said. "The learning curve was exponential last year and that will continue this season.
"I think we should be near the top of our conference but because there are only three sections in the state, we will have to face teams like Bloomington Jefferson, the Lakeville schools and Eagan in the playoffs."
One of the reasons for Pickens' optimism about the season ahead is the return of 18 letterwinners from last year's team, none of them seniors.
Returning juniors include last season's leading scorers Ally Midboe (20 goals, 7 assists) ad Adrienne Jolicoeur (14 goals) along with fellow attackers Amy Delaney, Nikki Webster and Shannon Grengs; midfielders Elsa Saari, Haley Bradshaw, Kevra Wolfe, Sarah Burke, Jessica Erchul, Shely Olson and Tia Jacoby and defenders Ashley Gandrud, Brittany Olsen and Kelli Harstad.
Underclassmen returnees include sophomore defender Delaney Wright; freshman attacker Lindsey Benson and last year's starting goalie, freshman Maddie Kohlbeck.
"We are a very fast team that plays good defensive lacrosse," Pickens said. "We have a strong goalie coming back and more experience all around. We'll still be very young but we will be more confident and hope to improve our record to above .500.
"We play like a team and the girls have each other's backs. Our unity will be our biggest asset over the next two years."
Pickens went on to say that continuing to master the fundamentals of the game would be a big key in how successful the season will be.
"We'll still need to work on our passing and catching skills," he said. "We will focus on that at every practice."
Shawn Anderson returns as one of Pickens' varsity assistant coaches. The other belongs to Abby Thell, a collegiate lacrosse player at the University of Nebraska.
The Tigers open play Monday, Apr. 11, with a road game at Lakeville South.

Baseball: Pitching to tell Tigers' tale

Steven Barber
Hit .364 in 2010

After a week of indoor practice and a short trip to Arkansas for warm-weather training, Tiger coach Mike Winters likes what he sees as far as his team's potential for scoring runs and fielding the ball.
The pitching? Well, that's a story that won't be told until the snow melts and the home plate umpire shouts "Play ball!"
"We have limited experience as far as a pitching staff goes," Winters said. "We need to find guys who want the ball and aren't afraid to go out there and throw strikes and battle on every pitch."
Seniors Dayne Eich and Zach Wallace both logged varsity mound time last spring but combined for a total of just four innings. To complicate matters, Wallace missed the Arkansas trip because of illness and Winters said he will need to be patient with his comeback.
Winters will choose the rest of his staff from a long list of prospects, including senior Cole Luskey; juniors Ty Vincent, Jonathan Ellis, Nathan Graham, Drew Hegseth, Andy Morris, Andrew Sharratt and Jack Buss and sophomore Spencer Merle.
Besides Wallace who hit .240 as a junior in 2010, the Tigers return just two other lettermen from a team that finished 9-13 overall and 5-9 in the Missota Conference.
Outfielder Steven Barber owned the second highest batting average on the team at .364 and catcher Sebren Baer batted .260 with six runs batted in.
Seniors Luskey, Eich, Quinn Eden, Tommy Korbein and Zak Payne along with juniors Graham and Jake Baskerville also saw limited action last spring.
The rest of this year's playing time will likely go to juniors Vincent, Hegseth, Morris Sharratt, Buss, Nick Newman, Ryan Schoening, Jonathan Ellis, John Stibal, Tyler Knutson, Simon Lindstrom, Marty Rivera and Bret Hoffman and sophomore Merle.
Winters noted that although his team is young and for the most part inexperienced, he isn't conceding anything to Missota Conference and Section 1AA opponents.
"I believe that both the conference and section are wide open," he said.
Jon Graff returns as Winters' varsity assistant coach with Jason Berg handling the junior varsity team and Jason Kohlbeck the B-squad.
Brent Grengs and Andy Pierskalla share the ninth grade coaching duties with Brandon Chant and Joe Moser handling the eighth-grade teams. Tom Auge and Nick Davis coach the seventh graders.

Girls Golf: Ready to move up

Senior captain Terra Klima

When girls golf coach Rob Carpentier took a look at his Tiger squad last spring, he knew his first year on the job was going to be a challenging one. He had only one senior on the roster and most of the varsity candidates had very limited golf experience.
Indeed, 2010 was a year of growth for the Tigers. They improved greatly from the beginning of the season to the end but still finished at the back of the pack in both the Missota Conference and Section 1AA races.
Carpentier isn't predicting any championships in 2011, but he has raised the expectations bar significantly.
"Many of the girls played during the entire off-season," he said, "and rang up some big bills at the local golf domes for their respective parents.
"I would bet we won't be looking at any last place finish this year. Realistically, we should be shooting for a middle-of-the-pack finish in the conference."
Only one player from last year's team, captain Alexia Rains, graduated and eight varsity letterwinners return for the 2011 season.
Returning letterwinners include senior captain Terra Klima; junior Meghan Elliott; sophomores Alexis Preese, Alexis Bailey, Alexis House and Mia Johnston and freshmen Brianna Swenson and Annie Grengs.
Carpentier said there could be a new face or two battle for playing time as the season progresses but that the eight returnees will likely log most of the varsity rounds.
"We are more experienced this year," he said, "and I like our attitude and depth."
The Tiger coach offered that New Prague, Northfield and perennial power Red Wing should all field strong teams in the conference with the Section 1AA race wide open.
Shane Wyandt will serve as varsity assistant coach this spring with Brian Oswall working with the middle school team.

Boys Track: Big numbers, bright future

Coach Brian Helmstetter goes over racing form at an early practice

Last spring the Tigers finished third in the Missota Conference race and in the middle of the pack at the Section 1AA Championships.
Among the list of graduating seniors from that squad were state discus champion Logan Hussung and consistent point-getters Jordan Keller, Matt Shutey, Andrew Thomas, Levi Freetly, Nick Arenberg, Brandon Todd, Ryan Farley, Tanner Fuchs, Shayne Benjamin and Ross Heintz.
But even with that large number of losses, coach Brian Helmstetter remains positive about the outlook for the 2011 season.
"With smaller numbers in our senior class and very few juniors it will be difficult as a team to contend in the conference and section," he said.
"But we have huge numbers in the ninth and 10th grade classes which could make it interesting as we get closer to May and see how they mature. Overall, it is a rebuilding year but I am excited to see how the young guys will fit with the team. They are going to be fun to watch."
Helmstetter welcomed 14 returning letterwinners to pre-season drills on March 14, 10 of them seniors: Tyler Beckett (hurdles, mid-distance), Andrew Cayard (sprints), Carl Elmer (distance), Justice Detzel (hurdles), Sam Hanson (hurdles, jumps), Zach Wyatt (jumps), CJ Record (sprints, high jump), Charlie Wicks (sprints), John Schimmel (throws) and Tyler Grubb (sprints, mid-distance).
"Out strength is going to be our senior class and its leadership," Helmstetter said. "Our youger athletes are going to look to the seniors for creating a strong work ethic and learning how to compete at the varsity level."
Underclassmen letterwinners include juniors Justin Hett (jumps) and Chad Retterath (distance); sophomore Tyler Lerbakken (mid-distance) and freshman Jake Rudeen (distance).
Other upperclammen expected to challenge for varsity positions inlcude senior Matt Stephan and Dillon Pariseau; juniors Jordan Anderson, Aaron Bendix, Tyler Boelter, Christopher Farley, Andres Flores, Jaurice Gates, Dillon Jones, Conner Kealy, Reece Lindquist, Jacob Novak, Albert Obnamia, Joe Ouyang, Tanner Reneken, Harrison Schneider and Jordan Vandivier
**For ninth and 10th grade hopefuls, see bottom of page)
Grubb won all-Missota Conference honors last spring in three events: the 100 meter dash, 400-meter dash and 4x400 meter relay. Hanson, Schimmel, Elmer and Retterath each won medals at the conference meet.
"The big question is how soon the young talent will be able to step into their roles as varsity athletes," Helmstetter said. "It isan't a matter of 'if' but 'when' and 'how many'.
"We have many pieces unfilled right now, but a lot of youngsters fighting at the chance to comepete. That's refershing and exciting for the future of Farmington track and field."
Coach Helmstetter returns a mostly veteran cadre of asssistants, inclduing girls varsity coach Tom Hart (jumps/sprints); Joe McCarthy (sprints/mid-distance); Julian Buss (pole vault); Lisa Lippold (distance); Maggie Endersbe (hurdles) and Justyn Helgeson (throws).
Helmstetter said he hopes to see more spectators at his team's home team meets this, year, inclduing the Missota Conference Championships scheduled for Thursday, May 26 at Tiger Field.
The first home meet is a co-ed quadragular April 12 with Northfield, Lakeville South and Woodbury.


**Sophomores: Darren Beenken, Alex Chadwick, Bradley Dow, Mitch Haugen, Austin Krause, Alex LaVictoire, Alex Lubbers, Jackson Moulin, Mikkel Peterson, Tyler Petter-McCauley, Conner Phu, Joseph Racine, Blake Ross, David Silber, Shawn Tabor, Adam Wallenta, Clayton Webb, Thomas Weigel, Alex Wilson and Helbert Zelaya.

**Freshmen: Mason Auge, Daniel Berg, Alexander Burton, Matthew Clark, Jack Erickson, Mason Gaylord, Caleb Gochenauer, Tanner Grubb, Jeffrey Gutierrez, Jeff Hanson, Joe Hoeve, Jacob Hove, Brendan King, Trace King, Derek Klotter, Austin Long, Nicholas Makhoul, John McDermid, Sean McHenry, Santana Perdomo, Jacob Rogers, Nickolas Ruark, Eric Schimmel, Hunter Sevenich, Blake Smith, Cullen Smith, Eric Stoeckmann, Reid Taubenheim and CJ Wynings.

Softball: Young and hard-working

Ashley Betzold
13-10; 2.25 ERA; 109 strikeouts in 2010

In his first year at the helm of the Farmington softball program last spring, Rob Laden guided the Tigers to a 13-10 record and a third place finish in the Missota Conference.
Four key contributors from that squad received their high school diplomas last spring, including Sam Jensen, one of the metro's leading hitters the past three years, fellow all-conference performers Kelsey Betzold and Megan Nekowitsch and three-year starter Shannon Doherty.
The loss of the graduating seniors coupled with a lack of upperclassmen on the roster could make Laden's second year on the job a challenging one.
"With only five upperclassmen we will be a young team," Laden said. "They are an athletic group who are focused and work hard. A lot will come down to how quickly some of the younger players can adapt to the high school game.
"I won't make any predictions as to where we will finish. I just want to keep improving as the season progresses."
Despite the losses from last season, the Tiger cupboard is far from bare. Seven letterwinners from last year's squad return, including seniors Danni Muelken (catcher), Alyssa Hagen (infield) and Paige Lindrud (outfield); juniors Ali Rice and Taylor Hakaana (first base/catcher) sophomore Ashley Betzold (pitcher) and freshman Alyssa Kalmes (infield/outfield).
Betzold, an all-Missota Conference honorable mention selection as a freshman, pitched every game for the Tigers last spring, finishing with a 2.32 eraned run avearge and 109 strikeouts in 151 innings. She also leads returning hitters with a .275 average.
Betzold will be throwing to Muelken, an all-section performer last season who hit .235 with eight runs batted in.
Sophomore Toni Hunsinger and freshman Jordan Keprios figure to serve as back-up pitcher to Betzold.
Laden said there should be keen competition for varsity playing time this spring with the rest of the varsity roster determined once the team moves its practices outdoors.
The Tiger coach said defending conference champion Shakopee, led by hard-throwing pitcher Ashley Walker, should be the favorite in the Missota with Hastings the pre-season pick in the race for Section 1AA honors.
Laden added that softball fans might see more a few more runs put on the scoreboard in 2010.
"The rules changed and the pitching rubber has been moved back three feet (40 to 43)," he said. "That should add a little more offense to the game."
Mike Benson will serve as the varsity assistant this spring with veteran Loren Cartwright handling the B-squad coaching duties. Volunteer Amber Nelson will also help out with the varsity squad.
Jim Swedin and Kjerstin Tharaldson will work with the ninth grade team; Jen Marshall and Paul Ahrenhloz the eighth grade and Lorraine Kennedy and Teresa Oyne the seventh grade.

Missota Conference: 32 Tigers honored

Krystal Baumann (below), Jordan Bridges (center) and Tyler Magalis
Three of 21 Tiger winter season all-Missota Conference athletes




In a winter sports season that produced three Farmington Missota Conference team championships, individual Tiger athletes fared equally as well.
The names of 32 Farmington athletes appeared on the list of winter season honorees announced last week by league officials. Twenty-one Tigers earned all-Missota Conference distinction and 11 more received all-league honorable mention.
The conference champion Farmington boys swimming and diving team led the way with five all-league selections. The unbeaten Tiger girls hockey champions had four while the co-champion girls basketball team and the girls gymnastics squad garnered three apiece.

All-Missota Conference Selections:

Boys Swimming and Diving
Tyler Magalis, sr.
Eric Huls. sr.
Allen Berg, sr.
Zach Holton, jr.
Christopher Kirchmann, so.

Girls Hockey
Krystal Baumann, sr.
Hannah Alexander, sr.
Jessica Erchul, jr.
Betsy Anderson, jr.

Girls Basketball
Jordan Bridges, sr.
Elena Koch, sr.
Taylor Meyer, jr.

Gymnastics
Terra Klima, sr.
Kiana Lord, so.
Nadia Lorencz, so.

Boys Hockey
Tyler Grubb, sr.
Andrew Peterson, jr.

Dance Team
Ashley Mattei, sr.
Madi Cook, sr.

Boys Basketball
Alex Michels, sr.

Wrestling
Carl Elmer, sr.

All-Missota Conference Honorable Mention
Boys Hockey: Zak Payne, sr. and Dan Handberg, sr.; Boys Swimming and Diving: Evan Carufel, so. and Aaron Lane, so.; Girls Hockey: Emily Severson, sr. and Rachel Peroutky, so.; Girls Basketball: Jamie Kenealy, sr.; Wrestling: Kyle Benjamin, 8th; Dance Team: Alysha Stoeffel, jr.; Gymnastics: Erin Hickey, sr. and Boys Basketball: Sebren Baer, sr.

Girls Basketball: Tigers make school history

Taylor Meyer (top): All-Missota Conference; Most Valuable Offensive Player
Jordan Bridges: All-Missota Conference; Most Improved Player
(photos by Jim Lindquist)



The Tiger girls basketball team's favorite subject must be history. It certainly made its share during the 2010-11 season.
Farmington finished the year with school records in consecutive wins (11), victories in a season (23) and for good measure became the first Tiger girls team ever to win a Missota Conference title, sharing the honor with Shakopee and Chanhassen with an 11-3 league record.
The Tigers also earned the program's first No. 1 seed in the Section 1AAAA tournament and for the second time in three years, advanced to the section championship game.
"We had a great year," coach Jason Berg said. "This team will go down as one of the best teams in Farmington girls basketball history.
"The girls really played unselfishly. We had different players step up almost every night and pick each other up. We really had only one game out of 27 where we played poorly. This was a very consistent group."
Defense played a big part in the Tigers success. Farmington finished the regular season allowing just 40.2 points a game, the lowest figure among all Class 4A schools.
Twelve players received varsity letters at the team's post-season banquet held Thursday night: seniors Shelby Calhoun, Jamie Kenealy, Jordan Bridges, Elena Koch, Jess Gaalswyk and Sarah Silber and juniors Isis Alexander, Paige Steele, Desi Loftus, Mariah Mincke, Gabby White and Taylor Meyer.

Elena Koch: (left) All-Missota Conference; Tiger Award
Jamie Kenealy: All-Conference Honorable Mention; Most Vaulable Defensive Player
(photos by Jim Lindquist)




Meyer, who surpassed the 1000 career points mark during the regular season while averaging 14 points and eight rebounds a game, was the team's most valuable offensive player and joined Bridges and Koch on the all-Missota Conference team.
Bridges (11 points, 8 rebounds) was named the Most Improved Player while Koch (8 points, 7 rebounds) won the Tiger Award. Kenealy (6 points, 3 rebounds) received Most Valuable Defensive Player honors.
Berg said that the team's only unfulfilled goal came in not winning the section championship and qualifying for the school's first-ever trip to the state tournament.
"I am prouder of winning the conference championship though," he said.
Berg, who announced after the season that he would not be returning to the Tiger bench next year, offered that with six returning letterwinners and a freshman team that had an outstanding season this winter, the outlook remains bright for Tiger basketball.
"The big thing the players need to work on during the off-season is their offensive skills," he said.
The departing Tiger concluded his evaluation of the championship season with some words of praise for his six graduating seniors,
"They did a great job of leading this team," he said. "They were very unselfish as a group and put winning ahead of everything else.
"This group won a conference championship and played in two section championship games. I'm not sure that any other group of Farmington seniors can say that."

Wrestling: An all-state performance and signs of promise

Carl Elmer: All-state, All-Missota Conference and 100-career win club

Measured by wins and loses the 2010-11 FHS wrestling season was not an overwhelming success. Beyond the cloudy win-loss numbers, however, first-year coach Chad Olson found plenty of silver linings.
The Tigers didn't win a Missota Conference match and exited from the Section 2AAA tournament in the opening round, but Olson said the important thing was a foundation was laid for years to come.
"We started with over 50 wrestlers in the high school room," he said, "and we finished with more than 40.
"We fielded the youngest team in both the conference and section but the base was was set for the future and our wrestlers embraced it."
Twenty-two Tigers earned varsity letters this winter, including four seniors: Carl Elmer, Josh Iverson, Donnie Drewery and Tyler Beckett.
Underclassmen winning letters included juniors Trevor Breezely, Tyler Engel, Bret Hoffman, Dakota Louis-Dupay and Ridge Raddatz; sophomores Alex LaVictoire and Conner Phu; ninth-graders Jacob Gabbard, Joe Hoeve, Joe Liden, Chris McCue, Godfrey Mpetey, and Jake Rudeen; eighth-graders Kyle Benjamin, Brayden Chapman, Matt Rustad and John Walz and seventh-grader Taylor Venz.
Olson also acknowledged the contributions of five non-letterwinners: junior Nate Hruby; sophomore Alec Wilson; freshman Kelvin O'Brien and eighth-graders Logan Haakana and Marquis Irby.
Individually, the season belonged to Elmer who repeated as an all-Missota Confeernce selection, eclipsed the 100-win career mark, compiled a 36-9 record and won the consolation championship at the Class AAA state meet to earn all-state honors.
Benjamin received all-Missota Conference honorable mention. Iverson won the Most Dedicated, Sportsmanship and Tiger Adversiy awards and Mpetey was named the team's Most Improved Wrestler.
The Tigers had six place winners at the Section 2AAA individual tournament, four of them underclassmen. In addiiton the ninth grade team advanced to the state tournament where Hoeve won an indivudal title and three other Tiger frosh earned places.
Olson said he was also very proud of his team's efforts in the classroom. The Tigerscarried a cumulative 3.15 grarde point average.
"We were young and inexperienced," Olson said, "and we had some tough times this season. The wrestlers worked hard every day and improved as the year went on and I know many of them are excited about next season. Some of them are already wrestling this spring.
"The future of Farmington wrestling is very bright. We are probably still a season away from being competitive in our conference and section."
Olson cautioned that although the future is promising, some things still need to be addressed before a big step up the conference and section ladders can take place.
"We need better numbers in our middle school program," he said, "and I'd like to see more football players, especially linemen and linebackers, on the team. That would make both the football and wrestling programs better."
Olson also noted although his senior class was small, its contributions will not be forgotten.
"Carl (Elmer) had an outstanding career and the leadership he and Josh (Iverson) provided will be greatly missed," he said.

Alumni Tracker: Betzold leads St. Mary's to 7-3 run on Arizona trip

Mallory Betzold

Former Tiger Mallory Betzold got her senior softball season at St. Mary's University (Winona) off to a flying start with a standout performance on the Cardinals recent spring trip to Arizona.
Betzold, an all-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection as a sophomore, hit .370 and compiled a pitching record of 5-1 with a 2.55 earned run average to help her team to a 7-3 record.
Sabrina Siple, one of Betzold's teammates in high school, is a junior infielder/catcher at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
Two-time all-Missota Conference catcher Kyle Rains is a senior second baseman for the Gustavus Adolphus College baseball team. Rains, who is slated to coach the Farmington VFW team this summer, led the Gusties in hitting last year with a .452 average.
Ex-Tiger Jake Lippert dressed for home games for the University of St. Thomas this winter but wasn't on the traveling roster for the Tommies recent run to NCAA Division III national basketball championship. Lippert was attendance in Virginia, however, when St. Thomas routed Wooster to claim the national title.
Kelli Johnson, the defensive leader on the Tigers Class A state runner-up girls hockey team in 2007, received all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honorable mention for her play with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire this winter. Johnson, a four-year starter for the BluGolds, finished the season with three goals and eight assists.
Farmington grad Randy Schmitz's Lakeville North boys' hockey team had a lackluster 10-14-1 regular season but rallied in the playoffs to first win the Section 1AA championship and then take two of three games to claim the consolation crown at the Class AA state tourney. The Panthers beat White Bear Lake 4-3 in triple overtime to take home the state hardware.
Dave DeWitt who coached the Tiger boys basketball team for a season led his Anoka-Ramsey Community College women's team to to the 2011 National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national championship. The Rams beat Roxbury (Massachusetts) in the national title game...Basketball is a big deal in the DeWitt family. Son Dan DeWitt was a graduate assistant at the University of Minnesota this winter and daughter Katie DeWitt was the leading scorer in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference for Northwestern College in Roseville.
Kevin Lugowski who played hockey and ran cross country for the Tigers was an assistant coach for the Rosemount girls' puck team that advanced to the Class AA state tournament this winter...Long-time Tiger boys golf coach Gerry Greupner returns as a varsity assistant with the Rosemount boys team this spring.
Rachel Hoeppner, daughter of former Tiger athlete Doug Hoepnner (1976) was the leading scorer for the Rosemount girls basketball team this winter...Al Erickson, son of former FHS standout Jill Horstman (1986) and ex-Tiger boys basketball coach Randy Erickson, averaged 5.7 points a game for Lakeville North's boys team.
Three former Tigers are serving as assistant track coaches at their alma mater this spring: Lisa (Dingman)Lippold (distance); Joe McCarthy (middle distance) and Justyn Helgeson (throws).

Boys Track: Tigers test legs early at St. Olaf

Sam Hanson
Tied school indoor high jump record (6-2)

After just five days of practice the Tiger boys put a toe in the competitive waters with an appearance at an indoor meet Saturday, Mar. 19, at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
Coach Brian Helmstetter said he didn't bring anywhere near a complete team to the non-scored meet but offered it provided a good opportunity for his athletes to test their early season conditioning.
"We looked at it as a good practice and a chance to get some times so we could start setting realistic goals for the first half of the season," he said.
Helmstetter said he was encouraged by the performance of his senior class in the indoor opener. Defending Missota Conference 400-meter champion Tyler Grubb showed good form in stints on the 4x200 and 4x400 relays and CJ Record won his heat in the 55-meter dash before tweaking a hamstring muscle later in the meet.
High-jumper Sam Hanson tied the indoor school record by clearing 6-2 in the high jump and also ran an impressive 200 meters in the 4x200 relay.
Throwers John Schimmel, Dillon Pariseau and Joe Ouyang all showed good early season form in the shot put with Schimmel tossing the 12-pound ball over 47 feet.
Senors Zach Wyatt (4x200 relay and high jump), Andrew Cayard (sprints), Matt Stephan (1600-meter run), Tyler Beckett (hurdles) and Justice Detzel (hurdles) also turned in promising performances.
That promise wasn't limited to seniors, however. Junior Justin Hett long-jumped 18-1 and looked good in the 55-meter dash and sophomores Trevor Breezley, Tyler Lerbakken and Clayton Webb turned in quality times in distance events.
Helmstetter also brought a contingent of ninth graders--Tanner Grubb, Eric Stoeckeman, Jake Erickson, Mason Auge, Mason Gaylord, Jake Rudeen and Jeff Guitierrez--to get their first taste of varsity competition and all seemed more than up for the task.
"As coaches, we saw a lot of kids working hard and focusing on form and warms-ups and cool-downs which we have been stressing in practice," Helmstetter said.

Adpated Floor Hockey (CI): Blazing Cats compete in state tourney

Blazing Cats goalie Ashley Smith

The Blazing Cats. a cooperative adaptive floor hockey team sponsored by the Farmington, Lakeville and Burnsville school districts, advanced to the state tournament with a 9-4 record, including a 7-2 playoff victory over North Suburban.
In the eight-team state meet held March 17-18 at Bloomington Jefferson High School, the Blazing Cats opened play with an 11-4 loss to Anoka-Hennepin, the defending state champion.
Unbeaten Anoka-Hennepin scored five first period goals and rolled to its 13th consecutive win. Stephan Friday scored three of the four Blazing Cats goals.
In Saturday's consolation round Owatonna rallied for five goals in the third period to edge the Cats 8-7 and advance to the consolation finals.
The teams were tied 3-3 after two periods before the Blazing Cats rattled off three straight goals to take a 6-3 lead. But the Huskies countered with four straight scores of their own and then held on for the one-goal win.
Friday had another big offensive game in the losing effort, accounting for five goals and running his two-day total to eight.
Senior Ashley Smith of Farmington played goalie for the Blazing Cats. Other Farmington players included freshmen D.J. Evans, Terry Kalm and Jacob Kuhlman.
The Blazing Cats closed the 2010-11 season with a 9-6 record.

Boys Swimming and Diving: A season of championships

Section 1AA True Team and Missota Conference Champions

Tyler Magalis Class AA Diving Champion


The 2010-11 season couldn't have gone much better for coach Ryan Hamen and his Tiger boys swimming and diving team.
Not only did Farmington win the Section 1AA True Team and Missota Conference championships for the first time in school history, it also ranked second at the Section 1AA Championships, produced its second state diving champion, broke six school records and qualified entrants in six events for the Class AA state meet where it finished 14th in the team standings.
And just for a little icing on the cake, Hamen received Section 1AA Coach of the Year honors and diving coach Gregg Rappe picked up the section Diving Coach of the Year award. Tyler Magalis, who went on to claim the state one-meter diving title, also was selected Diver of the Year in Section 1.
"We had an exemplary season," Hamen said. "In our history we've never won as many awards as we did this year. Finishing with results, achieving personal bests and placing high in so many championship meets show the dedication and fortitude the boys had this year.
"One of our biggest strengths was depth. We had some great swimmers but also needed the boys to get those thirds and fourths and they came through and dropped their times. I am very proud of what we achieved this year."
Twenty-two Tigers received letters for their efforts during this record season, including five seniors: Magalis, Brian Huls, Allen Berg, Andrew Cayard and Matthew Stephan.
Underclassmen receiving letters included juniors Conner Kealy, Zach Holton and Derek Anderson; sophomores Christopher Kirchmann, Aaron Lane, Evan Carufel, Cameron Molnar, Tyler Lerbakken, Mitch Haugen, Ben Cohoon, Aaron Cochnauer and David Bovee; freshmen Nick Stephan, Matt Clark, Eric Schimmel, Garrett Haugen and Jonathan Bovee.
Huls, who went on to earn-all state honors in the 100 freestyle was the team's Most Valuable Player, and along with state diving champion Magalis, Berg, Kirchmann and Holton won all-Missota Conference honors. Lane and Carufel garnered all-league honorable mention.
Other team awards included: Most Improved-Lerbakken; Most Dependable-Berg; Coaches Award-Holton and I Can Do It, Coach Award-Kirchmann.
Hamen also paid tribute to four non-letter winners, each of whom took home a team award: senior Austin Bell (Hardest Worker); junior Andrew Morris (Co-Most Improved) sophomores Dalton Bell and Christian Bell (Co-Rookies of the Year) and eighth-grader Michael Husnik (Co-Most Improved).
Hamen especially sang the praises of the senior Bell who joined the swim team for the first time this season.
"Austin was a true leader," he said. "He was there every day and brought in a work ethic that helped us a lot. The captains gave him a special award for all he did for the team."
Huls (50 and 100 freestyle), Magalis (diving and relays)) Berg (500 freestyle) and Hatten, Holton and Kirchmann comprised the Farmington state meet contingent.
School records that fell during the 2010-11 season included 200 freestyle (Berg); 50 freestyle (Huls); 100 freestyle (Huls); 500 freestyle (Berg), one-meter diving (Magalis) and 200 freestyle relay (Huls, Kirchmann, Berg, Magalis).
Hamen said he would have liked to have added the school's first-ever Section 1AA title to his team's list of accomplishments but that its second place effort was very satisfying.
"We knew Century would be hard to beat," he said. "but by winning so many medals and having so many personal bests, we left the building feeling very proud of what we did."
Hamen said he is well aware of the implications of the loss of the five seniors for next year's squad but is confident his younger athletes will step up to fill the gaps.
"We'll have some very good swimmers coming back," he said. "We also have some depth but we will have to increase it. A lot will depend on how many athletes can focus on swimming during the off-season and return as leaders in and out of the pool next winter."

Boys Hockey: A winning season

Andrew Peterson (left) and Tyler Grubb
All-Missota Conference
(photos by Jim Lindquist)


For the first time since 2006, the Tiger boys finished on the plus side of the .500 mark. Farmington closed the 2010-11 campaign with a 14-13 record and its 7-7 mark in the Missota Conference earned a third place tie with Red Wing in the final standings.
"We had a good group of senior leaders," coach Keith Revels said. "It was fun to see them mature as players and as people over the past couple of seasons.
"As a team we really came together to play our best hockey at the end of the season when it mattered the most."
Twenty-three players and three managers received varsity letters at the post-season banquet held Thursday night, Mar. 17, including a dozen seniors: Jake Sorenson, Trevor Hockert, Quinn Malcolm, Justin Rees, Zak Payne, Quinn Eden, Tyler Grubb, Matt Provost, Dan Handberg, Aaron Dahl, Charlie Wicks (manager) and Cooper Loew (manager).
Underclassmen monogram winners included juniors Jack Buss, Andrew Peterson, Michael Giebel, Jake Eldred, Ryan Schoening, Trevor Howard, Sean Johnson, Blake Weinand and Victor Simones; sophomores Grant Hauswirth, Kevin Olund, John Donnelly and Jason Thomas and freshman Marcus Dubois (manager).
Grubb, the team's leading scorer with 52 points on 27 goals and 25 assists, took home the team's Most Valuable Player award and joined Peterson (17 goals, 20 assists) on the all-Missota Conference team. Handberg (12 goals, 22 assists) and Payne (12 goals, 14 assists) received all-league honorable mention.
Weinand won the Mr. Hustle award and Rees was the recipient of the Hobey Baker award. Hauswirth won Rookie of the Year honors and Hockert was the team's "Most Improved" player.
Revels noted that this season's .500 run in the conference represented a vast improvement from last year's 2-12 league mark and his team's strong finish may have provided the season's brightest moments.
"With four games left we were 9-12 and were playing three teams that had beaten us earlier in the year," he said. "We won them all."
Revels also pointed with pride to a convincing win over Rochester John Marshall in the Section 1AA quarterfinals that avenged a lopsided regular season loss to the Rockets.
The win vaulted the Tigers into the semifinals where they lost to Lakeville South. It was the first time Farmington had advanced to the semifinals since being re-classified to Class AA more than a decade ago.
"We played a little tight against South and it looked a little like it was our first trip to the semis," Revels said, "but we never gave up and we played hard to the end."
Revels said the loss of a big senior class will be a challenge for next year's squad but he feels it will be up to the task.
"We'll have some big holes to fill," he said, "but we have a good corps coming back and some good young candidates who should be ready to step in and play.
"We're trying to get some summer ice at our arena and we'll need our players to start finding Scott Meier's weight room over the off-season."

Girls Hockey: We are the Champions

Missota Conference and Louis Schmitz Classic Champions
(photo by Jim Lindquist)

By any measure, the Farmington girls hockey season was a roaring success. From tournament titles to conference crowns to section all-academic awards and individual honors. The 2010-11 campaign had a little of everything.
The Tigers finished the season with an overall record of 20-7 and cruised to a perfect 12-0 mark to win their second straight Missota Conference crown. They also won the talent-rich Louie Schmitz Holiday Classic and reached the finals of the Section 1AA tournament.
"It was tough to lose in the game to go to the big show," coach Jon Holmes said, "but we had a great season. We met all of our pre-season goals except getting to the state tournament."
All 20 players on the varsity roster received letters at the team's post-season banquet, including the team's only three seniors: Krystal Baumann, Hannah Alexander and Emily Severson.
Underclassmen receiving letters included juniors Molly Friedlund, Katie Burgess, Betsy Anderson and Jessica Erchul; sophomores Grace Gavin, Rachel Peroutky, Sydney Schoenecker and Haleigh Zwart; freshmen Shaye Jenrich, Haley Doll, Bria Donnelly, Brenna Raske, Rachel Welzin and Maddie Strid and eighth-graders Chloe Batta, Emily Johnson and Ashley Corcoran.
Holmes also paid tribute to his junior varsity team that posted 15 wins this season.
"That team has been together for thee years now," he said, "and they have made big strides in becoming a cohesive unit. Three years ago they won eight games and last year they won 14. It has been fun to watch them grow both on and off the ice."
Four Tigers made the prestigious all-Missota Conference team: Baumann, Alexander, Erchul and Anderson. Severson and Peroutky garnered all-league honorable mention.
Baumann, a University of Vermont recruit, finished the season with a team-high 54 goals and leaves the program ranked in the top 10 in five career categories: goals-97 (2nd); points-260 (3rd); games played-154 (5th); assists-92 (8th) and plus-minus-173 (10th).
Alexander also leaves behind some impressive numbers, ranking among the top 10 all-time leaders in assists with 94 (7th); points with 191 (8th) and goals scored with 97 (8th).
Erchul had another big year in the nets with a 2.22 goals against average and a .914 save percentage in 24 regular season games. Anderson scored 21 points and headed a strong blue line corps that gave up fewer than 2.5 goals an outing.
Peroutky was another solid defender who finished the regular season with 22 points. Severson finished her varsity career with 26 goals and 22 assists and was the team's recipient of the Hobey Baker Award for leadership, community service and citizenship.
With the loss of Baumann, Alexander and Severson, Holmes said next year's edition of Tiger girls hockey will look a little different.
"We will need all of our players to commit to becoming better in the off-season," he said. "Our conference and section are only getting better and with three-fourths of our goal scoring gone in Krystal and Hannah we need to find players who will put the puck away.
"This is not an uncommon task for hockey teams, however. We are more than capable of getting back to and winning the section final next year, but it will have to be done through a complete team effort."
Holmes added the three graduating seniors represent a symbolic changing of the guard in Farmington girls hockey.
"They are the last of the generation that were part of Farmington teams that played in both Class A and AA," he said. "They each brought their own unique leadership qualities to the rink every day. We will miss their witty comments, big smiles, mischievous laughter and outstanding play."

Girls Basketball: Mayo ends Tiger dream season one game short of state

Farmington claims second Section 1AAAA runner-up trophy in three years

Farmington's magical 2010-11 season disappeared in a cloud of cold shooting in the Section 1AAAA finals at the Mayo Civic Center Friday night as second-seeded Rochester Mayo earned a trip to the state tournament with a 49-35 victory.
The top-seeded Tigers, who were looking for their first-ever section title, brought down the curtain on their best season ever, finishing with a 23-4 record.
Mayo set the tone of the game early, scoring the first seven points of the night, all brought about by getting the ball in the paint.
"We were tight and I really don't know why," Tiger coach Jason Berg said. "We had been in big games before and played well. Mayo did a good job of being physical and shooting the ball. For some reason, that affected us."
Miserable free throw shooting by the Spartans (1-10) in the first half allowed the Tigers to keep things close and with 2:18 remaining in the half, Shelby Calhoun's three-pointer from the left wing forged a 17-17 tie.
But Mayo, who fell to the Tigers 63-38 during the regular season, responded with the final six points of the half to regain momentum and from there on, it was a long downhill slide for the Missota Conference champions.
"In the second half we wanted to take better care of the ball and reverse it more to make their zone move," Berg said. "But we either seemed to take a quick shot or turn the ball over."
Other than it's ice-cold shooting (24 percent for the game), Farmington's biggest problem came from the Spartans' sagging zone defense. Taylor Meyer finished with 14 points (and nine rebounds) but Tiger post players Elena Koch (2 points) and Jordan Bridges (0 points) found no room to operate inside.
"We saw a lot of zone this year and the way we beat it was by attacking it and getting to the offensive boards," Berg said. "Tonight we didn't do either of those things."
The emotional strain of coming so close to a state tournament berth showed on the players' faces after the game but Berg said that the season had to be judged as a whole.
"One game does not define a season," he said. "We won 23 games and a conference championship. Those are huge accomplishments. They show consistency.
"I would love to have gone to state but winning a conference title is a better indication of how good a team you are."

Sisters-in-Arms: One final huddle

Tiger Scoreboard: March 12, 2011

Girls Basketball
Section 1AAAA Championship
Rochester Mayo 49 Farmington 35
The Tigers made just six of 32 first half shots and could never take the lead as the Spartans advanced to this week's state tournament at Target Center. Taylor Meyer had 14 points and nine rebounds for Farmington.

Gymnastics: Onward and Upward

State meet performers (l to r) Nadia Lorencz, Kiana Lord and Terra Klima


Things just keep getting better and better for coach Lynn Bauman and her Tiger gymnastics program.
Not only did the the 2010-11 season produce yet another new school record in team scoring (142.75) but it also saw individual school marks set on the uneven bars and vault; a best-ever second place finish at the Section 1AA Championships; a third place showing in the Missota Conference and finally, a school-best three individuals qualify for the state meet.
"We as a team saw both the varsity and junior varsity continue to get stronger and better," Bauman said. "There was so much determination and motivation from all of the girls. Between new friendships and new records we couldn't have had a better year."
Eight Tigers earned varsity letters this season, including seniors Terra Klima and Erin Hickey; junior Jade Alm; sophomores Kiana Lord and Nadia Lorencz; freshmen Kathryn Beckett and Tahra Eckert and eighth-grader Kylie Wharton.
The three state meet qualifiers--Lord (beam, all-around)-Lorencz (vault) and Klima (bars)--each made the all-Missota squad while Hickey, injured much of the season, received all-league honorable mention. Lord took home the Most Valuable Player Award and seventh grader Elizabeth Welter received Most Improved performer honors.
Klima broke her own school record on the bars twice this season, the last with a lofty 9.65 mark. Lorencz also cracked the school vault mark twice, including a 9.6 at the state championships.
At state, Lord finished sixth on the beam and 19th in all-around. Lorencz ranked 10th in vault and Klima placed 26th on the bars.
Bauman looked long and hard to find any bad news in the season just completed and managed to find just one.
"The injuries," she lamented. "We had very few meets with all of our varsity girls (healthy). Other than that it was an exciting year."
Buaman will lose only Klima and Hickey from this year's team, meaning that the 2011-12 campaign could be another good one.
"The girls are looking forward to working on harder and better skills," she said. "and we are planning on having more girls out next year. We'll also be hosting the Section 1AA meet for the first time."
Bauman went on to say that some of the younger girls will have to take a major step up next winter to fill the shoes of departing seniors Klima and Hickey.
"They will truly be missed," she said. "They were such assets to the team with all of their loyalty and leadership."

Dance Team: One kickin' season

(photos by Jim Lindquist)
The young FHS Dance Team didn't accomplish all of its goals but according to coach Shelby Kuphal the 2010-11 season was a rewarding one.
Farmington finished third in kick and sixth in jazz to capture fourth place in the Missota Conference competition and ranked seventh in kick and 11th in jazz at the Section 1AAA meet.
"The girls worked very hard to come as far as they did this year," Kuphal said. "They practiced three-and-a-half hours a day, four days a week with an occasional three-hour practice on Saturday. With all of that they still had to balance their homework, friends and family...They are now understanding the benefit of hard work and determination."
Twenty girls received varsity letters at the team's post-season banquet and only two were seniors: Madi Cook and Ashlye Mattei.
Underclassmen winning varsity monograms included juniors Kayli Rudeen, Shelby Schillerstrom, Alysha Stoeffel, Julie Tang and Nikki Webster; sophomores Alexis Bailey, Morgan Elliott, Ashley Fogarty, Cassidy Gerber, Megan Grengs, Chloe Halvorson, Cortney Hilton, Haley Luffman, Izzy Neal, Alexis Preese, Katie Wahl and Katie Zitzmann and freshman Annie Grengs.
Kuphal also recognized the season-long efforts of seniors Jeni Friedrich and Jerica Kamin; junior Kelsey Erickson; sophomores Kaitlyn Betzold and Emily Peetsch; freshman Rachel Mozey and eighth-grader Morgan Bass.
Team captains Cook and Mattei each landed a spot on the all-Missota Conference team while Stoeffel earned all-league honorable mention.
Cook claimed the team's Most Valuable Player award while Preese won "Most Improved" honors. Bass was the junior varsity MVP and Casie Doring the most improved dancer. Zitzmann won Rookie of the Year distinction and Stoeffel received the Tiger Award.
Kuphal recited a long list of team accomplishments, both on and off the floor, including finishing third in kick in the conference; moving up six places in kick in the section; gaining confidence in its jazz routines and winning Academic All-State recognition (team grade point average of 3.5 or higher).
Off the floor, the girls also conducted their first clinic for youth in grades one through eight; volunteered at Feed My Starving Children and wrapped gifts for the Toys for Town fundraiser.
"Our only disappointment was jazz," Kuphal said, "but we'll get there in time. We have been focusing on getting kick to the top and once we're there, we'll look to jazz."
With the team losing only four seniors to graduation, Kuphal said she is looking for more improvement next season.
"The girls need to work on their skills and technique in the off-season," she said. "If we want to be competitive in jazz we need to be confident in our higher level skills.
"We will continue to focus on kick technique next year and hopefully we'll see another jump at sections."
Though she loses only four dancers from this year's team, Kuphal said Cook, Mattei, Friedrich and Kamin will be difficult to replace.
"Their inner drive and hard work was commendable," she said. "You very rarely heard them complain. They set their minds to making the best out of their last year and they accomplished it."

Tiger Scoreboard: March 10, 2011

Boys Basketball
Section 1AA Quarterfinals
Northfield 57 Farmington 52 (Farmington eliminated)
Farmington leading scorers: Alex Michels 14, Darren Beenken 10

Boys Basketball: Tigers fall to Wingers in season finale; face Northfield in section opener

Alex Michels 14 points vs. Red Wing

Farmington slid into the post-season with a 48-39 Missota Conference loss to Red Wing Friday, March 4, in Red Wing. The defeat was the fifth straight for the Tigers who finished the regular season 9-17 overall and 3-11 in the conference.
The game followed a familiar pattern for the Tigers who trailed just 26-22 at intermission but managed just 17 points over the final 18 minutes.
Seniors Alex Michels and Sebren Baer accounted for almost two-thirds of the Farmington offense, finishing with 14 and 10 points respectively. Junior guard Austin Bassett added eight.
Center Isaac Sevlie led the Wingers with 13 points.
Even with the late season slide, the Tigers managed to draw the No. 4 seed for the Section 1AA tournament. Farmington will host fifth-seeded Northfield Wednesday, Mar. 9, in the quarterfinal round with the winner playing at top-seeded Owatonna on Saturday.
Tip-off for Wednesday's match-up with Northfield is 7:00 p.m. at Tiger Gym.

Boys Swimming and Diving: Magalis soars to diving title; Tigers 14th at state meet

Tyler Magalis 2011 State Class AA Diving Champion
Brian Huls 3 Top 10 Finishes
(photos by Jim Lindquist)


Tyler Magalis became the second Tiger diver in six years to capture a state diving championship after running away with the Class AA one-meter board competition at the 2011 state meet held last weekend at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
RJ Rappe who later went on to a stellar collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts claimed the Class A one-meter title in 2005.
Magalis put himself in position to win the gold medal by building a commanding 33.5 point lead in the preliminaries. He added a couple of more points to his lead in Saturday's finals, ultimately defeating runner-up Andrew Germain of Blaine by a 461.35-430.65 margin.
Diving coach Gregg Rappe, and father of Farmington's last state diving champion, said Magalis deserved the honor of being No. 1.
"Tyler's skills as a diver have been refined by hard work, and a little bit of hard knocks," he said. "I think he will do well in the future in his career at St. Cloud State."
Maglais wasn't the only Tiger story at the state meet. As a team Farmington racked up 62 points and finished 14th among 41 schools scoring points.
Brian Huls fashioned a trio of top 10 finishes, placing eighth in the 50 freestyle and ninth in the 100 freestyle and joining Christopher Kirchmann, Allen Berg and the versatile Magalis to take 10th in the 200 freestyle relay.
The 200 medley relay team of Huls, Loren Hatten, Zach Holton and Magalis finished in 13th place.
Berg ranked 22nd in the 500 freestyle preliminaries and didn't qualify for the finals but still came away with a new school record in the event.
"We had a great meet," Tiger coach Ryan Hamen said. "We qualified for the finals in five of six events and set a school record in the one that didn't.
"We are very proud of Tyler for winning the championship and all of our swimmers who swam for us at the state meet."

Girls Basketball: Tigers romp by Century 64-29 to advance to section finals

Taylor Meyer (top) 23 points, 11 rebounds
Jordan Bridges 20 points, 11 rebounds
(photos by Jim Lindquist)


Taylor Meyer and Jordan Bridges combined for 43 points and 22 rebounds to lead the Tigers past Rochester Century 64-29 Saturday night at Tiger Gym. The Section 1AA semifinal victory vaulted Farmington (23-3) into the section title game against Rochester Mayo (20-6) Friday night in Rochester.
Despite the final lopsided score the game was close early with the Tigers trailing 10-8 with 10:30 remaining in the first half.
"Century mixed up its defenses and it took us a little bit to adjust," Tiger coach Jason Berg said.
And adjust they did. The Tigers closed the half on a dominating 27-5 run keyed by seven offensive rebounds turned into baskets by Meyer and Bridges. In a nine-minute stretch during the blitz, the suffocating Farmington defense didn't allow a point.
The Tigers picked up right where they left off after the break, scoring the first nine points of the second half. During that stretch, Century got off just two shots and committed seven turnovers.
After the sluggish start, Farmington was aggressive with the basketball.
"As a team, we did a good job of attacking their defense," Berg said. "We got to the free throw line 26 times (making 19)."
Meyer and Bridges each finished with statistical double-doubles with Meyer totaling 23 points and 11 rebounds and Bridges 20 points and 11 boards.
Jamie Kenealy chipped in with eight points and three steals and Elena Koch netted five points and grabbed seven rebounds. Shelby Calhoun handed out a team-high four assists.
Berg also lauded the defensive work of Calhoun and Isis Alexander who combined to hold Kanani Asuncion, Century's leading scorer to just three points.
The appearance in the section championship game will be Farmington's second in three years. The Tigers lost to Rochester John Marshall in the 2009 title tilt.
No Farmington girls team has ever qualified for the state tournament. The only Tiger boys team to make a trip to state did so in 1937. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:15 at the Rochester Civic Center.

Wrestling: Elmer 5th at state meet

Carl Elmer capped his stellar Tiger career with a fifth place finish in the 140 lbs. weight class at the the Class AAA state meet held last weekend at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Elmer won four of six bouts to win the consolation title, starting with a 7-0 opening round decision over Cris Keske of Sauk Rapids-Rice.
That victory vaulted Elmer into the quarterfinals where he lost on a first period pin to eventual champion Brandon Kingsly of Apple Valley.
In the consolation round, Elmer was back on his game, scoring a dominating 7-0 win over St. Michael-Albertville's Michael Nerdahl and a 5-0 victory over Frank Cramer of Maple Grove.
Elmer then narrowly lost his bid to advance to the third place bout when he dropped a tough 3-2 overtime verdict to Derek Wainamn of Irondale.
The consolation title match brought out the best in the Tiger senior as he scored a 6-3 win over Robbinsdale Cooper's Jamie Brazil.
"I know Carl was really disappointed at not placing at state last year and he put in some extra work during the off-season to reach that goal this season.
"By the end of the tournament Carl was pretty banged up and sore but he just kept grinding away each match. I am very proud of him. It was a pleasure to be along for the ride."
Elmer will carry on his mat career next year at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

Tiger Scoreboard: March 5, 2011

Wrestling
Class AAA State Tournament
Carl Elmer split his first two matches in the 140 lbs. division, defeating Chris Keske of Sauk Rapids-Rice 7-0 in the opening round and losing by fall to Brandon Kingsley of Apple Valley in the quarterfinals. Elmer begins consolation round competition today.

Boys Basketball
Red Wing 48 Farmington 39
The Tigers managed just 17 second half points in losing to the Wingers in their regular season finale at Red Wing. Alex Michels scored 14 points and Sebren Baer added 10 for Farmington who lost its fourth straight Missota Conference game.

Boys Basketball: Chanhassen balance too much for Tigers

Andy Born 11 points, seven rebounds
(photo by Jim Lindquist)

Five players scored in double figures as Chanhassen spoiled Farmington's Senior Night celebration with a 74-50 Missota Conference win Tuesday night, Mar. 1, at Tiger Gym.
The loss was the fourth straight for the Tigers who dropped to 9-16 overall and 3-10 in conference play. Chanhassen moved to 13-11 and 9-4.
The Tigers made it a game early but some familiar ghosts began to haunt the locals as the night wore on. The Storm hit the halftime break with a 35-23 lead.
"We gave it a run for awhile," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said, "but ultimately poor shooting, transition defense and turnovers were too much to overcome.
"They (Chanhassen) also shot the lights in stretches and that hurt us. We're hoping to work on those things as we head into the section tournament."
The shooting numbers told the tale of the contest with Farmington connecting on just 38 percent of its field goal tries and 60 percent of its free throws. The Storm shot a sizzling 60 percent from the floor and made 11 of 12 (92 percent) from the charity stripe. Throw in 17 Tiger turnovers and the outcome seemed predictable.
Alex Michels netted 13 points and Andy Born added 11 to pace the Farmington offense. Sebren Baer finished with eight, Sam Hanson seven and Zach Wallace six.
Michels made it a statistical double-double with a dozen rebounds, seven on the offensive glass. Baer dished out four assists; Josh Ruthebeck had three blocks and Michels came up with a trio of steals.
The Tigers close their regular season on Friday with a Missota Conference road game at Red Wing and then await the Section 1AAAA seeding results. Post-season play begins next week.

Tiger Scoreboard: March 2, 2011

Boys Basketball
Chanhassen 74 Farmington 50
Farmington leading scorers: Alex Michels 13, Andy Born 11