It was a homecoming of sorts at last Friday afternoon's Faribault Invitational cross-country meet as two former Tiger runners crossed paths, this time as high school coaches.
Lisa (Dingman) Lippold (left) is in her first year as boys coach at her alma mater while Janet (Brownawell) Smith heads up the Faribault girls running program. Lippold and Smith were running standouts in high school and both went on to compete at the collegiate level in track and cross country. When they graduated from high school in 1999 they made up half of the then school record-holding 4x800 meter relay team.
Two years ago Bubba Friedlund was a member of the Tiger offensive line. Last week the Bethel University tackle received some national recognition when he was featured on the NCAA Division III "Play of the Week." The video on the NCAA D3 website shows Friedlund throwing the block that sprung the Bethel quarterback for a 75-yard touchdown run...Another FHS 2010 grad, Tyler Barnes is a 6-3, 273-pound tight end for Valley City State (North Dakota)...
It's not often that a high school athlete moves on to the next level and has the opportunity to play for the nation's top team. This fall, two ex-Tigers find themselves in that enviable position: Cody Eich, University of Minnesota-Duluth football and Katie Habeck, Concordia University-St. Paul volleyball.
Last weekend Eich, a senior strong safety, led the UMD defense in tackles with nine and also forced a fumble as the Bulldogs pummeled Upper Iowa 49-22 to remain the top dog in the NCAA Division II rankings.
Habeck, a freshman middle blocker, totaled four kills and a pair of blocks to help Concordia remain unbeaten with a championship performance at the Metro/Regis Tournament played last weekend in Denver. Concordia-St. Paul is a perfect 8-0 this season and is shooting for its fifth straight NCAA Division II title.
Former Tiger teammates Kaitlin Mincke (University of Minnesota) and Jackie Beckett (Minnesota State, Mankato) ran in last weekend's Oz Memorial 6-kilometer cross country race at the Les Bolstad Golf course on the U of M campus...Former Tiger Greg Werner is a junior on the Minnesota State, Mankato men's golf team that is playing an abbreviated fall schedule after winning the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship last spring.
Tyler Magalis, who last winter became Farmington's second state one-meter diving champion, is one of the top recruits of the St. Cloud State University men's swimming and diving team that opens its 2011-12 season next month.
