X-Country: Running with the big dogs

Justin Hyytinen finished 38th in a field of 490 at the Roy Griak Invitational

The Tigers have run in several large meets this season but those get-togethers looked like dual meets compared to Saturday's Roy Griak Invitational held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course at the University of Minnesota.

100-plus teams from across the country competed in two high school divisions with college and university level races also on the meet menu.

The Tigers ran in the Gold Division of the high school bracket where the girls ranked 33rd and the boys 41st in their respective 50-team races.

"The meet was definitely a learning experience us," Tiger boys coach Lisa Lippold said. "We haven't ever run in a meet of that size and that can be intimidating to run with that many people around you the entire race.

"It was a good for us to be exposed to a more difficult course than what we are used to. We didn't place as high as we wanted so we are looking ahead to the Chaska meet and setting our individual and team goals."

Justin Hyytinen proved he was up to the individual challenge, finishing 38th overall in a field of 494 runners. Hyytinen covered the challenging, 5000-meter course in 16:45.

Alex Hart was the next Tiger to hit the finish line, clocking 18:08 in 227th place. Devon Webb ranked 282nd in 18:35; Hunter Sevenich 290th in 18:42 and Sean Dougherty 310th in 19:03.

Lauren Peterson led the Tiger girls at the Roy Griak Invitational

Seventh grader Lauren Peterson and senior Maricia Pacheco were the top Tiger finishers in the girls race. The 5000-meter race was 1000 meters longer than the customary distance for girls' races in Minnesota.

Peterson ran 20:08 to place 62nd; Pacheco was 78th in 20:16. Anna Palodichuk finished 178th in 21:21, Emily Schaffer 257th in 22:08 and Sofia Chadwick 272nd in 22:38. 460 runners competed in the race.

"It was an adventure given the change in distance, the rainy weather and the hilly terrain," Tiger girls coach Heidi Revels said. "I think the girls did very well. It was fun to see Lauren and Maricia finish so close together."

Girls Soccer: A well-earned tie

Kelly Kornmann lets one fly (photo by Jim L1ndquist)

Farmington lost twice to Section 1AA champion Lakeville North last season, 3-0 during the regular season and 2-0 in the section title game.

Saturday afternoon's 0-0 overtime tie with the Panthers at Tiger Stadium didn't necessarily make up for those losses but it did show Tiger coach Tracie Randall her team is trending in the right direction.

"We came out strong and played as a team," Randall said. "We have changed our perspective and decided to come out the last few games and make our presence known.

The girls played with momentum and didn't want to allow any goals. Coming out tied is a definite win for us. We are making progress and trusting each other more."

The game was played in cold, wet and windy conditions and although those factors played a part in how the game was played, Randall said they didn't dictate the outcome.

" The weather was a factor, but the girls really worked through it," she said. "We were going in for good tackles and winning the 50/50 balls we should be winning."...We did a good job of keeping North out of our end of the field."

Keeper Ashley Becker (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Randall said all-stater Isabelle Ferm had one of her best games of the season and along with Kayla Kucala and Leah Kiage spearheaded the strong defensive effort.

The first year Tiger coach also liked the assertiveness of Megan Graham and the midfield play of  Kari Allard, Kelly Kornmann and Kelli Elmer. Hannah Miller also created some scoring chances up front.

Ashley Becker worked the Farmington nets and finished the day with six saves. The Tigers had nine shots on goal.

"This is the first time that we haven't loss to North," Randall said. "I couldn't be happier."

Farmington (4-1) travels to Richfield Tuesday for a game with Holy Angels (5-0) that could go a long way in deciding the Missota Conference title. The Tigers end their regular season Thursday at home versus Shakopee.

Free downloadable, high resolution image files from this game compliments of photographers Jim and Ruth Lindquist are available at http://sidekick.smugmug.com

Tiger Scoreboard: September 29, 2013

Girls Soccer
Farmington 0 Lakeville North 0 (OT)

Girls Cross Country
Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota (Gold Division)
Farmington 33rd out of 50 teams

Boys Cross Country
Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota (Gold Division)
Farmington 41st out of 50 teams

Hockey City Classic group tickets available

Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium January 17, 2014

It's still almost a month away from the start of high school girls hockey practice and a lot longer until mid-January but the University of Minnesota is well into preparations for a unique outdoor hockey doubleheader at TCF Bank Stadium.

On January 17, 2014, the Minnesota men's team will take on Ohio State and the defending NCAA champion women's team will host Minnesota State, Mankato in the Hockey City Classic at the Bank.

Public sale of tickets for this event won't go on sale until October 22, but group sales (20 or more tickets) are now available on a first-come, first served basis.

Below are links to group ticket order forms as well as the stadium seating configuration for the January 17 games.

http://www.hockeycityclassic.com/_media/2014HCCGroupOrderFormvF.pdf

 https://www.mygophersports.com/ArticleMedia/Images/branding_assets_MGS/Sports/MHKY/HCCTCFSeatingMapKey092013.jpg

RCTC's Zitzmann among national leaders

Josh Zitzmann

Through four games Tiger grad Josh Zitzmann ranked 30th in the National Junior College Athletic Association in pass receiving. The Rochester Technical Community and Technical (RCTC) sophomore had 18 catches for 271 yards and five touchdowns. RCTC has a perfect 4-0 record and was ranked 19th in last week's national poll...One of the Yellowjackets' wins was a 48-21 triumph over Central Lakes Community College (Brainerd) in which ex-Tiger Athen Ashton picked up 21 yards on six carries for Central Lakes.

Former Tiger Bubba Friedlund is the starting left tackle for Bethel University (2-0) currently ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Division III national poll....Two former FHS teammates, Tyler Barnes and CJ Record, got to square off against each other a couple of weeks ago when Minnesota State, Moorhead defeated Southwest State University 27-20. Barnes is a tight end/long snapper for the Dragons and Record a defensive back for the Mustangs..Nick Albano, a former Tiger and RCTC standout, has been playing on special teams for Idaho State University this fall....2013 FHS male Athlete of the Year Darren Beenken is quarterbacking the scout team for Winona State University. Beenken is being redshirted to preserve his four years of eligibility.

Ex-Tiger soccer goalie Chad Stivers is 0-1 with a goals against average of 3.07 in the early going for Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin...Another former Tiger soccer standout, Sam Leske, is a starter for Gustavus Adolphus College which was 4-1-1 after its first six games...Brandon Scott has a goal and two assists in four games for the St. Scholatica men's soccer team.

Tyler Magalis

Four alumni of the Tiger girls' soccer team are playing at the collegiate level this fall. Kelli Harstad is a starter at St. Mary's University in Winona and Kayla Seivert has an assist in five games for the University of Wisconsin-Stout Ashley Kimmel is a sophomore on the St. Olaf College squad and Sydney Eckert has played in six of the first seven games for Vitebro College in Lacrosse, Wisconsin.

Former Class AA state diving champion Tyler Magalis is back for his junior season with the St. Cloud State University men's swimming and diving team. Magalis earned all-American honors for the Huskies as a sophomore, finishing sixth at the NCAA Division II Championships....2009 Tiger female Athlete of the Year Kirstee Rotty who went on to play volleyball and basketball for St. Olaf College, is an assistant volleyball coach at Rosemount High School.

Former Tiger track and cross country runner Bailey Opsal finished 12th overall at the Lumberjack and Lumberjill Invitational cross country meet held recently at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. Opsal is a sophomore on the College of St. Scholastica women's team.

Danielle Dombeck, a key contributor to the only Farmington volleyball team ever to play in the state tournament, leads her North Dakota State University team in digs this season.

Ex-Tigers Andrew Froehling, son of Tiger football coach Mark Froehling, and Rilee Carufel were married earlier this month in Farmington.

Girls Soccer: Tigers still in Missota title hunt

Kelli Elmer scored the game-winner against Chanhassen (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers scored only one-goal in two games last week but a strong defense and some quality goalkeeping kept them in the hunt for the 2013 Missota Conference championship.

Chaska scored the only goal of the night on a controversial play in a 1-0 road loss on Tuesday.  Kelli Elmer's second half goal gave the Tigers a 1-0 home win on Thursday at Tiger Stadium.

The split of conference games leaves Farmington with a 4-1 league mark heading into Tuesday's showdown at Holy Angels against the unbeaten (5-0) Stars.

Tuesday's loss at Chaska came on a direct kick on which coach Tracie Randall said her team was caught off guard.

"The girls were waiting for the whistle from the referee as he had instructed," she said. "The Chaska player kicked the ball without the whistle. I don't think Ashley (goalie Becker) even saw it."

Despite the disappointing way the winning goal came about Randall said her team still has to find a way to generate more goals.

"I told the girls we have to show early and put some goals away," she said. "We held possession against Chaska about 80 percent of the time."

Thursday's Parent's Night victory over Chaska came in the 34th minute of the second half on a crossing pass from Megan Graham to Elmer.

The defense, led by Isabelle Ferm, Kayla Kucala, Leah Kiage and keeper Becker did the rest, helping post the team's seventh shutout of the season.

Tuesday's Missota Conference match-up with Holy Angels will pit the Stars' high-scoring offense (22 goals in five league games) against Farmington's stingy defense (one goal allowed in five games).

Game time is 7:30 at the StarDome in Richfield.

Football: High-Flying Hawks tame Tigers

Eli Rockett (21) team-high 12.5 tackles vs. Chaska (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Friday night's match-up between Farmington and Chaska figured to be battle between a Tiger defense that had surrendered just 44 points in four games and a big-play Hawk offense that had averaged 45 points a night.

The tone for the Hawks' 56-7 runaway win in their homecoming game was set on the game's first possession when after two short gains Chaska quarterback Justin Arnold broke loose on a 77-yard touchdown run. The game was 1:06 old.

That was just the beginning of long night for the Farmington defense that gave up an eye-popping 561 yards (333 rushing and 238 passing) to the high-flying Hawks.

"By itself that kind of start isn't what hurt us so much," Farmington coach Mark Froehling said. "We had faced adversity in other games and bounced back to win games.

Mac Bassett TD catch (photo by Jim Lindquist)

"Tonight was simply a matter of a good football team playing very good football combined with us not performing well. This can serve as a good lesson for us. We'll see what kind of character we have and how we respond to this."

"This" was a beatdown of major proportions. The sixth-rated Hawks (Class 5A) executed to perfection what  Froehling and his staff had spent all week preparing to stop, the big play. Five of Chaska's touchdowns covered 30 or more yards; four were longer than 50.

"They have some very talented athletes and they can score in a hurry," Froehling said.

The two biggest pains in the Tigers' backside were slippery junior quarterback Justin Arnold and hard-running tailback Caleb Seiffert. Each gained more than 100 yards on the ground and Arnold burned the Farmington secondary for four scores through the air.

Chaska led 35-0 at intermission and dominated defensively as well, holding the visitors to just three first downs in the opening half, one of those by penalty.

Twenty-one more points points in the third period, the last on a 60-yard punt return on the final play of the quarter, sent the game into running time mode.

Tyler VanWinkle 18 of 28, 141 yards, TD (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers scored their only points on the night on a 74-yard drive late in the fourth quarter capped by a four-yard pass from Tyler VanWinkle to Mac Bassett.

VanWinkle bounced back from a rough outing last week in the win over New Prague to complete 18 of 28 passes for 141 yards.  Bassett had sis catches for 65 yards and Jordan DeCroock for 40.

The running game, however, was almost non-existent. The Tigers finished with just 40 yards on the ground.

Safety Eli Rockett had a busy night on defense, finishing with a team-high 12.5 tackles. Linebackers Mason Auge and Nick Ruark had seven and four respectively.

Froehling said the best thing for his team is to put the loss to the Hawks in its rear view mirror.

"We can't control games that have already been played," he said, "only the ones in front of us. We are a 4-1 football team now and there are a lot of teams who would like to be able to say that.

"We have a lot of football ahead of us. We need to get back to work and start preparing for next week."

Chanhassen, a 55-0 winner over New Prague Friday night, pays a visit to Tiger Stadium Friday night.

Tiger Scoreboard:September 28, 2013

 Football
Chaska 56 Farmington 7

Volleyball: Talented Hawks fly by Tigers

Farmington coach Mike Woody's short response to a question about the quality of the opposition after a 3-0 Missota Conference loss at Chaska Thursday night spoke volumes.

"That is a REALLY good team" Woody said after the Hawks dominated by scores of 25-16, 25-9 and 25-10.

With the win Chaska moved to 16-1 for the season and a perfect 5-0 in Missota Conference play. The loss was the fourth straight for the Tigers who fell to 11-8 overall and 1-3 against conference competition.

The final Farmington stat sheet bore out the dominance of the Hawks as the Tigers produced their lowest numbers of the season.

Morgan Cecchittini and Kenzie Hesse topped the kills charts with seven and five respectively. Setter Ruthie Schmitt had a season-low 17 assists.

Defensively, April Ripley led in digs but had only four. Ripley also topped the list in serve receptions with 29. Emma Fahning added 20. Hesse had the team's only block of the night.

The Tigers will try to get back on track Tuesday when they travel to Rochester to take on Section 1AAA rival Rochester John Marshall.

Girls Tennis: A long road to No. 11

Jessie Novotny (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Illness forced mass movement in the singles lineup and the result was a regular season-ending 6-1 Missota Conference loss to Shakopee Thursday afternoon at the Boeckman Middle School courts.

Megan Stivers, a fixture at first singles the past two seasons, came down with mononucleosis forcing Ryan Jara, Jessie Novotny and Callie Olmscheid to all move up a rung on the singles ladder.

The visiting Sabers took advantage of the situation, sweeping the four singles matches and leaving the Tigers with an 11-5 season record (3-4 in the Missota Conference).

The lone Tiger win came at first doubles where Lindsey and Beth Fairchild continued their dominating season with a 6-1, 6-1 victory

Win No. 11 for the Tigers came in unorthodox fashion. It was so close it took eight days to decide the outcome.

Officially, Farmignton edged Chaska 4-3 Tuesday afternoon in Chaska but in reality only the third set of one match was played. That's because rain suspended play last week with the teams tied at 3-3 and Tiger junior Jessie Novotny leading 2-0 in the third set of the pivotal match.

Novotny went on to win the deciding set 6-3 and put the match in the Tiger win column. Her win completed a clean sweep by Farmington in singles play. Stivers, Jara and Olmscheid each won in straight sets.

Farmignton will open Section 1AA post-season play next Tuesday against an opponent and at a site to be determined by seeding.

Tiger Scoreboard: September 27, 2013

Boys Soccer
Chanhassen 4 Farmington 0

Girls Soccer
Farmington 1 Chanhassen 0

Girls Tennis
Shakopee 6 Farmington 1

Girls Swimming
Chanhassen 103 Farmington 83

Volleyball
Chaska 3 Farmington 0

Girls Swimming: No. 6 Chanhassen too much for Tigers

Nikki Cayard (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Tiger coach Jen Marshall was hoping her team's depth would give it a chance in Thursday night's Missota Conference dual meet with sixth-rated Chanhassen at the Dodge Middle School pool.

As it turned out the Storm proved it had plenty of depth to go with its super talent in a 103- 83 victory.

"It was a great meet with some fast swimming and impressive diving," Marshall said. "We're looking forward to seeing them again at the conference meet"

Chanhassen dominated the meet, winning eight of the 12 events and racking up other place points as well.

All-state performer Kaitlyn O'Reilly had her hands in three of the four firsts. She won the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke and teamed up with Kirsten Kracke, Chelsea Gehrke and Cora Ruzicka to gain top honors in the 200 freestyle relay.

A big highlight for the home team came in one-meter diving where Nikki Cayard, Kendall Novak and Tori Sontag grabbed the top three spots.

Farmington scored second place points in five other events: Gehrke in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke; Kracke in the 50 freestyle; the 200 medley relay team of Emily Ley, Gehrke, Lexie Bray and Ellie Sundet and the 400 freestyle foursome of Kracke, Sundet, Ruzicka and O'Reilly.

Catherine Gehrke took third in the 500 freestyle as did Ruzicka in the 100 butterfly, Kracke in the 100 freestyle and Kaylee Dahlberg in the 100 breaststroke.

Kaitlyn O'Reilly 3 firsts vs. Chanhassen (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Boys Soccer: Unbeaten Storm blank Tigers

Unbeaten Chanhassen took a big step toward the 2013 Missota Conference championship with an impressive 4-0 win over Farmington Thursday evening at Tiger Stadium.

The loss drop the Tigers' league mark to 2-1-2 and its season record to 6-3-4.

The Storm put the game away early with three first half scores and a stifling defensive effort.

"We played the first half into the win but they were a strong opponent," coach Julian Buss said. "They moved the ball quickly and  put accurate shots on net."

Farmington played better after the break but could not get the ball past the Storm goalkeeper.

"We got about 10 good shots in the game but unfortunately, we weren't able to convert any to goals," Buss said.

Chanhassen scored the only goal of the second half on a penalty kick with 15 minutes remaining in regulation.

The four goals were the most allowed by the Tigers in a game this season. Sophomore goalie Jake Agnew finished the contest with six saves.

"I was impressed with our second half," Buss said. "We were more aggressive and played heads-up soccer. In the end, this was be a game against the Missota Conference champions."

The Tigers close out their regular season schedule nest week.Tuesday they travel to Richfield to face Holy Angels before returning home Thursday to host Shakopee. The Section 1AA post-season tournament begins the following week.

Boys X-Country: Tigers seventh at New Prague

Matt Anderson turned in the top Tiger finish at New Prague

The Tigers rested their top five runners in preparation for Saturday's Roy Griak Invitational mega-meet but the replacements ran well, helping Farmington to a seventh place finish in the 12-team New Prague Invitational held Tuesday at Cedar Lake Farms..

Faribault edged Red Wing  32-41 for the team title. New Prague took third with 122 points followed by Tri-City United 124, Jordan 134, Norwood-Young America 161, Farmington 223, Mankato Loyola/Cleveland 225, Cannon Falls 245, LeSueuer-Henderson 246 and St. Peter 283.

Matt Anderson, a Tiger regular all season, led Farmington with 35th place finish, covering the 5000-meter route in 19:03.

Derek Cole was 39tth in 19:22; Peyton Woller 45th in 19:36; Josh Grimm 47th in 19:59; Jackson Schneider 57th in 20:44; Trent Kortenbusch 59th in 20:52 and Ryan Newton 62nd in 21:58.

"The meet went well," coach Lisa Lippold said. "It was a great experience for five of the seven runners to be able to run in a varsity race. Even though we just had a meet on Saturday we still had some pr's. Derek Cole dropped 15 seconds from his time." 

The five Tigers runners not competing at New Prague didn't completely get the day off. They made the trip to Cedar Lake Farms to get a peek at the new site for the Missota Conference Championships slated for October 15.

After Saturday's first appearance at the prestigious Griak meet at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course on Saturday, the Tigers travel to Chaska next Tuesday for the Chaska Invitational.

Boys Soccer: A tie collection

Jared Wolt scored the Tiger goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Tiger coach Julian Buss isn't sure what he wants for Christmas this year but he has already taken one item off his wish list...another tie.

Farmington and Chaska battled to a 1-1 overtime draw Tuesday afternoon in a Missota Conference contest in Chaska. That makes six overtime games in 12 outings for the Tigers who own a 6-2-4 record heading into Thursday's home showdown with conference leader Chanhassen.

"Yes, we have had difficulty generating offense at times," Buss said, "but for the most part we have been solid defensively...Although we certainly would have liked to have won this one, it is the sign of a strong team that we are shutting down our opponent's offense."

Both goals came within a 60-second span early in the first half. Chaska got on the board first with 32:30 left in the half. Exactly a minute later, Blake Smith's throw-in was headed by Caleb Gochenour to Jared Wolt who headed the ball by the Hawk keeper.

Caleb Gochenour assisted on Wolt's goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Both teams had their chances the rest of regulation and the two five-minute overtime periods but neither could find the net.

The Tigers played most of the overtime sessions a man short after Smith received a controversial second caution card.

"Even though we were a man short we outplayed them and created scoring opportunities," Buss said.

 Tiger goalkeeper Jake Agnew stopped a season-high 23 shots in the draw.

Thursday's match-up with Chanhassen is pivotal for the Tigers as the Storm stand alone atop the league standings with a a perfect 4-0 record. The Tigers (2-0-2) are also unbeaten in league play but have two ties on their ledger.

"We hope to shake things up a bit," Buss said.

Game time is 5:00 at Tiger Stadium.

Volleyball: Tigers drop third straight

Kenzie Hesse (right) and Emma Fahning combined for 35 kills (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington's losing skid hit three matches Tuesday night with a a 3-1 non-conference defeat at the hands of section rival Rochester Mayo at Tiger Gym.

The loss dropped the Tigers' season record to 11-7. They are 1-2 in Missota Conference play and 3-3 against Section 1AAA competition.

The Spartans eked out a 25-23 win in game one only to see the Tigers bounce back to dominate in a 25-10 victory in the second. Mayo won games three and four by 25-20 and 25-17 scores.

The freshmen duo of Kenzie Hesse and Emma Fahning provided most of the offensive fireworks in the losing effort with match totals of 22 and 13 kills respectively.

Setter Ruthie Schmitt picked up 39 of the team's 42 assists. Hannah Baer helped the offensive cause with a trio of services aces; Fahning had two.

Fahning also had a good night defensively with a team-high 17 digs and 13 serve receptions. Baer chipped in with 10 digs and Morgan Cecchittini led in blocks with five.

Hesse tallied a team-best 22 serve receptions. Diana Comes added 13 and Amber Riley chimed in with 10.

If the Tigers are to shed their current losing streak on Thursday at Chaska, they picked a tough opponent. The Hawks own a perfect 3-0 conference record and are 15-1 for the season, losing only to Eagan in the Apple Valley Invitational.


Free downloadable, high resolution image files from this match compliments of photographers Jim and Ruth Lindquist are available at http://sidekick.smugmug.com

Girls X-Country: A new-look lineup at NP

Sami Hyytinen won a medal for her 10th place finish

With Saturday's multi-state Roy Griak Invitational meet on the near horizon, Tiger coach Heidi Revels opted to rest her top five runners at Tuesday's New Prague Invitational held at Cedar Lake Farms.

That meant some changes in the lineup with several girls running their first varsity race, but the newcomers performed well, finishing sixth in an 11-team field.

Red Wing took team honors with a 42-point total. Host New Prague was a distant second at 74, followed by Norwood-Young America 113, Faribault 119, Cannon Falls 170, Farmington 172, St. Peter 184, Mankato Loyola/Cleveland 192, Jordan 194, Tri-City United 201 and LeSueur-Henderson 236.

"This was a new course this year, Revels said. "Much tougher than the old one at the golf course. There were some pretty nasty hills."

Sami Hyytinen, a varsity regular all season, led the Farmington effort with a 10th place finish in 16:57 (4000 meters) and earned a medal for her effort.

"Sami's goal was to break 17:00 and she did it," Revels said.

Maricella Pacheco, another varsity regular all year, finished 25th in 17:55. Alexis Johnson ranked 38th in 18:49; Abby Bollig 47th in 19:10; Sarah Cummings 52nd in 19:36 and Hannah Morgan 55th in 19:57.

The varsity runners not competing at New Prague made the trip anyway to get a look at the new course that will serve as the site of the 2013 Missota Conference Championships on October 15.

Saturday's Griak Invitational will be run at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course. Next Tuesday the Tigers compete in the Chaska Invitational at the Chaska Par 30 Golf Course.

Girls Tennis: Tigers ring up No. 10

Megan Stivers (photo by Jim Lindquist)

What a difference a year makes.

Last fall a young Tiger team finished the season with a 5-10 record but after Tuesday afternoon's 5-2 win at Holy Angels those numbers have turned upside down. The Missota Conference victory over the Stars brought the Farmington win total to 10 (against four losses) and a smile to coach Jack Olwell's face.

"It''s a world gone mad," the veteran coach quipped. "We haven't been over 10 win in a decade and we're hoping to add another one tomorrow."

Tuesday's win wasn't quite as easy as the final score appeared. For openers, Callie Olmscheid, who owns the best singles record this season, left school early due to illness. Then once the match began, the Tigers fell behind at first singles, second singles and first doubles.

"Fortunately we came back to win at all three of those," Olwell said. "They were the cardiac kids today.

Three of the Farmington points came in singles play with Megan Stivers, Ryan Jara and Jessie Novotny all victorious.

The 15-2 first doubles team of Beth and Lindsey Fairchild had a hiccup or two in the first set before scoring a 6-4, 6-1 win. The third doubles team of Sam Gallagher and Hannah Toomey also won in straight sets.

Wednesday the Tigers will be looking to make it 11 wins when they Shakopee at the Boeckman Middle School courts.

Farmington 5 Holy Angels 2
No. 1 singles: Megan Stivers won 7-6 (1), 6-2
No. 2 singles: Ryan Jara won 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 singles: Jessie Novotny won 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 singles:  Alyson Kelly lost 0-6, 1-6
No. 1 doubles: Beth and Lindsey Fairchild lost 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 doubles: Molly Rudorfer and Kayle Rees lost 0-6, 5-7
No. 3 doubles: Sam Gallagher and Hannah Toomey won 6-2, 6-3

Tiger Scoreboard: September 25, 2013

Boys Cross Country
New Prague Invitational
Faribault 32, Rd Wing 41, New Prague 122, Tri-City United 124, Jordan 134, Norwood-Young America 161, Farmington 223, Mankato Loyola/Cleveland 225, Cannon Falls 245, LeSueuer-Henderson 246, St. Peter 283

Girls Cross Country
New Prague Invitational
Red Wing 42, New Prague 74, Norwood-Young America 113, Faribault 119, Cannon Falls 170, Farmington 172, St. Peter 184, Mankato Loyola/Cleveland 192, Jordan 194, Tri-City United 201, LeSueur-Henderson 236

Boys Soccer
Farmington 1 Chaska 1 (OT)

Girls Soccer
Chaska 1 Farmington 0

Girls Tennis
Farmington 5 Holy Angels 2

Volleyball
Rochester Mayo 3 Farmington 1
23-25, 25-10, 20-25, 17-25

Homecoming Photos Available

For a large collection of 2013 Homecoming game photos (samples below) including game action and more, visit the following website: http://sidekick.smugmug.com/

These high resolution, free downloadable photos compliments of Jim and Ruth Lindquist---Photographers.

 

 

 

Girls Tennis: Winning a close one

Sam Gallagher (above) and Hannah Toomey lost in a super tie-breaker (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington posted its ninth win of the season Monday afternoon with a 4-3 non-conference victory over Richfield at the Boeckman Middle School courts.

The Tigers won the first four matches of the day and then lost the final three, two of which went to three sets.

With the win the Tigers moved to 9-4 for the season, a record that hasn't been seen in the Farmington camp for quite some time.

"It's been 10 or more years since we've had a winning record and even longer since we've had 10 wins," coach Jack Olwell said. "That's something we plan to do yet this year."

Three of the four wins against the Spartans came in singles play with Ryan Jara, Jessie Novotny and Callie Olmscheid all victorious in straight sets.

The other point came form the first doubles team of Beth and Lindsey Fairchild who raised their season record to a lofty 14-2.

Megan Stivers lost the first set at No. 1 singles before coming back to win the second and force a super tie-breaker which she lost 8-10.

The third doubles team of Sam Gallagher and Hannah Toomey also lost in a super-tie-breaker.

Tuesday the Tigers search for win No. 10 when they travel to Chaska for a Missota Conference dual meet.

Farmington 4 Richfield 3
No. 1 singles: Megan Stivers lost 3-6, 7-5, 8-10
No. 2 singles: Ryan Jara won 6-4, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Jessie Novotny won 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 singles: Callie Olmscheid won 6-1, 6-0
No. 1 doubles: Beth and Lindsey Fairchild won 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 doubles: Molly Rudorfer and Kayla Rees lost 1-6, 4-6
No. 3 doubles: Hannah Toomey and Sam Gallagher 1-6, 6-4, 9-11

Tiger Scoreboard: September 24, 2013

Girls Tennis
Farmington 4 Richfield 3

Boys X-Country: Tigers 13th at Eagle Invite

Devon Webb has made the transition from track to cross country (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington made its first-ever appearance in the Eagle Invitational at Apple Valley Saturday, finishing 13th in a quality 22-team field.

State power Eden Prairie easily won the meet with an 87 point total. Missota Conference heavyweight Chanhassen took second at 141, followed by Lakeville North 144, St. Michael-Albertville 150, Waseca 159, Apple Valley 165, Wayzata 171, Shakopee 210, Owatonna 219, Lakeville South 262, Fargo North 289, St. Louis Park 292, Farmington 302, Richfield 349, Bloomington Kennedy 352, Eastview 405, Jamestown 514, Northfield 518, St. Paul Harding 532, Irondale 546, Belle Plaine 574 and Bloomington Jefferson 619.

"I think overall the boys did well," coach Lisa Lippold said. "We had some personal bests and the others maintained their times. This course was together than we ran at Lakeville last week."

Tiger standout Justin Hyytinen continued his season-long success against the best in the metro with a seventh place effort in a 145-runner field. Hyytinen covered the 5000-meter route in 16:40.

"It's nice to see Justin has been running up with the best all season," Lippold said. "He's already lowered his best time from last year."

Alex Hart was the next Tiger in the chute, adding to his growing list of credentials with a 24th place finish in 17:18.

"Alex has shown a lot of improvement this year," Lippold said. "He kept his time about where it was last week and that was a goal."

Devon Webb ran 18:02 and ranked 72nd. Hunter Sevenich was 87th in 18:21; Sean Dougherty 112th in 18:45; Matt Anderson 117th in 19:00 and Ryan Newton 137th in 19:41.

Tuesday the Tigers head south for the New Prague Invitational at Cedar Lake Farms.

Defense dominates in homecoming win

Now hear this. Now hear this...Farmington 19 New Prague 3 (photo by Jim Lindquist)

A swarming Tiger defense held New Prague to 133 yards of total offense, including an eye-catching -51 yards on the ground in a 19-3 Missota Conference win Friday night in the  2013 homecoming game.

The victory was the fourth straight for the unbeaten Tigers who are a perfect 3-0 in Missota Conference play, good enough for a first place tie with state-ranked Chaska in the league standings.

As for the homecoming win, well it had a wart or two. The Tiger offensive machine purred at times but sputtered and stalled at others. The winless Trojans forced seven Farmington turnovers and led 3-0 at halftime. The winners had an extra point kick blocked and had a two-point try end with an errant snap. It was one of those nights.

Winning coach Mark Froehling said he and his staff will have no shortage of things to work on in practice this week but focused on the positives of his team's now routine second half rally.

"Things don't always go the way you want them to," he said. "But we hung together through the adversity and got better in the second half. I give my assistant coaches a lot of credit for making the adjustments and for the players for executing them."

Noah Kary 134 yards rushing (photo by Jim Lindquist)

In the first four games of the 2013 season the Tigers have outscored the opposition in the second half by a lopsided count of 76-14. The defense hasn't allowed a second half point in the past three games.

Farmington moved the ball well in the first half but stumbled near the end zone. Senior Tyler VanWinkle had a nightmare of an opening half. He threw for 132 yards but suffered four interceptions, all on the New Prague side of midfield.

"They were doing some things defensively that made it hard to run our passing game," Froehling said, "so we took what they gave us and ran more in the second half. But Tyler came back and played with confidence and poise in the second half, too."

Noah Kary provided most of the yardage on an 80-yard scoring drive that put the home team on the board with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter. He scored the touchdown on what may have been the longest 2-yard run in school history.

Sweeping to his right, Kary shook off a couple of tacklers, reversed course and went most of the width of the field back to the left for the score.

Less than two minutes later Godfrey Mpetey forced a Trojan fumble that John LeBlond pounced on at the New Prague eight-yard line. Three plays later VanWinkle hit CJ Wynings from five yards out for a touchdown.

Nick Buhta spelled Kary much of the fourth quarter and his running along with a 34-yard pass play from VanWinkle to Mac Bassett led to the final score of the night, a two-yard plunge by linebacker-turned-fullback Nick Ruark.

The Tigers were knocking on the end zone door again later in the final period before they lost their second fumble of the night, this one recovered in the end zone by the Trojans for a touchback.

Center Josh Patterson (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tiger offense finished the night with  a robust 444 total yards but was hamstrung by the five picks and two fumbles.

Kary went over the century mark in rushing for the second straight game, picking up 134 yards on 33 carries. Buhta added 80 on a dozen tries.

VanWinkle completed 12 of 26 throws for 195 yards and a score. Kary had four catches for 32 yards, Bassett three for 73 and Jordan DeCroock three for 63.

Eli Rockett led the Tiger defense with seven tackles. Ruark had 6.5, Mason Auge four and LeBlond 3.5 (and two fumble recoveries).

Those numbers don't nearly tell the story, however. LeBlond, Mpetey, Auge, Ruark and company were all over the New Prague quarterback and the defense suffocated the Trojan running game.

"I think the defense has played well in every game this year," Froehling said.

Both the defense and the offense will need to bring their A game to Chaska next week when the Tigers play the role of homecoming guests for the Hawks.

"Chaska has some great athletes who are playing very good football right now," Froehling said. "We'll have to be ready to play if we are going to be competitive with them."

Chaska pounded Red Wing 67-13 Friday night.

Girls X-Country: Young Tigers fly with the Eagles

Ninth-grader Sami Hyytinen was the fifth Tiger finisher at Apple Valley

Even though the Tigers had three seventh-graders and a ninth-grader in their seven-runner lineup, they managed a solid 11th place finish in an 18-team field at the talent-rich Eagle Invitational held Saturday in Apple Valley.

As a matter of fact, two of the seventh graders, Lauren Peterson and Anna Palodichuk, were the first Farmington runners to hit the finish line.

Edina won the meet with a team total of 70 points. Eden Prairie took second with 79, followed by Chanhassen 83, Lakeville South 121, Lakeville North 171, St. Michael-Albertville 182, Shakopee 216, Waseca 218. Fargo North 244 Northfield 20, Farmington 263, Irondale 334, Bloomington Jefferson 374, Apple Valley 403, St. Louis Park 406, Belle Plaine 424, Jamestown 442 and Bloomington Kennedy 450.

Seventh-grader Peterson, who has been either first or second for the Tigers in every meet so far this season, earned a medal with a 13th place finish in a field of 119 runners. Peterson clocked 15:32 over the 4000-meter course. Palodichuk checked in at 15:54 and ranked 54th overall.

Junior Sofia Chadwick was five places back in 16:26. Emily Schaffer, the third seventh grader in the lineup, proved she belonged on the varsity squad with a 63rd place finish in 16:50.

Ninth grader Sami Hyytinen finished 74th in 17:00 and sophomore Maricella Pacheco placed 103rd in 18:02.

Senior captain Maricia Pacheco missed the meet due to a conflict with college entrance testing.

"This was great race for the three seventh graders," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said. "I couldn't be more excited about having such a talented mix of young and older athletes. It really is perfect... It was our first time at this meet and considering the competition, I think we had a great finish."

Tuesday the Tigers leave the metro when they head to New Prague for their annual appearance in the New Prague Invitational.

Tiger Scoreboard: September 22, 2013

Boys Cross Country
Eagle Invitational at Apple Valley
Eden Prairie 87, Chanhassen 141, Lakeville North 144, St. Michael-Albertville 150, Waseca 159, Apple Valley 165, Wayzata 171, Shakopee 210, Owatonna 219, Lakeville South 262, Fargo North 289, St. Louis Park 292, Farmington 302, Richfield 349, Bloomington Kennedy 352, Eastview 405, Jamestown 514, Northfield 518, St. Paul Harding 532, Irondale 546, Belle Plaine 574, Bloomington Jefferson 619

Girls Cross Country
Eagle Invitational at Apple Valley
Edina 70, Eden Prairie 79, Chanhassen 83, Lakeville South 121, Lakeville North 171, St. Michael-Albertville 182, Shakopee 216, Waseca 218. Fargo North 244 Northfield 20, Farmington 263, Irondale 334, Bloomington Jefferson 374, Apple Valley 403, St. Louis Park 406, Belle Plaine 424, Jamestown 442, Bloomington Kennedy 450

Girls Soccer: No tie this time; Tigers blank NP

Isabelle Ferm (photo by J. Lindquist)

With three ties on her team's ledger already, coach Tracie Randall made some lineup moves to help generate a little more offense.

Most of the switches paid dividends as the Tigers blanked New Prague 2-0 Thursday at Tiger Stadium.

The win raised Farmington's record to 6-2-3 and a perfect 3-0 in Missota Conference play.

"It was a fun night for us," Randall said. "All of the seniors started for us in honor of homecoming week...The girls focused on quick passes to keep possession."

One of Randall's moves paid off in the form of a first half goal. Nicole Doran, who is making the transition from defense to offense, found the net off a pass from Destiny Schmitz.

"Nicole has speed so I decided to play her up top to see if we could get more balls in the back of the net," Randall said.

Randall said she emphasized play in the middle of the field to keep the pressure off the defense and the strategy seemed to work.  Kali Allard and Kelly Kornmann were especially successful in that role.

Regular midfielder Hannah Miller made a mid-game switch with Kornmann, moving up to an attacker position.

"Kelly's eloquent touches and Hannah's explosive shot are a good combination," Randall said.

Megan Graham (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tiger coach also praised the midfield play of Rachael Welzin and Jennifer Miller.

The second half goal came on a header by all-stater Isabelle Ferm off a perfect corner kick by Megan Graham.

Ashley Becker worked the Tigers nets and recorded the shutout, her fourth of the season.

Randall said she will continue to look for the winning combination of players and positions.

"We're looking at how we can win, where our needs can best be met and by whom," she said.

The Tigers get back on the field Tuesday when they travel to Chaska for a Missota Conference game. Thursday they host Chanhassen at Tiger Stadium.

Boys Soccer: Homecoming tie

Jake Agnew (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers dominated possession and scoring opportunities but when all was said and done, all they had to show for 90 minutes of soccer was a scoreless overtime tie with New Prague at Tiger Stadium.

The Missota Conference tie left coach Julian Buss' team with an overall mark of 6-2-3 and 2-0-1 in Missota Conference play. All three of the ties have been scoreless.

"This was one of those games where you watched and thought we were going to score at anytime," Buss said.  "I would say we controlled the ball about 80 percent of the time."

"When we started the first overtime I thought we would score right away. It  just didn't happen."

Goalie Jake Agnew finished the night with eight saves in posting his fifth shutout of the season. Agnew and the stingy Tiger defense have given up just eight goals in 11 outings this season, an average of  0.73 a contest.

The Tigers will be looking to get the offense untracked Tuesday when they resume Missota Conference action with a road game at Chaska. Thursday they return home to host league rival Chanhassen.

Jack Fogarty (17) and Matt Dubois (22) (photo by Jim Lindquist)

NOTE: For free downloadable, high resolution image files from this game visit Jim Lindquist's website: http://sidekick.smugmug.com

Volleyball: Trojans spoil homecoming party

Morgan Cecchittini and Kenzie Hesse go for the block (photo by Jim Lindquist)

New Prague came to town Thursday night and threw some cold water on the Tigers' homecoming party, taking a 3-1 Missota Conference win back to Scott County.

The Trojans won the first two games by narrow 25-21 and 25-23 margins before Farmington dominated game three 25-12. New Prague claimed the clincher 25-20.

"New Prague is a very good team, right up there in the conference," Tiger coach Mike Woody said. "We took them out of their offense in game three and that's what they did to us in the other three games.

"We had a stretch of four to six points in each of those games where we could not pass well enough to run our offense and that was the difference. The rest of the time it was back and forth...It was a great match to watch and one that should have had a closer outcome."

Three Tigers reached double digits in kills in the contest. Kenzie Hesse had 18, Emma Fahning 13 and Morgan Cecchittini 10. 

Setter Ruthie Schmitt accounted for 44 of the team's 51 assists. Fahning and Diana Comes each contributed a trio of serving aces.

Defensively, Fahning led in digs with 20; Comes totaled 14 and Schmitt 10. Hesse led in serve receptions with 25. Comes added 15 and Hannah Baer 11. Cecchittini, Schmitt, Vanessa Garske and Summer Skokan each finished with three blocks.

The loss was the second in a row for Farmington who saw its season record drop to 11-6 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

The Tigers return to action Tuesday with a home match against Section 1AAA rival Rochester Mayo. Thursday they resume league play with a road contest at Chaska.

 

Tiger Scoreboard: September 21, 2013

Football
Farmington (4-0) 19 New Prague 3
Highlights:
Noah Kary 33 carries for 134 yards; Nick Buhta 13 carries for 80 yards
Tyler VanWinkle 12 for 26 passing for 195 yards, touchdown
Mac Bassett 3 catches, 83 yards; Jordan DeCroock 3 catches, 73 yards; Kary 4 catches, 32 yards
Farmington defense held New Prague to -51 yards rushing and 148 yards of total offense
Eli Rockett, 7 tackles; John LeBlond 2 fumble recoveries, sack

Girls Swimming: Tigers hold off Chaska 96-90

Chelsea Gehrke three 1st place finishes (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Thursday night's dual meet at Chaska came down to the final event of the night but the Tigers did what they needed to do to keep their record unblemished at 6-0 in an exciting 96-90 Missota Conference win.

"We needed to finish second in the 400 freestyle relay to win the meet and we finished second and third," Tiger coach Jen Marshall said. It was a great way to cap an amazing meet."

The 400 freestyle relay team consisted of Catherine Gehrke, Hannah Seitzinger, Emily Ley and Ellie Sundet.

The Tigers claimed the victory despite having a number athletes on the sidelines.

"We had 10 girls out of the lineup for a variety of reasons," Marshall said, "so everyone swimming and diving really had to step up and perform. There were close races throughout the meet and the Lady Tigers came through with great finishes at the end of their swims."

Farmington won six of the meet's nine individual events but as has been the case all season, the team's depth and the ability to amass points for second through fifth place finishes proved the
difference.

Kirsten Kracke three 1st place finishes (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Chelsea Gehrke and Kirsten Kracke each accounted for two individual first place finishes. Gehrke won the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly while Kracke took honors in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Cora Ruzicka scored the other Tiger first place points in the 200 freestyle.

Diver Kendall Novak provided the other Tiger title on the one-meter board as she led a 1-2-3 sweep in the event. Nikki Cayard took second and Tori Sontag ranked third.

"All three varsity divers were spectacular," Marshall said. "Kendall had the meet of her life as she ripped every dive and scored her lifetime best. Nikki and Tori also had great dives and all three are really taking their diving to the next level."

The 200 freestyle relay team of Chelsea Gehrke, Sundet, Ruzicka and Kracke also finished in the top spot.

Ruzicka turned in the only Farmington runner-up finish of the meet, taking second in the 500  freestyle.

Five Tigers finished in third place: Catherine Gehrke, 200 freestyle; Chloe Holton, 200 medley; Sundet, 100 freestyle; Lexie Bray, 100 backstroke and Kaylee Dahlberg, 100 breaststroke.

The Tigers are now off until next Thursday when they entertain Missota Conference favorite Chanhassen, the state's sixth ranked Class AA team. 

"Chan will be a good test for us," Marshall said. "They have horses out in front so we're looking to our depth to have great swims."

Girls Tennis: Tigers suffer Storm damage

Lindsey Fairchild

Farmington had played competitive all season but it ran into a brick wall at Chanhassen Thursday afternoon with the Storm dominating in a 7-0 Missota Conference win.

All seven of the Chanhassen wins were of the straight sets variety and left a strong impression on Tiger coach Jack Olwell.

"They only lost to perennial section champ Rochester Mayo 4-3, so it turns out they are pretty good," he said. "They were a superior team but the points and games were well contested.

Beth Fairchild

"I suppose it was the tennis version of the Alamo. We lost but in heroic fashion with all our players playing at a high level and not yielding. The scores don't always tell the whole story."

The best match of the day came at first doubles where the Tiger duo of Beth and Lindsey Fairchild fell for just the second time in 15 matches this season, 5-7 and 4-6.

Chanhassen 7 Farmington 0

No. 1 singles: Megan Stivers lost 0-6, 0-6
No. 2 singles: Ryan Jara lost 0-6,1-6
No. 3 singles: Jessie Novotny lost 0-6, 0-6
No. 4 singles: Callie Olmscheid lost 0-6, 2-6
No. 1 doubles: Beth and Lindsey Fairchild lost 5-7, 4-6.
No. 2 doubles: Molly Rudorfer and Kayla Rees lost 0-6, 0-6
No. 3 doubles: Bridget Lensing and Becky Genzler lost 0-6, 0-6