Tiger Scoreboard: May 31, 2014

Girls Lacrosse
Section 1 semifinals
Farmington 16 Owatonna 6
Farmington (14-1) will host Lakeville South Tuesday for Section 1 championship

Boys Lacrosse
Section 1 semifinals
Lakeville South 9 Farmington 6
Farmington ends 2014 season with 11-4 record, the best in program history

Girls Golf: Swenson, Comes advance

Sidney Comes

Brianna Swenson

Farmington shot a season-low team score and two Tigers advanced to the Section 1AAA championship round of individual play at Thursday's first round played at Cannon Golf Club in Cannon Falls.

Lakeville North led the team rankings after round one with 340 strokes. Owatonna placed second at 356, followed by Northfield 358, Winona 361, Rochester Mayo 412, Lakeville South 423, Farmington 430, Rochester John Marshall 432, Rochester Century 439, Faribault 440 and Austin 479.

"The eighth place finish was one of our best in a long time," Tiger coach Jon Stock said, "and Brianna (Swenson) had her best round ever."

Swenson who lowered her personal best-ever score to 92, and teammate Sidney Comes who shot 108 will return to Cannon Falls on Monday to play in the second round of the individual competition.  The top ten finishers in round one not on one of the six teams qualifying for round two advanced.

Other Tiger opening round scores included Kaitlin Jokinen 116, Amanda Hansmann 118 and Brooke McConnell 130.

Boys Golf: 5th in the Missota

Jake Jensen won all-Missota honors

The Tigers didn't quite meet their goal of a first division finish in the Missota Conference, but they did capture the fifth spot in final eight-team standings.

Farmington was a point and a half out of fourth heading into Thursday's final conference get-together at the Northfield Club where it finished fifth.

Chaska won the last-ever Missota meet with a team total of 304 strokes, 10 fewer than runner-up Chanhassen. Shakopee placed third with 330, followed by New Prague 331, Red Wing 331, Northfield 342, Farmington 343 and Holy Angels 353.

"We started off the first five holes as a team very rocky," Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. "All of our guys were well above bogey golf... The nerves were very apparent in most of the groupings and these types of situations are key for our young players to be in to build experience."

Jake Jensen and Darby Grengs led the Tiger efforts with respective rounds of 82 and 83. Jensen's score landed him a spot on the all-conference team. Grengs finished one stroke away from all-league honors.

For the day, the other Tiger players--Tyler VanWinkle, Isaac Ferm, Sam Newcomb and Lucas Berg--carded with identical rounds of 89.

"All in all, it was a good Missota run this year," Holmes said. "We are looking forward to entering the South Suburban next year with some seasoning and, of course, having a nostalgic Missota Conference Invite each year to keep the historic competition rolling."

Saturday the Tigers head to Montgomery National Golf Club in Montgomery for the opening round of the Section 1AAA Championships.

Softball: Settling for second

Emily Berdan drove in all of the Tiger runs with a three-run homer (photo by Jim Lindquist)

 

The Tigers ran out of miracle finishes in a 9-3 loss to Lakeville South Thursday afternoon in the Section 1AAA championship game played at Todd Park in Austin.

The Cougars broke a 3-3 tie with five runs in the third inning to advance to the state tournament for the first time. The runner-up Tigers has represented Section 1 in the state tournament the past two seasons.

"We played hard in the championship game," Farmington coach Paul Harrington said. "We threatened to score with runners on base every inning except the fifth. A few more timely hits and we would have been right there with them. I guess it wasn't our day."

South opened the scoring with a three-run second inning but the Tigers countered with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the frame on a double by Ashley Ibinger, a single by Jordyn Keprios and a three-run homer by Emily Berdan

 

Keprios, Ibinger and Carly Esselman each had a pair of hits to led the eight-hit Farmington offensive attack.

Maddie Muelken went the distance in the circle for the Tigers and absorbed the pitching loss, scattering nine hits.

"We played 20 innings of softball on Tuesday," Harrington said. "Another day of rest before we played in the championship game would have been nice to recuperate physically and mentally. But we are all proud of our girls' efforts and enthusiasm until the final out.

"Lakeville South is a great team and we hope they represent our section well in the state tournament."

With the 4-2 run in the section tournament the Tigers finished the 2014 campaign with a record of 16 wins and nine losses.

 

2014 Athletic Awards Announced

2014 FHS Athletic Awards

(game photos by Jim Lindquist)

Male Athlete of the Year Mac Bassett

Female Athlete of the Year Rachael Welzin

Oscar Lubke Award: Jared Wolt

Leslie Lindell Award: Kathryn Beckett

Tom Rolloff Award: Josh Patterson

Tom Rolloff Award and Louie Schmitz Scholarship: Scootie Donnelly

Louie Schmitz Scholarship: Jack Erickson

AAA Award: Isabelle Ferm

AAA Award: Stan Buss

Tiger Scoreboard: May 30, 2014

Softball
Section 1AAA championship
Lakeville South 9 Farmington 3

Boys Golf
Missota Conference Championships at Stonebrooke
Chaska 304, Chanhassen 314, Shakopee 330, New Prague 331, Red Wing 331, Northfield 342, Farmington 343, Holy Angels 353

Girls Golf
Section 1AAA Championships at Cannon Falls
Lakeville North 340, Owatonna 356, Northfield 358, Winona 361, Rochester Mayo 412, Lakeville South 423, Farmington 430, Rochester John Marshall 432, Rochester Century 439, Faribault 440, Austin 479

Girls Lacrosse: No.1 and looking the part

Kaitlyn Lacroix 3 goals, assist (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Top-seeded Farmington barely broke a sweat in its Section 1 opener Tuesday night, rolling by first-year program Northfield 20-1 at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers won the regular season meeting between the two teams 18-2 and the rematch looked like a re-run most of the night.

"We have been anticipating the post-season for a while now and the time is here<' Tiger coach Dan Pickens said.  We have had a phenomenal season so far, but as we talked about everyone starts at 0-0 in the playoffs.

"We were able to get the entire section roster into the game which was nice."

Shelby Klotz scored twice in the game's first 1:38 to set the tone for the contest and the home team led 10-0 with 10:51 remaining in the opening half to start running time.

The lead was at an even dozen by intermission and swelled even more over the final half.

Pickens had a chance to use his roster liberally throughout the night and the final stat sheet showed the results.Thirteen different players scored goals and 15 scored at least a point.

Klotz finished with four goals to top the list. Kaitlyn Lacroix added three scores and an assist and Kaeli Halverson and Alexis Stanley each found the net twice.

Rachael Welzin, Amanda Davenport, Betsy Genzler,  Brooke Raske, Ashley Steffes, Christina Steffes,, Kelly Kornmann, Kamryn Corraro and Ashley Hessler also scored for the winners.

Genzler chipped in with three assists and Ashley Steffes and Brooke Raske each had two. Breanna Raske and Ali Saby also recorded assists for the Tigers.

Goalkeeper Maddie Kohlbeck didn't see much action around the net but stopped five of the six Raider shots.

The win vaulted the No. 5-rated Tigers into a Friday night semifinal match-up at Tiger Stadium against the winner of Tuesday's night's opening round game between Owatonna and Rochester Century.

"We are looking forward to playing Friday and will be ready," Pickens said. "Glad we are playing at home, I think the large field is an advantage for our very fast, athletic team."

Softball: Back in the finals

Taylor Yousse drove in the game-winning run vs. Mayo (photo by Jim Lindquist)

It took a two-out seventh inning comeback in the first game and six extra innings in the second but the bottom line is Farmington is back in the Section 1AAA finals for the third consecutive year.

The Tigers scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat Hastings 5-2 in an elimination game and then later pushed across a run in the bottom of the 13th in a heart-stopping 2-1 win over Rochester Mayo Tuesday afternoon and evening in Austin.

The wins, Farmington's fourth in five games in the tournament, set up a Thursday rematch with Lakeville South back in Austin at 4:00.  A win in that one means another game immediately following for the section crown and a trip to the state tournament.

"It was really a long and draining day and night," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said. "We played 20 innings of softball.... We couldn't ask for anything more from our girls. The coaches and fans are so proud of their efforts."

Carly Esselman scored in both games (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington 5 Hastings 2
The Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning when leadoff hitter Carly Esselman singled and with two outs and scored on a throwing error.

"Carly was still running when she hit third base and they were a little lackadaisical in getting the ball back to the pitcher," Harrington said. "We stole a run there on some alert base running."

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Raiders rallied for two scores in the bottom of the inning to take a lead that would last until the top of the seventh.

The Tigers were down to their last out before the tables turned and in similar fashion to last year's championship game with the Raiders, the ball started to find holes in the Raider defense.

After consecutive hits by Molly Berdan, Amber Doyle, Maddie Muelken, Ashley Ibinger and Taylor Yousse and a Raider error, all of a sudden Farmington was sitting on a three-run cushion.

Muelken  pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh to seal the comeback win.

"It was another story book ending for us against Hastings," Harrington said. "Wow, what a finish!  Another one of those big comebacks that the girls, fans and coaches will never forget".

Farmington outhit Hastings 11-9 in an offense-dominating game with Muelken and Doyle each collecting a pair of safeties for the winners.

Maddie Muelken struck out 13 against Mayo (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington 2 Rochester Mayo 1 (13 innings)
There was no shortage of drama in the extra-inning contest with both teams having plenty of opportunities to score along the way.

The Tigers scored in their first at-bat when Essleman bunted for hit, moved up two bases on a wild pitch and scored on Doyle's single.

That run held up until the top of the seventh when the Spartans forced extra innings with an unearned run.

Runners dotted the bases in the extra innings but none crossed the plate until the home half of the 13th when Muelken reached on an infield error.

Pinch-runner Tarah DeCoock advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ibinger and Yousse ended the marathon with a game-winning single up the middle. 

"Lots of kids had a chance to win it," Harrington said. "We left a dozen runners on but Taylor just took the game in her own hands at the end."

Yousse shared hero honors with Muelken who pitching all 13 innings and struck out 13 Spartans, a career-high.

Yousse and Esselman each had two hits to lead the resurgent Farmington offense that produced 20 hits in the two games.

Now its back on the bus on Thursday for another trip to Austin and a date with top-seeded South.

"We will really need to push ourselves to get mentally and physically ready," Harrington said. "We will need to play perfect defense against them to win. We cannot let down. We need to step it up one more time. Hopefully we have enough left in our tank." 

South edged the Tigers 3-2 in the championship semifinals last Friday.

 

Boys Lacrosse: Taking care of business

Chris Fitzgibbons 2 goals, 2 assists (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Second-seeded Farmington took care of business in its Section 1 opener Thursday night at Tiger Stadium, using a deliberate offensive attack and its usual suffocating defense to score an 8-2 win over Northfield.

"One of the important things we had to do was not look by this game," Tiger coach Paul Sorensen. "We knew what we had to do and we got that done."

Four different players scored goals as the home team lit up the scoreboard twice in each of the first two periods to take a 4-0 halftime lead.

Chris Fitzgibbons, Corey Rudrud, Mitch Hilton and Nick Hinnenkamp netted the Tiger goals in the opening half.

The Raiders drew first blood in the third quarter but Hilton's second score of the night put the lead back to four goals at the end of the third.

Dan Block made it 6-1 early in the fourth quarter before Northfield notched its second goal, another playing with a man advantage.

"That's been the story all year for us," Sorensen said. "Even up we can play with anyone but when  we start taking penalties we run into trouble."

Fitzgibbons netted his second of the night to make it 7-2 and then Kevin Clifton put a cherry on the victory cake with a score in the game's final three minutes.

Fitzgibbons added a pair of assists to his two goals for a four-point night and Hilton had an assist to go with his two goals. Rudrud finished with a goal and an assist, and Hinnenkamp, Tyler Jette and Jake Herrera each recorded assists for the winners.

Mitch Hilton 2 goals, assist (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Tiger goalie Kyle Kratz didn't see much traffic in his area, facing only four shots and stopping two as defenders Alex Aubrecht, Mitch Grengs and Nick Workman helped keep the Raiders on the perimeter most of the night.

Sorensen said his team may be a little ahead of where he expected at this point of the season.

"When you looked at the schedule on paper, I think we picked up a couple of wins along the way that we might not have been sure of," he said. "That helped us get the second seed and we'll see how things go from here."

Next up is  a Friday re-match at Tiger Stadium with third-seeded Lakeville South who beat Owatonna 9-4 in its opening round game.

"South (5-9) plays in a good conference, so their record is a little deceiving," Sorensen said.

Farmington downed South 9-3 in the opening game of the regular season.

Tiger Scoreboard: May 28, 2014

Boys Lacrosse
Section 1 quarterfinals
Farmington 8 Northfield 2
Farmington will play Lakeville South Friday at 5:00 at Tiger Stadium

Girls Lacrosse
Section 1 quarterfinals
Farmington 20 Northfield 1
Farmington will play Rochester Century/Owatonna winner Friday at 7:00 at Tiger Stadium

Softball
Section 1AAA Tournament
Consolation Bracket
Farmington 5 Hastings 2
Once-beaten Farmington will play undefeated Lakeville South at Austin Thursday at 4:00 for Section 1AAA title. Second game (if necessary) will follow at 6:00.
Farmington 2 Rochester Mayo 1 (13 innings)

Boys Lacrosse: Building momentum

Corey Rudrud scored 10 goals in two games (photo by Jim Lindquist)

If momentum means anything the Tigers may be headed for a long and enjoyable post-season run.

Farmington won two Missota Conference games in less than 24 hours Friday and Saturday to close with a program-best record of 10 wins and three losses. The Tigers finished 3-2 in the Missota Conference, good enough for third place in the final six-team standings

Coach Paul Sorensen's team handled Northfield 10-4 Friday night in Northfield and Saturday morning wrapped up its 2014 regular season with a 19-3 dismantling of Shakopee at Tiger Stadium.

The wins made it five victories in the last five starts for the Tigers, the only defeat a 9-6 verdict to Missota Conference champion Holy Angels.

Farmington 10 Northfield 4
This Missota Conference road match-up was close for half with the Tigers hitting the break clinging to precarious 4-3 lead against the Raiders who brought a four-game winning streak of their own into the contest.

But the Tigers put on the defensive clamps and generated much more offense after intermission, outscoring the home team 6-1 to win going away.
  
"We definitely didn't come out to play against Northfield." Sorensen said. "We finally used our physical superiority to cause some turnovers and allow us to settle into our offensive scheme...

"I've said all year that at even strength I believe our defense can play with anyone. We definitely use our defensive pressure to create transition opportunities."

Corey Rudrud (3 goals) and Chris Fitzgibbons (2) accounted for half of the Farmington scoring. Mitch Hilton, Jake Herrera, Tyler Jette, Nick Hinnenkamp and Kevin Clifton also scored for the winners.

Hinnenkamp and Hilton each contributed two assists and Nick Workman and Mitch Grengs had one apiece.

The Tigers outshot the Raiders 24-11 with goalie Kyle Kratz coming up with seven saves.

Chris Fitzgibbons 5 goals, 2 assists (photo by J. Lindquist)

Farmington 19 Shakopee 3
The 10:00 a.m. start time on Saturday morning had no effect on the Tigers as they rode Rudrud's seven-goal (and an assists) scoring-fest to a wire-to-wire win.

Nine different players found the net for Farmington. In addition to Rudrud's outburst, Fitzgibbons scored three goals and assisted on two more.

Garrett Gunderson had two goals and two assists and Alex Kelly found the net twice. Single goal scorers included Clifton, Workman, Hilton, Alex Aubrecht and Caleb Hakala.

Tyler Jette finished with a team-high four assists. Hilton, Clifton, Grengs and Hinnenkamp each had one.

Kratz and Vincent Donahue shared the goalkeeper duties. Kratz stopped five of six shots while Donahue turned away two of four.

Farmington drew the second seed in the Section 1 post-season tournament and will open play Tuesday at home versus No. 7 Northfield. A win in the opening round game would bring up a Friday semifinal match-up with the winner of the Lakeville South-Owatonna first round game at Tiger Stadium.

"Look for a focused and determined team coming into sections this week," Sorensen said.

Girls Lacrosse: Tigers win Missota, finish 12-1

11 of the 13 Tiger seniors model their Missota Conference championship t-shirts

It's official: The Tigers are the one, the only and forever Missota Conference girls' lacrosse champions.

In the first season the Missota has given the sport championship status and the last of its more than half century existence, Farmington (12-1 overall) finished with a perfect 5-0 league mark, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 73-17.

Coach Dan Pickens' team finished off its perfect conference season Friday night with a 17-3 thrashing of Shakopee. That followed a lopsided 19-6 victory over Section 1 rival Rochester John Marshall Thursday night.

"I know I keep saying this but this is a very special group of girls that starts with a wonderful 2014 class of seniors that know what it takes to be leaders," Pickens said. "I feel honored to be able to coach these girls to such a successful season. Now we just need to finish it with our first trip to the state tournament."

Farmington 19 Rochester Century 6
If Thursday's Senior Night game at Tiger Field was a boxing match it would have been declared a technical knockout as the The Tigers dominated from start to finish against the Rockets.

Seven different players scored goals for Farmington with leading scorer Shelby Klotz paving the way with four goals. Rachael Welzin and Kaeli Halverson each chimed in with three goals and an assist and Ashley Steffes scored two goals and assisted on two others.

Ashley Steffes 4 goals, 4 assists in final two games (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Kaitlyn Lacroix, Becky Genzler and Lindsay Benson each contributed a goal and and an assist and Kamryn Corraro chipped in with a goal.

Farmington outshot its guests by a one-sided 41-15. Maddie Kohlbeck and Scootie Donnelly shared the goaltending duties. Kohlbeck gave up five goals with four saves. Donnelly stopped six of the seven Rocket shots she faced.

"Our seniors have grown so much as lacrosse players and as leaders during their time with the team," Pickens said. "They have a great group of younger girls to lead and the younger players definitely look up to them. This team is a perfect example of how important strong leadership is to the success of a team."

Farmington 17 Shakopee 3
The conference championship clinching win over the Sabers was long over at intermission as the Tigers scored a dozen unanswered goals in the opening period.

"We played some different positions and the girls were their normal respectful selves," Pickens said.

 All in all, 13 different players scored goals for the winners with Halverson leading the way with her second hat trick in as many nights. Kelli Kornmann and Steffes each netted a pair of goals.
 

Kelly Kornmann (No. 46) two goals vs. Shakopee (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Klotz, Welzin, Genzler, Amanda Davenport, Jill Tollefson, Kylee Glenn, Alexis Stanley, Nikki Colvard, Brooke Raske and Ali Saby also scored for the Tigers.

Steffes recorded two assists and Glen, Benson, Welzin, Shaye Jenrich and Ashley Hessler each had one.

Kohlbeck worked the Farmignton nets and finished with six saves.

Now the Tigers turn their attention to the post-season. Farmignton, ranked fifth in the most recent state poll, opens Section 1 play Tuesday with a home game against eighth-seeded Northfield. The Tigers beat the Raiders 18-2 during the regular season.

Tiger Scoreboard: May 25, 2014

Boys Lacrosse
Farmington 19 Shakopee 3

Lacrosse: Girls 1, Boys 2 in Section 1 seeding

The Farmington boys and girls lacrosse teams received a lot of respect when it came to seeding for the upcoming Section 1 post-season tournament.

Farmington (12-1) earned the top spot on the girls' side and will start tournament play Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m against No. 8 Northfield at Tiger Stadium. A win against the Raiders buys the Tigers a date with the Rochester Century-Owatonna winner Friday at Tiger Stadium.

With the No. 1 seed the Tigers will have home field advantage throughout the section playoffs.

For complete Section 1 girls' brackets visit
http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/showxmlbrackets.asp?tournid=678&bracket=6279

The Tiger boys (10-3), meanwhile, were ranked No. 2 by section coaches and will play seventh-seeded Northfield Tuesday, May 27, at Tiger Stadium. Game time is 5:00 p.m.

A victory in that game would give the Tigers home field advantage for a semifinal game on Friday against the winner of the opening round contest between Lakeville South and and Owatonna. The finals are scheduled for Tuesday, June 3.

For complete Section 1 boys' brackets visit
http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/showxmlbrackets.asp?tournid=682&bracket=6278

Softball: Still hanging around

Maddie Muelken drove in both runs against South (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Two-time defending Section 1AA champion Farmington split a pair of games at the 2014 tournament in Austin Friday to remain in contention for a third straight trip to state.

Top-seeded Lakeville South rallied form a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Tigers 3-2 in the championship bracket semifinals. Farmington came back to edge Winona 4-3 in a consolation bracket game in the double-elimination tournament.

Lakeville South 3 Farmington 2
The teams battled to a scoreless tie through two innings before the Tigers manufactured two runs in
the top half of the third.

Carlye Esselman started the rally when she reached on an infield error. Molly Berdan followed with an infield single and Maddie Muelken drove them both home with a double over the centerfielder's head.

The Cougars answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth and then pulled even on a solo home run by Bailee Jackson in the fifth.

South scored the game-winner in the sixth on a leadoff double and a run-scoring single by winning pitcher Kylie Stober.

The Tigers had runners on second and third with one out in the top half of the sixth but Stober struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam. Farmington left seven runners on base in the game.

Molly Berdan 2 hits in each game (photo by J. Lindquist)

Each team finished with six hits with Muelken and Berdan each collecting two for the Tigers. Jordyn Keprios and Ashley Ibinger had the other Farmignton hits.

Muelken went the distance in the circle for the Tigers and absorbed the pitching loss.

"We had too many strikeouts (12)," Tiger coach Paul Harrington said, "but both teams played well. It was a good softball game. They just scored one more run than we did."

Farmington 4 Winona 3
The hits (10) were easier to come by in the consolation bracket win over the Winhawks, but they didn't translate to many more runs.

Winona pushed across a run in the top of the third inning to take a brief lead but the Tigers countered with three scores in the bottom of the inning on singles by Esselman and Berdan and a three-run home run by Amber Doyle that bounced off the tip of the centerfielder's glove and went over the fence.

Berdan replicated Doyle's bounce one off the centerfielder's glove trick shot for a home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to provide what proved to be the winning run as the Winhawks plated a pair of scores in the top of the sixth.

"That's not something you see very often, let alone twice in one game," Harrington said.

Muelken pitched a one-two-three seventh inning to nail down the win.

Doyle and Berdan each had a single and a home run for the winners. Taylor Yousse ripped an opposite field double and Keprios, Esselman, Ibinger, McKenzie Nelson and Nicole Pierick each chipped in with singles.

Muelken struck out three and did not issue a walk in posting the pitching victory.

The Tigers return to Austin Tuesday afternoon where they will square off against Hastings in an elimination game at 4:00. A victory would set up a second game against the loser of the Lakeville South-Rochester Mayo winner's bracket final at 6:00.

"We're still in it," Harrington said. "Our pitching and defense have been fine. We still have to get our bats going a little more."

Amber Doyle 3-run homer vs. Winona (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Tigers repeat in Missota in record fashion

Justin Hyytinen: three first place finishes (photo by J. Lindquist)

Missota Conference records fell, school records went by the wayside and most importantly, the Tigers defended their team title at the last-ever Missota Conference Championships held Thursday  in Chanhassen.

Farmington amassed 211 points to win the 2014 conference hardware in dominant fashion. Shakopee was well back in second with 170, followed by New Prague 117, Chaska 114 5, Chanhassen 106, Red Wing 87, Holy Angels 74 and Northfield 18.

"Shakopee and Chanhassen were the teams to beat and it all depended on where our second and third runners were going to place," Tiger coach Brian Helmstetter said. "Our relays performed well despite not having the usual names which was also a crucial piece.

"This was one of the better conference meets in recent years when you look at the times and distances which makes it even more rewarding. We needed things to fall into place and we took care of business."

The Tigers broke two conference records and two school marks at the meet. Versatile Justin Hyytinen out-kicked Chaska's Joey Duerr to win the 3200-meter run and break former Tiger Ben Kampf's league and school mark in a 9:18.61 finishing time.

Tanner Grubb set 400-meter school record (photo by J. Lindquist)

Hyytinen also cruised to an easy win the 1600-meter run in 4:32.43 and closed the meet by anchoring the winning 4x400 relay.

That quartet of team of Nehemiah Rockett, Ryan Parco, Devon Webb and Hyytinen established the other new conference mark, running 3:26.21, breaking the old standard set by Northfield in 1985.

Tanner Grubb, who won the 200 and 400-meter dashes and took sixth in the 100-meter dash, broke 50 seconds in the 400 (49.64) to erase the old school mark of 50.1 set by Rob Vetell back in 1981.

Rockett, Webb and Parco also had big days for the conference champs.

In addition to leading off the record-setting 4x400 relay, Rockett won the 300-meter hurdles, took second in the 110-meter hurdles and placed fourth in the triple jump.

Parco, meanwhile ran the second leg of the 4x400 and ranked fifth in the open 400, fifth in the long jump and sixth in the 200-meter dash.

For his part, Webb logged the third leg of the 4x400, took third in the open 800 and anchored the winning 4x800 relay team of Hunter Sevenich, Jared Wolt and Adam Dougherty.

Sophomore distance runner Alex Hart turned in a fourth place performance in the 1600-meter run and ranked sixth in the 3200. Wolt was fourth in the open 800.

In the field events, CJ Wynings won the discus with a throw of 150-2. and teammate Brednan King placed second.

Nehemiah Rockett 300-hurdles conference champion (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Wyatt Ferm placed among the leaders in two events, taking second in the high jump and fourth in the pole vault.

Two Tiger relay teams finished fourth: the 4x100 foursome of Caleb Bary, Jack Erickson, Sean McHenry and Mason Auge and the 4x200 quartet of Auge, Bray, Mason Gaylord and Erickson.

Auge also took eighth in the 100-meter dash and Erickson was seventh in the 200. McHenry and Gaylor were fifth respectively in the long jump and triple jump. Zach Herrera scored eighth place points in the high jump and Tanner Thode placed ninth in the shot put.

Ryan Parco placed in four events (photo by Jim Lindquist)

"Early in the meet we had some athletes with some big performances and not just from our first place finishers," Helmstetter said. "But the guys that scored personal bests to get into the top nine. Those are the guys that helped win this meet.  It was great to see new faces make the podium."

Saturday the Tigers travel to Lakeville South for the Section 1AA Championships with the goal to qualify as many athletes as possible for the following week's state meet.

Girls Track: Tigers second in Missota finale

Isabelle Ferm three 1st place finishes (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington won four events and finished runner-up for the second straight season at the Missota Conference Championships held Thursday at Chanhassen.

Chanhassen successfully defended its 2013 league title with 184 points. Farmington won a heated battle for second place with 148, followed by New Prague 131.5, Shakopee 131, Northfield 105, Chaska 85.5, Red Wing 69 and Holy Angels 43.

The Tigers scored 31 points in the final three events of the meet to nail down second place.

"I thought the ladies performed very well and I am very happy for them," coach Tom Hart said. "The weather gave them a great opportunity and they took advantage of it by recording season best and personal best performances.  

"Their hard work really showed and their competitiveness was what got them to their second place finish.  As their coach I couldn’t be more proud of how they handled themselves ...We look forward to the section meet and trying to qualify as many events for state as possible."

Senior standout Isabelle Ferm ended her four-year run at conference meet in style, winning the triple jump (37-2.5), running on two first place relay teams (4x200 and 4x400) and placing third in the 200-meter dash. She had her fingerprints on 56 of the Farmington points.

Emma Record, Jennifer Miller and Megan Graham joined Ferm in winning the 4x200 in 1:45.03 and Ferm, Miller, Graham and Alicia Hett teamed up for the 4x400 victory, clocking 3:59.75.

Megan Graham ran on two winning relay teams (photo by J. Lindquist)

Like Ferm, Hett had a busy day on the Chanhassen oval, placing fifth in the 800-meter run and teaming with Sofia Chadwick, Maricella Pacheco and Morgan Mach to take fourth in the 4x800 relay.

Graham and Record also added points in individual events. Record ranked third in the 100-meter dash and fourth in the 200-meter dash; Graham placed fifth in the 400-meter dash.

Morgan Cecchittini placed in three events, finishing fifth in the long jump, seventh in the 100-meter dash and running on the fifth place 4x100 relay team with Racquel Beckett, Kelli Elmer and Nicole Doran.

Seventh grade distance runner Lauren Peterson led a quartet of Tigers who earned points in two events with a fourth place effort in the 3200-meter run and a sixth place finish in the 1600-meter run.

Destiny Schmitz ranked fifth in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump. Jordan Walls placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles and tied for eighth with teammate Ashley Ellefson in the pole vault. Maricia Pacheco finished eighth in the 3200-meter run and ninth in the 1600-meter run.

A pair of Tigers came up with season-best effort to score third place points: Kendall Novak in the pole vault and Kaylin Finstad in the high jump.

Aly Grebner took fourth in the discus and Elizabeth Welter came up with a sixth place finish in the long jump.

Next Saturday the Tigers head to Section 1AA Championships at Lakeville South. The state meet is the following weekend at Hamline University in St. Paul.

Jennifer Miller ran on two winning relay teams (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Baseball: Cougars upset Tigers in section

Jordan DeCroock scored the third Tiger run (photo by Jim Lindquist)

An otherwise solid season came to a disappointing end Thursday afternoon at Tiger Field where No. 12 seed Lakeville South edged the fifth-seeded Tigers 4-3 in the opening round of the Section 1AAA tournament.

The Cougars scored all of their runs in the top half of the first inning, parlaying three hits, a walk and an infield error into four scores.

"Every loss is tough, but losing a section game by one run hurts, especially when we battled to get back into it," Farmington coach Jon Graff said. "It takes a little longer to get over games like these."

Farmington pulled to within 2-1 in the third inning on a double by Austin Martinsen and a run-scoring single by Ryan Giebel and then made it a one-run game with a two-run fifth.

Johnny Dittman stroked a one-out double and Jordan DeCroock followed with a RBI single. DeCroock moved to second on a wild pitch and raced home on Landon Neilsen's single.

But that was the end of the offense as the Tigers went six-up-and-six-down over their final two at-bats.

Parker Holmstrom shut out the Cougars after the 1st inning (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The difference in the outcome turned out to be the South's ability to turn opportunities into runs.

"They had a couple balls in the first that just blooped in or found their way through the infield and they capitalized on them." Graff said. "That is something we didn't always do as we got guys into scoring position with no outs three different innings but failed to get them home."

Farmington outhit the Cougars 9-6 with DeCroock, Neilsen and Bobby Eckert each collecting two for the Tigers

Parker Holmstrom was the victim of the four-run South first in which only two of the runs were earned but he blanked the Cougars the rest of the way. The junior righthander struck out eight and walked only one.

"We knew we'd get a good game out of Parker and we did," Graff said. "He pitched so well all year."

The loss left the 2014 edition of Tiger baseball with an overall record of 11-9, its best season since 2006.

Graff said the loss will sting for a awhile but he didn't want it to diminish all that his team accomplished during his first season ad head coach.

"I am so proud of this team," he said. "For everything they did in this game and all year. It's a great group of young men.

"They supported each other, played the game the right way and made it easy to come to the field every day. I hate to see it end for them, especially for our seniors."

Bobby Eckert turns a double play (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Boys Tennis: Over and Out

Bennett Lagro went 1-1 at the Section 1AA individual tournament

Farmington's most successful season since 1999 came to an end Thursday afternoon at the opening round of the Section 1AA individual tournament played in Rochester.

The Tigers sent two singles players and two doubles teams to the post-season competition but none advanced to the next step in the ultra-tough section that features some of the best players in Minnesota.

Bennett Lagro provided the only Tiger win of the day with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over the No.1 singles player from Faribault in the opening round before dropping a 2-6, 1-6 decision to Northfield's top player in the second.

"Bennett went to deuce nearly every game and had several opportunities to close out more games," Tiger caoch Jack Olwell said. "I thought he competed well."

Jake Bauer had some early leads in both sets in a 3-6, 3-6 lost to a Northfield opponent in the other Farmignton singles match.

In doubles, the top Tiger tandem of Austin Tremmel and Trent Kortenbusch fell 1-6, 0-6 and the No. 2 duo of Gavin Renwick and Cooper Ericksen lost 1-6, 1-6.

Tiger Scoreboard: May 24, 2014

Girls Lacrosse
Farmington 17 Shakopee 3

Boys Lacrosse
Farmington 10 Northfield 4

Softball
Section 1AAA Tournament
Lakeville South 3 Farmington 2
Farmington 4 Winona 3

Tiger Scoreboard: May 23, 2014

Boys Track
Missota Conference Championships at Chanhassen
Farmington 211, Shakopee 170, New Prague 117, Chaska 114 5, Chanhassen 106, Red Wing 87, Holy Angels 74, Northfield 18

Girls Track
Missota Conference Championships at Chanhassen
Chanhassen 184, Farmington 148, New Prague 131.5, Shakopee 131, Northfield 105, Chaska 85.5, Red Wing 69, Holy Angels 43

Girls Lacrosse
Farmington 19 Rochester John Marshall 6

Baseball
Section 1AAA opening round
Lakeville South 4 Farmington 3

Girls Golf: Tigers host Missota finale

Brianna Swenson low Tiger scorer at Missota Finale

Farmington played host to the final Missota Conference meet of the season (and forever, actually) Wednesday at Fountain Valley Golf Course.

The Tigers played shorthanded at the league finale, fielding the team minimum of four players, and finished seventh in the seven-team field. Holy Angels did not participate in the meet.

Red Wing captured the league title with a low team total of 338 strokes.New Prague finished in the runner-up slot with 345, followed by Chanhassen 365, Northfield 379, Shakopee 397, Chaska 398, Farmington 463.

Brianna Swanson  shot the low Farmington round of the meet with a  97 (46-51), one shot fewer than teammate Katlin Jokinen's 98 (49-49). Sidney Comes shot 118 (54-64) and Kassandra Kuchenberg 150 (73-77).

"Our turnout was not optimal," coach Jon Stock said, "but the girls that came did great...and we had our best weather of the year!"

Next up for the Tigers is a trip to the Cannon Valley Golf Club next Tuesday for the opening round of Section 1AA play

The girls tried to get a preview of that course when they started a tournament there on Monday. Unfortunately, rain halted the proceedings after nine holes with Farmington sitting in eighth place in the 10-team standings.

Swenson stood eighth in the individual rankings with a nine-hole round of 48.

"It was some tough weather but good practice for the sections," Stock said.

Boys Lacrosse: Tigers pick up win No. 8 in OT

The Tigers boosted their season record to 8-3 with a 7-6 non-conference overtime triumph over Hastings Wednesday night at Tiger Field.

A balanced offense, a stingy defense and continued strong goalie play by Kyle Kratz highlighted the win, Farmington's third in its last four outings.

The Tigers built a 4-1 halftime lead before what coach Paul Sorensen described as "sleepwalking"into the third period when the Raiders reeled off four straight scores for a 5-4 lead.

From there the game was tied three times, ending in a 6-6 deadlock at the end of regulation.

Dan Block supplied the game-winner in overtime (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers got the better of the play in the two overtime periods with Dan Block's goal in transition finally providing the game-winner.

Five different players netted goals for the winners with Jesse Herrera and Chris Fitzgibbons each scoring twice. Mitch Hilton, Nick Hinnenkamp and Dan Block added a goal apiece.

Corey Rudrud picked up a pair of assists with Kevin Clifton and Nick Workman each adding one.

The defense kept the Hastings attack at bay most of the night and Kratz held up his end of the operation with a 16-save night.

Kyle Kratz 16 saves (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Farmington defense has been a key ingredient in the Tigers' productive season, allowing just 58 scores in 11 games, an average of 5.27 a night. No opponent has been able to crack double figures in scoring this season.
 
 "It was a special night because a lot of alumni from our previous four years were there and it was also Senior Night," Sorensen said.

"Overall I'm satisfied with the outcome but we need to shore up some key areas if we want to make a run at state. Hopefully the nature of this game will serve as a wake up call to our team.... I'm proud of the guys how they battled and the team chemistry with how they worked so closely together. It was a team win."

The Tigers will try to improve their Section 1 seeding standing with two more Missota Conference games on the regular season schedule this week, Friday night at Northfield and Saturday morning at home against Shakopee.

The Saturday morning affair with the Sabers has an amended start time of 10:00 a.m. at Tiger Stadium.

Tiger Scoreboard: May 23, 2014

Softball
Section 1AAA second round
Farmington 6 Rochester John Marshall 3

Boys Lacrosse
Farmington 7 Hastings 6

Girls Golf
Missota Conference Meet at Fountain Valley
Red Wing 338, New Prague 345, Chanhassen 365, Northfield 379, Shakopee 397, Chaska 398, Farmington 463

Softball: Tigers advance in Section 1AAA

Molly Berdan rapped a two-run triple in the six-run fourth inning (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Fourth-seeded Farmington broke a scoreless tie with a big six-run fourth inning and then held off a late Rochester John Marshall comeback for a 6-3 win over the Rockets in a second round game of the Section 1AAA tournament played Wednesday at Tiger Field.

No. 5 seed John Marshall beat 12th-seeded Faribault 7-2 in an opening round game earlier in the afternoon.

Farmington coach Paul Harrington said his offense was going to have to pick things up a notch if the Tigers are to stay alive in the hunt for a third consecutive section title.

"I'm sure there were some nerves involved with playing the first game in the section," Harrington said. There always is."

"But if we hit like we did today, we won't be around long. We had too may poor at-bats, especially early in the game. Swinging at bad pitches with 0-2 counts and taking third strikes when we were 0-2. You can't do those things and expect to win."

Neither team could do much through the first three-and-a-half innings with the teams combining for no runs and three hits.

That all changed in the home half of the fourth when Farmington sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six runs on five hits and a couple of Rocket errors.

Maddie Muelken started the fourth inning rally with a double (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Maddie Muelken started the uprising with a double. Ashley Ibinger reached on an error and Taylor Yousse knocked in the first run with an infield single.

Later in the inning Jordyn Keprios drove in a run with a fielder's choice ground ball and Emily Berdan chased one home with a single up the middle. After Carly Esselman singled, Molly Berdan lined a triple to right-center to plate the final two Farmington runs.

Muelken started in the circle for the Tigers and was cruising along with a two-hit shutout until two were out in the top of the sixth. Then the feisty Rockets parlayed a walk and three consecutive singles into three runs to get back in the game.

Muelken got the first two outs in the seventh inning, too, but once again JM refused to go away quietly, loading the bases with two outs before the freshman righthander got the final out on an infield groundout.

Muelken allowed seven hits in the contest while striking out nine and walking two.

The Tigers finished with seven hits, one each by seven different players. The Rockets hurt their own cause by committing four errors in the field.

The win punched the Tigers' ticket to the third round of the double-elimination section tourney scheduled for Friday in Austin where they will match up with top-seeded Lakeville South.