Softball: Hungry Tigers looking for more

2012 MVP Ashley Betzold  (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Last spring FHS grad Paul Harrington came home to guide the Tigers to a 17-6 season, a Missota Conference title and their second-ever state tournament appearance. In year two, he is looking for more.

"Our goal at the beginning of every season is get back to the state tournament in Mankato," he said.

Gone from last year's Section 1 champions are four key contributors: Allie Rice, Erin Wurst, Taylor Haakana and Brooke Searles.

Even though that quartet will be missed, Harrington's cupboard remains far from empty. Senior captains Ashley Betzold and Ton Hunsinger lead a list of seven returning letterwinners who will form the nucleus of this year's squad.

Other returnees include juniors Jordyn Kepros and Mackenzie Nelson and sophomores Molly Berdan, Amber Doyle and Taylor Yousse.

All-Missota Conference pitcher Betzold posted all 17 Farmington wins last spring and has been a varsity regular in the circle since eighth grade. The returning MVP was also an offensive force last year, smacking a pair of hone runs in a game at the state tourney.

Senior co-captain Toni Hunsinger (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Hunsinger also made the all-conference team last season while Doyle received all-league honorable mention. Berdan was the won the team's Most Improved Player Award in 2012.

Harrington said there is also an enthusiastic group of newcomers battling for the open positions but with no outdoor practices on which to base performance, it is way too early to predict who will step up to fill the void.

On thing is certain, however. The Tiger coach likes the idea of having Betzold's name penciled in the No. 1 position on his scorecard.

 "Having Ashley back on the mound is a great start," he said. "Every time out she will give us a chance to win. We just need to play good defense and score some runs to make that happen."

Harrington has a bumper crop of infielders but if there are question marks, they would seem to be in the outfield and behind the plate where all-conference catcher Rice starred last spring.

"Those positions will be challenges for us," he said. "Some of the younger kids will have to step up or some our infielders will have to adjust to playing the outfield."

Harrington said his team should be in the hunt for conference and section honors again with Shakopee the biggest challenger in the Missota and Hastings the team to beat in the section race.

The Tigers lost assistant coach Trevor Monroe over the off-season when he accepted the varsity job at Eastview but they picked up a quality replacement in former Tiger Randy Schmitz who coached Lakeville North to several state tournament appearances. Veteran assistants Loren Cartwright and Jim Swedin also return to the staff.

Weather permitting, the Tigers open their 2013 season Wednesday, April 3, with a home game against Red Wing.

Wrestling: Down payment on the future

Taylor Venz  Class 3A 106-pound state champion

Coach Chad Olson had a good number of bodies in the wrestling room most nights although he was a little short on seniors.

But that lack of veteran experience, not to mention physical maturity, didn't prevent the Tigers from putting together a quality 2012-13 season.

"We had a good year," Olson said. "We ended on a high note at the section and state tournaments. Injuries and illness prevented us from always putting our best lineup on the mat, but it gave a lot of underclassmen some valuable varsity experience."

Twenty-five Tiger grapplers earned varsity letters for their work this winter, with only two going to seniors: Alex LaVictoire  and Jamie Scavone.

Nine juniors also met letter requirements: Brian Caravantes, Joe Hoeve, Sam Kealy, Joe Liden, Chris McCue, Godfrey Mpetey, Seth Nechville, Jake Rudeen and CJ Wynnings.

Other monogram winners included sophomores Kyle Benjamin, Brayden Chapman, Logan Haakana, Matt Rustad and John Walz; freshmen Trevor Frost, Victor Gliva, Mason Hawkins, Kyle Heusbourg, Hayden Kendall, Jamin LeDuc, Zach Seufer and Taylor Venz and eighth-grader Skyler Raymond. 

Two of the ninth-graders had exceptional seasons. Venz became the second Tiger to become a state champion, winning the Class AA state 106-pound title and setting a new school record for wins in a season with 43 (against 2 losses).

Jamin LeDuc 6th place at state meet (photo by Jim Lindquist)

LeDuc closed out his first varsity campaign with a sterling 33-5 mark and placed sixth at 113 pounds at the state meet.

Hoeve and Benjamin also qualified for the state meet. Other post-season awards will be announced at the team's banquet on April 1.

"We tied the school record for state entrants (4) and state place earners (2)," Olson said. "We were competitive  in just about every dual meet."

On the down side, Olson said his team's season-long battle with illness and injury cost it the opportunity to fare even better.

"We never once had our full 14-man lineup," he said. "We were able to fill 13 spots once and 12 just twice."

The Tiger coach added the loss of just two graduating seniors and the return of four state meet wrestlers, things look good for next season and beyond.

"The four state wrestlers will give us a good nucleus to build around," he said. "We are also moving from Section 2 to Section 1 and we should be very competitive with the top teams there"

Girls Hockey: A season short on goals

Rachel Peroutky All-Missota Conference and Hobey Baker Award (photo by Jim Lindquist)

For the most part the defense was adequate and the two young goaltenders effective, but the Tigers had a tough time putting the puck away in a season that produced just four wins in 26 games (4-19-3).

"Our season statistics tell the story," coach Jon Holmes said. "We were not outshot by wide margins very often this year, but our shots were not finding the twine."

The Tigers scored a total of 40 goals for the season and netted more than two goals in a single game just four times.

All in all, 21 varsity players received letters at the team's post-season banquet, including three seniors: Rachael Peroutky, Grace Gavin and Haleigh Zwart.

"The three of them had a combined 17 years of varsity experience," Holmes said. "They are very bright, very energetic and very charismatic individuals that I will personally miss seeing at the rink every day.

"Their leadership qualities are truly top-notch. They were able to keep a four-win team positive and hard working for the entire year."

Other letterwinners included Maddie Bowe, Haley Doll, Bria Donnelly, Shaye Jenrich, Shelby Klotz, Maddie Kohlbeck, Kaitlyn LaCroix, Maddi Oines, Breanna Raske, Brooke Raske, Syndey Schoenecker, Molly Singewald, Megan Stivers, Michaela Tonsager, Grace Vincent, Rachael Welzin, Tyler Words and Dani Wright.

Michaela Tonsager All-Missota Conference (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Peroutky, the team's leading point-getter (15) and leading goal-scorer Tonsager (8) earned all-Missota Conference distinction. Seniors Zwart and Gavin received all-league honorable mention.

Peroutky won the team's Hobey Baker Award and will be honored at a Minnesota Twins game later this spring.

Zwart received the Hegland Award for dedication and work ethic and Brooke Raske won the  Blue Line Award as the top defender. Goalies Bowe and Singewald shared Rookie of the Year honors

With 18 letterwinners eligible to return for the 2013-14 season, Holmes said the future remains bright for Tiger hockey but cautioned there is a lot of work to be done before the first puck drops next winter.

"We need be stronger physically," he said. "Our shots, our passes and our strength in protecting the puck all need to make significant strides over the off season.

"The huge positive is that we have a dedicated group of girls that I am confident will concentrate on these things this summer."

Boys Hockey: Youth is served

Jack Erickson All-Missota Conference (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers fielded one of their youngest squads ever in 2012-13 and the youth movement paid big dividends in just about every category.

For openers, coach Keith Revels' team almost doubled its win total from last year, improving to 13-13-1 after finishing 7-17-2 a year ago. Goal production (91 from 70) was up and goals allowed were down (92 to 75).

In addition, the Tigers received their best-ever seed for the Section 1AA tournament and hosted a post-season game for the first time since being classified as a Class AA school.

"It was a solid season," Revels said. " A .500 record and a few bad breaks away from being even better. We improved as the year went on and responded well to challenges throughout the season.  

"We had very balanced scoring. Last season seven goals led the team'. This year we had seven players meet or exceed that mark. Our 2.78 goals allowed per game is the best since I have been here and I think well before that...With the exception of our first game (a 6-2 loss to Hastings), we were in every game."

Revels and his staff awarded 23 varsity letters to team members for their efforts during the 2012-13 campaign at Wednesday night's post-season banquet. Leading the list were five seniors: tri-captains Kevin Olund, Jordan Logowski and Grant Hauswirth, Zach Colaw and John Donnelly.

Juniors letterwinners included Landon Nielson, Corey Rudrud, Alex Aubrecht, Tanner Grubb, Jack Erickson, Dan Block, Chris Fitzgibbons, Nick Schoening and Dallas Tucker.


Underclassmen receiving varsity monograms were sophomores Benton Olson, Justin Novak, Gage Overby, Jutin Hyytinen and John Seurer and freshmen Erik Holmstrom, Devin Bernu, Grady Hauswirth and John Siebenaler.

Student managers Marcus Dubois and Jake Manning and statisticians Allison Jette, Rachel Markuson, Lauren Jette and Jessica Singewald also received letters.



Hobey Baker Award winner Kevin Olund (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Novak (30 points) and Erickson (28 points) each landed a berth on the all-Missota Conference team. Olund (21 points) and Grant Hauswirth (19 points) received all-Missota honorable mention. Olund was also named the recipient of the team's Hobey Baker Award.

Revels said the season just completed came with few disappointments although he added a couple of shaky finishes prevented his team from doing even better.

"We had trouble closing out games in the third period," he said. "We lost some leads that could have really improved our record."

With no less than 18 returnees expected to return for the 2013-14 season, Revels said the outlook for his program is bright.

"We were able to perform better than a year ago with a pretty young lineup," he said. "We're poised to continue moving in the right direction and expect some very competitive tryouts in the fall. 

"Off-season work will be a must for returning players. There is loads of talent returning and some promising players hoping to join the program next fall."

Justin Novak-All-Missota Conference

Gymnastics: Saving the best for last

Kylie Wharton 7th on beam at state meet

Kiana Lord All-state in floor (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers started the season with a lackluster team score of 126.525 at the Austin Invitational, but meet-by-meet the numbers went up, culminating in a 140.525 performance at the Section 3AAA Championships where they finished third in a quality eight-team field.

 "I was very proud and happy for the girls," coach Lynn Bauman said. "We made it through many obstacles. The girls just kept their heads up and stuck it out. They were champions in my eyes."

Thirteen gymnasts received varsity letter for their efforts season: Kathryn Beckett, Racquel Beckett, Amanda Davenport, Tahra Eckert, Rachel Kiminksi, Kiana Lord, Mackenzie McCuddin, Gina Mercurio, Kendall Novak, Taylor Schmaltz, Maddie Timerson, Kylie Wharton and Kyla Bauman.

Lord, who ranked 22nd in floor exercise at the Class AA state meet, made the all-Missota Conference team and Beckett received all-league honorable mention.

Wharton came back from an early season injury to finish strong, placing seventh on the beam at the state meet.

Six different Farmington performers won all-section honors, including Eckert, vault; Davenport, uneven bars; Wharton, balance beam; Kiminski, balance beam; Beckett, floor exercise and Lord, all-around.

Lord earned all-state honors for her season-long high marks in floor exercise and gained honorable mention in vault, bars, beam and all-around.

Four other Tigers achieved state honorable mention status: Eckert (vault, beam, floor and all-around); Beckett (vault and floor); Wharton (beam) and Timerson (vault).

Other team awards presented at the post-season banquet included Hardest Worker- Racquel Beckett; Most Improved-Samantha Kramer; Most Positive Spirit-Beckett; Best Form-Wharton; Tiger Award-Schmaltz and Best Crash-Tori Sontag.

Bauman said achieving the 140-point team score was a season highlight as was Lord's returning to state and Wharton's strong showing at state finals.

The only disappointments came in the injury department where Wharton, Eckert, Davenport and Kiminski all spent significant time on the shelf with physical issues.

"They were all on our varsity team and that affected our team score throughout the season," Bauman said. "I'm hoping for an injury-free season next year."

As for the future, Bauman is optimistic.

"It looks really promising," she said. "We might have some new talent coming to our team and that will be fun to watch...I know the girls are excited to workout in the off season to improve for next year."