Tiger Scoreboard: November 10, 2013

Girls Swimming and Diving
Section 1AA Championships at Rochester
Rochester Mayo 443, Hastings 356.5, Farmington 334*, Winona 270, Rochester John Marshall 265, Rochester Century 216.5, Owatonna 151
*Farmington qualified for the Class AA state meet in seven of the 12 events

Boys X-Country: A nice run

Justin Hyytinen Missota Conference champion, Academic All-State

Like the courses they ran the the Tigers experienced their ups and downs this season but according to coach Lisa Lippold the bottom line showed another successful season.

"Overall, it was a good year," she said. "In the three years I have been coaching the runners have continued to get stronger and faster which is  what you want to see. We are still going to set our goals high and we'll get there soon."

Eleven runners earned varsity letter this season, including a trio of seniors: Sean Dougherty, Trent Kortenbusch and Hunter Sevenich.

Dougherty, who lopped more than a minute off his previous best time was named the team's most improved runner at Thursday night's post-season banquet. Kortenbusch received the Coaches' Award for attitude and work ethic.

"Trent made it to every Saturday practice and helped out with the younger runners," Lippold said. "His goal was to get under 19:00 and he did it in his last meet."

Junior Justin Hyytinen led the list of other letterwinners that also included junior Matt Anderson; sophomores Alex Hart, Derek Cole, Josh Grimm, Ryan Newton, Devon Webb and Jackson Schneider.

Hyytinen, the team's Most Valuable Runner, had another big year, highlighted by his becoming just the third Tiger ever to reign as Missota Conference individual champion. He made the all-Missota team for the second straight season, finished runner-up at the Section 1AA Championships and ran in the state meet for the second year in a row.

Alex Hart All-Missota Conference

Hart also had a stellar year, finishing 12th at the conference meet to earn a spot on the elite all-Missota team. Cole, in his first year out for the sport, was named Rookie of the Year.

The Tigers also excelled in the classroom. Their varsity lineup compiled a 3.9 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average and earned the Gold Academic Award form the State Coaches Association. Hyytinen won Academic All-State individual honors.

"We had almost everyone run a personal record time this year," Lippold said. "They saw how their summer training paid off...We also had a lot more team bonding this year."

Lippold said the only regrets from the 2013 season came in the form of a disappointing sixth place finish at the Missota Conference Championships and seeing a few of her runners report to pre-season drills with fewer off-season training miles under their belts than expected.

"Both Heidi (girls coach Revels) are looking at how to strengthen our summer training even more," she said.

Lippold said she doesn't see next year's move to the South Suburban Conference as a major obstacle for her team.

"We run against almost all of those teams anyway," she said. "We are aware of what the other teams are capable of and that is going to drive us to work even harder....I'm already excited about getting back at it next year."

Girls X-Country: The few, the proud...

Lauren Peterson Most Valuable Runner, state meet qualifier

Quality trumped quantity for the Tiger girls this fall.

The entire varsity roster consisted of just 13 runners but that proved to be a lucky number for coach Heidi Revels who saw her team improve its finish in five of eight meets this season. Farmington ranked fifth in both the Missota Conference and Section 1AA meets in 2013.

"We had a good balance of returning talent and newcomers," Revels said. "We are fortunate to have a team of hard workers who want to do well both as individuals and as a team.

"Four of our the varsity runners set personal records at the section meet which showed they were peaking at the right time. Training outside the season is definitely showing results."

The seven runners who routinely made up the varsity lineup earned letters for their efforts: senior Maricia Pacheco, junior Sofia Chadwick, sophomore Maricella Pacheco, ninth-grader Sami Hyytinen and seventh-graders Lauren Peterson, Anna Palodichuk and Emily Schaffer.

Peterson had a breakout first season, earning team Most Valuable Runner honors while garnering all-Missota Conference honorable mention recognition and qualifying for the Class AA state meet.
The speedy seventh-grader broke a school course record at the section championship race in Owatonna.

Maricia Pacheco All-Missota Conference

Maricia Pacheco (pictured above) landed a spot on the prestigious all-Missota Conference squad while junior varsity runner Hannah Morgan was tabbed as the team's most improved runner. Palodichuk took home the Rookie of the Year Award and Chadwick won the Coaches Award for attitude and work ethic.

Other team members who comprised a quality junior varsity team included sophomore Morgan; juniors Alexis Smith and Sarah Cummings; sophomore Mariana Montbriand; freshman Kara Revis and seventh-grader Abby Bollig.

Revels said the only disappointment from the season just completed was the small turnout.

"We are always looking for more depth," she said. "There were a few meets this year where we couldn't field a complete junior varsity team."

Next year should bring continued success with only Maricia Pacheco lost to graduation but it will also bring some new challenges.

"I believe that these girls will continue to improve individually and their hard work will mean more success for the team as well," Revels said. "We'll be moving to the South Suburban Conference next year where the competition level is definitely a bit higher but I think we're up for the challenge."

Sofia Chadwick Coaches Award winner

Football: A tale of two seasons

Captain Mason Auge (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Captain CJ Wynings (photo by Jim Lindquist)

With apologies to Charles Dickens and his classic "A Tale of Two Cities", the 2013 Tiger season featured the best of times and the worst of times.

There were the season-opening four wins is which coach Mark Froehling's team outscored the opposition by a one-sided 107-44 total followed by an 0-5 finish in which the Tigers were outgunned by an even more lopsided 177-51 margin.

Farmington finished 3-4 in Missota Conference play and tied for fourth place in the final league standings.

"I still see the season as a success," Froehling said. "We didn't meet our goals in terms of wins, but we played good football. The players gave great effort and the team represented the school and community with class."

Froehling pointed to a 19-3 homecoming win over New Prague and several quality performances on both sides of the ball as highlights of the 2013 campaign.

"I thought our players played well in multiple types of game situations," he said. "Playing with a lead as well as having to play from behind."

The veteran Farmington coach said one-touchdown losses to conference rivals Chanhassen and Shakopee late in the year had a major impact on how the season ended.

"We needed at least on of those wins," he said. "We either didn't make the big plays when we needed to or we gave up the big play. By winning one or both of those games we could have improved our seeding position for the section."

Captain Godfrey Mpetey (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Froehling said his large senior class made coaching the 2013 Tiger squad, led by captains Mason Auge, Godfery Mpetey, Tyler Van Winkle and Mason Auge, an enjoyable task.

"I am very proud of this year's senior class," he said. "They played together as a team for a long time and demonstrated great dedication in their preparation for this season. They were great young men to coach and they will certainly be missed."

This year's starting offensive and defensive lineups were dominated by seniors, meaning the 2014 edition of Tiger football will rely heavily on the contributions of players with limited varsity experience.

"We will need them to accept the challenges of filling important roles for us," Froehling said. "The development of each athlete between now and then will determine our ability to compete next year."

Captain Tyler VanWinkle (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers will also be stepping into unchartered territory next fall as they move to the South Suburban Conference.

"The South Suburban is a top-caliber conference," Froehling said. "We will need large numbers so we can compete with the other teams in the league. Our athletes will need to match the work and dedication of those from the other schools. It will be a challenge that we will need to meet."

The 2013 postseason awards banquet will be held in the next couple of weeks at which varsity letters and other individual awards, including all-Missota Conference selections, will be announced. Check this site later in the month for announcement of those awards.

Girls Soccer: Transition year yields success

Isabelle Ferm 2nd team All-State (photo by J. Lindquist)

First-year coach Tracie Randall said her team didn't accomplish all of its goals but the 2013 season was a success nonetheless.

The Tigers posted their fourth winning season in the past five years with an 8-5-5 mark and advanced to the Section 1AA championship game for the second year in a row.

"We experienced a lot of transition this year with a new head coach and a new athletic director," Randall said. "We had to make some adjustments and it took us a while to get our feet on the ground. 

"The girls were okay with their third place finish in our conference and a second in the section. Our goal was to get to state, but that may have been shooting a little high with so much legwork to get going with my not be hired until July."

Randall and her staff honored 22 student athletes at the team's post-season banquet, including 10 seniors: Isabelle Ferm, Kayla Kucala, Kelli Elmer, Kelly Kornmann, Rachael Welzin, Hannah Miller, Kenya Macias, Kailtyn LaCroix, Ashley Meister and Emma Hall.

Underclassmen recognized at the banquet included junior Destiny Schmitz, Megan Graham, Ashley Becker, Jennifer Miller, Kali Allard, Sara Zak, Emily Johnson and Nicole Doran; sophomores Liah Kiage and Dani Wright and freshmen Shannon McKnight and Morgan Reigner.

Kayla Kucala All-Missota Conference (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Ferm led a defense that held the opposition to an average of less than a goal a game and landed a berth on the Minnesota State Soccer Coaches Association second all-state team.

Ferm, Kucala and Schmitz each earned all-Missota Conference honors while Elmer and Becker received all-league honorable mention.

Randall rattled off several highlights from the season just completed, including the season-opening win over Hill-Murray; ties with South Suburban Conference schools Lakeville North and Lakeville South during the regular season; a last-minute conference win over Shakopee; an unbeaten regular season against Section 1AA teams; and a defensive effort that allowed just 13 goals all season.

The disappointments were few and far between.

"We had too many ties in games we should have won," she said. "I would have at least liked to take North to a shoot-out in the section. I believe we could have beaten them."

Destiny Schmitz All-Missota Conference (photo by Jim Lindquist)

As for next year and beyond, Randall is optimistic.

"I'm very excited for next year as I will be able to put my stamp down on the program and start  building all levels of the program. Going into a new conference, we are preparing for new challenges, challenges that we are happy to meet. They will only make us stronger and better..."

 

Randall sees a tick up in the competition level with the move to the South Suburban which had two teams in the state tournament this season.

 

"We will obviously need to step up our training throughout the year," she said. "I think we are almost there physically. We nee to start believing that we are among the best in the state....

 

"I am happy to be here and feel fortunate I had this experience with a great group of girls and their families...Each year we see more serious players and commitment. It will be exciting to see where we can go from here."