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WILLMAR—New London-Spicer guard Shea Oman was one of 10 players named to the Minnesota Girls High School Basketball Coaches Association Class AA All-State team. Two other area players—BOLD's Makenna Steffel and Lac qui Parle Valley's Kelsea Lund—were named All-State Honorable Mention in Class A. All three players were on the Tribune's five-team All-Area First Team. Oman, a junior, led the Wildcats to a 27-4 record and a spot in the Class AA state tournament's final four.
ROCHESTER - The Ridgewater softball team dropped four games over the weekend at an MCAC crossover tournament. Raelin Radke had seven hits over the weekend, including a home run, two doubles and eight runs batted in. Abby Oberg had four hits in the four games, and Payton Wilner and Lauri Hopp both hit home runs. The Warriors are off until an April 4 game against St. Cloud Technical College at the Ridgewater diamond. Mesabi Range 13, Ridgewater 4 Ridgewater 001 03-4 7 1 Mesabi Range 151 24-13 9 0
With Jake out of the office, sports editor Tom Larson adeptly fills in as he and Curt preview Central Minnesota Christian boys' basketball's upcoming trip to the State Tournament. After a 73-37 dismantling of Westbrook-Walnut Grove in the Section 3A final, the Bluejays advanced to their third consecutive State Tournament. CMCS opens up play on Thursday at 5 p.m. against North Woods at the Williams Arena.
WILLMAR — The Willmar Stingers are excited to announce that Eli Wilson (University of Minnesota), Josh Bissonette (Baylor University) and Eric Del Prado (Willamette University) have been added to the Stingers roster for the 2017 season. With these signings, the team's roster is now at eleven players for the upcoming season, the organization's eighth in the Northwoods League.
Central Minnesota Christian School is heading back to the Minnesota State Boys Basketball Tournament for a third-straight year
ST. PAUL—Grand Rapids defeated Willmar 72-58 in a Class AAA consolation semifinal game during the Minnesota State Girls Basketball Tournament on Thursday at Concordia-St. Paul. The Cardinals finished their 2016-17 season with a 20-11 record. Grand Rapids took the lead in the game early, up 10-6, within the first three minutes of the game and built the lead to 14 points. But the Cardinals ramped up defensive pressure and cut the Thunderhawks' lead to just 32-31 at halftime.
Two boys basketball teams remain in the playoff picture and Curt and Jake are here to breakdown their chances for a state run. Central Minnesota Christian is set up for a chance against Westbrook-Walnut Grove in the Section 3A final. Morris/Chokio-Alberta will wrap up the Section 3AA tournament with a matchup against Jackson County Central.
The Tim Orth Memorial Foundation is sponsoring three Jam the Gym events in the next three weeks, starting with area all-star basketball games and numerous activities and attractions on Friday and Saturday in Wabasso and Bird Island. The annual Orth Jam the Gym events begin Friday at the Wabasso Activity Center. Another Jam the Gym is Saturday in Bird Island. An April 1 event also is planned in Glencoe. At Bird Island, the doors open at 4 p.m. and at 5 p.m. at Wabasso. The area girls all-stars play at 6 p.m. with boys all-star games following. The events also feature:
Willmar and New London-Spicer battled through tough playoff pictures to earn trips to state and Curt and Jake are here to break down title chances. Both teams are entering the state tournament with late season success but the Cardinals have a tough draw with top-ranked Orono. They play at 6 p.m.Tuesday at the Target Center. The Wildcats, on the other hand, earned a No. 4 seed in the Class AA tournament and they'll take on No. 5 Esko at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Mariucci Arena.
The Willmar girls basketball team opens the Class AAA Minnesota State Girls Basketball Tournament on Tuesday and the New London-Spicer girls team plays in the first round of the Class AA state tournament on Wednesday. The unseeded Cardinals (20-9) play top-seed Orono (23-5) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Target Center. The No. 4 Class AA seed NLS (26-3) plays No. 5-seed Esko (24-6) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Mariucci Arena.
