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Tribune Notebook: Willmar golfer earns Central Lakes honor

Joey Wisocki is named the Central Lakes Conference boys golfer of the week

Willmar senior Joey Wisocki reads the green on hole No. 9 at Eagle Creek Golf Club during Day 2 of the Cardinal/Wildcat Invite on Saturday, April 29, 2023 in Willmar.
Willmar senior Joey Wisocki reads the green on hole No. 9 at Eagle Creek Golf Club during Day 2 of the Cardinal/Wildcat Invite on Saturday, April 29, 2023 in Willmar.
Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

WILLMAR — It was the best round of his career and because of it, Willmar senior golfer Joey Wisocki has been named a Central Lakes Conference Performer of the Week.

Wisocki shot a 4-under-par 68 at the Willmar stop of the CLC tour last week at Eagle Creek Golf Course. He then followed that up with a 73 at Brainerd to earn conference honors.

Wisocki and the Cardinals are in the midst of a busy week. The compete Tuesday at Alexandria then play in the Bemidji Invitational at the Bemidji Town and Country Club. At 9 a.m. Saturday, Willmar competes at the Headwaters Golf Course in Park Rapids.

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Ex-Card still going strong

Former Willmar Cardinal Leah Hansen-Hisken had another amazing finish to her outdoor track season for South Dakota State.

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Hansen-Hisken, who got married in December, won two championships at the Summit League Track and Field Championships last weekend in Fargo, North Dakota.

She won the 10,000-meter title in 35 minutes, 50.48 seconds. Two days later, she won the 5,000 in 16:48.42. It was her second 10K title. She also won in 2021. It was her third straight 5K title.

Hansen graduated May 6 with a bachelor's degree in education with an emphasis in history. She still has one year of eligibility remaining because of the coronavirus pandemic and will use it to continue running as a graduate student.

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Northwoods softball

The Northwoods League is planning to sponsor a women's summer collegiate softball league for the 2024 season. It's an opportunity to provide college softball players with the same opportunities that come to college baseball players in the Northwoods.

Sites for the teams have yet to be announced.

"Thirty years ago, we disrupted the landscape of baseball and we hope to have a similar effect on softball going forward by offering women a truly unique, memorable and valuable experience in the Northwoods," said Dick Radatz, Jr., Northwoods League Baseball chairman and co-founder.

Teams will play a 40-game schedule from June to early August.

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Willmar vs. Brainerd, 051123.001.jpg
Willmar boys tennis freshman Nehemiah Van Horne serves the ball against Brainerd on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at Willmar.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune

Tennis seeds

The Willmar boys tennis team earned the fifth seed in South Sub-Section 8AA and will play No. 4 Sauk Rapids at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Becker. If the Cardinals win, they'd play host Becker at approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The 8AA-South seeds were: No. 1 Becker, No. 2 St. Cloud, No. 3 Monticello, No. 4 Sauk Rapids, No. 5 Willmar and No. 6 Big Lake.

In 8AA-North, the seeds were: No. 1 Alexandria, No. 2 Sartell, No. 3 Bemidji, No. 4 Detroit Lakes and No. 5 Moorhead.

The top two teams from each sub-section advance to the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Sartell and St. Cloud Tech, with the winners playing at about 4 p.m. Friday in Sartell. At stake is a berth in the state team tournament.

The individual tournament in 8AA-South begins Monday, May 22 in Becker.

Honors

* Concordia-Moorhead's Matt Gruber, a senior third baseman from Minnewaska, has earned All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors in baseball. Gruber also was honored in 2021.

* St. John's University's Jackson Peter, a sophomore shortstop from Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, earned honorable-mention All-MIAC honors.

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Stingrays sign-ups

The Willmar Area Stingrays youth swim team is accepting registrations for this summer. There are three sessions. Session 1 is June 1-29. Session II begins July 17 and ends Aug. 3. There also is an open water session and lasts one week. It's for the most advanced swimmers, according to Stephanie Jensen of the Willmar Area Stingrays.

Contact willmarareastingrays@gmail.com or look the team up on Facebook for more information. The team also has its own website at teamunify.com/team/mnwars/page/home

Tom Elliott has been the sports editor at the West Central Tribune since September 2019.
Contact him at telliott@wctrib.com or leave a message at 320-235-1150.
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