Saturday, March 1st
Wrestling
Individual State Tournament State Championship Matches involving Wright County Area Athletes. from the Xcel Energy Center.
Boys AA.
127: Titan Friedrichs (Watertown-Mayer) won by tech fall (17-1) over Raydon Graham (HLWW).
145: Landon Kujawa (Becker) over Aiden Grainer (PEM), 8-1.
152: Kaden Nicolas (Becker) over Raydon Bipes (Hutch), 12-8.
Boys AAA.
107: Landon Thoennes (STMA) over Ethan Phanmanivong(Shakopee), 1-0.
114: Dylan St. Germain (Eagan) over Eli Schultz, (STMA), 7-4.
121: Lawson Eller (New Prague) over Grant Bergeron (STMA), 7-0.
133: Lincoln Robideau (STMA) over Trey Beissel (Hastings), SV, 4-1.
160: Landon Robideau (STMA) over Kyle Walters (Shakopee), Tech Fall, 21-6.
Landon Robideau (STMA), above, celebrates his fourth straight championship on Saturday.
172: Jackson Barron, (Shakopee), over Jarrett Wadsen(STMA), 4-3.
189: John Murphy (STMA), over Sutton Kenning (St. Cloud Tech), 13-11.
285: Cole Will (Eagan), over Ryan Babatz(Buffalo), 7-5.
Girls Wrestling
106: Azalea Kallal (New Prague) over Ava Schultz (STMA), 4-1.
136: Emma Antoni (STMA) by Fall over Hattie Mathre (Byron).
Ava Schultz(STMA), above, finished second at 106.
Girls Basketball
Section 6AA Quarterfinals
#4 Annandale 58, #12 Osakis 57. The Cards survived the upset bid by #12 Osakis and advanced to the section semifinals with the win at St. Ben’s on Saturday.
Section 5AAA Semifinals
#1 Monticello 63, #4 St. Francis 24. Samantha Voll scored more points (14), then the Saints scored in the first half as the Magic cruised to the semifinal win.
The Monticello bench, above, celebrates their win over St. Francis on Saturday.
Section 8AAAA Semifinals
#1 STMA 74, #4 Sartell 42. Cail Jahnke (20) and Abby Hoselton (13), combined for 33 points in the Knights win.
Section 6AAA Semifinals
#2 BSM 87, #3 Delano 48. Caitlin Champeau, and Abbie Pietilla each scored 10 points in the season ending loss for the Tigers.
Tuesday, March 4th
Girls Basketball
Section 6AA Semifinals
#1 Sauk Centre 72, #4 Annandale 43. Sierra Kortan scored 22 of her 28 points in the first half as the Mainstreeters pulled away from the Cards at St. Ben’s College on Tuesday night, ending the Annandale season. Julia Bishop (14 points) and Brailey Broich (13) played well in their final game as Seniors for Annandale.
Bailey Broich, above #13, inbounds the ball for the Cards against Sauk Centre on Tuesday night at St. Bens.
Boys Basketball
Section 5AAA Quarterfinals
#2 Monticello 98, #7 Big Lake 80. The Magic raced past the Hornets on Tuesday night as Jackson Soroko (25 points) and Trevon Singer (23) led the way for Monticello.
Above, Monticello bench enjoying their win over Big Lake on Tuesday.
Section 5AA First Round
#12 Howard Lake WW 68, #13 Dassel-Cokato 65. The Lakers held off a late charge by DC to take home the win and advance into the quarterfinals.
Wed, March 5th.
Boys Basketball.
Section 8AAAA Quarterfinals.
#3 Buffalo 88, #6 Bemidji 77. Mitch Friesz got the Bison off to strong start with two 3’s, a dunk and a blocked shot as Buffalo roared out to a seven-point lead early, but Bemidji answered shot for shot after that as both teams were on fire, with the Bison leading 50-42 at the half. In the second half the Bison pulled away to advance to the Section semifinals. The Bison hit 17 threes in the win and got balanced scoring as four players scored in double figures. Matthew and Tony Jordan scored 16 each, while Friesz ended up with 15, as did Austin Hegle. Hegle scored 12 of his 15 in the first half. For Bemidji, Jaxson Boschee and Austin Riewer each scored 26 in the loss for the Lumberjacks.
Bemidji and Buffalo, above, battle for a loose ball in the first half. Photo Courtesy of Rob LaPlante, WC Journal Press.
#1 STMA 80, #8 Elk River 51. Hudson Hochstedler scored 27 for the Knights in the victory.
Section 6AAA Quarterfinals.
#4 Mound 77, #5 Delano 75. Jake Schultz (27 points) and Bjorn Stewart (25), combined for 52 points for the Tigers, but it was Mound who rallied from seven down at the half to advance. Cole Drill had a team high 20 for Mound.
Thursday, March 6th.
Girls Basketball.
Section 5AAA.
#1 Monticello 73, #2 Totino-Grace 66. Last year Totino ended the Magic season with a one-point victory, this season the Section finals were tied going into overtime, but it would be different this season! The Magic outscored the Eagles 12-5 in overtime and advanced to state! Samantha Voll led the Magic with 18 points, overall Monticello had four players reach double figures. Chloe Nuss was the top scorer for Totino, with 25.
Above, Monticello, your Section 5AAA Champs!
Section 8AAAA Final.
#3 Brainerd 70, #1 STMA 54. The Warriors are returning to state for the first time since 1997, while the Knights had their three-year run of winning the Section 8 title come to an end in Sartell on Thursday night.
The Brainerd Warriors, above, are going back to state for the first time since 1997.
Boys Basketball.
Section 5AA Quarterfinals.
#7 Rockford 82, #10 Maranatha 77. Grant Kloss erupted for 30 points in the Rockets win.
#5 Holy Family 77, #12 Howard Lake WW 61. Alex Stueven scored 20 in the Lakers season ending loss.
Section 6AA.
#11 Melrose 66, #6 Annandale 59. The Dutchmen upset the Cards on the road Thursday night, ending Annandale’s season. Gavin Wang in his final game for Annandale scored 25 points.
Gavin Wang, above, was the top scorer for the Cards in their season ending loss to Melrose.
Friday, March 7th.
Adapted Floor Hockey State Tournament CI Division.
Quarterfinals.
South Washington 17, Buffalo/Montrose/STMA 4. The Coyotes made their first state tournament in school history, but it was South Washington who came away with the victory in Coon Rapids.
Boys Basketball.
Section 5AAA Semifinals.
#2 Monticello 72, #3 Becker 55. Rhys Nebben had a big night with 24 points to lead the Magic to the Section finals. Sawyer Brown led the Bulldogs with 21.
Saturday, March 8th.
Boys Swim and Dive State Tournament at the U of M.
St. Thomas took home the state championship, while Monticello finished 10th, Delano 11th, and Dassel-Cokato 21st. On the Class AA side, Prior Lake won it all and Mason Eveson of Buffalo finished second in the finals of the 1 meter dive. Get all the results by going to our sports section and checking out my State Swim and Dive recap.
State CI Floor Hockey state tournament.
South Suburban 13, Buffalo/Montrose/STMA 3. The Coyotes making their state tournament debut was looking for their first win in the consolation round, but lost to South Suburban ending their season. Still a great season for the Coyotes.
Boys Basketball.
Section 8AAAA Semifinals.
#1 STMA 78, #5 Brainerd 57. Hudson Hochstedler scored 29 points as the Knights rolled past the Warriors and into the Section finals.
#2 Moorhead 82, #3 Buffalo 70. The Bison took a four point lead into the half, but it was all Spuds in the second half, outscoring the Bison 52-36 in the second half. Reign Battle(29 points) and David Mack(23 points) were too much for Buffalo on Saturday as the Spuds advanced to the finals. Ben Mueller and Jordy Sorenson each scored 10 points for Buffalo.
Section 5AA Quarterfinals.
Breck 78, Rockford 49. Ethan Robran, and Grant Kloss were the top scorers for the Rockets in the loss.
