Page 5

HOCKEY
Pages 1 and 4 Boys: Pages 2 & 3
Girls: Pages 2 & 3
Pages 1 and 4
Boys: Page 6
Girls: Page 6
Boys: Page 5
Girls: Page 5
SECTION C MARCH 14, 2013
SPORTS
REVIEW
JCC gymnastics results
Opponent Result Score
New Ulm W 136.825-126.375
St. James W 136.575-93.35
BEA W 142.7-124.075
Marshall W 136.325-124.075
Luverne W 141.125-126.225
Windom/ML W 142.825-135.3
Redwood Valley W 141.375-122.525
Worthington W 142.2-135.0
Pipestone W 143.825-120.375
Tournaments
Blue Earth Area 1st 135.425
Martin Co. Area 1st 139.875
Sweetheart 3rd 139.625
State True Team 5th 173.325
Section 3A 1st 143.125
Class A State 6th 141.3
Overall record: 9-0
SWC record: 6-0
JCC wrestling results
Opp. Result Score
Pipestone W 47-21
Fargo North W 59-21
Fargo Davies W 48-30
BEA W 45-28
Adrian W 38-30
Ankeny L 48-33
Bishop Heelan W 50-18
Storm Lake W 54-22
BH/Rock Valley W 38-35
SC East W 60-18
Marshall W 47-24
Worthington W 46-24
Luverne W 55-18
Redwood Valley W 58-18
LCWM W 35-33
Byron W 43-28
Simley L 53-14
Centennial W 44-24
Windom/ML W 43-25
NL-Spicer W 42-33
Tournaments
BEA 2nd
JCC 1st
Christmas 11th
Rumble 3rd
Hutchinson 1st
Janesville 1st
Section 2A tournament
Blooming P. W 69-6
NRHEG W 48-18
USC W 49-19
Class A state tournament
Barnesville W 43-19
Chatfeld W 39-25
Frazee W 38-22
Overall record: 24-2
SWC record: 6-0
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
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CHEERLEADING
For a while during the
season, it looked like in-
juries might put an end to
the Jackson County Central
wrestling teams dominance
of Class A.
But the Huski es got
healthy down the stretch
and ended the season with
their fourth straight state
championship.
We knew we would be
very tough if everyone was
in the lineup, head coach
Randy Baker said. We had
some wrestlers that were re-
ally tough outs and a good
deal of balance through the
rest of the lineup. Having
some guys that would be
hard to beat, period, and
good balance was real nice.
Sophomore Luke Nor-
land who was ranked
No. 1 at 152 pounds dealt
with injuries the second half
of the season, as did senior
Tanner Menke, who came
back from a knee injury just
in time for the postseason.
Freshman Keegan Moore
missed the early stages of
the season after recovering
from an injury suffered dur-
ing the football season.
It was diffcult at times
Another season, another state title for JCC
Huskies get
healthy at the right
time, win fourth
straight Class A
championship
with the injuries and match-
count issues to keep a tough
lineup, Baker said. But at
those times we were getting
experience for the other
wrestlers.
Through it all, the Hus-
ki es won t hei r f ourt h
straight Southwest Confer-
ence title, went 24-2 and
won three team tourna-
ments. JCC was also third
in the prestigious Rumble
on the Red in Fargo, N.D.,
and 11
th
in the Christmas
Tournament.
One of the highlights for
me was watching the guys
battle at the Rumble on the
Red to try to win that tour-
nament, Baker said.
Senior Darick Vancura
won an individual cham-
pionship at the Rumble,
sophomore Paden Moore
fnished second, senior El-
iot Jurries was third and
Norland was sixth.
Those four, plus four oth-
ers, all qualifed for the in-
dividual state tournament,
which Baker listed as the
biggest highlight based on
the Huskies success in both
the team and individual
portion.
After rolling through the
Section 2A team tourna-
ment, the Huskies beat
Barnesville and Chatfeld
in the state tournament to
meet up with Frazee in the
fnals.
The top-ranked Huskies
used a strong performance
form the middle of its
lineup to beat the second-
ranked Hornets 38-22.
Then came two individual
state championships and
four other Huskies on the
podium.
Va n c u r a wo n t h e
170-pound state champi-
onship for the second indi-
vidual championship of his
career. Vancura who be-
came the frst JCC wrestler
to win fve team state titles
was 43-2 as a senior and
ranked No. 1 in Class A all
season long.
Vancura fnished his ca-
reer with a record of 215-33
which is in the top 30 for
most wins for a Minnesota
wrestler and added a sec-
ond- and third-place fnish
at state to his two titles.
Jurri es al so fi ni shed
his career atop the po-
dium at state, winning the
132-pound class for his frst
state championship. Jur-
ries went 42-4 this winter
and won the section title
for the frst time. For his
career, Jurries had a record
of 157-57.
The Moore brothers pro-
vided some toughness to
the heart of the lineup and
combined for 73 wins.
Paden Moore finished
second at the state tourna-
ment and was ffth at the
Christmas Tournament. He
won the section champion-
ship and fnished the season
with a record of 39-6. Paden
Moore has a career record
of 137-46 with two seasons
remaining.
Keegan Moore fnished
third at the state tourna-
ment after winning his sec-
ond section championship.
Keegan Moore had a record
of 34-4 on the season and is
95-32 for his career.
Junior Jordan Biehn fn-
ished fourth at state after
winning the 120-pound sec-
tion championship. Biehn,
Photos by Dan Condon
Darick Vancura went 43-2 this season and won his second individual state champion-
ship. In his career, Vancura won 215 matches and five team state titles.
Senior Eliot Jurries gets a hug from head coach Randy
Baker after Jurries won his first individual state cham-
pionship. Jurries was 42-4 on the season. See WR on C4
See GYM on C4
One long string of success continued for
the Jackson County Central gymnastics
team and the Huskies are hoping another
is just in its beginning stages.
The Huskies won the Southwest Con-
ference championship for the 11
th
straight
season and won the Section 3A title for the
second season in a row.
The Huskies were unbeaten in duals this
Second straight trip to state makes season a huge success
JCC gymnasts win 11
th
SWC
championship in a row
season, sporting a perfect 9-0 mark overall
and 6-0 record in the conference.
JCC also won two regular-season tourna-
ments and fnished third at the Sweetheart
Invitational and ffth at the state true team
meet.
But all that meant little if the Huskies
didnt make it back to the state tournament.
The Huskies erased any doubt of that
as they dominated the section tournament
with a score of 143.125 the highest ever
by JCC in the section meet.
At state, the Huskies fnished sixth for
the second season in a row. The 141.3
scored by JCC is its highest score at state.
It was an amazing season full of great
performances and wonderful achieve-
ments, head coach Tammy Handevidt
said.
For Handevidt, the most memorable
achievement was going back to state.
The highlight of the season had to be
advancing to the state tournament for the
second year in a row, she said. It was
the teams ultimate goal as they started
the season.
Having been to state a season ago made
things a bit easier for the Huskies this
winter.
It always helps having experienced
individuals who have been to state in the
past and our seniors had been there both as
individuals and as a team, so that defnitely
helps as the younger ones look to the cap-
tains for their leadership, Handevidt said.
The three seniors on the team led the
way all season and all capped careers on
JCCs varsity that began back in seventh
grade.
Sydnee Donnelli, Brandi Sether-Hassing
and Adriane Rentschler all made multiple
Photos by Dan Condon
Senior Sydnee Donnelli is the only Jackson County Central gymnast to advance to the
individual state tournament six straight seasons. This year, she qualified for state in
all-around, floor, bars and vault.
C2 Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sports Review
JCC girls
basketball results
Opponent Result Score
SESM W 70-62
Sleepy Eye W 65-44
St. James W 67-31
Spirit Lake L 75-53
Luverne L 54-44
Worthington L 67-65
Redwood Valley W 62-51
Marshall L 84-44
Windom L 70-51
MVL W 80-77
USC L 60-44
St. Clair W 58-47
Pipestone W 72-49
ELC L 66-25
Blue Earth Area L 52-48
TMB W 67-57
Fairmont L 48-43
Redwood Valley L 55-45
Luverne L 60-46
Marshall L 74-36
Windom L 46-40
MCW L 67-63
Pipestone L 48-39
St. Peter L 73-51
Worthington L 59-40
Section 3AA tournament
Fairmont L 35-56
Overall record: 8-18
SWC record: 2-10
JCC boys
basketball results
Opponent Result Score
GHEC W 70-56
Mt. Lake W 80-77
Luverne L 62-56
Redwood Valley L 70-50
Marshall L 80-50
Windom W 62-60
USC W 72-64
Blue Earth Area W 68-35
MCW L 59-47
Pipestone W 57-42
ELC W 79-63
Worthington L 84-71
TMB W 60-47
Fairmont L 65-60
Luverne W 66-61
Marshall L 86-63
Windom W 83-66
St. James W 65-46
Pipestone W 58-39
Worthington L 84-79
Redwood Valley L 67-54
Nicollet W 81-44
St. Clair W 72-61
Blue Earth Area W 67-55
Section 3AA tournament
Luverne W 70-56
Fairmont L 65-56
Overall record: 16-10
SWC record: 5-7
Sometimes things take
a turn for the worse and
Promising start fades with losing streak for JCC girls
Huskies started
out 8-8 before 10
straight losses
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
theres just not much you
can do to stop it.
That seemed to be the
case for the Jackson County
Central girls basketball
team, which started the
season 8-8 before losing its
fnal 10 games of the season
to fnish 8-18. The Huskies
were 2-10 in the Southwest
Conference.
The losing streak start-
ed and ended agai nst
Fairmont. The Cardinals
topped JCC 48-43 on Jan.
14 and then put an end to
the Huskies season with a
56-35 loss in the frst round
of the Section 3AA playoffs.
Our shooting steadily
digressed during the year,
head coach Tom Schuller
said.
And everything the Hus-
kies tried to do to change
that didnt provide much
help.
Its not like we didnt
work on it, Schuller said.
We tried everything; we
were col d from every-
where.
Schuller said the Huskies
were able to stay in some
games late in the season
because of their defense.
I thought defensively we
kept improving, he said.
It just because increasingly
diffcult to score.
What also hurt the Hus-
kies was a season-ending
injury to starting guard Julia
Schumann.
That definitely set us
back, Schuller said.
But there were still high-
lights for the Huskies this
winter.
JCC started the season
3-0, with the frst two wins
coming at a tournament in
Sleepy Eye.
The Huskies then lost
three straight and hung
around the .500 mark until
the losing streak.
Schuller said the best win
came just after Christmas at
a tournament in St. Clair.
Probably our best win of
the year was beating Minne-
sota Valley Lutheran at the
Christmas Tournament,
Schuller said. They were
undefeated at the time.
That loss was the only one
in the frst 17 games for the
Crusaders.
But t he moment um
didnt last long as the Hus-
kies won just three more
times all season.
It was obviously disap-
pointing, Schuller said of
the season. You hope to
win more games than that.
The Huskies had six play-
ers average at least five
points-per-game this season
and three grab at least fve
rebounds a game.
Sophomore Kaylee Bur-
meister led the Huskies on
offense with 11.2 points-
per-game and also averaged
7.4 rebounds, 2.8 steals and
two assists per game.
Burmeisters 71 career
three-pointers are already
fourth in team history, as
are her eight double-dou-
bles. She has racked up
555 career points with two
seasons left at JCC. Her 33
three-pointers this winter
are the ffth most for a sea-
son and her 193 rebounds
were seventh most.
Seni or Lydi a Brandt
grabbed 214 rebounds this
season, the sixth most in
JCC history. She graduates
third in team history with
11 career double-doubles.
Brandt averaged 10.0
points and a team-high 8.6
rebounds per game and also
had 34 steals and 29 assists.
Senior Marita Rasche
played in 106 games in her
career (the fourth most in
team history) and averaged
8.6 points and 5.7 rebounds
per game this season. She
graduates with 531 career
points (17
th
), 467 rebounds
(sixth), 166 steals (11
th
) and
78 blocked shots (second).
Schumann and senior
Angela Handzus formed
a formidable duo at guard
before Schumanns injury.
Schumann averaged 5.3
points, 4.1 assists, 3.0 re-
bounds and 2.9 steals per
game and Handzus aver-
aged 5.0 points, 2.6 assists,
Photo by Dan Condon
Sophomore Kaylee Burmeister led the Huskies with 11.2 points-per-game this season
and has 555 career points.
For the Jackson County
Central boys basketball
team, the biggest loss of
the season might have hap-
pened before the frst whis-
tle blew at the teams frst
practice.
Senior Zach Copley, who
averaged 9.3 points and
5.7 rebounds per game
last season, was hurt dur-
ing the football season and
missed the entire basketball
season.
But the Huskies over-
came the injury and put
together a 16-10 season.
We had high expecta-
tions for this season and
were dealt a blow with Zach
being out, head coach
Deep team helped Huskies win 16 games
Afer 2-3 start, JCC
boys started rolling
Trent Sukalski said. We
had to deal with that and
build over a little bit.
A few Huskies had to
adjust to new roles because
of the injury, but hard work
made things work out.
We had to make some
changes on how we were
going to go about things,
Sukalski said. I thought we
did a really good job with
that. The guys stepped up
and flled roles nicely. They
really made a commitment
to getting better in practice
every day.
The Huskies started the
season 2-3, but won fve of
their next six to sit at 7-4.
Even with a tough South-
west Conference schedule
that saw JCC go 5-7, the
Huskies managed 15 wins
in the regular season before
beating Luverne in the Sec-
tion 3AA opener. The sea-
son then ended with a loss
to Fairmont in the section
tournament.
It was a very good year,
Sukalski said. I was very
happy. We got to be very
good by the time it was all
over.
Included in the 16 wins
were two victories over rival
Windom Area, two wins to
come home with a tourna-
ment championship in Blue
Earth and an early-season
win over Mt. Lake Area,
which plays for a section
championship tomorrow
(Friday).
A lot of good things
happened, Sukalski said.
Beating Windom both
ti mes, especi al l y beat-
ing them up there on the
last-second shot by Taylor
(Christopher), was a nice
highlight for us.
Christopher saved his
best game for last as he
scored a career-high 31
points in the playoff loss to
Fairmont. The senior guard
averaged 15.4 points, 3.4
rebounds and 5.1 assists
per game this season. He
also had 51 steals to lead
the team.
Christophers 589 career
points are 10
th
in team his-
tory and his 199 career as-
sists are the sixth most.
Junior Jon Harmening
scored 455 points this sea-
son and sits just four shy of
1,000 for his career. His 17.4
points and 12.2 rebounds
per game both led the team.
Harmenings 996 career
points are second in team
history and his 75 games
played are second.
Harmening entered the
season as the schools all-
time leading rebounder
with 408 and hauled in 316
more rebounds this season
to sit at 724 for his career.
Senior Austin Hinkeldey
hit 27 three-pointers this
season and finished with
253 points for an average
of 9.7 per game. He also
had 2.8 rebounds a game.
Hinkeldey scored 369 ca-
reer points.
Junior Darnell Taylor-
Breck scored 199 points
this season for an average of
7.9 a night. He also had 2.9
rebounds and 1.6 assists per
game and was the teams
best defender. Taylor-Breck
sits 14
th
on the career scor-
ing list with 471 points.
Junior Nolan Hohenstein
was a force in the paint and
fnished second on the team
with 140 rebounds for an
average of 5.6 per game.
Hohenstein now has 232
career boards, the 17
th
most
in team history.
He averaged 5.1 points
per game and shot nearly
Photos by Dan Condon
Head coach Trent Sukalski (kneeling) and the Jackson County Central bench watch game action this season. The
Huskies won 16 games, the second-most in a single season in team history.
Austin Hinkeldey had success driving to the hoop and shooting three-pointers for the
Huskies. Hinkeldey scored 253 points this season and 369 in his career.
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C3 Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sports Review
Averages
Name Points Rebounds Assists
Jon Harmening 17.5 12.2 1.0
Taylor Christopher 15.4 3.4 5.1
Austin Hinkeldey 9.7 2.8 .9
Darnell Taylor-Breck 7.9 2.9 1.6
Shadrach Wacker 6.1 2.1 2.9
Nolan Hohenstein 5.1 5.6 .7
Josh Thaemlitz 2.5 1.6 1.6
Brady Place 1.8 1.1 .3
Matt Schmit 1.2 .9 0
JCC 65.4 34.8 13.5
Opponent 61.5 32.1 12.5
Total points and rebounds
Name Points OR DR Reb.
Harmening 455 109 207 316
Christopher 386 22 62 84
Hinkeldey 253 19 53 72
Taylor-Breck 199 18 56 74
Wacker 141 9 39 48
Hohenstein 128 46 94 140
Thaemlitz 66 19 22 41
Place 41 7 19 26
Schmit 28 10 11 21
JCC 1,700 294 613 906
Opponent 1,598 254 581 835
Made baskets
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT
Harmening 193 0 69
Christopher 111 28 80
Hinkeldey 68 27 36
Taylor-Breck 72 12 19
Wacker 37 11 34
Hohenstein 58 0 12
Thaemlitz 13 8 16
Place 10 6 3
Schmit 11 0 6
JCC 573 92 278
Opponent 419 175 235
JCC boys basketball stats
Averages
Name Points Rebounds Assists
Kaylee Burmeister 11.2 7.4 2.0
Lydia Brandt 10.0 8.6 1.2
Marita Rasche 8.6 5.7 1.7
Rachel Johnson 5.8 2.6 1.6
Julia Schumann 5.3 3.0 4.1
Angela Handzus 5.3 3.0 4.1
Sydney Eddy 3.0 4.2 0.4
Brooke Klontz 2.6 2.2 1.2
Michelle VanEpps 2.4 4.0 0.6
Sarah Brandt 2.1 3.4 0.6
Total points and rebounds
Name Points OR DR Reb.
Burmeister 291 71 122 193
L. Brandt 249 127 87 214
Rasche 224 82 65 147
Johnson 151 47 22 69
Schumann 106 47 12 59
Handzus 130 47 22 69
Eddy 15 16 5 21
Klontz 68 37 22 59
VanEpps 55 59 33 92
S. Brandt 45 41 33 74
Made baskets
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT
Burmeister 55 33 82
L. Brandt 105 0 39
Rasche 75 8 50
Johnson 25 23 32
Schumann 19 15 23
Handzus 28 14 32
Eddy 2 3 1
Klontz 15 9 11
VanEpps 23 0 9
S. Brandt 17 0 11
JCC girls basketball stats
2.6 rebounds and 2.5
steals a game. Schumann
is already 10
th
in team
history with 182 career
assists.
Sophomore Rachel
Johnson scored 5.8 points
per game and had 69 re-
bounds, 41 assists and 28
steals this season.
Sophomor e Sar ah
Brandt moved into the
starting lineup late in the
season and averaged 2.1
points and 3.4 rebounds
per game.
Mi chel l e VanEpps
played in 90 games as a
Husky the ninth most
all-time and averaged
2.4 points and 4.0 re-
bounds as a senior.
Senior Brooke Klontz
averaged 2.6 points and
2.2 rebounds per game
this season.
Sophomore Sydney
Eddy returned from a knee
injury late in the season and
averaged 4.2 rebounds and
3.0 points per game.
Senior Mackenzie Reed
scored 14 poi nt s and
grabbed 17 rebounds for the
Huskies, who also got con-
tributions from sophomores
Allison Benson, Jade Hol-
the and Blaney Markman.
Schuller said the teams
six seniors will be missed,
but with no juniors and
eight sophomores on the
team this year, the future
could be bright.
Well have a lot of kids
back on the team that
have varsity experience,
Schuller said, pointing out
Schumann and Burmeister
have been starters for two
seasons already. Weve got
a lot of experience coming
back.
JCC GBB: Huskies struggle late
Continued from C2
Photos by Dan Condon
Angela Handzus (from left), Mackenzie Reed, Sarah Brandt, Rachel Johnson and Lydia Brandt cheer on their
teammates as they get ready to enter the game for the Jackson County Central girls basketball team.
Senior Angela Handzus drives to the hoop for the
Huskies this season.
Senior Marita Rasche had 531 points, 467 rebounds, 166
steals and 78 blocked shots in her career at JCC.
50 percent from the feld.
Senior Josh Thaemlitz
averaged 2.5 points and
1.6 rebounds per game this
season and provided a spark
off the bench for the Hus-
kies. He hit 36.4 percent of
his three-point shots and
scored a total of 66 points.
Junior Shadrach Wacker
averaged 6.1 points, 2.1 re-
bounds and 2.9 assists per
game as a guard. His 112
career assists have Wacker
10
th
on the JCC chart.
Juniors Brady Place (1.8
points per game) and Matt
Schmit (1. 2 points per
game) also provided qual-
ity minutes off the bench
for the Huskies.
We got contributions
from a lot of guys, Sukal-
ski said. We started seven
different kids this year and
I felt comfortable starting
any of those seven. Matt
Schmit played a role, Brady
Place played a role. We
were nine deep on varsity.
Of those nine, three were
seniors who Sukalski said
will be missed.
Their leadership was
so good, he said. They
meant a lot to the program.
In their three years of var-
sity basketball, they won 42
games; they were a big part
of that.
But Sukalski likes what
he has coming back next
winter.
Im really excited, he
said. As disappointed as
the loss was to Fairmont,
Im very excited for next
year.
Sukalski said the team
will rely on its six experi-
enced returners, but also
has a few younger kids who
could step into the lineup.
We lose some quality
seniors, but have a lot of
guys back with a lot of ex-
perience, he said. Weve
also got some young guys
like Zach Schwarting and
Joe Brinkman that can step
JCC BBB: Sweep of Windom, tournament wins highlight 16-win season
Continued from C2
in and help us at the varsity
level. We can be awfully
good again next year.
Photos by Dan Condon
Seeing Taylor Christopher beat a defender off the dribble was a common sight for
Jackson County Central fans this season. Christopher averaged 15.4 points, 3.4 re-
bounds and 5.1 assists as a senior.
Junior Jon Harmening led the Huskies with 455 points
and 316 rebounds this season. His 724 career rebounds
are the most in team history and his 996 points are second.
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C4 Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sports Review
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who was ranked sixth in the
fnal Guillotine poll, had a
record of 30-12 this season
and is 74-44 in his career
at JCC.
Norlands injuries resur-
faced during the individual
state tournament after the
sophomore went 3-0 to help
the Huskies win the team
title. Despite not being 100
percent, Norland fnished
sixth at state and had a re-
cord of 27-6 on the season.
With two years left, Norland
has a career record of 83-25.
Senior Cameron Hen-
ning won his first section
championship at 126 pound
this season to qualify for
state. Henning went 32-11
on the season and graduates
with a career mark of 62-22.
Despite missing much of
the season, Menke quali-
fed for the individual state
tournament after fnishing
second at the section tour-
nament. Menke was 9-5
on the season and won 46
matches in his career.
WR: Huskies get healthy, win their fourth straight state championship
Continued from C1
Photos by Dan Condon
Senior Nate Guggisberg works for a pin this season. Guggisberg won 17 matches this season and helped the Huskies win their fourth straight state championship.
Senior Kyle Edlin fin-
ished his career with exactly
100 wins, with his last two
wins coming in the team
state tournament. Edlin,
who finished third at the
individual section meet,
was 29-12 this season and
100-85 in his career.
Senior Dylan Riggle was
20-18 this season and won
39 matches in his career.
Seventh-grader Dalton
Wagner (13-15) and eighth-
grader Ryker VanderWoude
(18-16) started the Huskies
off in dual meets this season
and junior Jack Ziemer (15-
23) and sophomore Nate
Horn (11-19) fnished off
the duals.
Senior Nate Guggisberg
was 17-23 while wrestling
at a variety of weights near
the top of the JCC lineup.
Also on the roster at the
state tournament for the
Huskies were senior John
Marker (5-18), junior Da-
kota Rossow (4-8), fresh-
man Luke Pygman (8-6)
and sophomore Kyle Kap-
plinger (2-7).
The Huskies had nine
seniors in the program and
Baker said they formed the
backbone for the teams
success this season.
We had a great group
of seniors, he said. These
guys got pretty close, even
the guys who werent here
in elementary and middle
school. Not only good wres-
tlers, but good students and
citizens as well. These are
some really good kids that
have worked hard for the
achievements they got.
While the Huskies cant
replace the likes of Van-
cura and Jurries, Baker said
there are enough pieces
coming back to put another
solid lineup on the mat next
season.
We certainly have some
large holes to fll with losing
this years seniors, Baker
said. The good thing is
that some younger guys will
now get their chance to fll
those shoes and leave their
own mark. You cant really
replace guys like we have
as seniors, you just have to
get another group ready to
compete. That will be the
challenge in the offseason.
The Huskies return four
state place-winners and
Baker expects the Moore
brothers, Biehn and Nor-
land to lead the team next
season.
The core is there for
another great year, Baker
said. We definitely have
some very talented and ex-
perienced guys returning.
However, we need a num-
ber of guys to really step up
and prepare for next year.
I look forward to watching
some of these guys reach
their goals in the next year
or two. We have some wres-
tlers with high goals they
are hoping to reach down
the road.
GYM: Huskies go to state for second straight season
Continued from C1
Sophomore Paden Moore wraps the head of his opponent
during a match this season. Moore was 39-6 on the season
and finished second at the individual state tournament.
For his career, Moore already has 137 wins.
trips to the individual state
tournament and didnt dis-
appoint in their final go-
round at JCC.
Donnelli, who is the only
JCC gymnast to compete
at state six years in a row,
had at least two frst-place
fnishes in each event this
season. She won all-around
six times and her season-
high score of 36.625 was just
one of six times she topped
the 36.0 mark.
Donnelli scored 9.55 on
vault against Redwood Val-
ley for her career high and
the second highest score in
team history. She won vault
seven times and won foor
eight times, with her high of
9.5 being the sixth best score
in school history. Donnelli
scored 9.1 or better all 12
times she competed on foor
this season. Donnelli had a
season-best 9.0 on bars and
won that event three times.
Donnelli was a section
champion in all-around and
foor this season and also
made it state on vault and
bars. She was 14
th
at state in
all-around and on vault, 16
th

on foor and 23
rd
on bars.
Sether-Hassing excelled
on bars, which she won
10 times this season. Her
season-high score of 9.35 is
the ffth best in team history
and she was over 9.0 seven
times.
Set her- Hassi ng won
beam six times and scored
a career-high 9.55, which
is the second best in school
history. She scored 9.0 or
better eight times and was
at 9.2 or better eight times
on foor exercise. Sether-
Hassing won floor three
times and won all-around
t wi ce. Set her- Hassi ng
scored 36.0 or better eight
times in all-around and her
career-high 36.75 is tied for
seventh best in team history.
As a senior, Sether-Has-
sing won bars at sections
and qualified for state in
everything but vault.
At state, Sether-Hassing
was eighth on beam, 13
th

in all-around, 14
th
on foor
and 19
th
on bars. It was the
ffth straight season Sether-
Hassing qualifed for the in-
dividual state tournament.
Rentschler had a career
high 36.0 in all-around
against Redwood Valley
and then bettered that num-
ber with 36.025 two meets
later against Pipestone. She
won all-around three times
and won beam five times
including at the section
tournament.
Rentschlers season-high
beam of 9.425 is ninth best
in team history and one of
four times she scored 9.0 or
higher on beam this season.
She had a season-high 9.25
on vault against Redwood
and won that event twice.
Rentschler qualifed for
state for the third time as an
individual and competed in
all-around, beam and vault
this season. She fnished 24
th

on beam, 29
th
in all-around
and 32
nd
on vault at the state
meet.
Seventh-grader Brooklyn
Schuett also made it to state
on foor the only event
she competed on for the
JCC varsity. Schuett scored
9.2 to fnish fourth at the
section meet and advance
to state, where she scored
8.95 to finish 24
th
as the
only seventh-grader in the
tournament.
Schuett had a season-high
score of 9.175 at Worthing-
ton and finished second
twice on foor.
Sophomore Michaela
Vancura won foor against
Marshall and scored a sea-
son-high 9.25 against Pipe-
stone. She was at 9.0 or bet-
ter in 10 meets and placed
in the top four nine times.
Vancura also competed
on vault, where she scored
a season-high 9.225 and was
above 9.0 fve times.
Freshman Haley Bass
competed on beam and bars
for the Huskies all season
and competed in the other
two events at least once.
Bass posted her highest
score of the season on beam
(9.0) and bars (8.225) at
the Martin County Area
tournament, when she also
competed on vault and foor
to fnish with an all-around
score of 34.55.
Bass topped the 8. 0
mark 11 times on beam
and scored 8.0 or better fve
times on bars.
Sophomore Riley Van-
cura specialized on vault
for the Huskies, where she
scored a season-best 9.15
against Redwood. Vancura
was at 9.0 or better four
times and won vault with
8.775 against St. James.
Sophomor e Ba i l e y
Schneekloth competed on
beam for JCC and had a
season-best score of 8.525
against Blue Earth Area.
Seventh-grader Abby
Schneekloth competed on
bars, with her best score
of 8.05 against Marshall
putting her in fourth place
that dual.
The Huskies also got con-
tributions on varsity from
seniors Megan Anderson
and Jessica Voehl; freshmen
Jadin Bezdicek, Makenna
Donnelli and Sydney Ny-
borg; eighth-grader Sophie
Johnson; and seventh-grad-
er Brielle Scheepstra.
The three seniors were
the only Huskies to com-
pete in all-around regularly,
but that leaves big holes to
be flled next season.
The three captains have
held three strong all-around
positions, which will open
12 spots for next year,
Handevidt said. Those
spots will probably be flled
with one all-arounder and
the rest with girls who spe-
cialize on the individual
events.
Handevidt said the Hus-
kies look like they have the
talent to fll those gaps with
capable girls.
There is some amazing
talent in JV, so they will be
ready and anxious to step
up and fill those spots,
she said.
Photos by Dan Condon
Above: Senior Brandi Sether-Hassing had a way of making seemingly difficult moves
look easy in her career at Jackson County Central. Sether-Hassing advanced to state
five straight seasons and helped the Huskies make it to state twice as a team. Below:
Senior Adriane Rentschler was joined Sether-Hassing and Sydnee Donnelli as a tri of
Huskies that competed on varsity since seventh grade.
C5 Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sports Review
Windom Area girls
hockey results
Opponent Result Score
Albert Lea L 13-0
Luverne L 10-2
Marshall L 8-1
LH/St. Peter L 10-3
Worthington W 5-2
Morris/Benson L 2-1
Luverne L 11-3
Albert Lea L 13-0
Fairmont L 4-1
Waseca L 8-0
Faribault L 9-0
St. Louis Park L 12-0
Waseca L 13-3
Morris/Benson L 3-2
Marshall L 6-1
LH/St. Peter L 4-3
Worthington L 1-0
Fairmont L 6-0
Worthington T 1-1
Section 3A tournament
Marshall L 3-0
Overall record: 1-18-1
SWC record: 1-7
Scoring by Period
Team 1 2 3 OT Total
Windom Area 6 13 7 0 26
Opponent 50 56 35 0 141
Scoring
Name Goals Assists Points
Addison Beaty 5 7 12
Jolyssa Higley-Purrington 5 4 9
Kaylee Janssen 6 3 9
Kaylee Rosenkranz 5 4 9
Porsha Porath 1 3 4
Alexis Jellema-Baerg 2 1 3
Elizabeth Schoenenberger 2 0 2
Arica Svoboda 0 1 1
Katie Schoenenberger 0 1 1
Windom Area 26 24 50
Opponent 141 168 309
Goaltending
Name Shots Saves Save %
Emily Steen 935 794 .849
Windom Area 935 794 .849
Opponent 278 252 .906
Windom Area girls hockey stats
If seasons are measured
solely by wins and losses,
there wasnt much to speak
of for the Windom Area
girls hockey team.
But thats far from what
head coach Dean Drahota
took away from a 1-18-1
season.
Record-wise, we strug-
gled, Drahota said. But
we made a lot of big im-
provements.
That was the goal for
Drahota and the Eagles en-
tering the season. The team
was young there wasnt
a single senior on the ros-
ter and, in a playoff loss
to Marshall, had a starting
lineup of three seventh-
graders, two eighth-graders
and one freshman.
From where we started
the year, theyre really start-
ing to understand the game
a lot better, Drahota said.
The biggest improvement
was just the overall knowl-
edge of the sport, Drahota
said.
Where they were sup-
posed to be, making the
passes we needed to, just
their overall knowledge of
the game, Drahota said.
Their general knowledge
of the game really improved
a lot.
That was evident in a 4-0
loss to Marshall, Drahota
said, when the team played
disciplined hockey despite
having its season end.
Eagle girls show improvement
Windom Area
wins just once,
but season was
flled with gaining
experience
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
That sect i on game
against Marshall, we knew
how their offense worked,
he said. We game planned
around it and did it for the
whole game. Their knowl-
edge of the game came
along so far.
Drahota credits some
of that to assistant Nathan
Boler, who played hockey
in high school and was in
his frst season as a coach
under Drahota.
He really brought a lot
to the program, Drahota
said. He was a great help
for us.
Between Drahota, Boler
and assistant Steve Willard,
the coaches had the Eagles
playing much better hockey
than in years past.
We made a lot of im-
provements throughout
the year, Drahota said of
the team.
The Eagles started out
0-4 before getting their
lone win of the season in a
5-2 victory over Worthing-
ton. In the regular-season
fnale, Windom Area and
Worthington tied at 1.
We had four one-goal
games and tied one, Dra-
hota said. The future looks
really good.
Getting that win over
Worthington was big, Dra-
hota said, especially to show
the hard work is paying off.
Getting that win was
huge, he said. It gives
them the feeling of how
much better it is sitting in
that locker room.
That win and several
close games helped change
the way the Eagles went
about their business on
the ice.
It used to be that they
were too happy just being
out there and thats starting
to change, Drahota said.
The Eagles were in a
number of games this sea-
son because of the out-
standing play by seventh-
grade goalie Emily Steen.
Steen made 794 saves this
season and had a save-
percentage of .849.
Emily had a great season
in goal, Drahota said. She
was close to 85 percent,
which is outstanding, espe-
cially considering her age.
There were similar suc-
cesses from other players
during the season, most of
whom made huge improve-
ments.
They all really helped
out, Drahota said. Jolys-
sa (Higley-Purrington),
Porsha Porath, Addison
(Beaty), they all made great
contributions to the team
and were very integral to the
teams growth, Drahota
said of three other seventh-
graders. The other girls,
they all got another year of
experience.
Beaty led the Eagles with
12 points, coming on fve
goals and seven assists. Hig-
ley-Purrington and fresh-
man Kaylee Rosenkranz
both had nine points from
fve goals and four assists
and freshman Kaylee Jans-
sen (team-high five goals
and four assists) also had
nine points.
The lone Jackson County
Central player on the team
Arica Svoboda is one
of just three juniors on the
Eagle team this season.
Arica made a lot of im-
provement again, Drahota
said.
While having a young
group didnt lead to many
wins this season, Drahota
said their experience will
pay off soon.
We l l have to fi ght
through the next couple
years and then itll be us
with all the juniors and se-
niors, Drahota said. The
future is getting here now.
We really turned a corner
and are going to be a good
team in the next couple of
years.
Scoring by Period
Team 1 2 3 OT Total
Windom Area 34 40 30 4 108
Opponent 23 36 34 0 93
Scoring
Name Goals Assists Points
Travis Janssen 38 25 63
Zach Bartosh 21 24 45
Devin Nielsen 21 8 29
Kyle Luhmann 5 12 17
Mitchell Macek 5 11 16
Stuart Schumacher 3 11 14
Windom Area 108 118 226
Opponent 93 119 212
Goaltending
Name Shots Saves Save %
Ben Stubbe 437 351 .885
Tyler McGowan 261 226 .866
Garrett Schumacher 37 31 .838
Windom Area 737 644 .874
Opponent 774 666 .860
Windom Area boys hockey stats
Windom Area boys
hockey results
Opponent Result Score
Marshall W 5-4
Mankato East W 4-3
Worthington W 9-1
Morris/Benson W 10-6
Achiever NEA W 6-3
Luverne L 6-0
Fairmont W 11-1
Waseca W 6-2
Waterloo L 8-7
Achiever NEA L 4-1
Redwood Valley W 8-2
Achiever NEA L 5-2
Morris/Benson L 7-4
Marshall L 2-1
LH/St. Peter L 5-0
Worthington W 6-5
Becker/Big Lake W 4-3
Sartell-St. S. L 6-3
Waseca W 4-3
Luverne L 9-0
Fairmont W 9-0
Redwood Valley W 8-4
Section 3A tournament
Marshall L 4-0
Overall record: 13-10
SWC record: 6-4
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
An early-season offensive
surge helped the Windom
Area boys hockey team
get off to a 7-1 start before
the Eagles fnished with a
13-10 overall record and
6-4 mark in the Southwest
Conference.
Whether or not the Ea-
gles got their offense rolling
was a big key to the season,
head coach Jon Ammer-
man said.
At the beginning of the
year when teams were fg-
uring out who they were,
we were able to score,
Ammerman said. We were
scoring goals basically on
command at the beginning.
Unfortunately, we werent
able to keep that going
throughout.
While it seems obvious
that a high-powered offense
leads to wins, the numbers
backed it up for the Eagles.
Windom Area scored 6.9
goals in its 13 wins and just
1.8 in 10 losses.
We scored a lot early
and they were hard to come
by in the middle of the
year, Ammerman said.
After a stretch during
which the Eagles were 1-6
in the middle of the season,
the Eagles rebounded to go
5-2 in the last seven regular
season games before los-
ing 4-0 to eventual section
champion Marshall in the
section opener.
Once you start to think
youre starting to put a few
things together, its over
all of a sudden, Ammer-
man said. Hopefully next
year we pick up where we
left off.
Eagle ofense dictated success in 13-win season
Thats what Ammerman
wants to become the norm
for the Eagles: Get off to
a hot start. But he wants it
to continue throughout the
season.
Weve raised the status
quo for Windom hockey,
where the expectation is
there from the get-go, Am-
merman said.
Senior Travis Janssen was
at the forefront of the hot
start for the Eagles as the
forward was tallying goal-
after-goal early on en route
to a 63-point season. Jans-
sen fnished with team highs
with 38 goals and 25 assists.
Junior forward Zach Bar-
tosh tallied 21 goals and 24
assists and freshman Devin
Nielsen had 21 goals and
eight assists.
Jackson County Central
senior defenseman Kyle
Luhmann had fve goals and
12 assists and JCC junior
forward Mitchell Macek
scored fve goals and added
11 assists.
Kyle was pretty solid on
the back end for us, Am-
merman said. This year he
added some offense, too.
He had a pretty good year.
Ammerman liked what
he saw from Macek and
expects even more next
season.
He grew into a leader-
ship role, Ammerman said.
Hes a guy coming back
were expecting a lot from.
Hell be one of our better
players next year.
JCC junior forward Zach
Ignaszewski who scored
two goals this season will
also be counted on for an
increased role next season.
He improved a lot for
us, Ammerman said.
The Huskies were also
represented in goal by se-
nior Ben Stubbe, who split
time at the position with
senior Tyler McGowan and
sophomore Garrett Schum-
acher.
Stubbe had a save per-
centage of nearly 90 percent
and made 351 saves for the
Eagles.
Ben played a lot of im-
portant minutes and was a
pretty darn good goalie,
Ammerman said. Hes
athletic and did a good job.
The Eagles lose seven se-
niors, who formed a group
Ammerman said provided
a lot of leadership.
They led by example,
he said. They wanted to
become better hockey play-
ers. That goes a long way
when you have a group will-
ing to work to get better.
With their leading scorer
and top two goalies gone,
the Eagles will have some
big skates to fll next season.
Everybodys going to
have to pull their own
weight, Ammerman said.
Thats the thing with
high school athletics;
usually your better play-
ers are the older players.
But Ammerman cant
wait to see who takes
over to lead the Eagles
next winter.
Thats the fun thing
in athletics in general is
someones got to step
up, he said. Our guys
will be ready to improve
and be ready to build
upon whats been hap-
pening the last couple
years.
Photos by Dan Condon
Jackson County Central players Kyle Luhmann (from left), Zach Ignaszewski and
Mitchell Macek share a laugh during pregame introductions for the Windom Area
boys hockey team this season.
Mitchell Macek (right) fights to win a faceoff.
Jackson County Central senior Ben Stubbe makes one of his 351 saves for the Eagles
this season.
Photos by Dan Condon
Top left: Miranda Timko (from left), Carolyn Lovan and
Kortney Porter cheer in front of the home crowd during
a basketball game this season. Annie Gee (far left) and
Hally Dauffenbach (left) lead cheers during a perfor-
mance by the competition cheerleading team. Right: Jenna
Stade cheers for the Huskies.
Photo courtesy of Fitzloff Photography
The Jackson County Central competition cheerleading
team finished second at the MCCA state tournament
this season and won the season-opening meet in Edina.
Members of the team are (front, from left): Annie Gee,
Carolyn Lovan and Madison Cregeen. Middle: Jessica
Jandera, Jenna Stade, Hally Dauffenbach and Kortney
Porter. Back: Josie Horn, Kiana Nyborg, Jayde Price,
Miranda Timko and Kassidy Timmer.
C6 Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sports Review
Averages
Name Points Rebounds Assists
Courtney Place 22.1 9.4 2.7
Kailey Wendland 8.1 5.4 2.7
Sarah Baumgard 6.1 4.1 0.9
Sonja Peters 4.8 2.4 0.6
Andrea Hinkeldey 3.5 3.5 2.1
Alyssa Hendrickson 2.8 3.1 0.1
Autumn Hinkeldey 1.1 1.4 2.4
Total points and rebounds
Name Points OR DR Reb.
Courtney Place 354 50 101 151
Kailey Wendland 130 40 47 87
Sarah Baumgard 92 19 42 61
Sonja Peters 76 13 26 39
Andrea Hinkeldey 56 22 34 56
Alyssa Hendrickson 45 17 33 50
Autumn Hinkeldey 16 8 13 21
Made baskets
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT
Courtney Place 99 23 87
Kailey Wendland 41 2 42
Sarah Baumgard 34 1 21
Sonja Peters 24 6 10
Andrea Hinkeldey 19 0 18
Alyssa Hendrickson 19 0 7
Autumn Hinkeldey 5 0 6
SWU girls basketball conference stats
SWU boys
basketball results
Opponent Result Score
Luverne L 84-61
Hills-BC L 77-62
Mt. Lake L 80-78
Lincoln HI W 61-36
WWG W 69-53
SW MN Christian L 85-45
Springfeld L 63-52
MCC W 54-50
Canby L 63-41
Red Rock Central L 70-62
Ellsworth W 58-55
Fulda W 75-66
Edgerton W 77-71
WWG W 70-56
Adrian L 88-76
Harris-LP L 76-37
Red Rock Central W 65-44
GHEC W 71-65
Ellsworth W 71-61
Hills-BC L 79-62
Mt. Lake L 69-44
WWG L 87-77
Edgerton L 84-75
Section 2A tournament
Mankato Loyola L 75-69
Overall record: 10-14
RRC record: 7-9
SWU girls
basketball results
Opponent Result Score
Harris-LP L 40-37
Mt. Lake L 54-39
Hills-BC L 50-43
Blue Earth Area L 48-42
Martin Luther L 56-53
MCC W 55-47
Lester Prairie/HT L 62-42
CM/Comfrey L 49-39
WWG W 45-44
SW MN Christian L 52-28
Edgerton W 64-56
Canby W 44-39
Ellsworth L 53-45
Red Rock Central W 51-37
Fulda L 67-43
Edgerton L 54-52
Luverne L 57-54
WWG L 58-49
Adrian L 57-51
Hills-BC W 60-53
Mt. Lake L 58-48
Red Rock Central W 57-40
Ellsworth W 55-54
Section 2A tournament
Madelia W 72-35
GHEC L 48-34
Overall record: 9-16
RRC record: 7-9
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
by DAN CONDON
Sports Editor
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After a slow start to the
season, the Southwestern
United girls basketball
team started to play pretty
well.
The Wildcats lost their
frst fve games, but went
9-11 the rest of the way to
fnish the season 9-16.
Eventually you just get
so sick of losing youve got
to fgure out a way to win,
head coach Keith Place
said.
The young Wildcats lost
four of those frst fve games
by seven points or fewer
and had seven other losses
decided by 10 points or less.
Considering the age of
our team and the depth of
our team, we tried to be
competitive night in and
night out and we were,
Place said.
As the season went along,
SWU found a way to win a
few of those close games,
including a buzzer-beating
win over Westbrook-Walnut
Grove and a come-from-
behind win over Ellsworth
in the regular-season fnale.
At the end of the year,
we were able to fnish games
and win some games, Place
said.
A big part of that was
players developing into
their position and role on
the team.
At the beginning of the
Wildcat girls rebound to win nine games
Young SWU team
learns how to
fnish of victories
year, we were still trying to
put in our offense and get
everybody oriented to what
position they were playing,
Place said. The frst fve
games were close losses and
it was frustrating.
That changed with the
Wildcats first win over
Murray County Central.
I think we took out that
frustration against MCC,
Place said. We played ex-
tremely well.
The progression contin-
ued for the Wildcats, who
beat Red Rock Central and
Ellsworth to end the regular
season and then beat Mad-
elia 72-35 to open the Sec-
tion 2A tournament before
losing to Granada-Huntley-
East Chain.
I think were getting
there to being able to com-
pete against anybody on
any night and thats the frst
goal youve got to have,
Place said.
A big reason the Wild-
cats were competitive in
most games was sopho-
more Courtney Pl ace,
who already topped the
1,000-point mark for her
career. Place scored 528
points this season and sits
at 1,028 for her career.
In Red Rock Conference
games, Place averaged 22.1
points, 9.4 rebounds and
2.7 assists per game. Her
354 points in conference
action was 30 more than
anyone else in the competi-
tive league and her 151 re-
bounds were the sixth most.
She also had 43 steals and
26 blocks in conference
games.
Sophomore Kai l ey
Wendland fnished with
196 poi nts, wi th 130
coming in conference
games. Her 8.1 points-
per-game average in RRC
games was 28
th
best in the
league. She also averaged
5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists
and 1.4 steals per confer-
ence game.
Senior Sarah Baum-
gard averaged 6.1 points
and 4.1 rebounds per
conference game and,
along with senior Alyssa
Hendrickson, provided
leadership for a young
squad.
They both were peo-
ple that had to play in the
middle, had to play tough
defense and had to fght
against the other teams
big players every night,
Coach Place said. They
did a super job because
they were the anchor. Its
going to be tough fnd-
ing someone to replace
them.
Hendrickson averaged
2.8 points and 3.1 re-
bounds per league game
and was playing her best
ball late in the season af-
ter missing last year with
a knee injury.
Ab o u t h a l f w a y
through the season she
really started coming on,
Coach Place said. She
was just starting to play
extremely well by the end
of the year.
Junior Sonja Peters av-
eraged 4.8 points and 2.4
rebounds in each confer-
ence game.
Junior Autumn Hin-
kel dey averaged 1. 1
points, 1.4 rebounds and
2.4 assists per game and
sister Andrea Hinkeldey
just a freshman
averaged 3.5 points, 3.5
rebounds and 2.1 assists
per league game.
With just two seniors,
Coach Place said the
Wildcats can improve on
their strong fnish to the
season.
We should be at least
.500; thats a minimum
goal, Place said. I hope
we can start stronger
quicker.
To do so will take some
work in the offseason.
We just have to con-
tinue to develop kids and
talent, he said. We have
to get bigger, stronger
and faster over the sum-
mer. We need to get in
the weight room and de-
velop strength and speed;
thats the way the game is
today.
If that happens, Place
expects good things from
his team.
Weve got kids with
skills who can score and
have some moves, he
said. Weve got talent;
its just such a wide age
spread. This season was
good and I think its going
to get better.
Photos by Dan Condon
Southwestern United sophomore Courtney Place scored 528 points this season and
has 1,028 for her career.
Kailey Wendland drives to the hoop for the Wildcats this season.
Photos by Dan Condon
Justin Jass (second from right) and Zach Schumacher do a chest bump during pregame introductions while team-
mates Mark Ferguson (left) and Matthew Soto look on.
For the first time, the
boys basketball teams at
Southwest Star Concept
and Round Lake-Brewster
combined on the hardwood
Wildcats come together to hit double-digit wins
SSC, RLB join
forces for boys
basketball
as the Southwestern United
Wildcats.
The schools were com-
bined for most sports prior
to this season including
football and are together
for all sports this school
year.
It didnt take long for
the players to form a cohe-
sive unit, head coach Lon
Eichenberger said.
The kids gelled togeth-
er, he said. The few from
Round Lake-Brewster, the
SSC kids were more than
welcoming.
And soon, the Wildcats
were playing some good
basketball.
After a whi l e, they
played pretty well togeth-
er, Eichenberger said.
The Wildcats started the
season with three straight
losses, but got consecutive
wins over Lincoln HI and
Westbrook-Walnut Grove
in the Candy Cane Classic.
The Wildcats then went
1-4 to drop to 3-7 before
a hot streak. SWU won
four straight games and
seven-of-nine to improve its
record to 10-9 before falter-
ing down the stretch. The
Wildcats fnished the season
10-14 and was 7-9 in a diff-
cult Red Rock Conference.
In the winning streak,
SWU beat Ellsworth by
three, Fulda by nine, Edger-
ton by six and then pounded
WWG by 14 points.
Things got on a roll after
we hosted the Candy Cane
Classic, Eichenberger said.
It seemed like it was going
to take a while at frst, but
after we got a few games
under our belt things went
well.
After the four-game
winning streak, SWU lost
twice before winning three
straight.
Starting that streak was a
win over Red Rock Central,
which Eichenberger said
was one of the best wins of
the winter.
We played solid defense
holding a fairly high-scoring
team like that to 44, he
said.
SWU followed with wins
over Granada-Huntley-
East Chain and Ellsworth,
but then lost four straight
games to end the regular
season and then the playoff
opener to Mankato Loyola.
We started winning a
few, except at the end of
the season we couldnt get
back in the win column,
Eichenberger said.
When the Wildcats were
at their best was when they
were sharing the ball.
The one wher e I
thought we were ready to
roll against Edgerton we
dished out 20-something
assists, Eichenberger said.
Even in that last game
against Loyola, we still had
21 assists.
But it was fouls that
plagued the Wildcats, es-
pecially late in the season.
We just had too many
fouls, Eichenberger said.
The other team got to the
line far too often and we
werent getting to line near
as often.
Eichenberger said Mt.
Lake Area shot 27 free
throws, WWG shot 31, Edg-
erton 36 and Loyola 32 as
the Wildcats faltered down
the stretch.
Eichenberger praised a
group of eight seniors that
paced SWU throughout the
season.
They led us very well,
he said. They said, as far as
captains, wed like to rotate.
Each game was a different
captain and everybody got
that responsibility.
Eichenberger said seniors
Mark Ferguson and An-
drew Kramer particularly
led the way in practice.
Mark and Andrew were
really working, especially
in practice, Eichenberger
said. They showed by ex-
ample; the same way with
the other seniors.
In games, it was seniors
Justin Jass, Erik Jass and
Matthew Soto that fred up
the team with their defense.
In games, they would
just work their tail off on de-
fense, Eichenberger said.
Sometimes theyd hear it
from the crowd for their
effort on defense.
Other seniors for SWU
were Kyle Wendland, Luke
Veith and William Gouriet.
The Wildcats got contribu-
tions from juniors Aaron
Fest, Cole Bosma, Zach
Schumacher, Brandon
Thurk, Levi Taylor and
Walker Crocker.
Eichenberger was pleased
with the way all the Wildcats
played this season.
I could point out just
about all of them, he said.
We went nine strong.
Sometimes those nights
happened where someone
would hit a shot and spark
us.
Above: Andrew Kramer was one of the seniors to provide
leadership for the Southwestern United boys basketball
team. Right: Junior Aaron Fest makes a move while
handling the ball against Red Rock Central this season.