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Crown doesn’t weigh heavily on Cougars
Defending Class 6A champions believe in their methods You know that sports axiom about how it’s easier to reach the summit than it is to stay there? Lakeville South’s football team is about to find out if there’s any substance to it. The Cougars, 21-0 over the past two seasons and the undisputed kingpins of Class 6A football, for months have been preparing themselves to face teams that want a...
Town ball: Bandits are home team but won’t have home field
Eagan plays at Dundas in opening round of Class B tourney On paper, Eagan is the home team for its Class B state men’s amateur baseball tournament game Sunday afternoon. But it’s probably not going to feel that way to the Bandits. Eagan plays Dundas in the first-round game at 4:30 p.m. at Memorial Park in Dundas, which is one of three sites for this year’s state Class B and...
Upcoming prep football season loaded with intriguing matchups
For local teams, the drama begins Sept. 1 High school football is already here, with practices starting Monday, and the regular season will be along before you know it. With that in mind, we’ve highlighted a couple of games each week of the regular season that could provide interesting storylines, along with a few fantasy matchups. Take a look: ...
Notebook: North, Eagan crack top 10 in volleyball rankings
Preseason rankings for high school fall sports are coming out, and one of the first such lists placed two South Suburban Conference teams in the top 10 in volleyball. Lakeville North was ranked fifth and Eagan seventh in the preseason Class 4A volleyball poll that was released at the end of July. It’s no surprise those two teams appeared in the top 10. Lakeville North placed fifth at the 2021 state tournament and will return about half of that roster. Eagan lost to East Ridge...
Summer’s just about over; fall sports athletes prepare for season
First day of practice is Monday, Aug. 15 Summer is slipping away for high school athletes – and they likely couldn’t be happier. It means they’re about to start their fall seasons. Most Minnesota prep teams are allowed to start practice Monday, Aug. 15, and will have one or more competitions before Labor Day. With...
Eagan earns place in state amateur baseball tournament
Bandits win 4 of 5 in section playoffs The Eagan Bandits, after an up-and-down regular season, hit their stride in the section playoffs and will go to the state men’s amateur baseball tournament for the first time since 2019. Eagan, which was 8-8 in regular-season play in the River Valley League East, won four of its first five games in the Section 3B tournament. The Bandits will play Chanhassen for...
Notebook: Smith turns pro to advance Olympic swim campaign
Regan Smith now is laser-focused on the 2024 Olympics after the Lakeville native announced Tuesday she will forgo her final three years of collegiate swimming at Stanford University and turn professional. Smith, who won three medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has retained an agent and will move to Tempe, Arizona, to train with a pro group coached by Bob Bowman, who’s best known in swimming circles as the coach of 28-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps. Bowman also is head coach of the men’s...
Training camp: Year 5 in Eagan, but a fresh start
Vikings reaching out to young fans as they prepare for 2022 season This is the fifth year of Minnesota Vikings training camp in Eagan and the fan-friendly and kid-friendly sights are much the same. Yet this is unlike any other camp because it serves as proof of how a few plays can change a franchise’s direction. The 2021 Vikings, believed to be playoff contenders with a shot to win the...
Legion tourney runs smoothly in Burnsville
St. Michael wins Division I championship; Rosemount reaches quarterfinals St. Michael was the champion and Mankato National the runner-up in the state American Legion baseball Division I tournament last weekend. It also was a win for Burnsville, which once again demonstrated it knows how to put on a major sports event. Sixteen teams competed in the 96th annual state Legion tournament, which concluded Sunday with St. Michael’s 11-2 victory over...
Notebook: Schedule conflict pushes Prep Bowl back one week
MSHSL football championship games will be Dec. 2-3 The tradition of Minnesota high school football championships being decided on Thanksgiving weekend is on hold this year because of a schedule conflict. On Tuesday, the Minnesota State High School League Executive Committee voted to move the Prep Bowl to Dec. 2-3, the weekend following Thanksgiving weekend. ...
Local players have dream season with Minnesota Aurora
Hansen, Preston started for USL W League runners-up Players on the inaugural Minnesota Aurora women’s team have played in front of boisterous soccer fans before, and yet it was nothing like what they saw in a summer’s worth of games at TCO Stadium. Two players from South Suburban Conference high schools, Maya Hansen and Rachel Preston, were starters for the Aurora, who were runners-up in the USL W League’s recently...
Local teams have high hopes in state Legion tourney
Farmington, Rosemount, Burnsville will compete this weekend at Alimagnet Park. Three teams from the Sun Thisweek and Dakota County Tribune coverage area will play in the Minnesota American Legion Division I baseball tournament scheduled to start Thursday in Burnsville, Prior Lake and Shakopee.
Notebook: Lakeville table tennis gold medalist was up for an ESPY
Ian Seidenfeld’s stunning Paralympics table tennis victory made him a finalist for a 2022 ESPY Award. The ESPYs, the sports awards program conducted by ESPN, announced their winners in a televised ceremony June 20. Although Seidenfeld, a Lakeville native, didn’t win the award for Best Athlete With a Disability, Men’s Sports, being nominated was no less impressive. Brad Snyder, a paratriathlete and swimmer, won the ESPY in the category. Also nominated were sled hockey player Declan Farmer and track and field athlete Nick Mayhugh.
After two-year delay, Burnsville ready to put on a show for Legion baseball fans
State tournament comes to Alimagnet Park next week Two years after the pandemic derailed everybody’s plans, Burnsville is ready to make sure everybody attending the Minnesota American Legion Baseball Division I State Tournament has a good time. The American Legion tournament, for community-based teams with players born on or after Jan. 1, 2003, comes to Alimagnet Park beginning Thursday, July 28. This is the 96th year of the state tourney...
Football coach wants to use Apple Valley’s legacy as drawing card
Usset says potential remains, despite Eagles’ recent struggles Pete Usset believes Apple Valley High School athletics is a brand worth preserving and wants to do his part. Hired as head football coach in the spring, he is being asked to reverse a trend of declining participation and sub-.500 seasons. He’s going into the job with equal parts optimism and realism. ...
Local soccer teams push for trophies at USA Cup
A number of local teams played in the Target USA Cup youth soccer tournament in Blaine, with several making deep runs in the playoff brackets. Highlights included two Lakeville Soccer Club teams reaching the finals in their age groups during the weeklong tournament that concluded July 18. The LSC boys Under-9 Academy 1 team scored 45 goals in six games in the seven-vs.-seven Gold bracket, winning their first five and reaching the finals before losing to ATX Futbolistas of Austin, Texas.
Gopher Classic: Burnsville, Eastview, Farmington have winning records
Legion baseball teams preparing for Sub-State tournament. Six local teams competed last weekend in the Gopher Classic, which bills itself as the largest American Legion baseball tournament in North America. None of the six, however, advanced past the pool-play round. Burnsville, Eastview and Farmington had strong showings in pool play....
Notebook: Two local players have their names called in NHL Entry Draft
Two players with local ties were selected in the sixth round of last week’s NHL Entry Draft. Apple Valley resident Barrett Hall, who played last season at Gentry Academy, was taken by the Seattle Kraken with the 164th overall pick. Jared Wright, a Burnsville native who played for Omaha in the United States Hockey League, was selected five spots later by the Los Angeles Kings. Both are forwards.
Local road races draw runners from across the age spectrum
High school athletes in summer training often compete side by side with weekend warriors at road races throughout the metro area, including two last week in Lakeville and Apple Valley. Lakeville North High School incoming senior Ethan Kimmel won the men’s 4-mile race at the Lakeville Pan-O-Prog Run July 9....
Notebook: Lakeville South’s Hansen commits to Iowa State
The dominoes are starting to fall in Minnesota high school football recruiting, with Lakeville South running back Carson Hansen among the first to announce his college destination. Hansen, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards for South’s undefeated Class 6A championship team in 2021, recently announced his commitment to Iowa...
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Sun ThisWeek and Dakota County Tribune serve the Apple Valley, Burnsville, Farmington, Eagan, Lakeville & Rosemount communities. Published Fridays by APG of East Central Minnesota since 1884. 24/7 local coverage found online at www.sunthisweek.com
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