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Athena Awards programs will honor local athletes
St. Paul chapter luncheon is April 19 High schools in the metro area will honor their outstanding female senior athletes at Athena Awards luncheons this spring. Forty-six winners, including athletes from Apple Valley, Eagan, Eastview, Farmington, Lakeville North, Lakeville South and Rosemount, will be recognized at the St. Paul Area Athena Awards luncheon at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, at Saint Paul RiverCentre. Master of ceremonies is KARE 11 news...
Melville excited about coaching opportunity at her alma mater
She’s hoping her competitiveness will transfer to Eagan’s volleyball players Just a few months removed from her playing career, McKenna Melville already is preparing to look at volleyball from a different perspective. Her debut as Eagan’s head coach is scheduled for Aug. 29 at Northfield. In the meantime she’s been thinking about a number of things from practice planning, to the style of play she wants to implement, to developing...
Changes place two state girls hockey qualifiers in same section
MSHSL realignments were approved last week Lakeville North and Rosemount represented the South Suburban Conference at the state Class AA girls hockey tournament in February, but if the Panthers and Irish want to go back next winter they might have to go through each other. Lakeville North will move from Section 1AA to Section 3AA in girls hockey – joining four other SSC teams – as part of new section...
Spring sports athletes hurry up and wait
Numerous postponements, despite quick warmup High school spring sports are taking place as quickly as the retreating winter will allow, but so far this week postponements outnumbered events that actually were held. With fields not expected to be ready at the start of the week, the South Suburban Conference postponed all league baseball games scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Those games will be made up at the end of...
Eagan volleyball transition set in motion
McKenna Melville becomes head coach; Gillen remains as assistant Kathy Gillen isn’t leaving the Eagan volleyball program, just changing seats on the bench. By next season she might be Minnesota’s only volunteer assistant coach with seven state championships. Last month the high school completed a succession plan for the volleyball team that started with the hiring of McKenna Melville – Gillen’s daughter – as a teacher, effective in the 2023-24...
Coaches leave Eastview boys basketball on solid footing
Goetz, Monroe helped Lightning reach state tourney 3 times in 5 years Paul Goetz was a basketball coach at Eastview High School from the first day the school opened in 1997 – until the final day of the Class 3A boys tournament March 25. Yes, he said, it does feel a little strange to step away. ...
North players’ bond couldn’t be broken
Basketball team got almost everything it wanted from 28-4 season Lakeville North hadn’t been in the state boys basketball tournament for four years, which for the Panthers qualifies as a huge drought. Their leadership group, which includes seniors Nolan Winter and Hudson Vaith and junior Jack Robison, set out to reverse that trend. By the time they were done, they had a 28-4 record, South Suburban Conference and Section 1...
Panthers finish 3rd at state basketball tourney
Last-second basket blocks North’s path to title game Lakeville North was involved in one of the most memorable finishes in Minnesota state high school basketball tournament history. The trouble is, the Panthers probably won’t remember it fondly. They looked to be on the verge of a fifth appearance in the Class 4A championship game before a turnover, followed by a basket by guard Hayden Tibbits with 1.1 seconds left, flipped...
North basketball: Haddorff wraps up long run with Panthers
Coach spent 22 years with North junior varsity Lakeville North’s 83-70 victory over Eastview in the state Class 4A boys basketball third-place game was especially meaningful for three coaches who were on their teams’ sideline for the last time. Lakeville North assistant Mark Haddorff plans to retire, and Eastview head coach Paul Goetz and Lightning assistant Trevor Monroe also are stepping down from their roles. ...
Lightning come up just short in state semifinals
Basketball team concludes 23-9 season with fourth-place finish Eastview didn’t come out the winner in a full-scale battle with Park Center for a place in the Class 4A boys basketball championship game, but the Lightning came away proud of their effort. “The kids battled hard. We deserved to win the game, and that’s the way the guys feel in the locker room,” coach Paul Goetz said after Eastview’s 61-56 loss...
State basketball notes: Lightning’s Goetz ends 10-year run
Eastview’s 83-70 loss to Lakeville North in the state boys basketball Class 4A third-place game March 25 ended Paul Goetz’s 10-year run as Lightning head coach. Goetz told media during the state tournament last week he and his wife have plans to travel, and that probably wouldn’t be compatible with the year-round schedule of a high school head coach. Goetz retired from his full-time teaching position at Eastview High School after the 2021-22 school year, although he continues to teach part time. ...
Lightning, Panthers fall in Class 4A semifinals
SSC teams play for third place Saturday Four Class 4A heavyweights put on an intense, physical display of basketball in the state semifinals Thursday night, with Park Center and Wayzata making big plays at the end to advance to the championship game Saturday night. Eastview and Wayzata had chances to create the first-ever state boys basketball final between South Suburban Conference teams. Instead, the Lightning and Panthers will play for...
Blazing Cats topple New Prague for floor hockey title
Roseth scores nine goals in CI Division final If Caden Roseth has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone, it’s soon to be headed toward the net. And that shoot-first mentality is exactly what the Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville Blazing Cats want. Roseth’s gift for scoring goals has been a game-changer for more than one Blazing Cats team. On March 18 the junior scored nine times as the Blazing Cats beat...
Hawks take 2nd in PI Division floor hockey
Overtime goal sinks chances for repeat championship Dakota United’s streak of adapted sports PI Division championships ended last weekend, and the Hawks already are intent on starting a new one. “We have a few players who have already said, ‘Remember this moment. Remember how it feels for next year,’ ” Hawks co-head coach Jake Wypyszynski said following a 4-3 overtime loss to Brainerd in the state floor hockey final. “It...
Panthers dominate in state tournament opener
Wayzata is up next for Lakeville North boys Undersized and shorthanded is no way to go into a game against Lakeville North. But that was Buffalo’s mission in the state Class 4A boys basketball quarterfinals Tuesday. The Bison, missing a couple of regulars to injuries, had no one taller than 6-foot-3 in their starting lineup. Four of Lakeville North’s five starters were taller than that. ...
Lightning make the big plays when needed
Victory over Minnetonka sends Eastview boys to Class 4A semifinals Dylan Omweno might not be on the floor at tipoff, but there’s a good chance he will be out there when it matters. For Eastview, it mattered on Tuesday afternoon in a wild back-and-forth battle with Minnetonka in the state Class 4A boys basketball quarterfinals. The senior guard entered the game with 14 minutes, 15 seconds left in the first...
Wildcats leave basketball tourney feeling like they belonged
Eventual champ STMA defeats Eagan girls in quarterfinals The team that beat Eagan went on to win the state Class 4A girls basketball championship. While that’s likely to be small consolation to the Wildcats, who went 0-2 in the first state tournament appearance in school history, they did come away with some valuable information. “We...
Panthers will set their sights higher next year
After 23-win season, girls basketball team wants to challenge for state title Lakeville North had plenty of talent, but flexibility might have been the Panthers’ key attribute. Flexibility, as in recognizing when something isn’t working and pivoting to something else. Early in the girls basketball season, Panthers coach Shelly Clemons said she though a half-court...
Panthers reach state basketball tourney for first time since 2019
North boys play Buffalo in quarterfinal round Tuesday Identified as a state championship contender since before the season even began, Lakeville North avoided most of the pitfalls on its way to a berth in the Class 4A boys basketball tournament. The Panthers, who defeated Lakeville South 58-41 in the Section 1 final March 17, are the No. 2 seed in the state tournament, which starts Tuesday at the Target Center....
No last-second heroics required as Lightning roll
Eastview pulls away against Eagan, will return to state basketball tourney This time Eastview left nothing to chance. After barely squeaking by in a semifinal game in which they were favored, the Lightning took command early and poured it on in the Class 4A, Section 3 boys basketball championship final, defeating Eagan 63-36 on Thursday night. ...
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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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