SUMMER
TOURNAMENTS
ISSUE
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
Pacesetter Sweet 16 Championships
2015-1016
Page 1
Champlin boys top Hopkins for title
Story and photos
by Bruce Strand
Champlin Park, never a state
champion — yet —in basketball,
tumbled Hopkins, which has seven
state crowns since 2002, in the title
game of the Pacesetter Sweet 16 on
Aug. 7.
The Rebels beat Mahtomedi 82-77,
Caledonia 79-71, and Osseo 7871 to earn a shot at Hopkins and
topped the Royals 93-74 at College
of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.
The Rebels — (from left) Coach Marty Hill, Brian Smith, Marcus Hill, Mckinley Wright, Theo John, DJ Hunter, Richard Scott,
Alex John, Alec Jonason, Josiah Strong, Coach JT Gibson. Not
pictured: Bennett Otto, Sam Dubois, Irv Russel.
“We feel we have unfinished business,” said senior-to-be Theo John,
“Tyus
a Division
I recruitput
who played
on the Rebels’
runner-up two
on astate
show!”
years ago. He acknowledged that
the last three weeks have been
encouraging.
Most of the players were in AAU
ball in the Howard Pulley League,
John said, before getting together
for tournaments. “It’s a big adjustment from AAU ball, but we’ve
gotten it done,” John said. The
Rebels won all three tournaments,
the others at Hopkins and at the U
of M Team Camp.
Theo John, Brian Smith, Marcus
Champlin’s center
Theo John gets
fouled by Delawrance Aaron of
Hopkins, with Simon Wright behind
him.
the first two games
Saturday.
Hill, McKinley Wright, DJ Hunter,
Richard Scott, Alex John, Alec
Jonason, and Josiah Strong played
all four games, and Bennett Otto,
Sam Dubois and Irv Russel played
They were coached
by Marty Hill and J.T.
Gibson, stars who graduated in
2014. Their high school coach is
Mark Tuchscherer.
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 2
Pacesetter Sweet 16 Championships (continued)
“We had a good transition game, we were hard on the
ball, we got a lot of of open three’s, and we got the
ball inside,” said Gibson, indicating the Rebels were
clicking on all cylinders through the weekend. Gibson said it was very satisfying to finish beating
Hopkins. “Definitely, that’s one of the best teams in
the state, always. I think we have a great chance this
year.”
Hopkins snags second place
Hopkins, the reigning state champions, beat Nevis
80-45, Austin 88-78 and Delano 95-78 before losing
to Champlin Park 93-74 in the finals, fielding several
Simon
Wright of
Hopkins
dunks the
ball as
the Royals scored
off a turnover during their
loss to
Champlin
Park in the
Sweet 16
championship game.
Mohamed Kone of Apple Valley lays in two
points on a breakaway against Caledonia.
new faces in the lineup
“This is a young squad that is learning something new
every game and getting better,” said Demondi Johnson, the Royals summer coach. He has coached the
freshman and is now moving up to varsity assistant.
Hopkins players were Simon Wright, Dane Zimmer,
Ishmael El-Amin, Zeke Nnaji, Blaise Beauchamp,
Anthony Davis, Andrew Dahnke, Josh Fogel, and
DeLawrence Aaron.
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 3
Pacesetter Sweet 16 Championships (continued)
Osseo grabs third place
The Osseo Orioles claimed third place, beating Spring
Grove 73-59 and Totino-Grace 76-63 before falling to
Champlin Park 78-71 in the semifinals. They scuttled
Delano 98-82 for third place.
Osseo players were John Bezdicek, Matt Bezdicek,
Alex Sinnen, Jazz Boker, Keshawn Sutton, Tyrone
Maxwell, Zach Theisen, Maalik Haarut, Maurice Nelson, Cornell Richardson, Marmar Hughes, and Chike
Okonkwo. They were coached by Xavier Reed and
Bradford Johnson.
Delano trips Mpls. North, Apple
Valley on way to fourth place
Delano, a section runner-up behind Class 3A state
champion DeLaSalle this year, knocked off a pair of
metro powers before losing twice to finish fifth. The
Tigers beat Minneapolis North 79-75 and Apple Valley
92-89 to reach the semifinals, then lost to Hopkins 9578 and Osseo 98-82.
Mitchell Kurtz leads a fast break by Delano
with Keagan O’Neill (21) and Austin Schneider trailing.
“Against North, we were down 10 early in the fourth
quarter, and picked up defensive pressure to get back
in the game,” said coach Tim Techam. “Against Apple
Valley, we shot the ball really well from three-point
range and the free throw line. It was a fun, exciting
game with a lot of points by both teams.”
Eden Valley-Watkins made its first appearance in the
Sweet 16 and came away with two wins. The Eagles
lost to Austin 77-72, beat Nevis 50-49, lost to Minneapolis North 63-56, and beat Crosby-Ironton 54-53.
EV-W makes most of opportunity
“This was our first Sweet Sixteen invite. It was a great
experience for our players,” said Adam Langer, Eagles
coach. “With all the great teams there, getting two vicThe Delano players were Mitchell Kurtz, Austin
Schneider, Cole Gilmer, Dylan Gilmer, Calvin Wishart, tories made it even better. Both were one-point victories, so it was nice to see our players make plays down
Keegan O’Neill, and Derek Techam.
the stretch against such good competition.”
Apple Valley salvages fifth place
Apple Valley captured fifth place. The Eagles beat St.
Charles 83-48, lost to Delano 92-89, and tripped Austin 85-65 and Caledonia 75-60 to grab fifth place. The
Eagles, led by all-state point guard Tre Jones, played
without blue-chip senior-to-be Gary Trent Jr.
The players were Reese Jansen, Jacob Streit. Greg
Lux, Zachary Swenson, Blaine Fodstad, Mitch Molitor; Dominic Schlangen, Landon Schlangen, Matthew
Notch, Jamison Kuechle; and Justin Streit.
EVW girls coach Tom Jansen was at the helm, coaching his son, Reese, and the rest of the group that he
mentored in elementary school. The EVW assistant
coaches are Jake Anderson and David Lehman.
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Pacesetter Sweet 16 Championships
Page 4
Hopkins girls make it a three-peat
Story and photos by Bruce Strand
The Hopkins girls are Pacesetter Sweet 16 champions
for the third consecutive year.
In the annual invitation-only tournament pitting four
powers from each of the four classes against each
other, Hopkins beat Mayer Lutheran 81-46, Grand
Rapids 77-43. Hutchinson 73-40, and Elk River 9079 Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 6-7, at College of St.
Benedict in St. Joseph.
“We worked hard, we played together, we did a good
job pressuring the basketball and pushing the ball up
the floor,” said coach Tara Starks. “I’d say from top to
bottom we were solid. The kids played their roles.”
Hopkins,
which has
seven state
Class 4A
titles since
2004 and
was runnerup to Minnetonka
this year,
has made
the Sweet
16 finals
four straight
years and
won the
last three.
They beat
Elk River
in the finals
the last two
years.
DeeDee Winston of Hopkins scores
The lineup
on a leaner in the lane against Elk
included
River in the championship game.
Angie Ham-
The Royals, champs again — Front (from left):
DeeDee Winston, Paige Buckers, Reanna Suggs. Middle: Asha Bozicevich, Dlayla Chakolis,
Hanna Kleist, Amaya Battle. Back: Kayla Adams, Luci Smith, Angie Hammond, Tajia Treml,
Jada Bagstad, Jaide Prassely, TeeTee Danso
mond and DeeDee Winston, starters on this year’s
state runner-up team, and Paige Bueckers and Reanna
Suggs, who saw action off the bench.
Also on the squad were Asha Bozicevich, Dlayla
Chakolis, Hanna Kleist, Amaya Battle, Kayla Adams,
Luci Smith, Tajia Treml, Jada Bagstad, Jaide Prassely,
and TeeTee Danso.
Elks are runners-up again
Elk River has been a highly-ranked 4A team the past
three high school seasons but never made state because an even better team, St. Michael-Albertville,
always beats them in the section finals.
But the Elks have reached the Sweet 16 finals the last
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 5
Pacesetter Sweet 16 Championships (continued)
two years, losing to Hopkins each year. The Elks beat
Canby 73-48 and state tournament teams Roseau 8056 and Winona 66-60. before losing to Hopkins.
The Elk summer coach, Dan Haack, assessed: “We
played against a very good Roseau team which had
one of the leading scorers (Kylie Borowicz) in the
state …. Canby and Winona were loaded with senior
leadership so those were some nice victories considering the youth on our roster. Winona had four seniors
that will be playing college basketball. Hopkins has
some very talented players and a very deep bench so
it was quite an accomplishment to compete with them
the entire game.”
Elk seniors-to-be Gabi Haack (27 ppg), Kelsie Cox
(18 ppg) and Sidney Wentland (12 ppg) teamed with
freshmen-to-be Lydia Haack, Mikayla Kanenwisher,
Alexa Engebretson and Abby Barschdorf. The freshmen were 40-3 and won a state tournament, Haack
said. Kennedy Boysen joined them Sunday.
Hutchinson snags 3rd place
Hutchinson nabbed third place after beating LylePacelli 50-29 and Anoka 72-58 to reach the semifinals
where Hopkins foiled them 73-40. The Tigers topped
Winona 57-48 in the third-place game.
Abby Barschdorf (14) of Elk River leads a
break that ended with her scoring on a layup
against Winona. Teammate Gabi Haack trails
her upcourt. (Pacesetter photo)
Players were Kenzie Rensch, Jenny Schommer, Tori
Wortz, Michaela Stamer, Morgan Kurth, Kenzie Dettman, Gabby Hahn, Liz Lansink, Elle Wheatley, Elizabeth Wortz, Annika Ellefson, Emily Bassler, Ragan
Vilt, and Emma Olberg. Coaching were Greg Wheatley
and Paul Hahn. Their school coach is Tim Ellefson.
Hutchinson also won Class 3A of a Breakdown tournament on July 17. “We’ve had a lot of success this
summer,” Ellefson told the Hutchinson Leader. “We
went undefeated in our Norwood league, we went
to Wisconsin Dells to play teams from five different states and went undefeated, and we played in a
league at Concordia, St. Paul against a lot of Class 4A
schools like Edina and Centennial, and we won all of
those games.”
Winona and Anoka in top five
Winona beat Maranatha Christian 70-63 and Norwood-Young America 55-28 before falling to Elk
River 66-60 and Hutchinson to finish fourth.
Hutchinson’s Elle Wheatley fires up a threepointer that connected.
Grabbing fifth place was Anoka, which beat Annandale 49-39, lost to Hutchinson 72-58, and beat Grand
Rapids 71-60 and Roseau 66-64.
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Pacesetter Great Four-State Championships
Page 6
MN champs: Perham, Stewartville
boys; MI-Buhl, EV-W girls
Story and photos by Bruce Strand
Four Minnesota teams were among the champions of
the seventh annual Pacesetter Great Four-State Basketball Championships held in mid-July at Target Center.
The Perham ninth-grade boys led a 1-2-3 Minnesota
sweep while the Mountain Iron-Buhl ninth-grade girls,
Eden Valley-Watkins eighth-grade girls, and Stewartville seventh-grade boys also claimed championships.
The Great State tournaments are eight-team competitions between qualifiying teams from Minnesota,
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa.
Runners-up from Minnesota were the St. Charles
“Tyus
putCity eighth-grade boys, Roninth-grade
boys, Lake
seau seventh-grade girls, and Moose Lake-Willow
Eden Valley-Watkins champs for second year
in row— Front (from left): Ellie Schmaltz, Olivia Kuechle, Sawyer Kuechle, Meryl Kuechle.
Back:Coach Becky Kuechle, Reilly Hennen, Halle Jansen, Jaylah Umana, Coach Tom Jansen
River fourth-grade boys.
Placing third were Austin ninth-grade boys, Triton
eighth-grade girls, Mankato sixth-grade girls, Eden
Valley-Watkins fifth-grade girls, Detroit Lakes fourthgrade girls, and Annandale fourth-grade boys.
9th grade boys: Perham edges
St. Charles for crown
Two clutch 3-point shots helped the Perham freshman
boys cap their drive to the championship with a 53-48
overtime conquest of St. Charles.
Ben Trenary of Stewartville drives against
Bismarck in the 7th-grade finals.
Carter Cresap swished a shot from 26 feet with five
seconds left to send the game to overtime 47-47, Josh
Jeziorski nailed another trey seconds into overtime for
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 7
Pacesetter Great Four-State Championships (continued)
In the state tournament, Perham beat Hibbing 44-21,
St. Charles 42-36 and Austin 33-25 in the finals.
Perham is coached by Dave Cresap. Players are
Jenson Beachy, John LaFond, Carter Cresap, Colton
Kostynick, Josh Jeziorski, Max Torstenson, Elijah
Schmidt, Bensen Nyhus, Anthony Reese, Ty Stammer,
Dawson Stevens, Clayton Anderson and Kaleb King.
“Their biggest strengths are their ability to shoot the
ball, good team defense, and playing together as a
team,” assessed Cresap. “They are a bunch of gym rats
that could be a very good varsity team in the upcoming years. I really like how they support each other.”
Dalton Balcome of St. Charles tugs at the ball
with Perham’s Kaleb King. Behind them is
Dawson Stevens.
the lead, and Cresap sank two free shots for clinchers.
Perham reached the finals beating Turtle Mountain
(ND) 51-35 and Minneota 50-41. Turtle Mountain
won last year’s eighth-grade tournament.
Nate Heise (1) of Lake City clutches
a rebound between two St. John
Four Winds players.
9th grade boys: St. Charles runner-up
St. Charles beat Turtle Mountain (ND) 48-45 and Austin 41-35 to reach the finals where they lost to Perham.
They had placed fourth in the Minnesota tournament,
beating Esko and losing to Minneota and Perham. The
top two normally advance but a qualifier from another
state could not attend, St. Charles took their spot and
made the best of the opportunity.
The Perham champs — Front (from left): Ty Stammen,
Bensen Nyhus, Max Tostenson, Kaleb King, Josh Jeziorski, Anthony Reese, Carter Cresap. Back: Elijah Schmidt,
John Lafond, Colton Kostynick, Clayton Anderson, Jenson Beachy, Dawson Stevens, Coach Dave Cresap
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 8
Pacesetter Great Four-State Championships (continued)
In the Minnesota tournament, MIB beat Pelican Rapids 22-17, New Ulm 27-25, and Detroit Lakes 29-20
in the finals.
Mountain Iron-Buhl is coached by Jeff Buffetta and
Byron Negan. Players are McKinley Kvas, Macy
Savela, Laney Ryan, Miah Gellerstedt, Allie Negev,
Madison Overbye, Mia Ganyo, Devyn Dahl, Sarah
Blasted, Math Bennett, and Kalisha Niska.
Macy Savela of Mountain Iron-Buhl squares
up for a 3-point shot in the frosh title game.
St. Charles is coached by Bryan Holtz and Dan Leistikow. Players are Hunter Oviatt, Sam Holtz, Drew
Leistikow, Bailey Christie, Mitchell Putzier, Dalton
Falcom, Sam Lewis, and Eli DeChamps.
9th-grade boys: Austin takes 3rd
It was a rare 1-2-3 sweep by one state as Austin
placed third. Austin beat Algona (IA) 42-34, lost to St.
Charles 48-43, and beat Minneota 36-30 in the thirdplace game. The Packers were runners-up to Perham
in the state tournament. Austin is coached by Eric
Kossoris. Players are Medi Obang, Connor Bryam,
Emmanuel Younis, Isaac Kenyon, Gavin Owems, LaHenry Gills, Dogria Deng, Ngor Deng, Jeremy Flores,
and Noah Kaercher.
9th grade girls: Mountain IronBuhl topples S.D. team in finals
Mountain Iron-Buhl scuttled Aberdeen Roncallli (SD)
33-27 in the finals after beating Park River-GraftonFordville (ND) 30-17 and Crow Creek/Lower Brule
(SD) 37-33 in the first two rounds.
“Our identity is our defense creating opportunities.
Our best offense runs through our defense,” said Buffetta, who has taken five MIB high school teams to
state tournaments. “Everybody contributes but our
team runs through the two veterans who have played
all six years, Mia Buffetta and Chelsea Mason.”
8th grade boys: Lake City is
runner-up behind No. Dakota team
Lake City beat Lyman-Crow Creek (SD) 40-37 and
Kindred-Richland (ND) 45-36 to reach the finals,
where they lost to St. John Four Winds (ND) 40-26.
In the state tournament, Lake City was champion, clipping Eden Valley-Watkins 29-24, Rockford 32-22, and
Hastings 33-29 in the title game.
Lake City is coached by Tony Heise, Greg Berge and
Cris Gastner. Players are Nate Heise, Brady Schurhammer, Devon Federly, Josh Renelt, Andrew Green,
Mason White, Jackson Berge, Atticus Heise, Jake
Wohlers, Reid Gastner, Mac Heise and Tony Gates.
“The kids play very good team defense, and we had a
lot of close games and we always seemed to make the
shot that pulled it out,” said Heise about the Tigers’
run. He added that the team has several three-sport
kids so they didn’t play much basketball before the
Pacesetter tournaments.
“We have a lot of good kids coming through here
now,’ said Heise about the team’s potential for high
school hoops. “We’ve got a lot of height and some
good guards with this group. Usually down here we
have one or the other but not both.”
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 9
Pacesetter Great Four-State Championships (continued)
ing Spirit Lake Nation (ND) 34-33 and Crow Creek/
Lower Brule (SD) 30-20 to reach the finals.
In the Minnesota tourney, EVW beat Fillmore Central
37-12, Willmar 39-29, and Triton 43-36 in the finals,
The Eagles are coached by Becky Kuechle and Tom
Jansen. Players are Meryle Kuechle, Ellie Schmaltz,
Reilly Hennen, Olivia Kuechle, Sawyer Kuechle,
Halle Jansen, and Jaylah Umana.
“We have this core group, which would be the three
Kuechle’s, Halle and Jaylah, who have been playing
together for a long time,” said coach Becky Kuechle,
“and then we added Reilly, who’s just real smart about
basketball, and Ellie, who’s very athletic and really
fun and wants to be here. They are all good friends
and get along well.”
Hennen is a year younger than the rest and joined this
summer, while Schmaltz, with no previous basketball
team experience, was able to help out as well, replacing one regular who could not be there. Five of the
players were back from EVW’s 2015 champion team:
Jansen, the three Kuechle’s, and Umana.
8th grade girls:
Triton places third
Katie Jamtgaard of Grand Rapids eyes the
hoop while guarded closely by McKenna
Moehrle of Eden Valley-Watkins in the fifthgrade tournament.
8th grade girls: Eden
Valley-Watkins claims second
championship in row
Eden Valley-Watkins repeated as eighth-grade champions, rallying to defeat Okoboji, the Iowa champion,
in the finals 35-31 in overtime, after trailing by seven
late in regulation. They advanced to the finals beat-
Triton grabbed third place as the Cobras beat Minot
(ND) 43-39, lost to Okoboji 47-39, and beat Crow
Creek/Lower Brule (SD) 42-38 in the third-place
game. Triton is coached by Tracy Peterson. Players are
Holly Kubat, Kendra Peterson, Paris Ellinson, Abby
Gilliland, Sydney Gilliland, and Chelsea Lasker.
7th grade girls: Roseau
is runner-up to Dakota
Roseau clipped two North Dakota teams, Fargo 36-30
and Grafton 39-35, before losing to the North Dakota
champion, Dakota Thunder of Bismarck, 32-19, in the
finals.
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 10
Pacesetter Great Four-State Championships (continued)
In the Minnesota tournament, Roseau
was champion with victories over
Mountain Iron-Buhl 39-23, Mankato
Power 24-21, and Stewartville 26-20.
Roseau is coached by Tracy Borowicz.
Team members are Katie Borowicz,
Julia Braaten, Masynn Janice, Hannah
Mooney, Abby Hough, Nikki Alarms,
Faith Berger, Abby Boris, and Morgan
Boroos.
7th grade boys:
Stewartville is champ
in dominating fashion
Stewartville topped the Bismarck
Bombers 46-35 in the finals — and
that was the closest game they had in
their run through the state and fourstate tournaments.
The Tigers reached the four-state
finals by repelling Sioux Falls 54-36
and Albia (Ia.) 49-15. In the state,
Stewartville champions — Front (from left: Ben Trenary, Kaleb
Hellickson, Nolan Stier, Mason Schindler. Back: Head coach
Mike Buri, Lane Sexton, Josh Buri, Trent Einertson, Parker
Theobald, assistant coach Bernie Theobald.
they beat Minnesota Valley Lutheran 42-27, Litchfield
38-25, and Hibbing 45-21.
The Tigers are coached by Mike Buri and Bernie
Theobald. Team members are Kaleb Hellickson, Lane
Sexton, Josh Buri, Ben Ternary, Nolan Stier, Parker
Theobald, Mason Schindler, and Trent Einertson
Stewartville won several tournaments including Faribault’s eighth-grade tournament, and placed fourth in
the top division of the Grades State tourney against
some of the best large schools.
Hibbing captured third place, beating LangfordBritton (S.D.) 35-31, losing to Bismarck (35-27 and
beating Albia (Ia.) 39-36.
At the state tourney, Hibbing beat Thief River Falls
38-24 and Redwood Falls 38-30 to reach the finals.
Coaches are Joel McDonald and Mikal Brown. Players
are Justin Yuretich, Jack Grzybowski, Mayson Brown,
Eli Ericsson, River Bussey, Payton Forer, Ayden McDonald, and Parker Maki.
6th grade girls: Mankato gets 3rd
Mankato, the Minnesota champion, beat Fargo 32-30,
lost to Rapid City 34-13, and beat Estherville (IA) 3427 in the third-place game.
In the state tournament, Mankato topped Leech Lake
Nation 30-17, Minneota 25-19 and Austin 40-30 in the
finals.
“We have a very complete team from good guard play
to a 5-11 post player,” said coach Dave Karge. He
added that the roster has five players each from city
Minnesota Basketball News
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August 25
2015-1016
Page 11
Pacesetter Great Four-State Championships (continued)
rivals West and East “but they have some good bonds
built through playing together.”
They all played together in the winter also and placed
second in the MYAS state tournament in the 1A
bracket. They posted a 28-6 overall record, with half
the games against seventh-grade teams.
Players are Lexi Karge, Mackenzie Schweim, Lauryn
Douglas, Daevya Gagnon, Brooklyn Brovold, Abigail
Steirien, Brielle Meyer, Anika Younge, Randi Baier,
Lani Schoper, and Taylin Gosch.
5th grade girls: EVW places 3rd
Eden Valley-Watkins, the Minnesota champion, beat
Estherville Lincoln (IA) 18-15, lost to Hamlin (SD)
28-18, and beat Grand Rapids 22-15 for third place.
At state, the Eagles subdued Esko 27-11, Thief River
Falls 27-7 and Grand Rapids 25-18 in the finals.
EV-W is coached by Tom Jansen, Adam Langer and
Bob Hennen. Players are Kately Utrecht, Catera Davis, Ellie Brovold, Brielle Kuechle, Reagan Hennen,
Katie Rutland, Whitney Jansen, Levi Langer. Amber
Scherer, MicKenna Moehrle, and Mikayla Ballard.
4th grade girls: DL Lakers 3rd
Detroit Lakes, the Minnesota champion, nipped Harrisburg (SD) 18-17 in overtime, lost to eventual champion Bismarck 23-8, and beat Mt. Iron-Buhl 17-14 for
third place.
In the state tournament, Detroit Lakes beat WatervilleElysian-Morristown 14-7, Cass Lake-Bena 21-12 and
Mt. Iron-Buhl 18-10.
Detroit Lakes is coached by Michael Gunderson and
Bob Jones. Players are Clara Robin, Ava Jones, Grace
Gunderson,Ellie Betcher, Ella Okeson, Karly Mace,
Sydney Borgman, Hannah Knoop, Brooklyn Markusson, Anna Askelson, and Helena Daggett.
Hannah Knoop of Detroit Lakes looks for a
teammate while guarded by Gabby Lira of
Mountain Iron-Buhl. (Pacesetter photo)
Coach Gunderson recapped a successful summer by a
determined group: “They get mad at the coaches if we
do not make them run crushers, as they know it only
helps them get better.”
Detroit Lakes won every tournament they played
except their home tournament, where they lost to the
Detroit Lakes fifth-graders, and the Four-State, where
Bismarck became the lone fourth-grade team to beat
them this summer.
“The potential of this group is sky high,” Gunderson
assessed. “Most of these girls will be taller than average, if you compare them to older siblings and their
parents. Easy group to coach, as they are self motivated. Defense is what makes them special.”
4th grade boys: Moose Lake-Willow
River is runner-up behind Iowa team
Moose Lake-Willow River beat Central Cass (ND) 2016 and Brainerd 28-20 to reach the finals, where they
lost to Pella (IA) 31-11 at Target Center.
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 12
Pacesetter Great Four-State Championships (continued)
In the state tournament, they tripped Litchfield 20-8
and Brainerd 33-27 b before losing to Annandale 2516 in the finals.
Moose Lake-Willow River is coached by Pat Dewey.
Players are Eli Youngs, Kaden Robbins, Adam Neumann, Nolan Nelson, Joey Steen, Luke Dewey, Brady
Robbins, Hunter Vanheel, Dawson Mortenson, and
Tyler Von Reuden.
“They were a great defensive and rebounding team,”
said Dewey. “It was a great group of young men. They
were very competitive. If they stick together they will
be very successful.”
MLWR also won an Esko 3-3 tourney and went unbeaten in the Arrowhead Youth Basketball League.
Luke Dewey of the Moose Lake-Willow River
Rebels sticks with a Pella, Iowa, guard on a
fast break. (Pacesetter photo)
4th grade boys: Annandale 3rd
Annandale, the Minnesota champion, beat North Star
LHM (ND) 30-29 in overtime, lost to Pella 25-15, and
beat Brainerd 34-22 for third place.
At the state tournament, Annandale beat Spring Grove
26-17, Minneota 21-19 and MLWR 25-16.
Annandale is coached by Michael Zuehlke, McLain
Westerman and Matt Walter. Players are Nathan
Green, Thomas Westman, Joseph Healy, Caleb Purcell, Nick Walter, Connor Lampi, Hudson Helget, and
Graham Zuehlke.
Annandale’s Hudson Helget protects the ball
against Brainerd’s Ryan Madsen in their 4th
grade 3rd-place game. Connor Lampi is behind
them. Annandale won.
“This group had a fun time playing all year,” Zuehlke
said. “They compete as hard as any team on offense
and especially on defense. We had a great amount of
success throughout the year, and are looking forward
to doing it again next year.”
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Pacesetter Minnesota Varsity Invitationl Tournament
Page 13
Grand Rapids boys, White Bear
Lake girls take top honors
Story and photos by Bruce Strand
Orange and black were the winning colors at the
Pacesetter Minnesota Invitational Tournament as
the Grand Rapids boys and White Bear Lake girls
captured the top honors.
Grand Rapids beat the lone out-of-state entrant in
the boys field, Sioux Falls Washington, 69-47 in the
Division I finals.
White Bear Lake, also resplendent in Halloween
hues, won a big-vs.-small school duel over Mountain Iron-Buhl 50-46 for the girls D-I title.
The MIT is Pacesetter’s secondary varsity tournament behind the Sweet 16, akin to college basketball’s NIT alongside the NCAA’s.
After three games of pool play Saturday, teams
were divided into five four-team tournaments on
Sunday: Division I, II, III, IV and V.
White Bear Lake champs — Front (from left): Alexa Molin, Annika Koll, Anna Sanders, Tessa Anderson, Michaela Craigan, Lauren Sicard, Courtney Crouch. Back: Coach Dustin Holman, Brianna
Corey, Sydney Steere, Ella Janicki, Katie Regnier,
Sophie Janicki, Jordan Ferrand, Claire Odmark,
Erika Townley, Coach Sara Shoenthaler
Grand Rapids cruises to title
Grand Rapids captured the boys championship at the
Pacesetter Minnesota Invitational Tournament over the
weekend, blitzing Sioux Falls Washington 69-47 in the finals on Sunday.
Grand Rapids placed first in their pool
after three games on Saturday, then
drubbed Crosby-Ironton 67-39 in the
semifinals Sunday to advance to the title
game at College of St. Benedict.
Grand Rapids — (From left): Tyler Baird, Nate Seelye, Stacy
Washington, Jack Namyst, Brock Schrom, Jacob Anderson,
Christian George, Jake Skelly, Bryce Prochazka
“I like where we are at,” said coach
Dan Elhard, after his tall, lanky team
cruised in both games Sunday, excelling
at 3-point shooting and setting a furious
pace. “We have high goals and expectations for next year.”
Minnesota Basketball News
Summer tournament issue
August 25
2015-1016
Page 14
Pacesetter Minnesota Invitationl Tournament (continued)
Point guard Jake Skelly and center
Brock Schrod led the way, with
Nate Selye, Christian George and
Jack Namyst also in the starting
lineup and Bryce Prochacka, Stacy
Washington, Jacob Anderson and
Tyler Baird coming off the bench.
MIB beat Waseca 51-43 in the
semifinals. Esko beat Waseca 3231 in the third-place game.
Sioux Falls Washington topped St.
Anthony Village in the semifinals.
Crosby-Ironton won third-place 6550 over St. Anthony Village.
Shakopee boys won Division II,
beating Farmington 47-43 and
Northfield 47-43. Jake Kutina and
Jacob Edelman were offensive
leaders and Tony Monroe was the
defensive catalyst,.“I thought we
really played well as a team,” said coach Bruce Kugath. “We played
especially well in the Sunday
games taking a double digit lead in
both games with all players contributing.”
Shakopee, North Star
nab Division-II titles
White Bear nips MIB
The White Bear Lake girls,
who’ve made six state trips in the
last 12 years in Class 4A, prevailed 50-46 over Mountain IronBuhl, which has made five straight
state trips in Class 1A.
“This is the first time we’ve had
GR’s Jake Skelly slides pursuing a loose ball with SF
Washington’s Noah Brown.
two players out with injuries.
The summer team had the same
balanced scoring as the state
fourth-place team in this winter:
“That’s how we get things done.”
The Bears beat Esko 64-47 in the
semifinals, then took a big lead
against another Iron Range squad.
Their 13-point margin over Mountain Iron-Buhl late in the fourth
quarter dwindled to two points
when the Rangers rallied with
several steals and three 3-point
shots. But Sophie Janicke sank
two free shots with 13 seconds left
to give the Bears breathing room.
WBL’s Jordan Ferrand lines
up a free shot vs. MIB.
the whole team and the girls played
pretty well,” said coach Jeremy
Post, adding that they’ve missed
players with AAU or soccer commitments previously and still have
Jordan Ferrand, 6-foot-2 forward,
controlled the rims on both ends,
and made one coast-to-coast drive
for a layup after snagging a rebound. Alexa Molin supplied big
3-point shots. Courtney Crouch,
Claire Odmark and Erica Towney
were the others in the top six.
Shakopee’s Tony Monroe
(left) and Northfield’s Lars
Prestemon wrestle for the
ball. Charlie Katona follows
the action. (Pacesetter photo)
The lone North Dakota girls entrant, North Star, was the Division
II winner, beating Willmar 55-46
and Goodhue 53-28. (See story in
North Dakota newsmagazine.)