Again, this week we’re all about news of area graduates making news on the collegiate level.
Wrestling
Two area graduates have received awards from the Augustana University wrestling program.
Martin County West graduate Jaxson Rohman, a sophomore with the Vikings, was named Most Valuable Wrestler.
He had a 20-7 record and earned all-American honors by placing second at 125 pounds at the NCAA Division II tournament in Cedar Rapids.
Another MCW grad, redshirt freshman Connor Simmonds, was named Most Improved Wrestler.
He was 14-11 and placed fifth at 149 pounds in the NCAA Super Region V tournament in Aberdeen.
Jackson County Central graduate Payton Handevidt received two awards,
He was Redshirt of the Year and also claimed the Most Falls award with eight on his way to a 19-2 record.
Baseball
JCC grad Gavin Jacobsen is a sophomore pitcher with the Bethany Lutheran College baseball team, which advanced to the NCAA Division III baseball tournament today (Sunday) by winning the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference tournament at ISG Field in Mankato. The Vikings also won the UMAC regular-season title.
Jacobsen started Bethany’s first game of the tourney and wound up with a no-decision in the Vikings’ 10-9 win over Minnesota-Morris. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking two and striking out 12. Four BLC pitchers combined to strike out a school-record single-game total of 19.
The Vikings would go on to beat Crown College 15-0 in a game that started late Friday night before being suspended and completed Saturday afternoon. Bethany defeated Crown again Sunday in the championship round, winning 7-3.
BLC will learn its assignment for the NCAA tournament on Monday.
Two Fairmont graduates were freshman members of the NIACC baseball team this spring.
Outfielder Eli Anderson had a .378 batting average, recording 59 hits in 156 at-bats. He played in 46 games for the Trojans, starting a team-high 45. Anderson had 10 doubles, four triples, one home run, 24 runs scored, 15 runs batted in and 25 stolen bases for NIACC, which finished the season with a 24-29 record.
Pitcher Jacob Crissinger made 17 appearances on the mound and had a 5-1 record with a 2.28 earned run average. In 23.2 innings he allowed nine runs (six earned) on 15 hits, walking 10 and striking out 16.
Track and field
Fairmont graduate Conner Tordsen, a senior at Dakota State, has been named the North Star Athletic Association Most Valuable Athlete, an award that is voted on by the coaches and is based on performances throughout the season.
He won all three throwing events at the conference meet in Dickinson, winning the discus (165-3), hammer (197-2) and shot put (53-5). Dakota State won the team title for the fourth straight year.
Another Fairmont grad placed in the throws in two events at the Summit League meet in Fargo.
Senior Alli Lardy placed fifth in shot put (48-1 ¼) and 10th in the hammer throw (163-10).
Still another Fairmont graduate, Wyatt Quiring, is a senior on the Gustavus Adolphus men’s track and field team.
He placed sixth in both the 400 meters (49.25) and 200 meters (22.18) at the MIAC meet at Bethel University. Quiring was also on the Gusties’ 4x100 relay team that finished sixth (43.02).
Here’s a dance by the Nicholas Brothers with Cab Calloway’s band in the 1943 movie ‘Stormy Weather.’
The film was a primary showcase of some of the leading African American performers of the day, during an era when African American actors and singers rarely appeared in lead roles in mainstream Hollywood productions.