This week’s edition of Lots O’ Stuff is an epic one as we write about:
A great day for the Huskies
One of the higher-scoring boys basketball games in state history
State girls basketball records
This season’s highest-scoring girls basketball teams
This season’s highest-scoring girls basketball players
The Clash has been relocated
Area graduate updates
Hobie Hedquist
Bill Dunker
Here. We Go.
Great day
As we wrote about in our last Lots O’ Stuff, holiday tournaments returned after a one-year absence and Jackson County Central teams made the most of that return.
The JCC wrestling team won the team title in a 61-team field at the Rumble on the Red in Fargo.
The Huskies had six place winners with one wrestler in each slot.
Nolan Ambrose was first at 113 pounds, Payton Handevidt second at 160, Logan Butzon third at 132, Caleb Vancura fourth at 182, Kie Anderson fifth at 120 and Will Freking sixth at 195.
It’s the second time Jackson County Central has won the team title at the Rumble, also winning in 2007.
Coach Nate Hanson’s team will go to another prestigious tournament next weekend, wrestling six duals in two days at The Clash. That tourney will now be held in LaCrosse rather than Rochester. More on that follows in this newsletter.
JCC’s girls and boys basketball teams both won titles at the Blue Earth Area tournament.
For the girls, Sadie Voss and Maci Farmer scored 61 points apiece in winning two games.
Coach Rafe York’s team is 7-2 and has a key Section 3AA South Sub-Section game at 9-1 Fairmont Tuesday. Fairmont’s loss was to Luverne, which is 8-1 and has a win over JCC. Those teams play again Jan. 14 in Jackson. Luverne’s loss was to Worthington.
Also in that sub-section, Minnesota Valley Lutheran is 6-2 with losses to Glencoe-Silver Lake (5-2) and Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial (7-0). The only section opponent MVL plays is St. James Area, which it plays twice.
On Friday, Jackson County Central hosts Spirit Lake (4-6).
The JCC boys basketball team trailed at halftime of both of its games at the BEA tourney before coming from behind to win twice. The Huskies trailed by 10 points in the first round and eight points at intermission in the championship game.
Coach Alex Hein’s team has a 5-3 record and has home games on back-to-back nights this week, hosting Southwest Minnesota Christian (4-2) Monday and Fairmont (3-5) Tuesday.
High-scoring game
One of the highest scoring boys basketball games in state history took place at the Windom tournament this past week when St. James Area defeated Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 120-113 in triple overtime.
Once everything is verified, the 233 combined points will be fifth on the list for points in a game by two teams. Also, TMB’s 113 points will be tied for second most by a losing team.
Jackson County Central appears on each of those lists for its 119-107 loss at Caledonia in 2020.
The combined 226 points is eighth for two teams and JCC’s 107 points in that game is tied for fifth most by a losing team.
Taking the liberty of adding the SJA-TMB game to the list, here’s the updated list according to the Minnesota State High School League.
Most points two teams
242 St. Paul Johnson 123, Minneapolis North 119, 2015 (2 OT)
241 Minnesota Transitions Charter School 144, International School of Minnesota 97, 2010
235 Minneapolis Patrick Henry 144, Red Lake 9), 2001
235 Minnesota Transitions Charter School 125, Minneapolis Edison 106, 2009
233 St. James Area 120, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 113, 2020 (3 OT)
230 Wabasso 117, Red Lake 11, 1997
227 Minnesota Transitions Charter School 149, Math & Science Academy 78, 2011
226 Caledonia 119, Jackson County Central 107, 2020
224 Melrose 114, Lakeview Christian Academy 110, 2012
222 Minnesota Transitions Charter School 153, Community of Peace 69, 2005
Most points by a losing team
119 Minneapolis North vs. St. Paul Johnson, 2015 (OT)
113 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton vs. St. James Area, 2020 (3 OT)
13 Red Lake vs. Wabasso, 1997
10 Lakeview Christian Academy vs. Melrose, 2012
107 Burnsville vs. Eagan, 2002 (4 OT)
107 Hutchinson vs. Orono, 2011
107 Cass Lake-Bena vs. Red Lake, 2011 (OT)
107 Deer River vs. Lakeview Christian Academy, 2013
107 Jackson County Central vs. Caledonia, 2020
106 Minneapolis Edison vs. Minnesota Transitions Charter School, 2009
106 St. Paul Washington vs. St. Paul Harding, 2019
Girls records
As often happens on the Internet, while researching the boys basketball records I went down a rabbit hole and spent some time looking at girls basketball and found some records involving Jackson County Central.
For single-game field goal attempts, JCC has five of the top 10 all-time marks and in three-point field goal attempts in a game the Huskies have three of the top 10.
In three-point field goal attempts in a season, the Huskies rank second.
On the flip side, Windom has the most rebounds in a single game in a contest vs. JCC.
Again, according to the MSHSL, here are those top 10 lists:
Most field goals attempted - game
113 Crookston (vs. Ada), 1980
112 Jackson County Central (vs. Windom), 2019
110 St. Francis (vs. Columbia Heights), 2007
109 Waconia, 2013
108 Jackson County Central (vs. Truman/Martin Luther/GHEC), 2019
108 Jackson County Central (vs. Windom), 2020
107 Jackson County Central (vs. Blue Earth Area), 2019
106 Waconia, 2014
102 Waconia, 2014
101 Jackson County Central (vs. Martin County West), 2019
Most three-point field goals attempted - game
65 Waconia (vs. Glencoe-Silver Lake), 2014
64 Jackson County Central (vs. Windom), 2019
62 Waconia (vs. New London-Spicer), 2014
60 Jackson County Central (vs. Windom), 2020
59 Babbitt-Embarrass (vs. Silver Bay), 2007
59 Waconia (vs. Glencoe-Silver Lake), 2/26/2014
58 Waconia (vs. Glencoe-Silver Lake), 1/24/2014
57 Waconia (vs. Holy Family Catholic, Victoria), 1/30/2014
56 Waconia (vs. Mound Westonka), 2015
55 Waconia (vs. St. Anthony Village), 11/29/2013
55 Waconia (vs. Chanhassen), 12/5/2013
55 Jackson County Central (vs. Blue Earth Area), 2019
Most three-point field goals attempted - season
1247 Waconia, 2013-2014
1066 Jackson County Central, 2019-2020
1035 Waconia, 2014-2015
907 Sauk Centre, 2014-2015
857 Babbitt-Embarrass, 2007-2008
857 Mountain Iron-Buhl, 2016-2017
842 Cromwell-Wright, 2016-2017
834 Sauk Centre, 2017-2018
833 Cromwell-Wright, 2015-2016
782 Sauk Centre, 2015-2016
Most rebounds - game
91 Windom (vs. Jackson County Central), 2019
85 Blooming Prairie (vs. Triton, Dodge Center), 2016
79 Cherry, Iron (vs. Babbitt-Embarrass), 2008
77 Lester Prairie (vs. Rockford), 1984
77 Legacy Christian Academy, Andover (vs. *PACT Charter School), 2019
76 Lake City (vs. Dover-Eyota), 1983
71 Cook, 2008
71 Mankato East (vs. Albert Lea), 2011
71 Dover-Eyota, 2015
No. 2 this season
This season’s JCC girls basketball team is second in the state in points per game in Class 2A, scoring 78.8 points per game. Minnehaha Academy is first with 85.2.
Here are the current top five scoring Class 2A girls basketball teams:
Minnehaha Academy 85.2
Jackson County Central 78.8
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva 72.7
Fergus Falls 72.7
Goodhue 70.5
Individual scoring
Earlier we wrote about JCC’s prolific 1-2 scoring punch of Sadie Voss and Maci Farmer at Blue Earth last week. They both rate among the top scorers in the state.
Voss is fourth in the state in scoring (all four classes combined) with 27.5 points per game and Farmer is 15th at 22.6 ppg.
Here are the top 15 girls basketball scorers in the state:
Madison Mathiowetz, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 34.6
Destiny Piekarski, Littlefork-Big Falls 30.0
Aalayah Wilson, Osseo 27.5
Sadie Voss, Jackson County Central 27.4
Tori Oehrlein, Crosby-Ironton 26.3
Mikayla Aumer, Cambridge-Isanti 26.2
Hannah Compton, Legacy Christian 26.2
Amber Scalia, Stillwater 25.7
Jordan Zubich, Mountain Iron-Buhl 25.3
Addi Mack, Minnehaha Academy 25.2
Lilly Meister, Rochester John Marshall 24.9
Olivia Harazin, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 24.7
Mara Braun, Wayzata 23.0
Regan Juenemann, Duluth Marshall 22.9
Maci Farmer, Jackson County Central 22.6
Clash moved
A few days ago I sent out a newsletter with information about The Clash dual meet wrestling tournament.
Jackson County Central will be competing in the event for the fifth time.
The day after that newsletter went out it was announced that the event was moving from Rochester Community and Technical College to the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis.
The Clash made the announcement on its Facebook page citing "unforeseen circumstances."
"I hate to point fingers or place blame, but to be honest, the college kind of canceled our event," The Clash Vice President Brian Mix told the Rochester Post-Bulletin. "We tried to get a hold of them for a whole week over Christmas, of course. We had to move forward obviously. They did eventually come back and talk to us. And they had a bunch of stipulations and stuff they wanted to do and we were already too far down the other path.”
According to Mix, RCTC had reached out to The Clash last week with questions about the event.
"The first notification we got from them was last week. It was kind of a blindside deal, you know?" Mix said. "... They initially just kind of said, no way. And then after multiple calls and letters from our lawyers and stuff, they said, 'OK, we'll have a conversation at least.'"
But The Clash wasn't the only one that feels blindsided. RCTC shares similar feelings.
"We have not heard anything from the group directly (we have only seen what has been posted to their social media sites)," RCTC Executive Director of Communications, Marketing and External Relations Nate Stoltman said via email. "The College met with them to go over logistics and safety guidelines (primarily COVID-related). The Clash folks indicated they needed to check with their board on some of the health and safety requirements we require for a very large event such as this, but we did not get any indication at that time that they were considering canceling or moving the event.”
RCTC hosted the Minnesota Christmas Tournament Dec. 17-18. Masks were required as is the policy campus-wide.
"They essentially cited that previous tournament and the mask thing for sure," Mix said. "I get it. They're worried about their reputation as a school and stuff like that. It makes sense. I guess we've all got to do what we feel is best for our respective organizations."
The tournament format remains the same. The Huskies will wrestle Bolivar, Mo. in their first match of the tournament at 9 a.m. Friday.
College updates
Here’s an update on some local graduates competing on the collegiate level.
Martin County West graduate Jaxson Rohman, a freshman with the Augustana University wrestling team, is rated fifth at 125 pounds in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division II ratings. He went 3-0 in December and is 6-1 overall on the season.
Rohman is one of five MCW graduates on the Augustana roster. Connor Simmonds has a 12-4 record, Miles Fitzgerald is 7-2, Payton Anderson 7-6 and Nathan Simmonds 5-6.
Also, Jackson County Central grad Jacob Tvinnereim has a 4-4 record and Windom graduate Kade Sammons is 7-6.
But wait, there’s more. JCC graduate Cooper Moore is a graduate assistant coach with the Vikings. He had previously been an assistant coach at NAIA Simpson University in Redding, Calif. Augustana is rated 10th as a team. The Vikings are scheduled to send wrestlers to the Hastings Open on Jan. 8. Next dual meet is Jan. 13 at Northern State and the next home meet is Jan. 15 vs. Southwest Minnesota State.
Blake and Lucas Jagodzinske are both freshmen with the Augsburg men’s wrestling team. Blake, wrestling at 157 pounds, has an 8-2 record with two wins by fall and one by major decision. He was second at the Luther College Open and third at the Augsburg Invitational.
Lange rated first
Still more news involving an MCW grad who is wrestling in college.
In case you missed it, Augsburg University freshman Katie Lange is rated first at 143 pounds in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings. She was not ranked in the first poll of the season.
Lange is 11-0 with five wins coming by fall and five by technical fall.
The Auggies had been scheduled to compete at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Northwestern University this week but that event was canceled. Augsburg is scheduled to wrestle at the NWCA Duals in Louisville Thursday and Friday.
Women’s basketball
There are MCW graduates competing in something other than wrestling in college.
Alyssa Williamson is a 5-6 junior guard at Hamline University.
She shared the team leading in scoring with 12 points and also had three assists and two rebounds in a 65-58 win over Buena Vista Thursday in Storm Lake.
Williamson is averaging 5.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, shooting .364 from the field (16-44) and .595 from the free throw line (16-27).
The Pipers have won six straight and are 7-2 overall heading into a nonconference game t St, Scholastica Wednesday. Hamline is tied for second place with Gustavus with 5-1 record and plays the Gusties at 1 p.m. Saturday in St. Peter.
Another double-double
Hanna Geistfeld of Truman, a 6-foot senior forward with the Bethany Lutheran College women’s basketball team, recorded her eight straight double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds in an 89-76 loss to NCAA Division III No. 8 Simpson College on Thursday.
Geistfeld is averaging 22.8 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Vikings while shooting .525 (106-202) from the field and .794 (81-102) from the charity stripe. Bethany (7-6) resumes its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference schedule vs. Martin Luther College at 1 p.m. Saturday in New Ulm.
Fairmont graduate Taylor Crissinger is a 6-foot junior forward at Wisconsin-River Falls, where she is playing 17 minutes per game, averaging 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 points per game.
The Falcons are 6-4 overall, 0-2 in the WIAC. They have a nonconference game at home vs. Concordia (Moorhead) Sunday afternoon and return league play at Wisconsin-Stevens Point Wednesday.
Hedquist update
Hobie Hedquist of Heron Lake made 22 saves Wednesday for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in a 3-2 loss to the Cowichan Valley Capitals in a British Columbia Hockey League game in Port Alberni, B.C.
Hedquist is tied for first in the 18-team BCHL in shutouts (3), fifth in wins (12 with a record of 12-4-3), seventh in goals against average (2.59) and tied for 10th in save percentage (.910).
He has been named to the Coastal Conference roster for the BCHL Top Prospects Game Friday, Jan. 14 in Penticton, B.C.
Alberni Valley is second in points in the BCHL’s Coastal Division with 35 points (16-9-3 record) and fourth in win percentage.
Dunker to coach Veseli
Bill Dunker will be taking over coaching duties with the Veseli Warriors amateur baseball team this season.
Dunker played amateur baseball for 25 years, beginning with the Jackson Bulls after graduating from Jackson High School in 1997.
Jackson played in the state tournament each of his three seasons he was with the Bulls, starting a remarkable run. Only once is his career did Dunker not end his season as a player participant at the state tournament.
After his stint with the Bulls and finishing at Mankato State, Dunker moved to the Mankato area and played with Eagle Lake from 2000-2003. He was drafted by Waterville for the 2000 state tournament.
In 2001, Eagle Lake didn’t make the tournament and Dunker wasn’t drafted.
Dunker was drafted by the St. Patrick Irish for the 2002 state tournament and in the opening game of the state tournament vs. St. Francis, Dunker entered the game in relief, and pitched five and two-third innings, only giving up one hit.
Later in that year's state tournament, he pitched the 17th no-hitter in state tournament history in a win over Pierz. That year’s tourney with St. Patrick was one of the more memorable for Dunker, but St. Patrick fell short on Labor Day weekend.
In 2003, Dunker was drafted by the Austin-Hayfield Athletics, who made it to the championship game, losing to Green Isle.
Dunker moved to the New Prague area in 2004 and his past connections and good fortune with St. Patrick drew him to sign with the Irish.
He continued to play in state tournaments, being drafted in the years St. Patrick did not qualify.
Here's the year-by-year listing of Dunker’s state tournament participation:
1997: Jackson Bulls
1998: Jackson Bulls
1999: Jackson Bulls
2000: Waterville Indians (draftee)
2001: Did not participate
2002: St. Patrick Irish (draftee)
2003: Austin-Hayfield Athletics (draftee)
2004: St. Patrick Irish
2005: St. Patrick Irish
2006: St. Patrick Irish
2007: Elko Express (draftee)
2008: St. Patrick Irish
2009: Cannon Falls Bears (draftee)
2010: Hampton Cardinals (draftee)
2011: St. Patrick Irish
2012: St. Patrick Irish
2013: New Prague Orioles (draftee)
2014: St. Patrick Irish
2015: St. Patrick Irish
2016: Prior Lake Mudcats (draftee)
2017: Faribault Lakers (draftee)
2018: St. Patrick Irish
2019: St. Patrick Irish
2020: St. Patrick Irish
2021: St. Patrick Irish
Dunker announced near the end of the 2021 season that he would be retiring as a player.
This past week it was announced on the Veseli Twitter account that Dunker would be joining the Warriors and Bill tweeted a ‘Thank You’ to St. Patrick.