Appropriately enough there’s lots o’ stuff in this week’s edition of Lots O’ Stuff.
There’s cross country, marathon, volleyball, football, hockey, swimming (more accurately diving), golf, and baseball.
Cross country
Jackson County Central graduate Olivia Anderson, a freshman at Minnesota State, placed 95th out of 128 runners with a 6K time of 25:12.1 at the Lucian Rosa Invitational held at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis., Saturday.
That’s Jackson County Central graduate Andrew Boyum, a freshman with the Iowa Central Community College men’s cross country team on the left in a graphic that was tweeted after it was announced that the Tritons are again second in the latest NJCAA Division I ratings.
ICCC has won the national title two straight years.
Martin County West graduate Jake Lewis is a sophomore at Iowa Central.
The Tritons’ final regular-season meet is Saturday at West Salem, Wis. ICCC hosts the NJCAA Region XI Championships in Fort Dodge on Sunday, Oct. 30.
Twin Cities Marathon
A number of area runners participated in events around the Twin Cities Marathon last weekend.
In the marathon, Molly Boyum of Jackson had a time of 4 hours, 12 minutes and 45 seconds to place 119th in the women’s 19-24 year old age group and 2,601th overall out of 6,504 finishers.
Mom tweeted about it:
Anna Volk of Heron Lake finished in 4:18:11 to finish 130th in her age group and 2,876nd overall.
Mary tweeted about her too:
Also, two Fairmont runners finished the marathon.
Emma Backes finished in 5:14:44 to place 534th in the women’s 25-29 year old group and 5,408th overall; and Taylor Wolf had a time of 5:37:07 to place 309th in the women’s 19-24 year old group and 5,946th overall.
In the 5K event held in conjunction with the marathon, Mark Kocak of Jackson was first in the men’s 60-64 year-old age group with a time of 20:51, placing 34th overall out of 1,904 runners.
Jay Grandprey of Windom ran in the 10-mile event, finishing in 1:27:19 to place 2,079th of 8,469 runners and 45th in the men’s 60-64 year-old division.
Two Fairmont runners were also entered in the 10-mile with Claire Hagstrom finishing in 1:30:03 to place 2,570th overall and 55th in the women’s 19-24 year-old division and Sara Pierce had a time of 1:54:03 to finish 6,664th overall and 847th in the women’s 40-44 yeat-old age group.
Volleyball players
JCC graduate Alaina Wolff is a 5-6 junior defensive specialist at South Dakota, which won a pair of matches on the road.
She had eight digs, was 16-for-18 serving, had one set assist and one kill in a 3-1 win at St. Thomas Thursday; and nine digs and was 7-7 serving in a 3-0 win at Western Illinois Saturday.
The Coyotes are 16-2 overall and 5-1 in the Summit League to put them in a three-way tie for first place with North Dakota and North Dakota State. USD is home at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion next week, hosting Oral Roberts Thursday and Kansas City Saturday.
Jackson County Central grad Sadie Voss is a 5-10 freshman outside hitter at the University of Sioux Falls, which won two matches in North Dakota.
She had nine kills, 11 digs, one service ace and one block in a 3-0 win at the University of Mary and then posted six kills, 13 digs and two service aces in a 3-0 win at Minot State.
USF is 11-7 overall and 7-4 in the NSIC. The Cougars host Northern State Friday and Minnesota State Moorhead Saturday.
JCC graduate Georgianna Wenzel, a freshman right side hitter, saw some playing time for the Briar Cliff varsity in a 3-2 win over Mount Marty. She’s been playing with the Chargers’ JV team.
Jackson County Central grad Alicia Brandt, a 6-foot sophomore middle blocker at Waldorf University, had a kill for the Warriors in a 3-0 loss to NAIA No. 14 Bellevue University.
Volleyball coaches
Heron Lake-Okabena-Lakefield grad Lindsey Wilber is head coach at Dakota Wesleyan University, which had a successful weekend on its home court at the Christen Family Athletic Center in Mitchell, S.D.
The Tigers, rated 15th in the NAIA poll, beat a pair of higher ranked teams, winning 3-1 over Midland Friday and 3-0 over Concordia (Neb.) Saturday. Wesleyan, 16-4 overall and 7-3 in the GPAC, is on the road twice this week as it plays at Dakota State Wednesday and Mount Marty Saturday.
JCC graduate Michelle Aggen is an assistant coach at Augustana, which split on the road this weekend as the Vikings won 3-0 at Minnesota State Moorhead and lost 3-0 at Northern State. Next weekend Augustana, 13-6 overall and 5-6 in the NSIC, hosts Minot State Friday and Mary Saturday.
Jackson County Central grad Megan Bezdicek is an assistant coach at Minnesota State, which won twice on the road this weekend, winning 3-2 at Minnesota-Crookston and 3-0 at Bemidji State. The Mavericks, 6-13 overall and 5-6 in the NSIC, are home twice next weekend as they host Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State.
Martin County West graduate Alyssa Taylor is Associate Head Coach at MIAC leader Gustavus. The Gusties won two road matches this weekend, winning 3-1 at Augsburg and 3-2 at St. Olaf after trailing 2-0.
Gustavus, which was No. 22 in last week’s NCAA Division III poll, is 16-4 overall and is the final undefeated team in the MIAC with a 5-0 record. The Gusties are home three times this week, hosting Cornell in a nonconference match Tuesday followed by conference matches vs. St. Catherine Friday and Hamline Saturday.
Football
JCC graduate Will Freking, a 6-1, 220-pound freshman defensive lineman at St. Olaf College, continued to play regularly and had a tackle for the Oles in a 26-7 loss at crosstown rival Carleton for the Goat Trophy Saturday. St. Olaf, 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the MIAC, hosts St. John’s next Saturday.
Hockey
Windom graduates Alex Espenson and Zach Espenson are playing on the club hockey team at Dordt University.
Zach, a freshman defenseman, scored the winning goal in overtime as the Defenders won 5-4 at Omaha Friday. Earlier he had two assists.
On Saturday, Alex, a sophomore forward, had four assists as Dordt won 10-0 over the Mavericks, Zach had two more helpers in that game.
The Defenders are 6-0 overall and 2-0 in American Collegiate Hockey Association play. Dordt travels to Holland, Mich. next weekend for a pair of games vs. two-time defending ACHA Division 3 national champion Hope College.
Heron Lake native Hobie Hedquist is 1-2 in three starts in goal for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the British Columbia Hockey League. He has a 2.87 goals against average and a save percentage of .882.
He was listed as out for a game vs. the Cowichan Valley Capitals Saturday due to an injury. Alberni Valley hosts the Langley Rivermen in a Canadian Thanksgiving Day matinee Monday.
Swimming and diving
Jackson County Central graduate Haley Handevidt is a senior with the Augustana University women’s swimming and diving team, which is 3-0 in duals after a 211-89 win over St. Thomas.
She had a 117.75 total in 3 meter diving and 139.65 in 1 meter diving. The Vikings will host South Dakota State Friday.
Women’s golf
Fairmont graduate Bergen Senf, a junior at St. Olaf College, placed 13th in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championship at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids.
Senf had rounds of 81, 77, and 79 for a 54-hole total of 237 in the three-day tournament.
The top 10 earn automatic All-MIAC honors when they’re announced in May. Senf remains in the running for her third-straight All-MIAC honor, as league coaches will vote for an additional five all-conference selections in the spring.
Senf earned all-conference honors in both her freshman and senior seasons.
Baseball
JCC grad Gavin Jacobsen was on the winning Black team and was named the pitching MVP at Bethany Lutheran College’s recent fall intrasquad scrimmage.
He’s a sophomore with the Vikings.
Gavin had a 3-2 record as a freshman with the Vikings. In 27.1 innings he allowed 25 runs (19 earned) on 37 hits, walked 26, hit seven and struck out 31.
BLC opens the 2023 season March 5-11 in Tucson, Ariz.
Amateur baseball change
The effect on amateur baseball teams in Region 13C will likely be minimal after the Minnesota Baseball Association board approved a merger of Class A and Class B amateur teams at a meeting Saturday in St. Cloud.
That move reduces the number of classes in the state to two for the first time since 1985 when the state had Class A and Class AA.
The board didn’t announce renaming the classes Saturday as the merger is a work in progress.
Class A has 31 teams that will transition to Class B. The Class A leagues will remain intact for at least two years. The arrangement will be reviewed after two years.
For a time the Class A state tournament championship took place at the Class B and C tournament sites but Class A has spent much of the past 30 years hosting its own state tournament while still under the MBA banner.
The four Class A leagues within the 494-694 corridor will move into the Class B field for the MBA’s 100th state tournament next year, to be held in Delano, Dassel and Litchfield.