There’s no good time to have computer issues and right after the state wrestling tournament last week certainly proved to be an inopportune time for me.
Thanks to Dave Schrader I should be back to full strength by Monday. There were a few things I was working on when trouble hit last week that will probably Most, if not all of it, will apparently be recoverable but the moment has passed on state wrestling tournament stories.
Monday will see the Martin County West boys basketball team trying to extend its season and the start of some spring sports.
Track and softball teams start practice Monday and baseball players can begin throwing. I suspect that most of the activity is going to be inside.
Anyway, this week’s Lots O’ Stuff at least temporarily returns to its Sunday time slot and the focus is mostly on area graduates.
Gavin Jacobsen
Jackson County Central graduate Gavin Jacobsen, a sophomore with the Bethany Lutheran College baseball team, pitched in two games for the Vikings on their season-opening trip to Arizona.
Last Sunday, he had career highs of six innings and nine strikeouts but did take the loss in a 3-1 setback to Allegheny College. The left-hander allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and walked one.
On Thursday Bethany faced Gustavus Adolphus College in a meeting of schools about 15 miles apart that traveled 1,500 miles to play each other.
In that game, Gavin was not involved in the decision as he went two innings, allowing three runs (all unearned) on three hits, walking three and striking out two.
Bethany went 3-5 on its spring trip. The Vikings are scheduled to open their home schedule with three nonconference games vs. the College of Saint Scholastica March 24-25 at ISG Field in Mankato.
Derek Shoen
Truman native Derek Shoen has started all 15 games this season for the University of Mary baseball team.
He’s hitting .386 (22-57) with six doubles, one triple and five home runs. Shoen has also walked nine times, been hit by a pitch four times and has 15 runs batted in.
The Marauders (7-8) are scheduled to open their NSIC schedule next weekend with three games at Upper Iowa.
Conner Tordsen
Fairmont grad Conner Tordsen, a senior at Dakota State, competed in two events at the NAIA Men's Indoor Track & Field National Championships at Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings.
He placed sixth in the weight throw with a throw of 61 feet, 2 ¾ inches to place sixth in that event and become the first Dakota State men's weight thrower to become NAIA All-America. It’s Tordsen’s second time achieving NAIA All-America status as he also did so in the hammer throw at the 2022 outdoor national meet.
In the shot put, Tordsen was seeded No. 16 and would place 13th with an effort of 50 feet, 6 inches.
Dakota State now waits for its outdoor opener on March 24-25 at the Wildcat Classic in Wayne, Neb.
Olivia Anderson
JCC graduate Olivia Anderson is a freshman distance runner with the Minnesota State University women’s track and field program, which finished second in the team standings at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.
Adams State was first with 52 points with the 2022 champion Mavericks right behind with 51 points.
The winning Adams State team scored points in only four events while MSU tied for the most events scored with eight.
The Mavericks are scheduled to open their outdoor season on March 24-25 in Wayne, Neb.
Wyatt Quiring
Fairmont graduate Wyatt Quiring, a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College, competed in two events at the Wartburg Qualifier last weekend.
He placed 10th in the 400 meters in 50.41 seconds and 11th in the 200 meters in 22.52.
Brody Anderson
JCC grad Brody Anderson was a graduate assistant for the Peru State (Neb.) men’s basketball team that was a No. 6 seed for the NAIA tournament, playing in a pod in Jamestown, N.D.
The Bobcats defeated No. 11 Mayville State 101-92 in the first round before falling to host and No. 3 seed University of Jamestown 95-88.
Peru State finishes the season 25-8, tied for second for most wins in program history.
Alyssa Williamson
MCW grad Alyssa Williamson, who recently completed her career with the Hamline University women’s basketball team, has received another postseason honor as she was an honorable mention selection on the all-MIAC team.
Earlier, Williamson earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale). A Biology major, Williamson carries a 3.959 GPA.
On the court, the 5-foot-6 senior started in all 27 games and was second on the team in assists with 61 and also second in steals with 34.
She averaged 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Pipers, who finished the season with an 18-9 record, 14-8 in MIAC to tie for third place in the 12-team conference. Hamline won its first game in the conference tournament and then lost in the semifinals.
Erin Herman
Erin Herman will coach the Hill-Murray girls basketball team in a state tournament for the ninth time this week.
The Pioneers, 17-11, are a random draw and will face third-seeded Alexandria (24-4) in the Class 3A quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Maturi Pavilion.
After graduating from Sherburn High School, Herman played basketball at the University of North Dakota until a knee injury prompted a switch to tennis.
She coached middle-schoolers in East Grand Forks, was a graduate assistant at UND and held junior varsity positions in Appleton and Hopkins before her first (and only) varsity head coaching position at Hill-Murray.
The Pioneers have qualified for the state tournament under Herman in 1996, 2002 and 2004, went four straight years from 2010-2013, 2021 and now in 2023. The 2010 and 2011 teams both finished in second place.
She was elected into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
Jon Ammerman
Former Windom Area boys hockey coach Jon Ammerman led Moorhead to another berth in the state Class AA tournament. It’s the fourth straight and sixth in 10 seasons since he took over the helm of the Spuds.
Ammerman coached the Eagles in the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons.
His first trip to the state tournament as coach at Moorhead was in 2017, when the Spuds lost the championship game to Grand Rapids. The other trip was in 2019.
Mike Bosch
Former Jackson High School softball and boys basketball coach Mike Bosch is in his fifth season as pitching coach with the University of Florida softball program.
The 12th-ranked Gators have a 17-4 record after a 1-0 loss to No. 24 Louisiana at the Bubly Invitational in Gainesville Saturday.
Florida plays the Ragin’ Cajuns and again on Sunday and also face Rutgers. Other losses for the Gators have come to No. 2 UCLA, No. 19 Oregon and RV Cal State Fullerton.
Florida has a team earned-run average of 2.2 and have nine shutouts.
A native of Hills, Bosch coached high school softball for four seasons, leading Wabasso to state tournament appearances in each of his two seasons there, finishing fifth in 1991. The Rabbits had a 39-10 record in those seasons and he was Region 3A Coach of the Year both years.
He then coached Jackson High School for two seasons, compiling a 29-9 record. The 1993 Blue Jays placed fourth in the state tournament and Bosch received his third Region 3A Coach of the Year award in as many seasons.
Bosch was head coach at Iowa Lakes Community College from 1997-2010.
The Lakers had a record of 525-236-2 and won Region XI championships in 2008 and 2010 and finished second in 2009. ILCC was fifth in the national tournament in 2008 and third in 2010.
Bosch's teams had 28 all-Americans and 81 all-region selections in that time. The Iowa Lakes staff earned the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year in 2006 and 2010.
He was on the Syracuse staff as pitching coach in 2011, 2012 and 2015. He became the head coach in 2016 and compiled a record of 88-65 (.575) in three seasons with the Orange.
Strange night
Three years ago tonight was probably the strangest night in the time I’ve been around high school sports.
Jackson County Central was playing Minnewaska Area for the Section 3AA boys basketball title in Marshall but there was a way different feeling in the RA Facility that night.
By the end of the night a team was going to qualify for the state tournament, but there was an increasing awareness that almost certainly wasn’t going to be a state tournament as the world was coming to grips with COVID-19.
Tom Hanks announced from Australia that he had contracted COVID.
Major college basketball conference tournaments that were underway were being canceled. In the Big East, St. John’s and Creighton had their game canceled at halftime.
The Huskies defeated the Lakers 69-60 on that Thursday night but within about 12 hours, by the middle of Friday morning, the state girls basketball tournament that was in progress with teams on the floor getting ready to play was stopped and it was announced that the boys state tournament the following week has been canceled.
Later on that Friday, after originally ordering that all of its winter championship events, most notably the Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments and the Division I wrestling tournament at U.S. Bank Stadium would be held with no spectators, the NCAA canceled all championship events until the 2020–21 academic year.
You know the rest so there’s no great need to go. All spring high school sports seasons in Minnesota were eventually canceled after being delayed at first.
That time in history showed that you need to sit back and enjoy the activities as they occur because you never know when they could go away.
As it says in the tweet, all schools have a send-off as their teams head to a state tournament. This was for the Hardin, Montana girls basketball team as it took off for the state Class A tournament in Bozeman:
For the record, Hardin finished second in the state tourney.
The Bulldogs defeated the Beaverhead County Beavers 70-57 in the quarterfinals and the Laurel Locomotives 76-71 in the semifinals before losing the championship game to the Havre Blue Ponies 74-57.