Area Notebook: Willmar's Schwaub tabbed for All-Star Game

Joe Brown, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·5 min read

Nov. 27—Willmar senior lineman Ethan Schwab was selected to play in the 2021 Minnesota Football Showcase.

The Cardinals' left tackle/defensive tackle will play on Team North during the 49th Minnesota All-Star Game at noon Saturday, Dec. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

A three-year starter on the offensive line and a two-way starter as a senior, Schwab was the North Central White district's Most Valuable Defensive Lineman.

RCW with four All-District players

In 9-man football, the South (West) released its All-District team on Monday.

Four Renville County West players were selected: senior Tyler Amsden; junior Noah GUllickson; junior Carter Rice; and sophomore Jasen Jansen. The Jaguars also had a pair of honorable mentions: junior Isaac Haen; and junior AJ Gasca. The Jaguars finished 8-4, placing fourth in the South (West) while winning the Section 2 9-Man championship for the third straight year.

Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart had three All-District picks: senior Ashton Bergstrom; senior Saxton Melberg; and junior Hayden VanderVoort. The Mustangs also had two honorable mentions: senior Camden Kron and senior Jaxon Watkins. BLHS were 3-6 this fall.

Other awards from the district:

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Offensive Player of the Year: Edgerton's Nolan Buckridge.

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Defensive Player of the Year: Mountain Lake's Wyatt Wall.

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Lineman of the Year: Hills-Beaver Creek's Max Scholten.

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Coach of the Year: Mountain Lake's Tim Kirk.

Regional bowling

On Nov. 20, the Willmar bowling team finished in 19th place in the AA South Regionals at Park Grove Lanes in St. Paul. Competing in a 14-game qualification round, the Cardinals had a 171 average. New Prague won the regional after competing in match play against the top eight teams.

In the Class A regionals in Ramsey, New London-Spicer finished in ninth place and will bowl for the Class A championship. Both the Class A and AA championships will be decided on Sunday, Dec. 5 at Southtown Bowl in Bloomington.

College

D-I volleyball players

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Willmar alum Esther Grussing has played in six matches as a redshirt junior at Ball State. In those appearances, Grussing tallied 19 set assists, three digs, two kills and an ace serve for the Cardinals. Ball State (29-3) is going to the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history after winning the Mid-American Conference championship match in five sets over Bowling Green on Wednesday. They will find out their spot in the tournament during the NCAA selection show at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.

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Another former Willmar setter, Carly Wedel, is in her junior year at South Dakota State. This fall, Wedel leads the Jackrabbits with 818 set assists and ranks fifth with 156 digs and 42 blocks. She also has 30 kills and 9 ace serves. SDSU is 19-11 and is the sixth seed in the Summit League tournament. On Thanksgiving, the Jackrabbits won their first conference postseason win since 2007 after upsetting No. 3 Denver in five sets. On Friday, SDSU takes on No. 2 South Dakota in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday in Vermillion, South Dakota.

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North Dakota freshman right-side hitter and New London-Spicer alum Ashlyn Olson finished second on the team with 170 kills, averaging 1.83 kills per set. She also ranked fourth on the team with 60 blocks. The Fighting Hawks finished the year with a 1-29 record.

Weber selected All-NSIC

In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Augustana senior defensive back and former Dawson-Boyd standout Eli Weber was named South Division All-Conference First Team Defense. Weber, listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, finished the season with 63 total tackles (7 for loss), 2-1/2 sacks and two interceptions for the 9-3 Vikings. Starting in all 12 games for the Vikings, A nursing major with a 3.69 GPA, Weber was also named to the CoSIDA Super Region Four Academic All-District Team.

Augustana qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs, falling in the opening round to Bemidji State on Nov. 20, 28-24.

Johnson, Holmen named All-MIAC

Two area alumni earned All-Conference footbal honors in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: St. John's senior Tyler Johnson (Willmar) and Bethel freshman outside linebacker Jacob Holmen (New London-Spicer).

Johnson was named First Team All-MIAC after converting from tight end to offensive tackle. At 6-3 and 265 pounds, Johnson was a lead blocker on an offense that averages 46.0 points and 464.6 yards per game, ranking 10th and 17th, respectively, in Division III. The Johnnies won the MIAC after beating Bethel in the championship game on Nov. 13, 29-28. They opened the Division III playoffs with a 41-14 win over Lake Forest (Illinois) on Nov. 20 and will face Linfield (Oregon) in the second round Saturday at Clemens Field in Collegeville.

Starting all 11 games, Holmen nabbed Second team All-MIAC honors after tallying 20 total tackles (2-1/2 for loss), one sack, one forced fumble, an interception and two blocked kicks for the 8-3 Royals. Holmen, listed at 6-3 and 230 pounds, also had a defensive touchdown with a 20-yard interception return for a score on Oct. 9 against Hamline. Bethel qualified for the Division III playoffs, losing to Central College (Iowa) in the opening round on Nov. 20, 61-35.

Carlson starts off strong

South Dakota State junior and Willmar High School alum Clay Carlson is off to a 5-0 start to the 2021-22 wrestling season.

An All-American in 2020-21 with a 20-9 record, Carlson is currently ranked seventh nationally at 141 pounds.

Carlson opened this season by winning the 141-pound title at the Bison Open on Nov. 13 in Fargo, North Dakota. In the championship match, Carlson won a 3-1 decision against North Dakota State's Dylan Droegemueller.

In his college career, Carlson is 46-25. On Sunday, Carlson returns to Minnesota for a non-conference dual. Clay's cousin, Cael, is a redshirt sophomore at 165 pounds for the Gophers.