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Time of the elites: State tournament time is coming on fast in spring sports

doug wolter, the daily globe, worthington, minn.
·5 min read

Jun. 8—State tournament softball. State tournament track and field. State tournament golf. State tournament baseball.

High school classes are done for the 2021-22 school year, but high school isn't really done for Minnesota's elite athletes. State tournaments for four sports are coming on fast. Here's a rundown of what's ahead:

Softball

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Yes, it's a brand new state fast-pitch softball tourney coming this week, but for southwest Minnesota the landscape hasn't changed all that much. Section 3A champion Edgerton/Southwest Christian is set to play in its eighth consecutive state Class A tilt, and Section 3AA champion Pipestone Area is set to make its 13th state appearance since 2003.

The big tournament will take place Thursday and Friday at Caswell Park in North Mankato. In 1 p.m. first-round Class A games Thursday, fifth-seeded E/SWC plays fourth-seeded Red Lake Falls, Nicollet (1) plays Menahga, Moose Lake/Willow River plays Wabasha-Kellogg and Randolph (3) plays Upsala. In Class AA, Pipestone Area opens against Proctor (1) and Maple Lake (4) plays St. Cloud Cathedral (5) at 9 a.m., and Le Sueur-Henderson (2) plays Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and Chatfield (3) plays Mounds Park Academy at 11.

Edgerton/Southwest Christian placed third in last year's state A tourney. Randolph, which beat E/SWC 5-0 in the semifinals, was the champion. Pipestone Area finished fourth in last year's Class AA tournament, and Le Sueur-Henderson was the champion.

Pipestone Area's first opponent Thursday, Proctor, is 22-1 and is making its first state tournament appearance in 16 years. The Rails' Payton Rodburg hit a game-tying home run in the sixth inning in the Section 7AA title game against Eveleth-Gilbert.

The Arrows, meanwhile, scored 13 first-inning runs in a 15-0 shutout of Luverne in the Section 3AA championship. They are 14-9.

Edgerton/Southwest Christian is 17-6. First-round opponent Red Lake Falls is 24-1.

Track and field

The 2022 state meet is Thursday through Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville High School. Class A prelims begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Class AA prelims start at 9 a.m. on Friday, and Class A finals are at 4 p.m. On Saturday, Class AA finals get under way at 9 a.m.

Several southwest Minnesota athletes will hope to match or improve upon strong Class A performances in 2021, including: Ashton Sandbulte of Luverne, who finished third in the boys 100-meter dash (11.02) a year ago; Micah Schaap of Edgerton/Southwest Christian, who was second in the long jump (21-2.75) and third in the triple jump (43-7.25); and on the girls side, Amanda Overgaauw of Murray County Central, was third in the 3200-meter run (10:55.12), Jocelyn Hart of Luverne was fifth in the shot put (38-6.75), and the Luverne 4x800-meter relay was first in 9:34.65.

The Worthington Trojans qualified 11 events for the Class AA meet. In boys events, they are: Abagotte Opiew in the triple jump, 110-meter hurdles and long jump, Filmon Wolday in the 1600-meter run, Marenono Opiew in the 300-meter hurdles, the 4x400-meter relay team of Mikele Walu, Jacari Swinea, Abagotte Opiew and Marenono Opiew, and the 4x800-meter relay team of Ofbeka Morke, Mason Bobb, Wolday and Walu. In girls events, they are: Bailey Newman in the 100-meter dash, Brooklyn Scheitel-Taylor in the 200-meter dash, the 4x100-meter relay team of Newmanyou Gora, Newman, Pham Gora and Scheitel-Taylor, and the 4x200-meter relay team of Newmanyou Gora, Newman, Pham Gora and Scheitel-Taylor.

Baseball

The state tournament will be June 14, 15 and 17. Classes A and AA will be in St. Cloud on the first two days, with the finals on the 17th at Target Field.

Sections 2AAA, 3A and 3AA are winding down to champions.

The Worthington Trojans were eliminated in Section 2AAA Saturday with an 8-3 loss to Jordan. In Section 3AA, the Luverne Cardinals lost a tight 3-2 game to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City to see their year come to an end.

Murray County Central, in Section 3A, made it through the weekend to set up a Tuesday night (June 7) clash with Russell-Tyler-Ruthton for the right to play MACCRAY on Thursday for the championship.

Golf

Area golfers will compete June 14 and 15 at the state Class A tournament at Pebble Creek in Becker. On both days, the boys tee off in the morning and the girls tee off in the afternoon.

Team champions from Section 3A are Murray County Central for the girls and Lakeview for the boys.

The top five individuals not advancing with the first-place team make state, and all competitors from the first-place teams also qualify.

Ciera Tutt of MCC was second overall in the section girls standings. Individuals not representing MCC to qualify for state include Lauren Bowyer of Minneota, Tess Van Maanen of Hills-Beaver Creek, Brielle Vos of Edgerton/Southwest Christian, Ellyson Bang of Heron Lake-Okabena-Fulda/Westbrook-Walnut Grove and Kara Rangaard of Canby.

Non-Lakeview state boys qualifiers are Brock Henning of Adrian/Ellsworth, Sawyer Drent of Heron Lake-Okabena-Fulda/Westbrook-Walnut Grove, Cole Myhre and Jackson Esping of Minneota and Chase Christensen of Russell-Tyler-Ruthton.