Minnetonka won six events. Chaska/Chanhassen won the other six. A deeper Skipper boys swimming and diving squad repeated as True Team Section 2AA champion Jan. 18 at Hidden Oaks Middle School in Prior Lake.
Things didn't go well for Chaska in its first trip to St. Louis Park Rec Center of 2020. Back on the ice Jan. 18, a week of practice between games, the Hawks put together a solid 51-minute effort in a 5-2 win over Benilde-St. Margaret.
A 36-24 lead, three matches remaining, first-period pins from Cody Kack and Hunter Brackee closed the door on Roseville Area, a 54-24 win for Chaska/Chanhassen Jan. 16.
Rallying from a goal down three separate times, Chanhassen, taking Bloomington Kennedy to overtime, lost 5-4 in the Metro West Conference opener Jan. 16 in Victoria.
Was it the prettiest week of basketball? Kit Avery, head coach of Southwest Christian, didn't believe so.
Listen to this week's episode of Sports 4 Dummies with sports editors Dan Huss, Tom Schardin, Eric Kraushar and Todd Abeln:
Thirty-one of the first thirty-five points. A 49-6 lead at halftime. Chaska is in a class of their own in the Metro West Conference it seems.
When Kit Avery was hired in 2012 to lead the Southwest Christian boys basketball program, wins or losses was never the first priority. It was instilling "an eagerness to wholeheartedly excel in every endeavor, going above and beyond the call of duty.
It took until the final race for Chaska/Chanhassen to clinch a dual victory over Breck/Blake on Jan. 9. Five days later against Eden Prairie Jan. 14, it was well over before the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Four players scored in double figures led by 21 points from Callin Hake and a season-high 19 points from Tori Tollefson in Chanhassen's 92-75 loss at Waconia on Jan. 14.
A one-goal game with 17 minutes remaining, freshman Alyson McPartland made sure Chaska/Chanhassen walked out of Bloomington Ice Garden Jan. 14 with a win.
One shot in, Chanhassen was on the board. Despite a good fight throughout against 11-win Holy Angels, it was the only tally the Storm registered.
Chaska survived two upset bids last week, this time the Hawks weren't so lucky.
Sam Brennan entered the pool in third place in the anchor leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay at the 2019 Class AA State Swimming and Diving Championships.
The transition from prep football star to being just another guy in the University of Minnesota locker room was a different feeling for Axel Ruschmeyer. As a walk-on redshirt freshman in 2017, Ruschmeyer, who lives in Hutchinson and graduated from Holy Family Catholic, had to learn a new env…
Chanhassen stormed out to a 22-point lead at halftime, this time finishing off the win, a 63-43 decision over Holy Family Catholic in boys basketball Jan. 11.
A four-goal first period outburst led Chaska/Chanhassen girls hockey to a 6-2 road win over Dodge County in Kasson Jan. 10.
A hard-fought 4-0 loss on the first night in Duluth to Denfeld, Chanhassen rebounded in the second game of the weekend to salvage a split in a 4-0 shutout of Marshall.
When Chaska and Bloomington Jefferson meet, regardless of record, you can always expect a tight finish. Coaches Dana Kallman and Jeff Evens seem to bring out the best effort in their teams when the two play.
Callin Hake became the fourth Chanhassen girls basketball player to record 1,000 career points, netting 26 in a 94-73 loss at home to St. Louis Park on Jan. 9.
Early in the season, Chaska relied on its three returning starters, Mallory Heyer, Kaylee Van Eps and Kennedy Sanders while the rest of the team caught up.
Listen to this week's episode of Sports 4 Dummies with sports editors Dan Huss, Tom Schardin, Eric Kraushar and Todd Abeln:
Coming off a 50-point win to start the week, Southwest Christian boys basketball continued its strong play in a 28-point win over section foe Brooklyn Center by an 86-58 score on Jan. 9.
Minnetonka improved to 3-0 in the Lake Conference, scoring four unanswered goals in a 5-1 win over Buffalo on Jan. 9 at Pagel Arena.
When you graduate nearly 50 points per game, an all-state point guard and multiple members of a state consolation championship squad that were leaders on the court for three-four years, the next season can expect to see some decline.
The question was asked, is Holy Family Catholic for real?
Thirty season-high scores, some by as much three quarters of a point or more, led Chaska/Chanhassen gymnastics to a 134.075-125.750 win over St. Anthony Village on Jan. 7 at Chanhassen High School.
Cam Steele, Minnetonka's 6'8" Division I talent, was giving Chaska fits. Steele, who will play at Abiliene Christian, netted 17 points in the first half Jan. 7.
To beat good teams, it takes a 36-minute effort.
Outside of the first few minutes, Tuesday's Metro West Conference contest between host Chaska/Chanhassen and Benilde-St. Margaret was as lopsided as it gets.
It was 51 minutes Chaska would like to forget.
A 56-50 lead off a corner 3-pointer from Luke Gitzen with 4:17 remaining Monday at Buffalo, Chanhassen was outscored 15-2 down the stretch in a 65-58 loss.
Courtney Rydeen never had to ask her siblings what it took to be a great captain. Courtney, the second youngest of seven kids in her family, just had to watch and learn.
Three of the top seven skiers on the hill, including first-place finisher Fantaye Gilbertson, Chaska/Chanhassen scored a team victory in the girls race in the West Metro Conference alpine ski opener Jan. 2 at Buck Hill in Burnsville.
Juniors Hunter Brackee and PJ Velazquez won titles at 138 and 220 pounds for Chaska/Chanhassen at the Buffalo Invitational Jan. 4.
A match-up of two top-five teams in state, top-ranked Eden Prairie and No. 5 Chaska entertained a nearly full house in the Hawks' home gym Jan. 3.
Chanhassen put up 49 points in the first half, opening up the Metro West Conference with an 80-41 win over Bloomington Kennedy Jan. 3.
A four-goal second period, two scores from leading scorer Katelyn Roberts, led Chaska/Chanhassen to a 6-1 road Metro West Conference victory at Holy Angels/Richfield on Jan. 4.
If you counted out Holy Family Catholic early in the season when they had just three wins in eight games, you better take notice after the Fire boys hockey team swept a northern trip Jan. 3 and Jan. 4.
Already with a big 81-70 win over previously undefeated and third-ranked Shakopee, Chaska had an opportunity to add a second win over a section team Dec. 28 against No. 10 Edina.
Having allowed nine goals over a two-game stretch, both victories, Minnetonka tightened up its goaltending and defense to post a 2-1 record at the Tradition at the Park in St. Louis Park Dec. 26-28.
Minnetonka and Eden Prairie were tied at one deep in regulation in the 2017 championship of the Mid-Winter Meltdown when Kate Hoelscher broke the tie for the 2-1 win.
Kaylee Van Eps scored 13 points in her Chaska girls basketball varsity debut as an eighth grader in 2016.
Featured are teams from Chanhassen, Chaska, Holy Family Catholic, Minnetonka, and Southwest Christian.
More times than not, the Minnesota Baseball Association Board hears about amateur teams folding, not wanting to form. So when a group from Excelsior presented the opportunity to add an organization at its Dec. 18 meeting, supportive was word most used.
Freshman Elena Cantwell had a runner-up all-around score of 34.4 in Minnetonka's team loss to Edina 135.875-131.825.
Holy Family Catholic boys hockey handed Holy Angels its first loss of the season, a 4-2 final at TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul on Dec. 21.
One win in the first six games to start the season, Minnetonka saw the current week as a potential jumping off point. Two home games at Pagel Arena.
Over the years, even on nights where shots aren't falling, Chaska finds a way to remain competitive, sometimes win, even against top teams from around the state.
