Paul Trende

(B) 1A Play-In > 9-seed Caledonia/Spring Grove/Houston 0, 8-seed PEM 1 (With the 9-seed, the Warrior boys fell in the section tournament opener at 8-seed P-E-M. During the regular season, the boys had lost once and tied once against the Bulldogs. P-E-M improved to 4-10-4 while C/SG/H closed the season at 1-13-1)

Spring Grove volleyball swept Lyle/Pacelli to finish off its regular season. Fillmore Central volleyball got 10 kills and 17 digs from Kyla Hellickson in topping Rushford-Peterson 3-0. The Falcons (8-2, 13-15) finish tied for second in the TRC with Cotter (8-2, 21-4) behind Chatfield (10-0, 24-4). Benita Nolt recorded her 1,000th career kill and L-O swept Schaeffer. Paisley Robinson had 38 digs but Kingsland fell to Houston 3-0. SG (12-2, 21-7) is Section 1A’s 2-seed, will host the winner of 15-seed Blooming Prairie (7-21) and 18-seed Kingsland (5-21). FC (8-2, 13-15) is the 6-seed, will host 11-seed Wabasha-Kellogg (9-16). Rushford-Peterson (4-6, 10-13) is the 10-seed, will play at 7-seed Goodhue (16-12). L-O (8-6, 11-15) is 1A’s 13-seed, will host 20-seed Glenville-Emmons (0-18). Houston (6-8, 9-15) is 1A’s 16-seed, will host 17-seed Lyle/Pacelli (7-19) in a play-in match. Caledonia volleyball got 19 kills from Liv Myhre and 35 assists from Avery Augedahl in sweeping W-K. The #5-ranked Warriors (7-3, 19-9) are Section 1AA’s 3-seed, will host 14-seed PEM (10-18). Idle Chatfield (10-0, 24-4), ranked #2 in Class AA, is 1AA’s top seed, will host 16-seed St. Charles (4-22). Rushford-Peterson football lost a heartbreaker at W-K, scoring in the final minute to close to down 14-12, but failing on the two-point run. R-P (3-5, 3-5) is 1A’s five-seed, will play at 4-seed Wabasha-Kellogg (3-5, 3-5) to start the play-offs.

The top 11 girls cross country runners in Section 1A. Included are Lanesboro/Fillmore Central’s Autumn Rakosnik (second from left) and Chatfield’s Lexi Kivimagi (fourth from right). They finished second and eighth overall to earn their second and fourth state qualifications. Photo by Paul Trende

The state Class A cross country meet had Section 1A on full display. Primarily included in that were Matt Kingsbury’s LARPH boys and L/FC running standout Autumn Rakosnik. Team Card-Tro-Cane posted their best team finish on the big stage of their six-year run. They took fourth (146), just one spot behind section 1A foe Winona-Cotter (122).

Fillmore Central football competed in its fourth 1A final, but could not three-peat as champions, falling to #4 in Class A Goodhue 52-7. FC finishes at 9-2 as 1A runner-up. Spring Grove (2-seed) volleyball was upset 3-2 by Goodhue (7-seed) in the 1A quarterfinals. Kendal VanMinsel had 47 assists and 4 aces. The Lions finish at 22-8.

Chatfield’s Harper Goldsmith (left) and Jaelyn LaPlante (right) have each been named Class AA All-State in volleyball for leading the Gophers to state and a 29-6 record. Each was All-State last year also. Photo submitted

Caledonia/Spring Grove/Houston senior Josie Foster (11 goals, 2 assists) was named to the TRC All-Conference Soccer Team for a third straight season. Opponents never knew where she would challenge them, either anchoring the defense as goalkeeper or up the field as a scoring forward. Receiving Honorable Mention for a third season was junior midfielder Siri Konkel (6 goals, 10 assists), joined for a second season by junior forward Macy Kraus (10 goals, 3 assists). Valerie Williams was the Section 1A Assistant Coach of the Year. The Warriors closed at 3-14 (0-10 TRC).

LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle/Pacelli (7-0, 12-1) and Spring Grove (7-0, 9-1) shared the South-East sub-district title with the Cardinals advancing to the state semifinals. Kingsland (5-2, 8-3) took third and made the Section finals while A-C/G-E (3-4, 5-5), Southland (3-4, 5-5), Houston (3-4, 4-5), M-C (3-5, 3-6), GM (1-6, 1-8), and Lanesboro (0-7, 0-9) rounded out the standings. The Cardinals and Lions thus lead the sub-district with five All-District picks each.

Gracie Foster hit seven threes and scored 29 points to power Grand Meadow past Houston 59-38 in girls basketball. Aubry Boldt had 23 points as Houston beat Lewiston-Altura 54-35. Jensyn Storhoff scored 20 in Lanesboro’s 55-49 win over AC/G-E. SG got four in double figures in beating St. Charles 77-32.

Chatfield’s Jaelyn LaPlante has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at MSU-Mankato. The 1,000-plus kill senior is flanked by her parents Greg and Dayna and surrounded by teammates and her Coach Kristi Rindels. Photo submitted