1. Albert Lea wrestlers finish second in state

The Albert Lea wrestling team provided plenty of excitement for fans during the winter season as the Tigers pulled out victory after victory with the dual on the line.

The season was marked with exciting wins coming at opportune times for the Tigers.

Albert Lea finished second at the state tournament and with a 27-8 overall record. The Tigers won their 24th Big Nine Conference championship and pushed their conference winning streak to 34 matches.

The Tigers got to state with a victory over Owatonna for a 28-22 win. It was the fifth straight win for Albert Lea against Owatonna and it was the narrowest margin for the Tigers against the Huskies that season. Two weeks prior Albert Lea pummeled Owatonna 43-15, winning 10 of the 14 matches, but the Huskies gave the Tigers a fight the second time around.

Anthony Tippett went from getting pinned to pinning his opponent at 145 in the section final against Taylor Hedberg.

Owatonna held a 22-19 lead after 171 but Logan Hansen, Ethan Reed and Andrew Peterson all came up with victories for the 28-22 win.

The victories didn’t come any easier for Albert Lea once the team reached the state tournament. The Tigers got another big win from Peterson at 285 pounds to push Albert Lea into the semifinals.

Peterson trailed 6-2 entering the third period against Prior Lake and the only way for him and the Tigers to advance would be a fall.

Peterson got that and Albert Lea beat the Lakers 28-22 to move onto face No. 9-ranked Centennial.

The Tigers made quick work of the Cougars in a 40-13 win, but then Albert Lea ran into juggernaut Apple Valley for the state title and fell 57-6.

“I knew it was pretty much an impossible feat but I just told them there are only six teams that are in the finals of the state tournament and that was one of our goals,” Tigers head coach Larry Goodnature said. “They left it all on the mat.”

The Eagles won 12 of the 14 matches in the state championship, but Goodnature was proud of how his team had progressed throughout the season.

“We started out very young, inexperienced and making it this far is a big accomplishment,” Goodnature said at the state tournament. “I am very proud of them.”

Albert Lea got its only two victories of the dual from Cody Hansen who defeated Dakota Trom 4-0 and Logan Kortan who beat Evan Gonzo 5-0.

The Tigers were led by a trio of Hansens at the state tournament.

Logan, Cody and Cory had a lot of success at the individual level.

Cory reached the finals at 103 but lost to defending state champion Eric Devos, of Apple Valley 18-7.

“He is always going, he is aggressive and he is pretty strong, too.”

Cory said at the state tournament.

Cody entered the state tournament with an undefeated record, but finished third at 112 after losing 6-5 to Matt Kelliher of Apple Valley in the semifinals.

Logan finished fourth at 171 in his senior season.

As a whole the Tigers sent eight individuals to the state tournament and five were place winners. Logan Kortan finished fifth while Trevor Rasmussen took sixth.

Albert Lea lost just five seniors from the second place squad for the 2008-09 season.

2. N-K football team advances to Class A semifinal game

The Vikings didn’t have one standout player that helped guide them to the Class A semifinal game, instead, it was the effort of each individual on the team.

That combined effort and strong coaching from head coach Dave Capitani helped lead Northwood-Kensett to its second state semifinal appearance.

The season was one of redemption for the Vikings after they hadn’t reached the playoffs in three years. Two of the seasons came down to a two-point conversion and Northwood-Kensett came up on the short end both times.

The Vikings secured their first district title since 2001 en route to an 11-2 season after going 6-3 the year before.

Northwood-Kensett got through to the semifinals with a power rushing wishbone offense and top-notch defense.

The Vikings held their opponents in check throughout most of the season and turned it up in the playoffs. Northwood-Kensett limited Central Elkader to 13 points in the opening round of the state playoffs and held East Buchanan to 10 points in the quarterfinals.

There was little the Vikings could do to slow down North Tama in the semifinal game as the Redhawks put up 35 points against Northwood-Kensett. North Tama went on to lose 22-21 in overtime to Southern Cal, Lake City in the championship.

“It sucks now, but in 10 years we’ll look back and know that we made it to the semis,” Vikings quarterback Jordan Reindl said after the semifinal loss. “It just feels good.”

Northwood-Kensett handled itself with class in defeat and many players felt the same way as Reindl.

The Vikings, under Capitani, have been a model of consistency throughout his 20 years at the helm.

“I think the kids buy into what we do,” Capitani said. “In Class A high school football, that’s how we’re going to be consistently the best football team. You’re not always going to have a 6-foot-3 inch, agile quarterback.”

3. Albert Lea girls’ soccer team makes return trip to state

The Albert Lea girls’ soccer team went through a tumultuous season filled with devastating injuries but the Tigers were able to find their way to their second consecutive trip to the state tournament.

Albert Lea lost starting center midfielder Jenna Christenson for the season seven minutes into the first game of the season when she tore her anterior cruicate ligament, but found ways to make up for her scoring. The Tigers played without starting forward Abbey Arends who was lost before the season with a knee injury.

Senior Chelsea LeBrun and sophomores Ariel Christenson and Taylor Friehl came through with the offense and Albert Lea scored a dramatic victory over Willmar in the section final to move to state. LeBrun scored 15 goals, Christenson 12 and Friehl 10 as the trio produced more offensively than the team did the season before.

Albert Lea set a school record for wins in a season with 15 and the 15th was the toughest. The Tigers fell behind 1-0 to the Cardinals with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Albert Lea was unfazed by the goal and junior captain Sophie Miller responded with the equalizer a little more than two minutes later when she willed her way through the Willmar defense and sent a shot into the back of the net.

The game went to penalty kicks and Mariah Maras scored the game-winner when she calmly sent a shot into the corner of the net underneath Cardinals keeper Chelsey Wierschem.

“This is a culmination of four years,” Barnhill said after the win. “It speaks volumes of the players that have come through here in the last four years. The players have responded to what I’ve tried to convey to them.”

Tigers’ goalkeeper Steph Ferguson made a save on Willmar’s Jasper Sweazey on the fifth and final penalty kick to propel Albert Lea to state once again.

“I’m still in shock after the shootout,” Ferguson said. “I asked the ref if it was over because I was the fifth shooter and he said, ‘Everyone is done,’ and it just clicked to me that we had won. It was amazing.”

The Tigers faced Rochester Lourdes in the quarterfinals and lost 2-0, but mounted a strong attack in the second half.

The Eagles scored scored in the 51st minute of the match when Olivia Muyres sent a shot past Albert Lea goalie Steph Ferguson into the right corner of the net from eight yards out.

Lourdes added a second goal on a fluke play where the ball skipped past Ferguson and the Tigers never were able to score.

“They just have a lot of resolve for achievement,” Barnhill said. “They’re oriented now toward achieving and receiving tangible evidence of the achievements, getting section titles and winning tournaments. They have a sense of pride within the group. They want to keep making history, making historical events.”

4. Thunder arrives in Albert Lea

The big news for the hockey community this spring was the announcement of a Junior A hockey team.

Chicago area businessman Barry Soskin brought a North American Hockey League team to Albert Lea when he introduced the Albert Lea Thunder.

The addition of the Thunder set up a natural rivalry with other teams in the league like the Owatonna Express, North Iowa Outlaws, Alexandria Blizzard and Bismarck Bobcats.

Soskin has owned teams at the minor pro league level and junior hockey level since the early 1990s. He is most noted for being the owner of the Toledo Storm, a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. He currently owns the Jamestown Jets, Findlay Grrowl and Penn Enforcers, all of which are a part of the United Junior Hockey League.

He’s also owned a USHL team along with a minor league baseball team in the past.

The team was a good addition for a strong hockey community and the players on the team have infused themselves into the community with their volunteer work and help with the youth hockey program.

Soskin upgraded the locker room for the Thunder while creating suites in the upper level of the arena. Soskin added a counter along the boards so fans can have an up-close view of the game. He has also said that he has plans to expand seating with the desire of hosting the Robertson Cup (the NAHL Championship) in the future.

The team has struggled to gain traction in a league dominated by older players who have spent multiple seasons in junior hockey.

The Thunder is one of the youngest teams in the league and as such has found little success.

The franchise got off to a rocky start with the first head coach Paul Willett resigning two months into the job and later with assistant coach Brian Murphy resigning.

The play has improved for the Thunder as head coach Brad Zangs has had a stabilizing effect on the players.

While the Thunder expects to take its lumps in its first season, it ought to condition the young group for a stronger second season in the league.

5. Albert Lea boys’ swimming takes 12th at state

The Albert Lea boys’ swimming team had a great deal of success come its way near the end of the season.

The Tigers finished 12th at the state meet in March, out of 32 teams. It was an incredible feat from a modest program that rarely can compete with bigger programs at the state level.

Albert Lea had a trio of talented seniors that helped guide the Tigers. Matt Van Fossen, Jordan Elleby and Chris Dorman.

Van Fossen gave Albert Lea two top five finishes at the state meet as he was the runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly and finished fifth in the 200 individual medley.

Dorman placed eighth in the 100 breaststroke as well.

The 200 medley relay team finished fifth overall.

All four events advanced to the finals for the Tigers and Van Fossen set a school record in the preliminaries in the 100 fly.

6. 3 area runners go to state cross country meet

Ethan Marquardt was the first Albert Lea runner, since 1998, to appear at the state cross country meet in 2007, but in 2008 he was joined by eighth-grader Chrissy Monson.

The pair enjoyed a highly successful season as their names were in the top five finishers at nearly every meet during the fall.

Marquardt and Monson both qualified for the state meet in 2008 and have helped put the cross country team back in the spotlight.

Although neither finished where they wanted to at the state meet, both had much to be proud of during the season.

Monson finished 28th with a time of 15:07.5 while falling during the race.

Monson was running with one of the lead groups and caught an elbow to her face that sent her down to the ground. While she was falling she hit her head on a tree. She gathered herself and finished the race, but spent several minutes in the emergency tent following the race.

“I just knew I had to do it,” Monson said. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

Marquardt, in his senior season, finished 27th at the state meet, two spots away from medaling. He was ninth-tenths of a second behind the 25th place finisher.

Both runners had goals of placing in the top 25 at the meet.

United South Central/Alden-Conger senior Jordan Haroldson ran in the Class A meet and finished 69th as he battled a calf injury that flared up halfway through his race.

Haroldson placed 30th at the meet the year before, but the pain was too much to overcome at the state meet.

Haroldson finished his high school career as a two-time conference champion, two-time most valuable on the USC/A-C team.

7. Alden-Conger football returns to state after 10-year absence

The Alden-Conger football team had seen its share of hard times in years following its last state appearance in 1998, but the Knights found themselves back at state after 7-4 season.

Alden-Conger spent the last few years on the doorstep of the state playoffs, but finally broke through with an 18-0 win over Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton in the section championship game.

The Knights had their share of ups and downs during the season as head coach Chad Mattson installed a more open offensive attack. The offensive and defensive line had its troubles as well early in the season, but former coach Gary Newman returned as a volunteer coach to help get the line in order. It all added up for a fantastic season for Alden-Conger.

At state the Knights ran into the first big snowstorm of the season and an undefeated Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley team.

The storm limited the passing attack for Alden-Conger and allowed the Wolverines to pound the ball on the ground.

In the end the Knights were handed a 44-6 loss, but just making the trip to state wasn’t lost on anyone with the team.

“There are only eight teams that make it and you can’t take that away from them,” Mattson said.

Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley advanced to the state championship and fell 22-16 to Houston.

Alden-Conger found a good mix of running and passing which led the Knights most of the season. Quarterback Lucas Kleinschrodt was a threat on offense and defense as he led the offense with his legs and his arm while he led the conference in interceptions.

E.J. Knight was a force on defense at linebacker and provided a strong burst on offense as a running back.

The Knights faced it all throughout the season and were able to rise above it at the right time.

Injuries plagued the team as wide receiver Brad Ferree was lost for the season and starting running back David Troska suffered a knee injury.

But when one player went down, another came in to fill the role. Brandon McTague was the ultimate stop-gap for Alden-Conger as he played multiple positions throughout the season from running back to tight end.

The Wolverines were just too much for the Knights to handle as their offensive line moved Alden-Conger linemen off the ball with power.

C-G-B displayed a lot of speed and burst through openings for long scoring drives in the state quarterfinal game.

8. Lake Mills football player suffers spinal cord injury

Tragedy struck the Lake Mills football team two weeks into the season when Bulldogs player Tyler Olson broke a vertebrae while trying to make a tackle Sept. 5 against Forest City.

Olson, a junior, went to make a routine tackle during a kick return but the impact of the hit shattered his C5 vertebra and damaged his C4 and C6 vertebra as well.

Olson was airlifted to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery. Olson had no feeling in his arms and legs immediately following the hit.

He has since regained the use of his arms at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, but his legs have not regained full function.

Olson has physical therapy through out the week to regain the use of his legs, but progress has been slow. Recently he was able to wiggle his toe.

The Lake Mills community and people from outside the community showered Olson with support, setting up a number of benefits for Olson. Even towns in the area held benefit dinners for Olson.

NFL players and college football players sent Olson autographed memorabilia and he even received a jersey from Adrian Peterson.

Throughout the town of Lake Mills there is evidence of support for Olson as his number, 84, remains painted on car windows, students wear T-shirts that say “T.O. 84” and chants of T.O. are heard at many Bulldog athletic events.

“All I hope for is he can use those legs,” said Lake Mills head football coach Bill Byrnes, in the week that followed the injury. “To me the hardest part is looking down the road and saying ‘What will he not have, what will he not be able to do?’ Seventeen years old … that’s just tough to try to deal with.”

Olson did make a return to school in November for lunch.

“I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I really like the smell of the school, and the Salisbury steak we had today was really good,” Olson said at the time.

Olson made another trip to school in December to visit with friends. He attended two classes while there.

He continues to rehab aggressively and has shown progress in the length of his workouts.

9. Bulldogs winning streak comes to an end at 62

The Bulldogs won a school record 38 matches, but the one Lake Mills fans won’t easily forget is the one match the Bulldogs lost in the North Iowa Conference tournament in October.

Lake Mills had rattled off 62 consecutive wins against conference opponents — a streak that spanned parts of five seasons. The feat had simply become known as “The Streak” around Lake Mills and helped catapult the Bulldog program into one of prominence in the state of Iowa.

However the streak came to an end in a five-game match against Osage in the NIC tournament championship game. Osage defeated Lake Mills 15-25, 25-13, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11.

While the loss could have haunted a team, the Bulldogs rallied and worked their way past Osage again in the first round of the Class 2A Regional playoffs. The Bulldogs defeated Osage 25-23, 26-28, 25-23, 18-25, 15-11.

Lake Mills was led by NIC player of the year Jordynn Brackey. Brackey collected 443 kills and was selected as to the Class 2A All-State second team.

Setter Cassie Christianson was selected all-state honorable mention in Class 2A while enjoying a spectacular year. Christianson had 913 assists for the season.

The Bulldogs reached the Region 5 championship match and faced Aplington-Parkersburg. Lake Mills jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Aplington-Parkersburg rallied to win the match in five.

“Sometimes it can be a danger to come out too strong,” said Lake

Mills head coach Jim Boehemer after the loss.

The Bulldogs came within one win of going to state and it would have been another accomplishment in the long line for the Lake Mills program.

10. Bonsack wins state title

United South Central’s Jake Bonsack completed a personal quest at the state wrestling tournament when he brought home the state title at 140 pounds.

Bonsack moved his way to the finals with a 3-0 win over Wadena-Deer Creek’s Trey VanOrsdel. Bonsack was the No. 1 ranked wrestler in Class A.

“It is insane,” Bonsack said after his victory. “Everything you work for all season comes true. It seems like a dream.”

Bonsack defeated No. 2 Alex Kontz of Canby 3-2 with a takedown in the final six seconds of the match.

“I was saving it for the end, I guess, because I knew I was in better shape than him,” Bonsack said.

Bonsack became the first wrestler to win a state championship from United South Central in decades and the first since USC and Alden-Conger had combined programs.

Bonsack was part of the Rebel squad that placed third the previous year at the state level, but brought home a title to share with all of his teammates.

Bonsack now attends Minnesota State-Mankato and is a redshirt freshman on the wrestling team.