Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Sports Memories by Tom Jones

20 years

The Albert Lea High School dance team under first-year coach Mary Jo Dorman was preparing to perform at halftime of a Minnesota Timberwolves game at Target Center.

The Albert Lea boys’ basketball team lit up Target Center when they jumped to a 24-1 first quarter lead en route to a 77-30 win over St. Paul Academy. Parker Skophammer led the Tigers with 17 points. Travis Klatt added 10 and Michael Behrends nine in the win.

The Albert Lea girls’ basketball team also played at Target Center but came up short as they were defeated 48-45 by Park of Cottage Grove. Katherine Ladwig led the Tigers with 14 points with Niki Hendrickson adding 10.

The Albert Lea boys’ hockey team took home the title at the Rochester Kiwanis Tournament with a 9-3 win over Spring Lake Park in the championship game. Beau Larson, Jon Breuer,

Cory Ellertson, Alex Lair and Dustin Trail scored first period goals for the Tigers.

The Albert Lea wrestling team took seventh place at the 32-team Clash III at Rochester Community and Technical College. The Tigers picked up wins over Minot, N.D., Pierz, S.D., and Lake Stevens, Wash. at the event.

50 years

• In the Brotherhood Dartball League, Alden was in first place with a 13-2 record with Conger-Bear Lake a close second with a 7-1 record.
• The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team under coach Bill Musselman was preparing for the start of the Big Ten season after finishing the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 7-1 record.
• The Albert Lea boys’ basketball team defeated Rochester Mayo 43-42 at the Southwest Gym. Dave Berg led the Tigers with 10 points with Randy Skophammer adding nine. In the b-squad game, the Bengals fell 43-41 with Bill Dress scoring 15 points and Brad Arends adding 10.
• The Albert Lea wrestling team defeated Rochester Mayo 41-8. Jim Palmer, Mark Morreim, Jeff Larson and Larry Kihlstadius had pins for the Tigers.
• In Park League hockey play, Jason Westcott had a hat trick in Coast to Coast’s 4-0 shutout of Quik Stop. Dave Syverson blanked Great Northern 4-0 on a brilliant shutout from goalie Steve Waskoski.
• Minnesota North Stars captain Bill Goldsworthy was going to miss several games after severing a tendon in his right hand after trying to break up a fight between several teammates at a hotel in Pittsburgh.
• The Albert Lea Tigers hockey team defeated LeSueur 13-1. Gary Tavis had a hat trick with Ross Dahl, Todd Dahl, Vinny Cerrato, Kent Hanson and Mark Knutson also adding goals.
• The Endres Rangers hockey team defeated Winona 6-4 at the Fairgrounds Arena. Tim Tideman stopped 23 of the 27 shots he faced in a game that was marred by a brawl near the end of the second period that saw two players from each team being ejected.
• The Minnesota North Stars traded left winger J.P. Parise to the New York Islanders for center Doug Rombough and left winger Ernie Hicke.

National champion

Hayden Johnston, a 2020 graduate of Albert Lea High School and the son of Alex and Angie Johnston, was a center on the North Dakota State Bison football team that defeated Montana State 35-32 to win the FCS National Championship on Jan. 6 in a game played in Frisco, Texas.