H.S. Boys' Basketball:

The Tigers’ Conner Racek drove to the basket during Monday night’s subsection championship game against Jordan at MSU. He finished with 17 points.

Tigers Take Down No. 1 and 4
Seeds Before Playoff Run Ends

by Dan Ruud
It didn’t end with a championship but it will go down as one of the most memorable postseason runs for the Belle Plaine High School boys’ basketball program in recent years.
The Tigers, the No. 5 seed in the Section 2AA, North Subsection Tournament, went on the road and won at No. 4 seed St. Peter and No. 1 and previously unbeaten Waterville-Elysian-Morristown in a 48-hour span last week to gain entry into Monday night’s subsection championship at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The magic ended there as Minnesota River Conference rival Jordan defeated Belle Plaine 81-57, ending the Tigers’ season at 13-14 overall. It was the third time this season that the Hubmen beat the Tigers by at least 22 points.
Jordan, the subsection’s No. 2 seed, will take on South Subsection champion Blue Earth Area 8 p.m. this Friday night at MSU. The winner will represent Section 2AA at next week’s state tournament.
Tigers 67, St. Peter 60
The Tigers pounced on the Saints early, grabbing a 14-3 lead and an eventual 14-point halftime cushion. St. Peter got to within five points in the second half but the Tigers would close the door.
“We moved the ball well offensively and were very sound defensively,” said Belle Plaine coach Randy Carlson. “They got it down (to five points) a couple of times but we made the plays late to win the game.”
Charlie Kern sparked the Tigers with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals, all team highs.
“Charlie had another great game,” Carlson said. “They could not stop him inside and he shut down their leading scorer. Justin Potthast hit some big shots and Miah Fogarty did a good job getting us into our offense. Conner Racek played a very good overall game also, and Zach Newell came in and did some good things inside.”

See the complete story in the March 17 edition of the Herald.

Belle Plaine’s Justin Potthast scored 20 points (18 from three-point range) during last Thursday night’s win at WEM.

Tournament Champs

Belle Plaine’s sixth-grade traveling basketball team took first place in the Belle Plaine Tiger Paw Challenge Tournament on March 7. Belle Plaine defeated Norwood Young America, Jordan and Annandale. Pictured in the back row, from left, are coach Brad Narveson, Branden Schulz, Tyler Grieves, Mitchel Stier, Luke Narveson, Sam Gregory and coach Mary Bigaouette. In the front row are Johnny Vinkemeier Derek Guscette, Christian Roell, Ryan Bremseth-Vining and Dylan Bigaouette.

 

 

Watertown-Mayer to Join MRC

The Watertown-Mayer School District has voted to join the Minnesota River Conference beginning in the 2011-12 school year. W-M has been a longtime member of the Wright County Conference.
Other schools in the Minnesota River Conference include Belle Plaine, Jordan, Holy Family Catholic of Victoria, Le Sueur-Henderson, Mayer Lutheran, Montgomery-Lonsdale, Norwood Young America Central and Sibley East.
The MRC offers programs in football, volleyball, girls’ tennis, boys’ and girls’ cross country, dance, boys’ and girls’ basketball, wrestling, boys and girls track, boys’ and girls’ golf, softball, baseball and the fine arts.
The MRC is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a conference this school year.
For more information, contact Executive Secretary Grant Anderson or MRC President Dan Gardner.

H.S. Girls' Basketball:

Belle Plaine’s representatives on the 2010 All-Minnesota River Conference girls’ basketball team are, from left, senior Kate Bigaouette, freshman Haley Fogarty and senior Katie Read
(honorable mention).

Kate Bigaouette, Haley Fogarty Named to All-MRC Basketball Team

Kate Bigaouette and Haley Fogarty are Belle Plaine’s representatives on the 2009-10 All-Minnesota River Conference girls’ basketball team. Senior teammate Katie Read was honorable mention.
Shelly Blaschko of Le Sueur-Henderson was selected by coaches as the MRC’s Most Valuable Player. Sherri Fritz of Le Sueur-Henderson and Mike Friestleben of Holy Family Catholic were named by their peers as Co-Coaches of the Year.
LS-H had three players named to the squad, while Belle Plaine, Holy Family, Jordan, Mayer Lutheran, Norwood Young America and Sibley East all had two. Montgomery-Lonsdale did not have a player selected.
Fogarty, a freshman guard, is a two-year letter winner for the Tigers. She averaged 10.7 points, 2.7 assists and 3.2 steals per game. She has excellent athletic ability, complimented by a savvy defense and a nose for the basket. Her long athletic strides and ball handling skills allow her to get the ball up court quickly. She led her team in scoring seven times. She is the daughter of Paul and Laurie Fogarty.
Bigaouette, a senior forward, is a three-year letter winner who averaged 10.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals a game. Her strength and deceiving quickness created many driving opportunities for her. She has a nice touch from outside and the ability to rebound and go back up. She was the team MVP this season and led the Tigers in scoring nine times. She is the daughter of Bill and Carolyn Bigaouette.

See the complete story in the March 17 edition of the Herald.

Tony Valek Helps Lead Augsburg to Another NCAA Wrestling Title

Belle Plaine High School graduate and Scott West standout Tony Valek helped lead the Augsburg College wrestling team to its 11th NCAA Division III national title in the last 20 seasons earlier this month in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Augsburg finished with 110.5 points, 10 points better than second-place Wisconsin-La Crosse’s 100.5. Defending national champion Wartburg (Iowa) was third with 83.5 points, Coe (Iowa) was fourth with 76.0 points and Delaware Valley (Pa.) was fifth with 50.5 points.
Valek, a sophomore competing in the 149-pound weight class, reached the title match for the first time in his second appearance in the national meet, falling 8-4 to Isaac Dukes of Case Western Reserve (Ohio) in the championship match. Behind two takedowns and a three-point near-fall, Dukes built a 7-1 lead, with Valek cutting into the advantage in the final minute of the match. The loss was Valek’s first in 21 matches against Division III competition this season.
To reach the finals, Valek used a three-point near-fall with 50 seconds left in the third period and 2:27 of riding time to score a 7-3 win over Jason Pyle of Luther (Iowa) in the semifinals. Valek finished his sophomore campaign at 33-5, and is 65-18 in his college career.

Veterans Will Enjoy Pheasant Hunt

Scott County Pheasants Forever will hold its second annual pheasant hunt March 27 at Caribou Gun Club in Le Sueur.
The county chapter aims to host 50 veterans with an all-expenses day-long hunt, including a morning hunt, lunch and sporting clays in the afternoon.
The Scott County chapter is giving preference to veterans who have served abroad since March 2008.
Donations can be sent to Scott County Pheasants Forever OUPH, 1118 Madison Avenue S., Shakopee, MN 55379-2059 or online at www.scottcountyph.org