John’s Journal: Fear And Joy As Spring Sports Return

On Monday evening I sent a Twitter direct message to Eric Klein, the head boys track and field coach at St. Charles High School. Earlier in the day I had posted a Tweet asking spring sports coaches to share their Day One thoughts and feelings with me; I received some great responses, which are included in the previous John’s Journal story.

I thought of Eric because he is a great proponent of not just track and field, but all high school activities. Three days before practice started, he posted a series of Tweets from his @SCSaintsTrack account, encouraging students to participate in a spring sport. He wrote about kids being disconnected from school and friends, writing, “You may have gotten used to not being involved, because you COULDN'T be involved.”

He continued: “Plus: COVID is still around. There are practice restrictions. There are competition restrictions. The season is starting late. It's gonna be a dang-close-to-normal season...but it won't be just like normal. And some of you may just be tired of ‘close-to-normal.’ ”

He then listed several reasons why kids should participate, ending with this…

“The #1 reason is this: FUN. WITH. FRIENDS. It is fun. With your friends. You should do a sport so you can have fun with friends. Friends you've known for years, or just this year, & possibly friends you haven't even made yet. THAT'S why you should do a spring sport.”

Eric has been a guest on my podcast and I think the world of him and what he does for kids. So when I asked him on that direct message if he would be willing to write about how it felt to be back at practice, the result was exactly what I expected. It is terrific.

Here’s what Eric wrote …

“There were a lot of joys today. Just seeing the team together again, the coaches together again, being in the sun (can't stress that one enough), getting to see the kids train, getting to laugh uproariously with kids I love...So many joys. But there was one specific thing that was the biggest joy for me, and it goes hand in hand with the biggest fear I think many of us coaches had coming in.

For us, the biggest fear coming into the season was not that certain kids wouldn't come back out. Because frankly, coaches are constantly faced with that, in part due to graduation -- at a certain point, kids can't come back out -- and because every year, there are kids who, for whatever reason, don't come back. It happens every year, and this year is no different. The thought of some kids not coming back out wasn't the biggest fear because any program must be bigger than the individuals, not just the individual athletes but the individual coaches, too. Athletes come and go, coaches come and go, and the program has to survive that too, you know? So I wasn't afraid of that.

Furthermore, Lord knows, my biggest fear wasn't that our kids would show up out of shape, because even if that did happen -- and it most certainly did not -- then OK, it's our job as coaches to take care of that. So that certainly wasn't the biggest concern either.

I think the thing I was most afraid of was that I'd show up for practice today and find the culture gone. That I'd find the atmosphere gone, that family that we'd built and loved over the last eight years. I was afraid that, because of the missed season, and the general disconnect that has been a year of COVID, I'd show up and that culture would be gone, and what would be left would be something that looked like it was the old program but just...wasn't.

So, in the same way that the biggest fear coming into it was that the culture would be gone, my biggest joy of today was not the performances, or seeing kids grown up, or the laughter, or any of that. My biggest joy was getting out there and finding that the culture that we'd left behind 382 days ago was still there, just like we'd left it, strong and smiling and laughing. My biggest joy was finding that that culture was OK, and as a result, the kids (and coaches!) within that culture were going to be OK, too.

St. Charles track and field lives.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John’s Journal: On Day One, Spring Has Sprung

 

All over Minnesota, Monday was a great day. The weather was among the reasons, with temps in the 70s in parts of the state and bright sunshine mixed with strong winds that blew a few hats off kilter and sent some golf balls in a not-exactly-aimed-for direction.

It was day one, or more properly, Day One of spring sports practices and to say everyone was thrilled would be an overall understatement.

It was quite the turnaround from one year ago, when a few spring sports had conducted a few practices before everything was stopped cold by the Covid-19 pandemic. After a wait of basically two years, this is better, much better.

“The girls were excited and the coaches hardly slept last night as we couldn’t wait to get back on the track,” Rochester Century girls track coach Kris Allen wrote in an email.

“The kids are so resilient, so positive -- there is just no downside to starting back up. We will enjoy every second of every minute we get. Everything just seems better and brighter when participating in something you love.”

Monday was Day One for track and field, golf, baseball, softball, boys tennis and adapted softball. Lacrosse practices will begin next Monday.

In what was certainly pure happenstance, Sunday night’s telecast of 60 Minutes on CBS had a strong high school sports flavor. One of the stories focused on Dave Kindred, who is among America’s top sportswriters over the last half-century and is now retired and living near his little hometown in central Illinois.

Dave began attending games played by the girls basketball team at Morton High School, the Lady Potters. Being a reporter, he began taking notes and then writing stories after each game for the team’s website. Kindred went through tough times personally – the death of a grandson (about which he wrote a book titled “Leave Out The Tragic Parts”), the passing of his mother and his wife becoming an invalid after a massive stroke.

That high school team became very special to Kindred. “What started as fun became life-affirming,” he said. “This team did save me. This team became a community. It became my friends. My life had turned dark. You know, they were light. And I knew that that light was always gonna be there, you know, two or three times a week.”

After the Lady Potters’ first game of the 2020-21 season – just like in Minnesota, with limited crowds and players wearing masks – Kindred wrote these eloquent words: “We've lost so much that was so long familiar. Then the Potters gave us a gift. They played a game. … The joy that high school athletes feel when every trip down the court is a trip toward possibility. Joy in these days. So long without joy."

That type of joy is in full force in our state right now. As MSHSL associate director Bob Madison posted on Twitter on Monday: “Welcome to the first day of spring sports, the final week of State Hockey and first week of State Basketball!”

Joe Hansen, golf coach at Triton, wrote about what Day One meant to him…

“For golfers it's been nearly 22 months since we last had a practice (not counting the few weeks this past fall when most of my players were playing other sports). The one word I would use for myself is ‘EXCITEMENT.’  

“This year has been one of uncertainty, but once we are outside on the course it will be a little bit of a return to normalcy. I, for one, can't wait to hear the sounds and see the smiles. I also can't wait to hear the starter's pistol at a track meet, or the sound of a bat on the ball at baseball and softball games. I am EXCITED!”

Tom Maki, coach of the Northern Freeze softball team, was equally excited about the season finally getting underway.

“Honestly, lots of nervous energy! I'm very excited that we get a chance to be out on the field. Some of the spring (softball specifically) athletes haven’t been on a school team in close to two years. I have a veteran team, eight of nine returners will be juniors and seniors. That being said, when last they took the field they were frosh and sophs, I am going to always keep that in mind. 

“Thank you for the platform you provide for MN high school sports. It is fun to follow what is going on in and around the state. This has been such a trying 13 months for everyone, I hope everyone has a healthy, rewarding season and I hope coaches take a moment to acknowledge how far we have come to be able to take the fields across the state today!”

Have a great spring, everybody. You’ve earned it.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

 

John’s Journal: It’s Tournament Time, And It’s Different

 I counted seven people sitting in the press box inside Xcel Energy Center on Friday afternoon as the first game of the girls state hockey tournament was being played. That left about 100 empty seats, some of them marked with signs that read “Seat closed.”

Times are indeed different. The Minnesota Wild have been playing home games without fans for much of the season. Smatterings of spectators watched Friday’s four Class A quarterfinal games, with the arena seating areas cleared between games. The scene will be much the same for the remainder of the girls and boys state hockey tournaments, which will conclude next week.

There are no pep bands, which is especially different. Bands are such a big part of our state tournaments, especially hockey and basketball in the winter. In normal times, energetic pep bands play the school song as their teams skate out on the ice. Just now, as I write this, the girls teams from Luverne and Proctor/Hermantown came out for pregame introductions, with veteran public-address announcer Dave Wright’s familiar voice echoing across the big arena. But instead of pep bands and school songs, pre-recorded music was played when the teams came out.

For state hockey tournament games, there are two important crews of off-ice people. The arena announcer, scoreboard and clock operators and penalty box supervisors sit at ice level. Up here in the press box, a team of statisticians is connected with the ice-level crew via headsets. Between games today, one of the folks in the press box stood up and simply hollered down to his counterparts at ice level. No headsets are needed when the place is quiet.

This is what a pandemic does, I guess. I’m so very grateful that these state tournaments are taking place. There’s no doubt that we are fortunate. We all remember last year, when the basketball tournaments were halted and spring sports did not happen at all. We are clearly in a better place now, with our winter tournaments happening and spring sports starting practices next week.

One girls hockey team that had qualified for state was unable to compete due to Covid quarantine. The same thing has happened with NCAA basketball and hockey teams, so we probably shouldn’t be surprised when high school programs – which don’t have the testing capabilities that colleges do – are stopped by the virus.

While sitting here at the hockey arena, I’m also watching the state wrestling and state gymnastics championships via online streaming provided by https://prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL. It’s highly professional coverage and is a great service for fans who aren’t able to attend. Those events are being held at venues much different than in recent years. Wrestling has moved from Xcel Energy Center to St. Michael-Albertville High School and gymnastics, which was held last year at Roy Wilkins Auditorium (connected to the Xcel Center), is at Champlin Park High School this year. Both host schools are doing a tremendous job under challenging circumstances.

The scenes at those two tournaments are similar to the hockey setting. Smaller crowds, but athletes who are still competing at the highest level possible. Also similar among the three tournament sites are people doing important tasks that were unknown last winter; they are making sure everything, including wrestling mats and gymnastics equipment, is clean and sanitized. I’ve got a small container of disinfecting wipes with me, and the Xcel Center is populated with hand sanitizer stations and lots of posted reminders about masking and social distancing.

I took the elevator down to the main concourse between periods to do some exploring, and there wasn’t much to see. One of the standard sights once you enter the Xcel Center is an area where tournament merchandise can be purchased. That is absent this winter (although winter state tourney hoodies can be purchased online here: https://www.mshsl.org/2021-winter-tournament-apparel

The concessions stands were closed, although I did see one spot set up with grab-and-go soft drinks, water, fruit cups and candy. Customers can’t pay with cash, so plastic is the way to go. Drinks and snacks can only be consumed once people have returned to their seats, according to the signage.

I bought a $5 Diet Coke and returned to the press box. I’m pulling my mask down whenever I take a sip. I’m used to doing so. Another thing I’m used to doing is chatting with lots of people. Some of my favorite unplanned moments at state tournaments occur when I run into somebody I know and we catch up. It might be a coach, an administrator, an athlete, a former athlete, you name it.

Sometimes those chats take place in the corridor near the locker rooms at Xcel Energy Center. I love bumping into Xcel Center employees I have known for years, and the corridor also is a good place to talk informally with coaches of competing teams. But again, something is different in Covid times. I’m not wandering down that corridor now, because I respect this virus and the important steps that are being taken to lower everyone’s risks.

This whole experience began when winter tournaments were stopped, followed by no spring sports, then fall sports but no state tournaments, and now winter sports with state tournaments.

We’re on the right track.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John’s Journal: The Triple A Luncheon Leads To Love

 

Every year, high schools across Minnesota honor seniors who excel in academics, arts and athletics with the MSHSL Triple A Award, one of the most prestigious honors for young people in our state.

Those school winners then advance to the region level, with each of the state’s 16 MSHSL administrative regions – eight for small schools, eight for large schools -- selecting one male and one female as region winners. Those 32 kids are usually brought together for a formal luncheon during the state basketball tournaments and honored at halftime of one of the championship games; that event was held virtually earlier this week due to Covid-19.

Back in 2007, Kelsey Eliason from Eastview and Noah Craft from Fridley were among the 32 Triple A honorees. Both were pole vaulters on their track and field teams; Kelsey also participated in soccer and band, while Noah also took part in cross-country, swimming, band, musicals and plays.

Kelsey and Noah happened to be seated next to each other during the luncheon. They had never met before that day; they chatted and had a good time. They stayed in touch and … well, here are portions of an email Kelsey sent to the MSHSL when the 2021 Triple A winners were announced:

I saw that the 2021 AAA Awards were just announced - congrats to all the finalists and winners! My now husband, Noah, and I have been meaning to write MSHSL to thank you for the program because it is the reason we met.

We were both finalists for the 2007 awards and were seated next to each other at the luncheon. We ended up talking the whole time and bonding over being pole vaulters. Long story short, we got engaged in August 2019 and were officially married (COVID-style with just our immediate families) in August 2020! This March marks 14 years since that day and we couldn't be more grateful that our timelines allowed us to be seated next to each other at that ceremony because our paths probably would not have crossed otherwise. 

Kelsey included some photos from the 2007 event as well as more recent photos. The program from the 2007 luncheon was on display at a wedding shower last year, too.

As Kelsey wrote, Anyway, just wanted to share some wholesomeness we've been meaning to pass on to you and the MSHSL team all these years, and to let you know that your decisions in seating (when you're allowed to do in-person events again) can have lifelong impacts on some 17-/18-year-olds :D. 

 --MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John's Journal: The Five Families Of 2,000-Point Scorers

 

When Mesabi East basketball player Hannah Hannuksela reached the 2,000-point career milestone last week, she joined her brother Hunter in the 2,000 club. They became the first players from the same family to reach 2,000 in the same season, and the fifth family to have more than one member hit 2,000.

The first family to do so was the McDonalds of Chisholm fame. Other schools to have 2,000-point scorers from one family come from Braham, Cambridge-Isanti and Barnum.

Here’s the list, courtesy of Matt Pederson and his Minnesota High School Basketball Records website: http://www.info-link.net/~mattnet/

Chisholm

--Tom McDonald (1982)

--Judy McDonald (1984)

--Joel McDonald (1991)

Braham

--Isaiah Dahlman (2006)

--Noah Dahlman (2007)

--Rebekah Dahlman (2013)

Barnum

--Katrina Newman (2010)

--Brandon Newman (2015)

Cambridge-Isanti/Braham

--Whitney Olson (2012), Cambridge-Isanti

--Chris Olson (2016), Brainerd

Mesabi East

--Hannah Hannuksela (2021)

--Hunter Hannuksela (2021)

John’s Journal: From Hayfield 1963 To Princeton 2021

 

In 1963 a stellar multisport athlete completed his high school career in Hayfield, Minnesota. Fifty-eight years later his grandson is in the midst of a similar career, with a piece of his grandfather’s legacy hanging on his bedroom wall.

Noah Paulson, who was 74 when he died two years ago this month, was Hayfield High School’s first 1,000-point basketball scorer and was inducted into the Hayfield Hall of Fame in 2016. Noah’s single-game high was 40 points, and his grandson Haydn Stay, a 6-foot-4 junior at Princeton High School, broke the family record by scoring 47 in a 105-94 win over Zimmerman on Feb. 20. Haydn also has eclipsed his grandpa’s career scoring total.

After Noah’s death, a celebration of his life was held in Princeton. Ron Evjen, who grew up in Hayfield, graduated six years after Noah and went on to a lengthy career as a teacher, coach, principal and superintendent in Hayfield (where he still lives after retiring 10 years ago), attended the celebration. He was introduced to Haydn and told the youngster first-hand stories about his grandpa’s high school career.

“I was too young to be playing with him but I was a big admirer of Noel Paulson,” Evjen said Thursday. “He was a big lefthander, a three-sport athlete who was phenomenal in all three.”

Evjen has taken on the role of a Hayfield sports historian. A few years back he scoured old scorebooks and discovered that Noah Paulson had finished his high school career with 1,043 points. Evjen had a plaque made for Noah to commemorate the accomplishment; when Noah passed away the plaque was given to Haydn.

As a freshman in 2019, Haydn played on Princeton’s state tournament team. This caught the ear of Evjen, who played on Hayfield teams that went to state in 1967 and 1968; he has attended every state basketball tournament for nearly 40 years.

“I found out that this kid was Noel’s grandson,” Evjen said. “I told him about his grandpa. I wanted to tell him how good he was. Not everybody there could attest to that. (Haydn’s) Aunt Bev, who graduated with me, called me about a month ago and told me that Noah’s grandson was having a great year and had scored 1,000 points.”

Having admired Noah and met Haydn, Evjen got to work on a project. He had kept newspaper clippings from those long-ago days, and he sent a packet of memorabilia detailing Noah’s career to his grandson.

He included this note: “Haydn, I was in 6^th grade when Noel was a senior. He was one of Hayfield’s greatest athletes. He was a 3-sport star. Your grandpa is looking down with a big smile on his face and love in his heart. Play like every game might be your last. He did! Best of luck, Ron Evjen.”

Ron told me, “I thought, you know when I die it’s probably going to get tossed away. So there’s no better place to send all of that than to Haydn.”

The Princeton team qualified for the state tournament last season before everything was shut down due to Covid-19. This year they finished with a regular-season record of 16-1 and will host Duluth Denfeld in the opening round of the Class 3A Section 7 tournament on Saturday. Haydn Stay leads the Tiger with a 21.4-point scoring average and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Jody Stay, Noah’s daughter and Haydn’s mother, said shortly before Noah passed away they were looking through some old newspaper articles from his high school career.

“My dad was close to the end, about a month before he passed,” Jody said. “I was reading out loud and he would finish the sentence or the paragraph. It just goes to show that your body can fail you but your mind, your memories can remain. I had heard for years and years and years what kind of athlete my dad was.”

Haydn is also a star football player who plans to pursue that sport in college. This week he received his first scholarship offer from the University of North Dakota.

“I know that he lettered in four sports all four years,” Haydn said of his grandpa’s legacy. “That’s a lot and that’s very good. I remember looking through a bunch of newspapers with him and he was kind of reacting with us about the games that he remembered.”

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: National Honor For Kylen Running Hawk

 

In this space in late January, we were proud to honor Morris Area High School senior Kylen Running Hawk as the 2021 MSHSL Heart of the Arts Award winner. The Heart of the Arts Award recognizes individuals who exemplify the positive ideals of performing arts that are the core mission of education-based participation in arts and activities.

We forwarded Kylen’s nomination to the National Federation of State High School Associations in Indianapolis. A committee looked at nominations from all 50 states; Kylen was named the Heart of the Arts winner for NFHS Section 5 (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri). And then came the best news of all: Kylen has been named the NATIONAL winner of the NFHS Heart of the Arts honor.

This is a tremendous honor for a tremendous young man. Kylen is active in many school activities, including choir, theater, speech and mock trial. He found his passion in the performing arts despite a language barrier, hearing loss and other obstacles. Kylen plans to study education in college, with an emphasis on choir and theater, with hopes of teaching those art forms to Native American students.

Kylen’s family is Hunkpapa Lakota from the Standing Rock Nation in North and South Dakota and the Winnebago tribe of Nebraska. His Lakota name is Wica Kawitaya, which translates to He Gathers the People/Nation. Kylen’s early years were spent on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota and his first language is Lakota Sioux.

To read the January 27 story about Kylen, click here: https://www.mshsl.org/about/news/johns-journal/johns-journal-morris-senior-named-heart-arts-recipient

I was at Morris Area High School on Tuesday morning for a school assembly in the auditorium. I was there, presumably, to announce that Kylen had been named the Section 5 winner. And it was my great honor to announce to Kylen, his family, teachers and friends that he is the national winner of the Heart of the Arts award.

He is the second Minnesota student to be so honored. The 2017 national honoree was Josephine Ross of Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in St. Louis Park. To read about other past recipients of the national award, click here: https://www.nfhs.org/resources/awards/heart-of-arts/

The National Federation of State High School Associations holds a convention every summer, with people from all 50 high school governing bodies gathered together. Last year’s convention was canceled and held virtually due to the pandemic, so let’s hope this summer’s convention takes place. It is scheduled for late June in Orlando, Florida. Kylen will be honored at the convention, with the National Federation making travel arrangements and paying all the expenses for him and some family members to be there in Orlando.

As I said at Morris Area High School, we have been through a dark time, with a worldwide pandemic changing everyone’s lives. But in dark times there are always bright lights to be found, and we are proud to honor one of those bright lights, Kylen Running Hawk.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John’s Journal: A Fighter And Her Teammates

For weeks now I’ve been thinking about a way to mark one full year since March 12, 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to high school sports in Minnesota. The decision was made when I heard about Tanya Schlichting and her teammates, because what they have done and continue to do tells us everything we need to know about the values provided by these important community activities … and what can be missed when they do not happen.

This story has nothing to do with winning and losing on the scoreboard. It’s all about the lessons we can learn from teenagers and their coaches and parents, about sticking together, about taking care of each other, about being selfless. 

“It’s amazing the way the team has wrapped their arms around our daughter,” Brian Schlichting said to me Thursday during a lengthy phone conversation.

Tanya, a senior at Apple Valley High School who has been a member of the Apple Valley/Eastview cooperative gymnastics team throughout high school, was involved in a very serious vehicle accident last July 8. Doctors initially told her parents, Brian and Catherine, that her chances of survival were 50-50 due to a closed head injury. She was in a coma and her parents became familiar with things like breathing tubes, feeding tubes and brain monitors. 

Tanya has always been a fighter, however, and she indeed fought back. Early forecasts predicted she might be hospitalized for six or seven months. She came home, walking on her own steam, after 100 days; 15 at Regions Hospital and 85 days at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare hospital, working with nurses and therapists and other dedicated professionals. 

As Brian said, “She worked her rear end off.”

Her gymnastics teammates were there all the way, and they continue to be there for Tanya. She’s not able to participate as a competitive gymnast as she continues to work with occupational and physical therapists, but she’s definitely a member of the team. 

While Tanya was hospitalized, coach Liz Carlson promised her that she would remain part of the team. And as the first day of practice on Jan. 4 neared, Tanya made it clear that she wanted to be there.

“The first day we walked in, the girls were phenomenal,” Brian said. “The seniors really put their arms around Tanya and welcomed her, knowing that she would not compete but she was part of the team.”

As a ninth-grader, Tanya competed on vault, as a sophomore year she added beam and floor, and she was a varsity competitor on floor exercise as a junior. This year she’s returned to the floor, performing in an exhibition format at the end of several dual meets. She’s unable to sprint and flip and do airborne maneuvers, but she can sure dance. 

Carlson wrote in an email, “I asked Tanya what goal she wanted to set for this season. A week later her dad came up to me and said, ‘She wants to do her floor routine to the best of her ability.’ He asked if this is doable and I said, “Absolutely, let’s do it.’ One of her friends on the team made up a routine to her floor music. We came in on the weekends and practiced while the team was conditioning. No one knew about this.”

The first home meet was Senior Night, honoring Tanya and classmates Julia Choporov, Lexie Ressmeyer, Tasha Hill, Abbie Swanson and Kailey Renn. After the last girl had finished competing, Carlson announced that there would be a special performance. The AVEV girls wore Team Tanya t-shirts; pink, with the words Never Give Up. The visiting team from Farmington knew about Tanya and were all in on supporting her. Some of them wore masks bearing the words Never Give Up.

“The girls from Farmington were so gracious,” Brian said. “All the girls had ribbons in their hair that said Never Give Up, for our daughter. It was amazing.”

Members of both teams sat and watched while Tanya performed the dance portion of her floor routine with assistance from Julia Choporov. When she finished, one of the judges put a 10.0 on the scoreboard. Dry eyes? Not so much.

“It was very emotional to see her out there,” said her dad. “We were shocked, we didn’t know she would be able to do that.”

Tanya performed again following meets with Rosemount and Lakeville South.

“Cathy and I said, ‘We never didn’t expect Tanya not to do something,’ ” Brian said, “But I guess we never expected her to be out on that floor. We were thrilled.”

The gymnasts from Apple Valley and Eastview have come together very strongly this year. Is that because of Tanya? Is It Covid-19? Is it because they have missed seeing their friends in school because of virtual learning? It’s probably all of that and more, but no one who knows Tanya will discount her impact on everyone.

“I think Tanya gives a presence of never giving up,” said Brian.  

Challenges continue. The Schlichtings (Brian, Catherine, Tanya and Eli, a sophomore at Apple Valley) are currently quarantining at home. Catherine tested positive for Covid but the others have not.

“We have a very weird situation,” Brian said. “Things just are really piling on us right now.”

Brian and Catherine have done a marvelous job documenting Tanya’s journey on a CaringBridge website: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tanyaschlichting/journal (that's where the photos used here came from). 

“Since the day of that accident, she has surprised us every day,” Brian told me. “She never gave up on things. The first night in the hospital, when we were told by the neurosurgeon that she was 50-50, my wife looked at me and said, ‘She’s coming home someday.’ She’s pushed through this on a regular basis. It’s not always been easy, but she goes through the battles with a smile and lots of laughter. And the team has supported her so darn much.”

The next goal is for Tanya to get through quarantine and be with her teammates for the Section 3 championships March 19 at Park High School in Cottage Grove. Once the season ends, there is no doubt that the team members and their families will keep putting their arms around Tanya and the Schlichtings.

“Honestly, I think she is the one who made us all better and stronger people,” Carlson wrote. “She has a very long road ahead of her, but I have no doubt this young lady can do anything.”

There will be many memories from this very special gymnastics season, and some of the most important memories have nothing to do with winning and losing on the scoreboard. That Senior Night, that special performance by the bravest, toughest athlete around, will be remembered forever.

“The other team was cheering, our girls were crying, her family was so touched and grateful,” Carlson wrote. “It was a moment I’ll never forget, and neither will those girls. That right there is what high school sports is all about.”

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: As A Streak Ends, Pride Continues

 

SAUK CENTRE – On Feb. 24, Scott Bergman was explaining during a phone call how it would feel the next time the Sauk Centre girls basketball team he coaches lost a home game. He said, “Our mentality is if a team comes to our place and beats us, they’re going to have to earn it. Then you tip your hat and go on to the next game.”

The hat has been tipped, the next game is coming up and the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters – past and present -- can look back with pride at one of the most remarkable streaks for any team anywhere.

The Menahga Lady Braves made the 90-minute drive south to Sauk Centre for a Saturday night game that had been scheduled only three days earlier amidst a season and schedules that have been disrupted by the Covid-19 virus. And the visitors did no what visitors had done since Jan. 8, 2013: they beat the Mainstreeters in their own gym.

On that day in 2013, Osakis won 49-40. Ten days later Sauk Centre defeated visiting Melrose 73-47 and absolutely not one soul knew what had been started.

The Mainstreeters simply kept winning home games. Year after year, nobody came to town and won. As the teams tipped off Saturday night, the streak was 99 consecutive home victories over more than eight years and triple figures was on the horizon.

Sauk Centre has held the state record since the streak reached 77. Rochester Lourdes won 76 home games in a row between January 1989 and December 1996, followed by Braham with 74 from January 2009 to January 2015. The boys basketball state record for consecutive home wins is 85 by Braham from Feb. 2009 to Feb. 2016. (Boys and girls state basketball records can be found here: http://www.info-link.net/~mattnet/)

When Bergman was commenting about tipping the hat to whoever came to town and won, the next home game was scheduled for March 2 vs. BOLD. But the Warriors had to cancel due to virus issues and Bergman (also the school’s athletic director) began looking for another opponent. Menahga, having also lost an opponent in the same week, agreed.

Before everything was locked in, Lady Braves coach Cody Pulju asked some of his players if they wanted to go to Sauk Centre. He himself wasn’t sure.

“I honestly didn't want to really come here tonight because I know what Sauk Center is about,” he said after Saturday’s game. “Wednesday night I sent a text message to four of our leaders on our team. I said, ‘What do you guys want to do?’ I told them I didn’t want to take an opportunity away from them and they said they're all in, they wanted to come here.”

Menahga played in the Class 1A state tournament in 2018 and 2019, so they know about success. The Lady Braves on the bench and a small cluster of fans cheered mightily throughout the game, in which Menahga never trailed.

Asked about the significance of the victory, Pulju said, “Honestly in the locker room I just told the girls that we made it to state two years in a row, we've had some huge wins. And this is up there. They haven't lost on this court since 2013, and these girls came out and battled and this is just a huge win for our program and this group of girls. For this group it’s by far the biggest win of their lives.”

It was Parents Night for the Mainstreeters, with players presenting moms and dads with gift bags in a sweet pregame ceremony. Senior Michaela Dammann was also recognized for recently reaching the 1,000-point milestone.

The gym was built in 1964 and has all the classic charm you would expect. Fifteen rows of seats on either side of the court, the school colors of maroon and white on the seats and walls. A banner lists the school’s team state champs: Baseball in 1982, boys golf in 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, and girls basketball in 2018. The Streeters have gone to state in girls basketball nine times since 2010, winning the Class 2A crown in 2018; they also were at state last year when the tournament was shut down after two days because of the virus.

When the game began the Lady Braves played what can be termed Octopus Defense; each defender appeared to have eight arms that constantly swatted at the ball whether it was being held, dribbled or passed. Lela Peterson, a 5-foot-7 junior guard, was particularly troublesome to Sauk’s offense while the Braves disrupted the Mainstreeters for the entire 36 minutes, holding them to their lowest point total of the season and 19 points below their average output.

After a 27-21 halftime lead by Menahga, Sauk Centre’s Maddie Nelson hit a three-point shot, then sank two free throws on the next possession. That made the score 30-30 and the Streeters looked ready to make a run. But Menahga never let it happen. Their defense, combined with a bad night of accuracy by the Streeters, remained the theme until the end.

Menahga led 42-37 with 1:51 remaining. As the teams came out of timeout huddles, a group of Streeter students chanted, “Here We Go Streeters! Here We Go!” But where was no place to go because the Lady Braves proved adept at killing the clock.

And that’s how the streak ended. A few minutes after 8 o’clock on a lovely central Minnesota Saturday night, the visitors did what no visitors had done for about as long as most folks could remember.

The previous night, the Streeters had lost in overtime at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa for their first loss of the season after 13 wins. But there were no excuses to be found.

“That’s a good team,” Bergman said of the Lady Braves (10-3). “You know, we had a tough one last night, too. Playing back to back, we like to think it gets you ready for playoffs but it went the wrong way for us both nights. But you’ve got to turn the page and hopefully get better.”

The Mainstreeters were going to spend some more time together Saturday night, enjoying pizza and each other’s company and reflecting on what has been accomplished.

“We’ll kind of hang out for a bit and make sure they're OK because, you know, it was a tough, tough couple nights,” said Bergman. “But man, it's not time to feel sorry for ourselves because we got Albany coming in on Monday.”

Yes, Albany is coming to town. The Huskies are 14-1 and a big rival for the Mainstreeters.

As always, the next challenge awaits.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John’s Journal: Everything Changed One Year Ago

 

My first mask was a worn, blue bandana. I pulled it out of my back pocket, tied two corners into a knot, slipped it over my head and pulled it up to cover my nose and mouth. I looked like an outlaw from the old west.

This was shortly after the end of the 2020 Minnesota high school state tournaments … an end that came early, abruptly and memorably.

I remember vividly that final day of competition, the second of four scheduled days of the girls state basketball tournament inside Williams Arena and Maturi Sports Pavilion at the University of Minnesota. We were all learning some new terms: Coronavirus, Covid-19. I had purchased a small plastic squeeze bottle of hand sanitizer; it had the U of M logo on it and I’m still carrying it a year later, having refilled it many times.

On that Thursday night, I wrote about coming home from the tournament – everything would be cancelled the next morning -- amid all the uncertainty. That post included this passage:

I was sitting courtside at Maturi Pavilion with my good friend Pat Ruff from the Rochester Post Bulletin. Pat wiped off the tabletop with Clorox disinfecting wipes he had brought, and I used the bottle of hand sanitizer that has been my constant companion lately. Pat and I like to have a laugh and solve the world’s problems, but our conversation this time was quite serious. It’s simply the not knowing … about this virus, what it may do, how and where it may spread, what impact it will have. The fear.

And here we are. It’s been 12 months, 12 often fearful months. The girls basketball tournament was stopped in midstream, the boys state basketball tournament scheduled for the following week was cancelled, there were no spring sports at all and the fall sports season was short, ending in section playoffs but no state tournaments.

March 12 was the end of the 2019-2020 high school sports year. And 363 day later, sports state tournaments will return. The winter tournament series is scheduled to begin March 10 with the Alpine skiing state championships, followed by Nordic skiing Thursday and Friday, and state dance Friday and Saturday. They will be followed by the others: swimming and diving, wrestling, gymnastics, hockey and basketball.

These tournaments, of course, won’t be like last winter’s tournaments. Crowds are limited, masks are prevalent, some venues have changed, awards ceremonies will be minimal. But we are having state tournaments, which is a great step, a positive step.

That first bandana mask was replaced by masks made by my wife, Beth, at her sewing machine. We bought a pack of 10 masks at a store, we ordered masks online, and dozens of schools around our state have given me masks, in person and through the mail. The masks bearing school logos are special to me. I have a stack of masks in my office, another bunch in my car, several in each of the two bags – a backpack and a roller bag – that I use in my work. I’m guessing that I own upwards of 50 masks and I’ve taken to wearing two when I’m indoors and not at home.

I am patiently waiting, and anxiously hoping, to get vaccinated. The news has been very positive in this area, with several companies approved to provide vaccines and more opportunities to receive them. As I wrote last March 12, I belong to a high-risk group for the Coronavirus. I am over 60 with a chronic condition; specifically, I am 61 and have diabetes. I also have a loving family and an infant grandchild.

Now I’m 62 and we haven’t seen our no-longer infant grandchild in more than 13 months. He’s a California kid, now 20 months old, showing us his toys and blowing us kisses on video calls. We treasure those video conversations and photos sent from our son and daughter-in-law, while they also make our hearts ache at not seeing them – and our other son and his girlfriend, Arizona residents -- in person.

Beth works in health care and has received her two vaccinations. Our daughter, a teacher in the Twin Cities, has received her first vaccination and will receive the second one soon. We are absolutely aching to travel to California to see our grandson/nephew and I’m holding things up, waiting to be vaccinated. But it will happen; we will go to the airport and we will get on a plane, masked up, avoiding crowds when possible and sanitizing our hands. Just the thought of landing in San Francisco, picking up our rental car and heading off makes me smile.

That will be a grand day. And we have other grand, special days coming up here in our Minnesota midst, starting next week and continuing for the next few weeks as state tournaments are held. We’ve all been through a lot and we’ll continue working through things until some sense of normalcy returns.

It’s been a long haul and it’s not over. But state tournaments are back, kids are competing with their friends and communities are involved.

Be well, my friends.

--To read my story from the final day of the 2020 state tournaments, click here and scroll until you see “Home Is Not Where I Planned To Be Right Now”: https://old.mshsl.org/mshsl/johnsjournal.asp?index=45

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org