John’s Journal: ‘The Places You’ve Been, The People You’ve Met’

 

Paul McDonald isn’t going anywhere. He’s just hanging up the whistle after 35 years as a high school football and basketball official. The 66-year-old Chisholm native, longtime Ely resident and member of the most famous basketball family in Minnesota officiated his final football game during the 2023 Prep Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the 2023-24 basketball season will be his last in that sport.

He has seemingly done it all, beginning with playing on two state championship basketball teams in Chisholm coached by his father, Bob McDonald. Paul was also a state champion in the discus in high school, and his basketball playing career continued at the University of Nebraska for one year and South Dakota State for three years.

He was a high school coach at Cotton and Tower-Soudan and he spent 29 years as the men’s basketball coach at Vermilion Community College in Ely, where he won more than 500 games before retiring in 2019. He also was a faculty member, assistant football coach and athletic director at the school.

The 1976 Chisholm graduate was part of state championship basketball teams in 1973 and 1975. He got his start in officiating by working men’s league basketball games in Chisholm. He was in eighth grade.

“My dad’s team was the perennial champion,” said McDonald, whose brothers Mike (Cambridge-Isanti), Joel (Hibbing) and Tom (Ely) are veteran high school basketball coaches.

“Mike and I reffed with another guy, and he was the only one smart enough to figure out that at five bucks a game the abuse wasn’t worth it. I called a foul on a guy and he accused me of nepotism. I didn’t know what that word meant so I looked it up in the dictionary and then I got mad. But then he said, ‘I’m helping you work on your vocabulary.’ ”

McDonald continued officiating those games through high school and worked some intramural sports at South Dakota State. As a retired official he will remain in his role as a football officials coordinator and will work as an MSHSL observer of basketball officials. He stays busy as Fourth District Commissioner on the St. Louis County Board.

McDonald has countless memories of his officiating career.

“It’s been a crazy involvement,” he said. “With the weather, we’ve seen it all. You look at the places you’ve been, the people you’ve met. That’s the part I’m going to miss the most. And not people yelling, ‘McDonald! LensCrafters just called! Your glasses are in!’

“I’m at a place now when I walk onto a field or a court I do believe the majority of people are happy to see me,” he said. “That’s a good time to exit, and going out with a Prep Bowl is as good as it gets.”

The Prep Bowl was the second state championship football game of McDonald’s career, along with four basketball championship games and many state quarterfinal and semifinal games.

His crew members this year are Davis Lamppa and Kyle Lamppa of Virginia, Aaron Donais of Babbitt and Mike Pope of Ely. The Lamppas have officiated football with McDonald for about 20 years, Donais for around 10 and this is Pope’s third year with the group.

Bob McDonald never officially worked as an official, but “he did every day in practice, blowing the whistle,” said Paul. He said one of the biggest compliments he ever received came from his father after Paul worked a section final basketball game in Hibbing.

“He said, ‘Paul, I’ve got to tell you something. You’re a damn good official.’ I thought, now there’s a compliment. That doesn’t happen all the time. I always prided myself on knowing the rules, both as an official and a coach. And realizing this is about the kids.”

That’s always been McDonald’s calling card: It’s about making sure the kids have the best possible experience and games are called with integrity and respect.

“You try to help people,” he said, “and that’s what I did during my career in education and officiating.”

--MSHSL senior content creator 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: From Fall Sports To Winter Sports, In A Hurry

 

Players from Eden Valley-Watkins with the Class 2A state championship trophy.

If there’s a dynasty in Class 1A football, Minneota fits the bill. The Vikings won their second consecutive state championship Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium, as well as their eighth all-time. Minneota defeated Springfield 43-22, one year after the same teams met in the 2022 Prep Bowl. In that game, the Vikings defeated the Tigers 28-21.

Minneota’s previous championships came in 1986, 1987, 1988, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017. Chad Johnston has been the Vikings head football coach for 22 years, and this year, as has long been the custom, he will quickly transition to another sport.

Johnston, the father of young sons, was the Minneota head girls basketball coach for 21 years before taking over the boys coaching duties last season. He is well-accustomed to switching from one sport to another, and one benefit of coaching boys basketball is the calendar.

Girls basketball practice began on Nov. 13 and the first date for games to be played was Nov. 22. On the boys side, practice started Nov. 20 with the first possible games on Nov. 30. The original season opener for the Minneota boys team was Dec. 4 at BOLD but that game has been rescheduled for Dec. 22. The first boys basketball game is now scheduled for Dec. 8 at Canby.

“I have to change gears right away and I'm very fortunate that that's a problem that I have to deal with right now,” Johnston said.

The End Can Be Emotional

For the seniors on the Minneota football team, Friday’s game marked the end of a lengthy, successful run. Since the start of the 2020 season (which was shortened due to Covid), the Vikings have an overall record of 47-3. They were 14-0 this season.

Minneota senior Sawyer DeSmet, who caught three passes from Ryan Delager for 63 yards and had a team-high nine tackles (as did Kellen Bradley), wore a big smile after the game.

“We've been here for the last three years in a row and it's just a crazy experience to be able to come here that many times,” he said. “This one felt a little different for me and (the other seniors). It's our last one and you’ve got the happiness that you wanted. I was really emotional that I'm done; you're done playing high school football.”

--Minneota's Ryan Meagher tied a Prep Bowl record with five rushing touchdowns. The previous players to do so were Jordan Suhonen of Cromwell in 2010, Jason Williamson of Owatonna in 2017 and Christian Vasser of Wayzata in 2019.

Prepping For Size And Speed

After Eden Valley-Watkins defeated defending state champion Barnesville 24-6 in the Class 2A title game, Barnesville coach Bryan Strand said he knew that the Eagles were a tall, fast team. In preparation for that, the Trojans reached out to former athletes from North Dakota State and Minnesota State Moorhead, and worked out with them in North Dakota State’s indoor practice facility. The players brought in included Strand’s son Michael, a former football player at Minnesota State Moorhead.

“They’re a great team, they’re very well-coached,” Bryan Strand said of Eden Valley-Watkins. “Our guys fought all the way to the end.”

--Eden Valley-Watkins’ Nolan Haag tied a Prep Bowl record with three interceptions. Others with three Prep Bowl INTs were Pete Roback of Anoka in 1990, Mark Olsonawski of Kittson Central in 1994, Mason Hansen of Cromwell in 1998, Tyler Drinkall of Rushford-Peterson in 2004, Matt Risinger of Minnetonka in 2004, Evan Robertson of Dawson-Boyd in 2011 and Dawson Brown of Becker in 2014.

The Family That Wins Together

When Hutchinson defeated Rocori 14-6 in the Class 4A Prep Bowl Friday, the result broke a family tie on the Tigers coaching staff. Grady Rostberg became the head coach in 1970 and held the job for 29 years before his son Andy took over.

Under Grady, Hutchinson won state titles in 1983, 1984 and 1998 (Andy played on the first two teams and was an assistant coach for the third). With Friday’s win, Andy now owns four state championships as head coach (2012, 2013, 2021 and 2023).

“And nobody’s happier than he is,” Andy said of his father. “No, wait, my mother’s happier.”

Officiating History

During Friday’s Class 1A game, M.J. Wagenson of Pine Island became the first female to work on an officiating crew at the Prep Bowl. Wagenson, a multi-sport official, had worked in the state semifinals previously.

John’s Journal: Exceptionally Right Or Terribly Wrong, Lessons are Learned

 

When games are played, things can go exceptionally right or terribly wrong. Under the best of circumstances, lessons are learned, lessons that go way past sports and deep into life. This week’s state football semifinal football games at U.S. Bank Stadium provided examples of what these community activities mean and what they teach us all.

The football semifinals are a whirlwind of football games. Fourteen games squeezed into three days at the indoor palace in downtown Minneapolis, each of them providing unforgettable moments.

A moment that Jackson County Central sophomore quarterback Roman Voss would like to forget came on the first play from scrimmage in the second half of the Huskies’ Class 2A semifinal loss to Barnesville. The postgame statistical packet includes play-by-play details, and the play on which Roman was injured read like this: “1-10, Jackso31, No Huddle-Shotgun, #2 R. Voss rush left for 1 yard gain to the Jackso32.”

The tackle was clean but Roman’s head slammed into the turf. The game was stopped as he was tended to, and he was taken from the field on a stretcher.

Several hours later, Roman’s father, Rod, posted on Twitter a photo of his son sitting on a hospital bed with the message, “Thanks for the calls texts and prayers. Roman just got released and is doing good.”

In the postgame news conference, Jackson County Central coach Tom Schuller stressed what really matters.

“The football game is secondary,” said the Huskies’ 24-year head coach. “The great news is he's cleared, I think. His neck is completely good. So you know we're thankful for that. That's more important than the football game. We're really disappointed to lose that football game but we're really happy he's going to be OK. At the end of the day, if I’ve got to take one or the other I'll take him being OK.”

Hutchinson is a team that plays deep into the postseason seemingly every year, and the Tigers defeated North Branch in the Class 4A semifinals to win a spot in next week’s Prep Bowl against Rocori.

Andy Rostberg, who is in his 25^th year as the Hutchinson coach and whose teams have won three state titles, was asked about the pressure that the players feel because of the program’s great tradition. His words were meaningful.

“When delivery is expected, delivery is hard. It's hard to deliver when you win on Friday, you feel really good most of the day Saturday, but then you know what's coming on Monday; they're going to go, ‘Hey, can you do that again for us?’

“And so it's hard with the expectations, when fans will go, ‘If you make it the state title game we’ll come watch.’ Well, that's not easy. It isn't and these kids are crazy good about it. They're so good. And they can deal with the pressure because no foolin’, there's a lot of pressure on these kids.”

Rostberg was sitting in the interview room with seniors Carter Verhasselt, Logan Butler, Andrew Lipke and Anton Kadlec. The coach looked at the kids as he continued …

“There is pressure being from Hutch and the expectations to just always deliver. Is it fair? No, probably not, but it’s life. It's just how it is. And we always say pressure is a privilege. And it's either going to polish you really hard or it's going to pulverize you, just grind you up into powder. And I can guarantee you these four here, we have others, but these four are polished hard. They know how to play football. They know how to win football games late and now we just get to go hang out together for one more week.”

The football team from North Branch has been on the rise in recent years, reaching the Class 4A state quarterfinals a year ago and advancing to the semifinals and their loss to Hutchinson this week. The Vikings’ record over the last three seasons is 27-6.

North Branch lost to Hutchinson 56-28 on Friday, the Vikings’ second loss of the season; they were defeated at Pequot Lakes 42-28 in the season opener and then rattled off 10 consecutive wins.

Vikings coach Justin Voss (no relation to the Voss family from Jackson) is in his sixth year in that position and teaches fifth grade. He’s an Albany native who graduated from Minnesota Duluth and previously coached at Macalester College and Two Harbors High School. Like all the best coaches and teachers, Voss wants his football players to have memorable experiences and grow as individuals.

“Obviously things didn't go exactly what we hoped for certainly, but there are positive things and I think the resilience we had all year showed through today,” he said. “Hutchinson, give it to them, they are a very tough football team.”

Like a lot of teams, the word “Family” is printed on shirts and other apparel for the Vikings. But posting words and working hard to live up to them are not the same thing.

“We're fortunate to play a really fun sport,” Voss said. “And I think with that great fortune we have, we can do more with it. We can make strong connections and impact people's lives and I think that's really important. With family, that only has meaning when guys invest in believing it. And when you see a group of guys invest in our football family and sacrifice for each other and love each other, that's an extremely powerful thing.”

In the interview room, Voss was sitting next to players Jayden Roske, Jacob Robillard and Joseph Donahue. Joseph said, “Everyone has each other's back. Everyone knows if I don't get my guy, the guy next to me is going to pick me up.”

Voss said, “And it's nothing special that we as coaches do, it's really these guys believing it. And when you have strong families, guys care about each other, they trust each other, they're willing to sacrifice for each other and there's this strength that's hard to describe. But you can feel it, and I think that's what's special for me and special for these seniors and these guys. They believe in it so much and you can feel that love and that's all you can ask for, is that love. And these guys do that all year long. I'm extremely proud of that and very fortunate to be their football coach.”

John’s Journal: Kingsland Is A Football Team On The Rise

 

For any team in any sport that’s ever been down in the dumps with seemingly little reason to be hopeful, take a look at the 2023 Kingsland High School football team. The Knights are having a dream season and will take a perfect record of 13-0 into the Nine-Player Prep Bowl championship game against Nevis on Nov. 25.

Their latest triumph came in Thursday’s state semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium, where they defeated Fertile-Beltrami 36-28.

Things, however, weren’t always so rosy and bright for Kingsland. Go back to the 2012 season … and keep going through the 2016 season. In fact, stretch your research into the 2017 season and realize this fact: The Knights did not win even one game in that span, losing 51 times in a row.

And here they are, playing for a state championship. Go figure.

“These guys have done everything,” said fourth-year head coach Matt Kolling. “The work they put in, the time they put in, their passion and love for the game, it is so fun to see them get this reward. It's so worth it.”

After ending the long losing streak in 2017 with a Week 8 victory over Hayfield, the Knights finished with a 1-8 record. They also went 1-8 in 2018 and 2019, and then 1-5 in the Covid-shortened 2020 season. The tide started to turn in 2021 when they finished 3-6, and in 2022 they climbed another step to a 4-5 finish.

Initially, the 2023 season didn’t look to be off to a great start. In the first game, Kingsland trailed Mabel-Canton 28-0 before rallying for a 40-34 win. And off they went, rolling through the year with scores like 63-21, 54-14, 57-0, 54-21, etc.

Coming out of always-tough Section 1 in southeast Minnesota, they defeated Lanesboro, Houston and Spring Grove in the section playoffs by a combined score of 135-42. The Knights outscored previously unbeaten Hills-Beaver Creek 26-14 in the state quarterfinals, setting up Thursday’s contest.

Kingsland ran for 416 yards against Fertile-Beltrami, with Beau Wiersma carrying 29 times for 297 yards and four touchdowns, and Kaaleem Reiland rushing 20 times for 115 yards. The Knights did not punt, which was no surprise considering that they have punted only six times all season.

Fertile-Beltrami (12-1) was no pushover opponent for Kingsland. The Falcons played at U.S. Bank Stadium for the third year in a row, with their best finish coming in 2021 when they lost in the Prep Bowl to LeRoy-Ostrander (also from Section 1).

No one will be surprised to see Fertile-Beltrami making noise in the future. With only two seniors (Derek Sorenson and Caiden Swenby) on this year’s 37-player roster, the tradition is strong.

“We've had a great group of kids here for five, six, seven years,” said 29-year Fertile-Beltrami coach Brian Nelson. “Hopefully kids don't take this for granted because it's not something just that happens all the time. This has been an incredible run.”

This is Kingsland’s fourth appearance in the state football playoffs, and they won state titles in the three prior trips. Those came in 1995, 2002 and 2003; Kolling was a member of the 1995 team.

“Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday and other days it seems like it was 150 years ago,” Kolling said. “But I still remember it like it was yesterday a lot of times, and these kids will do the same in 25, 30 years. There are memories that don't go away.”

A Big Day For Nevis

Six years ago the Nevis Tigers were the Nine-Player state runner-up, losing to Spring Grove in the Prep Bowl. There are photos of a bunch of little kids getting autographs from those players in 2017, and many of those kids are now on the varsity for the unbeaten Tigers.

Nevis returned to state this year for the first time since that historic run, and advanced to the Prep Bowl by defeating Otter Tail Central 35-0 Thursday. In the state quarterfinals last week they beat defending state champ Mountain Iron-Buhl 12-8.

“They were sitting there dreaming of being here, and they're here today,” said Nevis coach Shawn Klimek as he sat next to players Eli Lewis, Eli Klimek (his son) and Devan Lindow during a postgame interview session in the Vikings media room.

“Eli came down here and took a tour of U.S. Bank Stadium and he sat right here,” said Shawn. “It's been his lifelong goal to sit right here. These are special moments.”

Otter Tail Central, a cooperative team with students from Henning and Battle Lake, finished with a record of 11-1.

Byron’s Inspirational Coach

After a defensive battle with Rocori that ended in a 7-0 loss for Byron in the Class 4A semifinals, Bears coach Will Halder was in a celebratory mood. Not because of the final score, of course, but because of what being together as a team all season has meant.

“It's not over,” Ben said. “We're going to go eat a team meal together one last time as a group, and these are the moments that high school sports are about, to be honest with you. I know we wanted to win a football game, I know Rocori wanted to win a football game. But for us to be able to go eat a meal together after a hard-fought battle; that's we've told the kids, this team will never be together again like this.

“And to get to have one last meal together and laugh and cry a little bit, it's worth it. It's what high school sports are about. It's what makes high school football so special, there's no other game like it and you can spend all 48 minutes giving everything you’ve got and still come up on the losing end, and have super big respect for teams like Rocori.”

Halder, in his eighth season as Byron’s head coach, is an inspirational figure. He lost his left leg below the knee in a 2005 automobile accident and has a prosthetic. He grew up in Lake City and played football at Minnesota State Mankato.

Bears senior Zachary Vanderpool said Halder inspires the team “Every single day. He’s always holding his head high and he sets a great example for all of us.”

Big Games Are Big News In Small Towns

We all know that the success of a team from a small town is big news in those places. Jackson County Central will meet Barnesville in Friday morning’s Class 2A semifinals, and here’s a Tweet that was posted Thursday by the Jackson County Pilot newspaper account, @PilotSports …

Places I’ve seen announce they’ll be open and showing the JCC football game Friday morning:

Dudley’s Garage

The Shed

Chill N Grill

Pillars Pub & Eatery

Santee Crossing

Places offering a fan bus:

Salem Lutheran Church

Countryside Plumbing & Heating

Football State Semifinals

At U.S. Bank Stadium

Thursday

Nine-Player: Kingsland 36, Fertile-Beltrami 28

Nine-Player: Nevis 35, Ottertail Central 0

Class 4A: Rocori 7, Byron

Class 6A: Centennial vs. Lakeville South

Friday

9 a.m. Class 2A: Jackson County Central vs. Barnesville

11:30 a.m. Class 2A: Cannon Falls vs. Eden Valley-Watkins

2 p.m. Class 5A: St. Thomas Academy vs. Alexandria

4:30 p.m. Class 4A: Hutchinson vs. North Branch

7 p.m. Class 6A: Edina vs. Eden Prairie

Saturday

9 a.m. Class A: Springfield vs. Mahnomen-Waubun

11:30 a.m. Class A: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa vs. Minneota

2 p.m. Class 3A: Stewartville vs. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton

4:30 p.m. Class 3A: Dassel-Cokato vs. Annandale

7 p.m. Class 5A: Chanhassen vs. Andover

--MSHSL senior content creator 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: Mission Accomplished For Pequot Lakes

 

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton players celebrate their Class 1A volleyball championship.

The volleyball team from Pequot Lakes is nothing if not battle-tested. A year ago, the Patriots lost to Cannon Falls 3-0 in the Class 2A state championship match, and that experience set them on the path that led to Saturday’s return to the big stage at Xcel Energy Center.

The Patriots had survived two scary rounds in the state tournament just to get to Saturday’s title match against Rush City, which was also at state for the second year in row. Pequot Lakes lost the first two sets against Redwood Valley in Thursday’s quarterfinals before rallying for a 3-2 win, and followed the same lose-lose-win-win-win format in beating Caledonia 3-2 in Friday’s semifinals.

They didn’t mess around quite as much against Rush City, sweeping to a 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 victory and their first state title. Winning the final five sets at state put a big, impressive stamp on the Patriots’ championship season.

“I just think knowing that we're in the championship and how we finished last year we were like, ‘OK, no messing around,’ ” said Pequot Lakes’ Isabel Larson. “ ‘This is it. We want this, let's get it done. No more five-set matches. We know how it's going to end so let's just make it quick.

“We've proven all year that we can fight and I feel like this time we were just like, ‘Let's start the fight sooner so we can end it faster.’ ”

This was Pequot Lakes’ fourth appearance in the state volleyball tournament, with trips in 1994 and 2019 before last season. Christine Ganley, who has coached th sport for 18 years, said this team’s accomplishment will be felt by all the players who came before them.

“We've been on the brink before,” she said. “And I'm so proud of this team for accomplishing something that many of the girls have tried as the program kept building, but these guys finally did it. And all the past teams can be proud because they built into this, and they finally did it for the whole program, the school and community.”

The Patriots finished with a record of 30-5, giving them a mark of 120-25 since the beginning of the 2019 season. 

I visited the Patriots on the second day of practice in August and wrote about their quest this fall. The headline on that story read: Pequot Lakes Volleyball Hoping For An Even Better Finish; Confidence Is High After Placing Second At State Last Season.

In that story (found here: https://shorturl.at/pGI59), senior libero Kelsi Martini said, “Most of us had just been to the state tournament to watch, and seeing that as a kid, you're like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to do that someday.’ So knowing that was something we can work for, I think last year we all just competed in practice. And we were like, ‘OK, we want to do this.’ And then our goals just kept becoming bigger.”

They finally achieved their biggest goal Saturday.

First Title For Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Too

The volleyball team from Russell-Tyler-Ruthton came into the Class 1A championship match a marked team, based on their victory over perennial power Minneota in the Section 3 title match and No. 1 seed at state. The Knights, at state for the first time, completed a magical season with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Mayer Lutheran.

“There are so many generations (of volleyball players) that have put it out there, put all that blood and tears out there and haven't gotten to this point,” said Knights coach Daynica Brown. “And so just getting here at state was a dream for many of them. And then to cap it off with a title? I mean, it was just amazing.”

--MSHSL senior content creator 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 Giant Killers From Russell-Tyler-Ruthton

 

The axis of small-school volleyball in Minnesota shifted on the evening of Nov. 4. Inside a jam-packed R/A Facility at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minneota and Russell-Tyer-Ruthton met for the Section 3 championship and trip to state.

The talented Paul Raymo was broadcasting the action on KLQP radio in Madison, as well as tweeting results after each set.

If anyone had been wagering, Minneota seemed like the safe pick. After all, the Vikings are one of the legendary Minnesota volleyball programs, with 15 trips to state between 2001 and 2022 and state titles in 2006, 2009, 2018, 2019 and 2022. The Knights of Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, meanwhile, had never won a section title and had never played at state.

Minneota and R-T-R had faced off twice during the regular season, with Minneota winning both times.

Paul’s Tweets told the story…

At 9:15 p.m. he posted this: Minneota 25 RTR 22 set 4 Going to a set 5!!! Who's going to state! Listen on KLQP.

And this dispatch went out at 9:40: RTR 17 Minneota 15 set 5! Congratulations to the Knights.

The R-T-R fans rushed the court and the celebration was on. It felt for all the world like the Knights had won a state title, but that big victory was just one step on the path.

They have completed two more steps this week at Xcel Energy Center, where they are the No. 1 seed in the Class 1A state tournament. The Knights defeated Pine River-Backus 3-0 in Thursday’s quarterfinals and got past New Life Academy 3-1 in Friday’s semifinals. They will play for the state title on Saturday against Mayer Lutheran.

R-T-R coach Daynica Brown, a 1998 graduate of the school, knows as well as anyone how much work has gone into the team’s success and what this week’s mission was.

After beating Minneota, she told the girls to relish the moment.

“I told them to enjoy it, and then we’ll be at practice on Monday and we'll regroup because our mission wasn't done at that point,” she said Friday. “That was just one of the goals that the girls wanted to do. And so they had to refocus. That was a big moment for the R-T-R program. But we knew we still had three more wins left. The state tournament title is our ultimate goal.”

R-T-R will take a record of 29-6 into the final, with the two losses to Minneota as well as defeats against Marshall, Champlin Park, Watertown, S.D., and a split of two matches with Mayer Lutheran (28-6).

If there’s ever been a case of the top-seeded team feeling little or no pressure, it’s the Knights.

“Not everybody knows us because we've been overshadowed for a long time,” Brown said. “So I don’t think the girls really felt all that much pressure.”

Knights senior Abigail Carr, who has a team-high 30 kills in two games at state, said the group could handle any pressure they felt.

“There was definitely some pressure. I think we all kind of feel a lot of pressure being here for the first time ever, but I think it's manageable. I think we're confident, especially because we beat Minneota. We have lots of confidence.”

A Season To Remember For Delano

In Class 3A, Delano will play for a state championship on Saturday. That match will end a season to remember for the Tigers. They defeated Byron 3-0 in Friday’s semifinals and will face three-time defending champ Marshall in Saturday’s final.

Delano’s only losses this season were against Wayzata and New Prague, the teams that will play for the Class 4A championship.

“Last night I was talking with the other coaches and that was in my mind; ‘Oh my gosh, New Prague and Wayzata, they're going to the championship round and those are our only losses,’ ” said coach Becca Rue. “Just kudos to this team. I mean, they can play with anyone in the state. So that's really fun.”

A Wonderful Season And High Hopes For 2024

If anyone is putting together a list of volleyball teams to watch next season, Mabel-Canton should be high on the list. After a 21-year drought, the Cougars played at state a year ago and finished third in Class 1A.

They returned to the big show this week and will meet New Life Academy in Saturday’s third-place game. Friday’s 3-1 loss to Mayer Lutheran in the semifinals was only the Cougars’ second defeat this season, the first coming against Minneota.

After the last point of the third-place contest, 30-year Mabel-Canton coach Lonnie Morken said he will begin thinking about 2024. The Cougars have no seniors on the 2023 roster – a first in Morken’s career --  and reaching state for the third year in a row will be among the goals.

“We want to finish strong tomorrow,” Morken said. “And we want to honor the season that we've had thus far and end with a win.”

Morken talked about the strength of Section 1 (which Mabel-Canton won) and Section 3 (won by R-T-R). Among the top 10 teams in the final Class 1A rankings by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association, seven came from those two sections: 1. Minneota (3), 2. Mabel-Canton (1), 3. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (3), 5. Kenyon-Wanamingo (1), 6. Canby (3), 7. Fillmore Central (1), and 8. MACCRAY (3).

“The thing about Section 1 and Section 3, those two sections are just the deepest in volleyball in the state,” Morken said. “Every year there are three or four ranked teams in Section 1 and three or four ranked teams in Section 3.”

On The Road, Thinking Of Home

Wild equipment manager Tony DaCosta was on the road with the NHL team during the state volleyball tournament, but his mind was on volleyball. That’s because his daughter, Rylee DaCosta, is a senior libero on the New Life Academy volleyball team.

State Volleyball Tournament

Class 4A Semifinals

Wayzata defeated Anoka 3-0

New Prague defeated Stillwater 3-0

Class 3A Semifinals

Marshall defeated Detroit Lakes 3-1

Delano defeated Byron 3-0

Class 2A Semifinals

Southwest Christian vs. Rush City

Pequot Lakes vs. Caledonia

Class 1A Semifinals

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton defeated New Life Academy 3-1

Mayer Lutheran defeated Mabel-Canton 3-1

Saturday’s Championships

1A: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton vs. Mayer Lutheran

2A: Southwest Christian or Rush City vs. Pequot Lakes or Caledonia

3A: Marshall vs. Delano

4A: Wayzata vs. New Prague

--MSHSL senior content creator 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: History, Success and Family At Wadena-Deer Creek

 

The New Prague volleyball team celebrates its victory in the state semifinals.

The first time I interviewed Courtney Volkmann was in 2010, a few days before the state volleyball tournament. Courtney was a senior at Wadena-Deer Creek, where her mother, Sue, was (and is) the head volleyball coach.

The story of the 2010 Wolverines remains one of the most heartbreaking – and uplifting – stories I have ever witnessed. In June that year, an F4 tornado ripped through Wadena, destroying the high school, the Volkmann family farm and a whole lot more.

“It was a huge miracle that nobody was killed,” Courtney told me back then.

The Wolverines made history that year by winning their first volleyball state championship. Courtney was named the Class 2A player of the year in 2010 and she went on to play volleyball at Bemidji State.

Wadena-Deer Creek returned to state in 2011 and 2017 (Courtney’s sister Casey was on the 2017 team). The Wolverines are at state once again this week at Xcel Energy Center, with Courtney – now Courtney Tumberg -- on the bench as an assistant coach along with Heidi Van Dyke.

Sue Volkmann has been coaching volleyball for 38 years and this year’s team is the sixth she has led to the state tournament. Her career record is 634-333 after Thursday’s 3-1 Class 2A state quarterfinal loss to top-seeded Southwest Christian.

“She brings a lot of knowledge, a lot of skill,” Sue said when asked about her daughter. “She played college ball and came back and the kids like having her around.”

Courtney has been on the coaching staff since her collegiate career ended in 2015. She owns an acupuncture business in Wadena and loves being around volleyball.

“Whenever I ask her a question, she always knows the answer,” said ninth-grader Payton Gravelle, who had a game-high 19 kills Thursday. “There's really no dumb question to ask because she'll help you with anything that you really need. Courtney is always ready.”

None of this year’s players had any experience playing at Xcel Energy Center, unlike their assistant coach.

“They ask things but they were like babies,” Courtney said. “I remember them being in diapers, literally, when we played. This isn’t an experience that they’ve really had, so it's like kind of starting all over now.”

Some of Courtney’s teammates from 2010 were in attendance Thursday, which brought back lots of wonderful memories.

“It feels like yesterday,” Courtney said. “It does not seem like it was 10-plus years ago.”

Where’s New Prague? In The State Championship Game

The New Prague Trojans are making their third appearance in the state volleyball tournament, the previous two coming in 2001 (when they were the Class 3A runner-up) and 2021.

Something else is new this season, because the Trojans are playing with the state’s largest schools in Class 4A for the first time. To call the team unfazed would be an understatement, because they will meet Wayzata for the 4A state title on Saturday.

Second-seeded New Prague advanced through Wednesday’s quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over Minnetonka and beat Stillwater 3-0 in Thursday’s semifinals. They will take a record of 27-5 into the title contest against the top-seeded Trojans (32-0).

“I think when we found out we were going to 4A we were kind of scared,” said New Prague junior Emerson Dillon. “Because we're the underdogs, we're just coming in, we're new and we're a smaller school but not really a lot of people know us. A lot of people ask, ‘Oh, where's New Prague?’ And I think that us getting this far is a huge accomplishment for us.”

Roaring Back And Having Fun

Pequot Lakes, which was the state runner-up in Class 2A volleyball last year and came to state with a record of 27-5 and the No. 2 seed, was in a real pickle during Thursday’s state quarterfinal against Redwood Valley.

The unseeded Cardinals swept the first two games 26-24 and 25-19 and appeared to be on the cusp of quickly moving on to the semifinal round. But the Pequot Lakes Patriots figured some things out, gritted their teeth and clawed their way back.

The Patriots won the third set 25-13 and the fourth by score of 25-12 to set up a winner-take-all fifth set. Pequot Lakes triumphed 15-6 to complete a comeback that will be talked about for a long time.

Patriots coach Christine Ganley said her message to the players was very simple: She wanted them to play as if they were in their gym at home.

She told them, “I want the kids back that play in my gym. And I said, ‘You're going to need to act like this is our gym.’ Because when they go in our gym, they play and have fun and relax and chase balls everywhere. So that's what I asked them to do.”

State Volleyball Tournament

Class 4A Semifinals Thursday

Wayzata defeated Anoka 3-0

New Prague defeated Stillwater 3-0

Class 3A Semifinals Friday

Marshall vs. Detroit Lakes

Delano vs. Byron

Class 2A Quarterfinals Thursday

Southwest Christian defeated Wadena-Deer Creek 3-1

Rush City defeated Annandale 3-0

Pequot Lakes defeated Redwood Valley 3-2

Caledonia defeated Concordia Academy 3-0

Class 1A Quarterfinals Thursday

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton defeated Pine River-Backus 3-0

New Life Academy vs. West Central Area

Mayer Lutheran vs. Ely

Mabel-Canton vs. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River

--MSHSL senior content creator 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: Parents And Daughters, Coaches And Players

 

Parents and daughters was a theme during Wednesday’s Class 4A volleyball state quarterfinals at Xcel Energy Center. One compelling example was the Eagan coaching staff, where first-year head coach McKenna Melville took over as her mother, Hall of Famer Kathy Gillen, moved into an assistant’s role after leading the Wildcats to seven state titles in a career that began when she became the school’s first head coach in 1989.

McKenna, who played for her mom and completed an All-American career at Central Florida last year, led the Wildcats to a 22-8 record coming into the state tournament. Fourth-seeded Eagan lost a five-set match to fifth seed Anoka in Wednesday’s quarterfinals and will meet Edina in the consolation bracket on Thursday.

Getting to state was the objective all along, Melville said, but not just getting to state.

“That was the goal. It's always the vision,” she said. “I knew what it was to be at state, I know the feeling, I know the adrenaline. I knew what it took and so ultimately, that is the goal. But I don't think the goal in my brain ever stopped at, ‘Oh, let's get to the state tournament.’ A goal in everyone's head should never be, ‘Oh, I just want to be in the state tournament.’ So there are things we can learn from and I think now we're the new kids on the block again, and we're back and we're ready to go. Being in the state tournament is a true honor for everyone.”

While Anoka and Eagan were competing Wednesday, a match between top-seeded Wayzata and Edina was being played on the other court. After Wayzata rolled to a 3-0 win, Trojans coach Scott Jackson – a 27-year coach who was inducted into the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening -- went from the postgame interview session back to the arena so he could watch his daughter play.

Hannah Jackson is a 6-foot-1 junior for Minnetonka. The unseeded Skippers fell to second-seed New Prague 3-1 as Hannah finished with eight kills and four digs.

The Massive Trojans

Wayzata is clearly the team to beat in Class 4A, because the Trojans have won the last three big-school state championships and are undefeated (32-0) this season. There were no surprises for Edina in meeting its Lake Conference rival on Wednesday, but that didn’t mean anything was easy.

“They're actually massive,” said Edina junior Emelia Bireley. “They play at such a faster speed because they're taller, they're able to hit higher in the air, they jump higher. They're just such a bigger presence than any of the other teams that we've played before.”

Wayzata’s roster includes future University of Minnesota players Stella (6-foot-2) and Olivia (6-4) Swenson, along with 6-3 Avery Jesewitz. Wayzata had 43 kills compared to 18 for Edina, with Olivia Swenson getting 13. Stella Swenson had 32 assists.

Ponies Are In Peak Form

In a 4A quarterfinal upset, unseeded Stillwater knocked off third-seeded Rogers 3-2. The Ponies lost the first two sets before rallying for the win.

“What a comeback, but it's not a shock at all,” said Stillwater coach Sara Baumgard. “It might be a shock to the fans, but this is like the M.O. of this team …  the grit, the perseverance. The mental toughness of this team is hands down the best I've coached. I'm so proud of them.”

The Ponies came to state with a record of 19-9 and a season that they described as up and down.

“I feel like we've gone through multiple different seasons,” said Baumgard. “There are things that happen, but they have used it to turn it into being like, ‘OK, you're taking my spot, but I still love you. I still support you.’ And so that growth that has happened this year is insane. And that's really exciting. And I think that's why we've been so successful is because all the people on this team want the best for our team.”

Senior Mackenzie Peters, who led the Ponies with 17 kills, said, “Everyone is everyone’s biggest cheerleader, which is another huge thing that you don't see in many teams. It's so refreshing for everyone because if this person goes in, everyone's wanting them to succeed, and this person goes in, everyone's wanting them to succeed. Everyone wants each other to succeed on the team and it's something you don't see often.”

From Marshall, Lots of Miles and Hours

Dan Westby has seen a lot during several decades as a multi-sport coach at Marshall High School. He also has spent a lot of time on the road, especially when it comes to state tournaments.

Marshall, in southwest Minnesota, is a three-hour drive from Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, the site of this week’s volleyball tournament. Westby has been the Tigers’ head volleyball coach since 2004 and this week the team is making its 17^th trip to state. He also has led the Marshall girls basketball team (which he has coached since 2009) to state seven times.

Throw in six trips to state as a member of the boys basketball coaching staff, and the miles and hours Westby has spent on the road between Marshall and the Twin Cities for state tournaments is really something to behold.

The math works out something like this: 30 trips to state tournaments equals 9,500 miles and 180 full days on the highway. That number of days, 180, is about the number of days in a school year, so Westby has had a good excuse for being absent at tournament time. And 9,500 miles? That’s almost impossible to comprehend.

The top-seeded Tigers opened the Class 3A volleyball tournament by facing DeLaSalle with the winner meeting Detroit Lakes in Friday’s semifinals. Marshall is attempting to win its third consecutive volleyball state championship. Last year’s title was its eighth, a state record.

Volleyball And Football

Schools with teams competing at state in both volleyball and state football this week…

Annandale

Byron

Caledonia

Edina

Mahtomedi

Mayer Lutheran

Rogers

Stillwater

Volleyball State Quarterfinals

Class 4A

Wednesday

Wayzata defeated Edina 3-0

Anoka defeated Eagan 3-2

New Prague defeated Minnetonka 3-1

Stillwater defeated Rogers 3-2

Class 3A

Marshall vs. DeLaSalle

Detroit Lakes defeated Grand Rapids 3-0

Delano vs. Mahtomedi

Byron vs. Monticello

Thursday

Class 2A

Southwest Christian vs. Wadena-Deer Creek

Rush City vs. Annandale

Pequot Lakes vs. Redwood Valley

Caledonia vs. Concordia Academy

Class 1A

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton vs. Pine River-Backus

New Life Academy vs. West Central Area

Mayer Lutheran vs. Ely

Mabel-Canton vs. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 

--MSHSL senior content creator 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