John’s Journal: Shaina Zinter Can Do Almost Anything

 

Concordia Academy 11^th-grader Shaina Zinter throws the javelin. That may sound strange, since the javelin is not a high school event in Minnesota. But Shaina does it, and she also does just about everything else.

Zinter does so much, in fact, that it’s hard to argue against her as the top current track and field athlete in the state. She throws the javelin when she competes in regional and national competitions in the seven-event heptathlon; she was the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic national heptathlon champion in the 15-16 age bracket in 2019.

In Minnesota high school events, her best performances this spring rank No. 1 in both Class A and Class AA in four events: the 200, 400, 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles. In all four events, her 2021 times are better than the 2019 Class A state champions. Her time in the 800 is No. 1 in Class A, while she ranks third in Class A in the long jump and eighth in the high jump.

“She's always worked hard and she's always had a love of the sport,” said Marc Paul, head coach at Concordia Academy, located in Roseville. “It's really going to be exciting to see what she can accomplish.”

Shaina has run at each Class A state championship meet since she was in seventh grade (there was no state meet in 2020 due to the pandemic). She ran on a state-qualifying 4x200 relay team in 2017, finished fifth in the 300 hurdles as an eighth-grader (also going to state in the 100 hurdles), and in 2019 she was the state runner-up in the 300 hurdles and placed fifth in the 100 hurdles.

“That was very scary,” she said, remembering her state experience in seventh grade. “I was pretty intimidated by all the high school kids and some people who were faster than me, but I thought it was just a fun experience and it was really cool to get to go to state.”

Among her goals this spring is a return to state, of course. She has decided to compete in both hurdle events, the 200 and the long jump in the postseason. It’s hard to argue against her chances of becoming a multiple-event state champ.

“She's so good in the 400, I think she could probably win that at the state meet but with the 300 hurdles right there (immediately after the 400 on meet schedules), obviously it's not going to happen,” Paul said. “So we have to figure out where we can best utilize the schedule and utilize her in her best events.”

Shaina’s parents, Rachel and James, were track and field athletes at Concordia Academy and Rachel is an assistant coach for the Beacons. When they encouraged their daughter to try the sport as a fifth-grader, she wasn’t immediately enthused.

“They kind of made me,” she said with a smile. “I wanted to try it but I don't think I was serious about it. I think I was more of a volleyball person at the time.” (She still plays volleyball and was an all-state honorable mention selection last fall.)

As a seventh-grader she began training with the varsity track team. The original plan was to have her spend the week over spring break with the varsity, but she’s been there ever since. And she has rewritten the Beacons school record book.

“She's really taken some big leaps and bounds, some pun intended,” Paul said. “She holds a bunch of school records; I think she's at eight school records right now. And there could maybe be some others if she wanted to focus there.

“We've got some pretty good track history and the records that she's taking down were set by some really good athletes; state champions, multi-event state champions, some from the 90s, some from the 70s. What sets her apart is just the way she can cover events across the board.”

When the volleyball season ends, Shaina begins training for track and field. With no season a year ago, she worked out on her own, getting on the track at times and running hills in her neighborhood.

After a two-hour practice after school on Tuesday, every athlete had gone home except Zinter. She continued to train with her mom and Ryan Koch, an all-American track athlete and football player at St. Cloud State. Ryan coached his wife, Heather Miller-Koch -- a Wisconsin native and St. Cloud State alum -- to an 18^th-place finish in the heptathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

Shaina focused on hurdle and long jump form Tuesday, with Koch recording video for immediate feedback.

As he talked about hurdle technique, he said, “We want your parabola to peak here,” using his hands to mimic an athlete and a hurdle. “You want to go down and over the hurdle, not up.”

Shaina owns a javelin and Koch has others. Zinter’s prowess at spiking a volleyball gives her an edge with the javelin, because the arm motion is similar. And being proficient at the javelin made it an easy decision to compete as a heptathlete.

“Ryan has taken her to another level of throwing the javelin,” said Paul, whose daughter Sally is a senior heptathlete at Bethel University in St. Paul. “If you can get the javelin figured out, you've got the multis, especially being a hurdler to start with.

“She's getting great coaching here. I think we’re just starting to find out what she can do.”

--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 Perfect Spring On The Diamond In Randolph

 

The kids in Randolph, Minnesota, know how to play ball. With the postseason looming, neither the Rockets softball team nor the baseball team has been beaten in 2021. The softball squad improved to 18-0 with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Southland on Monday and the baseball nine moved to 19-0 with a win over Southland. That’s a combined mark of 37-0.

In softball, the Rockets are No. 1 in the Class 1A coaches rankings; the baseball team is ranked third in that sport’s coaches poll. No other school in the state, regardless of class, has unbeaten teams in both sports.

After the lost spring of 2020, when no sports were held because of Covid-19, there are lots of smiles and plenty of pride in Randolph, a town of 500 residents located 40 miles south of the Twin Cities. If all goes very well, both teams could play in state tournaments, which was the hoped-for plan last spring.

“I think it might have been the best team I’ve ever had,” seventh-year softball coach Dennis Trom said of the 2020 squad.

The softball team went to state in 2018 and 2019 and the baseball squad did the same in 2019. That kind of success made 2020’s non-season even harder to take, but a new season means newfound goals.

“The kids get to play, they’re thankful that it’s normal,” said Chris Stanton, the Rockets baseball coach since 2006. “I think it’s just that feeling of getting to compete and that makes it special. I know for the seniors, you can see they’re having fun, they get to play a game they love and they take it seriously. Kids are resilient. They are willing to look at the positive side.”

In Monday’s 5-2 baseball win over Southland, the Rockets took the lead by scoring three runs, aided by two bunts, in the sixth inning. Nathan Weckop, Brandon Gerster and Drew Jenkins each had two hits and Gerster went the distance with eight strikeouts.

On the nearby softball field, Randolph swept Southland 15-0 in four innings and 13-2 in five innings. Senior Morgyn Otte had a 47-pitch perfect game in the opener, giving her 11 career no-hitters. Senior Megan Erickson hit two home runs Monday, giving her 10 this season.

Erickson is Randolph’s all-time scoring leader in basketball (girls and boys) and holds all the softball hitting records.

“She’s just a phenomenal athlete,” Trom said. “I think she’s hands down the second-best athlete I’ve ever seen come out of Randolph” … with Twins pitcher Caleb Thielbar topping the list.

The softball team includes 10 seniors, and Otte and Erickson have been on the varsity since they were in seventh grade.

“They said, ‘This is it. Let’s go get it,’ ” Trom said of the team’s attitude this spring, led by Otte, Erickson and fellow captains Meredith Taylor and Chloe Kimmes.

“We’ve had this group for quite a while now. They work hard. They want to be the best. They’re in the weight room all the time, they get after it. Kids are dedicating themselves. They’re better athletes.”

Stanton also said work in the weight room has been key to the baseball team’s success, helping produce stronger athletes.

“Our football coach (Brian Schmidt) and one of my assistant coaches, Braxton Lindow, have done a good job of honing the weight room. Our kids are bigger and stronger. Once they were able to open the weight room last spring, that’s all the kids did.”

Before Monday’s win, eight Rocket baseball players were hitting between .326 and .544, with Weckop at .544 and his twin brother Jacob at .362. They both pitch, as does Brandon Gerster, and the highest earned-run average among the three is Jacob Weckop’s 1.33.

“We have great coaches in Jared Rowan and Braxton Lindow, and it’s been a lot of fun,” Stanton said. “Guys stick around after practice, bringing up some of the sophomores. We’ve always depended on older guys coaching younger guys, and that’s really worked.”

 The softball team is scheduled to close the regular season with a doubleheader at Lyle-Pacelli on Friday. The baseball team’s schedule has been twisted around by the weather, and there are hopes for possibly squeezing in one more game before the Section 4 playoffs begin.

The baseball team made its only trip to state in 2019, and we all know what happened in 2020.

“I thought that would be our best squad coming back,” said Stanton, echoing Trom’s words about last year’s possibilities. “We had six seniors who played a ton and were key contributors to our 2019 team.”

But the past is the past, and coaches and players on both Randolph teams are excited about the possibilities before them.

“We have kids who really buy into it,” Stanton said. “We’ve been blessed with community involvement and parents who know the game, and we’re lucky to get kids who are blessed with an arm. We just try to coach them up. It takes a village.”

--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: For Pierz Pioneers, Golf Is A Family Affair

 Jessica LeBlanc didn’t grow up in a golfing family, but when she picked up the game as a Pierz High School sophomore, she started something that has taken on a life of its own … and an extended family to match.

Jessica, who teaches math and coaches the girls golf team at Pierz High School, is the oldest of eight kids. All of her siblings also became golfers and were good enough to earn all-conference honors.

“It became a family thing, and it branched out to cousins and in-laws,” LeBlanc said. “Golf is such a family thing.”

That would be a good team motto for the Pioneers: Golf is such a family thing.

The Pioneers girls and boys teams include 17 golfers and two coaches who are related. That includes 12 first cousins.

(All these golfers and coaches are related. Back row: Braden LeBlanc, Jacob LeBlanc, Kaylee Gruber, Addie LeBlanc, Coach Beth Fischer, Coach Jessie LeBlanc, Ellie Fischer, Tiffany Virnig, Emily Virnig, Jack Byker, Bryce LeBlanc. Front row: Joleen Weyer, Joelle Young, Melany Virnig, Avery Gruber, Kari LeBlanc, Macey LeBlanc, Kylie Virnig, Brittney Gruber, Whitney LeBlanc.)

Three of Jessica’s kids are on the team: Addy is a sophomore and twins Bryce and Braden are in eighth grade. Whitney LeBlanc is in sixth grade, meaning she is too young to be a high school golfer, “but she’s at practice because she has no place else to go,” said her mother with a laugh.

LeBlanc’s sister, Beth Fischer, coaches junior high golfers and Fischer’s daughter Ellie is a member of the varsity team. In total, LeBlanc is related to almost the entire team. “My own kids, and nine direct nieces and nephews,” she said. There are eight LeBlancs on the combined girls and boys teams.

Their home course is Pierz Golf Course, a nine-hole layout that was a Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s.

“It’s not real long but it’s pretty,” LeBlanc said. “My siblings and my parents and relatives will do tournaments in the area during the summer and we see lots of family.”

All the LeBlancs and other relatives have basically grown up on the golf course. Activities on a recent Sunday included a First Communion followed by a family golf outing.

Like everyone else, LeBlanc and Pierz boys golf coach Joel Pohland were disappointed when Covid-19 wiped out spring sports last year. The Pioneers girls had finished second in their section championship meet in 2019 and had some talented seniors in 2020.

This spring, some individuals may have a shot at qualifying for the Class 2A state meet, LeBlanc said.

Until then, everyone will keep working on their games and enjoying the excellent spring weather.

“We have a couple of golfers who aren’t family, but we treat them like family,” LeBlanc said. “I treat them like my own kids. They fit right in.”

--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: Two Decades Later, A Record Stands Strong

Each spring for two decades now, every high-ranking young male discus thrower in Minnesota has looked at a big target number and dreamed of reaching it. The magical mark of 200 feet has only been achieved once in state history, on one magical throw on one cold, damp day at a meet at Park High School.

Karl Erickson was a senior at Rochester Century High School in the spring of 2001. He was the big-school state champion in the discus and shot put as a junior and senior, then went on to become a seven-time NCAA all-American at the University of Minnesota, winning Ben Ten titles and competing in NCAA national championship meets.

That day in 2001 remains special, even if some of the specifics have dimmed in Erickson’s memory. Now 38 years old, he remembers that it was cold and he wore a hooded parka and sweatpants between throws on what he called “just a crummy weather day.”

He was trying to keep his discus dry, too. But none of that mattered when he uncorked the winning throw. He knew it was special.

“I felt like a rubber band,” he said. “And then, bang!”

There was a delay in knowing the distance for a simple reason: the tape measure wasn’t long enough to measure it. Meet officials found a longer tape, and also triangulated the distance to make sure it was precise.

When the announcement of “201 feet, 7 inches” was made, so was history. The previous state record at the time was 195-6 by Mike Yonkey of Wells-Easton in 1987. That was the only time Erickson threw the discus 200 feet.

Several discus throwers have threatened Erickson’s record in the years since. The most recent was Jake Kubiatowicz of North St. Paul, who put up a 199-7 in 2017; that is the second-best in history. Rounding out the top five all-time are Mitchell Weber of St. Clair (196-10 in 2017), Yonkey and Nate Englin of Mounds View (194-4 in 2003).

The oldest record on the books is in the boys high jump. In 1973, Rod Raver of Rochester John Marshall went 7 feet, 1 inch, which was matched by Chaska’s Jon Markuson in 1993. The only other state records older than Erickson’s discus mark are in the long jump (Von Shepard of St. Paul Central, 24 feet, 9 ¼ inches, 1982) and the 4x800 relay (Stillwater, 7:41.94, 1998).

The oldest girls state record was set in 2004 by the 4x100 relay team from Minneapolis Washburn, which ran 47.21 seconds.

(The best online reference for state track and field and cross-country records and history is maintained by retired Wayzata coach Bill Miles:  http://www.mnpreptrack.com/GirlsAllTime.html)  

Erickson’s sporting interests began with basketball and baseball, then football. He was a talented athlete, competing in the high jump as well as the throws as a sophomore at Century. Track coach Dan Eickhoff convinced him to try that sport.

“I was skinny, I wanted to lift weights for football,” Erickson said. “It was kind of dumb luck that I fell into it. I had no clue what I was doing.”

He qualified for state in two events that spring, finishing 12th in the shot put and 10^th in the high jump.

“That was so exciting,” he said. “It was kind of hard to get a feel for the discus, there’s so much finesse in it. I tried to muscle it out there.”

As a junior at Century he began to embrace the throwing events and his fitness. He would attend practice, work with Eickhoff and his teammates, then go home and keep practicing.

“I was just obsessed,” he said. “It was so much fun. I was going through a physical maturation, and it was addicting. I was bitten by the weight room bug and things started coming together. … I was focused on eating, I packed huge lunches. I was a true thrower, I was totally hyper-focused.”

At state as a junior, he won both throwing events (55-11 in the shot put, 185-6 in the discus). His big bomb of 201-7 came early in his senior year. Soon after, he suffered a back injury and was sidelined for much of the spring. But he rallied late in the season and won repeat state championships, throwing the shot 60-10 ¾ and the discus 180-1. That performance in the shot put was his career best and ranks 31^st in state history. Eighteen of the throws ahead of him in the shot came after 2001.

“It feels like a long time ago but some of the memories are pretty fresh,” said Erickson, who works in sports medicine for Mayo Clinic and is a strength and conditioning coach at Rochester Lourdes.

He qualified for a junior national track and field meet in Virginia following his high school graduation. Getting on an airplane for the first time, he was joined by his parents and Eickhoff on the trip.

“I saw these monsters from all over the country compete,” he said. “It was pretty cool.”

His collegiate personal bests in the discus and shot put still rank second all-time at the University of Minnesota. After college he was invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado, where he trained for three years and competed at the Olympic Trials in 2004 and 2008.

He has fond memories of his high school career, and he is sure of one thing: Records are made to be broken.

“I know someone will come along and smash it,” he said.

For 20 years, they’ve been trying.

--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 Luckiest Baseball Team in Minnesota

 

AVON – The baseball team from Albany High School just might be the luckiest outfit in Minnesota. In this case, the word “luck” doesn’t have anything to do with rabbit’s feet or horseshoes or walking under ladders; it’s the good fortune of having three magnificent home fields.

The Huskies’ day-game haven is Avon Lakers Field, which sits a long fungo off Interstate 94 in this Stearns County village of 1,608 souls. There are no lights in Avon, but the excellent options consist of lighted, equally heaven-sent ballfields in nearby Farming and St. Martin.

Avon was the sight for a Granite Ridge Conference game Tuesday, with the Foley Falcons in town. This was certainly a big game but probably not exactly a BIG game, considering it’s early in the season. But facts are facts and the Huskies came in carrying a 6-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in Class 2A, with Foley 9-0 and ranked second. The implications included rankings and conference standings as well as the Section 6 playoffs.

It was grand scene, with the first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. The teams took swings in a batting cage and held the traditional pregame ground- and fly-ball drills (the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” played while the Huskies did so). The first pitch came six minutes past 5 and absolutely no one cared.

The ballpark is one of the many diamond jewels in our state. The grass is immaculate, the dirt is clean, strips of artificial turf are installed in front of each dugout so there are no signs of wear.

When public-address announcer Maddie Schmitz – an Albany grad and senior at the College of St. Benedict – asked everyone to remove their caps and face the flag for the national anthem, at least one first-time visitor to the Avon park noticed that there was no flag at the field. Didn’t really matter, because everyone looked toward a giant flag flapping in the breeze in front of Blattner Energy’s headquarters building, half a mile away on the other side of the interstate. It worked.  

Randy Rothstein of Albany’s KSAM radio called the action, noting in the early innings that Thursday’s scheduled “Word for Today” program, including recitation of the rosary, would be heard in its entirety after the game.

It was clear from the start that the day had a standout athlete. Foley senior Ryan Chmielewski laced the first pitch into right field for a single. The Falcons didn’t score in the first inning, but the bottom of the frame sent the message that Foley wouldn’t need much offense to win the game. That’s because Chmielewski, a lefty, was throwing darts.

Albany’s Zach Moritz singled before Chmielewski struck out the next three Huskies. Ethan Navratil hit a double in the sixth and Robert Schleper singled in the seventh, and that was the sum of Albany’s offense. Chmielewski struck out 12, walked one, threw 98 pitches and the Huskies only got one runner past second base.

“He was good. We knew he'd be tough,” said Albany coach Al Amdahl. “This is maybe his fourth start and we've seen probably three of the teams that he faced and they all said he was very good. I thought we could have maybe had a little better of an approach but he mixes things up, throws a good firm fastball and nice tight breaker.”

Chmielewski came into the game with a 3-0 record in four starts and an earned-run average of 0.74. He had struck out 28 and walked just three in 19 innings. The Falcons’ other main pitchers are on an equal plane; Logan Winkleman (3-0) has an 0.44 ERA in 16 innings and Mike Moulzolf (2-0) has an ERA of 1.87 in 15 innings.

“All of our pitchers have done it all year.” Foley coach Mike Beier said. “We looked the other day, and we had something like 165 outs and half of those have been strikeouts, so our defense hasn't had to work too hard. … (Chmielewski) has had a perfect game, a no-hitter; he's around the plate, he's not walking guys, and that's what's impressive.”

While their pitcher’s performance was no surprise, a couple of eye-opening power hitters keyed Foley’s offense. The game was scoreless until No. 9 hitter Logan Thorsten hit a solo home run over the left-field fence to open off the fifth inning, and No. 6 hitter Hunter Gorecki hit a two-run blast to almost the same spot in the seventh. Both are seniors, and they were their first varsity homers.

“That's funny because I said before the game that I don't think I've never seen a home run in this park,” said Beier. “It just looks so deep out there but the ball did carry well. So yeah, I was surprised, definitely.”

Beier said the game, in his eyes, wasn’t really a big game, “but I was getting emails and text messages from everyone. I was like, ‘Man, this is early May,’ and we're going to see them maybe three, four times this year and obviously there’ll be a lot bigger games than this when you get into June.

“You want to win it for conference and sections, but I wanted to learn more about what they had. I haven't seen these kids in two years, and they had a good team, so I wanted to see how good they were. And they battle up there.”

Amdahl said the next step for the Huskies is how they respond.

“We’ll see how we bounce back. We knew Foley was going to be very good. We weren't the better team today so we'll see what happens. We’ve got a doubleheader with Zimmerman Thursday.”

Those games will be played on another immaculate field, this one in Farming, with lights.

Lucky kids.

--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

Important Lessons From The North St. Paul Wrestling Team

 Below is an important story from the recent wrestling season. The team at North St. Paul High School developed an important, meaningful relationship with a fellow student who suffers from Batten disease, a group of rare inherited neurological conditions. That student's mother wrote the following ... 

One of the hardest phrases I am learning is "thank God for Battens." I'm not sure I have accomplished the actual gratitude behind that statement. But I HAVE recognized the amazing opportunities, gifts, blessings given to us because of having Battens in our lives. I have been humbled by the goodness of people. I have learned to love and be thankful for them in ways I never would have known in the absence of Battens. People are good. They have reminded me of the ways grace has filled our lives.

I have wanted to write something for months now. Since the middle of the school year last year, before Covid hit, Drew has had a teacher who has taken him under his wing. A teacher that invited him in even when Drew wasn't technically a part of his class. Who let Drew hug him 14 times in a row, and show him a toy every single day. Who stayed after school so Drew could do an activity. When the quarantine began, and Drew couldn't understand why he didn't get to go to school anymore and his routine completely upended (all you special needs parents know the craziness of changing routines!), Mr. Denver Moeller gave Drew his number with the permission to call or FaceTime him anytime. So Drew still got to show him his toys, and got to know his kids, and shared about movies...... Moeller has given him the gift of his attention and time and patience time and time again, even though his life changed with Covid also. He even got Drew to exercise a couple of times! Lol

Mr. Moeller is also the high school head wrestling coach. This year, he invited Drew to be the manager of the team. As the mom, as someone who has my own childhood insecurities about being included, it made me nervous to not know how Drew would be received. I KNOW that Denver would take care of him, but Drew is hard to understand, his mobility has declined, his sensory issues can be overwhelming.

I didn't need to worry. The young men on that team were gracious. Kind. Willing to learn about interacting with a blind person. Denver even taught them what to do if they end up wrestling against a blind wrestler. It was a humbling experience to watch Drew interact with the coaches and wrestlers. It was a beautiful one. I NEVER made it through an entire practice without getting choked up.

This past week, Drew lettered in High School Wrestling. When we thanked Moeller for making that happen, he was quick to point out that it was a team decision. The boys and coaches decided it. One of those things as parents we had accepted would never happen. Had decided it didn't "really matter." It was an amazing feeling to see him receive it.

Below is a letter I wrote to the team in February. I still don't feel like I have the words or that there is a big enough word for the amount of thankfulness I feel for this team and coaches. For Mr. Moeller. The world needs more people like him.

To the North High Wrestlers & Coaches:

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Thank you for your kindness towards Drew. For welcoming him, for saying hello, for allowing us in your space. Thank you for the high fives, or fist bumps, and for showing him how to roll up the mat. Thanks for the things that are “no big deal,” even if coach just told you to do it .

You saw a blind kid who was trying something new and who has never been part of a team. What you don’t see is the battle Drew is fighting. Drew has a rare neurological disease called batten disease. It has taken his sight, and will take his speech, his mobility. Eventually, it will take his life. His sister, Lydia, died last August from this disease. He doesn’t understand the finality of the disease. But he does understand love. Acceptance. Kindness. Being a special needs kid can be very isolating from kids his age. As his mom, that is one of the hard things to observe. My heart is full to watch your actions with and towards him. Making someone feel included is very powerful. You may think it is no big deal, but even those little actions can make a big difference.

I see you.

I am thankful for you.

Never stop because what you do has an impact, no matter how big or how small.

You have given Drew some awesome memories and experiences, and provided some for myself that I am so thankful I will have in the future.

From your lifelong fan,

Laura

John’s Journal: Two Games, Two Sports, One Umpire

 

HAYFIELD – Scot Field was a busy man on Thursday, leaving his home in Eyota for the 7:30 a.m. start of his workday at United Rentals in Rochester. Normally he would work until 4 p.m. but he got off early in order to make a mid-afternoon appointment for his second Covid-19 vaccine. After that, he hit the road for the half-hour drive to Hayfield.

Having changed into his umpiring apparel at the clinic where he received the vaccination, he arrived at the softball field at 4 o’clock to work a 4:30 game between Blooming Prairie and Hayfield. It would be the first of two games that day in Hayfield for Field, 53, who that evening would work a baseball game between the hometown Vikings and Southland.

Both games were originally scheduled for 4:30 starts. When finding two umpires for each game became difficult, Hayfield activities director Chris Pack became creative. The baseball game was moved back two hours and Field agreed to work the softball-baseball doubleheader, something he had never done before.

“I’ve done lots of varsity-JV stuff but never two varsity games and never different sports,” Field said. “I had no hesitation, not at all. Chris Pack is a friend, but even if it wasn’t Chris I would have been thrilled to help any AD out with something like that.” (In this photo, Field, right, meets with partner Matt Carter and coaches Scott Koenigs of Southland and Kasey Krekling of Hayfield.)

Field was the base umpire for both games, making it a bit physically easier to work during a stretch of nearly five hours and 12 1/2 innings (“It’s a lot of squatting so your quads get a heck of a workout,” he said of behind-the-plate duties). His softball partner was Mark Benfield of Dexter; they parked their vehicles behind the Blooming Prairie school bus before walking across the parking lot to the field that’s next to the community swimming pool and a lovely park.

Field was friendly in communicating with coaches and players. Between innings, he walked toward the Hayfield bench to speak to the Viking playing first base. He said to her, “Be a little more deliberate on your foot. You’re pulling it (off the base) a little quickly.” She nodded, smiled and said thank you.

Hayfield’s softball team went to state for four consecutive years ending in 2018. The Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms were the Class A runner-up in 2012 and champion in 2013, so both schools have strong softball histories. Thursday belonged to the Vikings, who won 7-2 without having to bat in the bottom of the seventh and final inning.

The softball game ended at 6:20, a tight squeeze with the baseball game scheduled for a 6:30 start. Field used the restroom at the softball field to change from baseball to softball apparel; softball umpires wear blue shirts with pants that aren’t quite as dark as baseball pants, and baseball umpires wear black tops.

Pack, who had scheduled the junior varsity baseball game for 4:30 instead of after the varsity game, as is customary, made the short commute between the two fields during the softball game. The JV baseball had dragged a bit in the early innings, which turned out to be helpful.

Field has become well-known in the towns where he officiates. At one point during the softball game, a fan said to Pack, “So Scot is working the baseball game, too, huh?”

After changing, Field jogged from the restroom to his Jeep 4x4, got behind the wheel and exited the softball parking lot. He made a couple of right turns and saw the Hayfield school down the street. The baseball field is behind the school, along with the football/track stadium. He arrived at 6:32 after the two-minute drive and found a parking spot in the back of the lot, “away from foul balls.”

He jogged onto the field at 6:33. The Southland Rebels were taking infield, and the Vikings would follow. The JV game lasted long enough that the varsity game wasn’t close to starting at 6:30.

He met his baseball umpiring partner, Matt Carter of St. Paul, for the first time. The fact that Carter had to come from so far away was indicative of the growing issues in finding officials in most high school sports. After learning that the Rochester Area Officials Association had no one available to work a baseball game Thursday night, Pack sent out an email looking for an umpire; that email circulated until Carter saw it and replied.

Before meeting with the two baseball coaches at home plate, Field and Carter talked mechanics and assignments in the parking lot. Field confirmed with Carter, “You’ve got runners on tag-ups?”

The first pitch was thrown at 6:52, with Field once again stationed behind first base, ball-strike-out counter held in his left hand. The school and adjoining athletic fields are on the east edge of town; beyond are farm fields backed by wind turbines, which turned slowly in the April breeze.

Field, who also is an MSHSL basketball official, was well-acquainted with sports and officiating before becoming registered with the MSHSL and joining the Rochester Area Officials Association in 2015. He first worked as a sub-varsity and youth official while a student at St. Cloud State, then did some coaching and officiating as he and his wife Stephanie raised their two daughters; Madison will graduate from Buena Vista University in Iowa this spring and Lindsay is finishing her first year at Waldorf College, also in Iowa.

“It’s very rewarding,” Field said of working as an official. “It keeps you in the game. It’s nice to still be in the game and help those out who are able to play.”

He also has worked as an official with the Rochester Parks and Recreation Department, including sports for adult men and women.

“That certainly gets you prepared for the high school level,” he said. “The challenges of officiating adults can be an experience in itself. I worked on my skills at that point.”

As the sun set during the evening baseball game, Field removed his sunglasses. In the late innings, with the temperature dropping, he walked to the Southland dugout to fetch the jacket he had stashed there before the game. “I’m giving in,” he said with a smile.

Hayfield’s baseball team made its inaugural state tournament appearance in 2019, the last year spring sports were held before the Covid-19 shutdown in 2020.

Southland had come out swinging and put up four runs in the top of the first inning. The Rebels looked to be in control, but the Hayfield nine scored seven in the third and went on to a 15-5 victory. The 10-run margin was reached in the bottom of the sixth inning, ending the game at 9:19 p.m.

Field and Carter shook hands in the parking lot and parted ways, looking forward to working together down the road. Field got behind the wheel again for the 39-mile drive home. He pulled into his garage shortly after 10 p.m.

He’ll be busy again this week, with games scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

--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: Nothing Stops Owatonna’s Megan Copeland

 

Megan Copeland has achieved a big goal this week. The 18-year-old senior at Owatonna High School will compete Friday in the Class AA state speech tournament, capping a four-year speech career with her first trip to state.

She will compete in Extemporaneous Reading, which is a challenging category. The fact that Megan is blind makes her achievement even more remarkable.

She was born totally blind due to septo-optic dysplasia but she has an infectious, can-do attitude and nothing gets in her way.

“She's a rock,” said Owatonna speech coach Marcia Anderson.

On a Tuesday evening Zoom session, Megan spent about 25 minutes preparing for state with Anderson and fellow coaches Mark Anderson (Marcia’s husband) and Katie Heinz. I was invited to watch them prep, which was followed by some interview time. Megan immediately struck me as the kind of strong, confident teenager we all would like our children to be.

She will be joined at state by qualifying teammates Fardouza Farah (Discussion), Jackson Hemann (Serious Interpretation of Drama) and Julia Christenson (Humorous Interpretation). Megan’s category involves reading from a book titled “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony George. A major character in the novel is a blind girl who loves to read novels. Megan enjoys reading futuristic dystopian books and listening to music, particularly Taylor Swift.

In Extemporaneous Reading, every competitor (there will be 24 at state on Friday) uses the same book throughout the season. On competition days, each person learns which sections of the book they can choose from for their seven-minute reading. Megan has read and re-read the entire book multiple times, breaking it down into “cuttings” (or sections) that can be recited in the seven-minute time period and writing her own introduction for each cutting. She does it all in Braille.

MSHSL speech competitions have been held online all season, and the state tournament will also be virtual. That means Megan doesn’t have to lug her 11-pound Braille typewriter, but it also limits interaction with other students.

“Speech was always just a way for me to make friends, and I enjoy public speaking,” she said. “And so it was just a time for me to enjoy myself and be with my friends and to do what I love.”

Megan has been speaking in front of crowds for years. Ten years ago she placed second in a national short-story contest hosted by the National Federation of the Blind, and in sixth, seventh and eighth grade she earned national honors in an essay contest sponsored by Lions International. She read her essays in front of crowds as large as 500 people.

“The more people there are, the more excited I get,” Megan told me. She said competing online is a lot different than being in person.

“You don't get to be with other teams, you don't get to meet speechies from other schools. And that’s a big part of speech. I had a friend on the Medford speech team, and we're still friends to this day. I was kind of hoping ever since I started that if I ever made it to state, I’d get to meet, hopefully, a lot of new people. That's not going to be the case, but that's OK in its own way. Because our team has gotten so close and we've bonded so well with each other now.”

Marcia Anderson said working with Megan has been “such a joy these last few years. I told her the other day that I wanted to try to figure out how we could just make her fail (in school) so that we could have another year.”

Extemporaneous readers voice several characters, and Megan is expert at bringing life to those roles. During the Zoom prep, her coaches talked about the pitch of her voices, transitioning from the narrator voice to character voices, and the proper pronunciation of “soot” vs. “suit.” Megan wore an Owatonna Huskies hoodie and a smile.

“More than anyone else on the team, she does such a beautiful job of being visual with her voice,” Anderson said. “I asked her, “How do you make your words sound so lifelike? Because we can see it and she's like, ‘Well, I don't see it, but I feel it.’ Eye contact and gestures aren't something that is meaningful for Megan, but the vocal inflection is. When she reads, she brings life into the words that other people just don't.”

When Megan finished a well-executed cutting, Anderson smiled and told her, “At least you didn’t make me cry this time.”

Another prep session was scheduled for Wednesday, and Megan asked if they could meet for a final time on Thursday.

“This is my first time going to state, and I'm super excited,” she said. “I feel like I've really grown so much over my four years, and that this is my time to shine. I'm going to rock state.”

 --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 Warm Game On A Chilly Day

 

In normal times, 37 degrees and a light breeze in April would not be considered premium conditions for a baseball game. But these are definitely not normal times, so everyone was happy to be on hand late Monday afternoon when the Fridley Tigers and St. Anthony Village Huskies met at Palm Field in St. Anthony.

St. Anthony has lots of history, baseball and otherwise. The origins of the village -- which lies just to the north and east of northeast Minneapolis -- date to 1838. The baseball pedigree is newer, as evidenced by the banners hanging on the outfield fence; two of them mark Huskies baseball state championships in 2006 and 2008.

The ballpark, named after former St. Anthony Village coach and athletic director Gary Palm, is a true showplace. Most fans sit under covered seats behind home plate, with a few beyond right field, above a sign marking 315 feet, in seats known as Palm’s Porch.

The ballfield is tucked behind the school, along with a JV diamond, softball fields and the football stadium, which is currently home to beeping heavy equipment as preparations for artificial turf are in progress. Also being added is a track, which the Huskies have not previously had.

The athletic facilities are often crowded with fans, although Monday’s action didn’t fit that mold precisely. “On a nice night in May, it’s a hopping place,” said Huskies baseball coach/activities director Troy Urdahl.

The overarching theme these days in Minnesota can be described as happy, giddy, maybe even joyous, with the return of spring high school sports for the first time since 2019. The 2020 spring was, of course, wiped out because of Covid-19 fears, but things are back on track in 2021.

“It's just fantastic to be out here,” said Fridley baseball coach Dan Nalepka after the Tigers’ 6-0 victory. “It's 35 degrees outside, it's snowing but our kids are happy. We're running around having fun, and it's just so great to be out here. It's been two years.”

Even without the warmth of a late-spring evening, the atmosphere Monday was exceptional. Each hitter’s name was announced and the music between hitters and innings ranged from Neil Diamond to Elvis to Dropkick Murphys to AC/DC to Guns N’ Roses and beyond. There were friendly dogs on leashes, folks sitting in lawn chairs with hot tea at the ready, and the concession stand was open for business; three little boys made a run for hot dogs and returned to their seats behind home plate with aluminum-foil-covered delicacies in hand. A few crusty leaves were trapped in the fence, offering a reminder of last fall’s shortened high school seasons.

The familiar coach’s refrain of “Hustle out! Let’s go! On the hop!” came from Urdahl as the Huskies grabbed their gloves after a third out and returned to their defensive duties. It was glorious.

“I think we're a little more forgiving of pretty awful weather this April, because we're just happy to be back outside and having opportunities to play,” Urdahl said after the game, as his players tended to the field.

Fridley senior pitcher Micah Niewald, who gave up one hit and struck out seven over six innings, said, “It feels great, after missing last year. It was hard but now it feels good to be back and playing baseball.”

The game started at 4:30 p.m. and the final out came at 5:55. That’s a snappy game time of 1 hour, 25 minutes, a brisk pace that matched the conditions.

The return of baseball and other spring sports is a very positive sign in the fight with Covid-19. The return of students to in-person classes is another step in the best direction, along with other hoped-for spring traditions like proms and graduations.

“That's why this is nice, because they have an opportunity to have something a little more normal,” Urdahl said. “We're getting back into school and having a spring season.”

--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: Let’s Celebrate How Far We’ve Come

 

Today is a great day. It’s the 10^th day of April in 2021 and by all appearances we are in a much better spot than a year ago. The winter state tournaments are culminating today at Target Center – where I’m sitting as I write this – with boys basketball state championship games. And spring sports are underway all over our great state, and that’s even more cause for celebration.

How to sum up what we’ve been through over the last 13 months? I don’t think I am capable of expressing the emotions, the doubts, the uncertainties, the questions with so few answers. Let’s start with the basic timeline …

March 2020: The girls state basketball tournament is stopped at the halfway point and boys basketball tournaments are cancelled as Covid-19 becomes real in Minnesota and around the world.

Spring 2020: Spring sports in Minnesota are wiped off the face of the earth. No season.

Fall 2020: Fall sports return but end with section tournaments in some sports and no tournaments in others.

April 2021: An abbreviated, late-starting winter season concludes with state tournaments, limited spectators and varying formats. At the same time, spring sports are on track for a normal season, and happiness abounds.

It’s been quite the wild ride so far, huh?

We can’t forget the kids from the class of 2020 who missed out on so much, whether it was a chance to compete for a basketball state championship, take part in a spring sport or not experience a normal prom, graduation or even school. They will never get those moments back, and that is so regrettable. We owe them so much.  

Back when the world turned upside down, I invited coaches, athletes and administrators to write about what was happening. I posted many such notes from around the state on John’s Journal a year ago. Today I’ve been reading through those, and it seems like it was so long ago. Here are a few excerpts …

March 18, 2020

For all we are going through now, many people have it much worse so we will focus on that in our daily "new normal" lives. We told our team today that they are being the ultimate team players. They are making a sacrifice to protect the people who aren't as strong (I stole that from an online post). We also told our players to never wish away a day, even if some of the days will be not so fun. It's easy to cherish every day when they are fun and easy days, but true leaders will cherish every day, even the tough ones.

Scott McCready
St. Charles High School
Math Instructor
Athletic Director
Head Baseball Coach
MSHSL Sub-Region Coordinator

March 23, 2020

We are all being called to a different kind of competition of sorts right now. It’s a “bigger-picture” competition. We are being asked to perform a difficult, civic responsibility for our own health and the health of our neighbors in our community and world, and to live up to that challenge of isolating for a bit. This is an important and serious task. We’ve been prepared for this. Our coaches and advisors have taught us well about resiliency, challenges, planning, hard work, overcoming obstacles, and achieving success.

It’s an interesting and difficult time. It’s still a time to coach and be coached. We can do this!

Go Jackets!
Erin Anderson
Activities Director
Perham-Dent Public Schools

March 26, 2020

There’s no doubt that this is an incredibly difficult time for our players. Many have lost competition opportunities this past winter and will lose their opportunity to compete this spring. This difficulty is eased by the promise of better days. If we all do what is needed and not what is easy, those better days will come sooner rather than later.

Greg Spahn
Head football coach
Grand Rapids High School

At 7:20 a.m. on this Saturday a Twitter message was posted from the Jackson County Central softball team account (@4theHUSKIES)

WAKE UP!!!! IT’S GAMEDAY!!!!!! It has been 98 weeks to the day, 686 days since we last put on the Huskies uniform. The streak is over!! We get to play today and we could not be more happy for our kids!!!! It’s going to be a BEAUTIFUL day for 2 games!!

Let’s ponder that: 98 weeks, 686 days. So much has been lost and yet we have so much to be thankful for. Let’s begin with all the administrators at every school in Minnesota. They have worked so hard behind the scenes, doing everything possible to keep kids and families safe. And all the custodians who cleaned and disinfected every space. And the food service professionals who took extra, important care in their work on behalf of students and staff. And coaches who made sure they and the athletes in their care followed protocols and remained safe. And officials who ensured games could be played.

The MSHSL office has a small, tight-knit staff and nothing has been normal there for the last 13 months, just like everywhere else. Employees have worked from home, online meetings have been constant and critics have been unyielding. The professionals who work for the MSHSL on behalf of your school -- most of whom have names you will never hear – have worked tirelessly on behalf of every participant, every team, every school and every community. Tears have been shed by these folks. There have been sleepless nights. Angry, obscenity-filled phone calls have been answered. Angry, obscenity-laced emails have been read.

In the midst of that, quieter messages have been heard. The angry make the most noise, but the appreciative are always with us. A constant message has been received throughout these 13 months, a message conveyed to schools as well as the MSHSL: Thank you for doing this hard, next-to-impossible work, under the worst conditions imaginable. Thank you for standing up for what’s right, and for what’s best for the kids.

On Oct. 1, 2020 I posted this Twitter message after a revised calendar for winter sports and activities was approved by the MSHSL board of directors:

Something to remember …

This is for the kids.

This is for the kids.

This is for the kids.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, the girls basketball teams from Minneota and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa tipped off in the Class 1A championship game. Late Saturday night, the final horn blew on the boys 4A title game between Cretin-Derham Hall and Wayzata. That horn signaled an end to our winter state tournaments; not long ago we weren’t sure if they would take place at all.

Two photos from this weekend stand out to me. One shows Waseca head boys basketball coach Seth Anderson, his father/assistant coach Tim Anderson and their son/grandson Jack, posing with the Class 2A championship trophy. It is pure joy.

What might be the most impactful photograph of the winter sports season ... and maybe the entire last 13 months … was taken Friday night by John Muhlenpoh, who along with Tim Kolehmainen are talented professional photographers hired by the MSHSL to chronicle our championship games. It’s a photo of Chaska’s Kaylee Van Eps and Rosemount’s Helen Staley following Chaska’s two-point victory over the Irish in the Class 4A title game.

Both are seniors, both had just played their hearts out in their final high school game. Helen is holding the state runner-up trophy, her head resting on Kylee’s shoulder as they embrace. Helen had taken the game’s final shot, a three-point attempt that was ever so slightly off target. She scored a game-high 17 points but the shot that she wanted the most didn’t go in. I think the photo epitomizes the difference between winning and losing, and how sportsmanship really matters.

The games were played, the winners were elated, the runners-up showed tremendous grace.

Well done, everybody. Let’s have the best spring ever.

--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