The Purple's week may have revolved around staffing choices but it wasn't limited to that. In addition to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah being hired as GM & the first nuggets related to the coaching search with him on board Brian O'Neill was named to his first Bowl. He won't be going to Hawaii but Las Vegas could be an upgrade from Orlando. It took a Tristan Wirfs injury for him to join the team but is concrete proof that he is well-regarded League-wide. We will soon be able to get a sense of how capable KA-M is at finding players of similar ability level but it's too early to praise or criticize the hire.
NDSU's week began with a rescheduled home game against St. Thomas which showed that in tried & true fashion they may be rounding into shape for Sioux Falls. They affirmed the idea Thursday in Vermillion. After being forced into overtime they went on a 12 - 0 blitz that the Coyotes could not match in short time. Back in Fargo the women were shown once again how much of a gap there is between South & North. Saturday against the Bunnies didn't get much better at the SHAC. The men had chances to put the first conference loss of the season on them but weren't quite up to completing the 3-0 week.
Earlier Saturday the men & women of 🏃 began their latest showing of excellence. That came on the heels of League Field Athlete of the Week recognition for Jacob Rodin & Amy Phillips after their performances in Brookings while former thrower Alex Talley continues to excel for Nebraska.
That level of performance also occurred in the afternoons at the SHAC as 🤼 hosted West Virginia Saturday before taking on Air Force Sunday.
Days after being ranked 17th in the country 🏃 was in Grand Forks and showed why they deserve the recognition. The accolades continued for the work done in the classroom.
That was the high-point of the week, which left a lot of space beneath. Friday night both 🏀 teams failed to measure up in Mankato but lessons can be learned from the losses. The men earned a split when time expired the next day in St. Paul while the women ran out of gas after three hard-fought quarters.
🏊 also took on Mankato but found itself wanting as well.
🤼 played hosted to #10 Augustana & #8 Parkside but were no more successful.
Despite getting 25 from the top-scoring freshman in the conference, Rowan Nelson, Concordia's men were beaten at the buzzer by Macalester. In the other game it was the Cobber women who took control in the second half as they went from down six at the break to up 1 going into the fourth and ultimately won by nine. They kept it rolling Saturday against St. Benedict, going from tied at half to up 18 to end the game. They've now won six of their last seven games but have games remaining against four of the five teams ahead of them in the standings during their final seven games of the regular season. In their next chance the men weren't able to manage a different recipe, losing the second half to St. John's by 17.
On the ice the men went for their second set win in a row against St. Scholastica. Repeating last weekend's success, they only surrendered a single score Friday & doubled-up Saturday. The mojo did not extend to their counterparts as Scholastica did the doubling Friday & Saturday.
The week wasn't a total wash for the women related to water as 🏊 defeated Morris for the first time since 2011!
The process of hatching from the decades of incompetence took another step forward as they surpassed .500 for just the second time in 17 years. The accomplishment preceded the Golden State/Phoenix buzz saw but after the losses they rebounded with a dominant performance over a short-handed Utah squad as Towns recorded his second triple-double. As good as they have been some nights this season it seems as though the best remains ahead, which would be a hardily-earned payoff for everyone who has rooted for the team! The next week and half will play a significant role in their playoff position and could tell the tale whether the payoff is going to come yet or not.
The Bolts week ended with a pair of wins over Des Moines and began with their biggest win of the season as they raised more than $63,000 from their Hometown Heroes initiative. The funds will go toward equipment for 13 area first-response departments, which could benefit any of us in the future.
As for the on-ice action, Bret Link netted the first and final goals in game one to bring his season total to 13. In-between Trevor Griebel got his first of the year which also, ultimately, proved to be the game-winner and Tyson Gross got his fourth for good measure. In the rematch Fargo had to come back from an early 1 - 0 deficit. It was Felikss Gavars who evened it up early in the second period, then Cooper Gay put them ahead four minutes later. Halfway through the third Des Moines tied it at 2 which served to set-up a dramatic finale for German Yavash!
They'll head to Iowa for the next three only to return for a two-week stretch at home. A 3 - 0 weekend would put them back above .500 and in the mix for fifth in the West. From there Omaha (3rd) & Lincoln (4th) would be in reach.
The roster configuring continued as the Birds added three more arms to the roster. Alex DuBord & Luke Lind will be back in the uniform while Mitchell Lambson will return to Newman as a true home member after playing the 2020 season with Winnipeg there. The start of the season is just over three months away.
Reminder that scores are added daily plus there's a new home for recruiting news, so check back often!
Now for this week's highlights
The week began with a top-5 boys 🏀 showdown in Casselton as Enderlin handed the Squirrel's their first loss of the season. The Region 1 action Monday also included a 27-point win by Oak Grove over Wyndmere/Lidgerwood.
Tuesday, Shanley got a six-point win over South as Connor Kraft (Jr.) went for 29 while sophomore James Hamilton continued an all-conference level season with 34 points for the Bruins. The second game of the doubleheader went the Deacons way as well with Mesiku Hakim scoring 35, a new personal best. They needed every bit of it as Adie Wagner had another 30-point game. At the same time Davies girls went Dalmatians on Wahpeton to win by 36. As if that wasn't all enough, West Fargo's Miriley Simon had a 24 point, 20 rebound & 10 block night against Devils Lake! West Fargo's boys also cracked triple-digits, against Devils Lake, a feat that seems to be happening more this year than in recent ones as they won by 37. Davies & North also put up big wins against Wahpeton & Valley City. It wasn't all bad for the extended area as Northern Cass's girls beat Maple River by 28 while their boys finished 33 points ahead of Drayton/V/E. In the girls game Emma Lucas racked up 21 rebounds. With a pair of wins over Frazee & Thief River Falls Hawley's ladies got to 13 wins on the season and have a chance to reach 20 before tournament play begins. In the process Kaylie Crabtree eclipsed 1,000 points. The Nugget boys bounced-back from three straight losses with a pair of non-conference wins to reach 10. Ulen/Hitterdal also got a pair of Ws, including a 36-point win over Climax. Park Christian's girls one-upped that against Win-E-Mac. Barnesville finished a point shy of a 30-point win in Crookston. Ada/Borup's boys got a 37-point win over Climax to stay off the bottom of the Pine to Prairie. At the top of the PtP, Fertile got it's 12th & 13th wins comfortably. Northern Cass got another lopsided win over Richland, their fifth straight. Back in town, Moorhead's boys started the weekend with a 29-point rout of Fergus Falls. Oak Grove got another good win, this time over Thompson 64 - 50 as Trevon Rodriguez scored 24. Then came Davies turn to obliterate Valley City with the boys winning by 53 & the girls nearly doubling them up. Shanley also managed to make another mark, with the girls winning by 28 while the boys edged North to further muddle the possibilities for seeding
The ice was also hot as Davies girls beat Jamestown by eight Tuesday. Despite an even shot total, Sheyenne's boys managed a four-score shutout over West Fargo. Across the River Moorhead's girls had a key section showdown and managed to escape with a 1-score win over Brainerd. They followed that up with a 4 - 0 win on senior night, outshooting 48 - 17. West Fargo's boys were six-scores better than Grafton as they out-shot the Spoilers 40 - 14. South did even better with an 8 - 0 win over Devils Lake.
Good kept coming on the mat as Sheyenne finished their victory over Valley City ever. They did that while also blanking Red River 84 - 0. Their neighbors to the North had their own big win Thursday against Devils Lake while Davies finished 37-points clear of North.
Even the water was good as Moorhead was 39-points better than Detroit Lakes.
Another development came away from competition as Moorhead hired MHS & Moorhead State alum Amber Fugleberg to be the new head coach for 🏐 . In addition to that, it was announced that Region 1's first softball tournament will be held in Hillsboro May 21 - 24.
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