In the wake of the championship Minnesota had the introductory press conference for Brian Flores Wednesday. If you haven't seen it and have a half hour to spare, it's worth a watch but the impact and significance won't be felt until the roster decisions begin to happen. The first two of which were the re-signings of Blake Brandel & Khyiris Tonga as depth for both of the line groups.
NDSU started with a trifecta of Peak Performers for 🏃.
The week's competition commenced South of the supposed border as softball faced Mississippi, suffice it to say that the Southeasterners represented. They were back on the diamond Thursday against Sac. St and got back on track with a 4 - 1 win then Friday against SIU 5 - 3 before Tennessee replicated the prior times. They ended their time in Mexico with a 2 - 1 win over Cal St. Fullerton.
The #2 pick in the Summit League preseason poll was also tasked with beating Sacramento State in their season opening series but couldn't take care of business Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
Men's ⛳️ also resumed their season in Savannah, playing to second place out of 15!
On the 🏀 court both teams kept the opportunity for high seeding in Sioux Falls going with wins Thursday again Kansas City. In Tulsa the men showed a bit of the trademark defense that coach Richman is always pushing for but weren't able to out-produce ORU's 74 points. Back at home the ladies cleared triple-digits to secure their first 10-win conference season since 2010!
🤼 put a bow on the week with a visit from SDSU but the 17th-ranked Rabbits came out on top, 19 - 17.
Beyond the lines, Matt Entz is back to perusing resumes as special teams coordinator & safeties coach Kody Morgan took the same role with Kent State. This late in the process it may prove challenging to find one quality replacement but it would make some sense for the roles to be divided between two coaches, though that could be prohibited by cost.
Moorhead State jumped into the week with top-17 regional rankings for both 🏃 teams.
And as the regular season finales drew closer men's got a nod from the D2 selection committee with inclusion for the Central region. They spring-boarded from that into a trip to Minot that got them win 21! The women weren't able to make as much of the opportunity but rallied to secure a home tournament game this upcoming Wednesday against Concordia-SP by beating UMary in a nail-biter. The guys' regular season finale put a bow on the terrific run as they also took care of the Marauders so they could turn their full attention to Sioux Falls.
The week also included the first hits of Spring with softball opening up two cans in Aberdeen! The task was taller Saturday but they still came through with two more to the good.
also reconvened with a 7 - 0 win over Concordia Friday but then struggled to a 2 - 5 loss in Bismarck Sunday.
A few members of 🏃 also went to Grand Forks for one more competition before the Conference Championships.
Concordia started the week with a splash at the Conference Swim & Dive Championships. The water works continued Thursday, Friday & finished Saturday in eighth place but with a little more success..
On the frozen water the ladies drew even with St. Mary's before falling in overtime of the rematch as the last gasps of their schedule. On the other side, the guys earned a spot in the conference tournament for the tenth straight year with 7 - 1 & 4 - 1 wins as they continued a 7-2-1 stretch over the last month! They will get St. Olaf, looking to avenge a pair of 5 - 2 losses from late last month, Thursday at home in the opening round.
Men's 🏀 also had a faint chance to extending their season but a 17-point loss to Carleton closed that door. They rebounded with one more win, in dramatic fashion over Hamline! The women encountered no such setback as they secured themselves a spot in the Conference Semifinals, beating the Knights by 30 & taking the final three quarters to beat Hamline by 10. They will find out their opponent Tuesday evening with a possible rubber-match against Gustavus next Saturday in the championship, if both teams win-out.
At just the beginning of their schedule, softball see-sawed it's way to a 2-2 start with each result being quite distinct from the prior one.
It was another split week before Edwards hit the road for Utah. Against Dallas they showed another glimpse of what's possible and that they are still very much an enigma before losing to Washington Thursday as they were outscored 38 - 19 in the fourth. The way they continue to go about these games put a damper on Anthony Edwards latest milestone, 1,500 points this season (second fastest). With 21 games to go in the season alarm bells should continue to ring, with the only silver-lining being that Denver is the only team to truly separate itself in the standings from the 13-team pack!
Their young star may have had to wait for his addition to the All-Star roster but the same wasn't true of his experience in Salt Lake City as Lebron James picked him with his first selection. He didn't do much during the game but it was a nice hat-tip moment for the youngster!
It was a three-drop week for the Bolts and with the final two face-offs came much-needed space atop the Conference as they skated against Lincoln to a pair of 3 - 2 victories on the heels of a 4 - 2 W Wednesday over Sioux Falls. In conjunction with a pair of stumbles by Waterloo they've now got a nine-point cushion which could be a small portion of their final lead, depending how things go between the teams beginning as soon as Friday in Iowa! The three wins could add even more Player of the Week honors, following the last pair.
The Birds dropped a pair of nuggets this week in re-signing pitcher Alex DuBord & in-fielder Manny Boscan. With both of the 2022 AA All-Stars still in their primes the moves make all kinds of sense and could help bring the band back together as they look to repeat!
Reminder that scores and recruiting news are updated regularly so check back often!
Now for this week's highlights
It went by like a blur but we reached the beginning of the end for Winter sports this week.
🤼 was the first to determine it's champions with Sheyenne's third place team finish being the best for the boys while Central Cass's girls one-upped that!
🏒 took several strides to also determining it's highest achievers as the ND boys state bracket was determined. In dominating fashion Red River took the EDC over South with Sheyenne & Davies filling the other two spots in Grand Forks. The Mustangs claimed their spot with a 3 - 1 win over Central, as the offense continued to elude GFC following a 1 - 0 loss to South in the semi-finals. It's the second time Sheyenne has made state, both at Central's expense. Davies & North battled through three overtimes before Luke Lorenz struck the third goal of the game in the opening match Saturday!
Moorhead's girls also had the chance to punch their ticket to the State Tournament against Roseau Thursday. Through two periods they outshot the Rams 33-10 but only had one goal to show for the chances, which was matched by Roseau. The Spuds turned the momentum in the third with the game winner & insurance coming from Kate Kosobud to end the 17-year drought! They will be in the 4/5 matchup against Gentry to close-out action Thursday. The boys found out their path to that destination will begin Tuesday against Brainerd on home ice until the section championship, should they advance that far.
The West Fargo girls also checked-in with a 5 - 0 win over Jamestown. With just one week remaining in the regular season it could be the last "best-of" before the bracket is finalized!
The Taters also added some high finishers at the State Nordic Ski Meet with Abbie Ishaug & Jacki Johnson taking fifth in the Sprint Relay. Zaine Braaten added to it with the school's first medal in the boys Pursuit Race, taking seventh & also earning all-state!
On the court Davies & Shanley's girls started the week with a pair of comfortable wins over the original high schools while West Fargo also took care of Central by 25. Shanley then went to North and was on-track for another one but the Spartans mounted a comeback, falling just short as the Deacons drained their opportunities from the stripe. In their turn, Davies also blew the doors off South Thursday, who had to then suffer West Fargo knocking on the door of 100 points & a 75-point win. During it Taylor Van Winkle reset the school's record for most assists in a season.
On the boys side, South & Shanley went down to the wire as they continue to compete for positioning in the East with South coming out on top. North then did their old rivals a favor by also getting a W against the Deacons on the heals of a narrow defeat to Davies as the Eagles got 22+ from Ray Brown, Daniel Yorke & Mason Klabo, who left in the second half with an injury. For North Jeremiah Sem continued to scorch with 29 points, followed by 31 against Shanley & 29 vs. Central to wrap the week. Davies added to their Conference-leading win total Saturday with a touchdown win over the Bruins as James Hamilton added to his all-state-caliber season with another 26-point performance.
Out of town, Kindred may have had it's best win of the season, putting the first loss of the year on #3 Sargent County a day after losing to Oak Grove by 11. Even with that to their credit the Vikings would have to also put a one on Central Cass's record to advance back to the State Tournament. One thing is certain, Region 1 is as much of a grinder as ever! CC maintained their unblemished record with a 39-point win over Richland to start the week and finished it with a 33 over Tri-State. May/Port/C/G's boys also added a convincing victory, by 37 against Dakota Prairie.
#2 Thompson & #7 May/Port/C/G each put a bow on their regular season runs with 52 & 36-point wins over Hillsboro/CV & Drayton/V/E on the last day of the regular season! Now comes the fun stuff!
On the other side of the River Park Christian's boys got a 26-point win over Brandon/Evansville. Barnesville added a 78 - 52 over Ulen/Hitterdal/NCE and was 48 better than New York Mills while Fertile/B took down Kittson County Central by 30.
Outside the lines, North Dakota's Coach of the Year finalist list was announced
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