May/June 2023

Andrew Richardson & Kai Chen from Blake

Kai Chen and Andrew Richardson won in a thrilling finals match against Mahtomedi.  The play from both teams was superb.  It was a nail biter in the third set.  Multiple breaks kept it tight until the final break at 4-4 and Kai closed out the match on serve.  4-6, 6-1, 6-4!  State Champions!

Leo Benson and Maik Nguyen from SPA

SPA’s doubles team of Leo Benson ’24 and Maik Nguyen ’24 was crowned the 2023 Class A Doubles State Champions. The duo swept their bracket with their final championship win coming over Litchfield 6-3/6-1.

Gigi Troup from Minnehaha. A State Champ!

Gigi had her best performances of the entire season in the month of June when it mattered most.  At the Section 4A Championships, she won the triple-jump and also anchored the school-record-setting 4x100m relay team to a victory, helping the the girls to their first team championship in over a decade.  The next weekend at the state meet, she broke her own school record in the triple jump with over a 1-foot PB of 36-10.25, earning 4th place overall.  Afterwards, she stepped out onto the track and once again anchored the 4x100m relay team to their second state championship in the last two years.    Gigi’s performances were crucial to helping the lady Redhawks to their first ever team trophy from the state meet! 

Grace Petzold from Providence

Grace Petzold from Providence Academy was the Class AA Medalist shooting 1 under par for the tournament. Grace was also selected as an All State nominee. Grace will be attending St. Catherine University in the fall to play golf.

 

September 2023-24

 

Senior Maddie Benka, pictured here with Mom/Coach Kim Benka, has been a Captain and Leader for the Redhawks Volleyball Team for several years. This season, she has lead her team to a record of 18-5 and is 2nd in the Metro with 405 Kills. She recently reached the milestone of 1000 career Kills. Next year, she will compete in Volleyball at the University of St. Thomas.

Paddy Greene has been a consistent and dominant defender for the Mustangs, leading the team to a 10-3-2 record and the current #1 ranking in the state. Paddy has scored 6 goals this season, and has one assist. Although he is a central defender, he is a real threat on set pieces and is always looking to push forward when he can. Paddy’s leadership has helped the team stay strong in tough moments and he looks to lead the team through the Section tournament.

SEPTEMBER 2023-24 NOMINEES

October 2023

Nana Vang (’24) and Fatemeh Vang (’27) won the Class A Girls Tennis Doubles Championship.  The sisters doubles team played extremely well through Sections and the State Tournament, including a win over Minnehaha Academy’s excellent doubles team in the Championship Finals.  The Vang sisters were also part of the Blake Girls Tennis Class A Team Championship.

Junior Cross Country Runner Eddie Snider finished first in the 2023 State Class A Cross Country meet last week.  Eddie ran 15:40.0 which was a second faster than Junior Williams Ahrens from Redwood Valley.  Eddie earned All-Conference Honors and was a Section 4A Champion.  Eddie also became the second fastest Cross Country runner in MPA history.  He displaced his coach Declan Dahlberg, a 2015 State Champion by 17 seconds.  Congratulations Eddie!

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH NOMINATIONS

November 2023

Breck Mustangs Captain Nate Miller was awarded the IMAC Athlete of the Month for November leading the Breck Mustangs Boys Varsity hockey team to a 2-1-1 start in their first 4 games.  Nate recorded 8 goals along with 6 assists for 14 total points during that span as well as his first career hat trick as a Mustang against Waconia on November 28th.  

Senior Piper Crosby had standout results in both the Section 2A Championship Meet and the Class A State Meet competing in both the 50 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke. At Sections, Piper won both of her individual events and led the team to its’ 12th straight Section Championship. At the State Meet, Piper led off the champion 200 Medley Relay, finished 2nd in the 50 Freestyle in a school record time of 23.66, and won the 100 Backstroke with another school record of 54.78.

November Athlete of the Month Nominations

December 2023

For the second consecutive month, Providence is excited to honor one of their own as the Girls Athlete of the Month. Following Carly Bixby’s nomination for the month of November, senior captain Brooke Hohenecker of the Providence Girls Basketball team earned the award for the month of December.
During December, Brooke averaged 11.7 points a game during a stretch where the
Lions went 7-2 while playing against highly regarded competition. Brooke’s highest offensive output during this time was a 22 point performance at Goodhue. As has been the case for the majority of the season, 21 of Brooke’s 22 points came from seven made 3-point attempts. Most impressive of all, during the Goodhue game, Brooke surpassed the career 1,000 point mark!  Congratulations on your nomination Brooke! We look forward to seeing how you finish out your senior season!

Athlete of the Month Nominees

January 2024

Ethan is an 8th grade Alpine Skier at the Blake School. He placed 1st in 7 of 8 races in January. Ethan scored the most total points out of all athletes in January. Earned 2023-24 All-Conference Honors. He participated in the 2024 Section meet and Qualified for 2024 State Tournament at Giants Ridge in February. 

Paloma Good was the top individual finisher on the SPA Girls Nordic Championship team this month and has advanced to the state championships along with a number of her teammates. Her coach Max Lundgren remarked following the championship, ” Paloma is one of the most dependable, consistent skiers we have and a fantastic, joyful teammate. She holds perfect pace and I am excited about the future development of her speed.”

February 2024

MPA’s Junior Delaney Cunnington ’25 helped the Cretin Derham Hall gymnastic team (a cooperative of three schools CDH, Mounds Park Academy and Minnehaha Academy) earn second-place in the MSHSL Class AA State gymnastic meet.   Delaney became a MSHSL State Champion on the uneven bars with a personal best of 9.725.  Delaney placed second on the floor exercise and was 3rd overall in the MSHSL Individual State Tournament.  Delaney was recognized as All-State Elite gymnast for her efforts at the state Tournament.  Congratulations Delaney!

Vivien is an 11th grade captain on the Blake Alpine Ski team this season. She was our top skier on the team all year. Vivien was an IMAC all conference selection while also being named All State. She won the individual Alpine State Championship during the February13th Meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, MN. Vivien won her 2 state races by a combined time of .76 seconds. 

Louie Wehmann was selected as the February IMAC Athlete of the Month. Louie was selected as a Mr. Hockey Finalist and ended his Senior season with 48g, 20a for 68 pts. His 48 goals ranked 2nd in the state and was #15 in overall points. 

Nominees for February 2024

March 2024

During the 2023-24 High School Swim Season, senior captain, Andrew Colgan, achieved 3 Automatic All-American times in the 100 Breaststroke (53.77), 200 medley relay (1:31.92), and the 200 free relay (1:25.44). Andrew also achieved an All-American Consideration in the 200 IM (1:51.25). He tied for the Section 2A Swimmer of the Year with his teammate, Josiah March. He helped lead the team to their 8th consecutive Class A State Championship. Andrew also broke numerous relay and individual records during the season. Four of them are pool records, and one is a Bearstang record. Andrew views his teammates as brothers, and credits his teammates, coaches, and hard work ethic for a successful season. He also values his teammates as lifelong friends. Andrew works hard outside of the pool as well. He carries a strong academic load and holds a very high GPA. Andrew will be swimming for Colorado College beginning the fall of 2024.

Blake/ Breck Boys Swimmer Henry Webb is currently a junior at Blake and has lettered 5 times (since his 7th grade year). This year he won the 200 yard freestyle State Championship as an individual with a time of 1:42:52. His contributions to the team has helped the Bearstangs team win State Titles the past 5 of 8 straight years.  In addition to all of that, Henry was also named to the All Section First Team along with Section Swimmer of the Year.

Blake/ Breck Boys Swimmer Josiah March is currently a senior at Blake and has lettered 5 times (since his 8th grade year). This year he took 3rd Place in the 200 yard freestyle State Championship and 2nd Place in the 500 freestyle.  His contributions to the team has helped the Bearstangs team win State Titles the past 5 of 8 straight years.  In addition to all of that, Josiah was also named to the All Section First Team this past season.

Emma Millerbernd had a fantastic month of March for the Providence Academy girls basketball team. Her overall play helped lead the Lions to their 3rd consecutive state championship. For her play Emma was recognized as a member of the AA All Tournament Team. In the month of March Emma scored 66 points, pulled down 29 rebounds and tallied 23 assists. Emma was instrumental in the Lions bringing home another state championship.

March 2024 Athlete of the Month Nominees

April 2024

Hamline Elite Meet Qualifier in the 100, 200, and 400m dashes

Hamline Elite Meet Results 100m 2nd place, 200m 2nd place and 400m 4th place

At Hamline she set a new school record in the 100m (12.07).  This time also ranks her with the third fastest time in the girls 100m dash in the history of the Hamline Elite Meet.

She ran a lifetime PR in the 400m dash at the Hamline Elite Meet (57.88).  

She consistently has been placing first in her other meet races of the 100m, 200m, and 400m dashes.