Streeters beat Pequot Lakes

At the Little Falls tournament, the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters boys' basketball team won 69-60 over Pequot Lakes in the third-place game tonight. They led 38-28 at halftime.

Senior Patrick Knoblauch poured in 29 points in 9-of-14 field goal shooting to lead all scorers.

Sauk Centre girls' basketball wins Pierz tournament; boys' basketball late rally falls short at Little Falls

Against the host Little Falls Flyers, the Mainstreeters boys' basketball team lost 71-64 in the first round of a Holiday Tournament. Now 3-3 overall, they play Pequot Lakes (4-4) in the third-place game at 2:15 p.m on Saturday at Little Falls. The Patriots were soundly defeated by state-ranked Upsala 84-58 in the other semifinal game today.

Little Falls is 5-1 overall and one of three co-leaders in the Granite Ridge Conference who have 2-0 records.

At the Memorial Athletic Center in Pierz, the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team won 72-56 to continue their unbeaten start to the season. It was a huge win for the team, as Pierz (5-5, 1-2 Central Minnesota Conference) is a fellow Sub-Section 6AA-North member. Their next game is also a big match up, as they host Albany on Friday, Jan. 4. The Huskies are 8-1 overall (3-0 Granite Ridge) after beating St. Cloud Apollo 62-43 in a Christmas tournament at Little Falls today.

Albany will be one of Sauk Centre's top competitors for the sub-section crown next March.

North Stars tie Packers

Prairie Centre Area skated to a 1-1 tie with the Austin Packers in the second round of the Minnehaha Tournament today in the Cities.

Fusion swimming and diving is runner-up at Brainerd!

The Sauk Centre-Melrose Fusion boys' swimming and diving team had a terrific day on the pool today at the Brainerd Invitational, as they placed second in a field of seven teams behind the champion and host Warriors. Team scores were as follows: 1st Brainerd 543; 2nd SC-M 456; 3rd Monticello 402; 4th Minneapolis Southwest 381; 5th Perham 194; 6th Bemidji 163; 7th Moorhead 120.

Sauk Centre's Felipe Barreto set a new 500 FS record when he placed first (5:09.83); he also took second in the 200 FS (1:54.62).


Up next: a trip to Willmar on Tuesday, Jan. 3 in a match up between Section 3A rival teams. The dual begins at 6 p.m. at the Willmar High School.

*Update on Thursday night: the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team (7-0) blew out St. Cloud Cathedral 66-36 in the semifinal game of the Pierz Healy tournament; they face the winner of the Pierz vs. Crosby-Ironton game, which starts at 8 p.m. tonight. The Crusaders fall to 4-3 overall; they are 3-1 (three-way tie for second) in the Granite Ridge Conference. The Prairie Centre Area North Stars (1-7) lost 4-0 to Faribault in the first round of the Minnehaha Tournament. No word yet on who they play tomorrow.

The girls' basketball team will face Pierz in the championship; the Pioneers defeated the Rangers 62-41 in the other semifinal tonight.

Thursday is a busy day for Streeter fans!

Plenty of action over the Christmas break, starting on Thursday with three varsity events:

(1) the Sauk Centre-Melrose Fusion boys' swimming and diving team is at the Brainerd Invitational.

(2) the Prairie Centre Area North Stars boys' hockey team is at the Minnehaha Tournament; they open with Faribault at 5 p.m. The Falcons, who compete in the Section 1A playoffs, are 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 9 Conference. This tournament concludes on Friday night.

(3) the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team plays in the semifinals of the Pierz Healy Holiday Tournament; they open with St. Cloud Cathedral at 6 p.m. at the Memorial Athletic Center in Pierz. The B- and C-squad teams play Cathedral at 8 p.m. This tournament also concludes on Friday night.

...and then on Friday, the Mainstreeters boys' basketball team begins action in the two-round Little Falls tournament.

Stay warm this week!

Streeters blast Bulldogs

The Sauk Centre boys' basketball team picked up a big win at Paynesville Area by a 59-36 score on Thursday night.

The win improves the Mainstreeters to 2-0 in the West Central North Conference standings.

The Mainstreeters girls' basketball team drubbed Lac qui Parle Valley last night.

First win! North Stars boys' hockey beats RV/BOLD

Final from the Sauk Centre Civic Arena: Prairie Centre Area 6, Redwood Valley/BOLD 4.Up next: the North Stars (1-6) have a break until Dec. 27 when they participate in the Minnehaha Tournament.

At Upsala tonight, the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters boys' basketball team lost a well-played game 68-55 to the #8-ranked team in Class 1A. The Cardinals (4-0) start four seniors and have a deep, talented bench. Up next: a dangerous Paynesville Area team on Thursday on the road (if their high school is cleared to allow activity back in the building).

Prairie Centre Area leads 4-2 in second period!

A rejuvenated North Stars boys' hockey team posted three goals in the second period tonight to forge a 4-2 lead over Redwood Valley/BOLD in a non-conference match tonight at the Sauk Centre Civic Arena.

Prairie Centre Area is in search of their first win of the season. RV/BOLD entered tonight's contest 1-2 overall.

In the home wrestling meet against Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Sauk Centre-Melrose is trailing 29-6.

Girls' basketball game at Paynesville is cancelled

Due to the carbon monoxide emergency at Paynesville Area school, the girls' basketball game tonight has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled to a later date.

To read more on the CO emergency, click here:
http://saukheraldreporter.blogspot.com/2012/12/apparent-carbon-monoxide-leak-at.html

More photos from Friday night's basketball game

The Sauk Centre high school choir performed the National Anthem following a moment of silence to remember the fallen in the Connecticut school shooting that took place earlier that day.

And an action photo...

Josh Buschette (23) guards B-B-E's David Rodgers early in the first half of the game.

Here's the photo gallery from the game at the Sauk Centre Herald website:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1584155&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0

Boys' basketball plays tough against defending Class A champions

Final score tonight: #2-ranked B-B-E 71, Sauk Centre 57. The Mainstreeters (2-1) trailed 29-21 at halftime. The Jaguars improved to 6-0 with the win.

Up next: a short trip to #9-ranked (Class A) Upsala next Tuesday night in a non-conference game.

At the Osakis quadrangular, the Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team beat Prairie Valley but lost to Holdingford and Osakis.

At Minnewaska, the Melrose boys' basketball team dismantled the Lakers 83-48. The Dutchmen led 61-22 at halftime.

More to follow later tonight.

SC-M Fusion boys' swimming and diving goes toe-to-toe with Alexandria in a nailbiter

Final score from Alexandria's Discovery Middle School pool: Alexandria 92, SC-M 91.

Felipe Barreto won the 200 FS, 500 FS while also being a member of winning 200 FS and 400 FS relay teams. Fellow senior Keenan Pearson took the 100 FLY title.

Up next: a home meet in Melrose next Thursday, Dec. 20 against Section 3A rival Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato.

How about this girls' basketball score! Sauk Centre 35, #9-ranked (Class 3A) Alexandria 29. Great job, Mainstreeters!

Fusion take out Park Rapids Area, wrestlers drop two at Benson Tri

The trip home from Park Rapids Area was a little easier after the SC-M Fusion boys' swimming and diving team defeated the Panthers 110-76 in a non-conference meet Tuesday night.

Up next: a meet this Thursday at Alexandria, who is talked of as one of the top teams in the Central Lakes Conference this season.

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team lost 46-21 to Paynesville Area and 42-36 to Benson at a West Central Conference triangular on Tuesday in Benson. Up next: a quadrangular at Osakis that also includes Holdingford and Parkers Prairie. SC-M has a good shot at picking up two wins out of the three matches and should give the host Silverstreaks a run for their money. Action begins at 5 p.m.

Mainstreeters vs. Dutchmen girls' basketball

Sauk Centre has an early 4-2 lead over the host Melrose Area Dutchmen.

Then: it's Tayler Reller 4, Jena Klaphake 4 with two minutes gone.

**Update at 19:34: now it's 14-4 with the Maroon in the lead, and Melrose called a timeout.

A shot by Shelby Uphoff got Melrose within eight points, down 16-8.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, Sauk Centre has a 20-8 lead after a layup by Ali Peterson.

**Update at halftime from Sauk Centre: the boys' basketball team has a 37-32 lead over the Lakers.

In the second half at Melrose, the Mainstreeters have a 46-22 lead with 13:20 left.

In the second half at Sauk Centre, the Mainstreeters have a 46 to 39 lead with around 11 minutes to go. A layup by Josh Buschette made it 48 to 39.

Final in boys' basketball: Sauk Centre 70, Minnewaska Area 58.

Streeters vs. Lakers on the home court!

It's a second straight home game to start the 2012-13 season for the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters boys' basketball team. They entertain the Minnewaska Area Lakers in a border battle and the West Central North Conference opener tonight.

BOB FM has the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team at Melrose Area tonight in another border battle.

SC-M wrestlers 7th at Cardinal Classic

In the 10-team Willmar Cardinal Classic invitational, the Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestlers placed seventh with 86 points. They beat St. Cloud Tech, Minnewaska Area and Redwood Valley in the team standings. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg won the title with 216 points compared to Willmar's runner-up finish of 211.5 points.

Tommy Latzka at 138 won by fall (3:15) for third place, Artruo Stefanoni won third place in a thrilling 7-6 overtime decision at 182 and Saul Ellering lost a 5-0 decision at 220 as the three SC-M wrestlers who made it to third-place matches. No other SC-M wrestler battled for higher than fifth place.

Up next: a West Central Conference triangular at Benson next Tuesday, Dec. 11; it also includes Paynesville Area. SC-M (0-2) is in search of their first dual win of the season.

At Olivia against BOLD, the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team (3-0) won 64-51 in their West Central Conference opener. Up next: they travel to Melrose Area next Tuesday night for a West Central Conference North game.

Against Detroit Lakes (2-3) on Friday night at DL for their conference opener, the Prairie Centre Area North Stars boys' hockey team lost 4-1 to fall to 0-4. Detroit Lakes improves to 2-0 in the Mid-State Conference with the win to lead the five-team standings. Up next: a trip to Wadena for a Mid-State Conference hockey match up against the Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines. W-DC is 2-2 overall and 0-0 in the MSC standings.

Girls' basketball nearly doubles up Holdingford

The Mainstreeters girls' basketball team won 71-38 at Holdingford tonight. They put their 2-0 record on the line this Friday at Olivia, where they face another undefeated team in the BOLD Warriors. It will be the West Central Conference opener.

Apollo defeats North Stars

The Prairie Centre North Stars, skating a very young team this season, dropped their third straight, losing 9-2 to St. Cloud Apollo.

More will be available in this week's Herald. Here are some pics from the game:

Streeters blast Huskers in boys' hoops opener

The Sauk Centre boys' basketball team defeated Holdingford 70-56 Tuesday in their opener. Nick Adams scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Austin Landkamer added 10 points and Pat Knoblauch had 11 assists. For the game story read this week's Sauk Centre Herald.

Here are some pics from the game:

Boys' basketball, boys' hockey home openers are tonight

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters boys' basketball team hosts Holdingford in a sub-section match up tonight on the home courts at SCHS. The Mainstreeters are also hosting a Toys-for-Tots toy collection in lieu of the busy Christmas season that is upon us. The full details for the Toy drive, which is spearheaded by 1st State Bank of Sauk Centre, were published on page 2B of the Nov. 22 issue of the Sauk Centre Herald.

Don't have a subscription to the paper? You can remedy that by visiting this webpage: https://paymentwizard.com/OrderForm.aspx?FormID=904

The Prairie Centre Area North Stars boys' hockey team has its home opener tonight as well. They host St. Cloud Apollo out of the Central Lakes Conference at the Sauk Centre civic arena with a 7 p.m. start time for the varsity match and 5:15 p.m. for the JV teams. They're also having a Toys-for-Tots toy collection tonight.

Apollo's boys' hockey team is 2-1 on the young season with their lone loss coming to Class 2A Bemidji on Nov. 29. The Eagles went 11-13-2 last season (5-8 CLC) and fell 3-0 in the Section 6A opener to Sartell-St. Stephen.

Mainstreeters girls' swimming and diving team holds awards banquet

A shot of the Sauk Centre state swimmers at the U of M Aquatic Center on Nov. 17. PHOTO SUBMITTED

On Sunday at the Padua Pub, the Sauk Centre girls' swimming and diving team hosted their season-ending awards banquet.

Team MVP went to Tiana Molitor. The Most Improved Player award was shared by Savanna Metzger and Emily Mensen. The Hardest Worker award went to Sarah Nelson, who also earned the Spirit Award.

Rookie of the Year honors went to Jenna Kill.

Wrestlers place fifth at Melrose Early Bird invite

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team finished fifth in the 10-team Melrose Early Bird Invite on Friday evening. Derek Karash and Devon Fisher earned runner-up honors in their weight units. More will follow in next week's Sauk Centre Herald.

A nice bookend to the fall sports season at SCHS

Here's a photograph of a print out of a picture taken at the Xcel Energy Center earlier in November during the Class 2A state volleyball tournament. In the photo are Coach Klaphake and a handful of members of the senior players.

It's been an impressive three-year run at the state tournament for the Sauk Centre volleyball team!

Thanks for the memories.

Prairie Centre Area shut out at Alexandria

In their second game of the season, the Prairie Centre Area North Stars boys' hockey team (0-2) lost 5-0 at Alexandria on Thursday night at the Runestone Community Center arena.

The Cardinals picked up their first win in the process to move to 1-1 overall; they lost 8-4 to Moorhead on Nov. 27.

The North Stars had one of their better seasons in team history after carving out a 14-11-1 overall record last year. After starting 0-3, they reeled off six straight wins in December.

Winter sports have started

The Prairie Centre Area boys' hockey team opened the season on Tuesday night with a 3-0 loss at Paynesville against River Lakes.

At Wadena, the girls' basketball team won 59-48 in their season opener.

Check out this week's Sauk Centre Herald to read more on the start of the winter sports season at Sauk Centre high school.

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team opens the season this Friday at the Melrose Early Bird tournament.

The SC-M Fusion boys' swimming and diving team begins their season on Sat., Dec. 8 at the St. Cloud Apollo Invite.

More coverage from the state swimming and diving meet

Alyssa Kohorst heads back to the finish line during her leg of the 200 freestyle relay race at state.

Click on the link to view the photo gallery from the preliminary round held on Friday at the Class A state girls' swimming and diving meet in Minneapolis:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1569849&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=0

Photos are added of athletes from four area schools and four different newspapers.

Below, video from the 100 freestyle preliminary round on Friday with Tiana Molitor...


Don't miss the feature article in this week's Sauk Centre Herald on the swimming and diving meet! The paper hits newsstands later today with an early publishing date due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Mainstreeters have strong finish in the Sweet 16 at state swimming and diving

Sauk Centre's student-athletes at the Class A state girls' swimming and diving meet had outstanding finishes at Minneapolis today in the Sweet 16 finals round.

The 200 freestyle relay team finished 7th in the consolation finals bracket of the Sweet 16 round with a season-best time of 1:42.28. Team members include Danielle Banal, Alyssa Kohorst, Sarah Nelson and Tiana Molitor. Alternates at state were Kendyl Tullis and Julie Bushard.

Molitor, who swam the fourth leg of the 200 FSR, placed 5th in the consolation finals of the 100 freestyle race Sweet 16 with a time of 54.83 seconds.

Great job Mainstreeters!

Check out additional coverage of the state meet in the Nov. 22 issue of the Sauk Centre Herald, which hits newsstands a day early on Tuesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Photos from State!

Sarah Nelson leaping off the board in the 200 FSR.

Tiana Molitor prepared to leap into the pool during the 100 FS.

Video from State!

Here's the 200 FSR team in the state preliminaries this afternoon in Minneapolis...

Molitor, 200 FSR makes Sweet 16 at State!

Tiana Molitor advanced to the 100 freestyle finals after her performance today in the preliminary round at the Class A state meet in Minneapolis. The 200 freestyle relay race is soon starting, shortly before 2 p.m.



Coach Schreiner and team members are shown ready to cheer on Tiana Molitor in the 100 freestyle today at the U of M.

*Update at 2 p.m.: The 200 freestyle relay team of Danielle Banal, Alyssa Kohorst, Sarah Nelson and Tiana Molitor qualified for the finals in their event after placing 15th in today's preliminary round. A total of 26 relay teams competed in that event, so 12 of them saw their season end today. The team in 17th place, the fastest relay that did not advance to the Sweet 16, finished 0.13 seconds behind the Mainstreeters.

A not-so-hot video clip that shows the results board at the U of M...

The Sweet 16 round of the Class A girls' swimming and diving meet begins at 12 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center on Saturday.

More state volleyball scenes

Good luck at State to the swimming and diving team members!

A nice contingent of Sauk Centre students gathered shortly after 7 a.m. this morning to give a warm send-off to the state-bound Mainstreeter girls' swimming and diving team members. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Here's a clip from the Section 6A meet last Friday during the preliminary round, featuring Jillian Hujanen in the 100 backstroke...
 

Swimming and Diving team Pep Rally photos, video at the Sauk Centre elementary

Beginning with classes of very excited and anxious kindergarten students,  the state-bound swimming and diving team members walked through the hallways of the elementary school getting well wishes, high fives and words of support.

The six state-bound swimmers gather with their poster before walking through the hallways of the elementary school.

The upper-elementary grades were just as excited as the younger students for the walk-through of the Sauk Centre swimming and diving team members.

...and a video clip showing all the excitement at the elementary school!

Kudos to the school administrators and coaches for getting the Pep Rally details lined up at lunch time and this afternoon! It was a fantastic way to honor these special Mainstreeter student-athletes at SCHS.

State-bound swimming and diving team members get a spot in the limelight

Shown are members of the Sauk Centre girls' swimming and diving team gathered during lunch today with congratulatory balloons prior to being introduced to the student body.

Here's a link to a photo gallery related to this:
http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1567764&CategoryID=69413&ListSubAlbums=1

...and the web article: http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=358&ArticleID=14622

State-bound girls' swimming athletes honored today

At the lunch periods today in the high school, the Sauk Centre girls' swimmming athletes who are heading to the Class A meet this weekend will be recognized. In the elementary school, they will go through the hallways at 2:45 p.m. to meet students at their classrooms.

Go Streeters!

Photos from today's 3rd place game

Action from today's third-place game.

Here's a clip from the Xcel Energy Center...

Girls' swimming and diving team has a state-bound relay foursome!

A video clip of the preliminary round for the 400 FSR last night in Sartell...that same group earned a state-qualifying time in the 200 FSR today in the Section 6A championships. They finished third in the 400 FSR finals today to earn medals in that event.

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters 200 Freestyle Relay team is heading to state!!! Members include Danielle Banal, Alyssa Kohorst, Sarah Nelson and Tiana Molitor.

On top of that, Tiana Molitor of that 200 FSR team beat the state-qualifying time in the 100 freestyle race and will be competing in that event at state as well.

In the 200 FSR, the Mainstreeters finished with a state-qualifying time of 1:42.21 at the Section 6A championships today. In the 100 free, Molitor finished with a state-qualifying time of 54.76 seconds. Molitor finished third in the 200 free and came oh-so-close to earning a ticket to state in that event.

Banal finished fifth in the 50 free and earned a medal in that event and got eighth in the 100 butterfly for a medal there as well.

Nelson placed seventh and earned a medal in the 100 butterfly and also earned a medal in the 200 free with a sixth-place finish. The 200 MR team of Kendyl Tullis, Julie Bushard, Kaylee Hanson and Tracy Kortan finished seventh in the finals and also earned medals. Tullis earned fifth in the 100 backstroke to get a medal there. Bushard earned a medal in the 100 breaststroke with a sixth-place finish.

Here's what the scoreboard said after the 200 FSR race at preliminaries last night...showing the time for the Mainstreeters relay team in that event. They took 10 seconds off of that in the finals today to earn a ticket to state!

The Class A state girls' swimming and diving preliminaries begin at 12 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16 at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center in Minneapolis. Public ticket sales begin at 10:30 a.m. that day. Tickets (adults/students) are $8, and all seats are reserved.

Members of the Mainstreeters swimming and diving team cheer on Sarah Bushard in her 100 breaststroke preliminary race last night in Sartell.

Julie Bushard competing at sections in the 100 breaststroke; today in the finals she placed sixth to earn a medal.

Mainstreeters cheering on Morgan Adams in her race at sections. PHOTOS BY RANDY OLSON

A large contingent of the 17 section qualifiers from Sauk Centre earned a spot on the medals stand today. What's neat about the entire group is that only two are seniors, meaning 15 section qualifiers return for the 2013 season. Check the upcoming issue of the Sauk Centre Herald to read all about that.

As a team, the Mainstreeters took a very solid fourth place out of 11 teams at the Section 6A meet. They had 228 points to beat fifth-place Albany who had 194 points. Alexandria had 239 points to take third, while Melrose Area was second and host Sartell-St.Stephen was first.

Streeters take third!

The Sauk Centre volleyball squad ended their season in a winning fashion Saturday with a 3-2 win over Belle Plaine in the third place game at the state volleyball tournament.

There may not have been two more evenly matched teams in the tourney the Tigers took game one 25-23 before Sauk rallied to take game two 25-17. Game three was another close battle with Sauk edging the Tigers 26-24. The Streeters led that game 24-20 only to watch the Tigers tied it up, but finished them off for the win to even the match. Game four was all Belle Plaine. The game was tied 14-14 when the Tigers went on an 11-3 run to force a deciding game five. Game five was another battle as the teams traded points to a 9-9 tie. Belle Plaine took an 11-9 lead when consecutive kills by Macy Weller and Kendra Zenzen tied it up. Weller added two more kills for a 13-11 lead. Sauk earned another point on a bad set and then the Tigers scored two straight for a 14-13 Streeter lead. Sauk called a timeout and then it was Weller once again, finishing off the season and a magnificent career with a set from Jena Klaphake and a kill for a 15-13 win.

Weller finished with 23 kills as four different Streeters had at least a dozen kills. Ashley Kollman and Brianna VonWahlde each had 13 kills and Zenzen had 12. Klaphake had 59 set assists. Kollman led with 28 digs and Katie Reitsma had 27. The Streeters finish their season with just one blemish, a loss last night to Caledonia. Their record of 33-1 is the best record in school history for the volleyball squad and the second time the Streeter volleyball program has finished third. Today's win also marked the third straight year at state, finishing fourth in 2010 and fifth in 2011. Ten seniors will graduate from this year's team, but they will never be forgotten for their three trips to state and the memories they have made for Streeter fans.

For her efforts at state, Macy Weller earned a spot on the 10-member Wells Fargo All-Tournament team.

Check out this week's Sauk Centre Herald for a game by game recap and reaction from players and coaches, plus lots of great photos.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

More scenes from the Section 6A girls' swimming and diving meet prelims

Julie Bushard in action...

Volleyball, swimming and diving updates

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters volleyball team saw their state title hopes crash to a halt in a 3-0 loss to #2-seeded Caledonia tonight at Xcel Energy Center in the Class 2A state semifinals. They face Belle Plaine at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the third-place match.

At the Section 6A girls' swimming and diving meet in Sartell, the Mainstreeters had a fantastic showing in the preliminary swimming races. With very limited notes, it was fun to watch Sarah Bushard blow up her seed time and finish 15th in the 100 breaststroke.

Here's senior co-captain Jillian Hujanen in the 100 backstroke tonight...

Also very awesome = the top 400 freestyle relay team from Sauk Centre set a season record in their preliminary race with a time of 3:52.45. They hold the third seed with that time for tomorrow's finals round. The top two relay teams make it to state.

Good luck, Mainstreeters! Diving begins at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Sartell.

Final Four bound!!

Oh, how things change.

Three years ago the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters came to the state tournament for the first time with more nerves than confidence. This year, that team was St. Croix Lutheran. The Crusaders were visibly nervous in game one as the Streeters won 25-4 on their way to a 3-1 victory in the state quarterfinals.

“You couldn’t ask for a better start than that,” said head coach Jim Klaphake. “We were fired up and they were nervous. But we knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. We knew they would settle down and be better than that.”

Senior middle hitter Macy Weller recorded 33 kills and Jena Klaphake had 48 set assists to lead Sauk into the Final Four.

The Streeters got out to a 15-1 lead in game one as they coasted to the win. Game two, though, was a different story. The Crusaders’ nerves obviously went away as they came back from an early deficit to win 25-22.

“Our defense the second game really disintegrated,” said Weller. “We had to get it back and we did.”

The Streeters rebounded in game three with a 25-18 win and closed the door in game four with another 25-18 win.

Klaphake was happy with the team’s effort, especially the defense who countered the Crusaders hitting attack by keeping balls alive and giving Weller, Kendra Zenzen, Ashley Kollman and Brianna Von Wahlde opportunities at the net. Zenzen turned in a solid performance with nine kills and Kollman added six. VonWahlde had five kills and Liz Ellens played well off the bench with two kills.

Defensively, junior libero Katie Reitsma had 23 kills and Kollman added 22.

We’re not flashy offensively,” Klaphake said. “We have some awfully good hitters, but defense is the heart of this team. It’s all six girls, whether it’s blocking or digging, we do it as a unit.”

The Streeters will face Caledonia tonight at 7 p.m., who beat Maple Lake 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-9) and is 26-6 on the season. Caledonia’s losses came to Stewartville, Wabasha-Kellogg, Kasson-Mantorville, Cretin Derham-Hall, Marshall and Jackson County Central. Other winners Thursday in Class 2A were Marshall (3-0 over Mora) and Belle Plaine/Holy Family Academy (3-0) over Thief River Falls.

“We’re in the final four,” said Klaphake. “There are nothing but good teams left.”

When asked what their mindset is heading into Friday’s semi-finals, both Zenzen and Weller said, “win.”