BROWN: Here are a few highlights from a hectic winter sports season
Apr. 14—Breathe in... and out.
Since the day Minnesota high school winter sports were given the green light to play back on Jan. 14, it's felt like a non-stop sprint to the finish line. So, forgive me if I need a minute to catch my breath. I don't get around as well as I did in my teens and 20s.
It seems like the rest of the state is getting that right now, much to the chagrin of spring sports' long-awaited return after missing the entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And as much as I'd love to tell you what to look forward to this spring sports season, I have no clue whatsoever what teams/players will look like nearly two years after they took the diamond/track/course. That will make for a fun spring, though. Even more so as the world opens up and vaccines are distributed to put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror.
Speaking of the rear-view mirror, it's worth taking a look at some of the highlights of the 2021 winter sports season.
Let's just catch one more breath... ... and let's go:
Sagedahl's scoring spree
The most impressive individual performance I saw came from an unsurprising source.
Since I joined the Tribune's sports staff in July 2018, the Sagedahl boys — Jordan and Drew — have been synonymous with success at BOLD.
In his final home game for the Warriors' boys basketball team, Drew dropped a school-record 43 points in BOLD's Section 2A-North playoff win over Sleepy Eye. The previous record belonged to Nick Kubesh, who scored 41 against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart on Feb. 11, 2014.
And this wasn't an effort where Sagedahl was hoisting the ball up every time he got it. It was an effective scoring night as he went 18 of 29 from the field (5 of 7 from 3-point range). Nineteen of Sagedahl's points came in the first eight minutes.
Sagedahl's night and BOLD's win came right after the Warriors were forced to take two weeks off after a COVID outbreak at the school.
"None of it seemed forced," BOLD head boys basketball coach Jake Brustuen said after the game. "He was just getting to the hole and taking what they gave him and lucky for us, he kept clicking throughout."
BBE's big winter
Teams at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School tallied plenty of miles on the district's buses.
While they were unable to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2014, the Jaguar boys basketball team went 16-5 and reached the Section 5A-West championship game.
It was the wrestling and the girls basketball teams that made waves this winter.
Reaching No. 2 on The Guillotine's Class A rankings, the BBE wrestling team went 28-4 and won a section championship for the first time. To win Section 5A, the Jaguars knocked off two-time defending state champion Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville, 33-23. While the hopes of a team title ended after a state quarterfinal loss to eventual finalist Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie, BBE did have a state champion as junior Blaine Fischer took first place at 145 pounds in Class A.
In girls basketball, the Jaguars made history in 2020 with their first-ever state trip. In the 2021 encore, BBE made it all the way to the state championship game. Sporting the best defense in Class A, the Jaguars won a 76-71 shootout with West Central Area in the Class A quarterfinals. That was followed by a tightly contested 51-50 victory against Sleepy Eye St. Mary's to clinch a state finals berth. Facing Minneota, the only team that beat BBE in the regular season, the Jaguars nearly completed a 16-point comeback before ultimately falling to the Vikings, 48-45.
"The girls, all year, played with heart and we never gave up," BBE head girls basketball coach Kristina Anderson said. "I've been so proud of this crew. I'm proud of their hearts and effort."
A dynasty in the Shadows
Due to COVID, the state dance team had to make the move from the Target Center to Edina High School.
But whether it's the big stage of Minneapolis or something smaller, the Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd Shadows own the stage.
For the third straight season, LQPV/D-B won both the jazz and high kick championships in Class A on March 12-13.
State dance team: LQPV/D-B Shadows prepare to make some history
On both days, the Shadows held off strong efforts from Yellow Medicine East as the two teams were unquestionably the top two teams in both disciplines.
"With a very humble heart, we are so proud to be three-time double state champions," head coach Lisa Johnson said in a statement on Facebook. "There are no words to describe this ride that these amazing young ladies have taken us on."
High School Dance: LQPV-DB Shadows make it a three-peat sweep
The dual championships also continued the success of dance in west central Minnesota. As noted by WCT sports editor Tom Elliott, area teams have won 19 state dance team titles since 1992.
Dance Team: LQPV/D-B makes it a three-peat with state dance title'
