MACA girls, boys turn back Eagles on diamond

The spring sports slate didn't miss a beat Tuesday as the MACA girls visited Lac qui Parle Valley while the baseball Tigers hosted the LQPV Eagles.

It was mission accomplished for both squads in terms of garnering the win.

Softball: Tigers 17, LQPV 1

Coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers scored early and often in getting an advantage vs. the Eagles in the usually-windy Eagle country.

Lifted by a big second inning in particular, the softball Tigers assumed command, winning in the end 17-1.

The second inning rally generated six runs. By itself that rally was enough to back the pitching of Mackenzie Van Batavia who is getting established as the MACA ace.

The ten-run rule kept this game shorter than the standard length. So, Van Batavia taxed her pitching arm for just five innings.

On this day she allowed a mere three hits while amassing a fine strikeout total of eleven. She walked five batters, and the one run she allowed was earned.

Her pitching opponent was Alyssa Harms who worked the full five despite getting roughed up. Just eleven of the 17 runs that Harms allowed were earned.

Lac qui Parle committed three errors.

The MACA line score was 17 runs, eleven hits and no errors. Errorless ball at this early stage of the season puts a smile on fans' faces to be sure.

The Tigers scored in every inning.

Van Batavia missed a shutout in the fifth when the Eagles pushed home their lone run. She wielded a potent bat to complement her pitching work. She pounded two hits in four at-bats and scored two runs.

Steph Hennen was a perfect two-for-two and crossed home plate three times. Tracey Meichsner was busy on the basepaths too, recording two hits in three at-bats and scoring three runs.

Olivia Reimers made noise with her bat, finishing three-for-four.

The LQPV hits were by McKenzie Long, Questa Stensrud and Kaylee Holtz.

Baseball: Tigers 5, LQPV 3

The baseball Tigers entertained fans at home with a 5-3 win. The Tigers outhit Lac qui Parle 9-4.

Pitching was at centerstage with Sam Mattson accomplishing a gem on the hill. Coach Mark Torgerson had to beam as Mattson set down 15 Eagle batters on strikes. Mattson finished with a four-hitter in this WCC-South triumph.

Not only is the 15 (K's) stat significant, Sam had a skein of eleven consecutive outs via strikeout. This began after LQPV got a run pushed across via wild pitch in the first.

Don't get the impression this win was a cakewalk. The visiting Eagles led 3-2 in the top of the fifth. Sam Haas, who wielded a potent bat for the visitor (two triples), raced home from third on a squeeze bunt, gaining LQPV that one-run edge. Colby Siegert was the Eagle who laid down that bunt.

Morris Area Chokio Alberta scored a run in the bottom of the fifth to tie things up.

The sixth inning proved pivotal, as Mattson bore down to get a goose egg on the scoreboard and MACA rallied for two runs in the bottom. There would be no further scoring.

Jacob Torgerson gave fuel in the sixth rally, singling and then coming around on Bryce Jergenson's double. Tom Holland hit a fly ball deep enough to get a run in via sacrifice.

The MACA offensive highlights included a solo home run off Mac Beyer's bat.

The MACA line score was five runs, nine hits and two errors.

Holland had a two-for-three afternoon with two RBIs at Chizek Field. Chandler Erickson's bat resounded with a double as part of going two-for-three with an RBI.

Jacob Torgerson scored two runs to go with his two-for-three numbers. Tanner Picht had a one-for-four line in the boxscore.

Beyer with his homer and Jergenson with his double rounded out the hitting attack.

Mattson issued just one walk. He gave up four hits and three runs (two earned).

The losing pitcher was Brandon Bornhorst who worked the whole way, fanning five.

Haas had all but one of the LQPV hits. His three-for-four stats were complemented by two runs scored. Nathan Kelm had the other LQPV safety.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Boys succumb to Benson in South semis

Many are called, few are chosen. That might be the theme for this time of year in prep basketball. The ranks of the teams "still going" have been cut way down.

The MACA boys had hoped to get this far. They made the trip to Collegeville Saturday, March 10, hoping to take that next step through the Section 6AA South tournament. It was sub-section semis day.

It's not as high on the ladder as you might think. To get there, the Tigers won one game, and this was over Eden Valley-Watkins. Yes, it was hard getting past EV-W. It required overtime and had a final scoreboard margin of a mere one point.

So it didn't really bode all that well. But there were other background facts promoting optimism. The Tigers were seeded No. 2. They in fact won on a pretty regular basis through the regular season.

Their Saturday foe at St. John's University, Collegeville, would be Benson, the team with the No. 3 seed.

The Tigers certainly showed they could handle the Braves during the regular season. The Tigers won by a comfortable margin at Benson. Our orange and black squad was second in conference behind only Montevideo (in the WCC-South). In all the Tigers had won 16 times going into Saturday.

So, could we prepare a winning script? Alas, no.

The teams all begin 0-0 in the post-season. You could wipe away the on-paper credentials. Benson certainly demonstrated it was a new season. Those rival Braves beat us when it hurt. They handed our Tigers a 68-53 defeat.

Thus the curtain comes down on the 2011-12 campaign for coach Mark Torgerson's squad. The final won-lost numbers: 16-11. Benson came out of the weekend at 18-9.

Benson won the right to face Litchfield in continuing tourney play. The Litchfield Dragons are 22-5 as I write this. They're breathing fire.

The score for the Morris-Benson game doesn't appear in the portion of the article that appears on page B1 in the March 12 Willmar newspaper. You have to follow the "jump" (to B3). This is something I would have been reprimanded for in my newspaper days.

Someone once complained to Lou Gelfand, then-ombudsman at the Star Tribune, about a Gophers basketball score not appearing on the front of sports. The suggestion was made that the score should appear real early-on. Lou's reaction? "Amen and Hallelujah."

MACA fans don't like looking at the score. But, there it is on B3 of the Willmar paper: 68-53. Not even that close. The Tigers had lost some of their luster (or roar).

Their reputation was as a more defensive-oriented team. Benson likes to accent offense. It was Benson's day to rule Saturday, led by Logan Connelly and his 23 points.

Matt Ahrndt - remember him as the football quarterback? - put in 16 points, and Sam Peterson added 14. Connelly and Ahrndt each made three 3-point shots. Peterson made one from that range, and Benson as a team was a superb eight of 14.

Benson punched down on the accelerator in the first half and outscored the Tigers 41-21. The orange and black fans must have felt stunned. The Tigers managed a 32-27 scoring advantage the rest of the way.

The Tigers were five of 20 in three-point shooting and 21 of 57 in total field goals. Logan Manska made two of the 3's while Brody Bahr, Riley Arndt and Jacob Torgerson each made one.

The Tigers were six of 13 at the freethrow line.

Austin Dierks led in rebounds with seven. Chandler Erickson was tops in assists with six. Arndt stole the ball three times.

Manska topped the scoring list with the rather modest total of eleven points. Bahr broke into double figures with his ten. Then we have Arndt 9, Lincoln Berget 9, Dierks 7, Erickson 4 and Jacob Torgerson 3.

Tigers 70, Eden Valley-Watkins 69

It wasn't much of a boost of confidence for the Tigers and their fans to have to sweat so much to get past the No. 7 seed in sub-section.

The Tigers took the court to play Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday, March 8. The Tigers did win the game. That was the one essential accomplishment.

But it wasn't very heartening to weigh this against what Benson was doing to its first-round foe. Benson manhandled its foe that same night, and Benson would go on to end our Tigers' season two days later.

The March 8 story had coach Torgerson's squad prevailing 70-69 in overtime. Jacob Torgerson provided clutch heroics at the very end from the freethrow line, bringing vocal approval from the fans assembled at our Morris Area gym.

The Tigers outscored EV-W 7-6 in overtime.

This game was close the whole way with Morris Area Chokio Alberta having just a one-point edge at halftime, 37-36.

Riley Arndt was a key player with a team-best 17 points on the night, plus he led in rebounds with five. Actually he co-led in rebounds as Austin Dierks also picked up five. Chandler Erickson and Logan Manska each provided four assists. Manska with his five steals led there.

Manska made two 3-point shots but these were the only MACA successes from that range, in ten attempts. In total field goals the Tigers were 27 of 56. In freethrows: 14 of 21.

Manska had a memorable night with 20 points scored. Riley Arndt put in 17 followed by Austin Dierks with 13. Then we have three Tigers each with six points - Jacob Torgerson, Chandler Erickson and John Tiernan - followed by Brody Bahr and Nic Vipond each with one.

Eden Valley-Watkins ended its season with a 6-19 record. The Tigers would bow to Benson who kept their buzz saw going.

It has been a pleasure for yours truly to cover the Tigers this past season. And now we're obviously ushering in spring. I invite you to read my thoughts on the new Vikings stadium proposal which is on my companion website, called "Morris of course."
Here's the permalink:
http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-vikings-stadium-revives-allure-of.html

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Seniors Ostby and Gibson impress in state

Tim Ostby and Zach Gibson soared in the closing stages of the wrestling season. It all reaches a big climax at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. (In my younger days I toted my camera to the St. Paul Civic Center.)

The Tiger duo excelled at the Xcel. Tim Ostby captured runner-up honors at 145 pounds. Big Zach Gibson garnered No. 4 at 285. Both were in state last year but came up shy of placing then.

They weren't to be denied in 2012 with an additional year of seasoning under their belts. They applied that savvy and experience to turn back foes, most of them anyway. It's easy at state to run into a "buzz saw" at some point. There are some seemingly superhuman competitors.

Let's begin our review with Mr. Ostby, who began with a 13-3 major decision over Zach Jaeger of Stewartville. Tim took charge with four takedowns during this bout.

Next for Tim was the quarter-finals where he took on Colton Vekved of Becker. Tim took care of business again, prevailing with a 5-2 decision.

Now we're in the semis, and here the opponent for Ostby was Dustin Ellsworth of St. Paul Harding. Tim showed come-from-behind resilience. He and Ellsworth fought into overtime. Suspense was high. Whose arm got raised at the end? It was Tim's!

Tim won by fall, so now he could contemplate moving forward into the finals. It's a very prestigious circle: the state finals.

Tim was assured great satisfaction no matter how it turned out, but he had to square off vs. one of those truly premier foes. It was Jake Short of Simley. Short owned a 40-1 record entering state. He was ranked No. 1 in state and No. 4 in the nation.

Ostby lost by fall in the second period. He stood on the awards stand at No. 2. He projected the orange and black proudly to be sure. As a Tiger senior he went 36-4.

The Zach Gibson story in state began with a win by fall in 5:24 over Preston Woods of South St. Paul.

Gibson was then dealt a setback. He fell by a 16-0 score to Austin Goergen of Caledonia, from a part of the state associated with Spencer Yohe, the iconic former wrestling coach here who was associated with several institutions (including UMM where he was a right hand man to Steve Carr).

Goergen brought a 33-1 record to state. He was the two-time defending state champion. Zach couldn't overcome him. But more mat exploits awaited Zach.

He bounced back with a pin in 1:38 over David DeYoung of Staples-Motley. Then he took care of business vs. Mike Dyer of Richfield, winning 5-1.

Now the consolation semis awaited. Here he faced off vs. Matt Kadrlik of Simley. Gibson won with a flourish, posting a fall in 3:36, thus making his way into the third place match at 285 pounds.

Gibson gamely took the mat to face Sam Stoll of Kasson-Mantorville, the second-ranked heavyweight in Minnesota. A hard-fought bout developed which ended with Gibson on the short end 1-0.

Gibson had a stellar 37-5 senior season.

Congratulations to all the Tiger matmen of Morris Area Hancock Chokio Alberta (MAHACA). But I still wish we would just be called "Morris Area."

Girls basketball: New London-Spicer 49, Tigers 28

MACA fans couldn't help feeling their team was the underdog Saturday (3/3) at St. John's University, Collegeville.
Granted, the MACA girls had beaten Paynesville two days earlier in the sub-section tournament.
The Tigers may have felt buoyed by that success but a substantial hurdle presented itself Saturday.

The Tigers were now up against New London-Spicer, a program accustomed to reaching great heights. Lest there be any doubt, the won-lost numbers told a story. The Wildcats of New London-Spicer stood 18-8 while MACA was trying to shake off a losing tendency, with a 9-16 mark coming in.

Yes, the Tigers did upset the Paynesville Bulldogs on the road. It was an on-paper upset but not a huge one.
The Tigers and their coach Dale Henrich were looking for something huge Saturday.

For half of this game, it seemed to be within reach. The Tigers led for some of the first half and found themselves down by just one at halftime, 17-16. But whatever things the Tigers were doing right, they just weren't able to continue.

The Wildcats found some of the attributes that made them the No. 1 seed in Section 6AA-South. They lived up to that favored status, outscoring the Tigers 32-12 in the second half and winning 49-28.

So the books are closed on the Tigers' 2011-12 season.

They faded in three-point shooting Saturday. This is the kind of weapon that can help an underdog. But there was no special magic blessing the Tigers Saturday.
Katie Holzheimer made two 3-pointers but these were the only such successes for MACA. The team was two of 15.
In total field goals the team numbers were eleven of 58. The scant freethrow numbers were four of eight.

Holzheimer may have made a pair of 3's but she was held to eight points by a tight NL-S defense. It was MaKenzie Smith (employing her cross country stamina?) leading the squad with 15 points.

Nicole Strobel scored four points and Tracey Meichsner one.
The 28 team points were a disappointing total.

Smith led the team in rebounds with ten followed by Beth Holland with eight and Strobel with seven. Meichsner dished out five assists.

Taylor Thunstedt was a prime NL-Spicer contributor with 28 points, plus she snared six rebounds. She made three 3-pointers.

Wildcats Amanda Radel and Olivia Setterberg each scored eight points. Radel sank two 3-pointers.

The season ends for MACA with a won-lost mark of 9-17. New London-Spicer climbed to the next rung with a 19-8 mark.

Boys basketball: Melrose 73, Tigers 63

The home of the Dutchmen, Melrose, wasn't a pleasant place for the MACA boys to visit on Friday, 3/2.

The Tigers got on the Interstate to close out the regular season. They were humbled in the first half, badly enough that even some second half surging seemed futile. The Tigers did in fact surge some in the second half.
But they couldn't shake the handicap of having been down 49-25 at halftime.

The Tigers and Dutchmen have similar won-lost records. Maybe it was the home court that made the difference for Melrose. Whatever, the Tigers ended up going down to defeat in the 73-63 final.

The Tigers outscored the Dutchmen 38-24 in the second half. Coach Mark Torgerson's crew certainly hopes to pick up from there when action resumes. The resumption will be for the post-season.

I'm posting this late-afternoon Thursday, 3/8, and tonight is when the handkerchief drops for the start of post-season. Tonight's foe is Eden Valley-Watkins. We're in Section 6 of AA. Our Tigers own a 15-10 season record going in.

Melrose owned a 19-8 record coming out of Friday. Scottie Stone was a big force for Melrose in overpowering Morris Area Chokio Alberta. Scottie poured in 26 points including one 3-pointer.
Other Dutchmen making 3's were Seth Noll and Ryan Ellering.
Melrose made four 3's on the night but were outdone by the Tigers who made five. Jacob Torgerson showed a hot hand making four of these. Logan Manska had the other.

As a team the Tigers were five of 19 in 3's and 26 of 63 in total field goals. In freethrows the numbers were six of 15.

Jacob's hot hand still left him one point shy of teammate Austin Dierks in the scoring column. Dierks and Torgerson led the Tigers in scoring with 18 and 17 points respectively. Chandler Erickson reached double figures too with ten points.

Manska put in six points followed by Riley Arndt and Lincoln Berget each with five. Brody Bahr added two points to the mix.

We'd like to see Jacob and perhaps others get hot from beyond the three-point stripe starting tonight!

Berget collected a team-high seven rebounds. He and Erickson led in assists, each with three.

The Tigers had their high points on the night, and even shaved their deficit to single digits in the second half, but it was a night for Scottie Stone and his Dutchmen to rule.

Now it's time to savor the post-season!

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA hoops ushers in March with victories

Boys hoops: Tigers 54, BOLD 47

We're into the month of March which is the prime time for prep sports excitement. The MACA boys ushered in the month with an impressive road win in a conference game.
The site was Bird Island. The opponent was BOLD (the Warriors). The outcome: a 54-47 win for the orange and black crew.
The Tigers broke loose after a deadlocked situation at halftime (a 23-all tied score). Coach Mark Torgerson coaxed his student athletes to a 31-24 scoring advantage in the second half.
The success put a slight damper on a significant BOLD statistical accomplishment. MACA fans are well familiar with the talents of Kyle Athmann. Athmann climbed past 1000 career points in the Thursday, March 1, game. He was "in the groove" offensively with 25 points - the only Warrior in double figures.
He made four shots from three-point range.
Impressive as this exhibition was, it wasn't enough to vault the Warriors past the Tigers.
The Tigers wrapped up their WCC-South schedule 9-3. Those numbers spell second place behind clear kingpin Montevideo. Monte humbled the Tigers in a recent game.
Going into Thursday, it wasn't certain that Athmann was going to surpass the magical milestone. There wasn't clear cause to dispatch the TV crews etc. Athmann needed 24 points. Talented as he is, there was no certainty he could post such a total.
But he did, clearing the milestone by that precious one point. His Warriors closed out the conference at 6-6. In overall they've done a bit better, with 13-10 W/L numbers coming out of Thursday.
The Tigers' win was their 15th overall against nine losses. How far can they climb in the post-season? This is the month to find out.
Logan Manska made the only "3" for MACA Thursday. He'd finish the night with a team-best 21 points. Austin Dierks put in 14 points and matched that total in rebounds.
Continuing with scoring we have Riley Arndt (5), Jake Torgerson (4), Brody Bahr (4), Lincoln Berget (4) and Chandler Erickson (2).
Erickson and Bahr each had four assists, and Erickson stole the ball four times.
From the freethrow line the Tigers made 11 of 17 shots.

Girls basketball: Tigers 57, Paynesville 50

March began on a most upbeat note for the Morris Area Chokio Alberta girls. Tournament-time was already here. The Tigers were seeded fifth and were going to have to strive for upset form vs. the No. 4 seed.
The opponent: Paynesville (the Bulldogs). As the lower seed the Tigers accepted the road assignment. They succeeded as the road team and as the underdog.
Coach Dale Henrich coaxed his student athletes to a 57-50 triumph in this Section 6AA South affair.
The Tigers might find the going tougher today (Saturday, 3/3). Now they face the No. 1 seed, New London-Spicer, who cruised through the opening round with a 71-45 win over St. John's Prep.
Today's venue is St. John's University in Collegeville. It's semis day.
Coach Henrich liked the fast start his team performed against Paynesville. It's always good to quiet the (opposition) home crowd.
Henrich liked the crisp passing by his team. The reward was high-percentage shots much of the time.
Foul trouble began looming. Paynesville took advantage to claw back and get the score tied. They used steals and layups and began looking like the higher-seeded team. The scoreboard revealed the tie score for halftime: 23-all.
The Tigers prevailed partly because of defense and rebounding which won good grades throughout the game. Henrich commented to the media that "we really hustled after the ball."
Different players stood out at key, pivotal times. "Put-backs" fueled the winning surge.
Katie Holzheimer was at the fore with a statistical double-double. She led the squad in scoring with 22 points. She snared ten rebounds. MaKenzie Smith put in 14 points and collected seven rebounds. Tracy Meichsner contributed eight points and ten rebounds.
Three-point shots had their role in the win. Here the team numbers were the quite acceptable four of ten. Holzheimer was dead-on in shooting and made all four.
Nicole Strobel scored seven points, Beth Holland five and Holly Amundson one.
Meichsner matched Holzheimer's rebound total of ten, and Strobel had nine. Holland led in assists with four. Meichsner with her four steals led there.

Wrestling: media observations

The main "wrestling crowd" is in St. Paul this weekend for the state tournament so they aren't around to observe the weekly Morris newspaper, which comes out on Saturday. I assume today's paper includes coverage of the section meet which is a really big deal in wrestling.
By the time the weekend wrestling travelers get home, the section meet coverage might seem as old as the day it was born. But there was a way to appreciate print media coverage of the section meet last week. All you had to do was acquire the Chokio or Hancock newspapers, newspapers that serve Mayberry-like communities. That's a compliment.
The "big town" paper (Mount Pilot?) wasn't published all week. But you could read about the Tigers in the section meet by getting a small-town paper. I checked these out at our Morris Public Library. Both seemed to have a quite thorough summary.
But I noticed something odd. The article in the Chokio paper was written by Blaine Hill, coaching staff member. The article in the Hancock paper was written by a Morris newspaper staff member. (The Morris and Hancock papers are owned by the same Fargo-based company.)
The duplication of effort struck me as odd. I have no idea what the story is behind this. There are lots of little stores behind area high school athletics. Most of the people buzzing about these have little idea that the "outside world" doesn't give a hoot (apologies to the Hancock Owls).
The outside world follows normal life from day to day. We wouldn't dream of getting our blood pressure up over the kind of issues that can consume the high school sports folks.
If Blaine Hill (also Morris city manager) likes to write and wants to provide a public relations outlet, why can't his services suffice for any and all media? I'm just asking.
The article in the Hancock paper required time and coordination between the writer and the coaching staff I'm sure. Section wrestling results are extensive and complicated, with 14 weight classes, data on decisions, major decisions, falls etc.
It seems to me if Blaine is willing to compile all this, let's all just go with it and skip the duplicative process. I'm just wondering.
Beyond that I have another suggestion which should be as clear as the nose on your face. If Blaine likes to write and if Chuck Nelson likes to take pictures - I'm told Chuck compiles a souvenir DVD for fans - why don't they establish an information bureau online - a "Morris Area Hancock Chokio Alberta" website that would be the last word on Tiger wrestling, and a PR outlet?
All they need do is implement a free blogging platform like what you're looking at right now. How about it, guys?
You could then tell any and all area newspapers that they are welcome to come and get anything they want on the site.
Convenient, yes. But the newspapers wouldn't like this because of the realization that fans would simply start using the website. Who needs the newspapers?
The website is free and there are no limitations - no need to "squeeze in" the material as so often happens with newspapers, which try to be all things to all people.
Hey, wrestling people, take care of your own needs online. UMM's winter sports already does. Step into the future and realize (and seize) the new media realities.
Here's a dirty little secret: it's fun.
Blaine is going to have his hands full in the next few months as the City of Morris grapples with the need to tear down the old school. What a mess. If it was going to be torn down, it should have been done sooner rather than later.
I wouldn't want to own property downwind during the demolition. Imagine the gawkers who will turn out.

Congrats to state wrestling achievers Tim Ostby and Zach Gibson and to all the MAHACA Tigers.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Girls crush 'Waska, boys bow, wrestlers shine

Girls hoops: Tigers 42, 'Waska 25

The road was an agreeable place for the Morris Area Chokio Alberta girls on Thursday (2/23). The MACA hoopsters took command against a struggling Lakers team of Minnewaska Area.
The Tigers gained their eighth win of the season, 42-25. The Lakers have won but twice.
Coach Dale Henrich's squad applied a balanced attack. Still there was a standout: MaKenzie Smith with her 13 points, nine steals and nine rebounds. Yes, she nearly eked out a triple-double.
Is the win a sign of better things to come for the orange and black cause? The Tigers had been slumping. All that can be forgotten quickly, naturally, with a spurt in the post-season.
The Tigers ended the regular season with back-to-back wins.
The Thursday success was despite putting up bricks from three-point range. The Tigers made none of their seven 3-point tries and they were 15 of 50 in total field goals. In freethrows they made 12 of 22.
Smith with her 13 points was one of eight Tigers who scored. She was joined by: Courtney Gades 9, Katie Holzheimer 8, Beth Holland 6, Nicole Strobel 2, Miranda Day 2, Cassey Hickman 1 and Tracey Meichsner 1.
Paige Anderson held up 'Waska's scoring with eight points but the lowlights have exceeded the highlights in Minnewaska's season, to be sure. The Lakers have a loss skein of 18. They made just eight of 36 field goal tries Thursday.
The Tigers led at halftime 17-9.
Now we're into the post-season, where the slate calls for MACA to play Paynesville at Paynesville at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1. We're in Section 6 of AA.

Boys basketball: Montevideo 66, Tigers 44

The Tigers took to the home court Friday (2/24) for the daunting challenge of facing Montevideo.
Monte is a high-powered unit and came here eyeing the WCC-South title. The Thunder Hawks showed their state-ranked attributes from early-on. They assumed a healthy lead and stayed on an even keel.
They boosted their conference record to 10-1 with a 66-44 win over the Tigers. Monte stands at 18-5 overall.
Coach Mark Torgerson's Tigers had trouble getting untracked offensively. The halftime score was 46-17 with Monte on its way to wrapping up the conference title.
Colton Vien was a thorn in the Tigers' side. He flirted with 30 points and snared ten rebounds.
Logan Manska was the Tigers' stop scorer with eleven points. Manska made two of the Tigers' four successful 3's. Riley Arndt and Jacob Torgerson made the others.
Arndt scored eight points. Manska was the team leader in rebounds with four. Three Tigers each supplied two assists: Austin Dierks, Brody Bahr and Tom Holland.
The Tigers were 15 of 53 in total field goals. In 3-pointers alone they were four of 15. In freethrows: 10 of 13.
Here's the complete scoring list: Manska 11, Arndt 8, Chandler Erickson 6, Jake Torgerson 5, Sam Mattson 4, Lincoln Berget 4, Austin Dierks 4 and Brody Bahr 2.
(Thanks to coach Torgerson posting stats on Maxpreps, I'm able to correct an omission from the Willmar newspaper.)
The setback left Morris Area Chokio Alberta with a 14-9 overall record and 8-3 in conference.

Two section champs among Tigers

The MAHACA initials turn up twice in the listing of section wrestling championships.

We are heading into the truly climactic phase of the 2011-12 wrestling season. The state individual tournament is coming up this weekend at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center. The Xcel will truly be a mecca for the state's wrestling faithful.

Dawson provided the venue for the sectionals that included Morris Area Hancock Chokio Alberta. There, Tim Ostby and Zach Gibson were the headlining Tigers with their accomplishments. Both blazed past their three section foes.

Ostby and Gibson were champions at 145 and 285 pounds, respectively, each going 3-0. They will proudly carry the MAHACA banner in state. Good luck, guys.

Evan Nelson came on strong to win four bouts and drop two, a showing good for third place at 120 pounds. He had the heartbreak of losing a "true second" match. First and second place achievers advance to state.
Connor Metzger fashioned a 3-2 record as the Tigers' 170-pounder, notching third. Joel Harrison was a third place achiever at 220 pounds where he turned back four opponents and lost to two.

Taking fourth at 113 pounds was Travis Ostby who fashioned a 2-2 mark. Myles Smith sported a 2-2 record at day's end, so he too could feel pride in a fourth place finish (at 132).

Big Tyler Moser at 195 pounds took sixth with his 2-3 showing on the Dawson mats. Dillan Johnson was the No. 6 achiever at 126 pounds, going 1-2.

MAHACA was also represented by the following: Mitchell Ascheman at 106 pounds (a 1-2 showing), Jerid Berning (138, 0-2), Seth Nelson (152, 1-2), Jordan Thooft (160, 2-2) and Wade Ehlers (182, 0-2).

Bring on the bright lights and arena atmosphere of the Xcel!

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

A night to shine for MACA hoops teams

Girls hoops: Tigers 59, Ortonville 42

Morris Area Chokio Alberta showed a rejuvenated offense on the court Tuesday night.

Point totals were unacceptably low in some recent games. The Tigers worked to put that drought behind them Tuesday (2/21). Led by Beth Holland's 22 points, the Tigers defeated the Ortonville Trojans 59-42. It was the second-to-last game of the regular season.

The Tigers will play at Minnewaska Area tomorrow (Thursday, 2/23). Fans are hoping for that rejuvenated offense to be the norm now, going into the post-season.

The Tuesday success was in front of an appreciative home crowd. It was the Tigers' seventh win of the season but their loss total is 16 - not the kind of numbers that promise a good seeding position. Ortonville has a 10-13 record.

The home fans cheered with zest in the first half when MACA built a lead of 37-22. The Tigers cruised in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 22-20.

Note from your site host: I have a girls basketball photo album assembled on Flickr. You may view the album by clicking on the link below. The album is also linked from a thumbnail photo in the right-hand column on this site. When the Flickr page comes up, you might want to try the "slideshow" feature. It's neat!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcminn/sets/72157629425369093/with/6773158796/

Holland stood out on the scoring list with her 22 points. Katie Holzheimer made her presence felt in scoring along with other categories. Her point total was a modest ten but she collected seven rebounds and also provided eight assists, three steals and three shot blocks.

The rejuvenated offense happened in spite of lackluster long-range shooting. There was just one successful three-point shot, in eight tries, and it was made by MaKenzie Smith. Smith had a point total of ten.

Holzheimer with her seven rebounds led in that department followed by Tracey Meichsner with five.

Holzheimer's eight assists was the team-best figure, and Holland followed that up with four. Holland with her four steals edged four teammates each of whom had three: Meichsner, Holzheimer, Smith and Holly Amundson.

In total field goals the Tigers were 26 of 56. In freethrows: six of ten.

Here's the complete scoring list: Holland 22, Smith 10, Holzheimer 10, Amundson 9, Nicole Strobel 6 and Meichsner 2.
The top Ortonville scorer was Morgan Messner with 19 points. Ortonville made three of nine three-point shot tries.

Boys basketball: Tigers 71, Yellow Medicine East 42

The Tigers were dead on at 50 percent in their field goal shooting Tuesday night on the road. Coach Mark Torgerson's crew was in action in Sting country of YME.

The Tigers made 30 field goals in 60 attempts as they pulled away on the scoreboard. They clearly took care of business in the first half, outscoring the stunned Sting 38-18. They finished things off by outscoring the Sting 33-24 in the second half.
At the final horn the scoreboard bulge was nearly 30, at 71-42.

Coach Torgerson had his squad abstain from the three-point shot. There were only two such attempts by the Tigers. Neither found the mark.

Instead the Tigers played good old conventional basketball by working for the closer-in shots (or getting layups). The scoring load was spread around.

Austin Dierks with his team-leading eleven points was one of 12 Tigers who scored. Riley Arndt and Logan Manska each put in ten.

Here's the remainder of the scoring list: Chandler Erickson 7, Tom Holland 6, Brody Bahr 6, Lincoln Berget 6, Sam Mattson 5, Jake Torgerson 4, Nic Vipond 2, Daniel Nelson 2 and John Tiernan 2.

Arndt was tops in rebounds with five.
It has been a while, but the Willmar newspaper is back to spelling this name "Ahrndt." This is the Benson spelling. Also in Wednesday's paper, Brody Bahr's name was spelled "Brady." I know because I used reading glasses. I still have to get ink on my fingers to do this research.

Erickson led in assists with four and in steals with six.

The Tigers made 15 of 27 freethrow attempts. They came out of Tuesday with a W/L mark of 14-8, helping reverse some recent disappointing fortunes.

The top YME scorer was Adam Savariego with 12 points.
Next for the Tigers: a challenging home game on Friday, 2/24, against Montevideo, the #9 ranked team in Minnesota AA.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Girls fall to Sting, record-setting Baker

The starting five get announced for Morris Area Chokio Alberta. (Photos by B.W.)
Nicole Strobel has the ball for MACA in the game vs. YME.
Cassey Hickman maneuvers in a crowd.

Yellow Medicine East 46, Tigers 27
The color pink prevailed at the MAHS gym, home of the Tigers, Friday. Orange and black had to give way to this special cause-related color.

The Tigers took the court hoping to turn back the Sting of Yellow Medicine East.

The Tigers have been a bit offense-deprived lately. They could use a hot streak in 3's. There was no such good fortune for the orange and black crew Friday.

The Tigers succumbed to YME and their premier rebounder, Emily Baker. Baker is a Sting senior who vacuums the boards. She broke the YME school record for rebounds Friday at the expense of our Tigers.

Baker blended in with an efficient YME attack. Her contributions on this night included eleven points and 13 rebounds. With those rebounds this student-athlete of distinction passed Jenny Kuehn's career mark of 716 boards. Baker came out of Friday with 723.

Kylie Jans put in ten points for the Sting, who crafted their 14th win of the season against nine losses. The Sting came out of Friday with a sparkling 8-4 conference mark.

The Sting's Courtney Hinz put in nine points and collected nine rebounds.

The Tigers' offensive woes with the anemic point total of 27 was a carryover from the Sauk Centre game. Against Sauk Centre on Tuesday, the offensive output was 33 points - suggesting room for improvement. Sauk Centre scored 67.

Coach Dale Henrich is striving to get the fortunes reversed with the post-season getting near.

The Tigers fell to the Sting in the 46-27 scoreboard final Friday. The game wasn't out of reach at halftime as MACA trailed by five, 19-14.

Katie Holzheimer scored eleven points to top that list. Courtney Gades scored seven, MaKenzie Smith six, Cassey Hickman two and Nicole Strobel one.

The offense needs a jump start.

Click on the link below to reach the MACA girls basketball page on Maxpreps:

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/morris-area-chokio-alberta-tigers-(chokio,mn)/girls-basketball/home.htm

Click on the link below to reach the MACA girls basketball schedule page on Pheasant Country Sports:

http://www.pheasantcountrysports.com/teamschedule.php?yid=1112&tid=1159&sid=1230274

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA boys hit dry spell, dropping three of four

Minnewaska Area 57, Tigers 43

The MACA boys have fallen into a bit of a slump and aim to make the adjustments to rebound.

It's hard to find the winning formula when you're up against the likes of an "in the zone" Austin Giese. Giese and his Minnewaska Area mates treated their fans in Laker country to a win Thursday at the expense of our Tigers.

Giese poured in 18 points in the first half. The MACA point total in the first half was 19.
Giese would finish the night with 29 points, the high for both teams.

The Tigers trailed 35-19 at halftime and ended up losing 57-43. They entered the weekend still comfortably over .500 at 13-8. But they dropped three of their last four games. Let's hope it's out of their system.

Minnewaska Area has hardly been a world-beater this season. But when someone like Giese gets hot, well. . .

The Lakers owned 7-13 W/L numbers coming out of the night.

The Tigers made five of 22 tries from three-point range. Chandler Erickson and Logan Manska each made two of the long-rangers, and Jacob Torgerson had the other. In total field goals the Tigers were 14 of 50. In freethrows: 10 of 15.

Erickson collected the most rebounds: 7. Manska and Brody Bahr were the assist leaders with four and three respectively. Riley Arndt and Austin Dierks each had three steals.

Dierks was the top scoring Tiger with 14 points and none of his mates cracked double figures. Manska scored nine. Continuing with the list we have Erickson (8), Torgerson (5), Bahr (4) and Arndt (3).

Minnewaska's Giese made four 3-pointers in building his impressive point total. Yes, "in the zone. . ."

Andrew Ostrander and Jaydeen Beecher each made a "3" also for the Lakers.

Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 52, Tigers 48

The Tigers' recent funk included a 52-48 loss to the ACGC Falcons on Friday, Feb. 10.

ACGC is a quality unit with a record comfortably above .500, and the Falcons had the home court on their side.

Coach Mark Torgerson's Tigers with their still-fine record couldn't keep pace with the Falcons and Dylan Hoerchler. Hoerchler scored 18 points to help lead ACGC to its 12th win of the season.

Hoerchler connected three times from three-point range. He also added four assists to the winning mix.

Falcon Jacob Belgum scored 16 points and stole the ball four times.

The Tigers entered the night second in the WCC-South. But their first half offense was not what you'd expect of a team with that credential.

Was it a case of the ACGC defense being especially resolved? Whatever the explanation, the Tigers' anemic first half offense produced just 14 points. The Falcons scored 25 in the first half.

The Tigers revved up their engines for the second half and outscored ACGC 34-27. But the first half hole was too deep.

MACA faltered in three-point shooting, posting three of 18 numbers here. Logan Manska had two of the makes and Riley Arndt had the other.

Austin Dierks snared ten rebounds and Arndt had five. Brody Bahr dished out three assists. The steal leaders were Bahr and Chandler Erickson each with three.

Let's roll up our sleeves for the scoring list: Arndt 14, Dierks 11, Manska 10, Bahr 4, Erickson 4, Jacob Torgerson 2, Lincoln Berget 2 and Tyler Henrichs 1.

Tigers 60, Breckenridge 51

The bright spot in the Tigers' recent play was the February 14 game against the Cowboys of Breckenridge.

When I was a kid, the Cowboys were a dynasty at the old "district" level. We learned to dislike the color green. Breckenridge could be a nemesis for our orange and black crew. That was a long time ago.

On February 14 the Cowboys looked quite normal - you could joke their 6-shooters were empty, heh heh - as they succumbed to the Tigers in the 60-51 final.

The Tigers charged out to a 27-20 lead at halftime. The Tigers in fact led the whole way. They're striving to re-discover that formula now.

Austin Dierks was a cog in that formula as he achieved a double-double. This rangy Tiger put in 22 points and grabbed eleven rebounds.

Logan Manska was a cog as this Tiger made all three of the team's 3-pointers. But the team numbers in 3's were three of 14. In total field goals the squad made 21 of 49 attempts. The Tigers made 15 of 28 freethrow tries.

Chandler Erickson and Jacob Torgerson led in assists, each with four. Brody Bahr stole the ball three times.

Here's the scoring list from the Tigers' 13th win of the season: Dierks 22, Manska 15, Riley Arndt 6, Bahr 6, Erickson 4, Lincoln Berget 4, Torgerson 2 and Tom Holland 1.

Nate Lorenz scored 13 points for Breckenridge which came out of the night at 8-11.
Morris Area Chokio Alberta boys basketball will visit YME on Tuesday, 2/21. Then comes a home assignment vs. Montevideo, ranked #9 in MN 2AA, on Friday, 2/24.

Wrestling: home invite memorable

I have coverage on my companion website ("Morris of course") of the Tigers' performance in their home wrestling invitational. The Tigers placed third among eight teams. They had four individual champions.
I invite you to read the review by clicking on the permalink below:

http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/02/wrestling-tigers-third-among-8-in-home.html

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA girls drop two games in homestand

Katie Holzheimer drives for the Tigers against Melrose. (B.W. photos)
Coach Dale Henrich addresses his squad during the 2/10 game at MAHS.
MaKenzie Smith shoots for the Tigers.
Tracey Meichsner wears No. 34 for MACA. She's a freshman.

There was a wealth of home action for the MACA girls basketball team as the week wound down. Fans flocked to our spacious Morris Area facilities for games on Thursday and Friday.

They enjoyed the lively and competitive basketball even if they didn't enjoy the outcomes. Victory was elusive for Morris Area Chokio Alberta on these nights.

On Thursday (2/9) the scoreboard difference was a modest three points vs. the BOLD Warriors.

On Friday the visitor carved out a little more of an advantage, ten points. That visitor was Melrose.

Coach Dale Henrich aims to tweak the Tigers' attack with tournament-time getting ever nearer, so as to hopefully reverse these outcomes. The post-season creeps ever closer on the calendar.

BOLD 47, Tigers 44

BOLD came here especially hungry for a win Thursday as they were eyeing first place in conference. The Warriors bore down in crunch time to escape with the narrow win.

Crunch time unfolded with the Tigers having fought to get the score tied at 44-all. The clock showed less than a minute left.
BOLD led at halftime 26-17.

Coach Henrich tweaked things well enough that MACA outscored the Warriors 24-21 in the second half. The Tigers surged to get the score tied but couldn't neutralize the Warriors after that.

A two-point field goal and a freethrow spelled the difference for BOLD at the end.

The Tigers came out of the night at 4-7 in the conference. BOLD owned a 7-3 record in the WCC-South at night's end. The door was opened for BOLD to seize the lead in conference when ACGC lost to Yellow Medicine East Thursday.

The Tigers connected on four of 19 shots from three-point range. Katie Holzheimer had three of those long-range successes which helped lift her to a team-best 14 points. Courtney Gades made the other 3-pointer.

In total field goals the Tigers were 17 of 52. In freethrows: six of ten.

Holzheimer with her smooth shooting set the pace in a balanced scoring attack. MaKenzie Smith scored nine points and also grabbed nine rebounds. Tracey Meichsner topped the rebound list with her eleven. Nicole Strobel collected seven rebounds and Beth Holland had five.

Holland was the top assist producer with four. Meichsner scurried around to get three steals.

Holzheimer with her 14 points and Smith with nine were followed in scoring by Meichsner (6), Strobel (6), Holland (4), Gades (3) and Holly Amundson (2).
Carly Sigurdson topped the BOLD scoring list with 19 points.

Melrose 57, Tigers 47

The Melrose nickname is "Dutchmen" and I'm not sure if this is modified for girls/women's sports. Probably not. Perhaps the name can be explained as "unisex" in the same way as "mankind" denotes everyone.

Well, enough mulling over on that.

When I was in high school, Melrose had one of the greatest players in Minnesota hoops history: Mark Olberding. He became a pro.

As I recall, Olberding played during the transition from one-class to multi-class prep tournament basketball. "Multi" meant two (classes) at the start. It was a little controversial.

But today, we take for granted we need somewhat of a maze (four classes) for tournament hoops. It certainly is fair. The trade-off is that these events no longer rivet the state's attention as much.

Is the new way better? I think so.

The Morris Area Chokio Alberta girls bowed by ten points vs. Melrose Friday (2/10). Jenna Orth was an Olberding-like force for the visitor. MACA couldn't come up with a defense to neutralize this Dutchman, who scored 27 points.

Orth and her mates carved out a four-point halftime lead (24-20) and outscored the Tigers 33-27 in the second half.

It was an awful night for the Tigers in 3's. The Tigers posted a goose egg there in 14 attempts. The Dutchmen were six of ten in 3-pointers with Orth making five and Gabi Sawyer the other.

The Tigers were 22 of 59 in total field goals. Freethrows bring a frown with the three of 12 stats.

MaKenzie Smith was a bright spot with 17 points scored. Smith also led MACA in rebounds with seven. Katie Holzheimer and Tracey Meichsner each snared five rebounds. Beth Holland set the pace in assists with five and in steals with four.

Nicole Strobel joined Smith in double figures scoring with ten points. Holland and Holzheimer each put in six points. Meichsner added four, Cassey Hickman two, and Holly Amundson and Courtney Gades one each.

Melrose gained its 12th win Friday against eight losses. The Tigers' W/L numbers coming out: 6-14.

Invitation to companion site

My newly launched companion website is called "Morris of course" and my current post is on the neverending UND team nickname controversy.
Below is a permalink to that post. I invite you to check it out.

http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/02/bigger-fish-to-fry-than-team-nicknames.html

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Boys on short end by one vs. Sauk Centre

Boys basketball: Sauk Centre 55, Tigers 54

The Streeters of Sauk Centre came to Morris Area Monday (2/6) for boys hoops action. (Are they still called the "Mainstreeters?")

The team with the Sinclair Lewis-inspired nickname escaped with the win. It was the narrowest escape possible. Sauk Centre turned back the Tigers by a mere one point, 55-54.

Sauk Centre kept its record above .500, coming out of this night with a 10-8 record. The Tigers' W/L numbers weren't tarnished much. Coach Mark Torgerson's crew owns a 12-8 record entering midweek.

Fans held their breath within the last minute as MACA had its chances to climb on top. On this night anyway, the clutch shots didn't fall.

The Streeters established a solid game in the first half, assuming a 31-28 lead for the break. Coach Torgerson coaxed his Tigers to a two-point scoring advantage in the second half, 26-24. A little bigger burst was needed, though.

The Tigers were pretty solid in freethrows, making 12 of 17 attempts. They needed a little sharper eye in 3-point shooting. One additional make in this department would have made the difference.

Jacob Torgerson made two 3-pointers. But that was the extent of the Tigers' success in that department. The Tigers languished with two of eleven stats in 3's.

In total field goals the MACA numbers were 20 of 54.

Austin Dierks was smooth in his game, leading the Tigers in scoring and rebounds. His point total: 18. His rebound total: 9. Brody Bahr and Riley Arndt each collected six rebounds.

Logan Manska dished out three assists. Manska and Chandler Erickson led in steals, each with three.

Dierks with his 18 points was followed in scoring by: Arndt 12, Manska 7, Torgerson 6, Lincoln Berget 5, John Tiernan 4 and Bahr 2.
The Sauk Centre scoring list was topped by Patrick Knoblauch with his 18 points. Knoblauch connected three times from 3-point range. Nick Adams put in 14 points.

What's it about? "Morris" of course

I have begun a second website (or blog) - no big deal 'cause it costs nothing - because sometimes the amount of sports I'd like to write in certain weeks is more than I could comfortably accommodate here.
The new site is called "Morris of course."
I put up a post last night (Monday) that touches on both the Super Bowl and Groundhog Day, both events being symbols of winter's apex.
I'd enjoy having you take a look at the new site. Here's a permalink to the Super Bowl/Groundhog Day post:

http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/02/super-bowl-groundhog-day-at-apex-of.html

Wrestling: Big Ole Tournament

The Big Ole Invitational is a signal we're coming down the home stretch of the regular season.

Held on the same weekend as the Super Bowl, it attracted the usual wealth of talent for the 2012 edition.

The Tigers of MAHACA had their cut of that wealth to be sure. The Tiger matmen placed third among the eight teams that gathered in Alexandria on Saturday, Feb. 4.
The KMS Saints garnered top honors with an attack that produced four champs and three runners-up. Frazee was the No. 2 team.

Tim Ostby was a champion for the Tigers at 145 pounds, winning three bouts and dropping none. Zach Gibson likewise carved out champion honors, vying as the 285-pounder. Gibson succeeded with a 2-0 showing to garner No. 1.

Myles Smith at 132 pounds had a 1-1 day which was good for second. Connor Metzger got the nod at 170 pounds and this Tiger took third on the strength of two wins and one loss.

Evan Nelson carved out a fourth place showing at 120 pounds, going 1-2. Dillon Johnson won two bouts and dropped two to place fourth at 126 pounds.

Wade Ehlers at 182 placed fifth with his 1-2 showing. Tyler Moser placed fifth at 195 pounds, going 1-2.

Mitch Ascheman, the Tigers' 106-pounder, went 1-3 for sixth place. Matt Munsterman at 113 pounds placed sixth, going 1-3.

Other Tigers seeing action were: Jerid Berning (138 pounds, 0-3), Seth Nelson (152 pounds, 0-3) and Aaron Nelson (160 pounds, 0-3).
Only one weight slot was unfilled: 220. Having competitors across the weight spectrum has helped the Tigers this season.

Girls basketball: win vs. conference leader

The MACA girls came out of a funk (losing spell) to treat home fans to winning form on Friday, Feb. 3. This was a very hard-fought game that had ACGC as the opponent.

It was an entertaining night of West Central-South Conference basketball. It was anybody's ballgame in the first half as the horn sounded for the break with MACA leading by one, 30-29.

The game's complexion changed not a bit in the second half. The Tigers scored 22 points in the second half, to 21 by the visiting Falcons. Do a little math and you end up with a 52-50 final score with the orange and black cause on top.

Coach Dale Henrich's Tigers could savor this sixth win of the season for them, and fourth in conference. Unfortunately the losses have outnumbered the wins.

The best reversal would be when tournament time comes. All teams start out 0-0 then.

Friday's win was extra meaningful because Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City came here with good credentials. This is an above-.500 team in conference and overall. They owned ten wins total coming into the night. They had to settle for leaving Morris with ten wins.

A dance group provided the halftime entertainment.

Three-point shooting was pretty solid for Henrich's crew. Six of 17 attempts from that range found the mark. Katie Holzheimer had four of the makes and Beth Holland had the other two.

In total field goals the Tigers were 21 of 52. In freethrows: four of eleven.

MaKenzie Smith collected seven rebounds off the boards. Nicole Strobel had five rebounds.

Tracy Meischner had three assists followed by four of her mates each with two: Strobel, Holzheimer, Holland and Smith. Holzheimer's overall aggressive brand of play was reflected in her six steals. Strobel and Smith each had two steals.

Holzheimer was a major offensive force with her 27 points. Holland put in eleven points, Smith ten, Strobel three and Brooke Wente one.

ACGC's top point producers were Chelsea Jans and Sydney Larson each with 12 points and Katie Knisley with eleven. Knisley collected 15 rebounds.

ACGC came here as the conference leader. Beating a team with that status is heartening for the orange and black fans.

Reminder on my BBB Flickr album

Here again is a link to the Tiger boys basketball Flickr photo album I assembled recently. Thanks for checking it out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcminn/sets/72157629103572349/with/6784742193/

Does anyone else locally do online photo albums on Tiger sports? Does the newspaper even do this on its website?

When I left the paper, I had the impression they were going to be doing this type of thing regularly. We had a teleconference one day (telephone w/ speaker, listening to some guy in the Fargo Forum chain of command speak as if he were "The great and powerful Oz").

This guy talked about how a newspaper photographer usually can get only 2-4 photos published (of a given game) in the regular print newspaper. But, there's the website! Wow!

"The other 15 or so photos can be put there," I recall this guy saying.

I was scared and discouraged - discouraged about all the additional time and demands that were going to be spelled. I wasn't all that young anymore. I envisioned becoming sort of a zombie, building virtually my whole life around trying to keep up with all these journalistic demands.

I wasn't going to be Superman. It wasn't worth it. Besides, trying to be prescient, I figured that in the future all this (endless) sports coverage could go online supervised not by just "one guy at the newspaper," but by people involved in the programs themselves!

The old newspaper model wasn't going to transfer well to the new communications model, I felt. We are still seeing the new model sprout. It isn't happening as fast as I had expected. People are too stuck in their old ways.

If you have noticed the frequent errors in the Willmar newspaper, you might figure "well, that's the system, and they have deadlines they have to struggle to meet."

The reason they have deadlines is that so much time has to be allowed for the printing and distribution of the paper - processes that have nothing to do with good journalism. Hey gang, the ink and the paper aren't necessary!

That brings us to the subject of the school calendar again. I have now noticed a second error with a game being specified on the calendar that wasn't played. Look at Friday, Feb. 3: "BBB-Benson-A-6 p.m."

I have found no evidence that the Tigers played in Benson on Friday.

The school calendar is printed because people want to use it. If it can't be relied upon - if fans have to "verify" the schedule info with another source - it's kind of ridiculous. We could just rely on that "other source."

There's no point having the school calendar on the refrigerator door with a magnet if it's not a reliable resource. So my point is this (repeated from before): The school calendar should be online in a totally user-friendly way.

Yes, it is online, in a form that looks like PDF to me, but it's not as user friendly as it should be. To go online-only it must be as simple for anyone to use as possible. At present in its (apparent) PDF form, I don't think the school can even go in and make changes and corrections.

Again I'll implore Supt. Monson: Please utilize the world wide web on behalf of the school in a way that totally demonstrates you "get it."

On all other matters, you seem to be doing great with the school. We just needed two more points vs. Sauk Centre!

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Share-the-wealth scoring spells hoops win

Boys basketball: Tigers 68, LQPV 36

Scoring was a truly share-the-wealth proposition for the MACA boys hoops squad Tuesday (1/31).

How much so? All 15 of coach Mark Torgerson's student athletes put in points. Wow! This interesting feature complemented the winning outcome.

The scoreboard showed the Tigers with 68 points, the visiting Lac qui Parle Valley Eagles with 36.

The share-the-wealth "system" kept all the Tigers under double figures in scoring. The team-best total was eight, recorded by two Tigers: Chandler Erickson and Tom Holland.

Note from your site host: I have a Flickr album assembled of MACA boys basketball photos. Click on the link below to view the album. Special note: When the Flickr page comes up, you might want to consider the "sideshow" feature. It's neat!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcminn/sets/72157629103572349/with/6784741041/

The game became a blow-out in the first half. The Eagles, having the look of a rebuilding team, managed just 13 points in the half. The MACA total: 39. Again, wow!

For the night, MACA made five of 17 tries from beyond the three-point line. Even this had a "share-the-wealth" look. Brody Bahr made two 3-pointers followed by three of his mates each with one: Holland, Jake Torgerson and Logan Manska.

In total field goals the Morris Area Chokio Alberta numbers were 27 of 66. The freethrow stats were a sharp nine of eleven.

Sam Mattson and Lincoln Berget led in rebounds, each snaring four. Mattson led in assists with three. The steal leaders were Bahr with five and Manska with four.

Here we go with that extended scoring list - a pleasure to report: Holland 8, Erickson 8, Riley Arndt 7, Austin Dierks 6, Bahr 6, Manska 5, Berget 5, Marcus Cannon 4, Mattson 4, Daniel Nelson 4, Torgerson 3, Nic Vipond 2, Tyler Henrichs 2, Dillon McNally 2, John Tiernan 2.

Eric Smith scored eight points to lead the offense-deprived Eagles, who'll need to regroup for another night.

The Tigers obviously experienced no letdown or drain from their weekend that included a Friday home game and a Saturday trip to the Twin Cities to play at Target Center.

Perhaps the Twin Cities experience was an inspiration!

Wrestling: conference tournament
A champion heavyweight or super-heavyweight is an exciting athlete to watch. Zach Gibson occupies the heaviest weight slot for MAHACA. The initials stand for "Morris Area Hancock Chokio Alberta."

Gibson bore down to take top honors in the West Central Conference Tournament. Wrestlers from around the West Central gathered in New London on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Gibson at 285 pounds was super, winning by major decision to put finishing touches on his climb to No. 1 at his weight. His last foe was Tyler Jenson of Benson. Gibson beat Jenson 9-1.

Joel Harrison was the other Tiger making the prestigious championship round. Harrison didn't fare as well at the end so he came away with runner-up honors. Harrison lost by fall to J.D. Struxness of DBL in 1:20.

The Tigers may have had only two in the championship round but they placed in the top half of the teams: fifth among 12. ACGC took first place and the host Wildcats of New London-Spicer took second. ACGC had two more champions than NL-Spicer.

Connor Metzger came on strong to win three matches and lose one - a showing good for third at 170 pounds.

Evan Nelson had a 2-2 showing at 120 pounds and placed fourth. Travis Ostby (113) had a 1-2 day which put this Tiger at No. 5. Dillan Johnson also placed fifth with his 3-2 showing on the mat at 126 pounds.

Here's a list of the other Tigers who gamely stepped onto the mat in the 1/28 conference showcase: Mitch Ascheman (1-2 at 106 pounds), Myles Smith (0-2 at 132), Jerid Berning (0-1 at 138), Seth Nelson (1-2 at 145), Jordan Thooft (1-2 at 152), Aaron Nelson (0-1 at 160), Wade Ehlers (1-2 at 182) and Tyler Moser (0-2 at 195).

Note on all-conference: The matmen earning all-conference are the first through third place winners, while the No. 4 achievers are honorable mention.

Hayden Rouser of ACGC won Most Valuable Wrestler.

Boys basketball: Litchfield 45, Tigers 37
The Tigers had their stamina tested last weekend, playing in Minneapolis on the day after hosting and defeating the YME Sting.

It was a privilege to play at Saturday's (1/28) venue: Target Center, home of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Tigers vied with Litchfield there.

The Tigers summoned a strong challenge vs. a red-hot Litchfield Dragon unit that had won nine straight.

The Tigers enjoyed the upper hand in the first half. They in fact led throughout that half. The horn sounded for halftime with coach Torgerson's crew up by two, 20-18.

Is it possible some fatigue crept in for the second half? Whatever the explanation, Morris Area Chokio Alberta couldn't parlay their first half advantage.

This was a truly top-notch foe the Tigers were facing. The Dragons own the No. 8 ranking in Minnesota AA. They began showing that state-ranked sheen midway in the second half, led by Zach Whitchurch who made two 3-pointers.

When the final horn sounded, Litch had expanded its win streak to ten at the expense of MACA, 45-37.

The Tigers came out of the night at 11-5. Litchfield emerged with stellar 14-2 W/L numbers.

No one stood out in the scoring column for Litch. Whitchurch supplied pivotal baskets but his point total was a modest eight. Teammate Mitch Wollin scored eleven. Wollin actually had game-high honors with this modest total.

The Tigers' point total of 37 was a season-low.

It would have been better to win, but the orange and black crew can tuck away some nice memories from this experience.

Yours truly wonders if a hamburger costs as much there as when I last attended. I went a couple times with the late Rick Lucken. (We dined at Rudolph's Bar-b-que pregame.)

The Tigers looked at home in the "big city" Saturday despite coming out on the short end. They weren't particularly sharp shooting threes, though, as shown in the three of 15 numbers. Three different Tigers made those long-rangers: Logan Manska, Sam Mattson and Jacob Torgerson.

In total field goals the Tigers were 16 of 40. In freethrows: two of eight.

Austin Dierks led in rebounds with eight and also scored eight points. Riley Arndt led the Tigers in scoring with ten points. Chandler Erickson supplied three assists.

Here's the complete scoring list: Arndt 10, Dierks 8, Manska 5, Mattson 5, Torgerson 3, Erickson 2, Tyler Henrichs 2 and Lincoln Berget 2.

Click on the link below to reach the MACA boys basketball Maxpreps page:

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/morris-area-chokio-alberta-tigers-(chokio,mn)/basketball/home.htm

Click on the link below to reach the Tigers' schedule page on Pheasant Country Sports. We must optimize our web resources! It's the wave of the future.

http://www.pheasantcountrysports.com/teamschedule.php?yid=1112&tid=1158&sid=1230274

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Hoops update: Morris Area Chokio Alberta

John Tiernan drives toward the basket in the Tigers' 54-39 win over YME Friday. (B.W. photos)
Jacob Torgerson plays defense during the Tigers' WCC-South win at home Friday.
Austin Dierks shows the kind of form that produced 21 points. Morris Area Chokio Alberta treated the appreciative home crowd to a 54-39 win.
Logan Manska sizes up the Yellow Medicine East defense.

Boys basketball: Tigers 54, YME 39

Win No. 11 was notched by the Morris Area Chokio Alberta boys hoops squad Friday (1/27) at home. The success came at the expense of the YME Sting.
The orange and black cause prevailed with a strong second half. The second half really told the story as coach Mark Torgerson's squad outscored the Sting 30-15.

The Sting held their own in the first half, good enough to be tied with MACA at halftime, 24-all. The usual robust fan turnout was on hand at our gym. Tiger boosters smiled as their team seized the second half "mo."

The ultimate 54-39 win was the Tigers' sixth in conference.

The success was in spite of cool three-point shooting where the numbers were three of 17. Chandler Erickson made two of the long-rangers and Logan Manska had the other. In total field goals the Tigers were 20 of 54. In freethrows: 11 of 18.

Austin Dierks came to the fore with his caliber of play. He scored a team-best 21 points and also led in rebounds with eleven. Riley Arndt grabbed six rebounds.

Jake Torgerson had four assists and Brody Bahr three. Manska and Arndt each had three steals.

Dierks with his 21 points was followed in scoring by: Erickson 8, Manska 7, Arndt 6, Bahr 6, Tom Holland 2, Daniel Nelson 2 and Nic Vipond 2.

Adam Savariego was YME's top scorer with 13 points.

The Tigers came out of the night at 11-4 in overall, 6-1 in conference. The YME numbers: 4-9 overall, 1-5 in conference.

Girls basketball: NL-Spicer 62, Tigers 48

New London was the destination for Morris Area Chokio Alberta girls basketball Thursday (1/26).

The host Wildcats made a statement with their first half play, outscoring the Tigers 37-18. Coach Dale Henrich's Tigers upped their caliber of play in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 30-25. But the damage had been done.

Taylor Thunstedt put in 32 points as her Wildcats downed the Tigers 62-48.

The Wildcats came out of the night at 15-3 in overall won-lost.

The Tigers made six 3-pointers but needed quite a few attempts to achieve that. Katie Holzheimer made five of the long-rangers and Tracy Meischner made the other. The Tigers' six-for-26 stats in 3-pointers were part of 18-for-61 overall stats in field goals.

Their freethrow numbers were six of 12.

MaKenzie Smith made a statement for MACA in the loss, scoring 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds. She led the team in both categories. Nicole Strobel grabbed six rebounds.

Beth Holland and Courtney Gades each had three assists. Gades and Holzheimer each stole the ball twice.

Smith with her harvest of 21 points was followed on the scoring list by: Holzheimer (15), Meischner (5), Brooke Wente (3), Holly Amundson (2) and Holland (2).

The MACA stat in attempted 3-pointers seems substantial, at 26, but New London-Spicer eclipsed that, putting up 29 tries from what a lot of us writers used to call "three-point land." My goodness, that's nearly half the NL-S total in field goal attempts.

Is this a trend? Even if the percentage of makes seems low, which it often is, is the extra point for each success enough justification for this approach? Interesting.

Boys basketball: Monte 56, Tigers 43

Tuesday, Jan. 24, was a big day in WCC-South boys hoops, featuring a clash of upper-crust teams. The site was Montevideo. The MACA Tigers took the court there hoping to preserve their unbeaten status in conference wars.

The host Thunder Hawks were striving to take advantage of an enthusiastic home crowd. Whether or not the crowd was in fact a factor, the Tigers came out on the short end. Coach Torgerson's squad had its conference momentum blunted in a 56-43 final.

The Thunder Hawks led 22-17 at halftime. They came out of the night with still-unblemished conference won-lost numbers, at 5-0, and with an 11-4 overall record.

The Tigers were humbled but owned the still-impressive 5-1 record in conference and 10-4 overall.

Monte's home crowd certainly didn't boost the T-Hawks in three-point shooting. They found a lid on the hoop, going 0-for-9. But while the ball was clanging off the rim, they were able to execute better in other categories. The T-Hawks looked poised in freethrows, going 18 of 25 here.

The made freethrows helped keep the Tigers at bay in the closing stages, when fouling became a tactic for MACA.

The Tigers made four of ten 3-point tries. Logan Manska had two of the long-range makes, and Jacob Torgerson and Chandler Erickson one each.

The Tigers were 17 of 42 in total field goals. In freethrows: five of 12.

Austin Dierks attacked the boards for nine rebounds. Erickson deftly dished out five assists, and he also had three steals to lead in these categories.

Let's roll up our sleeves for the scoring list: Erickson 10, Manska 8, Torgerson 7, Riley Arndt 6, Dierks 6, Lincoln Berget 4 and Nick Vipond 2.

Jake Douglas and Colton Vien topped Monte's scoring with 12 and eleven points, respectively.

Girls basketball: Monte 50, Tigers 47

A tie score at halftime developed into a Montevideo advantage on Tuesday evening, 1/24, at the Morris Area gym.

Kendyl Anderson of the Thunder Hawks was a major force denying the Tigers victory on this night. Anderson made four 3-pointers and posted 18 points.

The Tigers shot decent in 3's, making four such shots, and were 15 of 56 in total field goals. Katie Holzheimer made three shots from beyond the three-point stripe. Beth Holland had the other success in that department.

Holzheimer finished with a team-leading 13 points and Holland with ten. In between these Tigers on the scoring list was Nicole Strobel who put in eleven points. Tracy Meischner scored six points, MaKenzie Smith five and Brooke Wente 2.

Meischner led in rebounds with ten followed by Holland with nine and Strobel with seven. Meischner and Courtney Gades each had three assists.

Meischner made her presence felt in steals too, accumulating five, while Smith had three.

The Tigers made 13 of 22 freethrow attempts.

The halftime score was 28-28. The home court wasn't enough to give the Tigers their desired second half push.

Kendyl Anderson and her T-Hawk mates picked up their sixth win of the season.

Coach Dale Henrich's Tigers came out of the night at 5-11 in overall, 3-6 in conference.

Girls basketball: Litchfield 58, Tigers 49

The Walsh sisters had big impact for their Litchfield Dragon hoops squad on Saturday, Jan. 21, here vs. the MACA Tigers.

Greta Walsh was precise and poised in her shooting, putting on a clinic from long range. Greta made seven 3-pointers as (a big) part of scoring 26 points.

Sister Shelbie Walsh scored eleven points as the Dragons downed the Tigers 58-49.

Bailey Koch put in 13 points for the victor.

Litchfield charged out of the starting gate strong and owned a 35-24 lead at halftime. The Tigers outscored the Dragons 25-23 in the second half.

The Tigers made five 3-pointers but needed 20 attempts to do so. Katie Holzheimer made three of those long-rangers. Courtney Gades and MaKenzie Smith each connected for one.

It was Smith leading in rebounds with eight followed by Nicole Strobel with five. Tracy Meischner led in assists with four. Holzheimer's three steals made her team-best.

The Tigers were 18 of 48 in total field goals. In freethrows: eight of 15.

Holzheimer topped the scoring list with 15 points and was joined in double figures by Beth Holland (12) and Strobel (10).

The three other Tigers in the scoring list were Smith (7), Gades (3) and Meischner (2).

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Boys beat Benson, girls come up shy vs. YME

Tiger basketball went 1-1 on a TGIF night of action - Friday (1/20). The boys won and the girls came out on the short end.

The boys' foe was Benson and the outcome was a 54-52 win in a nail-biter at home.

The Tigers had to overcome 26 points by the Braves' Sam Peterson. Austin Dierks of the Tigers helped neutralize that. The rangy Dierks put in 17 points and swatted aside six shots.

By surviving the renewal of this WCC-South rivalry, the Tigers preserved their unbeaten conference record. They owned 5-0 conference numbers coming out of this night. They eked ahead of Montevideo in the race. The Tigers sit at the ten-win plateau in overall (at 10-3).

Nail-biting time set in when the Braves got the score tied 52-all in the closing stages. The winning margin for MACA finally came when a calm Dierks sank two freethrows. The clock showed 30 seconds remaining.

A subsequent missed freethrow gave Benson the opportunity to try to win if they could just make a three-pointer. Their last-gasp shot didn't cause any holding of breath because it was clearly off the mark. The orange and black throngs could depart from the venue quite pleased. "TGIF" had a happy ring.

The halftime situation was a two-point Benson lead, 32-30. Coach Mark Torgerson's Tigers outscored the Braves 24-20 in the second half.

Benson came out of the game with an 8-4 overall record, 2-2 in conference.

The Tigers made 23 of 57 field goal tries and were cold from long-range where their numbers were three of 14 in 3's. Those three makes ended up precious of course and they were put in by Chandler Erickson (2) and Jacob Torgerson (1).

Dierks had seven rebounds followed by three of his mates each with five: Lincoln Berget, Logan Manska and Jake Torgerson.

Erickson led in assists with five followed by Torgerson and Brody Bahr each with three. Dierks led in steals with three and in shot blocks with six.

The Tigers were five of 13 in freethrows.

Let's roll up our sleeves for the scoring list: Dierks 17, Erickson 8, Riley Arndt 8, Manska 6, Jon Tiernan 4, Torgerson 3, Tom Holland 2, Tyler Henrichs 2, Berget 2 and Bahr 1.

Here's how coach Torgerson summarized the exciting closing stages of the game in his Maxpreps report: "John Tiernan came off the bench to score two late field goals to put the Tigers ahead. The Tigers had a 52-48 lead with two minutes to go, but it wasn't over yet. Benson got baskets from Carl Hoffman and Colin Ose to tie the game at 52-all.

"Riley Arndt got a key offensive rebound off a missed Tiger shot with just over 30 seconds to play and went to the line. Arndt missed the one-and-one attempt, but Dierks snared the rebound away and was fouled on the putback attempt. He nailed both freethrows to give the Tigers the lead.

"Benson went down and missed on their next possession and were forced to foul Dierks with eight seconds to play. He missed the one-and-one and the Braves called a timeout with three seconds left. A last-second three by Matt Arndt was off and the Tigers had the win."

Girls basketball: YME 46, Tigers 41

The Tigers went cold in three-point shooting in the Friday night game against Yellow Medicine East.

Three-point shooting can be a sink or swim proposition. On Friday (1/20) this department did not smile on coach Dale Henrich's Tigers as they went down to defeat against the Sting in Sting country. The final score was 46-41.

The Sting's Courtney Hinz was a big reason why this was no happy TGIF occasion for Morris Area Chokio Alberta. Hinz was all over the court keeping the Tigers in check, stealing the ball five times while scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds. She hit two 3-pointers.

The Tigers made just one three-pointer in 14 attempts. Katie Holzheimer had that lone success. She scored nine points to tie for team-best in scoring.

Tracy Meischner scored nine, and MaKenzie Smith and Beth Holland each scored eight. Nicole Strobel put in three points and MacKenzie Van Batavia and Holly Amundson two each.

YME led by three at halftime, 19-16.

The Tigers' lackluster three-point shooting numbers dragged down their overall field goal stats to 16 of 47. In freethrows they shot eight of 13.

Meischner grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Holland led in assists with three.

Smith and Holzheimer each picked up three steals.

The MACA girls came out of Friday with a 5-9 overall record, 3-5 in conference.

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com