Fans at the state football semifinals may have noticed something that was just a little bit different: A ponytail. The umpire for a 4A game was Linda Mills, one of 21 females who are certified to officiate high school football in Minnesota.
Jackson County Central advanced to Class 2A football state championship game. How they survived is a story of persistence, teamwork and using bailing wire and toothpicks to hold everything together.
“These two guys have been to the state wrestling tournament. We love that, and we have tremendous basketball players on our team and lacrosse players.”
The volleyball team from West Central Area wasn’t playing with one hand tied behind its back during the state tournament, but one of its star players has been competing with a broken hand.
Mayer Lutheran came in as the top-seeded team and Minneota is the No. 2 seed. They both won in the quarterfinals by 3-0 scores and in the semifinals by 3-1, and they will decide the state title Saturday.
From her first time at a state tournament when she was a ninth-grader at Marshall in the late 1970s, Alexandria volleyball coach Mary Byrne has seen it all as a player and coach.
What is it about playing at state? When the action takes place at Xcel Energy Center, it’s almost indescribable for the volleyball players who are competing this week.
A traveler saw a lot, smiled a lot, marveled at times and experienced two days that will be remembered for a long time. It may sound odd, but what he witnessed happens all the time at high school sporting events, in Minnesota and beyond.
In Cottage Grove, it isn’t just the Park High School team that is using Guardian Caps in 2024. Every youth football player in town, starting with third-graders, is also wearing one. That’s approximately 1,000 kids.
When football teams from Stephen-Argyle and Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal played at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, the combined travel numbers for both teams were pretty crazy: 1,304 miles over 19 hours.
