On the final weekend of the 2023-2024 school year, in the ballpark that every baseball-loving kid in Minnesota dreams about, four state champions were decided after a week of weather delays, uncertainty and waiting … waiting … and more waiting.
I don’t know how many sports books were available at my little hometown library in Graettinger, Iowa, but I do know that I read every one of them, some of them more than once, and my favorites were about great baseball players.
Last fall, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton played at the state volleyball tournament for the first time and won a championship. This week, the softball team reached the state tourney for the first time.
What Mahtomedi tennis players Sam Rathmanner, Jack Allaben and Brandon Pham have accomplished, nearly in lockstep with each other, is pretty incredible.
Northome/Kelliher senior Waabi Wagner is a hard-of-hearing student-athlete who’s been given no choice but to adjust in order to play the sport she loves.
Pierce Petersohn of Triton and Sam Snitker of Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland/Southland are heading to the state track meet as the top high jumpers in Minnesota regardless of class.
Irondale senior Juriad Hughes Jr., who broke a decades-old state record in the long jump last year and is the state’s fastest runner at 100 and 200 meters this year, has more on his 2024 radar than high school competition.
Sam Helgestad and his senior classmates will have their graduation ceremony on May 24. His father’s absence will be notable for many reasons. Jake Helgestad, a 1991 New Prague graduate and multi-sport Trojans athlete, was a selfless hero who began serving his country while still in high school.
