Postseason competition brings out the best in area athletes

Published 3:57 pm Monday, November 6, 2017

As teams advance further in the postseason during the prep season, the competition gets tougher and the losses get harsher. That’s been true for as long as I’ve covered sports.

Last week I saw a lot area athletes fall short on the big stage, but what stood out was what put them in the place to compete at that level in the first place.

The Packer boys soccer team capped off a historic season with a third place finish to end their finest campaign in school history, the Hayfield volleyball team fell inches short of getting a chance to make their own history, the Blooming Prairie football team nearly pulled off a mammoth upset and four area cross country runners showed that they belonged with the best.

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In sports, as in life, things don’t always end with a perfectly happy ending. There are bittersweet, sour and downright crushing moments. But the moments experienced on the field of play can often prepare these athletes for what comes later in life. It’s not always if you win or lose, it’s how you respond.

If the area’s athletes continue to face every moment with the ‘never say die’ approach they’ve taken into the world of sports, these athletes will be well equipped to handle the greatest of life’s hurdles as they move forward.

The Austin soccer team set a gold standard that will be hard to top this fall. Losing just one game throughout the entire year, they maintained a focus and discipline that helped their talent shine on the field.

Austin’s Lonyjera Okal, Kevin Ortiz, right, and Mooday Wah, left celebrate Wah’s goal in the first half last week in the Minnesota Class A Boys Soccer Tournament semifinals at US Bank Stadium. Herald File Photo

The best part about covering the Packers was seeing the genuine friendships on the team and the sheer joy they shared on the field. I was covering an Austin volleyball match this fall when before I knew it, the majority of the team was sitting together in the same section, cheering on their classmates. It was nice to hear senior OJ Cham shouting out his catch phrase ‘Oh Yeah!” during the match, and I’m guessing I’ll still hear that phrase echoing in my head next season when the Packer boys soccer team plays at Art Hass Stadium.

This past summer Austin grad Sean Baker, who was an all-state player for the Packers, was officiating a game for the Austin U18 boys soccer team when he causally approached them after the contest. He and told them how fun they were to watch and how they had a chance to be special this year.

Baker was exactly right.

A few years back I became familiar with Hayfield’s current senior class of volleyball players when Maggie Streightiff and Carrie Rutledge burst on to the varsity scene. Over the years, others began to step up as Lexi Dudycha, Kate Kruger and Olivia Matti worked their way into the starting lineup.

Hayfield’s Carrie Rutledge (5) and Kate Kruger (12) put a block up on Grand Meadow’s Jordyn Glynn in the Section 1A West semifinal last week. Herald File Photo

This group is also a blast to cover. They get a long with each other, they play to win, and they’re very driven, no matter what sport they’re playing.

From doing a story on the Hayfield senior class when they were sophomores, I know they wanted to go to state in volleyball, basketball and softball. They’ve gone to state in softball three years in a row, they nearly made it to state in volleyball last year and this year when they fell short to eventual Section 1A champ Faribault Bethlehem Academy 16-14 in a fifth and deciding game, and they’ll be one of the favorites in Class A for basketball this winter.

I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this crew.

The Blooming Prairie football team kind of caught me by surprise when they knocked off Rushford-Peterson to get to the Section 1A title game, where they showed up and gave Goodhue all they could handle in a tough loss.

Blooming Prairie’s Gabe Hagen hauls in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Seth Peterson in the Section 1A title game Saturday night in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com.

The passing game still reigns supreme in BP and junior quarterback Seth Peterson made some of the best throws I’ve seen this fall in the loss to Goodhue. BP also received a boost from its bruising senior linemen. Brad Staska, who is also a standout baseball player, and Mitchell Oswald, who will be aiming to have a big wrestling season this winter, made some big plays in the loss to the Wildcats.

Last but not least was the performance of the local runners at the state cross country meet. Austin’s Abby Lewis ran in her fourth straight state meet, which is an incredible feat by any measure, Austin’s Henry Hinchcliffe made big strides this year to get to state and Blooming Prairie’s Alec Ille capped off a strong high school cross country career by going to state for the third straight year and taking 41st.

Over the last five years, it’s been a joy to watch the competitive edge of Pacelli junior Kayla Christopherson, who once again proved she has the heart of a champion. Christopherson has ran in five straight state cross country meets and she’s been Class A All-State in the last four of them, but you have to see her compete to truly know what Christopherson brings to the table.

Pacelli’s Kayla Christopherson early on during the Class A girls race at the Minnesota State Cross Country Meet Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield Saturday. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

This year, just like last year, she was running on fumes down the last 100 meters, but Christopherson was able to turn on the jets and catch a runner at the finish line to move up to ninth place in a field that was dominated by younger runners.

Christopherson has a tremendous perspective on life as she thanks her family, her school, her coaches and God in every single interview. The first time I ever interviewed Christopherson, she was a seventh-grader who was having the time of her life throwing a football around in the Pacelli parking lot, and just this past fall she was playing the role of super-fan for the Lyle-Pacelli volleyball team when they beat Houston in five games to open the season. Christopherson, always a high-energy kid, was jumping and screaming in the corner of Pacelli Gym as she lived through every point the Athletics scored that night.

But on race days, Christopherson brings a different element to the table. She has a quiet focus and drive to her that seems to boost her to another level.

With the Austin girls swimming and diving team set to compete in the Section 1A meet this week in Rochester, the fall season is almost complete. As always, it’s been a blast to be along for the ride.