With the recent break in the weather, fall has really been in the air and area high school sports are coming to a quick ending — some sooner than others.
That’s the reality of the playoffs — lose and you’re done. Win and you get to play again.
Monday evening, the 2018 volleyball season ended for both Fulda and Heron Lake-Okabena. The Raiders gave Westbrook-Walnut Grove a stiff challenge, winning two of the five games, while the Wildcats were swept in a competitive match against Hills-Beaver Creek.
Murray County Central advanced with a victory over Edgerton and will travel to Lamberton for a quarter-final match against Red Rock Central Friday night. The Rebels are playing well as evidenced by a win over Windom in the recent tournament in Marshall.
Meanwhile, the Adrian Dragons advanced with a bye and will host W-WG in quarter-final action, also on Friday, the 26th.
In the high school football playoffs, MCC hosted Adrian last night (Tuesday, the 23rd) and Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda hosted Bethlehem Academy of Faribault at Fulda in an 11-Man game. After playing Nine-Man all season, the Coyotes had to move up to 11-Man for the playoffs and earned the fourth seed in Section 2A with their 3-5 record this fall in the program’s first year together.
The huge 21-team Section 3A cross country meet is at Luverne Thursday and Fulda sophomore Morgan Gehl, the state’s fourth-ranked Class A girl, is a favorite to repeat her individual championship in a race which also includes two other state-ranked runners — Luverne’s Tenley Nelson (eighth) and Canby’s Grace Drietz (ninth).
In the team competition, the well-balanced Murray County Central / Fulda squads will be in the “hunt” in both races. The Overgaauw sisters (Ashley and Amanda) along with the Schreier sisters (Ryanna and Brylei), Josie Harms and Ella Stapek provide great balance and will need to each run well to give the Rebels a chance at outrunning Lac qui Parle Valley / Dawson-Boyd for second place and a team berth in next week’s state meet. Luverne is the clear-cut team favorite. Likewise, MCC / F’s boys — paced by Justin Clarke, Nate Everson, Maverick Beckmann, Spencer Wajer, Jack Pierson, Cameron Kresko and Isaiah Kathman — need to all be at their best as the Rebels challenge Redwood Valley and Luverne for second, with LQPV / D-B being favored to win the boys’ team title.
Individually, Adrian’s Moriah Bullerman will be in the hunt for a state-meet qualification and the Salentiny brothers — Paul and Tim — will lead HL-O’s boys, who are striving to move up in the team standings this year.
Congratulations to Fulda’s Austin Blesi and Slayton’s Cole Bassett for a great year of amateur football action playing for the Buffalo Ridge Wildcats in the Southern Plains League.
A trio of former MCC / F cross country runners —- Clayton Hartle at Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Isaiah Olsem at St. Mary’s in Winona, and Emily Kathman at Hamline — all competed in a recent collegiate meet at Augsburg in Minneapolis.
Have a great week!
