Cardinals, Knights, Hurricanes Capture Conference Trap Titles

Eleven Journal area trap teams have completed the spring regular season with three capturing conference championships – Kingsland, Houston and LeRoy-Ostrander. Finishing as conference runners-up were Mabel-Canton and Rushford-Peterson. There was only one conference championship squad a year ago. All 11 clay target teams are currently seeking advancement in postseason action.

Eight individuals earned All-State credentials (up from three last spring), securing a spot for the individual competition at the upcoming MSHSL Tournament. The Fillmore County Journal area’s top scoring average (24.40 out of a perfect 25.00) belonged to Holdyn Willford of Lanesboro, who tied for 12th among nearly 12,000 shooters statewide. Half (four out of eight All-Staters) compete for Mabel-Canton: Colton Tollefsrud (19th), Riley Snell (44th), three-time All-State Saijal Slafter (73rd) and Shawn Swenson (88th). Logan Drees of LeRoy-Ostrander (33rd) and Justin Riederer (73rd) were also all-state by placing among the top 100 – fewer than the top 1% statewide. Two-time All-State Taylor Reinhardt also earned an individual berth at state by placing among the top 25 girls in the state; she finished tied for 19th.

For regular season competition, teams are assigned to conferences. There are nine classes, 1A through 9A. Unlike other sports, class designation is not determined by school enrollment but instead by the number of registered shooters. With 14 shooters, LeRoy-Ostrander competes in Class 1A along with Caledonia and Houston. With 22 shooters, Kingsland is in Class 2A as is Spring Grove and Lanesboro. Class 3A Grand Meadow has a roster of 30. With 35 shooters, Fillmore Central competes in Class 4A along with Rushford-Peterson and Mabel-Canton. With a roster of 56, Chatfield is in Class 8A. Since each team competes on its own shooting range, geography has little or no bearing on conference assignment. Houston was in the same conference as International Falls.

Houston dominated the eight-team race in Class 1A – Conference 6 by a wide margin. The Hurricanes outscored the opposition in each of the five weeks. Six of the conference’s top seven shooters were Hurricanes. All-State Justin Riederer ranked first with an average of 23.90. He was followed by Ethan Frauenkron (2nd, 23.70), Elliott Frauenkron (3rd, 23.10), Owen Tuveson (4th, 22.80), and Ryan Troth and Elijah Stinson who tied (6th, 22.10). Sedriclee Stinson (22nd, 20.40) and Cooper Ackman (24th, 20.00) were also among the top 25 conference boys. Both Hurricane girls finished among the conference’s top 25 girls with Samantha Witt (19.80) second and Ellie Niebeling 10th. John Hibbs coaches 12 boys and two girls during this banner season for the ‘Canes, who finished in the middle of the pack at fifth place a year ago.

LeRoy-Ostrander Clay Target Team was likewise the leader all five weeks among nine teams in Class 1A – Conference 11 and dominated the individual standings as well with the top two boys and the highest-scoring girl. Six of the top 10 boys were Cardinals. All-State Logan Drees had a league-best average of 24.20 with Talan Lewison second at 23.30, followed by Brayden Schaefer (5th, 22.80), Brendon Arndorfer (6th, 22.70), Malyk Schaefer (8th, 22.50) and Calvin Kiefer (10th, 22.20). Also in the top 25 were Lincoln Lunning (19th, 21.40) and Max Reburn (23rd, 20.70). Kimberley Volkart led all conference girls (23.00) while Vivien Main was ninth (19.20), followed in the top 25 by Tessa Lewison (12th, 18.20), Kendra Groth (20th) and Victoria Knode (22nd). Coach Gary Schaefer has 14 boys and six girls on the Cardinal roster.  L-O had been runner-up in a Class 2A conference a year ago.

Kingsland finished far ahead of their six rivals in Class 2A – Conference 2. Eleven Knights were among the league’s top 25 boys, including runner-up Blake Oeltjen and Carson Wolfgram (5th, 22.80) along with Jacob Warren and Acelee Kohn who tied (7th, 22.40). Then came Cameron Miner (13th, 22.10), Benjamin Wolfgram (16th, 21.90), Caden Reiter (17th, 21.80), Marek Boysen (19th, 21.60) and Kellan Slifka (20th, 21.50) as well as Tristen Aarsvold and Landan Hunemuller tied for 24th (21.10). Among the top 25 conference girls were Brynn Fussy (13th) and Kesley Hunemuller (19th). Coach Doug Plaehn works with a roster of 20 boys and two girls. Kingsland had placed third in a Class 1A conference in 2023.

Mabel-Canton battled with Hibbing for the conference lead all season among eight teams in Class 4A – Conference 1 before the Cougars closed as runner-up. The Cougars led after the first week and then fell behind. They outscored the Bluejackets again in week four, but despite a strong finish, could not quite close the gap. Eight Cougars finished among the top 25 boys, and seven among the top 25 girls. Colton Tollefsrud (1st, 24.30) led an All-State trio, just ahead of Riley Snell (3rd, 24.10) and Shawn Swenson (4th, 23.80). Next came Kale Tollefsrud (7th, 23.60). Hayden Erickson and Ike Tweten tied (16th, 23.20), followed by Hunter Kelly (19th, 23.10) and Reid Liddiard (22nd, 23.00).

All-State Saijal Slafter ranked second among conference girls (23.90) and Samantha Williams third (22.70). Five Coug-girls placed among the top 10 girls, including Katrinda Whalen (7th, 20.90), Janessa Hershberger (9th, 19.70) and Whitney Williams (10th, 19.30) ahead of M-C teammates Lindsey Williams (12th, 19.20) and Victoria Snyder (19th, 16.30). There are 32 boys and nine girls competing for Coach Logan Henry, whose Cougars are always near the top, having taken a conference crown the previous two springs.

Rushford-Peterson finished as runner-up to Wayzata in a seven-team race in Class 4A -Conference 2. Seven Trojans were among the top 25 boys, paced by Domanick Corcoran (4th, 23.60), and Samual Finley (7th, 23.50), followed by Gregg Gile (11th, 23.40), Ryan McNeill (14th, 23.00), Colton Ronnenberg (16th, 22.90), Levi Kammerer (22nd, 22.50) and Sampson Wilkemeyer (25th, 22.30). Coach Colby Lind and R-P had placed fourth in Class 5A competition a year ago.

Caledonia closed in third place among seven squads in Class 1A – Conference 7. Elizabeth Stehr was the top-scoring girl in the league with a 23.70 average. Four Warriors were among the top 25 boys. Aiden Burns and Devon Schulte tied for 12th (21.90) trailed by Eric Welscher (17th, 21.60) and Gabe Curley (21st, 21.10). Coach Kevin Weichert returns to mentor 14 boys and two girls this spring. The Warriors had finished in fourth place last year.

Lanesboro came in fourth among seven teams in Class 2A – Conference 2 (won by Kingsland). All-State Holdyn Willford led all league boys (24.40) while Burro teammate Boone Moen ranked fourth (23.10). Trayton McCabe (14th, 22.00) and Jarek Schultz (21st, 21.40) were among the top 25 boys while Hailey Erickson ranked 13th among conference girls. Coach Dan Johnston and the Burros were coming off a runner-up conference campaign in 2023.

Spring Grove placed fourth in the nine-team Class 2A – Conference 6 with two-time All-State Taylor Reinhardt sharing the lead among all conference girls (1st tie, 23.30). Christian Bjerke led the Lions with an average of 23.60, good for ninth place in the boys top 25, joined by Garrett Waldenberger (17th, 23.30). Joining Reinhardt among the top 25 girls were Callie Petersen (7th, 20.10), Mylee Thorson (22nd) and Autumn Petersen (24th). Coach Don Hagen and the Lions had been runners-up in a Class 3A race last spring.

Chatfield came in fifth among six squads in Class 8A – Conference 1. Keira Kobs led Gopher girls for the second straight spring, this year ranking eighth among conference girls with a 21.20 average. Also among the top 25 girls were Rachel Johnson (11th, 20.50), Chloe Berg (23rd) and Grace Boelter (24th). Coached again by Mike Lisowski, the 2024 roster consists of 42 boys and 14 girls. The Gophers had also finished fifth a year ago.

Grand Meadow shooters placed sixth among the eight teams in Class 3A – Conference 6. Alyssa Peterson ranked 20th among conference girls and Emily Kelzer 24th. Coach Greg Lamp is working with a crew of 26 boys and four girls. The Superlarks had finished fourth in 2023.

Fillmore Central finished sixth among as many teams in Class 4A – Conference 4. Aiden Arnold led Falcon shooters with an average of 22.90, good for seventh place among league boys. Among the top 25 conference girls were Lexi Engen (20th) and Kendyl Sikkink (24th). There are 29 boys and six girls being coached by Bill Hanlon. The Falcons had placed seventh out of eight teams a year ago.