Sophomore Elijah Solum was voted Most Valuable Player by his 2022 Spring Grove basketball teammates. Sophomore Jacob Olerud was the choice for Most Improved while senior Carson Gerard and junior Logan Brumm shared the Lion Award, which reflects leadership, passion and energy during practice as well as games. Determined by statistics, the Hustle Award went to junior Tysen Grinde. Ten of the 11 letter winners were also Academic All-Conference.
Photos by Lee Epps
Solum (MVP) was recently named Section 1A Sophomore of the Year by Ryan James Prep Hoops. The 6-foot-1 guard led the Lions with 97 made free throws and six charges taken. He was the second leading scorer with 15.2 points per game and also ranked second in assists (2.9 apg), 3-point field goals (42) and 3-point percentage (37.2%).
Coach Wade Grinde said Solum “was a clutch player for us down the stretch of some big games.” Most memorable was his fast-break, buzzer-beating trey that forced overtime against West Division champion Lyle/Pacelli. He then scored the only two points in the extra period, which allowed the Lions to finish undefeated in conference play.
Solum first lettered as an eighth grader before receiving Honorable Mention All-SEC as a freshman and named First Team All-Conference this year as a sophomore. He has been Academic All-Conference all three seasons.
Grinde (Hustle Award) set a Spring Grove boys single-season record with 139 steals. The 6-3 junior guard led Spring Grove in five statistical categories: scoring (16.0 ppg), steals (4.8 spg), assists (3.4 apg), 3-point field goals (56) and Hustle Points (84). He was the Lions’ second leading rebounder.
Grinde joined Solum as a First Team All-SEC selection. In conference games, he led the SEC in steals, ranked fourth in scoring and tied for fifth in assists. He has been Academic All-Conference for the past three seasons. His coach and father said, “His efforts on defense were a big reason we were the No. 1 team in the state for points allowed.
Olerud (MIP) became the first reserve coming off the bench. The 5-11 sophomore guard played the maximum three halves a night. After playing only one half of the B-team game, he would be able to contribute whenever called upon during the varsity game. He had the best free throw percentage for both the varsity (83%) and the B-team (81%). Olerud was a scoring threat beyond the 3-point arc with the varsity’s third-most 3-balls (32) and third highest percentage (36%). As a varsity reserve, he had the fourth best scoring average of 4.4 points per game and further enhanced the attack with more assists than turnovers. Coach Grinde said, “Jacob has put a lot of time into becoming our most skilled player on the team.”
Gerard (co-Lion Award) “as a leader,” said his coach, “made coaching this team a lot of fun. He loves the game and thus, practices always had great energy.” The 6-4 senior forward led the Lions in blocked shots (28) rebounding with 5.7 caroms per contest. Gerard ranked second in both field goal accuracy (48%) and free throw accuracy (71%). He received Honorable Mention on the All-Conference team.
Brumm (co-Lion Award) was the primary reserve at forward, seeing action in 28 of the 29 games. The 5-11 junior shot a team-high 57%, the lone Lion to hit more than half of his shot attempts from the field. Coach Grinde said, “He was the “team scout”. He watched film and went to games to put together a scouting report that was as good as any coach.”
Earning Academic All-Conference honors for letter winners who had at least an A-/B+ grade point average during the academic quarter of the basketball season were: senior Carson Gerard along with juniors Hunter Holland, Caleb Griffin, Logan Brumm and Tysen Grinde as well as sophomores Isaac Nerstad, Josh Newgaard, Jacob Olerud, Jaxon Strinmoen and Elijah Solum.
Receiving their third varsity basketball letters were senior Carson Gerard plus juniors Hunter Holland, Tysen Grinde and sophomore Elijah Solum. Lettering for the second season were junior Caleb Griffin and sophomore Jaxon Strinmoen. First-year letter winners were junior Logan Brumm along with sophomores Josh Newgaard, Ethan Crouch, Isaac Nerstad and Jacob Olerud.
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LION LEADERS
Scoring (points per game)
Tysen Grinde 16.0
Elijah Solum 15.2
Carson Gerard ..7.5
Jaxon Strinmoen ..5.4
Jacob Olerud ..4.4
Hunter Holland ..2.2
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Rebounding (rebounds per game)
Carson Gerard 5.7
Tysen Grinde 5.3
Jaxon Strinmoen 4.7
Elijah Solum 3.8
Hunter Holland 2.2
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Steals (steals per game)
Tysen Grinde 4.8
Jaxon Strinmoen 2.1
Elijah Solum 1.6
Carson Gerard 1.5
Hunter Holland 1.3
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Assists (assists per game)
Tysen Grinde 3.4
Elijah Solum 2.9
Hunter Holland 1.6
Jaxon Strinmoen 1.6
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Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
Ethan Crouch 1.83
Hunter Holland 1.56
Caleb Griffin 1.50
Jaxon Strinmoen 1.45
Jacob Olerud 1.39
Tysen Grinde 1.38
Elijah Solum 1.28
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Field Goal Percentage
Logan Brumm 57.1%
Carson Gerard 48.3%
Isaac Nerstad 48.3%
Hunter Holland 48.1%
Jaxon Strinmoen 42.9%
Tysen Grinde 42.5%
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3-point Field Goal Percentage
Isaac Nerstad 50.0%
Elijah Solum 37.2%
Jacob Olerud 36.0%
Hunter Holland 33.3%
Tysen Grinde 30.9%
Jaxon Strinmoen 30.8%
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3-point Field Goals
Tysen Grinde 56
Elijah Solum 42
Jacob Olerud 32
Caleb Griffin 13
Jaxon Strinmoen 12
Isaac Nerstad 10
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Free Throw Percentage (minimum 12 attempts)
Jacob Olerud 83.3% (10-12)
Carson Gerard 71.2% (47-66)
Elijah Solum 68.3% (97-142)
Caleb Griffin 65.5% (19-29)
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Free Throws Made
Elijah Solum 97
Tysen Grinde 75
Carson Gerard 47
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Blocked Shots
Carson Gerard 28
Tysen Grinde 14
Elijah Solum 12
Jaxon Strinmoen 12
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Charges Taken
Elijah Solum 5
Hunter Holland 5
Logan Brumm 4
Caleb Griffin 2
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Hustle Points
Tysen Grinde 84
Jaxon Strinmoen 81
Elijah Solum 81
Carson Gerard 55
Hunter Holland 52