Century Swim Team’s Big Dance was Saturday

Century swim team’s Big Dance was Saturday
Team places fourth overall, Freeman wins 500 Freestyle

As the calendar page turns to March, the madness of sports fans builds throughout the country as the NCAA basketball tournament nears. For the Rochester Century boys swim team, its Big Dance occurred two days ago.

“A lot of kids come in here and think, ‘oh my God, this is the big dance!’” explained Century Coach Linda Freeman, describing the atmosphere at the Boys Class AA State Swimming and Diving competition Saturday night at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Having been mentally preparing for this meet for a long time, Freeman said her team came into the competition relaxed and ready. It appears she was right, as Century claimed fourth place in the meet’s overall team rankings.

“Look at Minnetonka, all these kids, Edina, all these kids, Eden Prairie, and then here’s little Century with seven kids,” said Freeman - Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Edina finished first, second and third, respectively. “To hold on and finish a strong fourth in this field, with such deep Twin Cities teams, it’s a bit of a miracle, but it’s very well deserved because they worked so hard, so hard, it was wonderful.”

Using the words “so hard” twice is fitting, perhaps, as preparing to compete with such powerhouses might be twice as hard for her squad as it is for the others.

Leading the Panthers attack was senior Chris Freeman, the coach’s nephew, who took home first place honors in the 500 Yard Freestyle.

Freeman’s time - 4:32.24 - was 0.55 seconds off the Minnesota all-time Class AA record.

“It felt really good,” said Chris.

“I have to tell you, when Chris won that 500, I lost it,” exclaimed Coach Freeman, who watched her nephew poolside. “I was so proud of him, I was so grateful.”

“That record, to be honest, I thought it was gonna go today,” the coach added. “I thought it was, and he got very close. What Chris did today ... it’s almost impossible.”

The 500 Freestyle Class AA state record - 4:31.69 - was set in 2006 by former Mounds View swimmer Pete Stacy.

As evidenced by their reactions, Chris and Linda are very different in terms of expression of emotion.

“The guy is just crazy good and he’s very humble,” said the elder Freeman. “It’s hard to get him to talk much.”

Chris would have won two titles Saturday were it not for Edina’s Mike Gratz, who swam neck-to-neck with Freeman before pulling away and defeating him for the 200 Freestyle championship.

Gratz, who finished his swim with a mile-wide smile you couldn’t shake off his face, came close to the all-time Minnesota record with a score of 1:38.98 - current Minnesota Gophers 10-time All American Curt Carlson owns the record (1:38.35), which he swam in 2007 as a senior at Maple Grove.

The Edina senior carried his beaming smile and indelible glow throughout the remainder of the meet as well. He swam the final leg for his team’s 400 Freestyle Relay championship and nearly topped another individual state record in the 100 Freestyle.

“I’m just feeling ready,” Gratz said, following his 100 Freestyle swim. “I’ve rested what I need to do, I’ve eaten [right], just done everything I needed to do for a good meet.”

The Hornets swimmer swam his 100 Free in 45.13. His time finished 0.17 seconds behind Jordan Watland - who swam the 100 Freestyle in 44.96 seconds for Minnetonka in 1998.

“I do not know [Watland],” said Gratz. “But that’s a really fast time and I was going for it; but 45:13 is really good for me, so I’m happy about that.”

Coach Freeman said she knows Gratz very well from watching him compete with Chris for many years now.

“Michael Gratz and Chris Freeman have been swimming head-to-head since they were 10 years old,” Coach Freeman said. “They’re both elite swimmers, you put each one of them in a position to win and they will not be denied.”

Both seniors, Freeman and Gratz hope to compete at the college level next year. Each swimmer is undecided as of now, but Gratz said he hopes to for St. Olaf while Coach Freeman said Chris’ hopes are to swim for the Gophers.

The other Century swimmers who helped their team to its fourth place finish include senior Andrew Grosback, junior Chris Tri and sophomore Nikita Dolin.

Century had three team events. The Panthers were seventh in the 200 Freestyle Relay (1:28.57), ninth in 400 Freestyle (3:16.07) and 11th in the 200 Medley (1:41.06)

Grosback placed 10th in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 1:59.45. He placed 14th in the 100 Breaststroke (1:01.49). Tri placed sixth in 500 Freestyle (4:46.55). Dolin took fourth place in the 100 Backstroke (52.89) and fifth in 200 IM (1:57:09).

John Marshall and Mayo Class AA results
Rochester John Marshall competed in four events Saturday. The Rockets finished 14th in the 200 Freestyle Relay (1:30.56). Seinior Conner Garrett took sixth place in the 1 Meter Dive with a score of 371.00. Junior Tanner Nimke finished seventh in the 100 Freestyle (47.90) and 15th in 50 Freestyle (22.09).

Rochester Mayo swam in two team events. The Spartans placed 15th in the 200 Freestyle Relay (1:30.82) and 16th in the 200 Medley (1:43.47).



**Written for the Rochester Post-Bulletin (Monday, March 7th) newspaper. Photos by Post-Bulletin photographer Jack Boder - top (Rochester Century's Chris Freeman, Edina's Mike Gratz), bottom (Rochester John Marshall Diver Conner Garrett)

Pine Island’s Schmidt gets beam surprise at State

When Pine Island gymnast Brittany Schmidt landed the final dismount of her gymnastics career, a slight grimace emerged upon her face.

“I just thought I could do better,” she said of her balance beam routine at the State Class A individual meet, Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Sports Pavilion.

After sticking her beam finish, Schmidt was greeted and consoled by her coach, Chris Templeton. The two rejoined the other Panthers gymnasts as the remainder of 1A rotation of the beam competition resumed.

About an hour later, at the awards ceremony, Schmidt was seated with her teammates on the floor exercise mat as the winners were announced. Templeton stood nearby, unsuspecting any of his athletes earning medals - which would mean top six finishes in each gymnast’s respective events.

But then it came. Schmidt was announced as the fifth place medalist in balance beam.

“[It’s] nothing that I can explain, it was just overwhelming,” said the Pine Island senior, describing the moment her name was called.

“I was very surprised,” Schmidt said. “I just never thought I would place at state.”

Templeton was shocked as well, pumping his fist with pride. He described his pupil’s performance minutes before Schmidt had stepped atop the wooden platform adorned with a brown No. 5.

“Bars are her event,” Templeton said. “She took a fall on that, so she was very disappointed.”
When a gymnast falls, an automatic 0.5-point deduction is applied to her score. Schmidt’s uneven bars score was an 8.30, meriting an 18th place finish.

“In order for her to come back, re-gather herself and stick her beam the way that she did, it really speaks to the maturity that she has,” Templeton said. “Beam was her last event as a high school gymnast and she stuck it.”

Schmidt’s score on balance beam was 9.15.

Pine Island had three other gymnasts competing Saturday - Chelsie Glabe, Siera McNallan and Brenna Ruegg. McNallan and Ruegg each nabbed ninth-place finishes - McNallan in floor exercise (posting a 9.30), Ruegg in vault (9.425).

Schmidt’s medal was the first Pine Island captured at State since 2008, when Sarah Lerum earned three medals - placing third in floor, fourth in all-around and fifth in bars. Saturday was also the first time in Pine Island history that three gymnasts earned top ten finishes.

Other Rochester area Class A girls who competed were Austin’s Abby Bickler and Selena Hataye; Megan Lawson and Laura Mesenburg of Byron-Lourdes; Rochelle Thesing (LaCresent); and Hope Stremcha (Caledonia/Spring Grove/Houston).

Thesing earned a sixth-place medal in the all-around competition (with a score of 36.35), she also nearly earned a second (finishing seventh in bars, 9.0).


Pair of Mayo gymnasts compete in Class AA floor and vault
Hours after Class A concluded, a new crop of gymnasts stretched out and chalked up their hands in preparation for State AA individual competition.

Rochester Mayo seniors Leah Butterbaugh and Kayla Wiltrout competed in the floor exercise and vault events, respectively.

Butterbaugh performed first, as the fifth competitor in the first rotation (of eight) in floor. She executed her routine very well according to her Mayo coaches, Abby Siems and Dan Christy, among others.

Thus her score, a 9.2, befuddled them.

“The scores didn’t reflect what we thought she earned,” Siems said. “But that’s how gymnastics goes and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

A teary-eyed Butterbaugh also thought she deserved better. After accomplishing a career-high 9.65 at sections, her grade at State was tough to take.

“I think I did a good routine, except in my last [tumble] pass I piked out a little bit and that may have brought it down,” she said. “I felt I should have gotten a higher score, but that’s how it is.”

The suspect scoring aside, Butterbaugh’s coach approved her effort.

“Getting here [to State] is an accomplishment, she has a lot to be proud of even if it didn’t meet her expectations or what we had hoped for,” Siems said.

Approximately forty minutes after Butterbaugh’s floor exhibition, on the other side of the Pavilion was Wiltrout, who had her sights set on the vault.

Each vault competitor had two attempts. Christy explained there are three types of finishes a gymnast can attempt after she springs off the pommel horse - a tuck, pike and a layout, where the legs are either tucked in, slightly bent or straight out. Each having its own degree of difficulty.

A flawlessly executed tuck merits a 9.6, a perfect pike nets a 9.8, and an unblemished layout must be performed to achieve a 10.

In Wiltrout’s case, she went with her bread-and-butter, a pike, on her first attempt and a layout on the second. The results were 9.50 and 9.525, respectively. Christy said Wiltrout’s layout was something he and her had been working on all year but only used in competition in her last couple meets.

“I’ve been working on that Tsuk for a while,” said Wiltrout of her layout attempt, which included a Tsukahara (a midair move involving a half turn off the springboard onto the horse and a push backward into a flip). “It’s my last meet, so I went all out and hoped for the best.”

Wiltrout’s scores landed her in 15th place, which satisfied the Spartans senior. She said reaching State was something she had strived for since first entering high school.

“When you set a goal and say you want to make State and you make State, that’s a good year no matter how you look at it,” Christy said.


**This story was written for the Rochester Post-Bulletin. It's coverage of Rochester area high schools for Minnesota Class A and Class AA State gymnastics meet.
**Photos were taken by Post-Bulletin photographer, Jack Boder

Eastview downs Apple Valley despite Jones’ career-high

Apple Valley freshman phenom Tyus Jones tied his career-high scoring mark last night, but it was rival Eastview who invaded his home court and claimed the victory.

“We’re very spoiled to have him here, he’s such a good point guard, he gets us organized and he had a great night,” said Zach Goring, Apple Valley’s head coach.

Goring’s floor general tallied 33 points and seven assists for the Eagles, but Eastview emerged the superior team, defeating Apple Valley 74-67.

Eastview’s win sealed the season sweep over Apple Valley - the Lightning defeated the Eagles 50-44 on Jan. 14.

Last night - much like the first game - it was the Eastview bigs that were the difference. Junior forward Joey King poured in 30 points and senior Frank Veldman pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

“They’re strong post players,” Goring said of Eastview’s frontcourt. “I know over there (in the game at Easview) they had 18 offensive rebounds and tonight they were up 10 on the glass again. Against a team like that, that shoots that well, we need to secure those rebounds.”

Despite the rebounding disparity, Goring’s team had its chances tonight.

Forty-five seconds into the game, Tyus Jones had two baskets and it was 4-0 Eagles. But the Lightning immediately responded to Jones’ second hoop as forward Frank Veldman opened Eastview’s scoring with a thunderous dunk.

Oddly enough, nearly two hours later, Veldman finished Eastview’s scoring with another dunk.

In the game’s waning moments, three Eagles defenders had Eastview’s Ben Oberfeld pinned near the boundary line under his own basket, when Oberfeld somehow managed to squeak a pass through to a teammate, which quickly led to the game-sealing slam.

“He pitched it ahead, [another Eastview player] pitched it ahead, dunk,” Goring said, recalling how fast the play transpired.

“We’re not a great pressing team, we’re more of a half-court, get back and defend team,” he added. “When it gets to the end of the game, we’re taking chances, trying to make plays and we fouled guys.”

Goring was also speaking to the consecutive old-fashioned threes the Lightning accomplished prior to the dunk.

Apple Valley cut its deficit to four on a Jones’ lay-up with two minutes remaining; but King and Oberfeld both made hoops plus free throws, and suddenly Eastview’s lead balooned to 72-62 with 42 ticks to spare.

Tom Schalk, Apple Valley’s leading scorer - who had 18 points and six rebounds for the night - shared his postgame thoughts.

“It was just discouraging, really discouraging,” Schalk said. “They killed us on the boards down the stretch, made plays when they needed to and took over down the stretch.”

Jones acknowledged his high-scoring night and that he tried his best to help his team win, but also expressed his disappointment with the loss.

“I was just trying to get the team a W, whatever it took to get the win,” Jones said. “If I had to get scoring, I was going to score, if I had to get other people in position to score, I would to do that. I was just taking what was open, which [tonight] was scoring.”

“It was a tough battle, we played a tough Eastview team,” he added. “In the second half we just couldn’t buckle down and get the stops we needed, and they went on their run.”

Another key part of the game, which Goring was particular upset with, was toward the end of the first half. His team was up 10 points with less than a minute remaining, when suddenly that lead evaporated to five in an instant.

“At one point, we were up 41-31 with a minute left” Goring said. “[Then], ten to five in the snap of a finger.”

Despite the disappointment, Goring said he told his team to stay positive and “hopefully we’ll see those guys a third time.”

The Eagles will hope to have get that chance as both teams prepare for sections and state, which start in less than three weeks.






**This was written for Sun Newspapers, to be posted as online content for the paper's website. There were some difficulties with my camera and taking game photos, thus not many of them did not turn out and the ones that did aren't nearly as satisfactory as I hoped. The first Tyus Jones picture was shot after the game. Descriptions of the photos in the story - from top to bottom - are as follows: Tyus Jones (post-game), Jones (21) in the Apple Valley huddle, Tom Schalk (30) preparing for an in-bounds play, Apple Valley Eagles basketball team (pre-game)

NFL '08 Postulations

Not that I'm a pro, in terms of being a football critic (I've only covered one football game in a professional sense), but I have made my predictions for the 2008 National Football League season.

Sure, the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts are storied NFL franchises while the Eastview Lightning and Eden Prairie Eagles are high school teams in Minnesota. The Cowboys have Tony Romo and the Colts have Peyton Manning, while the Eagles, last fall, had Ryan Grant, and the Lightning had Corey Eul. Lastly, Romo and Manning are set to participate in the 43rd season of professional American football, whereas Grant and Eul tussled in a Minnesota state high school semi-final.

At any rate, working between four jobs and following Major League Baseball has left me with little time to study NFL football, but I went ahead and made my predictions nonetheless.

As far as upsets go? Well, the Arizona Cardinals making the playoffs is usually a surprise. I have the Cards earning entry this season. Also, I picked the Pittsburgh Steelers to post the 2nd-best record in the AFC this year.

Without further ado, here are my selections:

NFL 2008
Preseason Postulations

NFC
West
Arizona 9-7 (*)
Seattle 9-7
St. Louis 6-10
San Francisco 4-12

North
Minnesota 11-5
Green Bay 9-7 (wc)
Detroit 8-8
Chicago 5-11

South
New Orleans 10-6
Tampa Bay 8-8
Atlanta 6-10
Carolina 5-11

East
Dallas 12-4
Philadelphia 10-6 (wc)
Washington 9-7
New York 5-11

AFC
West
San Diego 10-6
Denver 8-8
Oakland 7-9
Kansas City 4-12

North
Pittsburgh 11-5
Cleveland 10-6 (wc)
Cincinnati 8-8
Baltimore 5-11

South
Indianapolis 10-6 (*)
Jacksonville 10-6 (wc)
Tennessee 8-8
Houston 6-10

East
New England 13-3
New York 9-7
Miami 6-10
Buffalo 5-11

(*) ~ Win tie-breaker
(wc) ~ Wild Card entries

2008 NFL Playoffs
NFC seeding
(1) Dallas
(2) Minnesota
(3) New Orleans
(4) Arizona
(5) Philadelphia
(6) Green Bay

AFC seeding
(1) New England
(2) Pittsburgh
(3) Indianapolis
(4) San Diego
(5) Jacksonville
(6) Cleveland

NFC Playoff games
(3) Saints over (6) Packers
(5) Eagles over (4) Cardinals

(1) Cowboys over (5) Eagles
(2) Vikings over (3) Saints

(1) Cowboys over (2) Vikings

AFC Playoff games
(3) Indianapolis over (6) Cleveland
(5) Jacksonville over (4) San Diego

(1) New England over (5) Jacksonville
(2) Indianapolis over (2) Pittsburgh

(2) Indianapolis over (1) New England