Prep athletes of the week: Mound Westonka goalie's shutouts instill confidence

As an eighth-grader four years ago, Polusny played every game in goal for the White Hawks as they advanced to the Class 1A state tournament for the first time in team history. "I didn't know how big it was," she said. "All I remember is that I was very nervous before the games."

Flash forward to this year. Mound Westonka, after getting bounced from the section playoffs by Blake in the last two years, has been moved into a less rigorous section. The shift helped reawaken the dream of another state tournament appearance, which the White Hawks have set their sights on after defeating Holy Family/Waconia 4-0 last week to win the Wright County Conference title.

As usual, Polusny led the way. The junior stopped all 42 shots she faced in the game for her sixth shutout of the season and the 21st of her career.

"I'm mentally stronger now than I was [as an 8th-grader]," she said. "It gives the team confidence and a chance to win. We know that I can save their butts on one play and they can save mine on the next."

After scoring 30 points just once in his career before last week, the 6-foot-4 senior guard reached that mark in back-to-back victories over Richfield (30 points) and Bloomington Kennedy (career-high 38 points), helping the Red Knights improve to 13-5.

The senior 152-pounder became the winningest wrestler in school history with a victory at the South St. Paul Veldman Invitational on Saturday. Dick, who is ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, improved to 27-1 on the season and has a career record of 161-39.

The sophomore center has become a reliable scorer for the North Suburban Cougars, who compete in the cognitively impaired division, en route to a 3-0 start. Hamann had six goals and an assist in an 11-4 victory over Maple Grove last week, giving him 20 goals and four assists on the season.

One week after becoming the 7th player in team history to reach 1,000 career points, the senior point guard continued put up points in bunches. He scored 36 points each in consecutive games against Osseo and Brainerd, and added 19 points in one half of play in a victory over Andover.

TAYLOR KOENEN

The 6-foot-3 do-it-all guard went over the 2,000-career point mark when she scored 30 in a 74-57 victory over White Bear Lake. She added 26 points in a 73-65 victory over highly-ranked Eastview and 16 in a 71-52 rout of Rosemount.

JIM PAULSEN

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