Recent content from Ron Haggstrom
Boys basketball Metro Player of Year: Much heftier, much better hooper
Jackson McAndrew of Wayzata averaged a double-double, putting to good use the 45 muscular pounds he's gained since he was a very thin 6-9 sophomore.
Hers and his: Miss and Mr. Basketball finalists are revealed
The girls winner will come from a group of six seniors, and five players remain in contention for the boys honor.
25 players everybody wants. That's the All-Metro boys basketball team.
Coaches present and future rave about the top five — and, as Minnesota fans have seen often in recent years, two of them are headed to Wisconsin.
In the end, at the very end, it's Providence Academy
The Lions didn't lead against Albany until the final seconds, when they surged to their third championship in a row.
Girls basketball reaches the peak: Among the best, who's better?
Moments of March: It's a high-powered day at state. The four championship games Saturday all involve the top two seeds, and three teams will play for consecutive titles.
Boys basketball state champions will make defense as top seeds
Wayzata in Class 4A and Totino-Grace in 3A are positioned atop the brackets. Breck is No. 1 in 2A and Cherry in 1A.
High seeds only: Girls basketball favorites are finalists at state
Providence Academy and Albany in Class 2A and Goodhue and Mountain Iron-Buhl in 1A advanced to Saturday's championship games.
Girls basketball finals schedule is mostly set and fully loaded
Moments of March: The top two seeds in Class 4A, 3A and 1A all qualified for championship games, and Providence Academy got 2A halfway there.
Rivals to battle it out for Class 4A title in girls basketball; 3A championship also set
The finals are solidified in the top two classes while the top four seeds in Class 1A advanced to the semifinals. Tap here for coverage on all of Thursday's games.
Iron Range family starred for one basketball team; next generation stars for another
Moments of March: The Lamppa family was the foundation of a small school that no longer exists. This year, the Lamppas were key to another school's state tournament run.
Big day for a first-time tournament team -- despite the final score
Moments of March: Roosevelt fans showed up in numbers for the Teddies' first state tournament game. Plus this from a coach with a unique angle: 'Caitlin [Clark] is good, but I still think Paige [Bueckers] is better.'
Girls basketball state quarterfinals: Wednesday's news and notes
The day began with top seeds Hopkins and Benilde-St. Margaret's rolling, and it wound down with Providence Academy's Maddyn Greenway scoring 49 points. Tap here for stories, tournament details and more from Minneapolis.
Where to watch 17 top players in the girls state basketball tournament
Minnesota has become a girls basketball hotspot, and this week's championships will put standouts on display in all four classes.
State basketball angles: A champ's challenge and seeding concerns
Those issues, along with a batch of history-making coaches, rank high among five things to know when the girls tournaments begin.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Eastview star leads a section surge
Jonathan Mekonnen has propelled the Lightning boys basketball team through two rounds of the tournament. They'll play Eagan for a spot at state.
Galaxy of 25 stars. Who's on the All-Metro girls basketball teams?
The immediate future for the first-teamers is this week's state tournament. Beyond that, Division I plans are the norm, showcasing Minnesota's strength in the sport.
Familiar powers land highest seeds for girls basketball tournament
Hopkins, Minnetonka and St. Michael-Albertville lead the Class 4A list. Benilde-St. Margaret's heads 3A, and Providence Academy is atop 2A.
Little surprise in the final boys basketball Metro Top 10
Losses by rankings mainstays Totino-Grace and Shakopee caused minor changes to the order, with the Sabers being the only team to slip.
Prep Athletes of the Week: From heart procedure to state title
Andrew Colgan was fresh off medical care when the school year began. On Saturday he led Breck/Blake's swimming juggernaut to the Class 1A title and a state record.
A swimmer and a diver make waves in boys swimming state meet
Rosemount's Lucas Gerten won his third diving title in a row with a record score, and St. Cloud's Micah Davis won two races and set a record. Edina won the team title.
Breck/Blake sets boys swimming record with eighth title in a row
The Class 1A championship push got off to a quick start when the team won the first three races.
Breck/Blake sets up a run at breaking a boys swimming record
The team dominated the Class 1A preliminaries and positioned itself to win its eighth championship in a row.
Breck/Blake swimmers head to state with a record in reach
The team is positioned to win its eighth title in a row and break the record it shares with 1950s-era Rochester.
Take your pick. Season's final girls basketball Metro Top 10 filled with state contenders.
Six ranked teams are from programs that have won a combined 18 state titles since 2001.
Wayzata holds steady, Minnetonka tumbles in the boys basketball Metro Top 10
The Trojans remained atop the rankings and helped send the rival Skippers down four spots.
Meet the 10 Mr. Basketball finalists, before they become college stars
The list includes three headed to the Big Ten (one to the Gophers), eight aimed at Division I and one still deciding.
Prep Athletes of the Week: For her team and herself, gymnast excels
Lauren Woelfel led Becker to the state championship one day and won a title of her own the next.
Twins are at the peak of both Eagan High basketball teams
Drew Buslee leads the girls team in scoring, and Max Buslee is No. 1 on the boys team. The twins may not be identical, but their stats are pretty close.
Must-see girls basketball matchups add intensity to regular season's end
Three teams. Two games. One outcome: Who resides atop the rankings next week?
The boys basketball Metro Top 10 goes for a spin
The top four are all different from last week, driven especially by Minnetonka's victory over Totino-Grace.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Wrestler isn't settling for perfect
STMA's Landon Robideau is 45-0 this season and headed to the Gophers, but he's still adding to his skills.
It's the boys basketball Metro Top 10, where nobody's perfect
Minneapolis Washburn ended Breck's undefeated start to the season and left Minnesota without an unbeaten team.
Is that the Metro Top 10 or a list of No. 1 section seeds? It's both.
The top four in metro girls basketball are a sturdy group, and they compete in separate sections.
As we wait on winter, the winter championship season begins
Though we're low on snow, high school skiing state titles will be on the line starting Tuesday.
Hill-Murray skiing is going downhill fast, and that was always the plan
A program that was failing to reach double digits in skiers now has more than 50, plus a state title and plans for more.
Basketball is producing memorable moments. Start with these five.
Scoring records are falling, and the end of a long losing streak is heralded.
A new No. 1 leads the girls basketball Metro Top 10
Hopkins rose to the peak after handing Minnetonka one of its back-to-back losses.
Metro Top 10 shows boys state champions are aging nicely
The defending state champions from the two biggest classes continue to demonstrate there isn't a lot of separation between the state's best.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Nordic skier turns 'fun' into a breakthrough
Tim Tzeutschler of St. Paul Highland Park signed up for the cool team jackets but put in the work and is a conference champion now.
New No. 1 in boys Metro Top 10 will face an immediate test
Totino-Grace, ranked first after Wayzata's loss, will take on No. 2 Park Center.
No. 1 in girls basketball swats away one challenger, awaits another
Minnetonka used defense to turn away Providence Academy and next will face No. 2 Hopkins. And it's time to pay more attention to another strong team in the west metro.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Anoka girl wrestles route of most resistance
Gigi Bragg competes against boys during the high school season to better prepare herself. She's a team captain and just recorded a milestone victory.
2 Minnesota basketball stars could hit 3,000-point mark in same game
When Crosby-Ironton plays at Providence Academy on Tuesday, Maddyn Greenway and Tori Oehrlein could hit that elite mark. Other Minnesota stars are reaching milestones, too.
Two Minnesotans picked to play in McDonald's All-American Game
Olivia Olson of Benilde-St. Margaret's and Liv McGill of Hopkins made it. Also included: All 22 of the state's past participants.
End-of-the-week challenge awaits the best in girls basketball
Minnetonka, No. 1 in the Metro Top 10, will face No. 4 Providence Academy.
Stubborn group keeps a grip on the boys Metro Top 10
Wayzata, with No. 8 Hopkins as a Tuesday challenge, heads an unchanged top five.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Stillwater swimmer sets a simple goal
Jackson Kogler: "I have to beat the guys who finished ahead of me last year."
Three matters to catch up on in high school girls basketball
Minnesota has its 24th 3,000-point scorer, its 11th coach with 600 wins and yet another national team player.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Snow or no, she skis and she wins
Nordic racer Chloe Angerman of Minneapolis Washburn has won two Twin Cities Conference meets.
Triple threat? You bet. Three-pointer three-peat settles high school game.
Moorhead's boys basketball team defeated Sauk Rapids-Rice with a halfcourt shot after twice tying it from afar.
Boys basketball Metro Top 10 proves to be a tough club to break into
A look at victory margins indicates the Metro Top 10 teams are well ahead of their challengers.
Action abounds in girls basketball Metro Top 10, but change is elusive
Clashes of ranked teams followed form, leaving the top of the rankings unaffected.
Talent, and with it expectations, runs deep in Minnetonka girls basketball
The Skippers are propelled by Gophers signee Tori McKinney, Team USA player Aaliyah Crump and speedy sophomore Lanelle Wright.
Steeled by Team USA, Minnetonka's Crump rises to No. 6 recruit for 2025
Minnetonka's Aaliyah Crump has a gold medal and is one of the most sought after girls basketball recruits in the country.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Forest Lake wrestler finds inspiration at home
The top-ranked heavyweight in Class 3A, Mark Rendl models Dad's effort and Mom's decency.
Undefeated status won't last: Metro Top 10 teams face a reckoning
The Lake Conference schedule pits a pair of unbeaten squads, No. 1 Minnetonka and No. 3 St. Michael-Albertville.
Undefeated Wayzata, with its depth showing, camps atop Metro Top 10
The Trojans are led by Jackson McAndrew, but Christian Wiggins, Ben Shaffer, Wyatt McBeth and Isaac Olmstead contribute plenty.
Meet a prep guard with a 22-assist game and three other outstate achievers
Brainerd's Eli Hoelz hit that passing high point and is averaging 11.6 assists per game.
Perfection holds atop boys basketball Top 10; 2A school dumps Hopkins
The top five teams in the Metro Top 10 kept their spots, and Breck caused a ripple with victories over Hopkins and another ranked 4A team.
Lake Conference schedule looms over girls basketball Metro Top 10
Half of the ranked teams, including unbeaten No. 1 Minnetonka, reside in the same league.
Stability spends a week with the girls basketball Metro Top 10
A holiday tournament matchup of Providence Academy and Hopkins promises to shake things up.
A pair of state champions lead the shaken-up boys basketball Metro Top 10
The reigning Class 4A and 3A champions are in the top two spots after Totino-Grace defeated Park Center.
Boys basketball Metro Top 10 proceeds without disruption
Two of the Twin Cities' top teams, No. 1 Park Center and No. 4 Totino-Grace, will clash Tuesday.
Small class or upper crust? One metro girls basketball team is both.
Providence Academy, helped by Maddyn Greenway's four 40-point games, is up to No. 5 in the Metro Top 10.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Hutchinson swimmer takes a moment to flex
Conner Hogan, headed to Wisconsin for college, is the state's fastest in two events and No. 2 in a third.
Boys swimming and diving 2023-24: Breck/Blake takes aim at a state record
After tying the mark for consecutive state titles with seven, Breck/Blake is well positioned to break it.
Skiing 2023-24: Absences and departures leave openings for champions
Nordic standout Sydney Drevlow will miss the state meet again, and most individual champs graduated.
Weekend event has buzzer-beaters, drama among boys basketball Top 10
The Breakdown Tip Off Classic at Hopkins on Saturday featured more than half the teams in the Metro Top 10, as well as four games in the day-long event that weren't decided until the very end.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Gymnast, softball player, always a competitor
Sami Ernst led Forest Lake to a gymnastics victory over East Ridge as the all-around medalist.
No. 1 Minnetonka reveals a gap in the girls basketball Metro Top 10
A result last week indicates that a lot separates Minnetonka from those at the bottom of the ranking.
A high school diving champion from the city makes more than a ripple
Washburn's Madeline Kohel, the first diver from Minneapolis since 1976 to win a state title, is the Metro Girls Swimmer/Diver of the Year.
Park Center reigns in first boys basketball Metro Top 10
The Pirates snagged that spot on the strength of three players who rank among Minnesota's top 20.
Boys basketball Dream Team and 15 more. Most have a big call to make.
Four of the top five have made college plans. The fifth is a sophomore. So he has plenty of time. The best of the rest includes a majority of players still pondering their college choice.
Minnetonka lands atop first girls basketball Metro Top 10 of the season
Skippers coach Brian Cosgriff is near the record for state titles and has a loaded team,
20 names to know: Girls Metro Dream Team and 15 others to watch
The Star Tribune's girls basketball Metro Dream team includes a future Gopher and 12 of the players on the list have already committed to Division I schools.