Recent content from Ron Haggstrom
Baseball Metro Player of the Year packs up his five tools and leaves
Drew Rogers left Mounds View for Arizona. Also, a Minnetonka standout is injured, and "the Ohm boys eat, sleep and breathe baseball" at Zumbrota-Mazeppa.
Prep baseball 2024: 35 Minnesota stars who the recruiters covet
College plans include the Gophers and many of the nation's top conferences. Also included: Twin Cities and outstate teams to watch — and a player who shares a name with a Hall of Famer.
Prep Athletes of the Week: Anoka golfer wins at the head game, too
Tyler Gandrud secured the Bunker Hills Invitational title as his coach helped him "minimize the mental interference."
Prep golf 2024: Top players and teams (and many future Gophers)
The U has landed several of the best players in Minnesota. Check out that group, see lists of top metro and outstate golfers and meet a batch of youngsters.
Is the pitching ahead of the hitting? Two high school no-hitters say yes.
A pair of outstate Minnesota teams took early victories behind starting pitching that proved unhittable.
Benilde-St. Margaret's Olivia Olson named Miss Basketball
The Michigan recruit led the Red Knights to consecutive Class 3A state championships, averaging 25.5 points per game.
Sisters, together again: Meet the Metro Girls Alpine Skier of the Year
Vivien Pihlstrom of Blake became her school's latest winner, a group that includes older sibling Ava.
With a grin: Meet the Metro Girls Nordic Skier of the Year
Freshman Linnea Ousdigian of Mounds View smiled her way through a snow-challenged winter and was seen savoring victory in her last strides at state.
A story with a twist: Meet the Metro Boys Swimmer/Diver of the Year.
Rosemount's Lucas Gerten won the diving state title for the third season in a row and set a record with his score.
High school sports and NIL: Bigger things are ahead for younger stars
Name, image and likeness deals are already expanding beyond college sports. Some top metro boys basketball players are aligned with a barbershop. The top girls hockey player touts a fitness center. Another high school standout represents a chain of chicken restaurants.
Mr. Basketball, worth a double-double on an average day, is revealed
He's Jackson McAndrew, who averaged 23.7 points and 10.1 rebounds for Class 4A runner-up Wayzata.
Totino-Grace's 3A dominance leads to the opt-up question
Totino-Grace played a schedule almost entirely from 4A. Also Saturday, Cherry completed a rise from 0-22 to a state title, and Breck's Miles Newton channeled his dad.
Family and friends propel Cherry to Class 1A state championship
Gophers-bound guard Isaac Asuma managed matters while his brother and cousin and others secured the title.
Boys basketball championship games set in all four classes
Breck and Badgers-bound Daniel Freitag flew past Minnehaha Academy in Friday's first Class 2A semifinal. and will face Lake City Fertile-Beltrami and Cherry, led by Gophers-bound Isaac Asuma, advanced to Saturday's Class 1A championship.
Small-class semifinals at Williams Arena makes for a big day at The Barn
Breck entered the tournament missing one key intangible, but it hasn't held back the Mustangs — yet. Nevis coach Scott Kramer made a bold prediction for Cherry, which is treating its third state tournament appearance as a business trip.
Half of Championship Saturday is set for the boys basketball tournament
Defending champion Wayzata and Minnetonka will battle for the Class 4A championship, and Totino-Grace and Mankato East advanced to the Class 3A title game. The Class 1A semifinals are also set. Tap here for stories and in-game updates.
Day 2 at state: Rival DeLaSalle reveals Totino-Grace's true emotions
Eagles star Isaiah Johnson-Arigu conducted business as usual in a victory, while future Gophers guard Isaac Asuma and Cherry cruised in their Class 1A quarterfinal. Big man Alex Lester kept the Nevis engine running despite being gassed.
It's all right here! Wednesday's boys basketball tournament news, notes.
Eagan pulled off the biggest surprise of the quarterfinals, dropping Class 4A second seed Park Center. Tap here for game results and more from the first day of play.
Coach weighs in angrily about boys state tournament seeding
Stewartville's Parker Lyga said his team, ranked third but unseeded, was treated unfairly by "all the coaches here." The Tigers lost to top seed Totino-Grace.
We call this fun: State boys basketball opens with a 12-game day
A Wayzata sophomore spiced an early 4A quarterfinal with his passing. The 3A teams also got going before lunch, and 2A schools will take over the night.
High school state champion skiers excel on national stage
Weeks after sweeping the MSHSL individual titles, Logan Drevlow and Linnea Ousdigian repeated the feat in the under-16 mass start classic event at the Junior Nationals on March 16.
Like your basketball numbers big? Follow this lead to the biggest.
The boys basketball state tournament includes nine teams that average 80 points or more. Here's where and when they play (and when two of them play each other).
After 87 years, edge-of-the-metro basketball team is back at state
Farmington last played in the championship tournament in 1937, as senior Tyler Beckwith pointed out in a school report that foretold 2024's success.
Star gazing: 20 boys basketball standouts, how to see them at state
Some will start play at Target Center, some at Williams Arena, some Wednesday, some Thursday. It's all gathered up here.
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.
