TYLER SHILSON, Centennial • wrestling

A move from Maple Grove to Centennial has gone even better than the sophomore 132-pounder dared to hope.

Shilson wrestled for Maple Grove last year, but his state tournament hopes came crashing down when he lost in the semifinals of the section meet. Armed with the motivation of disappointment, his 10-0 start to this season is proof to Shilson that he made the right choice.

"The move to Centennial has been easy," he said. "It gives me my best opportunity for success."

Shilson was 6-0 last week with four pins, a technical fall and a decision, highlighted by a victory at 132 in Saturday's Andover Invitational.

"I'm improved in every aspect of my wrestling," he said. "My conditioning, my technique. And I've got really good [teammates] that I wrestle against that are intense and work hard. They make me better."

Just the edge he needs to erase the heartbreak of last year.

"I think about that, and it pushes me," he said. "I write 'state champ' on my calendar every day."

Griffin Back, Eden Prairie swimming, junior

GRIFFIN BACK, Eden Prairie • swimming

The junior left Saturday's Minnetonka Invitational with four first-place finishes. His 200-yard medley relay team won in 1 minute, 37.77 seconds; he won the 200 individual medley in 1:56.27 and the 100 breaststroke in 59.95; and he anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay team in 3:11.54. All were meet-record times.

KATEY BRATTLAND, St. Paul Academy • basketball

Only a ninth-grader, Brattland leads the metro in three-pointers with 29 in six games. Last week, she scored 65 total points in victories over Trinity, Hope Academy and Mounds Park Academy, with 48 of those points coming on shots taken from beyond the arc.

WILL CULLITON, Breck • basketball

The 6-3 senior guard showed off his sharpshooting skills in a pair of victories last week. He scored 28 points twice — in an 82-68 victory over St. Louis Park and an 78-73 victory over Redwood Valley in Saturday's Tip-Off Classic — making 13 of 18 three-pointers in the process.

JEREMIAH HANSON, Maranatha • basketball

With victories over Providence Academy (73-55) and Legacy Christian (79-61), the Mustangs, No. 3 in Class 1A, improved to 5-0. Hanson, a 6-4 senior swingman, was the catalyst in both, with 25 points and seven rebounds against Providence and 26 points and 13 rebounds against Legacy.

JESSICA STRECKER, Roseville • gymnastics

The two-time defending Class 2A champion Raiders pulled out a close dual-meet victory over Park of Cottage Grove, 146.05-145.575. Strecker, a sophomore, won the all-around competition with a score of 37.325, the best all-around score in the state so far.

PAIGE VOIGHT, Cretin-Derham Hall • hockey

A senior forward who signed with Merrimack University in November, Voight had her seventh multi-goal game of the season last week when she scored four times and also had two assists in a 7-3 victory over Stillwater. She added two more assists in a 4-1 victory over Forest Lake.