Mahtomedi gymnast excels in St. Cloud
Mahtomedi junior Beth Kurkowski won the all-around competition with a score of 37.25 at St. Cloud Tech's Team Pride Invitational on Dec. 12.
She won the floor exercise with a score of 9.7, finished second on the uneven bars, fourth on the balance beam, and 13th in vault. Mahtomedi finished third in the meet with a score of 141.100.
Stillwater also took part in the meet and finished sixth with a score of 139.6. St. Cloud Tech won the meet with a 145.75 total.
• The Tartan boys' basketball team, led by guard Jordan Horn, is off to a 6-0 start. Horn, a sophomore, is averaging 24.7 points per game in his first five games. Tartan hopes to make a return trip to the state tournament after losing in the quarterfinals last season.
• Cory Flaata is chasing his brother's record at Park of Cottage Grove. The senior wrestler earned his 100th victory last week. In doing so, Flaata became only the seventh wrestler in school history to reach that milestone. His brother Jared graduated in 2010 with 117 victories. Flaata competes in the 170-pound weight class.
• The Stillwater girls' basketball team defeated St. Francis 66-61 on the road last week, the first victory for Ponies coach Willie Taylor. He previously coached at St. Paul Central which won Class 4A state championships in 2007 and 2008. Stillwater is now 1-4. The Ponies are led by senior Erin Theits, who is averaging 14.4 points per game.
• The East Ridge wrestling team defeated Edina 42-30 on Dec. 12, the first dual meet victory for the Raptors since 2012. Previously part of a wrestling program co-op, Edina is fielding its own team for the first time since 1992.
JIM PAULSEN
