High school athletes of the week

MEREDITH LAWRENCE

Visitation, tennis

Sometimes a loss is really a victory.

Lawrence lost to Rosemount's Virginia Norder 6-1, 6-0 in the team semifinals of Class 2A, Section 3 two weeks ago.

Last Tuesday, Lawrence turned the tables, beating Norder 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 to win the Section 3 singles title.

Lawrence attributed her loss in the team competition to the pressure of wanting to succeed for the sake of the team. Having faced Norder already and with no team depending on her to play well, she was a completely different player in the singles final.

"When I lost to her before, I played her game," said the diminutive freshman, who measures a hair under 5-feet tall. "This time I went into the match with a different mental approach. I decided to play my style and I felt much more relaxed."

Lawrence said she could tell the finals were going to be different than her team match against Norder as soon as she stepped on the court.

"I felt really good in warmups," she said. "I was loose. I'm also a basketball player, so the biggest thing for me is to move my feet and get to every ball I can. When I started doing that, I knew I could win."

HANNAH JOCELYN

Hopkins, cross-country

As the No. 1 runner for the Royals all season, Jocelyn fulfilled her role as team captain and led them to their first Classic Lake Conference championship since 2002. Jocelyn ran the 4K course at Gale Woods Park in 15 minutes, 31.8 seconds, finishing first by more than 14 seconds.

ERIN KOHLBECK

Woodbury, diving

Saturday's Hopkins Diving Invitational brought together many of the top divers in the state, and Kohlbeck came out on top. She won the meet with a personal-best 11-dive score of 447.05 and won the Best Dive trophy for her back 1 1/2 somersault with a half-twist.

GRETE MILLER

Orono, soccer

The Spartans got the benefit of an own-goal five minutes into the second half of their Class 1A, Section 6 championship match with No. 1-seeded Benilde-St. Margaret's and Miller, a senior goalkeeper, made the lead stand up, making 12 saves as Orono won 1-0.

AARON BARTNIK

Eden Prairie, cross-country

Bartnik showed why he rose to the No. 1 ranking in Class 2A two weeks ago with a dominating performance in the Lake Conference championships. He ran the 5K course at Eagan High School in 16:00.43, nearly six seconds ahead of runner-up Jake Sandry of Bloomington Jefferson.

AARON HOESE

Bloomington Kennedy, football

It was a record-setting performance for the senior halfback in the Eagles' 40-20 victory over crosstown rival Jefferson. Hoese rushed for a school-record 343 yards on 28 carries and scored on runs of 33 and 6 yards.

DAN NOEHRING

Lakeville South, football

Noehring was certainly not a one man-show in the Cougars' 20-13 victory over Burnsville, but his stats say he was pretty close. He accounted for all 20 points by catching a touchdown pass, returning a punt and an interception for TDs and catching a two-point conversion.

JIM PAULSEN

To nominate an athlete, please go to GameFaceMN.com and follow the nomination instructions. Or send an e-mail to preps@startribune.com with brief highlights of the athlete's performance from the previous week. Nominations are taken each Sunday until 5 p.m.