Athletes of the week: Elk River ace Anna Pipenhagen tinkers her way to more wins

The 2012 season was a good one for Anna Pipenhagen, who finished with 12 victories. But the Elk River junior pitcher knew she had much more to give. She spent the offseason tinkering, developing pitches and getting stronger. The result: 16 victories, a school-record seven shutouts and a berth in this week's Class 3A state tournament.

Pipenhagen pitched a pair of shutouts in her final two Section 8 games, defeating Brainerd 7-0 Wednesday and shutting down top-seeded Bemidji 5-0 with 12 strikeouts in the final.

"I knew she'd be strong, but this is better than I could have hoped for," coach Stacey Sheetz said.

Pipenhagen credited her teammates for "a really good vibe on this team," she said. "Having a good defense behind me helps. It gives me confidence."

She also has developed an "out'' pitch that has helped her wriggle out of jams on more than a few occasions.

"I came up with a screwball," she said. "It looks like it's going straight, and then it dives into their hands. If I need an out, I'm using the screwball."

Saturday's blustery conditions did not faze Larson. The junior won four championships at the Section 7, Class 2A meet, winning the 200 meters (22.92 seconds), the long jump (20 feet, 5 ½ inches) and running on the victorious 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams.

Colvin, a senior and Gophers recruit, set a school record en route to winning the 3,200-meter run at the Class 2A, Section 4 meet, finishing in a time of 9:03.86. The next day, Colvin won the 1,600-meter run in a time of 4:15.69.

Still only a junior, Kuenster, the defending Class 3A state champion, solidified her claim to the No. 1 ranking in the state when she shot a course-record 68 to win the Section 4 meet at Tanner's Brook. Her score was 13 strokes better than the second-place finisher.

The junior shortstop, who attends Lakeville South, led the Blazing Cats to their first CI Division state championship. In three games, he went 8-for-11 and played nearly flawless defense, turning two unassisted double plays in the championship game.

The sophomore attackman had three goals and three assists in an 11-7 victory over Cretin-Derham Hall. He also had a season-high seven goals along with two assists in a 15-14 victory over St. Thomas Academy.