Doing it all on the court comes naturally for Maranatha's Jarnot

Opposing coaches never know what position Maranatha Christian Academy girls' basketball star Jaclyn Jarnot will play.

Jarnot simply switches positions, adapting to opponents. The Mustangs senior and Miss Basketball candidate has been a versatile, five-position force for six years while setting school records.

"She could be an all-conference and all-state player at any one of those individual player positions," Mustangs coach Chris Buerman said. "Every single game we've had, she played every one of the positions."

The 6-1 senior ended her high school career as the Brooklyn Park school's leading scorer and rebounder. Normally listed at forward, she also finished high on the Mustangs' career list for steals and assists — statistics traditionally piled up by guards instead of post players.

"With the combination of her height, court vision and ability to handle the ball, little guards struggle against her because she can see over the top so easy," Buerman said. "She might have the best court vision of any of the players I've had."

Jarnot passed former Mustangs standout Alexis Long's 2,129 career points in a March 6 game against Watertown-Mayer in the Class 2A, Section 5 tournament. Jarnot needed eight points to tie the record going into the game and broke it with a 26-point performance that put her at 2,147 points.

"Both of them were definitely a surprise," Jarnot said about her school records. "I was really grateful and blessed to be able to get that."

"I love playing with my sister, so I think it's going to be really fun getting to play with her in college because we just play so well together and see each other [on the court] so well," Jaclyn said.

Jarnot leaves a legacy at Maranatha Christian Academy that rivals that of her older sister. The younger Jarnot also became the Mustangs' career leading rebounder Feb. 22 in a 93-78 victory over Mayer Lutheran with a total of 1,489. She had 14 rebounds in that game to pass Onye Osemenam's 1,483 career rebounds.

Buerman said those records demonstrate Jarnot's well-rounded game. That trait started in youth basketball, where she played every position. She started as a guard but developed post moves along the way. She used her post game early on as a freshman and sophomore with the Mustangs.

"I'm not in the post much [now], but when I do get in there, I like getting mismatches and doing a drop step or just any type of move," Jarnot said.

She has led the team to success along the way, playing varsity since the seventh grade. Every Mustangs team she played for made the Class 1A tournament before this year.