Prep Athletes of the Week: Forest Lake's Sami Ernst, a gymnast now, a softball player soon, a competitor always

Ernst excels in two sports that aren't commonly combined, gymnastics and softball.

She's a senior captain in gymnastics, trying to leave her mark in her final season. She will play softball in college at St. Scholastica.

"She is a solid all-around competitor," Rangers gymnastics coach Lindsey Pierron said. "She is constantly pushing herself to see what she can do, and looking for ways to improve."

Ernst opened the season with an all-around score of 37.3 as the medalist in a Suburban East Conference dual meet victory over East Ridge in which the Rangers accumulated a team score of 144.25.

"It was a good start to the season," Ernst said. "It's a good baseline, but there is always something you can work on to get better."

That would be the floor exercise for Ernst. "Dancing is not my strong suit," she said.

The vault suits her better. "I am able to use my speed and leg power to my advantage," she said.

"The ultimate goal is to make it to the state meet," Ernst said. "I would like to do just as well or better than last year."

A 6-3 junior guard, Armstrong turned in back-to-back games of 50 points or more (50 in a 100-92 victory over Two Rivers and 52 in an 83-66 triumph over St. Cloud Tech). "CJ is a dynamic player and incredible scorer," Spartans coach Omar McMillan said. "He has grown to be a fantastic leader in the program and throughout the community."

Stob has her eyes on becoming the program's first state meet entrant since 1991. A sophomore, she broke or tied three team records — all-around (34.75), balance beam (9.0) and floor exercise (9.0) — in the season opener. "After working out a few nerves early in the meet, she found her groove in a calm and confident manner," Millers coach Alissa Daire Nelson said.

Kaiser is one of the reasons the Raiders are off to a 5-1 start and have climbed to No. 7 in the Class 1A rankings by Let's Play Hockey. The senior forward scored seven goals, giving him 11 this season, and had three assists in victories over Austin and Albert Lea. "Kam is a lead-by-example player, one of the hardest-working and most dedicated players I've ever coached," Northfield coach Mike Luckraft said.

The state's No. 1-ranked girls basketball recruit in the Class of 2026 is off to a phenomenal start this season. Greenway, a 5-8 sophomore guard, had three consecutive games of 40 points or more in helping the Class 2A, No. 1 Lions get off to a 6-0 start. She had a triple-double (43 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists) in a 95-86 victory over Hortonville (Wis.).

Schlagel has become more of a scorer for the Class 4A, No. 6 Eagles (5-0). A 5-9 junior guard committed to South Dakota for college, she scored a career-high 36 points in a 76-70 victory over Class 3A, No. 1 Benilde-St. Margaret's. She is averaging 27.7 points in her past three games and is shooting 46% this season.

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