Prep athletes of the week: Mahtomedi star scores big in girls' soccer state final, avenging earlier loss

AUDREY BARRY

Mahtomedi • soccer

The senior captain was determined to show how much progress the Zephyrs had made over the past two months. No. 1-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret's would serve as the perfect measuring tool.

The Zephyrs beat Benilde-St. Margaret's 3-1 — behind Barry's hat trick — for the Class 2A championship at U.S. Bank Stadium.

"It felt so cool during the awards ceremony afterwards," the outgoing and social Barry said. "That moment was totally different. It was unreal."

The victory avenged a 7-0 crushing by the Red Knights in the middle of September.

"People had thought we were done, had lost hope," Barry said. "We wanted to prove everybody wrong."

"They showed us we had a lot of things to work on," said Barry, who scored twice in the first half. "All of our hard work paid off. We had nothing to lose."

NICK GILLES

Minnetonka • cross-country

Gilles completed an outstanding season with a title-winning run. The Skippers junior won the Class 3A meet with a time of 15 minutes, 22.81 seconds over the 5-kilometer course at St. Olaf College in Northfield. The Section 2 medalist entered the event ranked No. 2 in the final coaches association poll.

HADLEY BURGER

"At times, Hadley was a third, fourth or fifth option for us, but not against Eagan," Raptors coach Steve Anderson said. The sophomore turned in her best performance of the season, registering 23 kills as East Ridge outlasted Class 4A, No. 2 Eagan, 26-24, 12-25, 25-15, 26-28, 15-9.

JAYLON WASHINGTON

Minneapolis North • football

The senior running back produced his fifth 200-yard game on the ground, rushing for a season-best 244 yards on 24 carries and three second-quarter touchdowns, leading the Polars to a 42-6 victory over St. Agnes in the Class 2A, Section 4 finals.

BERIT PARTEN

"Berit single-handedly takes over games," Minnehaha Academy coach Bryan Hollaway said. The sophomore forward had nine goals and four assists in three state tournament games, leading Minnehaha Academy to the Class 1A championship. She wound up with 47 goals this season.

ALDEN KELLER

Breck • cross-country

Keller was among the favorites to win the Class 2A state meet all season. The junior even had another gear in living up to his No. 1 rating. He was the medalist with a time of 15:53.27, winning by more than six seconds.

KIYOMI CALLAHAN

Scots coach Sonje Odegard says Callahan "can do it all — dig, pass, hit, block." The six-rotation player had 14 kills as the Scots beat DeLaSalle 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 28-26 for the Class 3A, Section 3 title and earn their first state tournament berth since 1977, the last of three consecutive trips.

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