Prep athletes of the week: Relaxed Thomas is on a roll

With a golf scholarship to DePaul awaiting him and his twin brother Bobby, Thomas is taking a more- relaxed approach to the high school season, and it's paying dividends.

Two weeks after winning the prestigious Tri-State Invitational at Edinburgh USA, Thomas produced another impressive outing in winning the Nelson Invitational at the Ridges at Sand Creek, shooting a 1-under-par 71.

"Now that I'm a senior, I feel like I can play pressure-free," said Thomas, the No. 2-ranked golfer in Minnesota.

"I'm just trying to get wins for [Lakeville] North and build up to the state tournament. I feel like I'm a much better golfer than I was last year."

Like most local golfers, Thomas admits to being frustrated with the difficult spring weather, but instead of using it as an excuse, he has used it to improve his game.

"You have to take advantage of the bad weather," he said.

"When the wind is blowing 30 miles an hour, I work on hitting lower shots and controlling the ball. It helps me stay mentally tough."

With six victories last week, the Rockets ran their winning streak to 10 games. The sophomore pitched 22 innings, posting a 4-0 record with two shutouts, two-one hitters and 46 strikeouts. She also bumped her batting average to .267 and hit her first career home run.

Neisen shot a meet-winning 1-under 70 at Mississippi National, helping the Trojans to a team record score of 311 in a Missota Conference victory. Thursday, the Oklahoma State recruit won the rain-shortened Bunker Hills Invite, shooting 2 under for seven holes.

The senior shortstop and fifth-year starter had nine hits in 19 at-bats, including two doubles and two home runs, eight RBI and a slugging percentage of .895. For the season, Salentine is hitting .500 (23-for-46) with five homers and 23 RBI.

Swanson, a senior, won three meets in three days. He shot a 74 to win the Dellwood Hills Invitational on Monday and was a combined 5 under in back-to-back Mississippi 8 victories, including a school record-tying 68 at Purple Hawk G.C. on Wednesday.

The Rangers won four of six Suburban East Conference games behind the senior pitcher/infielder. He went 12-for-20 (.600) with eight runs scored and five RBI. He also pitched a complete-game, one-hitter in a 7-0 victory over White Bear Lake.