Prep athletes of the week: Speedy Carrington paces Spring Lake Park

Early in the second half of the Panthers' game with Cooper on Friday, Spring Lake Park held a 28-14 lead and was seeking to run some time off the clock. "We were hoping to milk some clock," Carrington said.

The 5-9, 165-pound senior halfback with 4.4-second 40-yard dash speed got the ball and looked upfield. "I didn't know the hole would be that wide open," he said. "I ran and kept looking back to see if I would get caught."

He wasn't, finishing 77 yards later for his third touchdown of the game. He finished with a career-high 266 yards rushing on 24 carries, pacing the Panthers to a 49-28 victory that clinched an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 seed in Section 5 of Class 5A.

"It was a big game for us. It was our homecoming and we knew if we lost, we'd have to share the [subdistrict] championship with Cooper," he said.

Despite his speed — he has been timed as low at 4.38 in the 40 — Carrington said colleges are just now taking note of his skills.

"I guess it's because I'm a little bit smaller of a running back. But I'm hearing from more after the last couple of games."

The sophomore forward became the state's leading goal-scorer this season when he tallied five times in three games last week. He scored twice in victories over Tartan (4-0) and St. Thomas Academy (3-0) and added a goal in a 2-0 victory over Minneapolis Southwest. He has 30 goals this season.

The senior linebacker is the leading tackler for the SMB Wolfpack and a big reason his co-op team is undefeated. He had eight tackles in a 38-20 victory over Providence Academy. A week earlier he made seven tackles, intercepted a pass, blocked a kick and returned a fumble for a TD in a victory over Breck.

Litchfield ended a three-game losing streak with a 7-6 upset victory over Class 3A, No. 3 Glencoe-Silver Lake on the strength of a stout defense led by the senior linebacker. He made 20 tackles, giving him 128 (second-most in the state), and made a game-saving interception with 30 seconds left.

The senior outside hitter led the Trojans to a pair of five-set victories and a third-place finish in the Cannon Falls Invitational. On the week, she had 80 kills and 54 digs, including 30 kills in a victory over Holy Family, the second-most in team history.

ERIN SLINDE

The senior setter and West Virginia University recruit led the No. 5 Irish to a perfect 6-0 week, capped by the championship of the St. Michael-Albertville Classic. She had 59 set assists, 36 kills and 35 digs in the tournament, including 10 digs and eight kills in a 2-0 victory over Wayzata in the final.

Trinity of River Ridge, the defending Class 1A girls' cross-country team champion, won the Trinity Invitational. Wilkin, a senior, won the 5K race in a time of 18 minutes, 59.7 seconds. She is the No. 7-ranked individual in the Class 1A. Trinity is No. 3 in the team rankings.

JIM PAULSEN

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