Prep athletes of the week: Star has South on way up

Longtime Minneapolis South boys' basketball coach Joe Hyser is effusive when talking about his 6-1 junior forward, calling him "one of those kids that is the reason why you get into coaching."

Bowdry posted three double-doubles last week: 13 points and 17 rebounds in a 75-63 victory over St. Louis Park, 26 points and 13 rebounds in a 95-78 rout of Southwest and 18 points and 16 rebounds as the Tigers beat St. Paul Como Park 72-60.

For Bowdry, the stats are simply a by-product of his desire to put South on the basketball map.

"It means we're playing well as a team and building team chemistry," he said. "We want to change the culture around here."

South has won four games in a row to improve to 6-3 overall. Bowdry hopes that improvement will continue as part of his legacy at the school.

"I want to have an influence on people," he said. "Not just for being an athlete, but for my personality. I want to be the person who was always smiling, always had a positive attitude."

The play of its goaltender is always a key indicator of a team's success. So far, Campbell has been vital to the Titans' 10-3 start. Last week, she stopped 59 of 62 shots as Tartan beat North St. Paul, Mahtomedi and St. Croix Valley. On the season, Campbell has a 1.21 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage.

The University of North Dakota recruit paced the Hornets to a pair of close victories, beating Chaska 48-44 and Wayzata 43-34, to improve to 6-1 on the season. Morton scored 33 points in the two games, topping 1,000 career points in the process.

The senior forward had 14 points — five goals and nine assists — as the Hornets won all three games at the Edina Invitational, beating Grand Rapids 8-3, Elk River 6-3 and Eden Prairie 4-3. The Notre Dame recruit has at least one point in all 10 of Edina's games this season.

The senior earned the Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet award at the prestigious Minnesota Christmas Tournament when he defeated Apple Valley's Bobby Steveson 3-2 in the 195-pound final. Benick, who signed with Arizona State, is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A; Steveson is No. 1 in Class 3A.

LUCIA RENIKOFF

With the graduation of 2014 Metro Player of the Year Chase Coley, Renikoff, a senior guard, has picked up much of the Millers' scoring slack. She had 27 points in a 68-59 victory over North, 13 in a 55-44 victory over Henry and a career-high 31 in a 68-54 victory over Bloomington Kennedy.