The Northfield girls' hockey team concluded its regular season with eight consecutive victories en route to claiming the Big Nine Conference title, its first league championship. The program was founded in 1996.

"I'm really proud how the girls rose to the occasion when the opportunity to win conference was before them," said Northfield coach Brent Bielenberg, in his 17th season as head coach. "The season began with a lot of up and downs as far as play went, but we found our identity and had consistent play the past month."

Northfield finished with an overall record of 16-9 and went 12-2 in conference play. It only scored 3.2 goals per game, but only allowed 1.8.

Senior forward Anne Hargis (14) and junior defenseman Brynn Puppe (11) are the only two players to score at least 10 goals. The Raiders only have three seniors on their roster.

Sophomore Mallory Tidona played nearly every minute in goal. She had a 1.73 goals-against average with a .926 save percentage.

"Everything we do is as a team," Bielenberg said. "It has been fun to see our confidence grow this season in all facets of the game."

Top performances

• Farmington gymnast Amanda Davenport broke the school record in the all-around competition with a score of 37.4 in a dual meet with Eastview. The Tigers scored a team record 142.5 points in the win. Davenport, a junior, tied the all-around mark of 37.15 set by Lynn (Gramentz) Bauman in 1990 earlier this season at the Farmington Invitational.

• Apple Valley senior center Brock Bertram grabbed his 1,000th career rebound in a 74-52 victory over Rosemount in a South Suburban Conference boys' basketball matchup. He eclipsed 1,000 career points last season.

Ron Haggstrom