Wayzata's Urke leads Athletes of the week

Urke was the standout individual at the Synchronized Swimming state meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center on Thursday and Friday.

The freshman had four first-place finishes in the Extended category in which the most polished swimmers perform.

Urke, who swims year-round with the Minnesota Synchronettes club team, won the Extended Figures and Solo events and paired with Haley Ruegemer to win the Extended Duet. She also led Wayzata to first place in the eight-person Extended Team event, a victory that Urke said was her favorite.

"The most pride you get is from the team swim," she said. "You're not the only one in the pool. You've got seven other swimmers there with you. The feeling of working together and getting everybody in sync is great."

Her performance helped Wayzata win its sixth consecutive team championship. That, said Urke, was the ultimate goal.

"Even though in club we compete nationally, winning the state high school meet is huge," she said. "Representing Wayzata and being a contributing part of the great athletic success at this school is a really big deal. And our celebration afterwards was so much fun. It's all about the friendships and the bonding. That's why they call this the ultimate team sport."

After losing to three-time defending state champion Dusty Boyer in his first match of the season, Anderson, a junior, has won 22 consecutive matches. Friday, he beat Zach Adkins of Maple Grove 6-4, 6-4 to win the Section 5, 2A singles championship.

The senior captain sparked the defending Class 3A champion Raiders to two victories in the Section 1, 3A playoffs. She went 5-for-8 with a double, a triple, a home run and seven RBI as Hastings beat Northfield and Rochester John Marshall.

The senior catcher has developed a knack for hitting clutch homers. Her two-run, go-ahead homer in the fifth inning lifted the Jaguars to a 3-1 victory over Burnsville. It was the fourth time in the past three weeks that she has homered to give Jefferson a lead.

After scoring 28 goals during 13 regular-season games, the junior attackman became practically unstoppable in two Section 5 playoff victories. He scored eight goals in a 17-4 victory over Bloomington Kennedy and added seven in a 14-8 victory over Hopkins.

The senior attacker's all-around play led the Jaguars into the Section 3 semifinals. In victories over Eagan and Farmington, Wittenborg scored 12 goals, had seven assists and picked up 12 ground balls.