Tribune Notebook: Willmar Cardinals trio earn conference honors
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 16—WILLMAR — Three Willmar athletes were tabbed as Central Lakes Conference Performers of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
They are volleyball player Nora Mitteness, girls' cross-country runner Sophia Negen and football player Hudson Sjoberg.
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Mitteness, a senior, put up 25 kills and 10 ace blocks in Willmar's five matches at the St. Michael-Albertville Fall Classic tournament. The Cardinals finished 11th out of 31 teams with a 3-2 record in the two-day tournament.
Negen, a junior, placed 52nd at the Lions Meet of Champions on Oct. 10 with a time of 21 minutes, 42.4 seconds. The Willmar girls finished in 13th place.
Sjoberg secured performer of the week honors after scoring four total touchdowns in Willmar's 62-14 Week 6 win over St. Cloud Tech. The senior running back/linebacker finished with 55 rushing yards on six carries. He also had three tackles and a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown. Sjoberg's touchdown runs came from seven, five and 13 yards.
Other CLC Performers of the Week include:
* From Alexandria: football player Connor Anderson;
* From Bemidji, girls swimmer Kinsley Olson and boys' cross-country runner Blake DeWitt;
* From Detroit Lakes, boys soccer player Owen Lipton; girls soccer player Lydia Schlauderaff;
* From Rocori, girls tennis player Hailey Holthaus and volleyball player Madison Niemi;
* From Sartell, boys soccer player Alex Pooler, girls soccer player Rosie Castillo and boys' cross-country runner Chase Woods;
* From Sauk Rapids, girls diver Esme Grabinski and girls' cross-country runner Hailey Manea;
* and from the St. Cloud Crush, girls doubles tennis players Karley Backes and Bella Newbauer.
Here is how some of the area's top football players rank in the state according to stats compiled by Strib Varsity:
* Completions: Aiden Mueller, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (T-15th, 92) and Alex Hoppe, Willmar (17th, 91);
* Passing touchdowns: Hoppe (T-12th, 16);
* Rushing yards: Anthony Taylor, Litchfield (ninth, 1,070), Miles Wildman, Minnewaska (16th, 916) and Grant Meyer, MACCRAY (18th, 892);
* Rushing touchdowns: Taylor (T-fourth, 18);
* Receptions: Brayden Meagher, Paynesville (T-eighth, 43);
* Receiving touchdowns: Weston Steele, New London-Spicer (T-11th, eight)
Tegan Sherk's college wrestling journey has gone in several directions.
The 2024 St. Francis High School grad started off at Ridgewater College in Willmar. He transferred to Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Now, Sherk is headed to Minneapolis to join the University of Minnesota wrestling team. Now a junior, Sherk is projected to wrestle at 133 pounds for the Golden Gophers.
Competing for Ridgewater in the 2024-25 season, Sherk went 15-4 and became a NJCAA All-American with a third-place finish at 133. He helped the Warriors to a fifth-place finish at nationals.
At Iowa Central, Sherk went 10-2 and qualified for nationals for the second straight season at 133.
In high school, Sherk won a state title in Class AAA at 127 and had a career record of 143-17.