(03/30/2021) With the winter sports and activity season wrapping up, here’s a look at who went to state, and how they fared when they performed and/or played. This story was updated regularly throughout the postseason.

Alpine

Boys and girls state was held at Giant’s Ridge in Biwabik on March 10.

Andover High School

• Jack Reinardy placed 60th

Blaine High School

• Nate Killian placed 163rd
• Lukas VanWechel placed 171st

Nordic

Boys and girls state was held at Giant’s Ridge in Biwabik on March 12.

Blaine High School

• Ben Lewis placed 11th

Anoka High School

• Lucas Liabraaten placed 81st

Coon Rapids High School

• Aaron Casey placed 83rd
• Lilah Gilyard placed 75th

Andover High School

• Claire Beckman placed 83rd
• Olivia Krafty placed 115th

Boy’s swimming and diving

The state swimming and diving tournament was held March 18-21 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.

Andover High School - placed 21st as a team out of 39 teams

• Noah Rabb - 12th place (200-yard Individual Medley); 9th place (100-yard Backstroke)
• Ben Linde - 5th place (1-meter Diving)

Anoka High School - placed 25th as a team out of 39 teams

• Joseph Morphew, Mark Belknap, Noble Singer, Nate Anderson - 18th place (200-yard Medley Relay)
• Nate Anderson, Noble Singer, Jack Guy, Logan Day - 13th place (200-yard Freestyle Relay)
• Nate Anderson - 12th place (100-yard Freestyle); 10th place (50-yard Freestyle)
• Noble Singer - 14th place (100-yard Breaststroke)

Champlin Park High School

• Donovan Durand - 17th place (200-yard Freestyle)
• Alain Pham - 17th place (500-yard Freestyle)

Coon Rapids High School - placed 11th as a team out of 39 teams

• Will Melsha, Tyler Schutlze, Nick Melsha, Brian Tran - 6th place (200-yard Medley Relay)
• Matthew Strus, Will Melsha, Brian Tran, Tyler Schultze - 17th place (400-yard Freestyle Relay)
• Nick Melsha - 21st place (200-yard Freestyle)
• Will Melsha - 7th place (200-yard Individual Medley); 5th place (100-yard Backstroke)
• Jack Simmer - 14th place (1-meter Diving)
• Tyler Schultze - 10th place (100-yard Butterfly); 6th place (100-yard Breaststroke)
• Brian Tran - 11th place (100-yard Breaststroke)

Dance, Jazz

The state dance tournament was held at Edina High School March 12.

Blaine High School - 6th place

Anoka High School - 9th place

Dance, Kick

The state dance tournament was held at Edina High School March 12.

Anoka High School - 7th place

Debate

The state debate tournament was held virtually Jan. 15-16.

Anoka High School

• Joseph Morphew - 7th place (Congressional Debate Medalist)

Gymnastics
The MSHSL gymnastics state tournament will be held March 26-27 at Champlin Park High School.

Anoka High School Individual qualifiers:

• Andreanna Willodson, all-around - 11th place
• Lauren Provoncha, vault - 25th place
• Maren Merrick Melberg, balance beam - 36th place

Blaine High School Individual qualifiers:

• Jennifer Riley, vault - 40th place
• Grace Gerard, floor exercise - 18th place

Champlin Park High School Individual qualifiers:

• Katie Johnson (Section 5AA Champion), all-around, floor exercise, balance beam
• Emma Saksa (Section 5AA Champion), uneven parallel bars - 38th place
• Tashina Beyioku-Alase, floor exercise - 14th place

Girl’s Hockey
The girl’s hockey state tournament was held March 26-27, April 1 and April 3 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The Andover High School girl's hockey team appeared in the MSHSL Class AA State Championship game for the second straight season. The Huskies, who won the 2020 state title over Edina High School, matched up once again with the Hornets in the state final. This time, the Hornets walked away with the title defeating Andover 2-1 at the Xcel Energy Center April 3. Andover, ranked No. 1 in the state headed into the championship game, finished the year 22-1. 

Andover opened the state tournament with a 4-0 win over Farmington High School before defeating Eastview High School 7-0 in the semifinals to reach the state championship game for the second straight year.  

Quarterfinals

Andover raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before earning a 4-0 quarterfinal victory over Farmington High School March 27. The Huskies outscored their opponents 29-3 in three section tournament games.

Known for their staunch defense and a high-powered offense, the Huskies lived up to that billing in the shutout win while allowing just six shots in the contest. Sophomore Ella Boerger scored two first-period goals just three minutes apart to give her team a 2-0 lead.

Grace Berg lit the lamp just over two minutes into the second period to give Andover a 3-0 lead before Sara Kaiser tallied a goal to give the Huskies a four-goal cushion.

Andover out-shot Farmington 11-1 in the third period and cruised into the state semifinals for the third straight season.

Boy’s Hockey
The boy’s hockey state tournament was held March 30-31, April 2 and April 3 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Andover High School, the No. 2 seed in the Section 7AA tournament, defeated No. 1 seed Grand Rapids High School 3-2 on the road March 24 to earn its second straight (second overall) trip to the MSHSL state tournament.

Andover boy's hockey team saw its outstanding season come to an end in the MSHSL Class AA State hockey tournament. The Huskies matched up against a high-scoring Maple Grove High School team in the first round, with the Crimson coming out on top 5-2.

Maple Grove struck first just over 10 minutes into the first period but the Huskies fought back to tie the game when Gavyn Thoreson picked up a power-play goal nearly four minutes later. The Crimson went into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead getting a goal with just 13 seconds remaining in the period.

The Crimson scored two goals six minutes apart to start the second period before Garrett Schifsky found the back of the net for the Huskies to get his team back within two, at 4-2, near the end of the second period. Maple Grove tacked on a late goal in the third and went on to win the game 5-2 putting an end to Andover's impressive season. The Huskies finished the season 18-3-1, making their second straight (second overall) state tournament trip.  

Wrestling
The state high school wrestling tournament was held March 25-27 at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

Anoka High School
The Anoka High School wrestling team advanced to the state semifinals which will take place March 25. The Tornadoes raced through the super section tournament defeating Forest Lake and Willmar high schools to earn a spot in the Class AAA State Semifinals. In the semifinal match-up against top-seeded Shakopee, the Tornadoes came up just short of a trip to the title match falling 34-25.

Individual semifinal qualifiers:

• 126 pounds - Elijah Paulson - 3rd place
• 138 pounds - Brendan Howes - 2nd place
• 285 pounds - Tyler Nebelung - 2nd place

Blaine High School individual semifinal qualifiers:

• 132 pounds - Luke Studer - 4th place

Coon Rapids High School individual semifinal qualifiers:

• 145 pounds - Dalan Jones - 5th place
• 152 pounds - Demetrius Seals - did not place
• 160 pounds - Elijah Madimba - 5th place
• 170 pounds - Alex Kowalchyk - 5th place
• 285 pounds - Gavin Layton - State Champion

Girl’s Basketball
The girl’s basketball state tournament will be held March 30-31, April 6-8 and April 9-10 at the Target Center.

Three Anoka-Hennepin schools advanced to the section semifinals on March 23. Andover High School earned a 64-50 win over Anoka High School quarterfinals before falling 78-54 to top-seeded Forest Lake March 23. Coon Rapids High School defeated Blaine High School 67-59 in the first round of the section tournament and saw its season come to an end after a 70-43 loss to second-ranked Cambridge-Isanti High School March 23.

The Champlin Park High School girl’s basketball team opened the Section 5AAAA Tournament with a 72-61 win over Park Center. The Rebels' season came to an end with a 58-40 loss to top-ranked Centennial High School in the section semifinals March 23.

Boy’s Basketball
The boy’s state basketball tournament will be held March 30-31, April 6-8 and April 9-10 at the Target Center.

The Champlin Park High School boy's basketball team carried a 21-0 record and No. 1 ranking into the Class AAAA State Boy's Basketball Tournament. The Rebels was matched up with conference rival Maple Grove High School, a team they had defeated twice during the regular season.

After a back-and-forth affair, the game ended up going to overtime thanks to a contested 3-point basket by the Rebels' Francis Nwaokorie with 1.1 seconds left that tied the game and sent it to overtime. The Crimson outscored the Rebels 14-5 in the overtime session to earn a 70-61 win, ending Champlin Park's run at an undefeated season and a shot at a state title.

The Rebels defeated Park Center High School 69-63 in the Section 5AAAA championship game March 25 to earn a trip to the state tournament. CPHS defeated Irondale High School 73-39 in the first round of the section playoffs before defeating Osseo High School 54-42 in the semifinals. 

In the Section 7AAAA Boy’s Basketball tournament, Coon Rapids High School advanced to the championship game with a 54-50 win over Andover High School on March 23. The Cardinals saw their season come to an end after a 74-60 loss to Duluth East March 25. Andover earned a first-round bye while Coon Rapids defeated Blaine High School 80-67 in the quarterfinals March 20. Anoka High School lost 78-59 to Duluth East in the first round of the section playoffs.

Last updated: April 9, 10:44 a.m.