Jackson County Central graduate Travis Ahrens has been named head football coach at Flandreau High School. The previous head coach, Chad Stadem, left to become head coach at Sioux Falls Washington.

He's been an assistant coach for the Flandreau football team for several years, including 2010 when they made an unexpected run to the state Class 11B title, winning the championship game on a touchdown on a tipped pass with 13 seconds to play. You can see the winning play by clicking here. Travis is also the head wrestling coach for the Fliers. He was named the South Dakota Region 2B Coach of the Year in 2011 when nine Flandreau wrestlers qualified for the state tournament in Aberdeen, breaking the mark of eight set in 1971.

Travis Ahrens

Jackson County Central graduate Kate Rentschler, a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College, has been named as an honorable mention selection on the all-MIAC softball team. She’s a two-time all-conference performer.

In league play, Rentschler hit .359 (14-for-39) and finished with an earned-run average of 3.36 after pitching a team-high 50 innings.

She also was named to the MIAC all-tournament team. She went 9-16 in the conference tournament with three walks, two doubles, four RBI and three runs.

Gustavus softball team finished the season 15-19 overall and 9-9 in the MIAC.

Iowa Lakes Community College sophomore Sam Mueller will open play in the NJCAA Women's Golf Championship this afternoon. The 72-hole tournament runs Monday-Thursday at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. Mueller tees off at 12:30 Mesa time on the 10th hole. The Lakefield native and Southwest Star Concept graduate will play in a threesome with two other golfers from the upper midwest in the first round, Emily Storey of Iowa Central and Melissa Hill of Mesabi Range.

Sam Mueller

Some other notes on local grads:

• JCC grad Bryce Christopher pitched a complete-game shutout for Rochester CTC as the Yellowjackets beat Ridgewater 2-0 Saturday. He allowed five hits, walked three and struck out six. Rochester swept the doubleheader. The Yellowjackets tie for the MCAC Southern Division title with a 9-3 record and is 24-7 overall. The state tourney is next weekend in St. Cloud.
• JCC grad Justin Cook, a sophomore at Augustana, placed 10th in the 800 meters at the NSIC track and field meet with a time of 1:56.75.
• Sam Fransen was on the Gustavus 4x800-meter relay team that placed eighth at the MIAC meet with a time of 8:12.16.
• Matt Kocak ran a leg on Wisconsin-Platteville's 4x800 team that was second at the recent WIAC meet in LaCrosse with a time of 7:45.18.

Gustavus senior Kate Rentschler was named first team all-tournament team at the recent Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Playoffs at Caswell Park in North Mankato.

The Jackson County Central graduate had three multiple-hit games in the four games the Gusties played in the tourney.

In pool play Rentschler went 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles and two runs against Carleton in a one-run victory. She then went 3-4 with an RBI in a win over Saint Mary’s.

In bracket play, Rentschler was 2-3 with a walk, three RBI and a run scored vs. Saint Olaf.

She finished the weekend 9-16 with three walks, two doubles, four RBI and three runs.

Her former high school team has yet to play a match this season, but Kaylee Benson's freshman season with the Northern Iowa women's golf team is over.

Kaylee, a 2012 Jackson County Central graduate, and the Panthers played in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament earlier this week at The Club at Porto Cima at Sunrise Beach, Mo.

Things didn't go exactly the way she would have liked in her final event.

Benson had rounds of 86, 91 and 92 for a 54-hole total of 269, placing her 40th out of 50 golfers.

UNI tied for seventh as a team in the 10-team event.

The Okoboji girls 4x100 relay team of Jordan Duncan, Darby Jones, Hannah Grosvenor and Kim Naatjes run in the prelims at 5:15 p.m. Friday. If they make the finals, that would be at 3:10 p.m. Saturday.

Also, Dalton Syverson of Okoboji competes in the boys high jump at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Jackson is a stop on the inaugural Gopher Road Trip: Chalk Talk next month.

University of Minnesota Director of Athletics Norwood Teague is leading a group of Gopher coaches around the state to talk U of M athletics.

"This is an unbelievable opportunity for our staff here at the University of Minnesota to connect with our passionate fans across this great state," said Teague. "Many of our fans are not able to make it to campus as often to cheer on the Gophers, so this is a way for us to bring Minnesota athletics to them. I am looking forward to getting out into greater Minnesota, meeting and listening to Gopher fans."

Jackson is one of 16 stops.

The Gopher entourage will be Minnesota West Community & Technical College at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 16.

Coaches scheduled to be in Jackson with Teague are Mike Burns (men's gymnastics), Stefanie Golan (soccer), Chuck Merzbacher (women's tennis), Geoff Young (men's tennis), Pam Borton (women's basketball), Richard Pitino (men's basketball) and J Robinson (wrestling).

A complimentary dinner buffet that includes pork chops, potato salad, baked beans, fruit salad, ice cream and beverages will be served.

There will prizes and giveaways, as well as photo opportunities with the coaches and Goldy.

A program featuring emcee Mike Grimm, Teague and brief remarks from the coaches will be held.

Registration is free and open to the general public. More information is available by email or you can call 1-800-846-7437.

Sponsors of the Jackson stop are Brad Baumgard, Extended Ag Services, Nesseth Seeds, New Fashion Pork and Winfield.

Members of the local committee are Brad Baumgard, Luke Daninger, Tam Erickson, Jim Nesseth, Jim Resch and Brenda Resch.

Postseason competition starts five weeks from today with section softball and as outlined in yesterday's posting, many teams have yet to compete. Imagine if it was the middle of January and winter teams had yet to compete.

Keeping track of conference standings in spring sports is a challenge under the best of circumstances and this year obviously has been far from the best.

Many games are rescheduled and the scores are much harder to come by in the spring in the fall or winter.

As far as we can tell, Windom's baseball victory over Jackson County Central last week is the only conference game has been played yet in the Southwest or Valley conferences in baseball or softball.

The Huskies (1-2) and Eagles (3-0) have each played three games.

Luverne and Worthington are both 1-0. Pipestone and Redwood Valley are both 0-1. Marshall has yet to play.

Among Southwest Conference softball teams, Luverne is 1-0, Worthington 1-1 and Redwood Valley 0-1. JCC, Marshall, Pipestone and Windom haven't played yet.

As far as Valley Conference baseball teams, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial is 2-1, Maple River 1-1, Cleveland 1-0 and Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain 0-1. Martin County West is one of five teams to not play yet.

The MCW softball team hasn't played a game yet either, one of seven conference teams that hasn't seen the field in competition. Nicollet is 1-0, Madelia/Truman 1-1 and Saint Clair 0-1.

Monday was yet another day where the entire local sports schedule was wiped out by the weather.

A number of Jackson County Central and Martin County West teams have yet to compete this spring.

The baseball Huskies have played three games, which might tie them for the most in the state. Windom, Adrian and Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial have also played three. It's been postponed twice, but Worthington is the only game JCC has had postponed. The Huskies and Trojans are now scheduled to play Thursday at Wacker Field.

JCC's track and field teams have each compete once and had three meets cancelled.

The softball Huskies have yet to play. They've had three dates and four games postponed.

JCC's golf teams have one competition cancelled and as now each have two dates listed as postponed.

The softball team is the only team scheduled to play Tuesday. They're scheduled to play at Fairmont. A golf dual at Marshall has been postponed.

At Martin County West, the baseball, softball and golf teams have yet to compete.

The baseball Mavericks have been postponed five times and the softball squad four times.

MCW's golfers have had two events cancelled and have one listed at postponed.

The MCW track and field squads have had two meets (one indoor and one outdoor) and have had two meets cancelled.

All of the Martin County West teams are scheduled to be in action Tuesday.

Two are scheduled on the road as the Maverick baseball team is scheduled to be at Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, while the track and field squads are slated to be at a meet in Wells.

MCW's golfers are scheduled to host Blue Earth Area and the softball team is slated to entertain Maple River.

Gustavus opened its MIAC softball schedule Thursday with a sweep of Saint Olaf at Hollingsworth Field, winning 4-3 and 7-0.

In the opener, Martin County West graduate Sam Breneman's single in the bottom of the seventh scored two runs to give the Gusties the win, with JCC grad Breane Rentschler scoring the first of those two runs.

Kate Rentschler was the DH in that game for the Gusties, collecting two hits (both doubles) and an RBI.

In the second game, Kate pitched a complete-game three-hit shutout, walking one and striking out two. She also had a two-run single at the plate.

Sam Breneman had two more hits in that game, including a two-run single.

Gustavus hosts Hamline in another doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday on the field turf at Hollingsworth Field, which is usually the Gusties' home football field.

Sources tell KKOJ-KRAQ that Jackson County Central football coach Tom Schuller will be an assistant for the South team for the Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game this summer.

The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, June 29 at Husky Stadium at St. Cloud State University.

VonOhlen is top seed at West Regional

Thursday, March 7

Air Force Academy senior Cole VonOhlen is first at 149 pounds in the pre-seed rankings for Saturday's NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championship in Laramie, Wyo. Final seeds for bracketing will be determined Friday night at the coaches’ seeding meeting.

VonOhlen, who has missed a portion of the season with a shoulder injury, has a 24-2 record with 13 pins. He's the all-time pin leader for the Falcons. He's won two tournament titles this season, the Hokie Open and UNK Holiday Inn Open and placed second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Southern Scuffle and All-Academy Championships. For the 149-pound weight class at the West Regional, the top three place winners will qualify for the NCAA Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in

Cole VonOhlen

Des Moines March 21-23.

VonOhlen is ranked third in the country at 149 by Intermat, Amateur Wrestling News, WrestlingReport.com and DI College Wrestling, and fourth by W.I.N. Magazine.

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Former Cobra wrestler Spencer Johnson, a redshirt sophomore at the University of Nebraska, has moved up to the heavyweight division with the Cornhuskers after returning to the lineup after knee surgery.

Johnson, who got into the lineup in mid-January, is the No. 9 seed for this weekend's Big Ten Tournament at Champaign, Ill. with a 6-5 record, including 4-4 record in duals. He has one pin.

Spencer Johnson

Johnson had a 23-6 record at 197 pounds last season, winning seven matches by fall and seven by major decision. He won three of the six tournaments he entered and was in the top five in the other three. At one point, he had a 16-match winning streak. As a redshirt in 2010-11, he won 31 matches and won three tournaments, was second in one and third in another. With the Cobras, Johnson was the Class 2A 189-pound champion in 2010 when he compiled a 42-3 record. The previous year he was 42-6 and was the runnerup at Class 2A 171

Top-seeded Gophers are Logan Storley (174) and Tony Nelson (285). Hawkeyes with number one seeds are Matt McDonough (125 pounds) and Derek St. John (157).

A Jackson County Central graduate was in the inaugural class for the Laker Athletics Hall of Fame created by the Iowa Lakes Alumni & Friends Association.

Nichole Hendricksen, who played volleyball for the Lakers from 2004-2006, was in the first group of inductees that was honored last weekend in Estherville.

Nichole went on to also play at the University of South Dakota.

Nichole Hendricksen and ILCC volleyball coach Scott Tschetter.

Also honored were two men's basketball standouts (Bob Grems and Von McDade), two football players (Jeff Kelly and Brent Shatto), two golfers (Kent Schroeder and Char Cruchelow) and baseball player (Nick Bruning).

Kruse named to all-American team

Wednesday, Feb. 27

Iowa Wesleyan College senior Ashley Kruse has been named as a second-team selection on the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I all-American team.

She's a 2009 Jackson County Central graduate. Kruse led the Tigers in scoring with an average of 15.2 points per game and in rebounds with 7.5 rebounds per contest. She pulled down 74 offensive rebounds on the season. Kruse shot 45 percent from the field for the season. The Tigers finished the season with a 9-17 record.

Ashley Kruse

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Ahrens, Fliers place eighth at state tourney

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Wednesday, Feb. 6

Thursday, Jan. 24

About eight weeks after her final college match, another honor has come in for Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball player Brooke Burmeister.

Burmeister has been named a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award winner.

The announcement was made Wednesday by NSIC Commissioner Butch Raymond.

The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate. Each of the 80 student-athletes honored by the NSIC will be recognized with a certificate of achievement and a wristwatch.

“The NSIC is excited to have this opportunity to honor an elite group of our student-athletes for their accomplishments,” Raymond said. “We feel very privileged to name the award after Dr. Brand in recognition of his strong support and the continued emphasis he placed on academics in the ‘Life in Balance’ theme of Division II.”

Burmeister was a four-year letter winner for the Mustangs and was a 2012 CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American. A three-time Academic All-NSIC honoree, Burmeister has carried a 3.79 GPA in environmental science.

On the court, she was a three-time all-NSIC and three-time all-American honoree, while concluding her career ranking third in SMSU history in attack attempts (4,096), fifth in kills (1,550), sixth in points (1,756.5) and seventh in kills per set (3.44).

Dr. Myles N. Brand, visionary leader, educator and reformer, served as the President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2003-2009. He passed away in September 2009 at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His impact on Division II ran deep by implementing an identity campaign and a strategic-positioning platform tied to specific divisional attributes. He challenged Division II to continue its game-environment and community-engagement focus, and improve academic success rates.

Wednesday, Jan. 23

Ashley Kruse, a 2009 Jackson County Central graduate, is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Iowa Wesleyan College women's basketball team.

Kruse, a 5-foot-10 senior forward, is averaging 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game for the Tigers heading into a Wednesday evening game vs. Clarke University in Dubuque. In IWC's most recent game Saturday, Kruse scored 10 points, was 2-for-3 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed eight rebounds in the 52-33 win over MacMurray College. The win improves the Tigers to 6-13 on the season, 2-3 in January.

Ashley Kruse

Friday, Jan. 18

Today starts a busy and exciting nine-day stretch for the Jackson County Central gymnastics program.

Meets will be held at the JCC High School gym for four consecutive days Friday-Monday. Then, after four days in the practice room, the Huskies will host another big meet when the state Class A true team meet comes to town.

Starting the stretch is a Southwest Conference dual meet with Luverne Friday. JV competition starts at 6:30 p.m.

The Huskies have won their only conference dual this season as they go after another league title.

There have been 33 Southwest Conference gymnastics champions.

Jackson High School won every title from 1979-1997. JCC won the title in 1998 and 1999 in its first two years of existence. Worthington won three titles in a row from 2000-2002. The Huskies have won nine straight since then.

Saturday brings the 28th annual KKOJ-KRAQ Sweetheart Invitational, with eight teams competing, including five teams ranked in the top 20.

Four teams are rated in Class A, with New Prague first, JCC fifth, Martin County Area 13th and Worthington 20th. Owatonna is rated fourth in Class AA.

Filling out the field are Eagan, coached by former Worthington coach Shelly Eklund; along with Mound Westonka and Redwood Valley.

Competition begins at 11 a.m. Saturday.

On Sunday, the younger gymnasts will get their chance to perform as the Junior Huskies Sweetheart Invitational is held. That meet also starts at 11 a.m.

Monday is a new event as Jackson County Central hosts the four-team JV Sweetheart Invitational, with that meet to start at 5 p.m.

Other teams in that meet will be Martin County Area, Luverne and Worthington.

Then a week from Saturday (Jan. 26), the state Class A true team meet returns to Jackson for the first time since 1996.

The top 10 teams in this week's state ratings, regardless of what section they're in, are invited to the true team meet.

Teams in the field for the true team will be Alexandria, Austin, Becker, Detroit Lakes, Jackson County Central, Melrose Area, New Prague, Perham, Sauk Rapids-Rice and Watertown-Mayer.

That meet starts at noon.

Scoring for the true team meet is different than usual as all five scores go toward the team total. Usually, the low score is thrown out.

No individual awards are presented.

After that, the only other regular-season home meet for the Huskies is Friday, Feb. 8 vs. Pipestone.

JCC will host the Section 3A meet on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Following are the rotation orders for the Sweetheart and JV Sweetheart meets. The order for the true team meet is drawn that morning.

Sweetheart

JV Sweetheart

Monday, Jan. 7

Jackson County Central graduate Cooper Moore, a freshman wrestler at Northern Iowa, won his first college tournament title Saturday.

He placed first at 165 pounds at the William Penn Open in Oskaloosa, Iowa Saturday.

Wrestling unattached, he won 13-0, by fall in 3:25, 15-3 and won a 5-0 decision in the finals.

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Some of state's top scorers to be on the ice in Luverne

Tuesday, Dec. 18

Some of the state's top scorers will be on the ice Tuesday at Blue Mound Arena in Luverne when Windom Area and the host Cardinals meet in Southwest Conference boys hockey.

Senior Travis Janssen is tied for the lead in goals scored with 14 for the Eagles, who are off to a 5-0 start.

He shares the lead with Galt Goettl of Mankato West, who has 14 goals in eight games, along with Jared Christen of Saint Cloud Apollo and Mitchell Swanson of Wadena-Deer Creek, who have each scored 14 goals in seven games. Janssen's eight assists give him 22 points,

Janssen                      Bartosh                   Luhmann

which is tied for ninth in the state. Willmar's Hunter Schneider is first with 29 points on 12 goals and 17 assists.

Junior Zach Bartosh has scored nine goals, which is tied for 17th in the state. He also has seven assists for 16 points.

Also, senior Kyle Luhmann has seven assists, which puts him in a tie for 17th in the state in scoring among Class A defensemen.

For Luverne, sophomore Toby Sengvongxay's 11 goals are tied for ninth in the state; junior Logan Norman's 10 assists are tied for 20th in that category; and senior Austin Maxwell has nine points on two goals and seven assists, tied for eighth among defensemen.

The Eagles will be at home at Windom City Arena Thursday vs. Fairmont.

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Monday, Dec. 10

A few items from the weekend involving some Jackson County Central graduates.

Justin Cook, a sophomore at Augustana, won the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.6 at the Chuck Peterson Open indoor track and field meet Saturday at MSU, Mankato. John Isaacson, a freshman with the Vikings, was sixth in the 600 meters in 1:29.39. Northern Iowa freshman wrestler Cooper Moore placed fourth in a 23-man bracket at 165 pounds at the

Justin Cook               John Isaacson

UNI Open Saturday.

He won his first two matches by falls, lost a 5-1 decision, won an 8-1 decision and a 15-0 technical fall before dropping a 9-3 decision in the third-place match.

Patrick Garvin had eight points, two rebounds and two assists for the Bethany Lutheran men's basketball team in a 79-77 loss to Central (IA). The Vikings are hosting St. Thomas Monday.

Busy day at the high school; Falcons make video

Tuesday, Dec. 4

Jackson County Central High School will be a busy place Friday with a normal school day, a big wrestling event and the fall musical.

Activities Director Amy Voss has provided some information for that day.

The "Battle for the Planes" wrestling event will be held at the JCC High School gym.

Doors won’t open until 3 p.m. because school will be in session.

Advance ticket sales will be held at the high school office from 8 a.m.-4 Wednesday and Thursday and 8 a.m.-noon on Friday. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students.

For those who have an activity pass, admission is $2, but be ready to show your pass.

Student-athletes who are going out of town for events on Friday night will be picked up by the busses in the lower north parking lot. You are asked to park in that lot.

If you're attending the musical “Bye, Bye, Birdie” at the JCC Performing Arts Center, you're asked to park in the upper north parking lot if possible.

The wrestling starts at 3:30 p.m. We'll have reports during the early part of the evening on KKOJ-KRAQ and move-by-move coverage of the 8 p.m. matches with Air Force wrestling Augustana and JCC taking on Fargo Davies on 105.7 KRAQ andf KKOJ.com.

The next paragraph was written by Air Force coach Joel Sharratt and sent to Falcon supporters this week:

"On the heels of a strong performance at both the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Fort Hayes Open the Air Force Academy Wrestling Team is back at work preparing for this week’s competition in Jackson, Minnesota. The Battle for the Planes will offer our guys the opportunity to close out the 2012 fall semester with three duals against Midwestern opponents in a small Midwest All-American town (Jackson)."

And the Falcons marked the occasion by making a video.

To watch, click here.

Kruse in senior season at Iowa Wesleyan

Monday, Nov. 26

Ashley Kruse is in her senior season with the Iowa Wesleyan women's basketball team.

The 5-foot-10 forward from Jackson County Central has led the Tigers in rebounds in five of their six games and in scoring in three games. Wesleyan has a 1-5 record heading into a Monday night home game vs. Culver-Stockton.

Ashley has had back-to-back double-doubles for the Tigers.

She had 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting and 10 rebounds (six offensive) in a 55-53 loss to the South Australian under 20 Club.

Prior to that, she had 10 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Wartburg.

For the season, Kruse is 28-for-61 from the field (.459) and 19-26 from the free-throw line (.731). She's averaging 12.7 points per game. Ashley is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game and has 12 assists, 10 blocks and nine steals.

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Sunday, Nov. 25

Jackson will be hopping next weekend with Holiday Fest activities, but the weekend of Dec. 7-8 will be a big one too.

On Pearl Harbor Day Friday, Dec. 7, the Jackson County Central wrestling program will honor the nation's veterans; a couple of its former wrestlers attending the Air Force Academy; and host a series of eight dual meets.

On Saturday, Dec. 8, the Huskies will host a tournament with both varsity and JV divisions.

College Quad

Friday's event involves four college teams and three high school teams based in five states.

On hand for the college duals will be NCAA Division I Air Force Academy, NCAA Division II power Augustana and a pair of NAIA schools from the Great Plains Athletic Conference, Dakota Wesleyan and Northwestern College.

Also, two-time defending Minnesota Class 1A champion Jackson County Central will wrestle duals against two schools from Fargo.

Two JCC graduates are on the Air Force roster.

Senior Cole Von Ohlen has wrestled in three NCAA Division I tournaments and has started his senior season by winning tournaments at Virginia Tech and Nebraska-Kearney. He's tied the Falcons' career record for falls.

In high school at JCC, he was a two-time state champion and three-time state finalist.

A Military Appreciation Night event honoring veterans is scheduled for that evening, followed by a brief program to recognize VonOhlen's accomplishments.

Also on the Falcons' roster is freshman Willie Baker. He's placed in two tournaments this season, placing third at the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyo. and fourth at Kearney. Another Minnesota wrestler on the Air Force roster is Adam Jackson of Rosemount (freshman, 157-165). One of the wrestlers on the Dakota Wesleyan roster is senior Shea Klooster, an Adrian grad. Also, former Worthington Trojan wrestler Jason Reitmeier is in his 10th season as head coach at Augustana. In the high school portion, JCC is scheduled to face Fargo North at 6:30 and Fargo Davies at 8 p.m.

Willie Baker

The Fargo North Spartans return three state place winners from last year in senior Tom Walton (first at 106), junior Anthony Coronato (eighth, 120) and junior Olaf Hanson (eighth, 220).

The Fargo Davies Eagles bring back six place winners in freshman Bryce Burnside (eighth, 113), senior Cole Mehring (first, 132), junior Cole Alexander (seventh, 145), senior Darren Crissler (sixth, 152), junior Zander Mairs (sixth, 170) and sophomore Nick Kjera (eighth, 195).

JCC has four state place winners, senior Elliot Jurries (fifth, 126), sophomore Paden Moore (fifth, 145), sophomore Luke Norland (fourth, 152) and senior Darick Vancura (first, 160).

Plans are for the Air Force team to arrive in Jackson on Wednesday, Dec. 5 and conduct a youth wrestling clinic on Thursday, Dec. 6. We'll have more details on that as the date draws closer.

Schedule of events:
3:30 p.m. - Air Force vs. Dakota Wesleyan; Augustana College vs. Northwestern
5:00 p.m. - Dakota Wesleyan vs. Augustana; Northwestern vs. Air Force
6:30 p.m. - Dakota Wesleyan vs. Northwestern; JCC vs. Fargo North
7:45 p.m. - Military Appreciation Night
7:55 p.m. - Cole Von Ohlen recognition
8:00 p.m. - Air Force Academy vs. Augustana; JCC vs. Fargo Davies

Pizza Ranch tournament

On Saturday, Dec. 8, the annual Pizza Ranch Invitational will be held at JCC High School, with 16 schools from four states represented. The varsity tourney will be held in the main gym, with a JV tourney in the auxiliary gym.

Minnesota teams are host Jackson County Central, Adrian, Eagan, Fulda/Murray County Central, Hayfield, Luverne, New Ulm, Wabasha-Kellogg, Wabasso, Windom/Mountain Lake and Worthington/Round Lake-Brewster.

There are two teams from Iowa, Sioux City East and Spirit Lake and Fargo Davies and Fargo North representing Rounding out the field is Harrisburg, S.D.

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Jackson County Central graduate Nate Brandt was named to the second team on the all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football team.

He was a 6-foot-2, 196-pound senior wide receiver for the Falcons. Brandt led the WIAC in receptions per game, catching 75 passes for 734 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 9.8 yards per catch. He finished fifth in the league in receiving yards per game with a 73.4 average. "In a tough year for us offensively, Nate was a huge, bright spot and emerged as the leader on that side of the football," said UWRF coach Matt Walker.

Nate Brandt

"His work ethic and relentless play will be missed and will serve as a great example to our young players. To lead the conference in receptions is something to be very proud of. He was our go to guy in every situation."

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It's an important football game, but it's a football game

Wednesday, Nov. 14

Thursday will certainly be an exciting day as the Jackson County Central football team heads to the Metrodome to take on Moose Lake-Willow River in the state Class 2A football playoffs.

As important as the game seems, it is just that, a football game.

That's hitting home especially hard this week for JCC head coach Tom Schuller and assistant coach Charlie Clarksean.

The past couple of summers, they've been coaches for the South Central Hawgs, a semi-pro nine-man football team that plays its home games in Truman.

A big figure in the Hawgs' success on the field was Fred Statz, who played defensive line and linebacker and was a team leader.

Statz died in a car accident in Waseca Monday night.

He was a varsity assistant and B-squad football coach at Waseca High School. He'd previously been a defensive lineman and student coach at Minnesota State University, Mankato before joining the Bluejays' program in 2010. "Fred loved playing football and he loved coaching football," Schuller said. "I enjoyed coaching him and coaching with him. It's a tragic deal. We're going to carry some of that perspective with us. It's an important football game, but you need to remember that is a football game." And with that, Schuller said he'll take a few moments to look around and let everything sink in when the Huskies hit the turf Thursday afternoon. "I'm going to let it soak in a little," said Schuller, whose JCC team won the state Class 3A title in 2001. The Huskies had

Fred Statz (50)

lost section championship games five times in seven years before making it back to the state playoffs this year.

"I was a little arrogant when we were there before, thinking we'd back a lot more times and it hasn't happened. That doesn't mean I won't coach just as hard (Thursday). We won't be afraid to take a few chances along the way because our entire coaching staff knows that our guys can play. But, we will also play loose and enjoy the experience."

Recently, Statz had been working with Jay "Boss Hawg" Doyscher, owner of the Hawgs on a game play as they were getting ready for the Southern Plains Football League Winter Pigskin Classic at the Metrodome on Dec. 15. All of the teams from the league are playing that day.

While that was expected to be the next gathering of many of the SPFL's players and coaches, many will now gather Saturday in Statz's home town of Martinsville, Wis. for his funeral.

SPFL players and coaches, as well as the Waseca team captains and coaches are planning to wear their jerseys to the funeral.

Below is a decal will be made for helmets and cars. It will also likely be made into a jersey patch.

Also, you check out a video tribute put together by Preston Schultz and Gemini Studios in Fairmont by clicking here.

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Here's an update on what some local graduates:

Nathan Brandt

In his final game with the Wisconsin-River Falls football team, senior Nathan Brandt matched a career-high with 11 catches including a 43-yard touchdown and set a career best with 146 yards in a 28-7 loss to Wisconsin-Eau Claire Saturday. Brandt, a 6-foot-2, 196-pound wide receiver, led the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in receptions and finished in the top 20 in all of NCAA Division III. His 75 catches is the third most in school history.

Alex Hohenstein, a 6-4, 236-pound junior defensive lineman, had two solo tackles for the Falcons on Saturday. Aaron Brandt is a 6-4, 235-pound freshman defensive lineman at Valparaiso University. For the season, he has two solo tackles, three assists and a fumble recovery.

Alex Hohenstein

The Crusaders close out their season next Saturday at Morehead State (Ky.)

Brooke and Whitney Burmeister

Brooke Burmeister and Whitney Burmeister and the Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team finished in a three-way tie for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title with Concordia (St. Paul) and Minnesota-Duluth. It's the first NSIC title for the Mustangs since 2001. Brooke had eight kills and four digs Saturday in a loss to Concordia. The NSIC tournament starts Friday, with Concordia seeded first and earning the right to host. SMSU is second and UMD third. The Mustangs will face seventh-seeded Minnesota State, Mankato at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the tournament's first round.

Briel Hendricksen is a 5-5 junior defensive specialist for the Mavericks. She had six digs Saturday in a win over University of Sioux Falls.

Megan Bezdicek, a 5-11 junior at Augustana, had 15 kills for the Vikings in a 3-1 loss to Upper Iowa Saturday. The Vikings are seeded eighth for the NSIC tourney and get the top-seeded Golden Bears in the first round at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The NCAA Division II Central Regional opens on Nov. 29 at a site to be determined.

Megan Bezdicek

Matt Kocak

Wisconsin-Platteville sophomore Matt Kocak placed 84th in a field of 271 runners with an 8K time of 26:20.13 at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional men's cross country meet at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis. The Pioneers were eighth of 39 teams in the team standings. Stay up to date on the latest sports news at KKOJ.com, find our Facebook page or follow me on Twitter @sportsdr44.

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