The Minnetonka High School Skippers had a lot of success this Winter season, culminating in plenty of state tournament appearances and strong performances.

The Boys and Girls Alpine Skiing teams won Class AA state championships, Girls Hockey was Class AA state runner-up, Boys Swim & Dive captured third place at the Class AA state meet, Sr. Carson Witte was Class AA state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, and So. wrestler Marco Christiansen took third place at 170 lbs. in the Class AAA Individual state tournament.

The Skippers Boys Swim team also won the True Team state championship at the University of Minnesota.

Three Minnetonka teams won Lake Conference championships, including Boys Hockey (4-way tie), Boys Alpine Skiing and Girls Alpine Skiing.

 

Boys Alpine Skiing

Minnetonka dominated the boys team competition at the Class AA state meet, claiming a 26-point margin over closest competitor Edina at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. The Skippers claimed their seventh state title and first since 2018, when they won the second of consecutive crowns.

The Skippers had four skiers in the top nine team competitors, led by fourth-place finisher Jr. Stephen Reddington, who had the third-fastest second run and an overall time of 1:15.27.

Jr. JD Landstrom (5th, 1:16.22), Fr. Steve Conlin (8th, 1:20.68) and Sr. Evan Jones (9th, 1:20.88) completed the team scoring. Jr. Marley Barrett was 30th with a time of 1:27.30 while Jr. Caden Meyer did not finish one of his runs.

A year ago, Landstrom finished ninth at the state meet.

Minnetonka won the Section 5AA championship at Wild Mountain on Feb. 8.

 

Girls Alpine Skiing

The Minnetonka Girls Alpine Ski team won the Class AA state championship, as well, with a 6-point victory over Stillwater at Giants Ridge. It was the sixth state title for Girls Alpine and first since the second of two in a row in 2014.

The Skippers were led by So. Marisa Witte, who had a fourth-place team competition finish with a two-run combined time of 1:20.65. Teammates Sr. Bella Kelly (10th, 1:23.62), Sr. Stella Pachmayer (12th, 1:23.94) and Fr. Stella Stinnett (14th, 1:25.21) contributed to team scoring. Fr. Sephina Switz was 17th (1:26.18) and Sr. Abby Weigel was 28th (1:30.19).

The Skippers won the Section 5AA championship at Wild Mountain on Feb. 8. Kelly finished fourth, followed by Witte (7th), Pachmayer (8th), Stinnett (12th), Switz (31st) and Weigel (33rd).

 

Girls Hockey

The Skippers, who survived an overtime section thriller, made a magical run to the Class AA state championship game.

The ride came to an end in the finals at Xcel Energy Center, where the No. 3 seed Minnetonka Girls lost to No. 1 Andover 5-4. Andover, which finished the season unbeaten, scored the go-ahead goal with 1:40 remaining in the game. Minnetonka finished the season 24-7.

The Skippers, who lost in the state semifinals in the two previous state tournaments, continued their excellent play at state. Minnetonka has the best winning percentage in girls hockey state tournament history (10+ games) with a 17-4 record. The Skippers won state titles in 2011, ’12 and ’13, and were state runner-up in ’15 and this season. Minnetonka finished third in 2019 and ’20.

In the state championship thriller, Jr. Ava Lindsay scored twice while Jr. Grace Sadura and So. Kendra Distad also scored. Sr. Olivia LaRoche and Lindsay had 2 assists each, while Fr. Ruby Rauk and Jr. Josie Hemp also recorded assists.

In the state semifinals, So. Lindzi Avar and Fr. Senja Leeper led the Skippers with goals in a 2-1 win over No. 2 seed Edina. Leeper scored the game-winning goal in the second period. Sr. goalie Sophia Johnson had 23 saves. The Minnetonka win over Edina ended the Hornets’ string of five straight championship game appearances.

Against Burnsville in the section quarterfinals, the Skippers exploded for 9 goals in a shutout win over the Blaze. 

Johnson, LaRoche, Sadura and Lindsay were named to the Class AA All-Tournament team.

To reach the state tournament, Minnetonka defeated Holy Family 3-2 in a cliff-hanging Section 2AA championship at Braemar Arena. Sadura scored on a game-winning rebound goal with 37.7 seconds remaining in overtime to clinch the Skippers' third straight trip to state.

So. Lauren Goldsworthy and Hemp also scored in the section finals, while Rauk, Sadura and Lindsay had assists. Johnson had 28 saves.

The Skippers defeated New Prague 9-1 in the section quarterfinals - behind a hat trick from Leeper, scoring her first career goals - and downed Eden Prairie 7-0 in the section semifinals.

The Skippers were led in scoring this season by Lindsay (22 goals, 36 assists), Sadura (25 goals, 31 assists), Hemp (9 goals, 30 assists), Distad (20 goals, 15 assists). So. Molly Ryan (15 goals, 20 assists), Jr. Elly Klepinger (10 goals, 20 assists), Fr. Lauren Mack (11 goals, 16 assists), LaRoche (11 goals, 12 assists), Avar (10 goals, 12 assists), Rauk (9 goals, 11 assists) and So. Lauren Karl (3 goals, 13 assists).

In the net, Johnson had a 21-7 record with a 1.74 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Johnson was one of 12 semifinalists for the Ms. Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year award.

LaRoche and Sadura were named All-State while Hemp, Klepinger and Lindsay were named honorable mention All-State. Sadura was also named to the Star Tribune All-Metro first team.

Minnetonka, the Team Academic state champion, was ranked No. 5 in the final Let’s Play Hockey Class AA state rankings prior to the section tournament.

 

Boys Hockey

The No. 2 seed Skippers lost a heartbreaker to No. 3 Chaska 3-2 in overtime in the Section 2AA semifinals. So. Hagen Burrows and Fr. Ashthon Schultz both scored while sophomores Javon Moore and Gavin Garry had assists.

In the section quarterfinals, Minnetonka downed Shakopee 3-1 behind two goals from Moore and a goal from Sr. Tim Lagerback. Assists were credited to Sr. Jack Rausch, Sr. Nick Baer, So. John Stout, Garry, Burrows and Jr. Liam Hupka. Jr. goalie Kaiser Nelson had 16 saves.

In its last regular season home game, Minnetonka defeated Eden Prairie 5-1 in a matchup of then-ranked No. 15 and 14 teams, respectively.

On. Feb. 3, the Skippers - then ranked No. 16 - defeated No. 5 Wayzata 1-0 at Wayzata. Garry scored on an assist from Sr. Michael Manning as the Skippers notched the victory.

The Skippers were led in scoring by Moore (17 goals, 20 assists), Garry (10 goals, 20 assists), Burrows (14 goals, 12 assists), Sr. Teddy Manlove (10 goals, 11 assists), Lagerback (9 goals, 10 assists), Hupka (2 goals, 16 assists), Sr. Wyatt Chartier (10 goals, 6 assists), Baer (8 goals, 8 assists), So. Alex Lunski (6 goals, 7 assists), Sr. Reed Hanus (6 goals, 7 assists), Stout (4 goals, 7 assists) and Rausch (3 goals, 8 assists).

Nelson had a 1.40 goals allowed average and .936 save percentage. Fellow junior Beau Motzko had a 2.54 goals allowed average and .865 save percentage.

Five Skippers were named All-Lake Conference, including Baer, Hupka, Burrows, Garry and Moore. Honorable mention all-conference selections were Chartier, Hanus, Lagerback and Stout. Baer received the Hobey Baker Character award and was a Reed Larson Best MN Defenseman nominee.

Team awards were given to Moore (Most Valuable Player), Baer (Most Determined Player), Nelson (Most Improved Player), Sr. Alec Whipple (Student Athlete Award) and Sr. Max Dewing (Most Selfless Player).

Minnetonka finished the season 16-10-1

 

Boys Swimming

At the Class AA State Swim and Dive championships, Minnetonka finished third with 170 points, behind Edina (355) and Eden Prairie (200) at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. To advance to state, the Skippers won their sixth straight Section 2AA championship.

Minnetonka made the most of eight individual events and three relays en route to third place at state. The Skippers, Hornets and Eagles made it an all Lake Conference podium.

Sr. Carson Witte, third in the 100-yard butterfly in an All-American consideration time of 49.34 seconds, was state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke. He posted an All-American time of 54.31, a varsity team record.

Carson and Fr. Evan Witte, So. Myonghai Cho and Jr. Graham Muench started the meet with a runner-up finish in the 200-yard medley relay (1:33.50), while Sr. Ryan McGuirk, the Wittes and Muench captured second in the 200-yard freestyle with an All-American time of 1:24.60. Fr. Daniel Shelstad swam on the first-place 200 medley relay team in the prelims.

McGuirk, seventh in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.88 seconds, swam the anchor leg of a fourth-place 400-yard freestyle relay team that featured seniors Ryan Diede and Luke Edwards and Fr. Max Louie. That relay also had an All-American consideration time.

Consolation finalists were McGuirk in the 200 individual medley (11th, 1:55.66), Evan Witte in the 50 freestyle (13th, 21.90) and 100 backstroke (10th, 52.15), and Sr. Henry Rosenhagen in the 100 butterfly (10th, 50.94).

In diving, So. Trey Maroney finished 24th in the Class AA state prelims. Maroney advanced to state by finishing third in the Section 2AA dive competition. Fr. William Rolfe finished sixth to join Maroney on the podium at the section meet. Jr. Garrett Molitor-Kirsch and So. Karl Sjoberg also advanced to the top 16 round.

The Skippers Boys have won 11 state titles, including the last two in 2017 and ’18.

All-State honors, earned by athletes finishing in the top eight at state, include Choi, Diede, Edwards, Louise, McGurik, Muench and Carson and Evan Witte.

In the Section 2AA meet, Minnetonka claimed its sixth straight crown with 457.7 points, narrowly edging out Eden Prairie (455). The Skippers advanced 23 of 24 swimmers and all 3 relays from the prelims to the finals.

The Skippers also won their ninth Class AA True Team state championship. Minnetonka Boys have won True Team state titles in 2008, 2011, 2014-18, 2020 and this season.

 

Wrestling

Four Minnetonka wrestlers - seniors Peter Barrett (138 lbs.) and Anthony Chernikh (160 lbs) and sophomores Marco Christiansen (170 lbs.) and Charlie Palm (113 lbs.) - advanced to the Class AAA Individual state tournament.

Christiansen went 4-1 at the state tournament to capture third place, with victories of 10-3 and 9-7 to reach the semifinals. In the semis, Christiansen lost to eventual state champion Hunter Lyden of Stillwater. It was the third straight state title for the unbeaten Lyden. Christiansen rebounded with 5-0 and 5-3 wins for the third-place title. He defeated Jr. Adam Cherne of Wayzata in the third-place match.

For his career, Christiansen has 102 wins.

Palm (113 lbs.) and Barrett (138 lbs.) each went 0-2 in their respective state brackets while Chernikh (160 lbs.) was unable to wrestle in his first state tournament.

In the Section 6AAA Individual tournament, Barrett and Christiansen both finished first while Chernikh and Palm captured second. Sr. Alejandro Torbenson just missed out a trip to state, falling 8-3 in the True 2nd place match at 182 lbs. Torbenson went over 50 career wins in early February.

Jr. Liam Dorn (152 lbs.) also finished third in the Section 6AAA Individual tournament while Sr. Diego Pitt (145 lbs.) captured fourth. Jr. Isabella Heaney (106 lbs) and So. Shawn Johnson (220 lbs.) finished fifth in their weight classes.

At the first-ever Girls Wrestling Individual section tournament, So. Emma Seper was fifth at 114 lbs., Phoebe Kunerth was sixth at 120 lbs. and Heaney did not compete due to injury. This marks the first year that the MSHSL has hosted a Girls Wrestling state tournament.

Heaney became the first female to record a pin in a Lake Conference dual meet when she recorded a pin at the 56-second mark in a match against Eden Prairie.

In the Section 6AAA Team tournament, Minnetonka lost to Chaska/Chanhassen 38-27 in the quarterfinals.

Christiansen was fifth at 170 lbs. and Chernikh was seventh at 160 lbs. in the final Guillotine Class AAA Individual state rankings, which were released prior to the Individual section tournament.

 

Boys Basketball

Unranked and overlooked to start the season, the Minnetonka Boys made plenty of noise this season. The impressive turnaround and tournament dreams ended, however, as the No. 3 seed Skippers lost to No. 6 Prior Lake 86-78 in the Section 2AAAA tournament quarterfinals. Minnetonka finished the season 18-9.

One of the highlights – or actually, two of them – for Minnetonka this season was its pair of wins over Lake Conference rival Hopkins. The Skippers defeated the Royals 91-81 on Feb. 15 at Minnetonka and won 73-72 at Hopkins in their first meeting on Jan. 21 as So. Jordan Cain scored the game-winner inside the lane as time expired.

Another reoccurring highlight was the late-game heroics of Jr. Ibrahim El-Amin, who hit last-second game winners against Edina and Brainerd. His three-pointer at the buzzer defeated the Hornets 81-78 on Feb. 18, and his buzzer-beating trey lifted the Skippers over the Warriors 78-76 on Jan. 15.

Minnetonka was No. 10 in the final Minnesota Basketball News Class AAAA Top 20 rankings.

Three players were named All-Lake Conference in El-Amin, Jordan Cain and So. Andy Stefonowicz. Honorable mention all-conference selections were Sr. Frank Simonsen and Jr. Alex Jones.

Jordan Cain and El-Amin led the team in scoring with 18.5 and 18.4 points per game, respectively. Jordan Cain also led the team in rebounds with 173 (6.6 rpg) while El-Amin made a team-high 69 three-pointers (34.3%).

Jalen Cain, a junior, was also averaging 18.4 ppg before suffering a season-ending injury. In 11 games, he added 5 rebounds per game.

Stefonowicz averaged 14 ppg and shot 40% from three-point range and 74.5% from the foul line. He led the team in assists with 135 (5 apg) and had 4.6 rebounds per game. Other top scorers were Jones (9.0 ppg, 4 rpg) and Simonsen (6.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 40% treys).

 

Girls Basketball

No. 3 seed Minnetonka lost to No. 2 Eden Prairie 59-50 in the Section 2AAAA semifinals. Fr. Aaliyah Crump led the Skippers with 25 points while Sr. Desiree Ware finished her standout career with 10.

In the section quarterfinals, Minnetonka defeated No. 6 seed Waconia 69-46. Ware led the team with 26 points, including 17 in the first half, while 8th Gr. Lanelle Wright and Crump each had 13.

In its regular season finale, Minnetonka defeated top-five state-ranked St. Michael-Albertville 66-62 at STMA. The Knights went on to finish as Class AAAA state runner-up to Hopkins.

Another big win for the Skippers was a 54-52 victory over Wayzata on Feb. 22. At that time, Minnetonka was ranked No. 4 in Class AAAA and the Trojans were No. 6. Ware had 25 points while So. Tori McKinney (12) and Crump (12) also scored in double figures.

The Skippers finished the season 21-5 and were No. 4 in the final Class AAAA state rankings.

Sr. Kiani Lockett, who played in 13 games before suffering a season-ending injury, led the team in scoring average with 17.4 points per game, followed by Ware (14.2 ppg) and Crump (13.2 ppg).

Lockett and Ware were both Miss Basketball Minnesota nominees. Both 1,000-point scorers were also Midwest nominees for the McDonald’s All American Games. Lockett was also named MGBCA All-State. Nora Arndt was the Skippers other senior.

 

Gymnastics

Two Skippers gymnasts - Jr. Elena Cantwell and So. Emma Callahan - advanced to the Class AA Individual state gymnastics championships at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.

Cantwell finished 26th on vault (9.3) at state while Callahan was 40th on uneven bars (8.575). It was the third straight appearance at the state meet for Cantwell and first for Callahan.

At the Section 2AA meet, Minnetonka scored a season-best 136.10 to finish in third place. Cantwell qualified for state with a 9.3 vault score while Callahan qualified on bars with a 9.2. In the All-Around, Cantwell had a total of 35.75 points to miss a state appearance in that competition by one position.

Cantwell made the Star Tribune Metro Gymnastics Honor Roll in three events: All-Around (36.275), Vault (9.15) and Floor Exercise (9.35).

Cantwell and Callahan were both named All-Lake Conference. Seniors Helena Carlson, Gabby Donnangelo and Molly Lund were named honorable mention all-conference.

 

Boys Nordic Skiing

At the Nordic Ski Individual state meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Sr. AJ Hemink posted an All-State combined time of 29 minutes, 56 seconds to place 11th in the boys race. Hemink finished seventh in Freestyle (14:21.31)and 20th in 5K Classic (15:35.13).

In the first state Sprint Relay since 1998, Sr. Antonio Muniz and Jr. Jack Callinan finished seventh. They compiled a time of 15:45.87. 

At the Section 2AA meet at Theodore Wirth Park, Hemink finished seventh in a time of 26:30.2 to lead the Skippers to a sixth-place finish. Other top section skiers were Jr. Isaac Wilkey (29:20.1), Jr. Max Westerlund (29:20.4), Sr. Tristan Green (29:52.1) and Sr. Scott Sorensen (30:08.7).

Girls Nordic Skiing

Jr. Elena Hicks and So. Nina Fedje were 46th and 51st with combined event times of 38:25 and 38:29 at the Class AA state meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.

The team of Sr. Greta Weeks and Jr. Elise Pudwill finished 19th in Sprint Relay at the state meet.

At the Section 2AA meet at Theodore Wirth Park, the Skippers finished third. Hicks finished fifth (32:58.8) and Fedje was seventh (33:23.6) to advance to state.

Other top Minnetonka section finishers were So. Elizabeth Weider (36:15.8), Fr. Avery Marasco-Johnson (36:17.7) and Sr. Emmarie Raby (37:14.4).

 

Cheer

The Skippers brought home armfuls of hardware from the 2022 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships in mid-February.

Minnetonka captured third in Small Varsity Non-Tumbling Game Day, third in Small Varsity Non-Tumbling World School Cheer Traditional Routine and 12th in Small Varsity Non-Tumbling Traditional Routine.

 

Competition Dance Team – Skipperettes

The Skipperettes competed in the Section 2AAA tournament on Feb. 5. Seniors include Sophia Boles, Natalie Heer, Layla Julien, Katy Lauerman, Katie Lesmeister, Darby O’Connor, Madison Sherburne and Miranda Smith.

 

Notes

Former Minnetonka Boys Hockey standout Bobby Brink of the University of Denver is a Hobey Baker award finalist… The Minnetonka/Wayzata Lakers Adapted Floor Hockey team lost to Mounds View 14-13 in the first round of the state playoffs… Former Girls Hockey standout Rory Guilday of Cornell was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie team… Minnetonka Unified finished second at the Minnesota Unified Basketball High School State Tournament at Target Center.

Recruiting Trail

College signings include Annika Elvestrom (girls tennis, Creighton), Sebastian Amorrotu (football, Northern State), Cade Conzemius (football, Minnesota), Joey Gendreau (football, St. John’s), Ashton Hoffman (football, Minnesota Duluth) and Prentice Wheatley (football, Northern State)… Jack Rausch signed a tender to play hockey with the New Mexico Ice Wolves of the NAHL.

November Letters of Intent

Twelve Skippers signed National Letters of Intent on Nov. 10. They are Nadia Helm (girls swimming, Northern Michigan), Kiernan Holmes (boys lacrosse, Jacksonville), Maija Kangas (girls swimming, Augustana), Kate LeBlanc (cross country, North Dakota State), Olivia LaRoche (girls hockey, Sacred Heart), Kiani Lockett (girls basketball, Creighton), Ava Rajala (girls lacrosse, Liberty), Michael Rivera (baseball, Minnesota Crookston), Rachel Shelstad (girls swimming, Nebraska-Omaha), Abby Stanwood (volleyball, Stony Brook), Desiree Ware (girls basketball, Alabama Birmingham) and Courtney Youngquist (girls lacrosse, Kent State).