Speaking of Sports

By John Fragodt, Sports Reporter

Wow, if you’re looking for a good day to catch the Minnewaska Laker sports teams in action, Tuesday, April 30, is the day for you; that is, of course, if Mother Nature gives the student-athletes a break.  

The Minnewaska Area track and field teams are set to host their second home invitational of the season, while the tennis team is also set to host a quadrangular the same day, and the Laker varsity softball and baseball teams also are set to host home games.

The track and field teams are off to great starts.  The girls team appears strong enough to contend for the Section 6A title, while the boys team has a number of athletes that could contend for state berths, including a few relays, Maeson Tank, Owen Meulebroeck, Carter Meyer and several others.

The baseball team hasn’t had a home game this year so the doubleheader tomorrow against Montevideo will be the home opener for the Lakers.

The boys tennis team will be hosting a quadrangular, Tuesday, and one of the matches is against NLS, which will be for the WCC title.  Minnewaska Area recently edged Montevideo in a home match, 4-3, and the Thunderhawks did the Lakers a favor by beating NLS by the same score a few days later.

The boys tennis team moved into the top-10 Class A state rankings this week.  In fact, the Lakers are ranked sixth in Class A with a 14-0 overall record.  Minnewaska is also one of about four teams that should have a chance to contend for the Section 8A team title this year.

•  Looking ahead to the spring playoffs, Section 3AA baseball is loaded with great teams this year.  Among the teams in Minnewaska’s half of the section are Montevideo (7-0), Paynesville (8-1), NLS (5-2), Morris Area-CA (6-4) and KMS (5-5), while included in the other half of the section are Windom Area (5-2), Fairmont (5-2), Luverne (6-4) and Redwood Valley (4-3).

Section 3AA for softball is also very strong with Morris Area (9-1), Dassel-Cokato (7-2), Windom Area (7-1), Pipestone Area (7-2) and Minneota-Canby (7-2) among the top teams.

In track and field, Barnesville, WDC and several other schools will be among the main threats for the girls track team at the section meet, while SauK Centre is among a handful of teams that are favorites in the boys field.

And, in golf, the Laker girls should have a chance to contend for the section title this year, while the boys team should also have a decent chance to send an individual or two to the state meet.

Don’t blink, the spring sports season goes by very fast . . .