Laker Track and field

The Prior Lake girls track team's depth continues to be its strength. 

The Lakers had a strong runner-up finish out of 16 teams at the Lakeville North Mega Meet April 23, finishing with 89 points, which was well back of champion Minnetonka (118).

Prior Lake was also runner-up the Skippers at the Joe Lane Invitational in Minnetonka April 26, tying for second with Mounds View with 84.5 points, while the Skippers scored 143.

"We had a good day [at the mega meet]," said Lakers coach Scot Jaenicke. 

Prior Lake is back on the track May 3 in the South Suburban Conference Relays on the Lakers' track at 3 p.m. The team will compete in the Wayzata Relays May 6 at 4 p.m., before preparing for the Section 3AAA True Team in Apple Valley May 10.

At the mega meet, the Lakers' 4x200 relay team of sophomores Hannah Caldwell and Kristyn Arends, senior Nicole Hoepner and eighth-grader Taynain Walgrave was victorious with a time of 1:46.13. The 4x400 team of Caldwell, Hoepner, junior Madi Scholl and senior Olivia Schroeder was third (4:12.83).

Scholl had the Lakers' lone individual win, taking the high jump with a height of 5-4. She was also third in the 300 hurdles (49.08). Eighth-grader Mallory Stach had a pair of runner-up finishes in the 800 (2:20.98) and the 1,600 (5:12.35).

Arends was third in the 400 (59.97) and fifth in the 200 (27.64). Senior Sarah Ring and junior Sophie Zak tied for sixth in the high jump (4-10). Senior Jazmen Henderson was sixth in both of the discus (107-05) and the shot put (35-4), while senior Hannah Duckson was fourth in the shot put (35-11 1/2).

Walgrave was fourth in the 300 hurdles (49.40) and fifth in the 100 hurdles (16.81), while junior Christina Hanson was seventh in the 100 hurdles (17.70).

Other Laker finishes: junior Gabi Brinkley in the 1,600 (8th, 5:37.03), Schroeder in the 400 (10th, 1:02.60), Caldwell in the 200 (8th, 27.81) and junior Ashlyn Pepper in the shot put (8th, 34-6).

At the Joe Lane invite, the Lakers won two relays. The 4x100 team of Caldwell, Walgrave, Hoepner and Arends was a winner (50.50), as was the 4x400 team of Hoepner, Scholl, Stach and Arends (4:06.45).

The 4x800 team of Stach, Brinkley and juniors Grance Jondal and Lauren Stach was second (10:01.86).

Hoepner was second in the 200 (27.56), as was Caldwell in the 400 (1:02.07), sophomore Serena Pfeiffer in the 800 (2:28.17), Brinkley in the 3,200 (11:35.36) and Ring in the high jump (5-0).

Other finishes: Walgrave in the 100 hurdles (5th, 16.88), Schroeder in the 100 (5th, 13.60), Pfeiffer in the 400 (4th, 1:03.49), senior Olivia Theilen in the 200 (5th, 28.31), sophomore Maddy Bremmer in the high jump (4th, 4-8) and triple jump (4th, 33-7), senior Ella Francis in the pole vault (4th, 9-6) and triple jump (3rd, 34-9 1/4), Duckson in the shot put (5th, 34-11), Henderson in the discus (5th, 102-11) and senior Alyssa Alytendorf in the long jump (5th, 15-5 1/4). 

The Lakers were also in the Shakopee Relays April 22, but competed without most of their top performers. The Lakers were eighth with 118 points. The host Sabers won (393).

Bremer was third in the high jump (5-0), while sophomore Claire Houle was fourth in the 300 hurdles (51.16) for the Lakers. 

Northern Lights 16-1's Go to KC!!!

We leave this Thursday to Sunday to Kansas City, MO for the Show me qualifier.  This tournament is to qualify for the USAJO Nationals in Indianapolis at the end of June.  We are praying that our team can stay healthy and injury free this weekend!!  If you would like to watch our progress....go to the link below.  After clicking the link....click on Northern Lights 16-1.

16 Open Show me Qualifier

Go Lights!

MN Achievement Championships!

Mike has another championship weekend for swimming.  Today was day 1 out of 2.  He only had 2 entries today.  First he swam the 12 and under 200 Freestyle Relay.  His relay finished 6th out of 12 teams.  Improving their time by 7seconds. 

Second event Mike swam the 50 yd Freestyle.  Out of 4 heats, Mike was seeded to get second.  And that he did!!! Improving his time, and advancing that event for regionals next week!  

Way to go Mike!!! Tomorrow we have 3 more events.....

16-1's won the Presidents Day Classic!!

Jumping for Joy once again for winning the tournament !!! Way to go girls!!

Busy weekend for the MN Bremer's

First Michael had a weekend long swim meet (which was his last regular swim meet before championships start at the end of February).  Yesterday was a great day!  Mike swam fast in both of his events, but no medals.  Was a learning time for Mike.  Great competition!  Today was a different story!  Medals in both events! 6th in the 100 yd breaststroke, and 2nd in the 50 Free.  I told him yesterday that it would be nice to have him better his time for the 100 yd breaststroke by 4 seconds.....he bettered it by 16 SECONDS!!! Way to go Mike!!

Then Maddy had the January Thaw tournament down at the Minneapolis Convention center this weekend.  Her team played up in the 17 age group......and won it all!!! Was an awesome weekend!

Michael's Swim Meet!

Here are some previews of Michael's swim meet!  He had a great weekend! Click the link below:

50 yd Breaststroke (Saturday)

100 yd freestyle

50 Freestyle (Sunday)


He got a ribbon Saturday for 8th place in the 50yd backstroke.  Michael was first in his heat, and 8/35 overall!

Michael's freestyle relay also got 3rd place today!

Prior Lake volleyball is going to state!!

Prior Lake experienced some bumps along its way to a historic season, but the Lakers smoothed those lumps with its depth as they achieved new heights.

Behind a multifaceted attack and outstanding defense, No. 1-ranked Prior Lake secured its first trip to the state tournament Saturday with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-19 victory over Shakopee in the Class 3A, Section 2 championship at Waconia High School.

The top-seeded Lakers (27-4) made up for last year’s 25-20, 25-9, 27-25 loss to Chaska in the section championship. The Hawks went on to claim the Class 3A state title, while the Prior Lake players kept that match in their minds leading into this season.

“It’s really special,” Lakers senior outside hitter Ella Francis said. “Losing to Chaska last year was always in our minds to get back to these section finals and win this time and make it to state.”

Francis finished with a team-high 15 kills against the Sabers and continued to lift the team in spots where it needed it. There weren’t many, but she helped Prior Lake get out of a funk in the second set and brought the third to a 4-4 tie with back-to-back kills.

“She’s done that for us all year long, so it was great to see her keep doing it,” Lakers coach Mike Dean said.

Francis led the team with 388 kills this season, becoming Prior Lake's primary offensive threat after losing standout seniors Lara Schultz and Olivia Spanton to injury earlier this year. Schultz led the Lakers in kills last season with 339 and Spanton finished third with 171.

“To think they didn’t have two players who should’ve been on the floor, which is sad for those two girls, they’d be even better,” Shakopee coach Matt Busch said.

The injuries galvanized the rest of Prior Lake's players once they stepped into new roles.

“It made us realize we had to fight more for it,” Francis said. “We just really came out today and wanted to win. We have a lot of depth on this team, so the people that came in, they were confident and had a lot of support around them to have them walk on the court and play at their highest level.”

Prior Lake junior outside hitter Anna Martin finished with 10 kills while sophomore middle hitter Kayla Bair added seven. Bair combined with sophomore middle hitter Maddie Bremer, junior outside hitter Lauren Kiewiet and junior setter Ellie Veldman to put up a stifling block that had the seventh-seeded Sabers (20-11) struggling to find hitting lanes.

“They’re just such a good blocking team,” Busch said. “We had lots of notes on what might be open the way they usually play. You just have to keep trying things. The girls tried line early, which we were going to try to do and then when that wasn’t working, they tried to mix it up.”

Dean has stressed to his team the importance of vision and moving its feet to set up the block. It was clear the team took note.

“A lot of times people just think hands, hands, hands. But if you can’t get there and you’re reaching, you’re not going to get a strong block,” Dean said. “If you’re not looking at where you’re supposed to be and where that hitter’s going to be, you’re not going to be able to set it up well.”

The balls the Lakers didn’t get blocked, sophomore libero CC McGraw was there to get. McGraw finished with a team-high 17 digs while Veldman recorded seven to go with 36 assists.

Prior Lake hit .279 for the match and overcame poor serving early. The Lakers finished serving at 87.7 percent, but had six serving errors in the first set alone.

It continued into the second set, allowing Shakopee to build a 14-8 lead before Prior Lake rallied to tie the score 16-16. The Lakers rattled off eight straight points and eventually closed out the set with a Martin kill.

Shakopee led 6-5 in the third set before Prior Lake finished off the match.

“This is pretty sweet,” Dean said. “This is my 14th year as a head coach and we’ve had some good teams that haven’t gotten here. It’s great to finally be here. We’re excited to get down and have some fun in St. Paul.” 

First Report

Prior Lake stayed in control throughout its match against Shakopee en route to a 25-19, 25-19, 25-19 victory in the Class 3A, Section 2 championship.

Motivated by last season's loss in the section final to eventual Class 3A state champion Chaska, the Lakers claimed their first section title and state tournament bid. 

Back again in the title match for sections!!

The Prior Lake volleyball team is again a win shy of state.

The top-seeded Lakers looked dominant in the Section 2AAA semifinals Nov. 5 with an easy three-set home win over fourth-seeded Hutchinson (25-17, 25-19, 25-17) to earn a spot in the title match for a second straight year.

The opponent is seventh-seeded Shakopee, somewhat of a surprise. Nevertheless, it's an all South Suburban Conference final.

The Lakers (26-4) will take on the Sabers (20-10) Nov. 7 at Waconia High School at 6 p.m. Prior Lake swept Shakopee in SSC play back on Sept. 29 (25-14, 25-18, 25-13).

The Lakers also earned a relative easy four-set home win over eighth-seeded Waconia in the quarterfinals Oct. 30 (25-17, 25-7, 25-27, 25-8).

Shakopee's road to the final has gone through second-seeded Eden Prairie in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Chaska in the semifinals, both five-set wins

The Class 3A state tournament is Nov. 12-14 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. State pairings will be released Nov. 6 and will be available at www.mshsl.org.

Last year, the Lakers were the No. 1 seed in the section, won their first two matches by sweep, before getting swept in the final by Chaska. The Hawks went on to win the Class 3A title.

Against Hutchinson, the Lakers were in control from start to finish. Sophomore CC McGraw looked like the most dominant player on the floor in the first two sets and she was playing on the back line.

McGraw had multiple diving digs and back-to-back ace serves. She needed 32 digs to break Brittany Luethmers' single-season school mark of 511 set last year. McGraw finished with 22, adding three ace serves.

"CC is doing really special things for us in the back row and continues to steal points from the other team," said Lakers coach Mike Dean. "Her ability to cover so much ground also helps to make our other defenders better in the back row. She is also serve receiving at an amazingly high level and that helps Ellie and all of our hitters run our offense more effectively."

Senior Ella Francis needed 16 kills against Hutchinson to break Lauren Viren's single-season mark of 422 set in 2003. She ended up with 11. Francis is already the Lakers' all-time kills leader.

Junior Anna Martin led in kills against the Tigers with 13, while sophomore Kayla Bair had six. Sophomore Maddy Bremer led in blocks with four, while Bair and junior Ellie Veldman each had two.

Sophomore Hannah Reis chipped in 11 digs, while Veldman had nine and Francis and senior Danielle Sorensen both have seven.

Veldman added 33 set assists to push her Lakers' single-season record to 845.

"We have seen a lot of growth in Ellie and how she runs our team," said Dean. "We have a lot good hitters and Ellie has kept improving on how she runs the team and distributes the sets."

If Prior Lake can beat Shakopee, it will match the Lakers' single-season record for wins in a season, which was set last year (27-3). Prior Lake would have a chance to break that mark at state.

Had a GREAT time at ISU!!

Especially with a Cyclone win for both volleyball and football!  

GO CYCLONES!! 

Go Lakers!!!!!

Surprised the team last night!  Start sections this week!  Go Lakers!!!!!

http://youtu.be/5iDhLSnBicE