ON DECK: Lindberg's mailbag getting heavy; Tech's Olson off to fast start

• Lindberg

Superior's Joel Lindberg (25) drives to the hoop during a game last season. Lindberg is receiving a lot of attention from Division 1 schools. (Jed Carlson/jcarlson@superiortelegram.com)

Talk about it

Even though the start of the high school basketball season is at least a month away, Superior High School junior guard Joel Lindberg has been kept busy dealing with the daily mail.

Lindberg, who scored 14.8 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game last season while helping the Spartans to a 19-4 record, has been receiving plenty of attention from colleges across the United States.

According to SHS basketball coach Dave Kontny, Lindberg has received letters of interest from Bowling Green, Colorado State, Drake, North Dakota, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Penn State, Santa Barbara, South Dakota State, UW-Green Bay, Wichita State and Wright State.

“Joel is an exciting player who has dynamic court sense and is really capable of scoring against any opponent as he showed last season in the sectional semifinals against Eau Claire North,” Kontny said. “Joel has started at point guard for us the past two seasons leading us to a 36-8 overall record and our third and fourth consecutive conference championships. He is the kind of player that makes everyone around him better, and we are looking forward to him having a big season for us.”

Lindberg, a 6-foot-1 guard, scored 26 points and made 12-of-15 shots from the floor in a 65-52 loss at ECN in a WIAA Division I sectional semifinal last season.

The Spartans begin practice Nov. 16 and their first game is scheduled for Dec. 5 at Eau Claire Memorial.

Fast start

Talk about getting the season off on the right foot.

That’s what former Superior Spartan hockey standout Brett Olson did this weekend for Michigan Tech.

In a 5-3 victory over Northern Michigan Friday night, Olson, an assistant captain with the Huskies, scored three goals and dished out two assists to become the first Husky to record five points in one game since Peter Rouleau had three goals and two helpers against Minnesota Duluth Feb. 15, 2008. He’s also the first Husky to net a hat trick since Drew Dobson had three goals against Minnesota last March.

“Five points, that’s pretty impressive by Brett,” Tech coach Jamie Russell said. “He’s going to be a dominant player in college hockey.”

Olson, a sophomore, notched his second of the game to make it a two-goal advantage when he blasted a long shot past Northern Michigan’s goaltender from the right circle. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam assisted on the goal by feeding Olson the puck.

“It helps to have guys on your line like Malcolm (Gwilliam) and (Alex) MacLeod,” said Olson. ““This is a big turnaround for us.”

Just 1:10 into the third period, the Huskies scored again as Olson potted his hat trick goal with another bomb of a shot from the same spot he’d launched one earlier.

Olson wasn’t as fortunate on Sunday as he failed to score in Tech’s 3-1 loss to Lake Superior State.

Season tickets

UWS all-sport general admission season passes, along with Yellowjacket men’s hockey reserved-seating season passes are now on sale.

Men’s hockey season passes are $150 for adult reserved seats and $100 for youth (12-and-under) reserved seats.

Those purchasing a men’s hockey reserved pass not only get to pick their seat at Wessman Arena, but also one general all-sports pass.

The family all-sport pass (two adults, two youth) costs $200. One adult all-sport pass is $100, a senior citizen pass is $90 and a youth pass is $70.

To purchase season passes, or for more information, call the UWS athletic department at (715) 395-4639.

Booster luncheons

UWS will once again also host monthly Yellowjacket Booster Luncheons on the first Tuesday of each month at Barker’s Island Inn.

The next luncheon is at noon on Nov. 3. The guest speakers will be Yellowjacket men’s hockey coach Dan Stauber and women’s hockey coach Dan Laughlin.

The cost to attend the luncheon is $8.50, which includes a soup and sandwich buffet. No reservations are necessary. For more information call 395-4693.

Rookie of the Year

Darrell Nelson, a Hermantown native and regular racer at the Superior Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway, has been named those track’s NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

Nelson races WISSOTA Late Models and Modifieds.

Among other top rookies for 2009 were Jacob Gomes, the series’ 2009 national rookie of the year, and two females, Sloan Henderson of Franklin, Ohio, and Natalie Sather, Fargo, N.D.

Gomes, 16, of Manteca, Calif., collected three wins, 20 top 5s and 28 top 10s. He competed in the Western Late Model division at three California paved tracks including The New Stockton 99 Speedway, All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., and Madera Speedway.

The state rookie award winners will be honored Friday, Nov. 13 at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet at the Concord (N.C.) Convention Center along with the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion, U.S. state and Canadian provincial champions, track champions and special award winners.

To be eligible for the award drivers must have been first-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Feature Division license holders. The Superior Speedway joined NASCAR this season after longtime affiliation with WISSOTA.

The state or province Rookie of the Year Award winners of each state are determined by that driver’s highest 18 finishes at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks within their state.

NOTE: Nelson’s latest accomplishment includes two more feature wins last weekend at he Rick Gondik Law Office Proctober Fest at the Proctor Speedway.

Ken Olson is the sports editor of The Superior Telegram. Call him at (715) 395-5023 or e-mail kolson@superiortelegram.com

Tags: sports