Prep report: Solon Springs, Northwestern go into postseason on winning note

SOLON SPRINGS — In their last match before postseason play, Solon Springs made quick work of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe on Thursday, Oct. 13, earning a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-8) sweep.

Bailey Monson led the Solon Springs offense with eight kills.

Defense was a team effort, featuring three players with at least six digs, led by Paetyn Simenson's eight. Audrey Swanson had seven digs to go with five aces.

Solon Springs landed the seventh seed in the Division 4 regional tournament and will host Butternut on Tuesday.

Kayla Paulsen had six aces as the Tigers cruised to a sweep in their regular-season finale.

In addition to her serving, Paulsen had a team-best 11 kills and added nine digs.

Brynn and Shelby Hessel continued to fill up the stat sheet, with Brynn posting a double-double of 10 kills and a team-best 13 digs, while Shelby added nine kills and eight digs.

Brinley Tonn had 29 assists for the Tigers, who finished 21-10 overall, 6-3 in the Heart O'North Conference and will play at Prescott in a first-round WIAA tournament game on Tuesday.

In a rematch of last year's Section 7AAA final, Grand Rapids outperformed the visiting Lumberjacks after losing the first set 25-16.

Ava Carlson had 20 kills in a losing effort for Cloquet, while Quinn Danielson posted a team-best 25 digs.

The Eskomos went on the road and outlasted the Greyhounds, taking the fifth set 15-12.

Kyra Johnson had 17 kills and 15 digs in the win, while Gabby Martenson added 11 kills and 10 digs. Lizzie Hartlieb led the Eskomo defense with 18 digs.

Kaitlin Lattner posted 33 assists.

For East, Ayla Oltmanns had 15 kills and Riley Panger 13. Panger had a team-leading 22 digs, while Ola Okoro accumulated 32 assists.

University of Minnesota recruit Kendall Stadden had both goals for the top-seeded Bengals as they blanked the Greyhounds (9-8-1) 2-0 in Blaine.

Grand Rapids reached the section final for the first time in school history after winning a penalty shootout against fourth-seeded Hermantown after the teams drew 1-1 after 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute extra-time periods.

The top-seeded Thunderhawks will host the section final against second-seeded Cloquet-Carlton, a 3-0 winner at home against Duluth Denfeld.

Makayla Stirewalt scored the breakthrough goal for Cloquet-Carlton in the second half, then tacked on some insurance later in the game.

Duluth East's defense of its Section 7AAA championship ended in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday.

Dane Patten and Grady Downs scored for the Greyhounds in the first half, but the Bengals found two second-half goals to tie and got an overtime winner to eliminate the Greyhounds, 3-2.

Ivan Twinawe clawed the first goal back in the 51st minute, while Zachariah Sherian scored the equalizer in the 71st.

Less than two minutes before the match would have gone to penalties, it was Zac Triplett that claimed the overtime heroics.

In a back-and-forth thriller, the Lumberjacks built a 2-0, then briefly fell behind 3-2 in the second before Erik Johnson and Jordan Aultman both scored their second goals of the game.

Johnson's second goal tied it at 3 with 15 minutes to play before Aultman bagged a 78th-minute winner for the Lumberjacks.

Rico Rolle scored a pair of second-half goals for the fourth-seeded Thunderhawks. Will Stanley made 15 saves.

C-E-C goalie Lucas Rauner stopped four shots.

C-E-C and Duluth Denfeld will play on Tuesday night at Proctor for the section title.

Marshall kicked off its postseason run with the same free-wheeling style that got them through the regular season, scoring five times in the first half.

Brendan Friday scored the Hilltoppers' last four goals and assisted on one of two from Denzel Majwega.

Marshall will meet PACT Charter School in a semifinal on Saturday.

The Rails got four goals from four players and a pair of saves from Aiden Haala to get past Spectrum at Egerdahl Field.

Frank Amendola scored the game-winning goal for Proctor, which will face top-seeded Legacy Christian Academy in Andover in a section semifinal on Saturday.

In a junior vs. junior duel, South Ridge's Evelyn Brodeen prevailed to win top honors in the girls race at the Polar League cross country meet at Pincushion Mountain trails near Grand Marais.

Brodeen completed the 5-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 16.1 seconds, just 2.4 ahead of North Shore's Olya Wright. Carlton/Wrenshall seventh-grader Brielle Simula was third in 20:29.

Wright may have had the last laugh as the hosts won the team competition with 34 points to South Ridge's 43. Carlton/Wrenshall was third with 61.

In the boys' race, Cromwell/Wright senior Noah Foster rolled to victory in 16:31.6 with Ian Thorpe of North Shore 35 seconds back. South Ridge sophomore Alex Burckhardt was third.

Moose Lake/Willow River/Barnum edged North Shore 43-49 for team honors, with South Ridge third.

Solon Springs/Northwood dominated the final Indianhead Conference meet of the season, putting five scoring runners in the first seven places.

Dylan Taggart was the individual champion, the junior crossing the finish line in 17:00.2, 52 seconds ahead of teammate Isaac Dickenson.

It's Solon's third consecutive league title and sixth in seven years.

Washburn won the girls meet with Solon Springs/Northwood's Aubre Guttormson taking eighth individually.