Home of Champions 2015

By JOE MELLENBRUCHStaff Writer

[email protected]

Minot High girls swimmingcoachDanHintonwas a tiredmanlast fall.

Hewas also enduring the "scari-est situation" of his life.

On Aug. 15 - more than 11weeks prior to the initial due date- Hinton's wife, Dana, gave birth totwin boys. Nearly three monthspremature, the twins - namedDavis and Burke - were immedi-ately admitted to the Neonatal In-tensiveCareUnit (NICU) at TrinityHospital, where both remained in-cubated for the next severalweeks.

As a new parent, the idea ofworking a full-time job in light ofthat reality is unthinkable. Thosewho've done so surely understand.

Just askHinton. The girls swim-ming and diving season began justthree days after his children wereborn.

"Itwas certainly a heck of awayto start the year," saidHinton,whoin November led the Majettes totheir second consecutive state title."That whole first weekend was ablur. I certainly am happy that I

prepare as well as I do for the startof the season, because if I hadn'tbeen as prepared for that first day,it would have made things a lotmore difficult."

The news of the twins' birthcame as an initial shock toMinot'sstaff of assistant coaches. WithHinton and his wife expectingtwins, all parties involved ex-pected an early birth.

Just not 80 days early."Whenhe first sentme themes-

sage that they's been born, Ithought hewas kidding, because itwas a month or two earlier thanwhat we originally thought," saidJess Kelly, a sixth-year assistantwith theMajettes. "It was quite thesurprise, but I just said right awaywhen that happened, 'Don't worryabout it. We've got this.'"

Minot's first practice was con-ducted on Aug. 18 at Magic CityCampus. Soon after, Hintonpromptly returned to the pool forhis eighth season at the helm, justdays removed from the birth of hissons.

"He didn't want to miss out onanything if he could help it," Kellysaid. "He's definitely one to bethere and put in his time, and

show all the girls that they're a pri-ority to him."

But splitting time between

work and family wore on Hintonas the season progressed, espe-cially following the release of his

son, Davis, in mid-October.

For Minot girls swimming, family comes first

Submitted photo

Minot High girls swimming coach Dan Hinton, left, poses with his wife, Dana, and their new-born twins, Davis (left) and Burke (right), on Christmas Eve. Straddled with the stress of hisnewborn sons being initially hospitalized, Hinton led the Majettes to their second consecu-tive state title in November, less than two weeks removed from his son Burke's hospital re-lease.

With newborn twins, Hintonweathered the storm forMinot's 2nd straight title run

See FAMILY — Page 22

HOME of CHAMPIONS April 8, 2015Page 2

CONGRATULATIONSon your

PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE!1500 20th Ave, SE • Minot, ND

852-3308


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Minot High's boys hockey teamleft the Magic City on Wednesdayin search its first state title since1992.

Sunday at Maysa Arena, Minotfans welcomed those Magicianswith open arms.

Along with their championshiptrophy, of course.

To the delight of their cheeringfaithful, the Magi presented theirfanbase with the hardware forwhich they've so desperatelyhoped.

"One thing we were consistenton all year— andwe told the kidsat the beginning — we had highexpectations coming in," saidMinot first-year co-coach JohnGrubb, named state coach of theyear along with colleague JasonBennett. "With some timely scor-ing, some timely goaltending, wedid it."

They sure did.Led by a combined 95 saves

from senior goaltender Brey Effertz— the state tournament's mostvaluable player — the Magiciansclipped Grand Forks Central 2-1on Saturday at Scheels Arena inFargo to secure their second statechampionship in school history.

Now 2-0 in its last two title-game appearances, Minot is theonly West Region team to boastmultiple state championships.

"It's surreal," said Bennett, aninth-year coach for theMagiciansafter serving eight years as a varsityassistant. "Even when you're thereandyou'rehappy tobe in thecham-pionship game, your aim is just toget to that stage.

“After getting to that game, Ithink we were less stressed aboutplaying in the championship gamethan getting to the game itself, be-cause at that point anything canhappen."

Big-time BreyThe Magicians were outshot by

Central 38-17 during Saturday'stitle bout.

With that information alone,manywould have assumed certaindefeat forMinot.

Thankfully for the Magicians,goalie Brey Effertz picked an op-portune time to assume the formofhis life.

"That was the greatest goaltend-ing I've ever seen at Minot High,"Jason Bennett said. "It was prettyamazing."

With another 37 saves againstthe Knights, Effertz finished theyearwith a state-best 93.1 saveper-centage along with a 1.71 goals-against average. In his final sevengames as a high school competitor,he went 6-1-0, capping a 15-winseason forMinot'sMVP.

Saturday's title-clinchingvictoryisn't one he'll forget any time soon.

"Hands down the best game ofmycareer," Effertz said. "I'll remem-

ber that one for the rest of my life."Said Bennett: "The first two

games of the region tournament,

and then the three games at state,that's as good as he's been in his ca-reer. ... He shutout Bottineau, gave

up two to Century, one to DevilsLake, one to South, one to Central.That's pretty damn impressive."

Magicians stun state with second championship

Photo by Joe Mellenbruch/Minot Daily News

The Minot High boys hockey team celebrates after winning its second state title with a 2-1victory over Grand Forks Central at Scheels Arena in Fargo. Minot used stingy defense,great golatending and timely scoring to win the title.

HOME of CHAMPIONSApril 8, 2015 Page 3

Welcome home champsRyan Holmgren/MDN

Minot High’s boys hockey team poses with its state championshiptrophy and copies of The Minot Daily News during a pep rally atMaysa Arena. The Magicians beat Grand Forks Central 2-1 atFargo’s Scheels Arena to win their first state title since 1992. A po-lice escort led the team to its home arena, where hundreds of fansawaited the champions’ arrival.


CONGRATULATIONSTo All of Our

STATE CHAMPS!

By RYAN HOLMGRENSports Editor

[email protected]

Minot High’s gymnastics team couldn’thave asked for amuch better start to the statemeet.

During the team competition Fridayevening at Magic City Campus, the Majettesswept all four events by team score en routeto winning their 13th state championship inschool history.

Minot finished with 149.967 points — itsbest score this season — well ahead of sec-ond-place Dickinson (146.833), the two-timedefending state champion. Bismarck(142.300), Jamestown (138.267) and ValleyCity (137.917) rounded out the top five.

“It was nice to see them go out with thebest team scorewe’ve had all year,”Minot co-coachMarisaAlbertson said. “Seniors just hitit and the girls just rocked all their routines infront of the home crowd.”

“Sweet victory,” she added, grinning.SeniorMadisonReiterwon the all-around

portion of the team eventwith 37.567 points,besting Dickinson’s Acacia Fossum,who fin-ished with 37.317. Majettes junior HannahWerchau took third placewith 37.517, whileteammate Savannah Fix cracked the top 10with 36.283, good for sixth.

Reiter also took home top honors in thevault, recording a 9.783.

But the event that mattered most — theteam competition — brought the biggestsmile to Reiter’s face.

“It was really exciting to be back on top ofthe podium for first place after not having thebest of years last year and getting second,”Reiter said. “But we’re more consistent thisyear. Coming into this I knew that we weregoing to do good. I was positive we’d do

well.”A lack of depth plagued the Majettes the

past two years after they had won fourstraight state titles from 2009-12.

This year, Minot’s best quality — thanksto strong all-around talent and a gifted seniorclass — was its consistency. Entering thestate meet, Albertson’s squad averaged overthree points more than any other team.

But averages can’t win titles.“Gymnastics is a tough sport because it

doesn’t matter, you have to hit (your rou-tines),” Albertson said. “And yes, they areloaded with talent this year, but they didhave to hit their routines.”

And they did.The Majettes were strong in all four

events, especially bars, beam and floor, inwhich they outscored the field by 0.800points or more in each.

“Usually bars and beam is what wins it,”senior Jenna Breuer said. “When we hit that,I’m like, ‘Yup, we’re good.’ ”

Said Reiter: “After we had our three hugebeam routines — me, Jenna and Hannah —after we hit those I was pretty positive thatwe pulled past (Dickinson) pretty well.”

Beginning at 1 p.m. today, the Majetteswill compete in the individual competition.Reiter andWerchau are expected to contendfor the all-around title.

Winning the team title, Albertson said,takes a load of pressure off Minot headinginto the second and final day of the meet.

“High school gymnastics is fun becausethere’s such a team atmosphere so the girlsjust wanted it big tonight,” she said. “So to-morrow they’ll be a little bit more relaxed.They’re going to have a little bit more fun.”

RyanHolmgren covers Minot State athlet-ics and high school sports. Follow him onTwitter @ryanholmgren.

Majettes vault to lucky 13th state title in gymnastics

Ryan Holmgren/MDN

Minot High’s gymnastics team poses with the state championship trophyatop the podium at Magic City Campus. The Majettes won their 13th statetitle in dominating fashion.


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Bishop Ryan girls make it three straight titlesBy Ryan Holmgren

Sports [email protected]

As the final seconds ticked offthe clock at the Minot State Domeon Saturday night, Bishop Ryansolidified its place inhistory as oneof the all-time greatest dynasties - ifnot the greatest - in North DakotaClass B girls basketball.

The Lions' recent four-year runwas unprecedented, and likelywon't be replicated anytime soon.

One hundred seven victories.Eleven state tournament wins.Three state titles.

During that stretch, Ryan brokethe state record for consecutiveswins with 63, besting Larimore'soldmark by six. The Lions own anactive streak of 83 straight winsagainst Class B opponents. Theschool's four state titles all timeand three in a row tie Bottineau forthe most ever in each category.

All of this is well-documented.And the Lions' success

stemmed from their focus onsports writers' biggest pet peeve -"the little things" - rather than thewins and losses.

Time after time, Ryan coachJulie Stewart and her playersspouted out every clichin the book.

"We're just taking it one game ata time."

"We justwant to get better everytime we step on the floor."

"We're focused onworking hardin practice and in games. As long

as we give it our all, we'll be satis-fied."

Journalists hate those types ofquotes. They're called coach speak- what a coach often says insteadof actually answering the questionin an effort to be politically correct.

Wewant players and coaches totell it like it is and shoot from thehip.

But the thing is, the Lions weretelling the truth. It wasn't an act.

For Ryan's girls basketball pro-gram, caring about "the littlethings" has been the key to its suc-cess.

The Lions have kept it simpleand worried about fine-tuningtheir 1-3-1 zone and outlet passesrather than listening to what any-one and everyone has to say abouttheirwinning streak, chasingmorestate championships andhow theyshouldmove up to Class A (whichis absurd onmany levels, but that'sneither here nor there).

Yes, Stewart has been blessedwith talent, most notably seniorforwards Hannah Stewart andGabbie Bohl along with AnikaRovig, who now plays for CuestaCollege in California.

Where Julie Stewart has thrivedis in getting her team to "buy in" -another classic case of coachspeak.

But it's true, she did exactlythat. She kept her best players'noses to the grindstone, rightalongside the role players, whocontributed what's been asked of

them.Former Lions like Laurin Leid-

holt, Quinn Harmon and SydneyLandsiedelweren't stars. Butwith-out those players pulling their

weight, the winning streak doesn'thappen and the state titles are along shot. All-state selections likeStewart, Bohl and Rovig neededthem.

Lakota-Edmore senior forwardFallyn Freije is an example of oneplayer with limited help from her

Photo by Ryan Holmgren/Minot Daily News

Bishop Ryan Coach Julie Stewart talks to her team during the state tournament in Minot.

See RYAN— Page 13



[email protected]

Themarkof a successful athleticteam is never being satisfied withall you’ve already accomplished.

Minot High’s boys basketballteam is a shining example.

Despite winning 22 games thisseason by at least 10 points — and15 by at least 20 — the Magicianswerealwaysquick topoint out theirshortcomings, even in light of over-whleming victory.

Some call it a perfectionist’smentality.

After Saturday’s win over Cen-tury, Minot fans can proudly call ita champion’smentality.

“It's unbelievable,” said Minotcoach Dean Winczewski, mereminutes afterhis team’s title-clinch-ing 61-59 victory over the Patriotsat the Fargodome. “What an awe-some feeling."

Your guys earned it, coach.With all but one starter return-

ing to a squad already brimmingwith varsity experience, the Magi-cians kicked off the 2014-15 cam-paignwith the state’sNo. 1 rankingand a mountain of expectation forwhich to aspire.

They knew right away that theywere capable of accomplishingsomething special.

But they weren’t about to letoverconfidencedisrupt theirpath toa Class A title.

Fromtheir season-opening tipoffagainst Fargo North in early De-

cember toSaturday’s title-clinchingvictory, the Magi were ready towork.

“That No. 1 ranking is cool, but

it means absolutely nothing,” sen-ior forward Noah Bosh told TheMinotDailyNewsonDec. 3. “If thetarget’s on our back then we wel-

come that, but we have to go earnit.”

They sure had to earn it Satur-day against Century, which lost its

top scorer — forward DaltonFeeney — to a season-ending footinjury less than two weeks beforestate.

Magi cap near-perfect season with first title since 1999

Al Christianson/Minot Daily News

The Minot boys basketball team celebrates after winning the state championship with a 61-59 victory over Bismarck Cen-tury.


By JOHN DENEGAStaff Writer

[email protected]

Rugby entered this basketballseasonwith one goal inmind.

OnSaturdaynight, beforeanan-nouncedcrowdof10,921 fansat theBismarck Event Center, the Pan-thers accomplished that goal.

Rugby returned to the stagewhere it had come excruciatingclose toastatechampionship—los-ing toOakGrove in overtime in the2014 state championship game —andfinished thedealbybeatingNo.1-seeded Four Winds-Min-newaukan 54-40 for the 2015 ClassB crown.

“Words can’t describe how itfeels to win a state championship,”seniorguardTannerBernhardt said.“Ever since the buzzer sounded lastyear wewanted nothingmore thantowin it this year.”

It was a long off season for thePanthers.Playerswereheartbroken,mad, but more importantly, moti-vated. They wanted to get back tothe pinnacle of Class B basketballand complete unfinished business.

“Theywere really focused in thesummer, going to tournaments andgetting better so that they could getback and win and finish the deal,”Rugby coachMike Santjer said.

Rugby’s journeybeganwith fourconvincingwinsbyanaverageof36points.

But then just afterChristmas, ad-versity came calling. Beulah, an 0-1team that had suffered a near 20-

pointbeatdownat thehandsofFW-M a week prior, dealt the Pantherstheir first regular-season loss in twoyears.

It did not factor in the Panthers’quest at a district or regional cham-pionship, but it served as awakeupcall.

“I don’twant to say itwas a goodloss, but I think it kindofbroughtusback to reality abit,”Santjer said. “Ittaught us that we can’t just step outonto the floor and wins games butthat we have to play our best eachand every time out on the floor.”

Said senior guard Nolan Hov-land: “It lit a fire under us.”

And did it ever.Rugbydefeated its district oppo-

nents by and average of 43.1 pointsper game along with beating othertop teams in the state Dunseith andNorthStarbyacombined41points.

Onegamethatdidnotcomeeasyor with a gaudy point differentialwas against a top-five team inBerthold at the Minot MunicipalAuditorium on Jan. 31. Both clubstraded blows, with Rugby eventu-allywearingBertholddownwith itssize for a 67-58 victory. The Pan-thers got the upper hand, but theteamsmetagainwithmuchmoreatstake.

Before that rematch, though,Rugby traveled toFortTotten to takeon top-ranked FW-M.

The Indians were superior onFeb. 10, building as large as a 19-point second-half lead before hold-ing on for a 61-60 win. It wasanother loss for the Panthers, but

just like the loss to Beulah it wasviewed in a positive light.

“Playing Four Winds helped usbecauseweknewtheirpersonalandknew what they liked to run goinginto thestate tournament,”Hovlandsaid.

The Panthers’ dominance in theregular season translated to theDis-trict 11 tournamentandculminatedin the championship game, whenthePanthersheldDrake-Anamoose

to five first-half points en route torolling the Raiders 67-22.

Next stop, the Region 6 tourna-ment and a rematch with Bertholdin the championship game.

Rugby seized adouble-digit sec-ond-half lead before Berthold sen-ior guard Austin Lee hit a flurry of3s to help the Bombers climb backin it.

Lee had one last look at a poten-tial game-tying 3 in thewaning sec-

onds, but it rimmed out and thePanthers advanced to their thirdconsecutive state tournament.

The Panthers trek to state wasnot an easy one. They played nu-merous top teams. They had tastedthe bitterness of defeat.

Rugbywas as ready as any teamin the state tournament.

“We were definitely battletested,” Bernhardt said.

And it showed.

Heartache propels Rugby boys to state hoops title

Photo by Ryan Holmgren/Minot Daily News

The Rugby boys basketball team celebrates with its fans after winning the Class B state titlewith a 54-40 win over Four Winds-Minnewaukan.

CONGRATULATIONSon an Excellent Season

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Champions of the North Dakota basketball world

Photos by Al Christianson andRyan Holmgren/Minot Daily News

Bishop Ryan’s Maddie Wald(3) drives to the basket duringthe state championship gameagainst Kindred, left. Above,Rugby’s Noland Hovlandcelebrates the Panthers’ statetitle. Right, Minot sophomoreJustin Egg (30) goes up fora basket during the Magi-cians’ semifinal victory overFargo Davies at the Far-godome.


CONGRATULATIONSon a

GREATSEASON

By RYAN HOLMGRENSports Editor

[email protected]

Minot High’s state vault cham-pion picked herself off the mat atMagic City Campus not once, buttwice Saturday afternoon.

Afterwinning theall-aroundpor-tion of the statemeet’s team compe-tition Friday,Madison Reiter set hersights on claiming the all-aroundtitle the following day in the indi-vidual competition.

Thump.InReiter’s first event, she suffered

a costly fall on the uneven bars thatplummeted her score to 8.833 in anevent in which she posted a 9.400the night before.

The fall putherdown,butnotoutof the running for the all-aroundtitle.

Thump.Inher secondevent,Reiter fell on

the balance beam and settled for a9.000 — 0.650 below her score Fri-day.

That fall made it impossible totop Dickinson junior Acacia Fos-sum’s winning score of 38.667 —tied for the fourth best all-aroundtotal in statemeet history, and 0.100better than Reiter’s impressive tallyfrom Friday.

ButReiter, named the state’s sen-ior athlete of the year, proved thatshe’s just as strongmentally and sheis physically.

“She’s a determined athlete,”Minot co-coach Marisa Albertsonsaid. “She’s got a great work ethic.

InReiter’s third event, she turnedinoneofher top floor routines of theseason. She leaped and danced andtumbled her way to a 9.783, a mere0.017 shy of Fossum’s first-place9.800.

But Reiter was just beginning tofind her groove.

In the final event of her prep ca-reer, she flipped and twisted nearlyimpeccably for a winning score of9.717on fault.Thathelpedboostherall-around total to 37.333, good forthird place. But more importantly,she became Minot’s first individualevent winner since SamanthaHuether won the same event in2011.

“I’m really glad that I could atleastwin the vault after I had startedoutpretty toughonbars andbeam. Itdidn’t feel so good after I did that,”said Reiter, the Majettes’ first seniorathlete of the year since BrooklynBender in 2010. “Doing my vaultand nailing that was really nice sothat I could win vault for my senioryear.”

Albertson called Reiter’s shot be-fore her vault, saying that, “She’s gotthis one.”

Reiterprovedshewasbentonfin-ishinghercareeronahighnote, evenif it didn’t include an all-around title.With her score, she edged Fossum—whoalsoplaced first onbeamandbars en route toher fourth career all-around title— by 0.067 points.

“It was bittersweet competing inmy last competition in this leotard,but I’m reallyhappy that I could endmycareerwithmy team—I lovemy

team — and ending it with a 2015state championship,” Reiter said.

TheMajettes rolledFriday to theirfifth team championship in sevenyears.

Reiter and junior Hannah Wer-chau were all-around hopefuls, butneither could accomplish that feat.Werchau finished fourth in the all-around with 36.967 points. SeniorJennaBreuer (36.683) and juniorSa-vannah Fix (36.483) placed seventhand eighth, respectively. OliviaSchoffstall (14th) and StephanieHuether (18th) also cracked the top20.

“With the bigger skills, it’s toughto go back to back,” Albertson said.“They’re older, they get a little morefatigued. They wanted big day yes-terday, andwe emphasize the team.If you asked anyof them, if theyhadto pick which day to perform at thetop, theywould’ve all picked yester-day. It would’ve been a bonus to hittwo days in a row but it doesn’t al-ways happen that way.”

BreuerwasMinot’s top finisher inBeam(second,9.650)andbars (third,9.267).

But it was Reiter who camethrough and persevered, winningher first individual state title.

Albertson said Reiter’s teamnever doubted her.

“Madison is explosive, she’s apowerhouse,” she said. “She’s fun towatch. ... It camewith her last eventafter a real rough start. That speaksto her determination and focus to goout as a state champion on thevault.”

Reiter picks herself off the mat, wins state title in vault

Ryan Holmgren/MDN

Minot High senior Madison Reiter scored 9.717 points onvault at Magic City Campus to secure the Majettes’ first indi-vidual state title since 2011.


By CHRIS AARHUSFor the Minot Daily News

[email protected]

BISMARCK—When it comes toplaying sports, Brad Heidlebaughdoesn't have a preference.

As long as it's competition, theRugby senior is on board.

"I like it all," he said. "Football hasbeena lot of fun, and I'vebeenprettysuccessful inbasketball. It's all fun tome."

The 6-foot-4 forward has comeout on topmany times, andhedid itagain on Saturday at the BismarckEvent Center, being namedMr. Bas-ketball by garnering 11 of 21 first-place votes and 79 points.

The award is presented annuallyby the North Dakota AssociatedPress Sportscasters and Sportswrit-ers Association.

"To just be nominated is anhonor," Heidlebaugh said. "To re-ceive it (is) really a great honor. Allthree finalists are deserving."

Heidlebaugh averaged 20.3points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and2.1 steals per game tobeat outMinotHigh's Dakota Halvorson and OakGrove's Carter Kretchman. He isRugby's first winner.

"It's not like it just happened,"Rugby coach Mike Santjer said ofHeidlebaugh's success. "He's defi-nitelyput ina tonof time.He spendsa lot of hours in the gym. It's beenfun to see him develop over theyears."

A first-team all-state quarterbacklast fall and a first-team all-state se-lection on the basketball court as a

junior, Heidlebaugh stays busy. Hewas Class B's state runner-up in thetriple jump lastMay.

"Whatever he wants to do, he'sgoing to give it his all andbe as goodas he possibly can," Santjer said."Some kids make mistakes whenthey save themselves for one sport.He plays them all verywell."

Heidlebaugh has been essentialinhelping thePanthers to their thirdconsecutive Class B state tourna-ment. He has done so with a will-ingness to play all five positions.

"If I'm needed to bring the balldown or go post up and score, I'll dothat," Heidlebaugh said. "I just playthrough my teammates —they de-serve all the credit in the world.Without them, I wouldn't be in thesituation I'm in."

Heidlebaugh is headed to theUniversityofNorthDakotaona foot-ball scholarship. Coaches have saidthey'll start him out at quarterback,but he could be moved to wide re-ceiver.

"Whatever role you need him toplay on the team, he just does it,"Santjer said. "For him to accomplishas much as he has in all the sportshe plays, that's a testament to thetype of person he is."

Halvorson, a 5-9 point guard, av-eraged17.1points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.6assists and 2.2 steals per game. TheClass A state tournament's mostvaluable player led theMagicians totheir first championship since 1999.He received eight first-place votesand 69 points. He is verbally com-mitted to play forMinot State.

The 5-8 Kretchman led Oak

Grove back to theClass B state tour-nament from his point-guard posi-tion,withper-game averages of 18.5points, 6.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and

2 steals. He was the state tourna-ment MVP as a junior, leading theGrovers to the championship. Hehad two first-place votes and 41

points.

Follow the Minot Daily Newssports staff onTwitter@MDN_Sports.

Rugby senior Heidlebaugh wins Mr. Basketball crown

Ryan Holmgren/MDN

Senior forwardBrad Heidlebaughwas named Rugby's first Mr.Basketball Award winner at theBismarck Event Center.Minot High'sDakota Halvorson and Oak Grove'sCarter Kretchmanwere the other two finalists.


By CHRIS AARHUSFor the Minot Daily News

[email protected]

FARGO — Hannah Stewart hasbeen hanging around the game ofbasketball since shewas little.

Still, the 6-foot-3 senior forwardfrom Bishop Ryan is quick to pointout that her parents — both basket-ball coaches — never pushed herinto it.

âI grewuparoundbasketball, buttheywould never forceme to play asport that I donát want to play,ãStewart said. âMyparents trustedmetomakemy own decisions.ã

Stewartás dedication helped theLionswin three straightClassB statechampionships.

OnSaturday, she added theMissBasketball award to her trophy case,garnering 12 of 19 first-place votesand 69 points. The award is pre-sented by the North Dakota Associ-ated Press Sports-casters andSportswriters Association.

âItás definitely an honor,ã saidStewart, Class Bás first Miss Basket-ball since Kidder Countyás Eli Benzin 2009. âThere have been a lot ofgreat players win it in the past, anditás anhonor tobeconsideredamongthem.ã

Stewart is Ryanás first Miss Bas-ketball and only the second finalistin program history, the other beingKara Bailey in 1993. Stewart aver-aged 19.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.7steals, 4.6 blocks and 4.3 assists pergame.

She took a liking to softballwhen

she was younger, while her mother,Julie, and father, Pete, were collegebasketball coaches in the state ofWashington. And while Hannahwas around basketball often, herlove of the game was started on herterms.

âThatás how we approach all ofour kids,ã said Julie, girls basketballcoach forRyan thepast four seasons.âWe open the door for them. If youwant to work on this, we can helpyou.

“But then it becomes their deci-sion, and then she owns it. Whentheymake that commitment toworkand get better, itás really a lot of joyfor them.ã

Stewart is going forher fourthall-state award this season. She was afirst-team selection as a junior andsophomore, and a second-teamer asa freshman. Sheás also a three-timestate-tournamentMVP.

Looking back, Stewart thinksabout the growthbetweenher fresh-man and sophomore seasons thatpaved theway for her success.

âThatás when I really startedworking in the offseason,ã the Uni-versity of Iowa commit said. âI lifteda lot, and I really took time to im-provemy game.ã

Other finalists were Lakota-Ed-moreás Fallyn Freije, Fargo DaviesáAlexis Klabo and Bishop RyanásGabbie Bohl.

Freije, a 6-foot forward, averaged25.3points, 13.2 rebounds, 2.5 stealsand 2.4 blocks per game. She re-ceived five first-place votes and 54points.

Klabo, a 6-foot-2 forward, wasClassAás topscorer at 25.5pointspergame, adding per-game averages of8.8 rebounds and2.8 blocks. She re-

ceived two first-place votes and 39points.

Bohl, a6-foot-2 forward, averaged21 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9

steals per game. She received ninepoints in the voting.

Follow the Minot Daily Newssports staff onTwitter@MDN_Sports.

Ryan’s Hannah Stewart namedMiss Basketball

Ryan Holmgren/MDN

Bishop Ryan senior Hannah Stewart fires up a jump shot. Stewart was named Miss Bas-ketball for North Dakota on March 14, the first winner for Bishop Ryan.


supporting cast. Freije, headed to theUni-versity of North Dakota, carried her teamto a fifth-place finish over the weekend.On the biggest stage, though, one playerisn't enough, and neither is two.

Ryan senior guard Maddie Wald pro-gressed well through Julie Stewart's sys-tem, and without her quarterfinalperformance against ShilohChristian, theSkyhawks might've had a chance at anupset while Hannah Stewart dealt withfoul trouble.

Junior guard Sheyenne Schmidt hitfour 3-pointers in the championship gameagainst Kindred.

"We had to pick our poison," Kindredcoach Perry Piatz said.

Without that spark, the Vikingswould've been level at halftime, needingto beat Ryan only in the second half.

Julie Stewart's players know their roles.She's kept it simple for them:?Do your

jobs. Focus on the little things."We just need to take it one game at a

time and when the first game starts weneed to take it one play at a time and onepass at a time," Hannah Stewart said be-fore the state tournament.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.That laser focus helped the Lions flirt

with perfection, losing once in three years.Ryan is a long shot to win a fourth

straight state title, and even to make the2016 state tournament.

But the Lions' detractorswon't see themfall off the wagon in upcoming years.

Beyond the team and individual acco-lades, there's a plan that'sworked time andagain.

Here's a cliche: If it ain't broke, don't fixit.

RYANContinued from Page 6

Photo by Ryan Holm-gren/Minot Daily News

Bishop Ryansenior pointguard MaddieWald drives tothe basket fortwo pointsagainst ShilohChristian in theClass B StateTo u r n amen t .Bishop Ryanwon its thirdstraight statetitle.


GRAND FORKS — Two teamsfrom the Magic City were crownedchampions at the North DakotaCheerCoachAssociation’s 2014FallState Cheer Championships at RedRiverHighSchool inGrandForksonNov. 15. Minot High School andBishop Ryan High School won firstplace in their divisions, along withmultiple awards.

Minot High competed in theLarge Varsity Class A division with24 competitors, finishing firstwith ascoreof 251.5, followedbyBismarckCentury with 243.5. Minot’s themewas “Bring the Action, Bring theNoise.”

Minot’s J’Kobe Wallace won theClass A All-Around Cheerleaderaward, with teammate AbbyHoward placing second. Wallaceand Howard performed solo rou-tines with cheer, jumps and tum-bling to show their top skills to winthe award.

Minot’s five-member stunt groupplaced third. Members of the stuntgroup were Wallace, Howard, CiaraLunstad, EmilyStauffer andCassidyBockoven.

SeniorsHayley andKaleyWalterwere awarded the NDCCA SeniorHonorAward for their dedication tothe sport and their team. TheMinotHigh School Team received theTeam Scholar Award for a compos-ite grade point average above 3.2based on a 4.0 system.

MinotHighSchool is coachedbyCarly Gates and Sarah Magnuson.Gates andMagnusoncreated, chore-ographed, and coached the MHS

routine that received the highestscore of the day from the judges.Minot High School will begin thewinter sports season along withcompeting at the UCA Spirit of

AmericaCheer competition in Janu-ary. The competition will be held attheMall ofAmerica inBloomington,Minn.

Other members of the Minot

High School team include FaithAmsbury, Grace Baggett, TaylorBenjamin, Jordan Bergeron, AllisonDean, Cindy Deegan, RebeccaHenry, Makenna Hesch, Abby

Howard, Vytalli Klimpel, SamanthaMongillo, Bridgette Morgan, BethPresley, Sydney Smith, Cassie Wel-nel,McKenzieYoung,DanielaZafraand Karissa Zumbo.

Minot High cheerleaders win state championship

Submitted photo

Members of the Minot High School cheerleading team are Cindy Deegan, Rebecca Henry, KayleyWalter, Emily Stauf-fer, Abby Howard, Hayley Walter, Cassidy Bockoven, McKenzie Young, Cassie Welnel, Allison Dean, MakennaHesch, Jordan Bergeron, Vytalli Klimpel, Faith Amsbury, Taylor Benjamin, Samantha Mongillo, Sydney Smith,Daniela Zafra, Ciara Lunstad, J’KobeWallace, Grace Baggett, Karissa Zumbo, Beth Presley and Bridgette Morgan.


CONGRATULATIONSon bringing the “Magic” back to Minot!

We’re so proud of yourhard work this season!

From Staff [email protected]

Bishop Ryan High School wonthe Class B Division at the NorthDakota Cheer Coach Association’s2014 Fall State Cheer Champi-onships at Red River High SchoolinGrandForksonNov.15with 238points, followed by Rugby HighSchool with 206 points.

The Ryan team, coached byKayla Leintz and assisted by Han-nah Kramer, continued the com-petition by winning the Class BStunt Group, the Team ScholarAward, and also won the Class BJump-offwithRyan seniorMcKen-zie Leintz in an exciting finalround of two jumpers.

Members of the Bishop Ryanteam are Leintz, Kelsi Halverson,Brooke Bachmeier, Megan Hardy,Bridgette Lutton and Eleni Gar-brandt.

Follow the Minot Daily Newssports staff on Twitter@MDN_sports.

Bishop Ryan captures Class B cheerleading title

Submitted photo

Members of the Bishop RyanHigh School cheerleadingteam are, from left, assistantcoach Hannah Kramer,Kelsi Halvorson, BrookeBachmeier, Megan Hardy,McKenzie Leintz, BridgetteLutton, Eleni Garbrandt andhead coach Kayla Leintz.


By BRYCE BERGINSKIPierce County Tribune

When it comes to being judgedby difficulty, creativity, techniqueand execution, for cheerleadersstunting at the state competitionevery aspect is crucial.

"It takes focus, determinationand trust to be a successful stuntingteam," said senior Rugby cheer-leader Helen Johnson.

For the Rugby cheer team, 13girls — including Johnson andfreshmenAlissa Volk, Aimee York,Corinna Bell and Brianna Leier —were in two pyramids, doing asmany stunts as they could in oneminute. Johnson said that in prac-ticing their stunts, communicationbetween every one of them is cru-cial.

"If onegroupdoesn't goup, it canaffect the outcome of the stunt as awhole," Johnson said. "By doingstunts that relysomuchonevery in-dividual, we risk the stunt failingdue to miscommunication or werisknot showcasingacertainpart ofthe pyramid — which can affectscoring.

"(The pyramids) were nailed atcompetition because we trustedeach other and we knew that wewere all going to do our individualpartsbecauseof thecountlessnum-ber of timesweperformed the stuntat practice," Johnson said.

The stunt team took secondplace.With that, Leier advancing tothe second round of the jump-offcompetition and freshman Haylee

Miron taking second in the all-around (one minute of cheering,jumps and tumbling) event, thecheer team was able to take a firstplace finish out of 11 teams in thewinter competition last weekend atBismarckHigh School.

Head coach Deanne Nelsoncouldn't be more proud of hersquad.

"They had a busy winter withcheeringanddidn'thave time toput

this routine together until a weekbefore," Nelson said. "They workedextremely hard and it paid off."

According to Nelson, Johnsonand fellow senior cheerleaderAlyssa Mattern help come up withroutines, which the squad as awhole then tweaksoutof safetyor ifsomething doesn't work.

Johnson said that coming upwitha routine startsbyexperiment-ing with different stunts during

practice.Once theyareconfidentwith the

stunts, thesquadshowcases thematgames. The squad then combinesthe stunts into a competition rou-tine.

The team competes in the fallandwinter anddoesadifferent rou-tine for each competition.

"We (Nelson and assistantcoaches Ashley Stricker and PaigeBrossart) always tell the girls, 'No

matter what happens, be proud be-cause you came up with (the rou-tine) on your own'," Nelson said.

For Nelson and company, com-petition is the icingon thecake for aseason of cheerleading.

"Cheering for the team comesfirst, competition is second.We tellthemthat fromdayoneand theyallunderstandandagree,"Nelsonsaid."We don't cheer to compete, wecompete becausewe cheer."

Rugby cheer team clinches winter state championship

Submitted photo

Members of the Rugby cheerleading team pose for a photo after winning the state championship.


Minot cheerleaders dominate state competition

Submitted photos

Minot High’s Emily Stauffer, left, performs a stunt during the state cheerleading competi-tion. Above, Bishop Ryan competes as a team.


By DAVID RUPKALVISEditor

[email protected]

As a journalist, I grewupon the sideline athigh school football games.

My first job was as a sports reporter insouthern Arizona, and I covered two highschools with average football teams. While Iloved covering football, I never covered ateam thatmade the playoffs. So I understandhowdifficult it is tomake the playoffs,muchless find a way to win once there.

After Imoved toTexas, I also began to un-derstand how a good football team can en-gross the whole community. I watched asSmithson Valley reached the state champi-onship game only to lose on a last-secondfield goal to the No. 1 ranked team in thestate.

A few years later, after my son began toplay, I watched as Graham had a season toremember, winning three playoff gameswhere they were the underdog to reach thestate title game. Graham also lost, but onlyafter pushing the three-time defendingchamps to the brink. With a minute left,Graham scored to close within one andtried a trick play for a two-point conversionthat failed.

The heartbreak that day was only mir-rored by the pride I felt for a group of teenswho worked together to overcome immenseodds.

I never imagined I would find the samething when I came to Minot. Heck midwaythrough the year, the Magicians dropped a50-14decision toBismarck, the unaninimousNo. 1 team in the state. But after that game,something happened.

Minot began playing its game. It wasnát

high-flying, it wasnát fancy, but it was theepitome of football. Strong defense, a goodrunning game, few mistakes and the occas-sional big play led Minot on a strong run asthe season ended.

In the regular season finale, Minot gave ahint of what was to come with a 15-0 winover Dickinson. Therewas little flashy in thegame. But a strong team defense and an of-fense that made just enough big plays led tothe win.

In the postseason, Minot was the under-dog every game. In theplayoff opener againstWest Fargo, the Magicians did what they dobest. Theyused a stifling defense and a strongrunning attack to take a 24-8 victory.

But the funwas supposed to end there. Inthe semifinals, the big, badBismarckDemonswere waiting. Bismarck was undefeated andhad a string of seven straight seasons in theDakota Bowl. Oh, and the same team beatMinot by 36 points just a few weeks earlier.While the pundits gave Minot almost nochance, the Magicians believed.

Andon a coldnight under the stars,Minotnot only beat Bismarck, the Magicians beatthem up. The Minot defense swarmed theBismarck running game, made one huge in-terception and kept the Demons in check allnight. Offensively, Minot did exactly what ithad to do. No mistakes, a few big plays andscores when they got in the red zone. By theend of the night, a new champion emergedfrom the west as Minot won 22-7.

In the Dakota Bowl, Minot met its match.But even in defeat, theMagicians never quit.

And even in the loss, they laid a founda-tion that can be built on for years to come.

After watching these Magicians stun thefootballworld in 2014, I have highhopes andhigher expectations next year.

Letás go Magicians.

Consecutive upsets lift Magi football to Dakota Bowl

Submitted photo

Minot running back Karter Gorney runs for a first down during Minot’s15-0 win over Dickinson on Oct. 24.


By JOHN DENEGAStaff Writer

[email protected]

Minot high boys swim team en-tered the state swim meet witheyes on its first state championshipsince 2011.

The Magicians were fresh offdefeating their biggest competitor,Century, in the West Region meetand appeared poised to completethat same feat a week later at thestate meet.

It wasnát meant to be.Minot may have come a few

points short of a state title, but onemeet does not define a season.

âWe had an enjoyable and suc-cessful season,ã Minot coach JakeSolper said. âWewere competitiveand swamwith a lot of intensity allyear.

âIt was nice to bring the WDAtrophyhome. You always shoot fora state title, but there are differentways to measure success and wewere competitive with the statechampions, Bismarck Century.ã

TheMagicianswere led by sen-ior captain Justin Kovich ä thesenior athlete of the year ä whoclaimed his second consecutivestate title in the 50 and 100-yardfreestyle.

âIt is not a common occurrenceto have a two-time state championonyour team,ã Solper said. âWe re-ally appreciated everything he did.Hemade our relays really compet-itive andmore than thatmotivated

everyone with his hard work anddedication all year long.ã

Kovich was not the only Magi-cian to have a banner year.

Fellow seniors Jeremy Evansand Jordan funk, whowere namedsecond team all state, swam inchampionship heats at the statetournament finishing their careerson a high note as well.

âThe 17 seniors made for a spe-cial season,ã Solper said. They ledwith great leadership all year.ã

SophomoreGeraldBrown,whowas named to the all-state team,won several races in duals and in-vitational, all culminating in a twosecond place finished at the statemeet in the 200 individual medleyand the 100 backstroke.

âThe current junior class issmall but they, and the sophomoreclass which includes Brown, willstep up and fill the shoes that the17 seniors left,ã Solper said.

On the diving side Minot wasarguably the strongest team in thestate placing three divers in the topeight.

Sophomore Cole Armagostplaced thirdwhile seniorsKodySt-role and senior Kao Jenne tooksixth and seventh, respectively.

The Magicians lose a lot from aspecial team, but the future isbright with a slew of young com-petitive swimmers and divers.

John Denega covers high schoolsports and general assignments.Follow him on Twitter @John-Denega_MDN.

Minot has another solid season, places second at state


Minot senior Justin Kovich is all smiles after reaching the wall first to win his second straightstate title in the 50-meter sprint.

Congratulations to all the teamson a job well done in 2014/15!

Good luck, and we look forwardto watching you next season!

Velva and Minot www.verendrye.com

1-800-472-2141


Minot State hockey makes a splash on national stage

Joe Mellenbruch/MDN

Minot State junior forward Dwight Lee looks toward the net during a home series against Illinois. Lee is one of 20 playersslated to return for the Beavers this fall.


[email protected]

It's championship or bust forMinot State'smen's hockey team.

That's according to MSU coachWadeRegier,who twoweeksago ledthe Beavers to their second ACHAnational semifinal appearance inthree years.

More often than not, final-fourqualifiers are experience-ladenteams, squads suddenly burdendedwith the offseason task of replacingveteran talent.

But that won't be a concern forMinotState,which is slated to returnnearly 80 percent of its roster for the2015-16 season.

And the Beavers are setting thebar high.

"It's going tobeahugeexpectationfor us to win a national title," Regiersaid, "and not to be cocky in how Isay this,buthonestlyourexpectationis tonot lose a single gamenext year.With the talent thatwehave and theexperience coming back from lastyear, we're looking for some guys totake huge steps forward.

"Winning a championship goingto be our expectation next season,without a doubt."

Minot State's goals are lofty, butthat wasn't exactly the case sixmonths ago.

With 10 freshman on a roster al-ready wanting for upper-class expe-rience, Regier's early-season focus

See NATIONAL— Page 21


wasn't quite as ambitious."When you bring in a big recruiting class of 10 guys, there's

certainly going to be a learning curve, especially early on in theyear,"Regier said. "But forourguys,we reallyput things togethermidwaythroughtheseason,andasweapproachedtheendof theyear,wehadabelief as aprogramthatwecouldgo that far at thenational tournment if we played our style of hockey.

"At the beginning, I was certainly not going to write a guar-antee that we'd go far in the tournament. But toward the end ofthe year, I was telling people that we had a legitimate shot ofgoingdeep, certainly getting to the final four and then letting thechips fall as they come."

TheBeavers accomplished the latter of those goalswith con-secutive comeback victories over No. 16 Davenport and No. 11Liberty, includinga5-4overtimevictoryover thePanthersat IMBArena in Strongville, Ohio.Minot State eventually ran into sec-ond-rankedCentralOklahoma - theeventual champion - againstwhich the Beaverswerewinless in three games this season.

Of the26non-goaltendersonMSU's roster this season,18 reg-istered at least 10 points.

Eight were freshmen, and all but two return for the Beaversthis fall.

That's an excitingnotion forMinotState,which ispositionedto remain one of thenation's topACHAcontenders, particularlyin light ofArizonaState'smove to theDivision I ranks. This sea-son was about implementing a new group of players, gettingthemtobuy into theMSUhockeyculture.To the tuneofanotherfinal-four appearance, the Beavers were quite successful in thatregard.

Now it's time to build on that progress, Regier said.Most ofMSU's players have at least two seasons of eligibility

still to play."Wegeteverybodyback,"Regier said. "Ourexpectation is tobe

winninganationalchampionshipnextyearandevenfor thenexttwoseasons.All of ourkeyguysare comingback.Fiveof our topsix scorers are comingback.These freshmanarecomingwithanextrayearof experienceat thecollege level. ... It's anexciting timefor our team."

JoeMellenbruchcoversMinotHigh sports, theMinotMinotau-ros andMinot State men's hockey. Follow him on Twitter@Mel-lenbruch_MDN.

NATIONALContinued from Page 20

Joe Mellenbruch/MDN

Despite a roster well over 50-percent occupied byunderclassmen, Minot State's men's hockey teamnotched its second ACHA Division I semifinal ap-pearance in three years this season. The Beaversalready have high hopes for 2016.With 22 playersintent on returning this fall, MSU will be aiming forits second national championship and first since itsinaugural title in 2012.


With Burke in need of furtherhospitalization, the Hintons weresuddenly split between two loca-tions - their home, and thehospital- for a month-long balancing act.

"That made it much more chal-lenging," Hinton said. "Once hecame home, it was great to haveone of the little guys home, butthen we had another kind of nor-mal to get used to.Wehadababyathome and another baby in theNICU, so one of us had to stayhome, one of us had to go to theNICU to watch over the other one,hold the other one, feed the otherone. It kind of put a strain on life ingeneral, and then when you addswimming into the mix - which issomething I've always been verypassionate about, and those girlsare certainly a part of my family -that's when it all really hits you,and it wears you out."

Thankfully for him, the MinotHigh community had his back.

Enduring a daily struggle fornormalcy, the Hintons welcomedany gesture of kindness with ap-preciation and graditude.

"I think themain thingyouwantis for the employee or coach toknow that they're supported, thatthey shouldn't have toworry abouttoo many different things," saidMitch Lunde, Minot's second-yearactivities director. "We want themto take care of things on the per-sonal side first, and we'll try andtake care of some of the otherthings on our end."

Said Hinton: "I just want to

thank everybody that supportedus, and not only the swimmingparents that went out of their wayfor us. There were so many otherpeople thatwere there just as help-ing hands: people that made din-

ner for us, the people who did somany things to help, things thatmayhave seemed small at the timebut meant the world to us. Evenjust a phone call or a message onsocial media, those kept us going,

and certainly the strength of ourboys iswhat really got us through."

Majettes lock up 2nd straightchampionship

Months removed from his last

decent night's sleep, Hinton wasadmittedly exhausted as his Ma-jettes began preparation for theseason's final stretch.

FAMILYContinued from Page 2


The Minot girls swimming and diving team celebrates after winning its second straight Class A state championship.

See STATE— Page 23


On Nov. 5 - two days after thetwins' initial due date and two daysprior to the West Region meet - theHintons received fantastic news.

Their son, Burke, was finallyready tocomehomeafternearly fourmonths of hospitalization.

"The Trinity NICU staff wasamazing," Hinton said. "I can't sayenoughabout thework theydidwithourboys, andhowtheyactually lim-ited our stress level, just assuring usthat everything was going to be OKand that the boyswere healthy."

With that peace of mind, Hintonwas overwhelmed by relief.

But he was still tired, and ready-inghisMinotcompetitors foranotherchampionship run.

TheMajettes secured their secondconsecutive region title just threedays after Burke's hospital release. Aweek later at theBismarckStateCol-lege Aquatic and Wellness Center,they locked up their second statechampionship in as many seasonsand 24th in school history.

Despite winning the meet by 26points over runner-up West Fargo -15 points better than Minot's win-ning margin in 2013 - Hinton de-scribed it as the "most stressful" statemeet with which he's ever been in-volved.

"It's just because of the way themeetplayedout,"hesaid. "Twoyearsago, we got the lead a little bitquicker, and we got it to a pointwhere I could see how things weregoing to play out as the meet woreon.Thisyear,wedidn'thave the lead

until we got to the 200 free relay."Shortly after 1-meter diving - the

fifth event of themeet -Minot trailedthe Packers by 10 points with sevenraces to go.

At that point, the Majettes werestill searching for their first win.

Three events later, they found it.A victory clinched an anchor-leg

comeback from Minot junior EmilyHamel, whose 50-yard split was thefastest of the competitionbynearly afull second, the Majettes stole a dra-matic win in the 200-yard freestylerelay to reclaim the lead with fourraces remaining.

Minotnever relinquished that ad-vantage, rewarding Hinton's ex-hausting season with the perfectconclusion.

"Itwas absolutely the icing on thecake," said Kelly, who also spent thefall pursuing her master's degree incirriculum and instruction. "It wasvery rewarding, especially with allthehardworkcombined to theotherthings goingon inourpersonal lives.It was just wonderful to still be ableto come out on top."

As for the Hintons, the twins areperfectly healthy. At seven months,both have grown over a foot sincebirth, and both are approaching 20pounds.

"They'reprobablygoing toendupbeing a couple of big dudes, whichI'm excited about," Hinton said. "Myconcernhasbeenandwill alwaysbethe health of my family, and we'vebeen blessed to have that."

Joe Mellenbruch covers MinotHigh sports, the Minot Minotaurosandgeneral assignments. Followhimon Twitter@Mellenbruch_MDN.

STATEContinued from Page 22


Minot’s Francesca Walker-Rozo powers her way down the pool during the West RegionMeet at Magic City Campus.Minot won its second consecutive state title and 24th in schoolhistory, topping West Fargo by 26 points.


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