It was a week of redemption for the Minnesota River girls hockey team in the Section 2A Tournament.
    The Bulldogs avenged losses from a year ago on their way to their first Section Championship appearance ever.
    Minnesota River opened the Section 2A Playoffs with a 3-1 win over Willmar Thursday, Feb. 5 at Le Sueur. Willmar ended their season in the Section Quarterfinals last year with a 2-0 win. Minnesota River was 18-6-2 last season.

A small number of Tri-City United (TCU) wrestlers competed at The takedown on 22 Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Jan. 31. Those who wrestled did quite well.
    Five different Titans claimed top five finishes, led by Trista Gessler who won a championship.
    Gessler placed first in the girls 112-pound weight division. Gage Factor placed second in the 139-pound weight class. Tucker Skluzacek placed 2nd in the 145-pound weight class. Griffin Lemieux placed 3rd in the 127-pound weight class. Owen Delander placed 5th in the 121-pound weight class.

With four games to go, two against its primary opponent for an automatic berth in the state tournament, the New Prague floor hockey team is preparing for a possible showdown game early next month.

At 6-0, the undefeated NP team faced Mankato yesterday, Jan. 21, at Franklin Elementary School. Mankato is likely New Prague’s top competition for an automatic state tournament berth. The top team in the southern division wins the automatic berth. The alternative route to state requires winning a berth via the playoffs.

Tri-City United High School was host to the Big South Conference Championship last Thursday, Jan. 8. Six other teams from the conference convened at Montgomery competing in both jazz and kick.

TCU dancers ended up in the middle of the pack for both jazz and kick, and for junior varsity jazz as well.

Head Coach Katey Weiss said, “All three of our dances were our best performances and scores to date. We work every week to improve our routines. I'm very happy with how we finished.”

When Tri-City United (TCU) senior Ella Schmiesing grabbed her 1,000th career rebound Tuesday, Dec. 30 at Waterville, she became one of the select few in state history to have both 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

The St. Catherine basketball commit is one of only 267 players in Minnesota history to record the milestone.

As a freshman Schmiesing played in all 26 games, recording 219 rebounds in 610 minutes of action.

    Saturday’s home weightlifting duo with the Burnsville Blaze yielded three individuals qualifying for state and slug of first place finishes. 
    Morgan Meier qualified for varsity state competition with an automatic qualifying total (AQT) greater than 95 KG of 100 KG in the varsity girls’s 58 KG category. 

With three early wins, New Prague’s floor hockey team is off to a fast start in its effort to defend its state championship.

The Trojans have earned early wins over Shakopee-Chanhassen-Chaska-Prior Lake, Minnetonka-Wayzata and most recently an improved South Suburban squad. The Trojans were back in action Wednesday, Dec. 17, after the newspaper’s print deadline.

After the holiday break, the Trojans will host Mankato Wednesday, Jan. 7, 4:30 p.m., at the New Prague Community Education Center (the former intermediate school).

The Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team opened its 2025-26 season with three losses.

St. Peter handed the Titans a 113-36 loss Monday, Dec. 1. Three days later St. Claire defeated TCU, 86-61. Friday Worthington traveled to Montgomery and handed the Titans a 78-40 loss.

In the loss to St. Peter, the Saints have a majority of their players returning from last year and they looked to be in mid-season form from the tip.

earance at the Minnesota State High School League’s State Girls Swimming and Diving Class A Tournament on Saturday in Minneapolis. She came home from the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center with a 4th place finish in the 50 yard freestyle and 7th place in the 100 yard freestyle.

The outstanding swimming career of Tri-City United (TCU) senior Ella Schmiesing has come to an end with more positive performances for the school’s top swimmer of all-time.

For the eighth time Schmiesing advanced to the finals at the Class A State Swimming and Diving Meet Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 16.

She competed at State for the fifth time in the 100-yard freestyle and for the fourth time in the 50-yard freestyle, advancing to the finals in both events.

As a young teenager in 2020, Ella Schmiesing got her first taste of varsity swimming.

Now a Tri-City United (TCU) senior, she will be making her last appearance in a pool as a Titan at the Class A State Swimming and Diving Meet Friday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday, Nov. 15 at Noon at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.

Preliminaries will be held Friday and finals on Saturday.

This will be Schmiesings’ fifth State Tournament appearance after winning two Section 1A Championships last weekend.

The record-breaking season for the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team ended Tuesday, Oct. 21 with an 8-1 loss to Academy of Holy Angels (17-0-1 record) in the Class A State Tournament.

The Dakota-Rice-Scott League will have a slightly different look next summer when teams take the field and the St. Patrick Irish isn’t one of them.

The Irish, a Class A team, announced earlier this month they were leaving the DRS and joining the other Class A teams in the River Valley League. An announcement the team posted on social media noted the move puts the Irish in closer proximity with Class A RVL teams like Burnsville, Chanhassen, Chaska, Eagan, Prior Lake, Shakopee and Victoria.

The duo of Cristina Cruz and Lexie Berger placed fourth in the Section 1AA Doubles Tournament last week in Rochester.

Cruz and Berger were the No. 5 seed in the tourney and they split four matches.

In their opener, the Titan duo defeated Maisey Tormoen and Isabel Tix of Simley (6-0, 7-6.

In the quarterfinals, Cruz and Berger defeated No. 4 seed Carmen Puente and Hannah Shepherd of Faribault (6-0, 6-2).

In the semifinals, No. 8 seed Bella Reeck and Tori Thompson of Winona defeated the local players (6-3, 6-4). The Winona duo ended up placing 3rd overall.

The Titans boys soccer team couldn’t muster a win at the Tuesday, Oct. 21, state quarterfinals game in Shakopee against the Academy of the Holy Angels. 
 

A strong, cold west/northwest wind worked to their disadvantage in the first period and helped somewhat in their second period.

Despite the cold and windy conditions, a crowd of over 100 Titan fans showed up to support the hometown team and were very audible the whole game. 
 

Tri-City United Boys Soccer Team is hoping for further advancement Tuesday, Oct. 21, 5:30 p.m., in the Minnesota State High School League's Boys Soccer Class A State Tournament. The quarterfinal game is being held at the Shakopee West Middle School's Vaughan Field, 200 10th Avenue East.

Spectators should park on the east side of the stadium, entering along Spencer Street South, and enter at the main entrance to the field on the north side. Additional parking will be available in the middle school's parking lot directly to the north.