High Schools

By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer

Minnetonka, Prior Lake and Chaska were three of the 10 boys swim and dive teams competing in the Gold Division of the Maroon & Gold Invitational on Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Minnetonka senior Evan Lee-To won two events as the Skippers finished third in the team standings behind Edina and Mercer Island, Wash.

Lee-To won the 100-yard freestyle race with a time of 47.82, and took first in the 100 breaststroke with 58.52.

Lee-To also led off the Skipper 200 freestyle relay team of Dane Oberman, Austin Sarna and Jake Hausauer to a third-place swim

Saturday, the Eden Prairie High School girls hockey team ended its Holiday break with a Kaposia Classic Consolation Championship, beating Eastview by a score of 6-3.

In tournament play, Eden Prairie lost to Crookston and then beat Hutchinson and Eastview.

The win over Eastview, albeit in a consolation game, shows improvement. Earlier in the year, Eden Prairie lost to Eastview by a score of 2-1. The win also improved Eden Prairie’s overall record to 6-6.

Tuesday, Eden Prairie returns to Lake conference action with a home game against Apple Valley (7:30 p.m.).

For a while, the Eden Prairie High school boys basketball team had Cooper, the No. 3 ranked team in the state, just where it wanted it.

Problem is; the Eagles couldn’t hit what they were aiming at.

Saturday, during the Timberwolves/Gatorade Shootout, Eden Prairie fell to Cooper by a score of 57-50.

The stat of the game was Eden Prairie’s field goal percentage, a paltry 29 percent. “We had uncontested shots,” said Eden Prairie Head coach David Flom; “we just couldn’t hit them.”

With every seat in the Bloomington Ice Gardens taken, as well as every parking space in the parking lot, the now 10-0 Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars defeated the Eden Prairie High School boys hockey team on Saturday by a score of 2-1.

As a result, Jefferson is the team everyone, including Eden Prairie, is chasing in the race for a Lake Conference championship.

“Our margin of error just got really small,” said Eden Prairie Head Coach Lee Smith. “We have to keep winning until we get them (Jefferson) at our place later in the season.”

Lakeville North waited until the last second to top Chaska on Saturday night.

The Panthers scored the winning goal with 4 seconds left in the game to notch a 3-2 victory at the Chaska Community Center.

Chaska junior Alex Athmann tied the game in the first period with his second goal of the season, from Alex Robb and Jake Erickson.

The Panthers struck back a minute later to retake the lead.

Dan Pries knotted the game again in the third period with a power-play goal, the fifth of the season for the Chaska senior.

Chaska's girls hockey team poured on the offense for a 6-1 victory over Bloomington Jefferson on Saturday night at the Bloomington Ice Garden.

The Hawks started from the get-go, as a wristshot by junior defender Catie Ladner from the right point zinged into the net less than 2 minutes into the game.

Hawk junior Lexi Buelow was credited with an assist on the play.

Buelow set up a second score 4 minutes later, with a pass from the corner to sophomore Anna Spillers, who knocked it into the net from the crease. Sophomore wing Mercede Davis also picked up an assist.

By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer

By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer

The Prior Lake boys basketball team scored only 18 points in the second half in its non-conference game versus Chaska on Jan. 3.

The result was a 51-45 loss to the Hawks.

Prior Lake dropped to 5-4 overall with its second straight defeat.

Senior Ben Synder led the Lakers with 12 points, while junior Jake Bolks and senior Deryck Ludwig each had 10. Senior Bo Holte added nine points.

Prior Lake led 27-24 at the break.

The Lakers will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at unbeaten Burnsville starting at 7:15 p.m.

Chaska senior Pat Smith came as close as a wrestler can get to a championship - without winning it.

Smith fell 3-2 to Jarrett Jensen of Rapid City (S.D.) Stevens in the championship of the 152-pound weight bracket at the Rumble on the Red tournament in Fargo, N.D.

Hawk junior R.J. Hallman took eighth place at 112. He went 5-3 at the two-day tournament.

Chaska sophomore Gavin Larsen won five of seven matches to place seventh at 119.