Monday, October 31, 2016

NDSU’s Dempsey Named MVFC Defensive Player of the Week

ST. LOUIS - North Dakota State free safety Tre Dempsey was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week by the league office Sunday, Oct. 30.

Dempsey, a junior from Lakeland, Fla., intercepted two passes including one on the final drive of the game to clinch North Dakota State's 24-20 road win over Northern Iowa.  His interception on the second play of the third quarter stopped a drive after UNI ended the first half with a field goal.

Dempsey finished with four tackles, one for a loss, and made a pass breakup in the end zone.  He is one of eight players in the FCS with at least five interceptions this season.  It is his first career player of the week award.

North Dakota State (7-1, 4-1 MVFC) moved into a tie with South Dakota State and Youngstown State for first place in the conference.  NDSU hosts Youngstown State (6-2, 4-1 MVFC) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in the annual Harvest Bowl game.

MN Boys’ and Girls’ State Cross Country Meet Preview




BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. – The 2016 State Cross Country Meet will be conducted on Saturday, November 5, at St. Olaf College in Northfield. Here is a look at the meet:

FAST FACTS
The schedule: Class A boys – 10 a.m.; Class A girls – 11 a.m.; Class AA boys – 1 p.m.; Class AA girls – 2 p.m. All races are 5,000 meters and an awards ceremony will be conducted approximately 30 minutes after each girls’ race.
Tickets: Free admission
Team and individual results: Posted on the League’s website at www.mshsl.org
Social media: Follow the meet on the League’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @MSHSL and @MSHSLJohn.

TEAM PREVIEW
Boys
Class A – The Mora Mustangs return in search of their third consecutive and overall team title. In addition to Mora, 10 other teams from the 2015 field also return: Perham, runner-up; West Central Area of Barrett, fourth; Trinity School at River Ridge of Eagan, fifth; La Crescent, sixth; Lake City, seventh; Pequot Lakes, eighth; Minnehaha Academy of Minneapolis, which includes students from Hope Academy of Minneapolis, 10th; Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, 11th; Ely, 14th; and Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin, 15th.

Class AA –Stillwater Area is the highest returning qualifier; the Ponies finished third in 2015. Five other teams from 2015 also return: Bemidji, fourth; Mounds View, ninth; White Bear Lake Area, 11th; Rosemount, 13th; and Chanhassen, 14th.

Girls
Class A – Eleven teams, including the defending champions from Perham, return to this year’s team competition. The other returning teams are: Annandale, runner-up; Trinity School at River Ridge of Eagan, third; Luverne, fourth; Fairmont, fifth; Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, sixth; Lanesboro/Fillmore Central, ninth; Proctor, 11th; Ely, 12th; Lake City, 15th; and Eden Valley-Watkins, 16th. If Perham wins, it would be the second title for the Yellowjackets.

Class AA – The defending champions from Edina return in search of more gold. If they win, it would be their second consecutive and overall title. Eight additional teams return from the 2015 field: Marshall, runner-up; Willmar, third; Forest Lake, fifth; Red Wing, sixth; Shakopee, seventh; Roseville Area, 10th; White Bear Lake Area, 14th; and St. Michael-Albertville, 15th.

INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW
Boys
Class A – Defending champion, senior Zach Emery of La Crescent, leads a field of seven returning Top 10 finishers. The others are: senior Michael Schwinghamer of Mora, runner-up; senior Carl Kozlowski of Lake City, third; senior Michael Mitchel of The Blake School of Minneapolis, fifth; senior Alec Sanbeck of Mora, seventh; senior Ryley Nelson of West Central Area of Barrett, eighth; and junior Jake Paron of Cook County/Two Harbors, 10th.

Class AA – Patrick Roos, a senior from Edina, is the highest returning qualifier. Roos placed fifth in 2015. Three other Top 10 finishers also return: senior Seth Eliason of Hopkins, sixth; senior Alex Miley of Maple Grove, seventh; and senior Innocent Murwanashyaka of St. Paul Como Park, eighth.

Girls
Class A – Senior Erika Fox of Carlton, who placed fourth in 2015, is this year’s highest returning qualifier. She will be joined by four additional Top 10 finishers from last year: senior Anna Donnay of Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball, seventh; sophomore Kayla Christopherson of Austin Pacelli, eighth; senior Grace Ennis of Trinity School at River Ridge of Eagan, ninth; and eighth-grader Tierney Wolfgram of Math & Science Academy of Woodbury, 10th.

Class AA – Marshall senior Claire Boersma leads a field of six returning Top 10 finishers. Boersma is looking to improve on last year’s third-place finish. The other returning runners are: Farmington sophomore Lauren Peterson, sixth; Minnetonka junior Sophie Whicher, seventh; Minneapolis Washburn sophomore Emily Covert, eighth; Farmington eighth-grader Anna Fenske, ninth; and Edina sophomore Maria Rickman, 10th.

2015 STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP
Boys
Class A – The Mora Mustangs claimed their second consecutive team title with 43 points. Perham placed second with 94 points and Annandale was third with 166 points. Zach Emery of La Crescent claimed top individual honors with a time of 16:07.8. The victory was an improvement for Emery, who placed seventh in 2014. Carl Kozlowski of Lake City and John Roth of Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet, placed second and third, respectively.

Class AA – Jaret Carpenter of Wayzata, who placed seventh in 2014, won the individual competition with a time of 15:26.5. Micah Mather of St. Paul Highland Park placed second and Eli Krahn of Stillwater Area was third. Hopkins earned its fifth team championship with 34 points. The Royals won previously in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002. Minneapolis Washburn finished in second place with 67 points and Stillwater Area placed third with 87.

Girls
Class A - Perham earned its first team crown, finishing with 74 points. Annandale was second with 98 points and Trinity School at River Ridge of Eagan placed third with 118 points. Grace Potter from Cotter of Winona became the first seventh-grader in state meet history – both boys’ and girls’ – to win an individual title. Her winning time was 17:52.0. Morgan Richter of Breck School of Golden Valley claimed runner-up honors and Hannah Truniger of Watertown-Mayer placed third. 

Class AA – Bethany Hasz of Alexandria Area earned her second individual title in three years with a winning time of 17:32.2. Bethany won her first championship in 2013 and her twin sister, Megan won in 2014. Megan was the runner-up in both 2013 and 2015, and Bethany was runner-up in 2014. Marshall’s Claire Boersma earned third-place honors in 2015. In the team competition, the Edina Hornets earned their first championship with 68 points. Marshall was second with 76 and Willmar was third with 119.

UND Hockey Falls From Top Spot In Polls




GRAND FORKS, N.D. – For the first time this season, North Dakota has fallen from the top spot in the national men’s hockey polls.

Following a pair of losses at Minnesota Duluth last weekend, the Fighting Hawks slipped from No. 1 to No. 3 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, while UMD jumped from No. 2 to No. 1. The losses were the first on the season for UND, now 5-2-0 overall and 0-2-0 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

Fellow NCHC rival Denver also leapfrogged UND in this week’s polls, jumping from third to second in both. Fourth-ranked Boston University and fifth-ranked Boston College rounded out the top five in both polls.

UND’s next opponent, Minnesota, was ranked 13th in both polls. The Golden Gophers will host UND on Friday and Saturday at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.


USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll

Rk.      School (1st-place votes)         Record           Pts.         PR
1.         Minnesota Duluth (50)                      5-1-2          1000            2
2.         Denver                                               6-2-0            915            3
3.         North Dakota                                5-2-0           909            1
4.         Boston University                             3-2-0            829            4
5.         Boston College                                 6-2-1            765            8
6.         Quinnipiac                                          4-2-1            726            6
7.         Massachusetts-Lowell                      4-2-2            685            5
8.         St. Cloud State                                  4-2-0            557          10
9.         Notre Dame                                       4-3-1            544            7
10.       Minnesota State                                6-2-0            537            9
11.       Ohio State                                          5-0-2            509          15
12.       Harvard                                              2-0-0            452          13
13.       Minnesota                                          3-2-1            446          12
14.       Penn State                                          5-1-1            253          19
15.       Providence                                         3-3-1            247          14
16.       Yale                                                    1-0-0            223          17
17.       Michigan                                            3-3-1            209          11
18.       Bemidji State                                     6-2-0            188          20
19.       Vermont                                             4-1-1            145         NR
20.       Union                                                 6-1-1            110         NR

Others receiving votes: Northeastern 88, Lake Superior State 44, Wisconsin 42, Omaha 25, St. Lawrence 19, Miami 15, Dartmouth 6, Western Michigan 5, Air Force 4, Holy Cross 3.




USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

Rk.      School (1st-place votes)         Record           Pts.         PR
1.         Minnesota Duluth (33)                      5-1-2            509            2
2.         Denver (1)                                          6-2-0            461            3
3.         North Dakota                                5-2-0           449            1
4.         Boston University                             3-2-0            398            4
5.         Boston College                                 6-2-1            329            8
6.         Massachusetts-Lowell                      4-2-2            328            5
7.         Quinnipiac                                          4-2-1            321            7
8.         St. Cloud State                                  4-2-0            256          10
9.         Notre Dame                                       4-3-1            221            6
10.       Minnesota State                                6-2-0            189            9
11.       Ohio State                                          5-0-2            184          14
12.       Harvard                                              2-0-0            130          13
13.       Minnesota                                          3-2-1            125          12
14.       Providence                                         3-3-1              60          15
15.       Penn State                                          5-1-1              32         NR

Others receiving votes: Union 25, Michigan 14, Yale 13, Vermont 11, Bemidji State 9, Wisconsin 7, Northeastern 5, Omaha 3, Lake Superior State 1.