PROCTOR, Minn.- As the daughter of a former UMD volleyball player, Ella Walker has been around the sport her entire life. However, her passion and desire to compete has never diminished. “We’re definitely playing hard, and that’s what matters.” Standing at 6’2″, Walker has solidified herself as Proctor’s enforcer at the net? “Do you like being tall?” I asked. Walker…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- As the high school girl’s tennis season begins to wrap up, the Superior Spartans will bid farewell to senior Sydney Friedrich, who went an astounding 17-3 during the regular season in singles competition. “I’m sad, but I’m also really happy because I’ve had a great season, and that’s all I can ask for right now.” reflected Friedrich. “This…
DULUTH, Minn.- The Duluth Marshall boys soccer team has been climbing atop their competition in through the month of September, but when you watch Denzel Majwega move downfield with the ball, there’s not much of a secret behind their success. “He’s very slippery, right?” smiled Mike Sengbush, the head coach of the Hilltoppers. “His skill allows him to kind of…
MINONG, Wis.-Over the past decade, 8-player football has grown in Wisconsin, and so have the high school athletes lacing up on Friday nights. Take Northwood-Solon Springs quarterback Jared Schultz, who was last season’s Lakeland East 8-player offensive player of the year as a sophomore. On homecoming night last week, Schultz stole the show with five touchdowns, including a 75-yard score…
DULUTH, Minn.- Duluth Denfeld’s Alyssa Doyle is currently in her senior year, and she’s already cemented her status as a Hunters legend on the soccer field. However, she’s not letting that get to her head. “I know that I couldn’t do this without my teammates behind me and without the support that I’ve gotten.” Says Doyle, who recorded 19 goals…
ESKO, Minn.- In baseball everything starts at home. and in the Haugen household two brothers and their father get to share their love of the game, all on the same Diamond. “Kind of have a built-in friend, I guess, as your brother. You come to the field together, go play catch together. If we’re at home we can say, ‘let’s…
CLOQUET, Minn.- One of the most difficult decisions for any high school athlete, is where they’ll take the next step in both their academic and athletic careers, but for Dayne Painovich the question wasn’t where, but which sport he would continue playing and which he would leave behind. In the fall, it’s football. Come winter, it’s hockey and spring is…
DULUTH, Minn.- The Marshall baseball team has welcomed a new Hilltopper to the squad, one that hopes to change the narrative for what it means to play like a girl. Anna Hron, who’s passion for the game of baseball was planted at a young age. The Marshall sophomore felt softball was the only route for her. That is until she…
DULUTH, Minn.- From day one of practice on, teams work tirelessly to raise that trophy at the end of the season. For the St. Scholastica men’s hockey team, the chance to do just that is one game away. After years of falling short in the conference tournament, the Saints enter this weekend with an opportunity to make their mark on…
HERMANTOWN, Minn.- In this week’s Northern Star, we’re taking a step off the ice and going behind the scenes. Where we’ll meet a senior at Hermantown high school who has become the voice of the Hawks boys hockey team. Will Peterson, a Hermantown native who over the past few years found a passion for calling play by play for the…
DULUTH, Minn.- This past Saturday, Duluth East’s senior guard Jobe Juenemann, had a career day on his home court, finishing with 32 points in the Greyhounds dominating 81-68 win over Coon Rapids. “Just feeling a little bit more comfortable, I mean it’s passed mid-season, really getting in the groove of working with everyone, shots are starting to fall. I think…
DULUTH, Minn.- When you hear the name Ben Steeves, it’s often associated with his knack for finding the net. The freshman accounts for almost a quarter of the Bulldogs goals so far this season. Steeves, a freshman out of Bedford, New Hampshire, has taken the ice for UMD and made an immediate impact, leading the team with 16 goals through…
HERMANTOWN, Minn.- Hockey culture in Minnesota runs deep, after all it is the state of hockey, with the countries most elite high school and college programs around. So, what better way to celebrate the sport, than an entire weekend dedicated to it. The 16th annual Hockey Day Minnesota kicks off this weekend and one of the states best will take…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Last Friday, the Superior boys hockey team traded their blue jerseys for red ones, and packed the stands for a cause bigger than hockey. An event led by seniors Caden Lia and Carson Gotelaere. “I just wanted to because I had a personal connection, with my Grandpa and seeing everything he went through and just wanting to…
PROCTOR, Minn.- Zak McPhee, of the Proctor/Hermantown wrestling team, looks to build on an already historic career, having surpassed 150 career wins. Setting a new program record and having done so by his junior season. Wrestling is a family affair for the McPhee boys. Zak and his older brother Alex took to the sport in pre-school, after their father, a…
MAPLE, Wis.- Northwestern high school’s Tieryn Plasch will soon be crowned the girl’s basketball team’s All-time Leading Scorer. “When I was in 7th grade, I set some goals for high school. One of them was to be on varsity my freshman year, and then another was to reach a thousand points, so just to be able to do it and…
DULUTH, Minn.- As if being a student-athlete wasn’t enough already, try adding entrepreneur to the list. UMD men’s basketball’s Isaiah Watts does that and then some. “I got a bottle of shoe cleaner, started cleaning shoes and just got better at it. I started offering to do it for free for my friends and as I got better and better…
ESKO, Minn.- Nolan Witt has been a huge part of the success Esko’s football program has seen in recent years. During his senior season, he has tallied over 500 yards, averaging 12 yards per carry, with ten touchdowns, an achievement Witt has earned simply by putting in the work. “I’ve been playing a long time, I have a lot of…
SUPERIOR, Minn.- Kamryn Hill, is a 2022 graduate of Duluth Denfeld high school and a freshman on the UW-Superior women’s soccer team, who has quickly earned a spot on the starting eleven on game day. “‘My first few games I was like, ‘Wow this is really different,’ but just practicing with my teammates, has gotten me really prepared and made…
DULUTH, Minn.- Being a part of the UMD volleyball team is no small task. Just ask the team’s super senior, Sydney Lanoue, who has found herself pretty much everywhere on the floor. Lanoue saw quite a bit of playing time in her freshman and sophomore seasons. Then, 2020 hit and Lanoue, along with athletes across the country were forced to…
CLOQUET, Minn.- Soccer, a game that’s played in every corner of the world. Two brothers brought their talents from thousands of miles away to Cloquet, Minnesota, where they’ve become standout players on the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys soccer team. Meet Jordan and Elijah Aultman, brothers who were adopted from Africa and for as long as they can remember had a soccer ball…
MAPLE, Wis.- It’s not everyday you get a quarterback that plays both sides of the ball. Northwestern’s Luke Sedin does just that. Not only making an impact as a dual-threat quarterback, but also making stops defensively. The starter under center for the Tigers and a safety, Sedin stays pretty busy on game day, a task the senior doesn’t shy away…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – NBC Sports Complex is home for Superior’s Haley Zembo, who has proven to be a dominant force in the circle this season. The junior pitcher found her love for the game at a young age and knew early on that her position would be with the ball in her hands. “The first year I actually started playing…
ESKO, Minn.- Going into his final season at Esko. Kade Gonsorowski is playing for a reason that’s bigger than baseball. “I grew up playing with my best buds and throughout the years I played with Jackson Pfister, we grew up playing baseball together and he always had dreams to play at the next level,” says Gonsorowski, “I feel like, I…
PROCTOR, Minn.- This season Blake Imhoff has proven just why he sits at the lead-off spot in the Rails’ lineup. The junior outfielder is getting on base in more than half his at bats to go along with nine stolen bases. “Part of my game is speed. And so I like to use it and try and do what…
DULUTH, Minn.– Jordyn Thomas is a superstar on the softball field, holding the all-time home run record at UMD. But, when Covid struck in 2020, ending her season along with athletes across the country, Thomas was granted a fifth year of eligibility. “I kind of just made the decision that you only get so many years of playing the sport…
DULUTH, Minn.– Jack Perala is not your typical college student. In fact, one might wonder just how he gets anything done. A junior captain on the baseball team, a bio-chemistry major and a member of the CSS band. While Perala brings a big arm to the Saints pitching staff, “I really enjoyed playing tee ball from the beginning, around the…
SUPERIOR, Wisc.– Superior’s Jake Kidd is a few weeks away from graduating from Superior high school. Kidd wrapped up his soccer career, last fall as one of the all-time leading scorers, not only for the Spartans, but also in the state. Kidd became one of only 13 players in Wisconsin boys soccer history to score over 100 career goals. Kidd…
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth Denfeld’s Hanna Hovland was looking forward to her senior softball season. That was until the day after this past Christmas, when Hovland broke her femur in a skiing accident. “It was devastating like Hanna was going to be our starting shortstop. Didn’t even know if she’d be able to come back so it’s just been a…
SUPERIOR, Wis. — It’s great to have a sibling, and the best part is that when you need them, they always step up to the plate. The same can be said for a pair of UWS softball players, making strides on their team. “It’s amazing, I can’t think of anything better,” Tayler Kraemer, a Sophomore Pitcher said. UWS softball players…
IRON, Minn. – Brothers Isaac and Noah and their cousin Isaiah Asuma have been playing basketball together since they could remember. “Not a lot of people get to do this. We’ve been playing with each other since like kindergarten or pre school. We go to workout in Duluth against each other so it’s really fun and they push me a…
RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The old Proctor hockey rink was a place that turned out many state tournament teams, but also produced a lot of notable talent, thanks to one alum that has dominated the D3 hockey scene. “Now being the player of the year it’s just, a feeling, it’s hard to put into words,” Callie Hoff, Senior at UW-River…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Throwing wasn’t always the first option for Gage Stankiewicz. “I kind of, wasn’t really forced to do it but I was always like oh this is dumb,” Stankiewicz said. But it was only a matter of time before the Esko native would love the sport as he comes from a long line of throwers. “I started getting…
ESKO, Minn. – Whether it’s on the football field or the basketball court, Esko’s Makoi Perich loves to score. “The adrenaline, that’s what I like about it. It comes quite easy to me so I like those clutch moments when you score down the wire, that’s the most fun,” Perich, a sophomore guard for the Eskomos, said. His competitive nature…
DULUTH, Minn. – UMD’s Gabbie Hughes has a lot of goals. The senior center is anchoring one of the top lines in all of women’s college hockey, alongside forwards Anna Klein and Elizabeth Giguere. “I think just the way that us three play together, we have so much fun. We click so well and, and the passing that we do…
MOUNTAIN IRON, Minn. – Mountain Iron-Buhl’s Jordan Zubich comes from an athletic background. “My older brother, we definitely grew up butting heads in the gym and stuff but I think that really made me a better player,” Zubich, the star sophomore guard for the Mountain Iron-Buhl girls basketball team said. Zubich made the jump to the varsity level in 7th…
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth Marshall girls hockey and the Boettcher name go hand-and-hand. “Hockey means just as much to me as everyone else in my family. My sisters were here when the program just started. We started our high school program, only JV and my sisters were on that so all of the program’s history, my family’s been here,” Duluth…
PROCTOR, Minn. – Kolbin Carter has always called the Northland home. “It’s a great community, everyone accepts you, everybody’s close,” Carter said. But after his freshman year of high school, his family got new jobs and they moved to Las Vegas. Three years later, they moved back and now Carter is playing basketball with the Proctor Rails. “When I was…
DULUTH, Minn. – It is almost a miracle that Rachel Hagen is playing basketball today. When she was just an eighth grader, Hagen tore her ACL. “Mentally it was pretty hard to be sitting out for so long knowing that it was going to be a 9-12 month recovery. But I think that was also motivating, to see my teammates…
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth Denfeld senior forward Simon Davidson might have the biggest personality on the team, but he always knows when to flip a switch. “Obviously you want to win games and all of that and being a leader on this team, you don’t want to change who you are away from the ice and all of that. So…
CLOQUET, Minn. – For Maddie Young, being a multi-sport athlete has been made easier by the people around her. “We just pride ourselves on playing for each other and playing as a team. It’s just really fun to come into the gym not only to play basketball but also play it with your best friends,” Young said. Which includes her…
PROCTOR, Minn. – Being a goaltender wasn’t the first option for Proctor/Hermantown senior Abby Pajari. “I started when I was I think 10 years old. I had been a forward for five years before that. One day my dad was like we don’t have a goalie for practice and I said I’ll do it and I said oh this is…
CLOQUET, Minn. – There’s one place you’ll be able to find Cloquet senior guard Conner Barney almost any time of day. “He’s in the gym all of the time, he’s a gym rat,” Cloquet head coach Steve Battaglia said. “If I don’t got a gym, there’s an open gym in Hinckley that’s 24/7 so I’ll go up there as late…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – One of 21 seniors on the Superior boys hockey team, forward Robert Powell has been playing with his fellow Spartans for over a decade. “Just actually becoming brothers with everyone else, becoming a family. It’s a once in a lifetime thing,” Powell said. During that stretch, Powell credits his teammates and this program for helping him become…
DULUTH, Minn. – Basketball has always kept Will Van Scoy focused. “My parents, my mom, my dad, they always asked me like Will what do you want to do when you get older and I said I want to play basketball,” Van Scoy, a senior guard on the Duluth East boys basketball team said. That was until August of 2020…
DULUTH, Minn. – Once Duluth Marshall senior forward Laila Monroe started attending Starks Academy in middle school, the rest of her basketball career was set. “It’s crazy how fast it went by. I remember it was like yesterday I was first coming to Marshall. I’ve seen myself get better through Starks Academy, that’s where I found Marshall. I was introduced…
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. – The Bischoffs are your traditional Grand Rapids hockey family. “We had an outdoor pond at our house, we all grew up playing boot hockey doing everything we could to get better on the outdoors,” Grand Rapids/Greenway defenseman Jazzy Bischoff said. “The Bischoff name, the Bischoff lineage, a great hockey families with brothers and even sisters,” head…
DULUTH, Minn. – Forward Blake Biondi is having a breakout sophomore campaign for the UMD men’s hockey team. He’s among the top scorers for the bulldogs and a few weeks ago was named NCHC Forward of the Week. “I think consistency is just really big so that’s been obviously building a good structure at the beginning of the season helps…
DULUTH, Minn. – Following a year of craziness and an offseason full of change, fifth-year forward Rachel Anderson decided to return to the St. Scholastica women’s hockey team for her love of her team and the sport. “DIII, you do it for the love of the game. We are so close, we’ve been so close for so long. When freshmen…
DULUTH, Minn. – UMD men’s basketball graduate transfer Jacob Shields just loves everything about basketball. “This might be weird to people who don’t play basketball, but I just love the sound of the ball. Like coming down the court, I love the sound of the ball. I love the smell of the ball to be honest. And that might be…
