Author: Dan Gustafson
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Providence Academy staked its claim to being the best girls basketball team during the 2022-23 season, regardless of enrollment size. That proclamation gained the muster needed after the Lions completed a run of dominance that culminated with their second consecutive Minnesota State High School League Class AA championship.
The top-seeded Lions turned away an early upset bid with a second half of dominance that paved the way to a 74-60 victory over No. 3 Albany in the Class AA title game. Providence Academy (30-2) finished the season on a 29-game winning streak. Freshman guard Maddyn Greenway was the typical spark plug for the Lions with 31 points, five rebounds and four assists to help Providence Academy become the first back-to-back Class AA champions since 2014 when New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva won the second of two consecutive crowns.
Providence Academy’s only two losses this season were to Bishop Garrigan (Iowa) on Nov. 26 and then Becker on Dec. 3. The Lions reversed that result against Becker on Jan. 5. Becker was the top seed in the Class AAA field for this season’s state tournament. Two days later, Providence Academy defeated Mountain Iron-Buhl. Mountain Iron-Buhl would become the No. 1 seed in the Class A field and win their first championship two hours prior to Providence Academy’s victory over Albany. And in late January, Providence Academy defeated Hopkins, who is the top seed in Class AAAA and playing for its second championship in a row later Saturday night.
Providence Academy opened the second half with an 8-0 run to turn a one-point deficit at the break into a 40-33 lead with 14 minutes remaining in regulation. Sophomore forward Hope Counts pushed the advantage to 45-35 with 13:41 left by converting a three-point play. Moments later, the lead grew to 47-35 after a steal and fastbreak layup by Greenway.
The lead would remain in double digits after Greenway made a layup with 10:19 remaining in regulation time that pushed the Lions; lead to 53-42. Less than a minute remaining, it would become 56-42 after a power layup from eighth-grade guard Emma Millerbernd following a nice feed from Greenway. Millerbernd finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Albany wasn’t intimidated by Providence Academy’s up-tempo attack that feasts on open-court play. The Huskies matched that with height and physicality, and sprinkled in some finesse of its own in taking a 33-32 lead into the break. Junior guard Savanna Pelzer gave the Huskies that lead by making two free throws with 45.8 seconds left in the back-and-forth first half.
Junior forward Alyssa Sand paced the Huskies in the first half with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Tatum Findley, who played a late starring role in Albany’s semifinal victory over Goodhue, had 11 points in the first half.
Greenway paced Providence Academy in the first half with 16 points.
Sand finished with 29 points and 21 rebounds for the Huskies (30-2). Albany, the Class AA champion in 2021, was attempting to become the second No. 3 seed to win a championship. Minnehaha Academy accomplished the feat in 2019.
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“The Wayzata boys’ basketball team rallied late in the second half and beat DeLaSalle Tuesday night 64-61. The Trojans outscored the Islanders 11-2 in the game’s final four and a half minutes. Wayzata (20-4), ranked 3rd in Class 4A, was led in scoring by Hayden Tibbits who netted 22 points. Jackson McAndrew and Jake Schmitt added 12 apiece; Schmidt’s three-pointer with under a minute to play broke a 59-all tie and gave the Trojans the lead for good. Nasir Whitlock of DeLaSalle led all players in scoring with 31 points. The Islanders, ranked 3rd in Class 3A, falls to 21-5 in their regular season finale. The Trojans finish their regular season Friday at 13th-ranked Buffalo.”The Wayzata boys’ basketball team rallied late in the second half and beat DeLaSalle Tuesday night 64-61. The Trojans outscored the Islanders 11-2 in the game’s final four and a half minutes. Wayzata (20-4), ranked 3rd in Class 4A, was led in scoring by Hayden Tibbits who netted 22 points. Jackson McAndrew and Jake Schmitt added 12 apiece; Schmidt’s three-pointer with under a minute to play broke a 59-all tie and gave the Trojans the lead for good. Nasir Whitlock of DeLaSalle led all players in scoring with 31 points. The Islanders, ranked 3rd in Class 3A, falls to 21-5 in their regular season finale. The Trojans finish their regular season Friday at 13th-ranked Buffalo.” From CCX Media.
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- District seeks $7 million or 3.5% General Fund budget reduction in 2023-24 school year; and $2.5 million or 1.0% reduction in 2024-25 school year
In the face of ongoing budget woes, the Wayzata School District is faced with some difficult decisions. Funding from the State of Minnesota has not kept pace with inflation for several decades among other issues, according to school officials and committees charged with studying the funding shortfall.
These changes will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the district and its students, leaving many parents and educators worried about what the future holds. As the budget comes into sharper view, the district must weigh the consequences of each decision, knowing that the choices they make will have far-reaching implications for the community.
Superintendent Chace Anderson identified three main drivers causing issues for the districts budget woes in a press release:
- The on-going financial impact caused by the pandemic, including decreased student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year.
- The fact that state funding for education has not kept pace with inflation for several decades. To emphasize this point, the general education per pupil funding formula increased by only 2% for the current fiscal year. Special education has also been underfunded for decades.
- Additional inflationary pressures for some operational functions impacting the district, such as the transportation budget increasing by about 13% in the current fiscal year.
According to the information provided, staffing salaries and benefits of personnel across many different employee groups are the largest expenditure the district faces.
To ensure that staff affected by these reductions are personally notified, program-specific and other identifying information is being withheld from the details at this time.
School officials encourage stakeholders to contact their elected representatives in order to advocate for the district to benefit from these actions:
- Support school districts by increasing the education funding formula with no new mandated expenditures attached to the new funding;
- Fully fund the special education cross subsidy; and
- Develop a long-term system that can consistently address inflationary pressures.
Residents can find their elected officials by visiting the Legislator webpage at the School District website.
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“For the fifth straight year the Wayzata wrestling team advanced to the Section 5AAA team final to face power St. Michael-Albertville. The top-ranked Knights beat Wayzata 46-15 to advance to state for the 25th consecutive season. After the teams split the first four matches, the Knights won five straight from 132 pounds through 160 to build a 35-6 lead. Wayzata won three straight matches from 170 through 195 but it was too little too late as STMA will head back to the Xcel Energy Center to defend their state class AAA title.” From CCX Sports.
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#3 ranked Wayzata Girls Basketball (18-2) defeats #1 Hopkins Royals (18-2) 55-53 at home. With just seconds left Abby Krzewinski dribbles the length of the floor and draws the foul; she stepped to the line and sank two free throws with .08 left to clinch the victory for the Wayzata Trojans. The rest of the team gets a stop and the bench erupts with excitement and enthusiasm from the hard fought win.
Brynn Senden scored 19 points, Sophie Hawkinson had 11 points, Shannon Fornshell had 9, Kate Amelotte & Grace Weber had 4 points each, and Jessica Oberlander had 2 points.
For Hopkins, Nu Nu Agara had 19 points, Taylor Woodson had 13, Liv McGill had 8, Erma Walker and Kelly Boyle had 4 points each, and London Harris had 3 points.
The last time Wayzata beat Hopkins was in the 2018-2019 season. The teams will likely meet again in Section play in the coming weeks.
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Congratulations to Wayzata High School senior Pratishtha Praveen Kumar, who was named the recipient of the 2022 DECA Emerging Leader Honor Award!
This award is given to students who are pursuing studies in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.
Other factors that impact the award include recognize those students who have demonstrated exceptional academic preparedness, community involvement, professional responsibility, and leadership through their involvement in DECA.
DECA is a career and technical student organization that brings together over 150,000 students with an interest in careers in marketing, entrepreneurship, finance, hospitality, and management.
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“The Wayzata boys and girls Nordic ski teams each won titles at the Section 6 championships Monday in Bloomington. Daniel McCollor of Wayzata won the boys’ pursuit race while the Trojans Audrey Parham was the girls’ champion. Wayzata and Armstrong finished 1-2 in the boys’ team standings, both qualifying for state. Wayzata and St. Louis Park are the girls’ team state qualifiers. Logan Drevlow of Hopkins finished third in the boys’ meet with Boden Sundell, Noah Breker, and Alex Omodt of Armstrong all finishing in the top seven. Liam Urbanowicz of Hopkins placed eighth with Parker Dietrick and Daniel Gladlov of Wayzata finishing ninth and tenth. Other local top ten finishers for the girls include Grace Wermerskirchen, Lila Golomb and Emma Freed of Wayzata and Daphne Grobstein of Hopkins. The state Nordic meet is February 15-16 at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.” From CCX Media.
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The Wayzata Parks & Trails Board has announced that it’s annual Maple Tree Tapping event will return after a brief pause for the pandemic.
Wayzata residents tap maple trees in years past. File photo – Dan Gustafson All spots for this event have been filled according to Parks & Trails Board Member Merrily Babcock, although observation spots are still available.
The timing of the event varies dependent largely on the weather–required temperatures need to be below freezing at night and above freezing during the day.
Making maple syrup from sap tapped from maple trees involves several steps:
- Identify Maple Trees: Look for sugar, black, or red maple trees, as these are the most commonly used for syrup production. The trees should be at least 10 inches in diameter at chest height.
- Tap the Trees: Drill a small hole into the trunk of the maple tree, then insert a spile (a tap) into the hole. Make sure to tap the trees at the right time of year, typically late winter to early spring when the temperatures are above freezing during the day and below freezing at night.
- Collect the Sap: Attach a bucket or tubing to the spile to collect the sap as it flows out of the tree. Alternatively, you can use a vacuum pump system to speed up the sap flow.
- Boil the Sap: Pour the collected sap into a large pot and heat it over a fire or on a stove. Boil the sap until it reaches a temperature of 219°F, which is when the sap has reduced to the desired consistency.
- Filter the Syrup: Strain the boiled sap to remove any impurities or debris. You can use a cheesecloth or filter paper to achieve a clear, amber-colored syrup.
- Can the Syrup: Pour the filtered syrup into jars or containers and store it in a cool, dark place. If canned correctly, the syrup can last for several years.
If you are intersted in regisering for an observation spot, visit Wayzata.org to sign up.
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Vegas, Baby
Golfers pose for a photo at a previous Chilly Open event. File photo. Wayzata, MN – Viva Las Vegas! The 39th Annual Wayzata Chilly Open, the largest most well-known and unusual golf tournament held on a frozen lake, will be here in just a few, short days.
What started as a small, crazy idea on how to have a little fun during the coldest month of the year, has evolved into one of Minnesota’s most unique winter events. We are looking forward to hosting 2,000 golfers, in Vegas themed costumes and bar sleds, hitting tennis balls with hockey sticks and tee ball bats. 36-hole sponsors will decorate and host four-9-hole courses. This is a winter festival you won’t want to miss.
Pre Par-Tee – Friday, February 10 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. (tickets available)
The 19th Hole. File photo. With a theme like VEGAS, we’ve gotta throw a party! Join us Friday, February 10, for the all-new Chilly Open Pre Par-Tee featuring live music by High & Mighty, “The Best Horn Band in the Twin Cities”, food trucks, and drinks at the 19th Hole heated tent located in the 6Smith parking lot. Limited tickets available: $10 cover pre-sale or $15 at the door, if tickets are still available.
Snowga – Saturday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. (open to public)
Snowga. File photo. Namaste on Wayzata Bay. Come Snowga with us! Anyone can do Hot Yoga, but only true Minnesotans can say they have done SNOWGA (yoga on the snow). Class attendees will have a chance to win giveaways from local businesses, along with free heated agua frescas. Bring your own mat and winter gear, and start the day with free yoga flow. Class will take place at Panoway on Wayzata Bay. Free and Open to the Public.
Golf Tournament – Saturday, February 11, Tee Times: 10 am, 12 noon & 2 pm Theme: Vegas, Baby! (tickets available)
Golfers participate in the Chilly Open from years past. File photo. It was a record-breaking year as the 2023 Golf Tournament sold out of all tickets in 6 days! Golfers will play a round, head to the 19th Hole tent, and enjoy live music by “PowerTap” band on the Edina Realty stage, while tasting some of the best chili from over 10 local restaurants competing in the Chili Cookoff Contest. With adding an additional course, a limited release of last chance/late rate Pro golf tickets are still available, including complimentary brunch at 6Smith.
Breakfast Buffet + Final Swing – February 11, from 9 am – Close (reservations strongly encouraged)
Stop by 6Smith on your way to and from “The Open.” Be sure to make a reservation for the Chilly Open Brunch Buffet on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. For pricing and the menu selections, visit 6Smith.com. Don’t miss the new Chilly Open Final Swing, a 21+ event featuring a DJ, dancing, and drinks at 6Smith Rooftop. (limited capacity)
Snowkite Races & Nite Kite (open to the public) – Friday, February 10, 4 – 7 pm | Saturday, February 11, 11 am – 3 pm | Sunday, February 12, 11 am – 3 pm
Experience a beautiful backdrop of colorful kites flying through the air during the Chilly Open weekend. (wind dependent, minimum 7mph)
Want in?! See WayzataChillyOpen.com for all the details.
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