Coaches Jack Thurnblad, Norm Schroeder and members of the 1959 State Champion Wayzata Trojan Basketball gathered at a community event to dedicate a podia on Lake Street commemorating the team on October 19th. The day was a picture perfect October Sunday afternoon, with a crowd of hundreds in attendance to celebrate. The event was championed by the Wayzata Historical Society, the podia was approved by the City Council, and the 1959 trophy was presented by the Wayzata School District.
The City of Wayzata’s official website Wayzata.org indicates that, “The Wayzata Historical Society is dedicating a pictorial memorial to the 1959 Wayzata High School State Basketball Champs on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 3:30 p.m. The unveiling of the memorial podia will take place on the lake side of Lake Street across from Caribou Coffee. Coaches Jack Thurnblad and Norm Schroeder plus members of the 1959 team will be present. The public is invited to help celebrate. A reception at the Depot will follow the dedication.”
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The Wayzata boys basketball team overcame a six-point halftime deficit on Tuesday night to top to the Minneapolis Patrick Henry Patriots 79-78.
For the second straight game, senior guard Jamar Franks (Pictured on left) scored 27 points to lead the way for the Trojans. Franks scored an identical 27 points on Jan. 30 when the Trojans beat Minnetonka 86-78.
Seniors Kellen Taylor and Jerrod Peterson also scored in double figures on Tuesday night as Taylor scored 17 points, while Peterson added 16.
The Trojans have now won five straight games and are 15-2 on the season. They will now have a week to prepare for their biggest test of the season: the #1 ranked Hopkins Royals.
The Royals (16-0) erased any doubts that they are the best team in the state this year when they dismantled the previosuly unbeaten Robbinsdale Cooper Hawks 100-78 on Tuesday night.
The Trojans and Royals will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7:15 p.m. at Hopkins High School.
Both the Wayzata boys and girls basketball teams face tough conference match-ups tonight as they look to gain momentum for the second half of the season.
The boys team will take its 13-2 record on the road to face the defending state champion Minnetonka Skippers. The girls team will host Robbinsdale Armstrong, who is currently 14-2 and ranked 4th in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News.
Opposing Players to Watch Cole Stefan of Minnetonka is averaging 19.9 points per game and has scored 20 or more nine times this year. His season high is 32 points against St. Paul Johnson on Dec. 27.
Nicole Dooher of Armstrong is averaging 15 points per game and has been held to single digits only once this season.
The Falcons are 12-0 when junior guard Alyssa Marschner scores 12 points or more.
The Wayzata boys basketball team shot 60 percent from the field and senior forward Kellen Taylor played a near flawless game as the Trojans improved to 11-2 on the season with a 71-59 victory over the St. Paul Central Minutemen.
Taylor, who will play for Division II powerhouse Winona State University next year, scored a game-high 22 points on 6-7 from the field and 9-10 from the free throw line.
“One of the great things about Kellen is that he’s really playing within himself and letting things come to him,” Trojans head coach Mike Anderson said. “The nice thing about the way he is scoring is that it’s within the flow of what we’re doing and he hit some big shots tonight when they were trying to crawl back into it.”
The Trojans jumped out to a 16-5 lead in the first half, not on the shoulders of Taylor, but instead thanks to eight early points from senior DeShawn Thurman. Thurman made a rare start against the Minutemen and made the most of his opportunity by finishing the game with 13 points on 6-7 from the field.
“DeShawn is a guy that competes every night and that’s one thing you can count on from him,” Anderson said. “He’s really given us a good shot in the arm energy wise and tonight was no different.”
The Trojans had three starters – Taylor, senior Jerrod Peterson, and senior Eren Cur – pick up three first half fouls. Anderson turned to junior guard Chris Kroeten and sophomore guard Aaron Roth to play some crucial minutes in the first half and both were productive.
Both Kroeten and Roth hit three-pointers in the first half and Kroeten added a steal and breakaway lay-up.
“We had some guys who are trying to get in the line-up who haven’t played a lot and I thought they really did some good things,” Anderson said. “I thought the effort was pretty good tonight.”
After taking a 32-23 lead into the locker room at halftime, Taylor and senior Nolan Odland took over early in the second half to more or less put the game away.
Odland – the leading scorer for the Trojans on the season at more than 17 points per game – scored the Trojans’ first six points of the second half. With the Trojans leading 41-29, Taylor scored the team’s next 13 points including three from long range. When Taylor’s shooting display was over, the Trojans led comfortably at 56-38 with just under eight minutes remaining.
The Minutemen cut the lead the 12 with just under four minutes remaining, but a personal foul and technical foul were whistled on Minutemen senior Jordan Larson. That sent Cur to the line for four three-throws where he converted all four to push the lead back out to 16.
While the offense was clicking for the Trojans, they also looked fairly solid on the defensive end. The Minutemen shot just 34 percent from the field (21-61) and their leading scorer, Taylor Smaller, was held to just nine points on 3-14 shooting.
The 12-point victory should help to erase the memory of the Trojans 81-59 loss to Osseo six days ago.
“In the loss to Osseo I think we learned that we have to be mentally prepared every night and you have to give Osseo some credit,” Anderson said. “They’re a great program, they’re very well coached, and they’re not going to let you off the hook. I think a few of our guys weren’t ready for that game mentally.”
The Trojans will now have to mentally prepare for three games in six days including their Classic Lake Conference opener. The Trojans play again tomorrow night against Milwaukee Lutheran High School at St. Paul Johnson as part of the third annual East Metro Showcase. The Trojans will then host Eagan on Tuesday, Jan. 27 before opening up conference play at defending state champion Minnetonka on Friday, Jan. 30.
“I look at every team in the conference and the conference year after year seems to be strong,” Anderson said. “I think the way we are playing is good, but I think every game in the conference is going to be big for us.”
The Trojans will get their first crack at number one ranked Hopkins and their four Division I signees on Feb. 10 at Hopkins.
“Hopefully when we get to the Hopkins game we can figure out what we can do against them and then we have to find some ways to defend them,” Anderson said. “They’re awfully big and its going to be a tough match-up.”
Box Score
Wayzata: Kellen Taylor 22, Nolan Odland 13, DeShawn Thurman 13, Eren Cur 13, Chris Kroeten 5, Aaron Roth 3, Jerrod Peterson 2
Team Stats: Field Goals: 23-38 (60%), Three-Pointers: 6-14 (43%), Free Throws: 19-28 (68%)
St. Paul Central: Michael Adams 12, Jordan Larson 11, Taylor Smaller 9, LeDarian Horton 9, Nathanial Kado 8, Eric Grice 4, Cameron Smith 2, Daanjerae Johnson 2, Donte Stewart 2
Team Stats: Field Goals: 21-61 (34%), Three-Pointers: 5-11 (45%), Free Throws: 10-20 (50%)
Written by Matt Thomas, Wayzata.com Sports Reporter Record: 7-6
What have you done for me lately: The Trojans are 2-1 in their last three games including wins over Tartan (55-33) and Apple Valley (66-50), along with a tough 51-49 loss to Mounds View on Friday, Jan. 16.
Star Power: Senior guard Kate Thompson leads the team in scoring at 19.3 points per game. Thompson, who is headed to the University of Michigan next season on a scholarship, has scored in double figures in all of the team’s 13 games this season.
Senior Leadership: The Trojans’ top four scorers this season – Thompson, Alexa Clausen, Teresa Thour, and Christina Keup – are all seniors. Clausen is averaging 9.1 points per game, Keup is averaging 8.2 points per game, and Thour is scoring 7.3 points per game.
The Freshman Factor: Freshman Kayla Timmerman has started to make an impact in the Trojans’ line-up over the past three weeks. Timmerman is averaging about nine points per game over the last three games. She scored a career-high 12 points in the Trojans’ victory over Apple Valley on Jan. 13.
Looking Ahead: The Trojans have one more non-conference game before they begin Classic Lake Conference play on Friday, Jan. 23. The Trojans will host Buffalo on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 7:15 p.m. before clashing with Hopkins on Jan. 23 to open the conference schedule.
Currently our varsity girls’ basketball team has a modest record of 2-2 but that’s not holding them back as they look optimistically towards the remainder of the season.
The team wants to become conference champions, said captain Alexa Clausen (12). At this time this goal is what the team is focusing on. As with every other team they will also strive for a seed in the state tournament.
Captain Kate Thompson (12) said, “The chemistry on this team is awesome.” The team is able to get along well and they believe their chemistry will be a leading factor in their success. Experience is another factor that may lead to this teams’ success. The team is, “full of a lot of talent and experience.” Said Clausen “Nearly everyone on the team has varsity experience,” said Thompson. This experienced group of girls will be led by captains Micaela Olson (12), Teresa Thour (12), Clausen and Thompson. Shannon O’Toole (10) said the entire team is very happy with the captains. The team is led offensively by Thompson, who signed with the University of Michigan last month to play Division 1 basketball next year.
The talent runs deep for our girls’ basketball team. Christina Keup (12), Jordan Risberg (12) and O’Toole are all returning players the captains agreed will have an enormous impact. Rudy Ruffin (11) and Kristi Kuhn (11) have the potential to step up and make a difference as well said Clausen.
The team’s season opener was a very successful win defeating Maple Grove 64-49. The girls lost to Orono 33-38, and Prior Lake 57-59. “The losses were disappointing, but we have learned from them and want to continue to improve our game,” said Clausen. On Monday night the team ended their two-game lose streak by defeating Robbinsdale Cooper 52-41. Hopefully this turn-around will give them momentum and to use and carry throughout the rest of the season.
Stay up to date with the girls’ basketball team by traveling to either of their games this weekend. Tonight the girls will be playing Duluth East at Duluth at 7:30, and on Saturday tip off will be at 2:45 versus Grand Rapids.
The girls lost to Orono 33-38, and Prior Lake 57-59. “The losses were disappointing, but we have learned from them and want to continue to improve our game,” said Clausen. On Monday night the team ended their two-game lose streak by defeating Robbinsdale Cooper 52-41. Hopefully this turn-around will give them momentum and to use and carry throughout the rest of the season.
Stay up to date with the girls’ basketball team by traveling to either of their games this weekend. Tonight the girls will be playing Duluth East at Duluth at 7:30, and on Saturday tip off will be at 2:45 versus Grand Rapids.
It has been an exceptional start for the boys’ Varsity basketball team thus far with a perfect record of 4-0.
Their wins have come against Maple Grove, Park Center, Champlin Park and Prior Lake. Over the four games, the boys have scored an average of 66.25 and only let up an average of 54. The team has a new head coach this year, Mike Anderson. Anderson has been with the program for a while took the head position as former coach Phil Ward took the year off.
The team has been led by players like Captain Eren Cur (12) who currently averages 13.5 points per game, Nolan Odlund (12) who averages 17 points per game and Jared Peterson (12) who averages 16 points per game.
With 21 regular season games to go the boys still have to face dangerous teams down the road like Minnetonka on January 30th and February 20th and Hopkins on February 10th and 27th. The boys will also take part in the Anoka Tournament over the holidays.
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