HERMANTOWN, Minn.- Will Esterbrooks of the Hermantown truly put it all on the line in his three years playing for the Hawks’ boys hockey team. It’s now been over a week since Hermantown suffered a 3-1 loss to St. Cloud Cathedral in the 3-1 Class A State Championship. Following the game, Head Coach Patrick Andrew acknowledged they wouldn’t have made…
DULUTH, Minn.- 5 seasons, 141 games, and 4,719 minutes. Entering the NCAA Division II Tournament, that’s how long Drew Blair has played in a UMD uniform. “Hopefully, I still have a little bit more left in the tank here as we go on the stretch and can keep playing better,” says Blair, who recently turned 24 years old. After proving…
SOLON SPRINGS, Wis.- The Solon Springs boys basketball team is fueled by a senior class that have run up the ranks sharing the rock. “We’ve been playing together since like fifth grade, so chemistry probably for sure would be our strong suit,” says Dylan Taggart, who recently scored his 1,000th career point. “Since they’ve been little kids, they’ve been on…
HERMANTOWN, Minn.- On Monday, Abe Soumis broke the all-time scoring record for the Hermantown boys’ basketball team when he put up 48 points against Chisago Lakes. For anyone who has watched the Hawks in the last two seasons, this didn’t come as a surprise. “You know, the thing about Abe is that he’s that kind of kid that every coach…
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn.- “Pull the rope” is a mantra often used by the Grand Rapids’ high school wrestlers. It’s part of the reason why Justin Jobe treats wrestling as a team sport. “Just because it sucks so much,” Jobe smiles, alluding to the hard work required to be great on the mats. “You know, it sucks, but it’s awesome at…
DULUTH, Minn.- Entering this season, the UMD women had some huge skates to fill following the departure of their three captains. With the postseason in sight, it’s now clear that Mannon McMahon was the right woman for the job. “It definitely was a little daunting, just knowing that it is such a big role and such a big opportunity,” says…
PROCTOR, Minn.- Last week, Proctor’s AJ Reyelts put himself in rare company for high school goaltenders when he recorded his 1,000th save. “Ever since the Christmas tournament, we’ve been firing,” says Reyelts. “The team feels great. I mean, we’ve been winning a lot, so that’s always fun.” When Reyelts is in front of the net, life is good for the…
ASHLAND, Wis.- Madison Burns may get pre-match jitters, but once the clock begins to tick, her opponents are the ones who start to get nervous. “She gets mad at me because sometimes I don’t let her pin girls right away…I make her wrestle a little bit.” Ashland Wrestling Head Coach Joe Hasskamp has mentored Burns throughout her burgeoning career, including…
CHERRY, Minn.- The Cherry boys basketball team always seems to amass large crowds whenever they play on the road. Even if those fans aren’t Tigers fans, it’s clear they’re there to see Isaac Asuma. “It’s just a blessing,” says Asuma. “I’m thankful for it. I know it’s a big weight to carry but it’s just a great experience.” As he…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- On Monday, the Superior boys basketball team put on a show in their 54-40 win over Hudson. However, the play of the game didn’t happen on the hardwood. The Spartans’ “Shoot Out Childhood Cancer” night raised money for the St. Luke’s Foundation, as well as for Amelia, who’s a student at Cooper Elementary School currently battling acute Lymphoblastic…
PORT WING, Wis.- The South Shore girls basketball team has produced some of the best players to ever come out of the state of Wisconsin. Emily Montgomery may soon join that list. Last season, Montgomery etched herself in South Shore basketball history when she scored her 1,000th point. “It was surreal, honestly. The energy was insane.” Five years before that…
DULUTH, Minn.- The Duluth Boys’ Swim & Dive team has faced adversity this season following the graduation of All-American Grant Wodny. “Very big shoes to fill…Impossible shoes to fill, really.” smiles Travis Elling, a senior with the swim team. “With all the previous seniors leaving, it feels like it’s my time to shine and step up. I try and set…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- The Superior girls hockey team is well on their way to returning to the state tournament. Team captain Autumn Cooper has had an immeasurable impact on the Spartans’ success, and she’s hoping to do a little bit more before she heads to Bemidji State. On a Saturday afternoon, the Spartans took the ice on the same day as…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- Anyone who’s been to a UW-Superior women’s basketball game this season is well aware that Elise Besonen has been given the green light to shoot the ball. “I know that if she doesn’t pass it to me, she’s making it for sure,” smiled Katie Dobson, both a teammate and roommate of Elise’s. “She’s one that’s not selfish, but…
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn.- The Grand Rapids boys’ hockey team is undergoing some changes with Grant Clafton as their new head coach. One thing that hasn’t changed: Bauer Murphy imposing his will on the defensive side of the puck. The Thunderhawks’ season got off to an electric start in their home-opening win against Hibbing-Chisholm. “That was really awesome,” recalls Murphy. “It…
DULUTH, Minn.- On a team full of playmakers, sharpshooters, and athletic specimens, Duluth Denfeld’s Dashawn Moore has found a way to make his presence known. “I bring the energy and it just feeds off,” says Moore. “We’re going to ball out, we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do.” As a football player at heart, Moore brings the same kind…
DULUTH, Minn.- The Duluth Marshall girls hockey team will once again be in contention for the Section 7A championship with senior Ilsa Lindaman leading the Hilltoppers onto the ice. “Obviously as a senior captain, you have to take on a little bit of responsibility, provide for those points, and then also you have to be sure that it’s definitely a…
MOUNTAIN BUHL, Minn.- After winning their first-ever Class A State Championship, Jordan Zubich and her Mountain Iron-Buhl teammates are now in title defense mode. “Just going out the way we did last season, I think it added like extra motivation to come back this year,” says Zubich, who averaged a team-high 26.5 points per game in 2022-23. “(Winning state is)…
ESKO, Minn.- The Esko football team is likely still feeling the pain of Saturday’s state quarterfinals loss to Annandale, but with Jacion Owens returning as their starting quarterback, they should once again be contenders in 2024. “I feel like coming out here and having a good mood helps everyone get through practice,” says Owens, who started practice sharing his Aaron Rodgers…
DULUTH, Minn.- This Saturday will mark the end of St. Scholastica’s football season. Standing at 2-7 overall, things haven’t gone the Saints’ way this fall, but one of their defensive captains is committed to turning CSS around in 2024. “After each week, we’ve gotta take a look in the mirror and make sure we’re getting better and fixing the mistakes…
ESKO, Minn.- Esko’s class of 2024 has produced several students who will go on to play college athletics. That includes Kyra Johnson, who will play volleyball for Gustavus Adolphus next fall. Johnson hasn’t been shy of sharing her admiration for both volleyball and her Esko teammates. “This season has been so much fun with all of them,” she says while…
CLOQUET, Minn.- The Minnesota Wilderness have been nearly unstoppable in the last three weeks, and that has a lot to do with Ashton Dahms and his knack for getting to the net. “I came in here knowing that I was going to have to produce, and I think I just stepped up to the plate and everything’s gone well so…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- The UWS men’s soccer recently went on a seven-game win streak — six of which ended in shutouts. On a team full of playmakers, it may be difficult for one single player to stand out from the crowd. Enter Alex Hanson. Countless athletes from around the world have played at Superior’s NBC Spartan Sports Complex, but few share…
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…
