Women’s Soccer: Beavers surrender second-half lead in loss to Yellowjackets

The Minot State women’s soccer team was unable to hold onto an early-second half lead, allowing a pair of goals over a three-minute stretch in a 2-1 loss at Montana State University-Billings on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The Beavers 0-3-0) got on the board first after a scoreless opening half when Keilani Broadnax found the back of the net in the 51st minute. Moments earlier Sabrina Amezcua clanged a shot off the goal post.

The lead wouldn’t hold, as the Yellowjackets (1-2-0) would net the equalizer in the 64th minute and the eventual game-winner in the 67th minute to keep the Beavers winless on the young season. Kambryn Smith pulled MSU-B level and Cesia Swain gave her the team the lead with the assist coming from Nyah Attaway minutes later.

Minot State’s best opportunity to tie the match came in the final few minutes, but a shot from Brittney Egbert could not find its way past a wall of Yellowjacket defenders.

Jayen Alger made two saves in net for the Beavers, while Emma Powell finished with four saves.

Minot State held a 14-6 advantage in total shots and a slight 6-4 edge in shots on goal.

The Beavers open conference place against St. Cloud State on Friday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium.

College Volleyball: Beavers finish home tournament 1-3

After securing its first victory of the season to open up the Homecoming Classic at the MSU Dome on Friday, the Minot State volleyball team closed out the weekend with a pair of losses on Saturday, Sept. 13, swept at the hands of Black Hills State in the morning before falling in four sets in the nightcap to Brandon University to finish the tournament with a 1-3 mark.

Paulina Kowalska had 18 kills combined over the final two matches and Jaina Macaulay set the offense in motion with 29 assists. Caton Pearcy led the defensive effort with 28 digs and Maya Vibeto served up five aces against Brandon alone.

The Yellow Jackets won a hotly-contested opening set after leading by as many as four points at 18-14. The Beavers closed the margin to a single point on three separate occasions, but could never recapture the lead. They fended off set point at 24-22, but a kill from Carstyn Mettler gave the set to BHSU.

The Yellow Jackets took advantage of a 10-0 run to open the second set and never led by fewer than four points. They closed the match winning five consecutive points.

MSU (1-7) looked poised to end the tournament on a high note after capturing the opening set from Brandon University, but the Bobcats took the final three sets in close fashion for their first victory of the season.

The Beavers travel to St. Cloud State to open their conference schedule on Friday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m.

Boys Tennis: Magicians, Sentinels win pair of matches at Sheyenne Invite

Both the Minot HIgh and the Minot North boys tennis teams headed East to compete in the Sheyenne Invite over the weekend, playing in both dual matches and individual competitions.

The Magicians played a trio of matches, while the Sentinels squared off in two, both coming away with a pair of victories on Friday, Sept. 12. Minot High defeated both Fargo North and Fargo South, 3-2, before being swept in five matches by tournament host Sheyenne. The Sentinels bested both Valley City and West Fargo in 4-1 fashion.

The Magicians (12-3) won four singles matches and two doubles matches, with Tyson Barden winning a pair of matches, defeating North’s John Bourke and South’s Dylan Rogne at No. 3 singles. Oliver Thompson and Henrik Evanoff also won a singles match during the dual portion of the tournament. Thompson also posted a victory in doubles with partner Aiden Bye against South’s Henry Wuischick and Cade Youngquist, 6-1, 6-3. Connor Ressler and Henrik Evanoff had Minot’s other doubles victory, topping North’s Nate Wilson and Thomas Webb, 6-0, 6-0.

The Sentinels (4-7) went unbeaten in singles play, winning all six of their matches. Colton Griffith and Brayden Callahan swept No. 1 and No. 2 singles, and Reece Blikre and Lucas Griffith split No. 3 singles duties, with each picking up a win. Parker Vigestad anchored a pair of wins at No. 1 doubles, teaming up with Lucas Griffith in a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Valley City’s Kellen Westman and Mathew Holm and then pairing with Blikre to topple West Fargo’s Mason Ristvedt and Nash Reisenauer, 6-0, 6-2.

Saturday, Sept. 13, featured the individual portion of the tournament, with sixth flights of singles and three flights of doubles. No one from either Minot High or Minot North made it to the medal stand, but Bye had the best individual showing with a sixth-place finish at No. 4 singles. Nolan Moore and Thompson, and Owen Sundahl and Barden both placed sixth at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, respectively.

Minot High plays three matches this upcoming week, beginning Monday, Sept. 15, when it hosts Jamestown at 3 p.m. Minot North hosts Mandan on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m.

Prep Volleyball: Glenburn takes second at host tournament; ORCS wins 3 matches in Valley City

The Glenburn volleyball team invited 14 other schools to take part in its annual tournament on Saturday, Sept. 13, and came away with a second place finish after winning four matches. The Panthers fell to Benson County in the championship game, 25-12, 25-13.

Several local teams were in attendance, including Bishop Ryan Tioga, Stanley, Kenmare-Bowbells, Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood and Newburg-Westhope, all of which advanced to the championship bracket of the tournament. M-L-S and Kenmare-Bowbells went undefeated in their respective pool play. Stanley, Glenburn and Newburg-Westhope advanced to the semifinals, with Benson County knocking off Stanley and Glenburn defeating Newburg-Westhope. Stanley claimed third place over Newburg-Westhope, 24-26, 25-14, 15-6.

Glenburn, M-L-S, Bishop Ryan, Newburg-Westhope, Kenmare-Bowbells and Stanley all came away with at least three match victories in the tournament.

Meanwhile, in the Valley City Tournament, Our Redeemer’s was the only local school in attendance. The Knights won both of its Pool G matches against Four Winds-Minnewaukan, 25-7, 25-17, and Glen Ullin-Hebron, 25-15, 25-16, to advance to the gold bracket.

In the gold bracket, ORCS dropped its opener to Valley City, 25-14, 25-22, before defeating Oak Grove, 25-19, 22-25, 16-14, to advance to the consolation championship. Park River-FL won the consolation, 19-25, 25-22, 15-12.

Brooklyn Roedocker finished the tournament with a team-high 33 kills. Grace Olson had 68 assists as well as 32 digs. Kadyn Braun and Ellie Streyle each had a team-high 34 digs on defense. Braun also led the Knights with 12 aces. Lauren Strom had seven blocks.

Medina/Pingree-Buchanan won the silver bracket and Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier took first in the bronze bracket.

Girls Swimming and Diving: Bismarck Century narrowly defeats Majettes in dual meet

In a matchup of two of the top swimming programs in the state since 1974, Bismarck Century edged out Minot High, 99-87, in a dual meet on Friday, Sept. 13, despite the Magicians taking the top spot in seven of the 12 events.

The Majettes took victories in the 200-yard medley relay, 200 freestyle, 50 freestyle, 1-meter diving, 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 400 freestyle relay. Samantha VonBokern won a pair of events, claiming the 50 freestyle in 24.51 seconds, before winning the 500 freestyle in 5:22.51. VonBokern won the 500 freestyle by more than 27 seconds over Century’s Abby Jablonsky.

Minot High’s best showings came in the 200 freestyle, 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke, taking three of the top five spots. The top five spots in individual events factored into the team scores. Emily Dunstan (200 freestyle), Gracyn Bergan (1-meter diving) and Kirby Quam (100 backstroke) won their respective events. The Majettes also came out victorious in two of the three relays, besting the Patriots in the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. The 200 medley relay team consisted of Dunstan, Greer Schaeffer, Sophia VonBokern and Hailee Valdez. The 400 freestyle relay was made up of Dunstan, Quam, Maggie Fricke and Samantha VonBokern. Minot High had two of the top three relay finishes in all three races.

Century claimed victories in the 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and the 200 freestyle relay. They didn’t have any repeat winners, but the Patriots did have three of the top five finishers in six events.

The Majettes and Patriots are two of the most decorating girls swimming and diving programs in the state all time. The Majettes have won 24 state titles and finished second 11 more times, including in each of the last three years. Their last state title came in 2014. Century has won the state title nine of the last 10 years and 13 times overall. They have finished runners-up seven times.

The Majettes swim in the BPS Duals against Century and Bismarck Legacy on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 5:30 p.m.

Prep Cross Country: Local teams compete at Anderson-Stavn Invite in Bismarck

Minot High’s Kaylee Jackson and Rugby’s Hannah Senechal cracked the top 30 for their respective programs as local teams took part in the Anderson-Stavn Invite at the McDowell Dam in Bismarck on Friday, Sept. 12.

Fifteen teams competed on the girls side, while 18 ran on the boys side.

The Majettes finished in 10th with a team score of 279, while Rugby placed 12th with 390. Bismarck Century won the girls event with a score of 49 and Ruby Ihmels won the individual race for the Patriots in 18 minutes, 10.49 seconds. Jillian Lemer also placed in the top five for the Patriots, finishing fifth in 19:49.80. Williston was right behind Century, placing second with 56 points and placing three runners in the top 10. Bowman County had the strongest showing on the Class B side, finishing third with 112. Bismarck High (154) and West Fargo Sheyenne (156) rounded out the top five.

On the boys side, Minot High placed 12th with 434 points, while Minot North (471) and Ruby (592) finished in 14th and 17th, respectively. Jon Folk had the best time of the local athletes, completing the race in 19:07.40 for a 63rd-place finish for the Sentinels. Xavier Oswald (19:32.29) was the top finisher for the Magicians in 75th and Brayden Herman (20:28.96) was Rugby’s best performer with a 98th-place spot.

Bismarck High took home the title with 38 points. Williston claimed second with 70 points, followed by Bowman County (78), Bismarck Century (114) and Mandan (162). Owen Hintz finished the race in first for Bismarck High with a time of 15:45.21. Teammate Jacob Windsor was second in 16:11.11. The Demons placed three runners in the top 10 and Bowman County’s top three runners accomplished the same feat.