“Playing middle linebacker is second nature for me. I’ve been playing that position all my life. I love tackling people,” Pietig said. “We have been playing good, aggressive football on defense.”
“Kadence’s poise and leadership under pressure are what makes her special and stand out,” Raiders coach Greg Ueland said. That showed in the Class 4A, Section 4 championship when Roseville (26-5) rallied for a 21-25, 24-26, 25-14, 27-25, 15-10 victory over Stillwater. A senior, Davison had 50 set assists, 21 digs, three kills, three ace serves and two blocks in the game. She has 917 assists, 271 digs, 32 kills, 33 ace serves and 36 blocks this season. “Kadence has been a confident and vocal leader for this team since the moment she played varsity as a freshmen,” Ueland said. “She is a consistent setter who sees the court so well and knows who to get the ball to, setting our team up for success.”
The Prep Athletes of the Week, clockwise from top left; Eli Pietig of Monticello, Kadence Davison of Roseville, Erik Semling of Winona Cotter/Hope Lutheran, Tenley Senden of Wayzata, Blaine Smith of Stephen-Argyle, Audrey Brownell of Staples-Motley and Zayan Oliyath of
Eagan.
The future looks bright for Semling, a freshman. Semling won the Class 1A cross-country state championship with a school-record time of 15 minutes, 23.5 seconds over the 5K course at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights. He entered the meet ranked second in the state by the coaches association. “His race was truly impressive,” Winona Cotter/Hope Lutheran coach Mike Costello said. “In two other big meets this year, he was dealing with an illness and minor injury. But he was 100 percent and really uncorked one. An amazing time and feat for anyone but extraordinary for a freshman.”
No moment is too big for Senden. The senior forward scored back-to-back goals, leading the No. 2-ranked Trojans (19-1-1) to a 3-1 victory over Lake Conference rival Edina, ranked fifth, for the Class 3A state championship. She scored at least one goal in each game of Wayzata’s season-ending 13-game winning streak. A Gophers recruit, she finished the season with 26 goals and 17 assists. “Tenley is an electrifying player with super speed who scored key goals in every state tournament game game,” Wayzata coach Tony Peszneker said.
The senior running back/linebacker is dominant on both sides of the ball. The 5-11, 192-pound Smith rushed for 268 yards on 25 carries and scored four touchdowns, leading the Storm (10-1) to a 42-14 victory over Warren-Alvarado-Oslo for the Nine-Player, Section 8 championship at the Fargodome. He scored on runs of 11, 28, 52 and 71 yards. Smith was active on defense as well, making 12 tackles. “Blaine has been consistently productive on both sides of the ball,” Storm coach Ethan Marquis said. “He is a strong player who has carried the ball well as of late for us.”
Brownell lived up to her ranking as the No. 1-rated runner in Class 1A. She won the cross-country state championship with a time of 18:17.2. Three weeks ago, Brownell established the school record with a time of 17:50.1 at the Heart O’Lakes Conference meet at Arvig Park in Perham. “She spent the season achieving goals and then setting new ones,” Cardinals coach Bruce Fuhrman said. A junior, Brownell won six of her seven races this season. “She understands the importance of logging of miles, speed workouts, tempo running, rest and other technical aspects required to become a great runner,” Fuhrman said.
