The Blake Bears Volleyball team finished their 2016 season with a 3-21 record. All 3 wins came from sections opponents (Minneapolis Henry, Fridley and Breck). The Breck win was coach Kjirsten Walt-Anderson first IMAC win of her career and is hoping to build on that for the 2017 season.

Head Coach: Kjirsten Walt-Anderson (1st Year, Career Record  3-21)

Assistant Coaches: Nickie Jenks, Christine Henken

Captains:  Sophia Kurowski, Ella Lemke, Emily Hykes

Season Record:  3-21

IMAC All Conference Players:

Sophia Kurowski 12

IMAC  All Conference Honorable Mentions:

Averi Sillivan 10

Boys:

The Blake Bears boys cross country team was lead by senior captain Michael Mitchell and junior captain Max Owens.  Other varsity runners competing for the Bears were juniors Cole Woerner, Zach Dekko, Chris Gill and Jacob Blum.  Runners who were competing for the last spot on the varsity throughout the season were sophomore William Lyman and freshman Scott Klinefelter and William Longley.  

The boys team consistently placed in the top five of the smaller meets and top ten in the larger meets.  The best finish for the boys team was at the Grasshopper Invite where they finished second.  At the IMAC conference championships, the boys finished third and fifth at the section championships.  Individually, senior Michael Mitchell had a strong season.  Mitchell won four races overall which included the winning the Powerhorn/AHA Invite for the third time, the Grasshopper Invite for the second time and big wins at the Mega Meet and Litchfield Invites.  Mitchell qualified for the state meet and finished 10th place earning him All-State awards.  

Blake’s middle school team had a great season.  They regularly would place in the top three as a team in most meets.  The middle school team was lead by Shef West (7th grader), Ian Acheson (8th grader) and Chad Woerner (7th grader).  The highlights for the team was winning the private school championships and the IMAC conference championships.

Girls:

The Blake Bears girls cross country team was lead by junior captain Olivia Ohrt and senior captain CC Lucas.  Other varsity runners competing for the Bears were freshman Alexandra Koullick and Maggie Ankeny, Sophomore Emma Clavin, 8th graders Jackie Weyerhaeuser and Grace Griffin and 7th grader Molly Liston.  

The girls team regularly placed in the top three in the smaller meets and top five in the larger meets.  The best finish for the girls team was at the Powderhorn/AHA Invite and Grasshopper Invites placing second overall.  At the IMAC conference championships, the girls finished second place and 8th place at the section championships.  Individually, the Bears were lead by junior Olivia Ohrt.  Ohrt consistently placed in the top five all year (3rd place Powerhorn/AHA, 2nd place Grasshopper Invite, 3rd place Jaguar Invite, 4th place Mega Meet, 3rd place IMAC Championships.  Ohrt qualified for the state meet along with teammate Jackie Weyerhaeuser.  

Blake’s middle school team had a solid season.  The young Bear’s were lead by Molly Liston, Sophia Vezmar, Kelly Dayton, Betsy Fries and Grace Griffin.  Sophia Vezmar placed 5th place overall at the conference meet.

Head Coach: Jason Shantz

Assistant Coaches: John Shelp & Alanna Wahl

Captains:  Michael Mitchell, Max Owens, CC Lucas, Olivia Ohrt

State Tournament Appearance:

Michael Mitchell

Olivia Ohrt

Jackie Weyerhaeuser 

The Blake Girls Swim and Dive Team capped off a terrific season with another visit to the State Meet. All Varsity Swimmers  set a new personal best time this season and four new Team Records were established!

Head Coach: Kris Rosenberg (18th year)

Assistant Coaches: Craig Croaston, Chris Jenkins, Tiffany Sorenson

Captains:  Zoe Nyberg-Powell and Rachel Sigel

Season Record:  2-2

Team Awards:  True Team Sections 3rd Place, Section 2A Runner-Up, State Meet 7th Place

New Team Records:

200MR - 1:49.24 - Hannah Sweet, Ava Olson, Madison Potter, and Angelina Hartley

100FS - Julia Landwehr - 52.48

100BF - Madison Potter - 55.20

400FR - 1:33.72 - Angelina Hartley, Krysia Anderson, Julia Landwehr, and Madison Potter

All State Honors:

Madison Potter - 100BF State Champion, 200IM State Champion, 400FR, 200MR 

Hannah Sweet - 200MR

Ava Olson - 200MR

Angelina Hartley - 200MR, 400FR

Julia Landwehr - 400FR, 100FS

Krysia Anderson - 400FR

Other Awards:

Section Diving Coach of the Year - Coach Croaston

The SMB Wolfpack completed another incredible season.  In it's second season overall,the team again went undefeated in the regular season (8-0) and won the Twin Cities Gold District Championshiop.  The Wolfpack earned its first Section Playoff win over St Paul Central and played for the right to go to the State Tournament  Unfortunately, the Wolfpack lost to Mahtomedi in the Section Finals.  Another successful season in the books!

Head Coach: Collin Quinn (2nd Year, Career Record 17-2)

Assistant Coaches:  Hugh Brown, Chris Goodwin, Scott Scholl, Peter Zantop, Joe Protzmann, Tyler Mundt, Lester Batiste, Nate Davis, Marsille Reed, Bill Ross, Eric Salverda

Captains:  Will Bean, Johnny Erickson, Soren Birkeland, Weston Lombard

Season Record:  9-1

Team Award:  Twin Cities Gold District Champions

Twin Cities Gold District Players:

Twin Cities Gold  All District Honorable Mentions:

Twin Cities Gold District Offensive MVP:  Jalen Suggs, QB

Twin Cities Gold District Defensive Lineman of the Year:  Derrince Melton, DE

The Blake Bears girls varsity tennis team dominated both in the regular and post season play  in the 2016-2017 season.  The Bears won the IMAC Conference Title during the regular season  and advanced to the State Tournament by winning the Section 4A Title. At the State Girls’ Class A Tennis Tournament, the Bears dominated play winning their fourth championship in six years and their second in a row.  In the individual State Tournament, Libby Rickeman defend her singles title winning over teammate Arlina Shen, who would finish 2nd.  The duo of Sophie Skallerud and Lainey Axell took home the doubles State Title.  They finished with a combined record of 20-1 over three contests and did it with a combination of  skill, experience and youth.  Coach Mike Ach’s program is positioned well to keep the success coming next year and beyond.  

Head Coach: Mike Ach (1st Year, Career Record  20-1)

Assistant Coaches: Ted Warner, Alexa Palen

Captains:  Sarah Juang, Libby Rickeman, Abbie Nelson

Season Record:  20-1

Team Award:  IMAC Conference Champions, 4A Section Champs, Class A State Champions

IMAC All Conference Players:

Libby Rickeman 12

Lainey Axel 11

Sophie Skallerud 11

Abby Nelson 11

Arlina Shen 9

Sonia Baig 8

IMAC  All Conference Honorable Mentions:

Sarah Juang 12

Emily Melin 9

Caroline Cameron 9

State Tournament Awards:

1st Place Singles - LIbby Rickema

2nd Place Singles - Arlina Shen 

1st Place Doubles - Sophie Skallerud and Lainey Axell

The Blake Boys Soccer Team had a remarkable turnaround from 2015 season to the 2016 season, improving their win total from 4 to 16 and advancing to the Class A State Tournament. The boys finished with a record of 16-5-2. They were crowned IMAC Champions, Section Champions, and finished 4th place at the State Tournament which was held at US Bank Stadium for the first time. 

Head Coach: Tamba Johnson (4th Year, Career Record: 134-45-7)

Assistant Coaches: Aaron Paye, David Shapiro

Captains:  Quinn Kiernat, Tenzin Choezin

Season Record:  16-5-2

Team Awards:  IMAC Conference Champions, 5A Section Champs, Class A State 4th Place

1st Team All State Players:

Quinn Kiernat 12 

Haluk Ercan-Fang 10

IMAC All Conference Players:

Quinn Kiernat 12

Tenzin Choezin 12

Haluk Ercan-Fang 10

Ben Lee 10

Jake Lundberg 10

IMAC  All Conference Honorable Mentions:

Ethan Roe 11

CollinMcConkey 11

Sam Shapiro 11

Lane Lipschultz 10

State Tournament Awards: All Tournament Team

Ethan Roe 11

Colin McConkey 11

The Blake Girls Soccer Team had yet another successful season under the guidance of Coach Paul Menge, in his 23rd season as Blake Head Coach. The girls were ranked as high as #2 in Class A at one point in the year. Their season came to an end in the section semifinals to the eventual state champion Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights. They finished the year with a record of 12-6-1 and they were crowned IMAC Champions.

Head Coach: Paul Menge (23rd Year, Career Record: 333-80-24)

Assistant Coaches: Paul Armstrong, Ashly Zimmerman

Captains:  Raye Gleekel, Libby Franchot

Season Record:  12-6-1

Team Awards:  IMAC Conference Champions

1st Team All State Players:

KK Haug 10 

2nd Team All State Players:

Raye Gleekel 12

IMAC All Conference Players:

Raye Gleekel 12

Libby Franchot 12

Lucia Warner 12

KK Haug 10

Ali Fine 9

IMAC  All Conference Honorable Mentions:

Amelia Reyes 8

Nellie Ide 12

Congrats to Blake Alum Robyn Lipschultz '16 and her John Hopkins Bluejays as they claimed the Centennial Conference Championship in Womens Soccer.  

Congrats to Blake alum Hannah Korslund '16, as the John Hopkins Bluejays claimed the Centennial Conference Championship in Womens Volleyball.

Blake Alum Dani Cameranesi '13 lead the University of Minnesota Womens Hockey team to a 5-0 win over Minnesota State.  Cameranesi had a hat trick in the game.