The SMB Wolfpack, in its 4th season, won the State 4A Championship. The team completed a 13-0 record on the season. It started with winning the District Championship by going 8-0 in the regular season. The Wolfpack would then defeat Orono 19-15 in the Section Semi Finals and Benilde 16-14 in the Section Finals to win the Section Championship. The first round of the State Tournament SMB would travel up to St Cloud State in a snow storm to take on Delano. The Wolfpack would survive and advance with a 14-0 win over Delano. In the State Semifinals at US Bank Stadium the Wolfpack would defeat Waseca 23-15. The State Championship game was a thriller with back and forth scoring for both teams. Fortunately, the Wolfpack would come out ahead 44-18 and take home their first State Football Championship. KSTP had a nice article with great video highlights. You can find that here.
Head Coach: Collin Quinn (4th Year, Career Record 39-4)
Assistant Coaches:
Hugh Brown, Chris Goodwin, Peter Zantop, Dante Britten |
Lester Batiste, Brandon Krona, Marsille Reed, Jacob Scholl |
Scott Scholl, Tyler Mundt, Nate Davis, Joe Protzmann |
Season Record: 13-0
All District Players:
Craig McDonald Jr QB/RB/DB SMB
Andrew Mollison Sr OL/DE SMB
Isaac Reed Sr OL/DL SMB
Bennett Theisen Sr OL/LB SMB
Bobby Chancellor Sr RB/LB SMB
Jalen Suggs Jr QB/DB SMB
Siegel Howard Sr RB/LB SMB
All District Honorable Mentions:
JP Kilbride Sr OL SMB
Riley Tietel Sr OL SMB
Kaden Johnson Jr WR/LB SMB
Kevvan Anderson So DL SMB
All District Why We Play Team
Howard Siegel Sr RB/LB SMB
Maroon Subdistrict
Defensive MVP Andrew Mollison SMB
Coach of the Year Collin Quinn SMB
Final Standings
Subdistrict Record W L
SMB 5 0
Fridley 4 1
St. Croix Lutheran 3 2
St. Paul Central 2 3
Minneapolis Washburn 1 4
St. Paul Highland Park 0 5
The Blake Cross Country team found themselves hitting their stride at the right time. This young group of runners had a strong showing at the end of the season which resulted in the Girls' team winning not only the IMAC Championship but also Section 4A Championship. The Boys' team was led by 9th grader Shef West as he ran his way into a State Tournament berth with a strong section showing too. As an individual in the State Tournament Shef finished 103rd out of nearly 200 runners. The Girls as a team finished 16th in the State Tournament. Molly Liston, 9th grader, and Jackie Weyerhaeuser, 10th grader led the way with 25th and 54th place finished respectively. Look for these young runners to make an impact in the 2019 season.
Head Coach: John Shelp & Maggie Pierson
Assistant Coaches: Geoff Fuller
Girls' IMAC Champions
Girls' Section 4A Champions
Girls' State Participant
State Participants
Molly Liston 9th
Jackie Weyerhaeuser 10th
Alexandra Koullick 11th
Caroline Pollack 8th
Sophia Vezmar 9th
Molly Vance 8th
Rose Goldenberg 8th
Shef West 9th
IMAC All Conference Players:
Molly Liston 9th
Jackie Weyerhaeuser 10th
Alexandra Koullick 11th
Shef West 9th
IMAC All Conference Honorable Mentions:
Sophia Vezmar 9th
The Blake Boys' Soccer Team ended the year on top! The boys defeated Bemidji in the Class A State Championship Game by a score of 1-0 and in dramatic fashion (click on links below). The championship for Blake put a stamp on a remarkable season where the Bears finished with a record of 19-1-2. They overcame their lone loss to Breck by defeating them in the section semifinals, before defeating previously unbeaten, #1 ranked, and defending state champion Totino-Grace in the game to get to the state tournament.
The Bears return 14 players next season off of the 2018 State Championship team.
For additional State Championship media follow the links below:
ESPN Top 10 Plays (November 2nd, 2018)
Head Coach: Tamba Johnson (5th Year, Career Record: 167-47-11)
Assistant Coaches: Aaron Paye, David Shapiro
Captains: Haluk Ercan Fang, Luke Melin, Will Taylor
Season Record: 19-1-2
State Tournament All Tournament Team:
Haluk Ercan Fang 12
Will Taylor 12
Jake Lundberg 12
Will Mortenson 11
All State Players:
Jake Lundberg 12
Howard Henderson 11
All-Metro Players:
Haluk Ercan-Fang 12
IMAC All Conference Players:
Luke Melin 12
Jake Lundberg 12
Haluk Ercan-Fang 12
Howard Henderson 11
IMAC All Conference Honorable Mentions:
Lane Lipschultz 12
Will Mortenson 11
Keegan James 10
The Blake Girls Soccer Team continued their success by having yet another great season. The Bears earned their #1 seed in section playoffs after posting a 12-3 regular season record while outscoring their opponents by a score of 72 to 9. They were also Independent Metro Athletic Conference Champions. The Bears finished with a record of 14-4 after being defeated by Benilde St. Margaret's in the section final. Senior KK Haug was awarded at the end of the season with the prestigious Class A Ms. Soccer Award. KK is Blake's second recipient of this statewide honor awarded to the best soccer player in the state. Story found here.
This season also marked the end of an incredible era under Head Coach Paul Menge. Coach Menge decided to retire from coaching at the conclusion of this season, his 31st at Blake and 41st in high school. Story found here.
Head Coach: Paul Menge (31st Year, Career Record: 360-89-26)
Assistant Coaches: Paul Armstrong, Ashly Bacon
Captains: KK Haug, Maddie Tix, Jade Sund
Season Record: 14-4
Team Awards:
IMAC Champs
Ms. Soccer Winner:
KK Haug 12
All State Players:
KK Haug 12
Jade Sund 12
Tyler Libert 12
Ali Fine 11
All Metro Players:
KK Haug 12
IMAC All Conference Players:
KK Haug 12
Jade Sund 12
Tyler Libert 12
Maddie Tix 12
Ali Fine 11
IMAC All Conference Honorable Mentions:
Cate Moe 10
Amelia Reyes 10
Girls Swimming and Diving wrapped up their season with a strong performance at the State Tournament. The Bears finished 14th out of 42 teams at State. Individual results were:
Head Coach: Luke Johnson
Assistant Coaches: Christy Wagner, Betsy Krohn, Dave Bryan
Girls Tennis. The Blake Bears earned their fourth consecutive Class A championship title with a 7-0 victory over the Litchfield Dragons, which won the consolation championship in the 2017 Class A tournament. The Bears had singles victories from junior Arlina Shen (No. 1), sophomore Sonia Baig (No. 2), ninth-grader Bella Suk (No. 3) and eighth-grader Allison Jay (No. 4). Doubles victories were secured by juniors Emily Melin and Caroline Cameron (No. 1), juniors Anna Secor and Natalie Anderson (No. 2) and senior Eesha Nagwani and seventh-grader Nana Vang (No. 3). Arlina Shen won the singles state tournament.
https://www.mntennishub.com/news_article/show/962385
Head Coach: Mike Ach (2nd Year, Career Record 38-2)
Assistant Coaches: Dave Mathews, Ted Warner
Season Record: 19-1
IMAC All Conference Players:
Carolyn Cameron 11
Emily Melin 11
Arlina Shen 11
Sonia Baig 10
Bella Suk 9
Allison Jay 8
IMAC All Conference Honorable Mentions:
Anna Secor 11
Natalie Anderson 11
The Blake Girls' Volleyball team graduates seven varsity players from the 2018 team. The season was filled with many tough fought matches. The Bears found their only victory versus Kaleidoscope Charter at home with the result being a 3-0 win. Senior Averi Sullivan led the team in almost all statistical categories on her way to All Conference honors.
Head Coach: Steve Kaback (2nd Year, Career Record 2-40)
Assistant Coaches: Leesa Malone, Elizabeth Miller, & Christine Henken
Season Record: 1-20
IMAC All Conference Players:
Averi Sullivan 12th
IMAC All Conference Honorable Mentions:
Jordan Dombroski 12th
Ellie Oxford 12th