Feature Stories

2020 Fall Sports Update  12/22/20

As we head into the Winter sports season, which begins Jan. 4, let's take a final look back at Minnetonka High School's successful 2020 Fall sports season.

The Skippers won three Lake Conference championships (Girls Tennis, Girls Swim & Dive and Girls Cross Country) and three Section 2AA titles (Tennis, Swim & Dive and Girls Soccer). The Girls Cross Country team finished as Section 6AA runner-up by the narrowest of margins, and Boys Soccer and Boys Cross Country had plenty of success, as well.

Due to Covid restrictions, seasons for Fall sports ended with section tournaments. The season for high school Volleyball was cancelled prior to section play. The Skippers Football team, meanwhile, advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.


Fall Sports

Girls Volleyball

The Skippers (11-3), who finished 4th at the Class AAA state tournament a year ago, had their season cut short due to statewide Covid restrictions. Minnetonka was again a top state contender, finishing tied for 8th in the final Class AAA state volleyball rankings.

Minnetonka reached as high as No. 4 in the state rankings, winning its first 6 matches, before falling to rival Eden Prairie in 5 sets. The Skippers then bounced back with a 4-set victory over Chanhassen.

Minnetonka ended its season with a 3-0 loss to state-ranked Willmar on Nov. 20. A day earlier, the Skippers defeated St. Michael-Albertville 3-0.

On Nov. 11, against No. 1 ranked Wayzata, the Skippers lost a thrilling 5-set match. It was the first time this season that Wayzata had gone to 5 sets.

Sr. middle blocker Kali Engeman, who is headed to Georgia Tech, was named Class AAA 1st Team All-State by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association.

Joining Engeman as All-Lake Conference were Sr. setter Olivia Koeppen and Jr. outside hitter Abby Stanwood. All-Conference Honorable Mention selections are Sr. outside hitter Morgan Rooney, Jr. libero Morgan Ryan and So. middle hitter Kate Simington.

The Skippers received the Silver Academic Award (3.50-3.74 cumulative team GPA).


Football

Minnetonka finished the 2020 season 2-5 under first-year head coach Mark Esch. The season ended following Minnetonka's 7-3 win over Woodbury in the opening round of the Class 6A playoffs. The Skippers were scheduled to play St. Michael-Albertville in the second round before a Covid quarantine ended the season for Minnetonka.

Against Woodbury, Sr. running back Ben Tolkinen scored on a 23-yard run to provide the winning margin. He finished the game with 25 rushes for 89 yards.

In their second game of the season, the Skippers defeated Mounds View 7-3. A 60-yard touchdown pass from Jr. quarterback Will Martin to Jr. wide receiver Tyler Lien proved the difference.

Minnetonka lost to Edina 14-13 in the final regular season game. The Skippers led 13-0 at the start of the 4th quarter. Edina scored the go-ahead touchdown with 59 seconds left in the game.

For the season, Martin completed 71 of 138 passes for 767 yards. His top receivers were Sr. Jaxen Iverson with 29 catches for 250 yards and Lien with 21 catches for 316 yards. On the ground, Minnetonka was led by Tolkinen with 75 carries for 370 yards and 4 TD. Jr. William Richman had 40 carries for 137 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Minnetonka was led by Jr. Andrew McCalla with 28 tackles and Sr. Johnny Wilker with 26 tackles. McCalla and Wilker had 5.5 and 4 tackles for loss, respectively. So. Jack Liwienski had 14 tackles.

Four Skippers were named All-District: Iverson, Tolkinen, Liwienski and Richman.

Honorable mention All-District selections are Lien, McCalla, Wilker and Sr. Peter Grefe.


Girls Tennis

What an amazing season! The unbeaten Skippers – the Class AA runner-up in 2019 – were as close to perfection as possible. Minnetonka won the Lake Conference title and the Section 2AA crown in dominating fashion, compiling a 14-0 record under the direction of head coach Dave Stearns.

Sadly, Stearns passed away on Saturday, Dec. 12 at his home. A retired Special Education Teacher, Stearns coached Boys Tennis at Minnetonka for 32 years and Girls Tennis for 27 years. In 2018 and '19, the Minnetonka Girls lost to Edina in the Class AA state finals. Stearns led the Minnetonka Boys team to Class AA state championships in 2016 and 2017.

This season was a fitting punctuation mark to the beloved Minnetonka coach's career. In the Section 2AA tournament, Minnetonka rolled past Chaska, Prior Lake, Mankato West and Orono – all by 7-0 scores – en route to the championship.

Against Orono in the finals, the Skippers' top three singles players – So. Sarah Shahbaz, Jr. Annika Elvestrom and Sr. Emily Jurgens – all won 6-0, 6-0. No. 4 singles So. Arianna Piedrahita won 6-1, 6-0. At No. 1 doubles, the team of So. Kelsey Phillips and Fr. Karina Elvestrom won 6-1, 6-1. At No. 2 doubles, So. Maddie Prondzinski and So. Emilija Medzuikaite won 6-1, 6-0. No. 3 doubles Sr. Sarah Bernet and Fr. Meghan Jurgens won 6-2, 6-1.

Overall, Minnetonka recorded an amazing 96-2 match record. Of the 10 regulars in the starting lineup, eight finished the 2020 season undefeated. Shahbaz finished the season 12-0 with 10 wins at No. 1 singles and two at No. 1 doubles.

Jurgens, Annika Elvestrom, Shahbaz and Kelsey Phillips were named All-Lake Conference.

It would be an understatement to say the Skippers were the favorite to win state this season. Minnetonka beat Edina 7-0 this season and downed Blake (the 5-time defending Class A champion) 6-1.


Girls Swimming & Diving

Under the leadership of first-year head coach Craig Charlson, the undefeated Skippers won the Lake Conference and Section 6AA championships. It was the 6th straight section title for the Minnetonka Girls.

At the section meet, all Minnetonka swimmers and three divers finished in the top 16. Minnetonka also claimed wins in four individual events and one relay. Jr. Addie Diaz set a Section 2AA record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:00.29 and also captured first in the 200-yard freestyle. Sr. Abby Kapeller also won two titles, taking first in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke. The Skippers squad of Kapeller, Jr. Audrey Soetanto, Diaz and Jr. Nadia Helm won section honors in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Jr. Rachel Patton finished 2nd in Section 2AA diving, setting a new pool record that was broken by the eventual champion. Patton had 370.45 points while Sr. Raili Peterson rounded out the top eight with 314.00 points.

Other second-place finishers for Minnetonka at the section meet include the 200-yard medley relay team (Kapeller, Jr. Quinci Wheeler, Soetanto and Jr. Regan Miller), Soetanto in the 100-yard butterfly, Jr. Maija Kangas in the 500-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle relay team (Sr. Tori Sigfrid, Jr. Rachel Shelstad, Fr. Paige Dillon and Jr. Nadia Helm) and Dillon in the 100-yard backstroke.

Minnetonka went undefeated in dual meets to win the Lake Conference title.

All-Lake Conference selections for the Skippers include Kapeller, Helm, Kangas, Miller, Patton, Soetanto, Wheeler and Dillon.

Honorable mention All-Conference honors were awarded to Sr. Tori Sigfrid, So. Maggie Rhodes and Fr. Rylie Ulett.


Girls Soccer

The Skippers (9-3-2) won the Section 2AA championship with a thrilling 2-0 win over Edina. Senior Marli Bertagnoli scored 40 seconds into the game and later assisted on a goal by Sr. Lissa Mizutani. It was the third straight section crown for Minnetonka, which won the Class AA state title in 2018.

Bertagnoli (1st Team) and Mizutani (2nd Team) were both named All-State. The team also earned the Gold Academic Award with a 3.89 GPA.

Bertagnoli and Mizutani provided the scoring in Minnetonka's 2-1 section quarterfinals win over Prior Lake. Bertagnoli and Jr. Payton Mahady had assists. In a 3-2 win over Chanhassen in the section semifinals, Jr. Alyssa Marceau, Fr. Gabbie Ryan and Jr. Claire Carver scored.

For the season, the Skippers were led in scoring by Bertagnoli (7 goals, 3 assists), Mizutani (5 goals, 3 assists), Carver (5 goals, 2 assists) and Ryan (4 goals, 2 assists). So. Maddie Schultz backed a strong defense in goal.

Bertagnoli, Mizutani, Sr. Liv Muehlberg and Carver were named All-Lake Conference. Seniors Julia Dlugosch, Ella Roach and Avryn List were named honorable mention All-Conference.

Bertagnoli was also named second team All-Metro by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Jeff Hopkins, who coached the Skippers Girls for 17 years, resigned at the end of the season. Hopkins compiled a 143-59-29 record in 13 seasons as Girls Soccer coach. He also coached Boys Soccer at Minnetonka for 4 years. Under the guidance of Hopkins, the Minnetonka Girls won Class AA state titles in 2013 and '18. The Skippers won section titles in 2013, '16, '18, '19 and this season. Hopkins was also named Minnesota State Coach of the Year twice.


Boys Soccer

Minnetonka (8-4-1) lost to No. 1 seed Edina 2-0 in the Section 2AA semifinals. Sr. Dylan Olson, who led Minnetonka with 19 goals and 5 assists, was selected as one of five finalists for the Class AA Mr. Soccer of Minnesota award.

The Skippers outscored opponents 34-9 for the season and had 7 shutouts, including a 3-0 win over Prior Lake in the section quarterfinals. Olson scored twice in the win over Prior Lake while So. Alex Gonikman added a goal. Juniors Jake Herbert, Parker Flynn and Jose Delacruz added assists.

Other top scorers for Minnetonka this season were Fr. Jake Hennen (4 goals), Sr. Hunter Kemnitz (3), Jr. Torin Firehammer (3) and Sr. Emil Liden (2). Jr. Charlie Pears had one goal and 4 assists. Jr. Jamie Deneen led the team in goal.

Olson was also named first-team All-State by the Minnesota Soccer Coaches Association and was named first team All-Metro by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Olson and fellow senior captains Alec Rodriguez and Kemnitz were named All-Lake Conference. Herbert, Hennen and Jr. Jack Olson were named honorable mention All-Conference.


Girls Cross Country

Talk about a close finish! The Minnetonka Girls won the Lake Conference championship and finished second – by the closest of margins – at the Section 6AA meet. The nationally ranked Skippers finished in a dead heat for first place with Edina with 48 points. The final result was decided via tie-breaker.

Sophomore standout Maya Mor (18:05.0) finished 2nd at the section meet while Fr. Ella Graham (18:52.6) was 6th, Jr. Kate LeBlanc (19:10.0) was 11th, Fr. Elizabeth Weider (19:18.4) was 14th and 8th Grader Avery Marasco-Johnson (19:25.1) was 15th.

Mor also finished second at the Lake Conference championship, while Graham was 7th and Kate LeBlanc was 11th.

Minnetonka took first place at the Lake Conference Jamboree. Top finishers were Mor (1st), LeBlanc (4th), Graham (5th) and Weider (9th).

Five runners received All-Section honors: Mor, Graham, LeBlanc, Weider and Marasco-Johnson. Mor and LeBlanc were named Academic All-State.

Jane Reimer-Morgan was named Section 6AA Coach of the Year.

The team also received the Gold Academic Award with a 4.0 GPA.

All-Lake Conference selections include Mor, Graham, LeBlanc, Marasco-Johnson and Weider. Sr. Annalise Johnson, 8th Grader Meredith Gilles and 7th Grader Abby Downin were named honorable mention All-Conference.


Boys Cross Country

The Minnetonka Boys finished fourth at the Section 6AA meet, with medalist honors going to So. Nick Gilles with a time of 16:12.2. Gilles and Sr. Josh Koehnen (16:36.3, 8th) both "qualified" for the state meet, which was not held due to Covid restrictions negating the state tournaments for all Fall sports. Sr. Fausto Chong Memije finished 28th (17:23.7) in the section meet while Sr. Austin Hunter was 29th (17:31.4).

At the Lake Conference Championships, Minnetonka finished third. Gilles took top honors in the race with a time of (16:03.3) while Koehnen was 4th in 16:13.8.

At the Lake Conference Jamboree, Koehnen was 1st, Gilles 2nd and Hunter 6th.

Hunter, Koehnen and Gilles were named All-Lake Conference. Chong Memije, Jr. Aidan Chalmers and Jr. Andrew Vos were named honorable mention All-Conference.


Tonka Cheer

Tonka Cheer took first place in Game Day Varsity Tumbling and Small Varsity Non Tumbling divisions at the UCA Ten Thousand Lakes Regional. Minnetonka now advances to the 2021 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida, in February.Fall Sports

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