November 17, 2011 at 8:49 a.m.
All-North Suburban Conference list stacked with Wildcats
All-North Suburban Conference list stacked with Wildcats
Girls Tennis
The Wildcat girls tennis team made a valiant run at the North Suburban Conference title to give the school two NSC champs in a row for tennis -- the boys won the conference crown last spring -- but they fell just short, finishing second to Benilde-St. Margaret's with a 9-1 record in the conference. The Red Knights finished 10-0.
Even with their impressive 15-2 record on the season, they drew perennial section powerhouse Forest Lake in the first round and lost a 7-0 decision.
With a wildly successful conference season, eight of Chisago Lakes' 10 varsity regulars earned NSC awards. Sammy Hindt, Kailee Carlson, Alli Mohr, Jaci Vitali and Maddie Howard earned All-North Suburban Conference from their posts. Hindt played first singles, Carlson played second, Mohr and Vitali were the first doubles team and Howard was mainly a second doubles player.
Alli Borgstrom, Erica Ristow and Ashley Paul all garnered All-Conference Honorable Mention for the Wildcats. Ristow from the fourth singles spot, Borgstrom as Howard's partner at second doubles and Paul from third singles and some doubles spots.
Boys Cross Country
The boys cross country season was highlighted by one consistently great newcomer and a holdover who's stockpiled conference awards over the years.
The newcomer was senior Luke McKenzie, who made waves all the way up to the state level with his entry into the cross country scene.
He won every conference race and finished first at the North Suburban Conference championships, becoming the first Chisago Lakes runner to earn the distinction of conference champion. For his efforts, he earned All-North Suburban as well as All-State when he finished 19th at the state tournament at St. Olaf College.
The holdover was sophomore Andy Magnuson. Despite his youth, Magnuson has been a staple on the varsity cross country team since he was in seventh grade. The All-Conference award was Magnuson's third in four years of running cross country. Magnuson went on to compete in the state tournament, finishing 69th out of 157 runners.
Noah Rockenback got his second straight All-Conference award when he finished in 15th place at the meet, grabbing the last All-NSC spot.
He started out fast in the race and although he slowed a bit as the time and miles wore on, he was able to fend off the challengers to get the spot.
Freshman Quinton Lee saved some of his best for the last. He ran a personal best in the conference meet by over 30 seconds and was awarded with All-NSC accolades for his efforts. He finished the race in 12th place and figures to have a recurring role on the All-NSC team for the next three years.
Girls Cross Country
The girls half of the cross country team mirrored the boys' pretty closely, and they also had an impressive newcomer and a few familiar faces among their award winners.
Junior Abbi Forsman earned All-Conference in her first year of cross country. Forsman, who was previously home-schooled, but is now enrolled at the high school, finished third in the conference meet and earned All-NSC for her efforts. Forsman eventually qualified for the state tournament and performed well for her first time at the pressure-packed meet.
Senior Mary Cross closed out her CL running career with her third straight award. She finished in 24th place, securing an All-NSC Honorable Mention award and a rare spot in the Wildcats' history book as a three-time award winner.
Freshman Katie Christy figures to be the next girl to join that club as she earned her second straight All-Conference Honorable Mention with a 25th place finish in the conference meet. Christy won her first award last year as an eighth-grader, and she continues to impress at a young age for the Wildcats.
Girls Swimming
Typical of the girls swimming program, they churned out plenty of award winners from the pool this fall.
Three divers, including Sam Thomsen and sisters Cassie and Courtney Schlegel earned All-NSC.
The other award winners for Chisago include Kayla Donahue, Thomi Lee and Araya Gamble.
Lee earned hers for her performance in a multitude of events. She was the top swimmer for the Wildcats in the 200 freestyle, the 500 freestyle, the 400 and 200 freestyle relays and the medley relay.
Gamble and Donahue were also key parts of the relay teams, but both were proverbial Swiss Army Knives when it came to events. Freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke were all among the events that those two swam in on the season.
Bailey Strand earned All-Conference Honorable Mention for her participation in a bevy of events.
Volleyball
With a much better record this year than last, the Chisago Lakes volleyball team had three girls show up on the All-Conference teams.
Sophomore Sydney Powell was a shoo-in for the award, leading the Wildcats in kills, as she was among the state leaders also. The athletic outside hitter really developed an intimidating spike throughout the season, and she will be counted on heavily throughout her career here at Chisago.
All-Conference Honorable Mention awards went out to senior Zoe Hansen and sophomore Nicole Johnson. Hansen earned the distinction for the second year in a row and Johnson earned it for her first time as the team's setter.
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