Two area coaches honored by Section 7AAA in hoops

It was a good time to be a girls hoops fan in Chisago County. Chisago Lakes Head Coach Craig Walker received the Section 7AAA Head Coach of the Year award while North Branch’s Jerome Huselid was awarded the Section 7AAA Assistant Coach of the Year award. Walker led the Wildcats to 24-6 record on the year and the first ever berth into the state tournament for the girls basketball program. The ‘Cats beat Princeton 66-63 in the opening round of Section 7AAA, then followed that up with a 66-42 drubbing of Hibbing. They won the section title with a 68-63 win over Grand Rapids. The Wildcats eventually succumbed to Fergus Falls in the first round of the state tourney. Huselid was on Head Coach Dan Schindler’s staff as the Vikings went 16-12 on the year. They topped Duluth Denfeld 54-48 in their Section 7AAA opener before falling to denfending champion Grand Rapids 59-44 in the section semi-finals.