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ON TOP OF THE WORLD - Waseca Captains Carson Ohnstad, Damarius Russell and Deron Russell hoist the Section 2AA Championship plaque. Below, Deron Russell (1), Ohnstad (5), coach Seth Anderson and Isaac Feldkamp (22). Pioneer photos by Eli Lutgens

‘Pure joy’: Bluejays defeat Belle Plaine for second straight year, 76-66; earn schools 13th trip to state

A decisive 76-66 win over Belle Plaine in the Section 2AA Championship game last week begs the question: Will anyone defeat the Bluejays boys’ basketball team? We’ll find out this week at the state tournament. “It's just a lot of pure joy,” Waseca Head Coach Seth Anderson described the win...

Section Champions

Rattling off four straight wins through the Class 2AA Section 2 playoff bracket, the Waseca Bluejays earned a trip to the 2024 State Tournament. The Bluejays defeated Blue Earth, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, and Belle Plaine, improving their record to 20-10. On...

Waseca tennis players, from left: Mia Kanewischer, Addie Pfeifer, Ashton Jenzen, Sarah Haley, Esme Pearce, Lizzie Roessler, Maddie Benson, Paige Dufault, Tayln Kaput, Vivian Mader, Takya Schoenrock. Pioneer photo by Amelia Roessler

Tennis off to perfect start

The Waseca High School girls' tennis team is off to a perfect start to the 2023 season. Literally. After three dual meets, the Bluejays are 3-0. The most recent win was Tuesday, when the Jays upended Worthington 6-1 Tuesday on the WHS courts. Waseca won three of four singles matches....

Braves finish solid season

The Waseca Braves were hopeful of winning at least one game in the double-elimination Region 6C Tournament. They’ll have to settle for a fine season. The 2023 campaign ended Monday night with a 6-0 loss to Waterville at Jordan, two days after a 7-1 setback to a solid Jordan squad. It left...

There was plenty of it as the Waseca High School boys’ basketball team faced high-powered LCWM in the section tournament Thursday, March 9. Above Deron Russell goes up for a reverse layup.

For Jays, upset bid falls short

They play the game for a reason. On Tuesday, the Waseca High School boys' basketball team was given a scare by a Waterville-Elysian-Morristown team that had four wins all season. On Thursday, the third-seeded Bluejays were the team doing the scaring. Waseca's season came to an end in Mankato,...

Keegan Kuball, a sophomore wrestling at 285 pounds for WEM-JWP, defeated Cameron Scholten of Jackson County Central to become the 4th Grizzly individual state champion

Pioneer photo by Eli Lutgens

Champions!!

Waseca County schools sent nine wrestlers to the Minnesota State High School League tournament last weekend. Two of them found gold: Keegan Kuball of WEM-JWP and Annabelle Petsinger of NRHEG returned home state champions. Kuball, a sophomore wrestling at 285 pounds, defeated Cameron Scholten of...

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT — NRHEG’s Annabelle Petsinger, above, takes on Audrey Rogotzke of Stillwater in the finals of the 2023 state wrestling tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Below left, the Panthers’ Makota Misgen battles Keegan Kuball. Below right, NRHEG’s Reese Routh.

Gold for Petsinger, bronze for Misgen

Junior Annabelle Petsinger became NRHEG’s first-ever girls' state wrestling champion at the Minnesota State High School League tournament Saturday, March 4. Accompanying her at the capital were third-place finisher Makota Misgen and first-time state qualifier Reese Routh. Petsinger entered the...

A WIN’S A WIN — Taking the ball to the hoop against WEM Tuesday, March 7 is Zach Hulscher (14).

Sluggish start

They say teams play the game for a reason. Tuesday night the Waseca High School boys' basketball team struggled through the first half against Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, a team the Bluejays beat by more than 50 points earlier this season. Eventually, after beginning the game having shot 4-...

END OF THE LINE — A 45-38 loss to NRHEG in the sub-section meant the end of the season for the Waseca High School girls’ basketball team. Kloe Wadd blocks a shot.

Season comes to an end for WHS girls’ basketball

The Waseca High School girls' basketball team, seeded second in the sub-section playoffs, had its season come to an end Thursday March 2, in Mankato, falling to No. 3 seed NRHEG 45-38. “We played really hard,” 11th-year head coach Joan Conway said after the game. “That’s what we do… We just...

Keegan Kuball, right, mixes it up with Makota Misgen of NRHEG on his way to winning the Class A 285-pound wrestling championship Saturday, March 4 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Kuball strikes gold

According to WEM-JWP wrestling coach Skyler Petry, the state tournament is the most exciting part of the season and of the whole year for wrestling fans. This year was even better for the Grizzlies. Keegan Kuball, a sophomore, came home with the Class A state championship at 285 pounds. He's...