Vikings girls basketball beats Breck, loses to Becker & Princeton

Ella Kuhlman was the best player on the floor, finishing with 26 points and four rebounds for the Vikings in the win.

North Branch dropped a 49-40 home contest to Princeton on Feb. 17.

Kuhlman provided another strong performance for the Vikings, scoring 15 points and collecting eight rebounds. Sophomore Johanna Bartkey added 8 points and 13 rebounds in the losing effort.

Cambridge-Isanti

Bluejackets gymnastics

A rough day brought the Cambridge-Isanti gymnastics team’s season to an end in the Section 7AA Championships on Friday, Feb. 17, in Elk River.

Hitting just 12 of 20 of the team’s routines, the Bluejackets secured third place with a score of 140.4. The Anoka Tornadoes earned the championship to advance to state at 143.65, as the opponent contrasted Cambridge-Isanti’s performance, hitting 20 of 20 routines for first.

Disappointed by missing out on the potential championship, two Bluejackets still were able to claim berths to the Minnesota State High School League’s Class AA Individual Gymnastics State Meet, with Abby Kryzer and Aubrey Wilson each claiming a spot among Minnesota’s best.

Both Kryzer and Wilson did so after their performances on the bars, with Kryzer taking third place in the meet after a 9.075. Wilson joined her teammate at state with an 8.8.

The two Cambridge-Isanti gymnasts will now head to Roy Wilkins Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 25, to represent the Bluejackets at the state meet. Competition starts at 11 a.m.

Bluejackets boys basketball

After back-to-back losses, the Cambridge-Isanti boys basketball team bounced back on Friday, Feb. 17, defeating the Becker Bulldogs by a 79-53 score.

Getting out to the double-digit halftime lead, the Bluejackets never looked back in the big win against the Mississippi 8 opponent.

A two-headed attack paced Cambridge-Isanti, with Kobe Karels totaling 29 points while John Troolin added 20 points.

At 14-9, the Bluejackets hosted Monticello on Tuesday, Feb. 21, after this edition went to press, before again hosting North Branch two days later.

Bluejackets girls basketball

Another shot at the top-ranked team of Class AAA in the Becker Bulldogs didn’t change the result for the Cambridge-Isanti girls basketball team, as the Bluejackets fell by a 81-59 margin on Friday, Feb. 17, in Cambridge.

The Bluejackets fell behind by 14 points at halftime and couldn’t recover in the 23-point loss.

Maraya Wiltrout totaled 18 points in the defeat to Bulldogs.

Cambridge-Isanti’s loss snapped a seven-game winning streak and was the second of the season to Becker, dropping the team to 18-6. Both losses have been by 20-plus points.

The chance to bounce back for the Bluejackets came against Monticello on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in a game that was not completed at press time. Following that game was the regular-season finale on Thursday, Feb. 23, against North Branch on the Vikings’ court.

Bluejackets boys hockey

The Cambridge-Isanti boys hockey team ended its regular season on Friday, Feb. 17, falling to Academy of Holy Angels by a 3-1 score. The game was played at the Richfield Ice Arena.

The Stars held a 1-0 lead after one period of play before a Seth Terhell goal tied the game back up midway through the second on the shorthanded score. The Stars, still on the power play, surged ahead under a minute later for what ended up being the game-winning tally.

Holy Angels added a late goal in the second, building a multi-goal lead and never looking back, resulting in the final. Jaxon Sibell suffered the loss after making 30 saves.

The loss ended the regular season for the Bluejackets at 16-9. Those 16 wins helped Cambridge-Isanti to the fourth seed in Section 5A and a home-playoff game.

Princeton and Cambridge-Isanti were scheduled to face off for the third time this season on Tuesday, Feb. 21, after this edition’s press deadline, at the Isanti Ice Arena. The Tigers are the fifth seed in the section.

Whoever walks away victorious from the match up will keep its season alive as the victor plays again on Saturday, Feb. 25, versus top-seeded Little Falls or eight-seeded Sauk Rapids-Rice.

Editor's note: Click here to read about the Bluejackets' win over Princeton.

North Branch

Vikings boys basketball

The North Branch boys basketball team lost a 68-65 heartbreaker on Valentine’s Day at home to Becker. The Vikings held a 35-34 halftime lead, but they could not hold off the Bulldogs in a nip and tuck affair.

North Branch only used five players in the game, with junior Brody Beaver leading the team with 18 points. Becker star freshman Nathan Weiss led the way for the Bulldogs, finishing with 18 points in the victory.

On Feb. 17, North Branch dropped an 86-65 home contest to conference-leading Princeton. The Vikings struggled to keep pace with the Tigers, a team that has only lost three games all season.

Beaver again led the Vikings in scoring, finishing with 15 points. Junior Noah Thorsen scored 13 points and sophomore Tyler Minke added 12 in the loss.

Northern Edge boys hockey

The Northern Edge hockey team lost 10-3 against St. Paul Academy on Feb. 16 at the East Bethel Ice Arena.

The Spartans jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first period and never looked back. Senior Trenton Tikalski, junior Tyler Pearson, and senior Henrik Lind scored the three goals for Northern Tier in the loss.

Northern Edge saw its season end on Feb. 18 when it suffered a 15-1 loss to Duluth Marshall in the first round of the Section 7AA Tournament at the Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth.

Sophomore Milo Hetland scored the only goal for Northern Edge, which finishes the season with a record of 2-22-1.

Vikings wrestling

The North Branch wrestling team fell to Mahtomedi 43-36 in the quarterfinals of the 4AA Team Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 18, at St. Paul Harding High School.

Jack Baker, Ethan Kester, Colin Duvall, Michael Thao, Emmit Hanson, and Karson Gariepy all picked up wins for the Vikings in the losing effort.

Rush City

Tigers boys basketball

The Rush City boys basketball team traveled to Hinckley-Finlayson on Tuesday, Feb. 14, and defeated the Jaguars 62-36.

Rush City dropped a home game to Mora 71-52 on Feb. 16, but playing in its second game in as many nights, the Tigers were able to grind out a tough 55-45 win against Mille Lacs at Onamia High School.

Tigers girls basketball

The Rush City girls basketball team hosted Hinckley-Finlayson on Thursday, Feb. 16, and lost a hard-fought game 51-45.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Tigers traveled to Mille Lacs and beat the Raiders 50-40.

Rush City/Braham wrestling

The Rush City/Braham wrestling team traveled to Pierz High School on Thursday, Feb. 16, to take on Pine City/Hinckley-Finlayson in the first round of the 7AA Team Tournament. Rush City/Braham earned a trip to the quarterfinals with a 49-27 win.

The following evening, Rush City/Braham lost to Mora 57-16 in the quarterfinals of the 7AA Team Tournament at Cloquet High School. Tucker Gould, Emerson Umbreit, Landon Umbreit, and John Cacioppo earned individual wins for Rush City/Braham in the loss.

Mora then moved on to defeat Aitkin 37-30 in the semifinals before winning the tournament championship in dominant fashion over Grand Rapids 55-21.

Rush City/Braham girls wrestling

Fighting her way out of the Minnesota State High School League’s Section 6 and 7 girls wrestling meet, Isabelle Shockman punched a ticket to state, placing first in the 107-pound bracket on Saturday, Feb. 11, at Sartell High School.

Shockman clinched the bid after a pin in the semifinal of her bracket before another pin earned the seventh grader a trip to state. Shockman sits at 36-8 on the season after her showing in sections.

The product of the Rush City/Braham wrestling team now prepares for state as she will compete at St. Paul’s Xcel Center on Saturday, March 4.

Braham

Bombers boys basketball

The Braham Bombers boys basketball team defeated Mille Lacs 60-29 at home on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Two nights later, Braham hosted McGregor and were defeated by the Mercuries 66-61 in a tightly contested game.

Playing in its third straight home game, Braham suffered a 63-60 loss to East Central on Saturday, Feb. 18. It was another closely fought contest for the Bombers, who have dropped five out of their last six games.

Bombers girls basketball

Coming off a loss to Mountain Iron-Buhl, the Braham girls basketball team got back on track and won a 45-44 nail-biter on the road at Swanville on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The Bombers traveled to Onamia High School to take on Mille Lacs on Thursday, Feb. 16, and came away with a dominant 57-22 win over the Huskies. The win boosts Braham’s record to 18-5 on the season.

Cambridge Christian

Warriors boys basketball

Cambridge Christian earned a 73-54 victory over Faith Christian School in Foreston on Monday, Feb. 13.

Jeremiah Newton led the Warriors with 30 points, while Christopher Laska scored 17 and Carton Larson added 14.