Section 5AA playoffs begin, Cubs lose to Foley
The Lady Cubs were the #5 seed traveling to Foley to take on the #4-seeded Falcons on Thursday, Feb. 28, in the opening round of the section 5AA North playoffs. Kimball started cold as Foley built an 18-3 lead before the Kimball offense awakened. Kimball cut the Foley lead to 20-15 at halftime, and Kimball’s Breane Meierhofer connected on a three-point basket, coming out of the half to make it 20-18. The Cubs would not get any closer, however, as the Cubs struggled to convert on the offensive end (4 of 26 on two-point field goals, and 4 of 13 on three-point field goals), while Foley slowly re-built their lead. Foley closed out a 39-29 low-scoring playoff victory. Kimball’s scoring leaders were Meierhofer 10, Kenadi Mackereth five, Allie Seth four, Paiten Schreiner three, Casie Mackereth three, Madelyn O’Brien two, and Kaylee Petty two. Seth led all rebounders with 10 boards, followed by Schreiner and O’Brien with five each. Kenadi Mackereth was the assists leader with five. Kimball finishes its season with a final record of 11-14 overall. Section 5AA North update: Annandale defeated Foley 46-41, Howard Lake defeated St. Cloud Cathedral 62-37. Annandale plays Howard Lake for the sub section 5AA North Championship.
Kimball’s Breanne Meierhofer lays it up for 2 during Lady Cubs
game v Foley. Staff photo by Marguerite Laabs.
Cubs fall to Lakers
The Kimball Cubs traveled to Howard Lake last Tuesday, Feb. 26, to take on the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers. The game started out close, as the Cubs pounded the ball inside against the Lakers. Kimball was down one (8-9) with 11:47 remaining in the half. HL-W-W then went on a run to increase their lead to 17 at the half (37-20).
The Cubs tried changing zone defenses in the second half to see if it would be more effective in slowing down the Lakers. HL-W-W proceeded to hit eight three-pointers after the break to increase their lead. The Lakers won by a 71-43 score.
The Kimball Komets 15s team traveled to Pillager Sunday, March 3, for the Central Lakes Tournament. The Komets started out slowly,
and lost their first match in pool play 2 games to 1 v the Becker Inferno. The second match in pool play went better, and they came away with a 2 to 1 win over Granite City Green. The Komets continued their winning ways during their last match of pool play, winning over Sartell Blue 2 games to 1. After pool play was completed, the Komets were tied with Sartell Blue in wins and losses. Since Kimball had won the match v Sartell, the Komets were seeded first in their pool and moved on to the Gold Division for bracket play.
Kimball Komets 15s volleyball team are, in back, left to right, Ariel Laabs, Kenzie Leither, Stephanie Hurrle, Becky Holtz, Trinity Erickson, and coach Tesslyn Callander. In front are Tashi Kunkel, Montana Tschida, and Shay Krippner.
Last week, Kimball sent five guys into the Minnesota State High School League Individual Wrestling
Tournament, and placed three individuals. For the second time in school history, Kimball has a Wrestling State Champion in Quinten Berres. The last time we have had a State Champion is when Tom Libbesmeier won a title at 171 pounds in 2003. Quinten won his title at 126 pounds this year, with a record of 39-1.
Quinten started off the tournament against Austin Skillings from Frazee who had a 32-13 record, and was ranked 9th in the state. Quinten handled the match and came away with a 5-0 decision. In the quarterfinals, he faced A.J. Riley from Chatfield with a 43-5 record and ranked fourth in the state. Once again, Quinten controlled the match to a 5-2 decision win. In the Semi-finals, he faced Tyler Keller from Medford with a 30-6 record. Quinten won the match with a 7-1 decision.
Cubs Lose another close game to Pioneers
The Kimball Cubs hosted the Pioneers from Pierz last Tuesday night, Feb. 19. The game was close throughout the first half. With 11:17 left the Cubs, led by a 13-12 score. The Pioneers
forced a couple of late turnovers and converted them into baskets as they took a three-point lead at the half (28-25).
The game remained close in the second half as well. Pierz pushed the lead to six, only to see Kimball answer and take the lead back a few minutes later. Kimball led 43-41 with 10:12 remaining in the game. The Cubs had three different opportunities to increase their one-point lead late in the game. Missed free-throw chances gave the Pioneers one last chance. Pierz answered by making a shot with one second remaining and defeating the Cubs 51-50.
Cameron Hunt and Jarred Merchant led the Cubs in scoring with 16 and 12 points respectively. Hunt dished out nine assists and added three steals. Merchant led the rebounding effort with nine boards. The Cubs were 14 of 26 (54 percent) from the free-throw line in the game. The Cubs record dropped to 10-11 on the season and 4-7 in conference play.