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Danecdotes: 2018 in review

With 2018 drawing to a close, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the year in area sports. And I have to say, this year was ... interesting. While not the most successful year since I have been covering sports here, but it may have been ...

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Former Pequot Lakes athlete and long-time Pequot Lakes sports writer Wayne "Wheaties" Wallin died on Aug. 11 at the age of 77. Wheaties served as a sports writer for the Lake Country Echo and PineandLakes Echo Journal for more than 40 years. Echo Journal file photo

With 2018 drawing to a close, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the year in area sports.

And I have to say, this year was ... interesting.

While not the most successful year since I have been covering sports here, but it may have been the most eventful, and it certainly was the most unique.

On top of a few state competition appearances, we also had things like teams canceling entire seasons, athletes succeeding in spite of major obstacles and school administrators breaking world golf records.

One of the most prominent - and saddest - events events of the year was the passing of our long-time sports writer Wayne "Wheaties" Wallin.

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Wheaties missed very few Pequot Lakes sporting events over the past four decades. For every volleyball and basketball game, he was in the front row at center court with his notepad in hand.

On Sundays, he would call area coaches, then call me to let me know stories - always handwritten - were ready for me.

It has been a few months, but it is still very strange to not see him in the bleachers.

Several things were apparent with Wheaties: He loved this job, the city and school of Pequot Lakes and he truly cared about the athletes he covered. Games are not the same without him.

But without further ado, let's get into some of the highlights of 2018.

January

In its first game of the new year, the PR-B girls garnered a commanding 42-point win over Nevis.

The Lightning girls hockey team overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat Prairie Centre to win 4-3 in overtime, coming on a power-play goal 40 seconds into the extra period by senior Sydney Tietz.

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Led by a 24-point, 16-rebound performance by then-junior Olivia Lane, the Patriot girls basketball team topped Esko 54-35.

Led by Pequot Lakes senior Grace McGuire's second-place finish, the Brainerd Warriors alpine ski team finished second at the Annandale Invitational.

The Tiger girls rattled off consecutive victories over Blackduck, Laporte and Swanville to move to 13-5 on the season.

Road Crew wrestlers Riley Wilson, Jake Poehler, Peter Koering and Josh Pettit earned all-conference honors and Addisuone Harrington earned an honorable mention as the team finished second at the Mid-State Tournament.

The Revolution dance team finished first in both kick and jazz at the Monticello Invitational.

February

PR-B forward Alyssa Semmler scored her 1,000th career point in a win over Wadena-Deer Creek.

With the Super Bowl taking place at U.S. Bank Stadium, former NFL kicker and Patriot football coach and current Crosslake Fire Chief Chip Lohmiller returned to football's biggest stage as a part of the incident management team.

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Pequot Lakes senior Calvin Maske signs a letter of intent to play football for the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Skier Grace McGuire finished 70th at the state meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.

The Tiger boys picked up three straight wins over Blackduck, Wadena-Deer Creek and Bertha-Hewitt.

Revolution dancers Karlie Trottier, Alexis Lueck, Ashley Embree and Cally Traxler earned all-state honors.

March

PR-B's Nick Ackerman recorded his 1,000th career point in a 63-55 win over Verndale.

Pequot Lakes' Karli Skog became the 18th Patriot girl in team history to record her 1,000th point, doing so in her final career home game.

Pequot Lakes assistant football Bill Magnuson was hired as the team's new head coach.

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Olivia Lane was named Brainerd Dispatch Player of the Year, while Karli Skog joined PR-B's Bailey Wynn and Gabby Rainwater on the all-area first team.

On the boys side, Pequot Lakes' Zach Sjoblad and PR-B's Nick Ackerman were named to the all-area team, while Patriot Chase Larson and Tigers Torry Hirschey and Brady Raph earned honorable mentions.

Tucker Sheley, assistant coach for the Tiger girls basketball team, was named section assistant coach of the year.

Road Crew senior Peter Koering was named team MVP.

April

Twelve Pequot Lakes seniors - Sydney Tietz, Chelsea Skluzacek, Rachel Friberg, Kristin Skog, Karli Skog, Grace McGuire, Addisuone Harrington, Reid Pierzinski, Zach Sjoblad, Adelaide Hubbard, Austin Young and Deven Psyck - sign letters of intent to play college sports.

In the first game of the season, the Tiger softball team 10-runned Blackduck 17-7.

The Patriots and Tigers met on the baseball field in non-conference play, with the Patriots coming away with a 19-9 victory.

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May

The Tiger softball team beat Northome-Kelliher 21-6 to start the season 9-0.

PR-B golfer Brady Raph shot an even-par 72 to claim the individual title while the Patriot boys claimed the team title at the Mid-Minn Conference Meet.

With a 13-6 win over Ely, the Patriot baseball team moved to 11-0 on the season.

With three individual victories, the Patriot girls track team finished first to claim the Section 8-2A True Team title. The boys team finished fifth, with four victories coming from Reid Pierzinski.

One week later, the Patriot girls finished first overall at the Mid-State Conference Meet.

In the final game of the regular season, the Tiger baseball team rolled over the winless Menahga Braves 11-3.

Eighth-grade pitcher Morgan Eckes struck out five to lead the Patriot softball team to an 11-3 win over PR-B.

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Brady Raph cruised to a 15-stroke victory to claim the Section 6-1A individual title.

The PL girls track team secured the team section title. While Pierzinski earned four individual titles for the boys.

June

The Patriot trap shooting team finished the regular season in first place of Class 6A Conference 1, qualifying for the World's Largest Trap Shoot in Alexandria.

In a nearly unprecedented performance, Pequot Lakes' Reid Pierzinski - the sole representative of the Patriot boys track team at the state meet - finished first in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 200-meter dash, and finished seventh in the triple jump to do enough on his own to earn the Patriots the state team title. The feat had never been done before in Minnesota boys track and only twice before in girls track.

The PL girls 4x400 relay defended its state title and the whole team took third overall at the state meet.

PR-B golfer Brady Raph shot a 75 in both rounds of the state tournament, finishing third overall.

PR-B girls golfers Anna Felthous and Bella Netland finished 56th and 80th respectively at the state meet.

Pequot Lakes trap shooter Dalton Ebnet led the Patriots at the state meet, connecting on 98 of 100 targets, including 75 straight. Sydney Dorion led the girls with 83 targets.

Seven Backus-area athletes - Cora Borman, Clayton Borman, Katie Hanneken, Garrett Carlson, Owen Carlson, Caden Borman and Jared Hamilton - qualified for national rodeo competition in various events.

Pequot Lakes softball player Karlie Trottier was one of 22 players in the state to compete in the Senior All-Star series in Mankato.

July

The Patriot trap shooting team finished 19th out of 173 teams at the US High School National Championship in Mason, Michigan.

The Nisswa Lightning beat the Fort Ripley Rebels 7-1 to claim the North Division title.

Pine River-Backus Elementary School principal Rick Aulie found himself in the Guinness Book of Records by completing the fastest hole of golf by an individual, completing the par-5 fourth hole at the Whitebirch Golf Course in Breezy Point in 1 minute, 39.2 seconds.

August

Former Pequot Lakes athlete and long-time Pequot Lakes sports writer Wayne "Wheaties" Wallin died on Aug. 11 at the age of 77. Wheaties served as a sports writer for the Lake Country Echo and PineandLakes Echo Journal for more than 40 years.

With just 22 athletes on the roster - half of whom were freshmen - Pine River-Backus coaches and administrators decided to cancel the varsity football season for 2018.

The Patriot girls tennis team opened the fall sports season with a sweep of the Crosby-Ironton Invitational.

The PR-B volleyball team sneaked past the Patriot team in five-game match in which neither team won a game by more than four points.

September

Both Pequot Lakes cross-country teams finished first overall at their home meet in Crosslake, with seventh-grader Calia Chaney claiming the top spot in the girls' race.

The Tiger volleyball team finished first in the Pine and Lakes Tournament in Pequot Lakes, while the Patriots won three of four matches.

The Patriot tennis team claimed first place in the Mid-State Conference Tournament.

PR-B runner Mara Adams finished first overall for the Tiger cross-country team at the New York Mills Dual Meet with a time of 24:34.

October

The Patriot football team snapped a three-game losing streak in a 32-20 victory over Park Rapids.

The Tiger volleyball team stretched its winning streak to 24 games before falling to Brainerd in the championship match of the Big Axe Tournament.

PR-B baseball coach Mike Dinnel was named Section 5-1A Coach of the Year.

With a second-place finish at the section meet, Pequot Lakes tennis player Courtney Boller qualified for the state individual tournament. Boller lost both her matches at state, finishing the season with a record of 32-6.

PR-B outside hitter Alyssa Semmler recorded her 1,000th career kill in a 3-0 victory over Walker-Hackensack-Akeley.

Six Patriot runners - Jesse Clausen, Ellie Flaws, Carly Chaney, Calie Chaney, Rian Zutter and Ethan Johnson - earned all-conference honors.

Calia Chaney and Rian Zutter qualified for the state meet by finishing third and 15th, respectively. Zutter was stepped on early in the race, requiring 13 stitches in her ankle.

November

Calia Chaney finished 32nd second at the state meet and Rian Zutter finished 90th.

The PR-B volleyball team topped Rush City to claim the subsection championship. The Tigers just missed a return to the state tournament, falling to Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in the section finals.

Tiger volleyball player Bailey Wynn was named to the Class-A All-State Team. She was also named the Brainerd Dispatch All-Area Player of the Year.

Patriot basketball player Olivia Lane signed a letter of intent to play basketball for the University of North Dakota.

The four area basketball teams all won their first game of the season.

December

The Tiger girls basketball beat the Patriots 46-39 to chalk up their first win over Pequot Lakes in 11 years.

After starting the year 0-6-1, the Lightning boys hockey team powered past Park Rapids for a 6-2 victory.

The Patriot boys basketball team topped 10th-ranked Albany 46-41 to begin the season 7-1.

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