The Becker Bulldog winter sports season is shaping up to be a good one, as a few teams return top notch coaches and players, while another will be getting a fresh look with new faces.
Note: The Patriot reached out to every head coach associated with the teams. If no photo is attached to this article, they did not respond to our requests.
Girls BB
Head Coach Dan Baird returns to lead the Bulldog girls basketball program and he has a pair of worthy assistants in Dom Squires and Scott Gudmundson to help him mold some new faces.
Last season, Becker graduated a load of talent, but with perennial state tournament berths in recent years the team won’t sneak up on anyone. The Bulldogs had an excellent summer season and will again be one of the teams in the hunt in Class AAA.
Wrestling
The Bulldog grapplers also graduated a slew of talents from their state tournament team, yet several elite individuals return. Kaden Nicolas and Landen Kujawa return with multiple state tournament appearances to form one of the best middle weight combinations in Minnesota and there will be plenty of back-up from a host of wrestlers who gained experience a year ago. Bennett Kujawa also made the state individual tournament a year ago, giving the Bulldogs three returning state entrants.
Gymnastics
Jen Harmoning is back for her second season in part-two of her Hall of Fame coaching career and there will be plenty of talent to shape into a state tournament contender.
A year ago, Becker placed three athletes - Karli Kirk (vault), Emma Hennessey (vault) and Lauren Woelfel (beam) - in the state individual tournament and they each return this season.
With their load of experience, look for the Bulldogs to progress throughout the season as they weave more difficulty (and with that, the potential for some higher scores) into their routines.
Boys BB
The Bulldog boys program will have new leadership at the top, with Cory Nuest taking over the reigns of the program. The team will be young overall, with a few key graduates from a year ago, but Nuest spent the summer implementing an up-tempo style of play that will allow for a deep rotation of players to take the court.
While the team’s shooting and ability to rebound will determine their record, the Bulldogs will play an exciting style of play that should make them dangerous on any given night.
Becker Dance
The Becker dance team should be in for a great season, with 11 seniors returning to lead the team this year. The team should be as competitive as they have ever been due to the strong leadership at the top and the athletes pushing each other to be the best they can be. Coaches for this year are Nadia Fischer-Danzeisen, Gabby Thelen, Autumn Martin, Rhi Edwards-Lieberman, and Mel VanHofwegen.
The team is looking forward to competing all season long, and they will host 18 schools for an invitational on January 13th.
Ashlynn Frey, Ava Holm, Ashley Matvick, Hannah Oakes, and Wren Williams will serve as team captains. Joining them on the roster are Lydia Bishir, Abby Dahle, Gabriella Dumonceaux, Kenzi Faber, Rylee Felton, Ella Fenske, Addelyn Goenner, Maddie Hickman, Aynsley Holm, Marissa Hook, Emily Huffman, Sara Jonas, Mia Kinzel, Hayli Kotzer, Kendall Lamp, Payton Lechner, Claire Macmillan, Daphnee Meyer, Kendyl Nicolas, Chloe Peterson, Natalie Pozorski, Ryleigh Procter, Claire Schendzielos, Makenna Schuldt, Olivia Schueller, Lilliana Simon, Abigail Spindler, Gracie Tobako, Jacey Toulouse, Jenessa Toulouse, Alexandrea Vieau, Taylor Weismann, Anna Wynia, and Lila Zinken.
The season starts 12/1 home invitational, 12/2 invitational @ ROCORI, 12/7 conference meet at home, 12/9 invitational @ Eastview, 12/14 vs. Princeton, 12/16 invitational @ Annandale, and 12/19 conference meet @ Zimmerman. January starts by hosting Chisago Lakes on 1/4, then 1/6 conference championship @ Monticello, 1/11 vs. North Branch, 1/13 home invitational, 1/19 @ Big Lake, 1/23 vs. Monticello, and 1/27 invitational @ Monticello. The team will travel to St. Francis for their final regular season competition on February 1st.
Becker/Big Lake Hockey
The Becker/Big Lake hockey team is coached by Zach Barzee and consists of Thomas Zerwas, Grayson Kipka, Elliot Ginter, Lucas Schmitt, Josh Miller, Tyler Lillemo, Charley Pishney, Logan Ahlbrecht, Trevor Briggs, Samuel Rusin, William Johnson, Rylan Tobako, Garrett Marotz, Brayden Graning, Jase Tobako, Blayne Varner, Eli Scheideman, Cooper Wright, Nolan O’Neal, Keagan Kraft, Grady Slepica, Wyatt Bodle, Ben Sellner, Andrew Holm, Cooper Peterson, Declan Weber, Gavin Leitold and Gunnar Hanson.
The season started Nov. 29 against Sauk Rapids-Rice and in December, BBLHS hosted Breckenridge/Wahpeton 12/1. then Bagley 12/3. On Dec. 6, BBLHS plays Northern Edge, then Windom Area 12/10 and Prairie Centre 12/13. On Dec. 15, they host Monticello then on 12/20, Princeton. On Dec. 22, BBLHS plays Northern Lakes to close out the month.
In January, BBLHS plays Willmar 1/3, then Pine City 1/5. On Jan. 7, they host La Crescent-Hokah, then 1/10 they play against C-I. On 1/13. BBLHS hoists Northern Edge, then host Moose Lake 1/17, then Chisago Lakes 1/19. On Jan. 24, they host Mora and on 1/26 they play against River Lakes. On 1/28, they play on the road against Wahpeton, then host Prairie Centre on the last day of the month.
In February, BBLHS takes on Princeton on 2/2, Moose Lake 2/3 and then host Pine City 2/7. They go to Bagley on 2/9 then finish up the regular season at home against C-I 2/10.
