It was an exciting sports year for Becker students and athletes. New faces emerged to help lead teams as well as coach them and kids were left with dozens of options for getting out and staying active.

 

 

The Shredders — an FLL Lego® Robotics team from the Becker area — finished off their season on a high note last January at the sectional tournament in St. Paul.

 

The Shredders ran a robot with two of three runs equaling 115. They showed well in robot design and programming segments and had fun during the core values judging. 

 

The biggest achievement for this group was the Judges Award they received at the end of the tournament. The Shredders received this award because they worked very hard to solve their research problem of “No potable water at the Sherburne County Fair.”

 

 

Former Bulldog Tessa (Foth) Weinmeyer was one of nine men and women   inducted into the USSSA Softball Hall of Fame last January in Brooklyn Center.

 

Tessa, 37, a 1998 graduate of Becker High School,  was a shortstop in high school for the Bulldogs under Coach Judee Vesledahl and went on to star at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. She was the St. Cloud Times’ All-Area player of the year and a First Team All-American for Duffy Engineering in ASA Women’s slow-pitch softball in 2004.

 

 

Twelve Becker youth wrestlers competed at the Gopher State Nationals in Monticello in March along with 1,157 other wrestlers from over 10 states.  

 

 Belt winners were Rylan Kujawa (L) and Blayne Kuschel (R) along with teammate Jacob Williams (M).

 

 

Several Bulldog student/athletes signed National Letters of Intent to play sports and study at the college level.

 

In March, Travis Myers signed with North Dakota State College of Science to play football.

 

In April, Ethan Holm signed on with the University of Sioux Falls to compete in track.

 

In May, Haley Benda signed her LOI to play basketball and get her education at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.

 

 

Ex-Bulldog and current UW-Superior Yellowjacket  Josiah Borst (tennis) was  named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) player of the week in March.

 

Borst was the UMAC men's tennis player of the week after going unbeaten at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in three UW-Superior wins.

 

 

By mid-to-late April, Mother Nature was still clinging to winter weather as spring teams desperately clamored to open their seasons. 

 

Girls Lacrosse Head Coach Hugh Hovde wrote a poem published in the Citizen-Tribune in the style of the old Christmas poem, “Twas the night...”

 

 

The Becker High School trap team commenced their season in late April at the shooting range despite the cold temperatures and blinding white snow on the ground. 

 

 

Stacey Vetsch of the Pebble Creek Women’s Club shot a hole-in-one on Blue #7 with a wedge in early May.

 

It had been three years since one of the women's league members had a hole-in-one.

 

 

Alex Stanz of the boys team and Hannah Garcia of the girls, led both their respective team throughout the spring and early summer.

 

Stanz, who finished in a tie for 12th in section play,  finished his high school career with two trips to state. 

 

Garcia took the GRC scoring crown in May, out-dueling Milaca’s Ellie Banks, 88 to 91. Garcia would advance to day two of sections, but failed to qualify for state.

 

 

In late May, the Lady Bulldog softball team captured their sixth straight Granite Ridge Conference championship with five wins and one loss during the week.  

 

They went on to make the final four in section play, before losing a semi-final match to #1-seeded Rocori, 4-3 in June, ending their season.

 

 

The Bulldog boys track team sent five track stars to state in Sidney Boros, Kevin Andres, Jordan Gruenes, David Myres and Austin Hemmelgarn. Boros was part of two relay teams (4x200M, 4x400M) and also took first in the 200M. Andres was part of both relay teams and competed in the 400M.

 

Myres  competed in the 110M hurdles.

 

Gruenes and Hemmelgarn were part of the 4x440M relay team.

 

 

The Becker Blast 12U Gold softball team took home the championship in the Big West B state qualifier in June in Chanhassen as they went 6-0 over the two days.  Saturday, they defeated Big Lake White and STMA White by scores of 15-2 and 13-1.  Sunday, they saw tougher competition, but the girls were up for the challenge as they defeated Brainerd by a score of 9-0, Westonka Black 2-1 and STMA Blue 8-2.  

 

 

The Becker Buzzards baseball team closed out their regular season in early August with two wins to finish at 11-2. And for the second year in a row and third time in four years, they captured the men’s baseball championship in September.

 

The Buzzards' roster consists of 23 players from Becker, Clear Lake, Clearwater and Maple Lake.

 

 

The 2018 AAU Junior Olympic National Track and Field Championships, hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, brought in over 10,000 athletes from around the country the week of July 30 through Aug. 4. 

 

Among them was Becker sixth grade track and field athlete Carter Reckelberg.

 

Carter qualified last month at the National qualifier at Simpson College in Indianola, IA.  At the regional, he qualified for the national meet in the 200M (first place), 400M (first place), and the long jump (first place).

 

His best jump at finals  was his last where he soared to 15’8 ¾’, placing him in fifth overall at the national championships.

 

 

North Dakota State left tackle Dillon Radunz was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week by the league office Monday, Sept. 24.

 

Radunz, a sophomore from Becker, led a Bison offensive line that helped produce a season-high 527 yards of total offense in North Dakota State's 38-10 win over Delaware and allowed zero sacks for the third straight week. He earned a coaching grade of 97 percent on assignment and 82 percent technique.

 

Former Bulldog linebacker Dawson Brown — playing football at Bethel — was recently acknowledged by the Minneapolis Tribune for his 13 tackles, a blocked kick and two interceptions — one for a touchdown — in Bethel’s victory over Simpson (Iowa), Sept. 1. Days later, Brown was named MIAC athlete of the week for the fourth time in his career.

 

 

The Becker girls cross country team pulled in  their fifth straight Granite Ridge Conference title in October.

 

Jordan Gruenes advanced to state for the boys and PR’d (personal record) and placed eighth in sections. He was also honored with the team’s scholar athlete award and academic all-star.

 

 

The Bulldog football team advanced to the Section 6AAAA semi-finals in November, only to lose to #1-seeded Zimmerman on a rainy and slick field by the score of 15-13.

 

The Bulldogs finished the 2018 campaign at 4-6.

 

 

Becker senior, Victoria Kolbinger was named a school winner in the Wendy's High School Heisman award. 

 

Kolbinger is an example of someone who sets the bar high. She works hard, shows passion and leads by example in the classroom, on the field, and within the community.