Strib Varsity Athletes of the Week: Meet seven athletes on a tear
Haylie Wolbeck, Lincoln Busse, Sienna Duininck, Gedion Errthum, Jerry Lou, Luke Mechtel, Cooper Rowe are top performers in Minnesota.
By Joel Rippel
The Minnesota Star Tribune
Haylie Wolbeck
Royalton • girls basketball
The senior guard is rewriting the Royals’ record book this season.
Wolbeck is the Royals’ career leader in assists, rebounds and steals and holds the school’s single-season records for rebounds and steals. She’s surpassed 1,000 rebounds in her career and entered this week 18 points shy of 1,000 career points.
On Dec. 12, Wolbeck had a quadruple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and 11 steals) in a victory over Eden Valley-Watkins and had a triple-double on Jan. 20 when she had 11 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists in the Royals’ 59-24 victory over Maple Lake.
It was the ninth triple-double of her career.
“It has been an honor to coach Haylie throughout her career,” Royals coach Brad Baumann said. “She is one of those once in a generation type players that just goes out there and can do everything really well.”
Wolbeck is averaging 13.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 6.1 steals and 5.9 assists per game this season. She is on pace to break the Royals’ single-season rebound record of 331, which she set last year.
“Once her career is done at Royalton she is going to walk away with numerous records and be recognized as one of the greatest basketball players in Royalton for both boys and girls teams,” Baumann said. “To top it off, she’s even a better person than she is a basketball player.”
Wolbeck is a three-sport standout. In volleyball, she surpassed 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for her career.
She has also competed in the state track meet.
Lincoln Busse
Related Coverage
Glencoe-Silver Lake • boys basketball
The 6-foot-2 junior guard has the seventh-highest scoring average in the state at 28.7 points per game, and has led the Panthers to a 13-5 record through Tuesday, Jan. 27.
“He has raised the level of his game this season, after a very successful sophomore season,” Panthers coach Robert DeCorsey said.
Busse, who has scored more than 40 points three times, scored 38 in a 94-87 victory over Waseca on Jan. 22.
Sienna Duininck
Central Minnesota Christian • girls basketball
The junior guard is averaging 23.5 points per game for the Bluejays, who are ranked No. 10 in Class 1A. Duininck, who surpassed 2,000 points for her career in the Bluejays’ victory over Renville County West on Jan. 8, is also averaging 5.0 rebounds. 4.4 assists and 6.3 steals per game.
Gedion Errthum
Winona Cotter • boys basketball
The senior helped Winona Cotter get off to its best season start in at least 20 years. The 6-foot-1 guard, who leads the balanced Ramblers in scoring with 13.9 points per game, scored 16 points in Cotter’s 98-76 victory over Plainview-Elgin-Millville on Jan. 20.
“Gedion has put a lot of time and hard work into his game over the course of his career,” Ramblers coach Eric Larson said. “His efforts have really paid dividends this season. Our team has experienced a lot of success and he’s made substantial contributions to that success.”
Errthum is shooting 46% from the field and 35% from three-point range for the Ramblers, who started the season 11-1 and were 14-4 through Jan. 25.
Jerry Lou
Wayzata • boys swimming
The junior paced the Trojans to a third-place finish in Class 2A at the State True Team meet on Saturday, Jan. 24. Lou swam a leg on two winning relays (200 medley and 400 freestyle) and earned individual titles in 200 IM (1:51.73) and the 100 butterfly (50.34). Lou had a fourth-place finish (100 butterfly) and fifth-place finish (200 IM) to help the Trojans earn a fourth-place finish at last year’s Class 2A state meet.
Luke Mechtel
St. Thomas Academy • boys swimming
The senior paced the Cadets to the Class 1A title at the State True Team meet on Saturday, Jan. 24. Mechtel swam a leg on two winning relays (200 medley and 200 free) and finished first in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. Last year, Mechtel won two state titles and swam a leg on a winning relay to lead the Cadets to their first Class 1A state title since 2016.
Cooper Rowe
Westonka • boys wrestling
The senior became the White Hawks’ leader in career victories with his 212th victory during a quadrangular on Jan. 22. Rowe, who will wrestle for the Gophers, is ranked No. 1 at 160 pounds in Class 2A. Rowe, who went into this season with a 164-13 career record, has won two Class 2A state titles — 160 last season and 152 as sophomore — while placing at the state meet four times.
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