Strib Varsity Athletes of the Week: Seven who met high standards

Alayna Adamez

Park of Cottage Grove • softball

The Park softball team won eight straight games between late April and early May thanks to Adamez’s elite performance at the plate. The senior catcher homered in seven straight games. During a recent five-game stretch, she batted .625 with six home runs and 15 RBI.

Through May 10, the Wolfpack were 15-4, with Adamez batting .538 and leading the state with 12 home runs and 34 RBI this season. She will play at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville next season.

“It has been amazing to see the poise and maturity grow through the years,” Park softball coach Tony Young said. “One of the most feared hitters in the state. Nobody I want more at the plate with the game on the line.”

Carson Deibele

Monticello • baseball

One of the most accomplished three-sport athletes in Minnesota, Deibele made his presence felt on the diamond in Monticello’s 4-3 win vs. Big Lake at Baseball Day in Delano this past weekend.

Standing 6-feet-4, Deibele picked up the victory after recording 14 strikeouts in six innings. He also hit 1-for-3 with a run scored.

As a junior this season, Deibele also excelled in football and basketball. He was the starting quarterback for a Magic squad that battled Elk River in a 27-23 loss in the Class 5A, Section 7 title game. He surpassed 1,000 career points on the hardcourt, which included a 46-point performance during the winter.

Benny Fenske

Farmington • baseball

After 14 games this season, Fenske was batting better than .400 for the Tigers, but he only had one home run. He doubled that in one game with two three-run blasts in a 10-0 win over New Prague on May 5.

Farmington, the No. 1-ranked team in the state, had 14 straight victories through Sunday, May 10. Fenske, who will play baseball at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, finished last week with 11 RBI combined.

Kieley Hanson

Minnetonka • golf

The junior, who committed to the University of St. Thomas, has grown into one of the best golfers in Minnetonka High history since joining the program in the seventh grade. Her high school coach, Sara Martinson, described Hanson as having “one of the [most] competitive mindsets I’ve seen in a high school player.”

That mentality helped Hanson lead the Skippers to a Class 3A state championship and sixth-place individual finish last season.

Rising to another level this spring, Hanson led Minnetonka to big team victories at the Hazeltine Invitational on May 4 and Edina Invitational on May 8. She was the top medalist in very windy conditions at Hazeltine with a 2-over-par 74. She followed that with a 2-under 68 to earn the top spot at the Edina Invite.

“Her love of the game and the joy with which she practices, plays, and competes is obvious to anyone who has had the chance to watch her,” Martinson said. “She is a tremendous teammate in a game that can be highly individual, and she is an absolute delight to coach.”

Braden Rhodes

Kennedy • track and field

Kennedy track and field coach Josh Coval had numerous conversations with Rhodes about his senior captain finishing his career in the school’s record books.

That goal finally came to fruition this year in the 400-meter dash at the Class 3A True Team Meet in Rosemount on May 5.

Rhodes delivered a standout performance with a time of 49.59 seconds. The previous school record of 49.64 was set in 2016.

“This year, he came into the season with a laser focus on the 400 and continually bettering his time,” Coval said. “It couldn’t happen for a nicer, kinder, more hard-working young man. And [secondly], we all got to be part of watching a young person of such great character achieve it.”

Noah Pieper

Marshall • baseball

Only a sophomore, Pieper will have opportunities to stack up big pitching performances in his high school career. His best outing so far this season, though, was a beauty.

The 6-3, 195-pound righthander threw a perfect game in an 8-0 win vs. Worthington on May 4 with 15 strikeouts in seven innings.

What made the perfect night even more spectacular was it came in his first varsity start.

“He had a no-hitter going a month ago vs Belle Plaine, but a kid bunted on him in the sixth to break it up,” Marshall coach Chace Pollock said. “So, I was super happy for him this past week.”

Payton Young

Osseo • track and field

Setting records has become a common theme for Young in her senior year with the Osseo girls track and field team.

Young broke the school record three times and currently holds a mark of 19 feet 8¾ inches in the long jump, an event she won at the Section 4AAA True Team meet in Rogers on May 5.

She has won first place in the 100-meter dash this season, but Young currently has the top girls long jump mark in the state through May 10.

“Payton has been part of our program since seventh grade,” Osseo girls track coach John Rundquist said. “She has always been a great athlete, but in recent years she has fully embraced the hard work it takes to become a top-tier competitor. Payton loves contributing to the team on the track as well, competing in sprints and relays.”