Chloe Aarness

Hastings • diving

The first time Chloe Aarness saw the wall at the Hastings pool listing all the Raiders’ past record-holders, she knew what she wanted to do.

Beat Mom.

Aarness, a junior diver for the Raiders, is undefeated in dual meets this season and has not lost a dual since she was a freshman.

Last week, she broke her own school record with a six-dive score of 289.50. At the same time, she broke her own Metro East conference record.

Aarness is the top-ranked girls high school diver in the state with an 11-dive score, the standard used at the state meet, of 493.30.

When she first took to the pool in third grade, Aarness was a swimmer. It was then she looked at the wall and noticed a familiar name among the school record holders. Her mother, Briana, was still listed for diving.

“I saw my mom’s record on the wall, and that’s when I started wanting to be a diver,” Chloe said.

Briana Aarness is now Chloe’s high school coach. She said she could see early on that Chloe had a gift for diving.

“She’s always had a good sense of body awareness,” Briana said. “When she was a toddler, she would jump from the couch to the table to the chair and do it with perfect balance. When someone would come to the house, they would be worried she would get hurt. But we would just say, ‘That’s what she does.’ Her ability to move through the air makes her a standout diver.”

As the diving coach, Briana Aarness admits it can be difficult at times to keep her two roles separate.

“I coach a few other girls. Two of them, Mari Hall and Greta Larson, have grown up with Chloe and they’re so fun to coach,” Briana said. “On the pool deck, I’m Coach. At home, I’m Mom. But as her mom, it’s fun to see her do all these things and be successful. She works so hard at it.”

To Chloe, having her mom as her coach comes with its own set of concerns. “It can be a little difficult,” she said. “It’s hard to keep coach and mom separate. I act a little differently around my mom than my club coaches.”

James Engle Jr.

Maple Grove • football

Once two running backs from 2024 who were ahead of him got out of the way — Charles Langama graduated and Patrick Wright moved to Pennsylvania — Engle seized his opportunity. The quick-footed 5-9, 180-pound running back has rushed for 916 yards and 12 touchdowns in five games. He carried the ball only 11 times Friday, but he still put up 176 yards and scored five times in a 56-14 rout at Moorhead.

“This is the chance I’ve been looking forward to ever since I was a little kid,” Engle wrote in a text message to the Star Tribune. “I’m proud to be playing for this team and contribute towards our run for back-to-back rings.”

Engle has committed to play at MSU Mankato next year.

Romi Chlebecek

Lakeville South • girls volleyball

A senior outside hitter committed to Denver for college, Chlebecek had a team-high 14 kills Thursday in a win against Eastview and also registered her 100th career block. This came days after she led the Cougars with 57 kills and also had 32 digs during their 5-0 run to win the Apple Valley Eagle Invitational for the first time since 2018.

“As a five-year starter, she brings a steadiness and maturity to the team,” Cougars head coach Stephen Willingham said. “Our team really benefits from her confidence and volleyball IQ, and she has been an indispensable leader on and off the volleyball court.”

Parker Kuehn

Springfield • football

The 6-3, 175-pound junior has been a prolific passer in his time at Springfield, but he’s never had a game like Friday. He led the Tigers, No. 3 in Class 1A, to a 54-6 rout of BOLD, completing 26 of 33 passes for a career-best 387 yards and four touchdowns. He leads the state with 19 touchdown passes through five games. Kuehn’s innate feel for the quarterback position is what makes him successful.

“Our offense asks the quarterback to make a decision almost every play,” Tigers coach Adam Meyer said. “He has done a great job of taking what is there and spreading the ball around. In Friday’s win, seven different players caught a pass. He sees the field very well and is capable of making any throw on the field.”

Chloe Alley

Minnehaha Academy • girls tennis

A junior, Alley is the defending Class 1A singles state champion and is ranked at the top of Class 1A again this season. Last week she improved to 14-1 with victories over the No. 1 singles players from Providence Academy and St. Paul Highland Park. Alley’s only loss this season was to Eagan’s Cassandra Li, who is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A.

Alley, standing 5-1, has established herself as one of the top players in the state, and she says her game, particularly her volleys, is better than a year ago. But don’t expect her to brag about it. Not her style.

“I try to be kind to people,” she said. “I’m not someone who talks too much. When I do say something, I want to be nice and respectful. I want to say something that helps people.”

Marlon Seahorn Jr.

Bloomington Kennedy • boys soccer

The fast and skilled senior forward, a two-time all-state selection, has been on a scoring binge pretty much all season. He’s scored at least one goal in each of the Eagles’ games and has recorded a hat trick at least seven times. He is second in the state in scoring with 31 goals this season and the leading scorer in school history with 83 goals, having broken a record that had stood for more than 50 years.

“What truly sets him apart, however, is the kind of teammate he is. He is always willing to put the team first,” Eagles head coach Brayan Lopez said. “He is a humble leader who leads by example every day.”

Livi Abboud-Young

Blake • girls soccer

Abboud-Young, committed to the Gophers for college, is on a goal-scoring hot streak that has helped the Bears to an 11-0-2 record and the No. 2 ranking in Class 2A. She had five straight multiple-goal games, topped by her second four-goal effort of the season in 7-0 victory over Eden Prairie

Ask Blake coach Jocelyn Keller what makes Abboud-Young stand out, and she has difficulty narrowing it down.

“She just loves playing soccer so much,” Keller said. “She is always looking to kick a ball around.”

Keller said Abboud-Young’s drive to become the best player she can be impresses her most: “She’s such a smart and skilled player, but she’s always working, always trying to improve. And she’s a great, humble teammate. She makes the players around her better.”