Oscar Anderson

Minnetonka • Alpine skiing

Every high school athlete has a goal of winning a state championship. For Minnetonka senior Oscar Anderson, that started when his ski racing career began in the eighth grade in 2022.

“He joined the team without skiing a single slalom gate,” Minnetonka coach David Gartner said. “Very few start racing in eighth grade to make our school’s state team, let alone win the state championship.”

In his fifth year with Minnetonka, Anderson finished his career as Minnesota’s boys individual Alpine skiing state champion at Giants Ridge in Biwabik on Feb. 10.

Anderson, who had a combined time of 1 minute, 11.22 seconds, became the first individual champion for the Skippers since Tim Owens in 1972. Minnetonka finished runner-up to Hill-Murray in the team standings.

“In my 10 years coaching Minnetonka alpine, I have not seen an athlete more focused on improvement,” Gartner said. “He barely missed a training session and continually analyzed video of himself skiing. He compared his skiing to video of World Cup-level skiers. Through all this hard work, he established a truly solid racing technique required to consistently handle demanding course conditions and overcome the pressure at big races to win.”

Sophia Anderson

Maple Grove • basketball

Not many people gave Maple Grove’s girls basketball team a chance to beat Minnetonka on Jan. 9, especially with senior standout Kate Holmquist sidelined with an injury.

The Crimson rallied to pull off the upset, but senior Sophia Anderson was the best player on the floor.

A month later, the 6-foot Augustana recruit carried the Crimson to an even bigger upset. Her career-high 41 points paced an 81-75 victory Feb. 11 against defending state champion Providence Academy, the No. 1 team in Class 2A.

During a three-game stretch in February, Anderson also scored 30 points against Edina and 29 against Wayzata.

After Maple Grove’s Class 4A runner-up finish last season, Anderson filled a leadership role following the graduation of the program’s all-time scoring leader, Jordan Ode, currently a freshman at Michigan State.

“Sophie is such a talented player and an even better person,” Maple Grove coach Mark Cook said. “Watching her journey through our program has been such an honor. She has worked so hard, and to see it all come together for her at a high level against top competition is really special. She is such an important part of this special group of players.”

Brock Cheslock

Rogers • hockey

Upsetting the No. 1-ranked boys hockey team in Class 2A would have been a tough task if Rogers didn’t have a rock-solid offensive performance.

That meant senior forward Brock “The Rock” Cheslock leading the way with a hat trick in a 6-1 victory over Minnetonka on Feb. 10, which included two goals in the second period.

The 5-10, 180-pound Augustana recruit has a team-best 51 points and 31 goals this season for the Royals, who were on a 12-game winning streak through Valentine’s Day.

Cheslock’s brother, Chase, plays for St. Thomas and was picked in the fifth round of the NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils in 2023. The younger Cheslock had been under the radar during his high school career. Not anymore. He scored in seven consecutive games, including two goals in a 5-3 victory over defending state 2A champion Moorhead on Feb. 7.

“He’s the perfect example to epitomize our team,” Rogers coach David Brown said. “Chip on the shoulder of being overlooked and underrated. We lost some pretty talented players from last year, so last season ice time was hard to come by. Power-play time and penalty-kill time were hard to come by for Brock, but he comes from a very good support network. He’s emerged this season, becoming confident in his skills and his identity as a player. He has relished the opportunity in his new role.”

Marta Forsline

Mesabi East • basketball

The top two girls basketball scorers in Minnesota surpassed 5,000 career points this season to surpass the previous all-time state record.

That’s Crosby-Ironton’s Tori Oehrlein and Providence Academy’s Maddyn Greenway. Marta Forsline, though, is not far behind in terms of putting up huge numbers this season.

The 6-3 Mesabi East senior and California-Davis recruit led her team to 13 consecutive wins through Feb. 9, which included a career-high 49 points and 17 rebounds against Deer River and 37 points and 19 rebounds against International Falls. She has had four 40-point performances this season, along with a high of 25 rebounds against Hibbing.

On Feb. 5 against Ely, Forsline also became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,645 points.

“I have had the opportunity to watch Marta grow as an athlete and also a person,” Mesabi East coach Chris Whiting said. “I admire her drive, desire and perseverance. She continues to impress me with her improvement as both an outside player and ability to handle the ball, but also her strength and finishing ability as a post-up player. She became the all-time boys and girls scoring leader for Mesabi East this year, along with reaching the 1,000-rebound mark.”

Claire Provencher

Visitation • Alpine skiing

The challenge for the Provencher sisters at the recent girls Alpine skiing state meet was to surpass how they finished last season.

Claire, a sophomore, and Marlo, an eighth-grader, were seventh and 19th at state last year, but they shattered those marks this time around.

While her younger sister finished in fifth place at the state meet Feb. 10, Claire Provencher won the individual state title with a combined time of 1:15.01 in Biwabik.

Provencher, who helped Visitation finish third as a team, defeated Hill-Murray senior and two-time state champion Taylor Voigt, who won in 2022 and 2024.

Sefi Whittington

St. Paul Central • basketball

St. Paul Central boys basketball coach Cam Jones first coached Sefi Whittington on a Minnesota Heat AAU team several years ago.

It might have surprised some people to see Whittington become a standout at Central, but not Jones. Whittington and Eli Moseman teamed up in the backcourt to lead their team to 13 straight wins this season, including a sweep against St. Paul Johnson.

In a win against St. Paul Johnson on Feb. 10, Whittington had a career-high 36 points on 9-for-14 shooting from three-point range.

Whittington hasn’t committed to a college program for next season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see his recruitment pick up after St. Paul Central’s rise as one of the top teams in Class 4A.

“Sefi has always been a fierce competitor,” Jones said. “He is a dedicated and hard-working student-athlete. I am extremely proud of all the success Sefi is having on and off the floor. Can’t wait to see what the future has in store for him.”

Jumair Wright

Minneapolis South • basketball

With only a couple of weeks left in the season, Minneapolis South is battling for the program’s first city title since 2013.

Tigers coach Joe Hyser knows that wouldn’t be possible without the emergence of sophomore guard Jumair Wright, who led the team with 22 points and five assists per game through Feb. 15.

Wright’s scorching three-game stretch started with 36 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a victory over rival Minneapolis North on Jan. 31. He followed that up with 30 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals in a victory over Camden on Feb. 2.

As if his performance in the first matchup wasn’t impressive enough, Wright erupted for a season-high 39 points in a victory Feb. 5 over Minneapolis North.

Last season, the Tigers were 11-16 and 6-6 in league play, but they surpassed that win total during a 12-game winning streak alone. That streak ended with a loss Feb. 13 to Minneapolis Southwest, but South still has a chance to get past Washburn atop the conference with Wright’s spark on the court.

“Jamair is one of the most talented players I have ever coached,” Hyser said. “His understanding of the game is beyond his age. As a sophomore, he has matured to where he plays both ends of the floor. He can score the ball extremely well, and his passing is incredible the way he spreads the ball around. He also is embracing his role as a leader as well.”

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