Gavin Freese

Rosemount • boys volleyball

After studying abroad last year, Gavin Freese has made an immediate impact in his return to the Rosemount boys volleyball team.

The outside hitter had 25 kills while leading the Irish to victories in their first two matches of the season.

Freese had 10 kills as the Irish swept visiting Stillwater, 25-10, 25-20, 25-15, in their season opener on Tuesday, March 31. Two days later, he had 15 kills as the Irish rallied for a 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-9 victory at Park of Cottage Grove.

Freese, who was a starter for the Irish volleyball team two years ago as a sophomore, spent his junior year studying in Japan. Freese, a three-year letterwinner in wrestling for the Irish, competed in volleyball and wrestling in Japan.

Freese wrote on a recruiting website that competing and training abroad, “forced me to adapt quickly, communicate across language barriers, and stay composed in unfamiliar situations.”

Emelia Arntson

Climax-Fisher/Sacred Heart/Riverside Christian • track and field

The eighth-grader opened the season with a victory in the mile and the 3,200-meter run at the 24-team Mike Grandall Invitational on March 20 at the University of North Dakota. Arntson, who placed 13th in the 3,200 at last year’s Class 1A state meet, had times of 5 minutes, 30 seconds in the mile and 12:06 in the 3200.

Madison Hennen

Minneota/Canby • softball

Hennen took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before finishing off a one-hit shutout in the Vikings’ 2-0 victory over Russell-Tyler-Ruthton on March 30. Hennen struck out 13 batters — including three in a row in the seventh inning — after giving up a single to start the inning.

Tommy Kozak

St. Charles • baseball

The senior threw a five-inning no-hitter to lead the Saints to a 12-0 victory over Wabasha-Kellogg in their season opener on March 31. Kozak struck out 11 and walked one in the victory.

Mat Matejka

Dover-Eyota • baseball

The junior drove in four runs to help the Eagles start the season with two victories — a 13-2 victory over GMLOK on March 30 and a 10-9 victory over Chatfield on March 31. In the victory over Chatfield, Matejka hit a home run, drove in four runs and allowed just one hit and one run in a three-inning stint on the mound. He was 1-for-3 in the victory over GMLOK.

Hanley Neumann

Hutchinson • track and field

The junior broke his own school record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.73 at an indoor meet at St. Cloud State on March 24. Neumann’s time topped the mark of 6.80 that he ran at the Minnesota State Mankato indoor meet last year.

Brandon Rye

Austin • baseball

In his varsity debut on March 30, the freshman hit a two-out double for the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, then pitched out of a jam in the top of the seventh inning to help the Packers rally for a 4-3 victory over Kasson-Mantorville. The KoMets loaded the bases in the seventh before Rye got the final out. He allowed just two hits in 3⅓ innings of shutout relief.

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