Lake Conference relays a preview of what’s to come

by Andy Rogers
Thisweek Newspapers

There’s more than one way to run a track meet in Minnesota.

There’s the traditional 35-event meet and the True Team format, but one of the more fun ways to test a team’s overall athletic ability is by treating every event like a relay.

The Lake Conference relays on Tuesday at the University of Minnesota is another benchmark on a high school’s track schedule.

The relays precede   the True Team sections by a week and the section championships by a month. Everyone gets a good look at what their rivals can do a few weeks before the Lake Conference championships.

As much as track and field is an individual sport, the Lake Conference relays make it feel like everyone is one team. They count everything as a team score.

Individual performances are added up and scoring goes by team only. There are no open event, just relays.

The athletes have a blast running at the University of Minnesota as well.

Last year in the girls race, North won and Eastview was second. For the boys, Eden Prairie was first and Rosemount second.

Softball game of the year (so far)

Burnsville and Eagan have lived up to their preseason hype as two of the best softball teams in Minnesota.

Although Eagan’s  roster could stand to give pitcher Sara Moulton a few more runs, it’s hard not to consider them the favorite.

Burnsville might have something to say about that. It will get its chance on Monday when Eagan comes to town for a game. If it wasn’t for an early season 2-1 loss to Bloomington Jefferson, Burnsville might be considered the favorite to win the conference.

The Blaze can make up for it soon.

Win or lose, both teams will likely see each other again in the playoffs.

Last season Burnsville won both meetings during the regular season, but lost to Eagan in the playoffs.

Given the caliber of pitchers on each team, one run could be all that’s needed.

Both teams are also playing in the Eastview Invitational next weekend, which features many of the top teams in the state including Park of Cottage Grove, Winona Cotter, North St. Paul and the host Eastview.

The Lightning could play spoiler this season. Eastview got a confidence-boosting 4-1 victory against Rosemount last week. Rosemount is also putting itself in the conversation by averaging more than six runs per game while holding other teams on average to less than one run.

Baseball banter

While the Eden Prairie baseball team continues to rock atop the Lake Conference, there’s still no clear favorite for the No. 2-5 spots at the midpoint of the regular season.

Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Eastview and Lakeville North have all had shining moments and troubling innings.

Eagan: Big wins over Apple Valley and Rosemount, but trouble with a one-run loss to Eastview.

Lakeville North: Nearly beat Eden Prairie on Monday, but gave up 19 runs to Eagan on April 15.

Apple Valley: Off to a winning streak after a slow start. Key wins over North and Eastview.

Eastview: Beat Eagan and North and its losses have been close.

Burnsville: Barely gives up any runs, but the schedule is getting tougher.

North golfing Legends

The Lakeville North boys golf team won the Legends Cup on Tuesday, scoring a 216 and finishing ahead of Prior Lake, Burnsville and Northfield.

Bobby and Freddy Thomas shared medalist honors at the Legends Golf Course in Credit River Township, shooting a 53.

The confidence will come in handy for the third of six Lake Conference meets coming up on Tuesday at Olympic Hills in Eden Prairie.

The Panthers finished fourth at Minnesota Valley in Bloomington on April 19 and sixth at Bluff Creek in Chaska on April 21.

Lightning strike down Eagles

In probably the biggest game of the young season for the Eastview boys lacrosse team, the Lightning defeated Eden Prairie 10-9 on Tuesday. Eden Prairie was considered the top team in the state at the time.

The win goes a long way toward winning the Lake Conference, but it probably does more for the players’ confidence.

Many of the players were around last season when Eastview was a few goals shy of a state title.

Smith-Dennis
wins round one

If there’s been a rivalry in Lake Conference singles tennis in the past five years it’s been between Burnsville’s Mya Smith-Dennis and Apple Valley’s Joey MacGibbon.

Both have played on varsity for five or more years. Both are now seniors.

Smith-Dennis won the first round on Monday in a three-set match. It was MacGibbon’s first loss of the year. He had already defeated top contenders, such as Eden Prairie’s Scott Elsass  and St. Paul Harding’s Sebastian Adesoro.

However, MacGibbon’s team had the final say, winning the overall dual 4-3. Apple Valley is 7-0 this year with a big match on the horizon against Eagan on Tuesday.

Eagan is 10-1, with a loss to O’Gorman, the top team from South Dakota. The Wildcats already defeated Burnsville 5-2.

Andy Rogers is at
andy.rogers@ecm-inc.com.

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