The Scoop on Sports - 10/15/2008

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SCOOP ON SPORTS MORNING 10/15/08

LOCAL SPORTS SCHEDULE TUESDAY, 10/14/08
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE
ST. CHARLES 6 AT DOVER-EYOTA 21


HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER
BOYS
SECTION ONE-DOUBLE-A TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
CENTURY (10-7-2/4-2-2) 0 AT LAKEVILLE NORTH (12-6-2) 2

SECTION ONE-A TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP AT RCTC REGIONAL STADIUM
#7 LOURDES (17-4-1/7-0) 1 VS. NORTHFIELD (12-6-3) 0 (OT SHOOTOUT)

SECTION TWO-A TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINALS
WILLMAR 1 VS. MANKATO EAST 0
SOUTHWEST MN CHRISTIAN 2 VS. MANKATO WEST 1 (OT SHOOTOUT)

GIRLS
SECTION ONE-DOUBLE-A CHAMPIONPSHIP
#12 LAKEVILLE SOUTH (15-6) 1 AT #9 CENTURY (15-4/9-0) 0

SECTION ONE-A CHAMPIONPSHIP AT RCTC REGIONAL STADIUM
#6 LACRESCENT (18-3) 0 VS. #10 LOURDES (15-4-1/9-1) 1 (OT SHOOTOUT)

SECTION TWO-A SEMI-FINALS
MANKATO WEST 0 VS. WILLMAR 1 (OT)
MANKATO EAST 0 VS. ALBERT LEA 2


N-B-A PRESEASON BASKETBALL
MN TIMBERWOLVES (3-1) 96 AT CHICAGO 86


HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
CENTURY (12-10/5-4) 3 AT WINONA 0
ALBERT LEA 0 AT JOHN MARSHALL (14-6-2/5-5) 3
#12AAA OWATONNA 3 AT MAYO (15-8-1/8-1) 1
LOURDES (9-13/4-9) 3 AT WINONA COTTER 1
FARIBAULT 3 VS. MANKATO WEST 0
AUSTIN 3 VS. MANKATO EAST 1
HAYFIELD 3 AT KENYON-WANAMINGO 2
KASSON-MANTORVILLE 3 AT GOODHUE 0
CANNON FALLS 1 AT TRITON 3
BYRON 3 AT LAKE CITY 1
PINE ISLAND 3 AT LACRESCENT 0
#11AA CALEDONIA 3 AT RUSHFORD-PETERSON 0
LEWISTON-ALTURA 3 AT DOVER-EYOTA 1
PLAINVIEW/ELGIN-MILLVILLE 0 AT KINGSLAND 3
BLOOMING PRAIRIE 3 AT SOUTHLAND 0
HOPE LUTHERAN 0 AT LANESBORO 3
HOUSTON 2 AT SPRING GROVE 3
#6A MABEL-CANTON 3 AT LYLE/PACELLI 0
LEROY-OSTRANDER 3 AT GRAND MEADOW 0
WASECA 3 VS. ST. PETER 0
WATERVILLE-ELYSIAN/MORRISTOWN 3 VS. MANKATO LOYOLA 0
FARIBAULT BETHLEHEM ACADEMY 3 VS. GLENCOE-SILVER LAKE 0
UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL 3 VS. JANESVILLE-WALDORF-PEMBERTON 0


N-H-L HOCKEY
MN WILD (2-0) 4 AT ATLANTA 2


HIGH SCHOOL GIRL’S TENNIS
SECTION ONE-DOUBLE-A INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT AT ROCHESTER ATHLETIC CLUB
SINGLES
KELSEY FRECHETTE, CENTURY WINS SECTION TITLE

DOUBLES
MARY ELLEN DONOVAN/JORY KIRCHER, CENTURY LOST IN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH TO EMILY RENAULT/ANNIE RYU, MAYO

SECTION ONE-A INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT AT ROCHESTER OUTDOOR CENTER
SINGLES
ALEXA PALEN, LOURDES- FIRST
MARGARET PEARSON, LOURDES- SECOND

DOUBLES
COURTNEY RUST/MARY UTZ, LOURDES- FIRST
CARA MCGRANE/BRITTANY ALEXANDER- SECOND


HIGH SCHOOL GIRL’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
CENTURY (6-2/4-2) 94 AT ALBERT LEA 91
JOHN MARSHALL (8-0/6-0) 93 AT FARIBAULT 88
MAYO (4-1/4-0) 94 AT AUSTIN 90
OWATONNA 95 VS. MANKATO WEST 86
MANKATO EAST 95 VS. WASECA 70
WINONA 103 VS. ONALASKA-HOLMEN-LACROSSE AQUINAS, WI 80


HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY
BOYS
CENTURY 8TH, MAYO 7TH AND JOHN MARSHALL 10TH OF TEN TEAMS AT BIG NINE CONFERENCE MEET AT BROOKTREE GOLF COURSE IN OWATONNA

GIRLS
CENTURY SIXTH, MAYO THIRD AND JOHN MARSHALL 8TH OF TEN TEAMS AT BIG NINE CONFERENCE MEET AT BROOKTREE GOLF COURSE IN OWATONNA





LOCAL SPORTS SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, 10/15/08

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
BIG NINE CONFERENCE
CENTURY (2-5/2-4) __ AT MAYO (4-3/4-2) __ 7PM
JOHN MARSHALL (4-3/3-3) __ AT MANKATO EAST __ 7PM
#1AAAA MANKATO WEST __ AT #11AAAAA OWATONNA __
WINONA __ AT FARIBAULT __
ALBERT LEA __ AT AUSTIN __

HIAWATHA VALLEY LEAGUE
BYRON __ AT #10AAA LOURDES (5-2/3-2) __ 7PM
CANNON FALLS __ AT HAYFIELD __
LAKE CITY __ AT #8AAA KASSON-MANTORVILLE __
#11AAA STEWARTVILLE __ AT LACRESCENT __
GOODHUE __ AT #6AA ZUMBROTA/MAZEPPA __
KENYON-WANAMINGO __ AT PINE ISLAND __
WINONA COTTER __ AT #13AA TRITON __

THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE
WABASHA-KELLOGG __ AT LEWISTON-ALTURA __
#4AAA PLAINVIEW/ELGIN-MILLVILLE __ AT ONALASKA LUTHER, WI __
FILLMORE CENTRAL __ AT CHATFIELD __
SOUTHLAND __ AT KINGSLAND __
#11A RUSHFORD-PETERSON __ AT #9AA CALEDONIA __

SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE
#7 MABEL-CANTON __ AT #5 HOUSTON __
GLENVILLE-EMMONS __ AT LYLE/PACELLI __
LANESBORO __ AT SPRING GROVE __
GRAND MEADOW __ AT LEROY-OSTRANDER __

GOPHER CONFERENCE ‘A’ CONFERENCE
#12A BLOOMING PRAIRIE __ AT RANDOLPH __


COMMUNITY COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER
GUSTAVUS-ADOLPHUS __ AT RCTC (7-3-1/3-0) __ (NC) 3PM


COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
IOWA __ AT #12 MN GOPHERS (15-3/5-1) __ 7PM AT SPORTS PAVILION


COMMUNITY COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
RCTC (24-3/8-1) __ AT MSCTC-FERGUS FALLS __ 6:30


COLLEGE TENNIS
MEN
MN GOPHERS AT ITA REGIONAL TOURNAMENT AT COLUMBUS, OHIO (DAY ONE OF SIX)


HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY
BOYS
LOURDES AT H-V-L CHAMPIONSHIP AT WINONA

GIRLS
LOURDES AT H-V-L CHAMPIONSHIP AT WINONA





SCOOP ON SPORTS MORNING 10/15/08

Carl Crawford went 5-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI’s as the Tampa Bay Rays blew out the Boston Red Sox 13-4 in Game Four of the ALCS at Fenway Park Tuesday night. Willy Aybar had four hits and five RBI’s to help Tampa Bay grab a three-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven set, and Carlos Pena and Aybar each clubbed two-run homers, while Evan Longoria popped a solo shot in the victory. Andy Sonnanstine allowed four runs on six hits over seven-and-a-third innings to pick up the victory, and Kevin Cash launched a solo homer and Kevin Youkilis knocked in a pair of runs for Boston in defeat. Tim Wakefield was shelled for five runs in only two-and-two-thirds innings to suffer the loss. Game Five is slated for tomorrow in Boston with James Shields scheduled to get the ball for Tampa Bay, and Daisuke Matsuzaka [DICE-kay mat-soo-ZAH-ka] pitches for the Red Sox.

The Philadelphia Phillies will look to finish off the Dodgers and advance to the World Series for the first time in 15 years when the teams meet in Game Five of the NLCS today at Chavez Ravine. The Phillies took a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven set with a 7-5 win in Game Four on Monday. Philadelphia hasn't been to the Fall Classic since losing to Toronto in six games in 1993, and the Phillies' lone World Series title came back in 1980 over Kansas City. Cole Hamels will take on Chad Billingsley in tonight’s pitching matchup.

The Boston Red Sox say third baseman Mike Lowell won’t play again this season because of a bad hip. Elsewhere in baseball, Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Tuesday and should be fully recovered for the two-thousand-nine season, the New York Yankees have dismissed pitching instructor Rich Monteleone and third base coach Bobby Meacham, the St. Louis Cardinals have re-signed manager Tony Larussa's entire coaching staff for two-thousand-nine, the Toronto Blue Jays have appointed Paul Beeston interim chief executive officer, former major league outfielder Jose Canseco has been charged in federal court with a misdemeanor offense of trying to bring a fertility drug across the border from Mexico, and former Chicago Cubs’ player Kevin Foster has died of cancer at age 39.

The Detroit Lions have traded wide receiver Roy Williams and a seventh-round draft choice in two-thousand-nine to the Dallas Cowboys for the Cowboys’ first, third and sixth round choices in next year's draft. Also in football, the Lions have placed quarterback Jon Kitna on the season-ending injured reserve list due to a back problem, the Washington Redskins have signed former Seattle running back Shaun Alexander, along with punter Ryan Plackemeir and safety Mike Green, the Kansas City Chiefs have released former Vikings’ linebacker Napoleon Harris, the Chicago Bears have signed cornerback Zackary Bowman to a four-year contract, the Baltimore Ravens have placed starting right guard Marshal Yanda on injured reserve with a knee injury, the Ravens have placed linebacker Tavares Gooden on injured reserve, signed tight end Edgar Jones and wide receiver Ernie Wheelright, and added defensive back Derrick Roberson and offensive guard Brian Johnson to the practice squad, Buffalo has traded defensive tackle John McCargo to Indianapolis for an undisclosed draft pick, Pittsburgh wide receiver Nate Washington has been fined 75-hundred-dollars for taunting a Jacksonville coach after a catch during Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson is reportedly facing a simple assault charge for pushing a woman at a Kansas City nightclub, and the N-F-L has suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones indefinitely without pay for violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. Jones, who will miss at least four games, was involved in an alcohol-related altercation with a personal security guard at a Dallas hotel last week.

Gopher football coach Tim Brewster says his team’s bye week will allow quarterback Adam Weber to fully recover from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, although the sophomore showed no signs of trouble from the October fourth procedure when he led the team to a road victory at Illinois last Saturday. Offensive linemen Dom Alford and Ned Tavale are both nursing leg injuries suffered against the Illini, wide receiver Eric Decker bruised his shoulder in the win at Champaign, and cornerback Marcus Sherels of Rochester didn’t play last weekend because of a shoulder injury. The Gophers return to action on October 25th against Purdue. Also, representatives from the Capital One Bowl and the Champs Sports Bowl were on hand to watch last week’s win at Illinois.

Michigan athletic director Bill Martin continues to support head coach Rich Rodriguez. The Wolverines are 2-4 so far this year and are coming off a disappointing loss to Toledo over the weekend, but Martin said he still believes Rodriguez is the right man for the program and he remains focused on the long term. Michigan travels to Happy Valley to take on third ranked Penn State on Saturday.

Mayo plays host to Century, John Marshall is at Mankato East, and Lourdes takes on Byron at the RCTC Regional Sports Stadium, in high school football tonight. The Spartans are 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Nine Conference heading into their game against the Panthers, who are just 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the conference, the Rockets put a 4-3 overall record and a 3-3 league mark on the field against the Cougars, and the Eagles are ranked 10th in the state in Class Three-A with a 5-2 record as they square off with the Bears. In other area high school regular-season finales tonight, Owatonna is ranked 11th in the state in Class Five-A as it plays host to Mankato West, which is ranked first in Class Four-A, in a game that will decide the Big Nine Conference championship, Kasson-Mantorville is ranked 8th in Class Three-A heading into its home game against Lake City, Stewartville takes the state’s number-11 ranking in Class Three-A to Lacrescent, Zumbrota/Mazeppa is ranked sixth in Class Double-A as it plays host to Goodhue, Triton is ranked 13th in Class Double-A heading into its home game against Winona Cotter, Plainview/Elgin-Millville takes the state’s number-four ranking in Class Three-A to Onalaska, Wisconsin, Caledonia is ranked ninth in Class Double-A as it plays host to Rushford-Peterson, which is ranked 11th in Class ‘A’, Blooming Prairie takes the state’s number-12 ranking in Class ‘A’ to Randolph, and in ‘nine-man’ football, fifth-ranked Houston is at home against number-seven Mabel-Canton.

Winona State sophomore forward Lauren Sturdivant of Eagan is the NSIC women’s soccer Offensive Player of the Week, and Minnesota State-Mankato junior goalkeeper Sheila Reynolds is the league’s Defensive Player of the Week. Sturdivant scored 13 points over the weekend, with five goals and three assists in two matches, including a hat trick in Winona State’s win over Wayne State, and she has 12 goals and six assists for the season. Reynolds earned her 8th win and sixth shutout of the season on Friday as the Mavericks blanked Southwest State.

Gustavus-Adolphus junior forward Chelsea Craven of St. Cloud is the MIAC women’s soccer Player of the Week. Craven, a graduate of St. Cloud Cathedral, scored three goals to lead the Gusties to a win over Bethel last Saturday, the first hat trick by a Gustavus player in five seasons. She leads the team in scoring with six goals and two assists this season. Concordia senior forward Justin Foss is the MIAC men’s soccer Athlete of the Week.

RCTC plays host to the Gustavus-Adolphus jayvee team this afternoon in community college women’s soccer. The Yellowjackets are 7-3-1 for the season, after edging the Carleton jayvee in a Monday afternoon match at Northfield.

The Lourdes boys and girls high school soccer teams both earned trips to the state Class ‘A’ tournament last night, while the boys and girls squads from Century were both denied state berths in Class Double-A. In boy’s action, Kenny Cloft stopped two-of-eight shootout attempts as the seventh-ranked Eagles outlasted Northfield one-nil in overtime in the Section One-A final, beating the Raiders 7-6 in the shootout, and Chase Saunders and Derek Wypyszynski each scored as Lakeville South defeated the Panthers two-nil in the Section One-Double-A championship match, and in girl’s games, Eliza Larson made 12 saves as the tenth-ranked Eagles outlasted number-six Lacrescent one-nil in an overtime shootout, winning the shootout 3-2, in Section One-A, and Brianna Stelzer’s goal midway through the first half was the difference as 12th ranked Lakeville South edged the Panthers one-nil in the Section One-Double-A final. The Lourdes boys will take a 17-4-1 record to the state tournament next week, while the Eagle girls are now 15-4-1. The Century boys end the season with a 10-7-2 record, and the Panther girls close out the year with a 15-4 mark. In other prep soccer Tuesday, Mankato East and Mankato West were both eliminated in the semi-final round of the Section Two-A boy’s tournament, and in girl’s play, Albert Lea shutout Mankato East two-nil to advance to the Section Two-A final against Willmar, which eliminated Mankato West one-nil in overtime last night.

Corey Brewer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half as the Minnesota Timberwolves shook off poor early shooting, and rallied from a 19-point first-quarter deficit, to beat the Chicago Bulls 96-86 last night in N-B-A preseason basketball. The Timberwolves converted just five of their 20 field goal attempts in the opening quarter, but Minnesota finished with a half-dozen players in double figures as the Wolves picked up their third win in four preseason games. Brewer also had a game-high nine rebounds for Minnesota, Al Jefferson finished with 13 points, Rashad McCants had 12, Ryan Gomes scored 11 and Craig Smith and Kevin Love each had ten. The Bulls pulled within two points with three minutes left in the game, but Chicago had just one field goal the rest of the way as it lost its third straight in exhibition action. Minnesota plays at Toronto tomorrow night.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair has been suspended without pay for three games for pleading guilty to a weapons possession charge in the state of New York. Telfair, Portland's first-round pick in the two-thousand-four draft, was acquired from Boston in the Kevin Garnett trade before last season, and became the starting guard with Minnesota when Randy Foye injured his knee in the preseason. Over 60 games, Telfair averaged 9.3 points and 5.9 assists per game, and ranked tenth in the N-B-A in assist-to-turnover ratio, but also missed 22 games with various injuries. In 274 games over four seasons, the first two with Portland and one with Boston, he has averaged 7.8 points and 3.8 assists per game.

The Atlanta Hawks have requested waivers on center Marcus Hubbard and guard Frank Robinson. In other basketball news, the Charlotte Bobcats have released free agents Donnell Taylor and Marcus Williams, and Cleveland forward Ben Wallace and guard Sasha Pavlovic [PAV-low-vich] sat out last night’s preseason game against Boston because of injuries.

The 12th ranked Gopher women’s volleyball team takes on Iowa tonight in Big Ten Conference action at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis. The Gophers are 15-3 overall, and have won five of their six Big Ten matches this season, while the Hawkeyes are 11-7 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten.

There’s no change in the top four spots in this week’s Division Three women’s college volleyball poll from the AVCA, with Juniata still a unanimous choice for number-one, followed by Emory, La Verne and Washington University of St. Louis. St. Thomas of the MIAC slips a spot, into a tie for sixth-place with Carthage of Wisconsin, this week, with Wisconsin-Oshkosh still 11th, Concordia of Moorhead 13th, Wisconsin-Whitewater 14th, and Gustavus-Adolphus and St. Benedict of the MIAC 20th and 21st, respectively.

The Rochester Community and Technical College women’s volleyball team travels to Fergus Falls to face Minnesota State Community and Technical College in MCAC action tonight. The fourth-ranked Yellowjackets are 24-3 overall and have won eight of their nine league matches this season.

The Minnesota College Athletic Conference has three teams, including RCTC, ranked among the top-ten in the nation in the latest NJCAA Division Three women’s volleyball poll. Brookhaven College of Farmers Branch, Texas has the top-ranked team in the country, with the RCTC Yellowjackets listed fourth, Ridgewater of Willmar fifth and Hibbing Community College ninth.

Century, John Marshall and Lourdes all won, but Mayo lost, in girl’s high school volleyball last night. Kathryn Kuecker (KUCK-er) had 11 kills and Brittany Weidman registered 13 digs as the Panthers defeated Winona three-games-to-none, Jasmine Dittrich had 15 kills as the Rockets stopped Albert Lea in three games, Claire Goodrich had 11 digs and Chelsie Peterson added 24 assists as the Eagles defeated Winona Cotter three-games-to-one, and 12th ranked Owatonna rallied from a game-one loss to top the Spartans in four games to win the outright title in the Big Nine Conference. Century improves to 12-10 overall and finishes the Big Nine season with a 5-4 record, John Marshall is 14-6-2 overall and 5-5 in the conference, Lourdes improves to 9-13 overall and is 4-9 in the Hiawatha Valley League, and Mayo is now 15-8-1 overall and ends the league season with an 8-1 record.

Antti Miettinen [AN-tee mih-EHT-tih-nehn] scored twice in the third period as the Minnesota Wild defeated Atlanta 4-2 to open a three-game N-H-L road trip. Marian Gaborik and Andrew Brunette each scored their first goals of the season for the Wild, and Ilya Kovalchuk and Bryan Little found the back of the net for the Thrashers. Miettinen scored with 10:19 to play in the third to give Minnesota a two-goal lead, and he added the final goal of the night when he teamed with Brunette on a give-and-go with 2:40 left. The Wild, now off to a 2-0 start to the season, will play at Florida tomorrow night.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard of the Minnesota Wild missed last night’s game in Atlanta because of as sore back, and team officials say he’ll head back to the Twin Cities today to undergo further examination by team doctors. In other Wild news, winger Owen Nolan left in the first period of last night’s game with what team officials called a lower body injury, defenseman Marek Zidlicky has begun skating in St. Paul after being left behind for the current road trip because of a sprained right ankle, and winger Craig Weller made his first appearance for the Wild since signing as a free-agent in last night’s win.

The Boston Bruins have recalled defenseman Matt Hunwick and forward Vladimir Sobotka from Providence of the American Hockey League. In other hockey notes, the New York Islanders say defenseman Radek Martinek will miss four-to-six weeks with an unidentified upper body injury.

Boston College is still ranked number-one in the nation in this week’s U.S. College Hockey Online poll of Division One men’s teams, and the Minnesota Gophers are up one spot to number-nine. Michigan and Colorado College continue to rank second and third, respectively, this week, with Denver jumping two spots to number-four, St. Cloud State up to 12th, North Dakota 13th, Minnesota State-Mankato 15th and Wisconsin listed 20th.

The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team moves up from sixth to second in this week’s U.S. College Hockey Online national poll. The Gophers opened the W-C-H-A portion of their schedule last weekend with a two-game series sweep of then-top ranked Minnesota-Duluth, marking the first time the Lady Bulldogs had been swept in a series at home since two-thousand-two. Wisconsin is the new number-one team in the country this week, followed by the Gophers and Harvard, with Duluth slipping to fifth. Minnesota continues play in the W-C-H-A this week, hosting Ohio State in games at Ridder Arena on Friday and Saturday.

Padraig Harrington, the reigning British Open and PGA Championship winner, and Jim Furyk each posted rounds of two-under-par 68 yesterday to share the opening-round lead of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Retief Goosen managed an even-par 70 and Masters champion Trevor Immelman struggled to a six-over 76 at the Mid Ocean Club. This event is reserved for the year's four major champions, and since Harrington won two and U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods is out after knee surgery, Furyk and Goosen were invited to join.

Century advanced a doubles team and singles’ player Kelsey Frechette to next week’s Class Double-A individual state high school girl’s tennis tournament, while Mayo will be represented at state in both the team competition, and by a doubles team. Frechette won the Section One-Double-A singles crown Tuesday, while Emily Renault and Annie Ryu of the Spartans defeated Mary Ellen Donovan and Jory Kircher of the Panthers in the doubles championship match, but both teams will advance to next week’s state tourney.

Players from top-ranked Lourdes swept the singles and doubles finals at the Section One-A individual girl’s high school tennis tournament yesterday, with six different Eagles earning berths in next week’s Class ‘A’ state tournament. In singles play Tuesday, Alexa Palen of Lourdes beat teammate Margaret Pearson in the section final, and in the doubles’ championship, Courtney Rust and Mary Utz of the Eagles teamed up for a win against teammates Cara McGrane and Brittany Alexander.

University of Minnesota freestyler Stacy Busack of Fergus Falls has been named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week in women’s swimming and diving. Busack helped the Gophers to two Big Ten dual victories last week, against Michigan and Michigan State, earning firsts in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles and also swimming a leg of the 400 medley relay. The Gophers are idle this week and resume action October 31st and November first at North Carolina.

Century, John Marshall and Mayo all won last night in girl’s high school swimming and diving in the Big Nine Conference. The Panthers improved to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the conference with a 94-91 win at Albert Lea, the Rockets stayed unbeaten through eight dual meets with a 93-88 win at Faribault, and the Spartans are now 4-1 overall and unbeaten in four Big Nine meets following a 94-90 win over Austin.

Liz Palkie of Carlton, a senior at Minnesota-Duluth, is the NSIC women’s cross Country Athlete of the Week. Palkie finished second last Saturday at the Pine Hill Invitational, her third second-place finish this fall. Wayne State’s Nate Preston is the NSIC men’s cross country Athlete of the Week. The league’s championship meets will be held October 25th in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

The Lourdes boy’s and girl’s high school cross country teams are in Winona this afternoon for the Hiawatha Valley League championship meet. At the Big Nine Conference meet Tuesday, Owatonna won the boy’s title, with Mayo seventh, Century 8th and John Marshall tenth in the ten-team field, and in the girl’s race, Winona won the league crown, with Mayo third, Century sixth and John Marshall 8th. Jacob Bastyer of Owatonna was medalist for the boy’s, and Claire Guidinger of Winona was the overall women’s winner.

The NCAA says the graduation success rate of University of Minnesota athletes improved by one-percent this year, with an overall rate of 72-percent, compared to 71-percent in two-thousand-seven and 68-percent in two-thousand-six. The NCAA rate was created in two-thousand-five to take into account student transfers, while the federal graduation rate counts any student who transfers as a non-graduate. The federal graduation rate of Minnesota athletes is 60-percent, or three-percent below the general student-body rate. Women continue to out-perform men, with eight of the school’s 11 women’s varsity programs having rates above 80-percent.



TUESDAY'S SCOREBOARD

MLB Playoffs
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Tampa Bay Rays 13, Boston Red Sox 4
(Rays lead best-of-seven ALCS, 3-1)

NHL
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Minnesota Wild 4, Atlanta Thrashers 2
Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2 (ot)
Calgary Flames 5, Colorado Avalanche 4
Los Angeles Kings 6, Anaheim Ducks 3
San Jose Sharks 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 2

NBA Preseason
------
New Orleans Hornets 96, Washington Wizards 80
San Antonio Spurs 86, Detroit Pistons 64
Boston Celtics 90, Cleveland Cavaliers 86
Philadelphia 76ers 116, New York Knicks 109
Los Angeles Clippers 90, Oklahoma City Thunder 88
Minnesota Timberwolves 96, Chicago Bulls 86