Prep report: Northland soccer teams set for state tournament
Oct. 21—The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys soccer team received the most favorable assignment in state soccer tournament pairings released by the Minnesota State High School League on Saturday morning, Oct. 21.
CEC (16-2) was named the third seed in the Class AA bracket and will face unseeded St. Cloud Tech (8-7-3) in a quarterfinal on Wednesday night, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in White Bear Lake. It's the Lumberjacks' third consecutive state appearance while Tech has been to the last four state tournaments contested despite only being the fourth seed in its section this season.
In Class A boys, Duluth Marshall has a much tougher road. The Hilltoppers (13-3-2) went unseeded and ended up with No. 1 St. Cloud Cathedral. Cathedral (19-0), making its seventh state trip in a row, beat Marshall 5-0 in Duluth in the season opener on Aug. 25. The Hilltoppers and Crusaders will also play Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., in Monticello, Minnesota.
Cloquet-Carlton (12-2-4) was unseeded in the Class AA girls tournament and drew third-seeded Winona for a game that will form the first half of a Lumberjacks doubleheader (5:30 p.m.) on Wednesday night in White Bear Lake. The Winhawks are unbeaten in 17 consecutive games dating back to August.
Esko (13-2-3) earned the No. 5 seed in the Class A girls field and will play No. 4 St. Paul Academy/Summit School on Thursday, Oct. 26 at Irondale High School in New Brighton, Minnesota. St. Paul Academy/Summit School was a state finalist last season.
Semifinals for the girls state tournament will take place on Oct. 31 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and the boys will be on the following day, also on the Vikings' field.
Solon Springs/Northwood had home-course advantage and ran with it, earning its first Division 3 sectional championship since 1991, fourth appearance overall and third in the last seven years.
Junior Isaac Dickenson was a clear individual winner, crossing the finish line in 16 minutes, 16.7 seconds for a nine-second victory over runner-up Connor Quimby of Grantsburg.
Eagles teammate Dylan Taggart came in third in 16:36.8.
The Eagles finished with 48 team points, well ahead of 2022 champion Phillips' 81.
The state meet is Saturday, Oct. 28 at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
Maritza Serrano-Orozco led Solon Springs-Northwood with a 23rd-place finish in the girls' race. The Eagles' team finished seventh.
Northwestern junior Morgan Martens was first across the finish line on Saturday, Oct. 21 in a Division 2 boys sectional meet in Rice Lake.
Martens ran 16:19.3 for the 5K, finishing five seconds ahead of Baldwin-Woodville's Ian Findlay.
Bloomer took places four through seven and the team championship with 61 points. Northwestern was fifth overall with 148 points.
The Northwestern girls put two runners in the top 10 and earned a team qualifying spot for next weekend's state meet with a second-place finish.
Bloomer was a clear winner with 65 points, but Northwestern had 106, as senior Jenna Hursh and junior Ashlyn Sutherland finished seventh and eighth, respectively, about 90 seconds behind runaway individual champion Ciara Hartman of Bloomer.
The Tigers finished 10 points ahead of St. Croix Central to earn their state berth.
Superior junior Tayler McMeekin booked a spot in the Division 1 state cross country meet on Saturday, Oct. 21 earning a sixth-place individual finish in the sectional meet in Menomonie.
McMeekin ran the 5K in 19:31.3 and made the cut comfortably. The top two teams and top five individuals not otherwise qualifying move on to the state meet next weekend in Wisconsin Rapids.
D.C. Everest senior Sara Mlodik won the race in 18:27.7.
The Superior girls were ninth of 12 in team competition.
In the boys race, Jacob Lind of Superior took 21st and the Spartans finished 10th.
The tournament trail came to an abrupt end for Superior on Saturday night, Oct. 21, as top-seeded Eau Claire Memorial swept the Spartans 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-17) in a Division 1 regional final in Eau Claire.
The Spartans finished their season 16-10.
