South Shore celebrated the accomplishments of their fall athletes on Thursday night with a dinner and awards presentation by the coaches.

South Shore co-ops with Washburn for football.  It takes a lot of dedication for those students who chose this option as it generally means lots of late nights and tons of extra effort.  Coach Madison, WBS Football, recapped the players’ season, highlighting the strengths of each individual player.

Luke and Doug had a good season.  Middle School Football was only able to play four games, but won two of those games, tied one and lost another. Overall it was a great season; they did very well.  The high school football team had a challenging year.  They didn’t have the best record, but they worked and played very hard.  According to Coach Madison, Connor is a great athlete.  He was a tight end and also started on defense.  Starting as a sophomore does not happen often, but Connor worked hard and earned it.  He was penciled in as a starter because of  his performance over the years.  From 8th grade until now he has worked hard and earned his spot as a starter.  Cole is a very hard working player.  He is very strong and earned the nickname stronghold.  This year, he showed great determination, playing through a torn ACL, an injury that would have sidelined lesser players.  Dylan is a hard working player who always did his job.  He played for four years. A concussion unfortunately cut short his senior year, however, he will always, said Coach Madison, be a part of the football family.  Madison thanked the players for their efforts and long nights saying Washburn wouldn’t have a team without South Shore’s players.

South Shore has an MVP award that was later named to honor Glen Wallin.  Glen Wallin graduated from South Shore High School in 1975.  He was an outstanding football player in his high school career and was scouted by many colleges.  Wallin tragically passed away in a car accident in 1977, at the age of 21.  In honor of his memory, South Shore High School Football chose to rename their MVP award to the Glen Wallin Most Valuable Player award.  Last year, a student by the name of Zeke Nieder was the first in twenty-two years to be given this award.  This year, South Shore High School was proud to give out this award to Cole Lovejoy.  Cole has given four years to the South Shore High School Football program being a dependable, solid and talented player.  Congratulations to Cole Lovejoy and his accomplishments!

Middle School Girls Basketball is coached by Ryan Tiberg.  At the awards banquet, as always, Mr. Tiberg had a lot to say about his team.  He started off with his assistant coach and manager, thanking both for their time and dedication.  Assistant Coach Shauna Kavajecz was at every single practice and her expertise was definitely needed as the team consisted of 18 girls 5th through 8th grade!  She was also at every game and Coach Tiberg said he hoped she would be willing to take over some huddle talks and time-out strategizing next season.  Paige Lahti was the manager this year and Coach Tiberg praised her for her dedication and time.

He then talked about the strengths of his players:

Lily Truchon was a very strong defensive player. She came in with good offensive skills that improved throughout the season. Over the summer, she kept track of her shots and she totaled over 10,000 made shots this off-season!

Beau Reijo was a great passer. She was a hustler, giving it her all until the buzzer. She discovered a curved line on the floor this year and started practicing a three point shot. As the season wound down to the end, she made her first three point game shot!  Congratulations, Beau.

Andi Riddle was a very aggressive defensive player this year. She holds the most steals of the team. She was another player who hustled up and down the floor all game long. This coming year her goal is to keep the aggressive defence but cut down on fouls.

Iris Rosenwinkel was new to the sport this year and she told Coach Tiberg that she would like to give basketball a try. She became a very good rebounder and defensive player.

Maggie Ostrenga was always talking on defense, keeping the team aware about any changes. She is an energetic player who was always hustling and working hard.

Izzy Rantala always knew all the plays. She was always helping other players, telling them how and where to go when they were unsure. She always worked hard and had fun.

Abby Lahti is a great teammate and player. She got along with everybody and she was a great defensive player.

Mari was another great teammate who was always upbeat. She was a great player and she was always aggressive on defense.

Ida was very enthusiastic from the beginning of the season to the end. She was a very good teammate.

Alyssa was a very energetic teammate who used her energy by hustling up and down the floor. She was a great teammate to everyone.  

Taylor was a great offensive player. She had good ball handling skills and her passing skills were great.

Lilly was a good defensive player. She was also an excellent rebounder. She would fight her way in the middle and box out even the players who were taller than her.

Natalie joined the team this year as a seventh grader. As the season progressed, she became a strong defensive player.

Austyn played in the middle of the zone defence where there is always a lot of contact. She was a good rebounder and defensive player.

Sara was a good shooter. She was also aggressive on defense. She was a strong rebounder and inside player.

Tiiara handled some of the jobs of bringing the ball up the floor. She was a good shooter and had great ball handling skills.

Saya was another aggressive player. She played well on defense as well as offense. She was always hustling up and down the floor.

The seventh grade team consisted of a mix of fifth, sixth and seventh graders. They played against teams who were all seventh graders who had had more time to hone their skills and learn. Even though they were a smaller team, they were able to keep most of the seventh grade teams down to under 20 points.  They had a strong team defense.  

The eighth grade team had a strong defense.  They improved offensively.    

Coaches Mrs. Lahti and Ms. Hoagland showed great appreciation for their players this season.

The coaches thanked Mr. Tiberg and Linda Kavejecz for all their efforts on behalf of the team as well as “Paige Lahti for being our part time manager when she wasn’t managing for the middle school girls basketball team.  She attended practices when she could and helped us out at meets.  She is looking forward to her own cross country career and really enjoyed learning from the athletes this year.”

Hayden was our boys team captain this season.  He is a dedicated leader who is a role model to new runners.  He demonstrates his maturity and sound work ethic in his practices and meets alike.  Hayden would set goals for each practice or race and do his absolute best to accomplish them.  He would also work hard to keep practices fun.  Thank you Hayden for doing a great job as team captain this year.  

James is our only senior boy this year and we are sincerely going to miss him on our team next year.  Everyone who would see James at a race could see how much he enjoyed the sport and how hard he worked in his meets.  He would flash a smile as he was cheered on and keep racing hard.  It was amazing to see his growth from his first day of cross country three seasons ago to his final confident races.

Roger was like a big brother on our team this year.  He encouraged his teammates when they needed it and helped to find solutions whenever there was a dilemma.  Roger is responsible and kind and came to practices and meets with a positive outlook.

Hunter is a strong and talented athlete.  He is always motivated to work hard and put his best effort into his races.  He is a wonderful team member with his great sense of humor, responsibility and dedication to the sport.

Steven always shows his dedication to his team by ow supportive and encouraging he is to his fellow teammates.  He had a positive, optimistic attitude.  Even on days that were less than ideal conditions for an outdoor practice, he would find a silver lining which made things seem much more pleasant.

Sawyer is such a upbeat part of our team and can be depended on to help whoever may need a hand.  He is a solid, dependable runner who also likes to keep things fun.  He made a smooth transition to the 3.1 mile high school race and we look forward to where he takes it in the next three years.

Ryan was a brave student to try a new and difficult sport.  He worked through challenges and developed as a runner.  While many cross country athletes begin the sport at the middle school distances, Ryan jumped right in the 3.1 mile high school race.  He worked hard through his meets and we hope to see him again next year.

“The boys team had a great season working together as a group.  They had such a positive friendship and team spirit.  They kept practices, meets and bus rides a fun, happy place to be.”

Alyssa is an all around amazing athlete.  She maintained a successful high school cross country career for four years after her middle school seasons.  She earned first team all conference awards for three years.  This year her all conference award came from a second place rank in our conference.  She also made the trip to state cross country last year.  She put everything she had into her races and kept reducing her time throughout her season.  Alyssa was our girls team captain this year and showed her leadership everyday.  She lead by example and through her leadership of her fellow athletes.  She would do whatever she could do to assist her teammates and younger athletes overcome challenges and reach their goals.

This is Jackie’s second year in cross country.  She joined last year when the girls distance increased to the 3.1 miles but did not let it stop her.  She had the experience from her first year to get her second off to a smooth start.  The end of the season came with some injuries, but she was determined to complete her sason for her senior year.  She spent lots of time icing and whirlpooling and competed in the meets right through sectionals.  She was tough and determined and put her all into her final season of high school cross country.

Emma was very successful at balancing two sports.  She joined us whenever she could  and we are proud of her efforts.  Emma is such a sweet, easy going athlete, until she is running at a meet.  Her meets proved that she is a tough competitor who can do anything she puts her mind to.  She has also shown this by earning a second team all-conference award.

Congratulations Emma!

Emma came into this cross country season very prepared to race hard and she did.  She earned a first team all conference award and placed fourth in the conference.  This is her third year in a row being ranked at the top of our conference.  She is knowledgeable about the sport and shares her experience to help newer runners.  We look forward to seeing her excel again next year for her senior year of cross country.

Rachel has such a positive personality to have as a part of our cross country team.  She reflects upon a race and takes the initiative to change her strategies to reach her goals.  She worked effectively with a teammate several times to build both of their races and have a great race.  She has increased her confidence as a runner this year and will use that in her season next year.

“The girls team was a group that worked together as a team in many ways to build their individual races.  It is sometimes difficult to effectively use the technique of running with a teammate to benefit both runners.  Two athletes successfully used this technique during several races and displayed a perfect example.  You could obviously see that they were both putting in complete effort and using each other for motivation.  The girls team also motivated each other in practices to work their hardest.  They were a group that could always be counted on to practice hard, implement warm-ups effectively and race to their maximum effort.  They had a wonderful season.”

Ms. Hoagland introduced the middle school athletes

Tyler Tichenor came out for cross country and discovered that he was a natural distance runner.  He had a really great season, and he finished among the top 10 runners in several races.  He represented South Shore well and we hope he joins us again next year.

Bjørn Branham joined cross-country for the first time this year as an 8th grade student and he became a leader among the middle school runners.  He led by example by consistently giving his full effort during practices and meets, regardless of the conditions, and without a single complaint.  During one particularly difficult practice that took place in thick fog along Quarry Road, Bjorn ran with machine-like determination. Bjorn also finished in the top ten runners at several races.

Jake Winge is an excellent runner, and he has a natural gift of speed.  This was his second year on the middle school cross-country team.  Jake has an easy-going manner but is also a true competitor.  We look forward to seeing his achievements in future years.

Patrick Voda is a dependable team member.  He stays positive and always supports his teammates.  This was his second year of cross-country and he ran with increased confidence this season.  He ran his practices and meets with full effort and no complaints.

Casper York came into the season having put in some running over the summer on his own.  He was able to build on that base and compete at his maximum abilities.  He set his goals high and continually worked towards them.

The middle school boys team has a promising future demonstrated by their success as a competitive boys team this season.  Their combination of having fun yet working hard allowed them to grow as a team.

Natalie Knack loves to run and it shows.  She has great running form and a wonderful determination.  She set a goal for each race and did everything she could do to reach it.  She placed in the top five of several races and we look forward to seeing her race again next year.

Alyssa Kobie worked extremely hard in cross country this year.  She never put anything less than her full effort into her practices and meets.  She works hard throughout a race and always dug deep to have an amazing finish.

Abby Lahti went from a runner to a racer this cross country season.  She had set a goal early in the season to earn a ribbon and ended up earning two.  Beginning this sport as a sixth grader is tough, but she did extremely well and has six more years to continue her success.

Ida York was a bit nervous about running cross country, but she put that aside and raced well.  It was easy to see that she was determined to do her best.  She was always so cheerful and happy even when we knew she had given her all.  We hope she had fun, because we sincerely enjoyed having her on the team.

“Our four middle school girl runners balanced playing middle school girls basketball and middle school cross country.  They practiced both sports until school began,  They had weeks that fit in three races or games and they were still enthusiastic to go to them all.”

Coaches Lahti and Truchon wrapped up the festivities with a brief introduction of each of their players and a look back on a great season.  “I commended the girls on the willingness to change on the fly and work together as a team, even when you had someone new playing next to you.  The Ashland Tourney was a great example of that, going into the day with new players, changing the rotation half way through the day and coming out with match wins against Ashland and Northland Pines and taking a game from Washburn.  Can’t wait till next year!” said Coach Lahti.  

Congratulations to all the athletes and coaches for a very successful fall season.  Good luck with the winter season!  Thanks to everyone who attended the banquet and everyone who supported the teams – your efforts are very much appreciated!