Tribune Notebook: Willmar athletes earn Central Lakes honors

May 5---- Carter Newberg has been thrust into the No. 1 singles slot for the Willmar boys tennis team, which means he gets to face all the top players in the Central Lakes Conference every match.

Isabela Engle has a had a really good season so far for the Willmar track and field team, with the Cardinals about to host an important true team sectional at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Hodapp Field.

Newberg and Engle have been named CLC Performers of the Week.

Newberg, a senior, won two matches last week, helping the Cardinals to their first win of the season.

Willmar went into Tuesday with an 0-6 conference and 1-11 overall record, but with reasonable chances for three victories this week. Willmar plays host to Fergus Falls at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Otters went into Tuesday with a 1-14 record. Then, the Cardinals are host to Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd at 4:30 p.m. Thursday before closing the week against Yellow Medicine East at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Granite Falls.

Engel met a state Class AAA qualifying standard in the discus last week with a toss of 112 feet, 3 inches. She and the Cardinals host a true team sectional at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Hodapp Field. The boys' and girls' team winners advance to the state true-team championships May 15-16 at Eden Prairie High School.

Among the competitors Wednesday at Hodapp will be New London-Spicer, Litchfield and Willmar.

True team uses a different scoring system than the Minnesota State High School League-sponsored state meet June 4-8 at St. Michael-Albertville. In true team competition, points are awarded for 16 places, meaning the true depth of a team is rewarded with more points. In the MSHSL meet, a single star can dominate the scoring in four events and plausibly win the state title for their school. (It has happened).

In true team, that star would help with a bunch with first-place finishes, but a team with multiple good athletes will out-score one individual.

Last year's state Class AA champions were the Stewartville boys and the St. Peter girls.

Willmar, NLS and Litchfield are in Section 6AA with: Dassel-Cokato, Delano, Eagle Ridge, Holy Family Catholic, Hutchinson, Mound Westonka, Orono, Providence Academy, Rockford, Southwest Christian and Watertown-Mayer.

Last week, Willmar softball pitcher Claire Guennigsmann was named a CLC Performer of the Week. The eighth-grader batted .517 with a double, a triple and six singles.

Two former Litchfield Dragons tennis players have won Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference awards.

Ryanna Steinhaus, a junior at St. Catherine University, and Alex Draeger, a junior at St. John's University, each were named to their respective all-conference doubles teams.

Steinhaus, a biology major, has a 16-6 doubles record with teammate Marie Pelletier. Steinhaus is also 19-2 as a singles player. Pelletier is a junior from Brandon Valley, South Dakota.