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ROYALS BULLDOGS LAKERS CRUSADERS Sports Herald Journal ??A Friday, Date, 2023 Strobl’s big season earns her All- Area Girl Swimmer of The Year BY KIP KOVAR Sports Editor DELANO – It was another impressive season for the Delano girls swimming and diving team. One of the top programs in Class A, the Tigers had another big sea‐ son as a team and it was junior Josie Strobl leading the charge helping them nish in fth place at the Class A state meet as a team. Strobl’s big season and hard work earned her All-Area Girls Swimmer of The Year. “Josie had an amazing season and a strong performance at the state meet in her individual events as well as on the re‐ lays,” Delano Coach Karen Shallbetter said. “Her drive and determination were integral to the success of the relays as well as her individual races. Josie is one of the hardest working swimmers on the team and deserves recognition for her e orts.” Strobl had a big showing for Delano at the state meet. She took fth place in the 100-yard butter y for Delano and seventh place in the 200-yard freestyle as an indi‐ vidual. She also helped two relay teams nd the podium as well with a pair of third-place nishes. FILE PHOTO Delano’s Josie Strobl is the 2023 All-Area Girls Swimming and Diving Athlete of The Year. HLWW’s Madison LeSage runs away with All-Area Girls Runner of The Year BY KIP KOVAR Sports Editor HOWARD LAKE – The ‐ nal moment of a high school sports career is always a spe‐ cial one. Howard Lake-Wa‐ verly-Winsted’s Madison LeSage made the most of hers. Going up against the state’s best, LeSage proved she be‐ longed by taking sixth place overall at the Class A State Meet with a time of 18 min‐ utes and 56 seconds. Her stel‐ lar season capped o by a big showing at the state meet earns her All-Area Girls Run‐ ner of The Year. It was a special race for LeSage to close out her high school career. A perennial state meet participant, she capped o her high school ca‐ reer on a high note by doing what she loves. “It means a lot,” LeSage said. “It’s special. I try to ap‐ preciate it every time. Every year I’m grateful I get the chance to run at it and com‐ pete against a bunch of others who are passionate about run‐ ning as I am.” LeSage will continue her cross country career at North Dakota State University next year. PHOTO BY KIP KOVAR HLWW’s Madison LeSage is the 2023 All-Area Girls Run‐ ner of The Year. DC’s Bortnem secures All-Area Boys Runner of e Year BY KIP KOVAR Sports Editor COKATO – It was a year to remember for Dassel-Coakto’s Soren Bortnem. The leader of the boys team, Bortnem had a big year for the Chargers earn‐ ing him All-Area Boys Runner of The Year. Bortnem picked up a win for D-C at the Rockford Rocket Run this season. He was an All-Conference winner and capped o his stellar per‐ formance this year with a 13th-place nish at the Class AA state meet. Bortnem’s big season for the Chargers earns him the All-Area Boy Runner of The Year. In 2021 as a sophomore, Soren nished 14th at the Class AA meet with a time of 16:36. Last season, Soren nished as an All-State participant once again, with a better time, but a slightly lower place. This year, Soren nished with his best time ever, and place, at the state meet. He nished in 13th place, with a time of 16:11, meaning he garnered a third straight All-State nish. “Soren ran a strong race from beginning to end as he normally does,” said DC head coach Bjorn Bakke. “It was a good end to a great career.” Bakke said Soren was not only a leader for the varsity boys this season as a captain, but he was a leader for the en‐ tire DC cross country pro‐ gram. “The knowledge, insight, and enthusiasm that he brought to the team this year will be missed,” Bakke said. PHOTO BY BRAD SALMEN Dassel-Cokato’s Soren Bortnem is the 2023 All-Area Boys Runner of The Year. Strandemo’s big play ability earns him All-Area Boys Soccer Player of The Year BY KIP KOVAR Sports Editor DELANO – The Delano boys soccer team took another big step forward this season as a team. The Tigers played well together as a team and had a big-time player in Will Strandemo who was a big part of the success. Strandemo came through in big spots all season long with big plays earning him All-Area Boys Soccer Player of The Year. For the season, Strandemo had 17 goals for the Tigers to lead the way. He also had seven assists as well. He led the team in both categories and his 17 goals ranked 24th- most in the state. Strandemo’s best game of the season came against St. Francis where he scored three goals and had an assist in the win. For the season, he had four games with two or more goals. He had at least one goal or an assist in all but three games. ALL-AREA BOYS SOCCER ALL-AREA VOLLEYBALL ALL-AREA GIRLS SWIM AND DIVE ALL-AREA GIRLS SOCCER ALL-AREA BOYS CROSS COUNTRY ALL-AREA FOOTBALL ALL-AREA GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY Johnson’s monster year earns her All- Area Girls Soccer Player of The Year BY KIP KOVAR Sports Editor DELANO – In one of the best seasons in program his‐ tory, the Delano girls soccer team nearly made school his‐ tory. The Tigers made it all the way to the section champi‐ onship and just missed their rst-ever state tournament ap‐ pearance. A big reason for that was the monster season that senior Marin Johnson had. Johnson was a dominant player throughout the season for the Tigers earning her All-Area Girls Soccer Player of The Year. “Marin was an outstanding player for us this year,” De‐ lano coach Lauryn D'Amato said. “We could rely on her to score goals at critical mo‐ ments in games. She is dedi‐ cated, hardworking, and al‐ ways maintains a positive and uplifting attitude that encour‐ ages her teammates to perform well.” Johnson had a monster sea‐ son for the Tigers scoring 31 goals to go along with 10 as‐ sists. Her 31 goals ranked 12th most in the state. She was an All-Conference selection and named First Team All-State. She had at least one goal or an assist in all but one game this season. For the year, she had nine games with two or more goals highlighted by a six-goal game against Rock‐ ford. To close out the regular season, Johnson had two or more goals in the nal ve games. PHOTO BY KIP KOVAR Delano’s Marin Johnson is the 2023 All-Area Girls Soccer Player of The Year. PHOTO BY KIP KOVAR Will Strandemo is the 2023 All-Area Boys Soccer Player of The Year. Schultz has monster season to earn him All-Area Football Player of The Year BY KIP KOVAR Sports Editor DELANO – The Delano football team had their o ense take a big step forward this season. The big play and consistency of Jake Schultz was a big reason why. Schultz had a monster season for the Tigers o ensively and was a big part of the de‐ fense as well. For the season he had, Schultz is the 2023 All-Area Football Player of The Year. For the season, Schultz was the top receiver all year long for Delano. He nished the year with 70 catches for 1,201 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged more than 100 yards receiving per game with six games of 100 yards or more. His biggest game of the season came against Providence Academy where he caught six passes for 135 yards and ve touchdowns. PHOTO CREDIT Jake Schultz is the 2023 All-Area Foot‐ ball Player of The year. Martin earns All-Area Volleyball Player of The Year BY KIP KOVAR Sports Editor MAYER — Playing for a state championship became the norm for Mayer Lutheran’s Danica Martin in her high school career. The se‐ nior once again had a stellar season for the Crusaders earn‐ ing her All-Area Volleyball Player of The Year. Martin nished with 323 kills this year. She was named the Minnesota River Confer‐ ence MVP, Class A All-State honors, as well as named to the Class A All-Tournament Team after leading Mayer Lutheran to the state champi‐ onship game for the third year in a row. Martin also had 43 blocks and 216 digs this season. PHOTO BY KIP KOVAR Mayer Lutheran’s Danica Martin is the 2023 All-Area Volleyball Player of The Year. ll-Area Sport Teams Herald Journal • Dassel-Cokato Enterprise Dispatch • Delano Herald Journal F ALL H IGH S CHOOL S PORTS 2023