Sports

SPORTS & SCHOOL

Bulldogs’ state tournament run ends early

Soccer girls return all starters from 2009

Journal-Press Sports Editor Heather Reinhart may be reached
by phone at 763-682-1221 or click here to email her

It was not the way the Bulldogs had hoped their trip to the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament would go, but it did none-the-less.

Buffalo’s town team got off to a poor start and went on to lose its first-round game to Luverne by a score of 10-3. The loss brought an early end to an otherwise memorable season that will go down in the record books. Buffalo’s last state-tournament appearance came 19 years ago back in 1991.

“We were pretty happy with the season as a whole,” said player/manager Ed Cox. “Hopefully we can make a habit of getting back there.”

The Class C tournament game, which was played Sunday night in Willmar, started slowly for Buffalo. The Bulldogs sent nine batters to the plate in the first three innings combined and all three were retired.

The Redbirds scored two runs in the first inning on a walk, and triple, and a single. They led off the second inning with a single and a walk, followed by an RBI single to take a 3-0 lead.

Buffalo’s starter, Bruce Geislinger, was a draftee from Watkins with many years of experience under his belt. But he struggled to get going on the mound and the defense didn’t have its best effort behind him.

Luverne scored three more runs in the third inning before Geislinger was replaced by John Euerle. Euerle got the final out of the third inning, but allowed three runs to score on four hits in the fourth inning. Before they could even blink the Bulldogs found themselves behind 9-0.

“They really came out and hit the ball,” Cox said. “We didn’t play defense aggressively. We got put back on our heels right away and let them dictate to us.”

Buffalo finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Derek Bauer hit a one-out double and Dan Wackler reached on an error that allowed Bauer to score. The Bulldogs’ defense then got three straight outs in the fifth and sixth innings to keep the score at 9-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, Buffalo’s Cody Kielsa hit a lead-off single, and Wackler followed with a single. Ramon Vega then drew a two-out walk to load the bases, and Monticello draftee Scott Iano came to the plate and hit a two-run single to give the Bulldogs a boost. Vega was caught between second and third on the play for the final out of the inning. The score was 9-3.

Luverne added another run in the eighth inning and the 10-3 score held until the end. Cox said it was difficult to come back from such a huge early deficit.

Euerle, who has been battling a cracked rib, finished out the game for the Bulldogs. Luverne scored its 10 runs on 13 hits, while Buffalo scored three runs on seven hits and two Redbirds’ errors.

Luverne was led by Phil Paquette, who was 5-for-5 with a double, triple, RBI, stolen base, and three runs scored. No Buffalo batters had more than one hit.

Cox said the majority of the Buffalo lineup is expected to be back next season in hopes of making a return trip to state with a full roster. This year, the team had to overcome injuries to Euerle and Jake Duske, and lost pitcher Corey Braun early in the season after he transferred to Monticello.

Howard Lake also qualified for the Class C State Tournament and won its first game over Wilmont by a score of 13-0 in seven innings. Howard Lake scored early and often with its 13 runs coming on 13 hits and five Wilmont errors.

Davis Joans, a draftee from Cold Spring, hit a triple and later a three-run homer for the Orphans. He also single, stole second, and scored on a single by Tim Sonnek. Ben Borrell also hit a two-run homer to make the score 11-0.

Howard Lake will take on New Ulm in the second round at 11 a.m. Saturday in Bird Island. The winner will play again at the same site at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Loretto is also competing in the Class C tournament and defeated New Prague 3-2 in the opening round on Saturday. The Larks scored two runs in the very first inning and New Prague tied the game with two runs in the seventh. The game went into the 10th inning when Loretto’s Joe Althoff singled in the game winner. Adam Gregg earned the victory on the mound.

Loretto will take on Ada in the second round at 6 p.m. Friday at Bird Island. The winner will play again at 11 a.m. on Sunday in Willmar.

Winsted began play in the Class B State Tournament on Sunday and lost an 11-5 game to Burnsville to end the season. Burnsville took a 7-5 lead in the seventh inning, then added four runs in the top of the ninth to clinch the victory. It was an error-filled game with Winsted committing five errors and Burnsville adding four of its own.

The 2010 Buffalo volleyball team will look very similar to last year’s squad as seven starters return to the court. And while former head coach Laurie Zumach has left to spend more time with her family, her replacement is no stranger to the Bison either.

Michelle Macalena has taken over the head coaching duties this season and will be in her sixth year with the Buffalo program. She served as the assistant coach under Zumach for the past two seasons, and coached the ninth grade team for three seasons before that.

Macalena has also coached various levels of Junior Olympic Volleyball for the past 10 years, and is a former high school volleyball and softball player from Annandale High School (Class of 2001).

Macalena, who teaches math at Buffalo High School, retains the majority of the same coaching staff as last season. Rebecca Karna is the varsity assistant, Katie Rhodes is the junior varsity coach, Rachel Kunde (a 2006 BHS graduate) will coach the B-Squad, and Brig Bergquist and Heather Kwoka will lead the ninth graders.

For Macalena, this is her first head coaching job at the varsity level and things are going well.

“It is what I expected, but then more,” she said. “It is helping having the staff that I’ve worked with before.”

Also helping is the slew of returning players and team chemistry that they bring to the court.

Senior Sophie Stangl is a returning middle, senior Brooke Gagnon returns as the team’s libero, and senior Lindsay Jacobs returns to the right side. Junior Alexa Thielman is back as an outside hitter, junior Jill Wackler returns as a middle, and junior Shanlee Braun is back on the court as a defensive specialist. Also returning is freshman Kylee Zumach, who is an outside hitter.

Macalena said she is excited about the team’s chances this fall, but added that all the teams in the Mississippi 8 Conference are difficult — including last year’s champion St. Michael-Albertville.

“We hope to be contenders in the Mississippi 8 Conference,” she said. “A lot are clustered together.”

Buffalo competes in Section 2AAA in volleyball, which is arguably one of the toughest sections in the state. Top teams include Chaska, Shakopee, Prior Lake, and Eden Prairie.

Others on the varsity roster this fall include senior setter Abby Bollum, junior right side hitter Jamie High, and seniors Jessica Demeules and Alizabeth Schneider.

Buffalo will begin its regular season on Tuesday, Aug. 31, at St. Cloud Tech, but will take part in a series of scrimmages first. On Tuesday, the girls hosted a scrimmage with Irondale, Maple Grove, and Annandale. On Friday, they will travel to Rogers to take on the host team, Elk River, and Zimmerman.

Macalena said that right now, the Bison are focusing on ball control and serving. Their biggest obstacle is selecting a starting setter.

“We have a real hard-working group of girls that want to get better,” she said, adding that most of them also put in time during the off-season.

Buffalo’s first home match won’t be until Monday, Sept. 13, when they take on White Bear Lake at 7 p.m.

The season has yet to begin for the Buffalo girls soccer team, but things are looking good. The Bison had just one senior on the team last year and will return all of its starters to the roster this fall. But Head Coach Steve Doimer, who is in his second year with the team, said that even the newcomers are packed with talent.

This year’s senior captains are Rachel Mussell, Olivia Haggerty, and Calli Durst. Mussell is moving into goal this season after playing in the midfield for several years. Haggerty will likely remain at midfield, and Durst is strong on defense.

Other returning players back this fall include Shana Roberts, Maddie Aguirre, Courtney Daniels, Beth Leipoltz, Abby Larson, Erika Doimer, Amanda Munsterteiger, Sarah Spande, and Katie Halvorson.

One of Buffalo’s top players from last season, senior Rebekah Bjork, tore her ACL in the off-season and will not be able to play this year. She will remain with the team as a manager. Sophomore Zoe Kunz also suffered the same injury and will also help the team out as a manager this fall.

In addition to the returning players are newcomers Whitney Anderson, Abigail Nowak, Sabrina Dahl, Katie Rooney, Alesha Spande, and Amanda Krcma. Jordan Skarin is also on the roster this fall. She was moved up from the JV team during the section tournament last season.

“We have the same group of kids, the question is did they get any better over the summer?” he said. “A year older doesn’t always mean a year better.”

The Bison will be tested early on as their first four non-conference matches include three state qualifiers from 2009 — Elk River, Eagan and Wayzata. Wayzata was the 2009 State Champion in Class AA, and Eagan finished third.

“Those teams came calling,” Doimer said. “They need decent non-conference games too and I’m guessing that other programs viewed us as good competition.”

Doimer said the strong competition early will be a good test for the Bison as it will allow Buffalo to see the kind of speed that the state’s top teams have.

“I really think it is a massive benefit for us to play those teams,” he said. “We really made the schedule a lot tougher and, I hope, a lot more fun.”

Other non-conference games include opponents like Robbinsdale Armstrong, Maple Grove, and St. Cloud Apollo. Buffalo also has a big matchup against section foe St. Cloud Tech on Saturday, Sept. 11. The game will be played at Husky Stadium at St. Cloud State University with the junior varsity teams playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity game following at 7 p.m.

Doimer said it will be a good opportunity for the girls to play on a turf field before the section tournament. The Bison also have five home games scheduled this year that will begin with the JV playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity following at 7 p.m.

“It will be a good opportunity for the junior varsity families to stick around and watch a varsity game,” Doimer said.

Rogers is the early favorite in the Mississippi 8 Conference after claiming the title a year ago. Doimer said he hopes to be in the running for the title right along with them, and added that Monticello will also be tough in M8 play. The Bison have never won a conference title in girls soccer.

Doimer will be assisted by Emily Greeley again this fall, and Sarah Rodenwald returns to coach the JV team. New to the coaching staff is ninth grade coach Carrie Walz, who has previous soccer coaching and playing experience.

As a whole, Doimer is excited about the opportunities his veteran squad has this fall.

Buffalo will open the season on Thursday, Aug. 26, with a home game against Elk River beginning at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the team heads to St. Cloud Apollo for a noon start, and on Monday the team will host Eagan at 3 p.m.

The turnout was better than most had even hoped for. At last Thursday’s first annual Jon Kramnic Alumni Classic, hundreds of people came out and showed their support for the Kramnic family and the Buffalo Soccer Club.

Jon Kramnic was killed in a car accident last November during his senior year of high school. He loved the game of soccer, so it was only fitting that the annual boys alumni game be renamed in his memory.

“It amazes me, it really does — just how many lives J.J. touched,” said Kramnic’s father, Jon Kramnic Sr. “The support from the community is awesome.”

The Buffalo Boys Soccer Program and soccer parents helped put the event together and Kramnic couldn’t have been happier. The event included a pork chop dinner, silent auction, games for the kids, and raffle drawings throughout the night.

Kramnic said he has remained in touch with his son’s core group of friends through Facebook. While many are going away to college this year, he hopes to maintain contact with them through the annual alumni game.

“It’s happy and sad at the same time,” he said. “It’s fun to see them again playing soccer.”

Buffalo Boys Soccer Coach Jeff Lindstrom said the event raised more than $4,000, which will go into the Jon Kramnic Scholarship Fund.

“It was just nice to honor his memory and his love for the game,” Lindstrom said. “It couldn’t have turned out better.”

The skies remained overcast throughout the game and threatened to rain on the parade. Jon was always a bit of a jokester and kept everyone laughing.

“With my son, I’m sure he’d like to have it rain a bit just to mess with us,” Kramnic added.

Jon will never be forgotten by his friends and family and the case against the man charged in his death has not yet been settled. Todd Lifto, age 44, was charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. He was arrested in 2005 and again in September 2009 on suspicion of drunken driving. Last November, Lifto’s pick-up was speeding in the wrong lane of traffic without its headlights on when it hit Kramnic’s car head-on.

The accident occurred on Co. Rd. 35 in St. Michael. Lifto’s blood alcohol level was 0.27 percent — more than three times the legal limit to drive.

“You never forget and it’s kind of a bitter sweet day because we were at court this morning,” Kramnic Sr. said last Thursday.

Kramnic Sr. said Lifto’s lawyer wants to take the case to trial and a date has been set for December 13. The family wishes it was all over.

Not very long ago, Buffalo’s Jackson Piechowski was a prime example of what has become common among American teenagers. He loved his video games, and he didn’t get very much exercise. He was a little overweight, and didn’t particularly care.

Jackson, who will be a freshman at Buffalo High School this fall, has turned his life around in a mere 18 months. The before and after pictures are astounding.

Somewhat out-of-the-blue, Jackson decided to take part in the 2009 Buffalo Triathlon. The Piechowski family, which has lived in Buffalo for years, was always away during triathlon weekend and never even knew the event existed. Then in 2008, they happened to be home and ran into it by chance.

Todd Piechowski, Jackson’s dad, found out that one of his friends competed in the event every year. In 2009, he decided to give it a try. Jackson came along too. He finished the short course in a time of 2:15:56 and was hooked. In 2010, Jackson ran the same event 45-minutes faster and finished in 1:24:54. He has lost about 50 pounds in the past 18 months and is taking his training seriously. He wants to get better with every competition, and for the most part he has.

“I like just getting better every time and having it laid out in black and white,” he said, referring to his times for the swim, bike and run.

Jackson, age 14, has now been in eight triathlons, and joined his parents (Todd and Jill) in the 65-mile Ironman Bike Ride in April. He joined the swim team last winter to improve in that portion of the event, and switched from baseball to track in the spring. He also plays football for the Bison in the fall, and is in the marching band in the summer (percussion).

“The triathlons are my favorite because I have a close group of friends and it’s fun getting better every time,” he said.

This year, in addition to the Buffalo Triathlon in June, Jackson won his age group (and placed second overall) at the Lifetime Fitness Kids Marathon in July. There, he met three-time Olympic triathalete Hunter Kemper.

The Olympic triathlon team has a series of seven developmental races every year and Jackson competed in three of them this year. One was held in White Bear Lake, another in Des Moines, Iowa, and the third was in Colorado.

Jackson has also joined the Minnesota Junior Elite Team, which is the only cooperatively-sponsored youth triathlon team in Minnesota. Jackson had to tryout for the team, and practiced with the MJET group (for kids ages 9-15) every Wednesday throughout the triathlon season, which has now ended.

Jackson also practices with the Buffalo Triathlon Club whenever he can. On Monday nights they swim, Tuesdays they run, and on Thursdays they bike. This summer, he often rode his bike to the middle school to swim in the morning, then headed over to the high school to take part in a weight training class. He biked the six-mile stretch back home, and often trained with the Buffalo group in the evening.

“Biking is my favorite because it’s fast and fun,” he said. “I bike pretty much everywhere.”

Jackson said he is still getting better and better and added that the running portion is his weakness. The family lives on Lake Abby and he often runs the 4-5 mile loop around the lake for practice. Todd continues to compete in triathlons and has lost about 80 pounds in the past year. Jill did the Buffalo Triathlon for the first time this summer and said the activity has been wonderful for her family.

“Weight issues are something that has been and will be an issue with our family,” Jill said.

“I thought it would be a long time before he ever passed me on a bike,” Todd said.

“I’m having a blast working with him,” he said. “I know he likes kicking me on the bike.”

Jackson said that two of his friends, Sam and Michael, will be competing in the Buffalo Triathlon with him next summer. He is considering moving up to the Olympic Course next year, but hasn’t decided just yet.

“The thing that everybody is the least prepared for is the swim, otherwise most people can hammer out a bike and a run,” he said.

“He still gets plenty of video game time, but it’s all in balance,” Todd said.