A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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On a cool Friday night at Carlton's Jim Erickson Field, two longtime rivals came onto the field as one team for the first game of the season as the Carlton-Wrenshall Raptors edged the South Ridge Panthers 7-6. "These two schools have competed against one another for decades and tonight - to see these two schools and two groups of kids come together for one reason - it's truly amazing," co-head coach Jason Crane said. Two communities also came together to support the new program. "No longer is...
Although it isn't an official meet, the annual races at Chub Lake mark the start of cross-country for area teams, who converge on the park in their favorite running clothes (or just their shorts) for a scenic run with teammates and future competitors. Cloquet senior Jordan Allen dominated the preseason meet last Thursday, Aug. 22, coming in at least 40 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. Cloquet junior Benjamin Bauer also finished in the top 10, taking sixth place, while a large group of...
The Cloquet American Legion baseball team went 1-2 in the District 10 tournament last week, after opening with a 7-2 victory over Hibbing. Cloquet was the host site this year, with Wade Stadium in Duluth as the secondary site for a District 10 tournament that included Cloquet, Hibbing, West Duluth, Thunder Bay, Hermantown, Grand Rapids, Nisswa, and Duluth Lakeview. Tim Pokornowski pitched a complete game 5-hitter for the Cloquet win in the opening round of the tournament Wednesday, July 24....
The Cloquet VFW baseball team finished its regular season Tuesday with a disappointing loss to Proctor, but second-year coach Greg Thompson said the young team has continued to improve. "We wanted to improve from last season and we did just that - finishing the regular season with a 6-14 record," Thompson said. The team split a doubleheader with West Duluth Monday. Joe Baker pitched the team to an 11-7 win in the first game, but the Cloquet team dropped the second game by a score of 7-3....
Hermantown's Taylor Sundbom won his third Cloquet Country Club Invitational Sunday, coming from three strokes off the lead to tie Matt Mellin of Duluth and force extra holes. With both players tied at 216 after three days of play, Sundbom birdied the first playoff hole to capture his third title in the past five years. Sundbom entered the final day trailing Mellin but quickly tied him on the fifth hole with a birdie while Mellin parred. It came after Sundbom parred the first hole while Mellin...
With summer in full swing and the Fourth of July in our rearview mirror, the Cloquet Legion baseball team is preparing for a district tournament right around the corner. "We are a very young team," fourth-year head coach Bruce Baker said. "Our roster features only three seniors from the Lumberjack roster this season and one player, Tim Pokornowski, who graduated in 2018 from Cloquet." Pokornowski - the former Cloquet three-sport standout and now a UMD football and baseball player - is a welcome...
The spring sports season wrapped up with what has become a fan and player favorite for all - the Polar League All Star baseball and softball games. Things kicked off Friday at Wade Stadium in West Duluth with the boys taking the spotlight first, facing off as the Polar Blue All Stars vs. the Polar Silver All Stars. From Carlton County, the Blue All Stars featured James LeGarde of Esko, Ryan Gray and Tanner Anderson of the Carlton Bulldogs, Mason Lane of the South Ridge Panthers, and Wyatt...
Entering the Class A State Baseball Tournament, the South Ridge Panthers were hoping experience would pay off at their second-straight appearance, but South Ridge fell twice last Thursday and Friday. The Panthers opened up play Thursday afternoon at the Mini Met Stadium in Jordan facing No. 2 New York Mills. The Panthers scored the game’s first run — and what turned out to be their only run of the game — in the top of the second inning when Riley Kinsley scored on an infield single off the b...
The South Ridge Panthers were rolling on a hot streak when they entered the girls state softball tournament last week at Caswell Park in North Mankato, with Malania Madill throwing 33 scoreless innings throughout the section tournament. The Panthers were hoping for the success to continue into the state softball tournament. The Panthers looked like they might have had that same good luck entering the state tournament, as they opened up the game against New York Mills by jumping out to a 1-0 lead...
The Esko Eskomos made their fourth consecutive appearance at the Class AA girls state softball tournament last Thursday in North Mankato, but this one was somewhat different than the previous three appearances as the Eskomos were not the section favorite to make it back to State. In fact, Esko was not even in the discussions to be in the section hunt after losing four seniors from a season ago, but then they proved everyone wrong by winning their way back to the state tournament. Hopes were...
Playing in their seventh section 7AA playoff game last Thursday in Proctor, the Esko Eskomos knew it was an uphill battle facing Duluth Marshall. They were right. The two-time defending section champion proved to be too much for Esko to overcome as the Hilltoppers defeated Esko 9-0 to capture a third consecutive section title. Senior Brent Benson threw a complete game against Esko, giving up only five hits, as his teammates pounded out 11 hits, aided by four Eskomos errors in the nine-run victor...
For a season threatened by no head softball coach until a few days before the start of spring practice, having Roger Plachta appears to have been the perfect choice. The former University of Wisconsin- Superior softball coach and his players surprised everyone in the 7A playoffs. First they defeated favored Carlton, then they knocked off Cherry 1-0 in Thursday's Section 7A championship game at Braun Park in Cloquet. Plachta and the Panthers head to North Mankato this week to play in the school's...
Keegan Poppenberg may have not been the favorite to win the section title heading into the section meet at Giants Ridge last week, but the senior certainly showed his leadership skills, winning the section title with a two-day total of 148 for the two-day event. Poppenberg's 4-over-par was five strokes better than that of his Lumberjack teammate Anthony McKay, who finished with a 9-over-par score of 153. Golf coaches Jon Horbacz and Matt Carlson are optimistic about the state competition. "The...
Lumberjack senior Keegan Poppenberg led all golfers after the first round of the section 7AA boys golf tournament Tuesday at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. Poppenberg shot an even par 70 to finish atop the standings in the first round of the two-day section tournament. Poppenberg's round of 72 edged Lumberjack teammate Anthony McKay, who finished second with a round of 77. Keegan finished with three birdies and three bogeys on the day with the even par round. With the top two spots secured by...
The Eskomos boys track team captured the 2019 Polar League Track and Field Championship crown last week in Esko while the girls team took a close second to Two Harbors. The Esko boys finished ahead of Two Harbors with a team total of 145.5 points while the Agates ended with 88 points, one point ahead of the third-place Moose Lake-Willow River Rebels. Barnum took fourth place for the boys teams. Esko’s Sam Rengo was a two-event winner on the boys side, capturing the 800-meter race with a time o...
The Lumberjacks boys golf team dominated play at their home meet last week, with the team coming in 34 points ahead of the next-closest team and Sam Baker winning the individual play. The Cloquet-Esko boys actually won two meets this past week: the Lake Superior Conference meet May 8 in Cloquet and the Northern Invite at Giants Ridge Friday and Saturday, May 10-11. In the two-day Northern Invite event, the Lumberjacks posted a team score of 630 — 29 shots ahead of Woodbury, who finished in s...
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls golf team has not participated in many meets this spring but they are growing into the game, now that the weather is cooperating. Last week the Lady ’Jacks competed in the Lake Superior Conference meet in Cloquet. While only Hermantown and CEC had enough participants on the girls’ side, head coach Matt Carlson said it was a great learning experience. “We have 15 girls out for this year’s team, which is the most it has been in years,” Carlson said. “We are very yo...
The Esko Eskomos boys baseball team improved to 9-2 on the season Tuesday afternoon after defeating the Barnum Bombers by a score of 17-2 in a Polar League conference matchup. Esko scored 17 runs on 10 hits and were also aided by 10 walks given up by the Barnum pitching staff. Esko scored five runs in the first inning, added five more in the second, two in the third, and again scored five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to 10-run the Bombers in 5 innings. Barnum had only four hits...
Early in April it looked like Mother Nature was going to provide the kind of spring we have not seen for a while, where Northland sports teams could play a full and normal schedule. As we all know, Mother Nature didn't cooperate with the hopes of local sports teams - the Cloquet baseball team has been no exception. With seven games either postponed or canceled thus far this season, the Lumberjacks were able to get in two games without canceling or rescheduling. Last Friday the 'Jacks were at...
The Cloquet boys golf team finally got to play in its first meet of the season last weekend and played very well - with a top-three individual finisher and a fourth-place team finish - despite a lack of practice time due to poor weather. The Lumberjacks team finished fourth out of 18 teams overall in the two-day Grand Slam Invitational, which was played at Pokegama Golf Course in Grand Rapids Friday, April 26, and at Eagles Ridge Golf Course in Coleraine Saturday, April 27. Moorhead won the...
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys tennis team dropped an early season match with Duluth East Tuesday afternoon 7-0 at Cloquet High School. The Greyhounds, a dominant local power on the tennis circuit, proved their worth as they swept the Lumberjacks, handing them their second loss of the season. The Lumberjacks fell to Cambridge-Isanti in their first meet of the season before defeating Superior 6-1 at home. "It's been a tough early season," said head coach Derek Johnson, explaining that it's tough t...
Carlton pitcher Kaden Crane threw a one-hitter Tuesday afternoon as the Bulldogs defeated Polar League rival McGregor 11-1 at Chub Lake Park in Carlton. Crane allowed only one hit while striking out 11 batters, and allowing only one run — an unearned run by McGregor — in the victory. The 11-1 win was the first victory of the season as the Bulldogs now improve to 1-3 on the season. The Bulldogs lost their first three games of the season to Northwoods, South Ridge and, last Thursday, to Moose Lake...
The Cloquet-Esko boys and girls golf teams are ready to hit the links for the upcoming 2019 high school season. Fresh off a fourth-place finish a year ago at the Boys Class AA state golf tournament, the Lumberjack boys team is seeking to repeat as section champions and look toward another state tournament berth. Now recognized as one of the top teams in the state, the Lumberjacks have been invited to several top invitational tournaments across the state of Minnesota. Leading the way for the Lumb...
As winter turns into spring and local high schools attempt to make the transition to spring sports, several local baseball teams are looking for the success they had from a season ago. Class A South Ridge: The South Ridge Panthers are coming off their best season in school history as they finished fourth in the Class A state baseball tournament, losing to Parkers Prairie in the third place game in Chaska. The Panthers lost key senior Nick Carlson to graduation, but return seven starters from...
The Esko boys baseball team didn't let a lack of experience get in the way, as they started their season Monday by beating defending section 7A champion South Ridge by a score of 9-4. "We had many new faces on this year's team and we don't have a lot of returning experience," said Eskomos head baseball coach Ben Haugen. The teams played at the artificial turf field in Superior before inclement weather was predicted to hit the Northland this week, because both sides wanted to make sure the...
