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Local athletes marched to the awards podium to collect state track and field medals. Burnsville ended a 13-year state tournament drought in volleyball. Eagan football had its first winning season in 11 years. Adapted sports programs were among the state’s most successful. But the increasing number of co-op teams is potentially foreboding.

Following is a glance at 10 sports highlights from 2022:

Track talents

Local athletes racked up points at the state Class 3A track and field meet, including Burnsville senior Zoie Dundon, who won the girls 800 meters for the second consecutive year. Dundon, now competing at the University of Minnesota, won the 800 final by more than three seconds. Eagan won the first girls track event (the 4x800 relay) of the Class 3A finals as well as the last (the 4x400 relay). Kyra Kusnierek, Ava Ligtenberg, Norah Sjerven and Rina Aschemann won the 4x800 by more than eight seconds and Josie Seehafer, Ligtenberg, Keira Waldrop and Aschemann took first in the 4x400. Two Apple Valley athletes took second at state – Dwyne Smith Jr. in the 400 and Abdikafi Khalif in the 800,

Back on the map

After a decade of struggles, Eagan’s football team finished 5-4 for the program’s first winning season since 2011. A 23-21 victory at Shakopee in the final regular season game assured the Wildcats of a winning record. Defensive lineman Keenan Wilson, running back Landon Tonsager and quarterbacks Carson Schwamb and Brooklyn Evans helped fourth-year head coach Nick Johnson restore respectability to the football program.

Blaze spikers reach state

Also returning to prominence was the Burnsville volleyball team, which played in the state tournament for the first time in 13 years. The Blaze finished 19-13 and defeated Minneapolis Southwest in straight sets in the Class 3A, Section 6 championship match. Coach Josh Wastvedt said the goal now is to make state tournament trips a regular occurrence, and emerging star Mesaiya Bettis, who led the Blaze in kills as a sophomore, will try to help make that happen.

Eagan’s Li takes third

Eagan ninth-grader Cassandra Li is one of the state’s up-and-coming players in girls tennis. Already ranked first in her age group in the U.S. Tennis Association Northern Section, Li showed she could more than hold her own against older players. She finished 32-1 in the 2022 season and was third in the state tournament, with the only loss to eventual Class AA singles champion Sarah Shahbaz in the state semifinals. All of Li’s victories were in straight sets. The Class AA singles finalists were seniors, meaning Li is a good bet to start next season ranked No. 1 in the state.

Adapted teams succeed

Two of the state’s most successful adapted sports programs are in the south metro. Dakota United, a co-op that includes Eagan, Eastview and Apple Valley high schools, won PI Division state championships in floor hockey, softball and soccer in 2022. The Burnsville-Farmington-Lakeville co-op, known as the Blazing Cats, were CI Division champions in softball and soccer and took second in floor hockey. The Blazing Cats are back-to-back CI Division champs in soccer, defeating Dakota United in the championship game both years.

Girls wrestlers in the spotlight

Girls brackets were incorporated into the state wrestling tournament for the first time in 2022. Twelve girls won weight-class championships, including sophomores Grace Alagbo of Apple Valley and Riley Myers of Eastview. Myers won the 138-pound state championship and Alagbo was first at 145. Both are juniors this season and will have the opportunity to defend their championships. Elsie Olson of Eastview and Hanah Schuster of Apple Valley also reached the state semifinals and earned medals.

Scoring machine

Eastview senior Asher Ozuzu made a promise to himself to get the most he could out of his final high school soccer season, and he delivered. Ozuzu led the state with 39 goals, breaking the previous school record by 11, and won the Class 3A Mr. Soccer award. He led Eastview to second place in the South Suburban Conference. He sprained his ankle early in the Class 3A, Section 3 championship game against Rosemount, despite limping noticeably scored the Lightning’s goal in a 2-1 loss.

Familiar faces

Apple Valley qualified for the state wrestling team tournament 35 consecutive years from 1983 through 2017, with the Eagles winning 25 championships in that period. They did not reach state as a team from 2018 through 2020 but returned in 2021 after defeating Farmington in the Class 3A, Section 2 championship match.

Farewells

Three Eastview High School coaches who led their teams to state championships stepped down in 2022. Jenny Raiche coached Lightning dance teams to 20 jazz and high-kick titles in 20 years at the school. Tom Strey was head baseball coach for 22 years and led Eastview to the 2012 Class 3A championship. Scott Gustafson’s boys soccer teams won the 2012 state Class AA championship and were runners-up in 2011 and 2013. Gustafson has been in the soccer program since 1997, when Eastview opened, and was head coach the last 20 years.

Coming together

Co-op programs are becoming a fact of life for sports facing declining participation. Co-ops formed in 2022 include Eagan and Eastview in girls lacrosse and Apple Valley and Eastview in boys lacrosse. Apple Valley and Burnsville, two boys hockey programs that won state championships in the 1980s and 1990s, also had to join forces this year. One of the state’s most unique co-ops is the Metro-South Phoenix, a girls hockey program that has Burnsville as its host and includes Faribault, Bethlehem Academy, St. Paul Academy, St. Agnes and De La Salle. Burnsville reached the Class AA girls hockey tourney in 2022 playing on its own, but coaches and school officials had been preparing for a co-op future for several years.