Difference Maker Award winner Mark (Dolo) Harris, who voluntarily contributes daily to athletic programs at Patrick Henry, speaks after receiving his
Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune
Difference Maker Award winner Mark (Dolo) Harris, who voluntarily contributes daily to athletic programs at Patrick Henry, speaks after receiving his award at the seventh annual Star Tribune All-Metro Sports Awards celebration event at Target Field on Tuesday night.

Meet the 2024 Difference Maker, who aspires to inspire inner-city athletes

June 25
Mark "Dolo" Harris is a familiar face and voice at Henry, his alma mater, working to improve opportunities in north Minneapolis.
Courage in Competition Award winner Caley Graber of Northfield High School stands onstage with Star Tribune columnist Laura Yuen at the seventh annual

Courage in Competition winner chased history instead of victory

June 25
Northfield's Caley Graber was already a state champ in girls wrestling and was set up to win more. She chose to wrestle in the boys division, where she didn't take state but reached heights never achieved before.
St. Paul Central's Harlow Tong, left, receives the Student First Award from Sports Editor Chris Carr, center, and Jillian Botz of Frandsen Bank & Trus

Academics and athletics ran on parallel paths for Student First winner

June 25
Harlow Tong is headed from St. Paul Central to Harvard for education with a focus on the environment and for more sprinting. "I just want to see how much I can do," he said.
Benilde-St. Margaret's Olivia Olson hefts the Class 3A basketball hardware after the Red Knights won the championship.

She'll stop you. You won't stop her. Meet the Female Athlete of the Year

June 24
Olivia Olson of Benilde-St. Margaret's got national attention, and a state title, with her basketball skills, and she played goalie on a soccer champion,
Chanhassen's Maxwell Woods (3) returns a kickoff for a touchdown in November. He scored 27 touchdowns in 2023.

From August into March, Male Athlete of the Year is unstoppable

June 24
Maxwell Woods led Chanhassen to a football state championship as a running back and defensive back and wasn't far from averaging a triple-double in basketball.
Edina’s Izzy Engle, left, and teammates celebrated a goal, another step toward becoming the All-Metro Sports Award Girls Team of the Year.

Perfection will do when it comes to picking a Girls Team of the Year

June 24
Undefeated Edina girls soccer team made certain it won the state championship that eluded it the last time the stars aligned that way.
The Boys Team of the Year winners, members the Centennial High School football team, including quarterback Daylen Cummings, left, stand with Star Trib

The Boys Team of the Year features heavy hitting and no hype

June 25
Centennial won the Class 6A state championship, opening up the offense just a little but mostly sticking to the blue-collar behavior that suits coach Mike Diggins.
Scott Jackson, who coached Wayzata's volleyball team to its fourth consecutive state title in the fall, is the All-Metro Sports Awards Girls Team Coac

Credentials pile high for Girls Team Coach of the Year

June 24
Scott Jackson's Wayzata volleyball teams have won every big-class state championship available since 2018, and in 2023 the squad went 34-0.
South High School boys basketball coach Joe Hyser, left, speaks with Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III after receiving his Boys Team Coach o

Boys Team Coach of the Year led a rise from the ashes

June 25
Joe Hyser, whose Minneapolis South team lost eight transfers a season prior, coached the 2023-34 Tigers to state for the first time in his long tenure.
The Maple Grove girls basketball team receives the Play of the Year Award at the seventh annual Star Tribune All-Metro Sports Awards celebration at Ta

Two seconds left, two points needed? Time for the Play of the Year.

June 25
Maple Grove won a girls basketball state quarterfinal with "Iowa," involving a sweet screen and a lob pass. It worked, that time.