Abby Labrador
St. Michael-Albertville • golf
Abby Labrador's competitive nature is only elevated by having two older brothers.
"I want to be better than my brothers," Labrador said with a smile. Her brother Christian graduated from St. Michael-Albertville in 2020 while Michael is a senior on the Knights' current squad.
"I just try to do my best when I'm playing," Labrador said. "I don't think about the consequences."
The freshman recently shot a course record 10-under-par 62 to win the Princeton Invitational at the Grand National Golf Club in Hinckley. It was the lowest round ever fired by a Knights player.
"It was an absolute joy to watch her execute and navigate this round," Knights coach Mitch Harmoning said. "She was in command of everything. When she is in a zone, I just let her do her thing."
Labrador's short game is outstanding, and was no different on this day. She had 10 birdies, which included a tap-in on the final hole.
"My swing was good all day," said Labrador, who is ranked fourth in the state by the Minnesota Golf Association. "I wasn't missing greens and my putts were rolling in. I just want to stay in the moment when I'm on the golf course."
Noah Jensen
Minnewaska Area • baseball
Jensen, a senior catcher and pitcher, adds to his program's record book every day. He recently went 4-for-5, including a double and home run, with six RBI in a victory over West Central Area. Jensen later went 4-for-7 with another double and homerun and five RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Benson. Jensen owns the school records in extra base hits (46), homeruns (18)— including grand slams (3), and RBI (84). "Noah has been a cornerstone of our varsity program for four years and is a player any coach dreams about building around," Lakers coach Joe Alexander said. "He has a love and passion for the game of baseball that drives him to get better each day."
Su Meh
St. Paul Johnson • badminton
Meh lived up to her preseason No. 1-ranking. The senior worked overtime to conclude her career as a state champion, outlasting St. Paul Harding's Gaozhia Vue in three sets, 19-21, 21-16, 26-24, in the badminton singles finals. "Su fought hard for her championship," Governors coach Nuhchi Chah said. "She has improved tremendously from her freshmen year." She also helped the Governors finish as runner-up in the team competition. "Su is always eager to learn and get better, and she is not afraid to push herself and her teammates to strive for their best," Chah said.
Cooper Daikawa
Centennial • golf
Daikawa, a junior, had fallen in the state rankings to No. 22. He has since righted the ship. Daikawa recently fired a 5-under-par 68 to win a 13-team Northwest Suburban Conference meet at Logger's Trail Golf Course in Stillwater. "At Logger's Trail everything came together for him," Centennial coach Matt Schugel said. "Cooper hit the ball extremely well and gave himself a lot of good looks at birdie. He took advantage of those looks for birdie and had a good putting day. It was really fun to watch Cooper. I am excited to see what he can do as we head into sections."
Maddie Gullickson
Wayzata• track
One of the state's best distance runners, Gullickson won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs to lead the Trojans to the Class 3A true team state championship. The junior won the 1,600 with a time of 4 minutes, 54.81 seconds and the 3,200 in 10:37.46. "Maddie is a role model for this team, is looked up to by younger athletes, and sets an example of total team effort," Trojans distance coach Kalsey Beach said. "Ultimately, we knew the focus was [the] team and that the true team meet wasn't about running for Maddie but for the team. She showed me her hand where she had written blue and gold for her motivation and inspiration." Gullickson owns the state's fastest times in both events.
Kamren Atteberry
Chaska • lacrosse
Atteberry continues to light up the scoreboard as the Hawks (5-6) continue their quest for more victories. The senior captain is the second-leading scorer in the state with 49 goals and 23 assists for 72 points. So far this season, he has an eight-goal game and three seven-goal performances. The program's all-time leading scorer, Atteberry has 125 goals and 93 assists for 218 points in his career. "Kam is the one all teams strategize on how to contain and he faces many double teams and quick slides to counter his skills," Hawks coach Chris Orcutt said.
Mariah Anderson
United South Central • softball
The junior pitcher is a big reason the unbeaten Rebels (19-0) are ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by the coaches association. She has been the winning pitcher in every game, registering 293 strikeouts in 124 innings of work with a 0.11 ERA. She became the sixth pitcher in state history to eclipse 1,000 career strikeouts earlier this season. Anderson, who is also hitting .597 with 33 runs scored, has belted two walk-off home runs. "She is so humble and a tremendous teammate," Rebels coach Todd Schmidtke said. "It's been incredible to be a part of her career and historic season."
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