Section 7A Basketball Preview

Section 7A Basketball Preview

Girls Basketball

Albrook Falcons

The AlBrook Falcons open the 2009-2010 basketball season under new head coach Stacie Marsolek. Marsolek will inherit a solid core of experienced players, which should make the transition a lot easier this year.

The Falcons were 7-14 last season; they were 5-4 in St. Louis County Conference action, finishing in fourth overall in conference play. The Falcons play a mix of different competition with several games against Polar League teams.

Abigail Otis will lead the Falcons, who have a solid balance of players that should contribute this year. Ariel Morris, Brittney Westgard, and Kylene Fremling are the seniors guiding this year’s squad, Brittney DeBock a junior and Kourtney Karppinen a sophomore should give more offensive punch to the Falcon lineup.

Carlton Bulldogs

The Carlton Bulldogs start a new era in Carlton basketball when for the first time in several seasons Dave Battaglia is not at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs. First year head coach Lisa Johnson will take over the Bulldogs this season. Johnson will have Samantha Battaglia as her assistant this season.

Johnson told Northland Sports Online that “After losing five experienced seniors from last year, this year’s focus will be to get the players to play together and understand the tempo of a varsity game.” “Getting on the boards offensively and defensively will play a big role in our success along with playing good defense.” Johnson added.

Senior starters are post player Katie Bloom, Hallie Raisanen and guard Sarah Aili. After that it will be wide open for playing time and the other starting spots in the line-up. Replacing five players from a solid team last season will be the biggest factor in Carlton success.

Wrenshall Wrens

Gone is Andrea Gould, a long time figure inside and out player for the Wrens. Gould, an All-State player for the Wrens missed part of last season and without her the team success fell dramatically. Mary Grover last season’s Head Coach is also gone as Mary Blanchard now is the new head coach.

Wrenshall will have the youngest team in the Northland, as they will feature only one senior on their roster, Gabrielle Peterson, three sophomores, three freshman and an eighth grader, with only Maria Burcar seeing any playing time last season. Look for this to be a growing and learning year for the Wrens.

Boys Basketball

AlBrook Falcons

The AlBrook Falcons could only muster 5 wins last season, but this year’s team should see a dramatic improvement on that total. Head Coach Damien Paulson has a solid core of returning players from last year including senior Kolten Karppinen. Cody Anderson, Josh Johnson, Jon Bolme, Damondtaye Gaines, Joey Haag, Nick Hayes, Pater Martin, and Nick Hayes make up the senior core on this heavily experienced team.

Junior Bryce Karppinen should be a factor as well for the Falcons. If AlBrook can cut down on mistakes and play team basketball, the Falcons could make a deep run into the playoffs come sectional time.

Carlton Bulldogs

Carl Grussendorf, entering his second season as head coach of the Bulldogs is seeking to improve on last year’s record of 4-13. Grussendorf’s first season saw him take a program with little or no experience and form a group into a team.

“We look to be improved this year with a lot of varsity experience coming back. “ Grussendorf told Northland Sports Online. Returning players include Allan Davis, Jasper Youngren, Jake Adams, and Mat Lund. “We have a very hard working group of boys in grades 9-12 that will be fighting for time at the varsity level.” Coach Grussendorf added. With the experience and work ethic this group of kids has it should make Carlton a tough team to beat.

Wrenshall Wrens

Joel Swanson returns as the head coach for a strong Wrenshall team, which returns a strong group of experienced players. Gone is John Moder and Jordan Berglund, but the Wrens having a lot of players that ready to step into the Wrenshall lineup.

Tyler Swanson, Bryce Schmidt, David Connor, Aaron Gustafson, and Anders Lund round out a solid core of seniors for the Wrenshall Wrens. Juniors Brett Johnson and Zach Moder should also contribute this season.

Wrenshall finished last season 14-10 overall and was 6-10 in the Polar League. T he Wrens should be a solid contender again this season for the section crown. Last season the Wrens advanced all the way to the Section Semi-Finals before bowing out to Chisholm.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at Dwight@northlandsportsonline.com