Junior Olympics

So far as Junior Olympic spring and summer seasons go, this one was spectacular for the Lake of the Woods volleyball program.
From the pre-12-year-old group all the way up to the 18-and-under team, everyone won. In several cases, the Lady Lakers teams won the top division (gold) in several tournaments.
The Lady Lakers teams numbered five -- one each at the 18, 16 and 14 level and two at the 12-year-old level. The second team of 12s was actually composed of players a couple of years under the age standard.
Past Lake of the Woods players and present day coaches coached the various teams. The 18 team actually had three coaches over the course of the season.
Here, in a very brief summary, are some of the teams’ accomplishments over the course of several weekend tournaments this spring and early summer:
18-and-under
The 18-and-under team won the gold or top division in tournaments at St. Cloud and Thief River Falls, was second at Moorhead, third at Fargo and ninth at Maple Grove. The team won the bronze division at the Star of the North Games at Rochester.
Coaches over the course of the season were Chrissy Draper, Michael Hull and Laurie Bitter.
Team members were
Courtney Bitter
Lindsay Christianson
Courtney Dahl
Ashley Feldman
Ali Hasbargen
Holland Johnson
Cassie Langrehr
Jordan Marken
Brittni Mord
Ashley Nelson
16-and-under
A strong 16-and-under team competed in the gold division in every one of its tournaments. The team won its division at Thief River Falls and finished third five times -- at Fargo, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Maple Grove and Rochester.
Carlie Waibel coached the team.
Team members were
Karlene Brown
Jessie Clark
Jacque Edwards
Kyra Hanson
Billie Rae Henkemeyer
Jessie Marken
Shelby Nosan
Heather Stanton
Katelyn Thompson
14-and-under
The 14-and-under team won tournaments at Virginia, Hibbing and Thief River Falls and was second at St. Cloud and Moorhead.
The team tied for fourth in the Star of the North Games at Rochester.
The team was coached by Lisa Ellis. Team members were
Meghan Fish
Laura Ellis
Brittni Wellen
Emily Miller
Karly Thompson
Tori Feldman
Ally Moeller
Cori Nesmith
Madison Hovde
Anne Christianson,stats
12-and-under Maroon
The older group of players 12 and younger won the gold or top divisions in the first five tournaments in which they competed. Those were at Grand Rapids, Hibbing, St. Cloud, Moorhead and Thief River Falls. At the Star of the North Games at Rochester, the team was third in the silver division.
The team was coached by Chrissy Draper and Courtney Bitter. Team members were
Kylie Armstrong
Jasmine Draper
Kelsey Jonassen
Tate Moeller
Emily Ney
Matti Pelland
Tori Sindelir
Sara Stanton
Harley Stebakken
12-and-under Black
The youngest group of players in the program, most members of this team were well below the 12-year age standard.
The team also had to compete against the other, almost-all-winning, Lady Lakers 12 year team. Despite the obstacles, the team did well in competition.
It finished third and fourth in the gold divisions at tournaments at Thief River Falls and Moorhead. In silver division competition, it was second at Hibbing and fifth at Rochester.
Jim Magnusen coached the team.
Team members were
Bethany Easthouse
Sam Eckland
Nissa Kaminski
Whitney Nelson
Makenzi Pelach
Leah Shaw
Taylor Solo
Stephanie Stavig
Kayla Thompson