DAY 2: PAYTON OTTERDAHL JOINS DAKOTAH LINDWURM AS MINNESOTA’S FIRST 2024 TRACK AND FIELD SUMMER OLYMPIANS; AND THE GOLDEN BEARS ARE WELL REPRESENTED

June 23, 2024 The 4th shot put throw by Rosemount athlete Payton Otterdahl edged him into 3rd place in the Olympic Track & Field Trials finals, and a 5th throw of 73 ft and ½ inch (22.26 meters) secured his return to a spot on the US Olympic team behind Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs. 

KIARA BUFORD: BASKETBALL PLAYER AND COACH PASSIONATE ABOUT WINNING

June 12, 2024 One of only two women in Minnesota high school basketball history to be both a player and a coach of a championship team is evidence alone that Kiara Buford, born in 1989, is passionate about winning.  A star player on the St. Paul Central girls’ basketball teams that appeared in four consecutive

KATHYRN MILES JOHNSON: FIND THE BEST FIT

May 9, 2024 “I always had an interest in sports, which is a bit odd because no one else in my family did,” Kathryn Miles Johnson says of lifetime participation in sports.  Born in Nova Scotia in 1978, Kathryn, her sister, Elizabeth, and parents Ken and Pat made a transcontinental move to Surrey, British Columbia,

CRAIG SARNER: 1972 OLYMPICS WERE ALL A HIGHLIGHT TO HOCKEY SILVER MEDALIST

January 16, 2024 “It was heaven back then,” says Craig Sarner describing his play outdoors as a child.  “You’d leave the house at eight o’clock and come back at five o’ clock.  The neighborhood had a lot of kids, and we would form teams. It was a magical time.”  Born in St. Paul in 1949,

Minnesota Athletes Vital to Growth and Success in Nordic Skiing

January 12, 2024 While the lack of snow has curtailed cross country skiing in Minnesota this winter, the World Cup championship races in Europe have a strong dose of Minnesota participation and history.  Jessie Diggins continues to amaze; the 5’ 4” Afton, Minnesota athlete has a significant lead in the standings for 2023-24.  It follows

JOHN LONG: TWO-TIME BADGER CROSS COUNTRY CAPTAIN NOW OWNS RUNNING STORE STARTED BY STEVE HOAG

February 26, 2022   Genetics may have a lot to do with the running success of John Long, but it was a BMX accident that got him started in the sport.  The son of an Irish immigrant who won the 1957 Guinness Mile in a time of 4:04 against a stacked field, John was born

2024 Qualifiers for the US Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials with Minnesota Connections

January 3, 2024 To run in the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials men’s division in Orlando, Florida on February 3rd, a time of 2:18:00 (or 1:03 in the half-marathon) or faster must have been recorded in the past two years (one year for the half-marathon) in a certified race.  A total of 227 men have

DIANE SCOVILL: DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE ON THE VOLLEYBALL TEAM?

May 4, 2022 A recipient of a Special Merit Award at the 2017 Minnesota Girls and Women in Sport Day, Diane Scovill has been a longtime physical education and health educator at Minneapolis Community and Technical College who has witnessed and promoted the explosive growth in women’s sports. Born in 1955, Diane is the youngest

DECEMBER SPOTLIGHT ON MINNESOTA RUNNERS

December 18, 2023 Major running competitions are still happening in December and Minnesota runners are continuing their strong tradition by performing well.  In the National Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida, the Minnesota Distance Elite team was runner-up to the San Diego Track Club.  Two members of the team are Minnesota natives:  Joel Reichow

JOHN MAYASICH, DICK MEREDITH, AND JACK MCCARTAN: 1960 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS AND OTHER HOCKEY LEGENDS

December 7, 2023 It was a Who’s Who gathering of hockey players at Olympic Hills Golf Club on Wednesday, December 6, 2023.  Stanley Cup rings adorned the hands of Ed Thomlinson, a scout for the New Jersey Devils during their three championship years.  Ed and University of North Dakota teammate Art Miller—also present—were members of

DANNY DOCHERTY: PEOPLE FROM OTHER STATES RECOGNIZE MINNESOTA’S INCREDIBLE RUNNING COMMUNITY

July 11, 2023 The second oldest of four children from a running-oriented St. Paul family, Danny Docherty, born in 1989, says, “It’s fun seeing what you can do.  You learn over time the specifics of training.  I am trying to continue to evolve my career as an athlete and now more as a coach.”  While

SAM STEIDL: SMALLER TOWN MINNESOTA KID WHO LOVES EVERYTHING MINNESOTA HAS TO OFFER HAD CAREER .363 BATTING AVERAGE FOR GOPHERS

May 23, 2023 Only half-jokingly, Sam Steidl warns his four young children that if they want any financial aid for their college education, their chances to receive it are better if they attend the University of Minnesota (U of MN) and cheer for the Gopher athletic teams.  Sam’s father, uncles, and cousins attended the U

DAVE METZEN: A CONVERSATION WITH A SOUTH ST. PAUL ATHLETE AND EDUCATOR

March 15, 2023 “Be careful what you write,” are the light-hearted parting words of a chuckling Dave Metzen following a 90-minute conversation.  Dave has both a storied career in athletics, educational leadership, and community service and a potential career in storytelling.  An All-Conference tackle in football who found greater success in hockey, Dave spent his

TOM SEDERQUIST: PUSHING LIMITS—WITH NO GUTS?!?!

March 7, 2023 A gung-ho runner with a penchant for adventure sports, Tom Sederquist oozes energy.  Now an analyst for Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth and distance coach at UW Superior, Tom does it all—literally—with no guts. The oldest of three sons of Dave and Jane Remark Sederquist, the family moved to Moorhead, Minnesota (located on

SPRING SPORTS: THE VERSATILITY OF BART AND BRAD BUETOW AND CHRIS PAULOS

Twins Bart and Brad Buetow of Mounds View, Minnesota, were not only three-sport stars in high school, but also competed in three sports at the University of Minnesota (U of M) too. They arrived on the Twin Cities campus with hockey scholarships—their high school team lost 4-3 in overtime to the Mike Antonovich-led Greenway of