RACHEL MILLER
St. Francis/North Branch • hockey
Miller, a junior goalie, plays a lot of hockey — spring and fall leagues, camps, high school. Nothing unusual about that.
What stands out is how well she's played this season. In six games, all victories, Miller has posted four shutouts and a .979 save percentage (188 saves out of 192 shots faced). Even she admits to being amazed by her early success.
"It's my best start to a season ever," she said. "I think I was two or three games in before I was like, 'Wow.' "
Miller stopped all 45 shots she faced in a 2-0 victory over Rogers last week, two days after stopping 32 of 33 shots as the Saints defeated Buffalo 4-1.
The Mississippi 8 Conference goalie of the year last season, she's always been good, but her game has taken a huge step forward this season.
"She's been phenomenal," coach Emilie Brigham said. "She's one of the fiercest competitors I've ever seen."
Ironically, her best save this season came in the one game she looked mortal, a 4-3 victory over Dodge County.
"It was a short breakaway and I did a little butterfly thing and ended up on my butt," she said. "The ref said 'That was one of the best saves I've ever seen.' Sometimes, you even end up surprising yourself."
SY CHATMAN
Cretin-Derham Hall • basketball
When Daniel Oturu went down because of an ankle injury in the first half against Hopkins on Saturday, Chatman, a 6-8 matchup nightmare on the wing, stepped up and led the Raiders with 33 points in an 86-73 victory.
PAXTON CREESE
Shakopee • wrestling
The sophomore is No. 1-ranked at 106 pounds in Class 3A and he showed why in winning his weight class at the Osseo Ken Droegemueller Invite. He won his first two matches by fall and defeated No. 3-ranked Cael Swenson of Wayzata 5-3 in the finals.
MONIKA CZINANO
Watertown-Mayer • basketball
The 6-3 senior post looks ready to step into the leadership role that opened up when two seniors graduated. Czinano scored 36 points on 17-for-24 shooting and grabbed 21 rebounds in a 66-57 victory over Mayer Lutheran.
EMMA GROTHAUS
Mahtomedi • basketball
The Lehigh-bound senior forward scored 32 points to lead the Zephyrs to a 51-36 victory over DeLaSalle on Saturday. Four days earlier, she posted 23 points in a season-opening 77-45 victory over East Ridge.
CADE MUELLER
Waconia • wrestling
The No. 1 wrestler in Class 2A at 160 pounds, Mueller rolled through a loaded bracket at the St. Michael-Albertville Invitational. He beat two ranked Class 3A wrestlers: No. 7 Carl Leuer of the Knights in the semis and No. 2 Tanner Wiese of Forest Lake in the finals.
CALVIN WISHART
Delano • basketball
The senior guard became Delano's career leading scorer during a 68-52 season-opening victory over Waseca. He finished with a triple-double: 32 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.
JIM PAULSEN
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