By Charlie Mahler, KYMN News
In the midst of a historic winter sports season, Northfield High School Activities Director John Mahal visited KYMN In the Morning to celebrate his program’s success as the tournament season hits high gear.
Three Raider squads are in action on Wednesday – either at state or in sectional play.
- The Raider wrestlers grapple No. 3-ranked Shakopee at 4 p.m. at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul in their opening state team tournament match.
- No. 7-ranked Raider boys’ hockey will face off at 7 p. m. against Dodge County in the section 1A finals at the Rochester Rec. Center, hoping to punch their ticket to state, in a game to be broadcast live on KYMN.
- And, the No. 9-ranked Northfield girls’ basketball team opens section play at 7 p.m. on their home floor against Austin.
“I have a problem, I can’t be three places at once,” Mahal quipped. It’s not just a professional problem for him, either: Mahal’s daughter Amber is a member of the Raider basketball team.
Mahal noted that the girls’ hoopsters will likely need to avenge earlier losses to Byron and Stewartville to reach their state tournament.
“It’s a very difficult section,” Mahal acknowledged. “If everything plays out the way it does seed-wise, it looks like we’d probably be at Byron on Saturday and, if we are fortunate enough to get through that, in all likelihood we’re making a trip to Stewartville, and they’re a very talented group.”
Despite the Raider boys hockey team losing their top player to the USA developmental program, the squad – the top seed in the section — is at the doorstep of a state tourney berth.
“They do have some good senior leadership,” Mahal noted, “but they also have some youthfulness on the team as well. It’s a nice mix. And, they play with a lot of energy. They can skate around people, they can pass around people, but if they need to play physical, they can play physical. They’ve had great goaltending all season as well.”
Mahal was quick to note the wide swath of success his programs have experienced this winter, including the boys swim and dive team’s fourth-straight state berth, state meet participation for the girls’ Nordic team, and individual state qualifiers in Nordic and Alpine skiing as well as gymnastics and Olympic weightlifting.
“We’re in the section that fits us the best,” Mahal said. “We’re kind of a big fish in our sections, in triple-A. We’ve really gotten into strength and conditioning, we’ve got more strategic programming around that, during the seasons but in the summertime as well. And, we have a lot of great coaches and support staff that are just doing awesome things with kids to have them do great things.”
KYMN’s broadcast of the Boys Hockey Section 1A Championship game will begin at 6:45 on Wednesday night.
Charlie Mahler is a reporter for KYMN News. Contact him at news@kymnradio.net.
