Just about every time Hunter Halbakken went on the pitching mound, the Ely Timberwolves emerged with a victory.
That occurred not only during the righthander’s recently completed senior season but during the bulk of his high school baseball career.
To cap off that tenure, Halbakken has earned a prestigious honor - a spot on the All-State Team.
Earlier this month, Halbakken was named to the All-State Class A Team, as selected by the state’s high school baseball coaches association.
The award came on the heels of a senior season in which the lanky righthander was one of the top hurlers in northeastern Minnesota.
Halbakken went 8-1 on the hill for the Timberwolves, with his only defeat coming in a 2-0 loss to Cherry in the Section 7A semifinals.
For the spring, Halbakken struck out 59 batters in 53 innings and allowed only 10 earned runs, finishing with a minuscule 1.32 earned run average.
He finished his prep career with 23 wins on the mound and helped the Wolves to a runner-up finish in 7A in 2025.
“Hunter was one of those guys who you could count on every time he went on the mound,” said high school head coach Frank Ivancich. “He was consistent and had good control and you just knew when he started that he would give us a chance to win the game.”
Halbakken also started at second base for the Wolves and hit .288 at the plate with 11 runs batted in.
He joins Cherry’s Noah Asuma, a Minnesota Mr. Baseball finalist, among area players named to the all-state group.
Halbakken has continued his excellence on the mound this summer for Ely’s American Legion team, firing a no-hitter in a June 15 win at International Falls and tossing a shutout in Saturday’s 7-0 home victory over Kenyon-Wanamingo.
He also was named to the All-Arrowhead Conference, All-Iron Range Conference and All-Section 7A teams.
