Sports

After a year off, Little League baseball is poised to resume in Ely later this spring.
But first, the local organization needs some help - from parents and families.
If Little League is going to resume and Ely’s youngest boys and girls of summer are going to participate, parents need to step forward to assist a core group working to keep youth baseball alive.
“We’re in need of new board members, coaches at all levels, volunteers, somebody to schedule umpires,” said Kevin Marolt, one of two remaining board members.
In a transition from Little League’s last full season in 2019 to this year, the group is losing five of seven board members as children graduate up to higher age levels.
That leaves the Ely group scrambling to reassemble after the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 sesason.
“We missed a whole year,” said Marolt.
For Little League to move forward this year, the group needs help on multiple fronts.

by Tom Coombe
Jasper Johnston continues to reign atop Section 7, while three of his Ely teammates have punched their own tickets to state.
Those were the key particulars Wednesday, when the section Nordic skiing meet was held at Giants Ridge.
Johnston, a three-time all-state honoree, repeated as Section 7 individual boys champion after winning both the classic and freestyle races on a mild, early-March afternoon.
Ely sophomore Zoe Devine was the top Timberwolves girls finishers, taking third in the section and earning another trip to state.
Two other Wolves will also move on as individuals, with junior Gabriel Pointer taking seventh overall in the boys competition and sophomore Phoebe Helms advancing after placing 11th among the girls.
Both Ely teams were a spot away from qualifying for the state meet as they came home Wednesday with respective third-place finishes.

by Tom Coombe
Less than two weeks before the playoffs begin for real, the Ely Timberwolves passed a significant playoff test.
In a game that had a playoff feel, the Timberwolves outlasted South Ridge 67-64 in a Feb. 26 overtime thriller at the high school gymnasium.
Will Davies picked up a loose ball and drove for the go-ahead hoop with just over a minute left in the extra session, and fellow senior Brock LaTourell picked off a long-distance pass with two seconds left to seal the Wolves’ biggest win of the year.
Ely (9-3) also blew out Cook County 76-22 on Tuesday but the signature win of the week if not the season came against the Panthers, who were led by 6-6 Austin Josephson.
Josephson scored only 12 points but was a dominant force inside, while the Panthers had at least three other players 6-3 or taller against the much tinier Wolves, who don’t start a player over six feet.

by Tom Coombe
Ely’s high school girls basketball team created turnover after turnover Feb. 18 at Babbitt.
The result was the Timberwolves’ third win of the winter.
Full-court pressure resulted in numerous steals and led to errant passes and traveling by Northeast Range, which was held to just two first-half baskets in the Arrowhead Conference affair.
Ely built a massive 35-6 lead by halftime and was on its way to a 62-12 romp.
The Timberwolves have won two of their last three games and are now 3-6 for the season.
Northeast Range was never able to get on track offensively, and Ely’s defensive pressure was the difference.
Madeline Kallberg scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the opening half, and wreaked havoc at the top of the press while gaining a series of layups.

It didn’t end with a victory, but high school boys hockey made a triumphant return of sorts to Babbitt.
Ron Castellano Arena was alive again Feb. 19, when the Ely Timberwolves hosted Bagley in what was only the second boys contest there in 27 years.
The visiting Flyers downed the Timberwolves 5-1, but nearly 200 fans came out to the fabled arena for the game.
The Timberwolves celebrated senior night and moved the contest to Babbitt to honor their only senior - Jimmy Zupancich.
Zupancich attends Northeast Range, but the two schools are combined in hockey and the Timberwolves opted to hold a home game in Babbitt this winter to recognize the senior.
His parents were introduced prior to the game, and family members as well as Northeast Range schoolmates were part of the gathering.
Zupancich also had a hand in the Wolves’ only goal - a second period tally by freshman Chase Anderson.

by Tom Coombe
The Ely Timberwolves overcame turnovers to gain their second win of the season, but South Ridge put a quick stop to any hopes for a winning streak.
Ely upended North Woods 46-38 in a Feb. 11 girls basketball matchup at the high school gymnasium, but South Ridge went on a 32-0 run in the first half on the way to a 67-18 rout on Tuesday.
The Timberwolves are now 2-6 for the winter.
Ely rallied to take a halftime lead against the visiting Grizzlies, and that edge held up in the second half of a foul and turnover-filled game.
Ninth-grader Grace LaTourell had 11 of her 16 points in the second half, with two of her three three-pointers coming during the stanza.
The Grizzlies pulled to within three points at 35-32 with nine minutes left, but only scored six points the rest of the way as Ely created numerous turnovers.

by Tom Coombe
It was Brock LaTourell’s turn to carry the load.
In a season when all five Ely starters have shown the capability of scoring in bunches, LaTourell led the way on Tuesday in a 58-53 high school boys basketball victory over Mt. Iron-Buhl.
LaTourell drained four of his five three-point baskets in the opening half and finished with a team-high 22 points as the visiting Wolves completed a regular-season sweep of the Rangers and improved to 6-2.
“Brock kept us in the game in the first half as he shot really well and hit four of his five ‘threes’ in the half,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “We defended well enough to stay in the game but it was Brock who kept us in it offensively.”
The teams traded momentum and control throughout the night at Mt. Iron, with the Rangers taking a 29-26 lead at halftime.

Holding a hockey tournament during a pandemic is no easy task but the Ely Blue Line was up to the task.
Due to Covid restrictions youth hockey teams are already trying to squeeze in as many games as they can with district games a priority.
“If you hosted a jamboree, that would mean you would have 2-3 days less available to schedule district games, in an already shortened seasons,” explained the DeLana Forsberg of the Ely Blue Line. “Yes, the season was extended a few weeks, but time became ‘constricted’ with all the games for PeeWees, Squirts and High School games, so associations adjusted with dropping the jamborees.”
Ely has traditionally hosted a very popular “Howler” tournament and this year the scheduling had to be creative.

by Tom Coombe
In a season-opening win last month, Ely’s high school boys basketball team showed off its balance with five starters scoring in double figures.
More recently, the Timberwolves have proven those starters can be explosive as well.
The latest was sophomore Joey Bianco, who erupted for a career-high 34 points Tuesday in an 84-58 win over Lakeview Christian Academy.
Bianco took it right at the Lions during the matchup at Cotton, and they had no answer as Ely pulled away in the second half for its second straight victory.
“Joey had 19 two-pointers and most were attacking the basket in transition,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “He was also in the post offensively and I thought his teammates did a good job finding him in there.”
Bianco nearly reached the 40-point milestone and displayed that Ely opponents face a tough dilemma: defending against a lineup that features several potent scorers.

by Tom Coombe
Jasper Johnston didn’t miss a beat.
The Ely senior was absent from the Nordic Wolves’ first two meets of the season because of some regional CXC level events, but he was back in the lineup for event number three: the Jan. 28 Ely Skiathlon at Hidden Valley.
To no one’s surprise, Johnston won the 7.2-kilometer freestyle/classic skiathlon, completing the course in 20:15 to take first with ease.
Johnston’s finish wasn’t enough to secure a team win as the Wolves were second in the three-team event and two points shy of Cloquet-Esko-Carlton.
The Wolves claimed the team title in the girls event, with Zoe Devine claiming the top spot in 25:31.
Brutally cold weather - including overnight temperates of 27-below - prompted a one-hour delay in the event but by start time at noon the temperate was above zero and the sun was shining at Hidden Valley.
It made for a good day for both Ely teams.