Sports

by Tom Coombe
Ely will send not one, but two high school Nordic skiing teams to state.
Fueled by junior Jasper Johnston, the Ely boys easily won Thursday’s Section 7 meet at Giants Ridge.
But the state-ranked boys will be joined at state - back at Giants Ridge Feb. 13 - by the surprising Ely girls.
By the narrowest of margins, the girls squeezed past Mesabi East to take second in the section and earn their own state bid.
Freshman Zoe Devine took second in the girls meet and classmate Phoebe Helms was 11th, but the state berth was secure in part by senior Brooke Pasmick and freshman Cedar Ohlhauser, who both climbed four spots in the afternoon classic pursuit.
While the girls’ state ticket was assured only after a tiebreaker, there seemed to be little doubt about the boys.
Ely built up a 24-point lead after the morning 5.2-kilometer freestyle race, providing plenty of cushion going into the afternoon classic pursuit.

The Vermilion Community College Ironmen and Ironwomen basketball teams honored faculty and staff last Saturday prior to the start of each of their games. Each student-athlete chose one faculty/staff member that has helped make his/her life at Vermilion more extraordinary. The faculty/staff were acknowledged for their dedication and help and given certificates from the student-athletes. For the Ironwomen, from left to right are: Front: Alexis Hughes, Justin Burum; back row: Justin Kosik, Ellie Hintze, Shannan Harding, Shawna Butler, Alanna Sjoberg, Marja Nelson, Timothy Loney, Jade Evans. John Terwilliger, Lauren Huchel, Terri Sutton, Deb Morris. For the Ironmen: Front: Taray Graves; back row: Devarius Davis, Curtis Bell III, Marja Nelson, Tre Nins, Abbey Blake, Ty Edmond, Dachaun Davis, Justin Kosik, Terrence Ballom, Devonne Tramble, Kelly Klun, Will Helms, Austin Funk, Dylan Willis, Nicki Kosik.

WINTER FROLIC King Steven Kerntz and Queen Brielle Kallberg. Photo by Eric Sherman.

by Tom Coombe
Progress can be measured in baby steps for the Ely Timberwolves.
The youngest high school hockey team in Minnesota lost twice in as many contests, but there were signs of improvement from a team that is now 1-10 for the winter.
Proctor downed the Wolves 10-1 Tuesday at the Ely Arena, but it was a 1-0 game through one period and just 3-0 at the midway mark of the second.
Four days earlier, the Wolves were competitive with Red Lake Falls for much of a 10-4 defeat.
Senior Luke Olson, who has a team-high 23 goals including an eight-goal outburst in the Wolves’ only win this winter, had the only goal against Proctor and tallied twice against Red Lake Falls.
Earlier this season, Proctor demolished the Wolves in a 14-3 holiday tournament rout.
The rematch in Ely was much more competitive.
The Rails (9-9) outshot the Wolves 11-5 in the frame and got the only goal at the six-and-a-half minute mark.

by Tom Coombe
Before two lopsided losses came one of the Vermilion Ironwomen’s best chances for victory this season.
Visiting Hibbing erased an early 10-point deficit and rallied to beat the community college basketball team Jan. 17 at Ely.
Vermilion, which remains in search of its first win, lost its next two games in more convincing fashion and fell both to Northland and Lake Superior.
But the home contest with Hibbing was a battle, with VCC struggling to contain the Cardinals’ Alexis Desjarlait, who scored a game-high 35 points.
The Ironwomen led 20-8 after one quarter and 28-26 at halftime, but the second half belonged to the Cardinials.
Shawna Butler of Ely had her biggest night of the season, pouring in 26 points to pace the Ironwomen.
Sophomore Teri Sutton added 21 points while Lauren Huchel pulled down 11 rebounds to go with four points.

by Tom Coombe
Not much went right for the Ely Timberwolves on Tuesday night, but Erika Mattson’s clutch shot three days earlier had already given her team quite a highlight.
The senior nailed a free throw after time expired to give Ely a 50-49 high school girls basketball victory Saturday over Cook County.
It was the Wolves 10th win of the season, but Cherry made them wait for victory number 11 with a dominant 63-30 triumph Tuesday in Ely.
The Tigers forced 26 Ely turnovers and held the Wolves to an eight-for-47 shooting performance while improving to 10-3.
Ely, which has an identical 10-3 mark, never really got on track.
That made Saturday’s performance against the Vikings, in Grand Marais, all the more important.
Ely erased a 16-point deficit and won while playing without a full complement of players.

Ely Squirts won the consolation championship at the Two Harbors tournament last weekend. The lost their first game to Two Harbors 7-1, won their second game against Superior and won third game against MoundsView/Irondale 2-1. Pictured are: Coach Frank Udovich, coach Bill Forsberg, Coach Joe Majerus. Back row: Oscar Shock, Dakota Starkovich, Sean Merriman, Brady Forsberg, Ryland Sandy, Stig Majerus front: Luke Stalboerger, Cooper Mayranen, Violet Udovich, Owen Marolt, Brayden Aikens, Evan Leeson, Mason Spate, Nico Lenci, Goalie Lewey Powell.

by Tom Coombe
Vermilion’s “Iron Five,” nearly came away with a win.
Ahead through three quarters, the Ironwomen ran out of gas in the final stanza Wednesday, as visiting Mesabi rallied for a 64-54 community college basketball victory.
The Lady Norse trailed after three quarters but outscored Vermilion 19-7 in the final quarter to pull out the Northern Division contest.
Vermilion, which fell to 0-7 for the winter, had the bare minimum of five available players as Shawna Butler, Alexis Hughes, Lauren Huchel, Alanna Sjoberg and Terri Sutton logged the entire 40 minutes without a break.
That may have taken its toll late in the contest as VCC’s shooting percentage fell from 38 percent in the opening half to just 19 in the second.
Vermilion went only seven-for-37 from the field in the second half, including one-for-14 from three-point distance.

by Tom Coombe
Ely’s holiday tournament opponents never really had a chance.
That’s what the Timberwolves did to back-to-back opponents in its home event last weekend, getting off to fast starts in back-to-back contests and rolling to a pair of lopsided wins and a first-place finish in the four-team high school boys basketball event.
Ely blew out Isle 84-44 in the opening round and jumped out to a 27-3 lead in the tournament final against Bigfork en route to a 74-48 romp.
The wins gave the Wolves - one of the early-season surprise teams in Section 7A - an 8-1 record for the winter.
At the Ely Hoops for Hope Tournament, the hosting Timberwolves used a strong 41-point first half to cruise to a 74-48 win over Bigfork Saturday.
In some respects, the home holiday tournament and some time off this week were the calm before the storm.