An enthusiastic, energetic group of Tri-City United second-grade students recently completed their first season of organized basketball.
Practice began in November 2023, focusing on basic fundamentals and understanding the game. As the season progressed, the young boys took part in four third-grade tournaments, and played 12 games in the process.
The boys improved every time out and gained valuable experience, according to Coach John Rynda. Rynda said, “At their last tournament in Mankato, a rival coach remarked, ‘They’re only second-graders? Wow!’”
There are some nights when things just don’t go well.
Tri City United (TCU) head boys basketball coach John Rumpza said their game Feb. 26 against Blue Earth Area (BEA) was one of those nights.
BEA defeated TCU, 71-48 in the regular season finale for the Titans. They finished with a 10-16 overall record heading into the Section 2AA North Sub-Section Playoffs which started Tuesday, March 5 against Glencoe-Silver Lake (GSL). TCU was seeded sixth and GSL third.
Tri-City United (TCU) freshman Tucker Skluzacek showed great poise and competitiveness as he competed in his first Class AA State Wrestling Tournament Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2.
Skluzacek won four of his six matches, placing fifth overall in the Class AA 114-pound weight class. He finished the season with a 48-7 record and became the highest placing freshman in TCU history.
A furious comeback by Glencoe-Silver Lake (GSL) and a lack of offense by Tri-City United (TCU) over the final six minutes of the North Sub-Section Championship Monday, March 4 allowed the Panthers to pull out the 64-59 win.
GSL (21-7) trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half and were down 57-51 with seven minutes to play following a three-pointer by Titan sophomore Ella Schmeising.
TCU Boys Basketball played hard tonight but lost to Glencoe-Silver Lake, 75-56.
More in the March 14 edition of the Messenger.
TCU freshman Tucker Skluzacek earned fifth-place honors wrestling at 114 pounds in the Minnesota State High School League's Class AA individuals tournament at Xcel Energy Center. Skluzacek finished the tournament at 4-2. Three of his victories came by pinning his opponent. He won his final match with a fall at 4:15. Skluzacek reached the state tournament finishing second in the section competition. He finished the season at 52-16.
Full story in the March 7 Messenger. Subscribe online today to not miss any news!
Tri-City United High School girls basketball won 52-43 against Belle Plaine Thursday, Feb. 29 in New Prague at the Section 2AA Girls Basketball Quarterfinals.
They will play in the section semifinals against Glencoe-Silver Lake on Monday, March 4 at 6 p.m. in the Taylor Center at the Minnesota State University Mankato. Should the Titans win that game, they will play again in Mankato against either Waterville-Elysian-Morristown or New Richland on Friday, March 8 at 7:45 p.m.
See more details in the March 7 Messenger.
The second half of the season has been a very good one for the Tri-City United (TCU) girls basketball team.
The Titans are currently riding a three game winning streak and they have won 6 of the past seven games.
TCU picked up a 64-59 win over Lester Prairie Tuesday, Jan. 30. This improved their record to 3-4 in the Minnesota River conference.
Two nights later the Titans had an easy time against Minnesota Valley Lutheran (MVL), downing MVL 65-29 in nonconference action.
After an early-season setback to the defending state champion, the Trojans’ floor hockey team are continuing to improve their overall game. “Overall, I like where we are at and I feel confident this team can make a push down the stretch to compete for another state tournament berth and hopefully compete for another state title, said coach Jeremy Kalal.
At 5-1, the Trojans travel to East Ridge High School today, Thursday, Feb. 8, to face South Washington County. Tuesday, Feb. 13, the Trojans will host Stillwater at 4:30 p.m. in the New Prague Community Center gym.
After splitting its first two games, the New Prague floor hockey team has enjoyed surge, overwhelming opponents with plenty of offensive and solid defensive play as well.
The Trojans have scored 29 goals in three games. The most recent, a 13-goal effort against Owatonna, is a sign the Trojans’ offense is rounding into form. The win improved the Trojans’ record to 3-1.
New Prague played Chaska/Chanhassen/Shakopee/ Prior Lake co-operative team Tuesday, Jan. 30, after The New Prague Times went to press. Today,Thursday, Feb. 1, New Prague will host South Suburban at 4:30 p.m.
In a game between two teams fighting for second place in the Minnesota River Conference, Le Sueur-Henderson (LSH) got off to a fast start and held on for a 69-65 win over Tri-City United Friday, Jan. 26.
“We came out of the gate really cold from the field as shots were just not falling to our standard, and LSH got out to a quick lead as a consequence,” head coach John Rumpza said. “We did some good things in this game, but we fell short in some important categories which made the deficit too difficult to overcome as the game wore on.”
A busy week for the Tri City United (TCU) girls basketball team ended with the Titans winning three of four games.
The Titans defeated Medford, 68-19 Saturday, Jan. 13. They defeated Norwood Young America (NYA), 53-51, Tuesday, Jan. 16. They edged St. James Area 73-70, Thursday, Jan. 18. Mayer Lutheran ended TCU’s winning streak with a 73-66 win Friday, Jan. 19.
In the win over Medford, the Titans led 51-10 at halftime and were never threatened.
Ella Skluzacek scored 21 points in only 15 minutes of action and Ava Flintrop added 14 points and four rebounds.
New Prague’s floor hockey team built a big lead early and cruised to an easy 17-10 win over Mankato last Tuesday, Jan. 16.
After the loss to state champion Lakeville the previous week, the Trojans faced Owatonna Tuesday, Jan. 23, after The New Prague Times went to press. The Trojans will face Chanhassen/Chaska/Shakopee/Prior Lake Tuesday, Jan. 30, 4:30 p.m., in Shakopee.
“We rebounded nicely after our loss last week and set the tone going forward. We are hoping to rattle off a few wins in a row here and build some momentum,” NP coach Jeremy Kalal said.
Having taken on two tough teams, one the defending state champion and the other a state participant, the New Prague floor hockey team knows it will need to play a little better to return to the top of the mountain.
The Trojans opened the season Jan. 9 with a win over Dakota United, a team they topped at the state tournament a year ago. They fell in the second game, a rematch of the last two state championship games against Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville. The Trojans won the 2022 game and the Blazing Cats enjoyed revenge in 2023.
The Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team improved to 3-2 in the Minnesota River Conference (MRC) with a split of two games last week.
The week started with TCU losing to Belle Plaine, 88-59 Tuesday, Jan. 9. Friday, Jan. 12 the Titans defeated Sibley East, 53-41.
In the loss to the Tigers, TCU only trailed by nine at half but were outscored 49-27 in the second half.
The Tri-City United (TCU) girls basketball team trailed for the first 26 minutes of their Thursday, Dec. 28 game with WEM.
But once they took the lead they never relinquished it, pulling out a 62-52 nonconference win over the Buccaneers.
WEM scored the first bucket of the game, a three-pointer by senior Kylie LaFrance. They led 30-25 at halftime and extended that lead to 39-30 on back-toback baskets by junior Tianna Pope and senior Claire Bohlen with 13:38 to play in the game.