March 10th
at St. Peter
St. Mary’s 31-32 63
New Ulm Cathedral 28-31 59
Carson Domeier 23pts. 6r 4a ( scored career 2000th point- needed 17pt)
Will Walter 16p (4 3s) 3a
Kaleb Wait 10p 10r 5a
Trent Steffensmeier 10p 4a
March 8th
at St. Mary’s
SESM 25-44=69
GFW 23-32= 55
Carson Domeier 23p 5r 4a
Will Walter 12p 3r
Kaleb Wait 12p 7r 7a
Trent Steffensmeier 10p 5a
Jon Petermann 5p
Owen Weiss 4p 5r
Jacob Stevens 3p
The St. Mary’s girls basketball team won their third consecutive Tomahawk Conference championship while the Knights boys hoops squad went back-to-back with titles.
Girls Basketball Awards for the 2020-2021 season
2021 team awards:
Leadership-Sydney Windschitl
Most Improved-Emma Currans
MVP-Madison Mathiowetz
Payton Admas hustle award-Sydney Windschitl
All Conference: Madison Mathiowetz, Sydney Windschitl, Reagan Severson
Conference Player of the year: Madison Mathiowetz
All Conference Academic: Sydney Windschitl, Sophie Portner, Megan Ahlness, Maryanne Larsen, Madison Mathiowetz, Katelyn Rutscher, Reagan Severson, Liz Schwint
All State Academic: Sydney Windschitl, Sophie Portner, Megan Ahlness, Maryanne Larsen
All State Honorable Mention: Sydney Windschitl
All State: Madison Mathiowetz
All Journal 2nd team: Reagan Severson
All Journal 1st team: Madison Mathiowetz, Sydney Windschitl
All Journal player of the year: Madison Mathiowetz
KNUJ players of the week: Madison Mathiowetz, Sydney Windschitl, Reagan Severson
KNUJ Player of the Year: Madison Mathiowetz
Prep Hoops Class A Player of the Year: Madison Mathiowetz
Madison Mathiowetz 2,000 point
Sydney Windschitl 1,835 career points 3rd all time overall for both programs
Boys Basketball Awards for the 2020-2021 season
All Conference: Carson Domeier, Trent Steffensmeier, Kaleb Wait
Conference Player of the year: Carson Domeier
All Conference Academic: Carson Domeier, Trent Steffensmeier, Owen Weiss
KNUJ players of the week: Carson Domeier, Trent Steffensmeier, Kaleb Wait
All Journal 2nd team: Kaleb Wait
All Journal 1st team: Carson Domeier, Trent Steffensmeier
All Journal player of the year: Carson Domeier
2021 Team Awards:
Leadership-Jacob Lux
MVP-Carson Domeier
Most Improved-Kaleb Wait
Payton Admas Hustle award-Trent Steffensmeier
Carson Domeier and Trent Steffensmeier 1,000 point
Domeier, Glover, Knowles lead All-Journal boys in 2021
First Team
Carson Domeier,
St. Mary’s, Jr., F
Domeier helped lead the Knights to 20-4 record and a state tournament appearance. He led the team in scoring, rebounds and assists with 22.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 4.8 apg.
Domeier, the Tomahawk Conference Player of the Year, also shot 55% from the floor, 45% from beyond the arc and scored his 1,000th career points earlier in the season.
Ja’Sean Glover,
Madelia, Jr., G
Glover finished his junior campaign averaging 30.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 3.1 apg and 2.5 spg. He also shot 59% from the floor and set a single-game school record of 51 points in a game this season, breaking a record he previously set.
The three-time Valley All-Conference player has 2,193 career points and was a member of last year’s All-Journal Boys’ Basketball First Team.
Sam Knowles,
Cathedral, Jr., F
Sam Knowles led New Ulm Cathedral this season with 21.5 ppg, 15.5 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.3 bpg and 2.7 spg. The 6-4 unanimous Tomahawk All-Conference forward was an All-Journal honorable mention last year and also an honorable mention in the conference last year. He has 674 career points and 585 career rebounds.
Trent Steffensmeier, St. Mary’s, Jr., G
Steffensmeier helped lead the Knights back to the state tournament in 2021, averaging 17.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg and 2.8 apg. The Tomahawk All-Conference selection also had 1.5 spg and shot 49 % from the floor. He also scored his 1,000th career point this season.
Kegan Heiderscheidt, Sleepy Eye, Sr., G
Heiderscheidt led the Tomahawk Conference in points, assists and blocks in his senior year. He averaged 23.5 ppg, 8 rebounds, 5 assists a game this year and he finished second on Sleepy Eye’s all-time scoring list for boys’ basketball with 1,487 career points.
The all-conference selection also holds the career assists record at Sleepy Eye with 434, breaking his sister Madi’s (407) mark. He will play at Southwest Minnesota State University next year.
Second Team
Kyreis Harrison,
MVL, Sr., G
Harrison was described by Minnesota Valley Lutheran head coach Craig Morgan as a consummate team player that didn’t take a play off. Harrison averaged 14.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg and 3.3 apg this season. The senior also shot 53% from the floor and had 2.3 spg.
A unanimous selection for the Tomahawk All-Conference Team this year, Harrison ends his career sixth all-time at MVL in offensive rebounds (206) and 10th in career rebounds (485). He ends his career at MVL with 713 points.
Johnnie Ambrose, GFW, Sr., G
A three-year starter for Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, Ambrose averaged 16.7 ppg and shot 52 percent from the floor.
He averaged 9 rebounds and 2.5 assists along with 1.8 steals per game for the Thunderbirds and was a main reason why the team went 9-3 over their last 12 games.
Will Carlson,
Wabasso, Sr., G
A two-time Tomahawk All-Conference player, Carlson averaged 19.1 ppg for the Rabbits during his senior campaign. He also had 4.4 apg, 3.6 rpg and 1.8 spg.
Carlson finishes his career with 923 points and 150 assists. After this spring season, Carlson will attend Bethany Lutheran College and play baseball.
Charlie Osborne,
New Ulm, Jr., G
Osborne led the Eagles with 17.3 ppg this season and was a Big South All-Conference selection also. He also had 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and was a key figure on defense, deflecting 5.8 passes per game.
Kaleb Wait,
St. Mary’s, So., G
The sophomore guard was one of the Knights’ top scorers during their run to the state tournament, averaging 14.2 ppg. He shot 46% from the floor, 34% from the 3-point line and also averaged 5.1 rpg, 3 apg and 1.7 spg.
He was also a member of the Tomahawk All-Conference Team this year.
SLEEPY EYE – The Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s boys’ basketball team returned to the state tournament this season for the first time since 2006.
One big reason for that was junior Carson Domeier’s improved play, specifically his shot.
This high level of play not only helped get the Knights to the Class A state tournament, but it also saw Domeier named the Tomahawk Conference Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year. Adding one more accomplishment to his list, Domeier was also named the 2021 All-Journal Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year as voted on by The Journal’s sports staff.
Domeier said he was thankful for being named Player of the Year by both the conference and The Journal and credited his teammates.
“It’s just a credit to my teammates, it helped the way we played together,” Domeier said. “That just makes me a better player overall, too. I think all the work I put in in the offseason just kind of showed what I was capable of and what I’m capable of doing in the future.”
Going back to the improvements he made, Domeier said that his biggest jumps from last season came on the offensive end.
“I worked on my shooting a lot this year,” Domeier said. “I had a pretty good year of shooting. And probably just running the floor better, pushing in transition, ballhandling I got a lot better at, too. Defense – got to put some work in on that this summer, too. Got to keep improving all-around yet.”
Domeier and the Knights went 20-4 overall this season and won the conference with a 14-2 mark. After falling to Minnesota Valley Lutheran on Feb. 26, the Knights rolled to nine consecutive victories – four in the Section 2A playoffs – to make it to the state tournament. They then won their 10th game in a row in a state-tourney game with Central Minnesota Christian, beating the Bluejays 86-73 at Mankato East High School.
The Knights’ season came to end at the Target Center in the state semifinals after a 65-53 loss to Hancock. Despite ending up a win shy of making the state finals, Domeier was proud of he and his team’s efforts to make it as far as they did and has his sights set on making another run next season.
“That was a pretty cool experience, if you ask me,” Domeier said of making it to state. “I think my teammates would say the same thing. When you start the season, we set goals. Our first goal was to win the conference, and we did that, and then contend for a section title. Once we got there, we got to state. We wanted to go a little farther, but when you look back, it was a pretty cool experience. … Overall, it was just a great season. Our seniors, they really helped us and had good leadership, every one of them. Braden , Lux and Goblirsch, we’re going to miss them next year, but next year should be a fun year, too.”
Domeier said that the team will have to get bigger and stronger in the offseason to make another push next year.
“We’re just going to have to get bigger and stronger,” Domeier said. “We lost probably our two biggest guys in Jacob Lux and Kyle Goblirsch this year, and we lost our sixth man, too. So we’re going to have to have some guys step up. And I’m sure Judd will get us in the weight room, get us going pretty soon to get improved. Because some of those younger classmen, they’re going to have to step up next year if we want to make a run.”
Currently, Domeier is playing with the Knights’ baseball team and also had his first AAU basketball tournament this past weekend with the Minnesota Rise.
| 2020-21 Tomahawk All-Conference Boys Basketball Team | ||||
| Name | Hgt. | Year | Position | Team |
| Carson Domeier | 6-3 | 11 | Forward | Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s |
| Trent Steffensmeier | 6-0 | 11 | Guard | Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s |
| Kaleb Wait | 5-11 | 10 | Guard | Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s |
| Kyreis Harrison | 6-3 | 12 | Forward | Minnesota Valley Lutheran |
| Sam Knowles | 6-4 | 11 | Forward | New Ulm Cathedral |
| Will Carlson | 5-9 | 12 | Guard | Wabasso |
| Johnnie Ambrose | 6-1 | 12 | Guard | Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop |
| Mason Leonard | 6-4 | 12 | Forward | Springfield |
| Caden Kleinschmidt | 6-4 | 11 | Forward | Cedar Mountain |
| Braden McColley | 6-6 | 12 | Forward | Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart |
| Kegan Heiderscheidt | 6-7 | 12 | Guard | Sleepy Eye |
| Honorable Mention | Ht. | Year | Position | Team |
| Leyton Brau | 6-1 | 12 | Guard | Minnesota Valley Lutheran |
| Jevan Wilfahrt | 6-1 | 9 | Guard | New Ulm Cathedral |
| Isaac Kronback | 6-3 | 11 | Guard | Wabasso |
| Dominic Henrichs | 6-1 | 12 | Guard | Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop |
| Damian Hopp | 6-2 | 12 | Guard | Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop |
| Brendon Buerkle | 6-2 | 11 | Forward | Springfield |
| Dakota Pendleton | 5-10 | 10 | Guard | Cedar Mountain |
| Will Carlson, Carson Domeier, and Kegan Heiderscheidt are repeat selections | ||||
| from the 2019-20 team. | ||||
| Kegan Heiderscheidt is a three-time selection as he was also selected | ||||
| to the 2018-19 team | ||||
| Player of the Year — Carson Domeier of Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s | ||||
| Coach of the Year — Judd Walter of Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s | ||||
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Photos courtesy New Ulm Journal Travis Rosenau
April 7th
at Target Center
State Boys Basketball Semi-Finals
Hancock 65, St. Mary’s 53
MSHSL Summary
Hancock and Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (20-4) traded baskets in the first half with four lead changes. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s sophomore guard Kaleb Wait tied the score at 22 on a layup at 7:03 and the Knights went on an 11-2 run over the next five minutes. Hancock senior guard Preston Rohloff hit from behind the arc with 42 seconds left in the first half to pull the Owls within 34-29 at the break.
Both teams shot well from three-point range in the first half; Hancock went 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) and Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s hit 3-of-7 (42.9 percent).
Hancock (19-5) battled back in the second half with Rohloff tying the score at 39 on a jump shot at 14:27. The Owls built their lead steadily from there with junior center Matt Thompson adding a couple of statement dunks in the second half. His second put the Owls up 64-53 with 17 seconds left in the game.
Thompson and senior guard Kody Berget tallied 20 and 18 points, respectively, for Hancock. Berget scored all his points on 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range. Thompson also led the Owls with 19 rebounds. Wait paced Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s with 19 points and four steals. Junior guard Trent Steffensmeier added 17 points for the Knights.
Hancock advances with the 65-53 victory to face either Hayfield or Badger/Greenbush-Middle River for the Class A title. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, April 10 at 1 p.m.
