Osseo recruits

Two members of the 2012 Class 4A state high school basketball championship team from Osseo will play for the Central Lakes College MCAC championship men's team in 2012-13. Joining the roster of the defending Minnesota College Athletic Conference champs from 2012 will be 5-8 guard Benji Subah (left) and 6-5 forward Bryan Gichaba. They were members of the Orioles squad that went 30-2 last year and nudged Lakeville North, 49-47 for the state title.

Coach Held hangs it up

Pat Held, who has had a 43-year coaching career in baseball -- there as head coach of the Central Lakes College Raiders -- has announced his retirement. Pat is 61. Wife Carolyn, also a baseball nut, is battling cancer. She was CLC's official scorekeeper this spring when a new record was set for number of games played: 49. "I've had enough riding buses," said Pat in the Brainerd Dispatch. "We played 11 games at Austin. That was more than we played in Brainerd." CLC was the seventh seed in the Southern Division playoffs and bumped off No. 1 Riverland 1-0 in the first duel in a best-of-3 series. "We were the only lower-seeded team that won a game. Everyone else went two and out. And we had them on the ropes the second game," Pat said.
Read the entire feature by Mike Bialka of The Brainerd Dispatch: http://brainerddispatch.com/sports/2012-05-18/baseball-held-hangs-spikes-after-43-year-coaching-career

Record-setter signs

Nathan Holm of Pine River-Backus is the school's all-time scoring leader in basketball. The outstanding forward averaged 24.1 points per game last season while earning All-Northland Conference honors. Nathan broke a 45-year single-game scoring record by totaling 33 points in the Tigers' big win over Laporte. He finished as the second leading scorer in the league. He has signed a letter of intent to play for the Central Lakes College Raiders as a student-athlete here next season. Nathan finished in the top 10 of four statistical categories in conference play, averaging 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.14 blocks. For the year he amassed 42 steals and 26 blocks. He was also the Tigers' quarterback in football and a pitcher for the baseball team.

Hernandez headed to Augsburg

Maurice Hernandez of Central Lakes College scored five points in the NJCAA Men's  Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game in Las Vegas last Saturday as the Division II and III all stars dropped a 121-103 contest to the D I all-stars. Maurice was selected as a result of his selection as a first-team All-American earlier this spring. CLC Coach Jim Russell accompanied Hernandez to Nevada, where Nike Championship Basketball Clinic featuring Hall of Fame Coach Bob Knight was also held and provided a crowd of about 500 admiring basketball enthusiasts for the game. He led the Raiders to division, state and regional championships, a 29-4 record and fourth place finish in the NJCAA Division III championship tournament. He is from St. Paul, where he was a standout for Henry Sibley High School. He is headed to Augsburg College, where he will be playing basketball next season.

Post-season honors

Central Lakes College softball players have earned post-season honors for the 2012 season, reports Coach Greg Medeck. Jenni Smolke (shown) was named First Team All-State (Minnesota College Athletic Conference) and All-Northern Division. She is a freshman infielder from Brainerd who hit .523 for the season, third best in the Division. She also had a .991 fielding percentage that placed her fourth in the Division. Alanna Hansen, a Brainerd sophomore outfielder, and Kaylie Hanson, a Pillager freshman infielder, were named to the All-Division Second Team. Alanna hit .441 and was third in steals with 22.

Recruits

Jim Russell, Central Lakes College men's basketball coach, welcomed two recruits for the 2012-13 season at the Brainerd school. Alex Stafford (left) from Henry Sibley High School, St. Paul, was an all-conference performer who averaged 10 points and seven rebounds. John Jedneak is a Princeton product with all-conference credentials and averages of 12 points and eight rebounds last season. CLC finished fourth in the NJCAA Division III tournament and went 29-4 last year, while winning the Minnesota College Athletic Conference crown. Division III is non-athletic scholarship but provides a proving ground for student athletes aspiring to earn NCAA opportunities.

Pitcher of the Week

Derek Pihlaja of Central Lakes College was the Southern Division Pitcher of the Week in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference for the week of May 8. Derek, a sophomore right-hander from Menahga, threw a five-hit shutout vs. No. 2-ranked Riverland in the opening game of the conference play-offs to determine regional berths. Derek threw only 82 pitches while going the distance, striking out four and walking one. Coach Pat Held said it was a well-deserved honor for Derek.