Author: Ryan Williamson

Six days earlier, the turf at Aerie Stadium was filled with fans and EPHS football players reveling in the Eagles’ 21-6 takedown of then-top ranked Lakeville South. On Thursday, the Eagles got to know what the Cougars felt like that night. EP football players slowly made their way off the turf at Rosemount High School as the Irish players and fans celebrated their team’s 14-7 win over the newly-top ranked Eagles. EP gained its top spot with the win over Lakeville South, while Rosemount was rising at No. 6 after a perfect 3-0 start to the season. Playing in front…

2022 is the 30th year of Mike Grant overseeing the Eden Prairie High School football team. To mark the occasion, a number of players and coaches from his first team will appear at a ceremony before the game. Nearly all of the seniors who played on Grant’s first team, along with coaches and others, will be honored prior to the Eagles’ first home game of the 2022 season vs. Farmington on Sept. 9. Grant took over the reins of the EP program before the 1992 season. The two seasons prior had seen the Eagles struggle as they won one game…

With a strong core of returning players, the Eden Prairie football team wasted no time getting things going in 2022. In the season opener on the road against East Ridge, the Eagles got out to a 20-0 lead and never looked back as they took down the Raptors, 34-7, on Thursday night. EP built its lead in the first quarter thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from Eagles quarterback Nick Fazi. His first pass went to senior tight end Jermell Taylor. He later found Michael Gross to make it 14-0. In the second quarter, EP extended its lead when…

The Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) boys’ track and field team will have a new leader starting this spring. However, it’s a name that is quite familiar to those involved in EPHS track and field. On July 29, the EPHS activities department announced that Zach Hanson was named the EPHS boys’ track and field coach. He’s not only an EPHS alum but has worked with both the track and field and cross country programs for nearly a decade. “I am beyond excited and honored to carry on the tradition of excellence established with Eden Prairie Boys’ Track and Field,” Hanson…

Unlike other sports seasons for Minnesota high school sports, the fall season starts on one date and one date only. This year was Aug. 15. With all of the teams officially convening for the first time, we were able to capture some of those first-day moments. Photos by Ryan Williamson.

In a number of weeks, the parking lots of Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) will be filled with student and staff vehicles. But on Aug. 4, one EPHS parking lot was turned into a young hockey player’s dream. The Minnesota Wild continued its summer street hockey series that day at EPHS. It was a night filled with all things hockey and some fun treats along the way. There were plenty of options for those who attended the event. There was an enclosed area for street hockey games along with other areas for young players to practice their shot. The event…

The weekend of July 15-17 turned out to be a memorable one for an Eden Prairie youth baseball team. The Eden Prairie Walleyes won the EP 4/5 Community Little League Tournament Championship. It was a Cinderella-esque run for the team, which came into the tournament as the No. 7 seed. The Walleyes were the only one of the Eden Prairie teams to make it into the top bracket (The league is composed of 17 teams from the southwest metro area). As the No. 7 seed, the Walleyes upset their first opponent, No. 2 seed Chaska, on July 15. Then, the…

The EP girls’ swim and dive program will look a little different when the team hits the pool in August. On June 20, the EPHS activities department announced the hiring of Christine Retzlaff as the new coach of the program via Twitter. Besides announcing Retzlaff’s role as a girls’ swim and dive coach, she will also teach at Central Middle School in the Engineering and Technology pathways program. “We are fortunate to have Coach Retzlaff joining our EP team,” EPHS Associate Principal Russ Reetz said via press release. “She is an athlete-centered coach who is committed to building positive relationships…

The EP senior legion baseball team had its bid for a state tournament appearance stopped as the team fell to Edina, 4-2, ending EP’s season. After dropping the first game of the Subsection 3 tournament, EP rallied its way all the way back to the final of the tournament. Because of the opening-game loss to Prior Lake, the team would need to beat Edina twice in order to qualify for the upcoming state tournament. Playing in Apple Valley, the team got off to a big start. Seth Tierney hit a home run with a man on base to put EP…

The EP senior legion team’s chances at a state tournament appearance took a hit when the team dropped its first game of the Substate 3 tournament in Apple Valley on July 20. However, EP has fought its way back. The team won each of its past two elimination games and will look to continue their run through the weekend to make it back to state. EP opened its postseason against Prior Lake on July 20 and fell 7-2. With the tournament being double-elimination, the team would need to win five consecutive games to advance to next week’s state tournament in…