Author: Ryan Williamson

The Minnesota Wild are hitting the streets of Eden Prairie. Well, they’re actually hitting the parking lot of Eden Prairie High School.  As part of their summer street hockey series, the Wild are hosting events throughout the metro. On Aug. 4, the team will make a stop at the EPHS parking lot. From 6-9 p.m. the Wild will host this free-to-the-public event in the parking lot. Per the team’s website, there will be street hockey games along with the Wild’s mascot Nordy. Food and beverage will also be available for purchase. The stop at EPHS is the final of seven…

After leading the Eden Prairie boys’ hockey team to a state championship in 2021, Jackson Blake and Luke Mittelstadt may soon be representing the entire U.S. in a hockey sweater. USA Hockey recently announced a list of 60 players invited to its annual National Junior Evaluation Camp. The event, which begins July 24, will help decide which players are a part of the 2022 and 2023 U.S. National Junior Team. This camp, which takes place from July 24-Aug. 3 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, includes players competing for spots on the U.S. team that will compete at the…

There were plenty of happenings with EPHS sports in the spring. Here’s how everything went down. Photos by Ryan Williamson and Rick Olson. Boys’/Girls’ golf Despite near triple-digit heat on the first day and rain on the second day, members of the EP boys’ and girls’ golf teams found success at the Class 3A state golf meet at Bunker Hill Golf Course in Coon Rapids from June 14-15. For the second consecutive season, the girls’ qualified for the Class 3A team competition. The Eagles did not top last season’s third-place finish but did rally from a slow start to finish…

For the eighth time in school history, the EP girls’ golf team will compete in the team competition. The Eagles start their competition at noon on June 14. Meanwhile, the boys’ team failed to qualify but will be sending two individuals to compete for a state title. Girls This is the second consecutive season the girls have qualified for the state meet. A season ago, EP finished 4th in the team competition. Emma Davies was the top-playing individual as she finished with a two-day score of 160. All four of the Eagles’ golfers on last season’s state team returned in…

Looking for its first team state championship in more than a decade, the EP boys’ tennis team will head out to the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center for the Class 2A state tournament beginning on Tuesday, June 7. The Eagles recently captured the Section 2AA crown with wins against Mound Westonka (7-0), Shakopee (5-2), and Minnetonka in the section final (5-2).  Eden Prairie returns to the state tournament after not qualifying as a team or any individuals in 2021. The Eagles last won a team crown in 2010. The Eagles will kick off the team tournament on June 7…

On May 23, the EP boys’ and girls’ golf teams hit the course at Baker National and competed in the 2022 Lake Conference Golf Championships. After being among the conference’s best all season, both squads were competitive in Monday’s meet. The boys’ squad grabbed the first place spot in this meet while the girls’ finished third. Both move forward with plenty of positives as the postseason looms. The boys’ team had been near the top at every Lake Conference meet this season and put an exclamation point on it with a team score of 301 on Monday. That was five…

With spring sports games beginning in early April and wrapping in late May, there isn’t a lot of room on the calendar for sports such as softball. However, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot happening for the Eden Prairie softball team. The Eagles wrapped their regular season on May 20 with a 1-0 win vs. Maple Grove under the lights at Miller Park. That wrapped up an eventful schedule that included ups, downs and a Lake Conference championship. EP now moves on to the Class 4A, Section 2 tournament against some of the state’s best. In 2021, the Eagles…

Though we are in the midst of the spring sports grind, the Eden Prairie High School activities department recently announced a pair of hires for their winter programs. In recent weeks, EPHS has hired new coaches for girls’ hockey and wrestling. Girls’ hockey Shortly after the hockey season ended for both the boys’ and girls’ EPHS teams, there were two coaching openings. Now, both are filled. Following the hiring of Mike Terwilliger, EPHS has found its new girls’ hockey coach in Steve Persian, per a release on April 22. He takes over for Jaime Grossman, who moved on to coach…

For the first time, an Eden Prairie High School alum is a first-round pick in the NFL Draft. On Thursday, the New York Jets selected Jermaine Johnson II with the No. 26 overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas. Johnson graduated from EPHS in 2017. Johnson was an all-metro standout for the Eagles’ defense. He started his collegiate career at Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas. After a year there, he spent time at Georgia before playing his last collegiate season in 2021 with Florida State, where he was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s defensive player of the…

When the first round of the NFL Draft takes place on Thursday, April 28, in Las Vegas, one of the 21 potential draft picks will be an EPHS alum. The NFL recently announced the list of 21 attendees in-person for this year’s draft. That includes Jermaine Johnson II, who played his high school football at Eden Prairie before playing in college at Georgia and Florida State. Johnson is projected by many to be selected high in the first round of the draft. Johnson played under head coach Mike Grant and graduated in 2017. In his final season of high school…