Author: Steve Mulholland

In what could be billed as the “Clash of the Titans,” No. 1 ranked St. Michael-Albertville traveled to the Eden Prairie High School gymnasium to face the fourth-ranked Eagles in a Class 3A dual meet on Thursday night. The Knights feature nine wrestlers ranked in the state’s top ten by wrestling website The Guillotine; while six Eden Prairie wrestlers are ranked in the top ten. STMA won the first seven matches in weight classes 106 through 145 pounds. With wins by fall in the 132, 138 and 145-pound classes, the Knights took a 32-0 lead. The Eagles received a spark…

The fourth-ranked Eden Prairie Eagles wrestling team had their hands full Thursday night in a showdown with No. 1 rated St. Michael-Albertville. The Eagles got on the board in the 152-pound class when junior Terae Dunn defeated STMA senior Eli Davis on an 11-3 decision. Eden Prairie got a big lift in the 192-pound class from junior Will DiAna, who won by fall at 3:48 in the match. Junior Dominic Heim won a major decision in the 220-pound class with a 15-6 victory. Defending state champion Will Sather won by fall just 26 seconds into his match at 285…

Before the opening tipoff against Roseville Wednesday night, Eden Prairie girls basketball head coach Ellen Wiese was anticipating some “sluggish” competition. “They had a game last night, so we’ll see how it goes tonight,” she said. “Roseville played too.” The third-ranked Eagles were coming off an 87-48 victory over Waconia on Tuesday night and were hosting the Raiders, a team also playing on back-to-back nights after a win over Park of Cottage Grove, on their home court. But when both teams hit the floor, physical fatigue was a rumor while a fast-paced, back-and-forth contest ensued. High energy and quick transitions…

Coming off an 87-48 win over Waconia the night before, the third-ranked Eden Prairie Eagles girls basketball team took to their home court against Roseville Wednesday night.  The Raiders were playing for the second straight night as well, having defeated Park of Cottage Grove on Tuesday night. After a hard-fought back-and-forth first half, the Eagles held a 32-23 lead at the intermission. Eagles sophomore guard Tori Schlegel led in first-half scoring with 9 points, including a three-pointer.  Senior guard and captain Molly Lenz posted 8 first-half points, along with a three-pointer of her own. Roseville drew close in the second half and managed…

It was a teaching moment. After a lopsided loss on Tuesday night, Eden Prairie girls hockey head coach Steve Persian quickly gathered lemons and asked his squad to make their best lemonade. Despite a valiant effort, the Eagles had taken their lumps in an 8-0 loss at the hands of third-ranked Minnetonka on their home ice at Eden Prairie Community Center. “The mid-part of December provides us with an opportunity to learn from this game,” Persian said, looking at the occasion as a conduit for his team to improve during the long season ahead. Persian posited, “When we play a…

The Eden Prairie Eagles girls hockey team did their best to keep pace with one of the state’s best teams on their home ice Tuesday night. But No. 3 Minnetonka proved to be too much to overcome. The Skippers skated away with an 8-0 win. Eden Prairie had their hands full. Minnetonka’s only loss this season was to defending state champion Andover, whom they faced in the state title game last March. Freshman goaltender Rylee Liston faced 31 shots in the first two periods, holding her own in the first 17 minutes facing a barrage of Skipper attackers. Minnetonka took a…

Forget about the scoreboard for just a moment. “We talked about character tonight, because we knew Maple Grove was really good,” Steve Persian said. The head coach of the Eden Prairie girls hockey team wanted to measure the progress of his players. What better test than going toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the state? “I wanted to see what character this team had at this point in the year,” he said. “And frankly, that was probably the best game we’ve played this year.” The Eagles took to their home ice to face the fifth-ranked team in the…

The Eden Prairie Eagles girls hockey team found themselves in their second overtime in as many games when they squared off against fifth-ranked and undefeated Maple Grove Thursday night at Eden Prairie Community Center.  After a scoreless first period, the Eagles took the lead at 10:44 of the second period. Freshman forward Sara David scored, with assists going to sophomore Macey Haase and sophomore Adriana Mitchell. Maple Grove scored in the final minute of the second period to tie the game at one. The Crimson took the lead 5:59 into the third period and held the advantage until the final…

You don’t have to look closely along the bench of the Eden Prairie girls basketball team to get the message. On the backs of the Eagles’ warm-up gear worn by every player, it’s there – in big, bold letters: “BE THE LIGHT” “It’s easy when you’re not making shots to be negative about it,” explains Eden Prairie head coach Ellen Wiese who, in her sixth season at Eden Prairie, decided to emphasize the positive on the Eagles’ gameday apparel. “If you’re not playing and say, ‘Why isn’t the coach playing me?’ you can either take that route, or you can…

The Eden Prairie Eagles girls basketball team maintained their perfect record in the young season with an 81-55 win over Prior Lake Wednesday night at Eden Prairie High School.  After a slow start, the Eagles led by 11 at halftime and pulled away in the second half with improved shooting on the perimeter.  Senior guard Molly Lenz led the Eagles with 20 points. Sophomore guard Vanessa Jordan had 16, senior guard Ashley Fritz put up nine points, as did sophomore guard Remington Ehrman. The Eagles, ranked fourth in the Star Tribune preseason poll, improve to 3-0 on the season and…