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Samuelson, Bjerke earn top honors

Published 12:00am Thursday, March 17, 2005

Both Samuelson and Bjerke are headed for Division I college teams next fall. Samuel-son will be playing for Colorado State.Bjerke will be joining Iowa State. Receiving honorable mention on the all-state team were Fergus Falls freshman center Hannah Draxten, who helped the Otters reach the Section 8AAA finals for the first time since 1988; Parkers Prairie senior guard Jenna Freudenberg and Battle Lake junior guard Nikki Washek. Katie Ohm’s presence at youth basketball tournaments around the state used to raise skeptical eyebrows about her age. Years later, she’s still drawing plenty of disbelief: She scored HOW MANY points? Ohm became Minnesota’s all-time leading scorer, boy or girl, this season and finished her Elgin-Millville High School career with 3,694 points. She broke the previous mark, held by Megan Taylor of Roseau, by 394 points and led the Watchmen to their first state championship by downing undefeated Fosston in the Class 1A final on Saturday. For all those accomplishments, Ohm was named The Associated Press’ Player of the Year for Minnesota girls’ basketball on Tuesday. Joined on the first team by Fosston’s Kayla Bagaason, Underwood’s Ashley Samuelson, Wood-bury’s Amanda Nisleit and St. Paul Central’s Ashley Ellis-Milan, Ohm was a landslide selection by a statewide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. No surprise to anybody who watched her play as a little girl. She was so tall, so good back then that opponents often wondered whether her team was using a ringer. &uot;They’d always question about how old she was,&uot; said Clark Olstad, Elgin-Millville’s head coach, athletics director and principal. &uot;And they’d be right. Instead of fifth grade, she’d be in fourth.&uot; Ohm, also a volleyball and softball star, has signed with the University of Minnesota. Olstad predicted a spike in traffic heading north on Hwy. 52 from the Rochester area when the Gophers play next fall and winter. Ohm, who was in Mexico this week on a school trip and unavailable for comment, attended nearly every Gophers home game this season to check out her future teammates. &uot;I think she’ll do fine up there,&uot; Olstad said, noting her 6-foot, well-built frame that should allow her to play power forward in the Big Ten. Ohm has always been big. &uot;I’m not sure she’s grown a lick since seventh or eighth grade,&uot; Olstad said. Indeed, Ohm played some as a seventh-grader and was all-conference the next season. She reached the 1,000-point mark as a freshman and broke the school’s scoring record as a sophomore. It wasn’t just her, though. This year’s senior class was targeted a while back as one that could bring the school a state championship. That was evident last week at Target Center, when Ohm scored a relatively quiet 56 points over the Watchmen’s three victories. &uot;That’s the tough part about our team,&uot; she said after the quarterfinal victory over Underwood. &uot;You can’t just guard one player. You have to guard all five.&uot; The towns of Elgin and Millville have always liked their basketball, but Ohm’s class has ignited interest in the sport. &uot;It’s definitely increased,&uot; Olstad said. &uot;There’s a lot more energy in the elementary programs and now the parents want to travel more.&uot; Here is The Associated Press 2005 All-State team for Minnesota prep girls basketball, as voted on by statewide media. PLAYER OF THE YEAR Katie Ohm, Elgin-Millville FIRST TEAM G&045;&045;Kayla Bagaason, SR, Fosston G&045;&045;Ashley Samuelson, SR, Underwood F&045;&045;Katie Ohm, SR, Elgin-Millville F&045;&045;Amanda Nisleit, SR, Woodbury C&045;&045;Ashley Ellis-Milan, SR, St. Paul Central SECOND TEAM G&045;&045;Tayler Hill, 8th, Minneapolis South G&045;&045;Flecia Foster, SR, Pequot Lakes F&045;&045;Jenna Smith, JR, Bloomington Kennedy F&045;&045;Gillian Bjerke, SR, Pelican Rapids C&045;&045;Kierah Kimbrough, SR, Badger/Greenbush-Middle River HONORABLE MENTION GUARDS: Allison Anderson, JR, New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva; Amy Beggin, JR, Roseville; Anna Bjorlin, JR, Hermantown; Devin Bowlin, SO, Winona Cotter; Anne Breland, JR, Rochester Lourdes; Maurika Carlisle, SO, Minneapolis North; Paige DeVine, SR, St. Charles; Cara Donnell, SR, Cass Lake-Bena; Lauren Dybing, SR, St. Croix Lutheran; Andrea Fennern, JR, Wabasso; Jenna Freudenberg, SR, Parkers Prairie; Maria Gangelhoff, FR, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s; Ana Garcia, SO, Blaine; Jackie Gulsvig, SR, Moorhead; Cayla Hargrove, SR, North St. Paul; Talicia Jackson, SR, DeLaSalle; Heather Johnson, SR, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton; Whitney Johnson, SR, Tower-Soudan; Jamie Jones, JR, Irondale; Alyssa Karel, SO, Cretin-Derham Hall; Michelle Kaus, SR, Eastview; Nicole Kenne, SR, Mankato West; Karissa Kramer, JR, Minnesota Valley Lutheran; Kaitlyn Lillemoe, SR, Hopkins; Macie Michelson, SO, Marshall; Jessie Miller, JR, Holy Angels; Emily Nelson, SR, Mankato Loyola; Joanne Noreen, SR, Albany; Abby Oakland, SR, Fulda; Leah Payne, SR, East Central; Trisha Peterson, SR, Lewiston-Altura; Zora Quoie, JR, Woodbury; Ashley Raymo, SR, Worthington; Jenna Reinemann, SR, Duluth East; Breanna Salley, JR, St. Francis; Jillian Schurle, JR, Hopkins; Katie Sheets, SR, Lakeville; Hannah Skildum, SR, Mounds View; Kylee Smith, JR, Cromwell; Abby Thom, JR, Meadow Creek Christian; Cassi Tilstra, SR, Hills-Beaver Creek; Katie Walden, SR, Hawley; Kamille Wahlin, 9th, Crookston; Nikki Washek, JR, Battle Lake. FORWARDS: Leah Ashburn, JR, Buffalo Lake-Hector; Sam Battaglia, SR, Cloquet; Ebony Black, SO, St. Paul Johnson; Brittany Buysse, SR, Minneota; Jackie Carlson, SR, Litchfield; Chelsea Evenstad, SR, Yellow Medicine East; Kirsten DeWall, SR, Southwest Star Concept; Katie Dewitt, JR, Centennial; Ashlee Domine, JR, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton; Chelsey Earney, SR, Red Wing; Jordanne Even, JR, Detroit Lakes; Teresa Flippin, SR, Minnehaha Academy; Shelly Francis, SR, Fosston; Beth Hanson, JR, Faribault Bethlehem Academy; Briana Hassett, SR, Eastview; Jessica Heinen, SR, New London-Spicer; Nargis Kabiri, SR, Pipestone; Sara Kelly, JR, Hermantown; Leah Kern, SR, St. James; Kaitlyn Kramer, SR, Fulda; Lauren Luebbe, JR, Rochester Lourdes; Heidi Matzke, SR, Red Lake Falls; Andrea Millerbernd, JR, Littlefork-Big Falls; Cory Montgomery, JR, Cannon Falls; Ali Mooty, SR, Edina; Kelly Mullaney, JR, Breck; Stacie Oistad, SR, Sartell-St. Stephen; Kristina Salscheider, SR, Cass Lake-Bena; Jenni Strand, SR, Alexandria; Lisa Thielen, SR, Mountain Iron-Buhl; Jenny Van Kirk, JR, Waconia. CENTERS: Jenny Anderson, SR, North Branch; Lindsay Bartel, SR, St. James; Maria Boever, JR, Worthington; Rachel Christiansen, JR, Murray County Central; Hannah Draxten, FR, Fergus Falls; Laurel Drenth, SR, Ellsworth; Britta Hendrickson, SR, Red Wing; Erica Hormig, SR, Windom; Leah Kern, SR, St. James; Sarah Lincoln, SR, Rockford; Amy Malo, SR, Fairmont; Molly Mathiowetz, SO, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s; Laura Nielson, JR, Willmar; Candace Olstad, SR, Elgin-Millville; Teresa Parker, SR, Pequot Lakes; Meghan Rettke, SR, Hutchinson; Katie Schumacher, SR, Wabasso; Shelby Slygh, JR, Cotton; Janessa Wolff, SO, Park Rapids.