Prep Athletes of the Week: After weeks of blocking and tackling, Monticello football standout Eli Pietig is celebrating

Pietig is disruptive.

A senior, he takes plenty of pride in chasing down runners or opening holes for them. He is a starting middle linebacker and offensive guard for the state-bound Magic (8-2).

“Eli is a tough, two-way starter for us that has been a steady contributor for two seasons,” Magic coach Andy Pierskalla said. “He has great instinct and a knack to be around the play. His leadership skills as one of our captains is second to none, and his style of play is a throwback to physical, tough and fast.”

The 5-11, 205-pound Pietig had 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and forced a fumble as the Magic shut out Spring Lake Park 19-0 for the Class 5A, Section 6 championship.

“We’ve been so close every time,” said Pietig, whose team was eliminated by Rogers in the section tournament each of the past three seasons in one-score games. “We finally did it. This is so special.”

It ended 36 years of frustration for Monticello. Its last state tournament appearance was in 1988.

Bringing that stretch to an end “was a goal coming into the season,” Pietig said. “That stuck with us all season. Now we finally get to go back to the state tournament.”

Pietig excels on defense, where he periodically moves to tackle. The Magic has shut out four of its opponents during its eight-game winning streak.

“Playing middle linebacker is second nature for me. I’ve been playing that position all my life. I love tackling people,” Pietig said. “We have been playing good, aggressive football on defense.”

“Kadence’s poise and leadership under pressure are what makes her special and stand out,” Raiders coach Greg Ueland said. That showed in the Class 4A, Section 4 championship when Roseville (26-5) rallied for a 21-25, 24-26, 25-14, 27-25, 15-10 victory over Stillwater. A senior, Davison had 50 set assists, 21 digs, three kills, three ace serves and two blocks in the game. She has 917 assists, 271 digs, 32 kills, 33 ace serves and 36 blocks this season. “Kadence has been a confident and vocal leader for this team since the moment she played varsity as a freshmen,” Ueland said. “She is a consistent setter who sees the court so well and knows who to get the ball to, setting our team up for success.”

The future looks bright for Semling, a freshman. Semling won the Class 1A cross-country state championship with a school-record time of 15 minutes, 23.5 seconds over the 5K course at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights. He entered the meet ranked second in the state by the coaches association. “His race was truly impressive,” Winona Cotter/Hope Lutheran coach Mike Costello said. “In two other big meets this year, he was dealing with an illness and minor injury. But he was 100 percent and really uncorked one. An amazing time and feat for anyone but extraordinary for a freshman.”

No moment is too big for Senden. The senior forward scored back-to-back goals, leading the No. 2-ranked Trojans (19-1-1) to a 3-1 victory over Lake Conference rival Edina, ranked fifth, for the Class 3A championship. She scored at least one goal in each game of Wayzata’s season-ending 13-game winning streak. A Gophers recruit, she finished the season with 26 goals and 17 assists. “Tenley is an electrifying player with super speed who scored key goals in every state tournament game,” Wayzata coach Tony Peszneker said.

The senior running back/linebacker is dominant on both sides of the ball. The 5-11, 192-pound Smith rushed for 268 yards on 25 carries and scored four touchdowns, leading the Storm (10-1) to a 42-14 victory over Warren-Alvarado-Oslo for the Nine-Player, Section 8 championship at the Fargodome. He scored on runs of 11, 28, 52 and 71 yards. Smith was active on defense as well, making 12 tackles. “Blaine has been consistently productive on both sides of the ball,” Storm coach Ethan Marquis said. “He is a strong player who has carried the ball well as of late for us.”

Brownell lived up to her ranking as the No. 1-rated runner in Class 1A. She won the cross-country state championship with a time of 18:17.2. Three weeks ago, Brownell established the school record with a time of 17:50.1 at the Heart O’Lakes Conference meet at Arvig Park in Perham. “She spent the season achieving goals and then setting new ones,” Cardinals coach Bruce Fuhrman said. A junior, Brownell won six of her seven races this season. “She understands the importance of logging of miles, speed workouts, tempo running, rest and other technical aspects required to become a great runner,” Fuhrman said.

A sophomore, Olyath picked a good time to turn in his best performance of the season. Oliyath capped his hat trick five minutes into overtime, giving fourth-ranked Eagan (20-1-1) a wild 4-3 victory over top-ranked Maple Grove (19-1-1) in the Class 3A championship game. He sent the game into overtime when he scored the tying goal with 13 minutes remaining. He scored his first goal in the 49th minute of the game.

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