A few months ago, Rochester Mayo's Miles Pattonwasn't sure where or if he would wrestle in college.
Now he's done a complete 180.
Patton recently took an official recruiting trip to the University of Minnesota, and he loved it. The Mayo senior quickly made a verbal commitment to wrestle for the Gophers next season.
Patton is coming off an incredible senior season. He advanced to the state finals at 145 pounds in Class AAA. Patton suffered a tough 3-2 loss to James Pleski of Forest Lake in the finals.
The Spartans standout ended his career as a two-time state place-winner with a career record of 157-41. He was a three-time state entrant.
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Patton will join former area wrestlers Broc Berge(Kasson-Mantorville), Will Balow(Lake City) and Nate Thomas(Kasson-Mantorville) on the Gophers roster.
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The Fox Sports North Girls have been disbanded.
The group of young women who made on- and off-air appearances on behalf of the Fox Sports North cable channel were recently informed the program is being discontinued. Red Wing grad Kendall Markhas served as on the FSNG team since winning a viewer vote in 2013.
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The University of Minnesota women's softball team finished Big Ten Conference play over the weekend with a 20-3 record and improved to 46-8 overall with wins of 3-2 (8 innings) and 4-2 over Purdue.
The Gophers are ranked ninth in one national poll and 13th in another.
Sam Macken, a sophomore from Lourdes, bats leadoff and plays third base. She's started every game, is batting .358 and has a .470 on-base percentage. She has six homers and 36 RBIs in 162 at-bats, and has been successful on all 14 stolen base attempts.
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Hayfield's Dani Wagnerhas played in 19 games and is batting .267.
The defending champion Gophers will be the conference tournament's second seed and will receive a bye in the first round, playing either No. 7 seed Rutgers or 10th-seeded Iowa in the quarterfinal round at 7 p.m. Friday, a game televised on the Big Ten Network.
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The Minnesota State High School League Board of Directors reportedly will hear from a representative of the Stewartville school administration at a meeting on Wednesday.
The league's Eligibility Committee on April 1 voted unanimously to not impose further penalties after the Stewartville School Board told head volleyball coach John Dzubayhe wouldn't be able to be on the bench for five matches. The board determined Dzubay, who has been coaching volleyball for nearly 40 years, violated four MSHSL rules.
A League spokeswoman said on April 2 that because Dzubay's hearing was open to the public at his request, Stewartville school officials should also have their chance to present their case at an open hearing.
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Rochester native Jeff Jakaitisis backstopping the South Carolina Stingrays to an impressive run through the ECHL playoffs.
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Jakaitis, a Rochester Mayo graduate, has helped the Stingrays build a 2-0 lead against the Florida Everblades in the best-of-seven East Division Finals. The winner of the series advances to the final four of the ECHL, a minor league equivalent to Class AA in pro baseball.
Jakaitis made 21 saves as South Carolina won the series opener 6-3 on Friday. He followed that with an impressive 38-save performance in a 4-2 victory in Saturday's Game 2 on the Stingrays' home ice in North Charleston, S.C. The series shifts to Estero, Fla., for Games 3, 4 and if necessary, 5, scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Jakaitis is 6-3 overall in the playoffs this season, with a 2.77 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage.
Jakaitis, 31, is in his eighth professional season after playing three seasons at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. He was named the ECHL's MVP this season after going 26-8-2 in the regular season with a 1.96 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
