With 2011 now in the rearview mirror, athletic teams from and now prepare to enter the heart of their respective seasons in January.
Richfield Boys Basketball
Ranked fifth in Class AAA, the closed out 2011 with a 5-2 record after a narrow 68-63 loss to their third-ranked hosts in the Grand Rapids Tournament on Friday.
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The setback ended a five-game winning streak for the Spartans and was the first defeat for Richfield since a 69-68 loss to Waconia in the season opener on Dec. 3.
In-between, the Spartans have laid waste to a handful of opponents, topping Holy Family Catholic, Bloomington Jefferson, Minneapolis North and South, as well as Duluth Denfeld by an average of 20.4 points.
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Sean Bear leads Richfield with 22.3 points-per-game, followed by Dashawn Jones at 15.4 ppg and Jared Noonan at 13.3 ppg.
The Spartans kick off 2012 by opening Classic Suburban Conference play at on Tuesday night, then remaining on the road at Henry Sibley on Friday night before returning home for a 7 p.m. tip-off against Hill-Murray on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
Holy Angels Boys Basketball
Despite a 1-2 showing at the St. Thomas Tournament, the Holy Angels boys basketball team heads into the new year with a 4-3 record.
The Stars blew out Minneapolis Southwest, 63-33, on Dec. 28 for their final win of 2011 and have also defeated Hill-Murray, St. Louis Park and Holy Family Catholic on the season.
Jordan Dembley leads the team with 14.7 ppg, followed by Danny Sullivan at 14.3 ppg, Charlie Koontz at 11.5 ppg and Delshon Strickland at 10.0 ppg.
Holy Angels begins 2012 with a four-game homestand, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night versus Minnehaha Academy; the Stars open Missota Conference play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13 versus Chanhassen.
Richfield Girls Basketball
The Richfield girls basketball team, ranked fourth in Class AAA, ended 2011 in style with a 69-55 defeat of Bloomington Kennedy, ranked fourth in Class AAAA, last Wednesday to win the Richfield Tournament.
It was the fifth-straight victory for the Spartans and improved the team's record to 8-2 on the season. Richfield's only two losses of the year have come versus Providence Academy -- ranked first in Class AA -- and Lake Conference behemoth Minnetonka.
leads the Spartans with 21.0 ppg, followed by Bryann Guyton with 11.0 ppg, Sierra Washington at 10.7 ppg and at 10.2 ppg.
Richfield opens Classic Suburban play at home versus South St. Paul at 7 p.m. Tuesday night before traveling to Minneapolis Southwest for a Thursday night matchup.
Holy Angels Girls Basketball
A 65-51 win over St. Paul Johnson last Thursday gave the Holy Angels girls basketball team a 2-1 showing in the Simley Tournament and a 5-6 record on the season so far.
The Stars opened tourney play with a 48-38 defeat of St. Paul Como Park last Tuesday to snap a three-game losing skid that followed a two-game winning streak in the midst of December.
Evan Wise leads Holy Angels with 10.5 ppg, with Kate Banovetz averaging 9.3 ppg through the first five weeks of the season.
The Stars open their Missota campaign at New Prague on Friday night before returning home to take on conference foe Red Wing at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
Richfield Boys Hockey
The Richfield boys hockey team closed out 2011 with a 4-6-1 record after going 1-2 in the Rochester Kiwanis Hockey Festival, Dec. 28-30.
After dropping their first two tournament games, the Spartans left Rochester on a high note with a 9-3 defeat of Dodge County in its festival finale on Friday.
Mick Dhein leads Richfield with 30 points on 12 goals and a team-high 18 assists, while Tyler Martinez's 15 goals are tops on the squad.
Goaltender John Meyer has a 4-5-1 mark and 235 saves on 280 shots on net.
The Spartans return to competition with a non-conference game versus St. Paul Highland Park this Thursday night before opening Classic Suburban play at 3 p.m. Saturday night when Sibley pays a visit to the Richfield Ice Arena.
Holy Angels Boys Hockey
The Holy Angels boys hockey team will be hoping for better fortune in 2012 after finishing the old year with a 1-8 record.
A 4-1 loss to Blaine last Wednesday concluded a 0-3 appearance at the Schwan Cup that ran the Stars' losing streak to six games.
Holy Angels' lone victory of the season to date came on Dec. 10, when the Stars topped New Prague in its Missota opener at home.
Mario Bianchi leads the team with 16 points on six goals and 10 assists, with Tony Haeg's seven goals pacing the squad.
Holy Angels has used four goaltenders this season, with Will Dupont netting the team's lone victory and logging 98 saves on 123 shots; Brett Pierce has notched the most saves so far with 118 stops on 143 shots.
The Stars open 2012 competition at conference foe Farmington on Tuesday night before playing Edina at Braemar Arena on Thursday. Holy Angels hosts Eden Prairie at 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Holy Angels Girls Hockey
The enters 2012 with a 1-14-1 record after a 0-2-1 run at the Schwan Cup, Dec. 28-30.
After opening tournament play with a 1-1 tie versus Hudson, the Stars dropped the next two games to finish off 2011. Holy Angels' lone victory of the season came on Nov. 25 in a 1-0 defeat of Prior Lake.
Amanda Navratil leads the Stars with seven points on a team-high four goals and three assists; Jessica Block also has three assists to tie for the squad's best.
Caroline Riester has Holy Angels' only goaltending victory, having made 245 saves on 292 shots in 16 games played; netminder Maddie Karl owns the tie and has made 109 stops on 135 attempts in 10 games played.
The Stars commence 2012 with a home game versus Missota rival Farmington at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday night and remain at home versus Shakopee at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Results and statistics for girls swimming/diving, gymnastics, alpine and Nordic skiing were not available. Updates regarding those sports may be sent to tomcarothers@yahoo.com.