The Austin Packers boys basketball team got their season off to a great start on Tuesday with a 60-45 win over section rival New Prague.
Zach Wessels led the scoring with 18 points, while Bret Lukes added 14, Nik Gasner 11, Gach Gach 8, Curtis Oberbroeckling 5, and Ajuda Nywesh 2 and Zach Coffey 2 each.
See the story in the Austin Daily Herald.
Update: Tomorrow’s game is against Marshall…and so as an appetizer, here are highlights from the end of last year’s OT win in the state semifinals:
As the Austin Packers are gearing up to go for a third straight Big Nine title and to defend their Section 1AAA championship, 2013 graduate Joe Aase is beginning his college career at Davidson College. See this article in Tuesday’s Rochester Post-Bulletin for more background.
Joe saw his first collegiate action Sunday afternoon in an exhibition game against Lenoir-Rhyne University, a Division II school from North Carolina. Here are some highlights of his play:
The Davidson Wildcats open their season Friday at #5-ranked Duke University in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 6 p.m. CST. Their home opener is Monday, Nov. 11 against University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a game broadcast on ESPN3, also at 6 p.m. CST.
If you want to keep up with the Wildcats basketball team online, see the official men’s basketball site or follow on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Home games that are not televised are streamed from the Davidson Web site for a fee.
…and Beardless.
Austin Packer senior Tommy Olmsted gained statewide and worldwide notoriety in the Minnesota State Tournament because of his beard, which gained its length and prominence due to the Packers’ 30-game winning streak. With the season over, now Tommy has shaved his beard for baseball season. See the before and after below:
At the annual awards banquet last night we closed with a video featuring our seniors, a look back at their start as first-graders playing YMCA ball at Holy Cross, on to their 7th grade experience at Ellis Middle School and then selected highlights from the last couple of years.
The Aase cousins (Joe and Tom), Tommy Olmsted and Collin Weisert provided leadership for a team that went 53-7 in the last two years, including this season’s 30-1 mark and second place finish in the Minnesota State High School League Class AAA Tournament.
With two returning starters and two more players who saw extended varsity action, and bringing up JV players who posted a 17-7 record this year, the future for the Packers remains bright.
But here’s a look back at the Class of 2013 and how they have grown over the years:
The Packers had a huge contingent of fans on hand for the state title game against DeLaSalle (click the image above to enlarge), and they got off to a good start with an early 5-0 lead, but their perfect season came to an end on a less-than-perfect note in a 50-33 loss to the top-ranked Islanders.
Tom Aase led the Packers with 14 points, while Zach Wessels added 8. Collin Weisert scored 5, while Joe Aase, Bret Lukes and Ajuda Nywesh had 2 each.
See the stories in the Austin Daily Herald and Rochester Post-Bulletin.
Packer Fast Break Club 