New Prague High School’s wrestlers split a triangular in Jordan, Friday, Jan. 26. The Trojans beat Glencoe-Silver Lake, 58-9, and then lost to Scott West, 40-14.
On Saturday, Jan. 27, New Prague was on the road for a 16-team individual tournament in Orono. The Trojans tied for third in the competitive tourney.
Triangular
Monday was a hard night on the hardwood for the New Prague Trojans.
On a night where Katie Boulanger was honored for eclipsing 1,000 points in scoring, Chanhassen topped NP, 77-52.
New Prague Trojans will host Bloomington Jefferson Thursday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m.
The NPHS boys fell to the Storm, 63-62, Monday in Chanhassen.
The New Prague Trojans will be at Bloomington Jefferson Thursday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m.
Losses are by definition tough. When a team suffers a setback it expected to win, had reason to believe it would win and had victory within its grasp, those setbacks can be an especially bitter pill.
New Prague High School’s girls’ basketball team suffered a pair of tough losses this past week, setbacks coach Eric Specht hopes his players will use as both an educational tool and motivation as the Trojans continue their schedule of games against conference opponents.
New Prague’s floor hockey team built a big lead early and cruised to an easy 17-10 win over Mankato last Tuesday, Jan. 16.
After the loss to state champion Lakeville the previous week, the Trojans faced Owatonna Tuesday, Jan. 23, after The New Prague Times went to press. The Trojans will face Chanhassen/Chaska/Shakopee/Prior Lake Tuesday, Jan. 30, 4:30 p.m., in Shakopee.
“We rebounded nicely after our loss last week and set the tone going forward. We are hoping to rattle off a few wins in a row here and build some momentum,” NP coach Jeremy Kalal said.
Facing a pair of injuries to forwards Owen Blair and Bobby Goggins, depth could become a challenge the Trojans will have to address in the next few weeks.
The two injured players will require shuffling of personnel as the Trojans face a pair of conference and non-conference ice hockey games in the next 10 days. They’ll also face a section opponent as well.
“Our depth has been dinged a bit. I guess it’s the next-man-up mentality,” said NPHS coach Brad Drazan.
New Prague High School volleyball coach Greg Sayuk has been named the Class AAAA Coach of the Year by his peers in the Minnesota High School Volleyball Coaches Association (MNVBCA).
Sayuk’s team finished the season in the Class AAAA championship match against undefeated Wayzata, a team loaded with college-bound talent. Though the Trojans fell in three tough games to Wayzata, they finished the season with a best-ever record of 27- 6. They finished undefeated in conference play and swept their four matches against section competition.
Having taken on two tough teams, one the defending state champion and the other a state participant, the New Prague floor hockey team knows it will need to play a little better to return to the top of the mountain.
The Trojans opened the season Jan. 9 with a win over Dakota United, a team they topped at the state tournament a year ago. They fell in the second game, a rematch of the last two state championship games against Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville. The Trojans won the 2022 game and the Blazing Cats enjoyed revenge in 2023.
New Prague’s gymnastic team hosted the 11th annual Matt Shetka Invitational Saturday, Jan. 6, with nine teams competing.
“The Matt Shetka invite was a great meet. New Prague had two teams of nine competing at the meet,” said head coach Darrell Christenson.
“Our team one took third place overall with a score of 138.3. That's our second highest score of the season so far.”
After splitting two games over break, the New Prague High School girls’ hoops team started 2024 off right with a solid win over section competition before opening Metro West play.
New Prague topped Rochester John Marshall Jan. 2, a victory that could help NPHS earn a top-four seed in the section seedings and a home playoff game later in the season. The victory gives the Trojans a leg up on the Rockets as an upper-middle tier team in the section behind Section 1AAAA powerhouses Lakeville North, Lakeville South and Rochester Mayo, said NPHS coach Eric Specht.
The New Prague High School wrestlers traveled to Chanhassen High School where the Trojans wrestled 15th ranked AAA Chaska/Chanhassen in the opening round and then faced off against Eden Prairie. In both NPHS had close wins, clipping the wings of the Stormhawks, 31-25, and the Eagles, 36-29. New Prague is scheduled for a tournament at St. Cloud Tech High School, Saturday, Jan. 13. The Trojans have one remaining conference dual with Waconia on Thursday, Jan. 18. For more see an upcoming print edition of The New Prague Times.
The two end zones were uncharted territory when the Ptarmigans and Polars resumed their annual rivalry in the 64th annual SnoBowl tackle football game Saturday, Dec. 30, at Memorial Park.
Although the little steps toward getting better aren’t yet showing up in the win-loss column, the New Prague girls’ ice hockey team is taking small steps the Trojans hope will show up as they head into the conference season.
With about a month left in its season, New Prague is hoping for a turnaround. The Trojans need to win some games to receive a better seed, one that will spare them an opening round match against a powerhouse like Minnetonka. A year ago, the Trojans fell in their opening section game, 14-1, to a Minnetonka team that reached the state tournament.
Mental mistakes and struggles in ballhandling were costly for the boys’ basketball team as New Prague lost two home games. The Trojans lost to Centennial, 56- 51, Tuesday, Dec. 12, and to Worthington, 67-49, Friday, Dec. 15.
New Prague was on the road this week, first at Byron, Tuesday, Dec. 19. The next game is at St. Peter, tonight (Thursday), at 7:15 p.m. The Trojans will be at Lakeville North’s invitational beginning Thursday, Dec. 28.
After a much-needed win, New Prague High School’s girls’ hockey team drop a pair of tough setbacks in the past week.
Despite the losses, coach Madison Drazan sees her team continuing to work hard and putting forth the effort. Drazan wants her team to continue to press for the gritty goals, the type of goals where forwards bang a rebound by a goalie who just made the initial save.
“They’re not the prettiest, but we’ve got to be ready to score the ugly goals,” Drazan said.
New Prague High School’s club bowling team finished 11th at the state meet Dec. 3 at Concord Lanes in South St. Paul.
The Trojans finished 11th in a field of 24 teams, just 59 pins shy of a top-eight finish in the state.
The team’s scores are determined by having all five participants roll in a game. Bowlers throw the first and sixth frames, the second and seventh, the third and eighth, fourth and ninth and fifth and 10th frames.
Despite their record not being where the Trojans want it to be, New Prague High School girls’ ice hockey coach Madison Drazan sees progress.
At 2-6-1, the first-year New Prague coach said her players continue to work hard in games and daily practices. The players are adapting to new offensive and defensive systems. The team endured a pair of tough setbacks in the past week, losses that could leave players down.
“Everybody is continuing to work hard and keep trying to get better. That’s the most important thing, this team is committed to getting better,” Drazan said.