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by Tom Coombe
The fall sports season at Ely High School isn’t quite over, but some athletes are ready to turn the page.
Practices start Monday for the Wolves’ hockey, girls basketball and boys and girls Nordic skiing teams, with boys basketball practice set to begin on Monday, Nov. 18.
Ely will also field a competitive dance team that will be eligible for section and state competition and has three regular season contests planned. Wrestling is a new sport to the area - hosted by Northeast Range in Babbitt but with a handful of Ely athletes getting set to take to the mat.
Here’s an early look at what to expect:
• The first winter sports team to compete will be the girls basketball squad, which has its first contest Nov. 22 against Cromwell, The Timberwolves are rebuilding a bit after three consecutive trips to the Section 7A semifinals and the graduation
of senior stalwarts Sarah Visser, Grace LaTourell and Hannah Penke.
Ely will have both a new lineup and a new leader, with Tomi (McDonald) Cole stepping in as head coach after Max Gantt stepped down over the summer.
Two key players from Ely’s state-bound volleyball team - senior Clare Thomas and sophomore Audrey Kallberg - are among the returning Wolves with varsity experience.
• Ely’s traditionally strong Nordic skiing program will reload this winter.
In 2022-23, the boys team qualified for state and placed eighth overall.
Sophomore Aksel Skustad and senior Silas Solum formed a relay that was fourth at last year’s state meet, while the team returns several others who were part of the state team - including Oliver Hohenstein, Dylan Durkin, Eli Olson and Milo McClelland.
The ski teams will open
with dryland training and hope for snow to arrive soon. The season opener is slated for Dec. 10 at the Proctor Invitational.
• Ely’s high school hockey team has experience up front and in goal but will look to replace some firepower after the graduation of top scorers Deegan Richards and Drew Marolt.
Senior Ben Leeson is back between the pipes after starting nearly all of the games the last two seasons, while sophomore Owen Marolt is the team’s top returning scorer.
Jake Myers is back for his fourth season as head coach and the Wolves have a smaller roster than in recent years - with just 17 players.
The Wolves are set to open, at home, against Moose Lake Area on Nov. 30.
• Boys basketball practices across Minnesota start next week and the Wolves will get ready for a Dec. 6 home opener against International Falls.
Tom McDonald has coached the Ely boys since 1990 and he welcomes back the bulk of a team that picked up 11 wins last winter.
The Wolves return their leading scorer in All-Arrowhead selection Jack Davies, who averaged better than 20 points per game as a sophomore and is one of the area’s most potent three-point shooting threats.
Ely will also be led by three-sport standout Caid Chittum, a senior.
• In addition to performing at halftime of boys and girls basketball games, the high school dance team will be a competitive program this winter and take part in section competition in February.
Prior to that they will compete at meets in Detroit Lakes and Monticello.
Desirae Smith serves as head coach for the competitive dance group.
