Westin Kirk named Marshall Independent Player of the Year

By Jim Kopel
Tribute Sports

Westin Kirk, one of the many players for the RTR Knights who led them to the State 1A Champion­ship this year, was named the Player of the Year by the Marshall Indepen­dent for his work for the Knights. Westin scored points at a 18.2 average, which was the fourth best scoring average in the area. There were 11 teams represented from the area. Westin also was the fourth best rebounder in the area, grabbing about eight boards per game.
His coach, Coach Kern, had these thoughts on his post player. “There’s no way a kid his height should be as effective a rebound­er as he is, but he has a knack and a feel for where the ball is going to be and where he needs to be.”

For the full story, read this week’s Tyler Tribute.

If you can’t beat ‘em…

The RTR Softball Team summed up their season so far in this pre-blizzard snow pile picture from last week.

Delay of game(s)

Recent snows have postponed spring sporting events and moved practices indoors instead of places like the softball diamonds pictured above, with yet another chance of snow forecast this weekend.

RTR basketball awards banquet held to cap season

Head Coach Ted Kern.

By Mark Wilmes
tributeeditor@gmail.com

The RTR Knights basket­ball awards banquet was held Wednesday, April 4 in the lower level of the Kro­nborg Inn in Tyler. Play­ers, coaches and parents gathered for the event. Head Coach Ted Kern handed out certificates to each of the players, signi­fying their participation in the Minnesota State Class A Basketball Tour­nament. Also distributed were Camden Conference All-Conference plaques to Westin Kirk, Cooper Han­sen, Carter Hansen and Garrett Kern, as well as an Honorable Mention certifi­cate to Jonah Johnson.

For the full story, read this week’s Tyler Tribute.

Pictured left to right are Knights All-Conference winners Wyatt Kirk, Cooper Hansen, Garrett Kern, Carter Hansen and Honorable Mention Jonah Johnson.

Baartman and Schreurs crowned champions in KC State Contest

From left: Laken Baartman, Avery Schreurs and Ally Nelson.

By Jim Kopel
Tribute Sports

Two weeks ago the RTR boys were crowned cham­pions in the high school basketball finals at Target Center. This past Saturday Laken Baartman and Av­ery Schreurs, future bas­ketball players for the RTR girls, shot 25 free throws in St. Cloud in the Knights of Columbus State Free Throw competition. Both girls made enough free throws to receive the first place honors in their re­spective age group.

For the full story, read this week’s Tyler Tribute.

RTR baseball clinic April 14

By Mark Wilmes
tributeeditor@gmail.com

 
The 2018 RTR Baseball Clinic will be held Saturday, April 14, 9 a.m.-12 p.m at the Ruthton ball diamond. The clinic is for students grades 3-6 and will cost $15 per participant.

For the full story, read this week’s Tyler Tribute.

RTR dominates Camden Conference team in basketball

By Jim Kopel
Tribute Sports

The State Champion RTR Knights placed four mem­bers of its team on the first squad of the south part of the Camden Conference. Westin Kirk, Garrett Kern, Carter Hansen and Cooper Hansen all were so hon­ored. Jonah Johnson was named to the Honorable Mention list.
Westin Kirk was the cen­terpiece of the Knights, as a majority of the offense went through him before anything good happened. He scored at 18.2 points per game in leading the Knights in scoring. Westin was also their top board player…

For the full story, read this week’s Tyler Tribute.

Athlete of the Week

RTR senior basketball player Westin Kirk was named as a Hardware Hank “Nuts and Bolts” Athlete of the Week last week, along with Wendell Matthews, senior, Columbia Heights’ boys basketball. They’re being recognized on their website, www.Minnesota-Scores.net, along with a mention on their daily radio show, the Minnesota Sports Prep Update, which airs on 65 stations throughout Minnesota every Monday through Friday.

Knights move to 32-1 as they gain berth in State Championship finals

By Jim Kopel
Tribute Sports

The outstanding bas­ketball season for the RTR boys keeps going as the Knights rode a great defensive effort in beating the number one seeded Mayer Lutheran Crusaders 49-38 last Friday at Target Center. Both teams had trouble finding the center of the hoop to start the game. The Knights made enough shots to own a rather comfortable mar­gin when the score was 19-3, the biggest lead of the first half. Carter Hansen had eight of the points while brother Cooper had four points. Garrett Kern nailed two 3-pointers in the first half as the intermission score was 30-15 for the RTR Knights…

For the full story, read this week’s Tyler Tribute.

Knights shine in The Barn as 87-70 win over H-F moves team forward

Garrett Kern on a fast break basket against Hinckley-Finlayson at Williams Arena on Thursday.

By Jim Kopel
Tribute Sports

Williams Arena, also called The Barn by many people, could have just as well been called RTR Land last Thursday in the Cit­ies. The RTR fans were in full force as their favorite team, the Knights, took the floor against the fourth-seeded team in the state tournament, the Jaguars of Hinckley-Finlayson. The Knights were handed the fourth seed by the com­puter.
The game started with both teams scoring fast and furious. There were eight lead changes and two ties in the first nine minutes of play. Garrett Kern and Carter Hansen each scored six points during this time as the Knights finally post­ed a 24-18 advantage after that hectic first quarter of play. Both teams were up and down the floor at a re­cord pace…

For the full story, read this week’s Tyler Tribute.