Luverne Sports
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 11, 2026The Luverne boys’ basketball team mounted a second half comeback against No. 1 north seed Montevideo only to fall by 13 at the final buzzer. The Cardinals fell 74-61 to the Thunderhawks in the Section 3 AA subsection semifinals in Windom March 3 to end their season. Montevideo built a 12-2 lead at the start of the game hitting multiple three-point shots and grabbing several LHS passes under…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 11, 2026Eight former Luverne track and field athletes participated in the 2026 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Conference Championship Feb. 27-28 at Myers Field House in Mankato, Minnesota; hosted by Minnesota State University. “I think it is very rewarding to have so many athletes move on to compete at the collegiate level,” said Luverne track and field head coach Pete Janiszeski. The…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 04, 2026The Luverne boys’ hockey team ended their season earlier than they expected. The Cardinals fell 2-1 to Mankato West Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Section 3A Championship game in St. Peter. It took three overtime periods to decide who would move on to the 2026 state tournament. With the game tied 1-1 after the second period in regulation play, both teams dug in and dragged out the game another four…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 04, 2026Seven Luverne athletes were recently named to the 2025-26 Big South All-Conference Team. In gymnastics, senior Kianna Winter, freshman Emma Cowell and eighth-grader Marrs Thone were selected all-conference in the Gold Division for LHS. Thone qualified for the 2026 state tournament in the individual vault competition and finished in 21st place out of 46 athletes. Luverne girls’ hockey took…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 04, 2026Luverne gave Fairmont a scare in the Section 3 South Sub-Section Quarterfinal game Tuesday, Feb. 24, in Jackson. The No. 5 seed Luverne Cardinals matched the No. 1 seed Fairmont Cardinals to the last four minutes of the game before Fairmont went on a 14-point run to win a 52-42 game. Luverne started the game taking a 9-6 lead early in the contest. Fairmont then scored eight unanswered points…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 04, 2026The Luverne boys’ basketball team added two wins to their record when they beat Edgerton 75-68 Feb. 24 and won 79-67 against St. James in the Section 3 south sub-section quarterfinal game at home Feb. 27. The Cardinals’ win/loss record now sits at 21-5 for the season. Luvere was scheduled to take on Montevideo, the No. 1 south seed, Tuesday, Mar. 3, in the sub-section semifinals in Windom. …
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 04, 2026Luverne wrestlers senior Bernie and junior CeCe Rock finished on the podium in the 2026 individual state wrestling tournament Saturday, Feb. 28, in St. Paul. Two other LHS grapplers, freshman Ellie Rock and junior Brody Kopp bowed out in the early rounds of competition. CeCe Rock wins second CeCe Rock placed second in the girls’ 155-pound weight class, winning three matches and falling in…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 25, 2026The Luverne girls’ hockey team finished its 2026 state tournament run falling twice to two strong contenders. LHS fell 5-1 to the No. 1 seed Warroad Warriors Wednesday, Feb. 18, and lost 4-0 to the No. 5 seed Proctor-Hermantown Mirage. The Cardinals finished the regular season 16-9, completed their section run 19-9 and finished 19-11 through the state tournament games. LHS made the state…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 25, 2026Luverne junior Brodie Kopp qualified for the state wrestling meet placing second in the 107-pound weight class at the Section 3A Individual Tournament Saturday, Feb. 21, in Springfield. The 2026 State Wrestling Tournament will be held Feb. 25-29 at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Kopp will join the Rock sisters, Ellie, CeCe and Bernie, who already qualified for the state meet earlier this…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 25, 2026Luverne gymnast eighth-grader Marrs Thone finished 21st in the individual vault competition at the 2026 Class A State gymnastics meet in St. Paul Saturday, Feb. 21. Thone took 21st place out of 45 vaulters, scoring a 9.075 in her first attempt. In her second pass she scored an 8.550. Placements are figured by the highest vault value of the gymnasts’ two attempts. In her first state meet Thone…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 25, 2026Luverne freshman Briella John hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to help LHS beat Windom 79-76 in section playoff action Friday, Feb. 20, on the road. After finding themselves down by 11 points with less than three minutes in the game, the Cardinals fought back tying the game 76-76 with less than a minute on the game clock. The Luverne girls dug in and fought for control of the ball with…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 25, 2026The Luverne boys’ hockey team captured two Section 3A games this past week beating Windom 11-0 Feb. 19, at home in the section quarterfinals and New Ulm 8-2 in the section semifinals Feb. 21, in St. Peter. The Cardinals are scheduled to take on Mankato West Thursday, Feb. 26, for the section championship in St. Peter. LHS, the No. 1 seed, will face a tough Mankato West, the No. 2 seed, in the…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 25, 2026The Luverne boys’ basketball team collected two wins improving their season record to 19-5. LHS beat H-BC 70-67 at home Feb. 19, and topped Minneota 83-67 on the road Feb. 20. The Cardinals were scheduled to travel to Edgerton to take on Southwest Minnesota Christian Tuesday, Feb. 24, for their final regular season game. LHS 70, H-BC 67 Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek faced off in head-to-…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 17, 2026The Luverne girls’ hockey team is heading to the state tournament after beating Marshall 3-2 in an exciting section championship game Tuesday, Feb. 10, in St Peter. “There’s not a team that the girls wanted to beat more than Marshall after they beat us in the section championship last season and stopped our sixth straight state appearance,” LHS head coach Matthew McClure said. Luverne also had…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 17, 2026The Luverne gymnastics team placed second in the team section meet and qualified one gymnast for the state meet in St. Paul Feb. 20-21 at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. LHS eighth-grader Marrs Thone qualified for the state meet placing sixth on the vault. This will be her first state meet. “I am so incredibly proud of the entire team,” LHS coach Phoebe Flom said. “We had an amazing meet on…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 17, 2026The Luverne boys’ hockey team beat New Ulm 6-3 Thursday, Feb. 12, at home and fell 6-2 to Waseca Friday, Feb. 13, on the road in the Cardinals’ final two games of the regular season. They finish with a 21-4-1 regular season record as they push on the section play. Luverne, the Section 3A No. 1 seed, will host a team yet to be determined Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. LHS was given a bye in the…
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