For the second time Tri-City-United (TCU) junior Tucker Skluzacek had a chance to stand on the podium at a Class AA State Wrestling Tournament.
    Skluzacek, wrestling at Class AA 145 pounds, won three of his five matches to place fifth overall this past weekend at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. He finished his outstanding junior season with a 43-8 record.
    Skluzacek opened with a 15-4 major decision over Foley sophomore Jacob Demarais. 

    Tri-City United (TCU) junior Tucker Skluzacek will be making his second Class AA State Wrestling Tournament appearance after winning the 145 pound weight class in the Section 2aA Tournament Feb. 21 in Delano.
    Skluzacek advanced to State in 2024 and placed 5th as a freshman.
    He was the top finisher among the 10 Titan wrestlers who competed at Sections.

Heading into the state tournament, New Prague High School’s cooperative floor hockey team seems ready to begin a strong defense of its state championship from a year ago.

The opening round is the big question mark. New Prague will face Shakopee-Prior Lake-Chaska-Chanhassen tomorrow evening, Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m., at Bloomington Jefferson High School’s activities center. See the team congratulations page in the print edition for the bracket information.

    It was a week of redemption for the Minnesota River girls hockey team in the Section 2A Tournament.
    The Bulldogs avenged losses from a year ago on their way to their first Section Championship appearance ever.
    Minnesota River opened the Section 2A Playoffs with a 3-1 win over Willmar Thursday, Feb. 5 at Le Sueur. Willmar ended their season in the Section Quarterfinals last year with a 2-0 win. Minnesota River was 18-6-2 last season.

    Saturday evening concluded the Snow Week fun at Tri-City United High School with a dance at Next Chapter Winery. 
    Thursday afternoon about a dozen students showcased their various talents during a talent show, and each day of the week students showed their school spirit with various dress up days. 

    Tri-City United High School’s one act thespians’ season didn’t pan out quite what they wanted to, but it was a great show none-the-less by the students.
    Students competed at the 2A sub-section one act competition on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the school’s performing arts center. This coming after their Thursday, Jan. 22, public performance was postponed until Thursday, Jan. 29, due to cold temperatures. Temperatures that evening and the following day dipped to around 20 degrees below zero. 

A small number of Tri-City United (TCU) wrestlers competed at The takedown on 22 Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Jan. 31. Those who wrestled did quite well.
    Five different Titans claimed top five finishes, led by Trista Gessler who won a championship.
    Gessler placed first in the girls 112-pound weight division. Gage Factor placed second in the 139-pound weight class. Tucker Skluzacek placed 2nd in the 145-pound weight class. Griffin Lemieux placed 3rd in the 127-pound weight class. Owen Delander placed 5th in the 121-pound weight class.

Tri-City United High School thespians are almost ready to show you their latest one act masterpiece, “The Last Firefly” by Naomi Iizuka.

It’s the story of “Boom,” who is the son of “Thunder,” and goes out to search for his father that left him and his mother “Kuroko.” It’s a mythical story that uses Japanese music and a style of puppetry.

The story was first commissioned and produced by Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis in 2016. TCU students are now putting their own spin on the tale.

Tri-City United High School was host to the Big South Conference Championship last Thursday, Jan. 8. Six other teams from the conference convened at Montgomery competing in both jazz and kick.

TCU dancers ended up in the middle of the pack for both jazz and kick, and for junior varsity jazz as well.

Head Coach Katey Weiss said, “All three of our dances were our best performances and scores to date. We work every week to improve our routines. I'm very happy with how we finished.”

When Tri-City United (TCU) senior Ella Schmiesing grabbed her 1,000th career rebound Tuesday, Dec. 30 at Waterville, she became one of the select few in state history to have both 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

The St. Catherine basketball commit is one of only 267 players in Minnesota history to record the milestone.

As a freshman Schmiesing played in all 26 games, recording 219 rebounds in 610 minutes of action.

Tri-City United High School Assistant Principal David Reuhs was surprised when he walked into the school's media center on Monday, Jan. 5, for what he thought was a staff meeting.

Ruehs was met by the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) Executive Director Bob Driver, his family,  much of the staff of the school, and media, where he was presented the honor of being the chosen the 2026 Minnesota High School Assistant Principal of the Year award. 

He will be put up against others across the nation in April for the national award. 

    Saturday’s home weightlifting duo with the Burnsville Blaze yielded three individuals qualifying for state and slug of first place finishes. 
    Morgan Meier qualified for varsity state competition with an automatic qualifying total (AQT) greater than 95 KG of 100 KG in the varsity girls’s 58 KG category. 

As a young teenager in 2020, Ella Schmiesing got her first taste of varsity swimming.

Now a Tri-City United (TCU) senior, she will be making her last appearance in a pool as a Titan at the Class A State Swimming and Diving Meet Friday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday, Nov. 15 at Noon at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.

Preliminaries will be held Friday and finals on Saturday.

This will be Schmiesings’ fifth State Tournament appearance after winning two Section 1A Championships last weekend.

Tri-City United Schools held a series of four open houses this and last week, one at each school, ahead of the Nov. 4 election for the $39.99 million dollar bond. Each location had plenty of resources on hand to answer questions and tours were given showcasing some of the areas that the bond would cover.

Tri-City United High School students once again introduced Hispanic heritage to younger students at TCU Le Center PreK-8 School on Friday, Oct. 24, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

The theme this year revolved around vaqueros (cowboys) with interactive opportunities. TCU Cultural Coordinator Mary Lou Velásquez said, “Kids learned how to line dance to a popular song played at many fiestas, ‘Payaso de Rodeo.’ They also had a chance to learn how to lasso a bull, draw butterflies, learn about popular candies and dance folklore.”

The record-breaking season for the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team ended Tuesday, Oct. 21 with an 8-1 loss to Academy of Holy Angels (17-0-1 record) in the Class A State Tournament.