Carlie comes through for Em
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Former Panther helps provide memorable day
MEMORABLE DAY — NRHEG and University of Minnesota graduate Carlie Wagner hugs cancer victim Emersyn Brown during a day Wagner and the For a Day Foundation arranged. (Photo by Jannell Tufte, For a Day Foundation)
By JANNELL TUFTE
For a Day Foundation
The For a Day Foundation is committed to creating emotionally therapeutic experiences for seriously ill children - and providing these kids and their families with a joyful and much needed diversion from the strain of chronic treatment. It serves communities through a national network of local chapters directed by volunteers. It strives to create unforgettable experiences for children in need, specifically children with cancer.
When the foundation got word of an amazing little girl staying at the Rochester Ronald McDonald House, they knew just who to call: our very own Carlie Wagner.
On March 2, 2018, Emersyn Brown of St. Ansgar, Iowa was diagnosed with Philadelphia like B cell ALL at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester. After many months of chemotherapy and waiting, Emersyn was admitted on Sept. 1, 2018 and started the conditioning process for a bone marrow transplant, which included total body irradiation and high dose chemotherapy; finally on Sept. 8, 2018, Em was given a bone marrow transplant. This was a very tough road, but she persevered and was discharged from the transplant unit on Nov. 21, 2018, just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Ronald McDonald House, which was her home besides St. Mary's since March of 2018.
Petsinger still aiming for No. 1
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NRHEG grad channels his passion for wrestling into the business world
STILL COMPETITIVE — Though he left his wrestling gear long in the past, 1997 NRHEG graduate Matt Petsinger has not lost his competitive nature, but now he uses it to help people through his American Family Insurance office in Waseca. (Star Eagle photo by Jim Lutgens)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
Matt Petsinger has gained a couple pounds since his high school and college days.
But it’s still probably best not to mess with him. If you do, you might quickly find yourself in a headlock on your back. Old habits die hard, you know.
Petsinger, a 1997 NRHEG graduate, is the most decorated wrestler to wear a Panther uniform, amassing an amazing 171 career victories, including an incredible 131 falls. Both are, of course, school records. He earned six varsity letters, advanced to state three times and twice finished as state runner-up. He followed with an illustrious career at Minnesota State-Mankato, where he was a four-time Division II All-American and national champion as a senior.
These days Petsinger can be found on main street in Waseca, where he runs the American Family Insurance office, something he’s done since last year. He recently purchased a building in New Richland with hopes of future expansion.
Of course, wrestling has never been far from his mind or his life. He’s still asked about the state championship match against Brad Pike of Hayfield when he was a junior. The match was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation and still tied at the end of overtime. Then the referee tossed a coin. Pike won and of course chose the lower position, virtually assuring the win.
He’s learned a lot from basketball
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Tollefson completes senior season at Gustavus-Adolphus
EYES ON THE FUTURE — NRHEG graduate Spencer Tollefson recently completed his senior season of college basketball. (Submitted photo)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
The NRHEG High School boys’ basketball team has enjoyed great success in recent years, including a state consolation championship just two seasons ago.
But it wasn’t always that way.
Ups and downs, inevitable in life as well as basketball, caught up with the Panthers, and they sometimes struggled to win games prior to their glory seasons.
Spencer Tollefson remembers it well. He joined the varsity as a freshman and, as a sophomore, the Panthers won six games. They won 23 his senior year.
Now poised to graduate after four years of college basketball, Tollefson reflected on his seasons with the Panthers and his post-high school playing days.
“Some of my best memories relating to basketball come from high school,” said Tollefson. “I was fortunate enough to play for a great coach and play with great teammates. I like to think my grade had a huge impact in turning around the program. We had a lot of guys who put in a lot of work over the years. There is nothing like high school sports, playing with your best friends in front of people who truly want you to be successful. It’s a euphoric feeling.”
A grizzly, on the football field
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Fitterer enjoys post-high school success at Northwestern
TEDDY BEAR — Wyatt Fitterer, a defensive lineman at Northwestern in Roseville, Minn., hugs his fiancee’ Anna Dale after a game last fall. (Submitted photo)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
His friends call him “Grizz.”
Whether it means he’s more like a grizzly bear or a teddy bear depends on whether or not you’re lined up against him on a football field.
There’s no denying Wyatt Fitterer has been a grizzly on the gridiron. The 2016 NRHEG graduate earned all-conference honors at Itasca Community College, where he was named Defensive Lineman of the Year for the 2018 season, and last fall at Northwestern of Roseville where he was one of 18 to receive academic all-conference recognition while carrying a GPA of 3.5 or better.
Through it all, his nickname has remained.
“It started sometime in my sophomore year of high school and honestly it stuck right away,” said Fitterer.
The name was tossed around school and it wasn’t long before everyone, coaches included, was calling him Grizz.
Schanil seeks new challenge at Vista
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New pastor comes to area from Northern Minnesota
WELCOME TO NEW RICHLAND — Brian Schanil is the new pastor at Vista Evangelical Covenant Church. (Star Eagle photo by Melanie Piltingsrud)
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Contributing Writer
Pastor Brian Schanil just started ministering at Vista Evangelical Covenant a few weeks ago.
One of Schanil’s impressions of the New Richland area so far is that it’s warmer than his previous pastoral call in Warren, MN, just 60 miles south of the Canadian border. He served as a pastor there for 21 years. Schanil says he accepted the call at Vista because he needed a different challenge.
Schanil is a second-career pastor with two Bachelor of Science degrees in microbiology and biochemistry. Does he find that useful in his sermons? “Not a bit,” laughs Schanil, who likes to joke that believers are called to “magnify the Lord.” Until 1986, Schanil sold microscopes for Leeds Precision Instruments, whose clientele consists of schools, industries, medical companies, etc. “It was the largest microscope dealer west of the Mississippi at the time.” Schanil made good money there, but he said after a while, it wasn’t fulfilling.