WILLMAR — It's been a really good year so far for Willmar boys soccer. The Cardinals are ranked seventh in the state in Class AA and are likely going to be the No. 1 seed in Section 6AA when the pairings are announced Sunday night. That puts them in the driver's seat for a second straight state tournament berth. Their section has only two other teams with winning records. Willmar (12-2-1), No. 4 in the QRF power ratings at Minnesota-Scores.net, closes the regular season at noon Saturday at Sartell. Here's what the rest of the section looks like: No. 23 St. Francis (9-6), No. 24 Princeton (9-6-1), No. 36 Monticello (6-8-2), No. 49 Becker (6-8), No. 57 Big Lake (2-10-1), No. 59 Zimmerman (2-12) and No. 62 Rockford/Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (0-13-1). One of the reasons for the Cardinals' success has been Andrew Ziebarth. The senior goalkeeper was named the Central Lakes Conference Performer of the Week. In two games, he had 10 saves, including stopping a penalty kick.
Ziebarth is one of three Willmar athletes earning CLC honors this week. Sully Anez ran a life-time personal-best in winning the Willmar Invitational cross-country meet last Saturday at Eagle Creek Golf Course. Anez's time over the hilly, 5,000-meter course was 15 minutes, 56 seconds. And, Willmar volleyball player Ellery DeBoer also was named a CLC top performer. DeBoer, an eighth-grader, had 40 set assists in a victory over Sauk Rapids.
Former New London-Spicer stars Brandon and Shane Zylstra are together again, this time with the NFL's Detroit Lions. The Lions announced this week that they have signed Brandon to their practice squad. He's a 6-foot-2, 215-pound wide receiver who spent the last three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. In 2021, Brandon Zylstra caught 18 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown. He's a former Concordia College in Moorhead star. According to the Lions, Brandon Zylstra was signed as a possible replacement for wideout Quintez Cephus, who suffered a foot injury in Detroit's Week 4 loss Cephus had two catches for 15 yards. Shane Zylstra, a 6-4, 239-pound tight end from Minnesota State Mankato, was recently re-signed by the Lions to the practice squad after being waived by the team after its loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Shane Zylstra played in the game and was targeted with a pass, but did not get a catch. The Lions are 1-3 after a 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last week. They lost 28-24 to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3, but beat the Washington Commanders 36-27 in Week 2 after a season-opening 38-35 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Willmar Stingers baseball team raised $10,410 for the Kandiyohi County Food Shelf. It was part of the Northwoods League team's annual "Jerseys Off Our Backs" auction that goes back to the Stingers' inaugural season in 2010. For every dollar donated, $10 worth of food can be purchased through the Food Bank and Second Harvest Heartland, according to Stingers statement.