Candidates for nomination can fall into one or more of the five categories: coach/advisor, student/athlete, fan, outstanding graduate and fine arts alumni.

A coach/advisor must have made a significant contribution to their sport or activity and must be retired from the sport.

A student/athlete must be out of school for at least five years.

A fan must have made significant contributions and offered support to the activities programs at Hutchinson Public Schools.

An outstanding graduate must have achieved high success in their field that reflects their education from Hutchinson.

It may not be the seed Hutchinson was looking for, but the Tigers plan to deal with it. Hutchinson was given the No. 10 seed in the 12-team Section 2AAA Tournament that begins Tuesday in North Mankato.

The Tigers will play Buffalo (7-7) at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Both Hutchinson (8-10) and the Bison defeated Shakopee this season. It is the only common opponent for the teams.

If Hutchinson wins, it will play Prior Lake at 7 p.m. If the Tigers lose, they will play in the losers' bracket Thursday.

Section 2AAA
1. Mankato West
2. Prior Lake
3. Mankato East
4. Eden Prairie
5. Shakopee

With Willmar’s 7-0 win over New Ulm Tuesday, the Tigers now know its opponent for today’s Section 2AA South semifinals.

Hutchinson will Willmar at 4 p.m. at the high school courts. The winner advances to the section final four at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Tuesday.

The Cardinals won in straight sets in five of the seven matches over New Ulm.

Eric Kraushar is the sports editor at the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sports@hutchinsonleader.com.

When the team of 12 steps on the tennis courts this afternoon, it will mark 50 years of tennis at Hutchinson High School. It is a program that has rich tradition and a bright future.

From 1959 to 2008, the Tigers have won 17 region/section tournaments, 14 conference championships (more than any other sport in school history) and have sent 16 individuals to the state tournament.

It is a program that has won 476 matches with a winning percentage of 72 percent; 230 conference matches (83 percent); and a section playoff record of 72-24 (73 percent).

Sophomore Tessa Ewert already broke the school record with home runs in a season more than a week ago — now she’s gunning for the state lead.

Ewert, who hit a solo home run in a win Monday and topped that Wednesday with a three-run blast in a win over Shakopee, currently is tied with Megan Matson of Orono with the state lead of six home runs.

With runners on first and second courtesy of singles from Sammy Trick and Laura Carlson, Ewert gave the Tigers a 3-0 cushion with a shot over the fence in the first inning Tuesday.

The Tigers varsity baseball game with Shakopee scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, has been pushed back to Wednesday, May 14, because of rain.

The Sabers defeated the Tigers, 10-9, in the first meeting.

Hutchinson fell in a doubleheader to Red Wing Monday, 6-4 and 7-5. The Tigers are 5-10 on the season.

Eric Kraushar is the sports editor at the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sports@hutchinsonleader.com.

Following a team score of 366 Monday at a conference quad at Crow River Golf Club, which matched the score of New Prague, both the Trojans and Hutchinson girls' golf team have 16 1/2 points entering Monday’s double-point championships in Shakopee.

“The team was thrilled with their play and yet they all know that we can go lower. I couldn’t have been more happy for them,” Tigers coach Tim Ellefson said. “We stay tied with New Prague and it will all come down to the Conference Championship next week. We could get as high as third and as low as fifth depending on how we finish.”

The following persons have been selected to be inducted into the Hutchinson High School Wall Of Fame for 2008. This will be the inaugural induction ceremony of the WOF in Hutchinson. This year’s inductees are:

Michael John Arndt Fine Arts
Lindsay Whalen Outstanding Graduate
Grady Rostberg Coach/Advisor
Jack McClelland Coach/Advisor
Barb Tschida Coach/Advisor
Ron McGraw Fan
Stan Sytsma Athlete
Emanuel Albrecht Athlete

Class AA's No. 1 ranked New Ulm (12-1) came into Saturday's softball affair having given up just 11 runs in 13 games. St. Peter, who handed the Eagles its only loss, 2-1, plated the most runs thus far this season.

That was until the first inning, in which Hutchinson scored three runs and never let down, beating the Eagles, 7-1. The game was played at Harman Park in New Ulm.

Missing three of its biggest sticks in the lineup in Brooks Albrecht (injury), Luke Klitzke (college) and Evan Kohli (college), Hutchinson managed only five hits off a trio of Cold Spring pitchers. But with some flashy defense in the field, and two outstanding performances on the mound, Hutchinson was one hit from tying the game in the ninth.

Cold Spring (2-0), which has qualified for the Class B State Tournament 20 straight seasons, won the opener 2-1.