CLOQUET — A busy morning at Cloquet High School featured four Lumberjack seniors signing commitment letters to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level on Thursday, April 28.
Cloquet hoops standout Maddie Young will resume her basketball career in St. Paul at St. Catherine University playing for the Division III Wildcats in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
The team is coached by Don Mulhern, who is in his fourth season at the helm after spending the previous 11 seasons as head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Superior women’s basketball team.
Young is coming off of a milestone-filled senior season for the Lumberjacks that included a trip to the Section 7AAA championship game—the program’s first appearance since 2004. Young led the team in points per game with 16 and reached the 1,000-point mark for her career along the way.
Her decision to pick St. Kates was aided by the strong interest shown by the coaching staff, along with the scenic campus.
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“It was actually the first school that I visited, and I feel like they’ve been there since the beginning,” Young said. The coaches have been very invested and supportive. Not just in me as a basketball player, but also as a person, so that was a big thing for me. The campus is great, I love the team, and I’m just really excited.”
Her mom and former head coach, Heather Young, is eager to cheer her on in the years to come.
“I love watching her play so being able to continue to watch her play is going to be just a dream come true, and I’m so proud of her,” Heather Young said. “She’s gone through a lot of adversity and has worked through things and never quit. She’s a great leader. She’s going to bring a lot to St. Kate’s. I have no doubt about that.”
Cale Prosen (College of St. Scholastica)
As an All-Lake Superior Conference selection in cross-country, nordic skiing and track and field, senior Cale Prosen will have the opportunity to compete in all three sports at the Division III level after signing his commitment letter to compete at the College of St. Scholastica next fall.
“It feels good to try to carry on with my athletic career at St. Scholastica,” Prosen said. “I’m just excited to keep going.”
Prosen is currently in his final season with the Lumberjack track and field team as a member of the 1,600 meter relay team. The endurance required for relay running, along with nordic skiing and cross-country running, leads to a lot of similarities between the three sports.
“All of my sports kind of just merge into one it seems like,” Prosen said. “They’re all part of the same, almost.”
As a fan of the outdoors, Prosen said the decision to go to CSS made sense with all of the opportunities to enjoy the parks and trails the city of Duluth has to offer.
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“I really like the Duluth area just with the environment. It’s just pretty nice here, and I like the coaches there and facilities,” Prosen said.
Alex Yrjanson and Jack Sorenson (Mesabi Range College and Century College)
Cloquet baseball teammates Jack Sorenson (LHP) and Alex Yrjanson (OF/RHP) will both be competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III ranks next season with Century College in White Bear Lake, and Mesabi Range College in Virginia, respectively.
Both clubs are members of the 16-team, three division Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC). Mesabi Range College competes in the six-team North Division, while Century College is in the five-team South Division.
Sorenson, who has been forced to miss his senior basketball and baseball seasons due to a knee injury sustained during the opening week of football practice, said he’s most excited about making new friends with members of the Wood Ducks next season and striving to improve his game.
“I’m excited to get down there and put in a lot of work,” Sorenson said.
An outfielder and pitcher for the Lumberjacks, Yrjanson, said he’s already been in contact with members of the team and is looking forward to getting to know them more in the years ahead.
“I’ve met the coaches and I’ve talked to some of the different guys that I’ll be playing with next season and it seems like a great group,” Yrjanson said.
