By Mark W. Olson

The flu hit early and hard this year, giving District 112 fall sports teams quite a workout.

“Varsity had a stretch where the number of healthy were barely outnumbered by the number of unhealthy,” said Chaska High School girls soccer coach Ryan Meulemans.

However, sports officials are hoping the worst is over. And data appears to back up their hopes.

There were few who did not think Chaska senior Derek Jerde would win his third state high jump title on Saturday.

The question was: would he break the state record?

Jerde did not, but he had more than enough to complete the three-peat.

Jerde topped out at 6 feet, 10 inches for the Class 2A state championship, which was conducted indoors at Hamline University, due to the rainy conditions.

Jerde had three tries at 6-11, but could not clear the bar.

The state record remains at 7-1.

- By Tim McGovern

Sports Editor

[email protected]

There were few who did not think Chaska senior Derek Jerde would win his third state high jump title on Saturday.

The question was: would he break the state record?

Jerde did not, but he had more than enough to complete the three-peat. Derek Jerde

Chaska High School Athletic Director Troy Stein announced Friday the hiring of Phil Link as the head football coach.

“Phil completely impressed and inspired us with his enthusiasm and passion for coaching football," Stein said. "Phil comes with a strong football background and will serve as an outstanding leader of our football program."

Phil served as head coach at Fergus Falls High School and was most recently head football coach at North Branch.

Minnetonka took a big halftime lead and grew it into a 62-14 victory on Tuesday in the Section 6-5A football quarterfinals.

Minnetonka scored the final six touchdowns of the game to advance to Saturday's semifinals against Hopkins.

Tonka running back Sam Alajika had three touchdowns, and quarterback Tom Ahrens threw for three scores. Dre Thompson scored twice int he third quarter, after the Skippers opened a 42-14 halftime lead.

The Hawks hung in there early, as quarterback Mike Geissler threw to Derrick Engel and Blake Belland for touchdowns.

Chaska's football team lost 19-7 to Park of Cottage Grove in the regular-season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

The Hawks fell to 1-7 on the season, and open the Section 6-5A playoffs at No. 2 seed Minnetonka at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Look for the latest on the Hawks' season at www.southwestscoreboard.com

Enjoy this selection of photos from the game.

The Chaska volleyball team reached the championship of the 14th annual Runestone Classic Tournament in Alexandria, only to be upset by the host team in a tiebreaker.

The Hawks cruised through pool play, topping Moorhead 25-11, 25-11; Renville County West 25-5, 25-17 and Perham 25-8, 25-16.

The host team then dug in against the Hawks, taking the first game 26-24. Chaska struck back 25-21 in the second game, but Alex took it home with a 15-10 tiebreaker victory.