Dec. 10—The Dodge County girls hockey team knocked on the door and nearly pushed it in, in 2024.

In 2025, the Wildcats broke through.

Dodge County won its first-ever girls hockey state championship, beating fellow state power Warroad 4-3 in overtime in the title game the Xcel Energy Center (now Grand Casino Arena) in St. Paul on Feb. 22.

The Wildcats went 24-3-2 and, during the 2024-25 season, were elevated for multiple weeks to No. 1 in the Class 1A girls hockey state rankings — another first for the program. Their three losses were by a combined four goals, and all against teams ranked in the Class 1A or 2A state poll.

Perhaps the biggest bullet point of all: The Wildcats' state title is the first girls hockey state title ever won by a team south of the Twin Cities metro area.

All of that adds up to Dodge County being one of five finalists for the Female Team of the Year Award at the annual Rochester Sports Banquet, set for Feb. 1, 2026, at the Rochester Events Center.

The list of finalists for each award were released this week by Rochester Sports and the selection committee. Other finalists for Female Team of the Year include (in alphabetical order):

—Byron softball: The Bears went 17-7 last spring and won the Section 1, Class 3A championship to earn the program's first-ever trip to a state tournament. They didn't stop there, advancing all the way to the Class 3A state title game, where they fell to Rocori to finish as state runners-up.

—Century swimming and diving: The Panthers had an oustanding state meet, finishing in eighth place last month at the Class 2A meet in Minneapolis. Century finished with 85 points to land comfortably in the top 10. The highlights of the meet for Century included senior Sophie Blixt earning All-State honors by placing fourth in two individual events (the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke), and a fourth-place finish by the 200 freestyle relay team of Chloe Magnuson, Sarah Homme, Ally Pool and Blixt.

—Chatfield volleyball: The Gophers won their second consecutive Section 1, Class 2A championship — also the second in program history — and won two matches at the Class 2A state tournament, reaching the state championship match. Chatfield led that match 2-0 before Hawley stormed back to win the final three sets. The Gophers finished the season 26-8.

—Mayo girls tennis: The Spartans put themselves in elite company, no matter the sport or season. Mayo capped a third consecutive unbeaten season — its winning streak now stands at 76 duals — by winning a third consecutive team state championship, this time at the Class 3A level, as the sport made the switch from two classes to three. Mayo blasted Minnetonka 5-2 in the final. Mayo's dominance extended to the individual portion of the state meet, as two Spartans went head-to-head in the singles state title match, with Aoife Loftus beating Malea Diehn.

—Chatfield wrestling: The Gophers made it back-to-back appearances in the Class 1A state championship dual. After winning in 2024, the Gophers fell to Staples-Motley in the title dual in 2025. Chatfield is looking for its seventh trip to state this winter.

—Goodhue football: The Wildcats won their second consecutive section championship this fall to reach the state tournament for the 12th time. Goodhue reached the Class 2A state championship game, pushing powerhouse Jackson County Central to the final minutes of a 20-15 Prep Bowl defeat. It was the only loss of the year for Secton 4-2A champion Goodhue, which went 12-1 and allowed just 8.4 points per game.

—Kasson-Mantorville football: The KoMets had one of the best seasons in program history, going 11-2 and reaching the Prep Bowl for the second time in program history. K-M finished as the Class 4A state runner-up, falling in a tight 28-21 game against Orono in the Prep Bowl. Along the way, the KoMets knocked off rival Stewartville and No. 1-ranked Byron to win the Section 1 title.

—Pine Island baseball: The Panthers put together a season for the ages, surging to the Class 2A state championship game at Target Field, where they beat Glencoe-Silver Lake 2-1 in a thriller, to capture the first state title in program history. The trip to state was Pine Island's first since 2016, and second since 1993. The Panthers finished the season 23-5 and on a 10-game winning streak.

—St. Charles track and field: The Saints won their second consecutive Class 1A track and field True Team state championship on May 17 at Eden Prairie High School. It marked the third time in six years St. Charles won the True Team title. The Saints placed ninth at the Class 1A state meet two weeks later, joining fellow Section 1 programs Winona Cotter (third place), Triton (fourth) and Pine Island (seventh) in the top 10.

—Jim Daly, John Marshall boys basketball: Daly led the Rockets to a Section 1, Class 4A championship and the program's first trip to a state tournament since 2003. JM placed sixth at state.

—Ben Halder, Byron football: The Bears were ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4A for a majority of the season. Led by a massive line and Mr. Football finalist Carson Heimer (running back/safety), the Bears went 9-1 overall. Their season came to an end with a 31-28 loss to Kasson-Mantorville in the Section 1 title game.

—Matt Kingsbury, L-A/R-P/H boys cross country: Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson/Houston finally broke through, capturing the program's first Class 1A state title in early November, beating out rival Winona Cotter for the top spot.

—Chris Kuisle, Stewartville boys soccer: The Tigers won the first section title in program history in October, then won their first-ever state tournament game, beating Mounds Park Academy 2-1 in double-overtime. Stewartville then placed third at state.

—Matt Mauseth, Chatfield wrestling: Mauseth guided the Gophers to a state title in 2024, then back to the title match in 2025. The Gophers also had an individual state champion this year, as Carson Rowland won at 152 pounds.

—Sophia Comfere, Century cross country, track: The Panthers' standout student-athlete is committed to prestigious Cornell University. Comfere qualified for the track and field state meet in three events — the 800, 4x400 relay and 4x200 relay. Comfere and the Panthers (Kaia Berry, Emma Anderson, Emily Bunce) won a state title in the 4x400, while she placed third in the 800, and the 4x200 team (Comfere, Berry, Bunce, Clara Gerhard) placed sixth.

—Lauren Elsmore, Pine Island wrestling: The University of Sioux Falls commit is a pioneer in her sport. She has helped Pine Island girls and athletes across southeastern Minnesota get involved in wrestling. Elsmore finished as a state runner-up last winter, after winning a state championship in 2024.

—Sydney Klar, Stewartville softball, volleyball: Klar was All-State in softball, as one of the top pitchers in the state (0.72 ERA, 194 strikeouts) and she helped the Tigers reach the Class 3A state volleyball tournament in November.

—Julia Ogren, John Marshall swimming: Ogren capped her high school career in style, winning Rochester's first state swimming championship since 2014. Ogren captured the title in the 100 butterfly (53.52 seconds), while friends Sophie Blixt of Century (fourth) and Madeline Gau of Mayo (eighth) joined her on the podium.

—Madison Ohm, Byron basketball, soccer, track: The Bears multi-sport star is committed to play Division I basketball at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She helped Byron go 25-4 last year and reach the Section 1, Class 3A title game, where they fell to Stewartville in overtime.

—Audrey Schindelar, Stewartville basketball, track: The Stewartville star is committed to Division I mid-major power South Dakota State University, where she'll play basketball for head coach and Pine Island native Aaron Johnston. Shindelar was the Post Bulletin All-Area Player of the Year last year, when she guided Stewartville to state and averaged 22 points and 6 rebounds per game.

—Pierce Petersohn, Triton football, basketball, track: The Athlete of the Meet at last year's Class 1A track and field state meet is also a Virginia Tech college football commit. He was the Gopher Conference boys basketball Player of the Year and led Triton to a 7-3 record in football this fall, playing much of the second half of the season on a severely injured ankle.

—Carson Heimer, Byron football, track: The Minnesota State University, Mankato football commit helped Byron to a 9-1 record on the football field this fall, though he missed the team's final three games with an injury. He finished with 52 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 6 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. He ran for 1,321 yards and 23 touchdowns in just seven games this year and was named a Minnesota Mr. Football finalist.

—Christopher Hilton, St. Charles track, basketball: Hilton had a tremendous senior season for the Saints boys track and field team. He helped them win the Class 1A True Team state championship, then he qualified for the MSHSL Class 1A state meet in four events, winning a state championship in the 110 hurdles (14.53 seconds).

—Kane Larson, Fillmore Central wrestling, football: Larson, a bruising running back, helped the Falcons win the Section 1, Class 1A football championship and earn a trip to the state tournament. In March, he became Fillmore Central's first wrestling state champion since 2014. Larson beat Cameron Halverson of Barnesville 7-2 to win the Class 1A 172-pound state title.

—Tyler Gunnarson, St. Charles track and field: The standout wheelchair athlete from St. Charles was a force again last spring in track and field. He won four events at the Class 1A True Team state meet, then won three state titles — in the 100, 200 and 800 wheelchair races.

A new category added this year recognizes the top athletes and/or teams at Rochester Community and Technical college over the past year. The nominees for the inaugural award are: Jada Bednarek (volleyball), Macaya Copeland (women's basketball), Leo Tukhlynovych (wrestling), the Yellowjackets national champion women's basketball team and the RCTC wrestling team, which won the NJCAA Division III non-scholarship national championship.