Wagner, Stelter now in third year with the Gophers

As the only major college in the state in all sports, the University of Minnesota reaches fans from all corners and depths of the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”
When the 2016 Gopher Road Trip stopped in Owatonna last month, we were given opportunities to speak with the new athletic director, Mark Coyle, head football coach Tracy Claeys, and head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino.
In the last three weeks, we have been able to provide you with special coverage of the state of the athletic department and of their two major programs.
In our final installment, we will focus on a couple of local standouts with state championships who will be competing in their junior seasons with their respective Gopher teams.
In 2013, Owatonna claimed their first state football championship and Andrew Stelter was a big reason why. The defensive tackle made 58 stops that season and set a school record with 12 sacks the previous season as he was a Minnesota Associated Press first team All-State selection both years.
He saw time as a true freshman with the Gophers in 2014 playing in 12 of the team’s 13 games, including their New Year’s Day bowl game against Missouri.
Stelter received a lot more playing time last season as he played in all 13 contests and started seven of them. He made 26 tackles including a collegiate career-high five tackles at Iowa.
He may have come in a little undersized for Big Ten football, but first year head coach Claeys says Stelter is making strides.
“He’s played well for being undersized,” he said. “Coach (Jeff) Williams did a good job of preparing him for college football. He’s battled and hung in there.”
The academic all-Big Ten selection will look to improve even more for his junior season.
“Last year he was a better player and was productive for us,” said Claeys. “He’s worked hard to improve his body and gain a little weight. He’s a Big Ten-level defensive tackle now.”
Also beginning her third year in maroon and gold in 2016-17 is New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva alum Carlie Wagner.
She led the Panthers to back-to-back girls’ basketball state championships in 2013 and 2014 and set numerous state tournament records along the way, including: most points in state tournament history (371), most points in a single state tournament (130), and most points in a single game (53). In beating Braham in the 2013 Class AA state championship game, she scored a remarkable 50 of her team’s 60 points in the one-point victory over Braham. She was also named Minnesota’s Miss Basketball in 2014 and is second in state history with 3,957 career points.
The NRHEG product has had a very productive first two seasons with the Gophers. She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after averaging 12.1 points per game in 2014-15. Last season, Wagner was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team after raising her average to 18.9 points per game.
“I think anybody who gets a chance to see Carlie is fortunate, she’s a talent,” said head coach Marlene Stollings. “She’s one of those special young ladies you don’t get often in your career; she’s pretty much the total package.”
Her game will continue to evolve next season as she figures to be the team’s “go-to” option. In the past two seasons she has had the luxury of playing with two top-five WNBA draft picks. Amanda Zahui B. was an Associated Press First Team All-American selection in 2015 who averaged 18.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks per game and was the second overall selection in the WNBA Draft by the Tulsa Shock.
Last season, Wagner played in the backcourt with Big Ten all-time scoring leader Rachel Banham. Her 3,093 points rank sixth all-time in NCAA history. The AP First Team All-American averaged 28.6 points a game and tied an NCAA single-game record with 60 points in a game at Northwestern. She was the fourth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun.
“(Carlie) had the luxury of playing with some great players and now she gets to pretty much lead us and that’s what we’re going to look from her this year,” said Stollings.
“She has a chance to be a pro, obviously, and she’s committed to it and that’s why it’s so fun working with her, because of her commitment level.”