As usual, 2002 was a year of ups and downs for area athletes.

In this, the first of a three-part series listing the years’ highlights, the first four months of the year find the Albert Lea High School girls’ basketball team ending some long droughts against Big Nine foes, the girls’ hockey team on a shutout streak, the boys’ basketball team winning its most games in a decade, and the Tigers’ Josh Hansen winning a state wrestling championship.

In April, with the start of spring sports, one streak continued and another ended for ALHS, while area teams sprung upsets on the softball diamond.

The area’s highlights for the first four months of 2002:

– Jan. 3 &045; The ALHS girls’ hockey team defeated Mankato East 5-3 for the Tigers’ first win over a Mankato squad in their five-year existence.

– Jan. 3 &045; The Glenville-Emmons boys’ basketball team picked up where it left off before the holiday break, topping Lyle/Austin Pacelli 60-49 to improve its record to 8-1.

– Jan. 8 &045; The ALHS girls’ basketball team registered its first win over Mankato East since 1990-91 with a 55-47 triumph. Danielle Jacobs scored 12 and Danielle Rankin 11 for the Tigers.

– Jan. 8 &045; The ALHS boys’ hockey team erased a 3-1 third-period deficit and rallied to beat arch-rival Austin 4-3 in overtime.

– Jan. 10 &045; The ALHS boys’ hockey team continued its surprising success, taking the Big Nine lead with a 7-1 victory at Winona. It improved the Tigers to 5-1 in the conference, 7-4 overall.

– Jan. 15 &045; Katie Brackey scored 14 points and Alisa Rayman netted eight as the Glenville-Emmons girls’ basketball team upset Southeast Conference co-leader Southland 42-40 at Glenville.

– Jan. 18 &045; A last-second three-point basket by Ben Woodside lifted the ALHS boys’ basketball team to a 62-59 overtime victory at Winona.

– Jan. 19 &045; Albert Lea placed third in the ninth-grade wrestling state tournament at Faribault, with victories over Cambridge-Isanti, BOLD and Apple Valley.

– Jan. 26 &045; Goalie Danika Porter recorded her third consecutive shutout as the ALHS girls’ hockey team blanked Mankato West 6-0 at the City Arena.

– Jan. 29 &045; Jenny Vanderploeg’s 12 points and 11 rebounds led the ALHS girls’ basketball team past Owatonna 39-37, the Tigers’ first victory over the Huskies since the 1987-88 season.

– Jan. 31 &045; The ALHS girls’ hockey team secured second place in the Big Nine with a 6-0 shutout of Rochester Mayo.

– Feb. 3 &045; A group of 19 ALHS cheerleaders placed third among 14 teams in state competition at St. Paul.

– Feb. 5 &045; The ALHS girls’ basketball team ended yet another long drought, downing Rochester John Marshall 64-45. It was their first win over the Rockets since 1980-81.

– Feb. 19 &045; The NRHEG girls’ basketball team upset St. Clair 58-50, finishing the regular season with eight wins in 11 games.

– Feb. 21 &045; The Glenville-Emmons boys’ basketball team finished the regular season with a record of 17-4 by beating Spring Grove 57-53.

– Feb. 23 &045; Albert Lea’s Adam Elseth and Josh Hansen advanced to the state wrestling tournament. The Tigers’ Justin Krueger and Chris Hable finished third in the Section 1AAA tournament, missing state by one place.

– Feb. 23 &045; The ALHS boys’ swimming and diving team advanced five individuals and all three relays to state. Making it as individuals were Erik Johnson, Ben Lindeman, Colton Jensen, Ben Schreiber and Ben Matheson.

– Feb. 23 &045; Area wrestlers advancing to state were USC’s John Niebuhr and Kenny Sandt, Alden-Conger’s Alex Drescher and David Schmidt, and NRHEG’s Bill Root.

– March 2 &045; Josh Hansen of Albert Lea captured the Class AAA 103-pound state championship, defeating Ryan Adams of Coon Rapids 19-15 in the title bout. The Tigers’ Adam Elseth finished third at 135 pounds.

– March 2 &045; The ALHS boys’ swimming and diving team, hampered by the flu, finished 21st in the state meet. The Tigers’ top finisher was Ben Matheson, who took 12th in the 100-yard breast stroke.

– March 3 &045; John Niebuhr of United South Central finished second in the state wrestling tournament, dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker to Shawn Plumley of BOLD in the Class A 140-pound championship match.

– March 4 &045; A record-setting season ended for the Glenville-Emmons boys’ basketball team with a tough 56-50 loss to Bethlehem Academy in the Section 1A West semifinals. The Wolverines finished 18-5. BA went on to advance to state.

– March 11 &045; Ascension Lutheran Church repeated as the Brotherhood Dartball League’s playoff champion, defeating Alden 15-10 in the championship round.

– March 16 &045; The ALHS boys’ basketball team took top-seeded Waseca to overtime in the Section 2AAA semifinals before falling 66-65 on a last-second three-point basket. The Tigers finished 11-13, their most wins in a decade.

– March 17 &045; Kjerstin Back of Lake Mills was named the Tribune’s Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year. Dale Koestler of United South Central was the Coach of the Year.

– March 17 &045; The Albert Lea Blades amateur hockey team won the Upper Midwest Hockey League playoff title, going 4-0 for the weekend while improving its season record to 20-1.

– March 22 &045; Albert Lea’s Roy Nystrom was named Big Nine Boys’ Hockey Coach of the Year.

– March 24 &045; Ben Woodside of Albert Lea was selected Tribune Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year while Jeff Rayman of Glenville-Emmons was Coach of the Year.

– March 31 &045; The newly organized Albert Lea Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame inducted its first three members, Jeanette O’Connor, Fran Ashcraft and Mabel Miller.

– April 8 &045; The ALHS boys’ tennis team won 7-0 at Fairmont, ending a dual-meet losing skid that dated back to May 16, 1997.

– April 16 &045; The ALHS girls’ track and field team won the NRHEG Panther Invitational for the fourth year in a row, finishing 29 points ahead of second-place NRHEG.

– April 19 &045; The Alden-Conger softball team improved its record to a surprising 4-1 with a 12-6 victory at Glenville-Emmons.

– April 23 &045; Erin Anderson of NRHEG pitched her second no-hitter of the season as the Panthers blanked Alden-Conger 10-0 in five innings.

– April 25 &045; The Glenville-Emmons softball team upset defending Class A state runner-up Lyle/Austin Pacelli 8-4.