---

Two Northland Seniors, Abbi Burch and Patrick Kemper, ended their High School basketball careers at All-Star Games held in the northland area. A very fitting honor bestowed on these two outstanding student-athletes to represent their schools, families and themselves for their accomplishments on and off the court.

Abbi was selected to play in the 9th Annual North Central All Star Game that was held on Sunday April 7th, at the Bemidji State University campus. She was selected to the Silver Team along with teammates from - Warroad, Sauk Centre, Pierz, Crosby-Ironton and Roseau.

Competing in the pre-game, 3-point shooting contest, Abbi was a bundle of nerves but managed to make a few during the one minute timeframe and managed to get rid a few of those nerves.

The game itself was very fast paced and both teams seemed to score at will. The final score had Abbi's Silver team on the winning end of a 93-88 score with Abbi knocking in the final two of her 11 points just before time expired.

Patrick was selected to play in the Coca-Cola All-Star Game played on Thursday March 28th in Virginia, MN. The game featured many outstanding players from the Iron Range, Duluth and Northern Minnesota area. Patrick's team included players from Bigfork, Hill City, Nashwauk, and Duluth.

Patrick said after the game that "I have never played in a game where one team scored over 100 points, and here both teams scored over that."

The final score had Patrick's White team pulling out a 118-115 squeaker over the Red Team. With 16 points, Patrick also represented Northland basketball quite admirably.

The players answered a few questions after their games.

1)How did you find out about your selection and what were your initial thoughts on playing in the game?

AB-"I found out from coach (Kovall) about a month before the game. My initial thought was, how am I going to play with people I have never played with before. I was also both excited and nervous."

PK- "Coach Watkins informed me I had been nominated to play about a month before the game. I was really excited about the opportunity to play with new faces. It was also a scary thought, knowing that none of us had ever played together."

2)How different was it, playing on the All-Star team compared to your years at Northland?

AB- "It was very different. You go from playing with people you know from in elementary, to people you have known for an hour."

PK- "Really different. We had about a 20 minute warm-up before the game, so we just decided to run a simple offense and defense that everyone involved in the game knew how to run."

3)What will be your fondest memories of your All-Star experience and/or High School career?

AB- "My fondest memories of the All-Star game will be meeting many different people who enjoy and love the game and scoring the last two points"

PK- "I will remember the honor of being selected to play in an All-Star game and making new friends. I am definitely going to remember playing with my older brother, Aaron, when I was a freshman. And from this season beating our arch rival Hill City 2 out of 3 games."

4)Any advice you can give to future Eagle players?

AB- "I would like to tell future Eagle players, to never give up even when it gets tough. Also, just have fun and play as if nothing can stop you."

PK- "I would advise them to keep calm and collected before a game. It's normal to get nervous, but it helps to keep calm and remember- it is only basketball."

5)As you look back on your high school career, Are there any people you would like to thank?

AB- "I would like to thank my teammates, coach and family for supporting me. They never stopped believing in me."

PK- "I would first like to thank my family. I could not have made every practice, every game , just everything without them always being there for me. I would also like to thank my teammates and all the coaches I ever had, all 8 of them."[[In-content Ad]]

---