Matt Bourne '19: Northern Michigan University Nordic Skiing

June 15, 2021

At MPA, the last name Bourne at MPA is synonymous with cross country running, track and field, and Nordic skiing. Kristin and Kim Bourne dominated the competition in those sports from 2007-2013, and younger brother Matt continued the family tradition before graduating in 2019.

Matt Bourne competed in cross country running, earning all-conference and qualifying for the state meet three times. He helped lead the Panthers to a runner up finish at the 2017 section 4A championships. They went on to finish 12th at the state meet. Bourne's personal best over 5K of 16:35 is fifth all-time in school history. Read More

Morgan Emmans '15: St. Cloud State University Softball

June 15, 2021

In an era where three sport athletes are increasingly rare, Morgan Emmans proved to be the exception to the rule. Emmans earned 12 varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and softball, playing just about everything for the Panthers.

Her main sport was softball, where Emmans played catcher and dominated the diamond for MPA. She ended her career with the school record in batting average and hits, and set the single season record for doubles (11) and triples (5). She was an all-conference, all-section and all-state honorable mention in each of her four years. Read More

Natalie Lansing '09: Lehigh University Golf

June 15, 2021

Sometime before her junior golf season, Natalie Lansing realized she had big shoes to fill. Her older sister, Olivia, had graduated two years earlier after dominating the class A girl's golf scene and was playing collegiately for Drake University. Filling those shoes meant Lansing had to make good on some lofty goals of her own. MPA had never won a section team championship in girl's golf and she was out to change that.

Over the next two seasons, she did just that, equaling even the grandest accomplishments of her older sister and leading MPA's girl's golf team to back to back state championships in 2008 and 2009. Read More

Nick Campanelli '11: University of Puget Sound Soccer

June 15, 2021

Tri-Metro Conference champions, section 4A champions, state qualifiers – MPA's 2010 boys soccer team will go down as one of the Panthers' all-time great teams and midfielder Nick Campanelli '11 was the glue that held them together.

Campanelli, who came to MPA in fifth grade, grew up watching nearly a decade of success in boys soccer at MPA. He had a small role as a sophomore on varsity when the team qualified for the 2008 state tournament, and when it was his turn to carry the torch as a senior, he did so exceptionally. Read More

Nick Gardner '14: Williams College Nordic Skiing

June 15, 2021

Few athletes earn all-state honors in even one sport. But Nick Gardner '14, among MPA's most accomplished endurance athletes, was all-state in three sports, excelling in cross country running, Nordic skiing and track and field.

In cross country running, Gardner led MPA to a runner up finish at the 2013 MSHSL state meet, its highest ever finish. That year, he earned team MVP, Tri Metro all-conference honors, and all-state honors, one of just five MPA boys cross country runners to ever earn all-conference and all-state honors in the same season. His time of 16:48 in the 5K is tenth fastest all-time at MPA. Read More

Olivia (Lansing) Herrick '06: Drake University Golf

June 15, 2021

Olivia (Lansing) Herrick '06 credits her successful prep, collegiate and women's amateur golf career to an unlikely source: not playing golf all the time. "I didn't play too much golf growing up," Herrick told a US Golf Association reporter. "My interests were diversified – I also played varsity soccer and basketball. Once I went to college and golf was the only thing I was working on, I kept improving because I still had this hunger for it. I wasn't burned out at 18 years old."

When she did step onto the course, Herrick was a force. While at MPA, she finished third and second in the MSHSL state golf tournament, won the Tri-Metro Conference championship, and earned Tri Metro all-conference three times. A varsity golfer since seventh grade, she realized her dream of leading MPA's girls golf team to the Tri-Metro Conference team championship as a senior in 2006. Read More

Parker Law '19: Babson College Tennis

June 15, 2021

In a program with storied history like MPA boys tennis, tremendous players and big names have come and gone. Parker Law '19 might just be biggest of all of them.

The 2019 class A boys state tennis champion, Law ranks amongst the best players MPA tennis coach Bryan Biever has ever coached. He was also the 2018 class A boys state tennis runner up, four time team MVP, four time IMAC all-conference honoree, team sportsmanship award winner and rookie of year winner. "In all the years that I've been coaching him, that is his best match that I've ever seen," Biever told the Star Tribune following Law's state championship win over Redwood Valley junior Rikard Wilkens . "He was able to stay in the moment [and] focus one point at a time. … There was just no drop in his level." Read More

Ross Kigner '08: University of Minnesota Morris Football

June 11, 2021

Ross Kigner, like many in the MPA class of 2008, lived and breathed sports. As a Panther, Kigner played football and basketball. And, like many other MPA students, he also represented the school in a variety of ways beyond athletics, as an award winning debater.

On the gridiron, Kigner was the utility player who did it all, excelling especially on defense and special teams. He memorably went a perfect three for three on kicks in an overtime upset of Blake School as a senior, and won the coaches' Love of the Game Award three times in his high school career. Read More

Sisley Ng '15: University of Minnesota Duluth Soccer

June 11, 2021

Sisley Ng shined as the Panthers' goalkeeper, playing on the girls varsity soccer team starting in seventh grade and subsequently earning five varsity letters. Her MPA soccer experience prepared her for playing at the next level because she was able to play multiple positions on the field. "Those experiences helped me understand the game and the positions a lot more," she said.

Ng served as team captain, earned the Panthers' defensive player of the year award and was named to the IMAC all-conference first team as a senior in 2014.

Ng's favorite Panther soccer memory comes from a game that year against Minnehaha Academy when she set up a teammate perfectly for the game winning goal with nine seconds left, notching an assist in the 2-1 victory. Read More

Stephanie Aanenson '11: Depauw University Golf

June 11, 2021

When Stephanie Aanenson '11 looks back on her time at Mounds Park Academy, she is always drawn to her experience on the golf team. "Athletics were the highlight of my thirteen year career at MPA. When I think back to my years at MPA, the girl's golf team is where my mind goes first."

Aanenson played a critical role on the 2008 state champion team, MPA girls golf's first state championship, and one of the most dominant MPA teams across any sport. Just a ninth grader, Aanenson's fifth place finish at the state tournament helped secure the win. And that was just the beginning. A two time captain, she would help lead the Panthers to another state championship the following year, and then as a senior, finish second individually, losing by just one stroke. Read More