More Eagan High School Athletes to Watch This Spring

As the spring sports season gets underway, these Eagan High School athletes are primed to lead their teams to victory. This is the second part of a two-part series.

Name: Simone Haugen
Grade: Senior at Eagan High School
Sport: Girls lacrosse
Strengths: For the last three years, Haugen has been the leading scorer on the girls lacrosse team, scoring more than 80 goals in the 2011 season, according to Coach Kerry Blaine.  Haugen has developed a reputation as a fierce offensive player and it is difficult for opposing defenders to hold her back, Blaine said. Haugen earned all-conference honors the last three years running, and was named as an “Athlete of the Week” by both the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press, Blaine said.

“Being an aggressive player, other kids look to her as a leader on the team,” Blaine said. “She’s a natural athlete.”

Name: Lisa Crow
Grade: Senior at Eagan High School
Sport: Girls lacrosse
Strengths: If the girls lacrosse team is in a tight spot and needs a goal, Coach Kerry Blaine looks to captain Lisa Crow. The EHS senior performs well under pressure and her teammates can depend on her to make crucial, game-changing contributions, Blaine said.  Crow is the team leader for assists, Blaine added, and excels at getting her teammates involved in play.

“She’s a really nice kid, too, and the girls like her and look up to her,” Blaine said.

Name: Emerald Egwim
Grade: Sophomore at Eagan High School
Sport: Girls track and field
Strengths: Egwim cut her teeth last year as a ninth-grader when she participated in the state track meet, and just missed the cutoff for the all-state team, according to EHS girls track Coach Rob Graham. A sprinter, Egwim is “rock-solid” in shorter races and relays, but she’s also branching out and maturing as a runner, Graham said. She’ll likely be running 4x200 relay, the 4x100 relay and the 100-meter event.

“She’s shown that she deserves to be in the conversation,” Graham said.

Name: Drew Bauer
Grade: Senior at Eagan High School
Sport: Boys golf
Strengths: A quarterback on the EHS football team, senior Drew Bauer brings plenty of raw power to his golf game, according to Coach Brian Johnson. Bauer has a powerful drive—and enough good sense to know that some shots need more finesse than brute strength, Johnson said. Bauer played in the state tournament last year, but finished in the middle of the pack. The golfer is one of the anchors of the golf team, Johnson said.

“He has good skill, he has great temperament and he has good leadership capability,” Johnson said.

Name: Zack Ekstein
Grade: Sophomore at Eagan High School
Sport: Boys tennis
Strengths: Ekstein is one of the fastest players in the conference, according to Coach Scott Nichols, and his speed gives him the ability to get to almost every shot his opponents throw at him. Ekstein, who comes from a tennis family that includes older brother Ben Ekstein, plays in the #2 singles spot on the boys tennis team and is also a patient, smart player, Nichols said.

“It’s scary how good he is,” Nichols said. “He just grinds people down, he doesn’t make any mistakes and every year gets a little stronger and adds weapons to his game.”

Name: Aaron Roundtree
Grade: Senior at Eagan High School
Sport: Boys track and field
Strengths: As a freshmen, Aaron Roundtree was one-fourth of a school-record setting 4x100 relay team, but suffered from progressive injuries the following two years that have hindered his efforts, Coach Adam Copeland said. On a good day, Roundtree can run an 11-second 100-meter race, Copeland said, and this year he hopes Roundtree will have a decisive impact on the team.

“When he’s healthy, he’s the fastest guy on the team,” Copeland said. “What we’re looking for from Aaron is to just bring raw speed but also experience to our sprint team.”

Name: Cullen Willox
Grade: Junior at Eagan High School
Sport: Boys lacrosse
Strengths: At six feet tall and 200 pounds, midfielder Cullen Willox is a big, persistent presence on the Eagan High School boys lacrosse team. Willox, who plays on the EHS hockey team in the winter, is an unorthodox lacrosse player who has a knack for catching his opponents off-guard, according to his coach, Bob Felter. But he also brings a big personality to the team and is an unselfish player, Bob Felter said.

“If he gets the ball taken away, he’s going to get it back,” Bob Felter said. “He will literally put his shoulder down and will run through people, all while protecting the stick, which is a difficult thing to do.”

Name: David Stevens
Grade: Senior at Eagan High School
Sport: Baseball
Strengths: Senior captain David Stevens is a multi-faceted threat. A pitcher and third-baseman, Stevens has a dominating fastball and a hard breaking ball, Coach Rob Walsh said. Add a .380 batting average and plenty of RBIs, and you have a well-rounded player that can both out pitch and out hit opponents.

Stevens is also the team’s comic relief, Walsh added.

“He has that great attitude where the game is fun, but he doesn’t shirk his responsibilities working,” Walsh said. “His personality is one that really keeps the guys loose.”

Name: Shelby Braun
Grade: Junior at Eagan High School
Sport: Girls golf
Strengths: Braun and her two older sisters have all played golf for Eagan High School, and all three have participated in state tournaments during their respective tenures on the girls golf team. Braun is skilled with her irons and short game, according to Coach Joe Joran. But Joran hopes the EHS junior can improve on the length and quality of her drives and shave at least two strokes off her 85.5 average this year.

"She has a lot of raw skills, but just needs to put the pieces together," Joran said.