Rochester Post Bulletin Jan. 24, 2013

All the hoopla and extra attention isn't something Rochester Community and Technical College men's basketball coach Brian LaPlante enjoys.

But now it's over.

LaPlante earned the 300th win of his career Wednesday night, guiding his Yellowjackets to a 91-61 victory over Anoka-Ramsey at the Regional Sports Center.

"Truthfully, that's not my comfort zone," LaPlante said. "I don't like the attention to be on me. I felt like the kids needed more of the credit for this. It's not the way I like to do things. But our administration did some very nice things for me, and I was very honored. Plus, I had extra family there, which was nice, and there was a good crowd, so it was a fun atmosphere for our kids."

The game actually didn't start well for the Yellowjackets. They trailed 25-17 at one point, but LaPlante said they closed the half with a 31-9 run.

"We were getting worked over for a bit," LaPlante said. "Then we decided to play. We kind of figured them out a little bit, made a couple of adjustments. That helped quite a bit. And we finally started figuring out what was a good shot and what was a great shot."

Anoka-Ramsey tried to double-team RCTC big man Joe Beck. That left the Yellowjackets wide open on the perimeter. They launched 32 3-pointers, but made only nine.

"We stood around a bit too much and at some point we're going to need to start knocking those down," LaPlante said.

Despite the double-team, Beck still had a monster game for the Yellowjackets, who led 48-33 at halftime. Beck finished with 24 points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Plainview-Elgin-Millville grad Cory Speer had a strong all-around game, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Rico Gunn pumped in 11 points, and Vidal Vance added eight points and three rounds. Every player on the team scored, LaPlante said.

RCTC shot 46 percent from the floor and held Anoka-Ramsey to 33 percent. The Yellowjackets' biggest advantage came on the glass. They grabbed 56 rebounds, while A-R had 34 boards.

The Yellowjackets improved to 15-3 overall and 5-0 in the conference. They return to action at 2 p.m. Saturday in Worthington against Minnesota West at Worthington High School.

Cyndi Raymond Named Head Softball Coach of Yellowjackets

ROCHESTER, MINN., Jan. 10, 2013 – Cyndi Raymond has been named the Head Softball Coach of the Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) Yellowjackets.  Raymond replaces interim coach Kacey Moline who resigned last fall to take an athletic director/coaching/teaching position at Pepin High School. 

Coach Raymond has fifteen years of head softball coaching experience having coached at University of Northern Colorado (UNC), University of Wisconsin – Stout, Mayville State University, Redwood Area School District, East Central School District, and the Nicollet School District.  She also has head coaching experience in women’s basketball, volleyball and tennis.

Coach Raymond has taken over several developing high school teams and two college teams and turned them into successful programs.   At both UW-Stout and UNC, they were in their inaugural seasons and she had to build each program from scratch.  In six seasons, she developed UW-Stout into a nationally recognized program with a school record 34 wins and was named WWIAC Softball Coach of the Year.  Coach Raymond has developed over 30 all-conference players, 12 all-region players, 2 All-State, 2 All-Americans and 2 Academic All-Americans.  Coach Raymond is known for her program building and her overall player development.   She also served on the board for National Fastpitch Coaches Association for several years and was a member of the All-American Committee.   Even with taking over programs from the ground floor Coach Raymond has an overall record 211-182.

“I am very excited to be back coaching college softball.  It is an honor to be taking over a program with such a great reputation and following a great softball coach, Coach Musgjerd, who has been at the helm at RCTC softball for over 20 years.   I hope to be able to continue to with the success that RCTC has had in the softball program. I want to give young student athletes the opportunity to develop as softball players and also obtain a quality education.”  Coach Cyndi Raymond. 

Coach Raymond has a B.S. in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from South Dakota State University and has graduate coursework in pursuit of a Master’s in Physical Education from Bemidji State University.  Coach Raymond is married to Kelly Raymond and they have three children, Brodie, 20, Tailor, 18 and Braxton 15.

For Immediate Release

To:                  News Director/Editor

From:             Dave Weber, Chief Student Affairs and Strategic Operations Officer          

(507) 285-7217 or dave.weber@roch.edu     Fax:  (507) 280-2813

Bill Quistorff Named Interim Head Football Coach of Yellowjackets

ROCHESTER, MINN., Jan. 2, 2013 – Bill Quistorff has been named the interim Head Football Coach of the Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) Yellowjackets for the 2013 season.  Quistorff replaces Derrick Hintz who resigned from the program this past November.  Coach Quistorff served as the Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach and Strength and Conditioning Coordinator this past season.  Previously, he served as the Defensive Line Coach. 

As a coach, Bill has been part of the Yellowjacket program that was the Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) champions in 2010 and 2011, runner-up in 2012, and appeared in the 2011 Graphic Edge Bowl.  Under his leadership, the Yellowjacket defense was amongst the nation’s leaders in interceptions, tackles and team defense.   In this past season the Yellowjacket defense was the number one defense in the state in rush defense, pass defense and points allowed per game.  There are numerous offers coming in to many members of the 2012 defense, including two of Coach Quistorff’s recruits from 2011 receiving full athletic scholarships to Division 1AA school Idaho State.  His 2011 and 2012 defense featured Caleb Leichtnam the 2011 NJCAA Player of the Year and a two-time All American.   In 2010, three of the defensive linemen he coached went on to play Division II and a fourth signed a Division IAA Scholarship.

Bill is a former Yellowjacket linebacker who was part of the state championship team and played in the Heart of Texas Bowl in 2003. Bill was an All-Region player and a team captain in 2006.  He went on to finish his college football career at Bemidji State University.  He is originally from Osakis, Minnesota where he was a three-sport letter winner and helped lead his football team to the state tournament semi-finals two years in a row. He was an All-State running back and defensive back and still holds school rushing records for yards in a season and carries in a season.

“ I cannot express how excited and honored I am to have this opportunity, I am fully committed to maintaining the winning tradition that has been built by all the great coaches throughout the years of this football program.  I would like to thank my family, friends and my former coaches for giving me the inspiration and support which has molded the person and coach that I am today.  I look forward to having a great off-season and working hard in preparation to have an outstanding 2013 Yellowjacket football season.”

Coach Quistorff has Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and a Coaching Certificate from Bemidji State University.  Bill currently works in the Rochester School District.

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