Bjorgaard, a junior, started his 2024-2025 athletic season with a dominant performance for the Edina football team, rushing for 1,164 yards and 10 touchdowns as the Hornets advanced to the Class 6A State Tournament.
During the hockey season, Bjorgaard turned in a sparkling record of 11-1-1 in goal, with a goals-against-average of 1.81 and a save percentage of .929 as the Hornets finished third at this year’s Class AA State Tournament.
Through 19 games on the baseball diamond, Bjorgaard was hitting a cool .310 while adding three home runs and 17 runs batted in for the Hornets, who are currently the No. 2 seed in Class 4A, Section 6 tournament.
After joining the Stars’ soccer team in the fall of 2021 as a freshman goaltender, Harder was quickly transitioned to the field, where she became a four-year standout. This season, Harder scored 11 goals and added seven assists for the Class A State Tournament runner-up Stars.
Co-op’d with Mound Westonka for hockey, Harder’s 19 goals and 35 points helped the White Hawks to the Class A, Section 5 finals. Between the hockey and lacrosse seasons, Harder helped her Premier Prep White team to a USA Hockey national championship at the Tier II level.
Harder’s spring sport - lacrosse - is the activity she will pursue in college at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina. As a junior, Harder scored 82 goals and finished the season with 123 points, ranking among the state’s leading scorers. Unfortunately, Harder tore her ACL in the first game of the 2025 season, which has provided several lessons in resiliency, patience, and trust in herself as she watched her team from the sidelines.
Thank you to Summit Orthopedics Dr. Ike Hasley, for sitting down with us to explain the benefits and realities of being a multisport athlete.
Additionally, thank you to both of our outstanding athletes, Chase Bjorgaard and Gisella Harder, for their participation in this project.