JAMESTOWN — For the first time in years, Ryan Larson chose not to play any competitive basketball games this last winter.
His reasoning was spot on.
“It will take me five years to complete my computer engineering major as a student-athlete, so I had a conversation with coach and decided to save my eligibility for my entire college career,” said Larson, a former Jamestown High School graduate and current University of Mary basketball player.
Larson committed to play hoops for the Marauders in the spring of 2024. His decision to redshirt came before the Marauders started in-season practices.
“My teammates and my roommates helped me adjust to college life and life as a student-athlete,” Larson said. “The coaches have given me opportunities and supported me as well.”
While he didn’t see any official game time last year, the former Blue Jay standout was still putting in the time.
“During the season we have two-hour long practices and about 45-minute-long lifts,” Larson said. “I also get shots up between classes or at night. I enjoyed playing in preseason scrimmage games and competing at the college level. I practiced with the team and had a few extra workouts. I also lifted and traveled with the team.”
Larson said being a redshirt athlete took a lot of hard work and dedication to the weight room as well as in practice. The former Blue Jay said he accomplished this by bringing energy to practice every day and making connections with his teammates.
Ryan Larson is a red-shirt athlete for the University of Mary.
Contributed / Ryan Larson
Since the Marauders season ended in February, Larson said the team has continued to train with the Marauders’ strength and conditioning coach. Larson said team members are also expected to be in the gym every day and work on all elements of the game.
As the season gets closer, the team will begin conditioning with more intensity. When practice starts, team members will start to work on playing as a team and less on individual work.
“I got a lot of practice at a higher level (last year) that will help me contribute to the team over the next four years,” Larson said. “Playing at a higher level for a year has improved my game. My goal for this year is to be a leader on and off the court and contribute to the success of the program.”
While Larson is just getting going with competitive ball, Ella Falk made the choice to end her collegiate hoops career.
“The season went really well this year,” said Falk, a sophomore at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minnesota). “We got to play some tough teams, teams we hadn’t played before, and in new tournaments which made it an overall great season.”
During conference season, the University of Northwestern-St. Paul only lost three games. Unfortunately, the Eagles lost in the conference championship that would have sent them to the NCAA Tournament.
“The craziest part of this last season was definitely our conference championship game,” Falk said. “We had unexpected factors and circumstances happen in that game that were definitely crazy and yet we were almost able to prevail and win it anyway.”
The Eagles lost 53-47 to top-seeded University of Wisconsin-Superior in the UMAC Championship. The Eagles went on to play in the NCCAA Tournament. The Eagles dropped 77-54 to College of the Ozarks (Missouri) in opening round, won 90-64 against Clinton College (South Carolina) in the consolation round and finished out the tournament with a 76-52 win over Houghton University (New York) in the tournament’s fifth-place game.
Ella Falk brings the ball up the court during a University of Northwestern-St. Paul basketball game this winter.
Contributed / Mikey Machuca, University of Northwestern-St. Paul
“On the court I was able to contribute to the team’s successes within my role,” Falk said. “The coaches and teammates that I had in the program are truly the best so my goal was to always use my role on the court to support them. Our team was riddled with injuries throughout the season so being able to stay healthy but also overcome that as a team by successfully stepping into different roles and such was always a big thing.”
The 2024-25 season was Falk’s second season playing for the Eagles. Falk started every game but one and played a total of 870 minutes this winter. She scored a total of 336 points and had 54 assists. She was named a UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention.
“I had essentially the same role as I did freshman year just maybe a little bit more elevated,” Falk said. “Having had the first year of experience I definitely felt more knowledgeable this year and even more comfortable in my role and in what to expect, and even how to handle different situations both on and off the court.
“The team itself had a new, different dynamic from my freshman to my sophomore year with different coaches and players which is always an exciting and interesting element of every new season,” she said.
Falk’s junior season will be different too — mostly because she won’t be playing basketball.
“I did decide that this last year of basketball was going to be my last,” Falk said. “I transferred to a different school and will be a full-time student.”
Falk will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall pursuing a degree in personal finance.
“I’m very happy and grateful for my time at UNW, I am simply ready to experience life outside of basketball,” Falk said.
Katie Ringer is a sports reporter for the Jamestown Sun. Katie joined the Sun staff in the summer of 2019 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire with a degree in journalism. She can be reached by email at kringer@jamestownsun.com or by phone at 701-952-8460.