Karson Janssen

TRIMONT — While his time with family and friends was limited to 19 quality years, Karson Janssen’s spirit lives on and continues to inspire numerous people throughout southern Minnesota and at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.

After losing Karson to undetected myxomatous degeneration of the heart on Nov. 21, 2021, his parents — Kent and Jolynn Janssen of western Martin County — created a fund-raising foundation to make people more cognizant about overall cardiac fitness.

The third annual Karson Kent Janssen Memorial Hoops for Heart event will take place Saturday at the Martin County West Elementary School gymnasium in Trimont, with the first of four basketball games tipping off at 3 p.m.

The hometown Mavericks will square off against the Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Jaguars in a B-squad girls game first before the two programs’ B-squad boys teams battle at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

MCW and GHEC/Truman/Martin Luther’s girls varsity hoopsters hit the hardwood at 5:45 p.m., with a sixth-grade girls short scrimmage taking place at halftime.

The Maverick and Jaguar varsity boys close out Saturday’s quadrangular, starting at 7 p.m., with a fifth- and sixth-grade boys scrimmage being held at intermission.

In addition to the four games, a silent auction, a bake sale and a pass-the-bucket fund-raiser during the halftime of the varsity contests will take place.

Hometown pitching hero Brandon Williamson of the Cincinnati Reds has donated a signed hat, baseball and rookie card to the auction that also features a four-ticket package to the Reds’ three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 13-15 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

All of the proceeds from Saturday’s event go to the Karson Kent Janssen Memorial Fund and are meted out in scholarships based on the fund’s mission and core values.

The foundation encourages a positive lifestyle grounded in faith and for people to live out Karson’s motto of “Be Nice, Be Neat, Be Humble.”

Karson Janssen, a former MCW student-athlete, was a sophomore at the University of Minnesota studying in agricultural communication and marketing — with a minor in sports management — prior to his untimely death.

For more information, one can look on Facebook at: Karson Kent Janssen Memorial & Scholarship Page.

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Jacob Wilmes erupted for a double-double performance to power the Martin County West Mavericks to a 69-57 triumph over the Alden-Conger Knights during Valley Conference basketball action Tuesday night in Trimont.

Wilmes poured in a game-best 25 points to complement pulling down 11 rebounds and distributing five assists in the win.

Kale Larson scored 21 points and garnered five boards for the Mavericks (4-17) who play host to Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther at 7 p.m. Saturday night in Trimont in another conference game.