Decades ago, Matt Christensen was a face paint-wearing superfan watching his older brothers compete inside Rochester’s Mayo Civic Arena during the boys basketball section tournament.

He can recall feelings of excitement, but also heartbreak, seeing the Northfield Raiders lose, falling short of advancing to the state tournament. When it was his turn to represent the Raiders, Christensen experienced the same feeling of defeat before graduating from Northfield in 2005.

His nephew, Blake, suffered that same fate.

Similar stories have been shared across generations of Northfield grads since the Raiders last played in the state tourney in 1932.

The sport’s longest state tournament drought for a non-cooperative program finally ended Thursday, March 12, when Northfield defeated Austin 60-51 in the Class 3A, Section 1 championship game. Northfield is the fourth seed in the Class 3A state tournament and will face No. 5 seed Mankato East on Wednesday, March 25, in a quarterfinal at Williams Arena.

“I think Amelia Earhart was flying around the world,” Christensen said about the team’s last state trip. “The outpouring of alumni support here has been amazing.”

Led by Kayden Oakland, who will play football at South Dakota State and also participates in track and field, and solid role players, the Raiders improved from 15 wins last season to 25 wins entering this year’s state tournament.

“The number of people who have reached [out] is off the charts,” said Christensen, who was hired as coach in 2022. “Community members, if you go downtown, are clapping for us. It’s just been an outpouring of support.”