The first fall sporting event is scheduled for Friday with girls tennis taking center stage. Crookston will be going to Moorhead for a seven or eight-team round robin hosted by Roseau! Yes, there is a lot going on there, but it will be the first fall sporting event in the area and I am sure the girls are excited.
Volleyball, soccer and others will be kicking off their season next week and football follows the following week. It looks like the fall sports season will be a full season so cross your fingers that it will stay that way.
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Crookston Pirate Girls Tennis – Coach Sue Tiedemann (21 players 9-12)
Seniors (3) – Hannah Lindemoen, Emma Osborn, Hayden Winjum
Juniors (6) – Abby Borowicz, Stella Duden, Ella Kiel, Jenna Seaver, Zara Baig, Halle Bruggeman
Sophomores (7) – Coral Brekken, Calleigh Fanfulik, Emma Gunderson, Morgan Nelson, Isabelle Smith, Brekken Tull, Halle Winjum
Freshman (6) – Paige Abrahamson, Kaylie Clauson, Addie Fee, Joey Nesseth, Mariah Overgaard, Georgia Sanders
Eighth graders (10) – Ashlyn Brekken, Chloe Boll, Logan Brekken, Janessa Kunstleben, Emma LaPlante, Taylor Schulz, Lucy Smith, Taylor Wieland, Madelyn Anderson
Seventh graders (3) – Alaina Goelzler, Avery Matthews, Katie Seaver
Managers – Macy Fee (injured and can’t play), Isaac Thomforde
Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer – Coach Lon Boike (28 players 9-12)
Seniors (5) – George French, Blaine Andringa, Evan Christenson, Jack Garmen, Sam Stewart
Juniors (5) – Gavin Winger, Elliot Bartrum, Thor Harbott, Alex Longoria, Nathan Kelly
Sophomores (9) – Brannon Tangquist, Lucas Miller, David Threatt, Kadin Edwards, Caden Boike, Carter Trudeau, Ashton Shockman, Blake Melsa, Matthew Owens
Freshman (9) – Jack Everett, Jackson Reese, Isaiah Olivares, Brandon Colborn, Michael Bochow, Tim Brule, Jayden Mulvey, Jack Buhler, Lincoln Waldal
Eighth graders (5) – Jay Reese, Zach Plante, Peter Wiersma, Caden Sanders, Makoti Weber
Seventh-grader (1) Aiden Weiland
Crookston Pirate Football – Coach Nate Lubarski (42 players 9-12)
Seniors – (6) Cade Deleon, Brady Wisk, Logan Melvie, Jacob Hesby, Brooks Butt, Treyden Turnwall
Juniors (14) – Layton Fuentes, Ryan Abeld, Tatum Lubinski, Jack Doda, Hunter Kresl, Jaren Bailey, Ethan Bowman, Ethan Boll, Jesse Sanchez, Dalton Delude, George Widman, Hunter Knutson, Braxton Volker, Omar Petithomme
Sophomores (11) – Clay Hanson, Spencer Ness, Evin Trudeau, Carter Coauette, Koda Donarski, Jake Erickson, Antonio Romero, Dalen Korynta, Angel Gutierrez, Vinny Herberg, Adam Arriaga
Freshmen (11) – Rylan Lubarski, Teagen Lubinski, Bradyn Pederson, Daniel Jaime, Riley Helgeson, Michael Miller, Jameson Alzalde, Exavier Zapata, Hunter Nicholas, Brandon Colborn, Lionel Luna
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I recently asked University of Minnesota Crookston Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause several questions covering a little bit of everything. I appreciate Mary taking time out of her busy schedule to field a few of my questions. I went to UMC for a year, played basketball, and have covered the athletic teams since 1997. I have broadcast many rough games, and I have broadcast some pretty exciting games from Football beating ranked UMD many years ago, to Women’s Basketball getting big wins over ranked teams, to Men’s basketball beating ranked teams, and of course baseball in the NSIC tournament. I can pretty much guarantee outside of Stephanie Helgeson, there hasn’t been a person that has seen more UMC athletic events than yours truly. I am a fan of UMC athletics and the coaches. They have great young men and women that also get it done in the classroom and the coaches are great people that have to work a lot harder than their fellow NSIC coaches because of where they are at (UMC), including AD Steph Helgeson.
I still think UMC would benefit from not being a part of the U of Minnesota system (this as a huge Gopher Sports fan) for many reasons, but the main reason is all the crap they have to deal with the Main campus. The U of M degree doesn’t mean half of what it used to because pretty much every employer now is looking at experience over where your degree is. If you have a two-year radio degree and have five years of experience in radio, I am going to hire you over a four-year degree with one year of experience. I could honestly care less where you graduated from and I know this is the case for pretty much every employer. So with that said, if UMC went off on their own would it be better? That is above my paygrade……I am just a radio station owner and get to do whatever I want. But I know this, being independent is a thousand times better than being a part of the bankruptcy filing Iheart, or any of those big companies. Just look at the newspaper in town that is owned by a big company. I get to do what is best for me in Crookston, what is best for our community, even if it costs me some money to do it, including broadcasting UMC Athletics.
Anyway, back to the task at hand, here are the questions and Chancellor Holz-Clause’s responses. I appreciate her responses and think she is doing as good of a job as the U of M is letting her do up here. Like athletics, everything is a challenge at UMC.
Question 1 – I was wondering if you have given any pushback to Joan Gable/U of M regents on the facemask policy? With ONLY five positive COVID cases in all of northwest Minnesota today it seems to be a bit premature to have the Crookston campus follow what they are doing in Minneapolis, as of today. I am afraid it might hurt UMC enrollment numbers, especially on-campus enrollment when they could go to UND, NDSU, Mayville State, etc with no facemasks required.
Answer 1 – Thanks for your questions and the off-the-record question. We are happy to answer on the record. As it has been from the start, our top priority is protecting the health and wellbeing of our faculty and staff and students. We are fortunate to be able to follow the guidance of some of the top infectious disease experts in the world, who happen to work at the University of Minnesota. While you’re correct that current infections in Polk County are low, we also have a relatively low county vaccination rate. As we introduce new students from around the state and country to the community in a couple of weeks, the masking policy reflects our values well. And as has been the case since the beginning of the pandemic, we will continue to monitor multiple indicators and adjust our response accordingly to keep people safe. As I am sure you also heard, the University of Minnesota will require students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 after the vaccines are FDA-approved beyond emergency use. We currently require students to be vaccinated for other diseases such as mumps, measles, tetanus, etc. COVID will be added to the list of required immunizations. As with other vaccinations, exemptions for medical and religious reasons will be granted and students will have a grace period to receive their vaccines.
Question 2 – What is the total budget (ballpark number) for each UMC Athletic team (including coach salaries, travel, equipment, etc.) I think people might be surprised one way or the other on what it costs to have each program.
Answer 2 – For several of your data-related questions, we have formal processes for these data requests that we need to adhere to.
Question 3 – What is the number of full-time students expected on campus this fall semester?
Answer 3 – The official census for the student population will be released three weeks after classes start. We have some students who are still finalizing their details and some student athletes are joining us daily. At this juncture, the number of students is very fluid, which is why we wait three weeks after classes begin for the census. For a number that does not typically move much from this point forward, we currently have 64 postsecondary education option (PSEO) students who will be attending UMN Crookston this Fall, up from 38 students in the Spring Semester.
Question 4 – How many student-athletes are enrolled in the fall semester? How many will live on campus?
Answer 4 – As of today (August 13), we have 240 student-athletes. Of those student athletes 142 have indicated to us that they plan to live on-campus. We know that students who live in the residence halls have higher GPAs and higher retention rates, so are delighted that so many of our athletes have made the choice to live on campus. We are also excited to see that the retention of returning students living in our residence halls has increased.
Question 5 – Have the current programs seen any additional funding after the demise of the football program? If so, what has each program received or expected to receive?
Answer 5 – No answer on this one – maybe part of the information request.
Question 6 – How has the Covid-19 pandemic positively affected UMC?
Answer 6 – I appreciate your question about the lessons learned as well as the challenges from the pandemic. With everything, there are usually benefits we didn’t expect or realize when the event occurred. COVID is no exception. Some of the positive aspects of COVID for us have included:
– We have received positive accolades for our leadership in online instruction as campuses throughout the region and country had to learn to teach online. We’ve been successfully doing this for 30 years, so while some may have rushed to get their classes online, our professors were able to do so for the most part seamlessly and immediately. We even helped to provide training experiences for faculty at several area institutions.
– As meetings across the UMN System moved to Zoom, we experienced an increased capacity to collaborate with other UMN campuses and tap into resources from across the system. As we learn to collaborate better across the system, we will be able to free up time for some of our staff, and in many cases, other campuses are now benefiting from expertise at UMN Crookston that they did not know existed just two years ago. Likewise we learned from some of our colleagues on other campuses. We have had increased collaboration amongst the system since COVID with the ease of communications via Zoom.
– Like many organizations, we have had fewer expenses in heating, cooling, travel and transportation costs, daily cleaning, etc as the majority of our workforce conducted their work from their homes until early August 2021.
Question 7 – How has the Covid-19 pandemic negatively affected UMC?
Answer 7 – Fortunately, we have not lost any member of our immediate campus to COVID, but some of us have lost loved ones to COVID or had to make changes to support loved ones whose lives have been forever altered by the disease. There have been significant financial implications for foregone revenues, significant additional expenses for protection as well as testing our student-athletes, etc. The federal stimulus packages have been helpful, but have not made our institution financially whole. Students also received financial assistance but there have been significant hardships for many of them. For many, mental and physical health has been affected. COVID reminds us of a saying of the Queen of England several years ago. “It is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. … it is an annus horribilis.”
Question 8 – Morris and Crookston continue to see declining enrollment. Has there been talk of cutting the cost of attending UMC and Morris to compete better with the more affordable Minnesota and North Dakota state schools? Or any other talks relating to that topic?
Just an FYI – My daughter is a junior in high school and has already decided (as of now) she wants to go to Mayville State to be a teacher/coach. She picked Mayville over UMC because it was half the price and she is going to be a teacher so she won’t be able to pay off any loans she might have to take out as quickly as her sister that is starting P.A. School at St. Scholastica this fall.
Answer 8 – We especially appreciate your questions about cost and your child’s conclusion that going to college at UMN Crookston was not cost-effective. Chris, this is actually a place where you could help us because many people do not realize just how great of a value UMN Crookston is. There are a variety of really good independent net cost calculators out there (we typically refer folks to our site with the College Board – https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/dumn). Every case is unique, but the average net cost (what you pay after scholarships and aid) for UMN Crookston is less than for North Dakota schools and Minnesota State schools in every family income band below $110,000 a year. Note for Minnesota residents going to college outside Minnesota, the cost of attendance is higher than the in-state rate and financial aid options tend to be more limited. So Chris, building on these comments, we encourage you to have your daughter give us a call and take a closer look at the data. While the sticker price at Mayville might be lower, your daughter will almost certainly pay less to go to UMN Crookston, and while we know there are some good people at Mayville, a University of Minnesota degree is recognized for its quality all across the country and beyond while few folks outside the Northern Plains know much about Mayville. Give us a look!
(My oldest daughter went to Minnesota Duluth so I know how much it is for a 4.0 student that received two scholarships from June Shaver, a scholarship for being one of the top biology students at UMD, and many others, and her last semester being free because we had two kids in college.
In fairness to UMC, higher ed costs have skyrocketed and that is why you are seeing a boom in enrollment at junior colleges and community colleges.)
Question 9 – How many scholarships does each team have? What is the max they can have?
Answer 9 – For several of your data-related questions, we have formal processes for these data requests that we need to adhere to.
Question 10 – I see all the other NSIC schools having special fundraising days for their programs several times a year and never see anything for UMC. Is that something that is being looked at? The only thing I know of is Give to the Max day and that wasn’t publicized well. I didn’t know about it until after the fact. We (KROX) knew nothing about it.
Answer 10 – You asked about some of our student athletic teams engaging in fundraising. Just like other campus athletic organizations, our student athletes engage in fundraising for their programs. Those efforts are as varied as the students and sports we sponsor. Some receive funding from the Foundation through private philanthropy and others are setting up crowdfunding, etc. You noted that you didn’t know about Give to the Max, which has provided funding for some programs. We will ensure that you get information about the special day this year. I do know our previous donors, faculty and staff were all invited to participate.
Question 11 – Has there been talks of an athletic capital improvement fundraising drive similar to one that Valley City State just kicked off. VCSU already has $6 million raised with a goal of $25 million in three years.
Answer 11 – No answer.
Question 12 – Have there been any talks of facility upgrades to athletics and the athletic buildings/offices?
Answer 12 – We share your interest in updating and upgrading our facilities. In the past two years we have replaced the bleachers in Lysaker gymnasium, replaced the bleachers at the baseball field and added a press box. We remodeled the racquetball court into a golf simulator room, we also recently upgraded the Wi-Fi on the soccer field and replaced the scoreboard. This last winter, we also remodeled the hockey locker room at the Crookston Sports Center. Total investments have exceeded $650,000. Related to this, we are always open to having community conversations about having multi-purpose use facilities that allow our community and students to be able to practice inside and outside. In this Northern climate we know the difficulty and adverse playing conditions, in which our players sometimes have to put up with. We would welcome partnering with organizations in the community and county to dream big and collectively work towards having a large functional multi-use facility that would serve everyone’s needs.
Question 13 – Is there any discussion of bringing football back or adding any other sports?
Answer 13 – No answer (I had to ask the question because 100 student-athletes would be a huge boost to Crookston and the UMC campus!)
I will file a public records request for the unanswered questions and post them when I get them.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program announced the signing of Samantha Harris (S, 5-7, Farmington, N.M./Dakota College at Bottineau) to a National Letter of Intent. “We look forward to adding a competitor like Sam to our Golden Eagle Volleyball program!,” said Head Coach Sarah Morgan. “It was clear in talking to Sam that she embodies the values we strive for in our program, and we can’t wait to see what she will add for us on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.”
Samantha Harris (S, 5-7, Farmington, N.M./Dakota College at Bottineau)
Harris played in 19 matches during the 2020-21 season for Dakota College at Bottineau. She averaged 3.91 assists per set. Harris tallied 12 service aces. She averaged 1.26 digs per set. Harris notched 17 assists against Lake Region State College.
As a freshman, Harris averaged 7.33 assists per set. She had 43 service aces on the season. Harrison had a season-high 47 assists in a win over Miles Community College as a freshman.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston soccer team was picked 16th out of 16 teams in the 2021 NSIC Preseason Soccer Coaches’ Poll released on Monday. The Golden Eagles received 26 points in the poll.
Minnesota State Mankato was selected first in the NSIC Preseason Soccer Coaches’ Poll with nine first-place votes and 218 overall points. Augustana University was second with three first-place votes and 202 points, while Concordia University-St. Paul placed third with 200 points and four first-place votes.
Jenny Vetter of Minnesota State was selected as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Megan Dahl of Bemidji State University was picked as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
The UMC soccer team returns to the pitch for the first time since the 2019 season after the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19. Minnesota Crookston is entering their third season under Head Coach Kyle Halfpop. The Golden Eagles will have a young squad in 2021 with just two players who competed on the 2019 squad with Ashley Chomyn (So., MF, Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Gabriela Pinto (Sr., D, Beaverton, Ore.). The Golden Eagles open up the 2021 season Saturday, Sept. 4 at Dakota Wesleyan University.
POLL RESULTS –
1. Minnesota State Mankato (9) 218
2. Augustana (3) 202
3. Concordia-St. Paul (4) 200
4. Bemidji State 194
5. St. Cloud State 165
6. University of Mary 155
7. Winona State 117
8. Wayne State 109
9. Southwest Minnesota State 106
10. Minot State 104
11. Minnesota Duluth 103
12. Minnesota State Moorhead 66
13. Northern State 55
14. Sioux Falls 52
15. Upper Iowa 48
16. UMC 26
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JOKES
A chicken farmer went to a local bar. He sat next to an attractive woman and ordered a Manhattan.
The woman said, “How strange, I also just ordered a Manhattan.”
“What a coincidence,” said the farmer, who added, ” It is a special day for me. I’m celebrating.”
“It is a special day for me too, I’m also celebrating!” said the woman.
“What a coincidence!” said the farmer.
While they toasted, the farmer asked, “What are you celebrating?”
“My husband and I have been trying to have a child for years, and today, my gynecologist told me that I was pregnant”
“What a coincidence,” said the man. “I’m a chicken farmer and for years all my hens were infertile, but now they are all set to lay fertilized eggs.”
“This is incredible,” said the woman. “What did you do for your chickens to become fertile?”
“I used a different rooster,” he replied.
The woman smiled and said, “What a coincidence.”
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How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com
Kaleb Thingelstad is a freshman playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan University.
Joslynn Leach is a freshman playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Sweden. He will be returning to Sweden in the fall.
Aleece Durbin, is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Ben Trostad is playing Club Hockey at UMC.
Ty Hamre is playing Club Hockey at UMC.
Brandon Boetcher is playing Club Hockey at UMC.
Brady Butt is a sophomore playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta, a Sophomore, is playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Nick Garmen is a junior playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Thea Oman, a junior, is swimming at St. Ben’s.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls hockey coach and softball assistant coach.
Lacia Hanson is the Junior High softball coach.
Carrie Clauson is a Junior High girls tennis coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Head Pirate Girls and Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Brock Hanson is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Ben Halos is a Pirate Baseball assistant coach.
Alex LaFrance is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching –
Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.
Josh Edlund is an assistant football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach in Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is Head Wrestling coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson, is Head Volleyball coach at Little Falls High School.
Katy Westrom, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
Matt Harris, is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.
Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of Wyoming
Mike Hastings is the Minnesota State Mankato Men’s head Hockey coach
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Thief River Falls High School
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football and volleyball and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for the Bison media relations
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College
Chris Myrold is a Tennis Pro on Nevis Island in the West Indies
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and also a grad of West Point and is currently is serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
Philip Kujawa class of 2004 from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome
That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com
