We are nearing the end of KROX’s Winter sports season coverage, but still have about 10-15 games left. Below is our schedule the rest of the month –
Thursday, March 10 – Crookston Boys BBall at Perham – on KROX Radio and KROX Livestream 6:20 p.m. pre-game show
Friday, March 11 – Warren-Alvarado-Oslo vs Cass Lake-Bena in Section 8A Championship at 7:00 p.m. On KROX Radio and the KROX live stream.
Saturday, March 12 – We will have the Section 8A quarterfinals at Noon, 1:45, and 5:15 p.m. on KROX Radio.
Tuesday, March 15 – Section 8A Boys Basketball semi-finals at 6:00 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. both on KROX Radio.
Friday, March 18 – Section 8A Boys Basketball Championship at 7:00 p.m. on KROX Radio and the KROX live stream.
And if Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Girls Basketball makes it to the state tournament, we will carry the games on KROX Radio.
KROX will also carry the Section 8A and 8AA Boys Basketball teams in the first round of the State tournament, the Class A semi-finals, and the Class A and AA Championship.
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We are thrilled to pass along the latest report on Alex Gullingsrud and his battle against Cancer. The latest update from Wednesday is below –
Alex had an appointment in Fargo this afternoon with Oncology. Our initial conversation with the oncologist was our worst nightmare coming true. After a lengthy conversation, he left the room to give Mike and I time. Shortly after he left the room, Alex’s Mayo Lung Surgeon called with unbelievably amazing news! The final pathology report came back very different than the original findings . The original tumor in Alex’s lung was confirmed as Osteosarcoma, AND mostly dead! Which indicates the regimen of Chemotherapy he has been on is actually working! The report found that the other 8-9 nodules were NOT Osteosarcoma…. But instead inflammation/infection. They strongly feel that the ones in his right lung are also infection. Alex will now continue with Chemotherapy along with closely monitoring and having CT scans of his lungs. As of today, Alex will not have to go in for surgery on his right lung.
While speaking with his Mayo Lung Surgeon… we realize how much your prayers are working!! The surgeon said that reports rarely turn out for the better!! Please continue to pray for Alex!!! He still has a very long and difficult road ahead!! We now have HOPE again!
So KEEP the prayers going for Alex, Mike, and Nikki Gullingsrud and their family. As a parent, I can’t imagine what the Gullingsrud’s are going through. I am soooo happy to hear the latest news and hopefully, we will continue to pass along more great news about Alex.
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The Section 8A and 8AA Boys Basketball tournament quarterfinals are being played tonight. It is too hard to pick a favorite in both classes because there are literally five or six teams that could win the championship in each tournament. The semi-final games should be fantastic, much like the 8A Girls, and expect a lot of good games.
I’m thinking the games will be good throughout the tournament although upsets of the top teams likely won’t happen. Here is Chris Fee’s final four picks-
East – Fertile-Beltrami and Cass Lake-Bena
West – Sacred Heart, and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo (Don’t be surprised if Red Lake County shows up in the semifinals – that is my possible upset alert)
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The Section 8AA and 8A Girls Basketball championship matchups are finalized after the semi-final games were played earlier this week. We will take a look at the two matchups below –
Section 8AA –
Fergus Falls will take on Menagha in Detroit Lakes on Friday at 7:00 p.m. First things first, Detroit Lakes has built a beautiful multi-purpose gymnasium. I wouldn’t mind if the tournaments are held there instead of Concordia from now on. They did a great job of hosting!
Fergus Falls is the hands-down favorite….or was the favorite going into the semi-finals. Now after watching Menagha dismantle Perham I think it is about 70/30 going into the championship. Perham was not playing their best at the end of the year and barely got past Roseau in the quarterfinals.
Menagha can shoot the ball, but if Fergus Falls plays defense like they did against Crookston, I am picking the Otters to win by 20.
Section 8A –
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo vs Cass Lake-Bena at 7:00 p.m. on Friday at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo is playing their best basketball of the season, on both ends of the floor. They beat #1 seed Stephen-Argyle by a point in the quarterfinals and beat #3 Goodridge-Grygla in the semi-finals with an impressive performance. Lily Bayne has been beyond impressive in the playoffs and is a tough matchup for teams. She is quick, tough, hard-nosed, determined, grity, and we could go on and on. She is solid and will need to have another great game. The team plays so well together on both ends and they will have the test of the season when they take on the ultra-athletic Cass Lake-Bena Panthers. Cass Lake-Bena has Taryn Frazer, who is a UMC Women’s Basketball recruit, and she is a tough match-up for any team and that will be the secret to the Ponies success. If WAO can contain her, they are going to be in great shape.
My prediction – WAO will win by 5 and advance to state.
KROX will have the Section 8A Championship game on the radio and the KROX Livestream! with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.
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It looks like Warroad and Hermantown are on a crash course for a fantastic matchup in the State Class A Boys Hockey championship. All four top seeds won easily, which is no surprise. It seems Class A is similar to the girls as there are only three, maybe four top-level teams and the games don’t get interesting until the semi-finals.
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The Minnesota State High School League State Wrestling Tournament had a three-day attendance total of 42,258!! Solid number!
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Crookston High School graduate, Katherine Geist has punched her ticket to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships by winning the mile run at the Wartburg Qualifier, one of a handful of last chance meets held the weekend before the field for the national meet is selected. Geist is a sophomore at Carleton College, a member of the MIAC conference in NCAA Division III.
Geist smashed her previous personal best by 10.8 seconds as she topped the 23-runner field with a time of 4:56.93, bettering both the Hoover Fieldhouse and meet records.
She now ranks No. 9 in the country this season for the mile and No. 23 in the 800-meter run. The top 20 athletes that are entered in an event received spots to the national meet to be held March 11-12 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
It has been a great year for Geist. At the MIAC Conference championships, she won the 1,000-meter race with a time of 2:55.97 finished third place in the 800-meter MIAC Championship while setting a Carleton school record with a time of 2:14.72. She was named to the MIAC All-conference honors for the finishes in the races.
The program for the Mile run is below-
Event 9 Women 1 Mile Prelims
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Name Year School Seed
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1 Ella Baran JR Johns Hopkin 4:43.31D
2 Evie Miller SR Trine 4:47.96D
3 Clara Mayfield SO Carleton 4:52.70D
4 Zanzie Demco SR Wis.-Oshkosh 4:55.34D
5 Katherine Geist FR Carleton 4:56.93D
6 Hope Murphy FR Baldwin Wall 4:57.05D
7 Margaret Trautner SR Caltech 4:57.09D
8 Leila Trummel JR Bowdoin 4:58.80D
9 Molly Fitzgibbons FR Williams 4:59.30D
10 Ellen Mickelson SR St. Olaf 4:59.76D
11 Alyssa Laughner JR Baldwin Wall 5:00.72D
12 Lina Spjut JR Johns Hopkin 5:00.76D
13 Alexandra Blake SO Washington U 5:00.83D
14 Rachel Conhoff JR Ursinus 5:00.98D
15 Maria Blaesing SO Macalester 5:03.46D
16 Ella Behrens JR Washington U 5:03.62D
17 Sarika Temme-Bapat JR U. of Chicag 5:04.01D
18 Jordan Wilson JR Bates 5:04.21D
19 Sarah Bentley FR MIT 5:04.37D
20 Katherine Kenny JR Middlebury 5:04.42D
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A big congratulations to Jaren Bailey, Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey goalie, on making the HP 18’s team for the Section 7/8 A/AA team. Jaren is only one of four from Class A and one of two from Section 8A!!!! Crookston Coach Josh Hardy said this was a big deal when he informed me that Jaren had made the team!
Ted Brill Great 8: The tournament consists of eight teams of Minnesota’s top high school players. Four teams are selected from Senior players, and another four teams, referred to as HP 18’s, are determined from Junior players born in 2004. The Senior and HP 18 teams will be formed according to paired high school sections (Sections 1 & 3, Sections 2 & 6, Sections 4 & 5, Sections 7 & 8).
Each high school coach can nominate players. High school coaches will vote on which players should represent their section following the nomination process. The selected teams, consisting of 20 players each, will compete in three games at the CCM High-Performance Ted Brill Great 8.
All players will be evaluated at the tournament and 40 (20 HP Seniors and 20 HP 18’s) will be selected to play in the CCM Minnesota High School Hockey National Invitational Tournament.
Dates: April 22 – April 24, 2022 at Doug Woog Arena in South St. Paul, MN.
| # | Name | Pos. | School | Sect. |
| 1 | Jaren Bailey | G | Crookston | 8A |
| 2 | George Peterson | D | Hermantown | 7A |
| 3 | Adam Puder | D | Blaine | 7AA |
| 4 | Joe Schiller | D | Moorhead | 8AA |
| 5 | Griffin Valli | D | Buffalo | 8AA |
| 6 | Adam Wensloff | D | Roseau | 8AA |
| 7 | Grant Winkler | D | Duluth East | 7AA |
| 8 | Harper Bentz | F | Moorhead | 8AA |
| 9 | Cayden Casey | F | Andover | 7AA |
| 10 | Cole Christiansan | F | Duluth East | 7AA |
| 11 | Bryce Laager | F | Blaine | 7AA |
| 12 | Andy Larson | F | Duluth Denfeld | 7A |
| 13 | Tory Lund | F | Sartell | 8AA |
| 14 | Wyatt Mattfield | F | Bemidji | 8AA |
| 15 | Ian Ness | F | Moorhead | 8AA |
| 16 | Jaksen Panzer | F | EGF | 8A |
| 17 | Max Roby | F | Brainerd | 8AA |
| 18 | Landon Steffen | F | Blaine | 7AA |
| 19 | Gavyn Thoreson | F | Andover | 7AA |
| 20 | Zander Ziemski | G | Duluth East | 7AA |
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Several Section 8A/8AA Boys Hockey players made the Ted Brill Great 8 team. The Great 8 is a senior showcase for those that haven’t signed to play college hockey yet.
Warroad – Carson Reed, Daimon Gardner, Matt Hard
Red Lake Falls – Ty Kennet
Thief River Falls – Brett Holmer
Roseau – Gavin Gunderson
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The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s basketball team announced the addition of Taryn Frazer (G, 5-4, Cass Lake, Minn./Cass Lake-Bena H.S.) to their signing class. Frazer is the fourth signee for the Golden Eagles heading into the 2022-23 season, joining Emma Miller (G, 5-1, Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville H.S.), Natalie Mikrot (G, 5-6, Willow River, Minn.), and Janie Tormanen (F/C, 6-0, Menahga, Minn./Menahga H.S.).
Taryn Frazer (G, 5-4, Cass Lake, Minn./Cass Lake-Bena H.S.)Frazer is a three-time All-Northland Conference selection. She has scored over 2,000 points in her prep career. Frazer is an All-State honoree. She broke her school’s high school scoring record. Frazer has led Cass Lake-Bena H.S. to the State Tournament twice. She was nominated for Miss Minnesota Basketball.
She is the daughter of Mindy Utley and Tate Frazer. Frazer is undecided on her major.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team announced the signing of Makenna Frazier (OH, 5-8, Nevis, Minn./Nevis H.S.) to a National Letter of Intent. Frazier is the first signee for the Golden Eagles for the 2022 signing class.
Makenna Frazier (OH, 5-8, Nevis, Minn./Nevis H.S.)
Frazier is a four-time All-Northwoods Conference pick as a volleyball player at Nevis H.S. Frazier is a three-time all-conference honoree for basketball. In addition, she is a two-time All-Northwoods Conference pick in track. She is undecided on her major at Minnesota Crookston. Her father Collin Frazier ran track at Minnesota Duluth and played semi-professional football for the Maui Magic. She was born in Hawai’i.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s soccer team announced the signing of Julia Finch (D/MF, 5-6, Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge H.S.) to a National Letter of Intent. Finch is the seventh player overall to join the Golden Eagle women’s soccer signing class.
Julia Finch (D/MF, 5-6, Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge H.S.)
Finch is a multi-sport athlete, who also competed in three years of tennis. She was part of the Development Academy for three years. Finch is a four-time Academic Letter recipient. She competed on the club circuit for Salvo Soccer Club. She is the daughter of Andrea and David Finch. Finch plans to major in education.
Jenna Custer (F, 5-2, Queen Creek, Ariz./Grand Canyon University)
Custer played her freshman season at NCAA Division I Grand Canyon University, but did not play in a game. She was a two-time State Champion in 2017 and 2019. She scored 13 goals and had 11 assists in her high school career. She was a 2019 All-Region Honorable Mention. She was named 2019 and 2020 Sports360AZ All-Academic Team. She is the daughter of Jim and Michelle Custer. She was born in Lianjiang, China, but grew up in Arizona.
Ellerie Tarbox (F, 5-8, Carter Lake, Iowa/Missouri Western State University)
Tarbox spent two seasons at Missouri Western State, a NCAA Division II school. She was named to the 2020-21 MIAA Academic Honor Roll. She was an All-Hawkeye Ten Conference member. She was named All-City. Tarbox competed for Saint Albert H.S. in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Tarbox was named her Team MVP. Tarbox was an All-State recipient, and All-Tournament recipient. She was the National Honor Society President, and a member of Honor Roll. Tarbox was named KMA Player of the Week. She is the daughter of Todd and Dawn Tarbox. Tarbox is majoring in biology.
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JOKES
After being married for 25 years, a wife asked her husband to describe her.
He looked at her carefully, then said, ‘You are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K.’
‘What does that mean?’ she asked suspiciously.
He said, ‘Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous and Hot!’
She beamed at him happily and said: ‘Oh, that’s so lovely! But what about I, J and K?’
‘I’m Just Kidding!’
(The swelling in his eye is going down and the doctors are fairly optimistic about saving his genitals).
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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
Katherine Geist, a sophomore, is running track for Carleton College.
Emma Boll, a freshman, is playing softball at Northwestern University in St. Paul.
Emma Borowicz is a freshman running track at Minnesota State Mankato.
Ben Trostad is a senior playing Men’s Golf at UMC.
Kaleb Thingelstad is a freshman playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan University. KWU is done for the fall season.
Joslynn Leach is a freshman playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brady Butt is a sophomore playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta, is a junior playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Sweden. He is the only American playing for Mora IK of the Allsvenskan league.
Gretchen Theis is a sophomore at NDSU on the Equestrian team.
Kate MacGregor is a senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Aleece Durbin, is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Nick Garmen is a junior playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.
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.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the 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 –
Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.
Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida
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.
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 the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Ben Andringa is serving our country with the Army in New York.
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.
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