SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.co— — —
It is hard to beleve some high school softball games have been played already and with the State Boys Basketball tournament complete, it is officially spring sports season at KROX. It is also Easter weekend. From all of us at KROX, we hope you have a blessed Easter. Even if it is supposed to snow several inches the rest of the week! It is Minnesota and shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone!
I would like to apologize if the column is a little “off” or has more mistakes than usual. I had a wisdom tooth pulled on Wednesday morning and it was under the bone, it was infected, and had a cyst around it! Besides that….not a big deal. It has been bothering me for many months, but during the winter sports season, it is very hard to take time off, and then when you have something close to a nerve, you make sure you have time to recover and not sound like I have been drinking all day while doing a game! I came back to it after being put under and got out at 9:30 a.m. Then I got a ride back, went to work, did the Noon news, did news stories, and took seven phone calls throughout the day about the closure of Washington School. and finished this column. .Just another day. In radio, there are no sick days…..and when you’re a small business owner, you have to do what you have to do! I wouldn’t want it any other way!!!
Thanks for reading again, and remember, if you ever have some sports news, email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com.
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Have you been watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball and Men’s Hockey tournament games this year? If you haven’t, you have missed out on a lot of great games. I think this year, especially in basketball, has been one of the best for close games. Hockey has had some crazy games too. It sure has been fun. The Final Four for both men’s and women’s basketball should be fantastic games. The Frozen Four should be pretty good, too. I will say Michigan (MBB), UCONN (WBB), and Michigan (MH) will win titles. I wouldn’t be surprised if UND won. Although their region is weak, they look tough right now! But I can’ pick them to win it….my autocorrect changes it each time!!! Crazy stuff!
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Pirate Spring Sports rosters are coming in. Last week we had the Girls Golf at 13 in grades 6-12. Pirate Boys Track was only 8 kids out 9-12. We will take a look at a few more sports –
PIRATE SOFTBALL – Has 16 out 9-12 without a senior, otherwise all the classes have solid numbers per grade. There is also 16 junior high girls out for softball.
Seniors – None
Juniors (6) – Ally Wagner, Madi Bruggeman, Lily Corneillie, Brylee Darco, Aubreyana Fredrick, Brea Lessard
Sophomores (6) – Prisilla Gonzalez, Shyuh Burnette, Rilynn Aubol, Peyton Demarais, Dani Bushaw, Leia Parkin
Freshman (4) – Emma Pierson, Natalie Perala, Cora Prudhomme Shane, Brynna Kopecky
JUNIOR HIGH (16)- Ava Bartrum, Cali Corona, McKinna Amiot, Brooke Jackson, Delilah Romero Isaacson, Dana Dyrdahl, Tylie Demarais, Skyla Fredrick, Miya LaBelle, Mary Shaw, Evelyn Gasper, Ava Aune, Kaitlynn Klawitter, Isabelle Helgeson, Stormy Luckow, Leah Biermaier.
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The Crookston Pirate Baseball team has solid numbers again this year with 51 out in 6-12!
Seniors (8) – Nolan Cassavant, Cody Demarais, Isaiah Donarski, Gavyn Hlucny, Dexter Janek, Lucas Perala, Travis Siegle, Massen Reitmeier.
Juniors (3) – Aiden Delage, Ethan Lanctot, Jack Odegaard,
Sophomores (4) – Jax Fredrick, Jaron Knutson, Gabe Perala, Erik Pruneda
Freshman (10) – Jacob Biermaier, Travis Blackbird, Joseph Burnette, Jacob Doda, Maddoz Hoerner, Keegan Lessard, Brodie Meyer, Brady Samuelson, Paul Thornhill, Asher Wieland.
Eighth graders (8) – Jax Amiot, Christian Cassavant, Jose Contreras, Davin Janek, Nolan Kuchan, Jameson Reese, Beau Smith, Asher Vigness
Seventh graders (5) – Jack Daniels, Jackson Haaland, Brody Hanson, Jayden Nguyen, Grayson Solberg
Sixth graders (13) – Nolan Bertils, Eli Boll, Jett Brekken, Adams Burnette, Albert Castro, Jameson Enright, Evan Ferwerda, Cylas Fontaine, Kamden Lessard, Easton Peterson, Victor Ramirez, Jonathon Sanchez, Jack Von Ruede
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The Pirate Girls Track team has 33 girls out in grades 7-12. The roster is below-
Seniors (3) – Ashlyn Bailey, Chloe Boll, ZiZi Sam
Juniors (5) – Alaina Goelzer, Brooklyn Waldal, Rylee Anderson, Cecelia Widman, Wendy Chen
Sophomores (2) – Grace Boll, Hailey Fritz
Freshman (10) – Morgan Boll, Kasey Fritz, Lydia Grovum, Keatyn Kliner, Catelyn Maruska, Ava Oliver, Jennika Reese, Kinsley Wangen, Annalee Espinoza, Andrea Morales
Eighth grade (5) – Ana Schiller, Bridget Groven, Lauren Tull, Mollie Wagner, Elaina Rodriguez
Seventh grade (8) – Clara Cymbaluk, Keeva Kliner, Alle Kollin, Emma Perreault, Stella Thompson, Kambree Wangen, Hillary Weber, Katherine Fuller
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Time to talk Spring sports!! The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Baseball team has won six conference games in a row and are currently in fourth place in the NSIC! They have a lot of big series coming up as they head to Minnesota Duluth this weekend with a chance to expand the winning streak. Then the Golden Eagles have games with St. Cloud State, Sioux Falls, Mary, and Minnesota State Mankato all in the next five series. After those five series, they should have a chance to pick up some more wins when they take on Bemidji State. They also have Augustana, Minot State, and Winona State on the schedule. The regular season wraps up on May 2 and the playoffs begin May 6-9 in Sioux Falls with the top eight teams making the tournament.
The Golden Eagle offense has been solid so far this year. They have two regular players batting over .400. Elias Leach (Fresh. Wayzata) is hitting .411. He had 39 hits in 95 at bats with 10 doubles, five home runs, 25 rbi, and 25 walks! Jackson Flifiet (Soph. Wahpeton, ND) is batting .410 with 34 hits in 83 at bats with nine doubles, 10 home runs, 31 rbi, 10 walks and nine hit by pitches.
UMC has five players batting over.300 with Americo Sculati (Sr. Golden Valley) batting .374 with a team high 40 hits in 107 at bats along with nine doubles, eight home runs, 31 rbi and 12 walks. Tori Uhlich (Jr. Wahpeton, ND) is batting .351 with 39 hits in 111 at bats. He has 11 doubles, 16 rbi, 11 walks, eight hit by pitches, and 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts!
The Golden Eagles pitching staff has seen some really good, and some struggles as it seems offense pretty good in all the games they have played.
UMC has used six starting pitchers this season in the 27 games played. Leading the way is Isaac Wensloff (Sr, Roseau) with a 4-1 record. He has an ERA of 4.94 with one complete game and 31 innings pitched. He has 35 strikeouts while only walking nine.
Nate Benning (Jr. Browerville) is having a solid year with a 3-0 record, despite his 6.34 ERA. He has pitched 32.2 innings, struck out 30 while walking 14. The part that has hurt him is the eight home runs he has given up. He fixes that and he will continue to drop the ERA. Isaac Roers (Sr. Stacy) is 2-0 on the year while starting six games. He has a hefty 8.07 ERA while pitching 32.1 innings, striking out a team high 38 while walking 13.
| School | Conf | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Augustana | 16-1 | 23-6 |
| Minnesota State | 12-2 | 19-7 |
| St. Cloud State | 11-5 | 15-14 |
| Minnesota Crookston | 10-5 | 17-10 |
| Wayne State College | 11-6 | 19-11 |
| Sioux Falls | 9-5 | 13-14 |
| UMary | 8-6 | 15-12 |
| Winona State | 7-7 | 12-15 |
| Minot State | 6-10 | 11-15 |
| Concordia-St. Paul | 6-11 | 11-18 |
| Northern State | 6-11 | 8-14 |
| Minnesota Duluth | 6-11 | 8-21 |
| SW Minnesota State | 5-12 | 15-14 |
| Bemidji State | 3-13 | 6-21 |
| Jamestown | 1-12 | 6-20 |
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Softball team has had some big wins and the best start in the NCAA era. They knocked off Augustana for the first time in program history and have other big time wins! They might have had better NSIC records after eight games, but I am looking at who they have beaten and how close their games have been against the better teams in the conference. There is no doubt that there are eight top teams, three teams in the middle and five at the bottom. Right now UMC is in the middle and in ninth place out of 16 teams!
UMC has a chance to make some ground over the next several weeks with double-headers against Northern State, Moorhead, Jamestown, Mary, Minot State, Duluth, and Bemidji State all coming up! Those seven teams have a combined five conference wins on the year! So the Golden Eagles need to make some hay over that time!
The Golden Eagles have split with Sioux Falls, Southwest Minnesota State, and Augustana. They were swept by Wayne State.
UMC has three regular players batting over .300 with Emily Kalina (Fresh. Rice Lake, Wis) leading the way with a .333 average. She has 32 hits in 96 at bats, seven doubles, two triples, 16 rbi along with 15 walks. Megan Surgenor (Fresh. Andover) is batting .323 with 20 hits in 62 at bats, nine doubles, one triple, one homerun. Chayse Doering (Soph. Shakopee) is batting .301 with 28 hits in 93 at bats, five doubles, four triples, one home run and 23 rbi. She has walked 14 times.
In the circle, UMC is led by Charlotte Dombrowski (Sr. Valparaiso, IN) with a 3.08 ERA with a 4-2 record with three complete games and one shutout. She has pitched 38.2 innings, striking out 26 batters. Hannah Trzinski (Soph. Stevens Point, Wis) is 3-6 on the year with a 4.74 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched. She has 20 strikeouts, but also walked 40.
The team ERA is 5.78 while the team batting average is .269.
| School | Conf | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Winona State | 8-0 | 29-4 |
| Concordia-St. Paul | 8-0 | 19-12 |
| St. Cloud State | 7-1 | 25-9 |
| Minnesota State | 7-1 | 20-12 |
| Southwest Minnesota State | 7-1 | 21-13 |
| Sioux Falls | 7-1 | 19-14 |
| Wayne State College | 6-2 | 26-6 |
| Augustana | 6-2 | 13-16 |
| Minnesota Crookston | 3-5 | 9-24 |
| Minnesota Duluth | 2-6 | 17-14 |
| Minot State | 2-6 | 17-15 |
| MSU Moorhead | 1-7 | 3-28 |
| Jamestown | 0-8 | 19-12 |
| Northern State | 0-8 | 8-16 |
| UMary | 0-8 | 10-20 |
| Bemidji State | 0-8 | 6-25 |
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s Basketball program added a little height for next year with the signing of Cassie Ririnui, a 6-2 post from Tauranga, New Zealand and a transfer from Central Maine Community College. She averaged 6 points and 5 rebounds per game.
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With the Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey teams hiring their new coaches, the search is on for a new St. Cloud State coach, and another former Crookston kid is looking like he is in the mix. Nick Oliver (son of Scott and Denise Oliver) is an Assistant Coach at Wisconsin, has interviewed for the SCSU Husky Men’s Hockey opening.
Three other candidates have interviewed as well – Jason Herter, Travis Winter, and Ben Simon.
Speaking of Crookston kids. Mike Hastings’ Wisconsin Badger Men’s Hockey team pulled off an improbbable comeback to knock of Michigan State to get to the Frozen Four. They trailed 3-1 late in the game and scored two goals before scoring a wild goal early in overtime to win the game! Hastings is assisted by Red Lake Falls native Todd Knott, and former Crookston/Roseau kid Nick Oliver.
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The Bemidji Lumberjack Boys Soccer team will be looking for a new coach for the first time in 31 years!!! Rick Toward is stepping down after 33 years with the team and 31 as head coach! He had a record of 291-233-45 with four section championships. He will be leaving for a teaching job in Uraguay.
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There has been some pretty impressive stats with the Women’s Basketball Sweet 16 and Men’s Hockey Frozen Four relating to the number of Minnesotans on the teams. The numbers are below-
Players by state in the Frozen Four next weekend. No teams from MN, still the most by far!
21 – Minnesota
9 – Michigan
8 – Illinois
5 – California
4 – Wisconsin
3 – Colorado
2 – North Dakota
1 – AK, AZ, FK, IA, LA, MD, MA, NY, OH, VA, WA
Players By Province
11 – Ontario
9 – British Columbia
8 – Alberta
5 – Manitoba
4 – Saskatchewan
2 – Quebec
In the Women’s Basketball Sweet 16, Minnesota is also the lead in the number of players from the state. With 250 total players on the remaining rosters, 38 states are represented along with 37 international players.
In a bit of a surprise, Minnesota leads the way with 15, including eight playing for the Gophers!
Amaya Battle, Minnesota (Hopkins)
Mara Braun, Minnesota (Wayzata)
Aaliyah Crump, Texas (Minnetonka)
Sophie Hart, Minnesota (Farmington)
Niamya Holloway, Minnesota (Eden Prairie)
Tessa Johnson, South Carolina (St. Michael-Albertville)
Kennedy Klick, Minnesota (Maple Grove)
Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA, (Duluth Marshall)
Natalie Mazurek, TCU (Eden Prairie)
Tori McKinney, Minnesota (Minnetonka)
Olivia Olson, Michigan (Benilde-St. Margaret’s)
Brynn Senden, Minnesota (Wayzata)
Trinity Wilson, Vanderbilt (Lakeville North)
Taylor Woodson, Minnesota (Hopkins)
Jordan Zubich, North Carolina (Mountain Iron-Buhl)
15 – Minnesota
12 – Texas
11 – California and Florida
8 – Kentucky, North Carolina
7 – New Jersey, New York
6 – Georgia, Indiana
5 – Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia,
4 – Arkansas, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Maryland, Utah, Tennessee,
3 – Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina
2 – Iowa, Kansas
1 – Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia
Five high schools have at least three players in the Sweet 16: IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) and Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.).
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The Crookston High School Triple A Academics, Arts, and Athletics Senior Recognition Banquet will be 6:00 p.m. on Monday April 27 in the CHS Commons. Cost of tickets is $20, no tickets will be sold at the event. Tickets can be purchased at KROX and the high school office. CHS Seniors can pick up their free tickets at the CHS office. Deadline to purchase tickets is Monday, April 20.
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JOKES
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A guy came into a bar one day and said to the barman, “Give me six double vodkas.”
The barman says, “Wow! You must have had one hell of a day.”
“Yes, I’ve just found out my older brother is gay.”
The next day the same guy came into the bar and asked for the same drinks. When the bartender asked what the problem was today, the answer came back, “I’ve just found out that my younger brother is gay too!”
On the third day the guy came into the bar and ordered another six double vodkas.
The bartender says, “Geez! Doesn’t anybody in your family like women?”.
“Yeah, my wife…”
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Paddy and his two friends are talking at a bar.
His first friend says, “I think my wife is having an affair with the electrician. The other day I came home and found wire cutters under our bed and they weren’t mine.”
His second friend says, “I think my wife is having an affair with the plumber the other day I found a wrench under the bed and it wasn’t mine.”
Paddy says, “I think my wife is having an affair with a horse.”
Both his friends look at him with utter disbelief.
“No, I’m serious,” Paddy says. “The other day I came home and found a jockey under our bed.
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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
Teagen Lubinski is playing Junior Hockey for the Badlands Sabers in the NA3HL.
Parker Kelly is playing Junior Hockey for the Badlands Sabers in the NA3HL.
Addie Fee is a freshman playing tennis and hockey at Wisconsin-Superior.
Kambelle Freije is a freshman playing hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Riley Helgeson is a freshman playing football at Northern State.
Emily Bowman is a freshman playing Softball at North Dakota State College of Science.
Halle Winjum is a sophomore playing basketball at Minnesota Crookston.
Blake Melsa is a sophomore playing soccer and baseball at Alexandria Tech
Jackson Reese is a sophomore playing soccer at Alexandria Tech
Matt Contreras is a freshman playing baseball at Concordia College.
Naomi Johnson is a freshman playing soccer at Alexandria Tech
Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.
Reese Swanson is a sophomore playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a sophomore playing football at Minot State.
Isaac Thomforde is a sophomore playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Halle Bruggeman is a Junior on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Jacey Larson is a Junior playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Aleah Bienek is a Senior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Seth Heppner – Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Golf at Jessup University
Brady Heppner – Head Coach of Women’s Golf at UMC and Assistant Hockey Coach
Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Colton Weiland is an assistant Pirate Wrestling Coach
Jason Cassavant is a Jr. High Baseball Coach and Head American Legion Baseball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.
Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball
Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.
Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.
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.
Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
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 North Dakota.
Mike Hastings is the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for 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
Jaren Bailey is serving our country and is Lance Corporal in the Marines.
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
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..
