SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
The NBA and NHL finals have been entertaining. What an epic collapse by the Spurs. The Stanley Cup has been some of the most entertaining hockey I have seen in a long time. The games have been outstanding! If you haven’t watched, you are missing out.
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The Minnesota State Class A Baseball tournament. The tournament will start on Thursday, June 11 at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.
The defending state champion Red Lake County Rebels received the #2 seed with a 25-2 record. The two losses to South Ridge (7-2) and New Richmond (2-0). KROX will have the Red Lake County games on the radio. Listen on 1260AM, on the KROX app, your smart speaker (Listen to K-R-O-X in Crookston), or online by clicking on listen live.
The seeds and bracket are below.
TEAM SEEDS
1. Madelia (26-3)
2. Red Lake County (25-2)
3. South Ridge (22-5)
4. Murray County Central (21-1)
5. Ogilvie (19-6)
6. Brandon-Evansville (23-2)
7. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (17-6)
8. New York Mills (16-10)
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE –
FIRST ROUND – Thursday, June 11 at Joe Faber Field
10:30 AM – #2 Red Lake County vs #7 Janesville-Waldorff-Pemberton (ON KROX)
1:00 PM – #3 South Ridge vs #6 Brandon-Evansville
4:00 PM – #1 Madelia vs #8 New York Mills
6:30 PM – #4 Murray County Central vs #5 Ogilvie
SEMI-FINALS – Friday, June 12 at Joe Faber Field
11:00 AM – Red Lake County/JWP winner vs South Ridge/Brandon-Evansville winner
1:30 PM – Madelia/NYM winner vs MCC/Ogilvie winner
THIRD PLACE – Friday, June 12 at Joe Faber Field
3:30 PM – Losers of the semi-finals
CONSOLATION SEMI-FINALS – Friday, June 12 at Cold Spring Baseball Park
10:00 AM – Red Lake County/JWP loser vs South Ridge/Brandon-Evansville loser
12:15 PM – Madelia/NYM loser vs MCC/Ogilvie loser
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP -Friday, June 12 at Cold Spring Baseball
2:30 PM – Winners of the Consolation semi-finals
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP – Monday, June 15 at Target Field in Minneapolis
10:00 AM – Winner of the semi-final games
For the state program – click on the following link – 2026 Baseball Program v.1 by Ellen Rajkowski – Flipsnack
STATE BASEBALL PREVIEW
Red Lake County is making its eighth state tournament appearance. Red Lake Falls made it to state in 1982. Red Lake County made it to state in 1994, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, and were state champs in 2025.was 25-2 during the regular season and received the #2 seed in the tournament. JWP is making its first state tournament appearance and received the #7 seed and is 17-6 on the year.
The only two teams that are returning to the state tournament from last year are Red Lake County and South Ridge.
Red Lake County beat Legacy Christian Academy 10-0 in the first round. In the semi-finals, they beat Parkers Prairie 4-3 in nine innings. In the championship, they beat New Ulm Cathedral 15-7.
South Ridge beat Hayfield 2-1 in eight innings. They lost to New Ulm Cathedral 8-1 in the semi-finals. In the third-place game, South Ridge and Parkers Prairie didn’t play due to rain.
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Several area umpires are working the State Baseball tournament this week. The list is below-
Supervisor – Eric Guler (Pelican Rapids)
Zach Benson (Grand Forks)
Chris Ellingson (Hawley)
Brian Guler (Detroit Lakes)
Eric Guler (Pelican Rapids)
Rick Kehoe (Bemidji)
Chris Mills (Erskine)
Logan Riedel (Detroit Lakes)
There were also several umpires from the area at the State Softball tournament. They are listed below-
Supervisor – Koby Pennick (Fargo)
Stephanie Anderson (Fargo)
Umpires –
Paul Cyr (Oklee)
Darren Heisler (West Fargo)
Charlie Johnson (Hitterdal)
Blake Karas (Morris)
Phil Kirchner (DL)
Koby Pennick (Fargo)
Jeff Stoen (Dilworth)
There were several area track and field officials who worked the State Track meet –
Susan Farbo (Fargo)
Brian Hoff (DL)
Nathan Hruby (TRF)
John Kostynick (Perham)
Rita Rislund (DL)
Julie Simmons (DL)
Martin Simmons (DL)
Mark Thompson (Perham)
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Class A Boys Golf Tournament results –
TEAM RESULTS-
1. Heritage Christian Academy – 603
2. Central Minnesota Christian – 610
3. Mahnomen/Waubun – 632
4. Duluth Marshall – 638
5. Sleepy Eye United – 642
6. Rushford-Peterson – 653
7. Frazee – 654
8. Minneota – 658
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION – Alex Rhode (Heritage Christian Academy) – 143 (won by five strokes)
SECTION 8A INDIVIDUALS-
7. Blake McMullen (Mahnomen/Waubun) – 151
11. James Palmer (Bagley) – 152
11. Ty Grinsteiner (BGMR) – 152
16. Logan Abdo (MW) – 153
27. Tryg Olson (BGMR) – 157
27. Gavin Aakhus (Fertile-Beltrami) -157
35. Hunter Doyea (Fertile-Beltrami) – 160
55. Blair Heisler (MW) – 167
55. Julian Giard-Lang (MW) – 167
63. Dylan McMullen (MW) – 169
83. Thor Askelson (MW) – 191
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CLASS AA BOYS GOLF RESULTS
TEAM SCORES –
1. Blake School – 585
2. Southwest Christian – 588
3. Totino Grace – 590
4. Detroit Lakes – 603
5. St. Cloud Cathedral – 620
6. Marshall – 626
7. Rock Ridge – 632
8. Stewartville – 639
STATE INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION – Henry Johnson (SW Christian) 138
SECTION 8AA INDIVIDUALS
12. Reid Aakre (Perham) – 148
15. Brody Johnson (EGF) – 149
19. Tyson Eckhoff (DL) – 150
26. Hudson Midthun (Hawley) – 151
29. Lawsen Justesen (DL) – 152
34. Sully Braaten (DL) – 153
34. Brock Burhans (DL) – 153
42. Blayne Smith (DL) – 155
53. Quintin Kuehl (FF) – 157
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CLASS A GIRLS GOLF RESULTS
TEAM SCORES –
1.Dawson-Boyd – 678
2. Heritage Christian Academy – 704
3. Badger/Greenbush-MR – 724
4. Murray County Central – 732
5. West Central Area – 748
6. Walker-H-A – 762
7. Springfield – 779
8. Rushford-Peterson – 791
STATE INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION -Aly Bormes (HCA) – 152 (won by four strokes)
SECTION 8AA INDIVIDUALS
8. Macy Petry (Fertile-Beltrami) – 161
30. Emily Burkel (BGMR) – 179
34. Khloe Fletcher (BGMR) – 181
36. Zairyn Wimpfheimer (BGMR) – 183
37. Ava Christianson (BGMR) – 184
40. Amity Foss (BGMR) – 187
43. Isabella Schlick (Mahnomen/Waubun) – 192
52. Leah Hlubek (MW) – 198
71. Noella Christianson (BGMR) – 213
77. McKenna Bjerk (MW) – 222
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CLASS AA GIRLS GOLF RESULTS
TEAM SCORES –
1. Detroit Lakes – 625
2. Hill-Murray – 636
3. Holy Family Catholic – 650
4. Totino-Grace – 652
5. Minnewaska Area – 665
6. Lake City – 674
7. Albany – 694
8. Rock Ridge – 714
STATE INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION -Sophie Christianson (DL) – 147 (won by one stroke)
SECTION 8AA INDIVIDUALS
1. Sophie Christianson (DL) – 147
7. Natalie Martin (Park Rapids) – 153
10. Tatum Gatheridge (DL) – 154
16. Jaycie Sliper (DL) – 161
25. Hannah Desjarlais (DGF) – 166
28. Rowan Gatheridge (DL) – 167
28. Brooklyn Glorvigen (DL) – 167
35. Ella Brasel (Barnesville) – 169
42. Maryn Byfuglien (Roseau) – 173
52. Isabella Seuntjens (DL) – 176
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The Crookston 16s JO volleyball team went undefeated and won the Mahnomen-Waubun tournament on Wednesday in Mahnomen.
Crookston beat BGMR, Norman County East-Ulen Hitterdal, Mahnomen/Waubun, and in the Championship, they beat Red Lake Falls 2-0 (21-9, 21-9).
Members of the team are Lyla Oman, Cadence Corona, Ava Oliver, Emmagail Frantz, Summer Laundis, Molly Workman, Makinzie Ness, Cece Newquist, and Ali Beeghly. The team is coached by Emilee Tate.
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The pair of North Dakota State decathletes competing at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships concluded the opening day within striking distance of All-America honors.
NDSU senior Zach McGlynn (Stephen-Argyle graduate) stands in 11th place with 3,960 points through five events. Junior Paul Olson is in 15th with 3,888 points.
McGlynn clocked 11.16 in the 100m dash, and posted marks of 23-01.25 (7.04m) in the long jump, 42-05.50 (12.94m) in the shot put, and 6-08.25 (2.04m) in the high jump. He capped the day by running 50.15 in the 400m.
Olson ran 11.14 in the 100m, and posted marks of 21-08.75 (6.62m) in the long jump, 43-00.25 (13.11m) in the shot put, and 6-7 (2.01m) in the high jump. He clocked 49.33 in the 400m to conclude the first day.
McGlynn and Olson are the first Bison in school history to compete in the decathlon at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.
The decathlon will resume for the final five events on Thursday, with the 110m hurdles opening the action at 12:45 p.m. The 1500m will conclude the competition at 9:43 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston soccer program will host an ID Camp August 16 for students entering grades nine through college seniors. The campers will get a chance to experience life as a student-athlete at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
The campers will be instructed by Minnesota Crookston Soccer Head Coach Danny Burstein and Assistant Coach Breezie Davis. They will get a glimpse of campus. They will be led through drills and observed by the coaches at Minnesota Crookston, and nearby universities. The camp will include technical training, possession drills, small-sided and 11v11 games. The campers and their families will get a tour of campus and have Q&A sessions with current Minnesota Crookston players and staff. Lunch is provided. The camp will be held August 16 at the Minnesota Crookston Soccer Field from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Check-in starts at 9:30 a.m. The cost is $130 with camp being $125 plus $5 in fees. T-shirt and lunch are included.
“I am very excited to have prospective student-athletes on campus for our ID Camp,” said Head Coach Danny Burstein. It will be a great opportunity for interested players to interact with the whole team during our preseason. They will get a real feel for what it would be like to come and play soccer at UMC. This camp can be a real tool for both us and recruits to find future Golden Eagles.”
For more information on the camp and to register visit soccer.umcsportscamps.com or reach out to Head Coach Danny Burstein at burstein@umn.edu or 218-281-8420.
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JOKES
A blonde and a lawyer are seated next to each other on a flight from LA to NY. The lawyer asks if she would like to play a fun game?
The blonde, tired, just wants to take a nap, politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists and explains that the game is easy and a lot of fun. He explains, I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5.00, and vise versa.
Again, she declines and tries to get some sleep. The lawyer, now agitated, says, “Okay, if you don’t know the answer you pay me $5.00, and, if I don’t know the answer, I will pay you $500.00.”
This catches the blonde’s attention and, figuring there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, agrees to the game.
The lawyer asks the first question. “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” The blonde doesn’t say a word, reaches into her purse, pulls out a $5.00 bill and hands it to the lawyer.
Okay says the lawyer, your turn. She asks the lawyer, “What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four legs?” The lawyer, puzzled, takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references, no answer. He taps into the air phone with his modem and searches the net and the library of congress, no answer. Frustrated, he sends e-mails to all his friends and coworkers, to no avail.
After an hour, he wakes the blonde, and hands her $500.00. The blonde says, “Thank you,” and turns back to get some more sleep.
The lawyer, who is more than a little miffed, wakes the blonde and asks, “Well, what’s the answer? “Without a word, the blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5.00, and goes back to sleep.
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The phone rang at the motor pool and an authoritative voice demanded to know how many vehicles were operational. Jim answered, ”We’ve got twelve trucks, ten utilities, three staff cars and that Bentley the fat-arsed colonel swanks around in.” There was a stony silence for a second or two.
”Do you know who you are speaking to?”
”No,” said Paddy.
”It is the so-called fat-arsed colonel you so insubordinately referred to.”
”Well, do you know who you are talking to?”
”No,” roared the colonel.
”Well thank goodness for that,” said Paddy as he hung up the phone.
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On the first day of school, Peter handed his new teacher a note from his mother. The teacher unsealed the note, read it, looked at Peter with a frown, and placed the note inside a desk drawer. “So what did she write?” Peter asked. “It’s a disclaimer.”
“A what?” “It says, ‘ The opinions expressed by Peter are not necessarily those of his mother or father,’”
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An older, white-haired man walked into a jewelry store one Friday evening with a beautiful young gal at his side.
He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend.
The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring and showed it to him.
The old man said, “I don’t think you understand. I want something very special.”
At that Statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over.
“Here’s a stunning ring at only $40,000,” the jeweler said. The young lady’s eyes sparkled, and her whole body trembled with excitement.
The old man, seeing this, said, “We’ll take it.”
The jeweler asked how payment would be made, and the old man stated, by check. “I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I’ll write it now, and you can call the bank Monday to verify the funds, and I’ll pick the ring up Monday afternoon,” he said.
Monday morning, a very teed-off jeweler phoned the old man. “There’s no money in that account.”
“I know,” said the old man, “but can you imagine the weekend I had?”
Don’t mess with Old People.
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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
Matt Contreras is a freshman playing baseball at Concordia College in Moorhead.
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..
