SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
The NCAA’s Division I Cabinet has unanimously approved the new age-based eligibility model.
The new age-based eligibility rule will start a five-year eligibility clock at enrollment or age 19, whichever is earlier.
It applies to all sports and is being implemented to establish a uniform rule and prevent players from dragging out their four-year clock through redshirting, medical redshirting, and other waivers.
This will be good for the NCAA and no more worries about applying for medical redshirts and other things like that. You can get five years of college sports as long as you enroll in college right out of high school.
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The 2026 All-Section 8A Baseball team has been announced, with Bagley and Red Lake County leading the way with five players each named to the team. The team is listed below-
SECTION 8A ALL-SECTION TEAM
Red Lake County – Will Gieseke, Ben Gullingsrud, Gunnar Halverson, Colin Taggart, Boe Nelson
Bagley – Ian Phrakonkham, Bradley Morse, Gunner Nolan, Hayden Hanse, Kamryn Thompson
Win-E-Mac – Hayden Johnson, Nick Schow, Kolten Schow, Owen Strom
West Marshall – Wes Olson, Dylan Widner, Sebastian Johnson
Ada-Borup-West – Ames Fassino, Caspar Kritzberger
Fosston – Jakob Rudie, Tanner Vig
Blackduck – Will Dierkhising
Northern Freeze – Eizen Olson
Sacred Heart – Nick Satterlund
Section 8A Coach of the Year – Mike Gullingsrud (Red Lake County)
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The Northwest Diamond Conference Baseball awards have been announced. The award winners are below –
Conference MVP – Will Gieseke (Red Lake County)
Offensive MVP – Ben Gullingsrud (Red Lake County)
Pitcher of the Year – Nick Satterlund (Sacred Heart)
Coach of the Year – Mike Gullingsrud (Red Lake County)
Team Champion – Red Lake County
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Ada-Borup-West – Braeden Bueng, Ames Fassino, Caspar Kritzberger
BGMR – Nathan Gust
Fertile-Beltrami – Caleb Sather, Bryer Strem
Fosston – Jakob Rudie, Tanner Vig
Kittson County Central- Eli Muir
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal – Jace Braseth, Hayden Haspel
Northern Freeze – Eizen Olson
Red Lake County – Will Gieseke, Ben Gullingsrud, Gunnar Halverson, Colin Taggart
Sacred Heart – Liam Larson, Nick Satterlund, Isaac Sundby
West Marshall – Rylan Anderson, Shay Setterholm, Dylan Widner
Win-E-Mac – Owen Strom
All-Conference Honorable Mention –
Ada-Borup-West – Connor Nelson
BGMR – Will Foss
Fertile-Beltrami – Teegyn Johnson, Steven Sather
Fosston – Jake Howard, Mitchell Mulry
NCE/UH – Asher Flaten
Northern Freeze – Alex Bray, Tanner Torgerson
Red Lake County – Riley Broden, Cain Cardinal, Deny Lanctot, Boe Nelson, Kegan Schmitz
Sacred Heart – Blaine Johnson
West Marshall – Anders Thompson, Ethan Ellerbusch, Sebastian Johnson, Blair Potucek
Win-E-Mac – Kolten Schow
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The Minnesota Baseball Coaches Association has announced the All-State Academic award winners and there are a few from the area.
CLASS A –
Gunner Halverson (Red Lake County)
CLASS A TEAM –
Silver – Red Lake County
CLASS AA –
Brayden Anderson (Perham)
Ty Rooney (Perham)
CLASS AA TEAM-
Gold – Perham
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CLASS A ALL-STATE –
Two players from Section 8A were named to the Minnesota Class A All-State Baseball team with Will Gieseke (Red Lake County) and Ames Fassino (Ada-Borup-West).
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The Minnesota Softball Coaches Association has announced the All-State teams. The area players are below –
CLASS A 1st team-
Kylie Klipping (Red Lake Falls)
CLASS A 2nd team –
Teagan Landsrud (BGMR)
CLASS AA 1st team –
Jada Dykhoff (Wadena-Deer Creek)
CLASS AA 2nd team –
Ellie Boyd (Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton)
Autumn Leach (DGF)
CLASS AA HONORABLE MENTION –
Greta DeVries (DGF)
Addi Sanvik (Hawley)
Hannah Stotts (Hawley)
Eagan Hastings (Hawley)
Braylee Wienen (Thief River Falls)
Brooklyn Hulst (Roseau)
The Section Coaches of the Year for each section have been announced.
SECTION 8A – Ben Hanson (Red Lake Falls)
SECTION 8AA – Ron and Tyler Drechsel (DGF)
The State Academic All-State team members from the area are listed below-
BAGLEY – Harlea Schuppert, Kaitlyn Kumpula, Kyra Lunch
BARNESVILLE – Lexi Bontjes, Macie Blilie
DETROIT LAKES – Amelia May, Brynn Erickson, Emily Peterson, Jaci Loeffen, Shelby Lyman
FERTILE-BELTRAMI – Britta Sorenson, Madison Stueness
FRAZEE – McKenna Wacker, Mya Moore
HAWLEY – Brooke Geffre, Eagan Hastings, Emily Vettern, Hannah Stotts, Mallory Halvorson, McKenna Walker, Sella Fleming
NORMAN COUNTY EAST/ULEN-HITTERDAL – Gretchen Bain, Miah Dunham, Olivia Theis
NORTHER FREEZE – Brooklyn Dahle, Emmalia Hughes
PARK RAPIDS – Allie Michaelson
RED LAKE FALLS – Kayla Schafer, Miley Cota
ROSEAU – Brooklyn Hulst
THIEF RIVER FALLS – Braylee Wienen, Ellie McDermott, Sophia Tougas
WADENA-DEER CREEK – Ashley Pavek, Isabelle Lemkuhl, Lily Parker
ALL-STATE ACADEMIC TEAM AWARDS –
GOLD –
Barnesville
Detroit Lakes
Fertile-Beltrami
Frazee
Hawley
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal
Northern Freeze
Park Rapids
Perham
Red Lake Falls
Wadena-Deer Creek
SILVER-
Fergus Falls
Pelican Rapids
Roseau
BRONZE –
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River
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To register – click the link – https://forms.gle/M5TbwsJPB7cTJyEy9
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To register and pay, click on the following link – https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?sport=4&id=334372
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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
Alex was pulled over for speeding down the highway; the officer came to the driver’s window and said, “Sir, may I see your driver’s license and registration?” Alex said, “Well, officer, I don’t have a license; it was taken away for a DUI.”
The officer, in surprise, said,” What, do you have a registration for the vehicle?” So Alex replied, “No sir, the car is not mine I stole it, but I am pretty sure I say a registration card in the glove box when I put the gun in it.”
The officer stepped back, “There is a gun in the glove box?!?” The man sighed and said, “Yes sir, I used to kill the woman who owns the car before I stuffed her in the trunk.”
The officer steps toward the back of the car and says,” Sir, do not move, I am calling for backup.”
The officer calls for backup, and about ten minutes later, another highway patrolman arrives. He walks up to the window slowly and asks the man for his driver’s license and registration.
Alex said,” Yes, officer, here it is right here.” It all checked out so the officer said,” Is there a gun in the glove box sir?”
Alex laughs and says,” No officer why would there be a gun in the glove box.” He opened the glove box and showed him that there was no gun.
The second officer asked him to open the trunk because he had reason to believe that there was a body in it. Alex agrees and opens the trunk, no dead body.
The second officer says, “Sir I do not understand, the officer that pulled you over said that you did not have a license, the car was stolen, there was a gun in the glove box, and a dead body in the trunk.”
Alex looks the officer in the eyes and says, “Yeah and I’ll bet he said I was speeding too.”
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A guy was on trial for murder and if convicted, would get the electric chair. His brother found out that a redneck was on the jury and figured he would be the one to bribe. He told the redneck that he would be paid $10,000 if he could convince the rest of the jury to reduce the charge to manslaughter.
The jury was out an entire week and returned with a verdict of manslaughter.
After the trial, the brother went to the redneck’s home, told him what a great job he had done and paid him the $10,000.
The redneck replied that it wasn’t easy to convince the rest of the jury to change the charge to manslaughter. They all wanted to let him go.
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A couple with three children waited in line at San Francisco’s Pier 41 to purchase tickets for a boat trip to Alcatraz. Others watched with varying degrees of sympathy and irritation as the young children fidgeted, whined, and punched one another. The frazzled parents reprimanded them to no avail.
Finally they reached the ticket window. “Five tickets, please,” the father said. “Two round trip, three one way.”
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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..
