SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
This week’s column is a little short due to me being on vacation. I am taking the week off to get some R and R and visit somewhere I haven’t been before. I will give you one tip. HEEEEEYYYYYYY YOOOOOOUUUUU GUUUUYYYYYSSSSS!
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Happy first week of Fall Sports in Minnesota to all who celebrate!! The first competition of the season is already on Friday, when Girls Tennis can play the first match of the season and several teams are taking advantage of the date, including Crookston.
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I have been told that the Roseau Rams high school hockey teams will continue to opt up to play AA hockey for the next two years. I am not sure what they are thinking. I guess getting destroyed in the section tournament by Moorhead is fun! I guess they are still scared of Warroad????
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It was cool to see Minnesota State Moorhead’s Jake Strand play in his first NFL Exhibition game last weekend for Atlanta. He completed 6 of 12 passes for 50 yards and had a rushing touchdown. While it won’t count on his official records, it was still pretty cool for a kid from the NSIC!
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Click here for the Crookston Pirate varsity Fall sports schedules
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles Men’s Cross Country team was picked to finish seventh of 15 teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches Poll released Wednesday morning. They received just one less point than sixth place Winona State.
Augustana was picked to finish first in the NSIC, receiving 14 first place votes and 196 points. MSU Moorhead was selected for the second place finish, receiving one first place vote and 182 points.
Steven Krouse is entering his eighth year as the head coach of the program.
Riley Hanson (Sr., Farmington, Minn.) has been tabbed as the Golden Eagles’ Athlete to Watch this season. Hanson finished 49th amongst all NSIC cross country athletes in 2025 and 102nd in the Central Region. Steve Krouse said: “When Riley and his brother Zach committed here, we were coming off a last place finish in the NSIC. Riley took a chance on us and throughout his career helped the team rise all the way into the top five. Riley shows up to practice every day with a competitive mindset and leads his teammates by example. Following another summer of hard work, I am looking forward to seeing what Riley is able to accomplish his senior year!”
The Golden Eagles have some returners this season, with Riley’s brother Zach Hanson (Sr., Farmington, Minn.) and Lane Hoefs (Sr., Wadena, Minn.) coming back for one more season. Coach Krouse on those returners and the team as a whole said:
The Golden Eagles will open the season at the Augustana Twilight in Sioux Falls, S.D. at 9:15 p.m.
POLL RESULTS
1. Augustana (14) – 196
2. MSU-Moorhead (1) – 182
3. MSU-Mankato – 164
4. U of Mary – 161
5. Sioux Falls – 121
6. Winona State – 119
7. UM-Crookston – 118
8. UM-Duluth – 108
9. Concordia-St. Paul – 101
10. Jamestown – 88
11. Wayne State – 70
12. Minot State – 53
13. Northern State – 41
14. SW MN State – 36
15. St. Cloud State – 17
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Women’s Cross Country team was picked to finish seventh of 16 teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches Poll released Wednesday morning.
Winona State was picked to win the conference, garnering 11 first place votes and 219 points. Minnesota State was picked to finish second with one first place vote and 202 points, with Augustana picked to finish third, receiving three first place votes and 201 points.
Steven Krouse is entering his eighth year as the head coach of the program.
The Golden Eagles have some key returners this upcoming season, with Grace Alwardt (Sr., Lake Elsinore, Calif.) and Emma Williams (Sr., Nashwauk, Minn.)Head Coach Steve Krouse had this to say about the team, as well as Alwardt and Williams: “Our women’s team set a school record for highest placement at the NSIC Championship meet in 2025. The team looks to build on that success as we only lost one runner to graduation and added six talented freshmen. Our two seniors Emma Williams and Grace Alwardt have great leadership qualities and lead by example. Both have been instrumental in getting our program to where it is today. I am excited to watch them and the rest of the team compete and continue to reach new heights this season!”
Morgan Shaw (Sr., Redmond, Ore.), who was tabbed as the Athlete to Watch for the Golden Eagles, is coming off of a spectacular season for the Golden Eagles. She finished 2025 as the 52nd ranked runner in both the NSIC and the Central Region. She will now look to build off of those numbers in 2026.
The Golden Eagles’ season begins in just 17 days when they head to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the Augustana Twilight on September 4th at 8:45 p.m.
POLL RESULTS
1. Winona State (11) – 219
2. MSU-Mankato (1) – 202
3. Augustana (3) – 201
4. UM-Duluth – 181
5. U of Mary (1) – 179
6. Jamestown – 143
7. UM-Crookston – 130
8. Sioux Falls – 125
9. Northern State – 112
10. MSU-Moorhead – 96
11. Bemdiji State – 89
12. Wayne State – 72
13. Minot State – 61
14. SW MN State – 50
15. St. Cloud State – 31
16. Concordia-St. Paul – 29
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Seven Minnesotans have made the U17 Four Nations Cup roster:
Parker Deraney – D – Detroit Lakes (Fox Motors 16U)
Gavin Godbout – D – Woodbury (Hill-Murray HS)
Avery Hanowski – F – Rosemount (Rosemount HS)
Henry Laurila – D – Moorhead (Moorhead Bantam AA)
Henry Meier – F – Woodbury (Shattuck-St, Mary’s)
Soren Saumweber – F – Roseville (Cretin-Derham Hall HS)
Nikolai Zhukov – D – Proctor (Hermantown HS)
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The Minnesota Timberwolves have announced they will retire Kevin Garnett’s jersey on February 28, 2027!
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JOKES
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On the first day of college, the Dean addressed the students, pointing out some of the rules:
“The female dormitory will be out-of-bounds for all male students, and the male dormitory to the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 the first time.”
He continued, “Anybody caught breaking this rule the second time will be fined $60. Being caught a third time will cost you a fine of $180. Are there any questions?”
At this point, a male student in the crowd inquired: “How much for a season pass?”
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You do not need a parachute to go skydiving…
You need a parachute to go skydiving twice.
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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 Sophomore 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 Sophomore playing hockey at Wisconsin-Superior.
Kambelle Freije is a Sophomore playing hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Riley Helgeson is a Sophomore playing football at Northern State.
Emily Bowman is a Sophomore playing Softball at North Dakota State College of Science.
Halle Winjum is a Junior playing basketball at Minnesota Crookston.
Matt Contreras is a Sophomore playing baseball at Concordia College.
Naomi Johnson is a Sophomore playing soccer at Alexandria Tech
Reese Swanson is a Junior playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a Junior playing football at Minot State.
Isaac Thomforde is a Junior playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Halle Bruggeman is a Senior on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Senior the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Jacey Larson is a Senior playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.
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 Head Pirate Boys Hockey 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..
