The Crookston High School Hall of Fame committee recently announced the class of 2026 inductees. New members are Chris Fee, Greg Garmen, Travis Ross, Marlee Wheelhouse Westrum, and Erika Wheelhouse.
The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 15, in the Crookston High School Commons. The event will begin with a social time at noon, appetizers at 12:30 p.m., and the induction ceremony at 1 p.m. Tickets to the event will be sold at the door beginning at noon on Saturday, August 15.
CHRIS FEE is a 1995 graduate of Crookston High School, where he competed in football, basketball, track and field, and was a member of the Leo Club. He attended the University of Minnesota Crookston and played basketball there before transferring to Bemidji State University to study Mass Communications/Broadcasting. Chris is currently the owner and operator of KROX Radio in Crookston. Throughout his broadcasting career, he has covered thousands of meetings, school board sessions, elections, and community events. He has done play-by-play for over 3,000 sporting events and covered thousands of events for the website.
GREG GARMEN has had a long, fulfilling career in education and coaching. After graduating from Elk River High School, where he played basketball and tennis, he attended Mankato State University, graduating with a degree in physical science and secondary education. He taught at Waubon and Fergus Falls before accepting a position as a chemistry and ninth-grade science teacher in the Crookston School District. He served as head boys’ basketball coach for 28 years, as well as serving as head girls’ golf coach, eighth-grade football coach, JV girls’ tennis coach, and junior boys’ tennis coach. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of St. Thomas and a specialist degree in educational leadership from UND. Greg has also worked as activities director and assistant principal at Crookston High.
TRAVIS ROSS was a stand-out athlete at Crookston High School. He was also an Academic All-American and a member of the National Honor Society. He placed fifth in the 2004 state golf tournament, sixth in 2005, and fifth in 2006 while earning Co-MVP honors during his senior season. Travis lettered in golf for two seasons at St. Cloud State University before transferring to the University of New Mexico. He earned three additional varsity letters at New Mexico and was named to the 2009 All-Mountain West Conference Boys’ Golf Team in 2010-2011. Since leaving his professional golf career in 2014, he has worked on his fifth-generation farm near Fisher.
MARLEE WHEELHOUSE WESTRUM graduated from Crookston High School in 2008, where she participated in soccer, hockey, and softball as well as Leo Club, Pirate Sisters, hockey coaching 101, youth T-ball, and softball coaching. After graduating from high school, she attended Bemidji State University, where she played Division 1 hockey for all four years, earning multiple defensive player of the year awards. She was named captain her senior year. She graduated from Bemidji State in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a minor in coaching and psychology. She earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from UND. Marlee currently works as an occupational therapist in Bemidji, where she and her husband and three children enjoy participating in many outdoor activities.
ERIKA WHEELHOUSE graduated from Crookston High School in 2009. She participated in multiple sports, the school orchestra, the Leo Club, the true player volunteer program, and Coaching 101. She was also a mentor in the Pirate Sister program. She received a full-ride scholarship to play Division 1 hockey at Bemidji State, where she earned multiple individual awards, and she was named team captain during her senior season in 2013. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in chemical dependency with an emphasis on writing. After serving in the United States Peace Corps Philippines program from 2013-2015, she moved to Colorado, where she currently resides.
