SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
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The first day of practice for Minnesota High School fall sports teams is Monday, August 14. Below we have the Crookston fall sports teams first week of practice schedule.
PIRATE VOLLEYBALL:
Monday – All grades 3-6 PM
Tuesday – 9-12 grade weights 6:30-7:30 AM. All grades practice 7:30-10 AM
Wednesday – All grades 6:30-9:30 AM
Thursday – 9-12 grade weights 6:30-7:30 AM. All grades practice 7:30-10 AM
Friday – All grades 6:30-9:30 AM
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PIRATE VARSITY FOOTBALL:
Monday-August 14 and 21
6:30 to 8:30 a.m. – Practice
8:30 to 9:30 a.m. – Breakfast
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – Practice
Tuesday, August 15 and 22
6:30 to 8:30 a.m. – Practice
8:30 to 9:30 a.m. – 11 and 12 graders weights, 9 and 10 graders breakfast
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – 11 and 12th graders breakfast, 9 and 10th graders weights
Wednesday, August 16 and 23
6:30 to 8:30 a.m. – Practice
8:30 to 9:30 a.m. – Breakfast
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – Practice
Thursday, August 17 and 24
6:30 to 8:30 a.m. – Practice
8:30 to 9:30 a.m. – 11 and 12 graders weights, 9 and 10 graders breakfast
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – 11 and 12th graders breakfast, 9 and 10th graders weights
Friday, August 18 and 25
6:30 to 8:30 a.m. – Practice
8:30 to 9:30 a.m. – Breakfast
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – Practice
Saturday, August 19 – Ox Cart Days Parade
Saturday, August 26 – Scrimmage at TRF
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PIRATE BOYS SOCCER:
Monday – Friday – 7:00am – 9:00am. at the Soccer Fields
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PIRATE GIRLS TENNIS
Monday 8-10 am 9-12th grade
Tuesday 8-10 am 9-12th grade
Wednesday 8-10 am 6-12th grade
Thursday 8-10 am 6-12th grade
Friday – Varsity has a match
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PIRATE GIRLS SOCCER
Monday 6:30-7:30AM and 4:00-6:00 PM at the CHS Soccer Field
Tuesday 6:30-7:30AM and 4:00-6:00 PM at the CHS Soccer Field
Wednesday 6:30-7:30AM Weightroom, 7:40 – 8:00 AM with ball and 3:30-4:30PM at the CHS Soccer Field
Thursday 6:30-7:30AM Castle Park then 4:00-6:00 PM at the CHS Soccer Field
Friday 6:30-7:30 AM at Weightroom and 7:40-8:15 with ball at the field
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PIRATE JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL
Monday, August 14 – Equipment Checkout
Monday, August 21-Thursday, August 24 and August 28-30.
4:00 to 6:00 p.m. – Practice
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The Minnesota High School League released its Section alignments for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years with several changes for section teams in northwest Minnesota. We have a list of all the sports and who is in and who is out next year. The Fall sports sections are listed below –
FOOTBALL –
Section 6 9-Man (Fosston in, Nevis out)
Blackduck
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Fertile-Beltrami
Fosston
Laporte
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal
Park Christian
8 9-MAN (No Change)
BGMR
Goodridge-Grygla
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Northern Freeze
Stephen-Argyle
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Win-E-Mac
Section 8A Football – (Fosston out)
Ada-Borup-West
Bagley
Mahnomen-Waubun
Polk County West
Red Lake County
Red Lake
Section 8AA Football (Park Rapids and Roseau drop from 8AAA)
Barnesville
Crookston
Frazee
Hawley
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Roseau
Warroad
Section 8AAA (Park Rapids and Roseau out, Morris in)
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Morris/Chokio-Alberta
Perham
Thief River Falls
VOLLEYBALL –
8A Volleyball – (added Red Lake)
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River
Bagley
Blackduck
Climax-Fisher
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Fertile-Beltrami
Goodridge/Grygla
Indus
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Mahnomen/Waubun
Northern Freeze
Northome/Kelliher
Red Lake County Central
Red Lake Falls
Red Lake
Sacred Heart
Stephen-Argyle
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Win-E-Mac
Section 8AA (Red Lake moved down to 8A)
Barnesville
Crookston
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Frazee
Hawley
Menahga
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Perham
Roseau
Thief River Falls
Wadena-Deer Creek
Warroad
BOYS SOCCER –
Section 8A (Added East Grand Forks)
Central Minnesota Christian
Crookston
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Fergus Falls Hillcrest
Melrose
Minnewaska Area
Pelican Rapids
St. Cloud Cathedral
St. John’s Prep
GIRLS SOCCER –
Section 8A (Added East Grand Forks, lost Fergus Falls)
Albany
Crookston
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls Hillcrest
Melrose
Pelican Rapids
St. Cloud Cathedral
St. John’s Prep
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
GIRLS TENNIS –
Section 8A (added East Grand Forks, Perham, and Thief River Falls, lost Long Prairie-Grey Eagle)
Crookston
East Grand Forks
Park Rapids
Parkers Prairie
Perham/NYM
Roseau
Staples-Motley
Thief River Falls
Wadena-Deer Creek
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY –
Section 8A (Perham is out)
Ada-Borup-West
Bagley/Fosston
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
DNA Homeschool
Frazee
Hawley
Lake of the Woods
Lake Park-Audubon
Nevis
New York Mills
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Red Lake County
Riverside Christian School
Roseau
United North Central
Warroad
West Marshall
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY –
Section 8A (Perham is out)
Ada-Borup-West
Bagley/Fosston
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
DNA Homeschool
Frazee
Hawley
Lake of the Woods
Lake Park-Audubon
Nevis
New York Mills
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Red Lake County
Riverside Christian School
Roseau
United North Central
Warroad
West Marshall
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The Minnesota State High School League fall sports season is only a few weeks away. We have the practice start dates and season information below.
The first day of practice for Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Soccer, Cross Country, Football, Volleyball, and Girls Swimming is Monday, August 14.
Girls Tennis-The season is 11 weeks long with a maximum of 16 contests. The first competition date is August 17, and the state tournament is October 24-27.
Boys and Girls Soccer-The season is 12 weeks long with a maximum of 16 games. The first competition date is August 24, with the state quarterfinals October 24-26, and the semi-finals and championship October 30-November 4.
Cross Country-The season is 12 weeks with a maximum of 10 contests. The first competition can be held on August 24, with the State Cross Country meet on November 4.
Football-15 weeks with a maximum of nine games. August 31 is the first competition date. State quarterfinals are November 9-11. The semi-finals are November 16-18 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Championships are November 24-25 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Volleyball-The season is 11 weeks with a maximum of 17 dates. The first competition date is August 24 with the state tournament held November 8-11 at Excel Energy Center.
Girls Swimming-The season is 14 weeks with a maximum of 16 dates, with the first competition date of August 24. The state meet is November 16-18 at the U of M Aquatic Center.
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The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has released the preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll. This year they only have 15 schools in the conference after Upper Iowa left. Somehow, Augustana, the school that announced they were going Division 1 in 2018, is still in D2. What a joke!!
Team —- Points (first place votes)
1. Concordia-St. Paul (8) 190
2. Wayne State (7) 189
3. UM-Duluth 165
4. St. Cloud State 154
5. SW MN State 142
6. Sioux Falls 130
7. Augustana 109
8. Northern State 108
9. Winona State 99
10. MSU-Mankato 85
11. MSU-Moorhead 64
12. Bemidji State 49
13. U of Mary 47
14. UM-Crookston 28
15. Minot State 16
Concordia University, St. Paul was picked by the league coaches in the NSIC Preseason Volleyball Poll. The Golden Bears are coming off a 2022 season where they finished 31-6 and advanced to the NCAA National Championship match. CSP received eight first place votes to tally 190 points.
The defending NSIC regular season champions of Wayne State were picked second with 189 points and had the other seven first place votes. Minnesota Duluth was third with 165 points while defending tournament champions of St. Cloud State were fourth with 154 points.
The 2023 NSIC Volleyball season will begin with non-conference matches on Thursday, August 31 while the NSIC schedule begins September 14-16. The NSIC regular season champion will be determined by the 18-game conference schedule. The 2023 NSIC Volleyball Tournament shall be an eight-team tournament with the quarterfinals hosted at the top four seeds on Tuesday, November 14 and the semifinals/championship matches hosted at the highest remaining seed. The semifinals/championship matches will take place on two consecutive days between Friday and Sunday, November 17-19 with the dates of competition determined by the host institution.
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JOKES
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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
Breanna Kressin is a Freshman on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Emma Osborn is a freshman playing basketball at Northland Technical and Community College in Thief River Falls.
Jacey Larson is a freshman playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Olivia Huck is a freshman playing soccer at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Aleah Bienek is a freshman playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND..
Kaleb Thingelstad is a sophomore playing golf at Dakota Wesleyan.
Joslynn Leach is a sophomore playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brady Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Norway.
Kate MacGregor is senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Aleece Durbin is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Womens Track and Field team.
Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.
Crookston School District Coaches
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls hockey coach and softball assistant coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach and assistant girls golf coach
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
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.
Katy (Westrom) Horgen is the Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
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 Wyoming.
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
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy.
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
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.
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