REMEMBER – SPORTS FEEVER IS UPDATED WEDNESDAY NIGHTS NOW!!!!
We will have the last of our Section coaches polls and previews with the Section 8AA Boys Basketball coaches poll and team preview and we have included the girls basketball, wrestling and boys and girls hockey for one more week. Thanks to all the coaches that cooperated with us to make it happen. I will tell you one thing….it is nice to get it all done.
It it hard to believe we are already a week through the month of December!!! Every winter sports team in basketball, hockey and wrestling have competed and it is still way to early in the season, but there hasn’t been any big surprises yet.
I have received a lot of schedule updates for tournaments in December and have listed them below. We are less than three weeks from Christmas and I will have the yearly A to Z new years list so be looking for that at the end of the month.
Thanks for reading this week and if you ever have some sports info you think might be of interest email it to me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com. I am always looking for more info to pass along to you.
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Several weeks ago I told you that my oldest son, Blake, decided to make the switch from basketball to wrestling and it has been pretty neat with all the community members that have said they want to come out and watch him and the team wrestle and have been supportive for a kid that is going out on a limb and giving something a shot in his senior year. I am going to share the following story because of how great the wrestling community/family is.
One thing my wife and I have noticed in the first week of the competition season is how awesome the Pirate Wrestling family is. The parents, the athletes and the coaches have been so supportive, so welcoming and have welcomed Blake and us with open arms. Blake has only wrestled three matches (four technically but it was a forfeit win) and in his first match he took on a top ranked kid from North Dakota. Blake went for a single leg takedown and had the kid in the first few seconds of the match, his hands slipped because he got up a little to high and he fell back and he was pinned in 27 seconds. As he was walking off the mat, his teammates came up to him and were patting him on the back, telling him great job and way to be aggressive, parents came up to him and were telling him good job and the coaches had smiles on their faces because he was so aggressive. It was so refreshing to see. In his second match, he went for a headlock against a very good kid from Grand Forks Central and went to throw his opponent but he didn’t throw his hips like he needed and fell down on his back and was pinned. Again the support from his teammates, parents and coaches was top notch. Blake, once again, was aggressive and showed that he might be an okay wrestler once he figures out all the technical side of wrestling. Fast forward to Crookston’s first dual against Grand Forks Central on Tuesday and Blake took control of the match early and after a couple stoppages because he had illegal holds (which got snickers of amusement from his teammates each time), he was able to get his opponent on his back and picked up a pin with two seconds left in the first period. As a father, it was exciting. I had goose bumps watching him compete in a sport for the first time ever, but the goose bumps weren’t because he won. It was from what happened while he was on his way to the pin. The Pirate crowd, a big crowd of parents, family members, etc, erupted and were so loud that it was like a state championship match. His teammates were yelling and jumping and the coaches were yelling and up on their feet cheering. (I actually felt bad for the Grand Forks Central kid). It reaffirmed to me that being a Pirate parent is pretty special and it showed me something I already knew….Wrestling is a special sport with special people that live, eat, drink and appreciate the sport.
P.S. the wrestlers will be hosting the Rodd Olson Invitational on Saturday at the Crookston High School gymnasium around 11:30 a.m. It should be a fun day of wrestling and the guys would appreciate your support.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball team suffered a bad loss on Saturday in an overtime heartbreaker at Bemidji State. UMC led by six points late and couldn’t bring home the victory because their defense let them down. The sad thing about losing on the defensive end, it really boils down to working hard and getting after it. The UMC Men only have 2 conference ROAD wins in the last four-plus years and they came last year against my lowly BSU Beavers and in 2014 at Wayne State. The road NSIC record in that time frame is 2-43!!!!!!!! The overall record in those four years is 28-84, so it wasn’t like they didn’t have any wins. Although most of those wins came against weaker non-conference opponents. As somebody that over analyzes things like this made me wonder a few things.
1. Is it the preparation before a road game – are the players focused, sleeping in good beds, are they leaving too early, to late?
2. Is it what/where they eat? Do they have a good hearty breakfast and a good healthy pre-game meal about two to four hours before the game. Is it healthy food full of protein, is there fruit, vegetables etc? I don’t know what they are eating for pre-game meals, but I am pretty sure it isn’t fast food (unless it is subs or something like that). I still remember eating with the Women’s team on Thanksgiving at Sizzler in Phoenix, Arizona many years ago and one of the freshman ordered a shake. The coach (who shall remain nameless) told the returners many times in previous years on what was acceptable the day before and the day of the game, but not the freshman that year and I thought he was going to lose it until he realized he hadn’t gone over what they can and can’t have the day before and day of games.
3. Why can’t they win more road games? The conference is tough and it is harder to win on the road, but not 2-43 harder.
4. Am I losing it if I am sincerely concerned about the 2-43 stat??
5. Yep…I am losing it.
In all seriousness, If the men bounce back beat Moorhead and find a way to beat Northern State, all will be forgotten. BUT, if they lose to Moorhead, the Golden Eagles will be in trouble three games into conference play in the year that is supposed to be their year!
I will take a closer look at the Women’s team after their two BIG games this weekend with MSUM and Northern State in Crookston on Friday and Saturday. I am tempering excitement because I have been around long enough, but two home wins this weekend could be huge for a young team.
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We said we have some Gopher Basketball tickets to give away in last weeks column and it always surprises me on the reach of the Feever column. Email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com if you are interested in any of the tickets.
Men’s tickets available – (4 for each game)
December 8 vs Arkansas State
December 21 vs North Carolina A&T
February 21 vs Michigan
March 5 vs Purdue
Women’s Tickets available (4 for each game)
December 22 vs Rhode Island
December 28 vs Wisconsin
January 6 vs Illinois
January 24 vs Purdue
February 3 vs Rutgers
February 10 vs Northwestern
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Crookston’s Paul Bittner always brings out the stache in November for the Movember cancer fundraising campaign!
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The 2018 Crookston Hockey Alumni games/scrimmages will be held Saturday, November 22 at the Crookston Sports Center. Alumni from Crookston Central High School, Crookston High School, Cathedral and the Mount will be back/are invited back to participate in this years games. The schedule and info are listed below –
GAME 1……….2:30-3:45………..……2008-2018 ODD vs EVEN
GAME 2……..4:00-5:15…………2007 & OLDER ODD vs EVEN
GAME 3……….5:30-6:45………PIRATE GIRLS vs GIRLS ALUMNI
GAME 4……..7:00-8:15……….PIRATE BOYS vs PIRATE ALUMNI
Cost – $10.00 (Make checks out to Pirate Hockey)
Social at the Crookston Eagles Club from 9PM to 1AM and dance to the Johnny Holm’s Band
Mail registration forms to
Steve Biermaier
PO Box 496
Crookston, MN 56716
or email steve.biermaierchiro@midconetwork.com
Proceeds go to the Crookston Pirate Hockey program.
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The Crookston Pirate Basketball teams will be hosting Warroad in a double-header on Friday. They will have five games and the schedule is below –
Boys –
C Squad at 6:00 at Highland Elementary
JV Boys at 4:30 at the High School
Varsity boys at 6:00 at the High School
Girls
JV at 4:30 at Highland Elementary
Varsity at 7:30 at the High School
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The Grafton Wrestling Triangular on Tuesday December 18 has announced the schedule.
4:30 – Weigh-ins (Crookston can weigh in when they arrive)
5:30 – Grafton vs. Devils Lake
6:30 – Devils Lake vs. Crookston
7:30 – Crookston vs Grafton.
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The 2018 Crookston Girls Hockey Holiday
Classic game schedule has been released and it should be four pretty competitive games.
Thursday, December 27
4:00 PM – Park Rapids vs Grand Forks
6:30 PM – Crookston vs Jamestown
Friday, December 28
4:00 PM – Jamestown vs Park Rapids
6:30 PM – Crookston vs Grand Forks
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The Northland Community and Technical College Girls basketball tournament will be held next week in Thief River Falls. The schedule is below –
Tuesday, December 11
3:00 PM – Stephen-Argyle vs Clearbrook-Gonvick
4:45 PM – BGMR vs Red Lake
6:30 PM – Red Lake County Central vs Cass Lake-Bena
8:15 PM – Goodridge-Grygla vs Sacred Heart
Friday, December 14
Consolation semi’s at 3:00 and 4:45 PM
Semi-finals at 6:30 and 8:15 PM
Saturday, December 15
1:00 PM – 7th place
2:45 PM – Consolation Championship
4:30 PM – 3rd place
6:15 PM – Championship
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The Northland Community and Technical College Boys Holiday Classic has released the schedule for December 18, 19 and 22.
Dec
ember 18
3:00 PM Cass Lake Bena (Home) vs Stephen Argyle Central (Visitor)
4:45 PM Goodridge/Grygla (Home) vs BGMR (Visitor)
6:30 PM Fertile Beltrami JV (Home) vs Red Lake County JV (Visitor)
8:15 PM Fertlie Beltrami (Home) vs Red Lake County (Visitor)
Dec
ember 20
3:00 PM BGMR (Home) vs Fertlie Beltrami (Visitor)
4:45 PM Cass Lake Bena (Home) vs Red Lake County (Visitor)
6:30 PM Red Lake JV (Home) vs Goodridge/Grygla JV (Visitor)
8:15 PM Red Lake (Home) vs Goodridge/Grygla (Visitor)
Dec
ember 21
3:00 PM Red Lake County (Home) vs Red Lake (Visitor)
4:45 PM Goodridge/Grygla (Home) vs Fertlie Beltrami (Visitor)
6:30 PM BGMR JV (Home) vs Cass Lake Bena JV (Visitor)
8:15 PM BGMR (Home) vs Cass Lake Bena (Visitor)
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SECTION 8AA BOYS BASKETBALL POLL AND PREVIEW
We had all 16 coaches respond (two didn’t vote) so I would like to thank all the coaches for their cooperation to get perfect attendance. The top five comes as expected. The defending Section 8AA Champ, Breckenridge, is at the top and they edged Perham by two points. Hawley is a distant third, which might be some pretty good bulletin board material for the Nuggets. East Grand Forks and Osakis round out the top five. Nobody else was close with the sixth place team only having 6 points in the voting.
Hawley is the favorite in the North with EGF and DGF right behind them and Breckenridge and Perham taking the top spots in the south. The first polls of the season had Perham ranked #3, Hawley #9 and Breckenridge #10. It will be a very competitive section again this year, although the top teams are at the top and there is a little separation. We will see and we know it will be a fun season and I can’t wait until March to see what happens in the playoffs. The polls and team previews are listed below –
Top 5 teams – Points (two coaches didn’t vote)
1. Breckenridge (9) 59
2. Perham (5) 57
3. Hawley 37
4. East Grand Forks 21
5. Osakis 18
North Sub-Section
Team Points (first place)
1. Hawley 10 (5)
2. East Grand Forks 16 (1)
3. Dilworth-G- 17 (2)
4. Crookston – 30
5. Warroad 32
6. Roseau 35
7. Bagley 40
8. Thief River Falls 44
South Sub-Section (two coaches didn’t vote)
Team Points (first place)
1. Breckenridge 5 (5)
2. Perham 9 (1)
3. Osakis 13
4. Barnesville 22
5. Park Rapids 25
6. Wadena-Deer Creek – 28
7. Long Prairie-GE 29
8. Staples-Motley – 41
TEAM PREVIEWS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER-
BAGLEY FLYERS – Coach Darin Carstens 7th year (13th overall)
Bagley went 13-13 last season with a 79-63 loss to East Grand Forks in the first round of the playoffs. The Flyers will be young and won’t have a lot of experience returning, but they always seem to have a load of tall and athletic players that know how to play. Bagley might struggle against some of the top teams early on this season but look for them to be a tough team to beat late in the season.
Top returners – Jim Hvezda Sr.10ppg, Mike Troxell Sr. 4.5ppg
Top newcomers – Josh Wilson Sr. Zach Anderson Soph, Kenly Gordon Soph, Alec Norum Soph
Season outlook according to Coach Carstens – “This season is unlike last year with very little experience coming back. We will be young with a lot of potential; this group of guys gets along so well on and off the basketball court. We do have one of our top scorers and all-around players back. Hopefully we can play a little more up-tempo style and put more points on the board, as we should be a better shooting team. If we continue to play defense and don’t turn the ball over, we should be in every game. The conference schedule will again be a test every night.”
BARNESVILLE TROJANS – Todd Henrickson 22nd year (33rd overall)
Barnesville is coming off a 9-16 record last year and a 66-45 first round loss to Osakis. The Trojans will return some pretty good talent with Adam Tonsfeldt and Hunter Zenzen. They might start slow as they shake off the football legs, but they will be ready to go after the first couple of weeks and they know how to win, which they showed this fall when they made it to the state championship football game. Barnesville is always a tough team to play and this year will be more of the same.
Top returners – Adam Tonsfeldt (All-Conference) and Hunter Zenzen (All-Conference), Jason Henrickson, Grant Inniger, Brooks Martinson, Kellen Hinsz, Sam Askegaard.
Season outlook according to Coach Henrickson – “All players mentioned above have varsity experience. They have been through the schedule and know exactly what to expect. Consistency on the offensive end will be a key for us. The kids we have returning play hard and play well together. We expect to compete well each night we step on the floor.”
BRECKENRIDGE COWBOYS – Coach Arly Ohm 25th year at Breckenridge, 28th year overall.
The Cowboys are coming off an outstanding season going 25-6 with a section championship, handing Perham their first loss of the season (49-39) in the Section 8AA championship last year. They lost to Brooklyn Center 63-48 in the first round of the state tournament, beat Minnewaska Area 72-42 and lost to Esko 57-46 in the Consolation championship game.
What can you say about the job Coach Ohm and his staff from the youth level on up have done with the boys program? They have set a school record with 26 wins each of the last two seasons, two trips to state including the first trip since 1979. They have the BEST player in the section with Noah Christensen (NDSU commit). With only two starters returning the main question will be …..who is next up? Breckenridge has things rolling from the youth up to varsity they are winning at an outstanding percentage and if they can get the new guys to fill in and play their roles it will be another good season. They are the favorite until somebody (besides Fergus Falls) shows otherwise!
Top Returners: Sr.’s Noah Christensen (6’8 All-Conference and all reports say a great kid) 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal and 1 assist per game last year. Hunter Feigum (2 starters returning)
Bench: Nine total seniors out with strong feeder programs, so MANY guys are competing daily in practice for time. Unfortunately, we have a few guys out early in the season for various reasons, but once we are at full strength, our depth will be an asset.
Sr. Max Johnson – Backup PG last season, Sr. Caden McGough – 6th man last season, Sr. Sam Bakken – played minutes, Soph. Cooper Yaggie – broken collarbone won’t be back until January plus a host of others.
Season outlook according to Coach Ohm – “With that being said, we need to remember the “process” is has taken by many people as Breckenridge has won the section title 3 out of last 4 years. Defense and Depth is without a doubt, the Cowboys greatest strengths to build upon. Our goal is always to be playing our best basketball in March, but we know this section is loaded with really good coaches and players!”
CROOKSTON PIRATES – Coach Greg Garmen 23rd year (32nd overall)
The Crookston Pirates were 14-14 last year and lost to Breckenridge 83-58 in the second round of the playoffs. They lose four seniors from last year’s team and they also lost a kid that switched to wrestling and that means another five points per game for a total of 40 points per game on a team that averaged 64 points per game last year. The cupboard isn’t bare with the return of now four-year starter, Nick Garmen (or Grandpa as the kids call him). Nick is one of the top all-around players in the section and is a very smart basketball player. Jaden Lubarski is a tremendous athlete and showed signs of being a very good player in the second half of the season last year and I am guessing he will pick up where he left off. Caden Osborn (Ogre as the kids call him) could be one of the better posts in Section 8AA and I would even say he is the BEST small post (6’2) in the section. I get to play against him once a week and his improvement over the past two years is amazing. He is strong, quick, has great post moves and can shoot the three too. They are a great three to build around. The rest of the line-up is up in the air with a lot of talented kids that will have to make the step up to the varsity level. Walker Winjum and Josh Bernia are capable guards. Carter Bruggeman is one kid that I think could be tough. He is strong and likes to drive but having the confidence of taking the next step will be the key. Jack Garmen is a Freshman and can flat out shoot, Brady Butt tried wrestling for a week and realized basketball was the sport for him and he will offer some muscle along with his younger brother Brooks Butt. Jacob Miller and Easton Tangquist will be looked upon to handle the ball at times on the varsity and both work hard, but again being able to make the jump in a VERY good Section 8AA will be tough. The crowd favorites will be Chris Kazmierczak and Jonny Abeld. They are two great kids that have stuck it out since third grade and show up every day, they work hard, and I am hoping to see them have some success and the crowds will too.
It will be tough, especially early on for the team. The team speed isn’t there, so they will have to do a lot of cutting, picking, flex cut type of offense to get decent shots.
Top returners – Nick Garmen 12 ppg, 7 reb, 4 assists, 2 steals per game; Jaden Lubarski 7 ppg, 3 reb; Caden Osborn 7 ppg, 6 reb, 1 block per game.
Top newcomers – Walker Winjum, Josh Bernia
Season outlook according to Coach Garmen – “The Pirates will have a bit of experience back but need to find some guys to fill a couple of holes. Caden Osborn showed he can play and should have a good year in the post for the Pirates, Nick and Jaden will need to be at the top of their game. Walker and Josh will have to play solid, steady ball for us. Off the bench it will be a number of kids: Easton Tangquist, Carter Bruggeman, Jack Garmen, Brady Butt, Brooks Butt, Chris Kazmierczak, Jonny Abeld, Jacob Miller.”
DILWORTH-GLYNDON-FELTON REBELS – Coach Mike Clark 7th year
DGF went 8-19 last year losing to Crookston in the first round of the playoffs. They only lose three players from last years team and the Rebels are my sleeper pick this year. Will they win the section? Not likely, but they will be one of the top teams this year. They have Nathan Leitner back and the 6’5 kid averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds a game last year and will be a tough matchup again this year. Aiden Leach is a nice guard that averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game and that will be a nice 1-2 combo. They also have everybody else coming back and they could be one of the top five teams this year.
Top returners – Nathan Leitner, F, 6’5”, Sr; Tanner Tahran, F, 6’2”, Sr; Jackson Friend, F, 6’1”, Sr.; Drew Coalwell, G, 5’11”, Jr.; Ben Henriksen, G, 5’9”, Jr.; Aiden Leach, G 5’11”, Jr.; Jacob Strand, G 5’10”, Jr
Top newcomers – Ian Mickelson, Colby Schreiber, Justin Wang, Owen Leach
Season preview according to Coach Clark – “With all the experience returning it should be a very fun year. Great attitudes, work ethic, and many TEAM players should allow us to play an exciting brand of basketball.”
EAST GRAND FORKS GREEN WAVE – Coach Josh Perkerewicz 3rd year as head coach, 16th overall
EGF was 16-12 last year with an 83-63 loss to Perham in the second round of the playoffs. The Green Wave have been young the past couple of years and now they are mostly upperclassman and the lumps they have taken over the years will pay off. They play an exciting style of basketball and are loaded with speed and athleticism. Last year, the Green Wave made some mistakes that could be attributed to the style of play and being young and if they can take the next step this year they will be one of the top five teams with all the talent coming back.
Top returners (with stats if you have them) – Sam Votava 14ppg 7 rpg 6 apg 4 steals, Julian Benson 13 ppg 5 rpg 2 apg, Nathan Willet 10ppg 4 rb, Tyler Amodt 8ppg 4rpg, Colton Dauksavage 8ppg 3 rbpg
Top newcomers – Zach Johnson a senior, Tanner Campos a freshman
Season outlook according to Coach Perkerewicz – “We are young but will have a lot of experience returning six guys that played significant minutes last year. We look to play a fast pace up tempo game in order to counter the lack of size that we have. Our strength is in our numbers we could play as many as 12 guys per night. We will have to find a way to win on the road as well where we have 17 road games including 9 straight on the road. Our schedule is more challenging then it has been in the past with the hope that it will prepare us to win games at the end of the season. The section is going to be tough this year and bring many challenges. Our goal is to compete for the #1 seed in the subsection and for the section title.”
HAWLEY NUGGETS – Coach Nathan Stoa – 5th year, 16th year overall
The Nuggets went 15-12 last year with a 64-60 loss to Breckenridge in the section semi-finals without one of their top players. What Hawley and Coach Stoa was able to do without Jacob Vetter last year was impressive and coach of the year type stuff. They will have a tremendous starting five and they will have athleticism, size and speed. Could this be Hawley’s first trip to the state tournament since 2000? We will see, but the talent is there to be cutting down the nets at the end of the year.
Top returners – Jayden Carlisle, Sr, 15 points, 4 assists, 4 steals All-HOL – committed to play basketball at U of Jamestown; Noah Glad, Sr, 16 points, 8 rebounds (single handedly beat Crookston last year) All-HOL; Chase Libak, Sr, 6 points, 4 assists All-HOL; Gunnar Lawson, Sr, 8 points 3 rebounds, HOL All Star; Jacob Vetter, Sr, – returning from injury that caused him to miss Jr. season.
Top newcomers – Karter Kopacek, Sr, – Will be looked upon to join the rotation for the first time in his career. Shoots the ball well and uses quickness well on defense; Hayden Grani, Fr, – Will find time in the rotation at point guard and wing positions. True pass first guard with very good vision.
Season outlook according to coach Stoa – “Due to the loss of two-year letter winner Jacob Vetter to a knee injury sustained in the Section Football Championship, we had to shuffle our plans heading into the ’17-18 season. The loss of Vetter moved everything around on both ends of the floor, but also gave guys a chance to step up and into different roles. The season was not a completely smooth ride, but the squad was able to compete with nearly everyone on our very difficult schedule. There will be an acclimation process, but getting Vetter back with returning Heart O’Lakes All-Stars Jayden Carlisle, Noah Glad, Chase Libak, and Gunnar Lawson should give our team and our program’s stockholders plenty of optimism heading into the ’18-19 season. The team will need to focus on defending from tip to buzzer, along with a renewed focus on the defensive boards. Offensively, the team will need to replace the production of the departing seniors. Vetter, along with fellow seniors Mason Klevgaard, Karter Kopacek, and freshman Hayden Grani have a great chance to do that and more.”
LONG PRAIRIE-GREY EAGLE THUNDER – Jon Larson 1st year
The Thunder were 7-18 last season and lost to Perham 49-27 in the first round of the playoffs. They will have one of the better guards in the section with Gabe Abraham and anytime you have a top-notch point guard you are going to be in good shape. The Thunder will have a little bit of height and they will need some kids that didn’t play a lot last year to step up and they could have a solid season this year and try to get above that .500 mark.
Top returners – Gabe Abraham is an all-conference selection coming back and will be the floor and team leader. Other seniors returning are Nick Byers, Sam Byers, Jacob Middendorf, Travis Miller, Matthew Zeipelt.
Season outlook according to Coach Larson – “Our senior point guard is Gabe Abraham and I feel he will be one of the elite guards in our section. He is an excellent leader and a true competitor. We return four starters from last year. We only had two seniors last year, so we were very young but got lots of experience. We are still young this year with three junior starters and two sophomores that will see significant court time. We still have a way to go but will be more competitive with balanced scoring this year. My kids play hard and teams that look past us will be in for a surprise.”
OSAKIS SILVERSTREAKS– Coach Matt Hoelscher 7th year
Osakis is coming off a 22-7 season last year with a 62-39 loss to Perham in the section semi-finals. They will lose a couple all-conference players, but they will return one of the top players in the section with Daniel Savageau (22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals per game) and they also have Luke Imdieke (8 points, 4 assists per game). Who will fill in for the five players they lost to graduation and how long will it take for the team to gel? That is the main question, but Osakis definitely deserves to be in the conversation of the top five teams in the section.
Top returners – Juniors Daniel Savageau and Luke Imdieke
Newcomers – Seniors Jacob Backes and Brandon Boogaard, Juniors Luke Staloch and Carter Rost
Season outlook according to Coach Hoelscher – “We want to be a transition team that can use our length and speed to play a fast paced game. This is the deepest our bench has been in the 7 years I’ve been here, so we hope to play a lot of guys at a high pace to try and wear teams down.”
PARK RAPIDS PANTHERS – Coach Matt Brandt 8th year
The Panthers were 13-13 last year with a 58-45 loss to Hawley in the second round of the playoffs. Park Rapids loses a handful of players from last years team, but they have some pretty good players coming back this year including All-Conference players Gabriel Bagstad and Tristin Persons. They will have some good athletes, some size and if they can find a point guard they will be a tough team again this year.
Top Returners: Gabe Bagstad, Tristin Persons, Preston Renneberg, Jake Reish, Jeff Haas
Top Newcomers: Nic Michaelson, Shawn Ohm, Kolby Brandt, Hunter Brandt, Ty Karger
Season outlook according to Coach Brandt – “We lost our primary ball handler from last year so that area will be a question mark for us this year. We return a good group of kids that are determined to be successful and that should help us be competitive in every game. Our section is very tough and full of some great teams and players. On any given night a team could beat someone who they are not supposed to. It will be an exciting year with all the talented teams in our section.”
PERHAM YELLOWJACKETS – Coach Dave Cresap 24th year at Perham, 34th overall
Perham had a dream season last year and they went undefeated 29-0 until they lost 49-39 to Breckenridge in the section championship game. They lost some very important players from last years team (Martin Lafond, Ben Winkesl, Logan Richter, and Daniel Zitzow to name a few. They have some serious talent returning with Jenson Beachy, Carter Cresap and Josh Jeziorski to name a few. Even though they suffered a 30 point loss to Minnehaha Academy (it actually was expected because Minnehaha has a starting five that will all be Division I basketball or football players and two of the top players in the nation) and it will take some time for Perham to get things going and once they do they will be a very good team and they would love to get a rematch with Minnehaha in March.
Top Returners: Jenson Beachy, Carter Cresap, Josh Jeziorski, John Lafond, Finn Diggins
Top Newcomers: Elijah Morris, Charlie Rasmussen, Dawson Stevens, Anthony Reese. Carter Mulcahy, Grant McMartin, Landon Stevens, Ryan Murphy, Carter Aakre, Caden Schossow, Carson Hespe
Season outlook according to Coach Cresap – “We are very excited about this season. We lost three very good players last year and all were starters so we have a lot to replace. We do have a nucleus of very good players returning that should help us become a very competitive team by the end of the year. We look for this team to play very hard, play unselfishly, and a team that shoots the ball pretty well. We need to develop a TEAM CULTURE before we go very far. I feel we have everything else in place to be a very good team come tournament time. The section will be as loaded as it has been for quite some time. I feel there are 7-8 teams who could win the section title this year on a given night. Al teams better be ready every night or they will get beat. Breckenridge, Hawley, and EGF are clear-cut favorites to win this section, but I feel we have the team who could surprise someone if they aren’t ready to play us. We will look to Jenson Beachy, Josh Jeziorski, and Carter Cresap to help lead us until we get some seniors and younger players into their roles. It will be a fun year for the Jackets! Our Schedule is brutal so the wins and losses may not look as good, but I feel we can be a really good team down the stretch.”
ROSEAU RAMS – Coach Ken Hayden 8th year
The Rams were 17-10 last year and were upset by their rival, Warroad, in the first round of the playoffs 70-62. The Rams lost a handful of players from last years squad including all-conference players Nels Braaten and Nate Corbit. They will have one of the top ball handlers in the section back with Eric Hoffer and they will have some height and beef with Jack Hirst returning and Jacob Lindemann (UND Football commit). Coach Hayden does a nice job and he will have them playing hard and they will be a tough game every night. Are they deep enough? That is the main question, in my mind.
Top returners – Eric Hoffer 12 ppg, Jack Hirst 8 ppg, Jacob Lindemann 5 rebounds per game.
Season outlook according to Coach Hayden – “We should look to our seniors for leadership. Rebounding will be key for us to stay competitive in games.”
STAPLES-MOTLEY CARDINALS – Coach Nick Doll 1st year
The Cardinals were 9-16 last year and lost to the eventual Section champion Breckenridge Cowboys 84-49 in the first round of the playoffs last year. They will have a nice core returning with three all-conference players back and they will have to mix in some inexperience. It will be interesting to see how strong the Cardinals are at the end of the year and not many coaches will know what to expect from them with first year head coach Nick Doll at the helm.
Top returner – Josh Lombard (All Mid-State conference), Derek Kennedy (All Mid-State honorable mention), Brayden Losh (All Mid-State honorable mention)
Season outlook according to Coach Doll – “We will have a ton of young new faces on the floor.”
THIEF RIVER FALLS PROWLERS – Jonathan Hams 1st year (9th as head coach overall and 20+ years coaching hoops overall)
TRF is coming off a tough season with a 2-25 record and a 70-51 loss to Hawley in the first round of the playoffs. It was a rare down year for Prowler Basketball, but when you lose the talent they have over the past couple of years it was tough to recover from. It will be another tough year for TRF, but I am thinking they will get more wins this season. Coach Hams is an outstanding coach and he will have his team playing hard and doing the little things well.
Top returners – Storm Manning (6.3 ppg), Brevyn Lingen (7.1 ppg) and Luke Perkovich (2.5 ppg)
Season preview according to Coach Hams – “We will be an inexperienced team trying to improve on a tough season last year. We look to have the abilty to score but will take some time to develop the finer skills of the game.”
WADENA-DEER CREEK – Coach Kevin Tumberg 4th year
The Wolverines were 13-14 last year with a heartbreaking 65-64 loss in double overtime to Park Rapids in the first round of the playoffs. They graduated a very good player in Noah Ross (playing at St. Scholastica this year) and Ryan Anderson to name a few, but they return a lot of kids and some pretty good talent. They have athleticism, size and they should be a balanced team this year and that could cause some problems for teams defending them.
Top Returners: Bereket Loer, Cooper Folkestad, and Cade Kapphahn
Top Newcomers: Payton Rondestvedt, Zach Shaw, Tony Kreklau, Aiden Larson, Steven Thomas, Dawson Lupkes, Noah Roers, and Lucas Hinojos.
Season outlook according to Coach Tumberg – “We are in a transitional year. We lost 9 players to graduation last season and many of those ate up a lot of minutes. We will be looking to put younger players into new roles this year. We will be a quick and athletic team that will look to create a ton of turnovers and turn those into easy transition buckets.”
WARROAD WARRIORS – Coach Vichita Ounchith 8th year (11th overall)
Warroad was 13-14 last year with a 50-39 loss to Osakis in the second round of the playoffs last year. They lose some size with Zach Heppner graduating, but they will have pretty much everybody back. They have some very nice players with Isaac Falk-Stoskopf (Northwest Conference MVP and North Border all-conference), Tyler Fox (named all-conference in both conferences), and Jet Shoen (All-conference honorable mention in both). Kyle Spenst is hurt and I am not sure when he will be back, but when he does it will be fun to see how the Warriors do in the second half of the season. Coach Ounchith does a great job and he always has them playing great at the end of the year and I wouldn’t expect anything else this year.
Top returners – Isaac Falk-Stoskopf 15.3 ppg and 10 rpg, Tyler Fox 11 ppg and 5 rpg, Jett Shoen 11 ppg and 5 rpg, Kyle Spenst (injured) 8 ppg, 4 rpb, and 6 apg.
Top newcomers – Cole Spenst, Jeremy Cole, and Virgil Lanicka
Season outlook according to Coach Ounchith – “We will have to overcome early adversity with Kyle not being able to play for a while until he is medically cleared from a football injury. We will look for our returning players to help guide the younger ones as the season progresses.”
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SECTION 8AA GIRLS BASKETBALL COACHES POLL AND PREVIEW
KROX Radio has conducted our annual Section 8AA Girls Basketball coaches poll and season preview. We have had responses from 14 of the 16 coaches and didn’t receive anything from Frazee or Breckenridge.
Roseau is the almost unanimous favorite and the Rams have won the last four Section 8AA championships and it looks like the are the extremely heavy favorite and everybody else is fighting for second place. A couple teams that most coaches think will have a good year is the East Grand Forks Green Wave under the direction of Jay Frydenlund and the Hawley Nuggets under Coach Bill Gottenborg. The guys know how to coach, and the Green Wave and Nuggets are looking to get back to the next level to make a push. Section 8AA lost a boatload of talent to graduation leaving a lot of question marks going into the season. The teams that are able to fill the holes and the teams that were young last year will have an advantage coming into this season. We know this much, Roseau is the early favorite, but don’t be surprised if some teams close the gap and knock them off during the regular season this year. We will see!
We did the coaches poll a little differently with so many first-year head coaches. We split the vote into the North sub-section and South sub-section and I asked the coaches to name the top five teams. So, the results of all three are below along with the team previews –
All coaches responded except for Frazee and Breckenridge. Thanks to the 14 coaches that responded, I appreciate it!
Top 5 teams – Points
1. Roseau – 59
2. Hawley – 32
3. East Grand Forks – 28
4. Dilworth-G-F – 22
5. Barnesville – 12
Crookston – 12
North Sub-Section
Team Points (first place)
1. Roseau – 8 (6)
2. East Grand Forks – 17 (2)
3. Hawley – 19
4. Crookston – 27
DGF – 27
6. Thief River Falls – 34
7. Warroad – 45
8. Bagley – 47
South Sub-Section
Team Points (first place)
1. Park Rapids – 7 (3)
2. Barnesville – 8 (3)
3. Perham – 12
4. Breckenridge – 25
5. Long Prairie-GE – 26
6. Wadena-Deer Creek – 28
7. Frazee – 29
8. Staples-Motley – 32
TEAM PREVIEWS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER-
BAGLEY FLYERS- Coach Brett Nordquist- 1st year
Bagley is coming off a 1-25 season and they lost to DGF in the first round of the playoffs last season. They will return some experience and will look to pick up a few more wins this season.
Top returners – Seniors Alex Syverson, McKenzie Halverson, Carley Lewis, and Kara Bowman. Alex is best and most experienced player. Many other underclassmen will contribute.
Top newcomers – Kylie Anderson, Kyra Frank, Kelby Fultz, and Sadie Spaulding among others.
Season outlook according to Coach Nordquist – “Our goal is to try and get a little better each time out. We are trying to stay positive. We have been working hard at improving the basics. We probably won’t win a ton of games however we think we can be more competitive then the past few years.
BARNESVILLE TROJANS – Coach Ryan Bomstad – 7th year at Barnesville and 13th overall
Barnesville is coming off a great season last year with a 22-6 record and a 61-53 loss to Roseau in the section semi-finals last year. They lose some very good players to graduation and will look to reload this year. They will be a team that will be there at the end of the year with the solid coaching of Coach Bomstad.
Top Returners – Elora Passa 5 ppg, 4 rebounds; Claire Meyer 6 ppg, 2 rebounds; Wylie Lewis 2 ppg
Top Newcomers: Lauren Halverson, Emily Bredman, Lexi Bolgrean, Sam Passa, Kim Maesse, Olivia Sorenson
Season outlook according to Coach Bomstad – “The Trojans will be young with a lot of potential. It is a group of players that seem to get along very well on and off the court. This team will continue to grow as the season goes on. The Heart O’Lakes Conference is so difficult night in and night out and balanced that it prepares you for all kinds of styles you will see in the post season. Hopefully with a little luck and if we can stay healthy we could be in the mix come late February and early March.”
BRECKENRIDGE COWBOYS – Coach Austin Imdieke 1st year
Breckenridge was 11-17 on the year last year and lost to DGF in second round of the playoffs. They lose some solid players with two all conference honorable mentions and a handful of girls from last years team. They will also have a new coach and their is a possibility they could have a new look this year. We didn’t receive any information from coach Imdieke.
CROOKSTON PIRATES – Coach Darrin Zimmerman – 4th year at Crookston and 7th overall
Crookston is coming off a 13-14 season with a loss to East Grand Forks in the first round of the section tournament. They lose two of their top offensive players (shooters), but they return some very good talent. They have some of the top Sophomores and Freshman in the section and they will be a team that will be tough to beat, especially if they are able to make some outside shots.
Top returners – Kylie Solheim Sr. 5.4ppg 2.8rpg; Rachel Hefta Sr. 5.7ppg 7.2rpg; Emma Borowicz So.11.4 ppg 3.0apg; Dani Boyle Jr. 1.0 ppg; Hayden Winjum Fr. 5.5ppg 3.4rpg; Gretchen Theis Jr. 1.2 ppg; Kasey Cwikla Jr. 4.2 ppg 2.3rpg
Top newcomers – Emma Boll Soph.
Season preview according to Coach Zimmerman – “We figure to be a very competitive team this season with a high ceiling. As in years past, we will need to defend well and take care of the ball, as the north subsection should be a competitive with many good teams. If we continue to improve as the season unfolds, we will be in the conversation come tournament time.”
DILWORTH-GLYNDON-FELTON REBELS– Tom Critchley 7th at DGF and 22 years overall
DGF, like most teams were hit hard by graduation last year and they lose some very good players. The also return some very solid players and I think DGF has a very good chance of being one of the teams taking on Roseau at the end of the year. They were 24-5 last year and lost to East Grand Forks in the semi-finals last year.
Top returners – Katlyn Brenna – HOL All-Conference, 11 ppg – very good player who can score and defend. plays much bigger than her size on both ends of the floor; Allie Critchley – HOL honorable mention 8 ppg, 4 assist and 4 steals per game. Will step in for Natalie Steichen at the point and will create the pace we want to play with on the defensive and offensive end. Signed with Valley City State; Maria Watt – Excellent athlete, is a sophomore but this will be her 3rd year on varsity. We expect her to take a big step forward and she had a great summer; Peyton Wilson – Another very good athlete who is long and has put in the time needed to be a successful varsity player. Athletic post who can guard a point guard; Jocy Cyr- senior captain will provide some toughness in the post and on the glass; Olivia Feigum – junior wing/post who also had a very good summer and can guard any position
Top newcomers – We have a bunch on younger girls who are ready to step up and run with the older girls. Really excited with our sophomore and freshmen class.
Season outlook/preview of your team – We have 4 very good returning players (would have been 5, but we lost Ally Freir to an ACL injury this summer while she was playing AAU) and have some younger girls who have the potential to step up and provide quality minutes. We are going to be a little bit bigger than we have been in the past which should help us on the boards. We have excellent guards who know how to play the game and are great leaders. This is a motivated group and they want to continue the success we have had the past few years.
EAST GRAND FORKS GREEN WAVE- Coach Jay Frydenlund- 4th year as girls coach, 32nd year overall
The Green Wave are coming off one of their better seasons in several years when they finished 24-6 and lost in the section championship game to Roseau. They will lose three pretty solid players to graduation, but they return a good core to build off of last years run. You know they will be well coached and will be one of the favorites to give Roseau a run for their money this season.
Top returners – Sr Mackenna Aitchison 10 ppg, Sr Macy Skyberg 7.5 ppg, Jr Haley Burger- 8 ppg, Soph Chloe Torgerson 5 ppg, Sr Breanna Olson 4 ppg.
Top newcomers – Jr Brynn Hillman, Soph Kadynn Melquist, Jr Emmy Heisler, Soph Hanah Selnes, Soph Caitlin Hovde, Fresh Anina Gehrls, and Jr Delaney Aaker
Season outlook according to Coach Frydenlund – “We are optimistic with our experience returning but we have some holes to fill especially inside-we will be a much smaller team this season-we will try to get up and down the floor and play full court defense and hope to improve each and every day.”
FRAZEE HORNETS – Coach Jason Reierson
Frazee was 11-16 last season with a first round loss to Breckenridge. Frazee loses five players to graduation, but they will return Paige Oswald after she averaged 12 points per game last year. They will have some good upper classman to work with and they should be able to hit double figure wins again this season.
We didn’t receive any information from Coach Reierson.
HAWLEY NUGGETS – Coach Bill Gottenborg 36th year
Hawley was 16-10 last year and lost to Barnesville in the second round of the playoffs. What can you say about the Dean of Section 8AA Girls Basketball, Coach Bill Gottenborg? He is a legend and will have some outstanding athletes to work with again this year. Paige Thompson will be one of the toughest match-ups for teams and I really like how she plays on both ends of the court. Hawley is another team that will be ready to make a run in March.
Top returners – Rianna Lilleby Sr. 7.5 ppg a very good spot up shooter, she is working to improve her shot off the dribble and footwork on defense; Paige Thompson Jr. – 9.3 ppg, 7.7 rebounds/game a skilled on offense and defense – 6’2 height will give opponents a problem as she can play both on the perimeter and in the post; McKenzie Koenig Jr. – 3 ppg, she had a great offseason and has improved her confidence on offense – we will look to her to be a stopper on the defensive end of the floor; Aby Rux 10th grade– 4.2 ppg, very strong, physical, and aggressive. She plays really hard. She is working to improve her defensive positioning and footwork.
Top newcomers – Kylie Crabtree 9th grade – 2.6 ppg, skilled offensive ballhandler and shooter – look to improve aggressive and physical play on defense; Kaylie Crabtree 9th grade – 2.4 ppg, skilled offensive ballhandler and shooter – look to improve aggressive and physical play on defense
Season outlook according to Coach Gottenborg – “The nuggets will be competitive and will work hard on doing the little things it takes to be successful such as playing hard, smart, together, and having fun.”
LONG PRAIRIE-GREY EAGLE THUNDER – Coach Jonathan Young 5th year as head, 12th overall.
The Thunder are coming off an 11-14 season last year and lost to Park Rapids in the first round of the tournament. They lose four players to graduation from last years team, including two all-conference players. They went 2-1 in the section last year and we still don’t know if they will be in the section next year so changing the schedule too much might not be the best thing to do.
Top returners – Emma Liebsch, Hannah Middendorf, Kaitlin Welters, Diana Salazar
Season outlook according to Coach Young – “We are returning varsity experience, but are replacing two three-year starters from last year’s team that were are top performers on both ends of the court. Looking to stay competitive and improve upon our record in the section 8 tournament.”
PARK RAPIDS PANTHERS – Coach Jeff Overmeyer – 7th year
Park Rapids was 14-12 last year and lost to Roseau in the second round of the playoffs. They lose four players to graduation including all conference honorable mention Jaiden McCollum. They have three players that received all-conference honors back and will have a solid core to work with. The Panthers could be one of the top teams in the south sub-section and it will be fun to see how they do throughout the season.
Top returners – Kaisa Coborn (Sr) All Mid-state conference, Kendra Coborn (Sr) All Mid-state honorable mention, Rilee Michaelson (Jr) All Mid-state, and Paige Johnson (Jr)
Season outlook according to Coach Overmeyer – “I think we will be at least a .500 team and be very competitive in the section as well as our conference.”
PERHAM YELLOWJACKETS Coach TJ Super 7th year at Perham and 13th overall (6 years at Cook County)
Perham was 14-14 last year and lost to East Grand Forks by three points in the second round of the tournament. They lose some solid players, but return a solid nucleus and some good shooters. They will be one of the top teams in the south and I am guessing will be one of the top three teams in the south.
Top returners – Sr. Mesa Schultz 8 ppg, 6.2 rpg,, Sr. Rachel Muer 7.5 ppg, 50 threes made, Sr. Lisa Meader 6 ppg, 43 made threes, Sr. Lacy Richter 5.2 ppg, So. Katie Johnson 5.5 ppg,
Top newcomers – So. Grayce Mickelson, Fr. Sydney Anderson, Fr. Mallory Belka, Fr. Bradlyn Gniffke, Jr. Katie Zepper, Jr. Grace Minten, So. Lily DeBoer, So. Stella Raser
Season outlook/preview of your team according to Coach Super– “We have good senior leadership and then a lot of talented younger players. It’ll be interesting to see how our team comes together and which girls step up. Right now, we have a lot of girls fighting for varsity playing time! Our goal is to get one of the top seeds in the subsection and fight for a section title.”
ROSEAU RAMS – Coach Kelsey Didrikson 6th year at Roseau – 11th year overall
Roseau was 26-6 last year and they were a slow start away from winning another state championship last year. Roseau has won the last four section championships and they are the heavy favorite to win again this year in a section that lost a lot of great talent to graduation. Roseau graduates two very good players with Victoria Johnson and Mya Hough. Mya might have been one of the most under-rated players to the casual basketball fan. She was solid and I was always impressed with the way she played and found ways to be successful. Speaking of successful, Roseau has All-State selection Kacie Borowicz (committed to play next year at UND) back for her senior year. She is the real deal and really gets the Rams going and Katie Borowicz, one of the best sophomores in the state. That is the top 1-2 combo in the section and one could say in the state in Class AA. After losing six to graduation, how will the Rams fill the holes? That will be the question mark, but I have a feeling it will be answered sooner than later. Roseau is the top team until somebody in the section proves otherwise.
Top returners – Kacie Borowicz – UND commit (26.5 ppg, 6.5 rb, 4.2 assists, 3.9 steals), Katie Borowicz (18.9 ppg, 5.2 assists, 5.5 steals, 5.4 rb), Emma Waling (4.3 ppg, 2.3 rb), Julia Braaten (3.1 ppg)
Top newcomers – Coach Didrickson said “That’s the big question mark! Hanna Mooney is a freshman who is looking to see some big minutes…from there we need girls to step up.”
Season outlook according to Coach Didrickson – “We graduated six seniors who had been around for a long time – there are lots of minutes to replace and question marks about who will fill those spots. In many ways we are very young and will need the process of the whole season to improve and grow into those roles. It’s exciting to see how it will all play out!”
STAPLES-MOTLEY CARDINALS – Coach Brian Smith 1st year (13th year coaching)
The Cardinals are coming off a tough season with a 2-23 record and a loss to Perham in the first round of the section tournament. The loss of Claire Wolhowe will be tough for Staples-Motley, but with a solid core returning they will look to pick up some more wins. Coach Smith will have some bumps early with his young squad, but I am guessing they will get a few more wins this season.
Top returning players – Kaitlyn Smith (Jr.) Guard, Haley Cichos (So.) Guard, Jenna Dvorak (So.) Forward, Tab Allen (So.) Post
Top newcomer – Addy Lorber (Fr.) Guard
Season outlook according to Coach Smith – “We are a young team (no seniors on the roster). We lost our top 2 scorers and rebounders from last season, so we will need all of our players to step up and increase in those areas. We will be more athletic this season than last year and will try to use that athleticism to create some turnovers and get up and down the floor. I feel we have gotten better defensively and on the offensive side we are focusing on the things we can do well and building on those. I think our girls got a lot of great experience last season and are looking forward to getting things rolling this season!”
THIEF RIVER FALLS PROWLERS – Coach Brian Loe – 1st year (12th year overall)
The Prowlers were 15-11 last year with a loss to Hawley in the first round of the playoffs. They suffered the biggest loss to graduation last year with Tiahna Nicholson (playing at UND) and Kylea Praska (playing at UM-Crookston) along with five other girls. It will be tough to find a new identity and with a “new” coach, it might be a good time to start over. It will be interesting to see how TRF ends up this year. They are probably the biggest unknown coming into the season.
Top returners – Seniors Alexa Rogalla 9.1 PPG, Hailey Rosendahl, Becca Leier
Top newcomers – Juniors: Annika Dalager, Carley Johnson, Camryn Schwab, Brea PrickettSeason outlook according to Coach Loe – “We have three Seniors, eight juniors, and one Sophomore on our Varsity team. We are going to have to work to replace a lot of lost scoring from last year. We will take pride in playing tough defense, rebounding hard, and working together to give us a chance to be successful. Our team works very hard, and they are a lot of fun to coach. We have high expectations for ourselves, in what most will call a rebuilding year. We look forward to being competitive in a VERY tough section!”
WADENA-DEER CREEK WOLVERINES- Coach Jordan Cresap- 1st year
The Wolverines were 7-19 last year and lost to Barnesville in the first round of the playoffs last year. They only lost two players to graduation and have some pretty good players returning. With first year coach Jordan Cresap at the helm expect good things from the girls, especially by the end of the year. It will be fun to see how the girls progress throughout the season.
Top returners – Ashley Adams (Sr), Kennedy Gravelle (Jr.) 10.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.7 APG), and Mackenzie Carsten (Jr)
Top newcomers – Madison Carsten (8), Madison Packer (9), Lauryn Gravelle (9)
Season outlook according to Coach Cresap – “We lost two valuable seniors last year in Casey Volkmann and Ellie Miron. We will have a good mix of veteran leadership and young girls who will need to step up into varsity roles. We have good size and athleticism and hope to use that to our advantage. This will be a team that will need some time to mesh and improve together. We hope to become a good rebounding team as well as a team that limits turnovers. This group will be fun to coach because they compete and work hard!”
WARROAD WARRIORS – Coach John Larson- 2nd year as head coach at Warroad. 9th year overall.
The Warriors were 4-23 last season and lost to Park Rapids in the first round of the playoffs. Warroad will have expectations of some more wins this year with a good crew coming back, but they lost a good one to graduation in Bailey Kleinshcmidt. Coach Larson is doing a good job with the girls and they will be more competitive and the season opening loss won’t deter them.
Top returners- Anna Holter, Sky Boucha, Lexi Syverson, Madi Pickar, Nikki Dalen
Promising players- Catherine Thompson, Lydia Tessier, Laci Kennedy
Season outlook according to Coach Larson. “We are a team with some older leadership that can hopefully continue to turn the program around. We also have some incoming underclassmen that will push for significant playing time. We will be improved in the win column and on the floor this year. I am very hopeful and optimistic.”
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The Section 8AA Wrestling preview by Mat Rats is below. We thank Roger Mischke for allowing us to use his preview and all the work he did to put it together!
MAT RATS SECTION 8AA PREVIEW 2018-2019
FAVORITES: Perham Yellow Jackets and the Detroit Lakes Lakers
DARK HORSES: Pierz Pioneers and the Dilworth/Glyndon-Felton Rebels
PERHAM YELLOW JACKETS
Head Coach: Robb Moser
Enrollment: 421
Conference: Heart O’Lakes
28-3 Overall Duals 5-0 Heart O’Lakes
Four Place Class State
Section 8AA Champions
Third Place: STMA “Knights” Invite: 195 Pts. 12 Placers
First Place: Bemidji “Rick Lee” Duals: (6-0)
First Place: Grand Forks Central “Sertoma” Duals: (4-0)
Third Place: Fargo “Rumble on the Red” Invite: 135.5 Pts. 4 Placers
First Place: Heart O’Lakes Conference: 261.5 Pts. 14 Placers
The Yellow Jackets have back from their outstanding 28-3 dual meet campaign and Section 8AA and Four Place Class A State Honors. Eleven section place winners, including seven state qualifiers, of which three earned state tourney medals. In addition to that, they will have six with experience back. With just two graduating last spring, look for the Yellow Jackets to challenge those dual meet numbers form last season and make strong challenge to defend their section and state honors. They will be looking for bigger honors at the Class AA state tournament. They have five 40 plus match winners back, Ty Moser (46-2), Zach Peterson 46-3, Dawson Kellog (43-8) Dylan Fudge (42-7) and Owen Werner (40-8) and two 30 plus match winners Jack Fudge (35-9) and Gabe Bellefeuille (35-11). They should have a very balanced team with a great deal of dept. They could challenge anyone in AA if they remain healthy thru out the season.
Returning Wrestlers:
Ty Moser 12th 46-2 1st Sec./3rd State/AC
Zach Peterson 12th 46-3 1st Sec./3rd State/AC
Dawson Kellog 11th 43-8 1st Section/AC
Dylan Fudge 12th 42-7 3rd Section
Owen Werner 11th 40-8 1st Sec./3rd State/AC
Jack Fudge 10th 35-9 1st Section/AC
Gabe Bellefeuille 11th 35-11 3rd Section/AC
Leighton Rach 12th 23-13 2nd Section/AC
Blaze Brady 12th 20-6
Jose Lopez 12th 22-14 5th Section
Matthew Bush 12th 15-15 2nd Section
Garett Covington 10th 9-20 6th Section
Brian Ramos 9th 6-6
Colton Kostynick 12th 5-17
Noah Rooney 10th 4-5
Rowdie Lindquist 11th 3-13
Brandon Ohara 11th 3-1
Graduates:
Dylan Johnson 33-11 3rd Section (47-16 Career)
Wyatt Guck 28-18 5th Section (59-71 Career)
DETROIT LAKES LAKERS
Head Coach: Rob Ullyott
Enrollment: 737
Conference: Mid-State
20-6 Overall 5-0 Mid-State
Section 8AA Runner Up
Eleven Section Placers/Six State Qualifiers/Four State Placers
Second Place: Fosston “Alfred Olson Memorial” 207 Pts. 9 Placers
Eighth Place: Cass Lake “Big Bear” Invite: 112.5 Pts. 5 Placers
Eighth Place: Bemidji “Rick Lee” Duals:
Third Place: Minnewaska “Lakers” Invite: 151 Pts. 9 Placers
Fourth Place: TRF “Arm Forces/National Guard” Invite: 114.5 Pts 7 P
First Place: Alexandria “Big Ole” Invite: 239.5 Pts. 14 Placers
The Lakers have back from a very good 20-6 dual meet campaign eight section place winners, including four state qualifiers, of which two earned state honors. They will also return nine with a wide range of experience. They could challenge those dual meet marks from last season. They will have four 30 plus match winners and five 20 plus match winners back. They will challenge for Mid-State Conference and they could possibly challenge for section honors, with the right match ups. Isaiah Thompson, Noah Olds, Blake Weber, Fabyon Greer, Brody Ullyot and Cade Jackson should be their key leaders thru out the season.
Returning Wrestlers:
Isaiah Thompson 11th 45-6 2nd Sec./State Champ/AC
Noah Olds 12th 39-6 3rd Section/AC
Blake Weber 11th 39-8 2nd Section/AC
Fabyon Greer 12th 33-9 2nd Section/3rd State
Brody Ullyot 10th 29-16 2nd Section
Cade Jackson 8th 26-16 5th Section
Jordan Skadsem 11th 25-21 3rd Section
Charles Barnett 12th 23-19
Blaine Henderson 10th 20-21 5th Section
Andrew Annette 10th 7-20
Thad Schrauderoff 10th 5-8
Brennen Sather 12th 7-10
Bradly Swiers 9th 3-8
Garret Nelson 10th 3-12
Clint Anderson 9th 3-2
Andreas Barzet 10th 1-3
Michael Friendshul 10th 1-2
Graduates:
Braydon Ortloff 26-3 2nd Sec./4th State/AC (139-46 Career)
Payton Jackson 32-15 4th Section/AC (144-98 Career)
Austin Baker 39-6 1st Sec./4th State/AC (122-66 Career)
PIERZ PIONEERS
Head Coach: Skip Toops
Enrollment: 347
Conference: Central Minnesota
21-10 Overall 6-0 Central Minnesota
Eleven Section Place Winners/Three State Qualifiers
Fifth Place: Brainerd “Paul Bunyan” Invite: 113 Pts. 7 Placers
Seventh Place: WDC “Dennis Kaatz Memorial” 110 Pts. 9 Placers
Third Place: CBI “Bluejacket” Duals: (3-1)
The Pioneers will have back from a good 21-10 dual meet campaign ten section place winners, including thee state qualifiers and six with some experience. With the graduation of just one senior look for the Pioneers to improve on those dual meet numbers from last season. If they stay health thru out their football season and the wrestling season, they should have a very balanced and talented team. Eight 20 plus match winners back, look for this team to challenge not only for Conference honors, but to challenge anyone in what should be a pretty balance dual meet campaign. Jake Andres, Carson Huls, Luke Girtz, Reese Kapsner, Brandon Tomala and Brandon Funk should be their key leaders thru out the season.
Returning Wrestlers:
Jake Andres 12th 41-5 1st Section/AC
Carson Huls 12th 36-8 2nd Section/AC
Luke Girtz 12th 32-9 4th Section/AC
Reese Kapsner 12th 32-10 3rd Section/AC
Brandon Funk 11th 26-15 4th Section/AC
Brandon Tomala 12th 24-14 2nd Section/AC
Trevor Radunz 9th 23-17 6th Section
Austin Radunz 12th 21-7 3rd Section
Ross Boser 10th 19-19 All Conference
Jacob Gotvold 12th 13-25 6th Section
Riley Hoskins 11th 10-22 5th Section
Alex Barclay 11th 7-20
Cale Becker 10th 3-5
Colton Kaspner 12th 2-3
Brandon Schlegel 11th 1-2
Frank Tomberlin 9th 1-7
Graduate:
Jalen Jansen 28-9 4th Section/AC (107-61 Career)
THIEF RIVER FALLS PROWLERS
Head Coach: Kenny Geiser
Enrollment: 546 Thief River Falls/95 Marshall County/81 Stephen-Argyle/98 Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Conference: North Star
13-10 Overall Duals
Eight Section Place Winners/Five State Qualifiers/Two State Placers
Second Place: WDC “Dennis Kaatz Memorial” 191 Pts. 12 Placers
Fourth Place: Cass Lake “Big Bear” Invite” 128 Pts. 6 Placers
Fifth Place: TRF “Arm Forces/National Guard” Invite: 110 Pts. 6 Placers
Sixth Place: WHAN “Wolfpack” Invite: 126 Pts. 7 Placers
Second Place: Fertile “Northwest” Invite: 136.5 Pts. 8 Placers
The Prowlers will have back from their 13-10 dual meet campaign six section place winners, including three state qualifiers, one of which earned state tourney honors. They will have a dozen back with a wide range of experience too. With just two graduating last spring, look for this team to challenge those dual meet marks form last season. They should make a challenge for one of those top four spots in what should be a pretty balance dual meet campaign. Cade Lundeen, Jake Davis, Cody Wienen, Bradey Kasprick and Cole Johnson should be their leaders thru out the season.
Returning Wrestlers:
Cade Lundeen 12th 42-7 1st Sec./4th State
Jake Davis 11th 36-10 1st Section
Cody Wienen 9th 29-15 3rd Section
Bradey Kasprick 9th 25-14
Cole Johnson 11th 25-15 6th Section
Kyle Miller 12th 20-9
Brenan Peralta 12th 16-3 2nd Section
Mason Iverson 10th 14-24 5th Section
Brandon Zuniga 10th 14-13
Cody Sele 12th 11-23
Kevin Jensen 12th 8-24
Kale Geiser 8th 6-7
Mathew Kolden 11th 2-2
Taylor Engebretson 9th 1-1
Hunter Shallet 12th 1-5
Jayce Lizakowski 12th 1-9
Kody Kilen 10th 1-3
Colin Bruggeman 9th 1-4
Alex Lancto 11th 1-11
Graduates:
Josh Bernier 48-6 1st Sec./3rd State (211-56 Career)
Connor Swanson 34-13 2nd Section (102-58 Career)
PEQUOT LAKES/PINE RIVER-BACKUS ROAD CREW
Head Coach: Travis Hoffarth
Enrollment: 494 Pequot Lakes/190 Pine River-Backus
Conference: Mid-State
18-13 Overall Duals 4-1 Mid-State
Nine Section Place Winners
Fifth Place: WDC “Dennis Kaatz Memorial” Invite: 123 Pts. 9 Placers
Twenty-Eighth Place: Cass Lake “Big Bear” Invite: 51 Pts. 1 Placer
Third Place: LPA “Terry Teiken” Invite: 155 Pts. 12 Placers
The Road Crew will have back from their 18-13 dual meet campaign six section place winners and a dozen with a wide range of experience. Look for the Road Crew to continue to improve during the course of the season, they could challenge those dual meet marks from last season. If they stay healthy and spread out in their weights they could possible challenge for a top four spot in this dual meet campaign. Jake Poehler, Josh Pettit, Connor Tulinchik, Harley Large, Evan Koering and Keenan Dahl all 20 plus match winners, should be their key leaders thru out the season.
Returning Wrestlers:
Jake Poehler 11th 29-12 5th Section/AC
Josh Pettit 11th 29-18 5th Section/AC
Connor Tulinchik 9th 23-7 4th Section
Harley Large 12th 23-21
Evan Koering 11th 20-19 5th Section
Keenan Dahl 11th 21-22 6th Section
Riley Wilson 12th 18-14 All Conference
Austin Staricha 9th 11-18
Tim Ryan 12th 12-14 4th Section
Myca Reynolds 11th 11-20
David Shepard 12th 4-3
Finnegan O’Dell 9th 4-22
Colton Anderson 12th 3-4
Isaac Sample 11th 3-6
Mathew Foster 8th 2-0
Corbin Knapp 8th 2-1
Owen Carlson 9th 2-4
Caleb Ruhl 9th 2-7
Dylan Shepard 9th 2-1
Graduates:
Peter Koering 39-6 3rd Section/AC (73-55 Career)
Addisuone Harrington 28-12 4th Section (67-37 Career)
John Urseth 28-11 3rd Section (59-44 Career)
Zach Tulenchik 3-23
DILWORTH-GLYNDON-FELTON REBELS
Head Coach: Davis Kosen
Enrollment: 364
Conference: Heart O’Lakers
18-6 Overall Duals 4-2 Heart O’Lakes
Eleven Section Place Winners/Two State Qualifiers
Second Place: LPA “Terry Teiken” Invite: 189.5 Pts. 12 Placers
Ninth Place: Cass Lake “Big Bear” Invite: 111 Pts. 4 Placers
First Place: Moorhead “Gadberry” Duals: (4-0)
Third Place: Heart O’Lakes Conference: 140 Pts. 12 Placers
First Place: Hillsboro “Boro” Duals: (5-0)
The Rebels have back from a good 18-6 dual meet campaign eight section place winners, including one state qualifier and seven with experience. Look for this young team to continue to make big strides of improvement. If they get spread out in their weights and stay injury free they should make a strong challenge for a top four spot in what should be a balanced section. They did graduate three very good seniors, but look for them to get great leadership from Jack Fuchs (36-6), Jordan Summers (32-8), Matthew Pollock (25-8), Zander Jenson (25-17), Carter Schmidt (25-18) and Cade Sogge (23-20).
Returning Wrestlers:
Jack Fuchs 12th 34-6 2nd Section
Jordan Summers 8th 32-8 4th Section
Matthew Pollock 11th 25-8 3rd Section
Zander Jenson 10th 25-17 5th Section
Carter Schmidt 11th 25-18 5th Section
Cade Sogge 11th 23-20 6th Section
Blake Bakken 10th 15-8 6th Section
Logan Tucker 11th 12-15 4th Section
Dylan Taves 12th 9-5
Preston Johnson 10th 6-6
Hunter Fischer 10th 5-10
Carter Steen 11th 4-20
Logan Grubb 10th 3-3
Brodie Strand 9th 1-0
Dawson Zutz 11th 1-6
Graduates:
Jacob Arends 38-7 2nd Section (116 Wins)
Trevor Dufault 24-16 5th Section (54 Wins)
Hunter Maclewiski 29-10 5th Section (54 Wins)
Daniel Wilson 4-3
PARK RAPIDS PANTHERS
Head Coach: Matt Clark
Enrollment: 371
Conference: Mid-State
8-14 Overall
Section Placers Winners/One State Qualifier/ One State Placer
Third Place: Crookston “Rod Olson” Invite: 145 Pts. 9 Placers
Sixth Place: Cass Lake “Big Bear” Invite: 117 Pts. 3 Placers
Fifth Place: BHV/PP “Knight Hawk” Invite: 105 Pts. 5 Placers
Eighth Place: TRF “Arm Forces/National Guard” Invite: 92 Pts. 6 Placers
The Panthers will have back three section place winners, including a state medal winner. They will also return five with experience from their 8-14 dual meet campaign. Look for the Panthers to bring up some of their younger wrestlers. They should make strides of improvement thru out the course of the season. Ashton Clark and Jack Hensel should be their key leaders thru out the season.
Returning Wrestlers:
Ashton Clark 12th 38-1 1st Sec./2nd State/AC
Jack Hensel 12th 25-18 4th Section
Lucas Kritzeck 8th 14-18
Eli Bessman 11th 10-17 5th Section
Kobe Burton 9th 10-17
Joe Klein 11th 9-28
Kian Scott 12th 7-14
Kaden Safratowich 11th 1-1
Graduates:
Cody Dravis 36-5 3rd Section (133-36 Career)
Landon Burlingame 26-16 4th Section (96-76 Career)
Zach Hocking 29-12 4th Section
Dwayne Johnson 34-8 3rd Section (41-16 Career)
Dawson Roth 6-15
FERGUS FALLS OTTERS
Head Coach: Adam Schlepp
Enrollment: 596
Conference: Central Lakes
3-17 Overall Duals 1-7 Central Lakes
Three Section Placers
Six Place: Benson “Braves Classic” 93 Pts. 5 Placers
Ninth Place: LPA “Terry Teiken” Invite: 53 Pts. 4 Placers
Ninth Place: WCA “Grant County Area” Invite: 36 Pts. 3 Placers
The Otters will have back three section place winners, including one state qualifier and a dozen with a wide range of experience. Look for the Otters to continue to improve over the course of the season. Kaden Hartwell, Dustin Portales and Cole Fronning should be their key leaders thru out the season.
Returning Wrestlers:
Kaden Hartwell 10th 31-13 4th Section/AC
Dustin Portales 11th 26-5 1st Section/AC
Cole Fronning 12th 13-19 6th Section
Justin Boyd 12th 13-16
Ethan Krause 10th 11-12
Delvin Roberts 8th 6-10
Jacob Widness 8th 5-12
Caden Olsen 10th 4-26
Lucas Oliphant 9th 4-17
Alex Hastings 12th 1-2
Jay Rodriguez 11th 1-2
Jonah Sorum 9th 1-3
Sam Sorum 9th 1-2
Lance Graff 8th 1-1
Joy Graff 8th 1-1
Graduates:
Eric Formo 5-10
Aaron Billings 2-5
Isaac Oliphant 3-23
Tyler McLemore 1-7
UNITED CLAY BECKER BADGERS
Head Coach: Wayne Otto
Enrollment:180 Lake Park/272 Hawley
Conference: Heart O’Lakes
9-13 Overall Duals
Four Section Place Winners/One State Qualifier/One Place Winner
Third Place: Fertile “Northwest” Invite: 131 Pts. 10 Placers
Fourth Place: LPA “Terry Teiken” Invite: 135.5 Pts. 9 Placers
Eighth Place: Crookston “Rod Olson” Invite: 66 Pts. 4 Placers
Eighth Place: BHV/PP “Knight Hawk” Invite: 85 Pts. 6 Placers
Fifth Place: Heart O’Lakes Conference: 85 Pts. 12 Placers
The Badgers will have back from their 9-13 dual meet campaign three section place winners and twelve with a great deal of experience. Look for the Badgers to challenge those dual marks from last season and for them to possible surprise someone during the course of the season. They should make steady improvement thru out the season, with leadership from Garrett Peterson, Sam Helgeson and Sanden O’Connell.
Returning Wrestlers:
Garrett Peterson 12th 32-15 3rd Section
Sam Helgeson 10th 20-20 6th Section
Sanden O’Connell 12th 19-21 6th Section
Hunter Magnusson 12th 13-27
Jacob Beaudine-Schlic11th 12-25
Nathan Sperr 11th 12-27
Joey Stuhaug 12th 11-12
T. J Hines 12th 11-22
Bailey Johnson 12th 10-22
Zach Cole 10th 10-16
Andrew Wetli 10th 10-10
Wyatt Dunham 9th 7-13
Landon Bergron 10th 5-18
Jack Mattson 12th 3-13
Xavier Strehlow 9th 2-6
Graduate:
Sam Wamre 37-6 1st Section/6th State/AC
SAUK CENTRE/MELROSE
Head Coach: Vaughn Glasener
Enrollment: 480 Melrose/ 304 Sauk Centre
Conference: West Central
4-19 Overall
Six Section Place Winners/Two State Qualifiers
Eighth Place: SCM Invite: 74 Pts. 8 Placers
Fourth Place: Paynesville “Bulldog” Invite: 136 Pts. 9 Placers
Tenth Place: NLS “Wildcat” Invite: 56 Pts. 4 Placers
The Coop have three section place winners, including one state qualifier and five with some experience back. They should continue to show improvement thru out the course season. Look for them to fill some weights with some younger wrestlers. Lazaro Garcia, Sam Sjogren and Karter Wensmann should be their key leaders.
Returning Wrestlers:
Lazaro Garcia 11th 30-10 2nd Section
Sam Sjogren 12th 15-7 4th Section
Karter Wensmann 11th 15-24 6th Section
Josh Brinkman 9th 10-17
Coy Sjogren 10th 10-18
Jacob Canfield 10th 3-16
Phil Polipnick 12th 3-10
Ben Millard 9th 2-25
Graduates:
Luke Glasener 26-10 1st Section (107 Wins)
Brayan Raya 29-12 5th Section (74 Wins)
Roberto Raya 11-7 injured (42 Wins)
Moses Romero 8-27
Danny Thomas 7-9 6th Section
Caleb Cheadle 7-14
—–
SECTION 8A BOYS HOCKEY POLL
The Section 8A Boy’s Hockey coaches
tend to believe it will be the Big Three again although they are not quite sure who the Big ONE will be! It could be Warroad with some very good young players, or maybe East Grand Forks who to many coaches are loaded including their ‘new coach’ or maybe it will be the defending champion? When people say, Thief River Falls lost almost everybody, their JV wasn’t that good and their Bantam’s weren’t winning, they ALWAYS add, coach Bergland will have them ready for the playoffs in February!!!
That’s the consensus again in a Section 8A Boy’s Hockey Poll conducted by KROX RADIO in Crookston. Warroad took six of the 10 coaches votes as the top dog in Section 8A with many voting for Warroad, but at the same time talking about how deep East Grand Forks appears to be and will be tough to beat! Will Crookston and Detroit Lakes climb another rung in the seeds and slip by the ‘top three’?
Five of the 10 teams will open up this weekend with the other five going the following week. You can find all the Section 8A Boy’s Hockey schedules by going to https://kroxam.com/section_8a_boyhockey2018-19.htm
All of the 10 Section coaches responded to the poll:
1. Warroad (6) 13
2. East Grand Forks (3) 15
3. Thief River Falls (1) 24
4. Crookston 32
5. Detroit Lakes 41
6. Kittson County Central 55
7. Lake of the Woods 58
8. Park Rapids 63
9. Red Lake Falls 68
10. Bagley-Fosston 81
Warroad
The Warriors lost their first six games to start the season last year and ended up 14-6-1 the rest of the way, losing a 6-4 shootout to Thief River Falls in a Section semi-final. Warroad returns two All-Section 8A performers as sophomores last year, Grant Slukynsky (19g-21a) and line mate Owen Meeker (10g-28a). They do lose a couple from their second unit that were expected back with Cameron Skappel (not in school) and Jaron Moyer, a two year starter who could miss the season because of a football injury. Add graduation which claimed half their roster and they do have some spots to fill up front and also defensively after losing All-Section Max Marvin. Hunter Pelland (1g-6a) and Gage Wilmer (0g-7a) return on the backside. Max Gausen seen seven varsity games last year in goal (1.49ga-92%). The Warriors are not deep with a number lacking varsity experience, but when has that stopped them? Jay Hardwick is in his seventh year coaching his alma mater and at some time this season will pick up his 100th win as a head coach as he’s starting the season with 90 in Hockey Town U.S.A.
East Grand Forks
Scott Koberinskicoached East Grand Forks for the past three seasons to a record of 48-32-6. His Green Wave teams played in the Section 8A championship all three years, won it two years ago and lost the consolation championship in the State Tournament! After Coach Koberinski sat down with his Activities Director, which happens to be Scott Koberinski, they decided that being Activities Director and coaching a winter sport put a lot on his plate, so Coach Koberinski handed in his resignation as head boy’s hockey coach to Activities Director Koberinski. A.D. Koberinski didn’t have to go too far to find his hockey replacement! Enter Tyler Palmiscno! Coach Palmiscno was the head coach previous to Koberinski and Palmiscno retired after winning back to back Minnesota State Class A State Tournaments!!! In other words, Koberinski kept the coaching seat warm for Coach Palmiscno and handed off what many would term, a loaded Green Wave team!
All Section 8A center Carter Beck (12g-12a), All Section 8A center Tanner Mack (6g9a) will lead up front as all three centers are back along with Landon Parker, who as a freshman last year, played only 11 games before he was sidelined the rest of the year with an injury and the ‘phenom’ had 7g-5a in that time. Defensively, only two of the six blue liners return led by big Luke Vonesh (7g-9a) and Josh Nelson (0g-4a) who are two of the better ones in the Section. Goalie Tucker Brown was the starting goalie that played in all the Green Wave games two years ago and led them to State. He lost his job last year to transfer Carter Krier, did play in seven games and now is back and is ready to try and get the Green Wave back to State again with what appears to be a very deep East Grand Forks team!
Thief River Falls
The Prowlers sported the best line in Section 8A last year, one of the top defensemen and an All-Section goalie. They used that talent to win the Section 8A Tournament and go on to take the Consolation Championship at the State Class A Tournament! Thief River Falls lost 47 goals and 43 assists from two on that top line, Aaron Myers and Brady Anderson. Tucker Skime (8g-31a) is the lone holdout back after a terrific sophomore season and he’s back along with three other forwards off the top three lines that include Kaleb Flaagen (2g-5a) and Ethan Janisch (2g-2a). So returning scoring will be an early question mark for Thief River Falls and head coach Tim Bergland in his 12th season as the Prowlers head coach and his alma mater. Defense is what the Prowlers will rely on to start the season with all four returning defensemen back including All-Section 8A Evan Bushy (11g-22a). Bushy has verbally committed to St. Cloud State, where his brother Brendan is a freshman. They lost All-Section 8A goalie for the past two seasons, Nick Corneliusen, to graduation and the youngster that wins the job this season will have no varsity experience. So you lose more than half your scoring and an All-Star goalie, this is just where Coach Bergland exels!!
Crookston
What can Section 8A Coach of the Year Josh Hardy to for an encore? The third year coach led the Pirates to one of their best seasons in a number of years at 15-12 and a season where they beat the ‘Big Three’ (EGF, TRF, Warroad) once during the regular season. First, he’ll have to find a goalie to replace All-Section 8A Cade Salentine. Salentine, who was a red-shirt freshman for the University of North Dakota football team this year, played all 27 games last year with a 2.72 g.a. and 90 save percentage. Crookston had four players returning that scored in double digits last year, three of them return led by senior Eric Delorme (26g-18a), junior Ben Andringa (11g-11a) and senior Brock Heppner (10g-11a). Joey Doda was right there with eight goals. Defensively, the Pirates received a blow when two-year starter, junior Leyton Salentine, blew out his knee in football and is out for the hockey season! Two defensemen are back with a couple years varsity experience, seniors Logan Wardner (2g-7a) and Jake Anderson (0g-4a) plus Noah Kiel, a sophomore up from Bantams should step right in. Crookston is expected to score some goals with a good portion of that side back along with an eighth grader, Jack Doda, who scored like crazy through the park board system. Another Jack, Jack Ricord is the only goalie back that has any varsity experience and that would be a couple periods of varsity play. The senior along with some youngsters will battle that position out!
Detroit Lakes
The Lakers welcome back 11 seniors which certainly lends itself to experience with over half of your squad back. The Lakers did lose three of their top four scorers, but will be led up front by All-Section 8A forward and leading scorer from last season, Trey Seebold (10g-17a) who is now a senior. Jackson Carlblom (10g-10a) and Will Green (12g-7a) will look to add to their totals from last year. Detroit Lakes coach Todd Dwyer is in his fifth season as head coach and he has three defensemen back including Reed Benson (1g-10a), Jackson Fields (6g-13). Blake Itzen played in 17 games as goalie last year (3.11ga) and he will battle last year’s Bantam A goalie, Jack Hines, who led his team to 24 wins last year. Speaking of Bantams, sophomore Jack Green will lead a group looking for varsity spots.
Kittson County Central
Robert Carr is in his eighth year as head coach for Kittson County Central and sitting on 73 career wins as head coach. Will the Bearcats be able to build on those wins for the coach? They do have eight of their nine back at the forward position and three of their four defensemen back, but they are still young! With a good mixture of veterans with youngsters ready to hit varsity, they will be led by Calvin Hanson who led the Bearcats in scoring as a freshman (10g-12a) and Trent Peterson (8g-5a). Josh Rynning (8g-10a) is a solid senior defenseman along with Hayden Henning (5g-8a as a freshman). Opposing coaches are probably saying, ‘finally’ Ben Sugden graduated! Wyatt Olsonawski is heir apparent playing a period of varsity hockey last year as a freshman. How the newcomers will mix with the veterans will go a long ways to how the Bearcats will go.
Lake of the Woods
The Bears have a new head coach. Brent Olson, a 2004 graduate of Lake of the Woods, where he was an excellent player who led Lake of the Woods to a 23-4-1 season, losing in overtime to Warroad in Section championship. Coach Olson went on to play four years at the Air Force Academy!! Lake of the Woods has only six returning off last year’s squad with three top players electing not to go out this season including Kade Chapman (24g-20a)!! Totally, they lost 78% of their scoring from last season, but return seniors Jackson Arpin (15g-36a), McKale Risser (3g-8a) along with junior Blake Ferris (3g-3a). Gunner Ferrier (6g-6a) plays both defense and forward with Griffen Sonstegard (1g-2a) on the blue line. Goaltending will be new as All-Section goalie, Lemuel Carradice played 25 games last year with an outstanding 1.88 goals against with a saves percentage of 92%!. Aidan Tom did get in four games at goalie last year, won them all with a goals against under one and a lofty 95 saves percentage. Coach Olson will need the team playing together to compete and how can they overcome the lack of experience and channel the youthful energy!
Park Rapids
Panthers head coach Derek Ricke greeted 10 seniors back at his second year as head coach. They should be led by Carter Opheim (6g-10a
), Nolan Pederson (9g-2a) and Brent Pinoniemi (5g-4a) for scoring to start the season. They do have three of their four defensemen back including Tom Melvin (5g-1a). Coach Ricke will be searching for a goalie as four year starter, Austin Jerger has graduated. Senior Brendan Kruchowski seen action in four games last year and they are hoping he can step in and not miss a beat in goal. The Panthers lost a couple starters who both moved to Bemidji, Bjorn Jorgenson (10g-8a) and Wyatt Halvorson (8g-8a) moved to Bemidji.
Red Lake Falls
Trevor Page graduated from Red Lake Falls Layfayette High School and for a decade now has been coaching his alma mater. For those 10 years he has battled numbers being the smallest school in the State of Minnesota that is playing hockey. (Kittson County Central is the second smallest by about 10 students when you add in the co-ops for the two teams). The Eagles lost only two off last year’s squad to graduation and hoping the experience will ramp up their scoring from 39 goals last year in 25 games! Fred Landman (16g-6a) had almost half their goals as a sophomore and Hunter Schmitz (9g-3a) is another veteran who should be counted on in his senior year. Defensively, Hunter Pahlen (1g-3a) and Logan Klipping (3g-1a) are returning on the blue line in front of junior goalie Brenden Larson who has played every minute in goal the last two seasons after season some action as an eighth grader! Red Lake Falls youth programs have been having some success and over the next few years will be feeding the Eagles high school program including a few moving up from Bantams this year in sophomores Zac Kennett and Nathan Huot plus Andrew Johnson has moved up to give Larson competition in goal. Coach Page likes the hard work his team is putting in and the great leaders he has on and off the ice!
Bagley-Fosston
The Flyers lost three off last year’s team and return the only player who scored in double digits last season, Griffin Brovold (22g-7a) who is now a senior. Brovold leads the way with what should be a very good first unit for Bagley-Fosston’s second year head coach Alex Jesness. Tanner Levin (5g-6a) will complement Brovold up front. Defensively, Bagley-Fosston has Jacy Benson (4g-2a) and Parker Gray (2g-3a) patrolling the back side again. Jakob Dukek played in goal for 17 games last year as an eighth grader and will battle Brycen Olson who along with four others have moved up from the youth program. These youngsters will see a lot of minutes for a young Flyer team that doesn’t have a lot of depth, so they have to stay healthy.
All-Section 8A players returning
Forward
Grant Slukynsky – Warroad
Eric Delorme – Crookston
Carter Beck – East Grand Forks
Trey Seebold – Detroit Lakes
Owen Meeker – Warroad
Tanner Mack – East Grand Forks
Defense
Evan Bushy – Thief River Falls
Goalies
None
Former Section 8A players still playing hockey (that we know of)
NHL
Brock Nelson – Warroad (New York Islanders)
T. J. Oshie – Warroad (Washington)
Tucker Poolman – East Grand Forks (Winnipeg)
Alex Lyon – Lake of the Woods (Philadelphia)
AHL (Heart Beat Away)
Paul Bittner – Crookston (Cleveland)
Zane McIntyre – Thief River Falls (Providence) (has played for Boston Bruins)
ECHL
Gage Ausmus – East Grand Forks (Utah)
WHL
Jared Bethune – Warroad (Prince George)
Division I College
Ethan Johnson – Thief River Falls (Mercyhurst)
Taylor Brierley – East Grand Forks (Union)
Kobe Roth – Warroad (Minnesota-Duluth)
Colton Poolman – East Grand Forks (North Dakota)
Dixon Bowen – East Grand Forks (North Dakota)
Luke Jaycox – Warroad (St. Cloud State)
Brendan Bushy – Thief River Falls (St. Cloud State)
Grant Loven – East Grand Forks (Northern Michigan)
Canadian College
Jared Bethune – Warroad (Queens University in Kingston, Ontario)
Division III College
Michael Johnson – Thief River Falls (Concordia College-Moorhead)
Beau Wilmer – Warroad (Concordia College-Moorhead)
Eddie Eades – East Grand Forks (Concordia College-Moorhead)
Luke Krause – Lake of the Woods (Concordia College-Moorhead
Brady Heppner – Crookston (St. John’s)
Jon Richards – Detroit Lakes (Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
Ryan Bittner – Crookston (Wisconsin-Stevens Point)
Junior Leagues
Casey Kallock – East Grand Forks (Minot-NAHL)
Aaron Myers – Thief River Falls (Minnesota Wilderness-NAHL)
Nathan Poolman – Lake of the Woods (Minnesota Wilderness-NAHL)
Coby Stauss – East Grand Forks (Winnipeg Blues-Manitoba JHL)
Parker Orchard – Warroad (Cape Cod – NA3HL)
Braden Shea – East Grand Forks (Dryden-Manitoba Junior)
Kip Knutson – Warroad (Minnesota Iron Rangers-SIJHL)
Nick Corneliusen – Thief River Falls (Minnesota Iron Rangers-SIJHL)
Carter Pelland – Warroad (Thief River Falls Norskies – SIJHL)
Nolen Bushee – Red Lake Falls (Thief River Falls Norskies – SIJHL)
Bailey Schmitz – Red Lake Falls (Thief River Falls Norskies – SIJHL)
Grand Boldt – Detroit Lakes (Estevan – Saskatchewan Junior Hockey)
—-
SECTION 8A GIRL’S HOCKEY COACHES POLL
- Warroad – 5 (5)
2. Thief River Falls – 10 (1)
3. East Grand Forks – 12
4. Detroit Lakes – 21
5. Park Rapids – 23
6. Crookston – 24
Warroad – Coach David “Izzy” Marvin (12th Season)
The Warriors enter the 2018-19 season as the clear favorites in Section 8A and one of the top teams in the state. Last year, Warroad won the Section 8A Championship 4- 1 over East Grand Forks in Warroad. Warroad entered last year’s State Tournament as the top seed and dispatched New Ulm 5-0 in the quarterfinals before beating Alexandria 7-1 in the semifinals. The Warriors season ended in heart-breaking fashion with a 3-2 loss against Breck in the State championship game as Warroad ended the year 24-4-2. It’s not as if this program needs extra-motivation when its already established a state championship or bust culture, but I’m sure the returning players are keen to rectify how last season ended. Warroad does have to replace All-State forward Madison Oelkers who now plays NCAA Division I hockey at Minnesota State where she already has 4 points through 10 games as a true freshman.
Top returners – senior goaltender Quinn Kuntz (15-2-0, 0.77 GAA, .960 save %); sophomore forward Genevieve Hendrickson (16-54-70); junior forward Hannah Corneliusen (42-20-62); sophomore forward Abbey Hardwick (11-26-37); junior forward Marlie Johnston (11-24-35); junior forward Julianna Teske (10-18-28); senior forward McKenzie Oelkers (9-13-22); senior defenseman Kaitlyn Koltowski (Wisconsin commit, 15-22-38); sophomore defenseman Karlie Meeker (5-23-28)
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Marvin) – “We have a lot of depth. We should be pretty quick. Lots of playoff experience”
Thief River Falls – Coach Brett Johnson (2nd Season)
The Prowlers earned the #2 seed and a first-round bye in last season’s Section 8A Tournament before falling to the East Grand Forks Green Wave 5-2 in the semifinals wrapping up TRF’s season with a 17-7-2 record. Thief River Falls does have to replace All-State defender Tessa Jorde, who is now playing NCAA Division III hockey at Wisconsin Superior.
Top returners – Sophomore goaltender Gabriella Steele (9-3-1); Senior goaltender Faith Porter (8-3-1); All-State honorable mention junior defenseman Khloe Lund (7-17-24); All-State honorable mention, and the team’s top point-getter in each of the past two years, Shelby Breiland (25-17-42)
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Johnson) – “Thief River Falls will be strong defensively returning both starting goaltenders from last season (Gabriella Steele, So. and Faith Porter, Sr.) We will also return the majority of our D core led by Junior Khloe Lund (JR). (Katie Nelson, Lexi Huot, and Haylie Rogalla). On the offensive side, the Prowlers return back to back season point leader Shelby Breiland (So.) and Senior Hannah Magnusson (Sr.) to lead the offense.”
East Grand Forks – Coach Brian Larson (1st Season)
The East Grand Forks Green Wave finished last year as the Section 8A runners-up after topping Crookston 6-1 in the tournament quarterfinals and upsetting second-seeded Thief River Falls 5-2, before falling to eventual State runner-up Warroad 4-1 in Warroad ending the year with an 18-9-1 record. The Green Wave graduated All-State goaltender McKenzie Whalen, who is now playing for NCAA Division III Wisconsin-Superior, along with all-state forward Cynthia Loven, who scored a team-high 31 goals last season.
Top returners – senior forward Madison McDonald (13-17-30); junior forward Kylie Stauss (8-13-21);freshman defenseman Cassidy Mack (4-7-11); senior defenseman Maddison Lubinksi (3-6-9); senior goaltender Megan Birkholz (4-0-0, 0.75 GAA, .951 save %)
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Larson) – “We will be trying to fit the new girls in with the returners to make a competitive team. we lost 11 seniors off last year’s team so it’s going to take some time for the new girls to adjust but once they do I think will be fine. we will be a team that works hard each game we will need to play well defensively and try to get as much scoring as we can with the team we have.”
Detroit Lakes – Coach Scott Piepkorn (1st Season)
The Lakers fell at home in the first round of the Section 8A Tournament last season against Park Rapids 5-4 finishing the year with an 8-17-0 record.
Top returners – senior forward Karrigan Hallisey (11-10-21); junior forward Abby King (10-7-17); junior forward Madyson Melgard (7-6-13); senior defenseman Payton Carlblom (5-12-17)
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Piepkorn) – “Looking at senior leadership to improve on last year’s effort, and to make a run in the very strong section 8A.”
Park Rapids – Coach Rachel Landquist (1st Season)
The Panthers upset Detroit Lakes 5-4 in the first round of last year’s Section 8A Tournament before losing 15-0 to Warroad in the semifinals at Warroad. Park Rapids was 4-22-0 last season.
Top returners – Senior forward Alexa Kennedy (8-4-12); Senior goaltender Kylee Pachel
Season preview– (Provided by Athletic Director Jeremy Nordick) – “The Panthers are led by 4 Seniors that have had plenty of experience over the years. After those 4 Seniors, they are very young. With a mixture of 7/8th graders and two Sophomores. I think it will take some time for them to gel under new Head Coach Rachel Landquist, but the girls are working very hard. I believe they will continue to improve throughout the year and surprise some teams at the end.”
Crookston – Coach Tim Moe (1st Season returning as HC, 6th season total)
The Pirates graduated just one senior from last year’s team, but Brelee Jobe leaves some big skates to fill in net after facing 1,069 shots last season as Crookston’s goaltender. The Pirates went (5-21-0) last season but show great improvement over the year. After opening last season with a 10-0 loss at East Grand Forks, Crookston dropped their first-round game in the Section 8A tournament at East Grand Forks just 6-1 and will look to build off the growth of their young nucleus that returns for 2018-19.
Top returners – Sophomores Catherine Tiedemann (14-10-24) and Mackenze Epema (9-12-21)
Season preview– (Provided by Coach Moe) – “Crookston should improve on their 5-21 record from last year. Only losing our goalie to graduation and returning everyone else including leading scorers Catherine Tiedemann 14-10-24, and Mackenze Epema 9-12-21. Along with a plethora of now 9th graders who got a lot of experience last year and are now a year older and stronger. Adding in 4 girls from Mayville, ND coming off an outstanding Volleyball season hopefully bringing more of a winning mentality with them. Two of them are returning Juniors Breck Fugleberg, and Taylor Garrett who will join Catherine Tiedemann and Mackenze Epema in being great leaders on the team and Sophomores coming over for the first time Center Nora Peterson and Goalie Grace Koshney who we are hoping for great things from them.”
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SECTION 8A WRESTLING PREVIEW
The preview is put together by Roger Mischke of Mat Rats-
MAT RATS SECTION 8A PREVIEW 2018-2019
FAVORITES: FRAZEE HORNETS and the BADGER/GREENBUSHMIDDLE RIVER GATORS
DARK HORSES: FOSSTON-BAGLEY BROWLERS and the UNITED NORTH CENTRAL WARRIORS
FRAZEE HORNETS
Head Coach: Clay Nagel
Enrollment: 208
Conference: Heart O’Lakes
24-8 Overall
Section 8 Champions
Class A State Runner Ups
14 Section Placers/10 Section Placers/Four State Placers
First Place: Wahpeton “Dan Unruh” Invite: 313 Pts. 14 Placers
First Place: Brainerd “Paul Bunyan” Invite: 202 Pts. 12 Placers
Second Place: Bemidji “Rick Lee” Duals: 5-1
Second Place: Heart O’Lakes Conference: 218 Pts. 14 Placers
The Hornets of Frazee have back from 24-8 dual meet campaign and Class A runner up honors, six section place winners, including four state qualifiers, of which won state honors. They will also return six with a wide range experience. They should make a challenge to defend their section honors. Luke Tweeton (39-10 @ 220) earned fourth place state honors, Kaden Hiemenz (34-15 @ 132), Brett Graham (29-10 @ 182) and Gabe Drewes (29-15 @ 195) were state qualifiers. Look for them to be their key leaders thru out the season. They did graduate eight section place winners, including six state qualifiers, three of which earned state honors
Returning Wrestlers:
Luke Tweeton 11th 39-10 2nd Sec./4th State/AC
Kaden Hiemenz 10th 34-15 1st Section/AC
Brett Graham 11th 29-10 1st Section/AC
Gabe Drewes 12th 29-15 2nd Section/AC
Anthony Malikwoski 12th 29-1
Ricky Roforth 12th 18-28 6th Section
Christian Carlson 10th 14-27 5th Section
Lucas Valstad 11th 12-14
Mason Newling 11th 7-11
Howard Solem 10th 4-2
Coleton Borah 11th 6-4
Brock Barlund 10th 5-2
Jake Nagel 8th 3-8
Graduates:
Tanner Schermerhorn 45-6 1st Sec./4th State/AC (159-22 Career)
Mitchael Miller 46-4 1st Sec./5th State/AC (107-31 Career
Tanner Eischens 38-8 1st Section/AC (144-39 Career)
Landon Byer 33-14 2nd Section/AC (79-29 Career)
Hudson Hiemenz 31-15 2nd Section/AC (60-41 Career)
Tanner Tappe 28-6 1st Sec./2nd State (77-40 Career)
Logan Wacker 15-18 4th Section (48-50 Career)
Carter Shipman 24-21 3rd Section (25-21 Career)
GREENBUSH/BADGER/MIDDLE RIVER GATORS
Head Coach: Todd Bergeron
Enrollment: 116 Greenbush/Middle River/61 Badger
Conference: Independent
16-9 Overall Duals
Section 8A Runner Ups
Eleven Section Placers/Seven State Qualifiers/Two State Placers
Third Place: Cass Lake “Big Bear” Invite” 135.5 Pts 6 Placers
First Place: Larimore, ND Invite: 202.5 Pts. 10 Placers
Third Place: WDC “Dennis Kaatz” Invite: 165.5 Pts. 8 Placers
Second Place TRF “US Army, Mn National Guard: 149 Pts. 9 Placers
The Gators of Badger/Greenbush-Middle River should make a strong challenge for section honors. They have back from their 16-9 dual meet campaign, nine section place winners, including six state qualifiers, two earned medals and seven with experience. They will have eight back with 20 wins plus, this should give them one of the better balanced teams in the state. Owen Novacek (44-5 @ 138) earned fourth place honors, Dominik Vacura (30-7 @ 220) earned sixth place honors, Tony Olson (24-17 @ 106) Joe Dezelar (24-17) and Caleb Vacura (10-16) were state qualifiers. Andy Dostal (31-13), Avery Augustson (23-16, Brandon Pries (21-16) should be their key leader thru out the season
Returning Wrestlers:
Owen Novacek 12th 44-5 2nd Sec./4th State
Dominik Vacura 10th 30-7 1st Sec./6th State
Andy Dostal 11th 31-13 3rd Section
Zach Evans 11th 29-13 2nd Section
Joe Deselar 11th 24-17 1st Section
Tony Olson 10th 24-17 2nd Section
Avery Augustson 12th 23-16 3rd Section
Brandon Pries 12th 21-16
Garrett Underberg 10th 13-14 Injured
Caleb Vacura 9th 10-16 2nd Section
Jacob Bergsnev 11th 6-19
Brogan Beito 8th 4-8
Colton Gust 11th 3-2
Ethan Waage 9th 3-5 5th Section
Derrick Corneluisen 12th 2-6
Dawson Beito 10th 1-1
Graduates:
Bryce Bergeron 32-12 1st Section (109-56 Career)
Tyler Isane 27-12 Injured (56-52 Career)
Austin Maustad 8-18 5th Section
FOSSTON-BAGLEY PROWLERS
Head Coach: Pat Wolfe
Enrollment: 177 Fosston/247 Bagley
Conference: North Star
17-7 Overall Duals 3-2 North Star
Final Four Section 8A
Twelve Section Placers/Three State Qualifiers/One State Placer
First Place: LPA “Terry Teiken” Invite: 205.5 Pts. 13 Placers
Fourth Place: FB “Alfred Olson Memorial” Invite: 148 Pts. 9 Placers
First Place: Mayville Portland “Patriot” Duals 3-0
Third Place: WHAN “Wolf Pack” Invite: 145 Pts. 8 Placers
The Brawlers should make a strong challenge not only for a top four spot in this dual meet campaign, but possibly for section honors. They have back from their 17-7 dual meet campaign, eight section place winners, including two state qualifiers and eight with a wide range of experience. Carter Sorenson (33-9 @ 126), Teigen Hextell (23-15 @ 170), Jacob Lomen (33-10), Henry Burrack (26-10) and Christian Schmidt (25-19) should be their key leaders thru out the season. Look for this young team to make great strides of improvement over the course of the season. They did graduate five including four section place winners, of which one was a state qualifier and he earned state honors.
Returning Wrestlers:
Carter Sorenson 10th 33-9 2nd Section/AC
Jacob Lomen 11th 33-10 3rd Section/AC
Henry Burrack 11th 26-10 3rd Section/AC
Christian Schmidt 12th 25-19 5th Section
Teigen Hextell 12th 23-15 2nd Section/AC
Alex Munter 11th 17-13 4th Section
Dane Schoenborn 10th 11-13
Keegan Senger 9th 11-25
Tyler Maruska 12th 6-11
Kaden Kappedal 12th 6-23 5th Section
Evan Chalich 10th 6-9 6th Section
Noah Hanson 12th 3-7
Kaden Sanford 8th 3-5
Gabe Berry 12th 2-1
Camden Daniel 11th 1-3
Graduates:
Jake Ubert 38-5 1st Sec./4th State/AC (148 Wins School)
Brayden Sorenson 29-17 3rd Section/AC (98 Wins)
Alex Wolfe 30-16 5th Section
Cole Olson 26-17 3rd Section/AC (86 Wins)
Nick Anderson 10-5
UNITED NORTH CENTRAL WARRIORS
Head Coach: Jacob Oyster
Enrollment: 189 Menagha/120 Sebeka
Conference: Park Region
7-15 Overall 3-2 Park Region
Eight Section Placers/One State Qualifiers
First Place: Crookston “Rod Olson” Invite;151 Pts. 11 Placers
Sixth Place: WDC “Dennis Kaatz Memorial” Invite: 113 Pts 7 Placers
Seven Place: Park Region Conference: 81 PTs. 7 Placers
Twenty-Third Cass Lake “Big Bear” Invite: 38 Pts. 3 Placers
Sixteenth Place: Bemidji “Rick Lee” Duals:
The Warriors should make a challenge for a top four spot in this dual meet campaign. They have back from their 7-15 dual meet campaign, seven section place winners and nine with a wide range of experience. Jared Seibert (32-9), Isaac Tellers (19-12) and Ethan Hendrickson (20-9) should be their key leaders thru out the season. They did graduate three last spring, including one state qualifier.
Returning Wrestlers:
Jared Seibert 12th 32-9 3rd Section/AC
Ethan Hendrickson 9th 20-9 3rd Section
Isaac Tellers 12th 19-12 3rd Section
Gator Bettin 12th 17-20
Eion Ness 9th 16-19
Brock Kako 12th 13-23 4th Section
Hank Tellers 8th 12-15
Dakota Meech 10th 12-25 5th Section
Ethan Trout 11th 11-23 5th Section
Torrey Carlson 9th 6-19
Hunter Skaro 10th 2-5
Tucker Holmer 11th 3-6
Mason Bradley 12th 2-3
Gabe Hendrickson 8th 2-2
Dominick Fuller 10th 1-2
Dylan Rasmussan 9th 1-14
Graduates:
Toby Hintzman 33-4 1st Section/AC (116-74 Career)
Bridger Bettin 12-8
Cade LaCoe 5-9 (43-59 Career)
CROOKSTON PIRATES
Head Coach: Wes Hanson
Enrollment: 286
Conference: North Star
12-5 Overall Duals
Ten Section Placers/Three State Qualifiers/One State Placer
Fifth Place: Wahpeton “Dan Unruh” Invite” 110 Pts. 7 Placers
Second Place: Crookston “Rod Olson” Invite: 150 Pts. 9 Placers
First Place: Mahmoman “Cougar” Duals
Fifth Place Fertile “Northwest” Invite: 105 Pts. 8 Placers
Third Place: Grand Rapids “Skip Nalan” Invite: 163.5 Pts. 9 Placers
Tenth Place: TRF “Arm Forces/National Guard” Invite:
The Pirates have back from their 12-5 season, five section place winners, including two state qualifiers, including a place winner and five with experience. Lukas Meier (36-9 @ 145) earned fifth place state honors and Zach Brown (37-6 @ 106) a state qualifier. They did graduate six last spring, including five section place winners, one was a state qualifier.
Returning Wrestlers:
Zach Brown 10th 37-6 1st Section/AC
Lukas Meier 12th 36-9 2nd Sec./5th State/AC
Damian Hodgson 12th 26-13 3rd Section/AC
Cameron Weiland 10th 23-16 4th Section
Ethan Boll 8th 21-12
Nolan Dans 10th 18-24 6th Section
Cameron Hulst 11th 14-13
Braxton Volker 8th 6-18
Ethan Bowman 8th 3-2
Andrew Macgregor 10th 1-4
Graduates:
Colton Weiland 28-8 1st Section/AC (145-68 Career)
Jake Wagner 28-17 3rd Section/AC (67-59 Career)
Luke Trandem 22-24 4th Section
Collin Leckie 11-20 6th Section
Luis Argueta 7-14 6th Section
Jake Davidson 3-11
ROSEAU RAMS
Head Coach: Aaron Rose
Enrollment: 305
Conference: North Star
Dual Meet Records Unknown
Fifth Place: FB “Alfred Olson Memorial” Invite: 110 Pts. 7 Placers
Fifth Place: Crookston “Rodd Olson” Invite: 125.5 Pts. 8 Placers
Seventh Place: Central Cass “Letterman” Invite: 135.5 Pts. 7 Placers
Seventh Place: TRF “Army Forces/National Guard” Invite: 97.5 Pts 5 Placers
Sixth Place: Fertile “Northwest” Invite: 94 Pts. 8 Placers
The Rams have back seven section place winners, including a state qualifier, that earned state honors and four with experience. Chandler Mooney (43-3 @ 145) earned third place honors and Ben Olson (30-8), Race Knochenmus (24-12), Dale Grindahl (25-14), Brodie Wensloff (26-18) and Sawyer Klatt (21-11) should be their key leaders
Returning Wrestlers:
Chandler Mooney 12th 43-3 1st Sec./3rd State
Ben Olson 10th 30-8
Brodie Wensloff 12th 26-18 4th Section
Dale Grindahl 12th 25-14 4th Section
Race Knochennus 10th 24-12 4th Section
Sawyer Klatt 11th 21-11 5th Section
Conner Eidsmoe 10th 16-17
Owen Gross 12th 7-17 6th Section
Kyle Bliss 12th 2-15
Brutus Grindahl 11th 1-7 6th Section
Bodee Hovda 8th 1-2
Graduates:
Riley Eidsmoe 15-8 2nd Section (115-63 Career)
Hunter Ziska 9-20 4th Section
Owen Gross 5-14
FERTILE/BELTRAMI FALCONS
Head Coach: Chad Hitchen
Enrollment: 124
Conference: North Star
5-10 Overall Duals
Six Section Placers/One State Qualifier
Eight Place: Fertile “Northwest” Invite: 61 Pts. 5 Placers
Sixth Place: FB “Alfred Olson Memorial” Invite: 62 Pts. 4 Placers
Sixth Place: Barnesville “Trojans” Invite: 83 Pts. 6 Placers
Sixth Place: Larimore, ND Invite: 72 Pts. 4 Placers
The Falcons will have back four section place winners, including one state qualifier and twelve with a wide range of experience. This young team should continue to make strides of improvement thru out the course of the season. Look for them to improve on their dual meet numbers from last season. Hunter Hitchen, Daunte Yost and Alex Smith should be their key leaders thru out the season.
Returning Wresters:
Hunter Hitchen 11th 21-16 2nd Section
Daunte Yost 10th 22-14 4th Section
Alex Smith 12th 18-9
Levi Qualley 9th 11-14 6th Section
Damian Sudvangen 11th 11-20 5th Section
Seth Lavalier 9th 4-4
Gabe Horgeshimer 11th 4-13
Izaah Bennefeld 11th 4-6
Hunter Bjerk 11th 3-2
Justin Boit 12th 4-19
Jude Olson 9th 2-8
Wesley Romberg 8th 3-2
Ivan Nephew 11th 3-4
Alex Haas 8th 2-1
Micah Tollefson 11th 3-0
Jasper Olson 11th 3-0
Graduates:
Ross Hamre 20-16 4th Section
RED LAKE COUNTY CENTRAL MUSTANGS
Head Coach: Kyle Dudycha
Enrollment: 87
Conference: North Star
Dual Meet Records Unknown
Ninth Place: FB “Alfred Olson Memorial” Invite: 48 Pts. 5 Placers
Eleventh Place: Crookston “Rod Olson” Invite: 43 Pts. 5 Placers
Ninth Place: Fertile “Northwest” Invite: 46 Pts. 4 Placers
Returning Wrestlers:
Damon Ferguson 8th 17-9 4th Section
Tristyn Ferguson 10th 13-13 4th Section
George Duden 10th 12-17 5th Section
Paul DeHate 9th 8-20
Gunnar Sundeen 8th 2-15
Oscar Duden 8th 1-15
Graduates:
Nick Pahlen 12-5 3rd Section
Bryce Bergerson 1-14
MAHNOMEN-WAUBUN COUGERS
Head Coach: John Short
Enrollment: 113 Mahnomen/108 Waubun
Conference: Independent
Dual Meet Records Unknown
Seventh Place: LPA “Terry Teiken” Invite: 72 Pts. 6 Placer
Tent Place: Crookston “Rod Olson” Invite: 44 Pts. 6 Placers
Returning Wrestlers:
Adam Syverson 12th 23-17 4th Section
Chase Dorman 12th 18-19 4th Section
Garret Eiynck 10th 15-20 5th Section
Will Olson 9th 13-24 6th Section
Kris Cukla 8th 12-17 6th Section
Shae Yates 11th 6-17
Blake Gerey 9th 5-19
Graduates:
Nick Podlak 26-15 2nd Section
Sam Olson 25-12 3rd Section
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Baseball team will host a hitting/defensive camp ain Crookston on February 10 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. for grades 9-12. The hitting camp will cover all aspects of becoming a fundamentally sound offensive player. The instructional camp will break down each individual camper from the physical to mental side of hitting. Barrel control, bat path and bat speed will be emphasized. Cost is $75 for the individual camp. The Golden Eagles are also holding a pitching/catching camp on the Minnesota Crookston campus February 10 from 1-3:30 p.m. The pitching and catching camp will include instruction from MLB Draft Pick Zach Seipel, who pitches in the Atlanta Braves organization. Seipel is a former Minnesota Crookston student-athlete. An emphasis will be placed on lower-half development and generating pitching velocity. The cost of the camp is $75 or $125 to do both the pitching and hitting camps.
Lastly, UMC Baseball is offering a kid’s camp February 18, which is President’s Day, for grades K-5 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on the University of Minnesota Crookston campus. The kid’s camp will center around fundamentals of baseball and fun. Skills include hitting, throwing and fielding. All activities will be broken down by age and skill level. The cost of the camp is $30. The camp
The camps will be coached by Head Coach Steve Gust, assistant coaches Taylor Steen and Colton Haight, along with Seipel, reining NSIC Player of the Year Reed Hjelle, along with other Minnesota Crookston players. To register for the camps visit https://baseball.umcsportscamps.com/index.cfm. If you have any questions contact Coach Gust at sjgust@umn.edu or Coach Steen at tsteen@umn.edu.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program will have a jam-packed schedule with JO volleyball tournaments and camps coming up in early 2019.
The Golden Eagles will host a camp for all skill levels for boys and girls grades 12 and under on Sunday’s, January 20, February 3, February 10 and March 3. The camps will run 1-3:30 p.m. each day with check-in at 12:30 p.m. All camps will be held at Lysaker Gymnasium. Campers should wear athletic gear, knee pads, and bring their own water. Upon registering for the camp, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from Assistant Coach Anna Morgan. The price for the camps is $35 for one camp, $65 for two camps, $95 for three camps, and $125 for all four camps. The participants will get the opportunity to learn key volleyball skills from Head Coach Sarah Rauen, Morgan, and the Golden Eagle volleyball student-athletes. You can sign up by completing the attached form
by clicking here and sending it back with payment to 2900 University Ave., Attn: Anna Morgan, Crookston, MN 56716. Checks can be made payable to Minnesota Crookston VB.
In addition, UMC is hosting four JO volleyball tournaments in 2019 on Saturday, March 30; Sunday, March 31; Sunday, April 7; and Sunday, April 14.
March 30 will be for 12-and-under teams
March 31 will be for 16-and-under squads.
April 7 will be for 14-and-under teams.
April 14 will be for 18-and-under squads.
The registration cost for a team is $105 for everyone except for 12-and-under teams, who will pay $80. Teams are responsible for all officiating duties. Following pool play, all teams will go into the playoffs. Pool play will begin at 8 a.m. More information will be provided the week of the event. All games will be played at the UMC Sports Center. The checks can be made payable to UMC Volleyball and sent to 2900 University Ave., Attn: Anna Morgan, Crookston, MN 56716. If you have any questions on either event you can contact Anna Morgan at amorgan@crk.umn.edu
or by phone at 218-281-8410. For the JO Tournament registration form click here.
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A bunch of the area coaches who know John
Keller (Fosston) are going to host a basketball camp in Fosston on Saturday, December 8 for the Candy Keller Family. Candy is battling cancer and the treatment has been spendy so a bunch of area coaches are chipping in to help raise some money for John and Candy Keller and family.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8
9-10am grades 3-6
10:30-12noon grades 7-12
*Forms can be brought that day with the $20
Email Ryan Hanlon the names of student or students and their grades so we can have an idea of how many will be here.
Register: kellercamp18@gmail.com
**WE ASK ALL WHO ARE COMING TO WEAR THEIR SCHOOL/TEAM CLOTHES
Click here for the registration form/flyer
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JOKES (Do you have any good jokes – email them to chrisjfee@yahoo.com and I will put them in the feever
A father walks into a restaurant with his young son. He gives the young boy 3 nickels to play with to keep him occupied. Suddenly the boy starts choking, going blue in the face.
Thle father realizes the boy has swallowed the nickels and starts slapping him on the back. The boy coughs up 2 of the nickels, but keeps choking. Looking at his son, the father is panicking, shouting for help.
A well dressed, attractive, and serious looking woman, in a blue business suit is sitting at a coffee bar reading a newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee. At the sound of the commotion, she looks up, puts her coffee cup down neatly folds the newspaper and places it on the counter, gets up from her seat and makes her way, unhurried, across the restaurant.
Reaching the boy, the woman carefully drops his pants; takes hold of the boy’s testicles and starts to squeeze and twist, gently at first and then ever so firmly. After a few seconds the boy convulses violently and coughs up the last nickel, which the woman deftly catches in her free hand.
Releasing the boy’s testicles, the woman hands the nickel to the father and walks back to her seat in the coffee bar without saying a word.
As soon as he is sure that his son has suffered no ill effects, the father rushes over to the woman and starts thanking her saying, ‘I’ve never seen anybody do anything like that before, it was fantastic. Are you a doctor?
‘No,’ the woman replied. ‘Divorce attorney.’
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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
Paul Bittner,will start the season with the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket. Paul scored a goal and had three shots on goal in a 4-3 loss to Syracuse on Friday and he didn’t score or have a shot on goal in a 5-3 loss to Syracuse on Saturday. Paul had one shot on goal in a 5-1 victory over Lehigh Valley Wednesday night. Cleveland travels to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
Haley Roed, a Junior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead. Haley was on the second place 200 Freestyle Relay team with a time of 1:37.80, she was on the sixth place 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:53.35, she was on the eighth place 400 Yard medley Relay and she finished 10th in the 50 Yard Freestyle with a time of 25.53, 12th place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.24, and 18th place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:03.89 at the Dragon-Cobber Invite in West Fargo. The Dragons are off until they host the Dragon Invite on January 18-19, 2019.
Kate MacGregor, a Freshman swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead. Kate was on the first place 200 Yard Medley Relay team with a time of 1:48.68, second in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 59.46, she was on the third place 400 Yard Medley Relay with a time of 4:02.43, and she was on the fifth place 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:41.26, she finished 23rd in the 100 freestyle with a time of 57.39 at the Dragon-Cobber Invite in West Fargo. The Dragons are off until they host the Dragon Invite on January 18-19, 2019.
Ryan Bittner, is a Senior playing hockey for the #1 ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Ryan had two shots on goal in a 3-1 victory over UW-River Falls on Friday and he had an assist and two shots on goal along with four penalty minutes in a 4-0 victory over UW-Superior on Saturday. The Pointers will travel to Mequon, Wisconsin to play Concordia University on Friday and then head to Lake Forest College on Saturday and host Lawrence University on Tuesday, December 11 before they are off until January 1 at Lawrence.
Brady Heppner, is a Junior playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville. Brady had a goal and three shots on goal in a 3-3 tie with Saint Mary’s on Friday and he scored two goals on seven shots in a 4-3 overtime loss on Saturday. St. Johns will travel to St. Scholastica on Saturday before they are off until January 4 and 5 with a home and road matchup with Bethel.
Aaron Hollcraft, is a Senior playing basketball and baseball for the UMC Golden Eagles. Aaron didn’t play in a 96-95 overtime loss to Bemidji State Saturday. The Golden Eagles will host Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday and Northern State on Saturday.
Colton Weiland, is a freshman wrestling for #1 ranked St. Cloud State. Colton is listed at 149 pounds. Colton was injured and had surgery and will miss the season.
Bailey Folkers, is a freshman on the University of Wisconsin-Superior women’s basketball team. Bailey didn’t play in a 75-64 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Saturday and she didn’t play in a 74-52 victory over St. Scholastica on Wednesday. They will travel to Minnesota Morris on Saturday and host Northland on December 12
Brita Fagerlund, is a Sophomore on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team. The season will start January 12 at the Bison Classic in Fargo.
Ally Tiedemann, a Freshman playing tennis at University of Minnesota Duluth. The season starts in January.
Bobby Tiedemann, is a Junior on the St. Mary’s University Men’s Tennis team in Winona. St. Mary’s will host Martin Luther College on Friday, January 25, 2019.
Amanda Trandem, is a Sophomore on the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Softball team.
Ben Trostad, a Freshman playing golf at the University of Minnesota Crookston. UMC is off until the spring.
Ethan Magsam, a Freshman playing golf at the University of Minnesota Crookston. UMC is off until the spring.
Elise Tangquist, is a Sophomore golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Northwestern is done until the spring.
Isaac Westlake, a Junior playing golf for the Winona State Warriors.
Cade Salentine, is a redshirt Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota.
Marietta Geist, a Junior on the Carleton College Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Brody Davidson is an Assistant Pirate Football coach.
Tyler Brekken is a Pirate C team football coach and junior high Pirate Softball coach
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Bollis the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reeseis the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Shelly Erdmann is the Assistant Girls Soccer coach.
Cody Brekken is the Assistant Pirate Girls Tennis coach, Pirate Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Mitch Bakken is the head Pirate Baseball coach.
Justin Johnson is the Pirate Junior Varsity Baseball coach.
Brock Hanson is the Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreaultis the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Wade Hanson is the 8th grade boys basketball coach
Travis Ross is the 7th grade boys basketball 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 an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Nate Merten is an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Non Crookston High School –
Josh Edlund, is an assistant football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach in Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is Head Wrestling coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Todd Kreibich, is the Coach and General Manager for the Minnesota Iron Rangers Junior Hockey team our of Hoyt Lakes.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson, is Head Volleyball coach at Little Falls High School.
Katy Westrom, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
Matt Harris, is a Director of Athletics at the British International School of Houston.
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 Minnesota State Mankato Men’s head Hockey coach
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Thief River Falls High School
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football and volleyball and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for the Bison media relations
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College
Chris Myrold is a Tennis Pro on Nevis Island in the West Indies
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Erika Wheelhouse is serving in the Peace Corp in the Philippines.
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.
Alan Mart, 2009 Crookston High School graduate, is currently serving his country for the US Army as a Cavalry Scout in Afghanistan.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and also a grad of West Point and is currently is 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 Central is stationed at Hohnfels in Germany for the next 2 or 3 years.
Scott Riopelle is head of Crookston Parks and Recreation
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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