It is smack-dab in the middle of tournament time and March Madness will officially start on Thursday with the first round games of the Section 8A and 8AA Girls basketball tournament. This week I take a look at Section 8A and 8AA girls basketball, State wrestling, UMC Basketball, 12U Girls Hockey region tournament news and a lot more. Enjoy the column and March Madness! As I finish this column, it is 4:30 a.m. Thursday morning. I got back from Sioux Falls, South Dakota a little after 2 a.m. and finished some work and the column, but it was all worth it after a UMC win! Thanks for reading and good luck to all teams in tournament play!
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Wednesday was a wild day for Leo Blavin, myself, and Shawn Smith (UMC Sports Information Director). We left Crookston a little after 11 am and got to Sioux Falls before 4 pm. I dropped Leo and Shawn off at the arena the UMC Men’s basketball team was playing Augustana and I took off to the University of Sioux Falls where the UMC Women played USF. The women gave a great effort, but Sioux Falls was too much and won. Hunter Plante (Assistant UMC Sports Information Director) and I left the USF campus and went to the Sioux Falls Arena where the men were playing Augustana. We got to the arena as the men’s game started and watched the men’s game while Leo broadcasted the game for KROX and Shawn covered the game for UMC Athletics. The Golden Eagle were kicking butt and at one point in the second half they led by over 20 points and with about 8 minutes or so Augustana went on a run and I thought….oh crap…here we go. BUT, UMC put the clamps down and had some big defensive stops and also hit some shots to get the lead back up into the mid to upper teens. The men held on and as a former player and broadcaster of UMC basketball since 1997 it was extremely rewarding to watch the Golden Eagles get the first tournament win in school history in the NSIC era! It was fun watching Coach Dan Weisse, who has turned the program around, come out of the locker room with a big smile and I met him on the floor as he was walking across to shake his hand. He told me….we finally got you a win. When he said YOU… I know he meant all the Golden Eagle fans/and former players that had been hoping for this moment for over 20 years!!!! I am so glad the schedule worked out the way it did and I was able to watch the game live. There is a part of me that wishes I would have done the game….but at the same time the other part of me was thankful I was able to enjoy watching the game and I was able to soak it in as a fan! Either way…it was a win-win. On Sunday morning, Leo, Shawn and I will be heading back down to Sioux Falls. Don’t ask if you can come with because we are doing the same exact thing we did on the way down Wednesday. It will be us three in the KROX cruiser and I suppose we will have to stop at the same gas station on the way down to do everything the same!!! I am usually not superstitious, but I’m not rolling the dice now!
Leo will do the game and I will take pictures and do a little color commentary from the Sioux Falls.
UMC didn’t win a road conference game during the regular season, but they came out and dominated Augustana on the offensive and defensive ends and will play Winona State at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls in the second round of the playoffs on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. KROX will have the RiverView Health pre-game show at 2:00 p.m. You can listen on www.kroxam.com or Alexa (Alexa, listen to KROX in Crookston).
Last week I said it was a disappointing season for the Golden Eagle Men and it was because they wanted to have a home playoff game and felt they had a good chance to do that going into the season. They didn’t get a home playoff game, but the guys won their first-round playoff game and are now in the NSIC quarterfinals for the first time in program history (under the current format with 16 teams) and they will take on Winona State, a team they beat earlier this year.
I know the UMC Teambackers are looking to get a fan bus going to Sioux Falls on Sunday and if they get one booked, we will pass along the information.
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Section 8AA Girls Basketball will start tournament play tonight (Thursday) and my predictions on how the games will go are below. It could be an interesting tournament with all four semi-finalists coming from the North.
First-round games at the high seed (7:00 pm)
Roseau over Bagley
Barnesville over Staples-Motley
Breckenridge over Frazee
Hawley over TRF
Park Rapids over Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
Crookston over DGF ON KROX
East Grand Forks over Warroad
Perham over Wadena-Deer Creek
Quarterfinals (Concordia College March 2)
Roseau over Barnesville (2:30 pm)
Hawley over Breckenridge (4:15 pm)
Crookston over Park Rapids (6:00 pm) if Crookston – ON KROX
East Grand Forks over Perham (7:30 pm)
Semi-finals (Concordia College MONDAY, March 4 (should be at UMC or TRF but it is in Moorhead instead)
Roseau over Hawley (6:00 pm)
Crookston and East Grand Forks (a close one down to the wire…to close to call, but I am going with the Pirates on a last-second shot) (If Crookston – ON KROX)
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The Region 6A committee runs the Section 8AA basketball tournament. Roseau will likely be forced to make three trips to Moorhead in a week again and that just isn’t right! When decisions are made on the basketball tournament schedule and game locations, all 16 AD’s should be involved in the decision process, not the Region 6 committee who only has two schools in Section 8AA basketball represented. But the feeling in NW Minnesota is the Region 6 committee and the secretary doesn’t give a rip about the north schools, otherwise, they would contact ALL of them. That is just what I am hearing from pretty much all the coaches even some from the south.
We are lucky in Region 8A to have Jim Weinzierl as the executive secretary and he and the committee over the years have ALWAYS done what is in the best interest of the kids and they are transparent and reach out to schools that will/are affected when things change. The goal of the committee isn’t to make money, the goal is to make sure they at least break even each year while giving kids the best experience possible.
Basketball isn’t the only sport that is mad with the Region 6 committee. It sounds like Wrestling isn’t happy with the lack of transparency on the change of the team tournament venue next year to Perham. While nobody in the north has a huge beef with the tournament moving to Perham, they have a beef with the different stories they have received and how the decision was made. Again, it is another Example of the Region 6A committee not reaching out to the affected schools and A.D.’s. Another bad move by the Region 6A committee and Executive Secretary. Most of the schools are asking the committee to be open and transparent and allow an open dialogue with the affected schools. That hasn’t happened as much as many coaches and A.D.’s have hoped. We will see if anything changes. I see almost half the board members of the Region 6A Committee have their terms expiring in 2019. I am starting to tell the coaches and A.D.’s (who want me to talk about it in the column) to pen a letter to the Minnesota State High School League with all the signatures and send it to them. Call them, have one coach or A.D. a day call for two or three weeks straight and bombard them with complaints. There is strength in numbers and me writing about it won’t change anything because Chuck Everett and the Region 6A committee could give a rip less what Chris Fee and KROX Radio think and they have no reason to care. The Coaches and A.D.’s have to grow a set and team up to make change happen or quit complaining about it.
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The Section 8A Girls Basketball tournament first-round games will be played today (Thursday) and I will give my predictions on what will happen over the next week. I don’t see many upsets and I see the top seeds facing off in the championship!
East Sub-section- (at high seeds February 28)
Red Lake will beat Blackduck
Lake of the Woods over Kelliher/Northome
Cass Lake-Bena over Win-E-Mac
Fosston over Clearbrook-Gonvick
West Sub-Section (at high seeds February 28)
Stephen-Argyle over Red Lake County Central
Sacred Heart over KCC
BGMR over RLF
Warren-A-O over Northern Freeze
Quarter-finals (March 2 at Englestad arena in TRF)
Red Lake over Lake of the Woods (Noon)
Cass Lake-Bena over Fosston (1:45 pm)
Stephen-Argyle over Sacred Heart (3:30 pm) ON KROX
Warren-A-O over BGMR (this one is a toss up – 50/50) (5:15 pm)
Semi-finals (Tuesday, March 5 at REA in TRF)
Red Lake over Cass Lake-Bena (6:00 pm)
Stephen-Argyle over Warren-A-O or BGMR (7:45 pm)
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The Section 8AA Boys Basketball seeds are pretty much set going into the final regular season games with seeding taking place on Saturday. I have looked over the www.minnesota-scores.net QRF standings and worked out the tie-breakers and I will break it down, but there won’t be much of a difference in the actual standings and seeds this year.
NORTH SUB-SECTION-
| Team (QRF) | Section | Overall |
| 1. Hawley (134.0) | 10-3 | 19-4 |
| 2. East Grand Forks (123.9) | 11-3 | 20-4 |
| 3. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (107.3) | 9-5 | 16-9 |
| 4. Roseau (95.4) | 5-3 | 19-6 |
| 5. Thief River Falls (71.1) | 4-9 | 9-16 |
| 6. Warroad (68.1) | 3-7 | 14-11 |
| 7. Crookston (64.1) | 5-12 | 8-17 |
| 8. Bagley (51.5) | 1-6 | 6-18 |
Hawley will be the top seed, EGF will be second, DGF is third, Roseau is fourth and they are all pretty much set in stone. The fifth seed will be decided on Friday. Thief River Falls beat Warroad earlier this year and the two teams will meet again on Friday and if Thief River Falls wins they are the fifth seed. If Warroad wins they will be the fourth seed and will travel to Roseau in the first round. The seventh seed will be Crookston and Bagley will be eight.
SOUTH SUB-SECTION
| Team (QRF) | Section | Overall |
| 1. Perham (169.8) | 12-0 | 24-1 |
| 2. Osakis (132.5) | 4-0 | 24-1 |
| 3. Breckenridge (97.4) | 6-6 | 13-11 |
| 4. Barnesville (97.3) | 7-6 | 16-8 |
| 5. Park Rapids (59.3) | 4-6 | 7-15 |
| 6. Long Prairie-GE (55.6) | 1-4 | 6-16 |
| 7. Wadena-Deer Creek (44.2) | 1-6 | 7-18 |
| 8. Staples-Motley (37.2) | 0-7 | 1-22 |
Perham will be the top seed, Osakis will be the second and Barnesville will the third seed, because they will have the tie-breaker with Breckenridge because they beat them in their only meeting this year. Breckenridge will be the fourth seed. Park Rapids will be the fifth seed because they beat LPGE in their only meeting this year. Wadena-Deer Creek will be seventh and Staples-Motley will be the eighth seed.
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The Section 8A Boys Basketball seeds were released Wednesday morning and the teams that played in last years championship game, Cass Lake-Bena and Ada-Borup/Norman County West, were the top seeds in their respective sub-section.
The Section 8A West seeds-
1. Ada-Borup/Norman County West
2. Sacred Heart
3. Fertile-Beltrami (FB and BGMR split in the regular season – FB had better overall win %)
4. Badger-Greenbush-Middle River (BGMR beat RLC in the regular season)
5. Red Lake County
6. Kittson County Central
7. Northern Freeze (Beat Storm during the regular season)
8. Stephen-Argyle
9. Climax-Fisher
10. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Section 8A East seeds-
1. Cass Lake-Bena
2. Win-E-Mac
3. Red Lake
4. Fosston (Won tie-breaker over CG beating them during the regular season)
5. Clearbrook-Gonvick
6. Blackduck (Blackduck beat NK both teams in the regular season)
7. Northome/Kelliher
8. Goodridge/Grygla (GG beat LOW during the regular season for the tie-breaker)
9. Lake of the Woods
The tournament will start on Monday, March 4 with the play-in games. The first round games will be played on Thursday, March 7.
FOR THE TOURNAMENT BRACKET CLICK HERE
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My wife (Tiffany) and I are thankful and appreciative for everybody associated with the Pirate Wrestling program and the wrestling community. The Crookston and area coaches were all great, his teammates were awesome and from his fellow seniors (Lukas Meier and Damian Hodgson) down to the seventh graders in the program, they treated Blake like he had been there since the beginning. The wrestling parents and families were unbelievable and it will be a sports season that I will never forget as a proud parent.
My son Blake wrapped up his first (and last year) as a Pirate Wrestler this past weekend. He made it to the third-place match, but he came up short and finished fourth place. I have never been so proud of Blake. I am not only proud of his fourth-place finish….but it really didn’t matter what place he got last weekend. I am extremely proud of how he gave it everything he had, he was humbled many times and kept a positive attitude and tried harder the next practice. I enjoyed watching how the younger wrestlers flocked to Blake. It has been a winter I will never forget and I realized one thing with the Pirate Wrestling program….they have the right culture right now and the future is extremely bright with a lot of good young wrestlers that are all pretty good kids too!
I would also like to thank Pirate Boys Basketball coach Greg Garmen and the basketball team. They have been great to Blake and even let him play at open gym still.
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The Minnesota State High School Leauge State Wrestling tournament is underway and the individual tournament gets underway on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St.
Crookston will have two wrestlers at state with Zach Brown at 113 pounds and Lukas Meier at 152 pounds.
113 pounds
Zach Brown (36-1) received the fifth seed at 113 after going 36-1 on the year and will wrestle Brady Holien, a freshman from Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. Holien is 30-10 on the year and the runner-up from Section 4A.
If Zach wins, he would likely get a rematch with #4 seed Carter Meiners from Long Prairie-Grey Eagle who is 40-5 on the year and finished fifth at state last year. Meiners beat Zach by two points at state last year and he handed Zach his only loss of the year this year in the Big Bear Championship match.
Frazee’s Christian Carlson was seeded 14th.
152 pounds –
Lukas Meier (19-6) didn’t receive one of the 16 seeds and will wrestle #11 seed Isaac Denstad, a junior from Caledonia that is 33-10 on the year and the Section 2 runner-up. If Lukas wins his match he would likely wrestle the #3 seed Seth Brossard of Kenyon-Wanamingo (41-0).
Chandler Mooney or Roseau received the #1 seed.
Some other highlights from Section 8A –
Section 8AA Wrestlers seeds –
106 – #8 Ethan Henderickson (UNC), #15 Jake Nagel (Frazee)
113 – #5 Zach Brown (Crookston), #14 Christian Carlson (Frazee)
120 – #14 Garrett Eiynck (Mahnomen-Waubun), #16 Isaac Tellers (UNC)
126 – #8 Hunter Hitchen (Fertile-Beltrami), #14 Avery Augustson (BGMR)
132 – #9 Brandon Pries (BGMR), #15 Carter Sorenson (Fosston)
138 – #10 Kaden Hiemenz (Frazee), #14 Damon Ferguson (RLCC)
145 – #3 Owen Novacek (BGMR), #16 Eion Ness (UNC)
152 – #1 Gabe Mooney (Roseau), #6 Lukas Meier (Crookston)
160 – #10 Caleb Vacura (BGMR), #16 Ben Olson
170 – #9 Brett Graham (Frazee), #11 Tristyn Ferguson (RLCC)
182 – #8 Gabe Drewes (Frazee), #15 Dale Grindahl (Roseau)
195 – #7 Colton Borah (Frazee), #12 Sawyer Klatt (Roseau)
220 – #1 Dominik Vacura (BGMR), #2 Luke Tweeton (Frazee)
285 – #7 Zach Evans (BGMR), #13 Tony Malikowski (Frazee)
Here is a look at the tournament:
The schedule:
Friday, March 1, Session 3
9 a.m. – All First Rounds
Friday, March 1, Session 4
4 p.m. – All Championship Quarterfinals and Wrestlebacks
Saturday, March 2, Session 5
9:30 a.m. – All Consolation Quarterfinals; All Championship Semifinals; and All Consolation Semifinals
Saturday, March 2, Session 6
4 p.m. – All Individual 3rd- and 5th-place Matches; All Individual Championships; Awards following matches
Tickets: $16 adults, $10 students per single session. $30 adults, $18 students per daily pass. $90 adults, $54 students per season book (includes the team tournament).
Ticket Box Offices open: 8 a.m. each day.
Results: Posted on www.mshsl.org. Members of the media should also note that paper copies of brackets will not be distributed this year.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW
Class A:
106 pounds — Michael Majerus (37-9) of Zumbrota-Mazeppa, who placed sixth last year, is the only returning medal-winner. There were no perfect records in this class.
113 pounds — Charley Elwood (31-2) of Medford is the highest returning medalist; he earned runner-up honors at 106 pounds in 2018. Carter Meiners (40-5) of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville, who placed fifth at 106 pounds, also returns. No one in this class is undefeated.
120 pounds — Two medalists at 113 pounds move up to wrestle in this class: Trevor Jannsen (31-4) of Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena, runner-up; and Blaine Fischer (35-9) of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, sixth. No one has a perfect record.
126 pounds — Four medal-winners return in this class: Canon Swanson (42-0) of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, runner-up at 120 pounds; Seth Goetzinger (27-7) of Chatfield, third at 106 pounds; Brett Willaby (31-3) of Windom/Mountain Lake, third at 113 pounds; and Jorge Hernandez (29-4) of LeSueur-Henderson, fifth at 120 pounds. Swanson boasts the only unblemished record.
132 pounds — Dereck Ellingson (37-4) of Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove, who placed third at 126 pounds last year, is the highest returning medalist in this class. He will be joined by four additional medal-winners: Jackson Hale (37-3) of GMLOS, fourth at 120 pounds; Teddy Pesch (29-5) of Minneota, fifth in this class; Joash Lord (31-10) of Norwood-Young America, sixth in this class; and Mason Gode (44-0) of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville, sixth at 126 pounds. Gode has the only perfect record.
138 pounds — Three medalists return: Blake Legred (38-4) of United South Central of Wells, runner-up at 126 pounds; Mark Buringa (18-1) of St. Charles, runner-up at 132 pounds; and Tyler Bents (41-1) of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, third at 132 pounds. No one in this class is undefeated.
145 pounds — Kyle Cavanaugh (36-0) of Caledonia/Houston, who won at 138 pounds last year, is the highest returning qualifier. Two additional medal-winners return: Willie Von Ruden (29-1) of Medford, third at 138 pounds; and Owen Novacek (39-3) of Badger/Greenbush-Middle River, fourth at 138 pounds. Cavanaugh has the only perfect record.
152 pounds — Four medalists return in this weight class: Chandler Mooney (43-0) of Roseau, third at 145 pounds; Zack Holtz (12-0) of Kimball Area, fourth at 145 pounds; Alex Borsgard (34-2) of Windom/Mountain Lake, fifth at 138 pounds; and Lukas Meier (19-6) of Crookston, fifth at 145 pounds. Mooney, Holtz, and Seth Bossard (41-0) of Kenyon-Wanamingo all boast unblemished records.
160 pounds — Cole Vanoverbeke (34-6) of Minneota is the highest returning medal-winner. He placed third at 152 pounds last year. Vanoverbeke is joined by three additional medalists: Jackson Held (38-3) of Royalton/Upsala, fourth in this class; Kelby O’Reilly (42-3) of Goodhue, fifth in this class; and Owen Bjerga (44-1) of Staples-Motley, sixth at 138 pounds. No one in this class is undefeated.
170 pounds — Three medalists return in this weight class: Colton Krell (34-3) of Westfield, runner-up at 160 pounds; Kaleb O’Reilly (40-4) of Goodue, fifth in this class; and Ian Frenzel (45-2) of Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena, sixth 160 pounds. Tyson Meyer (35-0) of Minnewaska Area of Glenwood has the only perfect record in this field.
182 pounds —Jaden Kindopp (32-2) of Canby, who won at 170 pounds last year, is the highest returning medal-winner. He will be joined by Jacob Bennett (35-3) of Zumbrota-Mazeppa, who placed second at 195 pounds. There are no unblemished records in this class.
195 pounds — Michael Nelson (41-3) of Dover-Eyota is the only returning medalist; he placed third at 182 pounds in 2018. There are no undefeated records in this class.
220 pounds — Two medal-winners from this weight class return: Luke Tweeton (32-7) of Frazee, fourth; and Dominik Vacura (40-3) of Badger/Greenbush-Middle River, sixth. No one in this class has a perfect record.
285 pounds — Defending champion Craig Orlando (40-1) of Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie is the only returning medalist. There are no perfect records in the class.
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City and Kenyon-Wanamingo lead the Class A field with 12 and nine qualifiers, respectively.
Class AA:
106 pounds — Owen Werner (36-6) of Perham is the only returning medal-winner; he placed third in 2018. Mason Gehloff (27-0) of Waseca has this year’s only perfect record.
113 pounds — Maxwell Petersen (29-0) of Byron, who struck gold at 106 pounds last year, moves up one weight class. He will be joined by two additional medalists: Logan Vaughan (35-6) of Kasson-Mantorville, fourth at 106 pounds; and Austin Gabbert (32-1) of Watertown-Mayer/Mayer Lutheran, fifth at 106 pounds Petersen has the only unblemished record.
120 pounds — Jaxson Rohman (44-3) of Fairmont/Martin County West, defending champion at 113 pounds, leads a field of five returning medal-winners. The others are: Landen Parent (19-3) of Princeton, runner-up at 106 pounds; Ashton Clark (19-0) of Park Rapids Area, runner-up at 113 pounds; Robby Horsman (32-9) of Kasson-Mantorville, third in this weight class; and Reier Sjomeling (22-6) of Delano, fifth at 113 pounds. Clark has the only perfect record.
126 pounds — Mitchel Petersen (26-3) of Byron, defending champion at 120 pounds, is the highest returning medalist. He will be joined by Jake Svihel (50-0) of Totino-Grace of Fridley, runner-up at 120 pounds, and Justin Stauffacher (41-5) of Scott West, fifth at 120 pounds. Svihel boasts the only unblemished record.
132 pounds — Four medal-winners return in this weight class: Charlie Pickell (44-1) of Mankato West, runner-up at 126 pounds; Jake Fitzpatrick (43-2) of Mahtomedi, fourth at 120 pounds; Cade Lundeen (44-1) of Thief River Falls, fourth at 126 pounds; and Jerry Simes (27-7) of Litchfield, sixth at 120 pounds. Ryan Sokol (44-0) Simley of Inver Grove Heights has this year’s only perfect record.
138 pounds — Three 2018 medalists return to compete in this weight class: Fabyon Greer (30-4) of Detroit Lakes, third in this class; Tyler Shackle (40-6) of Scott West, third at 132 pounds; and Cael Berg (30-2) of Simley, fifth at 126 pounds. No one has a perfect record.
145 pounds — Tanner Kroells (31-2) of Delano is the highest returning medal-winner; he placed fourth at 138 pounds last year. He will be joined by Prestin Bradley (42-6) of Dassel-Cokato, who placed fifth at 138 pounds in 2018. Kellen Schauer (51-0) of Grand Rapids has the only unblemished record.
152 pounds — Three medalists return in this weight class: Tim Stapleton (37-1) of Waconia, runner-up at 145 pounds; Carter Marx (42-7) of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, fifth in this class; and Miles Fitzgerald (25-13) of Fairmont/Martin County West, sixth at 145 pounds. No one has a perfect record.
160 pounds — Two defending champions will square off at this weight: Cade Mueller (44-1) of Waconia, champion in this class; and Bennett Berge (38-4) of Kasson-Mantorville, champion at 138 pounds. They will be joined by Jacob Hageman (31-8) of Simley, who placed sixth in this weight class last year. There are no unblemished records.
170 pounds — Defending champion Isaiah Thompson (41-3) of Detroit Lakes is the only returning medalist. There are no perfect records.
182 pounds — Patrick Kennedy (42-0) of Kasson-Mantorville, who struck gold at this weight last year, leads a field of four returning medal-winners. The others are: Quayin Short (29-3) of Simley, runner-up at 152 pounds; Zachary Peterson (44-1) of Perham, third in this weight class; and Kole Platt (14-1) of GNK, fifth at 160 pounds. Kennedy boasts the only unblemished record.
195 pounds — Two medalists return in this weight class: Ty Moser (39-0) of Perham, third in this weight class; and Gabe Zierden (41-4) of Albany, fourth at 182 pounds. Moser has the only perfect record.
220 pounds —Kaleb Haase (32-3) of Redwood/River Valley is the only returning medal-winner. He placed fifth at this weight in 2018. No one has an unblemished record.
285 pounds — Daniel Kerkvliet (17-0) of Simley, who won at 220 pounds last year, returns in search of more gold. He will be challenged by Chase Liestman (39-0) of Litchfield, who placed fourth in this weight class in 2018. Kerkvliet, Liestman, and Brandon Swanson (32-0) of North Branch all have perfect records.
Perham and Simley have 10 individual qualifiers apiece.
Class AAA:
106 pounds —There are no returning medal-winners or perfect records in this weight class.
113 pounds — Three medalists return in this weight class: Paxton Creese (46-1) of Shakopee, runner-up at 106 pounds; Ryan Hemingson (42-1) of Winona/Cotter, third at 106 pounds; and Brandon Psyk (33-4) of St. Michael-Albertville, fifth in this weight class. No one has a perfect record.
120 pounds — Patrick Cardinal (40-3) of Forest Lake, the defending champions at 113 pounds, moves up one class. He is joined by four other returning medalists: Ben Lunn (37-3) of Shakopee, runner-up at 113 pounds; Cael Swensen (45-3) of Wayzata, fourth at 106 pounds; Nick Novak (44-2) of New Prague, sixth at 106 pounds; and Cole West (35-3) of Woodbury, sixth at 113 pounds. There are no undefeated competitors.
126 pounds — The defending champion at 120 pounds, Reid Ballantyne (25-2) of Stillwater Area, is the only returning medalist. There are no perfect records at this weight.
132 pounds — Three medal-winners return in this weight class: Ryder Rogotzke (29-2) of East Ridge of Woodbury, third at 113 pounds; Trayton Anderson (47-1) of Northfield, third at 126 pounds; and Adam Mickelson (33-7) of Apple Valley, sixth at 120 pounds. There are no undefeated competitors.
138 pounds — Four medalists return: Drew Woodley (44-2) of Northfield, runner-up at 120 pounds; Sebas Swiggum (49-2) of Apple Valley, runner-up at 132 pounds; Trey Kruse (38-4) of Stillwater Area, fourth at 132 pounds; and Hunter Lyden (46-3) of East Ridge, fifth at 120 pounds. No one has a perfect record.
145 pounds — Cael Carlson (38-0) of Willmar, the defending champion at 138 pounds, returns in search of more gold. He is joined by Brady Gross (45-4) of Apple Valley, who claimed runner-up honors at 138 pounds in 2018. Carlson and Jahsa Rankins (18-0) of Eden Prairie have the only unblemished records.
152 pounds — Willie Bastyr (37-3) of Lakeville South is the only returning medal-winner; he placed fourth in this weight class last year.
160 pounds — Three medalists return at this weight: Brock Rinehart (44-3) of Woodbury, fourth at 145 pounds; T.J. Turinske (33-3) of White Bear Lake Area, sixth at 145 pounds; and Devin Roberts (40-6) of Apple Valley, sixth in this weight class. Gabe Nagel (42-0) of Little Falls is the only undefeated qualifier.
170 pounds — Riley Habisch (35-0) of Buffalo, who placed third at 160 pounds in 2018, leads the field in this class. Jimmy Brown (32-8) of Cambridge-Isanti, last year’s fifth-place finisher at 152 pounds, also returns. Habisch had the only perfect record.
182 pounds — Two returning champions will compete for top honors at this weight: Cade King (40-4) of Owatonna, champion in this weight class; and Zach Glazier (43-0) of Albert Lea Area, champion at 170 pounds. Glazier has the only undefeated record
195 pounds — Calvin Sund (35-0) of Prior Lake and Rowan Morgan (32-3) of Mounds View return at this weight. Sund earned runner-up honors at 182 pounds last year and Morgan was fifth at 182 pounds. Sund has the only unblemished record.
220 pounds — Two medalists return from this weight class: Ezayah Oropeza (38-0) of Rosemount was second in 2018 and Cole Fibranz (39-1) of Sartell-St. Stephen placed third. Oropeza has the only undefeated record.
285 pounds — Bryce Benhart (30-0) of Lakeville North is the only returning medal-winner and has the only perfect record. He placed fourth in this weight class last year.
Mounds View and Stillwater Area qualified 10 wrestlers apiece.
2018 STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP
Class A: Two seniors from Pipestone Area claimed their third championships. Michael Suda won at 126 pounds and Hunter Burnett won at 132 pounds.
Class AA: Two wrestlers from Simley joined the list of three-time individual champions; senior Jake Gliva won at 132 pounds and junior Daniel Kerkvliet won at 220 pounds.
Class AAA: Apple Valley junior Gable Steveson punctuated a tournament of dominance by winning the heavyweight championship with a pin of Anoka junior Brandon Frankfurth in just 17 seconds in the final. It was the second consecutive year that Steveson pinned Frankfurth in the title match. The victory also gave Steveson a coveted fourth individual championship.
Three wrestlers earned their third individual crowns in Class AAA: senior Patrick McKee of St. Michael-Albertville (126), senior Alex Lloyd of Shakopee (152), and senior Peyton Robb of Owatonna (160).
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The Crookston Sports Center and the Crookston Girl’s 12U hockey team will host the 12U A Olympic Regional this weekend.
There will be 8 teams competing with the top two advancing to the 12U Girl’s State Hockey Tournament.
Besides the Crookston squad, teams from Roseau, Brainerd-Little Falls, Duluth, Warroad, Moorhead, Grand Rapids, and Alexandria.
These girls are in 6th and 7th grade with some 5th graders and most of the second year 12U players will be going on to their high school teams next year.
The Tournament starts Friday with Roseau and Brainerd-Little Falls playing at 2:00 PM. Crookston plays Moorhead at 6:00 PM Friday night. All the games will be on the Main Event rink at the CSC and will run through Sunday with the championship being played at 9:00 AM Sunday and games will go until a 4:00 PM game on Sunday to determine a True Second winner that will advance to State with the Tournament Champion. Other first-round games – Duluth vs Warroad at 4:00 PM Friday and Grand Rapids takes on Alexandria at 8:00 PM in Friday’s last game.
The community is encouraged to come and watch some very good girl’s hockey and support the Crookston 12U team that is coached by Scott Sanders, Trevore Brekken and Andy Fee. The schedule is below-
| FRIDAY, MARCH 1 Game – Time |
Away team | Home Team |
| 1 – 2:00 PM | Brainerd-Little Falls | Roseau |
| 2 – 4:00 PM | Warroad | Duluth |
| 3 – 6:00 PM | Crookston | Moorhead |
| 4 – 8:00 PM | Alexandria | Grand Rapids |
| SATURDAY, MARCH 2 | Away Team | Home Team |
| 8 – 8:00 AM | Loser game 2 | Loser game 1 |
| 6 – 10:00 AM | Winner game 4 | Winner game 3 |
| 5 – Noon | Winner game 2 | Winner game 1 |
| 9 – 2:00 PM | Loser game 4 | Loser game 3 |
| 10 – 6:00 PM | Winner game 8 | Loser game 6 |
| 11 – 8:00 PM | Winner game 9 | Loser game 5 |
| SUNDAY, MARCH 3 Game – Time |
Away Team | Home Team |
| 7 – 9:00 AM | Winner game 6 | Winner game 5 |
| 12 – 11:00 AM | Winner game 11 | Winner game 10 |
| CHAMPIONSHIP 13 – 4:00 PM |
Winner game 12 | Loser game 7 |
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Follow the Puck released the following stats on Class A Boys Hockey teams that have the most goals returning next season and they also have the least amount of goals scored returning. The information is below –
Class A regular season:
Goals scored by non-seniors who had 10 or more total points-
1. St. Cloud Cathedral 105
2. Southwest Christian/Richfield 85
3. Gentry Academy 81
4. Marshall 68
5. Becker/BL 66
6. Warroad 64
7. Pine City 63
8. Princeton 63
9. Kittson County Central 62
10. Hermantown 61
Class A: Goals scored by non-seniors who had 10+ total points:
Teams that will need to reload:
1 Park Rapids 7
1 La Crescent 7
3 Waconia 8
3 Hibbing/C 8
3 Henry Sibley 8
6 Sauk Rapids 10
7 Litchfield 14
8 Mound Westonka 16
8 Legacy 16
10 Red Wing 17
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Milestones
University of Minnesota Crookston Men’s Basketball player, Harrison Cleary (Jr. Oak Creek, Wis) scored the 2,000th point of his career last weekend.
Blackduck Boys Basketball player, Dylan Moen set a school record for points in a game with 47 last week.
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1. Warroad
2. Blake
3. Breck
12. Thief River Falls
13. Crookston
14. East Grand Forks
24. Roseau (when they were in class A)
48. Detroit Lakes
1. Eden Prairie
2. Edina
3. Hill-Murray
25. Roseau
29. Bemidji
37. Moorhead
50. Brainard/Little Falls
University of Minnesota Crookston women’s basketball player Caitlin Michaelis (Sr., G, Marshfield, Wis.) was announced as Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 Second Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America of America (CoSIDA). Michaelis is the first women’s basketball player to earn the honor since Katrina Nordick was named academic all-district following the 2015-16 season. Logan Huso of Minnesota Crookston football was named Google Cloud Academic All-District for Super Region 4 earlier this season.
Michaelis is a career 4.0 student-athlete at Minnesota Crookston. She was named an NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction earlier this season. Michaelis has been a staple on the NSIC All-Academic teams. She has earned placement in the Chancellor’s 4.0 Club at Minnesota Crookston each of her seven semesters thus far at Minnesota Crookston. On the court, Michaelis is averaging 11.3 points per game for the Golden Eagles, while starting all 26 games. She is shooting 33.1 percent from beyond the arc on the season. Michaelis has been a part of two NSIC/Sanford Health quarterfinal appearances for the Golden Eagles. She has scored 837 points in her four years in the Maroon and Gold.
Michaelis was one of four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) women’s basketball student-athletes to receive the honor. Erin Norling of Wayne State College, and Jacky Volkert of Minnesota State University Moorhead earned Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 First Team honors. Michaelis, and Anna Schmitt of Concordia University-St. Paul were named Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 Second Team.
NCAA DIVISION II – DISTRICT 7
FIRST TEAM
Katie Bildner – Lindenwood
Emily Miller – Emporia State
Erin Norling – Wayne State
Hailey Tucker – Southwestern Oklahoma State
Jacky Volkert – MSU Moorhead
Katie Webb – Southeastern Oklahoma State
SECOND TEAM
Bailee Eldred – Northeastern State
Addie Lackey – Emporia State
Caitlin Michaelis – Minnesota Crookston
Peyton Padgett – Harding
Anna Schmitt – Concordia-St. Paul
Previous Frank Brimsek Award winners are: Atticus Kelly (2018), Jake Begley (2017),Nick Althaus (2016), Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (2015), Hunter Shepard (2014), David Zevnik (2013), Michael Bitzer (2012), Alex Lyon (2011), Zane Gothberg (2010), Casey O’Connor (2009), Joe Phillippi (2008), Reid Ellingson (2007), Austin Lee (2006), Alec Richards (2005), Matt Lundin (2004), Jon Anderson (2003), Josh Johnson (2002), Eric Aarnio (2001), Jake Brant (2000), Adam Laaksonen (1999), Adam Coole (1998), Kyle Kolquist (1997), Karl Goehring (1996) and Todd Kelzenberg (1995).
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
I WILL UPDATE LATE THURSDAY MORNING!
Paul Bittner, is playing for the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket. Paul didn’t score but he had five shots on goal in a 2-1 victory over Belleville on Friday. Paul didn’t score, but he had four shots on goal in a 4-2 loss to Belleville. He had an assist in a 5-4 overtime loss to Utica on Monday. Paul scored a goal in 4-2 loss to Rochester on Wednesday night. Cleveland will host the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday and Sunday.
Ryan Bittner, is a Senior playing hockey for the #1 ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Pointers will take on UW-River Falls in the semi-finals of the WIAC Conference tournament on Friday and Saturday.
Brady Heppner, is a Junior playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville. St. Johns will host St. Thomas in the MIAC Conference tournament semi-finals on Saturday.
Aaron Hollcraft, is a Senior playing basketball and baseball for the UMC Golden Eagles. Aaron didn’t play, because of an injury, in a loss to Minot State and a win over the U of Mary this weekend. UMC travels to Duluth and St. Cloud State this weekend to wrap up the regular season. He will join the baseball team when Basketball season is over.
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 69-62 victory over North Central on Saturday. They will host Northwestern on Thursday in the first round of the UMAC playoffs.
Aleece Durbin, is a freshman on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team. UND will compete in the Summit League Championships on Friday and Saturday.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Sophomore on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team. Jamestown will travel to the NAIA Indoor Nationals February 28 – March 2.
Ally Tiedemann, a Freshman playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Ally lost her third doubles match 7-5 and won her fifth singles match 6-3, 6-0 in a 5-2 loss to Winona State and she won her fifth singles match 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and won her third doubles match 6-1 Upper Iowa. UMD will travel to St. Peter to play Gustavus and Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday and Minnesota State Mankato on Sunday.
Bobby Tiedemann, is a Junior on the St. Mary’s University Men’s Tennis team in Winona. Bobby won his first doubles match 8-4 and he won his second singles match 6-0, 6-0 in a 7-2 win over St. Norbert and he won his first doubles match 8-4 and he won his second singles match 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 in a 5-4 victory over Wartburg. St. Mary’s will travel to Bethel on Friday and St. Thomas on Saturday.
Marietta Geist, a Junior on the Carleton College Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams. Marrietta didn’t run in Parent’s Day Open at the University of Minnesota. Carleton will travel to the MIAC Pentathlon and MIAC Indoor Championships this weekend.
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.
Kate MacGregor, a Freshman swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
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 Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reese is 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 Perreault is 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
Tori Demarais is the Pirate Girls Hockey assistant 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
