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SPORTS FEEVER – January 23, 2025

SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com

We are getting down to the final week of January and that means we are almost through the longest stretch of the winter sports eason. January is always the toughest month to get through and we are almost there! Playoffs around the corner. Enjoy this week’s column.

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We have updated the latest Minnesota WINTER SPORTS Polls. To check them out, CLICK HERE.

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The Section 8A Girls and Boys Basketball tournament will have a different format this year and it seems to be getting rave reviews so far.

They will seed 1-10 in the subsection and have the pig-tail games and first round like usual. When it gets to the quarterfinals at Ralph Engelstad Arena in TRF, they will start to cross bracket. This is how it will go –
West 1 vs East 4
West 2 vs East 3
West 3 vs East 2
West 4 vs East 1

The sub-section championship games are no longer and the semi-finals will be a true semi-final now and it should make for some great semi-final and championship games.

If the season ended today and all the top seeds win this is how it COULD look. (I didn’t look at tie-breakers are anything. It is for entertainment purposes only!) on the BOYS side.

West
1. Red Lake County
2. Fertile-Beltrami
3. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
4. Sacred Heart or KCC

East
1. Clearbrook-Gonvick
2. Cass Lake-Bena
3. Northome/Kelliher
4. Fosston or Red Lake

Quarter-finals could look like this –
Red Lake County vs Fosston or Red Lake
Fertile-Beltrami vs Northome/Kelliher
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo vs Cass Lake-Bena
Sacred Heart or KCC vs Clearbrook-Gonvick

The Girls tournament COULD look like this –
West
1. Kittson County Central
2. Sacred Heart
3. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
4. Northern Freeze

East
1. Cass Lake-Bena
2. Kelliher/Northome
3. Fosston
4. Mahnomen/Waubun

Quarter-finals could look like this –
Kittson County Central vs Mahnomen/Waubun
Sacred Heart vs Fosston
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo vs Kelliher/Northome
Northern Freeze vs Cass Lake-Bena

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Milestones and honor roll –

Alexiah Larose of Cass Lake-Bena scored the 1,000th point of her career last week.

Addy Draeger of Perham had a great game last week. She scored 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 steals. The Sophomore was averaging 3 points, 5 points, and 2 steals per game!

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Here is your yearly reminder Minnesota High School Hockey is number one and no other state comes close!!!!!

Men’s D-I team: 249 Minnesotans, with the next closest state at 117—more than the 2nd and 3rd states combined. 90% played HS hockey.

Women’s D-I teams: 205 Minnesotans, with the next closest state at 115—more than the 2nd and 3rd states combined. 99% played HS hockey.

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Former UMC Golden Eagle Baseball player Jake Dykhoff is pitching in the Australian Professional League and has helped his team to the playoffs . His team, Canberra Calvary, opens the postseason Friday.

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The Northern Sun Conference Women’s Basketball standings have Minnesota State Mankato at the top and that is no surprise. At the bottom you have Augustana! That is a shock, but it goes to show how good Coach Krauth was for all those years. He always had some of the top teams and never did I think I would see an Augustana team at the bottom of the standings!!
The UMC Women have som big games coming up, where they could move up in the standings. It should be a fun final month of the regular season.

SCHOOLCONFOVERALL
Minnesota State 13-017-2
Concordia-St. Paul10-216-2
Southwest Minnesota State10-216-2
Northern State8-411-7
St. Cloud State 7-510-7
UMary6-69-7
Wayne State College6-69-7
Sioux Falls6-610-9
Minnesota Duluth5-77-10
MSU Moorhead5-77-11
Minnesota Crookston4-86-12
Minot State4-85-14
Winona State4-98-11
Bemidji State2-104-12
Augustana1-113-15

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The Northern Sun Conference Men’s Basketball race for the top seed is a tight race with a lot of big games coming up. It is amazing to me that the Northern State Wolves haven’t won a conference game yet this season. I never thought I would see the day that would happen! Here is the look at the Men’s Basketball standings.

SCHOOLCONFOVERALL
Southwest Minnesota State10-215-3
Minot State9-318-3
Concordia-St. Paul9-314-4
Minnesota State 8-412-8
St. Cloud State 8-412-8
Minnesota Duluth7-412-5
Winona State8-513-6
Sioux Falls7-511-7
MSU Moorhead6-611-7
Augustana6-69-9
Wayne State College5-711-7
Bemidji State3-96-12
UMary2-104-17
Minnesota Crookston2-103-15
Northern State0-121-17

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The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program and Head Coach Nick Meseck announced the signings of two Minnesotans to continue their collegiate career as Golden Eagles. Ellery Ehresmann (Setter, Albany) and Abigail Ernster (OH, La Crescent) will wear the colors starting next season. Ehressmann and Ernster join Adrienne Venditto (OH/DS, Bovey) as the signees so far for the maroon and gold.

Ellery Ehresmann (Setter, Albany, Minn.)
Ehresmann joins the Golden Eagles following a prolific prep career at Albany High School. The future Golden Eagle is a two-time Class AA All-State Performer and was named to the Class AA State Tournament All-Tournament Team. She has also won her team MVP twice and is also a two-time Granite Ridge first-team All-Conference performer. As a senior, she was named her conferences’ Setter of the Year and was named the 2024 St. Cloud Times Player of the Year.
Ehresmann has three school records at Albany High School: most assists in a single season (1,021), most assists per set in a single season (10.6) and most sets in a single season (2,319). She also had a match where she finished with 64 assists, which is the fourth most all-time in the state of Minnesota.
Ehresmann is the daughter of Jen and Pete Ehresmann of Albany, Minn. She plans on majoring in Business while being a student-athlete at Minnesota Crookston. She is also a National Honor Society member and is a part of her school’s Student Council.

Abigail Ernster (Outside Hitter, La Crescent, Minn.)
Ernster is a two-time All-Conference performer and was named honorable mention in her sophomore year, 2022. Ernster has been on varsity since she was in the 8th grade. Ernster is the daughter of Amy and Mike Ernster, both of La Crescent, Minn. She plans on majoring in Health Science while a student-athlete at Minnesota Crookston.

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We have more milestones and great performances-

Alexiah Larose of Cass Lake-Bena scored the 1,000th point of her career last week.

Addy Draeger of Perham had a great game last week. She scored 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 steals. The Sophomore was averaging 3 points, 5 points, and 2 steals per game!

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The University of Minnesota Crookston sports medicine staff announced the additions of Chris Huot and Becca Messick as athletic trainers. Huot and Messick join Associate Athletic Director – Sports Medicine, Performance, and Wellness Steven Krouse, Associate Head Athletic Trainer Shelby Conard, and Athletic Trainer Matt Hobson.

Huot comes to Minnesota Crookston after serving as the supervisor for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Altru in Grand Forks, N.D. He was responsible for supervision of all staff, and management of day-to-day operations in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. Podiatry, and Chiropractic clinics. He managed the athletic training outreach contracts, coverage, and staffing. Huot also provided direct patient care, and athletic training coverage. He was previously an athletic trainer for Altru from 2021-23. He assisted sports medicine and orthopedic providers with patient care, including exam history, application of durable medical equipment and casts/splits, home exercise instruction, and patient follow-up correspondence. Huot provided athletic training services, and home event coverage at Sacred Heart High School, and other regional schools, youth associations.

Prior to his employment at Altru, Huot worked as the program director for athletic training, and an assistant professor from 2012-20 at Presentation College in Aberdeen, S.D. He also served as an advisor in the Division of Health & Natural Science. Huot developed the athletic training education program at Presentation from the ground up. He led Presentation College through the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education self-study and site visit. He was responsible for all aspects of program development, budget, planning, and administration. Also during his time at Presentation, Huot served from 2012-14 as the head athletic trainer, and a staff athletic trainer. He was responsible for the administration of athletic training services to over 300 student-athletes at an NAIA institution with nine intercollegiate athletic teams. 

Huot also was an athletic trainer for the Aberdeen Wings, a junior hockey team in the North American Hockey League, from 2012-16. 

Huot was previously an athletic trainer at Minnesota State University Moorhead from 2004-12, and was also the clinical coordinator and an assistant professor during his time at MSU Moorhead. Huot was the director of athletic training services at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 1999-04, and also served as a lecturer. In addition, he has also been an athletic trainer at the Midwest Sports Medicine Center, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Kalamazoo Kodiaks professional baseball club. He also taught at Missouri State University, and Kalamazoo Community College.

Huot has his Doctor of Philosophy in Education from North Dakota State University. He received his Master of Arts in Physical Education, with an athletic training emphasis, from Western Michigan University. Huot received his Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Minnesota State University. He has been bestowed various awards in his career, and has been very active in organizations. Huot is a Board of Certification certified athletic trainer. He is a North Dakota Board of Certification Licensed Athletic Trainer, and a Minnesota Board of Medical Practice Licensed Athletic Trainer. Huot is certified by the American Heart Association in basic life support.

Messick comes to Minnesota Crookston after serving as a certified athletic trainer at Athletico Physical Therapy in Schaumburg, Ill., beginning in August 2024. She provided athletic training coverage at Schaumburg High School, and Hoffman Estates High School. Messick did direct patient care, performing evaluation and first-aid coverage, and assisted in treatment, and injury prevention. She was the certified camp athletic trainer for the Northwestern University Swimming and Diving Camp in 2024. 

She previously worked as an athletic training student for various organizations. Messick was a student athletic trainer for the U.S. Premier Hockey League in Chicago, Ill., beginning in January 2024. From March-May 2024, she was an athletic training student at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Messick was an athletic training student for the University of Florida from May-October 2023, collaborating with medical staff at appointments and procedures for volleyball student-athletes. She extended sideline and treatment coverage for track and field, cross country, baseball, and the spirit squad.

From March-May 2023, Messick worked as an athletic training student for Schaumburg High School, and was an athletic training student for Elmhurst University, working with football, soccer, wrestling, and basketball from October-December 2022. Messick was an athletic training technician for Colorado State University Sports Medicine from 2017-20, working the sidelines during football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, and soccer. 

She received her Master of Science in Athletic Training from Aurora University. Messick earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science-Pre-Athletic Training from Aurora University. She is Board of Certification certified. Messick is CPR/AED and First Aid American Red Cross certified. She also has the U.S. Army Stop the Bleed certificate. — — —

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JOKES

Bill and Marla decided that the only way to pull off a Sunday afternoon quickie with their 10-year-old son in the apartment was to send him out on the balcony and order him to report on all the neighborhood activities. 
The boy began his commentary as his parents put their plan into operation. “There’s a car being towed from the parking lot,” 
he said. “An ambulance just drove by.” A few moments passed. 
“Looks like the Anderson’s have company,” he called out. “Matt`s riding a new bike and the Coopers are having sex.” 
Mom and dad shot up in bed. “How do you know that?” the startled father asked.

“Their kid is standing out on the balcony too,” his son replied.

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One day while he was at the track playing the ponies Mitch noticed a priest who stepped onto the track and blessed the forehead of one horse lining up for the 4th race.Lo and behold, that horse–a very long shot–won the race.Before the next race, as the horses began lining up, Mitch watched with interest as the old priest stepped onto the track again. Sure enough, as the 5th race horses came to the starting gate, the priest made a blessing on the forehead of one horse.Mitch made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse the priest had blessed won the race.Mitch collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which horse the priest would bless for the 6th race. The priest again blessed a horse.Mitch bet big on it, and it won. Mitch was elated. As the races continued, the priest kept blessing long-shot horses, and each one ended up coming in first.By and by, Mitch was pulling in some serious money. By the last race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He made a quick dash to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and waited for the priest’s blessing to tell him which horse to bet on.True to his habit, the priest stepped onto the track for the last race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the day. Mitch also observed the priest blessing the eyes, ears, and hooves of the old nag.Mitch knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the old nag.He then watched, dumbfounded, as the old nag come in dead last. Mitch, in a state of shock, made his way down to the track area where the priest was.Confronting the old priest he demanded, “Father! What happened? All day long, you blessed horses and they all won. Then, in the last race, the horse you blessed lost by a Kentucky mile. Now, thanks to you, I’ve lost every cent of my savings–all of it!”The priest nodded wisely and, with sympathy, said, “Son, that’s the problem with you Protestants. You can’t tell the difference between a simple blessing and last rites.”-

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A man wakes up one morning to find a bear on his roof. So he looks in the yellow pages and sure enough, there’s an ad for “Bear Removers.”
He calls the number, and the bear remover says he’ll be over in 30 minutes. The bear remover arrives, and gets out of his van. He’s got a ladder, a baseball bat, a shotgun and a mean old pit bull.
“What are you going to do,” the homeowner asks?
“I’m going to put this ladder up against the roof, then I’m going to go up there and knock the bear off the roof with this baseball bat. When the bear falls off, the pit bull is trained to grab his testicles and not let go. The bear will then be subdued enough for me to put him in the cage in the back of the van.”
He hands the shotgun to the homeowner.
“What’s the shotgun for?” asks the homeowner.
“If the bear knocks me off the roof, shoot the dog.” 

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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

Reese Swanson is a freshman playing hockey at St. Olaf.

Carter Coauette is a freshman playing football at Minot State.

Isabelle Smith is a freshman playing Tennis at Concordia College.

Isaac Thomforde is a freshman playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.

Emilee Tate is a Sophomore playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.

Halle Bruggeman is a Sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.

Ethan Boll is a Red-shirt Freshman on the University of North Dakota Football team.

Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.

Jacey Larson is a Sophomore playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.

Aleah Bienek is a Junior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.

Joslynn Leach is a Senior playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.

Brooks Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.

Ty Hamre is redshirt Junior playing football at Bemidji State University.

Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.

Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Ben Parkin 
is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Amy Boll 
is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese 
is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach

Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc

Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.

Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.

Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball

Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.

Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.

Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.

Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.

Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.

Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.

Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park

Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.

Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.

Matt Harris is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.

Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of North Dakota.

Mike Hastings is the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.

Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.

Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.

Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.

Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.

Kyle Buchmeier 
is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis

Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.

Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy.

Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.

Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.

Philip Kujawa class of 2004, from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.

Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome

That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments, and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com.

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