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SPORTS FEEVER – January 30, 2025

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

Crookston High School will be looking for a new Varsity Football coach after the Crookston School Board accepted the resignation of Nate Lubarski on Monday. Nate will stay on as Activities Director, but he said he had to step down as football coach because he could do both jobs to the fullest.
He said it wasn’t the kids, parents, etc. He said he had to miss the Section Girls Tennis tournament and State Girls Tennis tournament this past fall because he was getting ready for the football playoffs, and he also said that there would be times he would be paying soccer officials while he should have been at football practice and several other things. With the new football/soccer field and track, he said the new facility will keep him busy.

I am interested to see who will apply for the opening, but I am also interested to see what teaching jobs open up as we get through the next several months.

— — —

We have compiled all the schedule information for the winter tournament dates for Northwest Minnesota sections-

Section 8A Girls Hockey –
February 3 – Seeding meeting
February 6 – Quarterfinals (at high seed)
February 8 – Semi-finals (at REA in TRF) 1:00 and 3:30 PM
February 13 – Section Championship (at REA in TRF) 7:00 PM

Section 8A Team Wrestling –
February 7 – Team seeding
February 11 – Quarterfinals (at high seed)
February 14 – Semi-finals and Championship (at Fertile-Beltrami High School) 6:00 and 7:30 PM

Section 8A Individual Wrestling –
February 22 – at Crookston High School

Section 8A Boys Hockey –
February 12 – Seeding meeting
February 15 – Play-in games (at high seed) 7:00 PM
February 18 – Quarterfinals (at high seed) 7:00 PM
February 22 – Semifinals (at EGF) 1:00 and 3:30 PM
February 27 – Section Championship (at EGF) 7:00 PM

Section 8A Girls Basketball –
Seeding done by QRF
February 24 – Pigtail games (at high seed)
February 27 – Play-in games (East at high seeds, West at UMC and NCTC)
March 1 – Quarterfinals (at REA in TRF) Noon, 1:45, 3:30, and 5:15 PM
March 4 – Semi-finals (at REA in TRF) 6:00 and 7:45 PM
March 7 – Section Championship (REA in TRF) 7:00 PM

Section 8A Boys Basketball –
Seeding done by QRF
March 3 – Pigtail games (at high seed)
March 6 – Play-in games (East at high seeds, West at UMC and NCTC)
March 8 – Quarterfinals (at REA in TRF) Noon, 1:45, 3:30, and 5:15 PM
March 12 – Semi-finals (at REA in TRF) 6:00 and 7:45 PM
March 14 – Section Championship (REA in TRF) 7:00 PM

Section 8AA Girls Basketball –
Seeding done by QRF
February 27 – Play-in (at high seeds) #1 and #2 seed get a bye
March 1 – Quarterfinals (at high seeds) 7:00 PM
March 4 – Semi-finals (Concordia College) 6:00 and 7:45 PM
March 7 – Championship (Concordia College) 7:00 PM

Section 8AA Boys Basketball –
Seeding by QRF
March 6 – Play-in games (at high seeds) 7:00 PM
March 8 – Quarterfinals (at high seeds) 7:00 PM (times subject to change)
March 12 – Semifinals (at Concordia College) 6:00 and 7:45 PM
March 14 – Section Championship (at Concordia College) 7:00 PM

— — —

The Section 8A Girls Hockey coaches won’t take long at their seeding meeting this year. There is NO WAY the seeding can go any other way than I have listed below.
1. Warroad
2. Crookston
3. East Grand Forks
4. Thief River Falls
5. Detroit Lakes
6. International Falls

So that will mean that Warroad and Crookston will have first round byes, while East Grand Forks hosts International Falls and Thief River Falls hosts Detroit Lakes in the first round. Warroad will take on Thief River Falls and Crookston will take on East Grand Forks for the fourth time this season.

— — —

Lets take a look at the Section 8AA Girls Basketball standings according to the QRF.

Section 8AA Standings

We have a four-team race for the top seed right now with Pelican Rapids, DGF, Barnesville, and Menahga battling and all within five QRF points!!! BUT, don’t count out Perham as they are playing some great basketball and just beat Pelican Rapids. Perham has had some great performances from underclassmen and they have quickly catapulted into the conversation for one of the top teams too! The standings as of Wednesday night.

TeamSectionOverallQRF Value
Pelican Rapids8-212-497.3
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton9-214-496.5
Barnesville10-312-495.3
Menahga6-017-092.3
Perham4-49-782.4
East Grand Forks6-311-875.7
Thief River Falls6-312-572.4
Frazee6-612-866.4
Hawley3-78-1064.3
Wadena-Deer Creek2-512-762.8
Park Rapids Area0-105-1243.8
Crookston3-75-1439.6
Roseau2-64-1531.5
Warroad0-72-1726.0

— — —

Taking a look at the Section 8A Girls Basketball standings. Things are starting to take shape as we get into the final month of the regular season.

Section 8A – West Standings

Kittson County Central has proven they are the top team. They are averaging 78 points per game and are a perfect 10-0 against Section 8A opponents. They combine outstanding defense with great offense and they are a team nobody wants to see at playoff time, unless it is the championship.
Sacred Heart has taken over second place in the standings by 2.4 QRF points. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo is in third. Sacred Heart and WAO split during the regular season so the tie-breaker will come down to more than head-to-head! So every win is big at this point. It looks like the next tie-breaker is conference record. Sacred Heart has a one game advantage there.

TeamSectionOverallQRF Value
Kittson County Central10-016-181.3
Sacred Heart9-214-474.7
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo12-214-472.3
Northern Freeze6-59-658.2
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River6-58-852.7
Stephen-Argyle4-77-850.8
Red Lake County Central6-87-845.0
Fertile-Beltrami8-79-1042.1
Goodridge/Grygla3-96-1034.4
Climax/Fisher3-94-1233.3

Section 8A – East Standings

The Section 8A East sub-section has a two-team battle for the top seed, and right now, Kelliher/Northome is leading the way by 4.4 points over Cass Lake-Bena. Kelliher/Northome is averaging 83 points per game and lost to Cass Lake-Bena in the first meeting, but then bounced back to beat the Panthers easily in the second meeting. They are the real deal and my top team and the QRF’s top team in the sub-section.
Fosston has had an impressive season, with 11 wins already this year. That is impressive after all the talent they lost from last year’s team.

TeamSectionOverallQRF Value
Kelliher/Northome6-110-377.6
Cass Lake-Bena7-116-673.2
Fosston9-411-661.2
Mahnomen/Waubun5-39-953.6
Blackduck5-710-943.1
Bagley5-79-939.8
Clearbrook-Gonvick3-105-1130.3
Win-E-Mac1-112-1525.9
Red Lake0-41-1019.6
Lake of the Woods1-71-1318.6

— — —

MILESTONES/HONORS

Congratulations to Warroad Boys Hockey Coach Jay Hardwick on getting career win 238. He is now the Warroad Boys Hockey all-time career wins leader!

Lexi Mahlen of Fosston scored the 1,000 point of her career on Monday against Crookston.

Crosby-Ironton’s Tori Oehrlein scored 42 points on Tuesday and reached 4,000 career points. Oehrlein has committed to play for the Gopher Women’s Basketball team in two years because she is only a JUNIOR!!!!
Oehrlein is the third Minnesota Girls Basketball player to reach the milestone. Addison Mack of Minnehaha Academy reached 4,000 on December 28. The Minnesota Girls Basketball career scoring leader is Rebeka Dahlman of Braham, who scored 5,060 career points.
Maddyn Greenway of Providence Academy has 3,877 points.

— — —

The 2025 Miss Minnesota Basketball first cut list has been announced a some area players making the cut. The finalists will be announced on March 16, and the winner will be announced on April 4.

Two Section 8A Girls Basketball players, Gabrielle Fineday of Cass Lake-Bena and Morgan Turn of Kittson County Central were named to the list.

2025 Miss Minnesota Basketball First Cut
Zahara Bishop, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Lainey Braulick, BOLD
Rylie Cother, Jackson County Central
Hope Counts, Providence Academy
Rae Ehrman, Eden Prairie
Gabrielle Fineday, Cass Lake-Bena
Elise Groppoli, Hill-Murray
Kallyn Grove, Underwood
Kendra Harvey, Byron
Sophie Hawkinson, Wayzata
Lauren Hillesheim, Hopkins
Addison Hoof, Lester Prairie
Abby Hoselton, St. Michael-Albertville
Regan Jeunemann, Crosby-Ironton
Sierra Korten, Sauk Centre
Kendyl Lodermeier, Goodhue
Addy Mack, Minnehaha Academy
Autumn McCall, Centennial
Kendall McGee, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Mylea Monahan, Glencoe-Silver Lake
Aubrey Morrison, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
Chloe Nuss, Totino-Grace
Jordan Ode, Maple Grove
Dakota Rich, New London-Spicer
Kaitlyn Rohloff, Hancock
Tori Schlagel, Eden Prairie
Aneisha Scott, DeLaSalle
Annika Southworth, St. Peter
Hadley Thul, Alexandria
Morgan Turn, Kittson County Central
Brandi Washington, Fridley
Anna Westby, Rock Ridge
Sam Wills, Visitation
Tatum Woodson, Hopkins

— — —

The 2025 Mr. Basketball watch list has been announced with 38 boys being named to the list. The top 10 will be released on March 3, and the Final five will be announced on March 17 with the winner announced after the state boys basketball tournament.

The 38 players named to the watchlist are below –
Tommy Ahneman, Cretin-Derham Hall
CJ Armstrong, Richfield
Zeke Austin, Albany
Caleb Bancroft, Stewartville
Jack Battaglia, Cloquet
Brayson Boike, Dawson-Boyd
Marley Curtis, St. Louis Park
Micah Curtis, St. Louis Park
Max Dearborn, Byron
Monteff Dixon Jr., Cretin-Derham Hall
Jaleel Donley, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Isa El-Amin, Minnetonka
Ganden Gosch, Mankato East
Nolan Groves, Orono
Keller Hanson, Sauk Rapids-Rice
Sam Hondl, Albany
Norbu Jenpa, Prior Lake
Brooks Johnson, Duluth Marshall
Max Kraay, Mound-Westonka
Alex Lester, Nevis
Brogan Madson, Mankato East
Wyatt McBeth, Wayzata
Miles Newton, Breck
Hudson Omoke, Sauk Rapids-Rice
Peyton Podany, Anoka
Damarius Russell, Waseca
JJ Semanko, Hopkins
Anthony Smith, Hopkins
Kam’Ron Solomon, Hiawatha Collegiate
TJ Stuttley, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Noah Sundquist, Cherry
Chase Thompson, Alexandria
Tyler Wagner, Champlin Park
Azayah Washington, St. Cloud Apollo
Chace Watley, Totino-Grace
Cole Wilcek, Farmington
Jalen Wilson, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Brady Wooley, Orono

— — —

JOKES

A magician was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The audience would be different each week, so the magician allowed himself to do the same tricks over and over again.

There was only one problem: The captain’s parrot saw the shows every week and began to understand what the magician did in every trick. Once he understood that, he started shouting in the middle of the show.

“Look, it’s not the same hat!” “Look, he’s hiding the flowers under the table!” “Hey, why are all the cards the Ace of Spades?”

The magician was furious but couldn’t do anything, it was the captain’s parrot after all.

One day the ship had an accident and sank. The magician found himself on a piece of wood, in the middle of the ocean, and of course the parrot was by his side.

They stared at each other with hate, but did not utter a word. This went on for several days.

After a week the parrot finally said, “Okay, I give up. What’d you do with the boat?”

— —

A new hair salon opened up for business right across the street from the old established hair cutters’ place.

They put up a big bold sign which read: “WE GIVE SEVEN DOLLAR HAIR CUTS!”

Not to be outdone, the old Master Barber put up his own sign: “WE FIX SEVEN DOLLAR HAIR CUTS!”

— —

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him.

As he sits, the waitress comes over and asks for their orders.

The man says, “I’ll have a hamburger, fries and a coke,” and turns to the ostrich, “What’s yours?”

“I’ll have the same,” says the ostrich.

A short time later the waitress returns with the order. “That will be $6.40 please,” and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, “I’ll have a hamburger, fries and a coke,” and the ostrich says, “I’ll have the same.”

Once again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.

This becomes a routine until late one evening, the two enter again.

“The usual?” asks the waitress. “No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and salad,” says the man, “same for me,” says the ostrich.

A short time later the waitress comes with the order and says, “That will be $12.62.”Once again the man pulls exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress can’t hold back her curiosity any longer.

“Excuse me, sir.How do you manage to always come up with the exact change out of your pocket every time?”

“Well,” says the man, “several years ago I was cleaning the attic and I found an old lamp. When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.”

“That’s brilliant!”says the waitress. “Most people would wish for a million dollars or something, but you’ll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!”

“That’s right. Whether it’s a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,” says the man.

The waitress asks, “One other thing, sir, what’s with the ostrich?”

The man sighs, pauses, and answers, “My second wish was for a tall chick with long legs who agrees with everything I say.”

— —

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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