KROX didn’t win the Marconi Award for Best Small Market Radio station. A station in Sheridan, Wyoming won. In the acceptance speech, the General Manager said he had 34 employees! I thought to myself…..my god wouldn’t that be nice! We have five full time and five part-time employees! All five stations, that were named finalists, deserved to win and it was an honor to be one of the finalists. The one thing that was said over and over, was being LOCAL. Every station that was a finalist for an award was a finalist because they know how to be successful in radio. You have to be LOCAL. So it was refreshing to hear all the award winners and finalists are doing a great job in our industry and it was an honor to be in a room with some of the greats in the radio industry. It was also the first time my wife and I really dressed up for something, so I think she enjoyed it too!
My oldest daughter, Alyssa, kept me humble with this text shortly after my wife sent a group text on my phone (I am not joking and I love how my kids can be such smart asses….I have taught them well!!!) –
— — —
I asked UMC Athletic Director Steph Helgeson how the UMC Club Hockey Coach search has gone and she said they are conducting phone interviews. That was last week. She also said they hope to have the information on the Club Hockey League acceptance soon. They had a commissioner change so that has pushed it back a little.
We will pass along more information when everything is official.
— — —
We are excited to host our alumni game this Saturday, October 5. If the weather holds out, we are expecting a pretty good turnout for the 1 pm start time. The parents are holding a tailgate and cookout before the game in the parking lot. The alumni game is one of my favorite events all year. It’s so great to see alumni that played for and before me and listen to stories about their playing days and their time in Crookston. It’s also fun to see and hear the successes that have been earned since they left Crookston.
Fall Ball has been going well despite one of the wettest Septembers on record. One of the core values of our program is hard work, and all of our 44 student-athletes are putting in countless hours both on the field and in the classroom. On paper, this could be one of the most talented offenses. I believe we have a mix of speed, power, and guys who can hit for average. The quality of depth has made for some interesting battles for positions this fall. Our pitchers have also performed well even though we lost some talented arms from a year ago.
We feel fortunate to have earned the success that we’ve had for the past several years. Our guys have bought into our team philosophy and have done everything we have asked of them. It’s great to see the community and area support that we have received over the years. The Crookston Baseball Association, in particular, has generously given its support to us and have made several projects possible. The Baseball Association board is a lot like our program where they will do whatever possible to ensure success for baseball and our community. I have the utmost respect for that organization.
The ballpark entrance has been spruced up a bit with paved walkways and banners highlighting some of our past players. I never thought a couple of walkways and pictures could make me so happy. Our new bleacher project should be completed by next spring. The bleachers will seat about 100 but all of them will be elevated and will include some stadium (with backs) seating. We are also hoping to install some decks in the near future.
We are excited about our opening series against Pittsburgh State in mid-February. Until then, we will continue to grind with hard work, pride, and desire.
— — —
Speaking of greatness….
Congratulations to Red Lake County Rebel football coach Brian Remick on his 100th victory as a head coach on Friday night. The Rebels beat Fosston 56-8 and the interesting tidbit that was shared by the EaglesRebelsActivity twitter account was Coach Remick won his first game by a 56-8 score!!
Brian is a great guy, a great coach, and Red Lake Falls and Red Lake County has been lucky to have him as a coach. He is a great competitor, but most importantly he genuinely cares about the kids. I consider him a good friend (he might not consider it!) and asked Brian if he would answer a few questions –
Brian is quick to admit that others have been instrumental in the success of the program –
I have been very blessed to coach in my home area, have some good players and support over the years, and some really good assistant coaches. More to do with all of that over anything I have done.
What do you remember from the first win –
That 1st win was somewhat unique. Up to about 2 weeks before the season started I was going to be a junior high coach. Drex came to me, said his cancer had gotten too bad and he needed me to take over. Was lucky to have some great assistants and 18 seniors that year. We opened the year with LOW at home. Played very well and won going away 56-8.
Do you have a win or wins that stick out over the 100?
The wins and losses stick with you. I almost remember all of them. A lot of them ranked right up there for various reasons. Really hard to pick 1, or top 5 or top 10.
Do you have any players that have coached or are currently coaching?
Few guys off my 1st team in Joe Hartel and Kurt Remick have done some coaching in St. Cloud area. Kevin Longtin is on staff at WAO. Trevor Page and Seth Schmitz are current assistants here now. Cody Glass and Ramon Ramirez have coached at NCTC in the past. Probably forgetting people..(happens as you get older).
Who are some people that have molded the way you coach over the years?
I have been lucky to learn from many guys over the years. Drex was a huge influence and long-time assistants Todd Glass and Steve Philipp were right there with me in the beginning and learned a lot. Former assistants in Ethan Marquis, Matt Kroulik and current assistants all have taught me things. Even the talks over beers with the staff of the likes of Fertile-Beltrami, Hawley, Mahnomen, Fosston, and PCW are always something you learn from.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The whole deal is way more about what others have done over the years. Great players, great assistant coaches. Been very lucky to be associated with it and develop all the relationships I have been able to have with players, assistants and other coaches around the state.
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The latest QRF rankings for the Section 8A Volleyball sub-sections have been released this week by www.minnesota-Scores.net and we have the latest rankings below.
East Sub-section standings are still pretty fluid, but the top three teams are pretty much set with the Fosston Greyhounds already locking up the top seed for the subsection. Defending champion, Ada-Borup is a surprising second place and 13-6 overall this year. Mahnomen-Waubun, Fertile-Beltrami, and Red Lake County Central are still fighting for the third spot. The rest of the seeds are still up for grabs with two weeks left.
| Section 8A – East Standings (QRF Seeded – 10/16) | |||
|
QRF Rank
|
Team (QRF)
|
Section
|
Overall
|
| No. 10 | Fosston (102.9) | 8-1-0 | 15-5-0 |
| No. 34 | Ada-Borup (81.8) | 7-4-0 | 13-6-0 |
| No. 65 | Mahnomen/Waubun (63.6) | 6-6-0 | 12-7-0 |
| No. 74 | Fertile-Beltrami (59.6) | 9-4-0 | 10-7-0 |
| No. 75 | Red Lake Co.Central (58.2) | 8-6-0 | 9-7-0 |
| No. 93 | Clearbrook-Gonvick (51.1) | 9-6-0 | 9-9-0 |
| No. 99 | Win-E-Mac (48.9) | 3-7-0 | 6-12-0 |
| No. 121 | Blackduck (41.5) | 4-5-0 | 8-9-0 |
| No. 155 | Bagley (31.5) | 1-7-0 | 3-15-0 |
| No. 160 | Cass Lake-Bena (29.3) | 1-5-0 | 4-14-0 |
| No. 163 | Northome/Kelliher (27.7) | 1-7-0 | 3-10-0 |
| No. 175 | Red Lake (25.2) | 1-2-0 | 1-3-0 |
In Section 8A West – The top three seeds are pretty much solidified with Kittson County Central as the top seed and the Bearcats will be the Section 8A favorite going into the playoffs. Sacred Heart is the strong #2 seed and will look to get back to the championship for the second straight year. Badger-Greenbush-Middle River will be the third seed. The rest of the seeds are still up in the air with two weeks to go. The current QRF is below –
| Section 8A – West Standings (QRF Seeded – 10/16) | |||
|
QRF Rank
|
Team (QRF)
|
Section
|
Overall
|
| No. 7 | Kittson Co. Central (110.7) | 11-0-0 | 22-2-0 |
| No. 16 | Sacred Heart (98.2) | 10-2-0 | 14-4-0 |
| No. 47 | Badger/Greenbush-MR 72.8 | 7-6-0 | 9-6-0 |
| No. 70 | Stephen-Argyle (62.4) | 8-9-0 | 11-9-0 |
| No. 77 | Goodridge/Grygla (57.1) | 5-5-0 | 7-6-0 |
| No. 84 | Northern Freeze (53.0) | 4-5-0 | 6-8-0 |
| No. 85 | Lake of the Woods (52.1) | 4-2-0 | 7-10-0 |
| No. 95 | Warren-Alvarado-Oslo (50.8) | 4-9-0 | 5-10-0 |
| No. 107 | Climax/Fisher (46.3) | 6-7-0 | 7-10-0 |
| No. 127 | Red Lake Falls (39.6) | 4-9-0 | 4-10-0 |
| No. 168 | Crookston (26.4) | 2-8-0 | 2-16-0 |
| No. 183 | Indus (21.0) | 1-2-0 | 3-8-0 |
— — —
The Section 8AA Volleyball seeds look like they are pretty much locked up with two weeks left in the North Sub-section. It looks like Park Rapids has the top seed locked up with a tougher schedule than Hawley, who is in second. Roseau is in third and DGF is in fourth. There seems to be enough separation right now…but with two weeks left, there could be some movement with some big wins for the teams.
| Team (QRF) | Sect Rec | Overall |
| 1. Park Rapids (109.9) | 5-1-0 | 11-3-0 |
| 2. Hawley (95.1) | 6-0-0 | 16-1-0 |
| 3. Roseau (77.4) | 4-1-0 | 11-5-0 |
| 4. DGF (67.9) | 1-2-0 | 5-5-0 |
| 5. TRF (52.8) | 2-5-0 | 6-8-0 |
| 6. EGF (41.8) | 2-5-0 | 6-16 |
| 7. Warroad (32.2) | 0-4-0 | 4-14-0 |
— — —
The Section 8A Girls Soccer rankings through Wednesday look to be pretty close to set. It is no surprise to anybody that East Grand Forks is the top team this year. Alexandria and Bemidji might be close enough for a tie-breaker for the second seed depending on what happens the rest of the week. The section seeding will be done this weekend and the play-in matches will be played Monday.
I am predicting East Grand Forks will win the championship and advance to state.
The section tournament format is below with a new format and a double-bye for the #1 and #2 teams.
Play-off round 1: Mon. October 7 – #9 at #8
Play-off round 2: Tues. October 8 – Winner #8/9 at #5, #7 at #6
Play-off round 3: Thur. Oct. 10 – Winner #8/9/5 at #4, Winner #7/6 at #3
Quarter-Finals: Sat Oct. 12, 2019 Win #8/9/5/4 at #1, Winner #7/6/3 at #2
Semi-Finals: Tuesday, October 15, 2019 – North Championship and South Championship
Finals: Thursday, October 17, 2019, North winner vs. South
All games played at high seed except Neutral Site Final @ Brainerd
| Section 8A – North Standings (QRF Seeded – 10/6) | |||
|
QRF Rank
|
Team (QRF)
|
Section
|
Overall
|
| No. 17 | East Grand Forks (56.1) | 9-0-2 | 11-1-2 |
| No. 28 | Alexandria (48.7) | 9-2-1 | 10-4-1 |
| No. 40 | Bemidji (43.0) | 6-1-1 | 7-5-1 |
| No. 53 | Fergus Falls (37.2) | 7-4-0 | 7-7-0 |
| No. 67 | Detroit Lakes (32.3) | 5-6-1 | 5-8-1 |
| No. 89 | Hillcrest Academy (25.1) | 5-8-0 | 5-8-0 |
| No. 113 | Crookston (16.4) | 2-11-0 | 3-13-0 |
| No. 124 | Pelican Rapids (8.8) | 1-7-0 | 1-7-0 |
| No. 125 | Walker-H-A (8.6) | 0-7-0 | 0-8-0 |
— — —
The Section 8A Boys Soccer standings with a few days left and the defending champion Bemidji Lumberjacks will be the top team in the north. Pelican Rapids and Alexandria are fighting for the second seed and it looks like East Grand Forks and Fergus Falls Hillcrest are fighting for fourth. There are only eight teams this year with Walker-H-A dropping boys soccer.
Like the girls, there is a new format this year in the section tournament.
Play-off round 2: Tues. October 8 – Winner #8/9 at #5, #7 at #6
Play-off round 3: Thur. Oct. 10 – Winner #8/9/5 at #4, Winner #7/6 at #3
Quarter-Finals: Sat Oct. 12, 2019 Win #8/9/5/4 at #1, Winner #7/6/3 at #2
Semi-Finals: Tuesday, October 15, 2019 – North Championship and South Championship
Finals: Thursday, October 17, 2019, North winner vs. South
All games played at high seed except Neutral Site Final @ Brainerd
| Section 8A – North Standings (QRF Seeded – 10/6) | |||
|
QRF Rank
|
Team (QRF)
|
Section
|
Overall
|
| No. 8 | Bemidji (61.2) | 6-0-0 | 9-2-1 |
| No. 40 | Pelican Rapids (43.6) | 10-1-1 | 10-1-2 |
| No. 42 | Alexandria (42.9) | 7-2-1 | 7-5-1 |
| No. 63 | East Grand Forks (35.9) | 3-4-1 | 5-6-1 |
| No. 68 | Hillcrest Academy (33.5) | 5-4-1 | 5-4-1 |
| No. 101 | Detroit Lakes (23.8) | 4-7-0 | 4-8-0 |
| No. 101 | Fergus Falls (23.8) | 4-8-0 | 4-10-0 |
| No. 124 | Crookston (14.3) | 0-10-0 | 2-12-0 |
— — —
The Minnesota Wrestling Historian, Glenn Heinicke has released the updated Crookston High School Wrestling records/data. To see the information, CLICK HERE.
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Dave Peterson has released the Week 5 Northwest District and District 9 stats. The stats are below –
FOR THE DISTRICT 9 STATS – CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE FOR THE NORTHWEST DISTRICT STATS
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Team Minnesota has announced its Girls Hockey teams for each age group. Several girls from Crookston and the area have made the teams and the teams will play in two tournaments, the 2020 Finnesota Cup in Blaine, Minnesota and the North American Female Elite in Edmonton, Alberta.
The Class of 2025 team (seventh graders) had a lot of people from the area. Addison (Addie) Fee from Crookston (my niece), Peyton Remick of Roseau, Kaiya Sandy of Warroad and Taylor Kressin of Fargo.
The Class of 2024 team (eighth graders) didn’t have anybody from the area other than Taylor Brueske of Fargo. But there were some names of interest including Katie Sandelin of Hermantown and one of the coaches, Scott Sandelin (UMD Men’s Hockey coach and dad of Katie).
Scott Sandelin and Bob Motzko have been seen at a lot of youth tournaments around the state and parents get excited because they think they are there to watch kids in the tournament. The parents are right, but they are there to watch THEIR OWN kids.
I was looking for the rest of the teams, but haven’t seen them officially posted. As soon as I see the other teams posted, I will pass those along.
— — —
Warroad junior forward Genevieve Hendrickson has committed to play hockey at D1 Franklin Pierce University (Rindge, NH). Hendrickson had 55 points in her sophomore year.
Gabbie Smith (Brainerd High School) has committed to Bemidji State University for 2020-2021.
— — —
JOKES
Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, ‘Pour me a stiff one – just had another fight with the little woman.’
‘Oh yeah?’ said Charlie, ‘And how did this one end?’
‘When it was over,’ Mike replied, ‘She came to me on her hands and knees.’
‘Really,’ said Charles, ‘Now that’s a switch! What did she say?’
She said, ‘Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.’
— — —
A 90-year-old man said to his doctor, “I’ve never felt better. I have an 18-year-old bride who is pregnant with my child. What do you think about that?”
The doctor considered his question for a minute and then said, “I have an elderly friend who is a hunter and never misses a season. One day when he was going out in a bit of a hurry, he accidentally picked up his umbrella instead of his gun. When he got to the Creek, he saw a beaver sitting beside the stream. He raised his umbrella and went, ‘bang, bang’ and the beaver fell dead. What do you think of that?”
The 90-year-old said, “I’d say somebody else shot that beaver.”
The doctor replied, “My point exactly.”
— — —
The man approached the very beautiful woman in the large supermarket and asked, “You know, I’ve lost my wife here in the supermarket. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?”
“Why?”
“Because every time I talk to a beautiful woman my wife appears out of nowhere.”
— — —
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, is playing for the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket.
Cade Salentine, is a redshirt Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota. Cade didn’t play in a 35-20 loss to #21 ranked Eastern Washington. UND hosts to #12 UC Davis on Saturday.
Ben Trostad, is a sophomore member of the University of Minnesota Crookston golf team. Ben shot an 81 and a 79 for a 160 at the Augustana Invite. UMC will travel to St. Joseph, Missouri for the Holiday Inn Express Classic October 7 and 8.
Isaac Westlake, is a Senior on the Winona State Warrior Men’s Golf team. Isaac Westlake shot a 68 and 79 for a 147, good for second place finish at the LaCrosse Country Club in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Winona State will travel to the Fairfield Inn Invitational in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Elise Tangquist, is a Junior golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Elise shot a 100 for 16th place at the Bethany Lutheran Invite in Buffalo Lake. Northwestern will travel to the UMAC Championship in Becker October 3-5.
Mason LaPlante, a freshman, is playing soccer at the University of Jamestown. Mason didn’t play in a 4-1 loss to Morningside. Jamestown will travel to Briar Cliff on October 3 and Hastings College on October 5.
Rachel Hefta, a freshman, is playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska. Rachel is playing on the J.V. team. The varsity team is 8-8 on the year.
Thea Oman, a freshman, is swimming at St. Ben’s. The first event of the year is at St. Kates Pentathlon October 11.
Kate MacGregor, a Sophomore, is swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead. The first meet of the year will be at the University of Mary on October 14.
Ally Tiedemann, a Sophomore, is playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The season will start in February.
Aleece Durbin, is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Junior on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.
Brady Heppner, is a Senior, playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville.
Bailey Folkers, is a Sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Superior women’s basketball team.
Nick Garmen, is a freshman playing basketball and tennis at University of Minnesota Morris.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Brody Davidson is an Assistant Pirate Football 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
Cody Brekken is the Head Pirate Girls and Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Mitch Bakken is the head Pirate 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 coaching –
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.
Justin Johnson is an assistant softball coach at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
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.
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
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 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 High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
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
