Crookston High School is celebrating homecoming this week and they held the Powderpuff football games on Wednesday evening and after watching the games, I would love to see girls football. For two reasons, it would be fun to watch, but the main reason – Crookston would have a helluva team. We have big, athletic, strong girls to play the line, unbelievable athletes that would be solid defenders, running backs, quarterbacks, and receivers.
The following playmakers impressed me on Wednesday. Halle Winjum, Hayden Winjum, Cassie Solheim, Breanna Kressin, Libby Salentine, Abby Borowicz, and Ally Perreault. You had some great flag grabs and even a few good solid tackles. I shouldn’t have started naming names, because I am leaving many out. The ones I listed are the ones that had the ball the most and made big plays.
It was fun watching the games and see the girls in a different venue. And most importantly, nobody got hurt.
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I have finally got back to updating how former Pirates are doing. You can see how they are doing at the bottom of the column. Also if there are any additions or subtractions, email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com.
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This week we will take a look at the high school sports world a little deeper with area football, volleyball, and soccer sections are shaping up halfway through September.
FOOTBALL –
SECTION 8AA –
There are only six teams in Section 8AA and that means getting the first or second seed will give you a first-round bye in the playoffs, so there is a lot to play for.
Right now the top team is Barnesville with their 2-1 record. The fight for the second seed will be with Hawley and Pelican Rapids. Both teams are 2-1 and both of their losses came at the hands of two good teams. Hawley lost to Osakis and Pelican Rapids lost to Barnesville. Hawley has a difficult schedule with Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, West Central Area, Breckenridge, and Barnesville yet on the schedule. With the QRF I don’t know how the seeding will go, but Pelican Rapids might have the edge with a little bit of an easier schedule. Warroad, Frazee and Crookston will be fighting four fourth through sixth place and the Crookston vs Frazee game coming up on Friday could have some big seeding implications.
SECTION 8A –
Section 8A has a three-team race for the top seed through three weeks. It will be big to get the top seed because there are only seven teams and the top team will get a bye. Polk County West, Ada-Borup-West, and Mahnomen-Waubun are all 3-0. We will find out if Ada-Borup-West is going to be the top seed or not over the next two weeks. ABW plays Mahnomen-Waubun and Polk County West over the next two weeks. If ABW wins both they will have a big leg up on the top seed. If they lose both they won’t have a chance. Polk County West and Mahnomen-Waubun DOESN’T play each other this year and another reason why I think District scheduling is the dumbest thing ever.
SECTION 8 9-MAN
There are eight teams in the section and there are four teams fighting for the top seed. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo is the only undefeated team at 3-0 and have the top spot as of now, but there are three teams that are 2-1 and are still looking to get the top seed with Goodridge-Grygla, Win-E-Mac, and Kittson County Central. Goodridge-Grygla just beat Win-E-Mac and have the edge if it comes down to the head-to-head tie-breaker. This will be a fun battle in the final five weeks of the season.
SECTION 6 9-MAN
There are three teams out of the eight that are 3-0 and it is no surprise that Fertile-Beltrami, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal, and Nevis are perfect so far. Blackduck and Clearbrook-Gonvick are 2-1 and are right there in the battle for the top seed still. Laporte, Cass Lake-Bena, and Laporte are looking to stay out of the bottom of the standings.
SECTION 8AAA
The top seed is important again as there is only seven teams in the section, so the top team will get a bye. There are two teams that seem to be the teams that will be battling for the top seed with Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and Fergus Falls and they play each other in week seven. East Grand Forks and Perham are both 2-1 and are right there with the to top two teams. The last three teams are all 0-3 with Thief River Falls, Roseau, and Park Rapids. I would give the edge to TRF to finish at the top of these three teams.
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VOLLEYBALL
SECTION 8AA
There are only 15 teams in Section 8AA, but one thing that remains the same is the teams at the top. You have Hawley staking their claim as the top team after victory over Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton on Tuesday. But, Barnesville has had a great start to the season and they are loaded with great multi-sport athletes. Thief River Falls has had a solid start to the season so far and those four are leading the way so far.
After those four teams, it is wide open. There are a lot of teams around .500 or a little below and the next two weeks will help provide some separation!
SECTION 8A
There are 21 teams in the section this year and there are two teams that have put their stamp on the season and are undefeated with Badger-Greenbush-Middle River and Lake of the Woods.
There are a handful of teams that are right behind BGMR and LOW. Kittson County Central (who is coming off a great weekend at the Minnewaska tourney), Fosston, Ada-Borup-West, Fertile-Beltrami, Stephen-Argyle, and Clearbrook Gonvick are off to great starts so far this season.
I know one thing, after the first round of the Section 8A tourney, there are going to be some great matches with a lot of quality teams again this year.
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BOYS SOCCER
SECTION 8A
There are nine teams in the section and St. Cloud Cathedral is the top team right now. They beat Melrose 22-0 and their only loss is to Orono. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, Pelican Rapids, and Central Minnesota Christian Right behind. I would put Pelican Rapids and Central Minnesota Christian in front of Hillcrest because of the strength of schedule played by the three teams. Minnewaska Area, St. John’s Prep, and Fergus Falls are next. Melrose and Crookston are still looking for their first wins and both are trying to get out of the play-in game.
SECTION 8AA
Alexandria is the team to beat early on with St. Cloud Tech right behind them. The handful of teams seem to be a toss-up with Rocori, St. Cloud Apollo, Detroit Lakes, Sauk Rapids-Rice all close. At the bottom you have Little Falls with one win and East Grand Forks looking for their first win.
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GIRLS SOCCER
SECTION 8A –
Nobody has staked their claim on being the favorite so far this season. You have a handful of teams all around .500 at the top with St. John’s Prep, St. Cloud Cathedral, Fergus Falls, Crookston and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley all in the top five. It is wide open and any of those five teams could get the top seed at the end of the year.
SECTION 8AA
There are eight teams in the section with Alexandria and Little Falls looking like they are the teams to beat. Alexandria (7-1) flexed their muscles earlier this week while beating East Grand Forks earlier this week. East Grand Forks has had a great start while going 6-0 before the loss to Alexandria. Little Falls hasn’t lost yet, and Detroit Lakes is 5-2 on the year. The bottom four teams, St. Cloud Tech, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Rocori, and St. Cloud Apollo haven’t won a game yet.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston athletic department announced the hiring of Blake Bergeron as finance generalist. Bergeron comes to the University of Minnesota Crookston after two years as a billing analyst for Charter Communications (Charter Spectrum) in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Prior to that, Bergeron was an accounting specialist for Citibank in O’Fallon, Missouri.
Bergeron was a member of the Billing Assurance High-Speed Data team at Charter Spectrum, ensuring clients were accurately receiving the services to which they subscribed. In addition, he was the project leader of the Imbalance of Services to Equipment (ISE) report, which used multiple tools to diagnose where the issue occurred and what needed to be corrected to avoid over-billing customers. While Bergeron was at Citibank, he was a member of the Returned Deposit Items team, ensuring clients accurately received their funds in a timely manner. He was also recruited by the Branch Financial Investigations team to assist with general ledger items.
A native of Crookston, Bergeron was a college wrestler at Concordia College in Moorhead. A graduate of Crookston High School, he was a three-sport captain in wrestling, football, and track and field. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Concordia College in 2018.
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Roseau High School has named Greg Lund as the new Boys Hockey Coach. Lund is a former Ram and was most recently the Roseau VFW Bantam AA coach.
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Former Roseau Ram hockey player Aaron Ness has signed a Professional Tryout Contract with the Seattle Kraken. Ness has played 72 NHL games with stints with the Islanders, Capitals, and Coyotes.
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The Northwest District Football stats for week 3 are complete. CLICK HERE to check them out.
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Our friends at the Grygla School will be hosting a fundraiser for the Ryan and Jennifer (Saurdiff) Wichterman and the Mike and Nicole Gullingsrud families on Saturday, October 16th, beginning at 8:00, in conjunction with the Frostbite Volleyball Tournament.
Both families have children, Dylan Wichterman, 13, and Alex Gullingsrud, 8, who are battling Cancer. They both face several trips to the Mayo Clinic for treatment and appointments.
We ask that you come out to support these area families by supporting the Bingo, silent and live auctions, Beef Brisket dinner and bake sale. You can order t-shirts at:
https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSePEZ…/viewform……
T-shirts are $20. $8 per t-shirt will go directly to the two families.
[embeddoc url=”https://kroxam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Benefit-Flyer-1.pdf”]
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JOKES
Teacher: “What is the chemical formula for water?”
Student: “HIJKLMNO.”
Teacher: “What are you talking about?”
Student: “Yesterday you said it’s H to O!”
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A circus owner walked into a bar to see everyone crowded about a table watching a little show. On the table was an upside down pot and a duck tap dancing on it. The circus owner was so impressed that he offered to buy the duck from its owner. After some wheeling and dealing, they settled for $10,000 for the duck and the pot.
Three days later the circus owner runs back to the bar in anger, “Your duck is a ripoff! I put him on the pot before a whole audience, and he didn’t dance a single step!”
“So?” asked the ducks former owner, “did you remember to light the candle under the pot?”
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A young pastor was sitting in a restaurant eating lunch. He opened a letter he’d just received that morning from his mom. As he opened it a twenty-dollar bill fell out. He thought to himself, Thanks, Mom, I sure needed that right now.As he finished his feel, he noticed a beggar outside on the sidewalk leaning against the light post. Thinking that the poor man could probably use the twenty dollars more than he, he crossed out the names on the envelope and wrote across the top in large letters, PERSEVERE! So as not to make a scene, he put the envelope under his arm and dropped it as he walked past the man. The man picked it up and read the message and smiled. The next day, as the pastor enjoyed his meal, the same man tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a big wad of bills. Surprised, the young pastor asked him what that was for. The man replied, “This is your half of the winnings. Persevere came in first in the fourth race at the track yesterday and paid thirty to one.”
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Sid and Al were sitting in a Chinese restaurant.
“Sid,” asked Al, “Are there any Jews in China?”
“I don’t know,” Sid replied. “Why don’t we ask the waiter?” When the waiter came by, Al said, “Are there any Chinese Jews?”
“I don’t know sir, let me ask,” the waiter replied and he went into the kitchen.
He quickly returned and said, “No, sir. No Chinese Jews.”
“Are you sure?” Al asked.
“I will check again, sir.” the waiter replied and went back to the kitchen.
While he was still gone, Sid said, “I cannot believe there are no Jews in China. Our people are scattered everywhere.”
When the waiter returned he said, “Sir, no Chinese Jews.”
“Are you really sure?” Al asked again. “I cannot believe there are no Chinese Jews.”
“Sir, I ask everyone,” the waiter replied exasperated. “We have orange jews, prune jews, tomato jews, and grape jews, but no one ever heard of Chinese jews!”
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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
Ben Trostad is a senior playing Men’s Golf and Club Hockey at UMC. Ben shot an 83, 74, and 78 and finished 21st at the Hardrocker Invite at The Golf Club at Red Rock in Rapid City, S.D, UMC will travel to the Watkins Invite in Winona on September 27 and 28.
Kaleb Thingelstad is a freshman playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan University. Caleb shot a 243 (three-round total) and finished 31st at the Central Kansas Classic hosted by Central Christian College in Turkey Creek, Kansas.
Joslynn Leach is a freshman playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. She shot a pair of 87’s to lead the Cobbers at the 20 team DIII Classic in Hastings. Concordia will golf in the St. Catherine Invite on September 25 and 26.
Brady Butt is a sophomore playing football at the University of Jamestown. Brady didn’t dress in the Jamestown win over Hastings 32-28. Jamestown will host Midland on Saturday.
Rachel Hefta, is a junior playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska. Rachel had two blocks and one dig while recording three attacks in a 3-0 loss to Doane. Hastings will host #17 ranked College of St. Mary on September 29.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University. He didn’t play in a 45-24 loss to Minnesota State Mankato. BSU will host #22 Augustana on Saturday.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Sweden. He is the only American playing for Mora IK of the Allsvenskan league. They start the regular season on September 29.
Gretchen Theis is a sophomore at NDSU on the Equestrian team.
Kate MacGregor is a senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Aleece Durbin, is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Nick Garmen is a junior playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Sue Tiedemann is the Pirate head girls tennis coach
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls hockey coach and softball assistant coach.
Lacia Hanson is the Junior High softball coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Brock Hanson is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Ben Halos is a Pirate Baseball assistant coach.
Alex LaFrance is a 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
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 a youth wrestling Coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching –
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
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle 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.
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 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 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
Ben Andringa is serving our country with the Army in New York.
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.
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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