SPORTS FEEVER – Written by Chris Fee (chrisjfee@yahoo.com)
Last week I talked about Elizabeth Juhnke, the sister of my future son in law. She plays volleyball for South Dakota and they played NDSU on Tuesday and lost 3-2 in a great match.
My daughter, Alyssa, son Carter and I went to the match and Elizabeth had a Summit League Conference record 39 kills in the match!!!!
Elizabeth leads NCAA Division 1 volleyball with 327 kills on the year. The loss was the first loss in 14 matches for USD and they are 13-2 on the year. It was a special night on Tuesday and a performance I won’t forget. Even though she had 39 kills in the match, Elizabeth gave us hugs and then said I cost us the match (talking about a missed attack late in set five).
She wasn’t happy with the loss, but that is what makes her such a great player!
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The following is from the Moorhead Spuds twitter account and it shows you how important bus drivers and officials are to high school sports.
Spuds…
We are in unchartered territory… Over the next few days, we will likely cancel games due to a lack of Bus Drivers. PLEASE encourage anyone eligible to get a Bus License!! This includes parents, grandparents, etc… They would get paid to drive to the games!
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No decision has been made as of Wednesday at 8:00 p.m., but if Hurricane Ian forces the NFL to move Sunday night’s Buccaneers/Chiefs game from Tampa Bay, the game WOULD be played in Minneapolis.
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The first Football QRF rankings from www.minnesota-scores.net have been released, and everything looks to be going as you would expect through the first half of the season. We have the info of each area section below –
SECTION 8AA –
Team – record – QRF
1. Barnesville 4-0 62.2
2. Pelican Rapids 3-1 32.2
3. Crookston 2-2 28.9
4. Frazee 2-2 22.4
5. Warroad 1-3 18.1
6. Hawley 1-3 15.5
Barnesville will be the top seed barring a team booze party that gets busted. Even then, they still might be the top seed missing two games. For Crookston, I predict they will go no worse than 2-2 in their final games. If they beat West Central Area and/or East Grand Forks the next two weeks and go 3-1 or 4-0, they would wrap up the second seed with no problem. Pelican Rapids doesn’t have as tough of a schedule as Crookston, and that is reflected in the QRF so far and will show even more in the next two weeks, especially with Pelican Rapids taking on Otter Tail Central on Friday. After that, Crookston’s schedule weakens significantly.
Frazee, Warroad, and Hawley are all trying to get a four-seed so they can host a game in the first round.
SECTION 8A –
There are still two undefeated teams left in the section, with Mahnomen-Waubun leading the way, almost 12 QRF points ahead of Red Lake County. RLC has a five-point lead over 3-1 Polk County West and a 9.4 QRF lead over 3-1 Ada-Borup-West. Getting the second and third seed is always big. Will Red Lake County be able to stay in the second seed? We will find out on Friday when they host Mahnomen-Waubun. RLC has a tough schedule as they also play Polk County West and Ada-Borup-West in the final four weeks.
Bagley, Red Lake, and Fosston fight for the fifth seed.
In the strange “coincidence” department. Section 6 9-man and Section 8 9-man has the same QRF for each seed 1-8. The other weird thing is a 3-1 team is ahead of two 4-0 teams in both sections. Also, Fertile-Beltrami hammered Nevis 30-0 and is still behind them in the standings. SOMETHING is NOT right here. There is NO WAY this is possible so take the QRF’s in 9-man with a grain of salt.
SECTION 8 9-MAN –
Nine-man QRF is always a little suspect, and this year is no different.
Goodridge/Grygla is the top team with a 3-1 record and 1.7 QRF points ahead of 4-0 Warren-Alvarado-Oslo. Kittson County Central is also 4-0 and just shy of four points behind WAO. It looks to be a battle for the fourth seed with Win-E-Mac and BGMR battling, and the sixth seed is tight with three 0-4 teams, Stephen-Argyle, Northern Freeze, and Lake of the Woods.
SECTION 6 9-MAN
With their 3-1 record, Nevis has the top seed in the section while edging 4-0 Fertile-Beltrami (who beat Nevis 30-0 on Friday) by 1.7 QRF points. Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal is also 4-0 and is almost four points behind Fertile-Beltrami. Blackduck is within striking distance of the third seed, and Clearbrook-Gonvick is only four points behind them. Then you have Park Christian, Laporte, and Cass Lake-Bena looking to get their first win of the season.
SECTION 8AAA –
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton is going to be the top seed. They have more than doubled up Perham’s QRF. Perham looks like they have the second seed if they finish strong.
The rest of the section is going to be interesting. Thief River Falls, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, and Roseau are all 1-3 and fighting for the third seed. Park Rapids hasn’t won yet, and they are just looking for the first win.
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Now taking a look at the area volleyball sections.
SECTION 8AA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
This year might be one of the most challenging years for Section 8AA teams I can remember since the three-class system was implemented. There are a lot of young teams this year, and it has shown. Only THREE teams have winning records out of the 15 teams in the section. Roseau and Thief River Falls are one game over .500, and Hawley is two games over .500.
Section 8AA North–
seems to be a two-team race for the top seed. Roseau and Thief River Falls are a ways ahead of East Grand Forks right now. All three teams seem to be playing much better as the season progresses, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the final three weeks.
Roseau is at the top of the sub-section, edging TRF by 1.9 points. Roseau and TRF have split in the two regular season matches. On September 1, TRF beat Roseau 3-0, and on September 10, Roseau beat TRF 2-0 in a tournament. So they have split head to head. That tie-breaker, if needed, is out the window. So it will be a fight to the finish in the North.
It looks like East Grand Forks and Park Rapids will be fighting for the third seed. Menahga and Warroad are fighting for the fifth seed. Crookston looks to be the seventh seed, and Red Lake will be the eighth seed if they play in the tournament.
Section 8AA South –
Barnesville and Perham are fighting for the top seed, with Barnesville owning the head-to-head tie-breaker with a wild 3-2 victory. The two teams play again on October 4 in Perham, and that should be a tremendous match with the top two teams battling for the top seed!
Hawley, Fergus Falls, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, and Pelican Rapids are tight and fighting for the 3 through 6 seeds. Frazee looks like they will be the seventh seed in the sub-section.
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SECTION 8A VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS –
Section 8A East –
Surprise, surprise……..Fosston and Ada-Borup-West are the top two teams in the sub-section. Fosston is the top seed by a whopping 18 QRF points, which will be hard to beat. Ada-Borup-West is second seed right now by almost 30 points!!!! So, saying they are the top two is an understatement. One thing that is great to see is the Bagley Flyers are in the third seed right now. Here is a program that has struggled for years, and now they have had a consistent coach, Sarah Schwegel. Coach Schwegel has slowly built the program up, and not only is she a great coach, but she has put a lot of time into the program to build it up this far. So kudos to the Flyer volleyball program, and keep up the great work!
Bagley is point-six points in front of Northome/Kelliher to round out the top four. Right behind them and fighting for a third seed are Fertile-Beltrami and Blackduck.
Red Lake County Central, Mahnomen-Waubun, Win-E-Mac, and Clearbrook-Gonvick round out the sub-section.
Section 8A West –
Badger-Greenbush-Middle River is 9-0 in the section and 16-2 overall, and they are having a great season and are my favorite to win the section tournament as of today. They lead Lake of the Woods by 17.7 QRF points. LOW is having a great year with a 14-2 record, and it looks like they are a solid second seed.
The battle for the third seed will be fun to watch. You have four teams fighting for the seed, with Goodridge/Grygla, Kittson County Central, Sacred Heart, and Stephen-Argyle all within three QRF points of each other. Each match will be significant and head-to-head matches will be even bigger. Sacred Heart beat Goodridge/Grygla, so they have that tie-breaker going for them, Climax-Fisher and Red Lake Falls are fighting for the seventh seed while Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Indus, and Northern Freeze wrap up the sub-section.
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The Northwest District 11-man football statistics have been released. CLICK HERE.
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Congratulations to East Grand Forks Green Wave Volleyball coach Paula Devine, who recorded the 400th victory of her career at the Crookston Invitational on Saturday. The Green Wave went 4-0 on the day to win the championship.
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Congratulations to Mahnomen/Waubun head Football Coach John Clark Jr. on the 200th win of his career on Friday with a win over Ada-Borup-West.
Clark has been a head coach (most of them as just Mahnomen) for 22 years with a record of 200-43. His teams have won 13 Section 8A Championships and three State Championships.
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Red Lake Falls Volleyball had two more milestones this past week. Brea Derosier and Gabby Casavan reached 1,000 career digs. They reached the milestone in the same match against Kittson County Central.
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Crookston Park and Rec fall and winter activity registration are now open. To see what the city has to offer, click here.
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The Crookston Youth Basketball Association will hold a free Back to Basketball event on Sunday, October 16, at the Crookston High School gym. K-3rd grade will meet from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., and fourth through sixth grade will meet from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Enjoy some gym time, grab a treat, receive season info, and there will be prizes.
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JOKES
A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. All of a sudden, he said out loud, “Lord, grant me one wish.”
Suddenly the sky clouded above his head, and in a booming voice, the Lord said, “Because you have TRIED to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.”
The man said, “Build a bridge to Hawaii, so I can drive over anytime I want to.”
The Lord said, “Your request is very materialistic. Think of the logistics of that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! I can do it, but is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of another wish. A wish you think would honor and glorify me.”
The man thought about it for a long time. Finally, he said, “Lord, I wish that I could understand women. I want to know how they feel inside, what they are thinking when they give me the silent treatment, why they cry, what they mean when they say ‘nothing,’ and how I can make a woman truly happy.”
After a few minutes, God said, “You want two lanes or four on that bridge?”
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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
Olivia Huck is a freshman playing soccer at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Brooks Butt is a freshman playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Aleah Bienek is a freshman playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Elise Tangquist is the Assistant Girls Volleyball and Assistant Girls Golf Coach this year at Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove.
Emma Borowicz is a sophomore running track at Minnesota State Mankato.
Kaleb Thingelstad is a sophomore playing golf at North Central University in the Twin Cities.
Joslynn Leach is a sophomore playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brady Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta is a Senior playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Norway.
Kate MacGregor is 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.
Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.
Crookston School District Coaches –
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 –
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 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.
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 Grand Forks Schools.
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 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 with the Army and is deployed to Iraq for nine months.
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.
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.