SPORTS FEEVER – February 23, 2023

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

It is the most wonderful time of the year…..playoff time is here with State Girls Hockey going, Section boys hockey, section individual wrestling this weekend, section girls basketball playoffs start next week with boys basketball starting in two weeks!!

Good luck to all teams!!!!

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KROX will be Video streaming the Section 8A Individual wrestling tournament from the Crookston High School gymnasium on Saturday.  The information is below –

Teams – Barnesville, BGMR, Crookston, Fertile-Beltrami, Fosston-Bagley, Frazee, Mahnomen-Waubun, United North Central.

Schedule: Saturday, February 25, 2023

8:00 Scales available
8:30 Weigh-ins and skin checks, all in the gym
9:00 Doors open for fans
9:15 Seed meeting:  MSHSL criteria (Mr. Stegman’s Room)
9:55 National Anthem
10:00 Quarters/Semis and first round of wrestle backs
1:35 Break
Academic/HCOY/Assist COY/Sportsmanship awards
2:00 Semis of wrestle backs
3:15 5th place matches
4:30 Championship and 3rd place matches
6:30 All non-true second awards.
6:45 True seconds
7:15 Final awards
7:30 Tournament completed

All times are approximate.

Please note: Two mats will be used
Medical staff:   Paul Reese 
Concessions: Will be available.
Admission: Adults $8/day- students $5/day
Officials: Corey Herlickson, Tim Curran, Paul Beech, Wayne Mooney

— — —

There will be a Crookston JO volleyball meeting on Sunday, February 26 at 2:30 p.m. in Crookston High School commons.  The meeting will be for girls to sign up for spring and summer volleyball.

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SECTION 8AA GIRLS BASKETBALL –

This is how I see the Section 8AA Girls Basketball seeds shaking out when the seeds are announced –

For sure –
1. Perham (22-2 overall 15-0 in the section)
2. Pelican Rapids (19-6 overall – 12-4 in section)

After the top two, it is a big question mark and depends on game results on Thursday and Friday.  With the first tie-breaker being head-to-head, it will make things extremely interesting in the seeding.  I will try to break it down for you.

This is the QRF standings as of Wednesday night –

  1. Thief River Falls
  2. Barnesville
  3. Hawley
  4. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
  5. Crookston
  6. Fergus Falls
  7. East Grand Forks
  8. Menahga
  9. Park Rapids
  10. Wadena-Deer Creek
  11. Roseau
  12. Frazee
  13. Red Lake
  14. Warroad

So pay close attention because this will turn into a wild what-if scenario.

#3.  The winner of TRF and Barnesville on Friday will be the third seed since that will be their only meeting of the year, and the winner would have the tie-breaker.

#4. If Barnesville beats TRF it is possible for them to drop to the fifth seed because Hawley would have the head-to-head tie-breaker with TRF.

DGF has the tie-break advantage with Hawley, so if Hawley stays the five seed, DGF would move up!

My head is hurting already.    Basically, 3 through 6 are still up in the air!

#7 – Crookston will be #7 no matter what.
#8 – Fergus Falls, East Grand Forks, or Menahga are all close together, and it will come down to the games Thursday and Friday.
#11. Park Rapids, Wadena-Deer Creek, and Roseau are all fighting for the #11 seed, and it is too close right now.
#14 is going to be Frazee
#15 and 16 will be Red Lake and Warroad.

— — —

SECTION 8A GIRLS BASKETBALL – 

WEST SUB-SECTION –

Here is how I see the seeding going –

1.BGMR (22-3 and 15-1 in section)
2. Kittson County Central (15-8 and 14-4 in section) They have the tie-breaker over GG
3. Goodridge/Grygla (15-6 and 12-6 in section)
4. Sacred Heart (15-10 and 14-4 in section)  They have the tie-breaker with RLF and split with WAO.  They have better section and overall record than WAO.
5. Look like Warren-A-O (11-14 and 10-12 in section)
6. Red Lake Falls (10-15 and 8-11 in section)
7. Northern Freeze (9-16 and 8-13 in section)
8. Stephen-Argyle (6-15 and 4-11 in section)
9. Climax-Fisher (9-17 and 7-11 in section)
10. Lake of the Woods (7-15 and 5-7 in section)


EAST SUBSECTION –
1. Fosston (21-3 and 17-2 in section) split with Fertile-Beltrami and same conf record but better section and overall record.
2. Kelliher-Northome (23-2 and 11-0 in section) Beat Fertile-Beltrami to earn tie-breaker
3. Fertile-Beltrami (19-5 and 15-4 in section)
4. Cass Lake-Bena (15-10 and 6-3 in section)
5. Mahnomen-Waubun (10-16 and 8-6 in section) has tie-breaker for section and overall record
6. Red Lake County Central 8-17 and 8-16 in section)
7. Bagley (5-21 and 3-11 in section) beat Blackduck for the tie-breaker in head to head
8. Blackduck (7-19 and 1-14 in section)
9. Win-E-Mac (3-22 and 3-17 in section) beat Clearbrook-Gonvick in only meeting
10. Clearbrook-Gonvick (2-22 and 1-17 in section)

— — —

The Minnesota State High School League State Girls Hockey tournament is going on the rest of the weekend in St. Paul.

On Wednesday, the first round of Class A went as expected.
Warroard hammered Albert Lea.
South St. Paul beat Fergus Falls
Proctor/Hermantown beat Mankato East 4-3
Orono hammered Luverne 6-0

In the semi-finals on Friday –
Warroad will take on South St. Paul
Proctor/Hermantown takes on Orono

On Saturday, the championship should be Warroad vs Proctor/Hermantown

 

With the state tournament going on that means all but 8 teams seasons have come to an end.

Crookston lost to Warroad in the Section 8A Championship game for the second straight year. Once again, we are hearing Crookston fans say next year is our year.

Crookston has to realize they will HAVE to work hard in the offseason. Not just the handful that really works hard, it will have to be the entire team.  If they don’t, they won’t close the gap.  Crookston has to get stronger and faster, and they have to improve their skills, most importantly scoring. The best thing about what the Pirates have to get “stronger” at, doesn’t require ice or traveling all over to play hockey.

I personally believe Crookston will close the gap next year….will it be enough to beat Warroad?  That is up to the girls.

The girls had a great year and were fun to watch.  One thing is guaranteed….whoever comes out of Section 8A is going to bring home some hardware from the state tournament!!!!!  If that doesn’t get you fired up for next year, I don’t know what would!

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SECTION 8A BOYS HOCKEY TOURNEY

As expected, the Warroad Warriors are the #1 seed in the Boy’s Section 8A Hockey Tournament.

Thursday –  February 23   (Section 8A Quarter-Finals)
7:00 PM   –   #8 Park Rapids  at #1 Warroad
7:00 PM   –   #5 Red Lake Falls  at #4 Thief River Falls  (ON KROX RADIO)
6:00 PM   –   #6 Kittson County Central  at   #3 Detroit Lakes
7:00 PM   –   #7 Bagley/Fosston   at   #2 East Grand Forks

Saturday –  February 25  (Section 8A Semi-Finals   at Thief River Falls)
4:00 PM   –
6:00 PM   –

Thursday –  March  2  (Section 8A Championship  at  Thief River Falls)
7:00 PM   –

I would be surprised if the championship has anybody other than Warroad in East Grand Forks.  I think the most interesting matchup in the quarterfinals comes with Red Lake Falls at Thief River Falls.  RLF beat TRF earlier this year, and it would be a big win for the program if the Eagles could advance to the semi-finals!

 

The Crookston Boys Hockey team’s season came to an end with an overtime loss to Park Rapids in the play-in game.  Crookston beat Park Rapids in overtime and tied Park Rapids in overtime during the regular season.  Park Rapids beat Crookston in overtime in the playoffs.  It doesn’t get much more exciting than that in a three game series.

We knew going into the season it was going to be a tough season as far as wins and losses go for the Pirates.  Before the season started, they found out one of their top offensive players wouldn’t be able to play due to an ACL injury.

All things considered, Crookston had a solid season and could have had at least two or three more wins.  They played hard and got better as they season went along.  In high school sports, that is all you can ask from your teams.  They play hard and improve throughout the season.

I consider the season a positive one for the Pirates.  The negative, they lose a solid group of seniors and will have a lot to replace, including their top offensive player for the past three years, Jack Doda.  They also lose their goalie, Jaren Bailey, who had over 1,600 career saves.  Just those two are going to be impossible to replace.

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DISTRICT 16 HOCKEY RESULTS – CROOKSTON 

In the District 16 Bantam A tournament, Crookston lost to Roseau 7-5 in the first round of the tournament. Crookston beat Thief River Falls for third place 6-2.  Crookston advances to regions with the third-place finish.

District 15 Squirt B2 playoffs were held in Walker, and Crookston beat Walker 4-2.
In the semi-finals, Crookston lost to Bemidji White 8-3.
Crookston lost to East Grand Forks 7-1 in the third place game.

The Crookston 12U team played in the District 16 12U A tournament and lost to Roseau 1-0.  Crookston beat East Grand Forks 3-1.  In the third-place game, Crookston lost to Bemidji Blue 4-3 in overtime.

DISTRICT 16 HOCKEY RESULTS – CHAMPIONSHIP AND 3RD PLACE GAMES 

Bantam A’s – (4 teams)
Warroad won the championship by beating Roseau 6-1
Crookston finished third place by beating Thief River Falls 6-2.
Top three teams advance to regions.

Bantam B1 – (9 teams)
Bemidji Blue beat Red Lake Falls Purple 4-2 in the championship game
Warroad beat East Grand Forks 4-2 in the third-place game

PeeWee B1 – (8 teams)
Bemidji beat  EGF 8-2 in the championship
Red Lake Falls beat Bagley 8-3 for 3rd place

PeeWee B2 – (6 teams)
Bemidji White beat Bemidji Red 5-1 for the championship
East Grand Forks beat Crookston 7-1 for third place

Squirt A is in Crookston March 4 and 5. – EGF and Warroad are top teams

Squirt B1 will be held in Bemidji March 4 and 5.

Squirt B will be held in Baudette March 3-5.

GIRLS HOCKEY –

12U A (6 teams) –
Thief River Falls beat Warroad 8-1 in the championship
Bemidji beat Crookston 4-3 in OT for third place

12U B (3 teams – everybody is a winner!)
Thief River Falls beat East Grand Forks 2-1 in the championship
East Grand Forks beat Bemidji 7-2 in the third-place game

10U A – (6 teams)
The tournament will be in Thief River Falls March 3-5. Moorhead and Alexandria are the top teams.

10U B – (5 teams)
The tournament will be March 4-5. Bemidji Blue and Crookston at the top seeds.

2023 Region Tournaments March 3, 4 & 5
Peewee A – Roseau
Bantam A – Thief River Falls
Bantam AA – East Grand Forks
Girls 15U A Olympic – Crookston

— — —

We have been hearing rumors that the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) conference has its eyes set on trying to get a few NCAA Division II teams to move down to D-3 and join its conference, and the University of Minnesota Crookston is one of those schools they are trying to recruit.  Whether it is the conference just throwing ideas of schools they would like to court or serious discussion, we don’t know.  But our Wyatt Morrel played baseball at Northwestern in St. Paul, and they are telling him that UMC has been talked about as a target.  So there is a little fire behind all the smoke.

What does this mean?  Nothing right now, but it might be the best-case scenario at this point for UMC!  They would be able to compete with area kids in most sports, be more competitive in all sports and maybe create some more interest.  Plus, hockey could be a real varsity sport instead of a club team, and that would be huge, and they should be able to compete pretty quickly.

The UMAC conference currently has the following core members –
Minnesota Morris (UMC sister school)
Wisconsin Superior 
Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato)
Crown College
(Bonifacius, MN)
Martin Luther College
(New Ulm)
North Central University
(Minneapolis)
Northland College
(Ashland, Wis)
University of Northwestern
(St. Paul)

Those are the teams for volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, baseball, and softball.  Hockey would have to find a conference in D-3 with the MIAC or WIAC a possibility.

Would it be a good move for UMC?   I honestly believe so.  Plus, it would save the school a lot of money in travel and athletic scholarships.  There are no athletic scholarships in NCAA D-3.  Plus, you could be competitive with more local kids. Kids might fit in better in Crookston with a small town and campus with a huge lack of nightlife for college kids.

Let’s take a look at UMC Sports this year – Of the four “big sports” that have completed the season so far, it has been a massive struggle for the UMC teams.

Soccer was 1-15-1 overall and 1-13-1 in the NSIC (.100 winning percentage in conference)
Volleyball was 5-23 overall and 4-16 in the NSIC (.200 winning percentage in conference)
Men’s Basketball was 2-26 overall and 1-21 in the NSIC (.045 winning percentage in conference)
Women’s Basketball was 10-19 overall and 9-13 in the NSIC (.409 winning percentage in conference), and they lost their last eight games of the season.

We will see what happens, but this might be the best move they could make, or start their own conference with the likes of Mary, Minot State, Bemidji State, Minnesota State Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota State etc.

The Northern Sun is not the answer for UMC anymore.  It is that simple.

— — —

Congratulations to the Region 8A (NW Minnesota) Triple “A” Award finalists –
Male – Caleb Zejdlik of East Grand Forks
Female – Aidra Johnson of Kittson County Central

The Academics, Arts, and Athletics Award, commonly known as the Triple ‘A’ Award, honors high school seniors throughout the state who have a 3.0 or higher grade point average and who participate in League-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities.

Triple ‘A’ Award recipients are selected through a multi-level process involving member schools of the League, the League’s administrative regions, and a special committee of educators, business leaders, and members from the fine arts and athletic communities.

Two award finalists from each region (one boy and one girl) are invited to a recognition banquet in March and League officials will announce the four statewide Triple ‘A’ Award winners at that time. All 32 finalists will also participate in an on-court ceremony during the Class AA championship game of the Boys Basketball State Tournament. The statewide award winners—a girl and a boy from Class A and Class AA schools—will also receive a four-year $1,000 scholarship.

— — —

College Signings –

Polk County West Football players Mantana Jorgenson and Daniel Suda have committed to play at Mayville State University next year.  

Thief River Falls Boys Basketball’s Jack Rosendahl has committed to play at the University of Jamestown.

— — —

MILESTONES – 

Crookston Wrestler Ethan Boll broke the school record for wins in a career with 204 in a win in the Section 8A team quarterfinals last week.  He broke Cody Weiland’s mark of 203.

Perham Boys Basketball player Micah Thompson scored the 1,000th point of his career last week.

Red Lake County Boys Basketball’s Gerald Mellin scored the 1,000th point of his career last week vs Roseau.

Warroad Girls Hockey player and captain Talya Hendrickson recorded the 300th point of her career in the Section 8A championship.  That is good for 7th in program history!

Barnesville graduate Peyton Boom set a Minnesota State Moorhead Women’s Basketball career games played record with the 123rd game of her career on Saturday.

Sacred Heart Boys Basketball’s Ethan Arnston scored the 1,000th point of his career on Tuesday night in a win over Goodridge/Grygla.

Crookston Boys Hockey’s Jaren Bailey recorded over 1600 saves in his career.  That is the most for a Pirate Boys goalie since the 2009 season (that is as far as the records went so far).

— — —

“LACE ‘EM UP” BASKETBALL CAMP

Make plans now to attend the 28th annual “Lace ‘em Up” basketball camp to be held in Red Lake Falls high school at the Robert Matzke Gym from June 5-8, 2023.

The camp is open to any boys or girls who are currently in grades K-10.  The camp is set up to run from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 for grades 5-10 (grade they were in this past school year) each morning, and from 12:30 until 3:00 p.m. for grades K-4 (grade they were in this past school year).  The cost of the camp is $70 with a maximum cost per family of $100.  If you register before May 22,  you will also receive a camp T-shirt.  After May 22, ALL SINGLE REGISTRATION FEES WILL BE $80 AND THE MAXIMUM COST PER FAMILY WILL BE $120, DUE TO CAMP PREPARATION AND AWARD ORDERS.

Cut on the dotted line and return the following to: Steve Philion, 518 Champagne Ave., Red Lake Falls, MN 56750. (cell:  218-686-3608) (home: 218-253-2499). E-mail: sphilion@rlfedu.org

Make checks payable to: Lace ‘em Up Basketball Camp

If anyone needs help with the cost of the camp, let Mr. Philion know as we have people who have offered to cover costs for kids that need financial help.

_    _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _

Name____________________________________
Grade in 2022-2023________________ (GRADE JUST COMPLETED)

T-shirt sizes:     Please circle one:
Youth sizes:       EXTRA SMALL    SMALL    MEDIUM    LARGE
Adult sizes:        SMALL   MEDIUM   LARGE   X-LARGE    XX-LARGE

Address:________________________________________________

MALE____________              FEMALE____________

I, the parent of the above student agree to allow my child to participate in the 2023 “Lace ‘em Up” basketball camp in Red Lake Falls.  I also understand that the camp director, the City of RLF, and the RLF school district are not responsible for any injuries, accidents, or COVID that my child might incur.

SIGNATURE OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN:______________________________

Emergency cell number of parent or guardian:____________________________

— — —

The Crookston Youth Basketball Association tournament is being held March 24-26, 2023, and teams can register through the Tourney Machine App or by following this link: CYBA Tournament Registration.

— — —

The 2023 East Grand Forks Sports Boosters Youth Basketball tournament will be held March 10-12.  The registration link is up and ready.  Go to greenwaveboosters.com and click on the Youth Basketball Tourney tab to get your team registered.

— — —

The Crookston Figure Skating Club, in cooperation with the Crookston Park and Rec Department, present Dreams on Ice 2023 “Back to the 90’s” on March 11 and 12 at the Crookston Sports Center.  Show times are  7:00 p.m. Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday. Adults are $6, Senior Citizens and students $4, preschoolers are free, and a family weekend pass is $25.

— — —

JOKES

Pupil:  Miss Johnson, would you punish someone for something they didn’t do? 

Teacher: No, Of course not!!

Pupil: Oh good, Because i haven’t done my homework!!!

— — —

A woman was out golfing one day when she hit her ball into the woods. She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap.

The frog said to her, “If you release me from this trap, I will grant you 3 wishes.”

The woman freed the frog and the frog said, “Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes – that whatever you wish for, your husband will get 10 times more or better!”

The woman said, “That would be okay,” and for her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

The frog warrned her, “You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis, that women will flock to.”

The woman replied, “That will be okay because I will be the most beautiful woman and he will only have eyes for me.”

So, KAZAM – she’s the most beautiful woman in the world!

For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world.

The frog said, “That will make your husband the richest man in the world, and he will be ten times richer than you.”

The woman said, “That will be okay because what is mine is his and what is his is mine.”

So, KAZAM she’s the richest woman in the world!

The frog inquired about her third wish, and she answered, “I’d like a mild heart attack.”

— —

Jeff walks into a bar and sees his friend Paul slumped over the bar. He walks over and asks Paul what’s wrong.

“Well,” replies Paul, “you know that beautiful girl at work that I wanted to ask out, but I got an erection every time I saw her?”

“Yes,” replies Jeff with a laugh.

“Well,” says Paul, straightening up, “I finally plucked up the courage to ask her out, and she agreed.”

“That’s great!” says Jeff, “When are you going out?”

“I went to meet her this evening,” continues Paul, “but I was worried I’d get an erection again. So I got some duct tape and taped my penis to my leg, so if I did, it wouldn’t show.”

“Sensible” says Jeff.

“So I get to her door,” says Paul, “and I rang her doorbell. She answered it in the sheerest, tiniest dress you ever saw.”

“And what happened then?”

(Paul slumps back over the bar again.)

“I kicked her in the face.”

— — —

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

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

Emma Osborn is a freshman playing basketball at Northland Technical and Community College in Thief River Falls.

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

Olivia Huck is a freshman playing soccer at Minnesota State Moorhead.

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

Elise Tangquist is the Assistant Girl’s Volleyball and Assistant Girl’s Golf Coach this year at Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove.

Kaleb Thingelstad is a sophomore playing golf at Dakota Wesleyan.

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.

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 –
Ben Parkin
is the head Pirate Baseball 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/Admin/etc –

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.

Katy Westrom is the Head Girl’s 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, 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 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.

 

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FEBRUARY FITNESS FEVER ENDS THIS SUNDAY WITH PICKLEBALL AT UMC

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Polk County Public Health, the Polk County Wellness Coalition, community partners, and volunteers are finishing its February Fitness Fever this Sunday, February 26.

To close out this year’s event, Public Health is partnering with the Crookston Pickleball Club to offer a day of pickleball at the University of Minnesota Crookston Wellness Center. “This will be the first year we’ve done this. We do try to feature new activities and events. This will be our indoor day, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Crookston Wellness Center,” Wellness Coordinator Amanda Lien explained. “Members of the Crookston Pickleball Club will be there to provide equipment and all the instruction needed to learn how to play pickleball.” The Club and Public Health encourage all skill levels and those who have never played to come learn how to play and have fun. “They are all about sharing their love for this very fun sport if you’ve never tried it,” said Lien. “They are also encouraging those who have never played pickleball before to come on out and give it a try. It’s great for all ages, and you do not have to have learned to play before to join on that Sunday.”

The Wellness Coalition encourages physical activity, especially in the winter. “We’re really about promoting that physical activity, that daily movement, even if it’s just for 15-20 minutes a day of getting connected to the outdoors or being active. It’s very important for our physical and mental health, and that’s why we tried to do a range of activities this year,” Lien explained. “We’ve had some extremely cold weather, so you must be more dressed for that. Understandable that sometimes being inside is a good place to be, and there are places you can do that and still remain active, like the walking track at the Sports Center and Civic Center. We’re so grateful to be able to use Wellness Center out at UMC, but there’s a number of places that we can be active in indoors.”

The Polk County Wellness Coalition wants to thank its many volunteers and partners who collaborate with them to put healthy choices within reach.  Tri-Valley Transportation is also available to transport anyone to the event on Sunday.
For more information and resources on where and how to stay active in your community, contact Amanda Lien at 218-281-3385. 

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Athlete of the Week – Jaren Bailey

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This Week’s Athlete of the Week is Crookston Pirate Senior Hockey player Jaren Bailey. Jaren has been the starting goaltender for the Pirates since his freshman season, and ended up making 1,672 career saves at the varsity level. It can’t be determined for sure if that is a school record as they dont have numbers from the early 90’s or before, however, their is nobody anywhere near Bailey’s 1,672 in recent memory, so it’s not a stretch to assume he more than likely does hold the record or at the very least is close to it.

Jaren Bailey

Bailey’s story is unique in that he didn’t start playing hockey until his 6th Grade year. His Head Coach for the past several years Josh Hardy, says of all the kids he’s seen pick up the sport late, none have been able to do what Jaren has. “I’ve seen kids start late, even at goalie, over the years, but none have been as successful as Jaren has,” said coach Hardy. “He’s very athletic and works extremely hard so I think he would be successful at any sport he tried, but I’m thankful that it was hockey because he’s been the backbone for us over the last few years. It’s been incredible to watch his growth and I couldn’t be prouder of him.” 

Learning a new sport is never easy, but hockey provides its own challenges with the skating aspect, and that is a big reason why Bailey decided to be a goaltender. “I had a tough time learning to skate,” said Bailey. “So goaltender was the best position for me and I loved it.”

The Pirates season came to an end earlier this week with a 2-1 OT loss to Park Rapids in the Section 8A Tournament, meaning Bailey has played his last game in a Crookston uniform. In the game Jaren made 34 saves and was the main reason the Pirates were even able to get to OT as he saved the game several times for Crookston. When we asked him what he’ll remember most about his high school playing days, he said “Probably just the memories that were made over the years and the guys i got to play with.”

As much as Bailey will miss the opporutnity to suit up for the Pirates, his coaches are going to miss him just as much. “Obviously I’ll miss watching him play hockey and man the net for us, but what I miss the most when kids graduate is not what they do on the ice but who they are off of it ,” said coach Hardy. “The relationships we build with kids over the years, the amount of time we spend them, they really become family. So I’ll miss Jaren’s practical jokes with Coach Melbye, his leadership with his peers, the resiliency he demonstrates, and the way he competes and makes everyone around him better.”

Bailey was also a member of the Pirates Football team that finished runner-up in the Section 8AA Tournament this Fall, and he shoots trap in the Spring. Away from playing sports Jaren enjoys being outdoors hunting and fishing. 

 

First started playing Hockey – 6th Grade

What is your biggest strength with goaltending – My Focus and playing within myself

Biggest challenge in learning how to play goaltender – Skating/moving as well as the mental part of playing the position

Favorite rink away from Crookston – The Heritage Rink in Duluth

Favorite Hockey memory over the years – Going to the State Tournament my first year of playing

Favorite sport – Hockey

Favorite sports team – Minnesota Wild

Favorite athlete – Marc-Andre Fleury & Filip Gustavsson

Favorite Movie – Miracle

Favorite TV Show – Yellowstone

Favorite food – Sushi

What music are you listening to – Country

You’re stranded on a deserted island, and you can have ANY three people with you – 
Jack Doda, Hunter Knutson, George Widman

Plans after graduation – I would love to see if I could play more hockey and go as far as I can with that, if not then my plans would be to attend Northland Community & Technical College in East Grand Forks and major in Ag-Business Management

Family – 
Dad – Jason (Farmer)
Mom – Amber (works at UMC)
Sister – Ashlyn (9th grader)

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C.A.L.L. COMMITTEE CELEBRATE THE YOUNG CHILD WITH A PIRATE ADVENTURE ON TUESDAY NIGHT

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Celebrate the Young Child – A Pirate Adventure was held Tuesday night at the Crookston Public Library.

The C.A.L.L Committee planned Pirate activities for children, such as Dig for Treasure, Pin the Patch on the Pirate, Walk the Plank, Make a Treasure Box & a Treasure Hunt.

Free books provided by the Early Childhood Initiative were given to families. 

Pictures of the event can be seen below-

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2022-23 SECTION 8A GIRLS HOCKEY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

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The Section 8A Girls Hockey Awards have been announced with the first team, second team, and coaches of the year awards.  The award winners are below –

First Team 

Forward
#6 Rylee Bartz  Warroad
#13 Talya Hendrickson  Warroad
#16 Kate Johnson  Warroad
#8 Blake Schultz East Grand Forks

Defense
#23 Abby Chamernick  Warroad
#20 Cal Lindquist  Warroad

Goalie
#1 Kambelle Freije  Crookston

Second Team

Forward
#12 Kara Ellis  East Grand Forks
#17 Cassie Solheim  Crookston
#16 Taylor Field  Crookston
#15 Kali Knutson  Thief River Falls

Defense
#6 Reese Swanson  Crookston
#5 Ashlyn Bailey  Crookston
#26 Katy Comstock  Warroad

Goalie
#35 Bell Hamre Thief River Falls

Head Coach of the Year – Emily Meyer Crookston
Assistant Coach of the Year – Derrick Comstock  Warroad

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CROOKSTON HIGH SCHOOL ANNOUNCES FIRST SEMESTER HONOR ROLL

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The Crookston High School released the first-semester honor roll this morning, listed below-

“A” HONOR ROLL: 3.667 to 4.0

Grade 12:

Mackenzie Aamoth, Ryan Abeld, Jaren Bailey, Elliot Bartrum, Ethan Boll, Kayla Brekken, Carly Brown, Dokken Erdmann, Anna Funk, Ella Kiel, Hunter Knutson, Jaiden Laurie, Amber Olslund, Juan Ramirerz, Samantha Rezac, Emilee Tate, Jayden Taylor, George Widman V, Gavin Winger

Grade 11:

Leila Bautista, Kristine Bernd, Caden Boike, Emily Boucher, Coral Brekken, Katelyn Christensen, Amelia Cordova, Koda Donarski, Jia Gaber, Emma Gunderson, Nathan Johanneck, Mareile Meyer, Lucas Miller, Natalie Narvaez, Morgan Nelson, Ny Nguyen, Gabriel Noah, Isaac Ramirez, Isabelle Smith, Emily Soberon, Cassie Solheim, Reese Swanson, Brannon Tangquist, Nashalie Tellez, Isaac Thomforde, Evin Trudeau, Brekken Tull, Halle Winjum

Grade 10:

Paige Abrahamson, Emily Bowman, Jack Buhler, Kaylie Clauson, Brandon Colborn, Matthew Contreras, Chase Cormican, Michael Deng, Ava Edwards, Miryah Epema, Jack Everett, Addison Fee, Kambelle Freije, Mackenzie Funk, Madeline Harbott, Naomi Johnson, Carley Knutson, Makenna Kopecky, Ella Lanctot, Chase Larson, Rylan Lubarski, Tyler Michaelson, Meliyah Moore, Joey Nesseth, Georgia Sanders, Elizabeth Smith, Lincoln Waldal, Tessa Weber

Grade 9:

Mercedes Aceves, Madelyn Anderson, Ashlyn Bailey, Chloe Boll, Garrett Fischer, Gavyn Hlucny, Emelia Hoerner, Ashton Hoffman, Emma LaPlante, Morgyn Larson, Hayley Leckie, Zander Luckow, Ava Martin, Connor Maruska, Halle Nicholas, Zachariah Plante, Autumn Rowan, Taylor Schulz, Kaley Smith, Lucy Smith, Tristan Sundquist, Makayla Tahran, Nashelle Tellez Vasquez, Avery Trudeau, Samuel Widseth, Taylor Wieland, Peter Wiersma, Reggie Winjum

Grade 8:

Rylee Anderson, Sawyer Anderson, Madilyn Bruggeman, Benjamin Capistran, Brylee Darco, Alaina Goelzer, Juliana Goodyke, Evelyn Gunderson, Adalyn Hanson, Leah Johanneck, Jocelyn Johnson, Ethan Lanctot, Brea Lessard, Xavier Mason, Avery Mathews, Isabel Pahlen, Emilee Smith, Gunner Stewart, Allysen Wagner, Alex Zammert

Grade 7:

Jaspur Barstad, Grace Boll, Lillanna Bridgeford, Abigail Bruley, Sylvia Christensen, Peyton Demarais, Alexis Durham, Hailey Fritz, Madalyn Hanson, Sage Lembcke, Ivan Luckow, Cameron Martin, Lana Peterson, Ezra Portillo, Erik Pruneda, Gavin Reitmeier, Jayde Uttermark, Evan Wagner

“B” HONOR ROLL: 3.00 to 3.666

Grade 12:

Kaylee Archambeau, Dalton Delude, Jackson Demarais, Ethan Erdman, Tanner Giese, Jisella Guzman, Lorelai Hebert, Ariana Narvaez, Omar Petithomme, Emily Shea, Carly Thode,

Grade 11:

Hope Alexander, Carter Coauette, Calleigh Fanfulik, Clay Hanson, Marissa Haugen, Laressa Laurie, Edward Luckow, Miles Moore, Jaden Newquist, Johnna Porter, Chase Proulx, Madisyn Sanders, Frankie Torvinen, Carter Trudeau, Brandon Wandrie, Wyatt Wilkens

Grade 10:

Grace Alexander, Masyn Arguelles, Shayla Azure, Nicholaus Bachmeier, Steven Brooks, Julia Buhler, Breanna George, Ethan Gruhot, Conner Hanson, Riley Helgeson, Parker Kelly, Alvin Killough, Teagen Lubinski, Jayden Mulvey, Adrienne Olson, Kendra Overgaard, Addison Pal, Bradyn Pederson, Ryan Street, Dylan Thode, Joslyn Wallace, Hattie Weiland

Grade 9:

Marisavel Aceves, Jasmine Blow, Logan Brekken, Jace Bruggeman, Nolan Cassavant, Brady Chandler, Cody Demarais, Greyson Ecker, Kahnen Hansen, Sadie Hanson, Bailee Klinnert, Madelyn Knutson, Ella Lerum, Ciaran Mulvey, Lucas Perala, Lennon Prudhomme, Evan Pruneda, Ziizibaakwad Sam, Lucas Smith, Aaron Stroot, Makoti Weber, Adelia Weiland, Cade Wisk

Grade 8:

Kendra Brekken, Paisley Crawford, Teagan Fanfulik, Grant Funk, Mykayla Garcia, Aaron Gosse, Isaac Luckow, Austin Lund, Colton Osborn, Destiny Porter, Dezaria Sawyer, Addisyn Schiller, Katie Seaver, Greyson Van Dyk, Brooklyn Waldal

Grade 7:

Allison Abeld, Riylnn Aubol, Destiny Baglien, Kylah Boman, Nevayah Bruce, Shyuh Burnette, Jaxsen Caputo, Cadence Corona, Kylie Delage, Jax Fredrick, Lundyne Hebert, Elijah Hensrud, Alyssa Johnson, Peyton Krenzel, John Lisov, Aubrie Louden, Tucker Lubinski, Isley Machado, Braxton Miller, Rayne Northrup, Leia Parkin, Paige Pedersen, Gabriel Perala, Melina Rodriguez, Brittyn Sanders, Austin Stopa, Samuel Tappe, Colin Trudeau, Emma Williams

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CROOKSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT CELEBRATES MINNESOTA BUS DRIVER APPRECIATION DAY

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The Crookston Public Schools released a message to all School District parents and members this morning that today is Minnesota Bus Driver Appreciation Day.  A day to celebrate our bus drivers and thank them for safely transporting our students and your children to school and back home each day. 

Our district’s bus drivers have a very challenging job and are probably one of the most overlooked and underappreciated workers.  They deal with crazy schedules, snowy/icy roads, bad weather, bold students, and a strict time schedule. 

We all need to tell our kid’s bus driver “thank you” for driving our child safely.  Please encourage your child, on behalf of your family, to say “thank you” to their bus driver.  

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