SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
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The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team has 48 girls out in 7th-12th grade this year. There is only one senior, but the rest of the grades have solid numbers.
Senior (1) Kristine Bernd
Juniors (10) Emily Bowman, Jordan Bryant, Mackenzie Funk, Naomi Johnson, Makenna Kopecky, Danielle Kresl, Chase Larson, Joey Nesseth, Dukessa Ramirez, Karena Longoria
Sophomores (6) Alexa Bartrum, Jasmine Blow, Jorja Hebert, Emma LaPlante, Rhianna Moore, Kamryn Proulx
Freshman (11) Madilyn Abrams, Rylee Anderson, Aubrey Bartrum, Bryolee Darco, Adalyn Hanson, Jaleanie Hebert, Jocelyn Johnson, Brea Lessard, Isabel Pahlen, Addisyn Schiller,. Allysen Wagner
8th grade (9) Ella Anderson, Rilynn Aubol, Abigail Bruley, Madalyn Hanson, Lundyne Hebert, Makenzie Ness, Leia Parkin, Lana Peterson, Jayde Uttermark
7th grade (11) Morgan Boll, Emmagail Frantz, Kasey Fritz, Keatyn Kliner, Brynna Kopecky, Cecelia Newquist, Anastasia Noyes, Ava Oliver, Lyla Oman, Emma Pierson, Cora Prudhomme Shane, Haley Voss
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The Crookston Pirate Football team has 30 boys out for football this year in 9-12th grade.
Seniors (10) Antonio Romero, Miles Moore, Vinny Herberg, Clay Hanson, Angel Gutierrez, Carter Coauette, Adam Arriaga, Jake Erickson, Jaylin Lamb, Ashton Shockman
Juniors (6) Bradyn Pederson, Teagen Lubinski, Rylan Lubarski, Parker Kelly, Riley Helgeson, Connor Hanson
Sophomores (8) Casey Weiland, Isaiah Reyes, Andrew Johnson, Tate Hamre, Tony Elbinger, Jose Arriaga, Alex Lamb, Masen Reitmeier
Freshman (6) Ean Deleon, Xsavior Ramos, Jack Nobles, Landon Meier, Austin Lund, Grady Kingbird
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The Crookston Pirate Girls Tennis team is showing off its depth through the first five matches of the season. They are 5-0 with three convincing victories and a pair of 4-3 victories over Mound Westonka and East Grand Forks. As you would expect, the girls have solid records so far this season. Even if the girls are without their top player, Halle Winjum, they continue to roll and have the next girl up mentality.
Individual records after five matches-
Emma Gunderson 5-0
Georgia Sanders 5-0
Isabelle Smith 5-0
Addie Fee 5-0
Paige Abrahamson 4-1
Coral Brekken 4-1
Morgan Nelson 4-1
Kaylie Clauson 3-1
Calleigh Fanfulik 3-2
Brekken Tull 2-3
Mariah Overgaard 1-0
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The University of Jamestown has presented its interest in joining the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The NSIC is without Upper Iowa this year after they switched conferences, and that leaves the conference with 15 teams.
UMC, Mary, and Minot State were members of the old NDCAC in the NAIA, along with Jamestown and others. Jamestown has the facilities and money, but will they be able to compete at the NSIC level, which has been an issue for UMC, Mary, and Minot State.
I would think the NSIC would take Jamestown as they fit geographically and would be a great trade for Upper Iowa, but they need two-thirds of the vote to get in. So it will depend on the 15 member schools. I am sure UMC, BSU, MSUMoorhead, Northern State, Minot State, and Mary would be a slam dunk. They would need to get four other votes to get in.
We will see what happens, but this would be a good fit, and it would be interesting to see what Valley City State, Mayville State, and others still in the wasteland of the NAIA do.
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The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has released the Women’s Golf Preseason Coaches Poll.
Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Augustana (11) 121
2. Winona State (1) 98
3. Wayne State 95
4. MSU-Mankato 93
5. Concordia-St. Paul 80
6. Sioux Falls 74
7. SW MN State 62
8. U of Mary 54
9. Minot State 35
10. UMC 33
11. Bemidji State 25
12. MSU-Moorhead 22
Augustana University, winners of 12 of the last 13 NSIC Championships, was picked to win the league in the preseason women’s golf coaches’ poll. The Vikings received 11 first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team) and tallied 121 points, 23 points ahead of second-place Winona State. The Warriors amassed 98 points and the other first-place vote, while Wayne State was third with 95 points.
Augustana’s Molly Stevens was voted by the league coaches as the preseason golfer of the year for the second straight year. Stevens was the 2021-22 & 2022-23 NSIC Golfer of the Year as she led the NSIC in stroke average the past two seasons. She earned three first-place finishes, eight top-five finishes, and 10 top-10 finishes this past season.
The 2023-24 NSIC Women’s Golf schedule begins on August 28, while the three-round NSIC Women’s Golf Championship will take place next spring on April 26-28 at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville, Missouri.
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The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has released the Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll.
Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Augustana (9) 191
2. Winona State (6) 184
3. MSU-Mankato 167
4. UM-Duluth 160
5. Sioux Falls 142
6. U of Mary 136
7. Northern State 99
8. Bemidji State 97
9. St. Cloud State 90
10. MSU-Moorhead 83
11. Minot State 73
12. Wayne State 58
13. SW MN State 41
14. Concordia-St. Paul 38
15. UMC 16
Augustana University was picked to win the NSIC in the preseason women’s cross country coaches’ poll. The Vikings, the two-time defending NSIC Champions, received nine first place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team) and tallied 191 points to sit seven points ahead of second place Winona State, which had 184 points and the other six place first place votes. Minnesota State was third with 167 points, Minnesota Duluth (160) and Sioux Falls (142) rounded out the top five.
The two-time defending NSIC Champion Lindsay Cunningham of Winona State was named NSIC Preseason Athlete of the Year. Cunningham won the 2021 and 2022 NSIC & NCAA Central Region titles and finished seven at national in 2021 and second in 2022.
The 2023 NSIC cross country season gets underway on Friday, September 1 with the regular season culminating on Saturday, October 21 at the NSIC Cross Country Championship held at McDowell Dam in Bismarck, North Dakota; hosted by the University of Mary. The NCAA Central Regional will be held on Saturday, November 4 in Joplin, Missouri while the NCAA National Championships will take place on November 18, also in Joplin, Missouri.
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The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has released the Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll.
Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Augustana (12) 144
2. MSU-Mankato 123
3. Sioux Falls (1) 119
4. UM-Duluth 112
5. U of Mary 94
6. MSU-Moorhead 85
7. Minot State 82
8. Northern State 72
9. Wayne State 53
10. Winona State 52
11. Concordia-St. Paul 43
12. UMC 19
13. SW MN State 16
The three-time defending champions of Augustana University were picked to win the NSIC in the preseason men’s cross country coaches’ poll. The Vikings, winners of 12 of the last 13 NSIC Championships, received all 12 first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team) and tallied 144 points. Minnesota State was second with 123 points while the University of Sioux Falls was third with 119 points and the other first-place vote. Minnesota Duluth was fourth with 112 points while the University of Mary rounded out the top five with 94 points.
Augustana’s Ryan Hartman was voted as the NSIC Preseason Athlete of the Year. Hartman is coming off a second-place finish at the NSIC Championships last season and an 8th place finish at the NCAA Regional. He also finished 19th at the NCAA Championships, helping the Vikings to a seventh-place team finish.
The 2023 NSIC cross country season gets underway on Friday, September 1 with the regular season culminating on Saturday, October 21 at the NSIC Cross Country Championship held at McDowell Dam in Bismarck, North Dakota; hosted by the University of Mary. The NCAA Central Regional will be held on Saturday, November 4 in Joplin, Missouri, while the NCAA National Championships will take place on November 18, also in Joplin, Missouri.
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So you want to win the NSIC Volleyball championship?? Good luck! Once again, the NSIC is the top D-2 conference in the country, with 5 of the 15 teams ranked in the top 11 in the NATION!
The top-ranked team is West Texas A&M. Then the five NSIC teams are listed below. The crazy thing is there aren’t any more NSIC teams ranked in the top 25, which will change when the season starts, and they beat other non-conference teams.
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The Minnesota High School League released its Section alignments for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years with several changes for section teams in northwest Minnesota. We have a list of all the sports and who is in and who is out next year. The Fall sports sections are listed below –
FOOTBALL –
Section 6 9-Man (Fosston in, Nevis out)
Blackduck
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Fertile-Beltrami
Fosston
Laporte
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal
Park Christian
8 9-MAN (No Change)
BGMR
Goodridge-Grygla
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Northern Freeze
Stephen-Argyle
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Win-E-Mac
Section 8A Football – (Fosston out)
Ada-Borup-West
Bagley
Mahnomen-Waubun
Polk County West
Red Lake County
Red Lake
Section 8AA Football (Park Rapids and Roseau drop from 8AAA)
Barnesville
Crookston
Frazee
Hawley
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Roseau
Warroad
Section 8AAA (Park Rapids and Roseau out, Morris in)
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Morris/Chokio-Alberta
Perham
Thief River Falls
VOLLEYBALL –
8A Volleyball – (added Red Lake)
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River
Bagley
Blackduck
Climax-Fisher
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Fertile-Beltrami
Goodridge/Grygla
Indus
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Mahnomen/Waubun
Northern Freeze
Northome/Kelliher
Red Lake County Central
Red Lake Falls
Red Lake
Sacred Heart
Stephen-Argyle
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Win-E-Mac
Section 8AA (Red Lake moved down to 8A)
Barnesville
Crookston
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Frazee
Hawley
Menahga
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Perham
Roseau
Thief River Falls
Wadena-Deer Creek
Warroad
BOYS SOCCER –
Section 8A (Added East Grand Forks)
Central Minnesota Christian
Crookston
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Fergus Falls Hillcrest
Melrose
Minnewaska Area
Pelican Rapids
St. Cloud Cathedral
St. John’s Prep
GIRLS SOCCER –
Section 8A (Added East Grand Forks, lost Fergus Falls)
Albany
Crookston
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls Hillcrest
Melrose
Pelican Rapids
St. Cloud Cathedral
St. John’s Prep
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
GIRLS TENNIS –
Section 8A (added East Grand Forks, Perham, and Thief River Falls, lost Long Prairie-Grey Eagle)
Crookston
East Grand Forks
Park Rapids
Parkers Prairie
Perham/NYM
Roseau
Staples-Motley
Thief River Falls
Wadena-Deer Creek
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY –
Section 8A (Perham is out)
Ada-Borup-West
Bagley/Fosston
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
DNA Homeschool
Frazee
Hawley
Lake of the Woods
Lake Park-Audubon
Nevis
New York Mills
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Red Lake County
Riverside Christian School
Roseau
United North Central
Warroad
West Marshall
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY –
Section 8A (Perham is out)
Ada-Borup-West
Bagley/Fosston
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
DNA Homeschool
Frazee
Hawley
Lake of the Woods
Lake Park-Audubon
Nevis
New York Mills
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Red Lake County
Riverside Christian School
Roseau
United North Central
Warroad
West Marshall
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JOKES
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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
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 Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND..
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 Womens Track and Field team.
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.
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
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach and assistant girls golf 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
Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball
Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.
Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.
Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.
Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.
Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.
Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Katy (Westrom) Horgen is the 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 Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.
Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy.
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.
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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