SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
We are less than a month away from the first MSHSL Fall sports practice and competition!!!!! The FIRST day of fall sports practice is Monday, August 11.
| Sport | Weeks/Games | 1st event | State Tourney |
| Girls Tennis | 11/16 | August 14 | October 21-24 |
| Boys and Girls Soccer | 12/16 | August 21 | QF: Oct. 21-23 SF: Oct. 28-29 3rd: Oct. 29-30 Finals: Oct. 31 |
| Cross Country | 12/10 | August 21 | November 1 |
| Football | 15/9 | August 28 | QF: Nov. 6-8 SF: Nov. 13-15 Finals: Nov 21-22 |
| Volleyball | 13/17 | August 21 | Nov. 5-8 |
| Girls Swimming | 14/16 | August 21 | Nov. 13-15 |
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The Crookston High School Hall of Fame has announced the Class of 2025 inductees:
BRYAN BOLL is a 1992 graduate of Crookston High School, where he was President of both the Student Council and SADD. He was a charter member of the LEO Club and won a senior music award for Band and Choir. Bryan was captain and MVP of the Crookston football team, captain and MVP of the wrestling team, and captain and MVP of the basketball team. He was named the Willis Eide Outstanding Male Athlete in 1992. After high school, he enrolled at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN where he was captain of the Concordia football team and was All MIAC for two years and Academic All-American. Bryan is a founder of Boll Family Farms, Boll Farms Inc. Trucking, and Northstar Lime LLC.
BETH CARLSON is a graduate of Oklee High School. Continuing her education, she earned a Music Education degree from Moorhead State College and a Master of Arts degree in theatre from UND. She worked as a teacher at Hendrum, MN, Grand Forks and Emerado, ND, and taught music at Cathedral School in Crookston for 27 years. She has been in Community Theatre in both Grand Forks and Crookston. For many years she served as director of one-act and full-length plays, and musicals for Crookston Public Schools. She has also served as an accompanist for Mass at Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Crookston.
GARY STEGMAN earned his BS in Art and Music Education at Mayville State University in 1986. He taught middle school and high school students in Crookston from 1992-2023, and he worked as a teaching specialist at the University of Minnesota Crookston. He traveled to Minneapolis and Chicago with students in Fine Arts trips and helped students advance to the State Art Show and regional competition. Four public art works in the city of Crookston were created by Gary. His awards include Golden Teacher Awards, NW Minnesota Arts Council Artist of the Year, Kiwanis Community Supporter of Arts and Academic Award, and he is an OSPY Award winner.
GARY WAGNER is a proud graduate of Crookston High School Class of 1972. At CHS he earned twelve varsity letters in track and field, football, and basketball. He was a two-time state qualifier in track, competing in the hurdles and long jump, and held the school long jump record for over forty years. Gary was a three-time NWAC All- Conference selection and team MVP. He was basketball team captain, senior MVP, and an All Big-Five Conference honoree. In 1972 Gary received the school’s Citizenship Award and the Willis Eide Memorial Best Athlete Award. Gary continued his athletic career at the University of North Dakota and later at the University of Minnesota- Crookston where he was named to the 1973 NJCAA All-American Football team. He earned a degree in Agricultural Business. Gary and his brother Wayne co-founded A.W.G. Farms, Inc., which has grown into a 5000+ farming operation, collaborating with research institutions and ag companies to develop early GPS and yield monitoring technologies. He has been deeply involved in community service as a Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor, church board treasurer, and agricultural and educational advisory boards.
KENLEY WAHLIN graduated from Crookston High School in 2005. He was team captain and a three-year starter on the CHS football team. He was team captain and four-year starter on the CHS basketball team. During his basketball career he scored 1438 points. While participating in high school athletic teams, he served on the basketball team that placed second in state in 2005 and was a member of the football team that participated in state competition in 2003. He was also a member of the team that appeared at state in 2003 and 2004, He was named to All-State Basketball and Football teams. Kenley participated in Minnesota high school football and basketball All- Star Games. He graduated from UND with a degree in elementary education. His teaching career began as an elementary teacher at Ada-Borup in 2010. Other duties at Ada-Borup include Athletic Director as well as basketball and football coach. He is a Region 8A Representative and he coaches the K-2 basketball skills program. He received his Master’s Degree from Concordia/St. Paul in Curriculum and Instruction with a Reading Endorsement. Kenley was named the Ada-Borup School District Teacher of the year for his performance in the classroom as well as his coaching in 2018-2019.
The public is welcome to the ceremony on Saturday, August 16, at Crookston High School for a 1 p.m. social hour and 2 p.m. program honoring these very talented people. Tickets are available at the door: $10 for adults and $5 for students in grades 1-12.
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The Division II Northwest Sub-state American Legion baseball tournament was a wild one, and once again Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton showed off their depth. They beat Red Lake County 5-4 in the first round (probably the best two teams in the tournament), then lost to Warroad 10-4 in the second round. In the elimination bracket, DGF beat Frazee 11-6, beat Thief River Falls 10-9 and beat Warroad 16-1 and 16-2 to advance to the state tournament in Ely.
DGF will play Luverne on Thursday, July 31, at 12:30 PM. Other first-round games will be Montevideo vs. Esko, La Crescent vs. New London-Spicer, and Sibley East vs. Ely (the host). DGF will play either Montevideo or Esko in the semi-finals or consolation semi-finals on Friday, August 1.
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The Division 1 Sub-state 12 American Legion Baseball tournament was won by East Grand Forks while also showing off its depth. EGF beat Fergus Falls 3-0 in the first round and lost to Bemidji 5-2 in the second round. In the elimination bracket, East Grand Forks beat Perham 2-0, beat Fergus Falls (again) 10-6, beat Bemidji 8-3, and beat Alexandria 4-2 in the championship. Both EGF and Alexandria will advance to state.
The Division 1 Legion state tournament is a mess. They allow 12 teams to make the tournament, and they have four pools of four teams.
East Grand Forks will play St. Michael on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at St. Michael. Hopkins and Owatonna are the other two teams in the pod.
The Gold pool has Grand Rapids, Hutchinson, White Bear Lake, and Alexandria.
The Blue pool has Osseo, Farmington, Tri-City Red, and Fridley Gold.
The green pool has New Ulm, Sauk Rapids, the winner of Hastings, and Eagan, and the winner of substate 3.
The winner of the Division 1 state tournament will advance to the Central Regional in Fargo (hosted by Post 400 at Jack Williams Stadium. The Minnesota champion and runner-up, along with the champions from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and the host Fargo Post 400. The tournament will be August 6-10.
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UMC Golden Eagle Baseball alumn Jake Hjelle (East Grand Forks) is playing for Boise in the Pioneer Independent League and having a pretty solid year. He has played in 54 games with 224 at bats. He has 83 hits for a .371 average. He has 19 doubles, 17 home runs, one triple, 63 rbi, 64 runs scored. He also has 11 stolen bases, 18 walks and has been hit by a pitch five times.
Jake is second on the team in batting average and 15th in the Pioneer League. He is sixth in the league in home runs with 17, ninth in the league with 19 doubles.
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The 2025 National Women’s Hockey Festival U18 roster has been announced, and one area girl will participate in the camp.
The 2025 Festival will be held August 3-9 at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. Bringing together the top American female players from the U18 level to the national team, the Festival will assist in the evaluation process for the 2026 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, set to compete in Milan at the Olympic Winter Games, and the selection process for the U18 and Collegiate Women’s Select Team rosters for the U18 & Collegiate Series against Canada that will take place August 13-16 in Lake Placid as well.
All practices and games will take place at the Lake Placid Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Bailey Rupp (daughter of CHS grad Stephanie (Boll) Rupp) of Bemidji. Other Minnesotans on the roster are –
Sydney Boss Krohn (Excelsior) of Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Haley Box (Eden Prairie) of Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Olivia Braunshausen (Lake Elmo) of Hill-Murray
Annabelle Buccicone (Blaine) of the Junior Whitecaps
Finley Engfer (Savage) of Apple Valley High School
Alaina Gnetz (Woodbury) of Woodbury High School
Talla Hansen (Wayzata) of Benilde-St. Margarte’s
Madelyn Kimbrel (Long Lake) of Orono High School
Taylee Manion (Hermantown) of Proctor/Hermantown
Addison McLay (Hastings) of Hill-Murray
Mia Miller (Dundas) of Nortfield High School
Emily Pohl (Woodbury) of Hill-Murray
Kateryna Sander (Chanhassen) of Holy Family Catholic
June Semling (Champlin) of Champlin/Coon Rapids
Josephine Virnig (Plymouth) Shattuck-St. Mary’s
There are 11 girls of the 36 on the roster who are going to Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
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The latest numbers are out, and they just go to show you that playing college sports is a privilege in the NCAA. The numbers speak for themselves: An estimated 6.3 percent of high school male athletes play NCAA (D1, D2, D3) sports, and an estimated 6.5 percent of women play NCAA sports in college. All numbers are from the NCAA.
MALE NUMBERS –
The “easiest” male sport to play Division 1 is hockey, with 5 percent playing at that level and 7.5 percent playing Division III. Lacrosse and swimming and diving are tied for second place at 3.3 percent each! The hardest sport for a male to play Division 1 is Volleyball, with less than one percent (.70), and basketball and wrestling are next at 1 percent.
FEMALE NUMBERS-
The “easiest” sport for women to make it to Division 1 is hockey, with 10.2 percent of high school girls playing Division 1. The highest number of Playing Division 3 women’s hockey is 21.3 percent! The next highest numbers are Water Polo at 4.4 percent, Lacrosse at 3.3 percent, and Swimming at 4.2 percent.
The “hardest” sport to make Division 1 is Volleyball at 1.2 percent, basketball at 1.4 percent, and tennis at 1.5 percent. It is a tie for Division 3 with Volleyball and Water Polo at 1.6 percent and basketball at 1.8 percent.
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The Minnesota Golden Gopher Men’s Hockey team got a big commitment from Grand Rapids native Carter Casey this week. He was recently the goalie for Waterloo (five games), who finished runner-up for the Clark Cup (USHL championship) this past season. He will be playing for Medicine Hat of the WHL this upcoming season.
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Red Lake County Knights of Columbus will host its annual Junior Golf Tournament on Wednesday, August 6 at Oak Knolls Golf Course in Red Lake Falls.
Entry Fee – $10 (includes all-you-can-eat lunch)
9 hole groups – $5
9:00 shotgun start
Boys will have 5 age groups –
8 years old and younger – 9 holes
9-10 years old – 9 holes
11-12 years old – 18 holes
13-14 years old – 18 holes
15-17 years old – 18 holes
Girls divisions depend on number of entrants)
There will be medal play in all age groups with prizes and trophies awards. There is also numerous door prizes with a putting contest and other contests throughout the course.
ENTRY DEADLINE – Preferred by Noon on Sunday, August 3, but can still register the morning of before 8:45 a.m.
Send entry to:
Steve Philion
518 Champagne Ave
Red Lake Falls, MN 56750
Call Steve at 218-686-3608 or email sphilion@rlfedu.org for more information.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston soccer team will host an ID Camp August 9 from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at the Minnesota Crookston Soccer Field. The camp is for grades 9-college. The campers will be able to experience life as a student-athlete at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Participants in the ID Camp will be instructed by the Golden Eagle soccer staff and get a glimpse of campus. The campers will be led through drills and observed by soccer coaches at the U of M Crookston and nearby universities. The camp will include technical training, possession drills, small-sided and 11v11 games. Campers and families will get a tour of campus and have a Q&A session with Minnesota Crookston coaching staff.
Registration for the camp will commence at 9 a.m. A t-shirt is included in registration with an overall cost of $100. Campers should bring appropriate soccer attire, shin guards, socks, cleats, tennis shoes, a water bottle, and sunscreen.
For more information on the camp and to register visit https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?sport=7&id=307710
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The Crookston High School Summer Strength and Conditioning program “Powered by Sanford Sports” will be June 2 through August 8. There will be no sessions June 30-July 4 due to the MSHSL blackout week.
For the registration and sign up info, click the following link – Crookston Weights Summer Sign Up — Signup Sheet | SignUp.com
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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
Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.
Reese Swanson is a freshman playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a freshman playing football at Minot State.
Isabelle Smith is a freshman playing Tennis at Concordia College.
Isaac Thomforde is a freshman playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Emilee Tate is a Sophomore playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.
Halle Bruggeman is a Sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Red-shirt Freshman on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Jacey Larson is a Sophomore playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Aleah Bienek is a Junior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Joslynn Leach is a Senior playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brooks Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Ty Hamre is redshirt Junior playing football at Bemidji State University.
Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.
Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Jason Cassavant is a Jr. High Baseball Coach
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.
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.
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 North Dakota.
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
Jaren Bailey is serving our country and is currently in the Marines’ Boot Camp.
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.
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.
