SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
We are in the first week of September and we are officially into the fall sports season with all the football teams in the state having one game under their belt and the rest of the sports having several events in. What a fun time of year!
I want to thank the people who have reached out to me over the past week to offer support. It is much appreciated, and while that wasn’t the reason I unloaded with my personal news, it is appreciated more than you know. I wanted to share it to express how important I believe therapy is. If you don’t feel right or are struggling with anything, make sure to check it out. It is good, and I highly recommend it.
I love this quote – We suffer more in imagination than reality.
I have had several events in my life that I should have probably gotten some therapy for, and didn’t. Stress from the job doesn’t help the anxiety and everything else. With that being said, My ex-wife is a great person, a great mother to our four amazing kids. I have nothing bad to say about her and never will.
Just remember to make every day the best day it can be and be nice to everyone!!!! And trust Gods plan! He has a plan for all of us!
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We are sad to report that a long-time teacher, coach and FCA advisor at Crookston High School and Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer, Ardell Knudsvig passed away on August 31. A memorial service will be held on Friday September 12, 2025, at 11:00 am at Trinity Lutheran Church, Crookston. The family will receive friends on Thursday September 11, 2025 at Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home from 5:00pm until 7:00 pm.
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The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team had a heckuva game at #17 Kansas State this past weekend. Kansas State scored a touchdown with one minute left in the game to win 38-35.
Former Crookston High School teacher, football and girls basketball coach Eric Schmidt, coaches UND. An assistant is Gordie Haug who played for Schmidt on a Pirate state playoff team that beat East Grand Forks at the Alerus Center in one of the better games in a long time back in 2004 (I think).
Crookston High School grad Ethan Boll had a tackle and a fumble recovery in the game against KSU. The fumble recovery was on a kickoff in the second quarter, giving UND the ball back, and the tackle was in the third quarter, with UND leading.
Boll is a sophomore linebacker and listed as 6-2 and 220 pounds.
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Section 8 9-Man Football
What do we know after six of the seven teams have played two games so far this season?
Stephen-Argyle, Kittson County Central, and Goodridge/Grygla are all 2-0. Stephen-Argyle has been impressive with a 50-30 victory over Fertile-Beltrami in week 1, and in week 2, they beat Border West 34-16. So the Storm starts off with the defending state champ and the defending Section 4 9-Man champ in the first two games. Now they take on Kittson County Central on Friday and Goodridge/Grygla on September 12 (Game on KROX Radio!). What a gauntlet for the Storm.
Goodridge-Grygla had a big 30-14 win over Warren-Alvarado-Oslo in the first game and easily beat Hancock 46-6 last week. Now, they host Fertile-Beltrami on Friday, and that should be a great game.
We will take a look at the other sections next week after they play two games.
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Section 8A Volleyball
We are two weeks into the volleyball season and a few matches in for most teams. What have we learned so far?
Ada-Borup-West is a team to beat again this year. They have had a solid start with wins over Barnesville and a hard-fought win over Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart is another team to beat as they beat Kittson County Central and lost a tight match to ABW.
You have a bunch of other teams that are in the mix with KCC, Fertile-Beltrami, Red Lake Falls. Teams that are undefeated so far are Bagley, Fertile-Beltrami, ABW, Blackduck, and Goodridge-Grygla.
Section 8AA Volleyball
Teams that have had solid starts are Thief River Falls, Frazee, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Hawley, and Roseau (a 3-2 loss to TRF). Other teams that will be in the mix are Perham, Barnesville, and Wadena-Deer Creek.
Hawley is still the team to beat, but TRF and DGF have shown so far this season that they will be a tough team to beat.
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Participation in the Minnesota State High School League’s education-based activities increased by more than 8,000 students during the 2024-2025 school year, according to data released in August by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
In its annual participation survey of state associations, Minnesota maintained its rank in the Top 10 of all state high school associations with 232,347 students. Last school year, there were 224,179 students active in athletics in Minnesota. That mark in the 2023-2024 school year was an increase of more than 5,000 participants from the 2022-2023 school year.
Add the students participating in the Fine Arts activities of Debate, Music, One Act Play, Speech and Visual Arts, as well as Robotics, and Minnesota’s participation numbers climb to an all-time high of 277,773.
The League has continued its commitment toward increasing opportunities through the addition of Boys Volleyball last school year and the dramatic growth of Girls Wrestling. Boys Volleyball had 2,383 participants in its first season as a League-sanctioned activity. In the 2023-2024 school year, there were 1,004 participants in Girls Wrestling and that rose to 1,376 last school year.
The League also includes participation by seventh and eighth graders on high school teams which equates to more than 28,000 students.
“The experiences and values of participating with classmates under the leadership of qualified and committed coaches and directors are some of the most valued in a student’s high school career,” said Erich Martens, the League’s executive director. “Our member schools do an excellent job in providing a very diverse choice of activities and athletics for their students with the primary goal of having all students participate.”
Nationally, participation in education-based high school activities rose to 8.2 million, an increase of nearly 200,000 students from the 2024-2025 school year. It is the third consecutive school year since the global pandemic that a significant increase in participation was reported.
Girls Wrestling climbed to more than 74,000 participants nationally, an increase of 15 percent. Boys Wrestling increased by more than 8,000 participants to top the 300,000-mark for the first time.
Texas remained atop the survey with 879,403, followed by California at 852,575. Ohio (335,808) was third, followed by Pennsylvania (333,123), Illinois (328,362), New York (327,068) Florida (308,396), Michigan (298,246), New Jersey (281,971) and Minnesota (232,347).
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Another Hockey Hall of Famer (soon to be) who played in the old Crookston Civic Arena will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Zach Parise, who played for Shattuck St. Mary’s before playing at UND, played in Crookston against the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Hockey team when he was at Shattuck.
Joe Pavelski, Scott Gomez, Tara Mounsey, and photographer Bruce Bennett will also join Parise. The formal induction will occur on December 10 in St. Paul.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Club Hockey team will have eight new players joining the team. There will be four forwards and four defensemen.
Colton Balcerak (Fr., F, Algonquin, Ill.) who played for the West Dundee Leafs. In 2023-2024, Balcerak scored 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points in 30 games. Balcerak served as the captain of the West Dundee Leafs.
Macen Heisler (Fr., F, Horace, N.D.) who comes in from the NA3HL where he played 39 games for three different teams in 2024-25. Heisler had 12 goals and four assists for 16 points.
Kadin Edwards (Fr., F, Crookston) who last played for the Sheridan Hawks of the NA3HL. In 2024-25, Edwards notched two goals and seven assists for nine points in 25 games.
Conner Hanson (Fr., F, Crookston) who played his past two seasons with Crookston High School. In 2023-24, Hanson played 15 games and netted one goal. In 2024-25, Hanson played 27 games, netting six goals and one assist for seven points.
Brandon Kelly (Jr., D, Park River, N.D.) who is the older brother of current Golden Eagle Dalston Kelly (Jr., F, Park River, N.D.) Brandon spent his first two college hockey seasons on the ACHA Division One University of Mary team. He scored three points in 20 games.
Riley Benson (Fr., D, Mentor) who played his high school hockey at Crookston High. He scored 25 points in 52 games across two seasons.
Brody Nordmark (Fr., D, Souris, N.D.) who played at Bottineau/Rugby High. In 2024-25, Nordmark scored eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 26 games.
Braden Van de Kraats (So., D, Duchess, Alberta) who played his freshman season at Williston State College. Van de Kraats led the Tetons in points in 2024-25 with 22 points in 27 games. He had 12 goals from the point.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball program announced the hiring of Cal Fougner as assistant coach. Fougner joins a staff including Head Coach Steve Gust, Assistant Coach Rich Loomis, Assistant Coach Clarke Peterson, and Assistant Coach Kaiden Zacharias. Fougner joins UMC after serving as head coach at Northland College in Ashland, Wis., which closed its doors at the conclusion of the 2024-25 academic year.
Prior to his arrival in Ashland, Fougner served as an assistant coach, pitching coach, and recruiting coordinator from 2020-23 at Valley City State University in Valley City, N.D.
Prior to his experience with Valley City State, Fougner spent 2013-20 as the head coach at Duluth Denfeld High School. He transformed an underperforming program at Denfeld into a state tournament qualifier, their first since 1954. He improved college recruitment by almost 300 percent. He also helped build team culture, and aided in fundraising. In addition, Fougner helped Denfeld to the 2017 Section 7AAA finals, the 2019 Section 7AAA Championship, and he was named the 7AAA Coach of the Year.
Fougner also coached as head coach at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in 2012. He also helped found the Twin Port North Stars, and the Moorhead Expos, and was a student assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 2009-10.
Fougner competed in baseball for Wisconsin-Superior from 2005-09, playing as a pitcher, catcher, and outfielder. He earned the Lunchpail Award for his hard work, and was on the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. Fougner is in the process of earning his Master of Education from Valley City State University. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 2010. Fougner is a native of Fargo, N.D.
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Perham will host a youth 3-on-3 Basketball tournament on Saturday, November 15, for Grades 2-8 (boys and girls divisions)
Our Goal: Run a 1st-class tournament with strong officials, beautiful facilities, get you in & out quickly, play different teams from all over, and awesome prizes for the winners!!!
*Please fill out a form for each team registering.
*Please submit a separate registration for each team.
($100 per team, 3 games guaranteed-possibly 4 depending on schedule).
*Please bring your own basketballs. 2nd & 3rd grade “might” play on lower hoops.
Email one of the coaches listed if you’d like to register a team. Hoops at the Hive may need to combine grade levels (using team ability levels) to fill some brackets. If needed to combine, players will play teams within one grade level.
*Cost is $100 per team. Please send payment immediately after registration to reserve your spot.
Payment Methods:
Venmo: @PerhamBBB (2349) (You must include the following info)
GRADE of PLAYERS (‘25-’26, max of 5 per team):
GENDER: B or G
TEAM NAME:
1 Parent/Guardian CONTACT CELL NUMBER
Check: Perham Boys Basketball (add below info on check)
Mail to: Arly Ohm 810 2nd Ave SW. Perham, MN 56573
GRADE of PLAYERS (‘25-’26, max of 5 per team):
GENDER: B or G
TEAM NAME:
1 Parent/Guardian CONTACT CELL NUMBER:
*No refunds after November 2nd.
*Registration deadline is Sunday November 2nd at 7:00 PM (or until filled) Brackets will be emailed the week prior to the tournament.
*Efficient scheduling. Expect some back to back games. Get in, play,
get on your way.
*Questions? Contact:
Arly Ohm at arlyohm@perham.k12.mn.us Cell: (701) 640-3850
Garry Grewe at ggrewe@perham.k12.mn.us Cell: (320) 241-4877
Grant Dierkhising gdierkhising@perham.k12.mn.us Cell: (218) 252-2349
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The Crookston Youth Basketball Association will hold a Mini Hoopers Intro to Basketball Academy for ages 4 to 6 at the Crookston High School gym.
The academy will meet on Saturdays from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. September 6 through October 4.
This introductory program teaches basketball basics using simple drills and fun games.
Cost is $10. For more information, contact Erik Griffin at 218-201-2767.
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JOKES
The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, “It was a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush bucket theater seats. It worked like a charm. The front of the church always fills first now.”
The young priest nodded, and the old priest continued, “And you told me adding a little more beat to the music would bring young people back to church, so I supported you when you brought in that rock’n’roll gospel choir. Now our services are consistently packed to the balcony.”
“Thank you, Father,” answered the young priest. “I am pleased that you are open to the new ideas of youth.”
“All of these ideas have been well and good,” said the elderly priest, “but I’m afraid you’ve gone too far with the drive-thru confessional.”
“But, Father,” protested the young priest, “my confessions and the donations have nearly doubled since I began that!”
“Yes,” replied the elderly priest, “and I appreciate that. But the flashing neon sign, ‘Toot ‘n Tell or Go to Hell’ cannot stay on the church roof.”
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An elderly lady was stopped to pull into a parking space when a young man in his new red Mercedes went around her and parked in the space she was waiting for. The little old lady was so upset that she went up to the man and said, “I was going to park there!”
The man said, “That’s what you can do when you’re young and bright.”
Well, this really upset the lady even more, so she got in her car and backed it up and then she stomped on the gas and plowed right into his Mercedes.
The young man ran back to his car and asked, “What did you do that for?”
The little old lady smiled and told him, “That’s what you can do when you’re old and rich!”
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A six year old comes crying to his Mother because his little sister pulled his hair.
“Don’t be angry,” the Mother says, “Your little sister doesn’t realize that pulling hair hurts.”
A short while later, there’s more crying, and the Mother goes to investigate.
This time the sister is bawling and her brother says…
“Now she knows.”
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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
Addie Fee is a freshman playing tennis and hockey at Wisconsin-Superior.
Kambelle Freije is a freshman playing hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Riley Helgeson is a freshman playing football at Northern State.
Emily Bowman is a freshman playing Softball at North Dakota State College of Science.
Halle Winjum is a sophomore playing basketball at Minnesota Crookston.
Matt Contreras is a freshman playing baseball at Concordia College.
Naomi Johnson is a freshman playing volleyball at Alexandria Community College.
Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.
Reese Swanson is a sophomore playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a sophomore playing football at Minot State.
Isaac Thomforde is a sophomore playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Halle Bruggeman is a Junior on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Sophomore 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 Junior playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Aleah Bienek is a Senior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Ty Hamre is Senior 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.
Jason Cassavant is a Jr. High Baseball Coach and Head American Legion 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.
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.