Word about the new players is still starting to seep out in the wake of the first events of the upcoming season. But that speculation is too far-flung to be regarded at this time.
What isn't is that the team added a pair of corners this week to further solidify what was recently a young & questionable position group. First they signed Tye Smith who had most recently been with Tennessee and then a day later added Bashaud Breeland. It's fair to wonder how the Jeff Gladney situation factors in, because it almost surely does. But considering how there hasn't been anything even remotely close to a nugget about it since news broke more than wondering would just be guessing.
The beginning of the week and the end of it had some similarities, with history in-between. The beginning was big Brandon Metz taking a fifth-place finish in the "Freestyle" wrestling after winning the "Greco-Roman" championship last week. The prior win got him a spot on Team USA!
A couple days after that Nebraska-bound Justin St. Clair was named the Midwest region Assistant Coach of the year, for the 9th time since 2016. Which just goes to show that it's crazy he was with the University as long as he was.
Then, out on in Palo Alto, the ⚾️ team made their history. After losing to the hosts 9 - 1 on Friday the guys took care of Nevada 6 - 1 for the first D1 tournament win in program history! That set them up for a chance to rematch against the Cardinal but UC Irvine had a different idea, 18 - 3. That's a tough pill to swallow but a few of these guys will be in major league systems soon and can always be remembered alongside the team that beat Oklahoma. Yeah, it's kind of Apples & Oranges but tournament wins are tournament wins.
It concluded a season with a school recrod 42 wins with the most road W in the nation while having top-five-all-time seasons by Bennett Hostetler (84 hits, 58 RBIs) & Jake Malec (60 runs). Only time will tell if it's a cornerstone season but having the sort of success they did should help future Springs be even better!
Then, for good measure, Amy Olson played her way to a 2-over, tie for 12th at the Women's Open which added more than $100,000 to her career earnings! She continues to be in contention at events and one of these weekends will break through.
Concordia began their Summer with some coaching changes. On Wednesday it was announced that Laura Januszewski is stepping down from her role as the cross country coach to take a position with Pelican Rapids. Then, on Friday, the already vacant men's ⚽️ head coaching position was filled by Andy Kohel. It will be worth monitoring how the two moves affect the decisions of locals athletes who want to stay close to home while being able to compete in those sports.
The recognitions continued to roll in for the Bolts. Ryan Siedem was named the Outstanding Defenseman while Tristan Broz was recognized for his play as a Forward. A day later Tucker Hodgson was announced as the Most Improved Player. Between last week & the latest awards, it just goes to show what it takes to make the championship!
Now, with focus on the future, the 21/22 schedule was released.
The Birds' week began with Batter of the Week honor going Correlle Prime's way after a scorching week at the plate. Prime may be joined by John Silviano in the near future as JS moved into first place in the Association's home run race.
But those weren't even the best parts!
On Saturday Kevin McGovern became the all-time strikeout king with his seven hundred and second K against Kane County! To be a player in a bus league that can last that long exemplifies loving the game!
With the way that the team has continued to perform collectively - two losses, four wins - the recognitions for McGovern & his 'mates are just beginning!
The two-year wait for Spring champions finally ended this week, in North Dakota at least. The Fargos, as they often are, were in the mix for several of the trophies.
In girls singles 🎾 the #1 from Mandan, Elizabeth Felderman, was knocked out by the East's top player, Mimi Gu from Sheyenne, 6-4, 6-4 in the championship. In the team competition Davies was the top finisher, defeating Legacy 5 - 0 for third place.
Along with Gu on the All-State team is Shanley's Maddie Abbott & Davies' Lily Andrews, India Rohl & Paige McCormick.
The competition was even tougher on the softball diamond.
Perennial powerhouse West Fargo took fifth place with a 10 - 0 win over Red River but the top three spots were claimed by West schools.
There was a better showing on the pitch with three of the top four spots belonging to schools from the Fargos. Davies had the best showing, second place to undefeated Minot. Sheyenne got the lone goal in the third place game against Shanley. West Fargo rounded out the group in sixth after Mandan put two goals on them.
Which leaves ⚾️ .
Hows this for a giveaway:
The championship was Sheyenne vs Shanley and the Mustangs scored the last 11 runs of the game to win 11-1. It was the fitting end to three seasons of success.
Their crosstown rivals also managed to end with a victory, 10 - 0 over Red River.
In class B action, Thompson ⚾️ took third 6 - 1 over Renville County while Central Cass beat Bishop Ryan 6 - 3 for fifth place. On the softball field C Cass won their third straight title 4 - 1 over Thompson. On the other side of the bracket Kindred played their way to the fifth place game but couldn't overcome Beulah, 4 - 2.
On the ⛳️ local class B brought home some hardware as well. Oak Grove finished eight strokes better than Kindred for first place. It was their fifth title every but first since 07. Individually Grayson Wetch was two shots behind the winner from Bottineau. Kindred's girls left nothing to chance, finishing 45 strokes better than Heart River while Avery Bartels unseated South Border's Emily St. Aubin who was going for her fifth straight individual title.
Which leaves the Class A tournament still to be played, this Tuesday & Wednesday.
Moorhead's ⛳️ season also came to an end at the 8AAA meet, partly. Along with their second place showing as a team, NDSU bound Ian Simonich was second & Joe Kortan was fifth. Those finishes qualified them for the state meet.
On the softball field they lost to Brainerd 5 - 9 but will get at least one more game, Tuesday against the high seed. The ⚾️ wasn't as fortunate, finishing on the wrong end of a 3 - 1 game at Elk River which concluded their season.
Which leaves Lacrosse. The girls went first, against Sartell/Sauk Rapids/Rice and were victorious 13 - 6. It was a good first playoff win and would be matched a day later by the guys. They hosted Becker and left the field with a 15 - 2 win. And FYI, you can see photos of both matches. The girls only had one night to get ready for their next contest and the quick turnaround may have contributed to Elk River flipping the script on them, 14 - 2. The boys will travel to St. Michael/Albertville on Monday for the chance to extend their season.
And to top it off, Joe Hurlburt was named 🏀 Player of the Year by the Athlete's Beverage Brand. As the most coveted of all the players in the state it wasn't much of a surprise, except that non-seniors are not commonly chosen. But that also means that people will have that much more of a reason to pack the gyms that Enderlin will be in next Winter!
Fargo scored the first eight points of the game, Jamus Neal to Rodney Steward & Constant Jackson, but then St. Paul reeled off the next 26. When Neal ran in the next score for the Vaders it was the fourth quarter - too little, too late. The offense had decent numbers, but couldn't overcome two interceptions and the defense struggling to stop the Pioneers.
They'll be back home next Saturday, with a 2 pm kick.
The Fuze men had their third straight home game, this time against Aris FC from Wisconsin. Braving the heat, playing in front of whoever felt like doing the same, they hit the net three times while surrendering zero goals. They'll try to make it two in a row on Wednesday, the first of their final three homes of the season.
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