Telling the story of a full year of action borders on the impossible, even trying to could be defined as ludicrous. To reduce it all down to a single word smacks of foolishness, but if the last 365 days were to be characterized that way there is one choice that stands out from all the rest:
Recruitment
The region has been in a golden period of sports for a few years and the nations best took notice to another level. Duluth added goalie Zach Sandy & Washington won a battle for Moorhead's Elinneus Davis early in the calendar while Kindred's Riley Sunram made waves from the Summer til the final hours of the years! Those headliners sandwiched the year & there is promise of even more to come with Mason Klabo & Jeremiah Sem leading the charge. As headlines go, there was plenty of substance beyond as young men & women from the region continued to make their destination decisions on a weekly basis.
Those opportunities were the result of countless hours on the fields & courts and wouldn't have been possible without the competition which also yielded abundantly from January to December!
As they so often have, NDSU opened with a title-game victory, this time over Montana State. Matt Entz & David Braun were named Coach & Coordinators of the year in the sub-division. That ushered in Christian Watson's stellar performance in Indianapolis & subsequent selection by Green Bay, where he has begun to bite the Purple for one of their inter-division, draft-day trades. It could be taken to a much greater level Jan 1 as the two teams square-off.
That happened while football went as dormant as it ever does, opening the door for the heart of the hoops & skates seasons.
It was a rare Winter on the wood as the 2,000-point threshold was cleared by South's Adie Wagner, Richland's Megan Roob, Fergus Falls' Ellie Colbeck & Enderlin's Joe Hurlburt, days after he eclipsed the rebounds record and on the same day that Jeremiah Sem set North's school record for scoring in a game. Hawley's Kaylie Crabtree hit her 1,000th point & was joined by West Fargo's Miriley Simon soon after.
As the games go though, all levels of individual success don't guarantee advancement through tournaments. Take Hankinson's Kya Mauch who finished as the school's all-time leader in points while bringing in more than 1,000 rebounds but was eliminated by Central Cass. Northern Cass then got by the Squirrels before facing the Kindred buzz-saw in the Region 1 championship game. The future Miss basketball, Abby Duchscherer, lead the title charge all the way through the state tournament.
Both Davies teams took the EDC tournament but West Fargo's boys were the ones that were able to survive & advance again in the final tournament of Class A. Sheyenne's Michael Nhial earned more hardware for the Mustangs as he was named conference player of the year while Wagner got that on that girls side.
In the boys State B Kindred also made it back to the championship but this time couldn't get past Four Winds.
Across the River, Moorhead won it's first section tournament title since 2012 while hockey made state as well, losing their first game in double-OT. The Spud girls also hit notes not seen since 2013 with their first trip to the section final, finishing a goal behind Brainerd They weren't the only ones to roll on as Davies & Fargo faced off for the state title for the second consecutive year. The Eagles had the Senior of the Year, Morgan Sauvageau, but weren't able to go back-to-back as the co-op took the title in 2OT. Davies boys also made it to the championship but for the third time in the last four years it was Grand Forks holding onto the trophy over a Fargo team for GF's seventh straight title.
While it flies way under the radar, Moorhead's speech team finished their season (?) with a sixth-straight state victory. They went on to compete & beat the rest of the nations best!
Dragon men's basketball also broke through with their first Northern Sun tournament title. NW Missouri St. knocked them out in the first round of the national tournament.
Concordia's Peyton Selle also made some history, becoming the sixth two-time heptathlon champion in conference history!
Then came the Spring delay, even longer this time than years gone by. Winter's grip did eventually fade & allow Spring sports to go from full-stop to full-speed.
Early in the season eventual Nebraska commit Cece Deebom ran a state record in the 100m hurdles for Davies and would later take the state long jump record en route to a three event titles. The Eagles girls would go on to win the East tournament as Sheyenne took the boys side. It the tip of the ice berg as Moorhead's Jamal Dixon, Michael Haugo, Alonn Salman, Katryna Hansen, Alexis Alderbak & Ellinneus Davis all represented at the State meet. They were joined by DGF's Josh Finseth who won the Class A Triple Jump.
As the season advanced on the diamond Hankinson created a shockwave, beating Central Cass in the Region 1 softball tournament but the Squirrels recovered to make the State championship against Kindred, winning their fourth straight. On the other diamond it was Shanley & Sheyenne who met with the trophy on the line and the Mustangs were able to ride back with that one as well! In the Class B Final Thompson took care of LaMoure/L/M. Before the state tournaments could start came the conference/regions honors, with a near sweep for our neck of the woods, only region 2 coach of the year wasn't from a short drive away.
The Rebels softball team also made a run to the MN state tournament, advancing to the semi-finals before the end.
On the tennis court Davies beat Minot for the dual title while Sheyenne's Mimi Gu added to her resume with the singles!
Shanley finished with the best run for ND girls soccer, taking second place as their Elsa Wabach was named Athlete of the Year. Davies's Nick Christianson was Coach.
The links were also not too much of a hazard as Cody Card finished his run for Oak Grove as the Class B Senior of the Year. A went the way of Sheyenne, with Nate Peyerl taking low the individual score. Fertile/Beltrami also made some magic on the course, winning the Class A boys. Hawley's Sophie Cook made the MN State meet as well, taking seventh overall.
For the second straight year Moorhead's boys lacrosse also made the State tournament but it was a short run again last Spring.
Following disappointment in Sioux Falls NDSU also made some firsts in the Spring. Under the new leadership of Tyler Oakes baseball complete it's first regular season conference title. A regular to do the same, softball fell short of another League title.
The Bison's track team wasn't about to do the same as they got another strong contingent through to the national meet, taking 19th overall while Kari Wolfe (Javelin) & Amy Phillips (Hammer throw) earned All-American! Wolfe & coach Stevie Keller were recognized by the League for what they accomplished.
Then came the Summer heat
The Redhawks Kevin McGovern won an Association-record 56th start in June as a key member of their Association Championship run
West Fargo's Legion team ran the 96-team gauntlet at the Gopher Classic in July to win.
Moorhead's 9 took the sub-state championship over Alexandria while DGF beat Roseau.
Fargo's Little League team advanced to the region semi-final, losing 3 - 2 to a tough Iowa squad. Both of Fargo's Cal Ripken & Babe Ruth teams made it even further, with trips to the World Series.
Davies/Post 400 pitcher Drew Rerick then continued the recruitment theme by picking Missouri as his next destination.
Fall's sporting temperature didn't drop off much either with Kindred junior Avery Bartels winning her third individual State Title! Oak Grove checked-in as the Class B team winners & their coach, Laine Brantner, was named Coach of the Year! Davies took the East crown and Shanley's Lindsey Astrup was name AotY. Sheyenne had the best showing at State, taking third and their Ethan Raan won singles & was named Senior of the Year.
It was West Fargo & Davies for the ND State Boys title. Ibrahim Bangura broke a 1 - 1 in double-OT to give WF the trophy! The Eagles Esteban Nunez & Ian Costello received the post-tournament accolades.
Building on her Spring achievement Katryna Hansen ended a 25+ year drought by making the State Singles tennis tournament for Moorhead! The Spuds boys soccer team had chances to also advance back to the State Tournament but St. Michael/Albertville's one score proved to be the difference.
The cross country route was also good for area competitors, lead by Hillsboro's Christian Brist who finished third at the State run. Kindred's boys team was one spot better than that while the Boro's were a spot lower on the leaderboard. H/CV's girls took third at the run while the Vikings finished in the four-hole. Moorhead's pack produced four for the State run.
On the grid-iron Moorhead, D/G/F, Barnesville & Fertile/Beltrami all won their sections. The Trojans went on to win their bracket while the Rebels were defeated by a play which will be in highlight packages until the end of time.
Shanley also made it through to the State title game, a dominant win over Bismarck Century that could have been Troy Mattern's swan-song at the prep level if he wanted to move up.
Sheyenne also won the EDC swimming. Tierney Howell was named Athlete of the Year & Shanley's Jackie Snyder was the Coach. The Mustangs also took care of business on the volleyball court with a win over WF while South & North ended long State-droughts. WFS went on to win the final tournament and have their head coach, Leah Newton, also be named. Northern Cass made it back to the Class B championship for the second-straight season, this time proving the better of Linton/H/M/B in five sets!
As NDSU's journey back to Frisco unfolded they showed a resilience that they will need when they face South Dakota State a week from now for the 10th title!
That is also the characteristic most shown by the Purple as they have battled their way to 12 wins ahead of the second GB game. It's been ulcer-inducing at times but they've managed to continually come out ahead of their opponent & get to extended season as a result, hard to ask for much more than that!
Their professional mates from the Center could use that amount of fortitude even as they made two of the biggest splashes of the year in adding Tim Connelly from Denver & Rudy Gobert from Utah. The pieces could still come together but thus far have not.
The Summer team didn't deserve much mention for what they did this year and lost one of their top players so their future is about as bleak as any of the organizations in the upper Midwest.
That also applies to the NDSU men's basketball team. Young & very much overhauled, they struggled through the non-conference & early-conference portion of their season. Their last game of the year did give reason for optimism as they trounced the team from up North. The women's team also managed to beat that school but even with a much better record & resume, it was a much tighter contest! That could bode well for when the South Dakota's take the court against them.
Concordia's women also ended the year on a high-note, beating the #6 team in the country in double-OT December 29th. If they can bring that effectiveness back from Vegas then all three college gyms will be great to visit the rest of the season!
If that was the cherry on top of the 2022 sundae then here are some sprinkles: both of Horace's basketball teams got their first varsity victories, with the boys doing so against the original team of their town.
It was a tough year in many ways but the escapism that sports can provide continued from the first days until these final ones. It's why getting to cover sports continues to be a delight!
Through these 52-weeks the camera has continued to capture what's gone on. From those thousands of images came the Gallery of the Year & the one picture esteemed above the rest!
And since you lasted this long, here are a few predictions for 2023
1) NDSU will win the FCS Championship
2) Hunter Luepke & Cody Mauch will both be selected in the top-50 of the Draft
3) The Purple will make the NFC Championship, losing to Dallas by a FG
4) There will be a significant development for the local sports scene next September
5) The ND three-class HS basketball plan will be approved for implementation in 2024
6) Minot will not repeat as the Class A girls basketball champions but the new winner will yet again not come from the East
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