Opening of the new Lake Park-Audubon Gym

R&J's Kevin Kochmann was in Lake Park Tuesday night for the first game ever in the brand new gymnasium in the LPA high school. Here is a short video and some pictures of the new gym and auditorium.

UMC Baseball program to hold fundraiser dinner

(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Baseball program will be hosting its fifth annual fundraiser dinner at the Crookston Eagles Club on Thursday, November 8. Cost of the dinner is $35 for either prime rib or walleye. All proceeds will benefit the Golden Eagle Baseball program.

A social will be held at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Shortly thereafter, a program will be held with special guest speaker Tod Brown. Brown is entering his sixth season as the head baseball coach at North Dakota State University.

A native Tucson, Ariz., Brown was a left-handed pitcher for the University of Arizona under legendary head coach Jerry Kindall. He spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University prior to being hired by the Bison in July of 2007. 

Coach Brown has made an impressive mark on the NDSU program which included a school-record 40 wins last season. Along the way, the Bison defeated Brown’s alma mater and eventual 2012 NCAA College World Series Champion Arizona, the University of Minnesota (twice) and perennial Summit League power Oral Roberts University (twice) including handing the Golden Eagles their first ever loss in the Summit League playoffs.

“I am excited that Tod Brown is going to speak at our fifth annual fundraiser dinner,” says UMC Head Baseball Coach Chris Vito. “Tod has done an incredible job of building NDSU Baseball and putting them on the map. He has transitioned them from a fledgling Division I program to one that is to be reckoned with.” 

There will also be a 50/50 drawing and a small silent auction held at the dinner.

For tickets contact either…

Chris Vito                   Head Baseball Coach                       (218)281-8445            vito@umn.edu

Bill Tyrrell                  Director of Athletic Fundraising     (218)281-8436            btyrrell@umn.edu

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at http://www.goldeneaglesports.com/.

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is a NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

Northstar FB Players of the Week

(October 2, 2012)

The Northstar Football conference has announced it’s weekly award winners in both the East and West Divisions for week 5 action. Currently, Mahnomen and Fertile-Beltrami both remain undefeated with 5-0 records in the West Division. The East Division is paced by Pillager and Pine River-Backus with identical 4-1 marks. Blackduck is 3-2, Bagley 2-3 and Cass Lake-Bena, Lake of the Woods, and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley all are looking for their first win to complete the East Division. The remainder of the West Division has Frazee with a 4-1 mark, Red Lake County and

Warren-Alvarado-Oslo are both 3-2 and Fosston remained winless after week 5 action.

East Division Player of the Week Awards:

Offensive – Luke Thompson – The senior, wide receiver from Bagley had three receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns in the Flyers 62-0 win over Lake of the Woods. Thompson had catches of 41, 20, and 25 yards. He also added one interception.

Defense – Shane Fenske – The defensive end from Blackduck did an excellent job of manning the edge of the defense on Friday night in the Drakes’ win over Cass Lake-Bena and a very mobile quarterback. He contributed 8 tackles in one half of football.

Special Teams – Cherokee DeLeon – The Pillager kicker went 7 for 7 on extra point kicks and also handled the kick-off chores as the Huskies ran their record to 4-1.

Other outstanding performances were turned last week by: RJ Lee (Walker-Hackensack-Akeley), Chance Halverson (Bagley), and Aaron Leintz (Bagley).

West Division Player of the Week Awards:

Offensive – Jake Pavek – The senior from Mahnomen had 8 carries for 142 yards and 4 touchdowns. Pavek also added 47 passing yards with 5 of 6 completions and a touchdown.

Defensive – Nick Otto – Nick, from Mahnomen, recorded 6 tackles – all of which were at the line of scrimmage.

Special Teams – Jordan Ketter – The Frazee punter returner had 3 punts for a total of 57 yards.

Other outstanding performances for the West Division included: Bruce Lemon (Frazee) and Garrett Malstrom (Frazee).

NDSU inducts 6 to athletic Hall of Fame

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University will induct its 41st annual class of six new members into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 5.

The addition of the six new members will bring the number of individuals enshrined to 251.

The newest members of the Hall are all-american sprinter TAMARA GILMORE SATHER (1987-90); All-american wrestler LON BREW (1975-79); NCAA national champion high jumper PENNY (ENSRUD) McLAGAN (1990-94); All-America wide receiver T.R. McDONALD (1990-93) (from Totino Grace HS); All-America forward DARCI (STEERE) WASH (1991-94), and All-America quarterback and track & field decathlete DR. ARDEN M. BEACHY (1989-93).

The induction will take place at the Holiday Inn in Fargo. Lunch will begin at 11 a.m. with the induction ceremonies to start at 11:30 a.m.

A limited number of tickets will be available through noon Thursday from the NDSU Athletic Media Relations Office (701-231-7197)  for a cost of $25 per ticket.

The group will also be recognized at the NDSU-Youngstown State homecoming football game Oct. 6.

Here's a look at inductees:

TAMARA GILMORE SATHER, track & field sprinter, 1987-90: Earned NCAA Division I I All-America honors, running a leg on 1990 indoor 1,600 relay team ... Ran on three North Central Conference outdoor champion 400 meter relay teams during her career ... Won the 1989 NCC indoor 55 meter dash championship ... Team captain for NDSU ...  On the NDSU indoor and outdoor performance lists in the 55 meters, 300 meters, the 800 meter relay and 800 medley relay ... Student coach for the Bison in 1991 ... A 1986 graduate of Eden Prairie (Minnesota) High School, she was pulled from the middle school in eighth grade to run on the high school varsity track team ... She was the Region IIAA champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meter relay in 1985 and the 100 meter champion in 1986 ... At the Minnesota state meet in 1986, she finished third in the 100 and fifth in the 200 ... The five-time letterwinner is can be found on Eden Prairie's top 10 in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meter relay and the 800 meter relay ... Two-time MVP for Eden Prairie and team captain her senior year ... Inducted into the Eden Prairie Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 ... Her teaching career started at Eden Prairie Schools in 1992 and she spent 14 years at Central Middle School ... She is in her seventh year at Eden Prairie High School where she teaches Advanced Placement United States Government, Economics, and Alternative Government and Economics for students with special needs ... She is also the Environmental Club advisor at the high school ... She earned her master’s degree in Experiential Education at Mankato State University in 2000 ... Since her college graduation in 1991, Tamara has evolved into a long distance runner ... She has run six marathons, her first in Chicago in 1998 and most recent in Boston in 2009 ... She also competed in her first relay team triathlon, The Superior Man Triathlon, and completed the 1.2 mile swim in Lake Superior ... Tamara and her hu sband, Scott, live in Chanhassen, Minnesota, with their three children, Anika, Eric, and Lily.

LON BREW, wrestling, 1975-79: Three-time NCAA Division II All-American placing in third in 1979 (142), fourth in 1977 (142) and sixth in 1976 (134) ... North Central Conference 142-pound champion in 1978, and three-time NCC runner-up in 1976 (134), 1977 (142), & 1979 (142) ... Remains in the Bison top 10 in career wins and winning percentage with a record of 99-22-2 (.816) ... Member of NDSU's first NCC championship team in 1979 ... Graduate assistant coach for North Dakota State in 1980 and 1981 ... A native of Bismarck, N.D., he was a two-time state wrestling champion and four-year letterwinner at Bismarck High School ... He was also a member of the state champion cross country team and a three-year letterman ... He was inducted into the North Dakota Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990 ... Has been employed with International Dairy Queen Corporation since 1981 and has held a variety of positions within the finance, marketing and operations departments in Minneapolis and Dallas ... He is currently the Executive Vice President/Franchise Operations, which includes the responsibility for developing the strategic direction, the initiatives of the operations team, and supervision of field staff members throughout the United States ... He has been involved as a youth soccer coach for over 20 years ... Lon and his wife, Julie, have three children, Travis 23, Spencer 20 and Delanie 17, and currently resi de in the Minneapolis area.

PENNY (ENSRUD) McLAGAN, track & field high jump, 1990-94: One of the most successful high jumpers in NDSU school history… She was the first national champion in 1993 for head coach Jerry Gores and the second in the history of NDSU Women’s Track and Field behind Bison Athletic Hall of Fame member Nancy Dietman (1985) … Never missed an NCAA Division II national meet during her tenure, qualifying eight times … Set the NDSU indoor school record in 1993, which stood until it was broken by Toni Tollefson in 2011 … Held the NCC conference record for 4 years … Four-time All-American in the high jump, placing 3rd (1992 indoor), 1st (1993 indoor), 4th (1993 outdoor) and 2nd (1994 indoor) … Personal bests of 5-feet, 10.25-inches indoor and 5-feet, 8.75-inches outdoor are currently second and seventh on the NDSU performance ists…NCC champion in the high jump in ’91 (outdoor), ’93 (indoor), and ’94 (indoor)… A native of Bismarck, N.D., she set the school record for Bismarck High School in 1989, which still stands today … Competed in the prestigious TAC (currently USATF) Junior National Track Meet against Olympians Tanya Hughes and Amy Acuff … Former Bison assistant Doug Schweigert was her coach in high school as well as at NDSU …  She coached for Fargo North High School from 1995-1999, producing multiple Eastern Dakota Conference and state meet placewinners including eventual s tate champion Tanya Salter ... Salter went on to compete for Schweigert at Minnesota State Moorhead and garnered All-American honors in the indoor high jump in 2004 … Graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting and currently is a Certified Public Accountant (1999) and holds an M.B.A. from NDSU (2005) … She currently is the Plant Controller for Marvin Windows … She is married to Tim McLagan and they have three children, Kimberly, Greta, and Joseph.

T.R. McDONALD, football wide receiver, 1990-93: First team All-North Central Conference in both 1992 and 1993 ... Named All-America in 1993, tabbed as a third team selection by the Associated Press and as a first team pick by both the Daktronics NCAA Division II and The Football Gazette ... Graduated as the top receiver in NDSU and NCC history ... The only receiver in school history to be named first team All-American ... He did not redshirt and was a member of the 1990 NCAA Division II championship team ... He caught a touchdown pass and kicked an extra-point in the win over Indiana University, Pa. ... Set school records in all single-season and career receiving categories when he departed and established conference records for single-game TD receptions and single-season TD receptions ... Finished his career at NDSU with 134 catches for 2,544 yards and 22 TDs including a senior season that had him catching 69 passes for 1,181 yards and 11 TDs … Also scored three TDs rushing ... Two-time academic all-conference selection and first team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1993 ... Had a 3.62 GPA in business administration and was named to the Dean’s List six out of nine possible times ... Named the Midwest Sports Channel Division II Athlete of the Year after his senior season ...  An all-state and all-conference football player at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, Minnesota ... Totino-Grace advanced to the state title game his senior year ... His high school team was knocked out of the state playoffs by fellow Bison Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Arden Beachy's Staples-Motley team his junior year ... Played in the Minnesota High School All-Star football game ... Four-year letterwinner in track and field, participating in multiple state meets ... Two-time all-conference performer on basketball court, including MVP honors as a senior ... Professionally, T.R. has been working for the FDIC since 1994 and is currently a senior examiner ... He is also a licensed realtor in the state of Minnesota ... T.R. and his wife Cindy, his high school sweetheart, were married in 1994 ... They have three children, Taylor 17, T.J. 15, and Gabriella 10.

DARCI (STEERE) WASH, women's basketball forward, 1990-94: Member of three NCAA Division II national championship teams and one national runner-up ... Impressive senior year capped off by her selection to the 1994 Kodak Division II All-District and All-America team ... Named the 1994 North Central Conference,  Women&# 8217;s Division II Bulletin and Basketball Gazette's Player of the Year ... Earned NCAA All-Regional and NCAA Championship All-Tourney MVP … Fourth-team AWSF All-American in 1993 … Ended her career as the program's fifth leading scorer with 1,585 points ... On the NDSU all-time and single-season lists, her name can be found in field goals made, field goal percentage, free throws made and attempted, and rebounding ... Still holds school records for highest field goal percentage in a game -- at 92.9 percent, hitting 13 of 14 attempts, and single-season at 56.3 percent, consecutive field goals in a game (13), season games with double-digit rebounds (20) and is one of four Bison to have a 20-point, 20-rebound game (23 pts., 22 reb.) … Tied the school record with four games of 30-plus scoring in 1993-94 … Graduated from Storden-Jeffers (Minn.) High School in 1990 as the salutatorian ... Only lost five basketball games from seventh grade through her senior year ... Member of one state championship basketball team and a pair of state runner-up teams ... All-state basketball performer ... Four-year letterwinner in basketball, and three-time in both volleyball and basketball ... Earned her bachelor's degree in exercise science ... Coached women's basketball one season at Fort Lewis College and then pursued 13-year career in the dental industry as a dental assistant and office manager ... Darci is married to former Bison linebacker, assistant coach and current Seattle Seahawks assistant Todd Wash ... They have three children, Alyssa 15, Jenae 11, and Marcus 7.

DR. ARDEN M. BEACHY, fo otball quarterback/track & field multi-event, 1989-93: Two-time first team All-North Central Conference (1991 & 1992) in football at quarterback ... Third team All-American in 1992 as a junior (CM Frank) and honorable mention by The Football Gazette ... Member of the 1990 NCAA Division II national championship team ... Two-time North Central Conference decathlon champion  in 1990 & 1993) and runner-up once ... NCC champion in the pole vault in 1990 ... Three-time NCAA Division II All-American in track and field, finishing fourth in the decathlon in both 1990 and 1993 and seventh in the nation in 1992 ... NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient ... Three-time NCC academic all-conference (twice in track & once in football) … 1993-94 Stan Marshall Award winner as best male athlete in NCC … Named 1994 male recipient of the Albrecht Presidential Trophy at NDSU ... Selected pre-season All-American in 1993 and was the pre-season favorite for the Harlon Hill Trophy before suffering a career-ending knee injury in the second quarter of the 1993 season opener against Pitt State ... Finished his career with 1,538 yards rushing (23 TDs), 2,418 yards passing (16 TDs), and 3,958 yards of total offense in just 26 games ... Set school career record for passing accuracy at 64.8 percent ... Set then school records for consecutive passes completed in a game (10) and total offense yards in a season (1,966) ... Three-sport standout at Staples-Motley High School ... All-state and two-time all-conference quarterback that led team to runnerup finish at the 1988 Minnesota State Class A Prep Bowl ... Accounted for 3,000 yards of total offense (1,800 passing/26 TDs and 1,200 rushing/18 TDs) his season year ... An all-state and two-time all-conference bask etball player that led Staples-Motley to third place finish at Class A state tournament (two-class system) ... Finished with 997 career points and set school record in assists ... Led Staples-Motley to 1989 Class A team track & field championship and claimed the state title in the triple jump ... Three-time state runner-up in the pole vault ... Was a 12-time all-conference track & field performer ... Still holds Section 6A pole vault and triple jump records ... His father, Ron, was his high school track & field coach and one his football coaches ... Maintained a 3.75 grade point average in biology and pre-medicine at NDSU ... Graduated with Medical Doctorate in May 1998 from Mayo Medical School ... Completed residency program in family medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center from 1998-2001, serving as chief resident his third year ... Since 2001, he has enjoyed a busy full scope family medicine pratice at Lakewood Health Systems in Staples, Minnesota ... He earned his pilot's license in 2005 ... He will begin his 12th season coaching girls basketball at Staples-Motley High School, his ninth as the head coach ... Arden and his wife, Carrie, have been married for 18 years and have three children Jaelin 16, Matthew 11,  and Turner 4.

(via NDSU Sports Information)

Northstar Football Players of the Week

(September 25, 2012)

The Northstar Football Conference has announced the Player of the Week honorees for last week’s action. There is currently three teams that remain undefeated with Pine River-Backus sitting at 4-0 leading the East Division and Fertile-Beltrami and Mahnomen having 4-0 marks in the West Division. Mahnomen handed a previously undefeated Warren-Alvarado-Oslo team their first loss of the season. W-A-O, Frazee and Pillager all have 3-1records.

This week in conference action, Lake of the Woods travels to Bagley, Cass Lake-Bena hosts Blackduck, Pillager hosts Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, Pine River-Backus heads to Frazee in a crossover matchup, Fertile-Beltrami is at Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Fosston is at Mahnomen and Lake Park- Audubon is at Red Lake County.

Player of the Week Award Winners East Division

Offensive Player of the Week- Kyler LaVine (Bagley) had 18 carries for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 24-19 loss at Pine River-Backus. LaVine scored on runs of 9 yards, 70 yards and 38 yard.

Defensive Player of the Week – Jared Adkins (Pine River-Backus) had 12 tackles and an interception in Pine River-Backus’s win over Bagley.

Special Teams Player of the Week – Devin Strack (Pillager) was involved with several punts and made the tackle on 3 kick-offs. On offense, he carried the ball 5 times for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

West Division

Offensive Player of the Week – Gunnar Gisvold (Fertile-Beltrami) had 215 yards rushing and scored 4 touchdowns agains Cass Lake-Bena.

Defensive Players of the Week – Garret Malstrom (Frazee) was in on 5 tackles and made a big interception versus a solid Red Lake County team. Darin Geray (Mahnomen) had 5 tackles, including 2 for big losses and a sack. Darin played a great game from his Defensive End position and was a big factor in a shut out win over Warren-Alvarado-Oslo.

Special Teams Player of the Week – Jordan Ketter (Frazee) returned a punt for 51 yards for a touchdown and provided great open field tackling on the coverage teams.

Other outstanding efforts for last week were turned in by: Brandon Mager (Pine River-Backus) and Jake Pavek (Mahnomen) on offense. Defensively, Shane Fenske (Blackduck) and Christopher Zimmer (Walker-Hackensack- Akeley) had big nights.

Weekly FCS coaches poll

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – North Dakota State remains No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll this week after defeating Prairie View A&M 66-7 on Saturday. The Bison received 25of 26 first-place votes and 648 out of a possible 650 points.

Montana State kept its No. 2 ranking after taking down Northern Colorado 41-16. The Bobcats moved to 4-0 on the season, and received 618 points (one first-place vote).

Youngstown State moved into sole possession of No. 3 after defeating then-No. 8 Northern Iowa 42-35. The Panthers fell to No. 17.

Old Dominion rose one spot to No. 4 after winning a shootout against then-No. 19 New Hampshire, 64-61. ODU quarterback Taylor Heinicke threw for a Division I record 730 yards and five touchdowns as Jarod Brown kicked a 25-yard field goal with 41 seconds left and Andre Simmons intercepted a pass to clinch the win. Heinicke's 730 yards were just one yard shy of the all-division record set by Zamir Amin of Menlo (Div. III) who passed for 731 yards against Cal Lutheran in 2000. Heinicke's 730-yards passed the previous Division I record of 716 yards by David Klingler of Houston in 1990 against Arizona State. The previous FCS high was 624 set by Weber State's Jamie Martin against Idaho State in 1991.

Wofford, which was idle last week, rose one spot to No. 5, James Madison rose one spot to No. 6, and Eastern Washington rose two spots to No. 7.
Delaware jumped into the top 10 at No. 8 after defeating William & Mary 51-21. Georgia Southern rose one spot to No. 9 after holding off conference-foe Elon, 26-23.

Sam Houston State fell from a tie for No. 3 to No. 10 after falling to then-No. 21 Central Arkansas, which jumped seven spots to No. 14, the biggest jump in the poll this week.

Two previously unranked teams made their debut into the Top-25 this week. Cal Poly entered the poll at No. 23 after defeating UC Davis 28-20 and moving to 3-0 on the season. Samford entered the poll at No. 25 after a 25-21 win over Western Carolina.  The Bulldogs are now 4-0 on the season.

Nine conferences are represented in the poll. The Southern Conference and Colonial Athletic Association are tied for the most teams in the top-25 with five each. The Big Sky and Missouri Valley are each represented by four teams, while three Southland teams make an appearance in this week’s poll. The Big South, Ivy League, Patriot League and Ohio Valley each have one team in the top-25.

The FCS Coaches Poll is based exclusively on a voting panel of head coaches in the FCS under the cooperation of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and is administered by the Southern Conference.

Week Four Poll - September 24, 2012

Team (No. 1 Votes)	2012 Record	Points	Previous Ranking
1. North Dakota State (25)	3-0	648	1
2. Montana State (1)	4-0	618	2
3. Youngstown State	4-0	597	T-3
4. Old Dominion	4-0	572	5
5. Wofford	3-0	522	6
6. James Madison	3-1	517	7
7. Eastern Washington	2-1	470	9
8. Delaware	4-0	429	12
9. Georgia Southern	2-1	410	10
10. Sam Houston State	1-2	360	T-3
11. Lehigh	4-0	357	13
12. Illinois State	4-0	350	15
13. Towson	2-1	298	16
14. Central Arkansas	3-1	295	21
15. The Citadel	3-1	276	14
16. Appalachian State	2-2	237	18
17. Northern Iowa	1-3	227	8
18. Stony Brook	3-1	200	20
19. Eastern Kentucky	3-1	160	23
20. Montana	2-2	135	11
21. McNeese State	3-1	121	17
22. New Hampshire	2-2	97	19
23. Cal Poly	3-0	95	NR
24. Harvard	2 -0	89	24
25. Samford	4-0	69	NR

Others Receiving Votes: Northern Arizona (63), Te nnessee State (60), North Dakota (48), Albany (24), South Dakota State (23), Alabama A&M (18), Lafayette (10), Indiana State (9), Jacksonville State (9), Maine (9), Florida A&M (3), Richmond (2), UT Martin (1).

(via NDSU SID)

Lynx Whalen earns Peak Performer Honor

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The WNBA today announced that Minnesota Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen has earned the 2012 Peak Performer honor for assists. She becomes the second player in Lynx history to win a Peak Performer award, previously earning the honor last season by dishing out a career-high 5.9 assists per game and 199 assists. The Peak Performer award is handed out annually to the players who lead the league in scoring, rebounding and assists during the regular season. Whalen will receive a Tiffany trophy awarded to her by the WNBA in honor of her achievement.

Whalen finished the season ranking first in the WNBA in both total assists (178) and assists per game (5.39 apg), barely edging Sue Bird (5.34 apg) in the category. Whalen handed out five or more assists in 22 of 33 games this season, leading the Lynx to a WNBA-best 27-7 record. In her nine seasons in the WNBA, Whalen-led squads have finished with the league’s best regular-season record on four occasions, including winning the WNBA Championship last year.

Highlights of Whalen’s season include:

• May 30 at Washington: She dished out seven assists and scored 11 points, including a putback with just one second remaining to give Minnesota a 79-77 win over the Mystics.
• June 9 at Tulsa: Dished out a season-high 10 assists against Tulsa, helping propel the Lynx to a 93-73 win over the Shock.
• June 15 at Phoenix: Whalen scored a season-high 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting, leading the Lynx to a 78-60 victory over the Mercury. The win improved Minnesota to 10-0, becoming the first team in WNBA history to start a season 10-0.
• June 23 vs. Chicago: Scored 25 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Minnesota to a 79-67 win over the Sky during the team’s Title IX game on ESPN.
• August 18 vs. Tulsa: Dished out four assists to move atop the Lynx’ career leaderboard, surpassing Katie Smith (496). Whalen finished the season with 561 assists in a Lynx uniform.
• Sept. 14 at Indiana: Hit her second buzzer beater of the season against the Fever, draining a 10-foot jumper with just 1.6 seconds remaining to give the Lynx a 66-64 win. Whalen has three of Minnesota’s seven all-time buzzer beaters in franchise history.

Northstar Conference players of the week

(September 18, 2012)

The Northstar Football Conference has announced it’s weekly award winners from last Friday’s football action. Pine River-Backus currently leads the East Division with a 3-0 overall record, followed by Pillager at 2-1 and Bagley at 1-2. Cass Lake-Bena, Lake of the Woods and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley all are still looking for their first victory on the season.

Mahnomen, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo and Fertile-Beltrami are all 3-0 to lead the West Division followed by Frazee and Red Lake County at 2-1, Lake Park-Audubon is 1-2 and Fosston is 0-3.

East Division

Offensive Players of the Week

– Travis Richards (Pillager) carried the ball 22 times for 210 yards, 5 touchdowns and one 2 point conversion in their win over Bagley. Trey Volk (Blackduck) carried the ball 13 times for 227 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Drakes registered a 50-8 victory over Lake of the Woods. The junior running back has been a mainstay on a much improved Blackduck team.

Special Teams Player of the Week

– Drey Loge (Pine River-Backus) had 2 returns for touchdowns – an 80 yard kickoff return and a 56 yard punt return. The senior also had 74 yards on 10 carries with 2 touchdowns and 33 yards receiving.

West Division

Offensive Player of the Week

– Baxter Bachmann (Frazee) was 10 for 15 passing for 187 yards and three touchdowns and added 25 yards rushing with another touchdown. On defense, Bachmann intercepted 2 passes on defense versus a good passing game from Lake Park-Audubon.

Defensive Player of the Week

– Zach Nelson (Frazee) had 6 tackles and an interception in the Hornets win over Lake Park-Audubon. He also defended for additional passes.

Special Teams Player of the Week

– Jayce Pederson (Warren-Alvarado-Oslo) is on all Pony Special teams and starts at the left corner on defense.

Fourth annual ND Hockey Fan Fest Sept. 22

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota Department of Athletics is proud to announce that the fourth annual North Dakota Hockey FanFest, presented by Midco Sports Network, will take place on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The event starts at 10 a.m. at ice level in the main arena.

Both the men's and women's hockey teams will be in attendance and will take part in autograph sessions, a skills station (for 8th-graders and younger) and question-and-answer sessions on the media stage.

A free lunch will be provided to fans courtesy of Midco Sports Network, and fans can expect other great giveaways from the Midco Sports Net team. One lucky fan will also be selected to win a 32-inch, high definition television.

Other fun-filled activities include:

·  Be the first to get the new 2012-13 men’s and women’s hockey team posters and have them signed by the teams!

·  Get your picture taken with the Broadmoor Trophy!

·  Take part in the Jr. Champions activities area or sign up if you're not already a member! Jr. Champions members can also register to be the Captain of the Game at select hockey games.

·  Students and fans can learn more about NoDak Nation and the North Dakota Champions Club!

·  Sign up for the chance to ride the Zamboni at select men's and women's hockey games!

·  Pick up FREE promotional items such as schedule posters and pocket schedules!

·  Visit the single-game ticket station for a chance to win single-game tickets to home hockey games!

Fans will be limited to one outside item for autographs. UND Athletics will be providing the schedule posters to be used for autographs.

Parents are encouraged to register their children for one of the skills sessions upon arrival as space is limited for each session.

For more information, contact the UND Athletics marketing office at 701.777.1373.

North Star Football Conference Players of the Week

 (September 11, 2012)

The North Star Football Conference has announced the Player of the Week award winners for the second week of games.

East Division

Offensive Player of the Week – Travis Richards (Pillager) - Travis carried the ball 14 times for 125 yards while scoring 2 touchdowns in a win over Blackduck.

Defensive Player of the Week – Mason Clough (Bagley) – Mason, a senior, recorded 5 tackles and had an interception that he returned for a 55 yard touchdown in a win over Cass Lake – Bena.

Special Team Player – Drey Loge (Pine River-Backus). The senior returned a kickoff for 88 yards and a touchdown. Drey also had 78 yards rushing on 10 attempts with a touchdown. He also added a reception for 15 yards. Loge played on all special teams and had 6 solo tackles.

West Division

Offensive Player of the Week – Bob Bjorge (Mahnomen) – Bob recorded 15 carries for 160 yards to bring his total to 327 yards through 2 games with an 11 yard per carry average. The Mahnomen team is currently 2-0.

Defensive Player of the Week – Jake Hedstrom (Mahnomen) – Jake had 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 5 other tackles. Hedstrom was in the backfield all night in a shut out win over Frazee.

Special Teams Player of the Week – Darin Geray (Mahnomen) – Darin made it a sweep of the West Division weekly awards for Mahnomen. Geray had a blocked punt for the second consecutive week as Mahnomen ran its record to 2-0on the season.

Other outstanding performances for the week were turned in by: Lucas Thompson (Bagley – Offense), Sam Gibson (Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Defense), and Dillon Novak (Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Defense).