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).

2012-13 North Dakota Officials Association Hall Of Fame Inductees

VALLEY CITY, ND  –The North Dakota Officials Association (NDOA) announces the inductees to the 2012-13 Hall of Fame as determined at its recent Board of Directors Meeting.  The inductees will be recognized and receive awards at various North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) events during the 2012-13 school year.

 Inductees will be David Johnson, a long-time basketball official from Minnewaukan who officiated 38 state basketball tournaments during his illustrious career;  Kim Anderson, a current football and basketball official from Dickinson who has also officiated 38 different state basketball tournaments and 9 state football championship games ; David Wenger, a retired basketball and football official from Williston that officiated 15 different state basketball tournaments and a pair of state football championship games during his 35-year career; David Rochholz, a retired wrestling official from Minot whose 37-year career (22 in North Dakota and 15 out of state) included 13 NDHSAA state wrestling tournaments; and Bill Mitchell, a retired football and basketball official from Fargo, who worked 3 state football championship games during his 40-year career in the Red River Valley Officials Association.

The NDOA has inducted 109 officials into its Hall of Fame since the inaugural class in 1965.  Plaques commemorating all Hall of Fame members are housed in the North Dakota Athletic Hall of Fame, located inside the Jamestown Civic Center.

UMC's Wiesner surpasses 1,000 career digs

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Prior to last weekend, only two University of Minnesota, Crookston volleyball players in the history of the program could be included in any discussions when talking about the “1,000 dig club” at UMC. After opening the Golden Eagles’ first seven matches of the 2012 campaign, Chelsea Wiesner (Jr., Lib., Rochester, Minn.) can now be included in that discussion. Wiesner now has 1,045 digs in just over two years in the Maroon and Gold. She joins the school’s digs record holder Jaclyn Slepicka (2006-09), who had 1,471, and Joan Ebnet (2003-05), who had 1,423 digs.

“I knew coming into the tournament at Ferris State that I was coming close to the mark,” Wiesner said. “I knew I needed just a handful of digs at the UMD Classic to surpass the mark. It felt pretty good to pass the mark. I feel like all of the hard work and frustration up until this point was worth it. Doing every defensive drill that we do in practice has helped me achieve this goal.”

Wiesner needs just 426 digs to surpass Slepicka’s mark. Wiesner, who joined the team in 2010, inherited Slepicka’s libero role upon arrival at UMC. She is well on pace to surpass Slepicka’s school record at UMC with almost two years remaining in her career. Wiesner tallied 562 digs last season and 377 digs the season prior.

“I would like surpass that mark this year and reach a substantially higher mark as a senior,” Wiesner said. “I am always trying to improve my play. From my freshman year to my sophomore year I think I approved by at least a dig a match, or something close to that. So it is all just a process of approving. I have my own set goals for myself that have nothing to do with Jaclyn. I would like to hold the record, who wouldn’t.”

The Golden Eagles will open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this weekend as they take on University of Mary at 7 p.m. Fri., Sept. 14 in Bismarck, N.D. and Minot State University Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.

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

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

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an 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).

Wahlin becomes assistant coach for UMC women's basketball

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Crookston High School’s all-time scoring leader Kamille Wahlin will return home to serve as an assistant coach for Mike Roysland and the University of Minnesota, Crookston women’s basketball team beginning at the start of the 2013-14 season. Wahlin, who was a four-year starter at the University of Iowa, will finish up her schooling in Iowa City this year before officially beginning her duties at the start of next school year.

“We are absolutely thrilled to add someone of Kamille Wahlin’s caliber to our coaching staff beginning at the start of the 2013-14 season,” said Golden Eagle head coach Mike Roysland. “Kamille was an elite athlete at the high school and high Division I college level. She will be able to help our student-athletes out immensely. We are also excited to be able to bring one of the top athletes in Crookston High School history home to where her basketball career began.

During her time at Iowa, Wahlin was a 1,000 point scorer for the Hawkeyes and averaged 11.7 point per game, 3.33 rebounds per game and 2.37 assists per game. Wahlin is believed to be the first University of Iowa freshman to record a double-double in her first career start as she tallied 14 points and 10 assists versus the University of Michigan Jan. 26, 2009. During her career she connected on 230 three-pointers, which ranks second in school history, third in assists and eighth in career scoring. She was selected to the All-Big Ten Third Team as a sophomore and a senior and the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention squad as a junior. She broke the school record for three-pointers attempted in a single season with 225 as a sophomore and tied the school mark for three’s made with 84. She served as a team captain as a senior during the 2011-12 season.

During her prep career at Crookston High School, Wahlin led the team to a 114-18 mark in four years including a third-place finish at the Minnesota Class AA State Tournament as a senior in 2007-08 and a second-place finish as a sophomore in 2005-06. She was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, as well as a 2008 Miss Minnesota Basketball finalist. Wahlin averaged 19.8 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds as a senior for the Pirates. She was a Coaches Association first team pick and an Associated Press second team all-state pick during her senior campaign.

NDSU remains #1 in FCS coaches poll

SPARTANBURG, S.C. –North Dakota State remained No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll after topping FBS Colorado State Saturday. The Bison received 24 out of 26 first-place votes and 648 out of a possible 650 points.

NDSU defeated the Rams 22-7 in the Bison’s first road game of the season. North Dakota State dominated time of possession against Colorado State by nearly 20 minutes and outgained the Rams by 123 yards. Junior quarterback Brock Jensen was efficient all evening, completing 17 of 28 passes for 178 yards. NDSU now has six wins over FBS schools since 2006 -- the most among all FCS schools. The Bison are 6-3 against FBS opponents over that stretch.

Sam Houston State maintained its No. 2 spot, tallying 625 points and two first-place votes, after defeating Incarnate Word 54-7 in t he Bearkats’ first game of the 2012 season.

Montana State (No. 3), Old Dominion (No. 4), and James Madison (No. 5) each moved up one spot after starting the season 2-0. Northern Iowa won its first contest of 2012, a 59-0 victory over Central State, and climbed one spot to No. 6.

Appalachian State also moved up one spot to No. 7 after defeating then-No. 9 Montana, which dropped to No. 12. Youngstown State jumped two spots to No. 8 after defeating Valparaiso 59-0, while Wofford won its first home game of 2012 and moved up to No. 9.

Georgia Southern fell to No. 10 after the Eagles dropped a 23-21 decision at The Citadel on Saturday. The previously unranked Bulldogs entered the Top-25 at No. 23 this week.

Ten conferences are represented in the poll. The Colonial Athletic Association leads the way with six teams, followed by the Southern Conference and Missouri Valley with four ranked teams. The Southland and Big Sky have three teams in the Top 25. The Patriot League, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Ohio Valley and Big South are all represented with one team in this week’s poll.

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 Two Poll - September 10, 2012

Team (No. 1 Votes)	2012 Record	Points	Previous Ranking
1. North Dakota State (24)	2-0	648	1
2. Sam Houston State (2)	1-0	625	2
3. Montana State	2-0	574	4
4. Old Dominion	2-0	552	5
5. James Madison	2-0	524	6
6. Northern Iowa	1-1	503	7
7. Appalachian State	1-1	498	8
8. Youngstown State	2-0	489	10
9. Wofford	2-0	396	13
10. Georgia Southern	1-1	365	3
11. Eastern Washington	1-1	362	11
12. Montana	1-1	334	9
13. Lehigh	2-0	328	14
14. Delaware	2-0	319	15
15. Towson	0-1	259	16
16. Stony Brook	2-0	250	17
17. Illinois State	2-0	243	19
18. New Hampshire		227	12
19. McNeese State	2-0	157	T-21
20. Central Arkansas	1-1	138	20
21. Maine	1-1	108	18
22. Norfolk State	2-0	94	24
23. The Citadel	2-0	73	NR
24. Harvard	0-0	66	23
25. Eastern Kentucky	1-1	63	25

Others Receiving Votes: Stephen F. Austin (47), Indiana State (44), Jacksonville State (43), Bethune-Cookman (42), North Dakota (18), Sacramento State (18), Albany (12), Northern Arizona (10), Alabama A&M (5), Pennsylvania (4), Tennessee State (3), Samford (3), Lafayette (2), Cal Poly (1), William & Mary (1), Cornell (1), Tennessee Tech (1)