It was another condensed Spring of activity in the region but the last month still included an abundance of activity. Out of all that happened, here are the seven best!
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The most resounding of the developments is Cody Mauch being drafted by Tampa Bay & Grant Nelson taking several steps toward being drafted. Pro athletes coming from the North side has become old-hat but Mauch's story will further inspire young men across North Dakota & the greater Tri-State area. Beyond Big Red, all the players who participated in the pro day got a chance at the highest level - a first for the ballyhooed program. As for the Firebird, few players have Nelson's specific blend of attributes so the attention & opportunity he received to take part in the basketball combine won't translate the same way to the future generations but it will be as meaningful for the furthering of the hoops community across the Prairie as the TE-turned-OL will be for the Friday nights. In the event that he withdraws from the draft for this cycle he would remain a beacon for the ball players, potentially at one of the best programs in the country.
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Impact for years to come is continually the case for the Fargo's top hockey operation but the season they had will only elevate that. Finishing as the top team in the US Hockey League secured that but it was reinforced mightily by their advancement back to the championship series. They were swept by Youngstown in the final but games two & three could have gone either way in the pursuit of the organizations second championship.
It wasn't all good for the Bolts as the up-tick to the expectations will fall on new shoulders as head coach Nick Oliver took an assistant position with Wisconsin just before Memorial Day weekend.
The next HC will also be without one, if not the best, player yet in the organizations history - Cole Knuble, who added Junior Hockey Player of the Year to his list of achievements on May 26th!
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That was one of many moves on the coaching carousel as it spun since April. 12 years of program building but Roger Kish got his reward, being hired as the next HC for Oklahoma. It only took a few days for Matt Larsen to fill the shoes, in standard fashion by promoting Obe Blanc from the associate position. Blanc's first move was to bring-in five-time All-American Hayden Hidlay who had previously been with NC State. There has also been a change to the men's basketball staff as assistant coach Josh Sash returned to his alma mater to be the head coach for Indian Hills CC. Jory Collins also changed things up on his staff, promoting Dylan Geissert to Associate HC. Concordia also took a few rides as Zach Zitur (women's tennis) & Chad Slyter (softball) resigned. A month & a half after Chris Coste announced that he would be stepping down Anthony Renz was named the next skipper for the Cobbers
On the prep level, South/Shanley hockey has it's next head coach - Matt Hansen. Shanley is once again in search of a head boys basketball coach as Craig Irwin stepped-down after one season, a month after filling the girls top position via promotion of former Bison Beth Bue-Maher. After this first year of varsity both of Horace's teams will have a new voice in the huddle as Kyle Cummings stepped into the head boys job after resigning from leading the girls. In his place came former Sheyenne HC Brent Hintz who had served as an assistant. After a year in Fergus Falls Ted Critchley returned to the prep level to lead Ulen/Hitterdal's boys basketball. The carousel also moved in Kindred as Eric Burgad was named the new head football coach while former Bison standout Brad Ambrosius will take over for Matt Crane as the new activities director for the Vikings.
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A former team leader was also confirmed for honor as the Redhawks announced that former skipper Doug Simumic will have his number retired early next month. As thee man on the organization's mountain, more is warranted - but one thing at a time.
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Baseball, softball, lacrosse, girls soccer, track & field, boys golf & girls tennis barely started but have already hit the twilight of their respective seasons. From the cascade of outcomes came another team win for the Davies girls track team at State, with CeCe Deebom being named Senior of the Year. Kindred also topped the points list, with Jack Packer receiving the B boys honor.
West Fargo softball defended it's home field to once again win the East. With the 1-seed at the State tournament came an abundance of representation on the All-Conference lists:
Hillsboro's girls also made some major waves, eliminating Central Cass in the regional for the first time. They're keeping I-29's representation at the B girls tournament strong with Kindred, May/Port/C/G & Thompson also bound for Minot!
On the smaller-ball side, the Thompson Tommies clinched the top spot in the Magic City by taking two out of three against May/Port/C/G while Central Cass punched it's ticket with a win over Kindred/Richland!
On the tennis court Sheyenne's ladies took the fifth set over Central to secure the top seed. The Tournament paired it down that it will be them & Davies as the local representatives in Grand Forks for Thursday's extravaganza.
Davies, Shanley & Sheyenne will also carry the flag on the South-end of town starting Thursday as the Girls State Soccer Tournament gets going.
Across the River, Moorhead locked-up the top spot in the Section 8 boys lacrosse tournament, beginning Wednesday with the opponent still TBD. The girls will need a pair of upsets to host all the way through their section bracket but two off-days is not unthinkable.
Details have also been finalized for more of the Summer's ND All-Star exhibitions:
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With the roster reformation still in it's infancy the Purple made two long-expected but no-less-necessary moves to solidify the future. The first of Justin Jefferson's future earnings was confirmed when the team picked-up his fifth-year option. To help open up the salary space for his mega-millions and keep the locker room copacetic they sent Za'Darius Smith to Cleveland for a couple of draft pick upgrades. The defense will be the burning question until about week four of the season, at which time hopefully they will have shown improvement from last year's smoldering wreckage but being skeptical is fully justifiable.
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It came from outside the radius but in best-for-last fashion, Wahp-Science's softball was too good to not include as they won twice to take the JUCO national championship!
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It's merely the first edition of the new format but if putting it together was any indication, it will be a better way going forward. Hopefully it reads as well for you as it seems to from the home screen!