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Thole: Lumberjacks shine at state hoops competition
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By GEORGE THOLE
gthole@acnpapers.com
The St. Croix Valley Lumberjacks Special Olympics team competed in the individual skills state basketball tournament at Minnetonka High School on Saturday, April 18.
Karen Crotty heads the Special Olympics program, which offers several activities for participants. Chris Kolb and Bob Bonine helped prepare the locals for the region and state basketball individual skills competitions, which include shooting, passing and dribbling. The Special Olympics also offers more traditional basketball team events.
There were 39 divisions that are based on age and skill level of the participants. Following are the impressive results of the St. Croix Valley Lumberjacks performers at state:
Division 8 - Maddison Buck, 2nd place.
Division 14 - Alex Kolb, 1st place; Matthew Bonine, 2nd place.
Division 20 - Joe Strantz, 2nd place.
Division 33 - Renee Syks, 3rd place.
Division 34 - Tim Tollefson, 1st place.
Division 35 - Bernie Branum, 3rd place.
Division 36 - Brian Engel, 2nd place; Tom Nadeau, 3rd place.
You have to admire the efforts put forth by the Lumberjacks and the enthusiasm they have for their activities. These kids may not be great athletes, but they have great attitudes and that says it all. One thing is for sure - they are not afraid of adversity.
Mail call
Dear Friends:
Thank you for agreeing to support the Jon Francis Half Marathon. The race director is still sorting out the logistics and volunteer assignments. When those are complete I will arrange a training session. At this time it looks like JFF (Jon Francis Foundation) will be asked to provide a variety of positions, but mostly court marshals. You won't have to wear a badge. Course marshals are on the course responsible for runner safety and race direction (i.e. keep cars off the road and direct the runners to the right turns in the course).
We will also have positions that require sitting at a table helping the runners. No running or heavy lifting is involved. Attached is the information posted on the marathon website. This will give you more background on Jon and our motivation for doing this.
Thank you for your support.
Regards,
David Francis
GT: The inaugural Jon Francis Half Marathon will be run on May 24 in and around Stillwater along the shores of the beautiful St. Croix River. Jon was a member of the 1997 SAHS boys' cross country team that was undefeated that season and earned a No. 1 national ranking. The Ponies won the state championship for the third consecutive year and were voted by the sportswriters at USA Today and Harrier Magazine as national champions.
Francis was a three-sport Pony athlete, a Bible camp supervisor in Idaho, a youth minister in Utah and a mountain climber. The Jon Francis Half Marathon is intended to bring together the running community.
If you're looking for something to do on May 24, volunteer to work the event because they could use 20 or more volunteers. I've volunteered for this one and have done several others in the past. It doesn't require a rocket scientist - that's why I'll be there. To volunteer, call 612-963-6772 or e-mail capfranci@gmail.com or write to the Jon Francis Foundation at PO Box 2235, Stillwater, MN 55082.
In the huddle
The Pony girls' track team, led by junior Skyler Kroschel, placed fourth at the Apple Valley Invitational on April 18. Kroschel won the 100 high hurdles in 15.58 and vaulted 10 feet to win that event. Other Pony firsts were recorded by freshman Anna Posbergh with a 16-4 1/2 effort in the long jump and Hailey Buberl with a 114-5 toss in the discus. Roseville, with excellent sprinters, won the meet with 720.5 points in the true team scoring format. Totino-Grace was second with 681.5 points, followed by Rochester Mayo with 667.5, Stillwater (649.5), Apple Valley (637.5), Mounds View (636), Owatonna (490.5) and Coon Rapids (270).... Pony junior golfer Hudson Carpenter was among the Pioneer Press Athletes of the Week on April 21. Carpenter was medalist at the Tri-State Invitational with a two-day score of even-par 142 at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course.... Minnesota grid coach Tim Brewster has opened a twitter account, joining several other head coaches using the social networking site as a recruiting tool. The U of Arkansas has also joined the twitter crowd.... The Rose Bowl operating company has retained the International Stadia Group to explore private funding for a possible $160 million renovation of the 87-year-old facility in Pasadena.... Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player: "I told him, son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy? He said, 'coach, I don't know and I don't care.'".... Gazette sports editor Stu Groskreutz and his teammate Eddie Wynne of StoneRidge Golf Club won their match to help the print/radio/weather team tie the television/MGA team to retain the cup they first won in 2008 during the Minnesota Section PGA Media Day on April 22 at the Minneapolis Golf Club. Groskreutz and Wynne defeated Michael Turnbull and Michael Hsu of the Teemaster Golf Show 77-85 in the friendly match.... Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks? Remember to always be yourself because the people that matter don't mind - and the ones that do mind, don't matter.... Kristi King was 4 for 4 at the plate with 3 RBIs and Taylor Stippel was 3 for 4 as the Pony softball team (5-3 SEC, 8-5) crushed Mounds View 10-1 on Wednesday.... Sophomore Sammi Reiter continued her torrid scoring pace by posting five goals as the SAHS girls' lacrosse team (5-1, 5-2) ripped Cretin-Derham Hall last week, aided by three goals from Kayla Aronson, two goals and two assists from soph Hanna Dickman and two goals and one assist from Jessica Morgan. The locals raced to a 7-1 lead in the first half. Jackie Morgan added a goal and assist and Christine Gonsior slipped one past the Raiders. Alex McDowell added two assists.... Yes, that was former Pony gridder Denis McDonough '88 on the receiving end of a pass thrown by President Barack Obama that was seen on network TV last week. They looked smooth, but here's hoping they can handle the blitz.... Former Pony assistant football coach Dennis Meyer turned 60 this week.... Oops! Last week when writing about MSHSL officials, I omitted former SAHS Media Director Ralph Ives, who officiated football, basketball and volleyball games for 25 years.... Boxing promoter Dan Duva on the then heavyweight champion Mike Tyson going to prison: "Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton.".... Former Pony all-state football players Ben Beaudet '96 and Adam Runk '97 were teammates of newly acquired Vikings quarterback Sage Rosenfels at Iowa State. I'll have to get the inside scoop as all three had success for the Cyclones.... Former Vikings coaches Bud Grant and Jerry Burns are both 82 and actress Jessica Lange is 60 - so where has the time gone? Don't tread on me and God Bless America.... Finis
Today's rumination #409
Life is a great big canvas - throw all the paint on it you can.
George Thole retired as head football coach at Stillwater after the 1999 season. He ranks among Minnesota's top coaches in history with a 285-69-2 record (.805 winning percentage), including four state titles and two state runner-up finishes among 22 championship seasons. He co-authored (with Jerry Foley) "Coaching the Veer Offense", second edition. His column appears Thursdays in the Gazette. To contact the hall of fame coach e-mail: gthole@acnpapers.com
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