I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
Jan. 10, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
Diverge: to move or extend in different directions from a common point; to draw apart.
The Bemidji State men's and women's golf teams continued to head in opposite directions in 1998 as fast as a ball moving away from the cup on a slick green.
The men continued to build on their successful tradition, winning their 13th conference title, while the women's team languished again because of a lack of athletes.
Also consider:
The men captured their second consecutive conference championship by 12 strokes, and the players were down on themselves because they didn't play better. Whereas, the women placed fourth out of seven teams at the conference team, and consider it "not a bad year."
The men had more than 30 individuals tryout for the team. Whereas, the women fielded a full team of four participants on only three occasions.
The men will lose one top seven golfer from this year's team, with several talented replacements waiting in the wings. Whereas, the women lose a top four golfer this year, and are hoping to fill a full team for the first time in its first four season.
Men's future is bright
The BSU men's future looks bright with six of the top seven golfers returning from a team that won its second straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title this fall at Bemidji Town & Country Club.
The Beavers took the crown by 12 strokes, finishing with a two-day total of 614 to Winona State's 626. It was the 13th crown the men have won, and it was the first back-to-back set of titles the team won since it won four straight in 1986-89.
The Beavers also placed two golfers on the all-conference team, with former Lumberjacks tom Jenkins winning the medalist honors and Tanner Johnson finishing third at the NSIC meet.
Those are two of BSU's stable returning -- Cory Brock, Ryan Holte, Kevin Krigbaum and Jay Ross will also be back.
Bolstering the Beavers even further will be the return of Sean Rustad, who qualified as the team's No. 1 golfer two years ago, but transferred to play golf in Texas last season. This season, he's back, and coach Don Niskanen figures he should challenge for BSU's first team.
Among the seven, five will be playing with junior status, with Brock and Rustad entering the year as sophomores.
The first place finish at the NSIC meet marked the team's best, but they also recorded a second place finish at the tough North Dakota invitational, a second place finish at its own invite and a sixth place finish at the Irv Kaiser meet in Fargo.
"It's fair to say we're heading in the proper direction," Niskanen said. "We beat Gustavus (Adophus) for the first time since I became coach, and they are a good team."
All indications are that the Beavers will be favored again in the NSIC, but new-comer Wayne (Neb.) State may be a darkhorse.
At this season's NSIC meet, they finished third, but cut 20 strokes off their Day 1 total to tie BSU on Day 2. Had they posted a better Day 1 score, they could have challenged for the title.
"I hate to make predictions," Niskanen said about his team's chances of three-peating. "But with the talent we have, the opportunity is there. I don't' want to be boastful of anything that comes back to haunt you, but I am very proud of them."
A future in question
The BSU women's golf team's future is much cloudier than its counterpart.
Lacking athletes for a third straight year, the Beavers muddled through a season in which their best finish was fourth out of seven teams at the NSIC meet.
The also placed seventh of eight at St. Cloud and eighth of nine at Winona, but couldn't record finishes in their remaining meets because they didn't play a full team.
Tina Burlingame, who competed as a junior, was one of the Beavers' highlights, posting a fourth place finish at the NSIC meet and taking sixth in Winona.
"(Tina) Burlingame can play with anybody in the conference," second-year coach Jim Mergens said of his leader.
Also competing regularly were junior Jesse Virnig and sophomore Andrea Fischer.
"Virnig is a developing golfer and just needs the experience of playing," Mergens said. "And Fischer is a determined golfer, which should lead her to some success."
Mergens says he isn't sure why the women's team has problems fielding athletes, but one reason may be the misconception of some high school graduates that they are good enough to compete at the collegiate level.
He added that some athletes are probably lost to other fall sports because on the prep level golf is held during the spring.
"I don't understand it because it's such a great opportunity for them to play on a great golf course," the coach said.
Mergens added it's difficult to recruit the local talent because of the current status of the team.
Former Jacks golfer Casey Curb now plays for Minnesota State Mankato, and has helped the Mavericks compete with the larger Northern Collegiate Conference teams.
"(Overall), we didn't do too bad. They really wanted to improve," Mergens said. "And next year we're expecting to have a full team."
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