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Sports in second half of 2006 as entertaining as first

| January 4, 2007 11:00 PM

Bigfork ended 2006 in style, whether in a pond, pool, on a soccer field or track just to name a few. The

second half of 2006 was difficult for some, but always entertaining.

July

July 6: The 12th-annual Flathead National Forest Amphibian Days drew volunteers from all over the Flathead Valley June 27-29.

Unlike big-game animals, amphibian studies are not funded by the government and therefore the FNF must rely on "citizen scientists" to identify and locate the species' locations and numbers.

Among the amphibians specifically searched for were the western toad, spotted frog, leopard frog, long-toed salamander, common garter snake, western-terrestrial garter snake, rubber boa and painted turtle.

July 13: The Wave Ryder swim club had another successful meet, this time at the Summer Solstice meet in Spokane, Wash., June 30-July 2.

The meet marked Kate Lamm's first time in competition. She competed in a number of events including the 200-meter backstroke, four freestyle events, 100-meter backstroke, 100 and 50 fly and 200 IM. Michael Scaccia placed first in four events and shaved some time off in a couple of those.

Teammate Jordan Loyda competed in six of the same events as Scaccia and came in first in two of them. Loyda's brother Joshua and sister Jessica also competed in the Solstice meet. Joshua finished second to Jordan in the 400-meter freestyle. Jessica was the only swimmer in the 8-under girls competition. She recorded two personal bests in the 50 and 100 free.

Get a group of 11 women together and one might think they'd talk about shoes or shopping, but that's not so with Babes in Boats.

The women who took part in Silver Moon Kayak's women's program had other accessories on their minds—paddles, dry bags, spray skirts and kayaks. In its sixth year, Babes in Boats gives women the chance to learn to kayak with instruction from female instructors and spend time on the water with other women. The supportive, all-women environment is conducive to learning through fun.

The two-day program covers all areas of kayaking, from terminology, safety, boat control and strokes to water rescues and re-entries.

July 20: When the Super Late Models took the track to race in the last chance qualifier at Montana Raceway Park for 40 laps, everyone expected aggressive driving. After all, only the top five finishers could earn a spot for the Montana 200 race, MRP's biggest event of the summer.

The 40-lap race lasted more than an hour as crash after crash kept the caution flag waving every few laps.

John Logan, a Legends driver from Creston, was in the front row at the start of the race after qualifying with the eighth-fastest time. Logan finished the race in eighth place.

Despite soaring temperatures and high winds, former Bigfork High School soccer standouts Breana Brendsel, Caitlin Roberson and Erik Torgerson made good showings at the July 15 Shodair All-Star Classic at Carroll College's Nelson Stadium.

The annual soccer showdown raises money for Shodair Children's Hospital, which provides children and adolescents in Montana with treatment for childhood psychiatric problems and genetic disorders. The game features 70 student-athletes (32 boys and 38 girls), all of whom are recent Montana class A or AA high school graduates with all-conference or all-state honors. On the women's side, the South defeated the North by a score of 1-0. Torgerson and the North boys team defeated the South by a score of 5-3.

July 27: What began as a business venture for brothers Ian and Ty Udell five years ago has grown over the years and is headed for changes in the near future.

The Udells began the Swan Lake Wakeboarding Academy after talking to Flathead Lake Lodge owner Doug Averill and contracting lessons with guests staying at the Lodge.

This summer marks the last for the Udells as instructors. Upon graduating college, Ty has accepted a job in Raleigh, N.C., and Ian started medical school in San Antonio, Texas, putting an end to an era.

Taking over for the Udells are Drew and Dane Hollinger. The Hollingers have been assistant coaches for the academy for the past couple of years.

The Swan Lake Wakeboarding Academy holds lessons every day for both guests of the Flathead Lake Lodge as well as private lessons. The lessons are geared to have individuals on the water for two 25-30 minute sessions behind the boat. During these sessions, they are able to work on their own skills and learn from watching others when they are back in the boat.

The North Flathead Yacht Club's third annual Discovery Regatta was nothing but smooth sailing for the 14 boats and crews that participated despite a lack of wind.

The regatta, a charity event for the Discovery Developmental Center, started at 9 a.m. with boats heading out to the starting line. Three races were scheduled for the morning, but only two were held due to a lack of wind. The course for the races was a triangle format, which Yacht Club Commodore Reggie Good said is easier for the boats and crew because it lessens the possibility of an accidental jib and allows the use of a spinnaker or large triangular sail set on a long light pole. It is used when running before the wind. The course covered about one-and-a-half to two miles.

Former Bigfork Booster Club members are having a hard time crossing one last thing off their to-do list.

Kathy Boiteau, Bobbi Wolstein and Patty and Vernon Smith all have continued on in the hope of finishing a project they spearheaded when they all held elected positions in the club—construction of a new concession stand and rest rooms. The four officers played a key role in the fund-raising and completion of the all-weather track and new bleachers a few years ago.

The plans for the concession stand and rest rooms were put on hold after the Booster Club opened the bid they received for construction of just the shell of the building. The incomplete bid came in at $160,000.

They had originally estimated the cost of the building to be around $200,000. That price equaled out to be about $75 per square foot for the 2,700 square foot building that would include storage areas, locker rooms, a concession stand and rest rooms.

August

August 3: It was a big Saturday night for some of Montana Raceway Park's smaller cars at the Simpson Motor Compact 50.

Bigfork compact driver Dan DeMars finished the main event in 6th place, a finish he was happy with.

DeMars, who is currently in 8th place in the compact class point standings with 192 points, said his car is working well compared to earlier this season when a couple bugs had to be worked out. The compact class has four more races this season, but does not compete again until Aug. 26.

Long-time soccer player and coach Keith Koslosky wanted to continue coaching at the high school level. That desire was met when Bigfork High School hired Koslosky as the new boys soccer coach this spring.

Koslosky began playing soccer at age 14 and continued playing soccer throughout high school and at the University of Hawaii. He said his son is the reason he got involved in coaching, as he coached many of his soccer teams. Koslosky has coached soccer at both the youth and high school levels. He has also coached baseball and basketball.

August 10: The dreams of two Bigfork High School coaches decades ago helped spawn the dreams of numerous young athletes in Montana, especially Bigfork.

Wayne Loeffler and Neil Eliason were honored by the Montana Coaches' Association for their years of service in coaching and other activities during the association's coaching clinic in Great Falls Thursday. Loeffler was recognized for 30 years of service and Eliason for 50 years.

Loeffler, who played college football at Western Montana in Dillon, began teaching and coaching in Bigfork in the fall of 1975. Among the sports he's coached are football, basketball and track. Loeffler was the freshmen boys basketball coach from 1975-1977, head boys track coach from 1978-1992 and head football coach from 1980-1985. He also served as the Bigfork High School activities director for 20 years. Loeffler is currently the Bigfork Middle School principal.

Eliason, who began coaching in 1954, has coached at a total of four high schools — Brady High School, Hot Springs High School, Flathead High School and Bigfork High School and two colleges — Flathead Valley Community College and Montana State University in Bozeman where he coached Sue Loeffler. He has also coached at three elementary schools. Eliason's resume includes coaching football, basketball, cross country and track.

Eagle Bend Golf Club was buzzing with excitement and energy last weekend with golfers taking part in the 18th Annual Governor's Cup.

The teams split their time between Eagle Bend and Meadow Lake Golf Course in Columbia Falls during the two-day tournament that is sponsored by the Montana Chamber. Former governors Judy Martz and Stan Stephens participated in the tournament and former governor Tim Babcock was on hand during the awards ceremony.

The top eight net players and teams received awards as did the top five gross players and teams. Eight players received awards for being closest to the pin.

Burl Kuska's original plan was to volunteer during the 47th Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT), but when a spot on the Malibu Marlin Club opened up, Kuska jumped at the chance to join.

Kuska joined the Malibu Marlin Club team, which consisted of Kuska's Swan Lake neighbor and HIBT President Fred Duerr, Corky Reece and Sam Spinello. They were just one of 30 teams that competed in the tournament in Kona, Hawaii, July 24-28.

Kuska's catch was the second-largest fish caught during the tournament. It came in second only to a 594-pound fish. A third fish, weighing in at 396 pounds, was the only other fish boated. The remainder of the fish were released back into the water after they were caught. Kuska earned extra points for having the biggest fish of the day.

The team finished in first with 2,032 points and each teammember received a trophy. Kuska was awarded another trophy for the biggest fish on light tackle (the 50-pound line).

August 17: Deception is usually a bad word, but not when it comes to camouflage and the PAST (Philosophy, Awareness, Survival and Tracking) Skills Wilderness School's Sacred Art of Primitive Camouflage course.

The course was one of two taught by world-renowned primitive survivalist and tracker Bill McConnell this week in Bigfork.

Individuals from all over the United States enroll in the course in which they are promised to learn to completely blend their movements with the natural world and create their own customized camo clothing. Each student brings photos of a specific location they want to blend into. They learn what they need to create the correct pattern and what colors work best as well.

According to Golf Digest, the odds of getting a hole-in-one are 18,000-to-1. Henry Dixon beat those odds not once, but twice.

Dixon, who hit his first hole-in-one July 25, 2005 at Eagle Bend, repeated the feat Aug. 7, 2006 on the same hole — par-3 No. 4. The 14-year old used a 5-iron this year to sink the 167-yard shot.

Dixon's brother Charlie, who witnessed the hole-in-one last year was also present this year. The brothers, who are from Washington D.C., spend their summers in Bigfork with their parents. A groundskeeper at Eagle Bend also witnessed it.

August 24: The Bigfork Outrigger Canoe Club's (BOCC) Flathead Monster Canoe and Kayak Challenge resulted in tired arms and smiles Aug. 19, but no Flathead Monster.

Eighteen paddlers and 15 crafts began the challenge near Creston, 3.9 miles upstream from the Sportsman bridge. Participants of both the long and short course races started at the same time. Five crafts completed the short course and the remaining 10 completed the long course. The short course consisted of paddling to and from Sportsmans bridge — about 7.5 miles — and the long course was 15 miles long.

This year's challenge was a scaled-back version of last year, in which more than 70 paddlers competed.

Despite a rainy start to the 2006 Flathead Valley Junior Golf Championship, Eagle Bend Golf Club pro Michael Wynne deemed last Thursday's tournament a success.

The rain did make three golfers drop out of the tournament, leaving 72 to compete.

Bigfork's Joseph Potkonjak and Kaemyn Meagher both placed second in their respective age categories.

The boys 16-17 division came down to a three-hole playoff to determine the runner-up. Jim Mee of Libby took the division with his 70. Casey Moen of Missoula and Whitefish's Sam Krause were tied at 75, but Moen came out on top with a birdie on hole three of the playoff. Travis Boughton of Bigfork shot an 81.

The tournament marked the first year that Bigfork's Ryan Keenan played in the boys 8-10 division. Keenan's sister Sara finished the tournament in the middle of her division. She was one of three golfers to finish the girls 11-13 group with 122.

August 31: The Bigfork High School golf team knocked the rust off its clubs at the team's season-opener in Ronan Friday at the Mission Mountain Country Club.

Nine Bigfork golfers hit the links - five boys and four girls.

Travis Boughton led the boys with 75 and a fifth-place finish.

The Bigfork girls faired a little better, finishing in the middle of a smaller group of teams. The Vals, lead by senior Delbie Wilken, finished fourth behind Whitefish, Ronan and Polson. Ronan and Polson tied for second in the team scores with 387. Bigfork finished with a team score of 408.

September

September 7: The Valkyries' losses to the Laurel Locomotives and Billings Central Rams came from a lack of finishing, not a lack of effort.

Bigfork fell first to Laurel Friday 5-1. Laurel scored twice early on in the first half, while the Vals took shot after shot on goal but came up scoreless. Laurel continued its rapidfire scoring, taking a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes of the second half. The Locomotives had a total of 11 shots on goal in the second half.

The Vals were outshot by Billings Central early in the first half the next day, but Koch said he felt Bigfork controlled the first 10-12 minutes.

The Rams scored twice before Bigfork answered with a goal from Sharaf. Her kick sailed over the Billings goalie's head, making the score 2-1. Billings finished the first half by scoring two more times while Bigfork failed to on a corner kick. The Rams had a total of eight shots on goal in the first half, twice as many as the Vals.

A penalty kick and another goal by the Rams put the game out of reach and out of control for the Vals. Billings outshot Bigfork 14-6 in the second half. Cecily Whistler replaced Jones in the box with 15 minutes left in the second half. The Rams were able to get two shots past the new goalkeeper, making the final score 8-1. Jones and Whistler combined for a total of 14 saves in the match.

September 14: The sheer number of runners at the Flathead Invitational at Kidsport Complex in Kalispell Saturday could overwhelm anyone. Luckily the members of the Bigfork cross country teams aren't just anyone.

Taylor Schiltz led the way for the Vals, as the only Bigfork runner to run varsity. She finished the three-mile race in a time of 22:44, which put her in 58th place.

Shelby Deaton and Stephanie Williams ran in the girls junior varsity race. Deaton finished 42nd in 26:08 and Williams was 72nd in a time of 28:22.

Bigfork had a full boys team run the junior varsity race. Phil Sandry was the first Viking to finish. He placed 17th with a time of 19:08.

September 21: The Bigfork High School football team went into Friday's game against the Corvallis Blue Devils winless and down two starters. The team ended the night winless and down five more starters.

Corvallis, who was also winless, successfully shut down the Vikings' running game on its way to a 13-7 non-conference victory in Bigfork.

Bigfork, playing without starting running back Aaron Vogel and wide receiver Andrew Whittaker, knew its running game would be affected by the physical Corvallis team but coach Aaron Stiegeler didn't expect it to be stopped as much as it was.

With support from their home crowd, the Bigfork Valkyries notched a win Thursday against the Ronan Maidens.

The Vals won 3-1 with scores of 25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 26-24.

"It was nice having the home crowd," Bigfork's Roxy Thurman said.

September 28: In one of their most competitive matches this season, the Bigfork Vikings came up short against the Libby Loggers on Friday in soccer action.

Libby pulled out a 2-0 win because the Vikes couldn't find the back of the net.

The Loggers scored on one of their first possesions of the second half and followed with another goal that got by the Bigfork goalkeeper Levi Dockstader.

October

October 5: To say that the Polson Pirates ran away with Bigfork's homecoming football game is an understatement.

The Pirates beat the Vikings on the ground and recorded the 35-16 win in Northwestern A football action Friday in Bigfork.

October 12: Bigfork seniors Delbie Wilken and Travis Boughton finished in the top 10 at the Class A state golf tournament Thursday and Friday in Butte. There's always next year for sophomore Carson Harris, who finished out of the top 10.

Boughton finished three strokes behind leader Sam Krause of Whitefish. Boughton carded an 80 on day one, and cleaned up his play on day two to finish with a 73. His two-day total of 153 put him in 9th place.

Wilken finished just out of the top 10 Thursday with her 93. Kalli Stanhope of Glendive led the girls on day one with an 81. Wilken did four strokes better Friday. She carded an 89, her best round ever, to put her in 8th place.

October 19: The Bigfork Valkyries first win in four weeks came quickly, as the Vals swept the Polson Lady Pirates 3-0 Thursday at home. Bigfork was close to another win on Saturday in Hamilton, but fell short in game five.

The Vals, who held the lead throughout the entire match with the exception of the first six points in game two, beat the Pirates 27-25, 25-16, 25-17.

October 26: Bigfork's young cross country teams made good showings at the Class A cross coutnry meet in Helena Saturday.

Sophomore Phil Sandry paced the Vikings, finishing in 17:54 and 56th place. Bridger Mahlum and Josh Hubbard clocked times of 18:30 and 18:56, respectively. Seniors John Butts and Zeph Casias ran well, with times of 19:23 and 20:42. Casey Brown finished between the two seniors with a time of 20:29 and 117th place.

Freshman Taylor Schiltz finished first for the Vals, who did not have enough runners for a full team. Schiltz was 70th with a time of 21:54. Stephanie Williams finished the race in 24:23. She placed 123rd. Shelby Deaton did not finish the race.

November

November 2: Offense is known to require an element of finesse, while defense seems to work best when a little attitude is mixed in. That attitude comes out when talking to the Bigfork varsity soccer team line of freshmen defenders.

Those defenders, Logun Koch, McKenzie Reeve and Sydney Sharaf, used the words "intense," "competitive" and "hard core" Monday to describe the caliber of soccer they are accustomed to playing. The trio's aggressive style of play landed them the three starting defenseman positions by season's end on this year's varsity soccer team.

November 9: This week, Bigfork Speech and Drama participated in the Hamilton invitational Nov. 4.

Bigfork brought 14 competitors six of whom had not competed before in a meet. Nine members of the team made it to finals.

Kelsey Smith won for Expository; Jerry Gaiser and Kendra Brook placed 2nd in Humorous Duo; Abby Rundle and Brianna Sefcak placed 3rd and 7th in Serious Solo; Caitlann O'Dell placed 4th in Original Oratory; Christine Wirth placed 6th in Impromptu; Casey Brown placed 6th in Humorous Oral Interpretation, and AnnMarie Losee placed 8th in Memorized Public address.

November 16: The Bigfork Valkyries headed into the Northwestern A volleyball divisionals with confidence and desire that showed, as the Vals battled back in the losers' bracket after a first round loss.

Sixth seed Bigfork faced third seed Eureka in the opening round of play Thursday afternoon in Whitefish. The Vals lost to Eureka the week prior 3-2. Bigfork took the motivation from that close match into divisionals, but the Lady Lions' big hitter, Amy Roberts, proved to be a little too much for the Vals to handle as the Lady Lions won 3-0.

Needing a win to stay alive, the Vals kicked their play into gear against the Ronan Maidens Friday morning. Seventh-ranked Ronan lost to second seed Libby Thursday, pitting the Maidens against Bigfork in the loser-out match. Ronan was the loser out, beaten 3-1 by the Vals.

The Vals faced another tough competitor Friday afternoon. The Columbia Falls Wildkats, who the Vals lost to in both regular season matches, lost out to Whitefish the previous evening to put them in the losers' bracket.

Bigfork dropped the first match 11-25, but came back to upset the No. 4 seed Kats. On a winning streak, the Vals went into their next match with the Libby Lady Loggers some momentum. That momentum helped the Vals push the match to five games.

November 23: Practice must really make perfect.

Bigfork High School cheerleaders Bobby MacDonald and Kayla Carlson only had four days to practice their stunting routine before the Big Sky Cup Championship in Bozeman Nov. 19, but with that little time they did something great. They qualified for a national partner-stunting competition.

MacDonald and Carlson were required to perform a 45-second to 1:15 long routine comprised solely of partner stunts.

November 30: Bigfork High School's boys basketball program has two fresh faces on the sideline this year.

Mark Hansen and Aaron Stiegeler are the new junior varsity and freshman boys basketball coaches for the 2006-07 season.

Hansen returns to coaching basketball after a five-year hiatus.

Stiegeler has coached basketball at the junior high level and the varsity level as an assistant in Oregon. He began coaching basketball while attending Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. Stiegeler played football there and coached basketball during the offseason. He played basketball in high school.

December

December 7: Baja Mexico — a great place to vacation, with its beautiful scenery and warm temperatures. It's just as beautiful racing through the desert at speeds of 100 miles per hour or more.

Three Bigfork area men — Terry Leonard, Jay Manning and Roberto Zavala — competed in the 39th Tecate Score Baja 1000 Nov. 16-18. Their team of drivers and navigators also included 40-year racing veteran Mike Quade.

Manning and Zavala were running third and moving right along late in the race, according to Zavala, when he told Manning to take it easy around 3:30 a.m. Manning then shifted down and couldn't get the car into gear again. Of the 430 starters, only 232 finished the race. Two racers died and another was air-lifted to a hospital during the race.

December 14: Starting the season 0-2 is not good, but Bigfork High School boys basketball coach Jim Epperly isn't throwing in the towel just yet.

The Vikes dropped two games in the Tip-Off Tournament Friday and Saturday. Bigfork fell first to Browning by a score of 72-42 Friday. The Vikes continued to struggle with turnovers and execution in their second game against Stevensville Saturday in a 56-34 loss.

December 21: The Vals, now 4-0, defeated both the Eureka Lady Lions and Libby Lady Loggers last week in Northwest A basketball action. Bigfork first beat Eureka in Bigfork Thursday by the score of 48-29, and won on the road in Libby 42-21.

December 28: Facing two tough opponents last week, the Bigfork Vikings basketball team kept things close with one and had early trouble against the other but were unable to record a win.

The AA Missoula Big Sky Eagles beat the Vikes 54-40 last Tuesday and the Columbia Falls Wildcats defeated the Vikes 65-40 last Thursday.

The Bigfork Vals bounced back Friday to edge out the Columbia Falls Wildkats, after recording their first loss last Tuesday against AA Missoula Big Sky.

The Eagles proved to be too much for the Vals, out-scoring the Vals 14-6 in the first quarter in Big Sky's 67-51 win.

The Vals' game against the Wildkats Friday was just as tough as the Big Sky game, as the score remained close the entire game. The Vals played hard all four quarters though, allowing them to pull out the 44-41 win.