Pre-Tournament Party at the VFW Club

We would like to invite everybody to join us for a Pre-Tournament party at the VFW Club in downtown East Grand Forks. The VFW Club has played a huge part in our successes and deserve a big thank you from all of us lucky enough to wear the "Vets" jacket. The party starts at 7:00 Thursday night. See you there.

Golf Classic is 3 weeks from today!

The first ever Greenwave Alumni Golf Classic is only 3 weeks away! This is shaping up to be one of the most fun tourneys I have ever played. We have over 20 teams signed up but there still is room for more... Tell everyone who may be interested in playing the tourney to let us know so we can plan accordingly. Also if you have your 4 man team figured out let me know that as well (if you haven't already.)

A few of the golfers who have said they'd play are:
Tyler Palmiscno
Travis Cariveau
David Blue
Nate Metcalf
Kyle Cash
Keith Johnson
Ryan Gregoire
Scott Mack
Danny Parker
Jason Mack
Darren Blue
Kyle Mack
Dave Bies
Jon Hussey
Justin Hecht
Neil Purcell
JP McDonald
Pete McDonald
Judd Stauss
Scott Stauss
Nick Bowen
Travis Lind
Chad Honek
Tommy Solem
Chad Erickson
George Cariveau
Jared Hjelle
Cory Von Rueden
Jeff Vonasek
Mike Carlson
Phil Hartwig
Kyle Weber
Jeff Weber
Kevin Weber
Brett Gaddie
Wade Stallmo
Chubba McIntosh
Tim Jerome
Dave Jerome
Jeff Bowen
Kevin Peters
Kelly Kotowicz
Tinker Yanish
Chad Beauchamp
Don Riendeau
Rick Myers
Tim Spitsberg
Pat Boppre
Troy Norman
Travis Norman
Randy Galstad
Matt Fore
Tim Moe
Don Lovcik
Jon Hendrickson
Cory Chupka
Garrett Lind
Mike Palmiscno
Chris Nelson
Tony Weber
Matt Stengl
Jared Kouba
Tanner Hanson
Tyler Johnson
Luke Metcalf
Ryan Swang
Matt Metcalf
Todd Benson
Kane Aubol
Corey Pesch
Luke Brown
Shawn Schroeder
Kevin Johnson
Nick Stengl
Bob Sween

Again I'll ask you to please spread the word about the tournament, I don't want anyone to miss out on what is sure to be a great time for everybody!

Peewee A Season Recap

Another good article showcasing a bright future for our program.

2009-10 EGF Peewee A Recap

The Pee Wee A’s had an incredible season accomplishing nearly every team goal that was set at the beginning of the season. The team rolled with a record of 41 wins 4 loses and 1 tie. The offensive juggernaut averaged an amazing 7.52 goals per game while outscoring their opponents 346 to 119 on the year.

The team didn’t lose a game all year to any teams from northern Minnesota including traditional hockey powers like Roseau, Moorhead, Cloquet and Duluth East. The future Green Wave trounced opponents to capture their host tourney by a combined scores of 40-7 to win the EGF Invitational. The team also had a great showing in the annual Dick Johnson Tourney in Roseau beating some of the top State powers. In the opening game of the Roseau tourney they were matched up with Eden Prairie (who ended up finishing 3rd at the Pee Wee State Tourney). Playing shorthanded the entire weekend due to injuries, EGF pulled off a big 5-4 win in a evenly matched game. After beating Brainerd handily, EGF would play Elk River, which little at the time did anyone know these 2 teams would meet again with a trip to State on the line. But the game in Roseau may have been the most exciting game in the entire Roseau tourney with 2 highly offensive talented teams and EGF would come out on top with a 6-4 win. EGF lost in the semi’s to Edina (the eventual State Champion) and they closed out the 16 team Roseau tourney beating Woodbury to take home 3rd place.

The team went undefeated vs. district teams through out the regular season and added 3 more convincing wins on their way to winning the District 16 Tourney Championship to advance to the Regional Tourney. At Regions, EGF would advance through pool play to the Championship game and would meet up with them pesky Elks of Elk River again. This time they would fall to the eventual State Runners up in a high paced wide open hockey game which ended in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss. It was a tough way to end a great year and to fall short of their goal to make the State tourney. But it was great game between 2 even teams and it was still a magical season and it will be a fun group to follow in future years!

Team members include: Nathan Peabody, Trent Stengl, Austin Monda, Cooper Jerome, Sam Larson, Reed Hjelle, Tye Ausmus, Trevor Selk, Jace Pesch, Taylor Brierly, Mason Kallock, Tanner Tweten, Grant Loven, Reed Corbid, Garrett Lieberg Coaches: Jason Hearn (1991) and Matt Fore (1992)

Another Season Recap

Here's another recap covering our Peewee B American Federal Bank team. Thanks to the Coaches for sending this in. Congratulations on a great year!

The 09-10 East Grand Forks American Federal Pee Wee “B” hockey was a great team. This was a team of players working together as a “team” in the true sense of the word, as there were no true standouts. They worked together as a group and when one was down someone else would pick up the slack. They were a strong team from the start and only improved from there. This team would go far and do very well in the season, tourneys, and deep into the play-offs.

With only three returning players; from a Third place at state the season before, there were a lot of questions to who would be the leaders of the team. This was a team of good skaters and not a lot of size they needed to learn to control the play early or be run over. With good goaltending, strong defense, and timely scoring the AFB went on to great things.

In tournament play, we learned a lot about our identity as a team. In a down year in the district, this is where we would find our competition and hone our skills. In our early home tourney, in early Dec., we played very strong, but ran into a very good Winnipeg team in pool play. This left us with a third place finish and a lot of confidence going into the season. In Jan. we played teams: from Blaine, Elk River, and Stillwater; all very close, but putting together a complete team weekend to take first place! We hoped to continue this run later on in the month and participating in a Roseau tourney. We again played very well, but got a little cocky in the final round robin team of Mesabi East. Who had thoughts of revenge on their minds, after being beaten soundly by the AFB the previous season at Regions. We gave away a big third period lead and were forced into a third place game. Losing to Mesabi East showed us that we could never let up, not even for a minute.

After going undefeated in District 16 play, the AFB went into the District Tournament the no. 1 seed we played two very tough games with Bemidji and Red Lake Falls. By learning the lessons from earlier in the season we came out on top, District 16 champions! With high hopes, we went into the West Region Tournament in Crookston, hoping to earn a trip to State in Roseau. We were upset early by a gritty Brainerd team 2-1 and were manhandled by a great Sauk Rapids team 9-0.We thought our season was over and the final round robin game against Moorhead would be it for the year. We thought wrong. We learned that we needed to win by two goals and we could advance to the Regional Championship. We had beaten and tied them earlier in the season; in the earlier tie we were down 2-1 and badly outplayed; but with our own gritty performance we managed to tie the game with only two seconds left in the game. We were very confident we could win the Regional game. Little did we know that this would be our game of the season. We started early going up 1-0 at the end of one period, but the ice was much tilted to our end, and by the end of the second period we were down 2-1. Our heads were down but our spirit was not broken. We spoke in the locker room that we did not want our season to end here. We told ourselves that it was only three goals and we could go on to the championship. With a goal early in the third, one in the middle, and our goalie at the door to be pulled we scored the third goal we went up 4-2 and won, all though we were outshot 42-18 we just wanted it more. We went on to the championship against Little Falls. What we saw was like looking in a mirror. It was back-and-forth the whole game, the score was 0-0 late, and with a late goal by Little Falls ended our hopes of a State berth. Even though it was a loss we all knew we left it all on the ice.

With a record of 37-7-1, a tourney championship, undefeated district play, and a District 16 Championship; the EGF AFB demonstrated what being a team was all about. There were no stars on this team; only players playing for each other. They won when they were supposed to and won even in their losses. These players will go on to better things; Josh Weber, Ethan Kringlen, Mavryck Blake, Andrew Knopp, Wyatt Swanson, Tommy Pace, Casey Swanson, Nathan Heisler, Brady McDonald, Levi Pesch, Alex Heisler, Braden Shea, Jake Olson, Nick Hovde, Broc Helgeson, and Dryden Dragich may not have made it to State, but will forever be champions.

Building Towards the Future

Here's the 1st installment of the season recaps. Some people have offered to write a season recap on each team in our program and we thank them tremendously! We'll start with Peewees and finish with our Greenwave Varsity team. A lot of great accomplishments look to pave the way for future success for our Greenwave! Here's the article on the Peewee B American Legion squad.

2009-10 EGF Youth Hockey Recap

The Pee Wee B Legion had a remarkable season. UND students Billy Brewitz and Mark Schafer, both from Rosemount, MN, with a little help from Tony Weber and Chip Shea, knitted together a team made up of players that had skated Pee Wee B, Squirt A, and Squirt B hockey the previous season. The 2008-09 Pee Wee Legion team had a tough year and 2009-10 found Pee Wee Legion again the second of two B teams so expectations were not real high for this club, finishing around .500 would be considered hugely successful…so most thought! Final record was 28-6-0, averaged 4 goals a game to 1.74 for the opponents which translated to 136 to 59 scoring edge for Pee Wee Legion.

The season started with three games on the road, which they swept! That brought them to the EGF Pee Wee B tournament where they beat Grand Forks, Minot, and Bismarck sending the undefeated Pee Wee Legion team to the championship against the defending Winnipeg City Champs, the Assiniboine Park Rangers. The Rangers won the game 3-1 with an empty net goal, but Pee Wee Legion proudly claimed 2nd place and with their 6-1-0 record, having already surpassed most expectations by the first weekend in December. They played 6 more games in December and won all of them including a sweep over the two Bemidji teams, a win against Red Lake Falls, and a tough game up in Roseau.

January started out great with two wins, one against the Fargo Angels in EGF and another later that day up in Thief River Falls. The next weekend they dropped their first district game in the rematch in Red Lake Falls. The rest of the month saw Legion lose two more district games to East Grand Forks American Federal Bank and Bemidji Blue as well as a game to Grand Forks and were 18-5-0 heading into the Roseau Pee Wee B Tournament. In Roseau the boys cruised through pool play beating Grand Forks, International Falls, and Roseau, again putting them in the championship game, this time against Mesabi East who had made short work of their pool including an 8-4 win over East Grand Forks Pee Wee American Federal Bank. This was the most brilliant piece of coaching and player execution that most Eastsider's have seen in how the defensive corps completely shut down the scoring ace for Mesabi and kept every threat outside. The forwards played as a well oiled machine with excellent passing and threw everything at the net. The hero was the EGF netminder who stood on his head, totally frustrating the Mesabi East squad. After 45 minutes of nail biting, stomach churning suspense, Pee Wee Legion slammed the door on Mesabi and took the 4-0 win and the tournament championship! With this win, the February 4, 2010 edition of Let’s Play Hockey Magazine named Pee Wee B American Legion the Sports World USA Youth Team of the week! Really, really? WOW!

After Roseau, there were just two weekends and 4 games left in the season, and the boys swept those games. Legion finished district play at 10-4-0 in a tie for 2nd with Red Lake Falls, trailing only EGF American Federal Bank who finished district play undefeated at 14-0-0. RLF won the tie breaker and Legion got the #3 seed in the tournament matched up against the Roseau team they had beaten three times during the season. Roseau scored early in the first and Legion matched it in the second. Nobody scored in the third and this one went to overtime! Roseau pretty much owned the overtime and a couple minutes in won a battle in the corner, threw the puck in front of the net which pin balled around and into the net for the overtime winner. Legion worked their way up the consolation side of the bracket beating Thief River Falls and Bemidji Blue to claim the Consolation Championship.

Team members include: Connor Shea, Garrett Thoreson, Ben Olson, J.D. Rodriguez, Davis Beauchamp, Josh Blazek, Jarod Reak, Cole Weber, Clarke Peterson, Cody Wolff, Tyler Lindstrom, Cody Stengl, Cody Barta, Ben Gottberg
Coaches: Billy Brewitz and Mark Schafer

Greenwave High School Summer Update

Here's an update from Tyler Palmiscno about our Greenwave. Keep up the good work! Also a big congrats to all of our players who represented us so well in the advance programs this summer. A big pat on the back goes out to Gage Ausmus who was selected to represent Team Minnesota in the National Festival!



Gentlemen,

I hope this update finds you enjoying the beginning of another summer. It may be June but Greenwave Hockey has been extremely busy over the last two months. Our high school players just finished two and a half months of morning workouts. An average of 20 players participated in the 6:30am, four days a week workouts, which gives them a great start on their summer training. Going into June/July/August, our players workout at one of three places: the weight room at the highschool, center court fitness in GF, or the REA Hockey Academy.

About 17 members of our upcoming team participated in a tournament in Crookston this past weekend. The tournament was a unique setup with each game consisting of four eleven minute quarters, and each quarter representing a mini game. We beat a South Dakota allstar team, Elk River and Devils Lake while losing to Bemidji(score was actually 3-3, but lost on the quarter system). Our tournament tour will continue this weekend as we travel to TRF to play Warroad, TRF and Devils Lake.

Congratulations to sophomore Gage Ausmus for being selected as one of seven defenseman to represent Minnesota at the Advanced 15 National Festival in Rochester, NY.

If you haven’t been following www.eastsidehockey.blogspot.com I urge you to do so, as David Blue has been updating the blog regularly.

The August Golf Tournament is getting closer and teams are beginning to sign up. If you intend on playing please let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Sincerely,

Tyler Palmiscno

EGF Bantams Well Represented at MN Advance 15 Festival

Be on the lookout for season recaps for all of the peewee and bantam teams. They will be coming in the next week or so. Here's a column about the MN Advance 15 Festival. Looks like the future Greenwave had a phenomenal showing.

Advance 15 festival

The Advanced 15 festival is tryout process which happens every spring for the top players in the State and it could lead them to the National Festival held annually in Rochester New York.

The process starts out with coaches nominating players to try out for the district team. There are 12 Districts in Minnesota and all 12 hold a tryout in various locations across the State. This year was for 1995 born players and the District 16 tryout had 50 players who are all Bantam aged players, although for various reasons some players opt up to play high school or junior varsity.

We had 8 EGF players (the most of any town in the district) that were nominated and got to try out for the District 16 team. The 8 included Gage Ausmus, Tommy Hajicek, Eddie Eades, Brandon Loven, Colton Poolman, Nathan Peltier, Tanner Lindstrom & Luke Beito. After the first weekend of tryouts all 8 EGF players made the first cut to be in the top 30. After a second weekend of tryout practices and scrimmages in Thief River Falls, they chose a team made up of 12 forwards, 6 defenseman and 2 goalies. We had 6 EGF players make the team (again the most in the district) and they got to go down to New Hope, Minnesota and participate in a tournament with the other 12 districts in the state. The 6 boys making the District 16 team included 3 Forwards Hajicek, Loven, Beito and 3 Defensemen, Ausmus, Peltier & Poolman. With 240 total players in New Hope there is a team of knowledgeable coaches and scouts who evaluate each and every player and they consult with the team’s coaches to pick the top 102 players to participate in the week long Minnesota Summer Advanced 15 festival in St. Cloud Minnesota June 12th to 17th. Brandon Loven, Gage Ausmus, Luke Beito & Tommy Hajicek all made it to the festival. In St. Cloud they have a daily schedule which includes a game, practice, lecture, team meeting, and a outside activity every day. During the 6 day event every participant is being evaluated on and off the ice by prominent College and High School coaches who are teamed with current and former college players who serve as coaches, counselors and role models for each team. At the end of the festival the evaluators will choose the top 12 forwards, 7 defenseman and 2 goalies to got USA Hockey’s National Festival in Rochester New York July 15th-21st.

Former Greenwave Standout Casey Solem (2005) Named NAIA Baseball All-American

Here are a couple of articles I found about Casey Solem being named to the NAIA All-American team. He put up some amazing stats. Congratulations and great job Casey!






Index of Sports Press Releases

June 3, 2010

DWU’s Solem named school’s first Second Team All-American


Casey Solem

MITCHELL, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan University baseball has a storied history with a number of outstanding players throughout the years. However, Casey Solem established a new level of greatness during his senior season, which resulted in Thursday’s announcement that he is the first Tiger to ever earn NAIA All-America Second Team honors.

Solem, a senior from East Grand Forks, Minn., becomes the 10th DWU player to earn NAIA All-American honors and the first since pitcher Chris Baker was named All-America Honorable Mention in 2008. Dakota Wesleyan’s previous nine All-Americans were all Honorable Mention selections (including Robert Stockton, who did it twice), making Solem the first Tiger to ever crack the 17-player Second Team. The First and Second Teams are made up of 17 players each by position, with 34 selections regardless of position making up the Honorable Mention list.

The Tiger star was named to the Second Team as one of four outfielders, making him one of the top eight outfielders in the entire NAIA in 2010. Solem earned the honor because of his great offensive numbers and his outstanding all-around play. He truly did it all for Dakota Wesleyan this season, and the All-America honors add to his All-Great Plains Athletic Conference First-Team accolades.


DWU’s Casey Solem became the first Tiger player to ever earn NAIA All-America Second Team honors Thursday. (Action photos by Laura Wehde)
During his two years at Dakota Wesleyan after transferring from the University of North Dakota, Solem was a mainstay in the third spot in the Tigers’ lineup and in the outfield. He was everything a great third hitter should be, thanks to one of the greatest offensive seasons in school history. Solem set new Dakota Wesleyan single-season school records for batting average (.453), runs batted in (63) and total bases (136). He also wasn’t far from equaling the Tiger records for runs (55), hits (73), home runs (15) and stolen bases (29).

The senior star also had six doubles, six triples, 19 walks, a slugging percentage of .845 and an on-base percentage of .526. He led DWU in 10 offensive categories while also playing stellar defense in center field. He made just three errors all season with 108 put-outs and one assist for a .973 fielding percentage.

Between his incredible average, power, stolen bases and defense, Solem gave the Tigers a true all-around star to build around, and his presence resulted in back-to-back 30-win seasons. In addition, he always seemed to come through in the biggest spots, with a handful of walk-off and game-winning hits and home runs during his two-year DWU career.

The All-America Second Team honor will now serve as the exclamation point at the end of a great career. In addition to the All-America honors, Solem was a two-time All-GPAC First Team selection in the outfield. He also won a GPAC Gold Glove in the outfield in 2009 and received one GPAC Player-of-the-Week award. As a senior, he served as one of the Tigers’ team captains.

Solem was one of two GPAC players to land on the All-America Second Team, along with the league’s Pitcher-of-the-Year, Mount Marty’s Trey Krier. In the GPAC tournament, Solem hit three home runs off of Krier to lead DWU to a win over the Lancers in an elimination game.

The conference didn’t have any First-Team selections, and two GPAC players earned Honorable Mention honors – Morningside’s Jared Noteboom and Northwestern’s Brad Payne. Surprisingly, the GPAC Player-of-the-Year, Mount Marty’s Josh Damewood, did not receive All-American honors.

Cumberland University’s (Tenn.) Matt Greener – the All-America First Team third baseman – was named the 2010 NAIA Baseball Player-of-the-Year. The 2010 NAIA Baseball Coach-of-the-Year will be announced in early January, 2011, at the ABCA Coaches’ Convention. The official NAIA release with the complete 2010 All-American teams can be found at: http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/060310aaa.html.

"Casey Solem Joins Merchants"
6/4/2010





St. Paul, MN – Dakota Wesleyan University baseball has a storied history with a number of outstanding players throughout the years. However, Casey Solem established a new level of greatness during his senior season, which resulted in Thursday’s announcement that he is the first Tiger to ever earn NAIA All-America Second Team honors. Solem becomes the 10th DWU player to earn NAIA All-American honors and the first since pitcher Chris Baker was named All-America Honorable Mention in 2008. Dakota Wesleyan’s previous nine All-Americans were all Honorable Mention selections (including Robert Stockton, who did it twice), making Solem the first Tiger to ever crack the 17-player Second Team. The First and Second Teams are made up of 17 players each by position, with 34 selections regardless of position making up the Honorable Mention list. The Tiger star was named to the Second Team as one of four outfielders, making him one of the top eight outfielders in the entire NAIA in 2010. Solem earned the honor because of his great offensive numbers and his outstanding all-around play. He truly did it all for Dakota Wesleyan this season, and the All-America honors add to his All-Great Plains Athletic Conference First-Team accolades.




During his two years at Dakota Wesleyan after transferring from the University of North Dakota, Solem was a mainstay in the third spot in the Tigers’ lineup and in the outfield. He was everything a great third hitter should be, thanks to one of the greatest offensive seasons in school history. Solem set new Dakota Wesleyan single-season school records for batting average (.453), runs batted in (63) and total bases (136). He also wasn’t far from equaling the Tiger records for runs (55), hits (73), home runs (15) and stolen bases (29).

The senior star also had six doubles, six triples, 19 walks, a slugging percentage of .845 and an on-base percentage of .526. He led DWU in 10 offensive categories while also playing stellar defense in center field. He made just three errors all season with 108 put-outs and one assist for a .973 fielding percentage.

Between his incredible average, power, stolen bases and defense, Solem gave the Tigers a true all-around star to build around, and his presence resulted in back-to-back 30-win seasons. In addition, he always seemed to come through in the biggest spots, with a handful of walk-off and game-winning hits and home runs during his two-year DWU career.

The All-America Second Team honor will now serve as the exclamation point at the end of a great career. In addition to the All-America honors, Solem was a two-time All-GPAC First Team selection in the outfield. He also won a GPAC Gold Glove in the outfield in 2009 and received one GPAC Player-of-the-Week award. As a senior, he served as one of the Tigers’ team captains. Solem was one of two GPAC players to land on the All-America Second Team, along with the league’s Pitcher-of-the-Year, Mount Marty’s Trey Krier. In the GPAC tournament, Solem hit three home runs off of Krier to lead DWU to a win over the Lancers in an elimination game.

Earlier this week Solem announced his intentions to sign with the East Side Merchants of the St. Paul League. Solem, whose parents live and reside in Rosemount, Minnesota, will be a huge addition to the Merchants everyday lineup. Solem will join forces with North Dakota teammates Andy Sadler, John Greciar and Kris Kwak. Solem also becomes the seventh North Dakotan to sign with East Side in the last three years joining a class which includes former 2003 Gatorade Player of the Year, Bo Stanley and All-NCC Selection Chris Gulsvig. Solem will become an automatic everyday player for East Side in an incredible outfield aligment which includes Sadler, '09 World Series MVP Matt Olson, Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Matt Kruger and Team Captain Matty Grill.

The addition of Solem will also ease the loss of Deryk Marks to the St. Cloud River Bats of the Northwoods League as Solem will now fill the vacant 3-hole slot in the East Side lineup. Solem becomes the tenth newcomer to the Merchants roster in 2010. Continue to stay up-to-date with all information regarding the East Side Merchants at the home for the Merchant Baseball, www.eastsidemerchants.com

Kyle Mack (1996) qualified for the World Long Drive Competition

BLAKELY’S WIN IN TENNESSEE CONTINUES LDA TOUR YOUTH MOVEMENT
CLEMSON STUDENT BAGS 10K FIRST PRIZE

The win by Clemson University senior Kyle Blakely at LDA’s 2010 Tennessee Shootout in Greeneville on June 12 continued the dominant theme on this year’s professional power golf circuit:

Young guns.

Blakely, 22, cashed his first-ever check at an LDA Tour event at Graysburg Hills Golf Course. He made it a big one, too, bagging $10,000 in prize money.

Blakely came out on top in the six-hitter finals by thumping a Slazenger Raw Distance golf ball 395 yards with his Adams 9032LD driver.

The win secured for Blakely a spot in the 144-hitter field at the finals of the 2010 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship powered by Dick’s Sporting Goods next fall.

Landon Gentry and Kyle Mack finished second and third after posting 385 yards and 375 yards, respectively, in the shootout round. Gentry collected $5,000 for his runner-up finish, while Mack sacked $4,000. Mack also earned an exemption into the field at the 2010 RE/MAX WLDC finals (Gentry had previously earned his exemption).

Jerimie Montgomery, Matt Eicholtz and Kevin Bullard rounded out the cast of crunchers for the six-hitter shootout.

The 2010 LDA Tour, which concludes with the 2010 Desert Duel in August, has witnessed a parade of early twentysomethings to the winner’s circle.

Jason Eslinger started the trend in Mesquite, Nevada in March, winning LDA’s 2010 Desert Launch just three weeks after celebrating his 24th birthday. Jamie Sadlowski continued the trend in April, capturing LDA’s 2010 Texas Shootout at Trophy Club CC. Sadlowski celebrates his 22nd birthday in July.

Blakely, who turns 23 in September, added his own spin to the story. Currently serving an internship at Greenville (S.C.) Country Club, Blakely plans to graduate from Clemson in December and then pursue a career in the golf business.
He also has his sights set on a full schedule of power golf events in 2011.


CHUCKEY — Kyle Blakley, a Clemson student from Greenville, S.C., stepped up when he had to Saturday — saving his best for last to first get into the finals and then win the Tennessee Shootout and the $10,000 first prize in a Long Drivers Association sanctioned event sponsored by Laughlin Memorial Hospital in Greeneville for a 10th straight year.

Blakley came out of the pack to lead his group of qualifiers in the semifinals with a hit of 379 yards, then followed with his best effort of the day — a 395-yard effort in the finals. That allowed him to beat Landon Gentry of Dacula, Ga., by 10 yards and take home the first prize.

“This is my best day ever in long drive competition,” said Blakley. “I am usually an inch or a foot short.”

Blakley, who is in the PGA program to become a club pro, made the finals of the Re/Max World Championships each of the last two years, but had not finished higher than fourth place. He is working at Greenville Country Club in South Carolina.

The golfers finished in fading light. The last ball was hit in near darkness at 9:09 p.m. There was a 45-minute rain delay earlier in the day.

“One more rain delay,” said organizer Bart Hartsell, “and we would have had to finish on Sunday. As it was, the light was getting bad at the end, but we got it in.”

The best hit of the day was turned in by Jason Enslinger of Stillwater, Okla., who launched a 416-yard drive in one of the early rounds. But he failed to make it to the semifinals, as did two-time defending champion Dave Mobley. Last year’s runnerup, Patrick Hopper, settled for 10th while Steve Monroe — who was second to Mobley two years ago — was seventh.

Kyle Mack of Fargo, N.D., placed third with a hit of 375 in the finals, while Jerimie Montgomery of Plain City, Utah was fourth. He had a drive earlier in the day of 402, but settled for a 374-yard hit in the finals.Matt Eicholtz of Dacula, Ga., was fifth at 365 yards and Kevin Bullard of Cedartown, Ga,., was sixth with a hit of 362 in the finals.

Here are the Top 16 and their money winnings:

Tennessee Shootout
Sponsored by Laughlin Memorial Hospital
at Graysburg Hills Golf Club
Chuckey, Tenn., June 12, 2010

1. Kyle Blakley, 395 yards ………$10,000
2. Landon Gentry, 385 yards……..$5,000
3. Kyle Mack, 375 yards……………$4,000
4. Jerimie Montgomery, 374……..$3,500
5. Matt Eicholtz, 365 yards………..$3,000
6. Kevin Bullard, 362 yards………..$2,500
7. Steve Monroe……………………….$1,500
8. Mick Yelovick……………………….$1,500
9. Kevin Shook………………………….$1,500
10. Patrick Hopper…………………….$1,500
11. Brooks Baldwin…………………….$1,000
12. Tim Burke……………………………$1,000
13. Camerson Swanson……………….$1,000
14. Jason Witczak………………………$1,000
15. Jeff Crittenden……………………..$1,000
16. Scott Smith………………………….$1,000

EGF VS MPLS SW 1991-92

Here's a game from the Christmas Tournament from the 1991-92 season.