Good news on this Sunday afternoon.
We've contacted our former sponsors of the Sunday Twitter Barrage and some are signing on to our new venture on Substack. As you see above, this week it’s Hedenquist Motors.
Our focus group responsible for a name change first dubbed this endeavor 'Sunday Morning Notebook', didn't like that and then moved 'One Stop Shopping' but apparently quickly became disgruntled and wanted another change but has yet to provide any solid choices.
And with the holiday weekend it's impossible to get them together so here I sit fully gruntled on this Sunday with plenty of items to write about there's no time to think another name change.
So for this week it's 'Lots O' Stuff.'
There's college cross country, volleyball and football, amateur baseball and a concert memory.
Here we go.
Cross country
Jackson County Central graduate Jessica Christoffer, a junior with the South Dakota State women's cross country team, had a PR on Friday.
She placed 18th in a field of 329 runners at the Augustana Twilight meet with a 5K time of 18:52.65, setting her PR by 18 seconds.
Fairmont grad Hannah Neusch, a freshman at SDSU, placed 184th in 21:50.34.
The Jackrabbits placed fourth of 27 teams at the meet, which was held under the lights at Yankton Trails Park in Sioux Falls.
Next on the schedule is the SDSU Classic Friday evening at Edgebrook Golf Course in Brookings.
Volleyball
JCC grad Molly Brinkman is a 5-foot-5 defensive specialist at Mount Marty College.
On Saturday, she had 32 digs and 6 set assists for the Lancers in a 3-0 win over Avila at the William Penn Tournament in Oskaloosa,. Iowa.
Molly then had 13 digs in a 3-0 win over Iowa Wesleyan as MMC improved to 3-2 on the season. The Lancers play Cottey College and William Woods University today.
Two area grads are playing at Bethany Lutheran College, which is 1-4 on the season, having lost to Gustavus on Wednesday and then going 1-3 at the Macalaster Invite the last two days.
Jackson County Central graduate Megan Gallagher is a 5-6 freshman setter for the Vikings. She has 64 set assists (5.33 per set) and 25 digs (2.08 per set).
Martin County West grad Karlee Thiesse is a 5-10 junior middle. She has 6 kills, 6 digs and 2 BA for Bethany, which is at Wisconsin-Superior for four matches next weekend.
JCC grad Alaina Wolff is a 5-6 freshman libero at Wayne State College. The Wildcats traveled to Texas to open the season and went 3-0 at the Dallas Baptist Tournament, winning each match 3-0. A scheduled match vs. host Dallas Baptist due to COVID-19 testing protocols within the Dallas Baptist program.
On Friday, Alaina had 8 digs, 2 assists and 1 ace serve vs. Westminster (Utah).
On Saturday, she had 9 digs and 1 assist in a win over Arkansas Tech and 7 digs, 2 ace serves and 1 set assist vs. Eastern New Mexico.
The Wildcats, ranked 24th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II poll, are scheduled to play four matches next weekend at the Colorado Premier Tournament in Denver. Wayne faces No. 6 Lewis (Ill.) and No. 14 Western Washington on Friday and then plays two more on Saturday.
Dakota Wesleyan, coached by Heron Lake-Okabena-Lakefield graduate Lindsey Wilber is 7-1 overall after a 3-1 win over No. 25 Rocky Mountain at the Labor Day Classic in Bellevue, Neb. Saturday.
That came after the Tigers' first loss of the season Friday 3-2 to No. 11 Central Methodist.
Wesleyan plays two in York Neb. next Saturday vs. York and Mayville State.
Football
JCC graduate Nico Feroni, 6-foot, 190-junior linebacker, had 2 solo tackles and 2 assists for NAIA Dakota State in a 42-21 loss to NCAA Division III Wisconsin-LaCrosse Saturday in Madison.
Fairmont grad Conner Tordsen, a 6-4, 245-pound senior defensive end, was credited with 1 solo tackle and 7 assists. He also picked up a half-sack.
Another Fairmont graduate, Jordan Wolter, is a 5-9, 170-pound freshman running back on the UWL roster.
Dakota State is off next week and then hosts Presentation on Sept. 18.
Small towns on big stage
Sobieski has been one of the best Class C amateur baseball teams in the state for a number of years now.
Yesterday, the Skis were playing a team representing a town about half its size.
Sobieski (population 194) defeated Dumont (population 98) by a 5-0 margin to advance to the round of 8 today.
Concert memory
I was listening to a replay of Casey Kasem's 'American Top 40' from 1977 when I started writing this newsletter this morning.
One of the songs played on the program was by Tower of Power, which sparked a memory. I actually saw them in concert back in the day.
So I hopped on the Google.
The date was Aug. 6, 1976 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. That's where the Mall of America is now for those of you who are not of a certain age.
That was after my junior year of high school. The two guys I went with had graduated that year.
The main act we wanted to see was The Beach Boys. Boz Skaggs played in between Tower of Power and The Beach Boys.
What I have no memory of was that Tower of Power and Boz Skaggs were apparently both fill-ins on the program.
Chicago apparently was supposed to open for The Beach Boys that night, but had to cancel due to a band member being involved in an accident. And it took two groups to replace one.
I do have some other memories of that night like the near mishap on the way to the Met and an unplanned overnight stay at the Thunderbird Motel when our wouldn't start but maybe those can be shared at another time. That's enough for now.
This is where I'm going to bring back a segment of the former Sunday Twitter Barrage that some seemed to enjoy.
I think Labor Day Weekend is my favorite weekend of the year.