Sports Memories by Tom Jones

 

50 years ago: 1969

• The Albert Lea Tigers finished fourth overall in the All-Big Nine Conference sports championship in a poll tabulated by Austin Daily Herald sports editor John Kolb. The Tigers finished the school year with 50.5 points, trailing Rochester John Marshall by 3.5 points. The poll was based on season-ending standings for the teams in the Big Nine for all sports during the school year

• It was announced that American Broadcasting Co. had agreed to enter the world of primetime football with 13 regular season games scheduled for Monday night over the next three years, with the games to be broadcast in color.

• Lea College had its annual spring intra-squad football game at the lower Abbott Field with the Blues defeating the Whites 48-32.

• Albert Lea’s Ron Erickson threw a one-hitter with eight strikeouts in the Albert Lea Tigers’ 1-0 victory in the District 2 baseball tournament at Hayek Park. Randy Bottelson’s single in the fourth inning scored Ron Brackey with the game’s only run.

 

25 years ago: 1994

• The Albert Lea girls’ track and field team took fifth in the Big Nine Conference championship. Senior Mollee Ludtke won the 800 meters in a school record time of 2:17.73. Kathy Skaar had the Tigers’ other first, winning the 1,600 with a time of 5:24.9

• The Albert Lea boys’ track and field team took sixth place at the Big Nine Conference championship. The Tigers’ lone first-place finish came from sophomore Adam Conn, who ran the 100-meter dash in 11.38 seconds

• A week after capturing their first ever Gopher Conference championship, the NRHEG girls’ track and field team captured the Section 2A Sub section 1A title. Heather Crabtree set a sub-section record in the discus with a throw of 119’7”. Crystal Schutrop added a first for the Panthers with a time of 5:35.7 in the 1,600 meter run

 

10 years ago: 2009

• Lake Mills softball pitcher Josie Brackey pitched a no-hitter while striking out seven in the Bulldogs, 1-0 win over Hampton-Dumont.

• Albert Lea senior Mike Falk qualified for the 3A state tournament after he tied for second place in section play, shooting a 74 and 78 at Bellwood Oaks Golf Club in Hastings.

• The Albert Lea boys’ and girls’ track and field teams each had an athlete take first place and qualify for state at the Section 1AA meet at Lakeville South. Ethan Marquart took home the title with a time of 9:32.68 in the 3,200, with Chrissy Monson finishing first in the 3,200 with a time of 11:24.28

 

This year

• It will be quite a week for incoming Albert Lea Lakers catcher Jacob Kaiser. At 11 a.m. Sunday, his collegiate team from Iowa Western Community College of Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is 48-9 on the season, plays Connors State College of Warren Oklahoma, which is 48-11, in the opening round of the NCJAA Division 1 Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. The freshman resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.