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Sports Memories by Tom Jones

10 years

• The Albert Lea Tigers baseball team opened their season at Hayek Field with a 4-3 win over Faribault. Jakob Kilby had two hits and pitched five innings, striking out five Falcon batters.
• The Albert Lea softball team opened their season on the road in Faribault and defeated the Falcons 15-7. Hanna Schilling picked up the win, pitching 4 2/3 innings while striking out two. Taylor Thompson added three hits and two RBIs.
• Albert Lea Tigers swimmer Lindsey Horejsi was named the Class A Swimmer of the Year at an event held at the Prom Center in Oakdale.
• The St. Clair girls’ golf team defeated Alden-Conger on a tiebreaker as the teams both shot a 248. Ellynn Johnson shot a 56 to lead the Knights.

20 years

• The Glenville-Emmons boys’ and girls’ golf teams hosted Lyle/Austin Pacelli at the Northwood Country Club with the boys; winning 177-195 while the girls were defeated 233-278. Luke Ellingson led the boys with a 43 and Brianna Sanderson led the girls with a 63.
• The Albert Lea Tigers softball team only managed seven hits as they fell 7-0 and 7-1 at Rochester Century. Kelly Royce scored Albert Lea’s only run in the doubleheader.
• Greg Peterson picked up Albert Lea’s lone win at No. 3 singles as the Albert Lea boys’ tennis team under coach Tom Dyrdal was defeated 6-1 by Mankato West.

50 years

• Alden-Conger’s Reid Seipp, who had been the Most Valuable Player for the Blackhawks football team in the fall signed a letter of intent to play football at Waldorf College in Forest City.
• Bruce Brothers, the high school sports editor with the Minneapolis Tribune was scheduled to speak at the Emmons annual sports banquet that was being held at the Emmons Lutheran Church.
• Hank Aaron made his return to Milwaukee as a member of the Brewers on a 37-degree day at Milwaukee’s County Stadium.
• The Albert Lea boys’ track team opened their season by setting eight meet records in an 80-75 win over Winona at Hammer Field. Dan Fjelstad took first place in the mile run with a time of 4:37.1.
• Mike Curry, Steve Langemo, Mike Pappas, Tom Nelson and Roy Page were participating at spring football practice for head coach John Coatta at Mankato State College.
• The Albert Lea boys’ tennis team under coach Wayne Grinnell was defeated 3-2 by Austin Pacelli in a meet that was held at the Lea College Fieldhouse.
• At the Glenville sports banquet, Most Valuable Player honors went to Larry Carroll in wrestling, Maureen Adams in girls’ basketball and Dwight Greibrok in football and boys’ basketball.
• Nolan Ryan struck out seven batters over eight innings as the California Angels defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-3 in the Twins home opener played in front of only 11,909 fans at Metropolitan Stadium.
• The Albert Lea girls’ track team took second place at a triangular meet held in Austin. Kathy Pierson took first place in the 100 and 200-yard dash events and Marilyn Claassen took first in the shot put.
• In the quarter-final play-offs of the World Hockey Association, the Hartford Whalers defeated the Minnesota Fighting Saints 5-2. Gary Gambucci and Wayne Connelly scored goals for the Saints.

Alumni update

Blake Ulve, a 2021 graduate of Albert Lea High School, recently completed his freshman season as a forward on the St. Norbert College hockey team out of De Pere, Wisconsin, where he scored five goals and added 11 assists for the Green Knights in 29 games. At their awards banquet, he was the recipient of the Kyle Jones Freshman of the Year Award.