October 2024

Wayne Cook and Brian Langeland will join a number of individuals with local ties to be inducted into the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame at the 34th annual Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame Banquet Saturday evening at Jackpot Junction Casino in Morton.A total of 19 individuals will be honored in the player, manager, umpire, sponsor, promoter, administrator, organizer, volunteer or media category with the event biennially recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of softball.Along with Cook (Umpire/Promoter) and Langeland (Player), Nick and Ann Guetter (Sponsors), Tony Price (Player) and Jack Reese (Player) of Wabasso and former 1969 Redwood Falls high school graduate Lee Patten (Player/Manager out of Bemidji/Hutchinson) will all be inducted.The notable name Cook will be one of those inducted under the Umpire/Promoter category and locals will recognize “Cookie” as a longtime umpire in the area.Cook began his love for softball as a kid watching his uncles Mel and Don Cook play for Leavenworth in the mid-60s.Later when he was attending Southwest Minnesota State University alongside twin brother Warren, the duo would coach and also play for the East College Drive Merchants in Marshall.In his final years of college at SMSU - after a brief stint in St.

It was another strong outing for the state-ranked boys and girls cross country teams as the girls finished first and the boys second at the Big South Conference Meet held in Blue Earth.The Cardinal girls dominated their way to yet another small school title as they finished with four of the top six finishers on the way to 23 team points, easily outdistancing second place Luverne (23-60) in the seven team race.The Cards top four runners all set personal bests led by junior leader Addie Thomes who finished first overall (third including all the schools) with her time of 18:50.Ellie Nelson knocked 16 seonds off of her prior best to place second (sixth overall) in 19:01, Lola Luze took 21 seconds off of her previous best to finish third (eighth overall) in 19:17 and Reese Prescott added a personal best to finish sixth (17th overall) with a time of 19:47.Newcomer Mary Slavin continued to be a big key for the Cards as the number five runner as she finished 11th with a time of 20:55, Heather Panitzke had her best race of the season setting a personal best by nearly 40 seconds to finish 15th in 21:17 and Madi Munsell was 22nd in 22:32.In JV action, Vanessa Johnson (22:08), Addie Ewald (22:14) and Aleena Vestouvanh (22:22) went 1-2-3 respectively with Annie Lunde fifth and Klaira Horejsi seventh.Big South Conference Small School Girls Team Results - Redwood Valley 23, Luverne 60, JCC 85, Pipestone 125, St.