OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Small world
Several staff members at Minneota Public School are quite familiar to me, but not because of their current location. It's because of their former location.
For 27 years, I was a sports reporter/sports editor at the West Central Tribune, a daily newspaper in Willmar that covered 25 school districts that involved over 50 communities.
The staff members I covered in sports played for the Cardinals, Jaguars, Braves and Wolverines. Now they are all Vikings.
Minneota Activities director Patty (Erickson) Myrvik played for Willmar, and teachers Sarah (Illies) Stassen played for Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Emily (Jensen) Citterdahl for Benson, and Tiffany (Knott) Johnson for MACCRAY (Maynard-Raymond-Clara City).
"So many of us from somewhere near Willmar. Small world," said Stassen.
I've now written about, or will soon be writing about, many of their children.
Myrvik grew up in the small town of Blomkest, south of Willmar. She played basketball, volleyball and softball in high school. In softball, she developed into one of the top pitchers in the state, striking out nearly 500 batters in her career while leading the Cardinals to a Class AA state runner-up finish in 1994. Her father, the late Dick Erickson, was a phenomenal fastpitch hurler who led teams to the nationals several times.
Myrvik graduated from Willmar High School in 1994 where she was a varsity softball player for five seasons, basketball for two seasons, and volleyball for two seasons. The basketball team placed third at state in Class AA her senior year.
She is in her second year as the Activities Director at Minneota.
Patty's husband, Matt, is the head wrestling and assistant football coach at Minneota. They have three children, Owen, 13 (8th grade); Taryn, 11 (6th grade); and Jacob, 9 (4th grade).
Stassen grew up on a farm outside of Elrosa. The 1996 BBE graduate earned 10 letters in sports at BBE. She was a four-year varsity basketball player, three-year varsity softball player and three-year volleyball player for the Jaguars.
Sarah, a third-grade math and science teacher is now in her 24th year at Minneota, landing the job right out of college.
She now lives in Ghent with her husband, Mike. They have three children, Ireland, a freshman at Southwest Minnesota State University; Creed, a freshman at Minneota; and Jagger, a sixth grader at Minneota.
Citterman was a 12-time letterwinner for the Benson Braves, where she graduated from in 2006. She was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball as a five-year varsity player from the 2001-02 season to the 2005-06 season. She also was a four-time varsity softball player, and spent three years on the varsity volleyball team.
Emily is in her fifth year as a seventh-grade math teacher at Minneota after spending six years teaching second grade at Ivanhoe before that. She is also in her fourth season as an assistant volleyball and softball coach.
She and her husband, Brock, have four sons, Blake, 11; Nolan, 9; AJ, 7; and Carter, 8 months.
Johnson, a 2001 graduate of MACCRAY High School, was a six-year varsity softball player and one of the all-time strikeout leaders as a pitcher for the Wolverines. She also was on the volleyball team for six years and also played basketball for one season. She grew up in Raymond.
Tiffany is in her third year as a PreK-12 social worker at Minneota High School. Prior to that, she was a high school social worker at Dawson-Boyd High School.
She and her husband, Brett, also a 2001 MACCRAY graduate, have three children, Ella, a senior; Emerson, a sophomore; and Hadley, a fourth-grader.
I remember each of them as outstanding athletes and quality people. Minneota is fortunate to have them.
One more played vs. Mudhens
I was surprised when I heard the introductions for the Mudhens' state amateur baseball tournament game against Elrosa on Saturday in Litchfield. Leading off for the Saints and playing center field was Kevin Kuefler, an outstanding athlete for BBE that I also used to cover for the Tribune before he graduated in 2010.
Kuefler is the head basketball coach at Sauk Centre. His former assistant coach was current Minneota elementary principal Trent Johnson.
Johnson was on the opposing chalk line at the baseball game being introduced as a member of the Mudhens.
The two are good friends and exchanged pleasantries after the game.
Bug Square rules
The Boxelder Bug Days committee is requesting "No pets, backpacks, bicycles, skateboards or scooters in the Big Square during Boxelder Bug Days from Friday, Sept. 8 to Sunday, Sept. 10.