CHUCK BANDEL
Valley Press
Recent Stories
Trotters hot streak ends at tough divisional tourney
They began the year struggling, then caught fire toward the end, winning eight of fourteen games in the last month of the 2023 Montana high school softball season.
Lady Hawks 3rd at divisional track meet
So far, no one has figured out how to stop the Bigfork machine in Montana High School Class B track and field.
Otto Otnes answers the call as VFW chaplain
For Plains resident Otto Otnes, it was a simple matter of the door being knocked on and he answered the call.
COLUMN: Track and field standouts
In the years I’ve been covering high school sports, I’ve often extolled the talents and drive of the young folks I’ve had the pleasure to write about in Western Montana.
Free lunch builds fellowship among Plains veterans
As an experienced counselor who has given talks on such topics as suicide prevention, VFW Auxiliary member Angela Muse knew the value of getting folks together to talk.
Ellie Baxter 3rd at State B golf tourney
The present has been really good for the Thompson Falls women’s high school women’s golf team.
5 Lady Bobcats netters earn trip to state
Just one point in a whole tennis match.
Superior Bobcats claim 14C track titles
Two massive understatements from the District 14C track and field championships in Missoula this past weekend: The Superior Bobcats were in control, and Isabella Pereira had a good couple of days.
Plains Trotters carry momentum into tournament
Don’t look now, but the Plains Trotters may be breaking into a gallop.
Lady Hawks softball ready for Western B tourney
It was a busy week last week as the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks got ready for playoff softball action beginning this Thursday in Anaconda.
COLUMN: Chuck Taylor All-Star
There was no thought of making some kind of statement. Well, maybe just a bit.
Superior's Kovalsky launches into pole vaulting
Heading into his freshmen year a few years ago, Superior junior Lucas Kovalsky looked at pole vaulting and thought it looked like a lot of fun.
Local golfers tee off at Class C championships
The Montana State Class C golf tournament got underway Tuesday (May 16-17) with a pair of golfers from both St. Regis and Superior heading to the state finals in Great Falls after qualifying this past week at the Western Division tournament in Bozeman.
Baxter sisters headed to state golf tourney
The first state championship of the 2023 Montana high school sports season gets underway today (May 16-17) as a pair of Thompson Falls Lady Blue Hawks head to Shelby, joined by the Lady Hawks team in quest of a state title.
Lady Hawks 2nd at 7B championships
This has been the year of the Bigfork.
Plains-Hot Springs baseball has mixed results
In what looks more like a hockey record than a baseball record, the Plains-Hot Springs Savage Horsemen baseball team posted a 1-1-1 mark last week.
Plains-Hot Springs ace mows down 18 at Troy
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the word “dominate” means: to rule or control by superior power.
Lowe and Palmer lead Lady Hawks at Eureka meet
It could be said, tongue in cheek, that Lincoln County was not a very good host for last week’s Top 8 NW track and field meet at Eureka High School.
Superior’s Allen Ryan claims 3,200 win at Mid-Week meet
With district championships getting underway this weekend, last week was the final chance for several rained out or delayed events to do their thing in the world of Montana high school track and field.
Superior boys, Noxon girls lead local teams at Kim Haines Invite
With district, divisional and state track and field meets just around the corner, a good barometer for local Class B and C schools may have been this past weekend’s Kim Haines Invitational meet in Missoula.
Trotters upset Lady Hawks in softball rematch
The first time they played this year was the first game of the new season for both the Plains Trotters and the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks fast pitch softball teams.
Superior tennis sweeps Troy
They rallied together and won the match despite some disheartening news earlier in the week.
St. Regis' Jack Connolly posts low score on home course
In sports, defending the “home” turf, court, field, etc., is often a rallying cry.
COLUMN: Jock Talk
As the “civic-minded” — not to be confused with “simple-minded” — public servant I am, I thought it would be good to provide a simple guide to “Sports Terms, aka Jock Talk” for those who may be as confused about this strange language associated with games.
Cork-pulling invention earns Noxon student high honors at science fair
It is simple, says Noxon sixth grader Tracker Scarlett.
Trout Creek archery teams returns from nationals
They may not have won the Western National Archery tournament, but the group of young archers from Trout Creek most certainly did win something of equal value in the long run: the respect and support of their fellow Montanans.
Trotters rebound with pair of big wins
After a strange ending to a tournament the week before where the Plains Trotters softball team wound up losing two games, including one that endured a long delay, the Trotters got back on the winning track in a big way this past Saturday.
Savage Horsemen notch two more wins
By any measurement, this first season of Plains-Hot Springs baseball has been a good one.
Local girls shine at Top 10 meet in Missoula
The meet is a preview, in a way, of the rapidly approaching Montana State High School track and field championship competitions.
Fierce competition at Whitefish's ARM meet
There were some familiar things happening in this weekend’s Whitefish ARM Invitational track and field gathering.
Craftsman turns horns into functional art
Artisans and craftsmen can see things in a different way than most people.
Superior's Milender awarded wrestling scholarship
Decker Milender, Superior High School’s 2023 Montana state wrestling champion, is eager to get back to work.
Local athletes shine at tough Seely-Swan Invite
There were, as Thompson Falls track coach Trenna Ferris said, “29 teams and the competition was fierce.”
Lady Hawks softball improves to 8-3
The Lady Hawks softball team started this past week by breaking the hearts of the Heart Breakers. Twice.
Trotters outhit Ennis for softball win
Twelve games into the 2023 season and two things are clear for the Plains Trotters softball team: they can hit and their fielding has improved substantially.
Plains baseball blanked by powerhouse Polson
With all the rain coming down, a little rust could be expected?
COLUMN: Baseball memory
One of the great things about sports is the memories they can create.
Plains Invitational draws low scores
Some eye popping 18-hole scores were the rule of the day at the Plains Invitational golf tournament this past Friday at the Wild Horse Plains Golf Course north of town.
Paradise Sewer Board claims funds mismanaged
Call it, “Sewer Wars” 2.0: the Board strikes back.
U-19 boys soccer picks up wins; girls team tops Missoula
It was a mostly successful weekend for Clark Fork Soccer teams during a series of games at Amundson Sports Complex despite cold and windy Montana Spring conditions.
Alberton, Superior travel to Dilly Bar Invitational
With the season heading for midpoint despite several weather interruptions, track and field teams from throughout the area are getting a good look at their prospects, including some young up-and-comers.
Plains-Hot Springs baseball tops Browning
It was a week of extremes for the Plains-Hot Springs Savage Horsemen baseball team.
Thompson Falls boys and girls 2nd at Libby meet
Some names in local high school track are recurring at the top as the season gets in gear following a slew of weather related postponements in March and early April.
COLUMN: Take it slow
My old guy is about to emerge.
COLUMN: Hands off my sports
This planet that is now home to somewhere in the crowded neighborhood of 8 billion human beings by most estimates, is an amazing, if not crazy place.
Thompson Falls wrestlers earn All-American status
High school wrestling in this area, where Little Guy wrestlers get started at an early age, is often, quietly, the most successful local sport.
Trotters softball tops Troy for first victory
It was the Maddy Blood show Saturday in Troy as the Plains Trotters softball team picked up their first win of the year, 11-0 over the Lady Trojans.
Plains baseball outlasts Mission for first win
No doubt this was the result new coach Richard Powers was looking for from his new team.
Hawks' golfers tee off season
After a fifth-place finish during last year’s State B-C golf championships, Thompson Falls senior Ellie Baxter appears to be picking up where she left off.
Crabb named Class C coach of the year
There is a well-worn adage that goes “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”