Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Sports at a Glance

All stories by Jean Schurman

Sports Talk - Welcome to my world Girls’ All-Conference and All-State Selections 2007-2008

Click for the new

Welcome to the Bitterroot Star and to the Sports pages. I’d like to welcome the new readers of the Bitterroot Star to the sports pages. Come on in, sit down and let’s talk sports.

Writing this, I feel somewhat like I am interviewing for a job and I guess I am. I want to be your eyes and ears on the sporting world here in this little corner of Montana, the Bitterroot Valley, and let me tell you, there are more and more sports happenings here all the time.

But first, a little about me. I am somewhat of a rarity here in the Bitterroot, a native - born and raised here. In fact, I live in the same house I grew up in on the outskirts of Victor, and that growing up was done quite a while ago! And by the way, I’m married to another native from Florence.

I graduated from Victor before girls basketball made its appearance in the 1970s but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t involved. I don’t think I missed a home game and not many away games either. My junior year, I was the statistician for Coach John Robinson and his basketball team. Little did I know taking stats all those years ago would come back to help me in this job.

After graduation, I moved to Bozeman where I attended Montana State University and received a degree in Agriculture Production-Animal Science. I was a Bobcat all the way and still am to this day. Although I did attend my share of football games, rodeo was the sport of the times.

Let me back up here. My folks owned a ranch west of Victor when I was born and I have some mighty fond memories of that time. From time to time I will tell you stories of growing up on that ranch. Most of the stories are little snippets of a bygone era that may seem like another world to many and bring a smile of remembrance to others. There are stories of day-to-day living and then there are the horse stories.

I don’t remember a time there wasn’t a horse or two or three in my life. My dad was a horse trainer and trader. My first memories are of horses coming over the hill. I began competing in rodeos at the ripe old age of six. So in addition to the sports, there will be an occasional column entitled ‘Fence Posts’ where I can share and compare the early Bitterroot and the agrarian lifestyle with this frenetic Bitterroot we live in today.

But, back to the sports. With six high schools in the valley, there are a lot of sports going on throughout the school year. I love high school sports. These young people put their hearts and souls into playing, not for money but simply for the love of the game.

When I started as the sports reporter for the Bitterroot Star 11 years ago, my son was still in school and this was a great way to follow his sporting career. Football, basketball, track. I was there for every whistle and score.

He has been out of school now for several years but I am still just as excited about each game as if he were out there playing. My heart hurts for the players when they have played their last game and I rejoice with them throughout their successes whether it be the first touchdown, goal or basket, or a state championship.

As the introduction to ABC’s Wide World of Sports used to say, I witness, and record, “The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat.” There are thrills and there are agonies right here in the valley. But mostly, there are memories being made, and I’ll give you a front row seat.

We also have a new feature we are hoping will get people talking even more about sports in the Bitterroot. If you log on to our webpage at www.bitterrootstar.com and then go to the sports pages, there is also a sports blog on that page. Let’s talk about the Falcons, Yellowjackets, Red Sox, Blue Devils, Pirates, Tigers or Bucs. If you have a lead, leave me a message. In short, let’s blog!

Welcome to the Bitterroot Star and the sports pages!

Southwest ‘A’ Conference

Anaconda, Corvallis, Dillon, Frenchtown, Hamilton, Stevensville

1st Team

Ali Hurley Sr Anaconda

Torrey Hill Soph Anaconda

Ashley Albert Jr Hamilton

Lisa Laslovich Soph Anaconda

Hayley Pettit Sr Dillon

2nd Team

Blaire Brookshire Fr Stevensville

Laura Geis Jr Frenchtown

Kirsten King Sr Anaconda

Jennifer Brown Jr Frenchtown

Shelby Russ Jr Frenchtown

Honorable Mention

Misha Trotter Soph Hamilton

Sunni Bleibtrey Sr Corvallis

Dayna Moerkerke Sr Hamilton

Grace Zitzer Jr Dillon

Annie Schultz Soph Hamilton

All-State

Ali Hurley Sr Anaconda

Torrey Hill Soph Anaconda

Ashley Albert Jr Hamilton

Southwest ‘A’ Coach of the Year

Maury Cook Anaconda