Special State Tournament Issue

MINNESOTA HORSESHOE PITCHERS'

Ringer Digest

Special State Tournament Issue - 2024

A Charter of the NHPA

Official Publication of the Minnesota Gopher State Horseshoe Pitchers' Association

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR

2024 MINNESOTA STATE CHAMPIONS !!!!

From the State Tournament Director

By Josh Olson

The 2024 State Tournament is in the Books!

As the Tournament Director, I would like to say THANK YOU to ALL the pitchers who participated in the State Tournament this year. I would like to Thank the Alexandria Horseshoe Club for stepping up to do the Concessions all weekend. Thank you to all the directors and officers that helped run shifts each day. Thank you everyone who participated in the raffle drawings we had going on this year; we raised a bunch of $$$ this year to help pay it forward and pay back the NHPF grant we received for the new electronics we purchased for the State Tournament this year.

We had some perfect weather this year for the Tournament which was nice compared to last year. Congratulations to all the State class champions, you pitched well and deserved it!

Congratulations to Jerry Hokkala who was inducted into the Minnesota Gopher State Horseshoe Pitchers Associations Hall of Fame Class of 2024, hope to see you back on the courts soon Jerry!

Finally, I would like to congratulate Jerry Werk on capturing his first Elders State Championship, and to Pat Stumpf for retaining her title this year as well! I also captured my 3rd Men’s State Title, thank you to everyone who congratulated me the last couple days!

Comments from Janet Larson:

I would also like to mention Wanda and Bruce Swenson who took the reins, along with the Alexandria horseshoe club, and stepped up to run the concessions, when I knew I wouldn’t be able to because of Al’s hip surgery. They did a great job!

Comments from Janet Roubinek

A huge thank you needs to go to Anna and Julie Pierce for all the raffle tickets they sold. Absolutely none of the 50/50 and meat raffle monies could have happened without them.

Thank you, Anna and Julie

And thanks to Helen for helping with tickets sales.

Comments from Jeff Washburn:

just to add a bit to also thank everyone who helped this weekend. I was asked by Janet yesterday to help count the money raised from the 50/50, meat raffle, and quilt raffle and was amazed at the totals. We did quite well, already surpassing the NHPF goal set for 2025. A BIG thanks to Janet for the work she did on the quilts.

Comments from Jerry LaBrosse:

Thank you to all of you who worked hard to make this tournament a success. Special thanks goes to Janet for doing a great job organizing all the tools we needed to run the event, and for the work she put into the quilt project, raising over $1000 towards the nhpf grant. And also to Josh for being able to fullfill his shift director responsibilities and still throw enough ringers to win another state championship ! And all the officers and directors who helped run shifts, judged, or kept score.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s State Tournament!

See you on the courts!

Josh

Elder's Champion --- Women's Champion --- Men's Champion

Jerry Werk-------------- Pat Stumpf --------------Josh Olson

Prelim Results

Championship Results

Mens Championship Class

L/R Nathan Dehkes, Josh Olson, Mark Smith, Russ Girtz, Eric Dehkes, Richard Kvamme, Joe Mueller, Matthew Henning

Mens Championship Recap

The Men’s Championship Class could be called THE LAST THROW

By Mark Smith

As 15 games would come down to someone winning or losing on the last throw.

Russ Girtz or President Girtz, Mark Smith, Matthew Henning and Eric Dehkes would be held off the podium by the three thugs at the top, Josh Olson, Nathan Dehkes and Rich Kvamme.

Russ was solid all day going 3-0 to start before losing to the three thugs. Then on the final game, had a great comeback against Mark to lock in fourth place.

Mark went 3 and 4 having a lot of close games come down to the wire to take 5th.

Matthew and Eric had almost identical days battling for every win or loss right to the end. Both Matthew and Eric had 5 games that would come down to a win or loss on the last throw!!

Matthew went 3 and 4 to take 6th and Eric 7th

About halfway through the championship class we had a little unneeded drama. Joe Mueller was removed from playing for his safety and the safety of those around him. Get some help Joe. Pacers were rounded up and play continued. Thank you, Pacers.

The Three Thugs

Rich had a really nice day taking out Mark on the last throw in game 1, losing to Nathan in game 2, then took down Josh in game 3. Rich beat Russ on the last throw, lost to Matthew on the last Throw then beat Eric by a penny to lock down 3rd place! Wow!

Nathan would go 5-0 to start strong, winning three of the five games on the last throw! He then lost to Mark on the last throw to set up the title match against Josh for the championship. Both went 5-1.

Josh would start the day strong with 59.09 game then snuck past Erick on the last throw. Josh’s only loss would come to Rich in game 3. In game 4 Josh would win another game on the last throw against Matthew before cruising through his last 3 games for the championship!

Congrats to all!

Womens Championship Class

L/R Pat Stumpf, Helen Hawkinson, Janet Larson, Michelle Foard, Anna Pierce, Jenny Lammers, Lori York

Womens Championship Recap

By Michelle Foard

What an exciting finish to the Women’s class. After all games were played it was a 3 way tie for first! Say what? How crazy is that?

Pat Stumpf was defending Champ. Helen Hawkinson was seeded in 2^nd. Janet Larson was seeded in 3^rd and Janet R rounded out the top 4. Move ups from B Class were Michelle Foard, Anna Pierce, Jenny Lammers and Lori York. All of these ladies that moved up are familiar with the championship round.

This was a tough group of women to pitch against. It doesn’t matter what spot they seeded in or what their average was because in any game things can turn quickly. Jenny Lammers made move up again. She just keeps pitching better and better. Lori York struggled a bit, but she is another one that can pull out a big win. She beat me on Sat. Anna Pierce is a fierce competitor we had a close back and forth game. I had 39 to her 38 and threw a 6 pack to win. Janet R is a solid competitor and did very well coming in 4^th. Helen is always tough competition and she can come on strong. Janet Larson former State Champion. I have only beat her in a handicapped tournament. We had a long game of 68 shoes. We were both missing. Finally Janet said where are our ringers. Then we threw 4 dead. It was a back and forth game, but I finally pulled out a win. Then Pat Stumpf she is a force to recon with. I felt pretty good about the game I pitched. I managed to get 24 points against her.

In the end Pat, Janet L and I each had 1 loss. So the 2 lower averages pitched which were Janet and I. I pitched a 50% and managed to win again against Janet. Then it was off to play Pat. I thought geez could I really win State? How crazy of a thought. Pat came out swinging. At 24 shoes she had 20 ringers. The points weren’t coming fast enough. I remember looking and Pat had 37 points. I thought just hang on she is gonna get tired and then you can score. Well that didn’t happen. Pat pitched a 71.05% game against me. She was on fire! So Pat Stumpf won her second Mn State Title! Congratulations to Pat and all the ladies for some tough competition.

Elders Championship Class

L/R Gary Boots, Tom Prokop, Jerry Werk, Bill Danielson, Ron Craigmile, Peter Heltunen, Myron Vanderweyst, Brian Wipper

Elder Men's Championship Recap

By Janet Larson

The Elder’s Championship group tends to be one that has a steady change of participants, but this year’s lineup returned only three pitchers from last year's group. Jerry Hokkala, who claimed his first Elder’s title last year, made the decision to retire while on top. Also missing from last year’s top five were Alan Larson, due to a hip replacement, Jeff Washburn with a recent shoulder strain, and Tim Brigner. The only rookie in the Elder’s Championship this year was Gary Boots. Having a great first year at 30’, he was good enough to slide in as the top seed. He did however come into this tournament with some championship experience having made it into the Elder’s Championship at the World Tournament in Kennewick WA just a few weeks ago. Tom Prokop and Jerry Werk, both second year Elders, were seeded 2nd and 3rd. Bill Danielson, who finished 3rd last year, pitched 55.20% in Elder B this year to claim first place and the first move up position. Also moving up from Elder B were Ron Craigmile, Peter Heltunen, and Myron Vanderweyst. Pitching nearly 9% over his average and getting first place in Elder C, Brian Wipper filled the final opening in this group.

Brian Wipper knew he would be facing an uphill battle, but luck was on his side. He upset Gary Boots in the first game and managed to win two more games. He had a close battle with Myron in the final game. Tied at 36, with the potential of getting his 4th win and a chance at 3rd place, Brian’s luck ran out and Myron beat him to 40 points.

Peter Heltunen, who came home from the World Tournament with a 3rd place trophy in Elder’s E, said his goal for this tournament was to win at least two games and go at least 40 shoes in every game. He accomplished both of these goals. Peter also managed to upset Gary in his second game, pitching 50% and had his best game against Ron in game seven at 55%.

Tom Prokop is another one who has been having a very good year, bringing home the 1st place trophy in Elder’s B at World’s and just missing the championship class there. This however, was not going to be his best day. He did have a good game against Peter in the third round and was getting up to his usual ability by round six when he unfortunately ran into Bill who had his best game of the day. In round seven he was part of the marathon game of this class, going 70 shoes with Gary. Although Tom ended up with 3 ringers less than Gary, he had ten more points, for the win!

Except for a couple of games, Gary and Ron both pitched well, but struggled to get the wins. Against each other, they had the best game of this division. Gary narrowly pulled out the win and Ron came up just one ringer short of both of them pitching over 60%. Gary battled long and hard in most of his games, with only one game going less than 50 shoes. He threw 402 shoes, 82 more shoes than Jerry, who threw the least. Ron was the only pitcher to pitch over his average. Gary would win the four way tie for 3rd place by pitching just 0.35% better than Ron. Myron, who was also part of the 4 way tie, was only a few ringers away from winning two more of his games.

Jerry and Bill were both undefeated after four rounds. Bill struggled in game five giving him his first loss. Jerry’s last two games would give him his toughest competition. Jerry got 34 ringers against Gary’s 30 ringers in round six for the win, which was the second best game of this group. His last game would be against Bill, where a win for Bill would force a playoff game. They would have a very close game all the way through. I heard a rumor that Sandy, Bill’s wife, was rooting for Jerry to win to avoid the playoff game. It may have helped, because Jerry managed to go undefeated in his first trip to the Elder’s Championship. Jerry had three games over 60%, with a high game of 66.67%.

Bill commented on how smooth the tournament was run and said that one of the highlights for him was the spectators, family and friends, that were cheering as the games were completed. Yes, he was aware that some family members were cheering for the other guy.

Although I sometimes get exhausted with the tough competition, I am very proud of these top three guys. Jerry and Gary are both from my Alexandria League and Bill comes out our way for many of our west central MN tournaments. Way to go guys!

Cathy and Marlys

Marlys, Cathy, Lu Cave

Ray Pierce Jr and Cathy

Elder Women Recap

By Cathy Ziemann

History was made at the 2024 Minnesota State Singles Tournament! For the first time there was a Women’s Elder Division.

A small, but mighty class as Lu Cave, Marlys Timm and I took to the courts, with our designated pacer, Tristian Dehkes. (Thank you Tristian!) We played a double Round Robin and the competition was fierce. Playing against these two women who have been so influential in Minnesota Horseshoes was an honor. They have been mentors and roll models to so many young women.

Lu was excited to be back competing in the State Tournament and Marlys was her usual steady, down to business competitor. It took everything I had to prevail and go undefeated. Between Lu, Marlys and myself, we have 90+ years as members of the NHPA.

We are grateful that the NHPA & MGSHPA have finally decided to create the Elder Women’s Division. Lu is thrilled that this division was created as she is now able to continue competing and Marlys told me that without this change she may have had to give up Horseshoes, and that would have left a little hole in her heart. Just because we women reach a certain age and lose a little strength, doesn’t mean that we are no longer competitive or vital to our sport.

Like Marlys, both Lu and I love our Horseshoe Family and hope to continue to competing for many more years. We encourage women of a certain age to register as Elder Women when renewing your 2025 membership. We had a few women who played as Elder Women in the St. Paul Ramsey league this year and it helped with their confidence and competitiveness. We are a part of Minnesota Horseshoe History and I can only say it is an honor to represent all the women who paved the way for us and who were our mentors.

Junior / Cadet Recap

Kelli Pierce : Junior Director

As many of you may know, I live in Hibbing and do not get the chance to watch many of the youth pitch until State. I have to rely on Eshoes, social media and talking to other pitchers to keep up on their progress. With that being said, watching these 8 Cadets and Juniors was the absolute highlight of my State 2024 weekend. Not only are they all amazing pitchers, they are amazing people. I personally witnessed multiple occasions of lifting each other up, cheering each other on and going out of their way to give each other sincere heartfelt compliments. After the sessions, the scorekeeper made it a point to find me and let me know how impressed she was at how respectful and polite this group was.

This is a group that we will all see in many future tournaments and at State - all I can say is watch out A Class!!!

Beau, Molly, Kylianna, Brady, Tristan, Jacob, Cooper and Elijah- each of you should be as proud of yourself as I am! I look forward to 2025 and the potential you each have.

Juniors

1- Tristan Dehkes

2-Elijah Strandquist

3- Jacob Wimmer

4- Cooper Devine

Cadets

1- Beau Dehkes

2-Brady Kowalczk

3-Kylianna Piguet

4-Molly Dehkes

Junior Championship Class

Elijah Strandquist, Tristan Dehkes, Jacob Wimmer, Cooper Devine

Cadet Championship Class

Brady Kowalczyk, Beau Dehkes, Kylianna Piquet, Molly Dehkes

2024 State Class Winners

Women's A

Michelle Foard, Pat Stumpf, Janet Larson

Women's Class B

Anna Pierce, Michelle Foard, Carrie Kowalczy

Women's Class C

JColleen Szabo, Deborah Thomson, Christy Schilling (missing)

Women's Class D

Sue Pierce, Kelli Hanson, Hayley Engebretson

Elder's Class A

Bill Danielson, Jerry Werk, Gary Boots

Elder's Class B

Ron Craigmile, Bill Danielson, Peter Heltunen

Elder's Class C

Roger Lodermeier, Brian Wipper, Robert Ciaciura

Elder's Class D

Les Erickson, Rick Wright, Art Longen

Elder's Class E

Richard Hunstadm, Gary Freese, Mike Creech

Elder's Class F

Mike Slininger, Randy Werk, Erwin Tischer

Longevity Award presented to Erwin Tischer for completing 47 total MGSHPA State Tournaments

The Tischer Family

Brian and Linda Deunow, Erwin, Leanne and Michael Reinhardt

Men's Class A

Nathan Dehkes, Josh Olson, Richard Kvamme

Men's Class B

Joe Mueller, Eric Dehkes,

Richard Kvamme

Men's Class C

Brian Tiedemann, Barry Schilling, Tom Strandquist

Men's Class D

John Hustings, Terry Clementson, Glenn Skeie

Men's Class E

Trevor Teich, Michael Timm, Henry Brown

Men's Class F

Dave Anderson, Jameson Klein, John Engebretson

2024 State Banquet

Top Ten Pitcher of the Year

L/R Josh Olson, Marvin Timm(for Mike Timm), Jerry Werk, Gary Boots, Pat Stumpf, (not shown, Mike Slininger, Brad Heth, Scott Chalmers, Al Larson) and on the end

Frank Stinson Award Winner

Brian Wipper