SirRoyal's Speech

Courtesy Photo by Stormie Sickler
Dickinson State freshman Dante Carter, right, leads the pack during the Blue Hawks Games in Miles City, Mont., on April 20.

Since the Frontier Conference started naming men’s and women’s track and field athletes of the week back in early April, Dickinson State has qualified 18 athletes for the NAIA national championship meet.

In the same time frame, the Blue Hawks haven’t had a single Frontier Conference athlete of the week.

Unreal.

However, DSU isn’t alone in this boat. Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon and College of Idaho, which have a combined 75 NAIA national qualifiers, all have no Frontier Conference athletes of the week.

Um … I think something is wrong.

Actually, there’s something really wrong. DSU, Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon and College of Idaho are the top four track and field programs in the Frontier Conference — based on athletes traveling to the national meet — and all have zero athletes of the week.

The one school which has had the most on the men’s and women’s side is Lewis-Clark State with 11 athletes of the week, including a clean sweep on April 8, which is nearly as many national qualifiers has the team has with 12.

Since the weekly award has been given out on April 8, only three different schools have won the award. The two other schools joining LCSC is Carroll College with 15 national qualifiers and University of Great Falls with five.

To put the awards into a long-term perspective, DSU didn’t win Frontier Conference men’s or women’s track and field athlete of the week during the indoor season either. That’s after Dante Carter, a freshman from Las Vegas, was a NAIA national champion in the 1,000-meter run.

Carter is one of many athletes who stick out in my mind and should have and could have easily been named athlete of the week multiple times. For example, Carter won the 1,500 run at the Tom Gage Classic at Colorado State against NCAA Division I and II athletes.

Another runner, which could have easily won the award on the men’s team is DSU sophomore and Dickinson High graduate Nathan Magstadt. In one week, he ran NAIA A standard times in the 110 and 400 hurdles, while also helping run one the fastest qualifying times in country for the 400 relay.

Not one. Not even an honorable mention for the Blue Hawks. DSU’s track and field program has three NAIA national championship banners hanging in Scott Gymnasium. And DSU can’t even get one Frontier Conference track and field athlete of the week. That is unreal.

One person said after Carter’s win at CSU, “Does Dante have to win an Olympic gold medal to be named athlete of the week.” I won’t lie, I laughed at the remark, but it might hold some truth.

What does DSU, Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon and College of Idaho, have to do to get an inch of respect from the Frontier Conference? Truth is that I don’t know.

Judging by the number of athletes that have been picked from the four schools, the coaches don’t either.

In the last couple weeks, I didn’t even want to open up the Frontier Conference track and field athlete of the week award emails. What is the point of opening the emails if there are three schools being picked? There isn’t one.

This is by no means is a negative connotation to DSU, Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon, College of Idaho, Rocky Mountain College, Westminster, Lewis-Clark, Carroll or Great Falls. The problem lies in the Frontier Conference itself.

If the conference was being balanced, there would be more than three schools to pick from for track and field athlete of the week award. I know at least four other schools.

Dickinson freshman Mike McChesney, middle back, skates through Hazen-Beulah defenders on Dec. 8 at the Dickinson Recreation Center. McChesney broke his left arm against Bismarck High on Dec. 18 and he’s looking to be back by the West Region tournament starting on Feb. 14.

Dickinson freshman Mike McChesney couldn’t have had a finer start to his high school career.

He helped the Midgets boys hockey team to a 4-1 record to start the season — the best start since the 2007 season when the team went 2-2 in its first four games.

“The start of the season was really fun,” McChesney said. “Starting the way we did, I couldn’t ask for anything more, especially with all the first-year players on the roster.”

However in his eighth game of the season against Bismarck High on Dec. 18, McChesney got pinned against the boards and suffered a broken left arm.

“I’ve never felt that type of pain before and I couldn’t move my arm,” McChesney said.

“It was loss for us,” Dickinson junior goalie Brett Schweitzer added. “It kind of crushed our team. We’ve been trying hard to stick with it and it will be a huge upgrade when he comes back.”

The pain took a toll both physically and mentally. McChesney’s promising freshman season came to halt.

Recovery time on a broken arm is at least six weeks, but McChesney plans to return by the West Region Tournament starting Feb. 14 in Bismarck. He started skating this week and he was eager to get back on the ice.

“It’s been tough sitting out, because you want to be out there helping your team,” he said. “When my doctor told me I could get back on skates, I was really excited. I’m able to do more stuff now.”

“I think he’s hoping to be back sooner than that,” Dickinson head coach Tom Folske added with laugh.

The freshman forward was on the first line with senior captain Brendin Steiner and senior alternate captain Jayden Mink. McChesney scored four goals in his first two games and currently has five goals and two assists in eight games.

“He was a big presence,” Steiner said. “Him stepping up to play with Jayden and I was a nice surprise for us. He was able to come out and play extremely well right away.”

Folske had no hesitation putting McChesney on either the top or second line.

“He’s been on a lot of teams and he’s always been the youngest on the team,” Folske said. “He’s always had to work the hardest that he could to prove that he belonged there. His skill set and his talent speaks for itself.”

McChesney might not be the biggest player on the ice, but he fought for every puck during every shift. Prime evidence is his two short-handed goals.

McChesney hasn’t been alone, learning the ropes in his first high school season. He has a handful of teammates doing the same. One of those players is Schweitzer, a junior goaltender, who took a year off to play basketball.

Schweitzer said McChesney might be out, but the freshman forward has a lot to offer the team, especially with three seasons left in his high school career.

“Mike is a great player,” Schweitzer said. “He’s got a lot of talent and he’s just fun to have around in the locker room.”

Replacing McChesney on the first line has been junior Alex Turcotte and senior Austin Krank, who moved from a defenseman to a forward. Turcotte began the season with a wide array of scoring opportunities, yet none of them found the back of the net. The junior forward finally turned the corner, scoring his first goal of the season against Minot on Dec. 15 on the top line. He now has two goals and three assists.

“We’ve switched up our line a couple times and it’s hard to find a rhythm,” Steiner said. “We’ve been having a hard time moving the puck in the offensive zone and scoring goals.”

As a team, the Midgets have hit a rough patch as of late, losing their last four games while being outscored 17-4. Dickinson is looking for a bounce-back performance against Bottineau-Rugby at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Dickinson Recreation Center.

“We’ve been working hard in practice and it just hasn’t been showing in the games,” Dickinson sophomore forward Matt Pavek said. “We just have to keep working hard and things will come to us.”

There was a different atmosphere as the Dickinson High hockey team stepped out onto the ice.

There was a crowd.

There was cheering.

There was just a different feeling.

It felt like the same atmosphere during the Bismarck Bobcats and Minot Minotauros NAHL hockey exhibition on Nov. 13.

Except this time, the fans were cheering for a group of 14 underclassmen and five seniors. The 19 players on the Midgets roster are seven more than last year.

“It gives guys time to rest and recover for the next shift,” Dickinson head coach Tom Folske said. “We’ve got the experience to help the younger kids along.”

Those underclassmen are good too. How good? Five out of the six goals were scored by sophomores and freshmen in a 6-0 shutout against Williston. The other goal was from junior Trevor Olheiser.

When Olheiser scored the opening goal in second period, the Dickinson Recreation Center had a little chatter.

It wasn’t until freshman Mike McChesney shoved in a rebound from senior Brendin Steiner when the place started getting louder.

“I knew Mike can play well,” Dickinson sophomore Mickey Folske said. “He’s outstanding player. He’s a different breed that’s for sure. I was expecting that from him.”

The more goals Dickinson scored, the louder the Rec Center became. Mickey Folske, the son of head coach Tom Folske, netted a pair of goals. Freshman Tate Martel and sophomore Andrew Heckman came on for the assists. Kass Dvorak added a goal in the second period.

“We are seeing our whole team working together,” McChesney said. “It’s not just one line doing all the work. It’s a whole team effort.”

Though the five seniors aren’t scoring goals, they are making the wheels turn. On McChesney’s two goals, senior captain Brendin Steiner had a two assists, while Jayden Mink had one assist.

“It’s nice, because Brendin and Jayden have a lot of experience,” McChesney said. “They can teach me to do the same thing when I get older, so I can help out the young kids too.”

The only apparent injury sidelining any player to start the season is to sophomore Collin Bren. The 6-foot-3 sophomore defenseman has a knee injury, but was walking around and stood in the Midgets’ bench during the game.

The win against Williston is nice, but like Tom Folske said in my Dickinson Press article — its only one step. But it’s a step in the right direction.

Dickinson can’t take this win and think it’s good enough. It’s good the Midgets opened the season with a win. But at the same time, the team is very talented that they will still have to battle day-in and day-out.

“This game (6-0 win over Williston) is one step,” Tom Folske said. “We have 20 more games in the regular season. This one step and they are all steps in earning respect.”

It will be important to keep the same level of intensity and keep the chip of being picked last in the state and in the West Region on their shoulders.

“No one likes to be picked last,” Dickinson senior goalie Jamison Gray said. “We just tried to make a statement on Tuesday.”

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