FRITZ NEIGHBOR
SPORTS EDITOR
Fritz Neighbor is the Sports Editor for the Daily Inter Lake. He oversees sports coverage across the Flathead Valley, including high school athletics, youth sports, and regional competitions. In his leadership role, he helps shape the newspaper’s sports coverage and editorial direction. Fritz’s column, Full Count, taps into his decades’ long career covering Montana sports. You’ll also see Fritz sharing his thoughts and insights on the Big Sky Now podcast.
IMPACT: Fritz’s work celebrates the athletes and teams that bring Northwest Montana communities together.
Recent Stories
A long time coming: Flathead beats Skyview 27-0
The Flathead Braves started strong, finished stronger and put away a football victory Friday that was two-plus years in the making.
Flathead, Glacier open football seasons
Braves are home against Skyview; Pack takes on Belgrade at MSU
Braves are home against Skyview; Pack takes on Belgrade at MSU
QB-rich Western A is ready to rock
The Western A was filled with excellent quarterbacks in 2021, and not much has changed as teams gear up for their season openers Friday.
Bigfork, Eureka chase title in wild Western B
“I’ll say it loud from the rooftops,” Eureka coach Trevor Utter said. “The West is by far the toughest conference.”
Griz’s Graves still doing it all
Garrett Graves has already done a little bit of everything for the Montana Grizzlies — quarterback, running back and receiver included — and 2022 should be no different.
Whitefish, Polson giving chase in A golf
The Laurel Locomotives are favored to keep rolling along, but the golfers in Whitefish and Polson might have something to say.
Wolfpack scrimmage to get new receivers, backs open
Twenty-five seniors are gone from last year’s 8-4 Glacier football team, but the Wolfpack won’t be a rebuilt squad at its Navy and Green game tonight at Glacier High (6 p.m.).
Flathead’s QB spot up for grabs
There is some competition at certain positions for the Flathead Braves, so tonight’s Black and Orange scrimmage could tell new coach Caleb Aland a lot more about his football team.
Griz No. 37 jersey legacy takes left turn
“The Spirit of Montana… Hard work, dedication to the team, and tough play on the gridiron.”
Shorthanded Range Riders fall, 6-4
The Glacier Range Riders were dangerously close to stacking wins, and then got another dose of bad luck.
Drew Brees, local star athletes greeted by huge crowd at Cares Fair
With time running down, Drew Brees called an audible. After a solid two hours of signing autographs Wednesday at the World Gym Cares Fair, the New Orleans Saints legend took a look at the crowd still amassed inside the World Gym, and moved out of the pocket.
Glacier first baseman Wofford kicks HR swing into gear
The first thing you might notice about Brody Wofford, the Glacier Range Riders first baseman, is the flow.
Whitefish High grad Grattan wins 67th Montana State Seniors
Brad Grattan has Whitefish Lake Golf Club listed as his home course, but notes he plays more at Buffalo Hill.
Non-Dodger fan recalls an artful game
All I could really remember about the game was where I watched it: Red’s Bar.
The Kats of '83
Players recall landmark girls basketball title
In the end Columbia Falls played AA starting in 1980-81, and if others were worried about having the classification’s lowest enrollment (a reported 725 in 1980), well, let’s just say the girls were ready.
Column: On the outside of Legion ball, a Premier arm
The question was posed of Ty Schwaiger that, given his arm strength, has he told teammate Fynn Ridgeway that the wrong guy plays QB for the Whitefish Football Bulldogs?
Astros sign righty VanWey away from Range Riders
The Glacier Range Riders lost their opening day starter Tuesday, and for the right reason: The Houston Astros signed right-hander Logan VanWey to a Major League development contract.
AA Lakers have a southpaw leader in Kostya Hoffman
Kostya Hoffman readily tells you that baseball is his sport, and his three years pitching with the Kalispell Lakers AA squad bears that out.
Mustangs end Riders’ streak at 3
The Glacier Range Riders were a couple wall-scrapers from a four-game winning streak, but their latest rally fell short in a 10-9 loss to the Billings Mustangs Thursday at Flathead Field.
A Ruthian record for the Royals
It’s been tough being a Kansas City Royals fan, I am not going to lie.
Miller’s Time: 2019 Red Sox draftee chasing baseball drive
When the Boston Red Sox released Dean Miller after 83 minor league games, they probably figured they’d seen enough of the 6-foot-3, 235-pound outfielder to make such a judgment. Miller wasn’t so sure.
Column: Rockets, flames, power-hitting and great hair
A lot has changed in seven years, I realized, as I drove around the 405.
Riders in the Storm
If you are a baseball player born and raised in the Pelican State, you’ve seen some weather. Not like this.
Bulldogs’ Bodie Smith enjoying Shrine week
One of the many cool things about Montana’s annual Shrine Game — the 75th game is Saturday night in Great Falls — is that the rosters are announced on Dec. 25.
Bigfork standout Guse pulls double duty during All-Star season
Braeden Guse’s competitive fire burned hot last fall, when he and the Bigfork Vikings kept winning football playoff games on the road and earning a shot at the state title.
Range Riders open Flathead Field with 9-4 loss
It was rainy, it was cold and it was cut short by a third. The first-ever home game for the Glacier Range Riders didn’t go exactly as planned, including the final score (called after six innings with Billings up 9-4). But the Pioneer League’s expansion team showed off a jewel of a yard to several hundred hardy baseball fans excited about pro baseball.
Ronan, C-Falls, Glacier and ‘a good time’
Kris Salonen reiterated this week that she loved basketball more than track as a high school athlete at Great Falls High. “But I was better at track, so I did that,” she said.
Stellar jumps, sprints — and hoodies
Covering track and field is not supposed to hurt, but here I am nursing a swollen knee and it wasn’t for any sort of, you know, effort.
Glacier boys garner silver
BUTTE — The Glacier Wolfpack had the dogs to win a second State AA boys track and field championship Saturday, at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
State A track: Whitefish grabs gold, bronze
Around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the State A track and field championships, the Whitefish girls found themselves in a tight spot: They were among four teams within three points.
State AA track: Ells cruises to 1,600 title, Pack sitting fourth
BUTTE — In case anyone had a doubt, the 1,600 is still Sam Ells’ jam. The Glacier High senior cruised to victory in his favorite race Friday, at the State AA track and field championships at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
Whitefish girls, boys sitting third at State A track
BUTTE — Brooke Zetooney and Hailey Ells finished neck-and-neck in their one final on Friday at the State A track and field championships. No surprise there.
Whitefish girls, Glacier boys hope to strike gold in Butte
The State AA and A track meets are, for one of the few times in memory, being held in the same venue Friday and Saturday: Butte’s Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
Whitefish’s Holmquist excels in technique-heavy shot put
Matt Beckwith, longtime throwing coach at Whitefish High School and a 160-foot discus thrower in his high school days, knows the good ones don’t come around very often. In Talon Holmquist, the Bulldogs have a shot putter that looks the part (6-foot-6, 245 pounds) and backs it up.
Converted catcher finds room to roam
On May 10, in the last inning of a non-conference softball game, Flathead’s Macy Craver came up big: She drove a 1-1 pitch out to right-center for a grand slam.
Glacier, C-Falls confident heading to state tourneys
Familiar foes could serve to give the Glacier Wolfpack and Columbia Falls Wildkats confidence heading into the respective state softball tournaments.
Range Riders set for first Pioneer League game
June 14 is home opener
Ells doubles up, Wolfpack second to Sentinel boys
MISSOULA — The distance double happened for Sam Ells Saturday, and should the Glacier standout run a solid 800 race next week — he plans to — the Wolfpack might find gold in Butte.
Western AA divisional: Bernhardt burns up a cold 300s
MISSOULA — The patch of blue sky sitting over MCPS Stadium disappeared, the wind picked up and Caleb Bernhardt took off.
Fisher, Wildkats enjoying big season
Aletheia Fisher figures to teach middle school math someday, but it doesn’t take algebra to crunch Columbia Falls’ softball numbers.
Labrum scores six for Pack
In the battle of crooked numbers that was Tuesday’s crosstown softball game at Kidsports, Flathead ran out of them early and Glacier kept them coming.
Black and Blue rules again
New faces that are familiar in other sports showed up for the Black and Blue this spring, and helped keep up the Flathead Valley rugby club’s winning ways.
Flathead’s Zink sees familiar faces all around his favorite event
Dylan Zink can look at the rankings on athletic.net and see all the talented triple jumpers on this side of the Continental Divide.
Glacier senior Kauffman leads AA in triple jump
There was a time when Tate Kauffman was strictly an 800-400 runner, and it was fine. Not superlative, but fine.
Polson too much for Bravettes
POLSON — Carli Maley homered and drove in seven runs, and Class A power Polson topped AA Flathead 15-5 in a softball game shortened to five innings by the mercy rule.
Wolfpack boys, Bravettes win Archie Roe
Saturday was windy at times, rainy at others, and there was plenty of the usual at the 43rd renewal of the Archie Roe Invitational track and field meet at Legends Stadium.
They’ll play: Western schools excited for MHSA baseball
The Montana High School Association’s addition of baseball as a spring sport brought with it a big dose of enthusiasm tempered with a splash of realism.
Sugar Ray, Iceman and a nerd alert
George Gervin started his professional career in something called the Continental Basketball Association, which is where Micheal Richardson more or less ended up. The CBA ended in 2009, and Richardson — the former Griz hoop standout with the meteoric NBA career — spent the last two years of its existence coaching the Lawton-Fort Sill (Okla.) Cavalry.
Ronan’s girls win basketball trip through ‘Alaskan Nets’ documentary
The Ronan basketball teams are headed to Alaska.
Range Riders start hitting town in a week
First-year Pioneer League team begins season May 23
In one week 45 baseball players, give or take, will be in Kalispell preparing for a short training camp, with the goal of playing in the Pioneer League.