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
We love that Bas-Skee-Ball
Scott Stone was posing for a photograph at “The Hangar,” as they call American Airlines Arena in Dallas, when an employee of the NBA Mavericks found him.
Legion preview: New faces for Lakers, Twins
Legion baseball season, whether you were ready or not, has begun in Northwest Montana and at this early, wind-whipped moment one thing is clear: The Mission Valley Mariners are salty.
Whitefish selects Bollweg as next football coach
Whitefish High School selected its next football coach Thursday, and the backstory for Brett Bollweg lines up nicely with the man he’s replacing.
Glacier surges past Flathead
First the Flathead Bravettes had a big inning, and then the Glacier Wolfpack had a bigger one. When the mud settled, Glacier had a rainy crosstown softball win Thursday, 17-6 over the Bravettes on the Wolfpack’s field.
Strong shoulders: Labrum hopes Wolfpack can turn softball season around
Sammie Labrum has a solid softball name, and it makes sense that as a senior she’s shouldering more of a leadership role for the Glacier Wolfpack softball squad.
Ells, Glacier boys prevail at end of long day
Flathead Bravettes forge a split of crosstown track
Sam Ells is used to long days, and Tuesday was one of those for the Glacier distance standout: The crosstown track and field dual with Flathead gave him a late-May menu with swirling winds to boot.
Zetooney zooms to second at MCPS Invitational
MISSOULA — The weather hasn’t cooperated very well with Montana’s spring sports, but on Saturday, a handful of Whitefish Bulldogs were able to hit the track for a second time.
Libby, C-Falls chase Northwest A softball crown
The Northwest A softball race should start shaping up soon, with defending State A champion Polson playing at Columbia Falls Thursday, hosting Ronan Friday and traveling to Libby Saturday.
Caleb Aland picked to lead Flathead football
Caleb Aland was named the new football coach for Flathead High School Wednesday, an event he didn’t imagine last summer while he was a seasonal worker in Glacier National Park.
Griz get going in second half of Maroon-Silver scrimmage
HAMILTON — Aaron Fontes made the play of the Montana Grizzlies Spring Game Friday, and it wasn’t his catch of a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kris Brown.
Pack of Griz that’s trimmed down to three
The last time we checked in with the Montana Grizzlies football squad during drills, it was last fall and there were five Glacier High products. Now there are three, which shows you even Silvertips have attrition.
Glacier’s Bernhardt balances books, band and the hurdles
The opening of the 2022 track and field season started well enough for Glacier’s Caleb Bernhardt, who smoothed through the 110-meter hurdles in 16.10 seconds.
Break out the gloves and eye black
A dozen years as a head football coach in California and another 18 as an assistant at the high school and college level have prepared Mark Kessler for this moment. Girls flag football is coming to Montana this August.
Class A track: Whitefish girls look to build on last year
What people may have overlooked with last year’s Whitefish girls team, which finished second to Laurel at the State A meet, was how young it was beyond senior standout Mikenna Ells.
AA softball: Glacier reloads for ‘22; Bravettes trending up
Three senior starters are gone but three All-State picks remain, so the Glacier Wolfpack softball squad doesn’t figure to fall far in 2022.
Pack boys, Bravettes tracking upwards
Glacier coach Arron Deck likes track and field, and not just for the relays and records.
Glacier selects Baker for volleyball program
A lot has happened in Courtney Baker’s life since she last stepped on a volleyball court.
Rendina comes out of state powerlifting meet with world’s best total
Jake Rendina, the Glacier High senior, got pretty crazy at Helena Capital High School last weekend. In the USAPL-sanctioned Montana State championships, he put up 391.3 pounds in the bench press, 628.3 in the dead lift and then got a rep in at 600.8 pounds in the squat.
COLUMN: The hunt for trophies — and free food
Two days ago Fin Nadeau was winning a State AA wrestling title. Yesterday Dougie Peoples was knocking down a 30-footer to win a State A basketball championship. Or maybe it just seems that way.
Pirates bring home third-place trophy
MISSOULA — First, Colton Graham got hot; second, Jarrett Wilson got hotter. Finally, thanks to a couple good bounces, Polson picked up a third-place trophy Wilson’s 24-point afternoon was critical to the Pirates’ 57-52 win over Hamilton in the State A boys basketball consolation game, at Dahlberg Arena.
State A boys: Polson nips Dillon in OT
MISSOULA — Colton Graham fueled a fourth-quarter comeback, Jarrett Wilson cashed in two steals for four overtime free throws, and Polson beat Dillon 53-52 in State A loser-out that ended on a miss from the line.
State A boys: Glendive nips Polson, 52-49
MISSOULA — There was foul trouble for their best player, a lack of 3-point shooting and still, the Polson Pirates were right there.
State A boys: Polson downs Havre to stay alive
Lewistown, Butte Central to meet for title
MISSOULA — Colton Graham scored 19 points and ignited a huge third quarter for the Polson Pirates, who went on to beat Havre 74-58 in a State A loser-out game Friday morning.
Billings Central girls heat up, beat Columbia Falls
The first-quarter defense was promising enough, but the Columbia Falls Wildkats didn’t take full advantage.
Bravettes, Wolfpack prepared for State AA
Vals and Vikes, Lions and Lady Hawks ready for State B
Wildkats draw Wednesday nightcap at State A
MISSOULA — The Columbia Falls Wildkats are the late show Wednesday, taking on Billings Central in the 8 p.m. nightcap on the first day of the combined State A tournament.
Colton Graham leads Polson Pirates back to State A
Colton Graham has a soft shooting touch, serious wide receiving skills, a horse named Champ and a 2006 Toyota Tacoma with only 150,000 miles on it.
Cummings steps down as Flathead football coach
Flathead High School activities director Bryce Wilson is on the hunt for another head football coach after he announced Thursday that Alex Cummings has resigned to take an assistant principal position at Kalispell Middle School.
Pack of 2: Glacier’s Gulick, Sorensen lead team into Western AA
The tandem of Bethany Sorensen and Sidney Gulick didn’t always work for the same side, not that elementary school athletics are all that cutthroat.
Hellgate boys handle Glacier
Ty Olsen leads Glacier with nine points
Knights get best of Bravettes again
The final score might have put a damper on the Flathead Bravettes’ Senior Night, but Sam Tudor found plenty to like about his team’s 45-28 loss to Missoula Hellgate.
Tougher duty for Pack boys, Bravettes
Crosstown II turned out like the original between Flathead and Glacier, though Thursday’s basketball matchups added a degree of difficulty.
Glacier’s Sullivan has big impact as a senior — in two sports
Connor Sullivan’s 3-point shooting may shock some basketball onlookers, but since the senior led the Wolfpack from beyond the arc a year ago, it shouldn’t.
COLUMN: A second chance, then third place, second and fourth
The goal, coming off an appearance in the 2021 State AA finals, was a state championship in 2022.
Braves, Bravettes again sweep state wrestling; Nadeau, Halverson win titles
Billings Senior’s boys gave it their all in front of a loud bunch of local wrestling fans at First Interstate Arena Saturday, but in the end the Brave Brawlers had too much.
Vasquez still on point to join exclusive group
Here’s to the first-timers, the third-timers, the all-too-rare four-timers.
Bravettes, Braves lead AA races at State
Through Friday’s action at the all-class State Wrestling Championships First Interstate Arena was the home of the Braves — and Bravettes.
Among the Brawlers, Poe-Hatten distinguishes himself
People around the Flathead Valley hear Noah Poe-Hatten, a junior standout for the Flathead Brave Brawlers, and think, “That’s a great wrestling name.”
Flathead teams are ready to defend wrestling titles
Flathead’s Brave Brawlers have another State AA title in sight at Billings MetraPark, but it won’t be easy.
Passion for the sport
Thompson Falls’ Thilmony closing in on third State B-C title
145-pounder has racked up 152 wins on the mat
Wins piling up for Windauer
Columbia Falls junior is ranked No. 1 in Class A at 138 pounds
Montana sends four Olympians to Beijing Games
With three freestyle skiers and a hockey player making the Olympic grade, you can call Montana a hotbed of (frozen) water sports.
Glacier girls pick up 2nd straight league win
Noah Fincher and Bethany Sorenson scored 13 points each, and the Wolfpack surged past Butte 42-37 Saturday for its second straight Western AA win.
Bravettes hold off scrappy Butte girls
The Flathead Bravettes got back on the win column Friday, which you might expect from an 11-1 team, and they dominated the boards, which makes sense when the opponent is missing its 6-foot-3 center.
Flathead, Glacier wrestlers gear up for AA Divisional
The Western AA Divisional wrestling meet is set for today and Saturday at Missoula Big Sky, with Flathead and Glacier taking a combined 49 boys and 45 girls into competition.
The older and younger of a class
College football signing day is already an interesting time, full of superlatives about the incoming classes that no doubt signal a rosy future for the program.
Knights squeeze past Flathead boys, 39-36
The way the fourth quarter was going for Joston Cripe, you half expected his desperation three-quarter court buzzer-beater to go in Saturday afternoon.
Whitefish football coach Ross stepping down
Chad Ross figured he might be done coaching a couple years ago, with his daughter Cailyn due to finish her collegiate volleyball career at Kean University.
Flathead handles Big Sky; unbeaten Hellgate waits
The Flathead Bravettes found a little different detour Thursday on their way to 10-0, and credit Missoula Big Sky for the unique defense approach and confident shooting.
COLUMN: Navigated her path like a true Legend
There was a time at Flathead High when Tess Brenneman was so busy, she more or less forgot to think about what’s next.