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
Full Count: I am here not to bury Donovan
On Nov. 25, 1985 a youngish reporter, in his Monday duties writing about Griz football for the Montana Kaimin student newspaper, traipsed into Larry Donovan’s office.
Offenses highlight Maroon-Silver scrimmage
MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies’ annual spring game featured perfect weather, a respectable crowd and more than its usual amount of fireworks Friday.
AA Lakers start season Saturday
The Class AA Kalispell Lakers start their American Legion baseball season Saturday, and the games won’t be against some pushover.
Griz ready to wrap up spring drills
The final workout of Montana’s spring football drills is Friday evening, and takes the form of a scrimmage set inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium at 6 p.m.
Full Count: Is there an O-lineman in the house
Dillon Botner felt he had a good reason to step away from football after a senior season in which he made three starts on the offensive line: Med school.
Hurdler, he is
Glacier's Ethan Anderson has grown to love his signature events
The question for Ethan Anderson coming out of middle school was: Is he a hurdler, or isn’t he?
Former Bravettes star Hildal dies in police shooting
The Flathead High School family received tragic news out of Ohio on Thursday that former basketball player Kesley Hildal died in a police shooting April 1.
Track and field: Building (to) Legends
Flathead, Glacier rebuild rosters
The Flathead and Glacier track teams have been salty of late, with Flathead’s boys taking second and Glacier’s fourth at last year’s State AA meet, and the Bravettes getting fourth on the girls side.
Whitefish, Columbia Falls still powers in Northwest A track
Whitefish’s girls and boys track and field programs were second and third at the State A meet last year, and Columbia Falls’ boys were a narrow second to Corvallis.
Full Count: 'Only Game in Town' turns 20
This coming Sunday at Bozeman’s Historic Ellen Theatre, at 1:30 p.m. in its upstairs ballroom, Wally Kurth and Montana PBS will present a viewing of Class C: The Only Game in Town.
Prep tennis: Whitefish ready to battle tough Northwest A
Whitefish has proud tennis programs, with seven state titles for the boys and three for the girls, and the Bulldogs plan to cover all corners this spring.
Glacier’s Presley flips commitment to Montana State
Jackson Presley, the decorated Glacier High quarterback who will be a senior this fall, has flipped his college commitment from Boise State to Montana State.
2-time softball champion Wildkats reload
Columbia Falls went 25-4 last softball season, and four of the principals in the Wildkats’ heart-stopping repeat as Class A champs have departed: third sacker Haden Peters, pitcher Maddie Moultray, catcher Demye Rensel and coach Dave Kehr.
Full Count: Vegas lights and press box fights
The passing of Norm Clarke, the eye patch-wearing Terry native who spent a lifetime in newspapers, has brought a flood of eulogies and remembrances from across the state and country.
Rams overtake Ronan for third
BILLINGS — For two and a half quarters Ronan had the momentum Saturday night, in its rematch battle with Billings Central in the State A boys basketball consolation game.
Valkyries’ ride ends with loss to Havre
BILLINGS — The rematch with Havre didn’t go any better, but the Bigfork Valkyries still had quite a ride.
Lockwood holds off Browning in A semifinal
BILLINGS — The burst belonged to the Lockwood Lions Friday.
Ronan Chiefs stay alive at State A
BILLINGS — The Ronan Chiefs got Chad Higgins back, unleashed Wade Qualtier and lived to see another day at the State A boys basketball tournament at the First Interstate Arena Friday.
Vals stay alive; C-Falls' Kemppainen sets record
BILLINGS — The Bigfork Valkyries weren’t ready to go home, especially Braeden Gunlock.
Blue Ponies slow Bigfork girls offense at State A
BILLINGS — The Bigfork Valkyries’ hunt for a fourth straight trophy got a little tougher Thursday, thanks to another perennial power: The Havre Blue Ponies
Runnin' into the semis
Reevis, Browning heat up to beat Red Devils
BILLINGS — Browning grinded it out and got the burst; Ronan needed a couple more boards or fewer sailed passes.
Northwest teams to be tested in Billings
Three more days will decide our state basketball champions and over in Billings, the Class A is going to be a test for the Northwest entrants.
Full Count: Missing out on magic of Divisionals
There are plenty of compelling reasons why there are no divisional basketball tournaments in Class AA. Dustyn Franchini-White, Avery Chouinard and I have our reasons why there should be.
The unusual launch of an All-American
Hannah-Gray Petro’s journey to the University of Vermont was, more or less, launched from a trampoline.
Missoula's 3 AA schools adding flag football
The Kalispell flag football teams are getting new neighbors.
Dankers resigns as Glacier wrestling coach
Ross Dankers, the wrestling coach at Glacier High School the last 12 seasons, has resigned from that position, Glacier activities director Mark Dennehy announced Thursday.
Double-Koss'd: Siblings lead Lions, Lady Lions
It figured that the Eureka Lions boys basketball team, coming off an 18-6 season bolstered by seven seniors, would get younger.
Full Count: Fulfilling trip to Western B for Trojans
When Cody Orr was asked the last time the Troy boys basketball team made divisionals, he understandably hit a bit of a dead zone.
Ramey aims for success
Three years ago Reese Ramey was part of a youth movement in the Glacier girls basketball program, one of six freshmen on the Wolfpack’s junior varsity/varsity roster, with a few — Ramey, Charlotte Osler, and Kenedee Moore — getting quite a few varsity minutes.
Column: Painting a pretty volleyball picture
Jaimie Nelson might seem like an unlikely pick to be Glacier High’s next volleyball coach, in that it’s her first varsity coaching job at the age of 48.
Mac Roche approved as Flathead grid coach
The Flathead Braves have their new football coach, and he started building his pedigree not far from Legends Stadium.
In Smith, Bravettes have 155-pound trail blazer
The sport of wrestling may have started as a nice diversion for Bridget Smith but now — three years in — the Flathead athlete has become a family trailblazer.
For Ahner it's an honor to wrestle, at any weight
To understand how things could be different for Mark Ahner, take a look at his freshman, sophomore and senior wrestling seasons.
Brawlers, Wolfpack wrestlers set for divisionals
Flathead High is the host with the most times two this weekend, as the Western AA Divisional takes over the gym Friday and Saturday.
Column: Sherwood caught the bug early
Basketball fans in Kalispell should remember that George Sherwood was a centerpiece of the Flathead Braves team that made a surprising run at the 2012 State AA championship.
Powerful Lyric
Flathead senior Ersland is putting up big numbers
There are a handful of reasons Lyric Ersland is having the season he’s had so far for the Flathead basketball team, but the biggest is he decided something had to change.
Butte holds off Glacier girls
Sophomore Cadence Graham led all scorers with 26 points and guided the Butte Bulldogs to a road victory of the Glacier Wolfpack 61-52 at the Wolf Den Friday night.
A Top 10 full of dudes and dudettes
So much happened that I was a witness to, this thing had to be written.
Fast, if not furious
Diesel Thompson is a senior go-captain for the Brave Brawlers
The Flathead Brave Brawlers wrestling program has been blessed with many Thompsons through the years, including veteran coach Jeff and his recently graduated sons, Anders and Gunnar. To this list we add Diesel Thompson, a senior co-captain wrestling at 126 pounds who intends to place at state for a fourth straight season.
Crosstown Duals action begins at 4:30 p.m.
It’s time for the Crosstown Wrestling Duals, with Flathead High putting its mat under the spotlight to battle the Glacier Wolfpack.
Bobcats built 15-0 record by getting sturdy in trenches
When North Dakota State played upstart Montana State on Jan. 10, 2022 for the FCS title, the Bison emphatically won their fourth championship in five seasons (and ninth in 11), 38-10.
MSU Notes: Bobcats, Bison return to FCS title game
It’s fitting that the 2024 Division I Football Championship, as we officially call the FCS title game, pits the Montana State Bobcats against the North Dakota State Bison.
FCS Notes: Cats 'better equipped' for this title run
Montana State coach Brent Vigen wasn’t completely on board Saturday with comparisons between his current 15-0 football team and the one that surged into the 2021 FCS title game in his first season. But he gets it.
Bobcat notes: Touchdown Tommy's craziest TD yet
BOZEMAN — The comment to fourth-year Montana State Brent Vigen was that he’s seen a lot of Tommy Mellott highlights, so maybe that 41-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter Saturday wasn’t the craziest.
FCS Playoffs: Bobcats top Coyotes 31-17
Play NDSU for FCS title Jan. 6
BOZEMAN — Back to Frisco go the Bobcats.
Eureka coach Utter takes college job
The Eureka Lions won a lot of football games under a native son, and now there’s been a change at the top with Trevor Utter’s departure for the college ranks.
Column: A ranking and a giant from the past
Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)
When you see the Iowa State Cyclones are 9-1 and ranked No. 3 in the men’s college basketball poll, you might think this is the best they’ve been since “The Mayor” — Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg — was putting up shots. You’d be wrong.
Bobcats, Coyotes to bring beef to semifinal
Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)
The Montana State Bobcats are a win away from the FCS title game and erasing the pain that was the end of the 2023 season.
FCS Notes: Mellott's presence noted
Count South Dakota coach Bob Nielson among those impressed by All-America Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott.
Column: Where QBs go - but not to stay
It was a spring evening a couple years ago when a longtime friend — we’d played fastpitch together, and like me he is maybe a little too fond of Red’s Bar — made an off-hand yet salient point.