A new era for Butterfield-Odin
BUTTERFIELD -- As fall high school sports gets under way, it will be quite a different year for Butterfield-Odin, which is no longer consolidated with St. James.
It’s been a scramble to get the season together. Shortly before the start of the fall practice season (Aug. 15), B-O was still working to get some of its coaches hired.
The school district had paired sports and academics with St. James for 10 years ending with the 2021-22 school year. Before that it had been paired with Mountain Lake for 25 years.
Trey Lance’s stock is rising
National Football League preseason games have just begun, but former Marshall High School standout Trey Lance is already being cast as a future star with the San Francisco 49ers. Lance, who is set to begin his first full year as the 49ers’ starting quarterback, is being called a breakout player on television sports broadcasts and by several national football writers.
ESPN staff writer Bill Barnwell, for instance, said this week is already likening Lance to a supernova, going so far as to say he might actually be an MVP candidate already.
“There's nobody in the league I'm more excited to see play 17 games than the new starting quarterback in San Francisco. We saw Lance take the field for 178 snaps a year ago with inconsistent returns, but I would essentially throw out those snaps in terms of what we'll see going forward. The 49ers hadn't committed to an offense with Lance, who was dealing with a broken finger on his right hand throughout the campaign while sitting behind Jimmy Garoppolo,” Barnwell wrote.
Lance played just two series in San Francisco’s preseason opener against Green Bay but fired a 76-yard touchdown pass to rookie Danny Gray in a 28-21 49ers victory.
Minnesotans like to be active
A new study has revealed that Minnesota is the most active state in America. Fitness Volt looked at all 50 states to review several factors related to exercise, keeping count of the number of gyms and health clubs per capita and access to exercise opportunities, using Google search terms associated with exercise, while attempting to gauge the prevalence of physical inactivity.
Minnesota has a total of 571 gyms, which equates to 10 gyms per 100,000 people -- higher than any other state in the union. It also has 15 health clubs per 100,000, which is the fourth highest overall. Minnesota has the second lowest prevalence of inactivity (21 percent), according to the study.
Colorado is the second most active state, according to the study. Connecticut is No. 3.
SMSU having fall kickoff social
MARSHALL -- Southwest Minnesota State University will host a Fall Sports Kickoff social on Monday at The Schwan Regional Event Center.
Snacks and beverages will be provided on the concourse level beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a short program at 5:30. An update on SMSU Mustang athletics will be provided by Director of Athletics Jen Flowers and student-athletes will be in attendance to interact with fans.
Fans will also be able to watch the Mustang football team practice while seeing the new playing surface at the stadium.
MARSHALL -- The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team is ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in Division II.
This is the first time the program is ranked in the preseason poll since 2019.
Five NSIC schools are ranked in the top 25. Concordia-St. Paul is No. 6, St. Cloud State is No. 9, Winona State is No. 15 and Wayne State is at No. 17.
SMSU finished with a 21-8 overall record in 2021, and a No. 23 ranking.
Tyler Boddy is entering his first season as the SMS head coach after having been an assistant coach under Terry Culhane for the last 10 seasons.
The Mustangs open the regular season Aug. 26-27 at the Colorado School of Mines Classic in Golden. Colo.