Grand Forks Red River Athletes Among DJGA Golf Finalists

GRAND FORKS — Ella Speidel and Kolby Koerner from Grand Forks Red River have earned spots as finalists for the prestigious Miss Golf and Mr. Golf titles awarded by the Dakota Junior Golf Association. The winners will be revealed at 10 a.m. on Sunday at the Fargo Country Club during the Russ Newman Junior Invitational, which showcases the top 20 boys and girls golfers from both Class A and Class B competitions across North Dakota.

Joining Speidel and Koerner in the finalist lineup are Rose Solberg from Fargo Davies and Zoe Keene representing West Fargo Sheyenne for the Miss Golf category. Meanwhile, Kyle Campbell from Kindred is the other finalist competing for the Mr. Golf honor.

Speidel recently claimed the Class A state championship title for 2024, while Koerner achieved medalist honors at the 2026 Class A state competition held on Wednesday at Oxbow.

In other local sports news, Tylie Brodina, a guard from Devils Lake, has made a commitment to play college basketball at Minot State, having also received an offer from the University of Mary. Brodina, who stands at 5-foot-8, is a two-time all-state honoree and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in her career last December.

Additionally, the North Dakota Softball All Stars recently introduced their inaugural Hall of Fame class, which includes Taya Hopfauf and Brooklyn Morris from the University of North Dakota. Both were instrumental in leading the Fighting Hawks to a record-breaking 27 wins this past season. Hopfauf, who holds the record for the most games played at UND, had a career average of .244, while Morris contributed significantly in her role as a center fielder.

Meanwhile, Lucas Fischer of Grand Forks Central has committed to Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, for track and field. In coaching news, Crookston boys hockey coach Josh Hardy has resigned after a decade in the role to focus more on family time.