Posts Tagged ‘Willmar Stingers’
Thursday, July 26th, 2012
 Carrie Tollefson, photo courtesy of Willmar Stingers. WILLMAR, Minn. (July 25, 2012) — Former Olympians and Minnesota natives Carrie Tollefson and Brad Rheingans will be on hand at the Willmar Stingers’ July 31 game against the Rochester Honkers as part of Olympics Night presented by Central Minnesota Christian School.
In honor of the 2012 Olympic Games taking place in London, the Bee Hive will be home to the Stingers Olympics, complete with opening and closing ceremonies, Olympic events, gold, silver and bronze medals and a host of Olympic-themed music and decorations. The game Tuesday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Tollefson is a distance runner who competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1500-meter run that year. A native of Dawson, Minn., Tollefson won her first Minnesota state cross country high school title as an eighth grader. She won four more, setting a state record for consecutive wins. By the time she left Dawson, Carrie had thirteen Minnesota state high school titles in track and cross country to her name.
Tollefson’s success continued at the collegiate ranks. At Villanova, she won the 1998 NCAA Cross Country individual title for the Wildcats before becoming the first woman to win titles at both the 3000-meter and 5000-meter runs at the same NCAA Outdoor Championship. In total, Tollefson claimed five NCAA Championships during her time at Villanova. Later in her career, Tollefson claimed national titles in the U.S. Indoor 3000 meter and the U.S. Four-Kilometer Cross Country Championship in 2006. Tollefson now resides in St. Paul and had a daughter, Ruby Anne Peterson, along with her husband Charlie Peterson in April 2010.
Rheingans was an NCAA champion wrestler in 1975 for North Dakota State before taking fourth place in the 220-pound weight class at the 1976 Olympics. Under today’s Olympic scoring system, Rheingans would have qualified for the gold-medal match. A native of Appleton, Minn., Rheingans also qualified for the Olympic team in 1980 but did not compete due to the United States boycott. In 1984, he served as an assistant coach at the Olympic Games held in Los Angeles.
Rheingans received NCAA All-American honors in 1975 and was a two-time U.S. Senior Greco-Roman Champion in his career. He entered the professional ranks of wrestling in 1983. Billed as “The Olympians,” Rheingans combined with former Olympic weightlifter Ken Patera in 1984 to win the AWA tag-team championship. In addition to coaching amateur wrestlers throughout his career, Rheingans also trained numerous professional wrestlers, including Justin Bradshaw and “Vader” Leon White. Rheingans’ school appeared on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” in 2003. He was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.
Tags: Accardo, Brad Rheingans, Central Minnesota Christian School, Northwoods League, Olympics, Rochester Honkers, Willmar Stingers
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Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
(Willmar, MN) The Willmar Stingers have continued to build their roster for their 2010 inaugural season, adding three new players and two coaches. Signing contracts were Mikey Reynolds, a freshman infielder at St. Mary’s College (California), Wally Marciel, a junior pitcher at Kansas, and Jacob Barnes, a sophomore pitcher at Florida Gulf Coast.
Reynolds, a right-handed batting freshman, has 5 doubles, 2 triples, and a home run for the Gaels this season. Before coming to St. Mary’s, Mikey helped lead his high school team to a district championship in 2009 hitting .512, 5 home runs, and stealing 21 bases that season.
Marciel is a junior left-handed pitcher and who has made 24 appearances this season, pitching 32.2 innings. Marciel is originally from Kailua, Hawaii and was named the 2006 Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year.
Barnes is a sophomore pitcher from Florida Gulf Coast University. He has made 19 appearances, including two starts for the Eagles. In 30 innings pitched, Barnes has struck out 26 batters. In high school, he was a 2008 All-State Honorable Mention selection in Florida.
The Stingers have also filled out the remainder of their coaching staff. Tyler Shepple and Jesse Rodgers will be joining Field Manager Matt Hollod in the dugout this summer. Shepple received a scholarship to the University of Washington to play baseball and was drafted after his junior year by the Milwaukee Brewers. Tyler played two seasons in the Brewers organization before suffering a career ending shoulder injury. Rodgers is in his second season as the infield and hitting coach at Mt. Hood Community College in Oregon. Prior to joining the staff at Mt. Hood CC, Rodgers was a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Portland in 2008 where he was also a player.
The Home Opener, presented by Christianson & Associates, will feature Hall of Famer Paul Molitor as the Stingers take on the St. Cloud River Bats on Thursday, June 3 at 7:05 p.m. at Bill Taunton Stadium. Single game tickets for this event and all 34-home games are currently on-sale at the ticket office location at the ballpark from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or by calling 320-222-2010. Season tickets for the 2010 season are $149 for reserved seat backs and $169 for box seat season tickets. For more information regarding this story or the 2010 inaugural season presented by Charter Communications, please call 320-222-2010.
Tags: Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacob Barnes, Jesse Rodgers, Matt Hollod, Mikey Reynolds, Paul Molitor, St. Mary’s College, Tyler Shepple, University of Kansas, University of Portland, University of Washington, Wally Marciel, Willmar Stingers
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Thursday, March 25th, 2010
(Willmar, MN) The Willmar Stingers continue to add players to their 2010 inaugural roster with three recent additions. The Stingers signed two infielders and one outfielder this week which puts the roster officially at 10 players. Signing contracts this week were junior first baseman Andrew Haake (University of Nebraska-Kearney), sophomore first baseman Eduardo Gonzalez (Alcorn State University), and freshman centerfielder Isaac Ballou (Marshall University).
Haake is a left-handed hitter who hit 11 home runs last season with the Lopers and had 49 RBI. He also scored 46 runs and had 13 doubles. The Beatice, Nebraska native played for the Yorktown Cardinals of the Western Major Baseball League in Canada last summer, where he hit .261 with 7 home runs in 37 games. He played his first two years of collegiate baseball at Cloud County Community College in Kansas. Currently, Haake is hitting. 323 with 3 home runs this spring.
Gonzalez was named to the 2009 Louisville Freshman All-American Team last year, selected by Collegiate Baseball. The Lutz, Florida native finished the season with a .407 average, which was 1st in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and 43rd in the country. He was named as the SWAC Freshman of the Year. To date he is currently leading his team with a .411 average this spring.
Joining Haake and Gonzalez is switch-hitting Isaac Ballou. Ballou is a quick athletic outfielder who homered in his first collegiate game this spring and is 9 for 9 in stolen base attempts. During his high school days at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, he swiped 100 stolen bases. “I’m happy with how our guys are performing this spring,” Stingers field manager Matt Hollod said. “I think fans will enjoy seeing Isaac roam centerfield at Bill Taunton Stadium. He is a multiple tools guy with a lot of potential.”
The inaugural season home opener is Thursday, June 3 vs. St. Cloud. Season tickets are currently available for $149 for reserved seat backs and $169 for box seat season tickets. For more information regarding the roster and upcoming season, please call 320-222-2010.
Tags: Alcorn State University, Andrew Haake, Eduardo Gonzalea, Issac Ballou, Marshall University, University of Nebraska Kearney, Willmar Stingers
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