‘Coaches-Versus-Cancer’ events at girls, boys basketball games
A lot of “pretty in pink”-accented events during the fifth-annual participation of the Mountain Lake Area (MLA) Wolverine girls and boys basketball teams in Coaches-Versus-Cancer activities, held last Thursday, January 30 (girls basketball night) and Friday, January 31 (boys basketball night). The cancer-fighting fund-raising program is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
In addition to team players and fans decked out in a variety of shades and hues of pink, the coaching staffs of both the boys and girls celebrated “Suits ‘N’ Sneakers” by “bottoming-out” their dress clothes with sneakers while they walked the sideline by the bench.
Prior to the tip-off the games, varsity players distributed pink roses to members of the audience in honor of, or in memory or, a life that was affected by cancer.
Half-time entertainment – spirited T-shirt-sharing, conjoined-armed basketball games – on Thursday was courtesy of the boys basketball team, and on Friday, members of the girls basketball team returned the favor.
Wall of Hope decals honoring or memorializing someone whom cancer has affected decorated the south wall of the auditorium.
A plethora of raffle prizes were awarded during the games. Raffle prizes, and their winners, were as follows:
* Family membership to Mountain Lake Family Fitness (Valued at $689.37) – Doug Standerwick
* Visa gift cards from United Prairie in Mountain Lake – Becky Kraemer, Kurt Jahnke, Tim Kirk and Kris Friesen
* Visa gift card from Triumph State Bank in Darfur – Chad Pedersen
* $50 gift cards to Casey’s – Jerry Haberman and Dave Grev
* 2 free passes to Nickelodeon Universe and Moose Mountain at the Mall of America (Valued at $79.96) – Elizabeth Koetzle
* Free passes to the Minnesota Zoo (Valued at $22) – Byron Franz
* 2 free Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball-versus-Penn State tickets (Valued at $90) – Kyle “Eddie” Ott
* Free passes to King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort in Storm Lake, Iowa (Valued at $60) – Jill Saunders
*Custom-decorated and autographed chair by the Mountain Lake Public Elementary School 6th grade (Class of 2020) – Kaiya Sayabong
* Custom-painted basketballs by former Mountain Lake Public School art teacher and local artist Nancy Nelson – and signed by the MLA basketball teams – Mike Stoesz (autographed girls basketball) and Brad Kirk (autographed boys basketball)
* Wolverine Shirt – Mike Munning, Kaiya Sayabong, Brad Kirk and Tim Kirk
* Mountain Lake Public School Shirt – Jill Saunders, Caitlyn Johnson and Mary Allen
* Wolverine Pullover – Jill Saunders
* Pickled Food – Sheila Kirk
* Digital Picture Frame – Kaiya Sayabong
* Wooden Basketball – Janessa Johnson
* Wolverine Gear – Jerry Haberman and Kaiya Sayabong
* “Fight Cancer” Pack – Angela Braun
* Mountain Lake Laker Jersey – Tim Kirk, Mike Munning and Adam Karschnik
* Hy-Vee Gift Card – Lowell Mathistad and Kaiya Sayabong
* Mountain Lake Area Chamber of Commerce “Chamber Bucks” – Mary Allen and Nancy Nelson
Special fund-raising meals were served each night in the public school cafeteria. On Thursday, the Wolverine Booster Club dished up an egg roll/crab rangoon meal, while the Mountain Lake Firefighters hosted an all-you-can-eat pancake supper on Friday.
Below are some varsity game shots from the two nights – along with a few photos of the halftime “entertainment” courtesy of Donna Peterson’s Desktop Arts classes at Mountain Lake Public High School:
