The high school golf season finally teed off. The Foley High School varsity boys team opened the season with a Granite Ridge Conference meet in cold, wet and windy conditions April 27 at Stones Throw Golf Course in Milaca. The Falcons shot 363, finishing sixth in the eight-team, 18-hole event.

FOLEY – There have been many obstacles, natural or circumstantial, that have planted themselves in the pathway of the Foley Falcons boys golf team this spring. From snow-laden courses to practicing indoors to finding ways to replace 2022 graduate Tommy Smith’s production, the road has not been easy for head coach Timm Smith and the Falcons.

How a team hits with runners in scoring position can often swing a softball game.  The Foley Falcons, with nine hits, had only one less base knock than its Granite Ridge Conference counterparts, the Zimmerman Thunder, in an April 27 clash. However, the Falcons never found that breakthrough hit, while the Thunder piled on the runs in an 8-0 victory at Foley High School in Foley.

For the second time this season, the Foley track and field teams traveled to Milaca April 25 for a Granite Ridge Conference meet at Milaca High School that included four conference teams and Sauk Rapids-Rice High School.  While the location, the weather and some teams were the same, the most significant difference was the presence of St. Cloud Cathedral, which gave Foley strong competition in several events. At the end of the night, a resilient and dominant Falcons track and field team came home with another win.  

Once again, this wonderful Minnesota spring brought many changes and challenges to this week’s Falcons tennis schedule. Despite all of the snow and rain, the Falcons were able to play three matches, with only one needing to be moved indoors. The Falcons hosted North Branch April 17. Ready for more action after last week’s first win of the season, Foley came out strong in the first sets of each match and continued that momentum into the second sets, giving the Falcons straight-set victories in every match.

The Foley High School boys track and field team traveled to Milaca April 18 for an outdoor meet at Milaca High School in Milaca. Many on the team were ecstatic to get outside for competition. Aside from Foley, there were four teams in attendance: the high school teams of Milaca, Sauk Rapids, Albany and Pierz. The boys team placed third overall, only 11 points out of first place. 

After five weeks of nearly all indoor practice and competition, the Foley track and field teams were finally able to experience their first full outdoor meet of the season. The Falcons traveled to neighboring Milaca High School April 18 for a Granite Ridge Conference quadrangular, and the Falcons came home from Milaca with a first-place team finish. 

What ended as a 10-1 game in favor of the Foley Falcons baseball team against the Milaca Wolves at home April 18 started out as a contested ball game – at least through the first five innings of the game at home in Foley. Although Foley held a somewhat comfortable lead for the majority of the game, the Wolves battled to keep the game close until the sixth inning, when Bryce Gapinski broke the game open with a home run.

The final score was 16-14 in favor of the Foley Unified Club at the Foley High School gym April 19 as they faced off against the Milaca Unified Club, but the scoreboard might as well have not existed for the basketball game between the two teams. It was a sight rarely seen in the gym during basketball games at the high school, where fans of both teams – including an animated Foley student section – roared for any basket scored for either team.

FOLEY – Making it to the state tournament in any competition is difficult to achieve a single time let alone twice in a row. However, the Foley High School boys tennis program is vying for a strong season similar to last year when they captured the Section 6A title.

The Falcons were able to hit outdoors for the first time last week after record-breaking snow prolonged the start of the season. Practice during the week concluded with players shoveling the edges of the courts, which allowed Osakis to come to Foley to play both teams’ first official match of the season.

With just over a third of the track and field season gone, the Foley High School track and field team was finally able to compete outdoors – somewhat.