Chuck Bandel

Billings

Writer at Clark Fork Valley Press

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Articles

Local golfers tested at Anaconda Invite

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

The 2025 western Montana B-C golf season is rapidly becoming a case of who can catch Loyola’s Elsie Munding or Seeley-Swan's Mia Nicholas. The duo has dominated most area meets this year and the Anaconda High School Invitational at Old Works golf course was no exception. Munding shot an 18-hole score of 81 to win the girls’ individual competition, beating her number one competitor, Nicholas, who carded an 83.
Tigers roar at home golf tourney

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

It was a near sweep of both team titles for the host St. Regis golfers at this past week’s Trestle Creek Invitational in St. Regis. The Tigers won the boys’ team title by 20 strokes, while the Lady Tigers were second in the girls’ team chase, trailing the winning Florence-Carlton team by just two points.
Plains softballers ready for divisional play-in

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

After an 0-3 week that could have been a 2-1 week, the Plains Trotters await word on their Western B-C division playoff opponent in what will be a “play-in” game to be part of the division tourney the weekend of May 16-17 in Florence. Plains wrapped up the regular season portion of its 2025 fastpitch schedule with a thrilling, heart-breaking, 10-9 loss in Eureka this past Friday.
Thompson Falls-Noxon fastpitch wraps up regular season play

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

Momentum in sports can be a fickle friend indeed. As an example: Thompson Falls-Noxon's fastpitch softball team has been on an impressive roll the last half of the season. They opened their final week of the regular season schedule with a 15-5 win over Eureka in Thompson Falls. Two days later, the Lady Hawks came to Plains and routed their Sanders County rivals 19-3.
Noxon-Thompson Falls baseball notches wins

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

Back-to-back wins for the first time this season are evidence the Noxon-Thompson Falls baseball team is making progress in 2025. After a game with Columbia Falls was cancelled at the beginning of last week, the Red Devils responded with a 14-3 win over Troy last Wednesday, then capped their week this past Saturday with a 5-2 home win over Browning. The pair of victories for coach Lucas MacArthur’s team improved their overall record to 4-8 as the regular season races toward conclusion this week.
Plains-Hot Springs' rally falls short

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

Close but no cigar for the Plains-Hot Springs baseball team which came within one run of season win number two when a rally fell one run short this past Tuesday in Troy. After Plains took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the home team plated three runs in the bottom of the second, giving them a lead they would never surrender, but almost did. Troy added single runs in the bottom of the second and third innings, upping their lead to 5-1 after four innings.
Local teams face top competition at Archie Roe

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

With a strong group of AA, A and B schools on hand, the Archie Roe Memorial track meet at Legends Stadium in Kalispell was a good barometer of Western Montana talent. As expected, the three AA schools, Glacier (Kalispell), Flathead and Missoula Hellgate topped the boys’ and girls’ team competition. And as was expected, Plains High was strong in both classifications representing Class B athletes.
Lady Hawks top rivals in Plains in softball

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

The Thompson Falls-Noxon Lady Hawks are on a roll. They put an exclamation mark on that statement this past week with a resounding 19-3 win over Sanders County rival Plains-Hot Springs (PHS) this past Thursday in Plains. TFN senior Olivia Fitchett drove in a pair of runs, went 2-3 at the plate and struck out nine Plains batters over five innings to secure the win, along with some big help from her teammates.
Kvelve's Comments: Special moments

1 week ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

It’s not, fortunately, a rare occurrence, especially in the world of sports. Sportsmanship, after all, is a word with sports batting leadoff. Sportsmanship is what makes sports special, and it comes in many forms. You’ve probably seen the videos of track runners stopping their race to help a fellow competitor who has stumbled along the way get back in the race.
Loyola Spring Swing tests local golf teams

2 weeks ago | vp-mi.com | Chuck Bandel

For local high school golfers, the Loyola Spring Swing, a two-day tournament at two Missoula area golf courses last week was a learning experience and an opportunity. With Montana spring weather on full display, both good and not so good, Florence-Carlton's girls and Jefferson High’s (Boulder) boys won team titles on what one coach described as one challenging course and one less challenging.