Flathead Valley Sports & Outdoors: Kalispell, Montana News

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – Yellowstone National Park has set a record for annual visitation with two months still to count this year.

The park recorded 3,267,683 visitors from January through October this year. That exceeds the previous 12-month record of 3.15 million visitors set in 2007.

Glacier High School senior forward Maddey Frey has won the Western AA Player of the Year for girls soccer for the second straight year. Frey, a speedy forward with a knack for scoring goals, was also selected to the all-state team for the third straight year.

Frey is joined on the all-state team by teammate Patty Hughes, a junior. Sophomore Tess Brenneman and junior Chelsea Shuman of Flathead High School also were honored. For boys, Glacier senior Seth Bumgarner was named all-state.

These other local athletes were named all-conference:

Girls – Liana Bates (Jr., Glacier); Sydney Sharaff (Sr., Glacier); Stephanie Brewer (Jr., Flathead)
Boys – Josh Neiman (Sr., Glacier); Jerrad Merrill (Sr., Flathead); Cody Morritt (Sr., Flathead)

A few weeks back, I wrote about the rage a few motorists have for road cyclists. This week I'm using a Q&A format to address some of the reasons for the anger – things many motorists might not understand about cycling and cyclists and why they do the things they do.

Q. Why do cyclists ride in the traffic lane instead of on or right of the fog line?

A. Most highways don't have shoulders large enough for road cycling, and many that do aren't maintained or have rumble strips, which makes cycling nearly impossible if not dangerous. Consequently, most experienced cyclists ride about a foot into the traffic lane because it discourages motorists from making the worst decision they can make when approaching cyclists from behind – trying to squeeze through in the same lane at high speed. One minor adjustment by the cyclist could cause a lethal accident; all it takes is a glancing blow by a side mirror. Instead, motorists should wait for a safe passing lane and cross the centerline and not get within five feet of the cyclist, which brings me to the most important words in this commentary: Share the Road, Not the Lane.

TRIBUNE, Kan. – Surveying undulating grasslands that disappear into the western Kansas horizon, retired farmer Joe Govert pointed out parcel after parcel no longer enrolled in a federal program that pays property owners not to farm environmentally sensitive land.

The arid, wind-swept ground stripped of topsoil by Dust Bowl storms has laid undisturbed beneath a protective cover of native grasses that took two decades to re-establish under the Conservation Reserve Program. But millions of those acres are being plowed again after the 2008 Farm Bill capped the program at 32 million acres.

A week after the football team wrapped up its second consecutive divisional title, the Polson High School volleyball team brought another Northwestern A crown to town.

The Lady Pirates capped off an undefeated 13-0 (8-0) season with a 3-0 shutout of Frenchtown on Halloween. Setter Kayla Duford had 32 assists in the match, giving her 394 for the season. The standout junior averaged over nine assists per game during the season, a conference best by a wide margin.

MISSOULA – An entomologist for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation says the forests near Missoula are showing signs of the tree-killing mountain pine beetle.

Amy Gannon says many trees on the Mount Jumbo saddle are have pitch polka-dotting their trunks — a sign that they were trying to flush out the tiny beetles that bore into the tree. The trees still have green needles for now, but next year they'll likely be covered with red needles and dead.

Playing at home on Halloween, the Whitefish Bulldogs fell short in their bid for a fourth Class A boys state soccer championship. The Bulldogs lost 5-1 to Billings Central, which won the title a year after falling to Libby in the championship game. Billings Central's girls also won the state title, sneaking past Libby 4-2 in overtime over the weekend.

In Class AA, Glacier High School's girls bowed out of the state soccer tournament in three games, losing to Billings Senior 2-0 to end their season on Oct. 30. Billings West won the title. The Glacier boys dropped out in consecutive games, losing to eventual champion Billings West in the first round and then Butte.

Here are the full results from the Class AA and A soccer tournaments:

-Class AA girls
-Class AA boys
-Class A girls
-Class A boys

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has captured an albino black bear near the town of Olney in northwestern Montana and moved it to Glacier National Park.

Tim Manley says he was contacted by Olney residents in mid-October who wanted the pale-colored bruin moved to where it wouldn't be such an easy target during the five-week general hunting season.