Page 6 - Flathead Beacon // 3.19.14

6 | MARCH 19, 2014 NEWS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM

Arnie Aklestad, pic-
tured before the Class
B state championship
game between Bigfork READER
and Columbus.

GREG LINDSTROM POLL
FLATHEAD BEACON
FLATHEADBEACON.COM

Do You Celebrate
St. Patrick’s Day?

39% YES 61% NO

TOTAL VOTES: 132

Bigfork Fans Finally Get Their Championship
Are You Concerned About

Potential Spring Flooding?

Arnie Aklestad has been following ceived a ride to Arlee and then Missoula emerged waving his hands, calling a charg-
the team since the 1940s
from folks, Zack Anderson had a private ing foul on Bigfork and negating the basket
jet pick up Bigfork’s pre-eminent fan and and giving Conrad the 75-74 victory. The
get him to Bozeman.
scorekeeper had let the time run out and
By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
By tip-of of the title game, Arnie was the loor was looded in fans and the game
in the stands alongside the Bigfork faith- was not resumed, which remains a point of
BOZEMAN – When the Bigfork bas- ful, watching history be made on the hard- contention for many people today.
39% YES 61% NO ketball team advanced to the Class B state wood.
The entire afair became a controver-

TOTAL VOTES: 100
championship game last weekend in Boz- As he put it mildly beforehand, “This sial dispute as residents told the team not
eman, the community of fans knew there game’s a pretty big deal.”
to accept the second-place trophy. The
was one person who especially needed to The boys from Bigfork didn’t disap- players decided to graciously take the
Do You Agree with CSKT’s be there.
point, winning the school’s irst boys bas- hardware, sealing their fate as the runner-
Proposal to Gill Net Lake Trout Arnie Aklestad, 84, has been a main- ketball state title 71-62 over Columbus up team in 1983.
from Flathead Lake?
stay at Bigfork basketball games since he and inishing a perfect season at 26-0.
Thirty-one years later, an undercur-
moved to town his sophomore year of high Last weekend’s championship was a rent of tension still exists, but after last
school in 1944. He played for the team for grand celebration for a town that loves weekend, the wait is over. Now the team

two years, and later ran the clock at boys basketball but has never reached the and its town can mark their place among
and girls games for 34 years. Even after he sport’s summit before now.
the best in Montana.
passed of those duties, he still attended The closest the team ever came was in “People still talk about it 30 years lat-
home games — always sitting in the same 1983, when the boys advanced to the Class er. My son and daughter say, does the score
spot to root for his favorite squad.
B state tourney in Shelby. The Vikes played ever change? It doesn’t. But you just move
Last week he fell ill and was unable to Conrad in a back-and-forth title game that on,” said Doug Fraley, a member of the
55YES 45NO make the trip to Bozeman to watch the un- came down to the inal seconds. Trailing ‘83 Viking team. “But this is great to see
% %
TOTAL VOTES: 146
defeated Bigfork Vikings tip of at the state by one point with 4 seconds remaining, (the Bigfork basketball team) here in the
tournament. But when Bigfork defeated Bigfork sank a fall-away jumpshot, mak- championship. This is a great team and
Huntley Project in the semiinals, a group ing it 76-75.
this is exciting. They deserve all the praise
of residents rallied together and made The fans stormed the court, thinking and attention now.”
ONLINE POLL RESULTS ARE NOT SCIENTIFIC
sure Arnie could be there. After Arnie re-
the Vikings had won the title. But a referee
[email protected]

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