Minnesota State Handball Association

The 45th Rudy Harris Handball Tournament
September 24-25, 2021
Fargo ND

45th Annual Rudy Harris Tournament a Success: It was a smaller version, but with the same great competition. Seventeen players squared off on Friday, September 24. The final serve was made mid-afternoon on Saturday. While the brackets were small, the intensity was high. Several local  players put on their gloves for the first time in nine months. Others had the same zeal, but had added 15 pounds during the COVID isolation. Thank you everyone for complying with Reis's COVID requirements! A fourth of the players were not vaccinated but showed a negative COVID test result. Players enjoyed a few beers and pizza on Friday night, compliments of Rhombus Guys and Mark Winkelman. Without the VIP room, the banquet on Saturday was held at Moorhead Billiards. All went well in a private room. With a smaller selection of prizes for the raffle, we elected to provide another incentive to buy tickets -- 50% of the money would be won by a lucky ticket holder. Jason Weimer was the big winner, along with winning  most of the raffle prizes. He was nice enough to give the money back to the club (minus what he put in the pot for tickets). Lots of thanks to go around. Dee Jones once again kept everyone on their toes getting the games going. Gerry Hamm brought the fruit. Mark Winkelman and Dennis Tallman did their magic with the draw. Ron Fuhrman provided the bulk of the raffle prizes and 6 or more players made generous donations to the Club. The Rudy results are summarized below and detailed in the attached:

Open Singles Championship - Luke Sandy ( Fargo) over Isaac Alberg (Minneapolis)

Open Doubles Championship - Tim Sandy/Luke Sandy (Fargo) over Kent Jones/Izzy Jones (Fargo)

A-Masters Singles Championship - Kent Jones (Fargo) over Jay Spooner (Fargo)

A-Masters Doubles Championship - Dave Reuter/Jeff Bry (Fargo) over Jay Spooner (Fargo)/Matt Morelli (Minot)

B-70s Singles Championship - Jason Weimer (Fargo) over Nicole Alberg (Minneapolis)

B-70s Singles Consolation - Joe Jimenez (Minneapolis) over Gerry Hamm (Fargo)

B-70s Doubles Championship - Dick Reis/Rich Stevens (Fargo) over Jason Weimer/Curt Christopherson (Fargo)

B-70s Doubles Consolation - Gerry Hamm/Eric Momsen (Fargo) over Nicole Alberg/Joe Jimenez (Minneapolis) 

The 43rd Rudy Harris Handball Tournament
September 27-28, 2019
Fargo ND

A total of 49 players (30 singles players and 24 doubles teams) from Manitoba, Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota battled on the handball court (see results below)! They also enjoyed the hospitality of the F-M Handball Club by carb-loading with pizza and "beverages" at the Friday Night Social (paid entirely by donations from Club members), conversing over beverages at the pre-banquet social (paid entirely by donations from Club members), dining on fantastic Chicken Parmesan, Fettuccini Alfredo, etc. at the Saturday Night Banquet (free to all registered players), and winning a wide variety of prizes at the post-banquet Raffle (dinner is free -- raffle tickets are extra) -- the annual fundraiser for the Club that helps us keep the local handball spirit alive throughout the rest of the year,enabling us to support random doubles, provide hospitality/socials for our major tournaments, recruit/equip new players, develop/provide handball classes/lessons, etc.

The results for the 43rd Annual Rudy Harris Handball Tournament are as follows: 

Open Singles

* Champion: Ryan Pecsh (St Paul, MN) over Mat Langhorst (St Paul MN)

* Consolation Champion: Ciana Churraoin (Mankaot, MN via Ireland) over Luke Sandy (Grand Forks, ND via Fargo)

50s-60s Singles

* Champion: Rick Edwards (Livingston, MT) over Merv Deckert (Winnipeg, MB)

* Consolation Champion: Paul Sum (Grand Forks, ND) over Greg Solin (Duluth, MN)

70s singles

* Champion: Dave Colter (Winnipeg, MB) over Ron Mruss (Winnipeg, MB)

* Consolation Champion: Rich Stevens (Fargo, ND) over Ed Kohut (Winnipeg, MB)

B Singles

* Champion: Henry Arneson (Hopkins, MN) over Kyle Schmitz (MN via ND)

* Consolation Champion: Jake Johnson (MN) over Zach Kluvers (MN)

Open Doubles

* Champion: Ryan Pecsh (MN)/Kyle Schmitz (Minneapolis, MN via West Fargo, ND) over Henry Arneson (Hopkins, MN)/Mat Langhorst (St Paul, MN)

* Consolation Champion: Luke Sandy (Grand Forks, ND via Fargo)/Dave Reuter (Fargo, ND) over Kent Jones (Fargo, ND)/Pat Revier (Moorhead, MN)

50 Doubles

* Champion: Steve Johnson (Shakopee, MN)/Don Reiter (Stillwater, MN) over Kent Jones (Fargo, ND)/Joel Moore (Arthur, ND)

* Consolation Champion: Paul Sum (Grand Forks, ND)/Chris Nelson (Grand Forks, ND) over Dick Reis (Fargo, ND)/Pete Seljevold (Fargo, ND)

60+ Doubles

* Champion: Merv Deckert (Winnipeg, MB)/Jay Spooner (Fargo, ND) over Dick Reis (Fargo, ND)/Greg Solin (Duluth, MN)

* Consolation Champion: Steve Birrell (Bozeman, MT)/Phil Kleineschay (Shakopee, MN) over Ray Dropko (Winnipeg, MB)/Ron Fuhrman (Fargo, ND)

B Doubles

* Champion: Jake Johnson (Mankato, MN)/Justin Klein (Mankato, MN) over Bill Russell (Minneapolis, MN)/Brady Spooner (Bismarck, ND)

* Consolation Champion: Steve Grow (Moorhead, MN)/Jason Weimer (Fargo, ND) over David Kawasaki (Fargo, ND)/Mark Winkelman (Fargo, ND)

The 42nd Annual Rudy Harris Handball Tournament another success: Rudy Harris lives again! Thirty-four players from three states and one Canadian province banged the boards for two days on September 28-29. Each tournament has a certain flavor. This year was characterized by some fresh young faces. Four players from Minnesota State University Mankato made the trip, while Tim Sandy from Fargo had his three sons playing. The quicker pace of the younger players was quite noticeable. Pass shots were routinely retrieved and the rallies went on forever. Rudy was smiling! The only surprise was the scheduling. Most players playing singles were scheduled to play two singles matches the first night. This is a major break in tradition and could test a player’s condition. Players from the right of the tracks felt this was fine and not a problem. Players from the left of the tracks felt this was unfair and demanded to know who did this. The four tournament directors went into hiding. One was finally found in court 2. He sided with those from the left since he was in the dark as well. After much finger pointing, it was decided to have the FBI look into it. They were given only one week, but can talk to anyone they want to get to the bottom of this terrible deed. Stay tuned. :)

Lots of thanks to Club members for making the Rudy successful. Special thanks to Bill Kelly for his generous help in adding to the raffle and contributing to the tab for the open bar. Also, Rich Stevens donated hotel rooms for the Mankato players and David Wells bought raffle tickets for the Mankato players. Dee Jones was great (as usual) in organizing and responding to constant tournament scheduling changes. Pat Revier brought homemade items to add to the raffle’s success (a nice touch). And last, but not least, thank you Dave Reuter and Dennis Tallman for the sponsorship contributions!

Results for the 2018 Rudy are as follows:

Open Singles:

* Championship: Mike Gaulton-Mankato over Mat Langhorst-Minneapolis

* Consolation: Ciana Churraoin-Mankato/Ireland

Open Doubles:

* Championship: John Stoffel-Mankato & Mike Gaulton-Mankato over Adrian Anderson-Mankato & Cianna Churraoin-Mankato/Ireland

* Consolation: Mat Langhorst-Minneapolis & Pat Revier-Moorhead over Kent Jones-Moorhead & Izzy Jones-Fargo

Masters Doubles:

* Championship: Don Reiter-Minneapolis & Steve Johnson-Minneapolis over Kent Jones-Moorhead & David Wells-Fargo

* Consolation: John Stoffel-Mankato & Dick Reis-Fargo over Derek Hampton-Winnipeg & Rick Jackiw-Winnipeg

60s Singles:

* Championship: Merv Deckert-Winnipeg over Jay Spooner-Fargo

* Consolation: Rick Jackiw-Winnipeg over Steve Birrell-Bozeman

60s Doubles:

* Championship: Merv Deckert-Winnipeg & Jay Spooner-Fargo over Rich Stevens-Fargo & David Wells-Fargo

* Consolation: Mike McQuillan-Minneapolis & Steve Birrell-Bozeman over Dave Coulter-Winnipeg & George Langhorst-Minneapolis

70s Singles:

* Championship: Dave Coulter-Winnipeg over Bill Kelly-Fargo

* Consolation: Gerry Hamm-Fargo

B Singles:

* Championship: Drew Sandy-Fargo over Zach Sandy-Fargo

* Consolation: Carina Aguilar-Mankato

B Doubles:

* Championship: Drew Sandy-Fargo & Zach Sandy-Fargo over Gerry Hamm-Fargo & Bill Kelly-Fargo

* Consolation: Carina Aguilar-Mankato & Steve Grow-Fargo

40th Anniversary of Rudy Harris Tournament held September 30-October 1: 

Thanks to all those who planned and  participated. The Harris children were very appreciative of our continued efforts to remember Rudy with a quality tournament. Special thanks to Dennis Tallman and Bill Kelly for extending the bar bill for everyone's enjoyment. The raffle netted $612 dollars without Rohrer and Larson. Not bad. Good job guys. Results for the 2016 40th Annual Rudy Harris Tournament are as follows:
A Singles: 1st - Jeff Bry, 2nd - George Langhorst, 3rd - Kristina Langhorst, 4th - Bud Hornaday
A Doubles: 1st - Kristina Langhorst/George Langhorst, 2nd - Mike Dorsher/Pete Seljevold, 3rd - Herb Ludwig/Bud Hornaday
Open Singles: 1st - Mat Langhorst, 2nd - Isiah Jones, 3rd - Pat Revier, 4th - Dave Jensen
Open Doubles: 1st - Kent Jones/Isiah Jones, 2nd - Dan Passolt/Mat Langhorst, 3rd - Jeff Bry/Mike McMillan, 4th - Dave Jensen/Pat Revier
50s Master Singles: 1st - Steve Johnson, 2nd - Jay Spooner, Consolation - Kent Jones
50s Master Doubles: 1st - Don Reiter/Steve Johnson, 2nd - Dave Wells/Kevin Jaeger, 3rd - Jay Spooner/Dan Passolt, 4th - Kent Jones/Pete Seljevold
60s Golden Singles: 1st - Dave Coulter, 2nd - Jim Ward, Consolation - John Rindt
60s Golden Doubles: 1st - Merv Deckert/Greg Stansbury, 2nd - Jay Spooner/Ray Drobko, Consolation - John Friesen/Rick Jackiw.