It’s all about croquet in Cloquet

• Holly Butcher hits

Holly Butcher lines up her shot during the annual Cloquet Croquet Invitational, held Tuesday at the Cloquet Country Club. Butcher said she had a blast, but is not naturally gifted at croquet, no matter where she plays it. Also pictured is Cindy Vallie (left) with Woodlands National Bank (which won the best dressed team contest). Jamie Lund/Pine Journal
• Lauri Ketola

Lauri Ketola
• Jeff Leno

Jeff Leno
• Kara Ketola

Kara Ketola

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A full field of 20 teams turned out dressed in their best Hawaiian garb for the Third Annual Cloquet Croquet Invitational Tuesday afternoon, ready to do battle on the greens of the Cloquet Country Club.

The two final teams who played for the championship were Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College’s (FDLTCC) Wicket Impossible! team (Anna Fellegy, Anita Hanson, Stephanie Hammitt and Tom Urbanski) and The Avenue Ds (Terry Anderson, Gary Tyman and John Lund), a team made up of folks who live on or near Avenue D in Cloquet.

According to a FDLTCC press release, The Avenue Ds rallied after falling behind early in the match to win the championship 35-28. Highlights of the final match included a huge multiple-stroke turn in the middle of the match by Anderson, a broken mallet courtesy of Tyman and a slick move by Urbanski in which he struck his ball into the air to hop over another ball and travel through the center wicket in the same stroke.

The Wicked Wicket Riders (Wendy Bakke, Jenny Blatchford, Jeff Leno and Mark Roberts) were awarded the Biggest Losers prize for winning the fewest matches and scoring the fewest points.

his year’s theme was Hawaiian – “Come-On-I-Wanna-Play-Ya!” – as evidenced by the grass skirts and leis worn by many participants.

The event earned an estimated $5,000 for the Presidential Merit Scholarship program at FDLTCC.

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