Nearly 200 players on 16 youth softball teams converged on Cloquet's Braun Park last weekend for the 10th annual Ashley Abrahamson Memorial Tournament.
Seven teams took part in the U14 event, with St. Paul North defeating the Proctor Storm 6-1 in the championship game. Nine teams took part in the U12 event, with the Duluth Thunder defeating Proctor Green 8-3.
"It was a good weekend," tournament co-organizer Ron Tondryk said. "The weather held out, we had enthusiastic kids and it was just another nice tournament and turnout."
The growth of the event through the years is also satisfying to Tondryk.
"It's amazing that it has been 10 years already," he said. "It's grown into a very nice tournament in Northeastern Minnesota."
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Abrahamson lost her life in an automobile accident, and her former classmate Sarah Tondryk has chosen to remember her classmate by co-organizing the tournament with her father.
"It's kind of rewarding to be able to do this for her (Ashley)," she said. "It's great to see the turnout and all the girls from around the area."
Equally special for the younger Tondryk were the Ashley Awards, given to one player on each team who best exemplified the spirit of the tournament's namesake.
"It's nice because the girls get really excited about winning an award," Sarah Tondryk said. "It's another way to remember her, it exemplifies her qualifies and it shows what she was like."
This was Sarah Tondryk's third year helping her father organize the event. She noted the cooperation shown by the Abrahamson family as key to the event's success.
"They make up the tournament T-shirt every year, and they are down at the park all weekend, helping and taking care of the first pitch,"
Sarah Tondryk said. "It's something different every year and it's just a nice weekend event."
