Becker is once again the hot spot for horseshoe pitching in Minnesota this winter as they have seven tournaments lined up at the Becker courts for October thru April.

The second tournament was held last Saturday and it was called “The Turkey Toss.” Eighteen men and six women took to the courts.

The women did well, winning first place in both Class A and Class B.

In Class A (called the Gobblers Class), Denise Kleven of Savage won six of seven games, defeating second place finisher Jerry Werk of Western MN in the second game, 37 to 36. Werk finished 5-2.

The third place finisher was Jerald Hagen of Glenwood. Hagen was 4-3. Kleven averaged 43.57 to win the top spot in the tournament.

In Class B (called the Pilgrims Division), it was another woman — Sarah Nelson of Cambridge — who captured the title. She finished with a 6-1 record and defeated second place finisher, Lance Van Wyhe, 20-19 in the seventh and last game. Van Wyhe finished with a 5-2 record and tied third place finisher, Don Claseman of St. Cloud and won second in the tie-breaker. Nelson averaged 36.07 for Class B.

In Class C (the Turkeys Division), it was a local pitcher from Becker who took the title, winning six of seven games and averaging 13.93% ringers. Mike Slininger, all the way from Moorhead, captured second place with a 5-2 record. Mike Timm of Chanhassen rounded out the money winners for third place on a 4-1/2 - 2-1/2 record.

The court areas in Becker at the Legion had a fresh coat of light blue paint on the north and east walls and green painted on the bottom of the same walls with a nicely-painted red barn in the middle of the east wall. A white border makes the barn wall stand out. 

The American Legion held a nice lunch for all participants for just $8.