Montana
Despite numerous injuries, Montana soccer blazing into Big Sky Conference play
MISSOULA — Expectations were through the roof for the Montana Grizzlies soccer team thanks to their success a year ago.
Safe to say, with nonconference now ending, they’re living up to it so far as Montana is 6-2-2 to end the non-league slate, and now the Griz turn their attention to Big Sky Conference play.
The preseason favorites to win the Big Sky, Montana has had its ebbs and flows this season, but has weathered a number of adversities.
Namely, the injury bug.
“It’s a testament to everybody that’s on this team,” UM head coach Chris Citowicki said. “I remember at Air Force telling them that a lot of people think, because we’re losing key players, that we’re not going to be good, but they’ve forgotten what makes us special, and what makes us special is the depth.
“Every time one steps out and another one steps in, and that’s what we’re seeing right now, just brilliant performances from young players, from people who haven’t seen the field for a while.”
A few weeks back at Wyoming, the Grizzlies lost last year’s Big Sky Golden Boot winner Delaney Lou Schorr for the rest of the year, plus goalkeeper and last year’s conference freshman of the year Ashlyn Dvorak has also been out indefinitely after only playing in five games, among many others who have been lost or missed time, which includes seniors Mia Parkhurst and Bella O’Brien.
Still, the Grizzlies, have adapted.
“I think in the beginning of season for all teams, there’s a lot of building and learning from each other,” senior defender Ava Samuelson said. “And I think we did a really beautiful job at kind of taking on other people’s skills and bringing them into our team, and having other players or new players learn our culture. And I think we kind of all just did it really beautifully and with kind of like a flow. And I think it ended really well.”
The plethora of injuries was an early and unseen blow, and after being thrown those difficult challenges, the team altered its style of play because of the injuries, and has thrived from it.
At keeper, Bayliss Flynn has shined.
Transfers Jen Estes and Chloe Seelhoff have stepped up as experienced leaders, while other young talents have been called upon to fill roles, alongside program staples like Skyleigh Thompson, Charley Boone, Maddie Ditta, Reeve Borseth and Samuelson.
“It really showed us our strengths and also where, like, our weaknesses lied,” Boone said. “I mean, we had to go through a formation change due to injuries, and we were able to adapt. But this nonconference schedule definitely tested us more than any past ones, but I think it prepared us in the best way possible.”
With wins over Oregon State, North Dakota and Boise State, the Grizzlies have been everything as advertised in 2024. The Griz are 6-0 at home and haven’t allowed a single goal in Missoula. They’ve out-scored opponents 17-8, and hold ties with Air Force and Wyoming and their lone two losses came to Washington State and Fresno State, all of which came before their new formation strategy that has completely blitzed teams the past few weeks.
Now its on to Big Sky play starting Sunday against Northern Arizona, as they gear up for a run toward November’s conference tournament in Missoula.
“Early on, we got hit with Wazzu, 3-0, and that really shook us up a bit,” Ditta said. “So we were able to fix our mentality with confidence, and I think we’re way more confident now going into conference, which is honestly great. It means everything to have a high, confident head going in.”
“We come out, we train hard. We’ve been really focusing on keeping the training environment super high and not being too hard on each other, but just keeping each other to a standard where that’s not gonna fly in a game, so don’t do it at practice,” added Seelhoff, who was recently named the Big Sky player of the week. “Kind of that, and we just build each other up.
“We’re so excited. So bringing that energy all week to lead into our first conference game will be huge.”
WASHINGTON ― Montana Republican Senate nominee Kurt Alme, who previously served as his state’s U.S. attorney, cut a plea deal in 2020 that allowed a tribal police officer who sexually abused a 6-year-old girl to serve less than a year in prison and avoid being registered as a sex offender.
Alme, who has President Donald Trump’s backing in his bid for Senate, served as Montana’s U.S. attorney in two stints. Trump appointed him both times; Alme served in the role from September 2017 through December 2020, and then again from March 2025 through March 2026.
Alme oversaw the case of Mychal Thomas Damon, who was indicted in June 2019 by a grand jury on one count of abusive sexual contact with an individual under 12, which carries a maximum punishment of a lifetime in prison, a $250,000 fine and no less than five years to a lifetime of supervised release. The average sentence for this crime is less severe, but still significant: 62 months in prison, no fine and 143 months of supervised release, based on an analysis of 2025 data provided by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Damon, 28, had admitted he touched the 6-year-old’s genitals. But in February 2020, Alme’s office filed a plea deal in his case that reduced his charge to felony child abuse.
The changes in the plea deal raised the alleged age of the victim from below 12 to below 14, stripped out the language of sexual intent and moved the offense out of the federal sex crime framework, meaning Damon would no longer be required to register as a sex offender. It jointly recommended Damon be sentenced to the time he’d already served of 324 days, and required only a sex offender evaluation. Alme’s name appears on the bottom of the document, along with a signature by his assistant U.S. attorney, Cassady Adams.
In June, Alme filed a sentencing memorandum that described Damon’s conduct, which included details of him touching the child’s vagina with skin-to-skin contact, and the adverse effect it had on her mental health. Local reporting at the time said the victim had told a therapist “Mychal touched me” and hurt her by putting his fingers in her “hoo hoo.”
Ten days later, Alme announced Damon was being sentenced to time served of 324 days and two years of supervised release. As of June 2026, Damon is not listed in the national sex offender registry or in Montana’s Sexual or Violent Offender Registry.
It’s not clear why Alme reduced the charges against Damon as significantly as he did. During part of his tenure as U.S. attorney, his office declined 64% of sexual assault cases. He conceded in a 2019 interview that this “is something that has to be worked on,” and noted that a lot of these cases are declined due to “weak or insufficient evidence.”
Asked what happened in Damon’s case, an Alme campaign spokesman on Thursday lashed out at unnamed Democrats for trying to make him look bad.
“Kurt’s liberal opponents are twisting the facts to manufacture a fake narrative that exploits crimes against women and children,” said Alme’s spokesperson. “Department of Justice policy required defendants to plead to the most serious charge readily provable from the evidence. Kurt strongly supported the Multi-Disciplinary Teams on our Native American reservations, led by his office, to support investigations of crimes against children and to support victims.”
His spokesperson also pushed back on the idea that Alme unreasonably declined a large number of sexual assault cases during his tenure as U.S. attorney.
“Kurt’s office prosecuted every viable sexual abuse felony referred to it and pursued the most serious charge readily provable from the evidence,” the spokesperson said. “Many ‘declined’ cases were to allow more appropriate tribal prosecutions ― they were not dropped. Kurt will bring his years of experience prosecuting criminals and working with the Sexual Assault Response Teams on our Native American reservations to the U.S. Senate to strengthen investigations, support victims, and better protect women and children.”
The campaign pointed HuffPost to a 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office that found the most common reason for U.S. attorney’s offices to decline sexual abuse cases referred in from Indian country was “weak or insufficient admissible evidence.” It also highlighted statements of support for Alme in an October 2025 press release by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), when he celebrated Alme being confirmed as U.S. attorney.
Alme is currently running for Daines’ Senate seat, and Daines went out of his way to clear the path for him. In a stunning and orchestrated maneuver, the two-term senator in March abruptly withdrew from reelection as Alme filed to run for his seat, minutes before the state’s filing period closed. Daines’ last-minute change-up was an effort to block potential Democrats or any major Republican challenger from jumping into an open Senate race.
Alme is taking on Democrat Alani Bankhead and independent candidate Seth Bodnar in the November election. Bankhead and Bodner have been duking it out for weeks, with each appealing to different factions of the Democratic party and calling on the other to drop out.
Bankhead, a retired Air Force officer, unexpectedly won the Democratic primary earlier this month, boosted by grassroots supporters and more than $2.5 million in outside money from a progressive veterans’ PAC. But Bodnar, a former University of Montana president who did not appear on the primary ballot, has bipartisan endorsements from prominent establishment figures, including former Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot. He’s also significantly outraised Bankhead and Alme.
This Senate seat is rated “solid Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook’s Political Report, meaning Alme is well-positioned to win the general election. But this race would be more competitive if Bodner and Alme were going head to head, without Bankhead in the running.
Where Khloe Kardashian Stands With Ex French Montana More Than 10 Years After Breakup
French Montana is done keeping up with reality TV.
In fact, he only agreed to appear on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons over a decade ago as a favor to then-girlfriend Khloe Kardashian.
“She said to get on the show,” he exclusively told E! News at the BET Awards on June 28. “And I got on the show. Shout out to Khloe.”
The “Ever Since U Left Me” rapper, who split with Kardashian in December 2014 after eight months of dating, said the experience was “fun” because her family kept it real.
“They filmed their real life,” he continued. “And we were part of something together that one time. So it felt great. It didn’t feel like work because they film what they do everyday.”
As for his future in reality TV, the 41-year-old said those days are over, shutting down any prospective offers with a simple, “Negative.”
Although the “Unforgettable” artist—whose real name is Karim Kharbouch—may not be returning to television anytime soon, he has no problem hanging out with his ex-girlfriend these days.
-
Massachusetts59 seconds agoWho will take care of our older and disabled people? – The Boston Globe
-
Minnesota6 minutes agoAllie Lauer Of St. Cloud Tech Claims Clay Shooting Championship With A Score Of 99
-
Mississippi13 minutes agoBobby Harrison: Mississippi Democrats hope they are not saying ‘if’ again after midterm elections
-
Missouri16 minutes agoNick Bolton earns induction into the Missouri Athletic Hall of Fame
-
Montana21 minutes agoMontana GOP Senate Nominee Kurt Alme Let Child Sex Offender Off The Hook
-
Nebraska28 minutes ago49 states allow nurse midwives to deliver your baby inside your home. Not Nebraska.
-
Nevada31 minutes agoVoting rights advocates score three legal victories but remain on alert against election threats
-
New Hampshire36 minutes agoDeclassified Pentagon UFO files detail mysterious 1947 incident in New Hampshire
