Spring Sports Preview 2012

SPRING SPORTS

PREVIEW 2012

TENNIS

TRACK

GOLF

©2012

2 April 2012 The Valley News/Herald-JournalSPRING SPORTS

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KENT DINNEBIERStaff Writer

Although ShonWells is returning forhis second season ashead coach at ClarindaAcademy, the samecannot be said of anyof the boys’ track teammembers this season.

The Eagles openedpractice Monday,March 5, and have 25members on the boys’track team. However,none of those athletescompeted in track lastyear for the Academyand for many of thestudents this will bethe first time they haveparticipated in anyorganized sport.

“A lot of these guyshave never played anyorganized sports intheir life,” Wells said.“That could make ittough in the beginning,so as a coach I’mstressing the impor-tance of working hardand working together.”

Despite having ahigh learning curve,Wells is confident thesolid effort the Eagleshave turned in duringthe preseason will ulti-mately lead to successon the track. ClarindaAcademy opened theseason Tuesday, April

3, at East Union and hesaid the first few meetsof the season will be alearning experience forthe team.

“I think we’llbecome more andmore competitive asthe season goes along.

Once conference anddistricts come around,I’m sure we’ll be fine,”Wells said.

T r a d i t i o n a l l y ,Clarinda Academy hasexcelled in the sprintsand Wells expects thatto be the case again

this season. He alsosaid the Eagles alsohave some distancerunners who couldemerge as consistentscorers for the teamlater in the year.

However, Wells saidhis primary objective

for the season is tomake the members ofhis team better men. Inorder to accomplishthis, he has focused ontwo key principles.

“We can’t focus a loton wins and losses.The things I push in

practice are effort andintegrity,” Wells said.“I’m not so concernedabout how we stack upagainst anyone elseright now. We just haveto focus on what we’redoing and try to getbetter every meet.”

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Clarinda Academy boys’ track members this season include Dorrien Allen, Kareem Reed, Jamon Hill, Bacari Meadows, Damani Matthews, AntwainRobinson, Steven Loers, Darius Washington, Johnson Rodney Rederford, Joel Charging, Greg Cloud, Brian Copeland, Dari Oliver, Turrell Dugger, RichardAbolos, Randy Taysom, Kendale Wilkerson, Tyler Cressman, Nolan, Kenny Norman, Robert Manning, Kevvon Watson, Demetrius Thomas, Mick Dates,Markel Hall, Melvin Smith, Steven Bowman, Gavin Sager, Ira Whitebull and Brandon Lane. (submitted photo)

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Jason Armstrong isreturning for his fifthseason as head coachof the ClarindaAcademy girls’ trackprogram this year andhe believes the Eaglesare poised to have oneof their most success-ful seasons ever.

The Eagles have 22athletes out for thegirls’ track teamincluding returningstate qualifier MelissaHalbert. She finished19th in the 400 meterdash at the state meetand set the ClarindaAcademy schoolrecord in the event.

In addition, TamikaMarsh is also back thisseason for theAcademy. Marsh com-petes in the 800 meterrun and just missedjoining Halbert at thestate meet a year ago.

“Their success hascarried over to every-body. Everybody seesthe work ethic that weneed to have and Ithink the girls haveworked really hardduring the first twoweeks of practice,”Armstrong said. “Withthe way these girlshave worked, I feel this

could be a solid seasonfor us.”

Armstrong alsoserved as the girls’ bas-ketball coach at theAcademy and has afew of his hardwoodplayers on the trackteam. Since thoseplayers are familiarwith what he demandsof his team, Armstrongsaid those girls have

also helped assume aleadership role withthe track squad.

While some depend-able sprinters couldemerge for the Eaglesover the course of theseason, Armstrongsaid the true strengthof the Academy squadthis season looks to bethe middle distanceevents.

“That is where Ithink we’re reallystrong. I think I havefive or six girls thatcan run 400 or 800meters,” Armstrongsaid. “I might even beable to stick them inthe 1,500 and havethem run a decentrace.”

Even with all thepotential the Eagles

have this season,Armstrong said his pri-mary goal for the teamis remaining the sameas in years past; tofocus on improvingwith every meet.

“It’s the one sportwhere you can checkand see if you areimproving. The time isnot going to lie. If youget better, you’re time

is going to show it,”Armstrong said.

Clarinda Academy isalso aiming at turningin a strong showing atthe Corner Conferencetrack meet.

“With this group ofgirls, I think we have agood shot of being inthe upper half of thec o n f e r e n c e , ”Armstrong said.

Members of the Clarinda Academy girls’ track team this season include Diana Birdsell, Zakya Dargin, Endia Denton, Jasmine Gallardo, Brook Harms,Olivia Harris, Emily Hughes, Angela Jefferson, Raven Johnson, Gen Kubesh, Lydia Ladeaux, Brandi Lindstrom, Alexis Newton, Jennifer Ose, MackenzieOverton, Nancy Smith, Jessica Tolbert, December Tyler, Keke Usher, Miracle Vang, Mariah Watson and Tamika Marsh. (submitted photo)

Academy girls’ track team aiming for upper half at Conference meet

April 2012 5The Valley News/Herald-Journal SPRING SPORTS

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Multi-sport standoutLevil Allen returns forhis senior season tolead Essex into the2012 track and fieldseason.

Allen was part of anexciting finish in the800 meter last year atthe Corner Conferencetrack meet in Tabor.He finished less thetwo seconds behindbehind the leader andwas just edged out forsecond at the tape.

Allen was the lead-ing point scorer forEssex at last years con-ference meet. He willbe able to score pintsin anything middle dis-tance and will fill vitalroles on relays thisyear for the Trojans.

Zach Dailey ran 400meters last year forEssex and can also fillmiddle distance roleson relay teams thisyear for the Trojans.Cameron Kinney ran

sprints last year andwas a member of theCorner Conferencewinning medley relayteam.

Lane Brammer will

throw the shot put anddiscus this season andNick Williams joinsthe team this year aftermaking an impact overthe winter on the Essex

basketball teams.Justin Moyer ran the400 hurdles last seasonfor Essex and will beanother of the Trojansstrong middle distance

runner this season.The Trojans return

nearly every majorpoint scorer from lastseason except for dis-tance standout except

for Tate Jensen whowas lost to graduation.

Head Coach MikeAlmquist will havearound 15 athletes tochoose from this year.

Members of the Essex boys’ track team this season include (front) Quentin Bengston, Brett Baucom, Levi Allen, Jordan Jones, Justin Moyer, CameronKinney, Cody Dinsmore, Branson Naico, Dallas Lindsey; (middle) Kaleb Kelley, Jacob Ohnmacht, Nick Williams, Seth Mortimore, Jacob Jones, Zach Dailey;(back) Daniel Blank, Tucker Scott, Dakota Davis, Avery Taylor, and Lane Brammer. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Essex boys’ track team brings medal-winning experience for 2012

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The outlook is opti-mistic this season forhead coach ChrisVisser and hisTrojanette squad andwhy wouldn’t it be?

Essex returns all fourmembers of last years4x800 meter relayteam that qualified forthe state tournament.Although theTrojanettes lost AnnieLindburg due to gradu-ation, everyone elsereturns and Essex has20 runners this season.

“We don’t just havenumbers,” said Visser.“We have good num-bers. A bunch of girlsthat work really hardand listen when we tryto help them.”

Seana Perkins,Mariah Johnson,Jasmine Glasgo andHaley Fundermannmade the trip to DesMoines last year to runthe 4x800. That quartetwill be dangerous inall middle distanceevents, and StephanieMcBride runs the 800and 1,500 meters aswell and will be push-ing for a spot on one ofthe relays.

Johnson won theCorner Conference

title in both the 800and 1500 meters lastyear..

“We should haveplenty of options forrelays,” said Visser.“Their times are allshowing so muchimprovement over lastyear. Some of the girlsran cross country lastfall and that reallyhelps.”

Naela Thorntonreturns to run the hur-dles and maybe a 200meter as well. KymGraham joins the teamthis year as a freshmanand her athleticismwill make her a factorin a number of events.Regan Burns is show-ing improvement inthe throwing events.

Amber Ohnmacht is

another new face thisseason for Essex.

“Regan has beenworking so hard on hertechnique,” said Visser.“We are very excitedto see how she does inthe shot and discus thisseason.”

Visser says the keythis year will be thebalance, and his teamsability to score points

in a lot of events.“Some events we

will have a chance ofwinning, but in a lot ofcases we will also havethe chance to pick upfourths and fifths,’ saidVisser. “We shouldalso be able to fill allthe events and that willhelp too.”

The Trojanettes wonthe Corner Conference

title two years agowith less then ten ath-letes, several of whomare still on this yearsteam.

“It’s an exciting timefor everyone and weare looking forward tosee how we performthis season,” saidVisser. “It’s a coach-able, competitivegroup.”

Members of the Essex girls’ track team this season include (front) Haley Fundermann, Mariah Johnson, Tessie Lindburg, Naela Thornton, Aspen Riley,Jasmine Glasgo; (middle) Kassi Decuir, Regan Burns, Seana Perkins, Stephanie McBride, Kendria Johnson, Skylar Ross, Lexi Graham; (back) Katie Radley,Michaela Williams, Amber Ohnmacht, Andrea Allen, Samantha Racine, Kym Graham, and Sara Skalberg. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Trojanettes hope to build off state qualifying, conference title efforts


State medalist A.J.Scarborough leadsthree time defendingCorner Conferencetrack and firld champi-ons Fremont-Mills intothe 2012 season.Scarborough was thelone CornerConference individualchampion (discus) atlast years’ regionalmeet and was the onlyconference athlete tomedal at state in anindividual event.

Nate Meier (110 hur-dles) and DallasFranks (discus) joinedScarborough as indi-vidual qualifiers at

least years’ state meet,both narrowly missingout on medals. Meierand Scarborough alsoqualified as membersof two relays theKnights sent to statelast season.

Scarborough andMeier ran on theKnights sixth placeshuttle hurdle relayteam in Des Moinesalong with ClaytonWilson who alsoreturns this season.Wilson is a longjumper and highjumper as well.

F-M returns much ofits state qualifying4x800 team as well.Nick Williams, KevinHerrick and Dylan

Collins return.Herrick and Collinswill run mostly dis-tance events and

Williams will run any-thing through the 800.

Josh Larsen willlong jump and run

sprints in a variety ofrelays for the Knightswho will be heavilyfavored to win a fourth

consecutive confer-ence title. Depth won’tbe a problem with 26athletes suiting up.


Fremont-Mills boys’ track thisseason includes (front) DallasFranks, Seth Phillips, LoganWood, Gabe Scarborough,Derek Sawnson; (middle)Preston Schaaf, Hayden Meier,Brandon Meston, MackenzyLang, Dylan Collins, BrocHansen, Chris Goodman, AlexTobin; (back) Alex Hastie,Spencer Phillips, Mark Hall,Kevin Herrick, Dakota Thomas,Clayton Wilson, Josh Larsen,Nate Meier, Nick Williams, andCurtis Beem. Not pictured:Conner Humphreys, AidenCase, AJ Scarborough, andJace Kemp. (photo by JasonGlenn)

Knights heavily favored to win fourth consecutive conference crown


400 meter specialistKalyn Madison returnsthis season forF r e m o n t - M i l l s .Madison won medalsat the CornerConference meet lastseason in both the 400meter and 400 meterlow hurdles. Madisonwas second among theLady Knights last sea-son in points scored atthe conference meetbehind now graduatedBrandi Menecucci.

The Knights willhave to find a way toreplace her points.Menecucci won thediscus and was third in

the shot put for F-Mwho was fifth overallin the conferencestandings one seasonago.

“We should bestrongest this season inmiddle distanceevents,” said LadyKnights head coachKyle Fichter. “We willbe able to move manypeople around and rundifferent events at dif-ferent meets as wehave more talent thanwe have had the pastcouple of years.”

Ashley McClary willbe one of the two lead-ing contenders forthis years title in thehigh jump after finish-ing third one season

ago. She also ran theanchor leg on F-M’srunner-up shuttle hur-dle relay team.

Mary Fichter returnsafter running the 100

meter last season.Cassie Gilbert ran the1,500 meter last springfor the Lady Knights.F-M has gottentremendous production

from its freshman classthis season in both vol-leyball and basketball.Track should be no dif-ferent. Tayrn and MacyWilliams have been

starters on both thevolleyball and basket-ball teams this seasonand will surely con-tribute this season onthe track.

Members of the Fremont-Millsgirls’ track team this seasoninclude (front) Kayleigh Cole,Jessica Jamison, Emma Donahue,Makenna Thomas, Kendall Fichter,Brandi Beem, Cassie Gilbert, SaraiMiramontes; (middle) KelseyHurley, Emily Smith, MadisonPowers, Kalyn Madison, OliviaSchaaf, Macy Williams, AlyssaGilbert; (back) Katie Blake, MaryAmelia Fichter, Andrea McClary,Kelsie Meier, Ashley McClary, TarynWilliams, Birdi Miramontes. Notpictured: Adrienne Alexander,Jessica Laubert, and KaitlynnFichter. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Fremont-Mills girls’ track team taking run at Corner Conference title



The teams that made upFremont County golf inyears past will all competeas separate teams this sea-son.

Fremont-Mills will fielda boys team only and theKnights will be coached byTom Dinville. members ofthe team this year are JesseDady, Caleb Bowles,Mason Umphreys, LandenNissen, Frank Prazen,Cody Steinbach, DrakeCampbell and BrandonPetersen.

Janice Shanno will coach

the both the Cowboys andCowgirls squads this sea-son in Sidney. DomonicSpencer, Clinton Clark,Nicko Fichter and RyanBohlen all return fortheCowboys this season.Logan Doty, MollyLongman, Katie Kuhr andMorgan Vanatta will beamong the competitors onthe Cowgirls squad.

Nick Hodges will coachboth the boys’ and girls’Nishnabotna squads.thiss e a s o n .

All three schools willplay in the sectional golfmeet to be held Friday,May 11, at Griswold.

Members of theFremont-Millsboys’ golf teamthis seasoninclude JesseDady, CalebBowles, MasonU m p h r e y s ,Landen Nissen,Frank Prazen,Cody Steinbach,and DrakeCampbell. Notp i c t u r e d :B r a n d o nP e t e r s e n .(photo by JasonGlenn)

Fremont County golf teams will have completely different look in ’12

Members of the Nishnabotna boys’ golf team this season include Jacob Welchans,William Green, Tyler Beam, Riley Scroggie, Joe Gude, Kyle Tillman, Cole Ward, and KelseyPoe. Not pictured: Blake Schwartz. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Members of the Nishnabotna girls’ golf team this season include Amanda Brennan,Amber Miller, Miranda Scroggie, and Nickole Schwartz. Not pictured: Sam Moran, OliviaWhite, and Kelli Robinson. (photo by Jason Glenn)

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District qualifiersKramer Samuelsonand Dakin Wilcoxsonreturn to anchor aClarinda boys’ golfteam looking toimprove upon fourthplace at last season’ssectional tournament.

“They’re both veryaccomplished golferswho are consistent andcan score low on anygiven day,” Clarindacoach AndrewAlmelien said.

Also returning to theClarinda lineup from ateam that posted a dualrecord of 6-3 andclaimed a third place

finish at tournament inShenandoah last sea-son are letter-winnersMatt Hayes and JoelHartstack.

The Cardinalsopened practiceMonday, March 12,and have 16 playersout for the team thisseason including threeseniors who are com-peting in golf for thefirst time during theirhigh school careers:Scott Brockman, TylerSteeve and CordellTurner.

“They have shownsigns of promise andhopefully their athleticability can help theteam,” Almelien said.

Rounding out the

Clarinda lineup aretwo juniors, two soph-omores and four fresh-men. Almelien said hewas pleased with theeffort all of the golfersturned in during thepreseason and theirdesire to improve theirgolf skills.

By improving theoverall play of theindividual golfers onthe team, Almelien ishopeful the Cardinalswill also be able toimprove on theireighth place finish lastseason at the Hawkeye10 Conference tourna-ment.

Carroll Kuemperappears to be the teamto be in the conference

this year, Almeliensaid, while Atlantic isalways strong and

Creston is on the rise.“We have the poten-

tial to be in the upper

half of the conference,but we are still untest-ed,” Almelien said.

Members of the Clarinda boys’ golf team this season are (front) Cordell Turner, KramerSamuelson, Zack Woodard, Sam Rarick, Matthew Hays, Sebastian Eighmy, Robbie Leach,Bowen Sigler; (back) Dakin Wilcoxson, Scott Brockman, Tyler Steeve, Kenny Hobson, JoelHartstack, Bucky Wulbecker, Harry Carson and coach Andrew Almelien. (photo courtesy ofJ&C Photography)

Clarinda boys’ golfers hope to ride consistency to postseason glory


After finishing thirdat the girls’ state golftournament last sea-son, the ClarindaCardinals are lookingto reload for anotherrun at the top spot inClass 2A.

The Cardinals wonthe Hawkeye 10, dis-trict, and regional teamtitles last year whileposting a 7-2 record indual play last season.Although Jenny Geerand Sarah Steinauerhave graduated fromthat squad, Clarindacoach Maria Jacobussaid all the other mem-bers of the varsity line-

up have returned.Among those who

return are seniorsSydney Rarick andCorie Woodard as wellas juniors BethAnderson, MarissaAnderson and EllieShane. Sophomoreswho could also con-tribute to the successof the Cardinals thisseason are HeatherAuffert, Leah Brookeand SamanthaSwanson.

“I think we’re in agreat situation,”Jacobus said. “Wehave a lot of kids thathave that experienceand know what it feelslike to golf in a varsitymatch or play in an

important tourna-ment.”

Clarinda startedpractice March 12 andin all have 16 playersin the girls’ golf pro-gram. However,Jacobus said theexcitement surround-ing the upcoming sea-son has been buildingthroughout the schoolyear.

“They were talkingto me about playinggolf during the win-ter,” Jacobus said.“They are workinghard and have a greatattitude.”

The Cardinalsopened their seasonMarch 29 with a dualhome dual against

Corning. Jacobus saidthe team was hoping

that match would bethe first step toward an

undefeated dual sea-son.

Members of the Clarinda girls’ golf team this season are (front) Marissa Anderson,Sydney Rarick, Corie Woodard, Beth Anderson; (middle) Samantha Swanson, HeatherAuffert, Mackenzie Jones, Stephanie Marsh, Taylor Prather; (back) Mackenzie Farlin,McKayla Long, coach Maria Jacobus, Lexie Brown and Molly Lederer. Not pictured are EllieShane, Kristine McCunn and Leah Brooke. (photo courtesy of J&C Photography)

Cardinal girls’ golf reloading for another run at state title in 2012



After suffering sev-eral narrow defeats lastseason, the Clarindaboys’ tennis team isseeking a reversal offortune this season.

Clarinda coach MattBird said the Cardinalsposted a 3-6 record lastyear, but several ofthose losses were onlybe one match. “We’rehoping to state com-petitive and turn those5-4 losses into 5-4 or6-3 wins,” he said.

The Cardinals havethe potential to achievethat goal as they returnfive letter-winnersfrom a year ago. Those

players include seniorsJeremiah Haug, AlexHiatt and Logan Sump.Sophomores NickClement and NateJones also return to thelineup.

“It’s nice to bringback Logan, Jeremiahand Alex. They have alot of varsity experi-ence. Nate and Nickalso played severalvarsity matches for uslast year,” Bird said.

Senior ForestGreenwood is in con-tention to make thevarsity roster, whilesophomores ColinSunderman and JordanTate are back, too.

The final three mem-bers of the Clarinda

squad are freshmenDedrick Kettwick,Austin Smith and TreyStickler.

“For the first time inthree seasons we havea nice mix of newcom-ers and experience,”Bird said. “I expect thevarsity team to changea few times betweennow and the time weget to April with thecompetition we have.”

Clarinda opened theboys’ tennis seasonApril 2 with a homematch againstHawkeye 10Conference rivalShenandoah. Bird saidthe conference looks tobe strong once againthis season.

Members of the Clarinda boys’ tennis team this season are (front) Nick Clement, TreyStickler, Dedric Kettwick, Austin Smith; (back) Alex Hiatt, Nate Jones, Logan Sump, ColinSunderman, Jordan Tait and Jeremiah Haug. Not pictured is Forrest Greenwood. TheCardinals are coached by Matt Bird. (photo by Kent Dinnebier)

Cardinal boys’ tennis team looks to reverse fortunes, find success


Although TealDriscoll and BethReiter are no longermembers of theClarinda girls’ tennisteam, the Cardinals arestill feeling theirimpact this season.

Playing as doublespartners, Driscoll andReiter qualified for thegirls’ state tennis tour-nament last season asseniors.

“Some of the girlscame up and watched.Now, they want to goup there too,” Clarindacoach Randy Pullensaid. “It was a verypositive experience

that should carry overto this year.”

The Cardinalsopened practice for the2012 season Monday,March 12, and have 13players out for theteam. Among thoseplayers are returningletter-winners KristaRogers, Casey Deanand Morgan Hartley.

“It’s always impor-tant to have thosereturning letter win-ners to provide leader-ship to the team andshow the youngerplayers what to do.They have been work-ing hard and setting agood example for therest of the team,”Pullen said.

Although theCardinals will be put-ting a younger lineupon the court this sea-son, Pullen said thesquad is still aiming topost a winning record,finish in the top half ofthe Hawkeye 10Conference and makea run at making it tothe state tournament.

Clarinda opened thegirls’ tennis season atShenandoah Monday,April 2.

“All the girls want toplay tennis and com-pete. We have a littlesmaller team this year,so everyone should getmore court time and bea lot more involved,”Pullen said.

Members of the Clarinda girls’ tennis team this season are (front) Rachel Schrier, KaityWilliams, Morgan Hartley; (middle) Fumi Hoshizuka, Hannah Davison, Casey Dean, KristaRogers; (back) Emma Pullen, Abby Brown, Kayla Rogers, Emma Steeve, Nicole Hoyt andcoach Randy Pullen. Not pictured is Joselyn Pulliam. (photo by Kent Dinnebier)

Minus state qualifiers, Cardinal girls’ tennis team builds on success


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With another year ofcompetition undertheir belts, theClarinda boys’ trackteam is looking to turnthat experience intosuccess this season.

“We were a fairlyyoung team last yearand hopefully that willpay dividends for usthis year,” Clarindacoach Dave Carpersaid.

The Cardinals have astrong group of sen-iors, including twostate qualifiers amongthe 31 athletes that areout. Jared Stansburyqualified for the statetrack meet in the 110meter high hurdles,while Brandon Sweetqualified in the 400meter low hurdles.

Aaron Spinler alsoreturns for his fourthseason with theCardinals. He willcompete in the 400meter dash and 800meter run. Meanwhile,seniors Alex Archerand Zach Aucker areparticipating in trackfor the first time.Archer is expected tocompete in sprints andshuttle hurdle eventsup to 400 meters.

Aucker will be runningmiddle distance anddistance events for theCardinals.

“The main thingabout having a goodgroup of seniors isthey are kind of theleaders of the pack.Our seniors are push-ing the younger kids togo out and that helpsthe program a greatdeal,” Carper said.

Other returning let-ter-winners forClarinda include TrentAldrich, Troy Aldrich,Matt Barr, Noah Bix,Justin Cabeen, JackDavidson, IsaacDurfey, BlakeLuckado, TonyMcGlade and JordanPeterman.

Rounding out theClarinda lineup are 10freshmen. Although

they are unproven,Carper said theyounger athletes willbe counted on to con-tribute at the juniorvarsity level and couldearn varsity time ifthey prove deserving.

With Stansbury andSweet anchoring thehurdlers, Carper saidhe expects those eventsto be among thestrengths for the

Cardinals this year.“We would also like

to qualify for the shut-tle hurdle, but we needto find a fourth personto run that,” Carpersaid. “Our sprint relaysshould also be strongerthan what they havebeen in the past and Ialso think we’ll consis-tently score in the highjump.”

Clarinda opened the

boys’ track seasonMarch 27 with theHawkeye 10 SouthMeet at Shenandoahand host the CardinalRelays April 5.

“Track is a sportwhere you really com-pete against yourself,”Carper said. “If yourtimes or distances getbetter over the courseof the season that is asuccessful season.”

Members of the Clarinda boys’ track team this season are (front) Jared Stansbury, Brandon Sweet, Alex Archer, Zach Aucker, Aaron Spinler; (second)Kyle Holmes, Eddy Love, Trent Aldrich, Justin Cabeen, Brook Stevens, Isaac Durfey, Jack Davidson; (third) Luke Strong, Clint Fine, Jett Kettwick, BrandonMeyers, Cain Johanns, Andrew Denham, Jordan Hernandez, Evan Boltinghouse; (back) Dylan Strait, Noah Bix, Jordan Peterman, Jared DeVoe, DakotaCalfee, Ross Christie and Alex Chambers. Not pictured are Tony McGlade, Troy Aldrich, Blake Luckado and Matt Barr. (photo courtesy of J&C Photography)

Cardinal boys’ track boasts senior-, talent-laden roster this season


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Clarinda seniorKaylee Buch, alongwith sophomoresJenny Bair and DarcySunderman, have theirsights set on returningto Des Moines for thegirls’ state track meetand they are hopeful afew more of theirCardinal teammateswill join them.

Last season, Buchfinished eighth at thestate meet in the shotput. Meanwhile, Bairqualified for state inthe 400 meter dash and800 meter run.Sunderman also quali-fied in to events for theCardinals as she com-peted in the 400 meterhurdles and the highjump.

In addition, Clarindacoach John Cole saidPaige Fast and EmilyMcComb are eachback this season forthe Cardinals. Theyserved as alternates forClarinda at the statemeet.

Anna Smith is alsoreturning to theClarinda lineup for hersenior season, whilesenior Shaylea Fosteris competing in trackfor the first time this

year.“We have several

girls with experienceand there are someothers that are backthat are really going tohelp us out,” Cole said.“Their talent and lead-ership are really goingto be important.”

The Cardinalsopened practice Feb.27 and have a total of21 members on the

girls’ track team thisseason. That includes agroup of 10 freshmen.

“The girls we haveback are also excitedabout the freshmen wehave coming in,” Colesaid. “Those freshmenhave a lot of talent andthey are willing towork hard. So we havea good mix of experi-ence and have severalgirls who will be com-

peting in each event.”As a result, Cole said

the Cardinals arefocused on improvingas a team and scoringbetter at meets. “Wehave to support eachother. If we can buildthat team unity, theywill see the improve-ment and reach thesuccess they want,” hesaid.

Meanwhile, another

key to the success ofClarinda looks to bethe middle distanceraces. Cole said theCardinals’ lineup inthose events should bemuch stronger than ithas been in recentyears.

Clarinda opened theseason by hosting theHawkeye 10 Southmeet March 27 andthen many of those

schools returned April3 for the CardinalRelays. Cole saidthose two early meetsshould give theCardinals an indicationwhere they rank inconference standings.

“The Hawkeye 10 isalways a tough confer-ence. Every school hassomebody that is goingto be tough in an eventor two,” Cole said.

Members of the Clarinda girls’ track team this season are (front) Emily McComb, Karyee Buch, Anna Smith, Shaylea Foster; (middle) Elizabeth Mayer,Maddie Davidson, Paige Fast, Skylee Landess, Jaedra Moses, Shelby Foster, Sydney Prather, Natali Donahue; (back) Bailey Mellencamp, Halle Goodie,Karyee Buch, Jenny Bair, Darcy Sunderman, Baillee Warren, Mariah Mullen, Ali Van Vactor and Klarissa McElroy. (photo by Kent Dinnebier)

Cardinal girls’ track team hopes to take more athletes to state meet


JASON GLENNStaff Writer

With a core group offour experiencedgolfers returning to thelineup, including a pairof all-conferenceselections, finding afifth and sixth starterwho can step up willbe key for the Mustanggolf team this season.

“We have some guyswho can hit some goodshots and we’ll proba-bly struggle at times,so finding two morepeople to score consis-tently is going to bethe thing that couldmake or break us therest of the year,” coachJon Weinrich said.

Returning All-Hawkeye 10 picksJackson Baker andDavid Hogue and sea-soned starters DrewNielsen and DrewBayless will anchorthe team, whileWeinrich said he willuse Thursday’s quali-fying round to find twomore players to fill outthe top six. Weinrichadded there are a lot ofchances for guys tocontribute.

As is most often thecase, there’s no betterteacher or gauge forhow an athlete is goingto perform than actualcompetition and thepressure that comeswith it, Weinrich said.

While he has four guyswith solid experienceto count on for the fourlow scores that makeup team totals in com-petition, Weinrich saidhaving guys in the No.5 and No. 6 spots whocan go low and occa-sionally pick up theslack makes everybodymore comfortable.

Now that theMustang squad is nolonger combined withFarragut, they’ll beback in Class 2A thisyear, something thatWeinrich said couldhelp improve thechances that a coupleof his golfers reachtheir goals of making atrip to the state tourna-

ment. But, unlike somesports, he said, in golf

bumping down a classdoesn’t necessarily

mean the competitiongets any easier.

Members of the Shenandoah boys’ golf team are (front) Tyler Northwehr, Jordan Matheny,Ciaran Mulligan, Thomas Rice, Zane O'Neil, Payden Anderson, Jackson Baker; (back) KyleJones, Spencer Baldwin, David Hogue, Drew Bayless, Sean Gluck, Tyler Lorimer, and DrewNielsen. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Mustang golfers looking to find players to fill fifth, sixth roster spots


In one respect, theShenandoah Filliegolfers will rely onteamwork more thanever, with a number ofgirls capable of goodscores but no clearsuperstar. In another,Coach Kyan Kirkholmsaid, they’re going tohave to focus solely onplaying their owngame consistently andnot getting distractedor intimidated by theopponents they’re tee-ing off against.

“When you golf, Iknow it’s a team sporthere, but golf is notmeant to be a team

sport, it’s supposed tobe you going againstthe golf course,”Kirkholm said.

Kirkholm said he’dgotten a good chanceto gauge his athletes’abilities . If they canpost the solid regularscores they’re capableof, even without asuper-low round, theycan be right in thethick of things.

“We don’t reallyhave a one and twogolfer, we have a messof three, four and fivegolfers,” Kirkholmsaid.

To start the season,Jasmyn Woolery,Kristen Fichter, AdrianRuzek and Shyanne

Powers will rotatethrough the top fourspots to find out whereeach is comfortable,Kirkholm said.Yessenia Barbosa andCiera Hoyt will roundout the Fillie six.

Shenandoah openedthe season March 29with a third-placeshowing at theAbraham LincolnInvitational.

The big key besidesconsistency, Kirkholmstressed, was toremember shot rou-tines and keep themental mistakes to aminimum.

“We have a philoso-phy here, that I tellevery girl, is that we

come out here to havefun, but the second one

is that you don’t followa bad shot with a bad

shot and that’s the big-gie,” he said.

Members of the Shenandoah girls’ golf team are (front) Kristen Fichter, Darby Skillern,Yessenia Barbosa; (middle) Shyanne Powers, Daniela Rodriguez, Ciera Hoyt, Adrian Ruzek;(back) Jasmyn Woolery. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Fillie golfers will have to rely on each other more than ever in 2012



Despite losing anumber of players tograduation last year,Mustang boys tenniscoach Tom French saidhe doesn’t expect a dipin the team’s perform-ance this spring.

“Usually when thathappens, you’re in abuilding year,” he said.“I think we’re going tosurprise some peoplewith where we’re at.”

Though he has justtwo returning startersand a couple of playerswho saw limited varsi-ty time last year,French said most of hisguys put in a ton of

practice and competi-tion time over the win-ter to gain experienceand came into this sea-son looking far betterthan he would haveimagined.

“I’m impressed. Allthese guys have takenlessons, the top fivehave taken private les-sons in Red Oak andthen they’ve beenplaying league indoorsat Red Oak all winterlong,” French said.

Starting off the sea-son on April 4 againstClarinda at home, theMustang lineup will bejunior Jacob Holmes atthe No. 1 spot, seniorTrent Turney at No.2,sophomore Bradley

Young at No. 3, juniorKyle Fischer at No. 4and two freshmen,Ryan Niccoli and JoshMiller, rounding outthe starting six.

French said the topfive spots were proba-bly locked in for thetime being, but that anumber of guys on thevarsity bubble couldcontend for Number 6.He said he’s lookingforward to learninghow his less experi-enced players react tonew challenges.

“These dual meets,you’re just building arecord for conferenceand for district tennisat the end of the sea-son,” he said.

Members of the Shenandoah boys’ tennis team are (front) Brendon Dostal, Ryan Niccoli,Andrew Dostal, Kevin Hansen, David Edds; (middle) Austin Feller, Josh Miller, Tyler Meyer;(back) Coach French, Kyle Fischer, Trent Turney and Jacob Holmes. Not pictured: BradleyYoung and Tyler Wright. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Mustang tennis team may be young but isn’t necessarily green


With three returningplayers from lastyear’s Hawkeye 10runner up team, twofeisty freshmen and atalented foreignexchange student intheir top spot, theShenandoah Fillie ten-nis team is anticipatinganother heady cam-paign this season.

“We have a goodgroup of girls, a nicesolid group and a fungroup to coach,” coachBrian Daoust said.

Leading the way forthe Fillies, who fin-ished 8-2 in regularseason dual meets last

year, will be threereturning letter win-ners – seniorMackenzie Johnson atNo. 2, junior TarynneKinghorn at No. 3 andsenior AshtonMatheny at No. 4. Atthe Nos. 5 and 6 spots,the Fillies will befreshmen JordanMajor and HannahDailey.

“That was a reallynice surprise thatthey’re competingreally hard with someexperienced players,”Daoust said.

At No. 1, KimberlyGraf, an exchange stu-dent from Switzerlandwho also alreadyproven her athleticism

as an all-conferencevolleyball player andthe most improvedplayer on the Filliebasketball team, mightjust be saving her bestsport for last, Daoustsaid.

“She’s played all herlife, she’s kind of dedi-cated herself to it andshe has parents thathave pushed the sportthroughout her life.You can tell her focusis there,” he said.

Daoust said the com-petition between Grafand Johnson for theNo.1 spot was impres-sive, adding that out of10 matches it wouldtough to say who’dwin more. He also said

Kinghorn had madebig strides since last

season and, like manyof the girls, seemed to

have a bigger courtpresence.

Members of the Shenandoah girls’ tennis team are (front) Ashton Matheny, Nina Granz,Francis Hughes, Mackenzie Johnson, Kimberly Graf; (middle) Annkaren Cepeda, AlejandraOlague, Mirtha Gutierrez, Courtney Hays, Leanne Jensen, Emma Christensen, Jordan Major,Beth Wilson, Halley Plemel, Lili Lopez; (back) Manager Nicole Cepeda, Leslie Lopez, LorenBrady, Tarynne Kinghorn, Coach Brian Daoust, Hannah Dailey, Jami Wiesen, and ManagerBerkley Stanton. Not Pictured: Heidi Fichter. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Fillie tennis team looks to build off last year’s H-10 runner-up finish





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The ShenandoahMustang track andfield coach ShawnMorse is felling prettyconfident about thingsto come.

“We’ve gotten outthere early and that’sreally helped as far asour timing on therelays,” Morse said.“These kinds ofexchanges are riskybecause you’re doing itat full speed but myphilosophy is if you’renot going to do it atfull speed why bethere?”

Morse said the relayevents are going to bethe team’s bread andbutter this season, not-ing that nailing thecrisp synchronizationof the handoff in speedevents is a priority heinherited from coach-ing in Texas.

With strong perform-ances early on, espe-cially consideringthree of the top runners– Sean Skillern, KyleHiser and Parker Rice– weren’t in the lineup,Morse said he’s anx-ious to see the wholeteam together on thetrack at one time.

In terms of the vari-

ous running disci-plines, Morse said he’sexpecting big thingsfrom Skillern in thedistance events, HectorRendon in the 400 andJoe Racine in thesprints.

“We’re hoping to getSean in the low 4:30’sfor the mile so he’ll becompetitive whereverwe go, whatever trackmeet we’re at,” he said.

In addition toSkillern, Hiser, Racineand Rendon made thetrip to the state meetlast year as membersof the 4 x 200 and 4 x400 squads.

Beyond that, havingHiser and Parker backon the track as well asDamian Moore, SamKroepel and newcom-er Jacob Tacker willdefinitely put the

Mustangs speed relaysin strong contention inthe Hawkeye 10 thisyear.

Morse said they’reexperiencing somenice surprises in thefield events. Moorealready has a second-place finish in the longjump to his name,freshman ColemanDailey came awayfrom the team’s open-

ing meet with a fourth-place high jump effortand Travis Sunderman,in his second yearthrowing, picked upthird in the discus andlooks to be getting bet-ter every day.

Aside from having alittle extra time towork on batonexchanges, Morse saidone of the main thingsworking in the

Mustangs’ advantagethis early season is thegood off-season workaccomplished throughstrength coach BryanDiekmann’s program.

“It’s really trans-ferred into our trackprogram, you can seehow much stronger theboys are in terms ofrunning,” he said. “Itimproved our sprinterstremendously.”

Members of the Shenandoah boys’ track team this season are (front) Zac Taylor, Austin Larsen, Sean Skillern, Scott Hastings, Ramsey Hunt; (second)David Hu, Tyler Ranner, James Valquier, Caleb Count, Sam Kroepel, Michael Cisneros, Braden Doerr, Brandon Bain, Nate Hoyt, Ben Fair; (third) CoachDennis Allely, Joe Blake, Coleman Dailey, Jonah Baldwin, Kyle Hiser, Parker Rice, Hector Rendon, Damien Moore, Patrick Richardson, Travis Sunderman,Austin Manley, Evan Lindburg, Matt Gray, Coach Shawn Morse; (back) Tylor Clark, and Zac McCoy. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Mustangs will look to relays as key to team success this season


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If what coach JonSkillern sees in theShenandoah Fillietrack and field team sofar is indicative of theseason to come, he’sfeeling good aboutramping it up a notchfrom last year.

“We’ve got a nicemix of everything,”Skillern said. “It’sprobably one of themost well balancedgroups that we’ve hadfor a few years, in allevents. It gives us a lit-tle bit of versatility.”

Skillern said he’sgoing to look to hisseniors, many ofwhom made the trip tothe state meet in 2011,to set the pace andpush the other girls tosucceed. JamieSchubert and AnnaHart will be leadingthe always-strongFillie distance athletes,while LindseyHastings and JourdanPerkins drive thesprinters, hurdlers andjumpers and BaileyDeBolt continues to bethe team’s top thrower.

Beyond the seniors,Skillern said he wouldtruly be counting oneveryone to step up

and contribute, not theleast of whom are dis-tance runners AlexisSaner, Frannie Clarkand Megan Hart. Hesaid most of themcome in to the trackseason already in tiptop condition and hun-gry for competition.

“The experience thatthese guys have gainedthrough cross countryhelps them tremen-dously, as well,”Skillern said.

Having won two

events – the 4 x 800and distance medley –at last year’s regionalmeet and having sentsix girls to DrakeStadium for the sea-son-ending statewideshowdown, the Fillieshave a solid goal toaim for and beyond,Skillern said.

“We definitely usethe previous year tobuild on,” he said.“Last year’s successes,we hope they bringthat much more.”

And what will cer-tainly help the Filliesin the ambition,Skillern added, issomething they didn’thave last year, the gag-gle of talented fresh-man that have alreadyrun, leapt and thrownthemselves into the topspots of the team’s firstfew meets.

With Serena Parkerand Sydney Nielsen,two freshmen whohave already madethemselves known in

the conference throughtheir volleyball andbasketball talents,scoring high in throw-ing and jumping eventsat early meets, Skillernadded that Jaime runy-on in the hurdles andErica Munsinger in the400 have also beenproductive additions tothe roster.

“We’ve got a reallygood freshmen groupcoming in and they’regoing to get their feetwet right away,” he

said.But, still, the process

at this point is aboutletting everyone get afeel for what they wantto do, Skillern said. Atleast until the ClarindaRelays, that is.

“That’s when theseason really startsgetting cranked up,”Skillern said. “That’swhen we need to startmaking decisions andputting people in areaswhere they’ll benefitus the most.”

Members of the Shenandoah girls’ track team this season are (front) Giulia Pronzato, Jourdan Perkins, Bailey DeBolt, Anna Hart, Jamie Schubert,Lindsey Hastings; (middle) Erica Munsinger, Frannie Clark, Jamie Runyon, Mikayla Palmer, Mariah Bengtson, Andrea Gomez, Devon Wood, Stacie Fisher;(back) Coach Jon Skillern, Hannah Langley, Delanney Kinghorn, Alexis Saner, Serena Parker, Sydney Nielsen, Bailey McCormick, Whitney Croll, MeganBright, Megan Hart, and Coach Kent Schubert. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Fillie track team boasts experience, diverse talent in 2012 campaign


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The good news forthe Cowgirls this sea-son is that numbers areup more than double.Sidney head coachDonnie Sears will have17 athletes to workwith this season, andthat will mean morethan just being able tofill more events.

“It was deflating tothe girls last seasongoing to meets andonly filling a fewevents,” said Sears.“More opportunitiesfor everyone and morepoints on the score-board should make fora more positive prac-tice atmosphere. Morefun for everyone.”

Shelby Anderson isthe teams’ most provencommodity, and willonce again make animpact for theCowgirls this season inthe sprints. BaileyShirley will join her inthe sprint events.

“Shelby can run any-thing up through a 400meter,” said Sears.“Shirley is very quickand geared towards theshortest events.”

Rachel Finnell joinsthe team this season.

“Rachel is still learn-

ing to run but she isalready showingpogress in the shortevents,” said Sears.“She will help us inopen events andrelays.”

Taylor Holt is alsopenciled in for thesprints this season andcould run anything

from a 100 toa 400.“It’s the opposite of

the boys team,” saidSears. “The girls aremore naturally suitedto run the shorterevents and thats likelywhere we will score alot of our points.”

Emily Bohlen andKatelyn Harbour will

both throw shot anddiscus, but don’t beshocked if you seeHarbour on the trackas well.

“She can run,” saidSears. “ I think if weneeded her to step upand fill a spot shewould do it.”

Emily Whitehead

will run middle dis-tance, a 200 or 400,possibly even an 800.Molly Longman willrun distance events thisseason for theCowgirls.

Bailey Wilson,Mariah Yunker andAlexis Hall all join theteam this season.

Wilson is showingpromise in the 200

“Wilson could runanything up throug ha400 and already turnedin a decent time at anindoor meet in the200,” said Sears. “It’sgoing to be a lot morefun having options thisyear.”

Members of the Sidney girls’ track team this season are (front) Rachel Finnell, Daniela Faudoa, Shelby Anderson, Joely Marshall, Bailey Shirley, EmilyBohlen; (back) Katie Kuhr, Molly Longman, Katelyn Harbour, Jordan Bennett, Mariah Yunker, Makayla Smith, and Bailey Wilson. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Cowgirls have twice as many athletes out for track team this season


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At last years’ districttrack meet in Corning,Sidney’s streak ofappearances at thestate track meet was injeopardy until late inthe evening whenCasey Cruickshankturned in the perform-ances of the year toqualify in the 800meters. It was one oftwo streaks kept alivethat night.Cruickshank also kepthis own streak intactand he will enter hissenior season with achance to go four yearsin a row.

It will start withCasey this year,” saidSidney head coachDonnie Sears. “He hasdone the work. It’shard to say exactlyhow anyone’s seasonwill go, but Casey hasdone all the rightthings getting readyfor this season.”

Cruickshank hasqualified in the 800,4x800 relay and the3200. It’s the 800where its particularlyworrisome for oppo-nents to see him liningup to race. TheCowboys strengthsthis year will be in the

longer events..JaredGregory, who willthrow the shotput thisseason for theCowboys, is the onlyother senior on thisyears’ squad.

Phil Worcester hasbeen running distanceraces for the last twoyears and will againthis season for Sidney.

“Phil is showingprogress and his timesare getting faster,” saidSears. “He will makeus stronger in the mid-

dle distance andlonger.”

Noah McKeeverreturns this seasonafter running primarily400 meters in the past.

“Noah will do any-thing you ask him todo for the team,” saidSears. “He could run a400, be part of a 4x800team, just about any-thing. He works reallyhard and will make usmore versatile.”

Nicholas Shipley isshowing early progress

in the sprints.“Shipley is really

quick and has shownsome real promise sofar,” said Sears. “Hewill help us in relaysand open events.”

Mason Sheldon andJake Thorne both jointhe team this season.

“Couple of bigstrong kids,” saidSears. “They willmostly be sprinting100 to 400 meters.Open events andrelays, they give us

more depth in the shortevents.”

Zane Burge andDakota Graham arebattling injuries buthop to throw the shot-put and discus this sea-son for Sidney. ErickRodriguez may makean impact this season.Drake Strickler andJake Buck are practic-ing sprints and middledistance.

“Erick is a reallygood athlete and wewill try him anywhere

from 100 to 800,” saidSears. “Get an idea ofwhat he can do.”

Blaine Morelandcould also find himselfrunning an 800 thisseason and EmmitGilson will throw theshot and the discus.

“Gilson has beenthrowing in junior highbut the weight getsheavier this season, sowe will see how hedoes,” said Sears. “Hehas the potential to bereally good someday.”

Members of the Sidney boys’ track team are (front) David Janendo, Jake Burge, Blane Moreland, Noah McKeever, Nicholas Shipley, Emmett Gilson, WyattBurge; (middle) Jeremy Cain, Michael Coates, Chris Osborn, Antonio Rodriguez, Jarrod Murphy, Erick Rodriguez, Scott Hale; (back) Dakota Graham, JakeThorne, Mason Sheldon, Christian LeMaster, Phil Worcester, Devlin Lucas, Cody Timmerman, and Casey Cruickshank. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Cowboys, Cruickshank hope to see state meet streak continue in ’12



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The emphasis will beon quality rather thanquantity this season atNishnabotna. Firstyear track head coachJon Koenig will onlyhave a half dozen ath-letes to work with, buthe will have a gooddeal of talent amongthose six, includingtwo time state qualifierAndrew Thompson.Thompson has madethe trip to Des Moinesthat last two seasons ina row in both the 3,200and 1,600 meters.

“The upside of ourlow numbers is plentyof individual attentionduring practices thisseason,” said Koenig.“We will have time topersonalize workoutsand hopefully it willmake a difference bythe end of the season.”

Thompson will runan 800 on the sprintmedley team as well.

“I think we have the

right group of guys tohave a decent time inthe medley relay,” saidKoenig.

The Blue Devils willhave a couple goodmiddle distance run-ners in Nick Kuhr andMilan Patel.

“Those two guys arebest at 800 or 1,600meters,” said Koenig.

Johnny Wood andJacob Tristan will han-dle the shorter eventsand round out the med-ley relay team this sea-son for Botna.

“Wood is our realburner,” said Koenig.“Tristan can run a 200or a 400 and maybeeven throw the shotputand discus for us thisyear.”

Andrew Welch joinsthe team this year andhe will high jump inaddition to middle dis-tance duties.

“I think he couldscore well in the highjump for us if he devel-ops some consistency,”said Koenig. “He is a

pretty good jumper.”Koenig says it will

be important for theBlue Devils to avoidgetting caught up inthe scoreboard thisseason, and focusinstead on improvingindividual and relay

times I nthe hopes ofpost season success.

“We might not winmeets this year as ateam,” said Koenig.“But we don’t need towin as a team to winindividual events or topossibly advance run-

ners to state.”Thompson’s pres-

ence gives the BlueDevils an excellentchance to qualifysomeone for state, butKoenig wants to aimfor more.

“I want to see how

the medley relay pro-gresses and how muchwe improve this sea-son,” he said. “It wouldbe nice to get a fewguys through andthat’s what we aregoing to worktowards.”

Members of the Nishnabotna boys’ track team this season are Nick Kuhr, Andrew Welch, Andrew Thompson, JacobTristan, Zach Ratliff, Johnny Wood, and Milan Patel. (photo by Jason Glenn)

First-year coach takes reins of small but mighty Nishnabotna squad


Ashley Gilbert wasan inch away fromqualifying for state lastyear in the high jumpfor Nishnabotna andshe returns this season.

“Ashley spendscountless hours prac-ticing her high jump,”said Botna head coachMatt Peters. of Gilbertwho was the CornerConference championin the event last sea-son. “She will alsohelp any relay she runsin.”

Alexia Blank andMolly Goltz return tothe team as well and ifyou have watchedsports in the area overthe last few years youknow both bring adivirse set of atheltictalent to the table. Bothare solid up through800 meters.

“They are bothstrong runners andlead by example on thetrack,” said Peters.

Breanna Dyche willparticipate in a varietyof events.

“She is our lone sen-ior and I have askedher to step up andcontribute in a numberof levels,” said Peters.

Tabi Perkins is a hur-

dler and will anchorthe shuttle hurdlerelay. Kaylyn Poe willlong jump and adddepth among the BuleDevil relay teams.

Botna will have apair of sophomores inthe throwing events.

“Christa McCall andCarrissa Pabolo willhelp us in the shot putand discus, said Peters.“They are both strongyoung ladies with anexcellent future infield events.”

Anne Marie Maher

will use her consider-able athletic talent in avariety of events andJacy Hendrickson hasalready esptablisedherself as a solid mid-dle distance runner.

“Jacy Hendrickson isone of my strongest

runners. She will ber u n n i n g800 and 400 all yearlong,” said Peters.“She has unilimitedpotential.”

Botna doesn’t have aton of depth on theteam, but they have

plenty of talent.“Over all I’m very

optimistic with thissmall team,” saidPeters. “We don’t havenumbers but we havequality girls and Iwould take that everytime.”


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Members of the Nishnabotna girls’ track team this season are (front) Shelby Christiansen, Breanna Dyche; (middle) Alexia Blank, Jacy Hendrickson,Kaylyn Poe, Tabi Perkins; (back) Christa McCall, Anne-Marie Maher, Molly Goltz, Ashley Gilbert, and Carissa Pabolo. (photo by Jason Glenn)

Blue Devil girls’ track team bringing back load of talent in 2012


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With a young teamtaking the track thisseason at South Page,coach CheyenneMcClain is more con-cerned about the latekick for the Rebelsthan how they comeout of the blocks.

“We want to get bet-ter every week and atevery meet. If we canimprove our times anddistances, by the endof the year we’re hop-ing to have a relay oran individual that isclose to winning con-ference and maybeeven qualifying forstate,” McClain said.

The Rebels have 12people out for trackthis season includingfour returning letter-

winners from a yearago. Those athletes aresophomore MontanaHoyt, junior ZackNeihart, junior JacobSunderman and seniorRaymond Townsend.

“A couple of thoseguys were prettystrong for us last year.They were runningwell at the end of theseason and cuttingtheir times down,”McClain said.

Also returning forSouth Page this seasonwill be sophomoreBlake Harvey. Harveyhad his freshman sea-son cut short by injury,but before that heshowed signs of beinga very strong runnerfor the Rebels.

“He placed in mostour meets before theinjury and could

potentially emerge asone of the better 1,600meter runners in theconference,” McClainsaid.

Meanwhile, fresh-men Zach Petermanand Brian Story jointhe South Page squadafter posting solideighth grade seasonsfor the Rebels.Peterman is expectedto help complimentthe relay teams for theRebels, while Storywill primarily competein the throwing events.

The final membersof the South Pagetrack team this seasonare junior JacobStimson, sophomoreJoe Chesney, sopho-more Damian Davis,freshman MarcusMakey and freshmanMichael Wheelbarger.

Members of theSouth Page boys’track team are (frontrow) ZacharyPeterman, MichaelWheelbarger, ZackeryNeihart, JakeSunderman, MontanaHoyt, Brian Story;(back row) JacobStimson, MarcusMackey, Blake Harvey,Raymond Townsendand Damian Davis.(photo submitted)

Rebel boys ready to run hardKENT DINNEBIER

Staff Writer

Despite being smallin numbers, the SouthPage girls’ track teamis aiming to makesome big strides thisseason.

In order to do that,the Rebels will berelying on returningletter winners KelsieNeihart and KadyVanFosson. A senior,Neihart will competein the shot put and dis-cus for South Page.VanFosson, a junior,will serve as one of thefour sprinters and mid-dle distance runnersfor the Rebels.

South Page coachCheyenne McClainsaid the Rebels openedpractice March 5 andthe two upper class-

men immediately tookcontrol of the team andset the tone for the sea-son.

“They lead by exam-ple. They work hardand have great person-alities,” McClain said.“They are great towork with in track andin school. They are acouple of great kidswho want to improveand get better.”

With improvementover the course of theseason, McClain saidNeihart is aiming at anopportunity to com-pete at the state meetin at least one of thethrowing events.

Neihart will bejoined in the shot putby CheyanaBrownfield, whileVictoria Wheelbargerwill also compete in

the discus for theRebels. The othermember of the team isHeather Stimson.

Brownfield, Stimsonand Wheelbarger willjoin VanFosson in thesprints and middle dis-tances races this sea-son. McClain said theymay also join forcesfor a relay race or two.

“We’re trying to getin shape and we wantto improve as the yeargoes on,” McClainsaid. “We’re not goingto compete for anyteam titles with onlyfive girls, but we wantto find out what we’regood at and focus onthose things. That waywe can show we cancompete at meets andhopefully place inthose events.”

Members of theSouth Page girls’track team areHeather Stimson,Kady VanFosson,Kelsie Neihart,Victoria Wheelbargerand CheyanaBrownfield. (photosubmitted)

South Page girls aiming big


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