LAKERS MAKE WAVES THIS SEASON

By Keegan McCullick, Staff Writer

Since 2010, the Waconda Lakers have been a staple in North Central Kansas women’s basketball, helping small town girls gain recognition, and potentially scholarships, in a region far from the state’s big cities which play host to numerous summer traveling teams.

The brains behind the Lakers program is Todd Clover, a resident of Cawker City, long-time Beloit-area Farm Bureau agent, and passionate hoops fan, who focuses significant amounts of time and resources to the benefit of small-town basketball players in the region.

Since their inception, Clover’s Lakers program has sent 37 girls on to college on basketball scholarships with 21 different programs. In an era where kids have more demands on their time than ever, Clover works to keep the kids close to their home base, makes sure to consider their roles within their high school programs, and only charges for travel. Uniforms, registration, and individual workouts are free of charge.

This year’s roster consists of seniors Trinity Lutters of Osborne, Maile Hrabe of Smith Center, Keeli Knobbe of Sylvan Grove, Lauren Whelchel of Rock Hills, juniors Kylee Hahn of Hoisington, Kamryn Rietzke of Thunder Ridge, Shea Wurtz of Clifton-Clyde, sophomores Maggie Labertew of Sylvan Grove, Carlie Brummer of St. John’s-Tipton, and freshman Sevy Wurtz of Clifton-Clyde.

Head coach Trina Lutters and her Osborne

Bulldogs were able to put together a 20-3 season behind the scoring of her daughter, Trinity, who averaged 19 points and 3.4 steals per game. The Bulldogs finished as runner-up at sub-state and now Lutters is turning her focus to preparation for life after high school at Sterling College where she will continue her basketball career.

Todd Clover and Lauren Whelchel

Hrabe also had a strong season on the court, averaging 17.9 points and 2.6 steals per game for a 19-4 Smith Center team that finished as sub-state runner-up. For her, this spring into summer will be focused on the hardwood.

“I plan to continue my basketball career this summer playing with Todd Clover and the Waconda Lakers,” Hrabe said.

“We will be playing in tournaments in Kansas and Oklahoma. In addition, I will be going down to scrimmage with some Kansas Wesleyan University players where I committed to play basketball in the fall. I enjoy my time in the gym and look forward to continuing my offseason workouts with Todd Clover to help improve my game and get me ready for the next level.”

Knobbe and Labertew were instrumental in Sylvan-Unified’s 16-7 that ended with a second place finish at sub-state. Knobbe put up 18.5 points, seven rebounds, and three steals a game, while Labertew averaged 10.7 points and 1.5 steals per game.

Knobbe stays extremely busy as a state competitor in forensics and choir, to go with her time spent as a three-sport athlete, class officer, StuCo member, NHS member, and wearer of many different hats. This spring she will letter for a fourth time on the Sylvan softball team. Labertew, meanwhile, will spend her sophomore spring on the track, where she competes in the 100, 200, and long jump.

Whelchel led Rock Hills with 16.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, two steals, and 1.5 blocks per game for a Grizzlies team that finished 11-11 after a semifinal loss in sub-state. She also went over 1,000 career points this season. The Hastings College basketball commit is a talented pole vaulter and high jumper with hopes of making a return trip to state after qualifying in both events her sophomore year.

Hahn made All-Tournament teams for Hoisington in both the Keady Classic and Winter Jam, where they took first and second respectively. The Cardinals finished the season 13-9 after a sub-state semifinal loss, Hahn led the team with 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the year. The junior will compete in hurdles this spring.

Thunder Ridge finished 13-11 without the impact of Kamryn Rietzke, who suffered an ACL injury in January and had surgery in February that ended her basketball season and will also keep her from throwing the javelin this track season. Her camp hopes for a return to action for volleyball season this fall.

Clifton-Clyde finished 18-5 and advanced to the second round of sub-state before getting eliminated by a tough Frankfort team. The Wurtz sisters led the team, Shea averaging 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds and Sevy with 13.1 points and 3.8 steals per game. Both compete in track with Shea hoping for a return to state after qualifying in the 4x100 last year, while her sister is hoping for freshman success after triple jumping over 36 feet as an eighth grader last season.

Last but not least is Brummer, whose St. John’s-Tipton team finished fourth at the state tournament after a dominant sub-state showing. Brummer is hoping to make a return trip to state track after qualifying in the 4x800 as a freshman. Individual basketball workouts for the Lakers begin soon with team practices set to start in April. Clover has plans for them to compete in tournaments starting in mid-June leading up to the MAYB National Tournament held in

Clover’s unique level of passion for coaching and supporting athletes isn’t something that came about spontaneously. His father, Jack Clover, a team captain and three-year letterman at center and defensive end for Kansas Wesleyan under Gene Bissell, and later a multi-sport coach at Cawker City who led their 8-Man football program to a 125-35-1 record and also was a trailblazer in women sports, serving as a basketball and track coach in the early days of being KSHSAA sanctioned.

“My dad played football for Coach Bissell at Kansas Wesleyan and is in the Hall of Fame,” Clover said. “Dad taught school, coached multiple sports, ran the family farm, yet always had time for my brother and I for working on our skills. Dad always said if you were going to do a job do it right.”

For his players, the experience of competing with the Lakers is both fun and important to their skill development. After her initial individual workouts with Clover prior to officially joining the Lakers as a freshman, Rock Hill’s Whelchel had a hard time and received critique on her shot, but soon began to see a pay off.

“Immediately it made a world of difference after one session,” Whelchel said. “I was hungry for more, wanting to improve my basketball skills. Over the course of these couple years I have done 51 workouts with coach Clover. The player that I was in the beginning to now is unrecognizable. It all boils down to very detailed workouts each week, working diligently with coach Clover.”

Whelchel received an offer to join the Lakers that next season and happily accepted.

“The girls and people I got to meet are now some of my closest friends,” Whelchel said. “Each and every girl on the team was competitive and wanted to succeed. I had never experienced that before from a small town. It was unique and unlike anything I had been a part of. Being a player for the Waconda Lakers was not your typical summer league team. It was a bond created and made to last between teammates and coach. Some of my favorite memories are at Chicken and Pickle in Wichita. Top Golf was quite the sight to see, and the best

feeling in the world was beating a team that we had previously lost to. Coach Clover has made an extensive impact on my life. From attending my All-School play, buying ice cream cakes for birthdays and helping me find the right college to not only pursue a higher education but to continue playing basketball in college. I would not be where I am today without putting in the sweat and time to reach my goal of playing collegiate basketball. All thanks to the Waconda Lakers and Coach Clover for allowing me the chance to be a part of something extraordinary.”

Smith Center's Maile Hrabe

Dale Stephens Photography