S T R O P S R E T WIN
2014-2015
PREVIEW
FEATURING: Estherville Lincoln Central • ESTHERVILLE NEWS
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DECEMBER 6, 2014
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ESTHERVILLE LINCOLN CENTRAL MIDGETS The 2014-15 Estherville Lincoln Central Wrestling Team includes, front from left, Rachel Lambert (Mgr), Kevin Dong, Andre Araguz, Ryan McDonald, Elijah Taylor, Riley Briener, Cayley Fehr (Mgr); second row (kneeling): Sam Beernink (MS Coach), Shayla King (Mgr), Kali Zufall, David Hernandez, Derek Gebel, Kelly Clacbaugh, Anthony Alvarez, Tiegan Huntley (Mgr), Caressa Franklin (Mgr), Mike Mix (Assistant Coach); third row: (standing): Joselyn Moore (Mgr), Ethan Crees, JJ Saavedra, Joel McCoy, Zack Snyder, Juan Castro, Clay Budach, Alec Kautz; fourth row (standing): Kyle Steffen (Volunteer Coach), Cole Anderson, Brenden Duer, Austin Egeland, Chase Bonner, Amed Castro, Preston Mix, Riley Jurries and Dan Hewitt (Head Coach). Not pictured are Ethan Pierson (Volunteer Coach) and Bailey Speigeler (Mgr). Photo by David Swartz
Young wrestlers ready to step up for ELC BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
Estherville Lincoln Central is a much younger squad in coach Dan Hewitt’s fifth season. The Midgets featured a strong senior class a year ago with the six seniors led by Oscar Ramirez, who finished second at state and is now wrestling for Iowa Western Community College. Also gone are Cole Budach, Billy Snyder, Blake Gjerde, Thomas Bortvit and Jake Bortvit. All six had winning records and will be difficult to replace and Gjerde also was a state qualifier. This year’s squad had three seniors—Joel McCoy (120), Austin Egeland (195) and Chase Bonner (220).
Bonner is a returning state qualifier and finished a strong year with a 44-6 record with two losses coming at the state tournament. He along with fellow returning state qualifier Zack Snyder will be looking to get back to Des Moines. Snyder, a sophomore, will wrestle at 106 pounds for the second straight year after posting a 24-23 record in his first varsity season. Egeland wrestled at 195 pounds last year and will start the 2014-15 season at the weight this year after going 13-28. McCoy finished 6-8 in varsity wrestling a year ago and is back at 113 pounds. Also returning on the varsity are Juan Castro, Clay Budach, Brenden Duer and Kelley Clabaugh.
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Castro gave ELC a solid wrestler at 113 pounds a year ago as he finished 21-9 as a freshman. He will be at 120 pounds this season. Budach wrestled at 120 pounds a year ago and finished 8-17. A growth spurt puts him at 145 pounds to start this season. Duer went 2-7 on varsity and 1412 on the junior varsity last season. He will take over at 152 pounds this season. Clabaugh returns at 160 pounds for the second straight season. The junior posted a 19-20 record in 2013-14. Newcomers likely to start on varsity are freshmen Riley Breiner (126), sophomore Alec Kautz (132) and sophomore Derek Gebel (138).
“We have a pretty young and light team this year,” said ELC coach Dan Hewitt. “It will be tough to field all the weight classes, especially missing some underclassmen off of last year's team. I know that we should be tough at most of the weights we wrestle at, but I am realistic in understanding how team scores work. I see a lot of individual gains to be made this season.” The coach looks to Spencer as the team to beat in the Lakes Conference. “Spencer is always tough, because they have a room full of guys (2-3) at each weight,” he said. “LeMars and Cherokee have been on the rise, and Spirit Lake always seems to find quality kids in their community as well.”
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SCHEDULE: Dec. 4 Humboldt Dec. 6 @Blue Earth Tnt Dec. 11 @HWC w/Spirit Lake Dec. 13 @E’Hawk Invitational Dec. 18@Storm Lake, S-O & MOCFV Dec. 20 @Spencer Tournament Jan. 8 @Cherokee w/Spencer Jan. 10 @ Sheldon Tnt Jan. 13 Okoboji and Algona Jan. 17 ELC Tournament Jan. 20 @Alta w/Pocahontas Jan. 22 @ LeMars w/Emmetsburg Jan. 24 @Waverly-SR Tnt Jan. 27 @ Manson w/GT/RA Jan. 30 @ Lakes Conf. (LeMars) Feb. 7 @Sectionals (Spencer) Feb. 14 @District (Sioux Central) Feb. 19-21 State Tournament
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ESTHERVILLE LINCOLN CENTRAL MIDGETS
ELC RETURNS ENTIRE LINEUP IN 2014-15 BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
With no seniors a year ago, the Estherville Lincoln Central Girls Basketball Team expects to do much more than win one game in the 2014-15 season. ELC returns all five starters from a year ago in seniors Megan Jensen and Caitlyn Clayton along with juniors Carson Gjerde and Colleen Humble and sophomore Hallie Jensen. Joining the group is freshman Morgan White, who took a starting spot in the season opener. Other returning letter winners are juniors Cydnie Anderson and Ciara Minion along with sophomores Rylee Miller and Molly Diekmann. Also starting the year on the varsity roster are senior Bailey Frederickson, junior Emily Behrends and sophomore Ally Andrews.
SCHEDULE: Nov. 25 Manson NWW Dec. 1 @Algona Dec. 6 @Graettinger-Terril/R-A Dec. 9 @Spencer Dec. 11 @North Union Dec. 12 Storm Lake Dec. 16 @Cherokee Dec. 19 Spirit Lake Jan. 6 @LeMars Jan. 9 Western Christian Jan. 12 Jackson County Central Jan. 15 @Newell-Fonda Jan. 16 @Emmetsburg Jan. 20 Spencer Jan. 23 @Storm Lake Jan. 27 Cherokee Jan. 30 @Spirit Lake Feb. 3 LeMars Feb. 5 Harris-Lake Park Feb. 6 @Western Christian Feb. 10 Emmetsburg Feb. 14 Regional (TBD)
The 2014-15 Estherville Lincoln Central Girls Basketball Team includes, front from left, Emily Behrends, Carson Gjerde, Colleen Humble, Hallie Jensen, Morgan White; middle row: Ciara Minion, Cydnie Anderson, Rylee MIller, Molly Diekmann, Ally Andrews; back row: head coach Tony Klein, Caitlyn Clayton, Megan Anderson, Bailey Fredericksen, assistant coaches Arielle Olson and Megan Anderson. Photo by Erbes Productions
A year ago ELC finished 1-20 with the lone victory against Storm Lake. “We want to be more competitive and win more than one game,” said ELC coach Tony Klein. Last year, Clayton led ELC with an average of 9.9 points a game with point guard Gjerde tossing in 7.3 points per game. Jensen averaged 6.9 points per game and also led the team in rebounds with
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125. Clayton was close behind with 102 rebounds and also had 37 steals and 19 blocked shots. Gjerde had 43 steals and 29 assists. ELC showed improvement in the first quarter of the season opener against Class 2A 10thranked Manson-Northwest Webster. The Midgets kept pace with the Cougars for the quarter, trailing 11-10, but couldn’t keep up the consistency against the vis-
itors’ defensive intensity. White and Gjerde took turns in handling point guard duties with both driving to the rim at times while Clayton and Jensen both played down low. Against Algona, the Midgets kept the game close and had chances down the stretch in the team’s second game of the season. ELC has shown they can work for a good shot. Coach Klein said they just have to executing the
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finish. Looking at the Lakes Conference, Spirit Lake is ranked third in Class 3A while defending 2A champions Western Christian is ranked first in that class. Both those are favored to battle at the top with the rest of the teams vying for the next spots. “Western Christian has a great system with a lot of depth,” said Klein. “Spirit Lake has a lot of returning players.”
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ESTHERVILLE LINCOLN CENTRAL MIDGETS The 2014-15 Estherville Lincoln Central Boys Basketball Team includes, front from left, Jacob Heinrichs, Trevor Curry, Justin Heinrichs, Carsten Bosch, Martin Rosas, Noah Diekmann, Ruben Martin, Rod Fuller; back row: Bryce Mann, Kyle DeVary, assistant coach Kyle Grems, head coach Tyler Shipley, assistant coach Kevin White, Alex Miller, Jack Brashear and Hunter King. Photo courtesy David DeVary, Photos by Susie
MIDGETS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT Shipley takes the reins BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
For the second straight year, Estherville Lincoln Central has a new coach at the helm. Tyler Shipley takes the reins of the Midgets after ELC completed its first winning season in several years. ELC finished 12-12 a year ago—its highest win total since the 1990s. Under coach Corey Christopher, the Midgets accomplished the feat with balance scoring as four players averaged double digits. However two of those top players were lost to graduation in David
Hughes (14.4 ppg) and Joe Heinrichs (12.0 ppg). ELC also lost Clay Tredway to graduation, whose defense and rebounding will be missed. Together, the trio was the teams’ top rebounders with Hughes with 1767, Joe Heinrichs with 96 and Tredway with 88. Back this season to lead the squad are seniors Justin Heinrichs (13.3 ppg) and Carsten Bosch (12.2 ppg). Both players are able to create their own shot when needed in either driving to the basket or launching a 3-pointers. Heinrichs was the team’s top 3-point shooter a year ago, connecting on 37-of-98 attempts (37.8 percent), while Bosch was 20-of-50 (40 percent)
from beyond the arc. Bosch also was the leading assist man with 57 a year ago and he also had 39 steals. Heinrichs was the leader in steals with 65. ELC returns plenty of other players with varsity experience including seniors Rod Fuller and Noah Diekmann, both of whom started in the season opener against Algona, along with junior Kyle DeVary. Diekmann and DeVary both helped provide balanced scoring with Diekmann proving a solid presence on the inside. Shipley went deep in his bench in the opener due to some early foul trouble. Juniors Alex Miller and Bryce Mann along with freshman
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Jacob Heinrichs all saw quarter time. Miller and Mann both saw minutes during last year’s season. Also on the varsity are seniors Ruben Martin, Hunter King and Trevor Curry along with junior Jack Brashear. Coach Shipley, who hails from State Center, played for West Marshall. Looking at the Lakes Conference, perennial power Western Christian is expected to be the team to beat this season with Spirit Lake and LeMars likely in the mix. ELC finished 6-8 in league play to finish fifth in the conference ahead of Emmetsburg, Storm Lake and Cherokee.
Dec. 1 @Algona Dec. 6 @ Graettinger-Terril/RA Dec. 9 @Spencer Dec. 11 @North Union Dec. 12 Storm Lake Dec. 16 @ Cherokee Dec. 19 Spirit Lake Jan. 6 @LeMars Jan. 8 @Pocahontas Jan. 9 Western Christian Jan. 12 Jackson County Central Jan. 15 @Newell-Fonda Jan. 16 @Emmetsburg Jan. 20 Spencer Jan. 23 @Storm Lake Jan. 27 Cherokee Jan. 30 @Spirit Lake Feb. 5 Harris-Lake Park Feb. 6 Western Christian Feb. 10 Emmetsburg
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NORTH UNION WARRIORS SCHEDULE: Nov. 25 Dec. 2 Dec. 5 Dec. 6 Dec. 9 Dec. 15 Dec. 19 Dec. 20 Jan. 6 Jan. 9 Jan. 10 Jan. 13 Jan. 15 Jan. 20 Jan. 24 Jan. 27 Jan. 30 Feb. 3 Feb. 6 Feb. 10
@Forest City @West Hancock @Newman Catholic Belmond-Klemme North Iowa @Garner-Hayfield/V Eagle Grove Osage @Lake Mills @Bishop Garrigan Forest City West Hancock Newman Catholic @North IOwa @Belmond-Klemme Garner-Hayfield/V @Osage Lake Mills @Eagle Grove Bishop Garrigan
The 2014-15 North Union Girls Basketball Team includes, front from left, Jaycie Eaton and Maddie Irmiter; second row: Kyarsten Mullen, Shaylee Hanning, Emma Engleby, Alexis Valvick, Breanna Anderson, Samantha Hagedorn; back row: Hannah Anderson, Erica Anderson, Hallie Reese, Sarah Rolling, Ashley Laverty, Jessica Govern and Kate Anderson. Photo courtesy Greg Grabianowski
YOUNG WARRIOR SQUAD LOOKS TO BE QUICKER IN 2014-15 BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
ARMSTRONG — While North Union returns several key players from last year’s 14-7 team, the Warriors may find the wins more difficult in their first year in the North Iowa Conference. North Union lost four seniors to graduation from last year’s squad—most notably Aurora Oliver, who averaged 8.7 points per game, and Dena Looft, who averaged 4.3 points per game.
Sarah Rolling is the team’s top returning player as the junior averaged 10.8 points a year ago and also was the top rebounder with 91 as well as a leader in steals with 40. One early loss for North Union is senior Peyton Oleson, who may be out for either most or all of the season. She averaged 6.3 points per game last year. North Union coach Merle Tigges said his team will be young.
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“I think ill be quicker than last year,” he said. “Still, the goals are to clean up stuff.” The coach noted that his team gave up 10 points in transition in the season opener while playing several freshmen and sophomores. Other key returning players are seniors Jaycie Eaton, Madison Irmiter. Juniors include Emma Engelby, Erica Anderson and Ashley Laverty with sophomores Alexis Valvick, Shaylee Hanning,
Kyarsten Mullen, Jessica Govern and Hanna Anderson. Freshman on the varsity are Breanna Anderson, Samantha Hagedorn and Kate Anderson and Hallie Reese. Reese will give North Union a boost. She scored 10 points in the season opener against Forest City. Valvick also contributed a handful of points in the loss to the Indians. Looking at the North Iowa Conference, Tigges expects the
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larger schools—Forest City, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura and Osage—as being the teams to beat with the smaller schools being competitive with each other. A year ago, Garner-Hayfield won the conference with a 13-1 league record followed by Osage (11-2), Forest City (10-4) and North Iowa (9-5). Lake Mills, Belmond-Klemme and West Hancock each had four league wins while Newman Catholic was 0-14.
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NORTH UNION WARRIORS SCHEDULE: Dec. 2 Dec. 5 Dec. 6 Dec. 9 Dec. 15 Dec. 19 Dec. 20 Jan. 6 Jan. 9 Jan. 10 Jan. 13 Jan. 15 Jan. 20 Jan. 24 Jan. 27 Jan. 30 Feb. 3 Feb. 6 Feb. 10 Feb. 13
@West Hancock @Newman Catholic Belmond-Klemme North Iowa @Garner-Hayfield/V Eagle Grove Osage @Lake Mills @Bishop Garrigan Forest City West Hancock Newman Catholic @North IOwa @Belmond-Klemme Garner-Hayfield/V @Osage Lake Mills @Eagle Grove Bishop Garrigan @Forest City
Thje 2014-15 North Union Boys Basketball Team includes, front from left, Shaun Cook, Cody Geerdes, Jared Larson and Eythan Blair; middle row: Ryan Larson, Parker Oleson, Colin Runksmeier, Tanner Doocy; back row: Dyson Umscheid, Trent Pedersen, Alec Krantz, Braden Ortman, Michael Larson and Cory Vaske. Not pictured are Nathan Eaton and Nick Koop. Photo courtesy Greg Grabianowski
Warriors prepare for new foes in the NIC BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
ARMSTRONG — North Union will be looking to newcomers to the squad if the Warriors expect to improve on a 5-19 record from a year ago. North Union lost its top two scorers to graduation in Aric Runge (14.2 points per game) and Jacob Braddock (9.2 ppg). Runge,
an athletic post with good hops, also led the rebounding with 180 boards and also had 46 blocked shots. Among the top returning players this season are senior Alex Krantz and junior Colin Runksmeier. Both were third on the team in scoring at 6.6 points per game. Krantz was second in rebounding with 81 boards a year ago.
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Other returning players are seniors Corey Vaske and Dyson Umscheid along with juniors Braden Ortman and Ryan Larson, along with sophomores Trent Pedersen, Parker Olsson and Eythan Blair. Newcomers to the varsity are senior Mike Larsen, junior Shaun Cook and sophomore Jared Larsen. The Warriors are under new
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management this season as Alex Fisher takes the reins from Curt Fothergill. North Union struggled in its season opener against West Hancock, losing 91-29 this past Tuesday. Looking at the new North Iowa Conference, Belmond-Klemme finished with 24-4 record overall, but was second in league play at 12-2 behind Forest City (16-5,
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13-1). Rounding out the conference were Lake Mills (16-7, 8-5), Osage (13-9, 6-7) and West Hancock (13-9, 7-7) and GarnerHayfield/Ventura (12-11, 7-7) with Newman Catholic (7-16, 113) and North Iowa (6-16, 1-13) at the bottom of the league. Also in the conference this season are Bishop Garrigan (12-11) and Lake Mills (16-7).
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NORTH UNION WARRIORS WARRIORS BEGIN FIRST YEAR BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
ARMSTRONG — North Union begins its inaugural varsity wrestling season with seven high school wrestlers for the 2014-15 season. The group includes one senior, one junior, three sophomores and two freshmen. Senior Alex Arndorfer is expect-
SCHEDULE: Dec. 2 @Eagle Grove Dec. 6 @Manson Tnt Dec. 9 @Pocahonatas Quad Dec. 16 @Newman w/N-K Dec. 20 @Spencer Tnt Jan. 8 @Northwood-Kensett Jan. 10 @GT/RA Tnt Jan. 13 @Belmond-Klemme Quad Jan. 22 @West Hock w/N-K Jan. 31 @NIC Tnt (Garner) Feb. 7 @Sectional (Milford) Feb. 14 @District (Sibley)
ed to compete at 170 pounds while junior Josh Braddock will be at 152 pounds. Among the sophomores, Mark Mather is expected to wrestle at 220, Adam Brandt at 160 and Jason Halsrud at 113. For the freshman, Brady Anderson is listed at 126 pounds and Andrew Schiltz is at 145 pounds. Coach Joe Johnson takes the reins of the team in its first season. “Our goal for the season is to improve our wrestling skills everyday, and for each individual to be stronger by the end of the year,” said Johnson. “This is our first year having a high school wrestling team, and most of the guys have never wrestled in a meet before. We are going to focus on improving one day at a time, and learning from our mistakes.” With the new program comes a completely new conference as North Union competes in the North Iowa Conference.
The 2014-15 North Union Wrestling Team includes front row, from left, Brady Anderson, Jason Halsrud; back row: Andrew Schiltz, Adam Brandt, Alex Arndorfer and Mark Mather. Not pictured is Josh Braddock. Photo courtesy Greg Grabianowski
Last season, seven schools in the conference fielded a wrestling team—Belmond-Klemme, Forest City, Garner-Hayfield-Ventura,
Lake Mills, Newman Catholic, Osage and West Hancock. Last season, Osage won the North Iowa Conference followed by Forest
City, Lake Mills, BelmondKlemme, Newman, GarnerHayfield/Ventura and West Hancock.
GRAETTINGER-TERRIL/RUTHVEN-AYRSHIRE TITANS Thompson leads Titans into 2014-15 season BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
The 2014-15 Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire Wrestling Team. Photo by David Swartz
GRAETTINGER — Graettinger-Terril/RuthvenAyrshire’s squad became even younger this season in coach Mike Jensen’s third season at the helm. “The difference between this year’s team vs. last year’s team is this we have many kids with little to no experience on the mat but are willing to work hard and put in the time to be successful and accomplish their team goals,” Jensen said. The Titans do return a few key wrestlers who can compete with most anyone night in and night out. Among the top returners is senior Cody Thompson, who has placed sixth at state the past two years. Thompson, a heavyweight, finished the 2013-14 season with a 44-6 record earn-
ing that sixth place finish in successes in the new season. February. “This team is well balIn the preseason rankings, anced in terms of age and he is third behind Woodbury experience,” said Jensen. Central season Landan “We will have kids who Paulsen and Mount Ayr sen- have experienced big ior Joe Ricker. matches and kids who are Thompson will obviously seeking to be in those big be looking to see if he can matches for the first time.” move up on the medal stand in 2014-15. Also back are juniors Alex Hoffman and Dec. 4 Okoboji Tyler Hoffman with Dec. 6 @Okoboji Tnt coach Jensen listing Dec. 9 Sibley-Ocheyedan newcomer Colton Roth Dec. 11 @Prairie Valley Quad as a promising new- Dec. 13 @Sibley Tnt comer. Dec. 16 @Sioux Central Both Thompson and Dec. 20 @West Hancock Tnt Alex Hoffman won Jan. 10 @GT/RA Tnt individual conference Jan. 13 @Spirit Lake titles at the Twin Lakes Jan. 15 East Sac County C o n f e r e n c e Jan. 17 Twin Lakes (Graettinger) Tournament last season Jan. 23-24 BCIG Tnt as the Titans finished Jan. 27 @Manson w/ELC fourth overall. Feb. 7 @Sectional (Milford) GT/RA will see if it Feb. 14 @District (Sibley) can repeat some of the
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GRAETTINGER-TERRIL/RUTHVEN-AYRSHIRE TITANS SCHEDULE: Nov. 21 Nov. 25 Dec. 2 Dec. 5 Dec. 6 Dec. 9 Dec. 12 Dec. 16 Dec. 19 Jan. 8 Jan. 9 Jan.13 Jan. 16 Jan. 17 Jan. 20 Jan. 23 Jan. 24 Jan. 27 Jan. 30 Feb. 3 Feb. 6
@Alta-Aurelia @Harris-Lake Park West Bend-Mallard @River Valley Estherville LC St. Mary’s Storm Lake @S. Central Calhoun @Clay Central-Everly East Sac County Sioux Central @Manson NW Webster Clay Central-Everly Pocahontas Area @East Sac County Alta-Aurelia @West Bend-Mallard @MMC (Marcus) @Storm Lake St. Mary’s Southeast Valley Newell-Fonda @Sioux Rapids
The 2014-15 Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire Girls Basketball Team includes front, from left, Morgan McGrauth, Lauren Flaharty, Emma Feldhacker, Cassy Olesen; middle row: Madison Norris, Taylor Park, Claire Sparks; back row: Morgan Stearns, Micaela King, Anna Sorenson, Taylor Williamson, Becky Noah; Photo by David Swartz
McGrauth, Flaharty lead Titans into new season BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
GRAETTINGER, RUTHVEN — Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire will need a lot of help to match last year’s 12-11 record. The Titans lost eight seniors to graduation with just two players returning
that played varsity a year ago. Gone are Kaite Olesen, Brooke Hoffman, Grace Skattebo, Paige Hoffman, Alex Olesen, Emily Moran and Marly Baken. “With only 2 returners that played varsity last year we will be learning each night out,” said GT/RA coach
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Todd Hough, who is not starting his third season as head coach of the Titans. “We need to work on the fundamentals. “Lauren Flaharty and Morgan McGrauth are our two seniors from last year’s team that will need to be our leaders and carry the load this sea-
son,” Hough said. Flaharty averaged 7.9 points a year ago, good for fourth on the team— and was also fourth in rebounds (69), third in assists (30) and first in steals (52). McGrauth averaged 3.3 points per game and was third in rebounds (75), first in assists (65) and second
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in steals (47). Juniors Claire Sparks and Cassy Olesen were both on the varsity roster last season, but didn’t see a lot of playing time. Some other newcomers to varsity are sophomore Emma Feldhacker and freshmen Madison Norris and Taylor Park.
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GRAETTINGER-TERRIL/RUTHVEN-AYRSHIRE TITANS SCHEDULE: Dec. 2 Dec. 5 Dec. 6 Dec. 9 Dec. 12 Dec. 16 Dec. 19 Jan. 8 Jan. 9 Jan.13 Jan. 16 Jan. 17 Jan. 20 Jan. 23 Jan. 24 Jan. 27 Jan. 30 Feb. 3 Feb. 6 Feb. 10 Feb. 13
West Bend-Mallard @River Valley Estherville LC St. Mary’s Storm Lake @S. Central Calhoun @Clay Central-Everly East Sac County Sioux Central @Manson NW Webster Clay Central-Everly Pocahontas Area @East Sac County Alta-Aurelia @West Bend-Mallard @MMC (Marcus) @Storm Lake St. Mary’s Southeast Valley Newell-Fonda @Sioux Rapids @Alta-Aurelia @Harris-Lake Park
The 2014-15 Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire Boys Basketball Team includes, front from left, Jeff Kathman, Taylor Enderson; middle row: Andy Geelan, Noah Stukey, Connor Sturgill, Nick Josephson, Cole Hagedorn; back row: Joe Tonderum, Zach Girres, Jared Sikora, Mason McGrauth and head coach Randy Hough. - Dan Voigt photo
Titans looking for more in 2014-15 Entire squad returns from last season BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
GRAETTINGER, RUTHVEN — Graettinger-Terril/RuthvenAyrshire will be a team to watch this season. After posting a 17-5 record a year ago without a single senior on the squad, the Titans return everyone for the 2014-15 season to face new foes in the Twin Lakes Conference. GT/RA return four All-Cornbelt Conference selections with Connor Sturgill, Andy Geelan and
Noah Stukey on the first team and Mason McGrauth on the second team. Sturgill and Geelan were part of the Titans’ one-two punch last year with Geelan averaging 15.8 points per game and Sturgill 15.6 points per contest. Geelan shot 49.4 percent (129of-261) from the field and 72 percent (72-of-100) from the free throw line while Sturgill was impressive from inside as he shot 72.8 percent (142-of-195) from the field. Stukey gave the Titans a third threat as he averaged 10.4 points per game while shooting 53.7 per-
cent (87-of-162) from the field last year. McGrauth averaged 6.1 points per game last season while Taylor Enderson averaged 6.4 points per contest and Lane Reiman averaged 5.9 points per game. Seniors for this year’s team are Sturgill, McGrauth, Reiman and Joe Tonderum with Ryan Jacks returning after missing last season with an injury. Juniors include Geelan, Stukey and Enderson along with fellow letter winners Nick Josephson, Cole Hagedorn and Jared Sikora. Coach Randy Hough, now in his 13th year of coaching at either
Ruthven-Ayrshire or GraettingerTerril/Ruthven-Ayrshire lists Jacks, junior Zach Girres, sophomore Eric Sundall and freshman Jacob Conlon as other top prospects that will give the Titans even more depth. “We will be an experienced team with a lot of depth,” Hough said. “Our goal is to play very competitive basketball.” The coach said he doesn’t know a lot about the Twin Lakes Conference. A year ago, a senior-laden Newell-Fonda team entered the Class 1A State Tournament with no losses in 25 games before los-
ing in the first round against West Lyon. East Sac County (19-4), AltaAurelia (18-5), MansonNorthwest Webster (16-7) and Alta-Aurelia (16-7) all had winning records a year ago. GT/RA and West Bend-Mallard took the place of Laurens-Marathon (6-16) and Prairie Valley (5-15) in the Twin Lakes Conference. Other teams in the conference this season (with last year’s record) are Pocahontas Area (9-13), Sioux Central (16-7), St. Mary’s of Storm Lake (5-16) and Southeast Webster-Grand of Burnside (023).
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SPIRIT LAKE INDIANS
The Spirit Lake girls basketball team: (front, from left) Carly Ites, Katy Brevik, Emma Dau; (second row) Joie Veldman, Paige Petersen, Bailee Newman, Charlie Duncan, Kelsey Delperdang, Carly Hassel, Maddie Richter; (back row) Head Coach Rick Reinking, Coach Amber Kirschbaum, Coach Scott Chambers, Jayden Kruse, Macy Smith, Erin Dau, Coach Ryan Friederich, and Coach Rachel Gerking. Photo courtesy Matt Heinrichs, DCN
Indians expect more success in new season Dau to lead squad into 2014-15 BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
SPIRIT LAKE — Although Spirit Lake suffered some losses to graduation, the Indians return most of their scoring from last year and looked to be improved for the 2014-15 season. That doesn’t bode well for most other teams as the Indians went 18-6 last year including 11-3 in the Lakes Conference. The state also recognized that Spirit Lake will be a solid team
this season as the Indians were ranked third in Class 3A in the preseason poll. Leading the way is senior Emma Dau who led the Indians in points (16.2 per game), rebounds (161), assists (56) steals (46) and blocks (14). Defenses can’t concentrate solely Dau as junior Joie Veldman (9.7 ppg) returns as does senior Bailee Newman (5.4 ppg). The Indians’ biggest loss to graduation was 6-foot post Bailey Lovell who was third in scoring (8.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (140).
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Also back this season are seniors Katy Brevik and Carly Ites along with sophomore Macy Smith. Newcomers include juniors Charlie Duncan, Paige Petersen, Jaden Kruse and sophomores Erin Dau and Maddie Richter. Western Christian will be one of the Indians’ toughest foes this season and the defending 2A champs are ranked first in the preseason poll. Coach Rick Reinking said other teams in the conference didn’t graduate many and should be improved. “We should be competitive each night,” he said.
Good luck to all teams this season!
SCHEDULE: Nov. 24 @Sioux Central Dec. 1 Woobury Central Dec. 5 @Jackson County Central Dec. 9 Storm Lake Dec. 12 Cherokee Dec. 16 @Western Christian Dec. 19 @Estherville LC Dec. 20 TBD Jan. 3 @Spencer Jan. 6 Emmetsburg Jan. 8 Sioux City West Jan. 10 Sergeant Bluff-Luton Jan. 16 LeMars Jan. 17 @Okoboji Jan. 20 @Storm Lake Jan. 23 @Cherokee Jan. 27 Western Christian Jan. 30 Estherville LC Feb. 3 @Emmetsburg Feb. 6 Spencer Feb. 10 @LeMars
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2014
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
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SPIRIT LAKE INDIANS
The Spirit Lake boys basketball team: (front, from left) Jake Heitritter, Alec Harrington, Trevor Smith, Caleb Jennings, Peyton Smith; (back row) Billy Brown, Trevor Jensen, Ryan Kriener, Andrew Seemann, AJ Schultes, Zach Dykstra, Alex Pringnitz. Photo courtesy Matt Heinrichs, DCN
INDIANS LOOK FOR MORE IN 2014-15 BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
SPIRIT LAKE — A Spirit Lake team that was expected to be good, got even better with 6-9 junior transfer Ryan Kriener joining the Indians in 2014-15. The Indians were already returning their top three scorers from a year ago and while senior Alec Henrickson, junior Billy Brown and senior Trevor Smith were mostly outside shooters, Kriener gives the Indians a key inside presence.
Henrickson averaged 24 points last season while shooting 49.9 percent (151-of-336) from the field including 43 percent (80-of186) from 3-point range. He also shot 85.4 percent (170-of-199) from the free throw line. Brown and Smith also averaged double digits at 13.4 and 11.9 points per game respectively. Kriener gave fans a glimpse of the Indians’ potential in a 34-point performance in the season opener against Woodbury Central. The Indians return four other letterwinners
in Trevor Jensen, Caleb Jennings, Alex Pringnitz and Zach Dykstra. Also on varsity are AJ Schultes, Peyton Smith, Andrew Seeman and Jake Heitritter. The Indians finished 16-7 overall last season and tied for third in the conference race with an 8-6 record. Looking at the Lakes Conference race this season, Western Christian is still the favorite with LeMars also battling for the top while Spirit Lake looks to be in the mix along with Spencer.
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SCHEDULE: Dec. 1 Woodbury Central Dec. 6 OA-BCIG Dec. 9 Storm Lake Dec. 12 Cherokee Dec. 16 @Western Christian Dec. 19 @Estherville LC Jan. 3 @Spencer Jan. 6 Emmetsburg Jan. 10 Sergeant Bluff-Luton Jan. 13 @Sioux Central Jan. 16 LeMars Jan. 17 @Okoboji Jan. 20 @Storm Lake Jan. 23 @Cherokee Jan. 27 Western Christian Jan. 30 Estherville LC Feb. 3 @Emmetsburg Feb. 6 Spencer Feb. 10 @LeMars Feb. 13 Sioux City West Feb. 17 Jackson County Central
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2014
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SPIRIT LAKE INDIANS
The 2014 Spirit Lake Park wrestling team: (front, from left) Ryer Donkersloot, Parker Brevik, John O'Neal, Jayden Gilge, Adam Skopec, Sam George, Nic Cornwall, Lucas Ove, Justin Brown; (second row) Dawson Frink, Ethan Bergendahl, Mason Mart, Koltyn Bradley, Dakota VanderWilt, Max Halverson, Jeremiah Nickerson, Austin Jennings, Trenten Murray, Brian Ortega; (third row) John Bauer, Drew Fowler, Justin Jones, Gavin Kramer, Jac Radcliffe, Alec Harrington, Hunter Akers, Austin Thoreson; (back row) Coach Nelson, Daniel Trucksess, Zach Kruse, Pablo Orons, Ryan Kelley, Parker Jungjohan, Brock Jungjohan, Trevor Bueltel, Coach Lundgren, Coach Kyle. Photo courtesy Matt Heinrichs, DCN
Indians look to newcomers to step up BY DAVID SWARTZ MANAGING EDITOR
SPIRIT LAKE — The loss of a big senior class leaves Spirit Lake underclassmen scrambling to fill the varsity spots for 2014-15. Among the seniors lost to state graduation were three state qualifiers as well as wrestlers who had helped the team qualify for state duals. That included state champion Zach Skopec. Fortunately, the Indians have plenty of wrestlers to vie for those spots. The Indians
have more than 35 athletes in the practice room working to get better each day. Among the returning athletes from last year’s squad are three-year senior letter winner Javier Tapia, junior district qualifier Hunter Akers and sophomore district qualifier Gavin Kramer. Kramer had 23 wins last season while Tapia had 17 wins and Akers had 8. “We will be looking at some young guys to step up and become the next group of leaders on our team,” said Spirit Lake coach Andrew
Lundgren. “I want guys that will create great team morale and also encourage and push our team to the next level by leading by words and by their actions." Lundgren sees the conference race as being more “well-rounded” this season with four or five teams in the hunt for a title. “Everyone is hungry to knock Spencer off and I hope the Indians can be the team to do it,” he said. “All of our conference duals should be really competitive with full lineups and great match-ups.”
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SCHEDULE: Dec. 4 @George-LR meet Dec. 6 @ Okoboji Tournament Dec. 11 @HWC w/ELC Dec. 13 @Council Bluffs Tnt Dec. 18 LeMars and Cherokee Dec. 20 @Spencer Tournament Jan. 8 @E’burg w/Storm Lake Jan. 9 Spirit Lake Tnt Jan. 13 Sioux Center and GTRA Jan. 16 @ELC Tournament Jan. 22 @Spencer Jan. 23-24 @BCIG Tnt Jan. 27 @Pocahontas Quad Jan. 29 @Okoboji Jan. 30 @Lakes Conf. (LeMars) Feb. 7 @Sectionals (Spencer) Feb. 14 @District (Sioux Center) Feb. 19-21 State Tournament