SPRING 2012 SPORTS
SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Thursday, March 29, 2012
Page 2B
SIDNEY
Softball coach New nearing 100th victory Sidney spring athletes are looking to improve on last season, with the softball players out to get coach Wade New his 100th career victory this season.
Baseball Tony Metzler is back as the Jackets’ head baseball coach after seeing a 7-19 mark a year ago, when the team was plagued by key injuries. “We lost seven two and three-year varsity players,” said Metzler. “There’s a lot of earlyseason competition for starting spots. We will rely heavily on Kyle Gray and Alex White to lead this team, and Nick Lauth will be the ace of the staff, being the only returning pitcher with more than five innings.” Metzler has just six returning lettermen from last season. In addition to the three listed, also back are junior Jacob Lochard, junior Kaleb Dotson and sophomore Ryan Penley. Lauth was 0-3 with a 5.73 ERA last season, and Gray was his batterymate and hit .262. Dotson will play at short and hit .243 last year and Lochard will be at first and brings back a .238 average. White is a senior who was secondteam all GWOC North as a sophomore, but injuries plagued him last year. He hit .258 when he was able to play. Penley will man one of the outfield slots. Among the top newcomers are senior Trent Branam, juniors Jimmy Davis, Preston Heath, Brian Fischbaugh and Dalton Scoggin, sophomore Bobby Benshoff
and freshman C o n n o r Echols.
Softball Wade New begins his ninth season as the head coach of the Lady Jackets and he’s just five wins shy of reaching 100 for his coaching career. His team was 7-16 last s e a s o n against an always-difficult schedule, and he has 10 letSDN File Photo t e r- w i n n e r s JASMINE GLOVER was a state returning to qualifier in two events last season. help improve and sophomores Taylor on that mark. “I am very much look- Busse, Rachel Heckaing forward to this sea- mann and Josie Raterson,” he said. “We have man. Thornton was the top had a couple of rough years of late and we are pitcher last season and looking to get the ship finished 6-12 with a 5.59 righted again. We have a earned run average. She very balanced offensive was strong at the plate, lineup this season with hitting .435. Walker hit speed at the top and bot- .353. Non-letter-winner tom of the order and Madison Barker, a sophgood power in the mid- omore, will also pitch. Behind the plate will dle. With 10 returning letter-winners and a be Raterman, who hit very experienced senior .486 last season, and she class, I believe we have will be backed up by as good a shot as anyone sophomore Holli James, to strongly compete for who hit .308. Davis will play at the GWOC North title.” He said Greenville short, where not much will again be the fa- got past her last season, vorite, but other teams, and at second will be including his own, have Lindsey, backed up by a shot to slip in with con- Grace Lochard, a sophomore. sistent play. At first will be RaterThe returnees include seniors Allie Walker, Re- man, who hit .486 last becca Thornton, Crystal season as a freshman. Davis, Natasha Van- James will back up at Hoose and Karey Lind- that spot, too. Walker has the inside sey, juniors Stephaine Davis and Ashley Doak, track at third base,
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
The Sidney softball team has seniors Crystal Davis (sitting) and (l-r) Natasha Vanhoose, Tiffany Lowe, Karey Lindsey, Allie Walker and Rebecca Thornton. bringing back a .385 average. In the outfield, the top candidates are Doak, S. Davis, Busse, VanHoose and Barker. Davis hit .314 last season and Busse .314. All the letter-winners had fielding percentages of .838 or better.
Boys track Coach Jason McGarahan welcomes back a long list of lettermen from last season, 12 in all that has him optimistic for the upcoming season. “We have good numbers this year and look to be very balanced across the board,” the coach said. “We revamped our schedule this season and hope to remain competitive throughout. If we can remain healthy, I look for strong relay teams and some great individual performances as the season progresses. The GWOC North is always a challenging division and this year will be no different. We are going to train hard, give it our best and see what happens.” The lettermen include seniors Travis West, Adam Neth, Zane Lewis, John Clinard, Dillon
Gold, Dillon Barhorst and Kenneth Powers, juniors Alex Bowman, Kaleb Martin and Andre Spillers, and sophomores Blake Steenrod and Jake Selanders.
Girls track Joe Huwer has eight letter-winners returning in girls track at Sidney this season, led by high jump/hurdles standout Jasmine Glover, who qualified for the state meet in both events last season. “We are looking forward to a successful year,” said Huwer. “We have a lot of returning letter-winners from last year, and a good group of coaches and athletes that have been working hard in preparation for the season. We have solid athletes in sprints, field events, relays and throws and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish this year. If we work to our potential and stay healthy, I think we have a good shot in the GWOC North this year.” The other returnees include seniors Jamie Stevens and Kenleigh Immel, juniors Heather West, Kristin Beigel and Aaliyah Wise, and sophomores Bria Foy and
Kylee Watercutter. The top newcomers will be freshmen Brandi Johnson, Morgan Knasel and Keylie Murphy.
Boys tennis Sidney lost only three players off last year's squad, so coach Tony Brown says “hopefully, this is the year we finally turn it around.” The returning player list is led by Austin Folck and Dan Temple, who were GWOC Silver flight winners last year, and will likely play at first and second singles. “With the great numbers (25 out for the team) and the weather this year, they have been playing since the nets were up,” said Brown. “We are very optimistic about our season. They’re hitting the ball well and it seems we’re in midseason form, and we’ll hit the ground running in our first match.” He said there are some sophomores playing well in Oakk Wynn, Drew Vonderheuvel and Connor Bowers, along with juniors Jacob Colley, Frank EnYart and Neil Dev, and there are also seniors challenging in Sean Brown, Ryan Adkins, Zack Goins and Tyler Olson.
VERSAILLES
Lady Tiger softball team has new coach Baseball Mitch Hoying enjoyed a lot of success with the Tigrs last year, just as he did when he was the head coach at Sidney, and in nine seasons as a head coach, he’s averaging an impressive 16 wins per season. Last year’s Tigers were 19-7-1, and took second in the Midwest Athletic Conference. He has some excellent pitchers returning, and that’s always a good place to start. Zach Niekamp was 5-2 last season with a 4.50 ERA, Dominic Richard was 21 with a 3.10 ERA, and Ethan Bruns 1-1 with a 1.20 ERA. He also has junior Lee
Good Luck To All
Ruhenkamp, seniors Lee Kindell and William Borchers, and sophomores Michael Davidson and Jacob Wenning ready to challenge for some innings. Mike Rutschilling will compete with Damien Richard at the catcher position. Richard hit .363 last season with six doubles, and Hoying says Rutschilling is a solid thrower. Niekamp will play short and be pushed by Wenning. Niekamp hit .402 last year with three homers and 10 doubles. Dominic Richard will play at first and also hit .402 last year with 14 doubles, and at second, Kyle Niekamp will be pushed by Borchers, Wenning and Kindell. At third will be Bruns, who hit .383 last season with 12 doubles. In the outfield, the top candidates are Kindell, Borchers, Aaron Mc-
Tigers
Neilan and Mitch Gigandet. “We will look to improve our second-place finish in the MAC last year,” said Hoying. “We’re looking for players to step up and establish themselves in the outfield, and we have a lot of good candidates. Finding a utility man is also an area of interest. Most of our front line pitchers also play infield, so we need someone versatile to fill in all over the infield. And we have multiple players capable of filling this role. “Overall, we feel really poised to challenge for the league title and make a deep run in the tourney,” he added.
Softball Former Versailles standout Mechelle (Pothast) Heitkamp will be the softball coach this season, and is excited about it. “I’ve loved softball all
of my life and I am thrilled to be coaching high school softball,” she said. “It’s an awesome sport.” She was an assistant under Ron Mescher, and still holds school records for lowest ERA (0.97) most strikeouts in a season and most home runs in a season. She was also a first-team All-Ohioan. She inherits 10 players off a team that was 13-13 last season and placed second in the MAC. Those players include seniors Danielle Langston, Kori York, Joanna Cruz, Kristen Morris, and Abbie Monnin, juniors Madison Monnin, Allie Grilliot and Hannah Knopp, and sophomores Kayla McEldowney and Rachel Kremer. York is solid behind the plate and Langston, McEldowney and Kremer all have varsity pitching experience.
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“I expect the girls to put forth their best effort every day and if they do, we can achieve a great deal this season. My expectation is for them to
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The Versailles diamond teams are both expecting big things this season, with the girls having a new coach in former Lady Tiger standout Mechelle Heitkamp.
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Thursday, March 29, 2012
Page 3B
JACKSON CENTER
Experience returns for baseball, softball
Softball Jan Davidson is back for her seventh season as the head coach of the Lady Tiger softball squad and has a right to be quite optimistic, considering there are nine letterwinners returning from last year’s 7-14 squad. Only one senior is in that group in Katelyn Bayhan, who will pitch and catch, and hit .313 last season. Also back are juniors Ashley Coe, Madilyn Himmeger, Hannah Meyer, Tabatha Myers, Emma Regula and Anna Wagner, and sophomores Tiffany Bayhan and Erin Poppe. Coe will also pitch for the Lady Tigers, and Tiffany Bayhan will be behind the plate. Meyer hit .323 last season and is back at short, and Regula will play first and brings back a .314 average. Poppe and Himmiger will share time at second, and Poppe and T. Bayhan will be at third. Poppe hit .250 last season.
Myers and Wagner will likely hold down two of the outfield spots. Three freshmen are also in the mix in Meredith Himmeger, Gabby Fogt and Morgan Dickman. “With only one returning senior, some of our juniors and sophomores are going to be expected to step up and be leaders,” said coach Davidson. “Right now, they’re doing a great job of that but we need to carry that throughout the season. We’ve got a good core of girls on this team. “The middle infield is solid with Hannah and either Madilyn or Erin bringing experience to second base,” she added. “Emma played first for us last year and has worked hard on her fielding. She was also one of our leading hitters. Katelyn returns behind the plate and brings a quick bat and speed on the bases, too. Ashley will need to prove that she’s durable pitching, and Madilyn, Katelyn and several other girls will need to throw innings for us as well. “Several girls are expected to see some innings at third,” she went on. “Tiffany brings toughness to the position and Erin will see some time there as well. Meredith (Himmeger) will start in center and
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
BACK FOR the Jackson Center baseball team this season are seniors (l-r) Andy Hoying, Steven Dearwester and Troy Opperman.
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
THERE IS only one senior on this year’s Jackson Center softball team, and she is coming off an excellent year last year. She is Katelyn Bayhan. be surrounded by returning letter-winners Tabatha and Anna. Meredith also swings a good bat and gives us added speed. Morgan and Gabby will also see time and Samantha
RIVERSIDE
Pirates have talent returning The Riverside spring teams are looking for continued success after both the baseball and softball teams finished with winning records a year ago.
Baseball Scott Mann is back as the head coach of the Pirates, last year’s team finishing with a 12-8 record to give Mann 94 career wins going into his 10th season. He has seven players back but only six will be available. Dustin Proffitt, a junior who was the Northwest Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year last year after hitting .415, is out for the season after needing Tommy John arm surgery. But back and playing are seniors Kyle Hurley and Scott Schreve, juniors Dallas Daniels, Jake Herron and Kenny Guthrie, and sophomore Dalton Bollinger. “I think we will be very competitive this year,” said Mann. “We have a lot of talent coming back and some promising players to replace the three seniors we lost. We’re looking to repeat as conference champions.” Hurley, Shreve,
strongly individually.” The top newcomers are sophomores Justin Weeks and Sean Perkins, and a host of freshmen in Luke Lowery, Levi Stapleton, Kyler Klingler, Zach Shaw and Ben Rappold. The girls are also low in numbers, with just one returning player in senior Hillary Jackson. The top newcomers will be junior Meagan Lattimer, and freshmen Ella Jackson, Brook Hickey and Kerri Meade. “We have a very small team this season so we will be concentrating on PRs and individual wins,” said Lump. “Our Boys, girls track girls will be competitive The Riverside boys on an individual level.” placed second in the Softball league meet last year The Lady Pirates and have three return- were 15-8 last season, ing in senior Zach bringing coach Andy Courter, junior Craig Phelps’ career record to Boling and sophomore 34-16. And with six playRyan Davidson. ers returning from that “We have a small squad, Phelps is expectteam but are going to be ing another strong year. working hard to grow Back are seniors Erin our program,” said coach Krishner, Paige AtterChad Lump. “I’m looking holt and Whitney Jenkforward to working with ins, and juniors Karli each runner to break Castle, Taylor Anderson personal records and and Heather Comer. meet goals. I think many The top newcomers of our boys will compete are four sophomores
Daniels, Guthrie and Bollinger will all see action on the mound for the Pirates this spring. Bollinger, who hit .308 last spring, is solid behind the plate and backed up by Andrew MacConnell, and Hurley will be at short when he’s not pitching. MacConnell will also play at third, while Luke Greene and Jed Carter are battling for the second-base spot. Daniels, who hit .389 and is the top hitter returning, and Schreve will both play at third, and the outfield candidates are Shreve, Guthrie, Chris Cox, freshman Tanner Lane and Herron.
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that Phelps says will see a lot of action this season in Madison Manahan, Christen Wietholter, Taylor Nichols and Jessica Davis. Atterholt will be the main pitcher, backed up by Oliver and Kayle Smith. Jenkins is behind the plate and brings back a .375 average from a year ago. Taylor Anderson is her backup. At short will be Castle and Wietholter, and at first will be Taylor Goings, Smith and Davis Heather Comer is the lead at second, backed up by Dana Bell, and Erin Krishner will handle the hot corner. The outfield candidates are Oliver, Cherish Lauderback, Bell and Manahan. “We lost six seniors from last year’s district runner-up so we have some holes to fill this year,” said Phelps. “But the girls are working hard and we should be very competitive in every game this year. The last two years it has been a battle with Fairbanks and Perry, and I think we can compete again for the title this year.”
ship,” said Hoover. “The team is focusing on individual events and relays, and our goal is to improve on our league perBoys track Many of them will be formance of last year.” Girls track first- or second-year athHoover has just one letes in boys track, but they number 23 strong experienced athlete back for longtime coach Steve in track in sophomore Michaela Leininger, who Hoover at Jackson. Among them are 10 will run the sprints, reletter-winners, including lays and compete in the seniors in long jump. seven Among the top newMatthew Tussing in the 1600 and 3200, Joseph comers will be Kaneta Forsythe in the 100, 200 Schaub, Riley Morris and long jump, Troy Op- and Chelsea Finkenbine, perman in the 200 and all sophomores, and a the relays, Timmy Burch pair of freshmen in in the 400 and the re- McKenzie Blair and Alilays, Steven Dearwester son Burt. “This is a young team in the 800 and the relays, Ricky McGowan with little track experisaid Hoover. and Nathan Wahrer in ence,” the 400 and relays, and “Michaela is our most Kyle Rasawehr in the experienced and the other girls will be look400 and 800. We’ll be a young team, ing to her. We’re just to improve counting on our seniors looking for guidance and leader- throughout the season.” Thomas and Paris Martin will probably pinch hit and play in the outfield.”
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Baseball Travis Pulfer begins his fourth season as a head coach of the Tiger baseball team and has six players back from last year’s 8-15 squad. Th returnees include pitchers Andy Hoying, Joey Frye and Alex Meyer, outfielders Trey Elchert and Steven Dearwester and first baseman Brandon Ware. Hoying, Frey and Meyer will be joined by Gavin Wildermuth to make up the pitching staff, while Meyer and Wildermuth will share duties behind the plate,. Meyer hit .250 last season. When he’s not pitching, Hoying will be at short, along with Wildermuth. Hoying had an outstanding season a year ago, with a .500 average that included 29 runs and 22 RBIs. Ware and Tyler Rogers will play at first, with Troy Opperman and Zach Davis at second. Frye and Meyer will also see action at third. In the outfield with Elchert and Dearwester will be Davis, Rogers, Fred Martin and Dalton Hughes. “Andy will be a guy we lean on for pitching
and hitting,” said Pulfer. “I’m hoping for a few guys that have played a lot over the last season or two to come into their own as upperclassmen. We need to be more consistent with our offense and have quality at-bats. And we need to make the plays we should make.”
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Thursday, March 29, 2012
Page 4B
HOUSTON
New track highlights Houston spring It’s a big year for spring sports at Houston. The building of a new school also brought construction of a new track, something Houston runners haven’t had the luxury of.
Baseball Glenn Brown is back as the head coach baseball team and is looking for improvement over last year’s 2-16 mark. He has five lettermen returning this season, including seniors Brandon Clack, Adam Mullen and Gary Phipps, and sophomores Chase Foster and Jamie Riffell. Mullen and Clack will do the brunt of the pitching for the Wildcats this season, with Mullen catching when he’s not on the mound. Riffel is also behind the plate and will play some third base as well. Clack will be at short when he’s not pitching, and at second will be Chase Foster, who hit .240 last season. Phipps is penciled in at first and Andrew Roberts is in the outfield. Among the newcomers looking for playing time are junior Tyler Davis, and freshmen Quinten Pence, Tommy Reister, Justin Bertsch, Justin
Steele, Adam Gillem and Robert Crawford. “We return five lettermen so we will need to rely on the returning players,” said Brown. “We will be very inexperienced on the mound, with only two pitchers with more than seven innings of varsity experience. So we will need to step up and replace the pitching lost to graduation. I’m looking for the younger players to continue to improve offensively and defensively. “I think the league race is wide open this year, with Anna, Loramie and Russia being the frontrunner,” he added.
Softball Last season was a building year for the team that has dominated County softball over the years. The Lady Wildcats had an off-year, finishing 9-14, but those nine wins brought longtime coach Brent New’s career total at the school to 230. He’s been the coach for 15 years now. This year, he has five letter-winners returning as the Lady Wildcats try to turn around their fortunes from a year ago. “We are going to be
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
HOUSTON GIRLS track will be led by these seniors (l-r) Jill Jolly, Allison Roeth and Megan Phyillaier. young, with only one seniors, but we have girls who have experienced, and I think the younger girls will make an impact for us,” New said. “I think we will be much improved and I’m anxious to get started.” The returnees include senior Ashley Wilson and juniors Nicolette Holthaus, Taylor Willoughby, Kortney and Alyssa Phipps Stang. New will be counting on two freshmen to do the majority of the pitching. They include Jade Piatt and Hannah Trent. Willoughby hit .212 last season and is back behind the plate, and Holthaus is back at short, returning with a .301 batting average from last year. Phipps will play at first and is looking to better her .200 average from a year ago, and Stang will anchor third.
She hit .242 last season. Second base is still open, as is an outfield spot. The lone senior, Wilson, is firmly anchored out there after she hit .369 last season. And sophomore Sonya Peltier is penciled in as well. In addition to Piatt and Trent, who can “play anywhere,” according to New, the top newcomers include juniors Aspin Crowder and Madison Schaffner, sophomore Rachel Slater, and freshmen Brianna Wells and Taylor Brock. “They should all contribute and see a lot of playing time,” New said.
Boys track State qualifier Brandon Ike (pole vault) returns for the Wildcats this season. He’s one of 10 lettermen back for longtime coach Ron Boeke, whose team was an overall 7619 last season and fin-
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
BACK FOR Houston’s baseball team are (l-r) Adam Mullen, Gary Phipps and Brandon Clack. ished second in the County Meet. And this season, the Wildcats haven’t had to wait as long on the weather, with the addition of a new all-weather track. Also back for him this spring are seniors Dalton Cook, Curtis Hughes, Mason Yingst, Justin Yingst and David Loraine, juniors Chris Abbott and Tyler Davis, and sophomores Jacob Braun and Nathan Ritchie. “With the 10 lettermen returning and a lot of hard work, we hope to finish in the top three in all invitationals this season. It’s been nice to have an all-weather track to train on this year,” Boeke said. The top newcomers this season will be senior Luke Winner in middle distance, junior Levi Barga in the sprints and freshman Devon Jester
in the distance events. In the County this year, Boeke thinks Anna and Russia are clear-cut favorites.
Girls track There are nine letterwinners returning in girls track this season. The list includes seniors Meg Phyillair and distance standout Allison Roeth, junior Jenna Hooks, and sophomores Monique Booher, Heidi Cox, Bri Garber, Angela Gilkeson, Katie Huffman and Amy McKee. Two freshmen, Ashley Keller and Emily Creech, are also in the mix. “This is an exciting year for us,” said coach Sandy Heitkamp. “We have a lot of new firsttime runners and throwers and we are all pumped to have a real track to run on. We are working hard and hoping for a warm, dry and successful season.”
RUSSIA
Veteran coach Gold takes over Raider baseball
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Russia has a new and veteran coach in baseball this season in Rick Gold, who has some holes to fill from last season’s graduation. Roger Hammonds is back for his 10th year at the helm of the softball team and has the County Player of the Year returning. Both teams are looking to continue their success of last year, which ended with a couple of individual state champions (Katie Borchers and SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg Luke Pohlman), who KEY PLAYERS back for Russia softball are (l-r) have since graduated. Katelyn Herron, Lindsay Bal and Tori Borchers. Baseball Herron, a pitcher, was the County Player of the Year Rick Gold has been a successful coach every- last season. where he’s gone, and he love for baseball and has “Our young players are hopes to bring the same always done well,” said outstanding and exciting to the Russia baseball Gold. “I’ve been very im- to watch. The basketball team this season as he pressed with the enthu- players were late to takes over the program. siasm and the skill of practice and they will The Raiders were suc- the players. But many of make up most of our cessful last season under the starters, especially pitching staff. So we’re coach Bill Shoffner, but the top pitchers, were going to have to be cauthere are just four letter- lost to graduation. So tious with their arms. men returning off that there will be a lot of new We don’t want to rush team in seniors Colyn faces on the diamond anyone too fast.” McEldowney, Bryce Rit- when we open the seaSoftball tenhouse, Eric Magoto son. Roger Hammonds is and Trevor Sherman. “Practice has been back for his 10th year as “Russia has a great going well,” he added. the head softball coach
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at Russia and has six players back from a team that was 15-11 overall and placed second in the County with a 10-2 mark last year. Back are seniors Katelyn Herron and Tori Borchers, juniors Olivia Monnin, Alexa Counts and Heidi Petty, and sophomore Taylor Borchers. Borchers, however, will be unable to play because of an injury, and she was the Lady Raiders’ leadoff hitter. Herron is the key returnee, having been named the County Player of the Year last season because of her pitching. She had a 1.82 ERA in 127 innings, with 227 strikeouts. She also hit .406, tops among the returning players. “Our goal as always will be to win the league and have a strong tournament run,” said Hammonds. “It was tough losing Taylor. I think the league will be even stronger this year, with Fort Loramie the team to beat.”
Track (Boys and girls) Marti Phelan is back for her second year as girls track coach and has nine girls who lettered last season, including three state qualifiers. They include Lauren Francis, Taylor Magoto, Becca Meyer, Macy Monnin, Bethany York, Kayli Dues, Jacki Siefring, Abby Drees and Kirstin Voisard. Francis is a three-year letter-winner. Siefring competed in the 100 and 300 hurdles at state, York in the high jump and those two joined Voisard in the 1600 relay at state.
“After winning the league meet last year, we are looking forward to another strong showing this year,” said Phelan. “We have returning state qualifiers in Jackie, Bethany and Kirstin. So we are hoping to continue the success we had last year.” Dan Schafer has six lettermen back this season from a team that placed in the top five in most invitationals and took third in the County meet. Returning are seniors Colin Ball, Tyler Francis, Dakotah Hufffman and Ethan Schafer, and sophomores Steven Stickel and Nick Paulus.
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Thursday, March 29, 2012
Page 5B
LEHMAN
Baseball team returns two All-Ohio players Lehman came within a couple outs of getting to the state tournament in baseball, and with three key players back, the Cavs may challenge for that again. The softball team has a lot returning from a squad that won 10 games last season, so head coach Bill Booth is excited going into the campaign. Boys tennis has 25 out this season, but numbers will be a problem in track.
Baseball Last year was an enjoyable season with an agonizing ending for the Lehman Cavaliers, who couldn't get the ball over the plate in the late innings in losing in the regional championship to eventual state champion Minster. The Cavaliers finished 19-7 under veteran coach Dave King, who now has 455 career victories in 31 years as a head coach. He begins his fifth season at Lehman. Although King says a lot of players will be getting their first taste of varsity action, there are some key players returning from last season, led by pitcher Alex Smith, and a pair of All-Ohioans in first baseman DJ Hemm and outfielder Ben Weber. Smith is a fireballer, with 124 strikeouts in 711/3 innings last regular season. He finished
9-2 with a 2.73 earned run average, establishing himself as one of the top pitchers in the area his junior year. Hemm, meanwhile, in addition to playing solid defensively at first, hit .481 for the Cavs and finished up among the leaders in most offensive categories last season. And Weber hit .432 a year ago, in addition to finishing 2-2 on the mound with a 4.74 ERA. “A lot of players will be getting their first taste of varsity action,” said King. “Overall, we will be fairly young but hopefully competitive. Improvement heading toward tournament time will be our goal. There are a lot of good teams out there, and the teams in this area to watch are Minster, Anna, Russia and Loramie.” The Cavs have seven players returning from last year’s district champions in Hemm, Weber and Smith along with senior Joe Vondenheuvel, juniors Andrew Gilardi and John Copella and sophomore Drew Westerheide. King lists the top newcomers as AJ Hemmelgarn, Cole Proffitt and Greg Spearman, all freshmen. In addition to Smith and Weber, the pitching staff will also include Proffitt, Hemmelgarn, Westerheide Copella, and Hemm. Copella will be behind
the plate, backed up by Proffitt, and at short will be a couple of freshmen in Hemmelgarn and Spearman. A first, Proffitt will back up Hemm, and at second, the candidates are Proffitt, Spearman, Westerheide and senior Kane Pickrell. Vondenheuvel and Spearman will see action at third, and the outfielders will be Weber, Gilardi and Westerheide.
Softball Bill Booth has been Lehman’s head softball coach for an amazing 24 years now, and he’s excited about his latest team, which is coming off a 10-11 campaign of a year ago and has six letter-winners returning. “I’m really excited about this team and this group of girls,” he said. “We were hit hard by graduation but I have a good group of girls that should fill those shoes. This team will be very athletic and I think we will have a very good season.” The returnees include three-year letter-winner Meghan Bennett, who was outstanding last year in hitting .484; twoyear letter-winner Ellie Waldsmith, who will play in the outfield, and Lindsey Bundy, Julia Harrelson, Emily Smith and Andrea Thobe. Bundy will do the most pitching, having finished with a 3.33 earned run average last
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LEHMAN HAS three seniors back off a team that played for a regional championship last season. From the left, they are Ben Weber, DJ Hemm and Joe Vondenheuvel. Sarah Tittterington and season along with hit- Sherman. The Cavs finished last Madeleine Franklin, ting .380. Smith hit a healthy season with an 11-5 who ran on the 800 relay .407 last season and will record and have four let- in Columbus. Also back for the boys catch, being backed up termen returning in senby Hayley Baker and iors Dan Sehlhorst, Matt are Nick Elsner, Joe Brad MontHarrelson, who hit .338. Ulrich and David Frey- Fuller, She will also play in the tag and junior Pierce gomery and Gabe BernBennett., ing, who along with outfield. “We have a big team Stewart are all sophoAt short will be Lindsey Spearman, and at again this year,” she mores. And also back for first will be Brooke said. “Not only have we the girls are seniors added eight freshmen, Sarah Davidson and Jones. Ava Schmitz and we also have two sopho- Stephanie Ulbrich. Top newcomers for Katie Rossman will play mores and two seniors at second and Thobe will new to the team this the boys will be five year. It is very exciting to freshmen in Eric Jackhold down third base. Also outfield candi- have so many guys who son, Teddy Jackson, dates are Sarah Gravun- want to be a part of the Mitch Slater, Ben Montder, Ally Schmidt, Katie program We have a gomery and Grant GleaAdams and Alyson Van- tough season ahead of son. On the girls side, us, but the guys worked the top newcomer is senderhorst. Spearman and Thobe hard during the offsea- ior Haley Spicer. “We have low numare newcomers that son and are ready for the bers this year but will be Booth is looking for big challenge.” very competitive in the contributions from, and Track sprints and relays,” said Schmitz and Jones are (Boys and girls) both freshmen. Coach Dwane Rowley the coach. “We're looking Boys tennis has three state qualifiers for great results from The Cavaliers again back in track for boys our young but talented have a big tennis team, and girls, including sprinters, and we're with 25 boys out this Justin Stewart, who was going to focus on staying season for coach Kristy third in the 400, and healthy and positive.”
NEW BREMEN
Seven players returning from 9-11 Cardinal squad man in middle distance, Jacob Swiger and Matthew Travis in the sprints, Garrett Westerbeck in the hurdles and sprints, Elliott Westerbeck in middle distance and Simon Yang in the throws. Chaney, Kramer and Westerbeck were on the 8th place state 1600 relay team, and Swiger and Travis were both regional qualifiers. "We are very excited about this season," said Jones. "We have 12 re- THERE ARE seven senturning lettermen, and iors for Bremen basefeel we have a very good ball. In the front are senior group. Our Aaron McCollum (left) strength should be our and Alec Frideger. In the Boys track sprints and second row are (l-r) The New Bremen longer Aaron Clune, Brent boys track team is once shorter distance runs.” again coached by Gary Jones, who is in his 18th season. He has 12 returning lettermen back this year in Derek Bornhorst in Stop in and see us! middle distance, Dillon Boroff in the vault and sprints, Ben Chaney in the hurdles and relays, Jared Kremer in the sprints, Drew McClurg in Wapakoneta Avenue On Sidney’s Quiet Side distance, Brandon Meyer 937-492-8820 in the throws, Alex Speel-
two of his five pitchers recovering from injuries in other sports. Brent Bertke opened the 2011 season by throwing a nohitter so he'll be counted on. And he will be joined in the rotation by Wendel and Clay Bertke. Frideger, Kremer, Clune and Feltz. He expects the MAC to be strong again, and led by defending D-IV state champion Minster. "We'll be a scrappy team and hopefully finish in the upper half, if we can stay healthy and focused," Cox said.
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Greg Cox is in his fifth year as the head coach of the Bremen baseball team, and he has seven players back from a team that was 911 last season. Six of the seven are seniors in Alex Frideger, Cody Wendel, Aaron Clune, Aaron McCollum, Brent Bertke and Doug Kremer. The other is junior Clay Bertke. Frideger was a second-team allMidwest Athletic Conference pick last season after hitting .368, with 15 RBIs The top newcomers will be seniors Ethan Elshoff, Alex Feltz and David Zirkle. "We have a lot of shoes to fill," said Cox. "But we have six seniors and a junior that saw enough playing time to earn letters last year. We hope Alec's experience will solidify the infield from the shortstop position. "Offensively, we will not have a power-hitting or speedy lineup," he added. "We have kids that can put the ball in play and we will try to manufacture runs any way we can. So it will be important for us to be aggressive at the plate but disciplined. And we need to be smart on the bases, too. He said Brent and Clay Bertke will vie for third base, with Brent and Elshoff at first. At second, Feltz and Luke Schwieterman will play and McCollum will be behind the plate. Clune will be joined in the outfield by David Zirkle and Doug Kremer. He said injuries are already a concern, with
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Thursday, March 29, 2012
Page 6B
BOTKINS
Groves takes over Trojan baseball program There is one new head coach in spring sports at Botkins this year, Phil Groves in baseball. And he hopes to turn around a team that had just three wins last season.
and freshmen Trent Henry in the throws, Austin Jones in distance, Taylor Vangundy in the sprints, John MichaelHaught in the throws, Lucas Buehler in the distance, Alex Adams in the springs, and Seth Zimpfer in the sprints.
Baseball Botkins has a new head coach this season in Phil Groves, who is hoping to improve on last year’s 3-15 mark. To do that, he will turn to six lettermen back from last season in senior outfielders Troy Fisher and Jacob VanGundy, junior third baseman Evan Dietz, junior pitcher/infielder Seth Hoying, junior first baseman/pitcher Josh Schwartz and junior outfielder/second baseman Heath Geyer. Hoying missed most of last season with a torn ACL. The pitching staff will include Hoying, Roger Miller, Dietz, Schwartz and Christian Hoskins, said Groves. Behind the plate will be Zach Greves, at short will be Hoskins, at first be Schwartz, will Spencer Stutsman and Mitchell Goubeaux, at second will be Miller and Hoying, at third will be Dietz, and the outfield candidates include Geyer, Alex Roberts,
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JESSICA DIETZ (18) flips to Haley Dietz for an out last season. The two are both returning letter-winners for the Lady Trojans this season. Troy Fisher, VanGundy, offensive production. If Stutsman and our starting pitching can Goubeaux. keep us in games, we’ll “We have a talented be more competitive.” core of seniors and junBoys track iors who started the reThere is just one letbuilding process over the terman returning in past two seasons and are boys track in Dustin solid at their positions,” Kohler in the pole vault. said Groves. “I believe But there are a lot of that when we combine new faces that the Trothese upperclassmen jans and coach Ryan with some of our Gutman are banking on younger players, we will this season in senior be more competitive this Kyle Bird in the sprints, season and in the future. junior Lance Miller in Our success in the the sprints, sophomore league will depend on Nic Wagner in the our pitching and overall sprints and high jump,
Counts and Allison Guckes in the throws, Bailey Schnippel in distance, Corrine Woodruff, Hannah Wagner and Lakota Running Haw in the sprints, and Brandi Landreth, Josie Steinke and Taylor Weatherhead.
Girls track
Softball
The girls are looking for big things thanks to a host of returning letter-winners off last year’s third-place County team, and a big freshman class. Brittany Bailey leads the way among letterwinners. She’s a senior and ran in the state 1600 as a sophomore. Also back are senior Liz Knoop in distance, senior Haley Billing in the high jump, senior Kaitlin Underwood in the throws, junior Colleen Greve in the throws, sophomore Becca Knoop in the sprints and sophomore Bethany Christman in the distance. The top newcomers are all freshmen in Kaitlyn Barhorst in the sprints, Whitney Barhorst in the sprints and hurdles, Brook Bornhorst in the sprints, MacKenzie Brown in middle distance, Jocelyn
Coach Bryan Trego is back for his 11th year as the softball coach and has nine players back from a team that finished 6-12 last season, leading him to believe the Lady Trojans will have success this season. “We have the players returning from last season, but the three seniors we lost were all four-year starters and led us in almost every offensive category,” said Trego. The letter-winners are juniors Jill Schneider, Jessica Dietz, Anna Platfoot, Lakeya Parks and Faye Kennedy, and sophomores Erin Place, Vicki Grillot, Emily Brown and Haley Dietz. J. Dietz is back for her third year on the mound. “She’s started since she was a freshman and has looked very good in preseason,” Trego said. Cameron Middleton, a
sophomore, will back her up. Behind the plate will be Haley Dietz and Platfoot, and at short will be Schneider and Place. Schneider hit .294 last year and Place .259. At first will be Parks, Maria Goettemoeller and Jenna Christman, and at second, the candidates are Goettemoeller, Christman and Kennedy. At third will be Schneider and Place, and in the outfield, the candidates are Brown, Grillot, Platfoot, Courtney Kohler, Kennedy, Goettemoeller and Christman. “Jill Schneider is making a move from second to short. She has also started since she was a freshman and worked very hard in the offseason to improve her skills,” said Trego. “She looked very strong in the preseason and we expect her to be an offensive threat this season. “Erin Place was our leadoff hitter last year and was honorable mention all-league. She is a great defensive player and can play anywhere for us. And Haley will make the move from first base to catcher. She’s adjusted very well to the change.”
FAIRLAWN
New coaches greet Jet spring athletes
Baseball The Jets were 7-13 overall last season and 48 in the County, and with eight lettermen returning this season, they are looking for more wins under coach Brad Bishop. The players returning include Aaron Watkins, Ben Brown, Luke Meyer, Zach Rogers, Trey Everett, Ryan Lessing, Grant Covault and Brad Caudill. Everett hit .404 last season and stole 15 bases, Rogers hit .368 with 16 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, Meyer hit .327 and stole 17 times, Brown hit .292 with seven doubles, and Caudill hit .273. “We return the nucleus from last year’s team, which lost six games in our opponents’ last atbat,” said Bishop. “And we have added a good freshman class for depth.” The pitching staff will include Caudill, Watkins, Everett, Rogers and Seth Bishop.
G O O D
The catcher will be Rogers, in his third year on varsity, Bishop and Caudill, and at short will be Everett and Caudill. Watkins, Covault and Mack Knupp will share time at first, and at second will be Meyer, Wesley Bolton and Everett. At third will be two freshmen in Bishop and Jacob Marvin, and in the outfield will be Brown, Lessing, Bishop and Spencer Anderson. “I think our guys are ready to challenge,” said the coach. “Our staff and players are real excited to see what we have to offer for all of those top teams on our schedule.”
Softball Dave Jones takes over the Fairlawn softball program and there’s nowhere to go but up after the Jets failed to win last spring. He has three letterwinners back in shortstop Abby Stemen, pitcher Samantha Forman and catcher Emry Bernardi. “Last year was a tough year for us,” said Jones. “We are looking for good things to happen this year. The girls have been working very hard at practice. We’re a young team but we have 21 girls out this year.” Only three are seniors and three more are juniors, so the rest are all underclassmen.
LUCK
Forman and Madeline Fogt will do the pitching, and Bernardi and Dana Stanley will be behind the plate. At short will be Stemen and Bernardi, and at first will be Megan Dudgeon and Fogt. At second will be Paxton Edwards and Brianna Hayden, and at third will be Alisa Fogt and Madison Guinther. The outfield candidates are Emily Boerger, Mikayla Bockrath and Guinther.
JESSICA RAYL (left) and Paxton Edwards hope to help turn around the Fairlawn softball fortunes this season.
man Joey Cockroft. “We’re just hoping to build the program up,” said Cummings. “And be competitive. Sometimes Boys track Boys track coach Tim kids can’t shoot or hit a Cummings has three re- ball, but they can run.” turnees this season, and Girls track he’s hoping to build the Tracy Nuss takes over Jets’ program. the Lady Jets track proThe three returning gram and hopes to see are sophomore Trey improvement over last Fetcher, junior Cole year’s seventh place Cummings and senior County Meet finish. She has five letterRuben Cooper. He’s also looking for big winners back in senior contributions from juniors Kirsten McDowell, junTrey Everett, Anthony ior Olivia Cummings Gillem, Jessie Hughes and sophomore Laurissa and Ryan Lessing, senior Muhlenkamp, all of Travis Wells and fresh- whom will compete in
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the shot and discus; and junior runners Marie Rose and sophomore Emily Brautigam. Cummings heads the list after qualifying for the state meet in both the shot put and discus last season. She finished 11th in the shot and 12th in the discus at state. The top newcomers, says Nuss, are freshmen Cheyenne Driskell, Cheyenne McGough,
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Katie Nuss,Abbie Roe and Jessica Wright, along with junior Haley Slonkosky. “They all have great potential because they are willing to go the extra mile and commit to practice and workouts,” said the coach. “They have some experience behind them as junior high track members. Haley is a new track member as well and has great potential as an athlete.”
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A lot of returnees should help the Fairlawn baseball team see some more wins this season, if the Jets can withstand late-inning rallies. The softball team has a new coach and nowhere to go but up after failing to win last season. There is also a new coach in girls track in Tracy Nuss.
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Thursday, March 29, 2012
Page 7B
MINSTER
Seven return for state baseball champs Minster brought home a state championship in baseball last season, and it appears all the spring teams are poised for a lot of success this year.
Baseball Minster reached the pinnacle last season, capturing the Division IV state championship for longtime coach Mike Wiss, who is entering his 18th year at the helm. Last year's team finished 23-8, winning 17 of its last 18 games after starting the season at 67. It brought the coach's career win total to 284. He has some excellent talent returning off the team that won it all a year ago, with seven lettermen in all back, five of whom hit over .300, with four of them being named to the All-Midwest Athletic Conference team. The lettermen include senior Doug Huber, who pitches and plays first, and does both very well. He hit .314 last season while going 6-1 on the mound with a 2.45 earned run average in 60 innings. Ryan Hoying is a senior outfielder who hit .375 last season with 17 RBIs, and Austin Knapke
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MINSTER IS looking for more success in track, with these senior returnees (l-r) Jake Winner, Francis Slonkosky, Ryan Will, Derek Collins and Chris Baker. is a senior pitcher/in- play at short. Niemeyer was firstfielder who hit .278. He was 5-2 with two saves team All-MAC last seaand a 2.40 ERA last sea- son, Huber second team and Poeppelman and son in 33 innings. Rob Wente is a Ryan Hoying honorable catcher/DH who hit .333 mention. last season, and Drew Softball Elson is a senior returnThe Lady Wildcats ing in the outfield. were 9-18 last season in Two juniors are also coach Scott Robinson's back in Adam Niemeyer first season, and nearly and Devon Poeppelman. the entire team returns, Niemeyer hit .426 last led by the area's top reseason, scored 35 runs and drove in 23. He was turning hitter from last also 6-0 when he pitched, season in Hanna Floyd, with a 1.17 ERA and 61 who rapped the ball at a strikeouts in 48 innings. .547 clip. The returnees include Poeppelman hit .326 and scored 30 times, Floyd, fellow seniors Jaywhile driving in 17. He den Hahn, Lauren Jutte, also pitches and will Megan Timmerman and
Megan Hanankratt, junior Allison Jutte, and Kayla sophomores Richard, Nicole Brandewie, Sara Hosey and Kathy Prenger. Richard, Brandewie and Alexis Robinson will be the pitchers. Richard had a 1.95 ERA last season and also wielded a strong bat, hitting .373 Behind the plate, freshman Regan Hahn and Prenger are solid, with Prenger hitting .275 last season. At short will be Floyd, and at first will be Hahn, who hit .277 a year ago. Second base will be manned by Robinson, a freshman, and third base belongs to Marissa Conrad, who is returning from an injury last season. The outfield candidates are L. Jutte, Hosey, freshman Michaela G o e t t e m o e l l e r, Stephanie Albers and Timmerman, who hit .290 last season.
Girls track Minster is always formidable in girls track and this year should be no different, with 14 letter-winners returning. Among them are three members of the state champion 1600 relay team in senior
Samantha Hoelscher, junior Natalie Fausey and sophomore Olivia Enneking. Also back is Kayla Wuebker, a senior who placed third in the state meet in the pole vault last season, Hannah Butler, a junior who was on the sixth-place 3200 relay team at state, and sprinters Sarah Dahlinghaus (junior) and Hannah Barga (sophomore) who were on the sixth-place 800 relay team at state.
Boys track Last year was an outstanding one for the Minster boys track team, which finished the season 90-0 in all meets, then went on to capture district and regional titles. They capped it off with an eighth place finish in the state meet. Head coach Larry Topp is back for his 25th season, and has now racked up 1,907 wins in his career against just 245 losses. This year, there are 16 lettermen returning from last season, including several state qualifiers and placers. Senior Derek Collins was sixth in the long jump at state and was
part of the 1600 relay team that finished first at state. He also qualified in the 800 relay. Ryan Will is a senior thrower who won the MAC in the shot and discus and finished sixth in the shot at state, and Jake Winner is another senior thrower who qualified for state in the discus. Senior Francis Slonkosky and sophomore Andy Albers both ran on the state sixthplace 3200 relay last season, and three members of the state champion 1600 relay team are back in Collins, Troy Kaufman and Korey Schultz, the latter two both juniors. Also back are juniors James Borges in the sprints, Eric Dahlinghaus in distance, Josh Spieles in the sprints, and Alan Tebbe in the pole vault and sprints. He was a state qualifier in the pole vault last spring. The sophomores returning are Paul Dues, who was an alternate on the 1600 relay to state last season; Wes Hegemony in the shot and discus, AJ Huelsman in the pole vault and sprints, Scott Sekas in the hurdles and Dominic Slonkosky in distance.
FORT LORAMIE
Another good spring ahead for Redskins Baseball
Last year was an outstanding one for coach Brad Turner, who has quickly transformed the Fort Loramie softball program into one of the area’s best. Last season, the Lady Redskins finished with a 27-5 record, won the County title with a perfect 12-0 mark, and then added a district championship before falling in the regional to eventual state tournament participant Covington. Turner, entering his fifth season, has a good group of letter-winners returning off that team, leading him to think it’s going to be another excellent campaign for his girls. Back are seniors Katie Eilerman and Macy Turner, juniors Danielle Wehrman and Paige Ordean, and sophomores Darian Rose and Julie Hoying, although Hoying won’t be able to play this year because of an injury. Ordean is a key this season, because pitching is so important in softball. She had an outstanding year last year, going 14-3 with a 1.90 earned run average. “As a sophomore, she established herself as one of the area’s better pitchers,” said Turner. “She throws hard and has very good command.” Behind the plate will be a couple of newcomers in Taylor Timmerman
Bill Sturwold has known nothing but success as Fort Loramie's baseball coach, including last season when the Redskins were 16-9, with an 11-1 County mark. That gave Sturwold 359 career victories against just 155 losses, a healthy 70 percent winning percentage. Back off last year's squad are seven lettermen, so Sturwold will no doubt add to his career win total this season. Returning are seniors Jared Albers, Kyle Bollheimer, Brent Goldschmidt, Joel Hilgefort and Kyle Miracle, junior Seth Guillozet and sophomore Zach Brandewie. “We have six solid seniors with some very good underclassmen playing supporting roles,” said Sturwold. “We expect to contend for league and district titles.” Albers and Guillozet give the Redskins a good one-two punch on the mound. Albers was 3-2 last season with a 3.37 ERA and Guillozet was 4-1 with a 2.41 ERA. Goldschmidt is back behind the plate and Bollheimer will play at short. Brandewie and Albers will both play at first. Brandewie hit .326 last season and Albers .316. Josh Frilling will handle second and hit .231 last seas, and at third will be Guillozet (.237) and Dillon Fleckenstein.
Softball
and Ashley Ordean, both sophomores. “Both played a lot over the summer and we’re confident in their abilities,” said Turner. At first, Ashley Ordean and junior Reggi Brandewie will likely see playing time. First is where Hoying would have been if not for her knee injury. It’s a big loss because she hit .293 last season. At second will be Wehrman, who hit .261 and drove in 21 runs last season. Talented Darian Rose will handle the third base duties. As a freshman, she hit .348 with 30 runs scored, a school-record 29 RBIs and 10 doubles. At short will be Turner, a junior who also had a great year last year, hitting .358 with 27 runs, 26 RBIs, 11 doubles and three homers. In the outfield, there are two returnees in Long and Eilerman, a pair of seniors. Long hit .293 last season and Eilerman hit a healthy .343 with 29 runs scored, and also stole 12 bases. The other outfield spot is up for grabs, and the candidates include junior Megan Bollheimer, sophomore Elizabeth Barhorst, and freshmen Hallie Benanzer and Janell Hoying. Sophomore Tony Berning may also help out as a pitcher.
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
VICTORIA LONG (left) and Katie Eilerman are senior returnees for the Fort Loramie softball team, which won the County title last season.
Track (Boys and girls) Kevin Wrasman has six lettermen back for boys track in his first season as the head coach. The six are seniors Ben Barhorst and Kyle Fullenkamp, juniors Qwinton Scheer and Jacob Siegel and sophomores DeLaunte Thornton and Garrett Eilerman. “This is my first year so all the athletes are newcomers to me,” said Wrasman. “I am looking forward to getting to know each one of them and their strengths. I see Ben Barhorst, Jake Cordonnier and Brett Quinter do well in middle distance and distance, and Kyle Fullenkamp will lead us in the hurdles and high jump. Brian Luttmer will be a great leader in the shot and discus.” There are 10 letterwinners back in girls track, and four of them competed in the state
meet last season. They include sophomores Tara Luebke and Meg Westerheide, junior Selene Waters and senior Katie Plas. The other returnees include seniors Kylie Drees and Julia Holthaus, junior Alaina Schulze, and sophomores Megan Imwalle, Tara Luebke, Hannah Meyer
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and Ellen Turner. “I'm excited about the girls team and I expect to them to do well,” said Wrasman. “I look for our seniors to lead the way. They include Jae Barhorst and Leah Grewe in the shot and discus, Julia Holthaus in the pole vault, and Katie Plas and Kylie Drees in the sprints and middle distance.”
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Thursday, March 29, 2012
Page 8B
ANNA
Reason for optimism Anna returns seven lettermen in baseball from a team that won 21 games last season. There are also good numbers and experience back in track, and seven back in softball.
Baseball Coach Mike Muehlfeld’s team was outstanding last season, going 21-3 with a 10-2 County mark, good enough for runner-up. The Rockets also played in the district championship game. With seven lettermen returning, Muehlfeld is looking for another good year. “We’re cautiously optimistic,” said the coach. “We have six everyday players returning, we should be solid defensively, and we have decent pitching depth. How successful we will be is going to depend on how consistently we hit the ball and manufacture runs.” Wes Wolters is back at short after an excellent junior year that saw him hit .321 with 29 runs and 14 stole bases. Senior Luke Kindelin is back in the outfield after hitting .366 last season with 27 RBIs, and Jake Counts, another senior, returns after hitting .407 last season with 32 runs and 16 stolen bases. He will play center and also pitch, and last season he was 3-0 on the mound with a 0.82 ERA in 17 innings. Caleb Maurer is a senior catcher who hit .370 last season and 26 RBIs, and Dustin Poeppelman is a junior outfielder who hit .250. Brad Boyd will play first and pitch, and Derek Wilson is a sopho-
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
ANNA HAS a lot of experience back in baseball, including (front, l-r) Wes Wolter, Jake Counts and Luke Kindelin, and (back) Nick Reier, Lukas Wenrick and Caleb Maurer. strong the last couple years. And Ryan GutSDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg man has been making ASHLEY ASELAGE (left) and Samantha Riffell are some great strides in the two seniors on the Anna softball team. program at Botkins and has key people back.” more who will play third Eilerman in the shot, Boys track and pitch. He was 5-0 as Amy Albers in the 800 Longtime coach Dean a freshman, with a 1.27 and Marie Gaier in the Stewart hopes for ansprint relays. ERA over 28 innings. other year as successful Locker says his top as last, when his Rockets “We think we can will be were 161-4 overall, won compete for the league,” newcomers Muehlfeld said. “Lo- Shawnie Rump, who was the County and district ramie and Russia are al- injured most of last sea- championships, then ways strong and Jackson son; Ashley Littlefield, went on to finish runnerhas a strong nucleus of Jennifer Larger and up in the regional and players returning and Bonnie Altstaetter, all of state meets. will be decent. Fairlawn whom had “great cross He has reason to be could be the surprise country seasons” as optimistic, too, because team with a nice group freshmen. there are 16 lettermen “Nikki is the mainstay returning for the Rockof players returning.” of a good group of dis- ets, including three state Girls track Longtime coach tance runners,” Locker qualifiers in Maverick Randy Locker has good said. “Cassie showed Long, and senior Cole numbers, but many of great improvement in Furgason and sophothem are youngsters, so the shot and is looking to more Brady Cates, who it’s a wait-and-see for build on that, and Kelli both ran on two state the Lady Rockets right has come close two years champion relays (400 in a row to making it in and 800). now. “We have good num- the regionals in the 100 Also back are seniors She and Jeremy Bensman, Jacob bers, especially from the hurdles. freshman class (17),” Shawnie are two of the Berning, Brandon experienced Christman, Kyle DerLocker said. “But with most that lack of experience vaulters in the county. shem, Ryan Gehret, “The league should be Daniel Gepfrey, Derek at the high school level, we’ll have to wait to see a good battle this year Gephart, Dustin Noffhow they develop over with several teams,” he singer and Jonathan the course of the season.” added. “Loramie is al- Rickert, juniors Keavash The returning letter- ways strong and Russia Assani, Randolph Kiser winners are Nikki Al- has been steadily im- and Ryan Spicer, and bers in distance, Kelli proving and could be sophomores Corey AbEhemann in the hurdles hard to beat with their bott and Adam Larger. and pole vault, Cassie junior high teams being Combine them with
some talented newcomers like junior Nate Bollheimer in the sprints, freshman Matthew Bruce in the long jump, freshman Luke Gaier in distance, freshman Jonathan Berning in distance, junior Gage Uderman in the sprints and senior Eric Schlagetter in the pole vault. “We should again be strong as a team in 2012,” said Stewart. “In the throwing events, senior Maverick Long returns after finishing 5th in the discus at the state meet in 2011. Ryan Spicer finished the season strong last year and will give us a strong presence in the throwing events. We return Cole Furgason and Brady Cates. Cole was consistently one of the top 100 and 200 meter sprinters in the area last year.” “We also return Kyle Dershem, who ran on the sprint relays early in the year in 2011. He is an outstanding sprinter. Jeremy Bensman has already jumped over 22 feet indoors and is competing in the Indoor Track & Field championships on March 17th. Our distance events will be led by Adam Larger,
a state qualifier in crosscountry last fall. Two seniors will lead our hurdlers. Jonathan Rickert and Jacob Berning both placed at the league meet last year.” Anna will be going for its eighth County championship in the last nine years.
Softball The Lady Rockets were 9-15 last season and coach Tim McMahon has seven girls returning this season. “We are still very young, with six sophomores and a freshman starting,” he said. “But I think we will be very competitive.” The returnees are Kylie Keener, Haley Steinbrunner, Amanda Rickert, Chloe Egbert, Ashley Aselage, Julie Gephart and Samantha Riffel. Keener and Riffell will be doing the pitching, and Egbert the catching. Rickert will be at short, Gephart and Courtney Esser at first, Asleage at second and Allison Harris at third. Morgan Clark, Rebecca Bensman and Steinbrunner will man the outfield.
NEW KNOXVILLE
Rebuilding in baseball It’s a rebuilding year in baseball at New Knoxville, and the boys and girls track teams will have to deal with low numbers. There is no softball at New Knoxville.
At short will be Tyler Shreve and at second will be Porter. Shane Topp, a freshman, is penciled in at third, and the outfield is wide open. “It’s a rebuilding year,” said Reineke. “We’re looking to compete and Baseball Coach Ron Reineke work at getting better calls it a rebuilding year throughout the year.” after the Rangers lost six Track players to graduation off (Boys and girls) a 10-10 team. Low numbers will He has four lettermen hurt New Knoxville’s returning, however, in chances in bigger track Lucas Leffel, Jake Allen, and field meets, but the Spencer Wolf and Rangers hope to compete Michael Porter. well in individual events. Leffel hit .306 last The boys have 15 out season and will be at for the team this year, first along with fresh- with no seniors. man Adam Howe. There are two letterAllen is the mainstay men returning in Anof the pitching staff and drew Mackie in the will also catch. He was 6- jumps and 400 and soph4 last season with a 3.25 omore Isaac Kuntz in earned run average. the 800, 1600, 3200 and
high jump. “We’ll compete well in some individual events but with low numbers we can’t really compete in team competition,” said coach Nick Wirwille. Isaac went to state in cross country last fall so I look for him to have a great year in distance. Andrew competed well at the league meet and was able to score points in the long jump and the 100 dash. And I’m sure we’ll have some young guys step up and help us out.” He said freshman Parker Stone will contribute as a pole vaulter. • The girls have three returning, all sophomores, led by Cassie Boyle, who was 13th in the state meet last year in the 1600. She will also
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RETURNING LETTER-winners at New Knoxville in track include (l-r) Andrew Mackie, Cassie Boyle, Haley Horstman and Isaac Kuntz. Boyle ran in the state meet 1600 last season.
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girls out this year,” said Wirwille. “We won’t be competitive in the big meets, but we have some good individual events. Cassie went to state in track and cross country, and hopes to be on the
podium in one of her events. Haley made it to regionals in the 300 hurdles but her best event is the 100 hurdles. She hopes to go to regionals again and hopefully on to state.”
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