SPRING S P O R T S
SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Page 2
SIDNEY
Only one head coach the same at Sidney It’s a real season of change this spring at Sidney High School, with only one head coach from last season returning this year. That would be Tony Brown in boys tennis. Bill Shoffner in baseball, Deron Barker in softball and Ruthie Baker in track are all in their first seasons with the Jacket athletes.
Baseball Sidney High has a new baseball coach this season in former Yellow Jacket standout Bill Shoffner. Shoffner has a career record of 198-108, but he has his work cut out to rejuvenate a Jacket program that won just five games last season, finishing 5-21. There are eight lettermen returning for the Jackets this season, including seniors Jacob Lochard, Kaleb Dotson, Brian Fishbaugh, Nick Lauth and Preston Heath, juniors Bobby Benshoff and Ryan Penley, and sophomore Connor Echols. Echols, Penley, Lauth, Benshoff and Lochard will all be counted on to pitch some this season, along with sophomore Colton Risk. Echols had a 3.67 ERA last season and Lochard 2.86. Catchers will be Risk and freshman Sammy Niswonger, with Echols playing at short along with juniors Eric Vargas and Layne Sharp. Echols hit .405 last season. Lochard, who hit .292, and Lauth, .333 last season, will share duties at first and a long list of candidates are vying for the job at second in Vargas, junior Layne Sharp, Risk, freshman Shane Herbert and Dotson, who hit .329 last season. Benshoff, who hit
.271, will be at third along with Sharp. Outfield candidates include Penley, who hit .319 last season, Herbert, Preston Heath, Fishbaugh and senior Eli Burnside. “Eric Vargas is a move-in from California and will play middle infield,” said Shoffner. “Eric has looked like he can really help us. Layne Sharp is up from the JV team and is a good infielder. Colton Risk is up from the JV team too and has been the most impressive in the short amount of practices. He will be in a battle for the starting catcher spot and a spot in the pitching rotation. Sammy Niswonger is the frontrunner for the starting catching spot. Shane Herbert is in the running for an outfield spot, but he can play anywhere. “I am very happy with how hard the kids are working,” Shoffner continued. “They have high expectations and believe they can get this thing turned around. The number one priority for us this off season was to find depth. A good number of kids have worked all fall and winter to make themselves better and it has really showed. “They know what the situation is coming off a 5-21 season,” he added. “Things have to change and no one’s position is safe. I have made it very clear that these young guys are pushing those veterans for playing time. I think they have responded and have been working hard. “I am also happy with our pitching depth,” he went on. “If you look at the records from last season it makes you cringe. But our ace was a freshman and the next
best guy was a sophomore. It really wasn’t fair to them to be forced into such a huge role that early in their careers.”
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
Boys tennis
SIDNEY HAS these seniors back in track this season, (l-r) Kayla Blosser, Jen Tony Brown returns Davis, Tina Echemann, Jessie Beigel, Heather West, Samantha Fogt and Maragain as the head coach ilyn Kies. of the Sidney High boys tennis team and he has five returning lettermen from a year ago. “In order to get some wins this year the younger players will have to step up,” said Brown. “This is a very competitive sport which relies on individuals getting better in the offseason. Some are doing just that and it will pay off as the season goes. “With the weather not cooperating we have to rely on players going indoors to get some swings SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg in,” he added. “That is always the tough part with THERE ARE eight seniors on this year’s Sidney boys track team. In the front the boys in the spring.” are (l-r) Dan Temple, Jacob Davis, Andre Spillers and Austin Oder, and back, He said at No. 1 sin- Matt Schwarzman, David Young, Joel Fannon, Kaleb Martin and Troy Rosgles will likely be Dan sengarten. Martin and Spillers were regional qualifiers last year. Temple, who had a good an 11-15 record last Stephanie Davis. shot put. junior season and hopes year. Raterman will be be“We have a dedicated to improve on that. But “I think we can be hind the plate, Lochard group of athletes that after Temple, says competitive in our at second and Doak and trained hard in the Brown, the rest of the league this year but it Davis in the outfield. weight room during the positions will be up for hinges on the kind of Doak hit .375 last sea- offseason and are traingrabs. leadership that we can son, Davis .321 and ing hard now,” said the Wynn and get from our upper class- Lochard .305. “Oak coach. We’re looking forHendershot men,” said Barker. “We Stephen ward to some big perBoys track look pretty good going have several holes to fill formances this season.” New track coach into practices and both at key positions, includGirls track may challenge as the ing pitcher, shortstop, Ruthie Baker doesn’t Coach Baker has one have a lot returning in season rolls around,” third base and first base, Brown said. “We look to and some of the under- boys track this spring, regional qualifier back get some good play from classmen will have to with only six athletes in girls track at Sidney Jacob Colley, Neal Dev, step up and fill them for back from the team that in sophomore longConner Bowers and us. We had several girls placed ninth out of 18 jumper Brandon JohnTrevor Thompson to fit train at F.A.S.T this win- teams in the Greater son. She is joined by senior somewhere on the var- ter and I’m expecting big Western Ohio Conferreturnees Jessi Beigel, meet last season. ence sity squad.” things from them this Kayla Blosser and Tina They includes seniors Softball spring.” Sidney has a new The returning players Kaleb Martin and Andre Echemann, juniors Ivy the coach’s Spillers, juniors Jake Se- Barker, Elizabeth Dietz, coach in softball after include and Blake Bria Foy, Cady Hoellrich, longtime head man daughter Madison, who landers Stevie Shepherd, Kylee Steenrod and sophoWade New stepped down will be the main pitcher for the Lady Jackets. mores Dean Fannon and Watercutter and Morgan following last season. White, and sophomores Deron Barker has She was 4-2 last spring. Anthony Yates. Martin was a regional Mariah Bowser-Jones, Also back are Maddi stepped into replace him, and he has seven Homan, Grace Lochard, qualifier in the 200 dash Lauren Boyd, Kenlee girls returning from a Josie Raterman, Taylor last season and Spillers Harrod, Peyton Jones team that finished with Busse, Ashley Doak and competed in the regional and Keyli Murphy.
NEW KNOXVILLE
Ranger baseball returns eight lettermen pitching duties, with Allen and Shreve splitting time between that as well as catcher and shortstop. Porter will be at first, Meyer at second, Topp at Baseball New Knoxville coach third and Wolf, Howe Nick Schroer’s team won and Cody Shaw in the just two games in his outfield. first year last year, but Boys track with eight returning letAndrew Mackie heads termen, he’s looking for the returnes after winbigger and better things. ning a district title in the “With eight back and 400 last year. half being seniors, the He is joined as letterexperience is there,” said men by Isaac Kuntz in the coach. “We’re looking the distance and hurdler to improve our all- PJ Kiernan, around play.” The top newcomers Back are seniors Jake are freshmen Devin Allen, Spencer Wolf, Kuck, Jacob Shaw and Michael Porter and Tyler Marcus Nitschke. Shaw Shreve, juniors Wes was a regional qualier in Meyer and Cody Shaw cross country and Kuck and sophomores Shane won the 100 and 200 in Topp and Adam Howe. the MAC junior high Allen, Topp, Shreve meet last spring. and Howe will share “Team finishes are
tough bcause of small numbers,” said coach Nick Wirwille. “Andrew will be a top runner in the MAC and Isaac was a state qualifier in cross country.”
Girls track The Lady Rangers return two girls who qualified for the regional meet last season in Cassie Boyle in the 1600 and Haley Horstman in the 100 hurdles. They are the lone returnees this season. “We won’t be able to compete in team scoring because of numbers but we have some good individuals,” said Wirwille. He said sophomore Hannah Privette moved into the school district this year and will run SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg distance. She was a re- NEW KNOXVILLE hopes to improve on last year’s two-win season in baseball, gional qualifier last fall and there are five seniors to lead the way this year, including (l-r) Spencer in cross country. Wolf, Michael Porter, Tyler Shreve, Jake Allen and Ryan Schott.
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NEW KNOXVILLE — New Knoxville has experience back in baseball, and some regional qualifiers back in track.
SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Page 3
BOTKINS
Lots of experience returns for Trojan squads BOTKINS — The coaches remain the same this spring for the athletes at Botkins, with Phil Groves back in baseball, Bryan Trego in softball and Ryan Gutmann in boys and girls track. All but the boys track team will have a lot of experienced athletes to lead this spring, led by baseball, which has all position players returning from a year ago.
Baseball The Trojans were 6-19 last season and secondyear coach Phil Groves is looking for improvement out of his squad this season. He has reason for optimism too, because there are nine lettermen returning, including all position players from last season. “Our upperclassmen provide great leadership and our players had a productive summer with Acme and Legion baseball,” said Groves. “We are excited about the opportunities we have in front of us this season.” The lettermen include seniors Evan Dietz, Seth and Josh Hoying Schwartz, juniors Zach Greve, Roger Miller and Alex Roberts, and sophomores Mitchell Goubeaux, Christian Hoskins and Reid Manger. Dietz will pitch and play third, Hoying will pitch and be a utility player, Schwartz will be at first, Greve behind the plate, Miller will pitch, Roberts will pitch and play outfield, Goubeaux will play first and outfield, Hoskins will be at short and third and also pitch, and Manger will play at second. Dietz had a 2.36 ERA last season and was also lethal at the plate, with a .472 average. When he's not pitching, the
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
BACK FOR the Botkins softball team are seniors (l- SENIOR TROJAN baseball players ready to make it a good final season are (lr) Faye Kennedy, Jessica Dietz and Jill Schneider. r) Cory Kies, Seth Hoying, Evan Dietz, Josh Schwartz and Gabe Lawrence. first-team All-County selection from a year ago will be manning third base. Roberts was honorable mention All-County last season and hit .321 with 21 stolen bases. Hoying was also honorable mention on the AllCounty squad and hit .315. “Three players from the JV team last year include Nick Okuley, who is a solid defensive player who played some varsity at the end of last year, Spencer Stutsman, who will back up at first and push for an outfield and/or DH spot, and Trent Bergman, who has considerable speed and will also push for an outfield spot,” said Groves. “Senior Gabe Lawrence returns afer missing last season with a broken foot and will give us more depth at first. And senior Cory Kies brings another left-handed bat off the bench or possibly to the DH spot,” he added.
Softball Coach Bryan Trego had a lot of veteran players back this season for the Lady Trojan softball team. Three-year letter-winners include seniors Jill Schneider and Jessica
Dietz, and two-year letter-winners include senior Faye Kennedy, and juniors Emily Brown, Erin Place and Vicki Grillot. Other letter-winners include senior Lakeya Parks, junior Courtney Kohler and sophomore Grace Vanbrocklin. Dietz and junior Cameron Middleton will handle the pitching chores for the Lady Trojans, with Brown and Place sharing duties behind the plate. Schneider will hold down short and Kennedy and freshman Allison Kohler are second basemen. At third will be Vanbrocklin and freshman Kassidy Esser, and in the outfield will be Brown, Place, Grillot, Kohler and freshman Blake Maurer. “I feel like we have a very good group of returning players this season,” said Trego. “Jessica Dietz will be starting her fourth year as our varsity pitcher and we have very high expectations for her. Jill Schneider will be starting her fourth year as a varsity player in our infield. She has worked very hard in the offseason and understands what it
takes to be a great softball player. Erin Place starts her third year for us and has become a switch-hitter. She can hit well from either side of the plate, which makes her very hard to defend. Emily Brown will also be starting her third season as a varsity player. She really came into own last season as a hitter and has increased her strength and power in the offseason. We have six incoming freshmen, all of which are very talented and fighting for playing time. We have a very large number of returning lettermen but there is always an opportunity for new players to prove themselves. “As for the league, everyone is chasing Fort Loramie but I feel it will be very competitive this season,” he added.
Boys track The Trojan boys track team will be relying a lot on a lot of young players this season. There are just two returning lettermen in sophomore Austin Jones in the distance events and senior Nick Wagner in the field events. “The boys team is young and hungry for success,” said coach
Ryan Gutman. “With only two returning lettermen, the team has an opportunity to establish a new identity and pave the way for the next several years.” Among the newcomers are junior Roger Miller in the distance events, sophomore Caleb Oren in distance, and freshmen Cameron Flora and Aaron Fullenkamp in distance, Brandon Cottrell and Levi Steinke in sprints, and Ben Aufderhaar, Jacob Cooper and Matt Schipper in the throws. Miller is a three-time regional qualifier in cross country, and Flora and Fullenkamp each qualified for the regional last fall.
Girls track Coach Ryan Gutmann has a lot of returnees in girls track this season, including two regional qualifiers in junior Bethany Christman in the 3200 relay and sophomore Whitney Bornhorst in the 300 hurdles. Also back are senior Colleen Greve in the throws, sophomores Jocelyn Counts in the throws, Allison Guckes in the relays, Corinne Woodruff in the sprints, Brandi Landreth in the
distance and MacKenzie Brown in the sprints, and junior Becca Knoop in the sprints. She was the County champ in the 100 dash. The top newcomers will be five freshmen in Kayla Heuker, Sarah Knoop, Chloe Flora, Amber Buehler and Taylor Doseck. Heuker was the County junior high champ in the 400 meters, Flora was the County junior high champ in the 800 and a regional qualifier in cross country last fall, and Doseck was the County junior high champion in the shot put. “Although the girls team lost a lot of talent, we are focused on another successful year,” said Gutman. “We still have many returning letter-winners, regional qualifiers, a school record-holder (Bornhorst), and promising freshmen joining our ranks.” Gutman is in his fifth year and assistant Fred Schmerge in his third, and they are joined this year by the new throws coach, Dylan Newman. He replaces James Johnson. “We certainly appreciate how successful coach Johnson made the throwers.”
NEW BREMEN Six return from 13-10 squad
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NEW BREMEN — The New Bremen baseball team was solid last season, finishing 13-10 andf winning six of nine league games. And with six players back from that squad, coach Joe Bowersock is optimistic heading into this season. Back are seniors Clay Bertke, Luke Schwieterman, David Zirkle, Trevor Kitzmiller, Alex Feltz and Alec Heucker. All but Zirkle are expected to see some pitching duties. Players who didnt letter but are expected to make an impact include juniors Jacob Gilberg, Ty Overman, Troy Siegel, Bennett Staton and Nick Blaine and sophomores Trey Naylor and Nolan Fox. “We have a nice blend of experience and young blood,” said Bowersock. “And we’ve had a great offseason of lifting and
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Page 4
JACKSON CENTER
Lady Tiger softball has a new coach our standing County.”
Jackson Center has a lot of veteran athletes this season, and one new coach in Isaac Klopfenstein, who will need to do a rebuilding job after last season's 2-17 softball record. Travis Pulfer is back as the head baseball coach, and Steve Hoover returns again to coach both the track squads
Baseball The Tigers were just 4-15 last season under fifth-year coach Travis Pulfer, and he’s looking for improvement thanks to the return of six lettermen from a year ago. Back are seniors Alex Meyer, Trey Elchert and Joey Frye, along with sophomores Tyler Rogers, Zach Davis and Gavin Wildermuth. Frey will be the mainstay on the mound and he also wields a strong bat. He hit .418 last season and drove in 24 runs. Meyer will be behind the plate and brings back a .333 average from a year ago. Elchert will play at short, and Wildermuth, who hit .339 last season, will play the infield, along with Rogers and Ethan Zorn. The outfield candidates are Christian Mabry, Davis, Drew
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JACKSON CENTER softball seniors this season include (l-r) Tabatha Myers, Hannah Meyer, Anna Wagner and Emma Regula. Sosby, Nathan Wahrer and Dalton Hughes. “We will be focusing on our overall consistency as a team, making the routine plays and limiting teams’ extra opportunities as a defensive unit,” said Pulfer. “As an offense we need to find any and every way possible to get runners on and move them around. We will lean on Joey, Alex and Trey, three guys that have played since their freshman seasons, to leads us both offensively and defensively.” Pulfer points to the
Russia Raiders as being the team to be in the County. “They have two top pitchers returning,” he said “But Fort Loramie and Anna have quality pitching and will be up there too.”
Boys track The Tigers return five lettermen from a team that placed sixth last year in the County. They include senior Nathan Wahrer in the 400 and relays, senior Nathan Hensley in the sprints and relays, junior Zack Buckmaster and sophomores Ryan Booser and Travis Helm-
stetter. Two freshmen are also in the mix in Tyler Lett in the sprints, high jump and distance, and Drew Sosby in the relays and distance. “We have several seniors this year that will provide good leadership,” said the coach, Steve Hoover “Nathan Wahrer is a three-year letterman who will lead our medium distance and relay squads. Nathan Hensley will lead our sprint squads and also contribute to the success of our relays. We’re looking to improve
in
the Regula and Anna Wagner, juniors Erin Poppe and Tiffany Bayhan and Girls track Morgan There is just one re- sophomores turning letter-winner in Dickman, Gabby Fogt girls track in junior and Meredith HimKaneta Schaub in the meger. sprints and hurdles at Wagner hit .300 last Jackson this season. season and will be in the The top newcomers outfield, and Regula hit are five freshmen in .255 and is penciled in at Pauline Meyer, Erin first base. Metz, Peyton Esser and The top newcomers Katrina McGowan in the are expected to be junior sprints and relays, and Courtney Gies and Nicole Fogt in the shot, freshman Abby Meyer. discus and high jump. "Overall, we're a “We have a strong pretty young team and group of freshmen ath- will be looking for some letes participating this underclassmen to conyear,” said coach Hoover. tribute immediately," “Pauline is expected to said Klopfenstein. "We have strong performhave some seniors who ances in the 100 and 200 dashes. We’re working are beginning to show toward a better perform- tremendous leadership ance at the County meet trying to get these underclassman ready bethis year.” cause they want to Softball have a senior year they Jackson Center has a new softball coach this can be proud of. They season in Isaac Klopfen- are committed to creatstein, and he has some ing a new culture rebuilding to do, since within the softball prothe Lady Tigers only gram and I'm looking won twice in 19 tries last forward to helping them do that." season. He said he expects He has a lot of returnees to help him, several league teams to though, led by senior be quite strong this year, Hannah Meyer at short. led by defending champ She hit .483 last season. Fort Loramie along with Also back are seniors Anna, Houston and RusTabatha Myers, Emma sia.
HOUSTON
New coaches at Houston Houston has two new coaches out of the four in spring sports this season, and they join longtime and highly-successful coaches Ron Boeke in boys track and Brent New in softball. The new faces are Brad Allen in baseball and Joni Dunham in girls track.
Softball Brent New returns for his 16th year as head coach of the Houston softball team, and with seven letter-winners back from last season, he’s a good bet to add a lot of wins to his career total of 246. The Lady Wildcats were 16-10 last season and return seniors Taylor Willoughby, Kortney Phipps, Alyssa Stang, Nicolette Holthaus and Maddy Schaffner, junior Sonya Peltier and sophomore Hannah Trent. Holthaus was honorable mention All-Ohio last season after hitting .444 and she’ll be at shortstop this season. Willoughby is solid behind the plate and brings back a .329 batting average, while Phipps will hold down first and hit .354 a year ago. Stang will play at second and brings back a .314 average, while Trent, who hit .284, and Peltier, who hit .292 are both in the outfield. The pitching staff will be ultra-young this season, with coach New’s daughter Kayla New and Micalah Hensley doing the hurling. They
are both freshmen. Also expected to see playing time are Hensley in the outfield, Rachel Wells, Rachel Slater, Taylor Block, Aspin Crowder and Schaffner. “We should be very competitive this year,” said New, whose career mark is 246-161. “We have a lot of returning players but will also play some freshmen. I’m looking forward to the season and I believe we will finish near the top of the league.”
Baseball Houston has a new head baseball coach this season in Brad Allen, who inherits a team that finished just 5-15 last season. He has five lettermen returning in seniors Tyler Davis and Drew Roberts, juniors Jamie Riffel and Chase Foster and sophomore Quinten Pence. Davis will be the mainstay on the mound, with Riffell his batterymate. He hit .278 last season. Davis will be at short, with Foster, Pence and Roberts in the outfield. Roberts had the highest batting average among them at .264. That leaves first base, second base and third base open, and challenging for those spots will be newcomers Zach Jolly, Jacob Gates, Aaron Heckman and Andrew Miller, all freshmen. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to take over the program at Houston,” said Allen. “We have had productive
and competitive teams in the past and I’m hopeful of getting the program back to being competitive again.”
Girls track Houston’s girls track will be minus some girls that decided not to come out for the sport this spring, but coach Joni Dunham thinks there is a good group of girls remaining, including five letter-winners. They include the lone senior in Jenna Hooks and juniors Monique Booher and Heidi Cox and sophomores Emily Creech and Jodi Jolly. In addition, there are three freshmen who are expected to make an impact for the lady Wildcats this spring in Emily Cozad, Brayden Murray and Josie Davis. “We unfortunately have a lot of talent that decided not to return to track this year. However, we also have some first time runners that are training hard to fill those gaps,” the coach said.
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
HOUSTON HAS a lot of seniors on the track team this year, including (l-r) Tyler Davis, Kyle Patterson, Seth Clark, TJ Martin, Jordan Acker, Bradley Wells and Levi Barger. jump, juniors Nathan Ritchie in the hurdles and Jacob Braun in the pole vault, and sophomore Devon Jester in the dis-
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Boys track Ron Boeke is back again for the Houston boys track team, and he has good talent returning off a squad that was 56-40 overall and placed third in the County meet. There are eight athletes in all that earned letters last season, including seniors Levi Barger in the sprints, Seth Clark in the distance events, Brad Wells in the 800, Tyler Davis in the pole vault and TJ Martin in the high
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Page 5
ANNA
Experience returns in all sports at Anna ANNA — Anna has a lot of experience back in coaching, with longtime track coaches Dean Stewart and Randy Lerner, along with baseball coach Mike Muehlfeld and softball coach Tim McMahan. And they all have players returning with expereince as well.
Baseball Mike Muehlfeld returns as the head baseball coach for the Rockets, and has eight lettermen returning from a team that was 139 overall and finished 93 in the County. He has reason for optimism this season because his top three pitchers return. “Pitching should be a strength with Josh Robinson, Wes Showalter and Craig Berning all returning,” he said. “But there will be a lot of question marks early with respect to the rest of the lineup. There is lots of competition for all spots.” He said Dustin Poeppelman in centerfield is “one of the few certainties.” Poeppelman hit .406 last season with 18 RBIs, and uses his speed well on the bases. “We need to finalize who will be starting behind the plate and at short,” Muehlfeld said. “Once that is determined, other positions will fall into place.” The lettermen include Poeppelman, Brad Boyd, who will play at first and third; Luke Cummings, who will play first and DH; Berning, who had a 3.00 earned run average last season and averaged a strikeout per inning; Carter Bensman, who will play middle infield; Robinson, who had a
middle distance and Kirsten Angus in the sprints. “Losing the points Nikki Albers always scored for us will be hard to replace,” said Locker. “We have 15 freshmen out this year, so a lot of our season will depend on how they improve as they gain experience at the high school level.” Locker says Russia should be he favorite in the County. “Russia has a good returning group that won SDN Photos/Luke Gronneberg the title last year,” he LOOKING FOR big things this season at Anna in track are (l-r) Bonnie Alt- said. “And they also did staetter, Jessica Hamberg, Kylie Comer, Amy Albers, Brittnee Axe and Shel- well the past few seasons in junior high. Fort bie Albers. Loramie always has a 2.76 ERA last season; strong program and Travis Grieves, who hit Botkins has been getting .270 last year and will better and better. It play in the outfield, and should be a good battle Showalter, who had a at the league meet this 2.12 ERA last season. year.” The top newcomers Boys track this season are juniors There are 10 letterDoseck, Zach Nick men back for longtime Zimpfer and Matt CumAnna coach Dean Stewmings, and sophomore art in boys track this Ryan Counts. season. Doseck and Counts FOR a big year in Anna baseball are (l-r) READY The Rockets were can both catch and play anywhere in the infield Luke Cummings, Brad Boyd, Carter Bensman and County champions last year and runner-up in or outfield, and Zimpfer Josh Robinson. the district meet. and Cummings could see from last season. McMahan. age Returning are three time on the mound. Rickert will hold state qualifiers in senior Girls track Softball down shortstop and Randy Locker begins Ryan Spicer, who was Tim McMahan is back Gephart will be at first. his amazing 33rd year as ninth in the state discus, as the head coach of the They both hit around the head coach of the and senior Nate BollLady Rockets for his .275 last season. girls track team at Anna, heimer and junior Brady 11th season and he has At second will be a and has 11 letter-win- Cates, who both ran on seven letter-winners re- freshman in Alexis ners back for the upcom- the 400 and 800 relay turning this year. Phillips and at third will ing season. teams that placed in the They include senior be Haley Steinbrunner, They include Kelli top eight at state last Rebecca Bensman, jun- who hit .290 last season. Ehemann in the hurdles season. iors Jule Gephart, Haley In the outfield will be and pole vault, Ashley Other returnees inSteinbrunner, Amanda Harris, who hit .275 a Michael in the hurdles, clude senior Gage UderRickert, Kylie Keener year ago, Bensman and Bonnie Altstatter in the man in the sprints, and Chloe Egbert and freshman Cayleigh Kirt- distance and high jump, juniors Jonathan Bernsophomore Allison Har- ley. Kylie Comer and Brit- ing, Adam Larger, and Another freshman, tnee Axe in the sprints Derek Steinke and sophris. Keener will do the Ashley Dentinger, is also and long jump, Jessica omores Matthew Bruce Hamburg in the shot and Luke Gaier. pitching. She had a 3.10 in the mix. “We have seven and discus, Katelyn Stewart lists the top ERA last season. Egbert will be behind starters back so with Brunswick in the 400, newcomers this year as the plate and brings that nucleus,we should Shelbie Albers in the freshmen Ian Douglas, back a .416 batting aver- have a good year,” said sprints, Amy Albers in Conner Rioch, Zach
Kearns and Gerrit Hoverstyrdt. Douglas was the County junior high champ in the discus last year, Rioch was the 200 champ and the 400 runner-up, Kearns was runner-up in the shot put and Hoverstyrdt finished in the top three in both hurdles races at the County meet a year ago. “We should again be strong as a team this season,” Stewart said. “In the throwing events we return senior Ryan Spicer, who finished the season strong last year, qualifying for the state meet in the discus. Freshman Ian Douglas will also add to our finished throws. He third at the middle school championships in 2012. Our sprints will be strong. We return Nate Bollheimer, first in both the 100 and 200 at the County meet, and state qualifier on the 4x100 and 4x200 relays; Brady Cates, who has run at the state meet both his freshman and sophomore years and senior Gage Uderman, who had a strong junior year and will be a top sprinter on this year’s team. Junior Adam Larger, a state qualifier in cross-country, will lead an experienced distance squad, including juniors Derek Steinke and Cory Abbott, and sophomores Johnny Berning and Luke Gaier. Matthew Bruce, a sophomore, was third in the league in the long jump last year and will be one of the best jumpers in the area in 2013.” Anna has won eight of the last nine County titles and should again field a team that will challenge.
FAIRLAWN
Two state qualifiers return in Jets’ track
Boys track
Coach Tim Cummings Softball has nine lettermen back Dave Jones is coachfrom last season, includ- ing the girls softball ing Trey Everett, who team for the second was a state qualifier in straight season and
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and Bishop at short. There are several candidates for the rest of the positions. “We are a young team but we return some good talent,” said Bishop. “We have three seniors who
are four-year starters, and Brad Caudill returns as our No. 1 pitcher. We got a nice surprise with Jacob Penningson coming out this year. He’s looked good in workouts.”
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Girls track Tracy Nuss has seven letter-winners back in girls track at Fairlawn, including a state qualifier. Olivia Cummings qualified for the state meet in the shot put and didn't disappoint, finishing third in Columbus with a heave of 39 feet, 11.5 inches. She’s a senior, as are returnees Haley Slonkosky and Marie Rose, and sophomores Abby Roe, Cheyenne Driskel, Katie Nuss and Haley Blanford. “We will continue to grow and improve this season” said Nuss. “I look forward to the mostly seasoned track and field athletes. They each have a great attitude and work ethic and are working to improve times and distances this season. We hope to have addition regional qualifiers this season.”
average from last season. Forman hit .333 and will hold down third base. The pitchers will be Madeline Fogt and Alison Watkins, and behind the plate will be Dana Stanley, who hit .300 last year. At first will be Megan Dudgeon and at second will be Madison Guinther and Watkins. SDN Photo/Todd B. Acker Outfield candidates Emily Boerger, FAIRLAWN HAS two state qualfiers returning in are track, including Trey Everett in the high jump and Christine Ward, Kayli Strunk and Sarah Olivia Cummings in the shot put. Keller. the high jump last sea- looks for big improveBaseball son. He finished tied for ment over last year, The Jets were 8-14 sixth in the state meet. when the Lady Jets man- last year and coach Brad Also back are fellow aged only one victory. Bishop has seven playseniors Jessie Hughes, “Last year was a ers back, including senAnthony Gillem and tough year for us,” Jones iors Zach Rogers, Grant Cole Cummings, junior said. “We have 11 girls Covault and Ryan LessTrey Fletcher, and soph- on the team this year ing, juniors Brad Caudill omores Jakob Penning- and they’ve been work- and Wes Bolton and ton, Freddy Hughes, ing very hard in practice. sophomores Jacob MarSebastian Harshbarger So we’re hoping for good vin and Seth Bishop. and Joey Cockroft. things. Caudill, Marvin, “We bring back everyHe has just two play- Bishop and Rogers, body that went to re- ers back from last year in along with R.J. Morrigionals last year,” said seniors Abby Stemen son, will be handling the the coach. “We want to and Sam Forman. Ste- pitching. get more kids to state men will play at short Rogers will be behind and improve our fourth- and brings back a .292 the plate, with Caudill place County finish from last year.”
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Fairlawn heads into the track season with not a lot of numbers, but two returning state qualifiers this season.
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Page 6
LEHMAN
Cavs’ coach King closing in on 500 wins Between the two of them, Lehman baseball coach Dave King and softball coach Bill Booth have 58 years of experience. King is in his 33rd year as a head coach and Booth in his 25th. All of Booth’s years have been at Lehman. While King will have a young squad, Booth has eight girls back and three new girls who decided to come out. And Booth thinks they will help the squad this season. In track, there are SDN file photo state qualifiers returning for both the boys and GREG SPEARMAN connects for a home run last season. He is back along with five other lettermen the girls. for the Lehman baseball team this season.
Softball
Bill Booth is back for his 25th year as head coach of the Lady Cavs, and he’s looking for good things with eight returning letter-winners from a team that finished with a 9-12 record last year. “I have a good group of girls returning and we are lucky to have three new girls out this year in Ellie Cain, Erica Paulus and Ellie Sargeant,” said Booth. “Our pitching should be good and so should our defense. The girls have been practicing hard and are looking forward to the season. We play a very tough schedule this year.” The returning players include seniors Andrea
Thobe, Ellie Waldsmith, Haley Baker and Katie Rossman, juniors Julia Harrelson and Lindsay Bundy and sophomores Ava Schmitz and Brooke Jones. Bundy will do much of the pitching, backed up by Taylor Schmidt. Bundy had a 3.14 earned run average and also hit .408. Behind the plate will be Harrelson, who hit .314 last season, and at first will be Jones, who hit .403. At second will be Schmitz, who hit .314 last season, and Rossman, and Cain looks to be penciled in at third. At short will be Thobe, who hit .400 last season.
Outfield candidates include Waldsmith, who had a .295 average last season, Paulus, Sargeant, Sonja Wolf, Baker, Rossman, Diana Gibson and Sarah Gravunder.
Baseball Dave King is back for his 33rd year as a high school head baseball coach, and it will be his sixth year at Lehman. King comes into the season with 478 career coaching victories and is coming off one of his best years, the Cavaliers finishing 23-6 last season and winning a district championship before losing in the regional finals. He has six lettermen returning this season in
sophomores Greg Spearman, Cole Proffitt and AJ Hemmelgarn, junior Andrew Westerheide, and seniors John Copella and Andrew Gilardi. King has a long list of players who will see some time on the mound, probably led by Hemmelgarn, who was 2-0 with a 3.20 earned run average last season. Also expected to pitch are Copella, Westerheide, Spearman, Proffitt, sophomore Austin Arnold, sophomore Nick Rourke, and freshmen Max Schutt and Nate Bosway. Proffitt returns behind the plate after hitting .297 last season, and Schutt and sophomore Joe Skelton will back him up. At short will be Hemmelgarn and Spearman. Hemmelgarn hit .359 last season. At first will be freshman Nate Bosway along with Skelton and Proffitt, and at second will be Copella, backed up by Arnold. Copella hit .366 last season. At third will be Spearman and he brings back a healthy .430 average. Arnold and junior Eric Rodenburgh will also see time there. In the outfield will be Gilardi, Westerheide,
Schutt, Bosway, senior Ryan Edelen and junior Stephen Blenman. “The players are working hard and it’s a great group to work with,” said King. “We are young so there will be some growing pains.”
Boys tennis Coach Kristy Sherman has 17 boys out for tennis this spring, including four lettermen off the team that fnished 13-3 last season. They include seniors Pierce Bennett, Louis Gaier and Riley Pickrel and junior Mitchell Shroyer. “The guys have been playing indoors all winter and are ready to get outside and play,” said Sherman. “We will have a solid team, but a lot of learning will be happening out there this season. The boys know that we have a lot of work to do and are willing to do what it takes to build the team.”
Boys track Coach Dwane Rowley has state qualifiers back in boys track this spring, including Justin Stewart and Joe Fuller. Stewart ran to a seventh place finish in the 400 dash at state last year, and Fuller finished 13th in the 3200 run. Both are still just jun-
iors and are joined by junior lettermen Brad Montgomery, Quinn Monnin, Ben Montgomery and Nick Elsner, and sophomore lettermen Eric Jackson and Teddy Jackson. “It’s a young but talented group of kids,” said Rowley. “It they can remain injury free, dedicate themselves to the program, and compete, they will be successful. Each individual can control their accomplishments.” Rowley said the top newcomers this season will be freshman Colin Hughes and sophomore Mitchell Slater.
Girls track Senior Sarah Titterington returns for the Lady Cavs this season after qualifying for the state meet in three events last spring, the 100, 200 and 400 dashes. She is one of only two returning letter-winners for the Lady Cavs, the other being junior Madeline Franklin. Freshmen Olivia Gorman and Sarah Fuller are expected to contribute. “We did not have a big turnaround as far as numbers go,” said Fuller. “But these girls have the potential to do great things.”
RUSSIA
Raider baseball returns eight from 17-5 squad RUSSIA — Baseball coach Rick Gold has eight lettermen back from a team that won 17 games last season, there are also eight back in softball, and there are five girls out for track that have competed in the state meet.
Baseball With his top two pitchers returning along with seven other lettermen from a team that finished 17-5 last season, veteran coach Rick Gold can expect big things from the Raider baseball program this season. Treg Francis, a second-team All-County performer who saw his senior basketball season cut short by a foot injury, is ready to make up for it on the diamond, and he’s a good one. Last season, he hit .382 with 24 RBIs and had a 1.65 earned run average when he was on the mound. He’ll be at second base when he’s not pitching. Trevor Sherman is the second top pitcher returning for the Raiders. Last season he was selected first-team All-County after hitting
.348 with 15 RBIs and recording a 5-0 mark with a 1.63 ERA on the mound. When he’s not pitching he’ll also play second. Also back are Isaiah Counts, who was 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA last season, Cole McEldowney, who hit .342 last season and, Gold says, is the team’s best defensive player, Austin Gariety at third base, Andrew Daniel in the outfield, Brad Schafer in the outfield, Brad McMaken in the outfield, and Nolan Francis on the mound. He was 2-0 last year with a 2.90 ERA. “Our pitching staff will be led by Treg and Trevor,” said Gold. “Our top relief pitcher was Isaiah, who is recuperating from Tommy John surgery. Gavin Hoying and Tyler Young also could play an important role on our pitching staff.” Junior Austin Tebbe and sophomore Ryan Magoto are battling for the catcher spot. Gold said the middle infield “is a lock” with Cole McEldowney returning at short, where
he started last year as a freshman, Francis and Sherman at second, Gariety at third and Counts and N. Francis at first. Outfield spots are for returnees Schafer, Brandon Barlage, Daniel and McMaken, with Bailey SDN Photo/Todd B. Acker Francis also in the comRUSSIA SOFTBALL seniors this season include (l-r) Heidi Petty, Alexa Counts, petition. Olivia Monnin and Sara Young.
Softball
Roger Hammonds is back for his 10th season as head coach and has eight letter-winners back from a team that won 16 games last season. The returnees include Olivia Monnin at short, Alexa Counts in the outfield, Heidi Petty behind the plate, Emily Fairchild in the outfield, Hannah Sherman in the outfield, Julia Drees in the outfield, Kennedy Metz at third, and Emilie Frazier in the outfield. Counts hit .383 last season, Metz .358, Monnin .317 and Sherman .281. The Lady Raiders lost an outstanding pitcher to graduation in Katelyn Herron, so the job falls to Sara Young and Carrie
Petty, neither of whom pitched last season. “We’re not thinking about that,” said Hammonds. “We’re just focused on this year’s team. They are working hard on the fundamentals of all aspects of the game. The pitchers are focused and working hard. We will need the seniors to step up and be great leaders, and I have no doubt they will.”
Girls track Third-year coach Marti Phelan welcomes back 10 letter-winners, five of whom have qualified for the state at some point in their careers. The qualifiers were Lauren Francis in the 3200 last year and the 1600 two years ago, Bethany York in the high jump and 1600
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in the hurdles. “We’re stronger and deeper than last year,” said Phalen, whose 2012 team won the County title. “Staying healthy will be a major factor. We have a strong group of seniors and letter-winners that work hard and are good leaders They are excited about improving on last year’s success and look forward to defending our County title.”
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relay two years ago and the high jump three years ago, Taylor Magoto in the pole vault last year, Kristin Voisard in the 1600 relay two years ago and Emily Borchers in the 1600 last spring. Also returning are Kaylie Dues in the middle distance, Becca Meyer in distance, Kaitlyn Barlage in the sprints, Hannah Bornhorst in the sprints and Leah Francis
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Page 7
FORT LORAMIE
Loramie coach Sturwold nearing 400 wins cessful in the pole vault and Jacob in the distance events. I’m also looking forward to seeing hard work from Delaunte and Alex. I expect Delaunte to do well in the sprints and Alex in the hurdles. We have a lot of new athletes and I’m looking forward to seeing them peak in performance at the County meet.”
Softball team returns top pitcher from 22-7 squad FORT LORAMIE — There is never a shortage of success during the spring season at Fort Loramie, and this year should be no different. Longtime baseball coach and recent Miami Valley Hall of Fame inductee Bill Sturwold doesn’t have much returning from a team that won 20 games last season, but you can bet it will still be a threat to get the 21 wins that Sturwold needs to reach 400 for his career. Softball coach Brad Turner led the Lady Redskins to 22 wins last season and a County title. And with their top pitcher back and a lot of letter-winners returning, the Lady Redskins will be strong again. Kevin Wrasman returns as the track coach for both boys and girls, and there are three returning state qualifiers for the girls squad this season.
Softball The Lady Redskins had an outstanding season in 2012 under coach Brad Turner, finishing 22-7 and winning the County title at 11-1. And with their top pitcher returning and a long list of letter-winners, the Lady Redskins are expecting a lot more success this year. Paige Ordean was 206 on the mound last season, with a 1.86 earned run average and 200 strikeouts. In addition, she hit .288 and drove in 19 runs. And for her efforts, she was named the County Player of the Year. “Paige will be back in the circle for us this year and we will again lean on her to keep opponents’ scoring chances down. She had a great season last year and will hopefully be able to do it again this season,” said Turner. Darian Rose returns behind the plate. A gifted athlete, she hit .372 last season, with seven homers and 22 RBIs. “Darian is one of the best athletes in the area,” said Turner. “She’ll be solid behind the plate and hit somewhere toward the top of the lineup to score and drive in runs.” Taylor Timmerman is a junior who will also see action behind the plate. She hit .348 in limited appearances last season. Julie Hoying returns at first base after sitting out last season with a knee injury. She hit .293 in 2011, however. “She was a varsity letter-winner her freshman year and played very good first base,” said Turner. “We’re excited to have
her back.” Ashley Ordean, a junior letter-winner, will also see some action at first. She hit .286 last season and will play in right field as well. “She will hopefully be a runproducer for us,” said Turner. Danielle Wehrman is back at second base. A senior, she hit .333 last season with 19 RBIs and 29 runs scored. She is already a three-year letter-winner. “She’s already had an impressive high school career and we look for her to cap it off in a good way,” said Turner. Janell Hoying, a sophomore, is back and playing third base. She hit .300 as a freshman. “She had an impressive freshman season and there’s no reason to think she won’t build on that,” said Turner. “She makes us very solid defensively and can also handle the bat.” Hallie Benanzer, a sophomore, will likely step in at shortstop this season, moving from the outfield. She scored 24 times last season. “She has very good instincts and a lot of natural athleticism.” Megan Bollheimer is a senior who will join A. Ordean in the outfield. She hit .317 last season and drove in 19 runs. “She will make most of her contributions at the plate,” said Turner. “She had a nice season last year and will be somewhere in the middle of the lineup.” Another outfield candidate is junior Elizabeth Barhorst, who hit .339 last season and scored 19 times. “Liz stepped up her game last season and did a nice job in center,” said Turner. “With a year of experience under her belt, we’re looking for good things out of her.” Other players Turner expects to contribute include junior Kassidy Broaddrick, junior Toni Berning, who will pitch, and senior Macy Turner, who hit .345 with 29 RBIs and 27 runs scored. An injury may keep her out until later in the season. “This is the deepest team I’ve had in my years of coaching,” said Turner, who is entering his sixth season. “I’ve got a problem that most coaches would love to have because I really feel like we’ve got 16-to20 girls in the program, including some underclass players who have not been mentioned, who could contribute at the varsity level. So getting the girls to buy in and accept their roles is going to be a big objec-
GOOD LUCK RUSSIA RAIDERS
Girls track
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
FORT LORAMIE is looking for good things during the track season this year, and these three seniors lead the way for the Lady Redskins. They are (l-r) Selene Waters, Alaina Schulze and Lauren Luthman. run average. Frilling, Grant Olberding and Travis Siegel are also listed as pitchers. Behind the plate will be Jacob Kitzmiller and Cole Meyer, and at short will be Devin Braun. Olberding and Brandewie will both see time at first base, Tanner Rittenhouse at second, and Guillozet, Connor Rose and Trey Rittenhouse at third. The outfield candidates are Boerger, Luke Gephart, Frilling, Brandewie, Josh Koppin and Blake Gaier. Sturwold says the top newcomers are Kitzmiller, Braun, Gephart, Frilling and Rittenhouse.
Boys track
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
FORT LORAMIE will have a young baseball team this spring, with only one senior on the squad in Seth Guillozet, who is coming off an outstandig junior season that saw him hit .303 and finish 7-2 with a 1.39 ERA when he pitched. tive for our coaching staff. With eleven letter winners back this year we’ve got a lot of players who want to be in the lineup and who will work hard to earn a spot. This will drive the girls to compete and to work and hopefully that will pay off for us as the season progresses.”
Baseball Bill Sturwold enters this season as a Hall of Famer, recently being inducted by the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association. And it’s no wonder — he enters this season with a career record of 379 wins and 165 losses, including last year’s 20-10 mark, which included a runner-up
finish in the County. He has just four players back from last season, and two of them are sophomores, so it will be a very young team this season. “Seth Guillozet will be our only senior so we’ll be very young,” said Sturwold. “But we expect to contend for league and district titles. Returning along with Guillozet are junior outfielder Zach Brandewie, sophomore outfielder Arron Boerger and sophomore pitcher/outfielder Ty Frilling. Gullozet, who hit .303 last season, will pitch and also play at third base. He was 7-2 last year with a 1.39 earned
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There are just four lettermen returning for Fort Loramie and coach Kevin Wrasman in boys track this season. They include seniors Qwinton Scheer and Jacob Siegel, junior Delaunte Thornton and sophomore Alex Dickerson. Wrasman thinks newcomers like sophomore Cole Cordonnier and a freshman class that is 10 strong will also be good additions to the team. “I’m expecting to see great leadership from our juniors and seniors,” said Wrasman. “I look for Qwinton to be suc-
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The Loramie girls had an excellent season last year, finishing with an overall record of 61-22 and taking runner-up honors in the County meet. Coach Kvin Wrasman has 11 letter-winners returning from last season, including three state qualifiers in senior Selene Waters and juniors Tara Luebke and Meg Westerheide. was Westerheide nothing short of fantastic last season, finishing fourth in both the state 800 and 1600 runs, and joining with Luebke and Waters to place ninth in the 3200 relay. Also returning this season are seniors Lauren Luthman and Alaine Schulze, junior Ellen Turner, and sophomores Regan Geise, Sara Maurer, Elena Moore, Sarah Puthoff and Hailey Wray. In addition, Wrasman is excited about the incoming freshman class which numbers 13. “They did very well in junior high track last year and I’m looking forward to watching them improve throughout this season. “I see our seniors doing well and showing good leadership,” Wrasman added. “Lauren will be in the shot and discus, and Alaina and Selene in the distance events. I also see Tara, Ellen and Meg doing a great job in an array of events and I’m also happy to have five sophomore returnees on the team who work very hard. “I think our girls can do well in the County meet,” he concluded. “I hope to see them improve throughout the season and do their best in the County meet and postseason.
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SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Sidney Daily News,Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Page 8
MINSTER
Baseball goes for 3rd straight state title
Your Link to the Community
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
THE MINSTER girls track team will be led by this senior group, including front row (l-r) Madeleine Eiting, Natalie Fausey, Claire McGowan and Allison Jutte, and back row, Hannah Butler, Sara Dahlinghaus, Taylor Arnold and Kaitlyn Oldiges. solid uppperclass leadership again. You’re only as good as your seniors. We’ll look for success at the plate in hitter’s counts and solid fielding early in the year. Plus we return lots of pitching from our tournament run.” Wiss expects Versailles to be strong again in the Midwest Athletic Conference along with Coldwater, Delphos and Parkway. “I think Marion, New Knoxville and New Bremen will also contend,” he said.
Softball The Minster girls were outstanding last season, finishing with a 24-7 record and reaching the regional championship game before losing. Coach Scott Robinson lost a premier player in Hanna Floyd, who is now playing for Wright State. But he has a long list of returning letterwinners to turn to. They include juniors Kayla Richard, Nicole Brandewie, Sara Hosey, Kathy Prenger, Marissa Conrad and Stephanie Albers, and sophomores Regan Hahn and Alexis Robinson. Richard will pitch and also brings back a .400 average. She was on the mound every game last year, finishing with a 247 record with a 2.47 ERA. Hahn hit .433 last season as a sophomore and returns behind the plate, and Brandewie is back at shortstop after hitting .247 last season. Prenger will hold down first and hit .286 a year ago, and Robinson will play second and brings back a .355 average from
last season. Conrad hit .490 last season and will play at third base. In the outfield, Hosey is back after hitting .448 last season. Michaela Goettemoeller, a sophoand junior more, Stephanie Albers will be in the outfield. Albers hit .302 last season and Goettemoeller .304. The top newcomers will likely be three freshmen in Jessica Berelsman, Brooke Monnin and May McFarlin. “We are looking to build on last year’s success of reaching the refinals and gional hopefully going one step further,” said Robinson. “For the second time in three years, we will have no seniors on the team, but our young ladies are experienced and ready to step up. One of our goals this season is to compete for the MAC title. A title would be a first for the program.” He said he expects another competitive season in the league, with Parkway returning some good pitching. He said he expects St. Henry, Marion Local and Versailles to all make a good run.
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Boys track There are 19 lettermen back for longtime coach Larry Topp in boys track at Minster. And that’s bad new for Minster opponents this season because the Wildcats were 89-0 during the regular season last year, then went on to win district and regional championships. Topp has been coaching for 25 years now, and is approaching his 2,000th victory, going
Girls track There are a host of state qualifiers back for the Minster girls, which is usually the case. This year they include seniors Hannah Butler, Natalie Fausey and Sara Dahlinghaus, along with juniors Olivia Enneking, Hannah Barga and Chelsea Stewart. Fausey, Barga and Enneking ran on the 1600 relay team that was second in the state meet, Fausey and Butler ran on the 3200 relay team that was fifth at state, and Barga and Stewart ran on the 400 relay team that placed seventh in the state meet. In addition to those girls, also returning as letter-winners for coach Jessie Magoto are seniors Claire McGowan and Madeleine Eiting, and juniors Olivia Enneking and Leah Niekamp. Magoto is also optimistic that a strong freshman group can contribute this season, including Julia Slonkosky, Lisa Barlage, Katherine Burke and Kaci Borhorst, who all ran in the State Cross Country Meet last fall. Two other freshmen are also expected to be key players this season in Mya Francis and Kelsey Richard. “We have plenty of diverse young girls coming out,” said coach Magoto. “And we have strong returning leaders with a lot of experience.”
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17 RBIs. He will also do some catching. Andrew Knapke will play infield and also pitch and Wiss likes his glove at second base. He hit .371 last season. Brandon Hoying will play infield and also pitch. He worked 25 innings last season and was 2-2 with a 3.32 ERA. The final returnee is Ethan Wolf, who had a good year behind the plate as a sophomore. “He did a super job for us,” said Wiss. Wolf hit .295. Niemeyer, Poeppelman and Eilerman were all first-team All-Midwest Athletic Conference last season and Wolf made the honorable mention list. Among the players to watch for this season are juniors Clay Brown, Brad Walterbusch, John Baumer, Max Huber and Garrett Hogenkamp, and sophomores JR Nixon and Mathew Trushaw. “Hopefully, JR will provide a little power in the middle of the order and Mathew is a righthanded pitcher who will receive opportunities on the hill. Brad is a good hitter and Clay is a lefty on the mound and at first.” Wiss said an outstanding senior class graduated, including Huber, who was the MVP of the state tournament. “We started off 16-2 last season, then lost four of our next seven before ending with seven straight tournament wins,” Wiss said. “We have good pitching depth this season and I look for
promising but we will need a lot of growth to reach our team goals this year,” he added. “The league could be very interesting with Versailles and Coldwater looking very strong and St. Henry having a great chance to upset these league powers. We once again have big shoes to fill but hope by the end of the year to be in the mix.”
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Baseball Minster head coach Mike Wiss has 310 wins and 146 losses in an outstanding coaching career, and as he enters his 19th season at the helm, he is working on back-to-back Division IV state championships. Wiss was nothing short of phenomenal last year in the way he took his Wildcats to a 26-6 record and a repeat state title, especially after his top pitcher, Adam Niemeyer, was unable to go on the mound because of an injury. Doug Huber stepped in and pitched brilliantly, and Wiss worked the pitching staff perfectly, to the point where Niemeyer wasn’t missed on the mound. However, that doesn’t mean Wiss isn’t glad to see Niemeyer back and ready to pitch this season, and with the other players Minster has returning, the Wildcats go into the season as probably the favorite to win it all again. Last year’s sectional championship was the 13th under Wiss, and you can add to that six district titles and three regional championships. His 2003 team was state runner-up. Back for this season are six key players for the Wildcats, including Niemeyer, who hit .438 last season with 12 doubles and 27 runs batted in. Also, he did manage to get in 45 innings of work and had a 0.00 earned run average and 76 strikeouts. He gave up just 10 hits when he pitched – all singles. Devon Poeppelman, who drove in the winning run in the state championship game last season, is back at short and will also pitch. He has what Wiss said is a “great glove” at short and also hit .360 with 24 RBIs. Jay Eilerman is back in center and is the Wildcats’ leadoff hitter. He hit .367 last season with
into this season with a regular season record of 1,996-245, a winning percentage of 89. Returning are seniors Alan Tebbe, who was the Midwest Athletic Conference champion in the pole vault; Troy Kauffman, MAC and state champion in the 1600 relay; state 3200 relay qualifier Eric Dahlinghaus, Korey Schultz, the MAC and state champion in the 1600 relay, regional qualifier Josh Spieles in the sprints, and Kurtis Thobe in the long jump and sprints. Also back are juniors Dominic Slonkosky, a state qualifier in the 3200 relay; Scott Sekas in the hurdles, Wes Hegeman, a regional qualifier in the shot and discus; AJ Huelsman, who was fourth in the state pole vault; Paul Dues, MAC and state champion in the 1600 relay; Andy Albers, state qualifier in the 3200 relay; Tate Carlon in the shot and discus; and Christian Boenlein and the pole vault and sprints. Sophomores returning are Eli Wolf in the sprints and high jump, Jonathan Fausey in the middle distance, Andrew Fausey in the distance and Sam Dues in the sprints and hurdles. “We have a strong core of athletes returning,” said Topp. “Seven of them have state experience, which we hope will lead to a year of great leadership. We only graduated five seniors last year but four of them had state experience so they leave a large void. But we should have the athletes to fill the void with 58 out for the team, including 23 freshmen. It may take time to develop athletes to fill the void. We will look to our juniors and seniors to lead. “This year could be
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The spring season is always amazing at Minster, with all the girls state track championships the school has and the two straight Division IV championships the baseball team hasgoing. And with a lot of experience back in all the sports, it will no doubt be another outstanding spring at the school. Head baseball coach Mike Wiss has enough talent returning to make a run at a third straight state title, and softball coach Scott Robinson has eight players returnSDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg ing from a team that THESE MINSTER seniors have already won two state championships in basewon 24 games last seaball and have the talent to make it three this season. They include (l-r) Anson. Boys track coach drew Knapke, Jay Eilerman and Devon Poeppelman. Larry Topp’s 2012 team was unbeaten during the regular season, and there are 19 lettermen back from that squad. And coach Jessie Magoto’s girls track team includes six girls who ran in the state meet last spring, and another five who ran in the state cross county meet last fall.
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