2016 DeSoto Spring Sports by Jackie Bierman

SPECIAL EDITION BY: Steve “Big Daddy” Knapp • Jackie Bierman, Slic Pixel Designs • Christopher Blake, Photography

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Baseball

pg 4

Congratulations

Softball

DeSoto County Bulldogs!

pg 8

Weightlifting

s n o i t a l u Congrat gs Bulldo

pg 18

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Tennis

pg 7

Girls Track

pg 12

Boys Track

pg 15

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Bulldog Baseball

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“Murphy’s Law” kind of season for the Bobit boys

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By Steve “Big Daddy” Knapp

When the current seniors from the 2016 baseball team were on the JV team, Coach Monty McCloud called them the “best one bad inning team” he had ever seen. I used the first letter from each of those words and called them the “Bobit” boys. Like gum on the bottom of your shoe, some things stick whether you want them to or not. The team carried that “Bobit” handle with them as they went into a season of high hopes. With a team of 8 seniors, Jonathon England, Max McKettrick, Will Nelson, Levi Osceola, Grant Potter, Casey Rittenberg, Luke Womack and Darrel Nicklow, there was plenty of experience and leadership. Two from that group have signed scholarship offers to play baseball in college. So there was plenty of talent with the class of 2016. If you add in the big hard throwing southpaw Robb Adams, slick fielding shortstop Zach Aldret, the speedster Mikey Daniels, the hard throwing youngster Casey Davis and the big stick of outfielder Peyton Smith along with Kolby Scott and Austyn Hall, it looked like a team that should win the district and make some noise in the regional tournament. That never happened. The team became the head coach Nick Loughren’s “Bobit”. It seemed like in nearly every game the Bulldogs would be right there, either

ahead or down by a run and then they would implode. Maybe a couple of defensive lapses or a mental mistake and they would take themselves right out of the game. They were not a team that was going to score a lot of runs so they had to play small ball and rely on their pitching depth and play good defense. They did that- some of the time and made the games interesting. They scored more than 5 runs just 5 times and lost 4 of those games. There were a few injuries as most teams will experience during the season. Adams was the big one as he injured his elbow and only had a couple of outings on the mound. The big Junior will anchor the pitching staff next season. Their big man throwing from the right side, Levi “Turtle” Osceola, popped his arm out of the socket while throwing a slow knuckleball during a late season game. Freak injuries and mistakes will be what the team will

remember from the 2016 campaign. They never quit. One of the things Loughren wanted to teach the team was that life has its ups and downs

and you must battle back from adversity. They had plenty of opportunities to do that this past season. Continued on page 6

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2016 Seniors They were a good bunch of young men that their parents should be proud of. I will miss them next year too. They deserved much better than a 6-20 record. Loughren said, “Basically what sums up our season best is “Murphy’s Law”. We had injuries and other

things go wrong. We protested the final game and won the decision, but the game result did not change. On a positive we are returning solid pitching in Robb Adams and Casey Davis along with some hot bats in Adams and Peyton Smith for next year.”

f o s s a 2016 l C s t a r g n Co Jonathon England Max McKettrick Darrel Nickelow, Jr. Will Nelson Levi Osceola Grant Potter Casey Ritenburg Luke Womack

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boys & girls tennis

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Girls coach commentary not provided.

By Boys Coach Damon Dorato We started the season with four players, hardly enough to field a full squad. By the end of the season I had seven players that gained interest in the sport and began to succeed. From the start we struggled to compete, but showed improvement toward the close of the 2016 tennis season. For next season I will

have five players returning who I hope can bring new players to our sport. My team consists of the following players. Duggie Brown 11th, Seth Zolkos 10th, Donny Stiner 12th, Emilio Angel 10th, Zachary Dalton 10th, Israel Villegas 12th and Jaishon Williams 10th. Boys team picture not provide.

Bulldog SOFTBALL

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Bright future for Lady Dawgs By Steve “Big Daddy” Knapp Every decade or so a coach will have a talented class of athletes that just stand above the other classes. If he can mix in a few good players from the classes before and after that group of good players then there is an opportunity to have a team that others will be talking about for awhile. That is a good description of the DeSoto County Softball team. They have a very good group of sophomores and just enough juniors and freshmen to make a very good and young team. If you add in the fact that they are experienced then you have a bonus. The 2016 Bulldogs did what they wanted to do in taking that first step towards being a special team. They won the district championship (the only DeSoto County team to win a championship) and won their first game in the regional tournament. They were knocked out of the post season tournament by Bayshore who finished second in the state. The Bulldogs lost by just three runs after the Bruins picked up a couple insurance runs in their last at bat. Bayshore didn’t have anybody play them as close as the Bulldogs did until they lost the state championship game. That says something about the talent level on this team for the next two seasons. The Lady Bulldogs have, in my opinion, the best infield as a whole in the area. They are solid both offensively and defensively all the way around and they know how to play the game.

Malyssa Jeter was the team MVP and will anchor the infield at first base for two more years. Her natural athleticism allows her to play anywhere on the infield and not hurt the team at all. She hit out of the three hole and had a golden glove to help save infielders if their throws weren’t quite on target. Shea Lipe is a steady second baseman who can flash some leather and is the person who gets the team started as the leadoff hitter. You have to watch out for her bunting and using her speed to get on base. At short is Dekoda Johnson who hits second in the lineup and has some pop in her bat. Rounding out the infield is Michaela Cross at the hot corner. She has a ton of experience and contributes on both offense and defense and is the Bulldogs’ number two pitcher. With Hannah England firing BB’s from the circle and Lauren Rotering behind the mask, the Bulldogs have a strong battery. Rotering led the team in homers this past season and does a good job in a critical and demanding position. England doesn’t get cheated on any of her swings and hits in the five hole in Manager Mike Jeter’s lineup. Everyone in the infield, with the exception of

9 | 2016 Spring Sports Cross, hit at least one homer this season. The outfield is young and developing into a strong component of the team. Stephanie Whitmore started the season as the shortstop for the JV team but worked her way up to the starting lineup for the varsity in left field. She needs more experience at that new position, but has a lot of hustle and “softball sense” about her.

Patrolling center field is Chelsea Whitmore. The speedster showed that she has a good glove this past season and when she steps up to the plate, she is always a threat to drop one and use her speed to get on. Another free swinger who swings from her heels is right fielder Alyssa Hairston. She too is learning the position after being the JV catcher

Continued on page 10

10 | 2016 Spring Sports the year before. I like the way she hacks at the ball and has the potential to be a long ball hitter. Taylor Day is the perfect utility player who gives the team a strong option at any infield position in the event of an injury. She is a veteran who also was used on the bases as a pinch runner a few times. She is a disciplined hitter at the plate and knows how to get on base. The Bulldogs only lost two seniors from last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

team and the returning players will only get better. This is a team that will go deep into the regionals next season and possibly make some noise in the tournament and sneak up on some other teams. Within the next two seasons the DeSoto Bulldogs will be into the final four of the state tournament. So now is a good time to hop on their bandwagon before it gets full. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a good ride for the next few years.

Congrats Bulldogs on a job well done!

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Girls Track

DeSoto County track teams “Striving for Greatness” By Steve “Big Daddy” Knapp Striving for greatness was the battle cry for track coach Darrel Nicklow and the 2016 boys and girls track teams. The team is handicapped by not having a pole vault pit or proper equipment for the high jump, but the areas that they are able to work on, they excelled this past season. As in the past, the Bulldogs were known for having strong relay teams along with jumpers, hurdlers and sprinters. With the addition of new coaches

Bridget Koonce along with Jasmine and Jerome Rudolph, this very young and talented girls track and field team will continue to “Strive for Greatness”. The team is loaded with very young and talented athletes. One of the biggest surprises this season came from freshman Tashana Ligon. She competed in the 100 meter, 200 meter, triple jump, long jump along with the relay teams. In the meet at Lake Placid, Ligon accounted for nearly one third of her team’s points as she scored 26 of the team’s 81 points.

Coach Jerome Rudolph said. “DeSoto County Track and Field has had a great season. Although we were

a young team, many school records fell and aspirations for greatness continued to be a common theme for the

13 | 2016 Spring Sports team. Not only did everyone on the team beat their personal records in their respective events, but they also excelled in the classroom. Coach Jerome Rudolph said. “On the girl’s team strong individual performances from the freshman trio of Tashana Ligon, Aleaha Richardson and Marelyn Medina in the sprints, relays and jumps left both myself and my wife Jasmine in awe of their future possibilities. Jasmine worked with the sprinters and jumpers on a daily basis. Junior Kaylyn Castro led the girl’s distance team with continuous improvements all season long.” Nicklow said. “It was a very successful season with

a very bright future in front of us. Tashana Ligon was the district champ in triple jump and the 400 relay team consisting of Shakeria Nicklow, Aleaha Richardson, Shaterrica Luther and Marelyn Medina also won the district championships. I was really impressed with my two freshman girls Tashana Ligon and Aleaha Richardson. Ciera Crews in the hurdles and Kaylyn Castro in the distance both kept improving their times all year long. Marelyn Medina is another freshman who will have a bright future in the 400 and 800. We are very proud of the kids in the way they represented their families and DeSoto County High School.”

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boys Track

Coach Jerome Rudolph said. “DeSoto County Track and Field has had a great season. Although we were a young team, many school records fell and aspirations for greatness continued to be a common theme for the team. Not only did everyone on the team beat their personal records in their respective events, but they also excelled in the classroom. Upperclass-

men leadership from Keshawn Smith and Shakeria Nicklow enabled both the boys and girls teams to suc-

ceed all year long. The boys team was also

Continued on page 16

16 | 2016 Spring Sports led by strong performances from underclassmen JonShea Reed, Semaj “Elboogie” Elrod, Keshawn Polk and Nehemiah Hillard in the jumps, hurdles, and sprints. Keshawn Smith, Caleb Blackwood and Tomas Cruz were the senior leaders of the boys squad that kept up the intensity and drive for

the entire team. Keshawn Smith had a great season making it to state in the 200 meter dash and anchoring the 4x100 meter dash relay that qualified for regional championships. At regionals, the boys 4x100 placed 5th overall.” Coach Nicklow said. “The season was a successful one

with kids setting PR (personal records) at every track meet and by the boys being district runner-up. With 13 boys we had several district champs with Antonio Polk (300 hurdles), Keshawn Smith (200) and the boys 4x100 with Keshawn Smith, Tomas Cruz, JonShea Reed and Caleb Blackwood mak-

ing up the team. We took 14 kids to regionals and Keshawn Smith made it to state. We are very proud of the kids in the way they represented their families and DeSoto County High School.”

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As a former Bulldog athlete, coach and athletic director I would like to share Vince Lombardi’s thoughts on sports and competition with the Bulldog spring sports athletes. “The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.” - Vince Lombardi

www.bobbybennett2016.com BobbyBennett2016 Paid by Bobby Bennett Republican, for Superintendent of Schools

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boys weightlifting

By Coach Richard Koonce

The 2016 bulldog weightlifting team had a wonderful season. Although the numbers were low at just 5 members on the team each man lifted with every inch of his will. There were newcomers like Tyreke Evans who was just getting to understand what lifting really is all about. Most of the team however were made up of seniors who were finishing their careers as bulldogs. Christian McClearen , Julio Gaitan, and Bryce Parsley all improved in their totals at least 25 lbs during the season and all competed in districts.

The star of the season was Stefan Williams who qualified for the state meet in the 219lbs. division with a total

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of 570lbs. He will compete in state meet later in April. Coach Koonce would like to thank his team for a great

season and he wishes the seniors luck in all of their future endeavors.

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