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together Coach Chris Drees and senior Hadley Gillum look to take Plainville deep

The Hays Daily News

January 2014

A Little Teamwork Goes A Long Way!

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What’s up?

A look inside this issue

6

All the way

After taking second in state a season ago, Plainville senior Dylan Wiesner has one goal in mind for 2013-14.

8

Bramlage or bust

Plainville’s Hadley Gillum is reunited with the coach he had as a high school freshman. The two look to lead Plainville to the state tourney.

14

Signs of spirit

Need to display your school colors?

Hays resident Don Wellbrock can help you out.

Up for grabs Wallace County’s Luke Schemm blocks a pass to Baileyville-B&B’s Cameron Haug during the Eight-Man Division II state title game in Newton in late November.

Jolie Green, Sports Ink.

Sports Ink. contributors: Nick McQueen nmcqueen@dailynews.net Conor Nicholl cnicholl@dailynews.net Everett Royer sportsink@dailynews.net Jolie Green jgreen@dailynews.net Chad Pilster cpilster@dailynews.net Austin Colbert acolbert@dailynews.net Volume 3, Issue 11 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2013 Harris Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Sports Ink. is a registered trademark of The Hays Daily News, 507 Main, Hays, KS 67601 (785) 628-1081.

Playoffs? Are you kidding?

C

ongratulations, your favorite college football team made a bowl win prolongs it for at least another week. game. But unless that team is Florida State or Auburn, should It’s heightened in high school football in Kansas with the district you really care? format, which can allow a team that started 0-7 to still make the Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see my Kansas State Wildcats playoffs with a couple of wins at the end of the season. The reality is play Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, the first meeting that team probably won’t win a playoff game should it make it, but between the schools. Oklahoma and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl will nonetheless there is that possibility that it could. be one heck of a game.

This is what makes the playoffs so thrilling, so captivating, and so But seriously, what’s the point? perfect. It works so well in every sport, at every level, besides the top What does the winner get? A larger cut of the money and a pat on tier of Division I college football. the back. That’s certainly nice if you are the athletic As a diehard college football junkie, I think it’s For starters director, but as a fan I feel cheated. a shame. The playoff season is a magical time of There are the rare exceptions where a bowl game the year in high school football and the National — not including the national title game — really Football League. I can’t even begin to tell you means something. For example, Boise State’s stunhow much fun March Madness and the NCAA ning win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. basketball tournament is.

To me, bowl games feel like consolation prizes.

This is what college football is missing out on.

Winning feels about as good as losing. Either way, Bowl games have their moments. They might your season is over. They just don’t bring the same level of excitemean something to the players and certainly the advertisers, but little ment or energy that comes with a true playoff game. to everyone else.

Yes, I said playoffs, the horrible idea the soon-to-be-deceased Bowl Sure, the Cotton Bowl between Oklahoma State and Missouri on Championship Series has tried to crush for years. The BCS is in its Jan. 3 has plenty of story lines and should be a great game. But like I final year and will be replaced by a four-team playoff beginning next said before, the winner just gets a bigger paycheck, a pat on the back season. So that’s a start. But it’s not enough. and a new trophy to take home.

Not only are playoffs fair, but also exciting. Anyone who followed Now imagine that same game being a playoff game, where the the high school football playoffs in Kansas knows this. Even if it’s a loser’s season ends and the winner moves on to the quarterfinals or matchup between a 9-0 school and a 4-5 school, there is that feeling semifinals. That would be exciting — something to play for. of possibility. Both teams know that a loss ends their season and a That is what college football needs.

austin

Colbert

Proud to Support Our Student Athletes Wishing all of our school teams a safe and successful season. We hope you'll experience the thrill of victory, but more importantly, that you'll enjoy every minute of the game. We salute your hard work, school spirit and commitment to the team. Good Luck!

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Who’s That?

Notable performances in northwest Kansas Kate Lehman

A junior center on the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team, the Newton product got off to a hot start to her third year with the Tigers. Through a 6-1 start (1-1 MIAA), Lehman led the Tigers with 15.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest, and the 6-foot-4 Lehman had 39 blocks in that same span for a 5.5 block per game average. In a 67-53 road win against Missouri Western State University, Lehman was two blocks shy of a triple double for the second time this season. She also was named MIAA Player of the Week and had a string of four straight double-double performances.

Dayton Dreher

Ranked No. 2 at 138 pounds to start the season, Oberlin senior wrestler Dayton Dreher opened the season with a 4-0 record at 145 pounds in the alwayscompetitive Hoxie Invitational.

Dreher, who finished second in Class 3-2-1A last season, was one of two champions for the Red Devils in Hoxie. along with 126-pounder Troy Juenemann, Dreher earned victories against Plainville’s Chase Werner, Scott City’s Wyatt Cropp, Oakley’s Macoy Rains and Norton’s Jared Tallent.

Jessica Princ

A senior on the Osborne High School girls’ basketball team, Princ got her season started with a 22-point performance in a 62-40 win against Plainville. Princ was one of three Osborne players, along with seniors Taylor Noel (15) and Caitlyn Miller (11) to score in double figures. Princ also led the team with seven rebounds and five assists in the opener with three steals.

Princ was second on the team in scoring at 12.6 per game as a junior.

Megan Koenigsman

A freshman for the Thomas More PrepMarian girls’ basketball team, Koenigsman scored 33 points in the first three games for the Monarchs.

That included a game-high 22 points as TMP bounced back from an 0-2 start to beat Hays High School for seventh place in the Hays City Shootout to open the season. She scored eight in an overtime loss to Colby the night before.

Got an idea of someone who you think should be included in Who’s That?

Send it to sportsink@dailynews.net with Who’s that? in the subject line, or call (800) 657-6017.

Chad Pilster, Sports Ink. Plainville senior Dylan Wiesner practices against senior teammate Trevor Desaire during the Cardinals’ practice earlier this month in Plainville.

UnfinishedBusiness O

Plainville senior Dylan Wiesner has a state title in mind

n the eve of the Plainville High School wrestling team’s season opener, senior 170-pounder Dylan Wiesner was one of the first to arrive for the Cardinals’ practice.

After a quick, intense conditioning for the team, Wiesner still wasn’t done.

He was the last one remaining working on the mat and checking weight. He was there alongside head coach Corey Dobson and assistant Ryan Becker.

That’s a typical evening in the Cardinal wrestling room.

“He’s working awfully hard already,” Dobson said of Wiesner, one of two Page 6

returning state qualifiers for the Cardinals, and last year’s Class 3-2-1A state runner-up at 160 pounds.

The coach pointed out when his team did morning runs early in the season, Wiesner would run from his house, participate in the team workouts, then run home.

“He’s definitely a dedicated kid.”

That motivatation is fueled by last year’s runner-up finish for Wiesner, the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the preseason at 170.

“I got some unfinished business to take care of,” Wiesner said. “I left a little bit out there last year.”

January 2014

Granted, four of Wiesner’s eight losses as a junior were to undefeated state champion Calvin Ochs, of Hoxie, but those four losses were still hard to take, especially the two that ended the season — the Class 3-2-1A regional and state title match.

“I don’t like losing at anything I do,” Wiesner said. “It could be a race to tie my shoelaces, I don’t like losing it.”

So he puts in the time necessary to accomplish his goals.

“He’s really built up to this, Dobson said. “He works extremely hard, especially in the offseason. He has a great family that travels all year.

SPORTS INK.

“I

don’t like losing at anything to

I do. It could be tie my shoelaces, I don’t like losing it.”

Dylan Wiesner, Plainville senior

“He’s the last one to leave every day,” the coach added. “We almost have to kick him out.”

Wiesner competed all summer in various tournaments in the region. By football season, he had bulked up to 185 pounds as the Cardinals’ starting fullback. Midway through the season, he came down with mononucleosis. It caused him to miss two weeks of the football season and had him hospitalized for four days. He dropped from 185 to 166, but bulked back up for the final two weeks of the season.

He will look to stay, though, at 170 pounds. He maintained that No. 1 ranking in Week 2, though he admits those rankings don’t really mean much.

“Just gives the old guys something to talk about in the coffee shop,” he said, pointing out last season’s No. 2 ranking at 152 even though he wrestled at 160 most of the way. “It’s really just a matter of who comes out, works hard, and wants it more.”

Dobson agreed the rankings aren’t a good indicator early on, but can be motivating.

“You’re there for a reason,” Dobson said. “The reason is not get a big head and let it slip away. It’s there to keep you motivated and capture that goal at the end of the season.”

Wiesner started his senior campaign 6-0. He picked up two wins (one a forfeit) in a double-dual with Phillipsburg and Beloit, then went 4-0 in the always-competitive early-season Hoxie Invitational. In a tourney dominated

by Class 3-2-1A title-repeat favorite Norton, Wiesner picked up three pins and a technical fall. Plainville finished fourth as a team.

Wiesner, who plans on wrestling at the collegiate level, and already has looks from the junior college and NCAA Division II level, is one of two returning state qualifiers on one of Dobson’s smallest (by numbers) teams.

The Cardinals have just nine out. Senior Trevor Desair, who was sixth last season at 145 pounds, likely will compete at 152 this year. He is Wiesner’s practice partner.

Sports Ink.

a race

Everett Royer, Sports Ink. Wiesner competes in the semifinals at 160 pounds during last year’s Class 3-2-1A state tournament at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays.

Chad Pilster, Sports Ink. Plainville wrestling coach Corey Dobson watches over his team during practice earlier this month in Plainville.

“We talk about goals and dreams almost every day,” Dobson said. “We certainly are setting those goals high for those two.”

With just nine, the Cardinals are going to have a hard time winning duals.

“In every dual we are spotting a team January 2014

24 points,” Dobson said. “It’s not about the final score in a dual, but if we send nine guys out on the mat, and they all win, that’s great.

“I think we’ll be a pretty good tournament team,” he added.

Nick McQueen, Sports Ink. Page 7

one more go

Chris Drees and Hadley Gillum look to take Plainville to the

big dance Page 8

January 2014

SPORTS INK.

T

here were many unknowns for Chris Drees entering this

season, his first as head coach of the Plainville High School

boys’ basketball team

after six years at Palco.

Among the questions, Hadley Gillum was nowhere to be found. Drees knew exactly what he had in the 6-foot-5 Plainville senior, having coached Gillum during his freshman season at Palco.

Drees admitted Gillum could have started for him when he was in eighth grade, and when he finally did play for Palco as a freshman, he led the team in both points and rebounds.

“Instinctually he could just do stuff that nobody else could do, and stuff that I didn’t have to teach him he just does,” Drees said. “Then you look at him now, he’s developed an outside game and he is 35 pounds thicker. He is taller. He is faster. He can jump pretty well for his size. His defense has come a long way, which in my system is huge.”

Gillum transferred to Plainville for his sophomore season, a decision based around his father’s business in Plainville.

He felt it was a lot easier to go to school in town instead of making his father drive the 15 miles from Palco each day.

All Gillum has done since is continue to dominate on the court. He guided the Cardinals to a surprising 15-6 record last season despite playing for his third coach in three years.

He averaged 18.3 points and 14 rebounds a game, played literally every position (sometimes in a single possession), and was named The Hays Daily News AllArea Player of the Year.

Another season has brought another coaching change for Plainville, but instead of learning a whole new philosophy, Gillum finds himself once again

Hadley Gillum, the Cardinals most experienced returning player, listens to coach Chris Drees during practice in Plainville.

playing for Drees in a system he knows well and enjoyed playing in as a freshman at Palco.

“I’m glad to have him back — somebody that I know and I’m used to,” Gillum said of Drees. “I was very excited when we figured out he was coming over here to coach and teach and everything.

I really enjoyed him my freshman year.

He gets on to us but he’s going to be the first one to compliment you when you do something good.”

Drees developed his coaching style, which he admits can be intense during games, from longtime Thomas More PrepMarian boys’ basketball coach Joe Hertel. Drees is a Hays native and 1998 TMP graduate, having both played and coached under Hertel.

He was an assistant coach at TMP from 2000-2007, working primarily with the junior varsity team. During

story and photos by Austin

COlbert

“I

that time, the varsity team won two state titles, winning Class 3A in 2005 and Class 4A in 2007. He left TMP for Palco in 2007, his first head coaching position.

Six years later, Drees finds himself at Plainville, a move he made for a multitude of reasons. One, the situation at Palco isn’t great with low numbers. The football players began playing with the Logan team this fall.

While the Plainville coaching position had been open for a few years, what finally got Drees to apply was the open teaching position that hadn’t been available before.

“When it came open I saw an opportunity and did some soul searching and decided it was time to make a move and step up a classification or two and try to see what the 2A level has for me,” Drees said. “It’s an appealing job. Really, it is. So I’m more than happy to be PAGE 11 here.”

was very excited when we figured out he was coming over here to coach and teach and everything.

I

really enjoyed him my freshman year.

Hadley Gillum, Plainville Sports Ink.

January 2014

.”

senior

Page 9

“If you can build the pieces around great players, then you have a chance to do

something special.”

Chris Drees

Plainville coach

Reuniting with Gillum was more coincidence than anything. Drees knew Gillum was in Plainville, but getting to coach him again as a senior is more a by-product of the move than a factor in his decision to coach at Plainville.

But to say Drees isn’t excited about the possibilities would be a lie. While Gillum developed a lot from his freshman to senior year, he saw an increase in that development this summer when he played for a traveling team coached

by St. John’s Clint Kinnamon on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit.

The team played in six different tournaments, competing in anywhere from three to seven games a tournament. It traveled to St. Louis, Minnesota, Dallas, Kansas City and Las Vegas, and allowed the players, including Gillum, to compete against some of the top high school recruits in the country. Many big name college coaches attended these tournaments, including Kansas State’s Bruce Weber and North Carolina’s Roy Williams.

“It was awesome. You are playing that guy who is the No. 2 recruit in the nation and you look over and there is North Carolina’s head coach, Duke, Texas, all the big dog coaches are sitting in the stands watching,” Gillum said.

“Playing top end competition all summer, I think it’s helped me out. It’s built my game up a ton. It’s helped out defensively more than anything for sure, playing guys that are bigger, faster and stronger.”

As good as Gillum is, Drees knows he is capable of dominating most of the competition he will face this season.

But Drees is also big on the idea of team, and understands Gillum will need help for Plainville to be PAGE 12 successful at the state level.

The Cardinals’ Logan Frederking goes up for shot against Caleb Crawford during practice earlier this month in Plainville.

Drees believes he should be able to provide that help with the roster he has to work with this season. Alongside Gillum are three other seniors, all of which are expected to start. Logan Frederking is the team’s starting point guard, and Quinn Dewey and Chase Meitler will be valuable with their experience.

The fifth starter is freshman Hayden Friend, one of 10 freshmen on the 22-man roster.

“If you can build the pieces around great players, then you have a chance to do something special,” Drees said. “I’ve got other pieces to this puzzle. I don’t have a lot of them. I don’t have 10 guys that can play tomorrow, but I have six, seven, eight kids that can play.”

The other two key contributors this season should be juniors Kolt Newell and Brent Gehring, both transfers from Palco.

Gehring’s mother is the new principal at Plainville, having been a superintendent at Palco last year. Newell decided to transfer mostly for athletics, and will be forced to sit out 18 weeks because of transfer rules. He will be available to play in January.

The guard play, led by Frederking, will be vital for Plainville.

Gillum was asked to bring the ball up court many teams last season, as he was the only one able to handle the press other teams put on them. But Drees believes the Cardinals are better equipped this year, which should allow Gillum the freedom to move around.

“Last year he was their point guard, he was their post player.

When teams pressed them he had to bring the ball down the floor,” Drees said. “He doesn’t have to worry about that this year. I have guards that can handle presses and pressure, so he can be on the back end of the press shooting layups if we execute right.”

Gillum has received plenty of interest from various colleges about playing for them, but so far has no official offers. This doesn’t worry either Drees or Gillum, as both have high expectations for the Cardinals this season.

Gillum has done a good job of networking and getting his name out there, and believes a good senior season will get him

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“I’m just going to see how this season goes and see if we can catch any more coach’s interest. Then just look at my offers at the end of the season,” Gillum said. “I’ve got pretty big expectations. I think everybody on the team is wanting to get to Bramlage (Coliseum, host of the Class 2A state tournament) at the end of the season. But we got a lot to do before we get there.”

LEFT: Gillum, last year’s HDN Player of the Year, goes in for a layup. RIGHT: Chase Meitler, front, and Brent Gehring run through drills during a Cardinals’ practice in Plainville.

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building spirit D Handling

Don Wellbrock

hot metal all his life,

Hays’

knows a few things about hard work

on Wellbrock knew little about working with wood when a friend asked him to help make yard signs for a local youth soccer club about 12 years ago.

But Wellbrock knew welding, so he built the framework for the round wooden soccer signs out of half-inch metal rods.

“I’ve been a welder all my life,” said Wellbrock, owner of DJ’s Welding.

After tinkering in his shop at his Hays home, Wellbrock came up with the idea to make some yard signs out of material with which he was more familiar — metal.

So he bought a Torchmate plasma cutter in 2010 and built a cabinet for it — out of metal, of course.

He learned how to use a laptop computer, at least well enough to draw the shapes to be cut and to give instructions how to control the cutting machine.

“I’m not very good at tracing, but I’m learning,” said Wellbrock, who turned 76 earlier this month.

Wellbrock had a request three years ago to make some signs for his class reunion at Victoria, from where he graduated in PAGE 16 1955.

Jolie Green, Sports Ink. TOP LEFT: Don Wellbrock demonstrates the process and tools used for his metal signs. TOP RIGHT: One of the first signs Wellbrock made showing support for the TMP-Marian soccer team. LEFT: Several Hays High School signs hang on the wall in his shop. ABOVE: A metal yard sign supporting Holy Family Elementary School.

Sports Ink.

January 2014

Page 15

The idea caught on, and now, metal powder coated signs of the four Ellis County high schools, as well as Holy Family Elementary School, line the yard at his country home across the road north of Carrico Implement on 48th Street.

An avid sports fan, Wellbrock is always thinking of ways to cut out different shapes that people request.

He also welds metal frames together that holds names for a family-tree type yard sign with individual names attached.

Wellbrock buys 23-inch 12-gauge metal sheets for his Torchmate, which cuts to precision by sending an electric arc through a gas that passes through a constricted opening. The shapes are smoother than if you used a bandsaw, and Wellbrock gets a kick out of watching the machine cut intricate curves and corners.

“Just like a computerized sewing machine,” said Wellbrock, who inspects his products much like a seamstress does her sewing.

“I know the kids on these teams,” he said, nodding toward the high school signs. “That’s why I do it.”

He also does it for himself.

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JOLIE GREEN, Sports Ink. Wellbrock lays a magnet on top of metal letters being cut out by a plasma cutter.

“I told my doctor I was going to put ‘Don’s Health Center’ up there,” he said in reference to the front of his shop.

“I do this for my health,” said Well-

brock, who suffered a heart attack nine years ago. “It gets me out of the house.

I’d be a couch potato if I wasn’t doing this.”

Diane Gasper-O’Brien, Sports Ink.

ACIDIZING

CEMENT

TOOL RENTAL

CODY LEE

La Crosse senior Lee was a key component on the 12-1 Class 2-1A state runner-up Leopard football team. Lee, on the offensive line, helped pave the way for an offense that gained nearly 5,000 yards and put up nearly 500 points. He also recorded 86 tackles and six sacks for the La Crosse defense.

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Ink. BLOTS

A spattering from NW Kansas

Because of the split in Class 4A this basketball season, that classification now is going to see some of the same problems when it comes to state tournament time the Class 1A Division II tournament sees. While it’s great to see schools compete at the state level that might not otherwise have a chance, there are teams there at times that really can’t compete. Each division in Class 4A has eight sub-states with four teams, meaning a sub-.500 team might just need one upset victory to qualify for state, then be in for a first-round tail-whipping.

Nick M. While the numbers are slightly down this season for the Plainville High School wrestling team (just nine guys), it might not last that long. The Cardinals did expect to have three more guys who did not come out or left the team, but the future looks bright. There are 52 wrestlers in the Plainville Wrestling Club that are sixth graders or younger. The PWC, like several others of its kind in the area, competes in tournaments from midDecember to late March. These clubs are often the backbone for many of the good wrestlers in the state.

Nick M. One of the questions that keeps coming up is whether or not the La Crosse High School football team overachieved this season. In some respects, the answer is yes for the Class 2-1A state runner-up for the second time in three years. But you can’t count out a team that boasts so much tradition and success in the past dozen seasons. This year’s Leopard team didn’t have any “big” names, or Division I prospects, or any machine-like athletes.

What the Leopards had though, was a group of hard workers who played their roles, not to mention a coaching staff that stepped up to the plate. Even after La Crosse lost their best defensive player in Sheldon Schmidt to knee injury, the Leopards were still a force due to all these factors. The Sports Ink.

Throughout the season, you will see some lopsided scores for the Hoxie High School girls’ basketball team. The Indians put up 94 in a blowout win in their first game of the Castle Rock Classic. If you’re looking at boxscores, it might look as though the Indians, led by Kristina Farber (pictured) are running up the score, but what else are they supposed to do? Not many 1A teams, or on any level, on the schedule can challenge Hoxie, and if history repeats itself, the Indians likely won’t be challenged until the state tournament. So, the girls on the team have to get their reps in regardless of how lopsided the game might be. - Nick

Leopards will no doubt be among the favorites in 2014. The only question the Leopards will have is who is going to step in and replace the missing parts. They find them every year.

Nick M. While I expect the TMP girls’ basketball team to have its ups-and-downs and finish around .500, the Monarchs have a bright future. Coach Rose McFarland often played three freshmen and two sophomores at the season-opening Hays City Shootout. Freshman Megan Koenigsman has great shooting form, especially from the free-throw line, and will have several big games this winter. Shooting free throws at a high rate — anything over 75 percent — consistently is very hard to do.

Koenigsman’s skill will serve her well this season and throughout her career.

Conor Norton is the heavy favorite to win the Class 3-2-1A state wrestling title.

That further solidified at the early-season Hoxie Invitational when the Bluejays rolled through a difficult field. The Bluejays went 35-7 in matches and had just three losses through 182 pounds. Seven wrestlers won championships.

Conor January 2014

On the Horizon Jan. 13-18 — The Mid-Continent League basketball tournament is played out with the semifinals and finals Friday and Saturday at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The tournament looks to be highly competitive on both sides yet again.

Jan. 23-25 — The Hays High boys’ basketball team attends the Dodge City

Tournament of Champions, one of the best mid-season tournaments in the state, in which HHS plays every other year.

Jan. 24-25 — The Annual Bob Kuhn Prairie Senior Classic wrestling tournament at Hays High School. Some of the best wrestlers from across the state attend the event, named for a longtime Hays High coach.

Time for a few predictions. An obvious one to start. The Hoxie girls hoist another trophy in Class 1A Division I. But, the Hoxie boys also join them in the title round, but fall. The HHS boys should be back at the Class 5A state tourney in Topeka. Plus, the Victoria boys should have a strong season, but the record won’t show it because of a tough schedule.

Nick M. Page 17

EVERETT ROYER, Sports Ink. Victoria’s Kristin Huser goes up for a shot in a game last season against Ellsworth in the Hoisington tournament.

T

Things to watch for

he 2013-14 high school basketball season is marked by some major storylines, many of them dealing with the state tournament several months away. Those stories include the Hoxie girls’ winning streak, and several teams — Rexford-Golden Plains girls, Hoxie boys and Ellis girls, among others — who are in contention for THE state titles. However, the basketball season, easily the longest of any high school sport, has multiple stories that develop through the next few months. Here are some under-the-radar stories I will track this winter: 1. Big Scorers. Nick Lawson of SylvanLucas and Quinter’s Brett Crist have put up big numbers for teams that will probably finish around .500. Lawson averaged 22 points per game last season, best among area players, and top-10 in Kansas, for the 10-11 Mustangs. Crist, a junior, collected 16.3 points per game for an 8-14 team last winter. Quinter started 0-2 this season, but Crist averaged 19 points and nine rebounds a night for his dad, longtime Bulldog coach John Crist.

2. Third option at Victoria. Two years ago, the Knights’ girls basketball team enjoyed its first trip to state in 20 years.

Victoria had two then-sophomores in

Kristin Huser and Audra Nowak, and some seniors who played key roles, especially rebounding. Nowak and Huser combined for 52.1 percent of Victoria’s points on a 16-7 team. Last year, the Knights finished 11-11 and Huser and Nowak combined for 53 percent of the team’s points. In a season-opening loss to Smith Center, Huser CLOSER and Nowak scored 25 of the team’s 39 points, or 64 percent. The seniors are Victoria’s two best players, but a quality third option would help Victoria consistently win games. It’s possible that player could be freshman Sara Schippers, who tallied 10 points on 3 of 8 shooting against Smith Center.

3. Who will improve the most after Christmas? To me, this is one of the key aspects of any basketball season. Very often, teams are not the same in late February as they were on Dec. 1. A lot of that comes from practice and preparation away from the limelight during holiday break. Last season, the Hoxie boys were 3-3 entering Christmas and then won 17 straight after the break. Hill City boys opened 1-2 and were 2-4 at one point before it won 12 of 15. OtisBison and Victoria boys have had similar turnarounds in the last couple of years. I

conor

NICHOLL

Sports Ink.

January 2014

expect big 2014s from Almena-Northern Valley girls, Otis-Bison boys and Hill City boys this season.

4. Watch out for the Titans. TriplainsBrewster girls are posed for a big season.

Four years ago, Triplains-Brewster went 2-8 and then improved to 6-15 and then 14-8 before a 3-0 start this winter under coach Kent Gfeller. Junior Shayna Rogge and senior Brittany Plummer have delivered big numbers. Rogge averages 17.3 points, while Plummer is at 11.7 points and 5.7 assists per game. For their careers, Rogge averages 14.7 points and 10 rebounds, while Plummer has 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 2.6 assists. Both could clear 1,000 career points this season.

5. Can Natoma end the losing skid?

Natoma has been a solid girls’ basketball team the last five years under veteran coach Aaron Homburg. The Tigers have posted marks of 15-8, 7-14, 12-10, 8-14 and 8-13 in that time and started 2-0 this season. However, the Tigers have not been able to beat Wilson. The Dragons have won 12 in a row dating back to Jan. 9, 2007. None are closer than eight points. Natoma cleared the hurdle with some wins against Wilson in volleyball.

In basketball, the teams could match up in the Northern Plains League tournament from Jan. 20-23 and have a scheduled game for Feb. 7.

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