September 2017
Iroquois County Fall Sports
Page 1
Watseka Warriors
Milford Bearcats
Iroquois County Fall Sports
Cissna Park Timberwolves
Iroquois West Raiders
Central Comets
Donovan Wildcats
A special supplement to the Times-Republic September 2017
PBL Panthers
Page 2
Iroquois County Fall Sports
September 2017
Central Comets and Lady Comets
Comets plan to return to playoffs By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Central High school football coach Brian Spooner starts his 20th year coaching the Comets with a 146-86 career record, 132-71 at Central. The Comets were 5-5 last year after a first-round playoff loss. The Comets must find a replacement for all-state lineman and linebacker Ben Schafer. Two players who were injured last year will provide depth in Adrian Pace and Jacob Smith. Ten returning lettermen provide a good base to improve on last year’s record. Chief among them are all-area running back Kollin Krumweide and lineman Justin Coggins. Andrew Boudreau will start at quarterback for the third year with brother Austin Boudreau at end. With a goal of winning the Sangamon Valley Conference title and returning to the postseason, Spooner must
Date
Opponent
9/01 9/08 9/15 9/22 9/29 10/06 10/13 10/20
Herscher Paxton Dwight South Newton Hoopeston Watseka Iroquois West Momence
build on the experienced core of athletes for the team to reach its potential. “We have a lot of guys that have been starting since they were sophomores,” Spooner said. “We return nearly all of our entire offensive and defensive lines, which is where games are won. We also return nearly all of our skilled players, who have all improved and will allow for position battles in several spots.” Most of the starting position are spoken but the Comets are deep. “We started with 60 kids and we still have 54 out for the team,” Spooner said. “There are still a couple spots open and that’s where we are going to find out who really wants to be a starter.” Central has a tough opening stretch of games to start the season. “If we can come out of that stretch strong and healthy, I think we will be right there at the top of the conference.”
Location Home Away Home Away Away Home Home Away
2 3 4 5 7 8 10 11 12 15 16 17 20 21 22 25 32 33 34 40 45 50 51 52 55 56 57 59 62 64 65 66 68 70 74 75 77 78 79 83 85
Central football roster Dane Thorne 5-7 140 RB/SS So Don Raines 5-10 146 WR/FS Jr Kollin Krumwiede 5-8 158 RB/CB Sr Jacob Smith 5-11 195 RB/LB Sr Corey Roach 6-1 165 QB/CB Jr Adrian Pace 5-10 160 Rb/FS Sr Canyon Burrow 5-10 170 WR/CB Jr Trevor Meier 5-11 155 QB/FS So Seth Raines 5-10 155 WR/SS So Austin Boudreau 6-2 200 WR/SS So Andrew Boudreau 5-9 173 QB/SS Sr Mike Godinez 6-0 140 WR/CB Sr Jacob Ladd 6-1 200 TE/DE Sr Jeff Peters 5-9 145 WR/CB Sr Sergio Sandavol 5-9 140 WR/SS Jr Cory Hoggins 5-10 160 WR/SS Jr Thomas Konetski 5-9 140 WR/CB Jr Brendan Arseneau 5-7 192 FB/LB Jr Kodie Willis 6-0 180 TE/LB Jr Gage Edwards 6-2 235 TE/DE So Jeff Caspary 6-2 195 WR/CB So Declan Alexander 5-8 215 OL/DT Sr Brandon Leadingham 5-9 185 OL/DTJr Brian Spooner 6-0 225 OL/LB Sr Justin Coggins 5-10 215 OL/LB Sr Abel Sanchez 5-9 270 OL/DT Jr Seth McDivitt 5-10 212 OL/LB So Noah Dingler 5-9 171 OL/DT Jr Caleb Toberman 6-2 210 OL/DE So Jacob Michelich 6-0 170 OL/DE Jr Robbie Love 5-10 207 OL/DT Sr Connor Prairie 5-10 235 OL/DT Sr Tyler Jame 6-6 292 OL/DT SR Brenden Brosseau 5-8 173 OL/DT Jr Jason Trumble 6-2 170 OL/DE Jr Jordan Saathoff 5-8 250 OL/DT So Colin Johnson 5-9 225 OL/DT So Fred Peters 5-11 252 OL/DT Jr Alex Munoz 5-10 287 OL/DT So Kyle Buikema 6-2` 193 TE/DE Sr Caleb Mezo 6-0 137 WR/CB Jr
Established cross country program stays strong By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Starting his 12th year, Dave Ladehoff has an established cross country program at Central High School. The girls team has made state three consecutive years. The boys team has earned preseason recognition this year. State finalists Andrea Pace and Lauren Ladehoff have graduated as have Austen Lowery and Austin Panozzo. Jeremy Snejberg went to state as an individual and returns for his junior season. Senior Katie Kleinert and junior Kaleigh Ladehoff have been to state six consecutive years counting middle school. The boys team adds Christian Ladehoff, who was a state finalist last year as an eighth grader. The girls get Kendall Adams, who won a medal at state last year as an eighth grader. There are 18 boys and eight girls out for Central. Pack running has been key to the Lady Comets success. The boys have been pushing each other in pace and mileage over the summer. Coach Ladehoff credits a trip to Branson, Mo., over the summer with building team chemistry and endurance. There were 22 kids who made the trip. “We ran a lot of hills down there and now what hills there are around here are nothing to the kids,” Ladehoff said. Winning the regional is a goal of both teams as well as a top four finish in the sectional, which would advance Central to state. Snejberg and Isaiah Ditta have the potential to medal at state. “The only weakness that I can see is that the boys haven’t competed since July 6 at our school’s local 5K,” the coach said. “It make take a few weeks to get them back their killer instincts. I have 10 runners that have the potential to race (under 18 minutes). We will break the team down to upper classmen and under classmen and give the veterans a chance to step up with the varsity competition.” The Lady Comets will hone their times against some of the state’s better quality. “This area will have some of the best girls running in the state,” Coach Ladehoff said. “It will be tough for wins in the team events but the individual times have the potential to be lifetime bests.”
Date 9/09 9/19 9/23 9/30 10/05 10/12 10/16 10/21
Opponent PBL Invite Hoopeston Area High School Herscher Cross Country Invite Twin Valley Conference All-Area @KCC PBL IW and Kankakee IHSA Regional
Location Away Away Away Home Away Away Home Home
Time 9 a.m. 4 p.m. 10 a.m. 10 a.m. 4:30 4:30 4:30 10 a.m.
Central Cross Country Roster Name
Age
Boys Jeremy Snejberg Isaiah Ditta Trevor Swanson Blake Stua Jarod Snejberg Calib Kent
Jr So So So So Jr
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7 September 2017
Iroquois County Fall Sports
Page 3
Central Comets and Lady Comets
Central soccer team hopes to create opportunities By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Central High School has three returning letter winners that will be crucial to the team’s success this soccer season. Head coach Drew Granzow will count on three seniors to lead his squad. Brayden Bailey, Jack Jarvis and Cauy Warner will be counted on to lead the Comets. Central was 3-12-1 last year but look to improve as Granzow starts his fourth year as coach, one as an assistant and three at the helm. “My team is strong in creating opportunities to score, however we are struggling to finish at the net and our defense must get better,” Granzow said. “Our encouragement towards one another has been excellent so far. This is a team in which I think can accomplish fantastic things if we put our full effort into the team and
work hard at achieving success.” For the Comets to be successful, Granzow said talking and doing loudly will be vital. “They have to be on the same page which I know goes hand and hand with communication,” the coach said. “Our touches must get better and our passing must improve.” The Comets lost key pieces with sweeper Jeff Gifford, forward Jarod Meents and defensive MVP Cole Peters. Granzow is optimistic about his team’s chances this year. “We are going to work hard and it’s going to show on the field. I have a lot of fantastic finishers. We just need to be quicker with the ball.” Granzow’s goal every year is the same — get more wins than losses. “If we do better than that I will be more than happy.”
Central Soccer schedule 9/01 Grant Park Home 4:30 p.m. 9/05 Iroquois West Away 4:30 p.m. 9/06 Rantoul Away 4:30 p.m. 9/09 Fisher Away 10 a.m. 9/11 St. Anne Home 4:30 p.m. 9/12 Watseka Away 4:30 p.m. 9/14 Illinois Lutheran Home 4:30 p.m. 9/15 Hoopeston Home 4:30 p.m. 9/18 Peotone Away 4:30 p.m. 9/21 Coal City Home 4:30 p.m. 9/23 K3 Trinity Academy Away 10 a.m. 9/25 Manteno Away 4:30 p.m. 9/27 Twin Valley Soccer Away 4:30 p.m. vs. Momence in Gilman 9/28 Twin Valley Soccer Tournament vs. IW in Gilman Away 4:30 p.m. 10/02 Reed-Custer Away 10/03 Twin Valley Soccer Tournament vs St. Anne in Gilman Away 6 p.m. 10/04 Twin Valley Soccer Tournament vs. Watseka in Gilman Away 4:30 p.m. 10/06 IHsA Regional Away TBA
Central soccer roster Gina Peters Tessa Coulter Brayden Bailey Jacob Bramer Jack Jarvis Dylan Bailey Payton Gray Maria Munoz Cole Poyner Michael Ayres Lindsey Anderson Hannah Bailey Alex Winkel Tori Hemp Jason Kelly Cauy Warner Matthew Rasmussen Austin Bender Jules Hartman Chase Clyden
11 10 12 12 12 9 10 11 11 11 12 12 11 11 12 12 9 9 11 9
Volleyball must integrate newcomers By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Jill Luckenbill will begin her second season coaching at Central High School without an important member of the volleyball team. Cassidy Gerdes is a returning senior who has recently had surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament and is currently unable to play. Gerdes led the team in kills last year. “She still contributes to the team in many other ways,” Luckenbill said. The Lady Comets were 12-18-1 last season. Emma Boicken, Jenna Offerman and Morgan James have graduated from that team. James was the digs leader and Gerdes was second on the team. Finding defensive replacements for those two will be a task for the coach.
“We have a handful of newcomers to the varsity level,” Luckenbill said. Defensive specialists that will be counted on to step into the back row are juniors Kyia Lemenager and Emily Heideman. Returning letter winners include Abby Boudreau, Rachel Nehls, Caitlyn Gerdes and Jenna Raines. Boudreau led the team as a junior last year in aces. Nehls was the blocks leader. Three sophomores will be looked to to provide offense — Riley Thompson, who was injured her freshmen year, and Karlie Wilken as hitters and Hanna Offerman as a setter. Luckenbill said that the team struggles when it gets behind. “We struggle when we get down. I have to get the girls to keep their heads up.” Eleven freshmen have brought energy into the program. “We have a very strong junior varsity and freshman team,” Luckenbill said. “That helps them give the varsity a run for their money.”
9/02 9/07 9/11 9/14 9/18 9/21 9/23 9/26 9/28 10/02 10/05 10/10 10/12 10/16 10/17 10/19
Central volleyball schedule Manteno Early Bird Classic Away Dwight Away Herscher Away Cissna Park Away Gibson City Away Momence Home Reed Custer Comet Classic Away Beecher Away South Newton Away Tri Point Home Iroquois West Away SVC Tournament at IW Away SVC Tournament at IW Away Coal City Home Donovan Away Watseka Home
Name Emily Heideman Karlie Wilken Leah Lemenager Hanna Offrerman Cassidy Gerdes Reagan Panozzo Jenna Raines Riley Thompson Caitlin Gerdes Rachel Nehls Makenna Reick Abbey Boudreau Kyia Lemenager Lauren James
Good Luck Area Athletes
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TBA 6:15 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 9 a.m. 7 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 6:30 p.m. TBA TBA 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m.
Position Number DS 2 Outside 3 Setter 4 Setter/RS 5 Outside 6 Outside 7 Middle 8 Right Side 9 Outside/Middle 10 Middle 12 Outside/Middle 13 Outside 14 DS 15 Libero 23/26/25
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Page 4
Iroquois County Fall Sports
September 2017
Cissna Park Timberwolves
Timberwolves golfers hope to advance By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Carin Chrastka starts her second year as the golf coach at Cissna Park. The Timberwolves return four boys from last year’s team as no one graduated from last year’s team. Senior Tanner Benoit, junior Dawson Savoree and sophomores Will Petry and Gavin Speirs were all letter winners last season.
Volleyball team wants to return to state By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com A tradition rich high school team gets an incoming freshman class that finished fourth in the state as eighth graders. That’s the type of program Josh Landon has starting his 12th year as the head coach of the volleyball teams at Cissna Park High School. A 2014 third-place finish in Class 1A was followed by a loss in the title game in 2015. Last year, the Timberwolves lost in a regional championship to conclude a 26-9-2 season. To claim a regional title and advance in the postseason in 2017, Landon has eight seniors and three juniors on the varsity. Seven letter winners return, all of which started in some aspect last year. School-record-holder Gabby Wessels is a senior who set a new mark for kills in CP history last year with 349 during her junior season. Sloan Boyce had 164 kills last year and fellow sophomore Anna Jennings set 802 assists. The three received all-conference and allarea recognition last season. Junior Erica Walder (outside hitter) with seniors Olivia Stoller (libero), Jasmine Stock (opposite), and Lexi Young (middle) all will have bigger roles to play this year as a result of Kali Hines (defensive specialist), Bailey Downs (defensive specialist), and Aliyah Shields (middle hitter) having graduated. The tallest player on the Timberwolf roster is the 5-foot-9 Young. Wessels and Boyce are listed at 5-8. The coach has a plan to make up for the lack of size. “Hustle and scrappiness take the place of our height,” Landon said. “(Individuals) buying in to the role that benefits the team can lead to a successful season.”
Chrastka welcomes a big freshmen class of three boys and two girls. Chrastka said the strength of the team will be its experience but there is inexperience that will be a weakness.. “All of our returning team members have shown dramatic improvements since last year,” she said. “Our weakness is that the majority of our new freshman are brand new to the sport of golf.” Her outlook of the team is very positive based upon the results
of the first match of the season. Chratska stated goal is to be better than at least two schools “during our matches to improve upon last year where we consistently were able to beat only one other school.” To accomplish that goal the Timberwolves must get down to post a team score of 180 or lower. A successful season would be getting a golfer to state. Cissna Park Golf Schedule 9/02 9/07 9/09 9/12 9/13 9/22 9/23 9/26 9/28 10/04 10/08 10/14 10/15
IW, Watseka Beecher Fisher Watseka GCMS, Fisher Milford Hoopeston, Schlarman Watseka Invite Twin Valley Conference Iroquois County Regional Sectional State State
Shagbark 4 p.m. Railside 4 p.m. Shewami 4:15 p.m. Railside 4 p.m. Shewami 4 p.m. Hubb Trail 4 p.m. Shewami 3:30 p.m. Away 9 a.m. Shewami 2 p.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA
Cissna Park golf roster Name Tanner Benoit Dawson Savoree Will Petry Gavin Speirs Cale Clauss Devin Hull Emily Hylbert Lauren Kaeb James Yergler
Cissna Park Volleyball Roster Num Name 1 Erica Walder 2 Brittney Koester 4 Anna Jennings 8 Gabby Wessels 9 Sloan Boyce 10/13 Olivia Stoller 11 Jasmine Stock 14 Lexi Young 15 Olivia Powell 20 Kara Long 21 Ayiana Marquez
Age Jr Sr Jr Sr Jr Sr Sr Sr Sr Sr Sr
Year 12 11 10 10 9 9 9 9 9
Cissna Park Volleyball Schedule Day 9/5 9/7 9/11 9/14 9/18 9/21 9/23 9/25 9/28 10/2 10/5 10/7 10/10 10/12 10/16 10/17 10/19 10/23
Opponent Champaign Judah Christian PBL Bismarck-Henning Central Hoopeston Dwight Reed Custer Invite Saint Anne Momence Milford South Newton United Classic SVC Tournament SVC Tournament Watseka Tri-Point Iroquois West Regional
Location Cissna Park Paxton Bismarck Cissna Park Cissna Park Cissna Park Braidwood Cissna Park Cissna Park Milford Cissna Park Monmouth Gilman/Onarga Gilman/Onarga Watseka Cullom Cissna Park TBA
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7 September 2017
Iroquois County Fall Sports
Page 5
Donovan Wildcats and Lady Cats Volleyball to overcome lack of height
Donovan volleyball roster
Alee Leady
12
Kenzie Stahlschmidt 10
Tabby Lareau 12 Jessi Page 12 Annie Clatterbuck 11 Morgan Squyres 12
Karley davidson
10
Autumn Denning 10 Kayde Faupel
10
By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Emily Snyder starts her second year coaching Donovan High School’s volleyball team. If the Wildcats are to improve on last season’s one win total, they will need to find replacements for Casey Arseneau and Jacalyn Wingerter. Wingerter provided height and Arseneau, who was a River Valley Conference honorable mention selection, was a defensive specialist. Annie Clatterbuck, Jessi Page, Morgan Squyres and Kenzie Stahlschmidt return as starters from last year’s team. Clatterbuck’s 5-foot-4 height is listed as the tallest on the team. Autumn Dewing is a sophomore that Snyder will look to for height as a Donovan volleyball schedule Date Opponent Location 9/5 GSW Donovan 9/7 St. Anne Donovan 9/11 South Newton South Newton 9/12 Beecher Beecher 9/19 Illinois Lutheran Crete 9/21 Grant Park Donovan 9/26 Tri-Point Donovan 9/28 GSW Gardner 10/2 St. Anne St. Anne 10/5 Beecher Donovan 10/12 Illinois Lutheran Donovan 10/16 Grace Christian Donovan 10/17 Central Donovan 10/19 Tri-Point Cullom 10/20 Grant Park Grant Park
middle hitter. One of the Wildcats’ biggest strengths is, “they play together as a team,” Snyder said. “They have also made huge improvements on their passing game.” There is an area of concern for the coach. “Our biggest weakness is our lack of height.” Snyder believes her team can overcome that better their ledger from the previous season. “The Wildcats have the focus and determination to improve their record from last year and our goal is to continue improving our overall game,” Snyder said. “We will need to continue working on hitting and blocking in order to have a successful season.” Donovan golf schedule 9/05 9/06 9/07 9/11 9/13 9/15 9/18 9/20 9/22 9/25 9/27 9/29
BH/Wat/Wv Mil/TriPoint GP/St. Anne Hoop/MilfordHome Mant/St. A Away RVC TourneyHome I-W/Mil/Tri-P Mom/Wat Home Wat Invite Away TVC TourneyAway IC Tourney GP Invite Away
Home Home Away 4 p.m. 4 p.m. 9 a.m. Away 4 p.m. 3:30 9 a.m. Home 1 p.m.
4 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 p.m.
4 p.m.
2 p.m.
Golfers compete under new coach
Donovan golf roster Name Adrienne Adams Emily Grieves
Year 12 12
Kohlton Lanoue
11
Keegan Wingerter
11
Emilee Tosh
10
Andrew Schmidt
9
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By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Although Donovan High School fields a boys golf team, it is made up of three females and three males. Tom Moos takes over the reins of the team after former coach Andy Lindo took a job in the Iroquois West school district. Moos hasn’t coached before but has plenty of golf in his background. The roster has two seniors, two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman. Adrienne Adams is the most experienced golfer on the team. She will be counted on to lead the team in the absence of graduated senior Tristan Hann as will junior Kohlton Lanoue. “We are a small team with many new players,” Moos said. “Since we are so small our female golfers need to compete on the boy’s team. We are anchored by Adams and Lanoue.” Moos has the following outlook on the Wildacts season. “To teach the fundamentals of golf in an environment that will encourage students to enjoy the game of golf.” His goals for the team are for each golfer to “consistently post scores that improved on their scores from last season.”
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Page 6
Iroquois County Fall Sports
September 2017
Watseka Warriors and Lady Warriors
1 Kaitlyn Bell 2 Grace Smith 3 Riley Parsons 4 Taylor Schippert 5 Emily Bunting 7 Haylee Ketchum 8 Cassie Peters 11Courtney Thompson 12 Mallory Drake 14 Kennedy Bauer 15 McCall Schunke right changes in order to be more successful. 16 Kennedy McTaggart Pufahl does have five strong letter winners returning in 18 Rachael Kochel senior setter Emily Bunting (712 assists, 220 digs, 55 aces),
Lady Warriors look to overcome loss of Kidwell
By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com The Watseka Community High School volleyball team has won at least 22 matches every season for the last nine years and have won at least 32 in a season five of the last six years. Krista Pufahl starts her 11th year at the helm of the Lady Warriors with a 311-105 record in 13 years of coaching, 11 at Watseka. “With a strong core of girls returning, we want to continue our successful tradition of being a top contender in the area,” Pufahl said. “The sky’s the limit once again for these girls if they continue to work hard and put all of their skills together to work as one.” If the team is to get close to last year’s record of 36-3, Pufahl must find replacements for graduated seniors Katie Kidwell (379 kills, 97 blocks, 79 aces and 326 digs last year), Madison Bauer (185 kills, 25 blocks, 226 digs) and Kenzie Crabtree (132 kills). Without them, Watseka will have to work on its timing in order to help the defense out. Consistency in serve receive could be an issue, but Pufahl hopes to hit on making the
junior outside hitter Kennedy Bauer (126 kills, 209 digs), senior hitter Rachael Kochel, who provides height at 6-foot1, junior hitter Mallory Drake, who set a school record for points last year and junior libero Taylor Schippert, who had 144 digs. Bauer and Drake are both 5-11. Bunting is a third year starting setter. “She does a great job of running an offense,” Pufahl said. “We also have several versatile players who could play several positions if I need to make quick changes.” Pufahl sees possible contributions 6-foot freshman Kennedy McTaggart and 5-7 Haylee Ketchum, a junior. Another regional title can be in within Watseka’s reach again this year. Pufahl has set a number of goals for her team including winning more than 25 matches, another regional title to go with six consecutive won since 2011, win as many tournaments as possible, win the Sagamon Valley Conference. “Consistency in our defense and serve receive will be what we need to ensure success,” Pufahl said.
Watseka football roster Date 8/25 9/01 9/08 9/15 9/22 9/29 10/06 10/14 10/20
Opponent Bismarck Henning Catlin (Salt Fork) South Newton Georgetown Dwight Momence Clifton Central PBL Iroquois West
Location Time Away Home Home Away Home Away Away Home Away
back, Hilgendorf said. “We should be able to have strength on both sides of the ball with our lines. We will rely on our offensive and defensive lines.” To improve on last season’s accomplishments, the coach must find replacements for All-Sangamon Valley Conference performer Hunter Lee, who led the team in receptions and receiving touchdowns, and Wyatt Claire, who started on both sides of the line as well as linebackers Bobby Netzband and Tony Villalva. The receiving core should be strong for Hilgendorf’s attacking spread offense as Jaskula, Hagen and Castonguay saw time catching Fletcher’s passes last year. Fletcher started every game at QB last season. “We take pride in playing as one unit and playing an aggressive style of football.” Hilgendorf said. “Our depth is going to be a concern but we are
Opponent CP Invite vs. PBL CP Invite Finals Beecher GCMS Manteno Early Bird Classic Hoopeston Area Momence St. Thomas More South Newton Central FS Invite Prairie Central Iroquois West Watseka Invitational Westville Dwight St. Anne PBL SVC Tournament SVC Tournament Cissna Park Clifton Central
5’2 5’6 5’6 5’3 5’10 5’8 5’8 5’3 5’11 5’11 5’7 6’0 6’1
Location Cissna Park Cissna Park Watseka Gibson City Manteno Watseka Momence Watseka Watseka Clifton Watseka Gilman Watseka Westville Watseka Watseka Watseka Gilman Gilman Watseka Clifton
11 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 9 12 Time 7 TBA 7 5:30 8 a.m. 7 7 7 7 8 a.m. 7 6:30 9 a.m. 7 7 7 7 TBA TBA 7 7
Watseka football roster Name Justin McTaggart Blake Castonguay Cameron Wonch Caleb Baines Justin Bunting Brendan Fletcher Anthony Quinn Reese Inman Jaden Downs developing some players to fill roles.” Drew Hagen Five of those key newcomers Joey Jaskula Hilgendorf will be looking at are four Erik Raymer juniors in Justin McTaggart, a 5-footNick Albright 11, 180-pounder, Caleb Baines, 5-11, 170, Anthony Quinn 5-11, 160 and Jack Naese Rusty Kuhlmann, 5-10, 215, with Dalton Thomas senior Matthew Stichnoth, 6-foot, 220. Jack Fegan “Our goals are to make the playoffs Trenton Davis and be in the hunt for the conference Tylor Durflinger title,” Hilgendorf said. “We only can Matt Stichnoth do this by focusing on one game at a time. We have a very quality schedule Rusty Kuhlmann Stephan Munoz this season.” Conference rivals PBL, Momence Andrew Soucie and Central all made the playoffs last Dalton Grimes season. The Warriors will face the Dakota Schroeder three schools in consecutive weeks, Clay Dorsey playing at Momence Sept. 29 and at Tim Wright Clifton Oct. 6. Kyle Ross The PBL game will be in Watseka Keegan Zack Oct. 14. 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Football team plans return trip to postseason By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Donovan native Aaron Hilgendorf starts his second year at Watseka and third as a head coach after going 4-5 at Prairie Central and 5-5 last year. Hilgendorf tok the Warriors to the playoffs last year after the previous team had won a single game. Last year was also the first year of a sharing agreement with St. Anne. The combined enrollment made the Warriors a Class 4A team for the playoffs. Hilgendorf does have a solid core of returning starters, led by quarterback Brendan Fletcher. Other seniors returning are Joey Jaskula, Jaden Downs, Dalton Thomas, Trenton Davis and Drew Hagen. returning juniors are Blake Castonguay, Tim Wrightand Dakota Schroeder. “We have a lot of experience coming
Date 8/24 8/26 8/29 8/31 9/02 9/05 9/07 9/12 9/14 9/16 9/18 9/21 9/23 9/25 9/28 10/02 10/05 10/10 10/12 10/16 10/19
DS S OH DS S MH DS DS OH OH OPP MH OPP
Year 11 11 11 11 10 12 11 12 12 12 12 10 10 10 12 11 12 9 12 11 10 10 12 11 10 11 12 11
Ht 5-11 5-7 5-8 6-0 6-0 6-1 5-10 5-10 5-8 6-3 5-8 6-0 6-1 5-10 5-10 5-11 5-10 5-10 6-0 5-11 6-0 5-10 6-1 6-1 5-8 6-1 6-1 6-2
Wt 175 140 145 170 150 180 165 160 170 185 170 155 180 160 250 200 185 180 220 215 220 160 195 275 230 260 280 170
7 September 2017
Iroquois County Fall Sports
Page 7
Watseka Warriors and Lady Warriors BOYS Name Age Joe Hebert 12 Cam Barragree 11 Lukas Ball 10 Leevi Bruens 10 Caden Giroux 10 Dylan Harris 10 Ethan Barragree 9 Ethan Shay 9 GIRLS Name Age Summer Cramer 12 Emma Germann 12 Holly Wingren 11 Hailey Noel 10 Carolyn Dickte 9 Natalie Schroeder 9
Top three Donovan golfers to carry each squad By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com The golf teams at Watseka Community High School have lofty goals. The boys team wants to win a third straight regional title. The girls team want to make it to the sectionals as well. Ideally both teams will win conference and county tournament titles as well. To accomplish those goals, coach Darin Hartman, who has led the program since 2000, must find replacements for graduated seniors Madi Hebert, Nathan Schroeder and Daison Harris. “We believe we have the players to win another regional if we work hard,” Hartman said of the boys team. Joe Hebert is the only senior on the boys team but junior Cam Barragree and sophomore Lukas Ball return. “My top two are capable of being under 40 consistently and Lukas has been in the low 40s all summer,” Hartman said. “He has worked extremely hard on his game. We will be looking at the other three (Dylan Harris, Leevi Bruens Date 8/24 8/28 8/29 8/31 9/05 9/08 9/09 9/09 9/11 9/12 9/14 9/15 9/16 9/19 9/21 9/23 9/25 9/26 9/27 10/03 10/04
Opponent Bismarck-Henning Bishop McNamara Grant Park Iroquois West Illinois Lutheran Cornjerker Classic Cornjerker Classic Cornjerker Classic Kankakee Central St. Anne Beecher Judach Christian Momence Blue Ridge Fisher Geor-Ridge IW Invite IW Invite IW Invite IW Invite
and Caden Giroux) to come through with a fourth score for us every day. They are capable of doing that.” Freshman Natalie Schroeder will be tasked with replacing Hebert on the girls team. “Natalie will be looked at to post a good score every day and she is more than able,” Hartman said. Seniors Emma Germann and Summer Cramer lead the way for the Lady Warriors. “They are doing a great job,” Hartman said. “They will be our anchors all season and no two better girls I would like in that role than them.” Junior Holly Wingren will also be counted on to provide one of the top four scores. “She is really coming into her own,” Hartman said. “I am excited to see her score this season.” He said the best thing about his team is the character of the kids. “I don’t have to worry about them. They go about their business. They don’t cause problems, they just golf.”
Location Time Rossville 4:30 Kankakee 4:30 Grant Park4:30 Watseka 4:30 Watseka 4:30 Hoopeston 4 Hoopeston 8 a.m. Hoopeston 1:45 Kankakee 4:30 Watseka 4:30 St. Anne 4:30 Beecher 4:30 Champaign10 a.m. Watseka 4:30 Watseka 4:30 Fisher 10 a.m. Georgetown4:30 Gilman 4:30 Gilman 6 Gilman 4:30 Gilman 4:30
Watseka golf schedule Date 9/4 9/5 9/7 9/8 9/11 9/11 9/13 9/19 9/20 9/20 9/21 9/22 9/25 9/27 9/29 10/3 10/9
Opponent Kankakee Westville/PC Beecher Cissna Park Pontiac Invite Prairie Central Beecher GCMS Grant Park Momence St. Thomas More Watseka Invitational Conference County Grant Park Regionals Sectionals
Location Boys/Girls Shewami Boys Shewami Boys/Girls Balmora Girls Shagbark Boys Pontiac Girls Shewami Boys Shewami Boys Shewami Boys/Girls Minne MonGirls Shewami Boys ChampaignBoys/Girls Shewami Boys/Girls Shewami Shewami Minne Monesse Shewami TBA
Watseka soccer roster Name Year Ana Deharo 11 Kate Norder 12 Adam Stanley 12 Hunter Cluver 12 Cole Arseneau 12 Matthew Henneike 9 Drew Douglas 12 Hudson Arseneau 10 Erick Avelar 11 Alejandro Dominguez 11 Brennen Spraklin 11 Diego Cintora 12 Nathan Conrad 11 David Rodriguez 11 Darrel Collins 12 Cisco Torres 11 Preston Schroeder 9 Kade Murray 10 Miranda Lyons 9 Sahib Singh 12 A lot of those are returning letter winners that Parker will need to lead. Duncan McKenna 9 “We have a good returning group and a couple of new players that Isaac Brown 11 round out our field,” the coach said. 12 Parker said the challenge in the season will be to meld the group into a Lucas Lee
Warriors soccer must play as unit By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Jerry Parker helms the Watseka High School soccer team for the 10th year. Parker hopes to improve on last year’s 5-15 mark. To do that he will need contributions from throughout the squad, which has 22 members.
Name Year Rachael Thomas 12 Reagan Thomas 12 Madison Crouch 11 Kelsie Rabideau 11 Natalie Sapp 11 Morgan Hardenbeck 11 Alaina Neiman 10 Brianna Hanners 10 Bailie Rabideau 9 Emily Zhao 9 Emily Crosswell 9 Gracie Seabert 9 Shai Wallace 9 Krista Savoree 9
cohesive unit. “Our greatest strength is quality players and our challenge will be to play together on the field.”
Twins to carry team By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Stephanie Feller starts her second season with a large roster. An influx of six freshmen have brought the total on the team to 14. Twin sisters Rachael and Reagan Thomas are the only seniors and the two have a lot of experience. The top three players from last year’s team have graduated. “The twins are good and if we can get them to change just a few things
they will be unbeatable,” Feller said. Feller’s assistant coach Larry Tetgmeyer agrees. “They have shown quite a bit a promise and I think they could be better than anybody we’ve had here in the last few years.” Feller’s specialty was doubles play, especially at the net, when she was a Watseka student. “They can be amazing,” Feller said. Time and experience will only help the rest of the squad round into form.
Date Opponent 8/28 Southland Prep 8/29 Rich South 8/31 GCMS 9/07 Urbana 9/11 Pontiac 9/13 Kankakee 9/18 Bishop McNamara 9/23 Lincoln-Way Est Invite 9/28 St. Thomas More 10/02 Danville HS 10/03 GCMS 10/05 Pontiac 10/10 Kankakee 10/13-14 Sectionals 10/19-21 State finals
Location Home Richton Park Gibson City Home Pontiac Home Home New Lenox Champaign Danville Watseka Watseka Kankakee TBA Mt. Prospect
Time 4:30 4:30 4:15 4 4:15 4:30 4:30 8:30 4:15 4 4:15 4:15 4:30 TBA TBA
Page 8
Iroquois County Fall Sports
September 2017
Milford Bearcats and Lady Cats
Volleyball team rallies behind Duis By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com The Milford High School volleyball team has just one senior this season. The Lady Cats will be without Madi Rose, Abby Mussard and all-confersnce setter Sierra Fanning, who all graduated. Christy Duis, who starts her 15th year coaching, has six freshman, four sophomores and five juniors to complement the lone senior. Duis has a 34-27 record in her two years as a head coach. Luckily that lone senior set the school record for kills in a season at 349 and led the team in digs, blocks and points scored. Emily Duis, at 5-foot-10, was a force at the net. She
was named to the first team of the Vermilion Valley Conference as well as all-area by two newspapers. Kaylee Warren and Hannah Boyer return as starters from a team that was 12-16 last year. Brooke Sobkoviak and Lyndsey Leitz will likely start this season. Boyer is 6-foot tall. Warren is a sophomore while the others are juniors. Leitz (hitter) and Sobkoviak (libero) are stepping into new positions this year. Boyer will be counted on to provide hitting, blocking and aggressive play in the front row. Coach Duis is optimistic about Milford’s chances if they play as a team. “I finally saw us do that in the later part of the summer when everyone was available.” Milford finished first in the silver pool of the Cissna Park Summer
Tournament. “One thing that is going to be huge for us is staying positive,” the coach said. “Passing is going to matter because you cannot run your offense without a decent pass. We just can’t let one mistake turn into two and three. That’s the main thing for us.” Jakki Mowrey and Sam Conley are two sophomores that will be playing strictly as defensive specialists. “We will need good passing from them in order to be able to run the offense that we want and stay in system,” Coach Duis said. Milford can finish in the top of the conference and win a regional “if we keep our chins up and focus on the next play.”
MILFORD Volleyball schedule Date
Opponent
9/7 Armstrong-Potomac 9/12 Georgetown-Ridgefarm 9/14 Bismarck-Henning 9/16 PBL tourney 9/18 Iroquois West 9/19 Schlarman 9-23 Watseka tourney 9/25 Hoopeston 9/26 Salt Fork 9/28 Oakwood 10/2 Cissna Park 10/3 Chrisman 10/5 Armstrong-Potomac 10/10 Westville 10/12 Bismarck-Henning 10/17 Schlarman 10/19 Hoopeston 10/23 Regional
Milford volleyball roster
Location Armstrong Georgetown Bismarck Paxton Gilman Danville Watseka Hoopeston Sheldon Oakwood Milford Milford Milford Westville Milford Milford Milford
Jakki Mowrey 10 Emily Duis 12 Kaylee Warren 10 Hailey Lucht 11 Alaina Portwood 11 Maya McEwen 10 Lauren Sheppard 11 Lyndsey Leitz 11 Sam Conley 10 Hannah Boyer 11 Brooke Sobkoviak 11
Large influx of freshmen bolsters golfers By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com The Milford High School boys golf team is coming off of its best season ever but lost a core group. Milford coach Sharon Glasgow must find
replacements for graduated seniors Bradley Leitz, Austin Price, Dylan Payne and Dane Gaffield. Leitz will still be a part of this year’s team, but as an assistant coach. “He has been working this summer, so we haven’t had him around but once or
Milford golf schedule Date 9/6 9/7 9/11 9/12 9/19 9/22 9/25 9/27 9/28
Opponent Donovan/Tri-Point Schlarman/Westville Hoopeston/Donovan Cissna Park Salt Fork Watseka Invite Bismarck-Henning County tourney Conference tournament
twice,” Glasgow said. “We are looking forward to him spending time, helping the kids with their game.” Brady Marshino and James Birch are the only returning letter winners. “We are a very young team, only one
Milford Golf Roster Location Shewami Harrison Park Hubbard Trail Shewami Wolf Creek Shewami Harrison Park Shewami Harrison Park
Name Year Brady Marshino 11 James Birch 10 Kaleb Harris 10 Lucas McKinley 12 Aaron Banning 9 CJ VanHoveln 9 Luke McCabe 9 Tanner Sobkoviak 10
Cooper Frerichs Zach Utke Caleb VanHoveln Seth VanHoveln Noah Virklan Zach Utke Bailey Fanning Baelee Luce Emma Mann
9 9 9 9 11 9 10 9 9
senior and with four varsity spots now to fill, everyone is going to have to work hard on their game,” Glasgow said. “Consistency with young players is always a struggle, so I’m fully expecting an up-and-down season with players moving in and out of spots. Hopefully by tournament time, we’ll have solid spots filled.” Sophomore Bailey Fanning is the only returning player on the girls team. “She is still learning the game,” Glasgow said. “I expect Bailey’s game to improve over last year’s performance.” There are only two other girls out, Baelee Luce and Emma Mann , so unfortunately Milford will not have a girls team score at meets. ‘With the two new freshmen, they are both just beginners, so it will take awhile for their games to come into form,” Glasgow said. Senior Lucas McKinley and sophomore Kaleb Harris, who played last year, will be counted on to step up for the boys team. This will be a season for one of the newcomers, which include eight freshmen, a sophomore and a junior, to find their game and move into the varsity rotation. “Having had summer practices, it will take awhile for those spots to be determined,” Glasgow said. “From what I’ve seen, several of the freshmen are starting to get their game together, so it will be interesting to see from week to week who’s ramping up their game. It is my expectation that Kaleb Harris and Tanner Sobkoviak with both be in hot contention for the number three and four spots. Only time will tell.”
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Iroquois County Fall Sports
Page 9
Milford Bearcats and Lady Cats Sharing program goal: 1-0 each week By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Clint Schwartz starts his ninth year as coach, seventh as the head Bearcat for the football team. He had a 17-21 mark before last year’s 1-8 season. The Bearcats started the season with a big home win over Walther Lutheran and will play that team again to start this season, but the game will be at Melrose Park. The sharing agreement with Cissna Park continues with about 30 students out for the team. “We have installed a few new things,” Schwartz said. “The kids
Date 8/26 9/01 9/08 9/15 9/22 9/29 10/06 10/13 10/20
are picking up on what they are supposed to do. It just takes time, time and reps.” MCP loses key cogs from last year’s team in Chaz Reetz, Joe Taylor and Khyler Cann but welcomes contributions from Jacob Thompson, Tyler Schmidt and Penn Stoller. Schwartz has some top athletes returning to build around in linemen Payton Sheridan and Zane Trumann with Jared Schunke returning at quarterback. The coach sees strengths in his team. “They are coachable, have great attitudes and excited to play football.”
Opponent Melrose Park Iroquois West Momence Westville Oakwood Georgetown Salt Fork Bismarck Henning Hoopeston
Location Away Home Away Home Home Away Home Away Away
The weakness of game experience can only be overcome once the season starts. “We have to be able to handle adversity when it happens on the field,” Schwartz said. Depth may be a problem but it doesn’t faze the coach. “We are going to compete in every game we play,” Schwartz said. “We will always play hard and leave it all out on the field.” The team doesn’t have a season goal because it will take care of itself if the weekly goal is met. “Our main goal is to go 1-0 every week,” Schwartz said.
Time 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Name Number Tyler Schmidt 1 Jared Schunke 2 Kennedy Kunsch 3 Nick Allen 4 Trey Totheroh 7 Alex Barney 8 Ganner Hoekstra 9 Jacob Thompson 11 Penn Stoller 13 Jarid Woodby 15 Brandon Tutweiller 21 Brad Stock 22 Brenden Rose 23 Zach Truesdell 25 Gabe Davenport 30 Dylan Janssen 50 Ryan King 51 Jacob Nash 52 Sebastian Irwin 53 Cameron Scott 54 Micah Sheridan 60 Payton Sheridan 61 Erik First 62 Zane Trumann 65 Joe Burgos 70 Rudy King 71 Cameron Garrison 77 Brittney Elsass 80
Position WR/DB QB/LB RB/LB WR/DB WR/LB QB/LB RB/DL WR/DB QB/RB/DB WR/DB WR/LB WR/DB RB/WR/LB WR/DB WR/DB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/LB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/Dl OL/DL/LB OL/DL Ol/DL OL/DL WR/DB
Age 12 11 11 10 9 10 9 12 10 9 12 9 11 12 12 11 9 9 12 10 9 12 11 11 12 10 11 12
Page 10
Iroquois County Fall Sports
September 2017
Iroquois West Raiders and Lady Raiders
Coach hopes to overcome low numbers By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com The Raiders of Iroquois West High School are led by fifth-year coach Matt Wasilewski, whose hopes to improve on last year’s 1-8 record will begin with three returning starters. Seniors John Henrichs and Thomas Macdonald are seniors and Nolan Ahlden is a junior. Austin Bull, a 6-foot-5, 350-pound senior, will be counted on to anchor play in the line. A deep and experienced class graduated. “There are too many key losses to name everyone,” Wasilewski said. Corey Schunke, Markese Gaytan, Jacob Connor and Clayton Thorne have graduated from the backfields while Dalton Reed, Jeff McCurry and Mike Weaver are gone from the line. “We graduated two large senior classes in a row and will be faced with a lot of inexperience, even with the returning seniors we do have,” Wasilewski said. “We will be dependent on juniors and sophmores to step up and fill starting positions.” The coach is counting on some skill positions. “We have a stable
of potential running backs with good speed and strength.” Wasilewski said the team is more familiar with the offensive scheme. “Our line and backs are confident in what we are wanting to do. The offense is confident with the system and it is already implemented. They trust the offense and are familiar with it in a way that last year’s team did not achieve until the fourth or fifth week of the season.” Wasileski does see Raiders that have potential. “Our guards are tested and experienced. We will have to find a leader in the quarterback position and fill in a couple of spots there. Defensively, we will be very inexperienced at most positions.” Because the number of athletes out for the team is lower than in the past, developing depth and staying healthy will be critical, especially along the lines. “We have to develop the youth on the roster and it has to happen quickly,” Wasilewski said. “If we stay healthy, we are confident we can put yardage up in the stats. Our team has got to have confidence that we can play with each team week in and week out.”
Iroquois West football roster Name Year Ht Nolan Ahlden 11 5-8 Tibaldo Alvarez 10 5-7 Ryan Brenner 11 5-10 Austin Bull 12 6-6 Kevin Butler 10 5-7 Landen Conrad 9 5-11 Eduardo Espinoza 9 5-7 Will Evans 9 5-10 Josiah Harkins 11 5-11 Michael Hartke 11 6-0 John Henrichs 12 6-1 Miguel Hinjosa 12 5-7 Landon Hobbs 10 5-11 Dominick Khattar 12 5-9 Devin Kuechel 10 5-10 Elijah Kuipers 10 6-2 Thomas McDonald 12 6-0 Carson Maisonnueve 9 5-4 Adrian Noble 12 5-9 Che Orozco 12 5-11 Ty Pankey 9 5-11 Connor Price 9 5-3 Nathan Price 9 6-1 Austin Renehan 12 6-2 Zach Rice 10 6-4 Jarret Ritzma 11 6-2 Sean Rogers 12 6-1 Austin Saathoff 12 5-10 Cole Stone 11 5-8 Connor Taylor 9 5-6 Nick Vaughn 11 6-0 Date 8/25 9/01 9/08 9/15 9/22 9/29 10/06 10/13 10/20
Time 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Opponent Oakwood Milford Dwight Momence Westville Paxton Kentland Clifton Watseka
Name
Year
Rachel Carney Samantha Williamson Ashley Thomas Ashley Aguilera Shelby Johnson Maddy Trammell Alexis Regan Janessa Salazar Natalie Conrad Lauren Cultra Jennifer Medina Alondra Barajas Merrek Sweeney
12 11 11 11 9 11 12 9 12 12 11 12 10
Wt 170 165 165 360 175 225 180 140 155 250 185 175 135 180 155 135 170 140 165 165 130 110 175 260 205 150 190 180 150 130 165
Location Home Away Away Home Away Away Home Away Home
Iroquois West volleyball schedule
New coach leads IWHS volleyball team By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Iroquois West will have a new coach in charge of its volleyball team this year as Dakota Bohlmann replaces Wendy McCann. Bohlmann inherits a squad that was 8-24 last season and loses hitter Grace Schroeder, libero Macy Tippie and setter Tessa Graham. The Lady Raiders have a solid core returning with five seniors on the team. Rachel Carney and Lauren Cultra are returning starters while Alondra Barajas, Natalie Conrad and Alexis Regan also saw significant playing time. Five juniors will be counted on for depth — Samantha Williamson will play back row; Jenny Medina as a setter; Maddy Tram-
mel, Ashley Thomas and Ashley Aguilera will be hitters. Bohlmann said the strength of the team is how well the girls get along and that increases their ability to play well together. “A team weakness is not having many girls so the girls will have to do a lot more on the court and be able to work the whole time,” Bohlmann said. Bohlmann’s goals for the team are contingent on each other. “I want to help the girls do better and win more games,” she said. “I also want to make sure they progress through the year.” Progression is important to the coach. Progress means success. “If they show progress from the first open gym to the last game, if they have gotten better that means they learned something and that is all I ask from them.”
Building Team Spirit Rewarding Achievement Inspiring Sportsmanship
Date 9/5 9/7 9/11 9/14 9/16 9/18 9/21 9/25 9/30 10/2 10/5 10/10 10/12 10/17 10/19 10/23
Opponent Grace Christian GSW GCMS Dwight PBL Invite Milford Watseka South Newton Hoopeston Ridgeview Central SVC tourney SVC tourney PBL Cissna Park Regional
Location Gilman Gardner Gilman Dwight Paxton Gilman Gilman Gilman Hoopeston Gilman Gilman Gilman/Onarga Gilman/Onarga Paxton Cissna Park
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7 September 2017
Iroquois County Fall Sports
Page 11
Iroquois West Raiders and Lady Raiders
Iroquois West Golf Rosters Boys: Kimmel, Kade (Fr) Kolosky, Klayton (Fr) Kuipers, Jacob (Fr) Kuipers, Justin (Sr)
McMillan, Jack (Fr) Miller, Owen (So) Pree, Jack (Fr) Price, Zach (Sr) Reitz, Jacob (Sr) Small, Brock (Jr)
Tammen, Calvin (Sr) Tilstra, Ryan (Fr) Wilken, Coleman (Sr)
Curtis, Georgia (Fr) Curtis, Uliana (So) McTaggart, Taylor (Sr) Pool, Marissa (Jr) Talbert, Taylor (Fr) Tilstra, Meara (Sr)
Girls: Adams, Cailyn (Sr)
IWHS golfers hope to continue tradition
By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Iroquois West High School will have a full boys team this year after fielding just individuals last year. Coach Steve Massey is optimistic that his team will be competitive. There will also be two girls running for the Raiders this year in freshmen Adriana Schroeder and Abby Kocher. Senior Noah Wilwohl returns from the IW inaugural season to lead the boys team. Newcomers Connor Price, Ryan Ritzma and
Max McTaggart were all members of a very competitive middle school program that competed at the Illinois Elementary Schools Association state meet two years in a row. The addition of these three boys along with freshman Ty Pankey and senior Oscar Camargo allows for some competition among the Raiders that they plan to carry over into meets. Massey sees Price as the main challenger to Wilwohl’s experience. “The girls are hoping to improve their times each race and increase some interest in the cross country team for next year,” Massey said.
Date 9/1 9/5 9/7 9/14 9/19 9/25 9/26 9/27 10/4
IW golf schedule Opponent Location Beecher Shagbark GCMS Raildside Hoopeston Hubard Trail Fisher Rantoul Blue Ridge Shagbark Conference Shewami Prairie Central Shagbark County Shewami Regional TBA
IW cross country runs as a team By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com The Iroquois West High School soccer team excelled last season under first-year coach Rick Alvarez. Alvarez starts his second year with the goal of improving on last year’s 12-6-1 mark. The Raiders will be without graduated seniors Ivan Ramirez and Tyler Brenner, both defensive stalwarts. Returning letter winners include defensemen Nathan St.Peters, Alexis Ramirez, and Luis Melgoza, forward Omar Camarena and goalkeeper Ulysses Aguilera. “Our strength this year would have to be nine returning starters and an experienced bench,” Alvarez said. “Our weakness would have to be lack of goalkeeper backup and new players filling positions.” The coach will count on Diego Camarena, Santiago Gasca, Devin Gray, Jovanny Ayala and Jose Gonzalez to help the Raiders. “Overall I believe we have a solid team and they forward to starting the season,” Alvarez said. One thing the Raiders must improve on this season is their ability to finish games stronger. “To be successful this year we need to be more competitive against the top teams in our conference,” Alvarez said. Teams he expects to challenge for the title in the Twin Valley Conference are Illinois Lutheran, Beecher, Grant Park, and possibly newcomer Momence.
Date 9/2 9/9 9/12 9/19 9/23 9/26 9/30 10/2 10/5 10/12 10/14 10/16 10/21
Opponent Cow Chip Race PBL Invite Panther Invite Hoopeston Herscher Invite Rantoul Conference South Newton All-Area PBL Invite Peoria Heights Central Regional
Location Chrisman Paxton Dwight CC Hoopeston Limestone Rantoul Clifton Kentland, Ind. Kankakee Paxton Peoria Clifton TBA
Name Year Connor Price 9 Ryan Ritzma 9 Ty Pankey 9 Max McTaggart 9 Abby Kocher 9 Adriana Schroeder 9 Oscar Camargo 12 Noah Wilwohl 12
IW soccer schedule
Raiders soccer starts strong By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor sports@intranix.com Grant Meyer starts his third year as coach of the golf teams at Iroquois West. The girls team made it to sectionals last year but must find a way to offset the losses of Stephanie Orr, who finished second in the county and fourth in the conference and Hannah Fink. The Lady Raiders have compiled an 18-7 record in two years after going 8-4 last year. Returning letter winners Taylor McTaggart and Meara Tilstra are seniors and Marissa Pool is a junior. McTaggart averaged under 50 strokes last year and won both the county and conference tournaments. Pool finished fifth at county. Tilstra averaged 56.7 strokes for nine holes. “Those three were very solid last year,” Meyer said. “We should have another really good season. We’ve got a really good number one golfer with McTaggart. We have experience. If we can consistently get a score in the 50s from our number four, we should have a really good team.” Georgia Curtis will be a key newcomer to look to as a possible fourth.
IW cross country schedule
The stated goals for the girls team are to win county, conference, and regional tournaments. “We were able to achieve that mark two years ago, and barely missed out on a regional title last year,” Meyer said. “Our goal is to return to that success.” The boys team lost sectional qualifier Brandon Olson, but return three lettermen in senior Justin Kuipers (sectional qualifier with a 46.7 average), senior Jacob Reitz (50.9 average) and junior Brock Small (54.2 average). The coach expects all three to be in the 40s for stroke average this year. The Raiders have a lot of returning players but are weak in overall golf experience. “We’ll likely have a better team than we have had the past two seasons,” Meyer said. “Our key will be getting a good fourth score from someone. If we can do that, we’ll have a decent chance of getting to .500 this year.” That would be a successful season for the Raiders. Improvement will be the focus of his coaching. “Honesty and integrity are skills we look to improve over the course of the year, and if they can achieve those while having fun, the record will be secondary when considering success.”
Date 9/5 9/7 9/8 9/9 9/12 9/14 9/18 9/19 9/21 9/23 9/26 9/27 9/28 9/30 10/3 10/4 10/6
Iroquois West soccer roster Name Year Ulusses Aguilera 10 Jon Andrade 12 Jose Gonzalez 11 Max Grant 11 Devin Gray 12 Lucas Alvarez 9 Maya Sanchez 12 Jovanny Ayala 12 Edgar Ochoa 11 Nathan St. Peter 12 Luis Melgoza 11
Opponent Central Beecher Cornjeker Cornjeker Momence Grant Park Fisher St. Anne Grace Christian Schlarman Invite Invite Invite Hoopeston Invite Invite Regional
Location Gilman Beecher Hoopeston Hoopeston Momence Gilman Gilman St. Anne Kankakee Danville Gilman Gilman Gilman Gilman Gilman Gilman
Alexis Ramirez Jon Blumberg Zach wooten Alex Arias Imanol Salazar Diego Camarena Angel Barajas Santaigo Gasca Omar Camarena Jon Gonzalez Jared Munoz Jon Vargas Andrew Medina
12 12 10 10 11 10 10 12 11 9 11 12 12
Page 12
Iroquois County Fall Sports
September 2017
PBL Panthers PBL football roster Name Year Will Pound 12 By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor plea, all seniors. the loss of “a lot leadership.” Keyn Humes 11 sports@intranix.com Pippin was an all-state selection with 50 “We are looking for some guys to step up and Brock Marron 12 PBL enters the 2017 season under coach Jeff tackles, 14 for loss, five forced fumbles and three take on some leadership roles,” he said. Graham’s stewardship. Graham starts his 11th sacks. Crabb helped the Panthers set a school Jaxson Coplea 12 That will be vital to the team’s success Graham year coaching. record for points scored (432) with 1,246 yards Hunter Anderson 10 said. Graham’s Panthers are coming off of back-torushing and 14 touchdowns. Dalton Busboom 10 back 9-2 seasons and three consecutive trips to Graham must find replacements for Dalton CoHe expects half of the Sangamon Valley ConAustin Gooden 11 the postseason. Last year’s playoff loss was to plea, Andrew Zenner and Cole Eshleman, who ference to be strong this season. eventual Class 3A state champion Elmhurst IC graduated. Coplea was the quarterback while the Mason Ecker 11 He said Clifton Central, Momence, and WatCatholic. other two were receivers. Keaton Krumwiede12 seka/St. Anne will challenge for the league title. PBL returns three key components from that Graham said the running game will be a “Watseka/St. Anne will be exceptionally good Ben McClure 12 team in running back Keanan Crabb, defensive strength of the Panthers this season but with 14 tackle Alex Pippin and linebacker Jaxson Coseniors graduated a weakness of the team will be this year.” Drake Schrodt 10 Keanan Crabb 12 Chase Elson 11 Date Opponent Location Dylan Polson 12 9/01 Gibson City Away TJ Jones 11 09/08 Central Home Kyle Poll 11 9/15 South Newton Away 9/22 Momence Away Jonathan Muller 12 9/29 Iroquois West Home Kris Hewerdine 12 10/06 Oakwood Away Brandon Scott 12 10/14 Watseka Away 10/20 Dwight Home Andrew Swanson 11 Hobert Skinner 11 Tanner Bowen 11 Dane Polson 12 Ryan Perkinson 12 Jake Rich 11 Keegan Lantz 12 Drew Riggleman 12 “Central is a strong program on both sides,” By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor year with every intention of those teams dupliChristian Denam 11 Franckey said. “Beecher will be tough again.” sports@intranix.com cating the feat. The Panthers will have to overcome the loss of Calvin Foster 11 Last year’s boys and girls Twin Valley Confer“Our number one goal for both squads this Brenden VanAntwerp, who is now running for ence champions in cross country were the PBL year is to defend our conference titles,” he said. Austin Potter 12 Millikin University, and Shannon Carlson, who Panthers. They will have a formidable foe to overcome Alex Pippin 12 is doing the same at Indiana Wesleyan UniverHead coach Dustin Franckey starts his third and another ready and waiting. sity. Dru Normile 11 The Panthers return a pair of all-conference PBL CC Roster performers on both teams. Name Year Junior Evie Ellis made it to state where she finished 73rd and senior Liberty Jamison are Lacey Bice 9 back for the girls team. Llam McMullin 9 Senior Kody Harrison and junior Alec St. Macie Rudin 9 Julian return for the boys. There are a combined 41 athletes out for the Ashton Goss 9 two teams — 13 freshmen, nine sophomores, Paul Cleary 9 seven juniors and 12 seniors. Jarrett Hazelwood 9 “We have a very young team on both the boys and girls squads,” Franckey said. “We will need Kiara Bachtold 9 to learn how to race in big races on the fly.” Reese San Diego 9 If the Panthers can do that, Franckey said they Yamileth Domingo 9 plan to improve on last season’s sectional performances, when both teams finished 11th. The Olivia Wilson 9 boys were fourth in the regional, the girls fifth. Adam Marchakitus 9 PBL volleyball schedule Sept. 12 St. Joe Ogden HS St. Joe 6 p.m. PBL CC schedule Nathan Kottke 9 Sept. 14 Momence HS Momence 6 p.m. Date Opponent Location Time Aug. 18 Pork Chop Kickoff Paxton 5 p.m. Seth Wolken 9 Watseka 6 p.m. Sept. 16 PBL Classic Paxton 9 a.m. 9/02 Chrisman HS Home 9 a.m. Aug. 21 Kankakee HS Aug. 21 Momence HS Watseka 7 p.m. Sept. 18 Tri-Valley HS Paxton 6 p.m. Kyra Crim 10 9/09 PBL Invite Away 9 a.m. Paxton 6 p.m. Sept. 26 South Newton HS Kentland 6:30 p.m 9/12 Urbana University HS Away 4:30 Aug. 22 Oakwood HS Sam Penicook 10 Cissna Park5 p.m. Oct. 2 Fisher HS Paxton 6 p.m. 9/16 PND Invite Away 9 a.m. Aug. 24 Milford HS Kyle Price 10 Cissna Park7 p.m. Oct. 5 Watseka HS Watseka 6 p.m. 9/23 St. Joseph Ogden Away 9 a.m. Aug. 24 Watseka HS Cissna Park9 a.m. Oct. 9 Rantoul HS Paxton 6 p.m. Alexis Gray 10 9/26 Rantoul High School Away 4:30 Aug. 26 TBA Gibson City6 p.m. Oct. 10 SVC Tourney Gilman 6 p.m. 10/07 Prairie Central HS Away 10 a.m. Aug. 29 GCMS HS Trevor Morese 10 Clifton 6 p.m. Oct. 12 SVC Tourney Gilman 6 p.m. 10/12 End of Season Meet Home 4:30 Aug. 31 Central HS Gracie Smith 10 Sept. 5 St. Thomas More Champaign6 p.m. Oct. 16 Schlarman HS Paxton 6 p.m. 10/14 Peoria Heights HS Away 1 Sept. 7 Cissna Park Paxton 6 p.m. Oct. 17 IWHS Paxton 6 p.m. Lucy Galey 10 Sept. 11 Tuscola HS Tuscola 6 p.m. Oct. 23 IHSA Regionals TBA 6 p.m. Nik Schmabel 10 Alyson Moore 10 Alec St. Julien 11 Jacob Ager 11 Erik Reck 11 By DOUG BRENNEMAN, Sports Editor five seed both times. look for middle hitter Araina Gentzler off of passes from Alyssa Hofer 11 sports@intranix.com It is a stated goal that the season will be building libero Katelyn Crabb, a junior. Jordan Giese 11 Consistency will be a key word for the PBL High toward the coach’s first postseason victory. “We are still looking for a strong outside hitter and School volleyball team this season. “We have to play consistent and play for each other not playing at a consistently high level overall,” Muehlbauer Evie Ellis 11 Lindsay Muehlbauer starts her third year as the head for ourselves,” Muehlbauer said. “Play for the we, not said. Liberty Jamison 12 coach of the Panthers. PBL fashioned a 21-11 record last for the me.” Cassidi Nuckols and Lexi Johnson hope to provide year and was 22-8 the previous season. She must find replacements for offensive team MVP quality play. Kody Harrison 12 However, the Panthers have not won a postseason Katelyn Riffle, who will attend Parkland College to play, The coach wants to win the PBL Clasic tournament in Adam McMullin 12 match under Muehlbauer. PBL lost to Heyworth 25-16, and Kelsey Vaughn, the all-around team MVP. September, the Timberwolf Tip-Off and the Sangamon 12 25-16 last year and to St. Thomas More 30-28, 23-25, There is a group of seven seniors that provide mature Valley Conference, but the postseason victory will be the Olivia Frichtl 25-23 the previous year. the Panthers were the number leadership for the Panthers. Setter Kalista Klann will ultimate goal. Brady Barfield 12 Gavin Ogburn 12 Sidney Schwarz 12 Levi Garrett 12 Marissa Arnett 12 Jenna San Diego 12 Kaitlin Harms 12 Garet Williams 12
PBL looks for fourth trip to playoffs
Large squad helps coach’s goals
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Volleyball team wants consistency
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