5November November 2015
2015-16 Winter Sports Preview
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2015-16 Winter Sports Preview A special supplement to the Times-Republic November 2015
BASKETBALL WRESTLING Central Page 3 Central Page 2 Cissna Park Page 4 PBL Page 2 Donovan Page 5 Iroquois West Page 6 Milford Page 7 PBL Page 8 St. Anne Page 9 Watseka Page 10
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Central High School
Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 Central High High School Wrestling team. team: Brandon Kooyenga, Mariah Painter, Thomas Konetski, Joshua Beegle, Wayne Tracy, Cole Poyner, Trevor Raines, Brock Solomon, Derek Lyons, Clayton Thorne, Jeff Peters, Adrian Pace, Jagger Harris, Kyle Kaut, Ray Odle, Kollin Krumwiede, Dayton Marko, Joshua Henrichs, Jacob Smith, Tyler Konetski, Kyle Buikema, Jacqueson Harris, Riley Miller, Kodie Willis, Justin Coggins, Connor Prairie, Gauge Martinez, Robby Love, Nick Frey, Ben Schaffer, Fred Peters, Austin Renehan, Clayton Randles, Curtis Buikema, Tyler James and Dalton Reed.
Comets' grapplers return experience throughout the roster By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com Central wrestling head coach Travis Williams returns one of the most loaded rosters of any Iroquois County sports this winter. After finishing 22-8 last season, Central returns most of the core that led the Comets' as well as two alternates to the state finals from last season. Williams said that if the Comets do not eclipse the 23-win mark, the team will look at it as a down year. "We return a really experienced group," he said. We feel like if we dont get 23, 24 or 25 wins, it will not be a success."
Williams said that the team has 11 returners with significant experience in their respective weight classes, with several others who have been in the mix. "Jacob Smith and Trevor Raines will lead that group and should be two guys that are ranked right away," said Williams. "Up and down the roster there is talent. These are guys that have had success since they were in junior high. Expectations are very high here." With the Central football season ending without a playoff berth, Williams said that they team was in a unique situation where they had two weeks without anything to do, which is not usually the case at Central. "It was odd for them I think," he
PBL High School
PBL hopes to find more success on the mat By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com In the first season as the PBL wrestling coach, Erik Rooney thought he team could have achieved more. This year, he plans on bringing home hardware to the halls of the Panthers school. Rooney said that there are returning wrestlers that should propel the team to more success this season. "We have a few returning wrestlers that found success late in the season last year," he said. "They are hungry to improve and work towards goals for the year. We also have some new freshman looking to make some noise. Everyone is willing to learn and I think that
will help us mold our program for the future." Jacob Parrish (138), Wil Mesch (145) and Alex Pippin (220) are three wrestlers that Rooney said he expects big things from in the season ahead. If the team is able to improve, both as individually and as a collective unit, Rooney believes there will be success for this year's team. "I want my new wrestlers to experience victory," he said. "Even if that means they only win once. They need to experience their goals being achieved. I would like to have multiple wrestlers make it to sectionals and state. I would also like to work towards a conference title this year. I am expecting my wrestlers to bring home hardware from each tournament we are in this year."
said. "But, they are ready. All of these guys on this team, especially the sophomore class who has 18 wrestlers, have wrestled around one another for so long. That bond really gets shared with everyone. They aren't afraid of each other and are a very competitive group. They will challenge one another and will help push everyone. It is going to be a fun year here and I am looking forward to it." Williams said that he would be very
surprised if several of the wrestlers are not ranked as individuals with the rankings become available. He also said the the Comets will compete in several meets throughout the year that will challenge the team. “We are going to face some really good competition this year,” said Williams. “The guys relish that kind of competition. They will push each other and I think that wrestling against really good teams is great for the team.”
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Central High School Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 Central High School boys’ basketball team: Blake Willis, Cole Peters, Dylan Miller, Jarod Meents, Jon Hendricks, Kyle Grice and Zach Washington.
New cast of Comets hope to continue last season's momentum By RYAN STAMBAUGH, spor ts repor ter spor ts@intranix.com After a slow start to last season, the Central boys' basketball team picked up steam in the second half of the season, finishing 18-11 and one game short of a regional championship under head coach Josh Sertich. Most of that team was lost to graduation, but the team does return three players that saw action as
juniors last season, Blake Willis, Zach Washington and Dylan Miller. Sertich said that all three will be vital to any success the team is able to have this season. "Blake saw the most playing time of the three last year," said Sertich. "He will be asked to do much more this season. Zach returns as our most talented player. Unfortunately, Zach spent most of last season sitting by me instead of out on the floor. I'm hopeful that he has figured out some things and that he won't
be sitting with me this year. Dylan has a chance to really surprise some people. He has really made great strides and has improved immensely." With the lack of experience on this year's Central roster, Sertich said that the team will be a work in progress throughout the season. "We haven't talked a whole lot about goals at this point," he said. "We are just focused on getting better each day. We know we have a difficult schedule especially to start the year."
Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 Central High School girls’ basketball team: Emery Podowicz, Clare Peters, Jenna Lemenager, Madyson Duby, Halle Long, Hanna Gray, Sydney Beherns, Allie Mathy, Haley Rosenboom, Rose Ritter and Taylor Yates.
Swigert hopes to instill new enthusiasm for Lady Comets basketball By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com After coaching as an assistant for the Central boys' basketball team, Rebecca Swigert takes over as the head coach of the Lady Comets this year. Swigert is no stranger to the head coaching position, as she also coached at Watseka. She inherits a program that was
down last season, but says she has hopes of making Central relevant again in Iroquois County girls' basketball. "Right now, we are still trying to figure out what are identity is going to be," she said, just a week before the team finished 2-2 in the Tip-Off Classic at Watseka and Cissna Park High School. "It is all about getting them to understand how to play and how to practice. They are all hard workers and I could not be more
pleased." The Comets lack experience throughout the roster, even with the five seniors they have this year. Swigert said many of the seniors are playing in their first year of high school basketball. The Comets will lean on Emily Podowicz and Sydney Beherns to take on the scoring load from the guard positions, but Swigert also said Hallie Long and Madyson Duby will be con-
tributors for the team this year. After an up-and-down showing in the classic, Swigert said that the team is showing the fight she wants to see. "We showed a lot of heart, " she said. "We played against teams that were better than us and it showed at times. But, we did not necessarily get outworked. It has been our focus most of the preseason. We have a long ways to go but I am really proud of the effort that the girls showed.
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Cissna Park School Photo Contributed The 2015 Cissna Park boys’ basketball team: Trace Nims, Conner Lober, John Redeker, Tristen Kissack, Brian Fehr, Jacob Wessels, Tanner Benoit, Jake Montgomery, Austin Kregel, Julian Stadeli, Christian Stadeli, Chaz Reetz, John Nowaczyk and Noah Anderson.
Deep roster, winning tradition keeps expectations high at Cissna Park By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com After a 16-14 season last year, Cissna Park boys’ basketball coach Kevin Long and the Timberwolves return with eyes on a successful season. Cissna Park has 14 players on the roster who Long said will compete for playing time this year, something that not many
teams in the area can say. “That means that no one can take anything for granted,” said Long. “That should result in a sense of urgency that leads to steady team improvement.” Long said the team lost 91 percent of their scoring from a year ago to graduation, which will be the number one challenge for Long and his staff moving forward. “Offensive production is a major concern,” he said. “To be efficient on the offen-
sive end, we will have to execute and limit our turnovers. We lost all five starters and we return only two letterman. With only three seniors on our roster, most of our guys will getting their first taste of varsity competition.” Long said the team may struggle at times early in the season, but if the team can stay focused, their should be a major chance in the look of the team from the beginning of the season in comparison to how the
Timberwolves will look before the state tournament. “If we can defend, rebound and limit our turnovers, we can put ourselves in a position to be competitive,” he said. “In addition, we have to play with a high level of basketball IQ and we will strive to become fundamentally sound to reach our potential. As always, the blueprint will be to play hard, play smart and play tough. Then we can peak for the postseason.”
Photo Contributed The 2015 Cissna Park girls’ basketball team: Karli Boyle, Josie Maul, Taylor Hasselbring, Lauren Knake, Lyndsey Neukomm, Theresa Trask, Jasmine Stock, Addy Stoller, Samantha Hasselbring, Michelle Fehr, Sharon Hardison, Ayiana Marquez, Gabby Wessels, Olivia Stoller and Madelyn Garrison.
Talent there for Timberwolves to challenge state By CODY DELMENDO, news reporter reporter@intranix.com Cissna Park faithful are hopeful for another magical run made by the girls Cissna Park basketball team after going 28-3 last season with a heart breaking loss in the 1A super-sectional game. The Timberwolves, who have four returning players who just recently played for the 1A State Volleyball Championship, will look to senior and Valpo-commit Addison Stoller
throughout the season for leadership. “We lean heavily on Addy. She is not only our top scorer but our leader,” Head Coach Anthony Videka said. The team had a total of just a few hours of practice before their first game because of how far the volleyball team advanced in the postseason. Despite the little practice time, the Timberwolves have started out (insert record here) on the year. Videka said the team will continue to work hard everyday to get better. “With a lack of practice as a team
we still have a lot of stuff to put in. We are taking the right steps towards executing well on every possession but still have some rust to wipe off,” he said. Returning players to help lead the team besides Stoller are Samantha Hasselbring, Lyndesy Neukomm, Theresa Trask, Lauren Knake, Michelle Fehr, Gabby Wessels and Jasmine Stock. “Samantha Hasselbring is another we will lean on this year. She is a hard worker, especially on both ends
of the court,” he said. Videka said since the team has had little to no practice time, the squad has hed plenty of time to talk about goals for the season. “We are still thinking short term. Offensively speaking, we can look to do different things from game to game if needed. We have girls that create their own shots and have post players who always work to get open and demand the ball.
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Donovan High School Photo Contributed The 2015 Donovan high school girls’ basketball team: Autumn Lattimer, Allee Leady, Anna Storm, Ashten Smith, Casey Arseneau, Keely Smith, Carley Shivers, Adrienne Adams, Jacqulynne Schill, Holly Kaufman and Jacalyn Wingerter.
Donovan girls’ return core roster from last season By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com Mason Parks, a Donovan High School graduate and former basketball player, takes over the coaching reigns for his first season with the Wildcats this year. Parks takes over a team that nearly returns every player on the varsity level from a year ago. He said he has been very happy with the team’s willingness to learn in the early stages of the year so far.
“We’re doing a lot of new things that the girls have never done before,” or been taught before so it is a lot of new material,” he said. “They are picking it up slowly but surely. We just have to keep learning and make sure the things we learning in practice translate to the games.” With returning the number of players that they are this season, Parks said it will be a plus to have the team already accustomed to the speed and the intensity it takes to win games from the start. With being one of the younger coaches in the area, Parks said he will try to bring a
new level of enthusiasm to practice. On the court, expect to see a new level of patience with the Donovan girls’ this year. “If we have to pass the ball 20 times to get a good shot, then so be it,” said Parks. “I like running an equal opportunity motion offense. Defensively, I want us to be able to play tough man-to-man defense and be a good rebounding team. We’re going to mix it up playing zone as well. Being good defensively is going to go a long way our success. I just want us to play hard at all times and continue to improve every day.
Parks said point guard Casey Arseneau will lead the team from the position and will also look to Adrienne Adams to provide a scoring punch. Seniors Anna Storm and Holly Kaufman as well as returning starters Jacalyn Wingerter and Carly Shivers all return to provide rebound and interior defense said Parks. With having the experience from last sea son, Parks said he expects the girls to come out ready to attack this year. “I expect us to play hard every single night,” he said.
Donovan’s revamped roster should provide more wins this season By RYAN STAMBAUGH, spor ts repor ter spor ts@intranix.com Donovan’s boys’ basketball team had a rough season last year, including 27 defeats to only two victories. Head coach Andrew Lindo returns for his second season, and expects much different results than from a year ago. “We have a good mixture of juniors and seniors that should bring experience and stability to the program this year. It all starts with
senior Eric Lattimer, who should really open some things up for us in the post.” Lattimer, who scored 28 points and pulled down 15 boards in the team’s opening-game loss to Hoopeston earlier this week, is on pace to eclipse the school record for points and rebounds this season. He will be joined by returning seniors Alex Storm, David Miller, Tristan Emerson and CJ Hedge. Lindo said the experience and senior leadership on the roster will gave Donovan a great chance to
compete in most of their games this season. “We have a lot of guys who know what a varsity basketball game feels like,” he said. “Eric, David and Alex have been playing at this level since they were sophomores. Most of the team has been playing together since they were in junior high. It should be our biggest strength this season, especially with many of our opponents in the conference losing much of their team from a season ago.” After a dismal season last year, Lindo hopes that the team will be
able get their first conference win since 2013 this year.
“I really hope we can significantly improve on what we did as a team a year ago,” he said. “We have guys
that have the tools to pull it off. I am really excited for what Eric can do in his senior year. If we can play up to our potential, we are going to be able to compete in most games and hopefully surprise some people this year.”
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Iroquois West High School Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 Iroquois West boys’ basketball team: Alec Small, Payton Stiers, Jose Lopez, Cole Daniel, Corey Schunke, Austin Martinez, Kristian Sanchez, Markese Gaytan, Nick Dowell, Jake Clark, DonTerrance Nixon, Michael Krefft, Armon Visor and Tyler Brenner.
Raiders bring new uptempo style to court this season By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com After enduring a year last season with a young team that was learning on the fly, Matt Honeycutt returns for his ninth year with hopes of improving in 2015. An 8-20 finish last year and a loss in overtime in the quarterfinals of the regional tournament, Honeycutt said that most of the roster returns. “We have some guys coming back
that have some varsity minutes under the belt,” he said. Even our juniors this year have played at the varsity level to a degree. We know what to expect of each other and I think that can help us be successful this year.” Despite the lack of height on the roster, Honeycutt said that will present opportunities to play at a higher pace. “Without any real height, we are working on a more uptempo style,” he said. “I think a big thing for us this year is just how competitive practices are
going to be this year. We hope to play nine and 10 guys in our rotation this year, so that should make practices highly competitive. We hope that it can carry over to the games.” The Raiders are capable of being a good shooting team this year according to Honeycutt. With the uptempo style in place, there should be chances created by the Iroquois West defense to find easy baskets. Honeycutt said that although the team
has not sat down and decided on any goals for the season ahead, they are ready to start improving on the fly. “With these Thanksgiving tournaments, it can be brutal,” he said. “Every team has to deal with it. We will have four games before we have another practice to start our year at Gibson City. I hope that we can take to the court this year with the mindset to represent our conference. If we can do that and continue to improve, I think we will be able to compete as the season progresses.”
Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 Iroquois West girls’ basketball team: Rachel Carney, Taylor McTaggart, Maya Sanchez, Skylar Small, Renee Gerling, Mariah Saathoff, Elizabeth Conrad, Tayler Fairley, Lauren Cultra, Grace Schroeder, Savannah Mims, Ariel Medina, Meara Tilstra and Andrea Fuoss.
Seven returners from last year’s state run have Lady Raiders aiming high By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com After a trip to the state finals last season along with a fourth place finish in the state class 1A, Iroquois West head coach Kristy Arie has plenty to be excited about as the Lady Raiders begin the 2015-16 season. Finishing 28-5 last year, the best season in Iroquois West school history, the Raiders return Andrea
Fuoss, Savannah Mims, Skylar Small, Ariel Medina and Renee Gerling as seniors with the experience of getting to state last season. Also returning are junior Grace Schroeder and sophomore Meara Tilstra. One week into the season and Schroeder has already put up a 30-point game. Arie said until the season gets underway and the team gets a groove going, she will then know where this team stands in compari-
son to last year’s. “It is always hard to tell where we are at until we get game one under our belts and see what adjustments will need to be made,” said Arie prior to the opening game of the season. “I feel like we have a grasp of what we are trying to do offensively and defensively and I expect us to come out very competitively.” With being bumped up to class 2A this season in basketball, Arie said that the team still as hopes of making a repeat run deep into the
postseason this year. “Our biggest goal this year is to win our conference which is always a difficult task with Cissna Park in the mix,” she said. “Being bumped up to 2A, we still have our sights set on making a push in the postseason as far as we can and I think that we can still be very competitive once that time comes around. We just want to take each game as it comes and try not to look too far ahead.”
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Milford High School Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 Milford boys’ basketball team: Kyle Bennett, Zack Luecke, Shayne McNally, Khyler Cann, Ty Clark, Dane Gaffield, Konnor Knauth, Brad Leitz, Kyle McNally, Steven Varela, Tyler Schmidt and Jacob Thompson.
Caldwell returns to lead young, inexperienced Bearcats’ team By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com A familiar face will be returning the Milford sidelines for the boys’ basketball team this season. David Caldwell, Milford’s coach from 1985-1997, is returning to take over a Bearcats’ team that lost several key players to graduation. After volunteering the last four years, Caldwell said he is excited to have the chance to get back into doing what he
loves. “I have been around the team the last several years as best as I could,” he said. “It is going to help me get back into the swing of things this season.” Things have changed since Caldwell was in his last season coaching Milford. He said it will be a new experience coaching a team that will compete in a class tournament in the postseason. “We had some really good teams back then,” he said. “I was fortunate to be able to coach some really good players. But, the game has changed somewhat. There
are now regionals and single classes, which is new to me.” Caldwell said he use to have to compete with much bigger schools at the postseason level. As far as this year’s inexperienced team, Caldwell said their are nine to 10 guys that match up quite even across the board. “I am anxious to see how they adjust to being the main players this season,” he said, referring to many of the role players from last season being looked at to step up in 2015. “Now, they are expected to be the guys that are the go-to-players. I am
not sure what to expect. We could surprise some people or we could struggle out of the gate.” The defensive-minded Caldwell said that he will have to try to adjust to his team. “Our tallest guy is 6’1”, so we are going to have to push the ball up and down the court much more than I have in the past,” he said. “We are small and I think that will help us out tremendously.”
Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 Milford girls’ basketball team: Jordan Fritch, Marie Craighead, Madi Rose, Alaina Portwood, McKenzie Reiners, Cheyenne Wilken, Emily Duis, Abby Mussard, Brittney Bailey, Lillan Habing, Hannah Boyer and Brooklyn Gray.
Inexperience not an excuse for Lady Bearcats says Duis By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com Mike Duis returns for his second year coaching the Milford girls basketball team this season. The former Watseka head coach in the early 90s has over 20 years of coaching experience under his belt, but only one coaching girls, which was last season. Last year, the Bearcats finished two games below 500., which Duis said was a good season with all things considered.
“I thought we won a few more games than I thought we might at the beginning of the year,” he said. “Going into this season, we lose four seniors, one who took up significant playing time.” Milford will have one senior on their roster this season, McKenzie Reiners. Reiners suffered an injury last year and was forced to miss most of the season. Duis said that there are four juniors on the roster who have experience playing on the junior varsity and varsity and well as one sophomore who will see a lot of minutes this year.
“I really think our guards should be really good on the ball for us this year,” he said. “I feel good about out guard play and I feel good about our point guard play. Even without many seniors on this team, I don’t think you can say inexperience as a crutch because the girls have played before.” After finishing just below even for the season last year, Duis said he has high expectations for the Bearcats this year. “We have not sat down and set specific goals as far as wins and losses go for this year,” he said. “Right now, we are just
out here trying to get better. We are going to see some great competition this year and our conference is loaded. Teams like Danville Schlarman, Salt Fork, Cissna Park and Watseka are all teams we are going to see this year that is going to challenge us. I want us to get to the point where we are able to really compete with those teams. I want us to compete and have a chance to win some of those. If we can do that and continue to improve, that is how I will judge our season. Wins and losses will take care of themselves.”
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Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School Photo by Ryan Stambaugh The 2015 PBL boys’ basketball team: Luis Rodriguez, Dalton Coplea, Cooper Johnson, Josiah Martin, Cole Eshleman, Peyton McClure, Hunter Weber, Wes Ricketts, Colton Kleinert, Jonny Walder, Matt Poll and Jordan Kietzman.
Numbers and experience on the side of the Panthers this season
By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com
Adam Schonauer will be leading the PBL Panthers for the second year this winter, as he takes on a 2015 roster with high expectations. PBL finished 18-10 last year, as Schonauer said that the team needed time to start to comprehend the new system that was in place. After a slow start, PBL ended its season on an 11-4 run, where Schnoauer said
the team made tremendou strides from the beginning of the season. This year, he said there should not be any time needed to adjust to his coaching style. “I expect us to be much more organized this season,” he said. “With this being my second year, the boys are accustomed to our philosophy and some of the schemes a bit better. Summer went much more smoothly with the guys knowing what to expect. It helps that we return a good nucleus with leadership capabilities who will help the younger players on what is expected of them
this season.” The Panthers will lean on their athleticism and size this year, along with strong guard play on the perimeter said Schonauer. “We are long and can move,” he said. “We are going to have good guard play and guys who can score and get to the rim. With 16 varsity players, all juniors and seniors, our depth is going to be a real strength.” With the experience and depth the Panthers have, they have expectations of competing with every team they face. Schonauer said that they want not only to
compete this year, but to win. “We want to win our tournaments,” he said. “We want to really compete in the con-
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s this year. We want to compete and win our f regional. If we can be playing our best bas- D ketball of this season by the time the end of f the year rolls around, we are going to have a r great chance to do these things.” ference and in the conference tournament
Photo Contributed The 2015 PBL girls’ basketball team: Bethany Knight, Allie Hitz, Mallory Lithgow, Liberty Jamison, Cassidi Nuckols, Emma Fleming, Leslie Lawson, Valeree Johnson, Tawny Liggett, Ariana Gentzler, Aleeka Gentzler, Kellyn Maynard and Kaila Christensen.
Hurliman takes over talented PBL girls’ basketball team
By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com
Another new face will be on the sidelines this fall for the PBL Panthers as Rachel Hurliman begins her first season as the head coach of the girls’ basketball team. Hurliman inherits a team with enough talent to challenge the better teams in the
area, as they showed with their early-season victory over last season’s fourth place finisher in 1A Iroquois West last week. She said the team, while not tall, can pose problems for the opposition with their quickness. “We are not a big team, but we can be quick,” she said. “So I am wanting to push the ball this season and get after teams with a pressure defense.” Hurliman said that she was very
impressed with the girls’ willingness to put in the hard work necessary to succeed when she first became acquainted with them. Kellyn Maynard will be the focal point of the PBL offense this season. Maynard recently became the first girls’ 1,000 point scorer and also took over the school’s rebounding mark in a win last week. She will receive the bulk of the attention from opposing defenses, but Hurliman
said that there are several girls capable of putting up points for the Panthers this year. Hurliman believes if the team can make
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a swift transition into a new system with a new coach, the chance to succeed for the e
t r “Compete for a conference title and t compete for a regional championship, she said, referring to the team’s goals for 2015. l Panthers this year is very attainable.
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St. Anne High School Photo Contributed The 2015 St. Anne boys’ baskeball team.
St. Anne brings entirely new roster into 2015 season
By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com
The Cardinals finished 23-5 last season and was a last-second shot away from capturing a regional title against Dwight. They graduated eight seniors and face many questions as far as what can realistically be accomplished in 2015. One thing that isn’t in question for
the Cardinals will be the effort displayed on the court says head coach Richard Schoon. “There is no doubt about it, our effort is going to be there every single night,” said Schoon. “They have been working very hard at in during practice all week and I think they are going to bring it in every game this year.” With losing most of the scoring from last year, he said that the team will need to rely on the confidence that
several of the players have shown in the days leading up the season. “They certainly do not lack confidence in themselves, which is very important to have especially with the lack of experience,” he said. “It is just a situation where we are going to have to let the season progress and see where we are towards the end of the year.” After winning 23 games last season, Schoon said that they did not look at
the year as a success because of falling short in the regional. He said that this year will be much of the same for the Cardinals. “We want to be able to be playing our best ball of the season,” he said. “We are going to be learning on the fly for much of the year, but if we can do that, we are going to give ourself a shot in the postseason.
Photo Contributed The 2015 St.Anne girls’ basketball team.
Stembridge hopes to build on Cardinals’ sub .500 season last year
By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter
sports@intranix.com
After an 11-13 season that included an 8-4 mark in their conference, the St. Anne girls’ basketball team returns with Andy Stembridge as their head coach for a third season. The Cardinals will look to their lone senior Lesly Ochoa and well
as Amber Chase to help steer the ship for the young St. Anne team this year. Stembridge said that he is also looking at returning starters Marcela Pena and Erin Corriveau to provide leadership on and off the floor. If St. Anne is to find success this year and eclipse their record from a year ago, Stembridge said that he believes it will be because of the
newfound intensity on the defensive end of the floor. “I definitely think our strength will be on the defensive end,” he said. “I have been very pleased and impressed so far with our teams overall energy and effort on both ends of the court. We have been stressing defense in practice and the girls are really responding.
Look for the Cardinals to use that defensive mindset to compete in most of the games on their schedule this season, as they look to build on their success within their own conference from a year ago. Stembridge said if the team can fully commit to getting better, the should enjoy their fair share of success this season.
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Watseka Community High School Photo Contributed The 2015 Watseka boys’ basketball team. Cole Davenport, Matt Hodolitz, Blake Castonguay, Jake Schippert, Justin Hasselbring, Joe Trudeau, Lance Dittrich, Will Lyznicki, Brendan Fletcher, Kyle Giroux, Nathan Schroeder, Hunter Lee, Anthony Beaver and Daison Harris.
Former state champion take over coaching reigns at Watseka
By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com
Chad Cluver will be in his first season coaching the Warriors’ boys basketball team this winter. Cluver comes from Moroa-Forsyth, where he experienced success as the head coach there for 16 years, including finishing third in the state in 2005-06 and winning a state championship in 2006-07. The new Warriors’ head coach said he was thankful for the time he was able to get with the team this summer to prepare them for practices beginning this winter.
“We were able to have a summer camp, where the boys were able to get some time with the new system in place,” he said. “It may not be exactly much different than what they are use to, but the terminology could have been. It was nice to have that time instead of throwing it all on them for the first time this winter.” The Warriors return one of the most experienced rosters in the county, with seniors Cole Davenport, Will Lyznicki, Jake Schippert, Joe Trudeau, Justin Hasselbring and Kyle Giroux all returning. Cluver said the senior core was very involved in the offseason this summer. “They were very active during every-
thing that we did this summer,” he said. “That is what you want out of your seniors.” Cluver said he will also lean on juniors Hunter Lee and Nathan Schroeder as well as sophomore Brendan Fletcher. The new coach said that those who come out to watch the Warriors this season will see a fun brand of basketball. “Night in and night out, I will require the boys to play hard,” he said. “They will see a team that will execute and play hard for the entire game. I want to push the tempo. I almost want the tempo to be chaotic at times because of our lack of size. We aren’t real big, but we do have speed. I think we
can use that to force some chances for our scorers to have chances to finish.” He said the 2015 Warriors’ team has a competitive edge that he enjoys coaching and expects the team to get after each other in practice this year. As far as goals, Cluver said he wants the team to find a way to get into championship games of every tournament the Warriors play in this year. “We have to find a way to give ourselves a chance,” he said. “If we can get there and have a shot, it can always go either way, especially at the end of the season. I am excited and I think we are going to play very well this year.”
Photo Contributed The 2015 Watseka girls’ basketball team. Front row (l-r) Kate Norder, Tessah Downs, LiPing Zhao, Daisy Solorzano, Kara Dexter, Summer Cramer, Madison Bauer, Kassidy Berry, Magan Harris Back row (l-r) Courtney Thompson, Asst. Coach BJ Arvin, Sadee Wuetherich, Cassie Peters, Mallory Drake, Head Coach Barry Bauer, Rachael Kochel, Kennedy Bauer, Emily Bunting, Asst. Coach Seth Johnson, Haylee Ketchum
New faces on the court for the Lady Warriors this winter
By RYAN STAMBAUGH, sports reporter sports@intranix.com
Watseka girls’ basketball head coach Barry Bauer is another county coach with a history of coaching the opposite gender. Last season was Bauer’s first as a girls’ head coach, where he said he was fortunate enough to inherit an experienced team that help made the transition very smooth. After the success of the Watseka volleyball team, Bauer said it will take time for the Warriors to be able to hit their stride.
“Last season, we were in a very similar position to what we are this year with the volleyball team making another deep run in the postseason,” he said. “We have only been able to have a few practices with out full roster together, so it will take time. It is a good situation to be in though because those who played volleyball can bring some of that success to the team.” Watseka returns only three players with significant varsity experience this year, seniors Kara Dexter and Kassidy Berry and sophomore Summer Cramer.
Bauer said that the lack of experience on the varsity roster can make for an interesting year. “I am excited,” he said. “We lost a ton from last year but that can make things exciting. We are going to have more depth than we did last year. I am comfortable with who is on our bench and I think that the practices are going to be very competitive. Playing time will be hard to come by and I think that level of competition within the team will be good for the girls.” Bauer said that he will have a clear idea of what goals should be set for his team
once Christmas break arrives and the team has time to gel as a unit. “Right now, it is hard to tell,” he said. “Once we hit Christmas, I think we will be able to start looking ahead and seeing where we are at. My expectations are pretty high and I think we have a great chance to continue to get better throughout the year. Within our conference, Cissna Park is going to be very good and Iroquois West returns almost all of the team that made it to state last year. It is going to be a fight. But, I think we can compete and improve when the end of the season rolls around.”
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November 2015