Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 1

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WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW Basketball • Wrestling

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2 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

Madison Basketball Boys Varsity

Date Place Wed. 11/29/17 Fri. 12/01/17 Sat. 12/02/17 Fri. 12/08/17 Sat. 12/09/17 Wed. 12/13/17 Fri. 12/15/17 Thur. 12/21/17 Fri. 12/22/17 Fri. 12/29/17 Wed. 01/03/18 Fri. 01/05/18 Tue. 01/09/18 Thur. 01/11/18 Fri. 01/19/18 Wed. 01/24/18 Fri. 01/26/18 Wed. 01/31/18 Wed. 02/07/18 Fri. 02/09/18

Time Idaho Falls @Boise @Borah Clearfield Syracuse Skyline @Idaho Falls @Skyview Blackfoot Sky View @Skyline Highland @Bonneville Rigby @Hillcrest @Highland Bonneville @Rigby Hillcrest @Blackfoot

7:30 PM 7:30 PM 1:00 PM 7:30 PM 12:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM

Sugar-Salem Boys Basketball

Date Opponent Teams Time TBA Jamboree TBA V/JV/F TBA 11/28/17 @Bonneville F 4:00 12/1/17 @Filer V/JV/F 2:30 12/2/17 @Soda Springs V/JV/F 4:00 12/7/17 Soda Springs V/JV/F 4:30 12/13/17 Bonneville F 6:00 12/14-16/17 @Star Valley Tourney V/JV TBA 12/14/17 @Hillcrest JV/F 6:00 12/19-21/18 @Jerome Tournament V/JV TBA 12/29/17 Snake River V/JV/F 4:30 1/5/18 @Firth V/JV/F 4:00 1/6/18 Gooding V/JV/F 4:30 1/9/18 @Snake River V/JV/F 4:45 1/11/18 Hillcrest JV/F 6:00 1/12/18 Filer V/JV/F 4:30 1/16/18 Firth V/JV/F 4:30 1/25/18 @South Fremont V/JV/F 4:30 1/27/18 @Teton V/JV/F 4:30 1/31/18 Shelley F/JV/V 4:30 2/2/18 South Fremont V/JV/F 4:30 2/7/18 Teton V/JV/F 4:30 2/9/18 @Shelley V/JV/F 4:30 2/13-24/18 District Tourney @ Madison High School 2/24/18 Play-in Game TBA 3/1-3/18 State Tourney (Meridian)

Madison Basketball Girls Varsity Date Place Wed. 11/15/17 Fri. 11/17/17 Tue. 11/21/17 Tue. 11/28/17 Thur. 11/30/17 Sat. 12/02/17 Wed. 12/06/17 Sat. 12/09/17 Tue. 12/12/17 Thur. 12/14/17 Sat. 12/16/17 Thur. 12/21/17 Fri. 12/22/17 Sat. 12/23/17 Thur. 01/04/18 Sat. 01/06/18 Wed. 01/10/18 Fri. 01/12/18 Tue. 01/16/18 Tue. 01/23/18 Thur. 01/25/18

Time @Skyline 7:30 PM @Minico 7:30 PM @Idaho Falls 7:30 PM Century 7:30 PM @Highland 7:30 PM Minico 7:30 PM @Hillcrest 7:30 PM Blackfoot 7:30 PM Bonneville 7:30 PM Rigby 7:30 PM Skyline 7:30 PM Timberline Tourney Timberline Tourney Timberline Tourney Highland 7:30 PM Idaho Falls 7:30 PM @Century 7:30 PM @Bonneville 7:30 PM @Rigby 7:30 PM Hillcrest 7:30 PM @Blackfoot 7:30 PM

Sugar-Salem Girls Basketball

Date Opponent Teams Time TBA Jamboree TBA 11/10/17 @Soda Springs V/JV/F 4:00 11/11/17 @Marsh Valley V/JV/F 4:30 11/14/17 Bonneville F 6:00 11/17/17 Soda Springs V/JV/F 4:30 11/18/17 @Filer V/JV/F 1:00 11/21/17 @Firth V/JV/F 4:00 11/28/17 Snake River V/JV/F 4:30 12/5/17 @Snake River V/JV/F 4:30 12/8/17 Firth V/JV/F 4:30 12/12/17 Marsh Valley V/JV/F 4:30 12/14/17 Hillcrest JV/F 6:00 12/14-16/17 @Star Valley Tourney V/JV TBA 12/20/17 @Bonneville F 6:00 12/28-29/17 @Jerome Tourney V/JV TBA 1/10/18 South Fremont V/JV/F 4:30 1/11/18 @Hillcrest JV/F 6:00 1/12/18 @Teton V/JV/F 4:30 1/18/18 Shelley V/JV/F 4:30 1/20/18 @South Fremont V/JV/F 4:30 1/24/18 Teton V/JV/F 4:30 1/26/18 @Shelley V/JV/F 4:30 District: 1/29-2/10/18 Pending Gym availability @ Madison Jr. High.

State: 02/15-17/18 @ Skyview (Nampa)

Madison Wrestling Varsity Date Fri. 12/01/17 Sat. 12/02/17 Wed. 12/06/17 Wed. 12/13/17 Thur. 12/14/17 Fri. 12/15/17 Sat. 12/16/17 Thur. 12/21/17 Fri. 01/05/18 Sat. 01/06/18 Wed. 01/10/18 Fri. 01/12/18 Sat. 01/13/18 Fri. 01/19/18 Sat. 01/20/18 Wed. 01/24/18 Fri. 01/26/18 Sat. 01/27/18 Wed. 01/31/18 Wed. 02/07/18

Sugar-Salem Wrestling

Place @Bucks Bag @Bucks Bag Blackfoot @IFHS/Skyline @HCC JV @HCC Duals @HCC Duals @ Burley/Minico @ Rollie Lane @Rollie Lane Bonneville Madison Invite Madison Invite @Tiger/Grizz @Tiger/Grizz Highland @Minico Invite @Minico Invite Hillcrest @Rigby

Day Date Opponent/ Event Place Fri. 12/1 Mike Leck Invitational North Fremont HS Sat. 12/2 Mike Leck Invitational North Fremont HS Fri. 12/8 Marsh Valley Marsh Valley HS Sat. 12/9 Marsh Valley Marsh Valley HS Thurs. 12/14 HCC JV Tournament Bonneville HS Fri. 12/15 HCC Duels Bonneville HS Sat. 12/16 HCC Duels Bonneville HS Fri. 1/5 Buhl (V)/ Canyon Ridge(JV) Buhl HS/CR HS Sat. 1/6 Buhl (V)/ Canyon Ridge(JV) Buhl HS/CR HS Thurs. 1/10 SR & AF vs. SF & SS South Fremont HS Fri. 1/12 Madison Invitational Madison HS Sat. 1/13 Madison Invitational Madison HS OTM Thurs. 1/18 Firth/ WJ vs. Teton/ SS West Jefferson HS Fri. 1/19 Tiger-Grizz Tournament Skyline HS Sat. 1/20 Tiger-Grizz Tournament Skyline HS Wed. 1/24 @ Teton Teton HS Fri. 1/26 John Berry Sugar Classic Sugar Salem HS Sat. 1/27 John Berry Sugar Classic Sugar Salem HS Thurs. 2/1 *South Fremont Sugar-Salem HS Fri. 2/2 Dick Fleishman Duels Pocatello HS Sat. 2/3 Dick Fleishman Duels Pocatello HS Wed. 2/7 @ Shelley Wed. 2/15 District VI (3 at large spots) Fri. 2/23 State Holt arena Sat. 2/24 State Holt Arena *District Match

Time 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 6:30 PM 5:00 PM 3:00 PM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 5:00 PM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 6:30 PM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 6:30 PM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM

Time 3:00 PM 10:00 AM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 9:00 AM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 5:00 PM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 5:00 PM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM 6:00 PM 3:00 PM 9:00 AM TBA 9:00 AM

Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 3

South Fremont Boys Basketball

Date Opponent C-team/JV/ Varsity Dec. 1, Fri. Marsh Valley 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 5, Tues. @Ririe 4:40/6:00/7:30 Dec. 9, Sat. @Salmon 1:00/2:30/4:00/5:30 Dec. 12, Tues. Snake River 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 15, Fri. @West J. 4:00/5:30/7:00 Dec. 20, Wed. Ririe 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 22, Fri. Salmon 1:00/2:30/4:00/5:30 Dec. 27-29 Wed-Fri. Parma Tournament TBA Jan. 5, Fri. @Snake River 4:30/6:00/7:30 Wed. Jan. 10 @Marsh Valley 4:30/6:00/7:30 Fri. Jan. 12 @Firth 4:30/6:00/7:30 Fri. Jan. 19 West J. 4:30/6:00/7:30 Tues. Jan. 23 Firth 4:30/6;00/7:30 Thurs. Jan. 25 Sugar 4:30/6:00/7:30 Sat. Jan. 27 @Shelley 4:30/6:00/7:30 Wed. Jan. 31 Teton 4:30/6:00/7:30 Fri. Feb. 2 @Sugar 4:30/6:00/7:30 Wed. Feb. 7 Shelley 4:30/6:00/7:30 Fri. Feb. 9 @Teton 4:30/6:00/7:30

North Fremont Boys Basketball Date Wed. Nov. 29 Fri. Dec. 1 Fri. Dec. 8 Sat. Dec. 9 Fri. Dec.15 Sat. Dec. 16 Tues. Dec.19 Thurs. Dec. 21 Fri. Dec. 22 Thurs. Jan. 4 Tues. Jan. 9 Thurs. Jan. 11 Sat. Jan. 13 Fri. Jan. 19 Sat. Jan. 20 Thurs. Jan. 25 Sat. Jan. 27 Wed. Jan. 31 Wed. Feb. 7 Fri. Feb. 9

Opponent Malad @Teton Soda @Aberdeen Challis Shelley Teton @Malad Aberdeen @Shelley @Ririe WJ @Grace @Salmon @Challis @Firth @WJ Ririe Salmon Firth

Start Times 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 4:30,6:00,7:30 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 4:00,5:30,7:00 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 4:00,5:30, 7:00 4:00,5:30,7:00 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 4:00,5:30,7:00 4:00, 5:30,7:00 4:00, 5:30 5:30, 7:00 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 1:00,2:30 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 5:30,7:00 4:00, 5:30,7:00 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 4:00, 5:30, 7:00

South Fremont Girls Basketball

Date Opponent C-team/JV/ Varsity Nov. 15, Wed. @West J. 4:00/5:30/7:00 Nov. 17, Fri. @Bear Lake 4:30/6:00/7:30 Nov. 21, Tues. @Ririe 4:30/6:00/7:30 Nov. 29, Wed. Firth 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 1, Fri. @Snake River 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 7, Thurs. Ririe 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 9, Sat. @Salmon 1:00/2:30/4:00/5:30 Dec. 12, Tues. @Firth 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 14, Thurs. Bear Lake 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 19, Tues. Snake River 4:30/6:00/7:30 Dec. 22, Fri. Salmon 1:00/2:30/4:00/5:30 Dec. 27-29 Wed-Fri. Parma Tournament TBA Jan. 6, Sat. West J. 4:30/6:00/7:30 Jan. 10, Wed. @Sugar 4:30/6:00/7:30 Jan. 12, Fri. Shelley 4:30/6:00/7:30 Thurs. Jan. 18 Teton 4:30/6:00/7:30 Sat. Jan. 20 Sugar 4:30/6:00/7:30 Wed. Jan. 24 @Shelley 4:30/6:00/7:30 Fri. Jan. 26 @Teton 4:30/6:00/7:30

North Fremont Girls Basketball

Date Opponent Start Times Wed. Nov. 8 Jamboree Madison TBA Sat. Nov. 11 Aberdeen 4:00,5:30,7:00 Wed. Nov. 15 Teton 4:00,5:30,7:00 Fri. Nov. 17 @American Falls 4:30,5:30,7:00 Tues. Nov. 21 @Shelley 4:30 6:00, 7:30 Sat. Dec. 2 @Aberdeen 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 Thurs. Dec. 7 @Teton 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 Sat. Dec. 9 American Falls 5:30, 7:00 Thurs. Dec. 14 Shelley 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 Fri. Dec. 15 Challis 4:00,5:30 w boys Wed. Dec. 20 WJ Away 4:00, 5:30,7:00 Fri. Dec. 22 @Ririe 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 Dec. 27,28,29 @Aberdeen tourn. TBA Fri. Jan. 5 @Salmon 5:30, 7:00 overnight Sat. Jan. 6 @Challis 1:00, 2:30 Wed. Jan. 10 Firth 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 Fri. Jan. 12 WJ 4:00, 5:30, 7:00 Thurs. Jan.18 Ririe 4:00,5:30,7:00 Wed. Jan. 24 Salmon 4:00,5:30, 7:00 Fri. Jan. 26 @Firth 4:00,5:30,7:00 Any C Team games will start at 4:00 at Home If there is not a C team game JV starts at 5:30

South Fremont Wrestling Nov. 30, Thurs.

Dec. 1-2, Fri-Sat. Dec. 6, Wed. Dec. 7, Thurs.

Dec. 14, Thurs.

Dec. 15-16, Fri-Sat. Jan. 5-6, Fri-Sat. Jan. 9, Tues.

Jan. 10, Wed. Jan. 12-13, Fri.-Sat. Jan. 19-20, Fri-Sat. Jan. 24, Wed. Jan. 26-27, Fri. Sat. Feb. 1, Thurs.

Feb. 7, Thurs.

Madison & Rigby @North Fremont Tourn.

Ririe and Challis Idaho Falls & @@Skyline JV Tournament at Bonneville @Bonneville Duals @Buhl Tournament West J. & @@Aberdeen American F. and @Snake R. @American Falls Tourn. @Tiger Grizz Shelley @Sugar Tournament @Sugar @Teton

5:00 TBA 5:00 5:00 TBA TBA TBA 5:00 5:00 TBA TBA 6:00 TBA 6:00 6:00

North Fremont Wrestling Date Nov. 30 Dec. 1 & 2 Dec. 8 & 9 Dec. 15 &16 Dec. 20 Jan. 5 & 6 Jan. 11 Jan. 12 & 13 Jan. 19 & 20 Jan. 26 & 27 Jan. 31 Feb.2 & 3 Feb.8 Feb. 9 Feb. 14 Feb. 23,24

Opponents Location Time Mad/Rigby/SF/NF SF 5:00 NF Tourn.

NF TBA Whitehall Tourn.

Whitehall TBA Malad Malad TBA Malad/Teton/Snake NF 5:00 Buhl Tourn.

Buhl TBA Ririe Ririe 6:00 Madison Tourn.

Madison TBA Aberdeen tourn.

Aberdeen 6:00 Sugar Tourn.

Sugar TBA NF.WJ/Firth/Salmon WJ 5:00 Pocatello Duels Pocatello TBA Challis/Jackson NF 5:00 Grace/Soda/Rire Soda 5:00 District Wrestling Ririe TBA State Wrestling Pocatello

All schedules are subject to change

4 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

Madison boys’ excited to start

By Bill Schiess SJ sports writer

“Everyone is picking us to be last in the district; but don’t believe them,” said Kyle Jackson, a junior playing for the Madison Bobcats. “We are excited to get on the floor to prove them wrong.”

On paper it may look like the Bobcats will be miles behind the other teams in the district: Highland, Rigby, Hillcrest and Bonneville, are all returning most of their starters. The Bobcats lost all five starters plus the next three off the bench, as well as the head coach for the last 29 years.

“I am excited for the season to start,” new head coach Travis Schwab said. “Our theme for the season is ‘PTW’ which will be on our shirts and stands for ‘Prove them wrong.’ These kids are great kids with a lot of talent, but it will take a lot of work, and I want the community to support and be kind to them.”

Madison is returning only three players with limited varsity experience: Brigham Williams, Cameron Webster and Joseph Dougherty, who scored 11 percent of

last year’s points. But those three have a group of juniors that went 22-1 last year as sophomores.

Gone are eight graduates: Con Ball, Justin Weiszhaar, Mason Downey, Jaxon Edelmayer, David Rowe, Nate Webb, Brandon Edelmayer, Konner Jackson and coach Bill Hawkins. After winning the district going 19-1 and being a pick to take the state title they fell short by going 1-2 at state.

“With the kids we have, we are going to have a defensive mindset,” said Schwab.

“Teams will have to work hard to score against us, and we will take and reward charges that we take.”

Williams will play on the wing and is captain of the team while Dougherty will play on the inside. Webster will play on the outside with a green light to shoot the ball whenever he is open. Joining the three seniors will be Jordan Porter as the point guard, Spencer Hathaway on the inside and Kyle Jackson on a wing.

Schwab will also have defensive specialists Bohlder Murray and Jaden Schwab, rebounder Mason McWhorter, and scorer Cooper Poll coming off the bench.

“We will run two different man-toman defenses along with more zone than our fans are used to seeing,” said Coach Schwab. “And our offense will be a little different than what Coach Hawkins ran. I was taught early in life to surround yourself with good people, and so my assistant coaches reflect that.”

Assisting the varsity will be Clyde Nelson and Caleb Fullmer, with Shane Humphreys and Andrew Pena with the junior varsity.

Last season the grumbling of fans started before the state tournament began. Since we have all played and most adult men have coached basketball, we become “experts,” only remembering our successes. This will be high school basketball where the play of 16-, 17- and a few 18-year olds along with a new head coach will be analyzed. Love the passion and support the kids — “it is all about relationships.”

# Player: 1 Jaden Schwab 2 Cooper Poll 3 Brigham Williams 4 Cameron Webster 5 Jordan Porter 10 Joe Dougherty 11 Bohlder Murray 14 Kyle Jackson 21 Spencer Hathaway 24 Mason McWhorter

YR HT 11 6’0 11 6’0 12 6’3 12 6’0 11 5’10 12 6’3 11 6’0 11 6’4 11 6’4 11 6’2

Principal: Mike Bennett Assistant Principal: Jordan Busby Assistant Principal: Bradee Klassen Athletic Director: Shayne Proctor Head Coach: Travis Schwab Asst. Coaches: Clyde Nelson, Caleb Fullmer

Photos by Bill Schiess

Right: Madison’s Brigham Williams fights his way to the bucket as he scores against Skyline last year.

Below: Joe Dougherty, of Madison, gathers in an offensive rebound against the Idaho Falls Tigers last season.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OUR LOCAL SPORTS TEAMS! 124 West Main, Rexburg • 356-4651 6 a.m.-12 Midnight Monday-Saturday

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Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 5

Hannah Wilson will lead Madison girls

By Bill Schiess Standard Journal Sorrespondent

Last year’s 5A V/VI District Player of the Year, Hannah Wilson, will be the go-to player for the Madison Bobcats as she will get plenty attention on the court this year. As a third-year starter, she will be surrounded by a lot of inexperienced varsity players to try to defend their conference championship for the 2017-18 season.

“Hannah started for us as a sophomore and last year had a great year, but this year we are switching her to a wing,” said Traci Peterson, coach of the Bobcats.

“Beth Dow moved in from Canada and is 6-0 and will be our starting post. Hannah plays hard and has a great shot from the wing, and we hope this will be a good move to start with.”

Last season Wilson was surrounded by four seniors who gave her a lot of opportunities to rebound and score on the inside. Gone are Madi Day, Leah Dougherty, Ryan Tyler and Jazz Delgado.

Day and Dougherty are now playing college ball and will be missed with their scoring abilities while Tyler and Delgado controlled the tempo of the game from the guard positions.

“We have some talented but unproven varsity players this year,” said Peterson.

“These are good kids, and we are having a blast working with them.”

Seniors that will be relied on will be Mykilee Duffin, Brielle Hammond and Kim Parker. Parker and Duffin will play on the inside to help Dow control the boards and to score from offensive rebounds. Hammond is a defensive spark plug that can hit the outside shot or drive the key to frustrate defensive wings and posts.

Savanah Dick, a three-point specialist as a sophomore last year, will be relied on heavily to shoot over zone defenses again this year.

“Savanah will be fun to watch this year, as she has really worked hard and has greatly improved,” said Peterson. “She and Brielle will probably be our starting

guards and will need to control the tempo of the game.”

Other juniors on the team are Kayeli Wasden, Tianna Orr and Tiana Crane, with Wasden and Crane as guards and Orr as a wing player.

“We will have to work very hard to repeat as district champions as most of the other teams did not lose as many starters as we did,” said Peterson.

“Highland and Hillcrest will be starting three or four players from last year, and Bonneville is stacked with talented sophomores from this year’s state championship volleyball team and will be tough. Rigby is returning two sophomore starters from last season.”

Key to the Bobcats will be how well Dow adjusts to the Madison system and Wilson adjusts to the wing position. Their goal is to qualify for the state tournament, where they took fifth last season.

Photo by Bill Schiess

Madison's Hannah Wilson scores between two Highland girls during last season and is the returning district player of the year.

# Player: 1 Tiana Crane 2 Kayeli Wasden 3 Brielle Hammond 12 Tianna Orr 14 Hannah Wilson 20 Savanah Dick 22 Kim Parker 23 Mykilee Duffin 25 Bethany Dow

YR HT Jr 5’6 Jr 5’4 Sr 5’5 Jr 5’8 Sr 5’10 Jr 5’5 Sr 5’9 Sr 5’10 Jr 6’0

Head Coach: Traci Peterson Assistant Coaches: Preston Berry and Jane Klingler

All Types of Insurance: Home, Auto, Health, Farm, Business, Workers Comp and Employee Benefits We Represent You with 83 Years of Experience Photo by Bill Schiess

Brielle Hammond, of Madison, slashes through the key in this photo from last season and will be relied upon to do it often again this season.

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6 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

Madison returns nine state qualifiers

By Bill Schiess SJ sports writer

Fifth-year head coach Jake Lords, of Madison, is looking forward to a good year. With nine returning state qualifiers and 12 seniors on the team, Lords will have experience and leadership for his wrestling team.

“I believe we will be competitive in every dual and tournament that we are in this year,” said Lords. “I have been with these seniors since they were in the eighth grade and know them well. Hopefully we

will have some state champions this year.”

Leading the Bobcat grapplers will be Austin Burrell and Tyrel Clark, who were district champions and placed fourth in state last year. Devin Smith is also a returning district champion who will help solidify the middle weights. Other returning state qualifiers are Paxton Ingram, Diego Vergara, Crit Wilcox, Jaden Smith, Carter Boice and Tyson Clark.

Three state qualifiers that will be missed due to graduation will be Caious Crawford, Billy Berrett and Galdino Ocampo.

“We will be relying on our seniors and experienced wrestlers, but we also have some good underclassmen that will help us,” said Lords. “Freshman Josh Benson along with Ikaika and Kekoa Jenson should be solid in the first three weights.”

Other wrestlers to watch will be Moki Jenson, senior brother to Ikaika and Kekoa, and Harry Feinberg, the talented goalkeeper for the soccer team this year.

Ingram and Burrell will probably hold down the 145 and 152 weights with Tyrel Clark, Boise, Mykah Weaver and Gilbert Mendoza, and new comer, Hunter Proctor should anchor the big guys.

“I haven’t wrestled since I was a freshman, but decided this is my last year and came out again,” said Proctor. “I will be challenging for the heavyweight spot.”

Proctor had a great year on the football offensive and defensive lines and is a welcome addition to the Bobcat squad.

“I hope we can space out our kids so

that we can challenge every team in every weight,” Lords said. “We will have about 40 kids in our program, and some of them are terrific athletes that will battle hard. I think we have the talent to have three or four kids challenge for the state championship in their weight and hope to have a total of eight to 10 bring home medals.”

Highland and Bonneville will be the two teams for Madison to challenge for the district championship as Bonneville won the district last year followed by Highland and then Madison. The Bobcats and Highland each had five individual champions but not enough other placers to catch the Bees.

“We hope to challenge them at district so we will open our season with the Bucks Bag Invitational in Boise on Dec. 1-2,” said Lords. “I am excited to see how our better wrestlers perform there.”

Roster was unavailable at press time.

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Madison’s Paxton Ingram uses a half nelson to pin Rigby’s Tyrek Mango.

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Madison’s Austin Burrell holds Bonneville’s Cooper French for a 3-point near fall in their early championship match in this file photo. Burrell won the match 9-7 for the gold medal.

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Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 7

Reloaded Sugar-Salem boys basketball prepared to defend state title

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

Sugar-Salem basketball won the state title last year, and head coach Shawn Freeman thinks they’ll have a target on their backs this year as a result of their championship season despite losing seven seniors to graduation.

The team lost Hayden Woods, who shot 62 percent from three through the district and state tournament, Great athlete Luke Holt, key locker room guy Tavin

Norman, gritty leader Junior Gonzales and stud defenders Jaron Rose, Cameron Garner and Parker Miller.

“It’s hard to replace that chemistry and that continuity and that’s what allowed us to do what we did last year,” Freeman said. “We had that bond and those type of role players and everybody stepping in on different nights at different times.”

Three key leaders are returning for the Diggers.

“Chandler Pincock has had a great

RAND HILLMAN/STANDARD JOURNAL

The Sugar-Salem Diggers boys basketball team prepares to take the court in a game last year.

2017 Sugar-Salem Boy’s Basketball # Name Height Grade 1 Simeon Rydalch 5’11 11 2 Dan Shirley 6’2 12 3 Curtis Drake 5’7 11 4 Chandler Dodson 6’2 12 5 Travis Schwendiman 5’11 12 11 Hadley Miller 5’9 10 12 Chandler Pincock 6’2 12 14 Thomas Baldwin 6’6 12 21 Tanner Harris 6’2 10 22 Pasen Michaelson 5’11 10 23 Kyler Handy 6’3 10 24 Brysen Barr 6’1 11

summer, and he’s a good scorer and had some good things happen with him,” Freeman said. “Dan Shirley and Tom Baldwin, they’re big pieces to what we do as well. Shirley’s a big leader on the team, and Tom’s a big presence.”

The other two seniors on the team are Travis Schwendiman and Chandler Dodson.

“They’re a good group of seniors that have experienced a lot of playing time, and I look forward to their contributions and for them to do a little more this year to lead the team,” Freeman said.

Curtis Drake, Simeon Rydalch and Brysen Barr are the only juniors on the team.

This year’s varsity squad has four sophomores on it: Hadley Miller, Tanner Harris, Pasen Michaelson and Kyler Handy.

“We have a lot of younger kids that are coming out,” Freeman said. “We have a real strong sophomore class at Sugar-Salem right now and a few of those that we moved up from last year that’ll be there.”

Freeman has been impressed with his sophomore class.

“Pasen Michaelson put a lot of time in, and there are a few other kids that are in that same area where there’s not as much experience on varsity basketball but will have opportunities to play,” Freeman said.

The players on Sugar’s team are good

people, Freeman believes.

“We’re always lucky at Sugar to have good kids to coach,” Freeman said. “From a personal point of view, they’re resilient, and they work hard, and they’re good leaders for each other and very supportive. They’re great teammates.”

Freeman thinks that his team will meld together as the season passes and form a team identity.

“There’s a lot of unsure positions; there’s new places to fill with graduating seven seniors last year that were major contributors to what we did,” Freeman said. “So finding our identity will be a little bit of a process. Summer basketball was a little opportunity to do that, and we’ve seen good things, and we’ve seen things we need to improve on, but I think if we’ll work hard and we’ll get good communication happening, then we’ll be just fine. We’ll kind of find out where we’re at and where we’re headed.”

Freeman is ready to see how his team will follow-up last year’s state championship season.

“I’m just excited to work with them, Freeman said. “I’m excited to see how they respond with winning a state championship at Sugar last year and then to be able to see if we can do it again see if we can get to that caliber and get that chemistry to make that happen.”

Head Coach: Shawn Freeman Assistant’s: Troy Sakota, Caleb Carter, Kirk Smith, Bryant Harris, Paul Hymas, and Justin Schmitt Stats: Karl Gehmlich 20-5 Record 3A State Champions Mountain Rivers Conference: District Champions

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8 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

Sugar-Girls ‘fire’ lit after last year’s second place finish

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

In last year’s state title game the SugarSalem girls basketball team was three points short of being crowned 3A state champions. This year’s roster is only missing two girls from that team.

“We don’t have many newcomers really, which is exciting because we’ve got a lot of experience coming back from last year’s team, “ said Sugar-Salem head coach Crystal Dayley.

Savanah Crane, Kayla Luke, Macie Knapp, Madi Fillmore, Lindsey Larson and Mariah Dunn were all integral parts of last year’s squad.

The team has three new varsity players.

“Sarah Maughan is a senior post player that will be on the team this year, and then we’ve got Sydney Bradshaw,” Dayley

said. “We do have one player who moved here. She’s a senior her name is Matilyn Sellers.”

Dayley said each of her players bring their own type of leadership.

“Kayla Luke will be our starting point guard this year, and she brings a lot of great experience,” Dayley said. “I look for her to have a great year for us. Savanah Crane is a three-year varsity player that will be a huge force for us inside.”

Macie Knapp and Madi Fillmore are the two juniors returning for the Diggers.

“Both had a great sophomore year for us,” Dayley said. “Macie broke her hand last year, so it’ll be really good to have her back healthy and with us.”

Dayley is proud of the depth her team has on their roster.

“The thing about us is I just feel like we’re solid all the way through,” Dayley

said. “We’ve got some good experience returning; we go pretty deep into our roster with good experience.”

This year’s team is the most seasoned the Diggers have had in several years.

“This is the most experience we’ve returned in the last few years,” Dayley said.

“It’s fun because we return a lot. They all know and understand the system really well and know what we expect, and so it should be a fun year for us.”

The Diggers’ slogan for this year is ‘fire,’ because they want to bring the fire to every practice and every game.

Sugar boasts a balanced but skilled team this season.

“We’ve got a lot of tools this year,” Dayley said. “It’s fun because we’re strong at both the guard and the post, and we’ve got a lot of different weapons, so it’ll be a fun year because we don’t have stand-out players everybody will be able to contribute on every night.”

Sugar-Salem Girls Basketball # Player Grade 3 Matilyn Sellers 12 4 Savanah Crane 12 5 Kayla Luke 12 12 Macie Knapp 11 14 Sarah Maughan 12 15 Madi Fillmore 11 22 Lindsey Larson 11 23 Mariah Dunn 12 33 Sydney Bradshaw 11 Varsity Coach: Crystal Dayley Assistant Coaches: Chalyse Nye, Jordan Knapp, Ta’Lee Rose Principal: Jared Jenks Athletic Director: Jay Miller Cheerleader Advisors: Terri Shirley, Hayli Peterson District champions and state runners-up.

2016-17 Record: 22-5.

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Macie Knapp takes a running jumper

Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 9

Getting better every day: Sugar wrestling hopes positive culture leads to repeat

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

With 10 state placers, and four state qualifiers from last year’s state championship team, it’s safe to say the Diggers are favored to win the state title this season.

State placers from last year’s squad include Jon Marin(1st, 98), Caleb Norman (2nd, 113), Kenneth Copley (2nd, 285), Dylan Glider (3rd, 113), Wolf Bennion (4th, 160), Kael Wasden (4th, 195) Logan Tingey (4th, 106), Ace Christensen (4th, 152) and Conner Wood (5th, 152).

Paul Pickering placed fifth two years ago. Pickering qualified for the state tournament last year but hyperextended his elbow before state and was unable to

wrestle.

The returning state qualifiers who didn’t place are Garrett Beagley, Browning Bennion, Jace Hansen and Tim Price.

Oscar Avendano, Garrett Blaser, Carsen Roberts, Logan Lerwill, Kaden Mattson and Gavin Cureton are some other wrestlers head coach Keven Glider thinks will do well.

Glider also thinks that freshman Braxton Zollinger could surprise some people.

“Sometimes it’s kind of hard for freshmen to crack the lineup, but Braxton Zollinger is going to be one that should start for us as a freshman, and that’s kind of hard to do because we have a lot of returning state placers,” Glider said. “He’s done a good job: he’s put in a lot of offsea-

son stuff, so he’ll do a good job for us.”

Glider said this year’s team has a special attitude to it.

“We’re building a good culture here in the program, and we’ve got a lot of hard workers,” Glider said. “We’ve got a good group of seniors that will lead our team, and I’m confident in their skills and abilities. We’ve got a good team top to bottom.”

Sugar doesn’t really have a specific goal or mantra for this season, but they know they want to improve.

“We’re going to strive to get better each and every day and have consistent improvement and make the most of our opportunities that we have in front of us,” Glider said. “The most important time of the year is the Idaho State Championships, and that’s what we gear for. It’s not always how you start out, but it’s how you finish in wrestling. That’s the most important time of the year, and that’s what we aim for.”

Glider is pleased with what he has seen from his team so far.

“We’ve got a good culture in room right now, and we’re building on that,” Glider said. “We’ve got a lot of great wrestlers, we’ve placed a lot of emphasis on our team, and we’re going to win another state championship by helping one another to get there.”

Name Grade Jon Marin 11 Caleb Norman 11 Kenneth Copley 10 Dylan Glider 11 Wolf Bennion 12 Kael Wasden 12 Logan Tingey 12 Ace Christensen 12 Conner Wood 12 Paul Pickering 12 Garrett Beagley 11 Browning Bennion 11 Jace Hansen 12 Tim Price 10 Oscar Avendano 12 Garrett Blaser 10 Carsen Roberts 10 Logan Lerwill 11 Kaden Mattson 10 Gavin Cureton 10 Braxton Zollinger 9 Head Coach: Keven Glider Assistant: Brad Hansen Assistant: Jake Glider Assistant: Kolten Glider Assistant: Louis Bean Assistant: Josh Norman Assistant: Bryan Westfall

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10 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

‘What it takes’: Balanced South Fremont boys basketball team ready to compete

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

Over the past three years, South Fremont basketball has had an established go-to player. Last year’s as Blake Bartschi who scored 15 points-per game last season and is playing tight end for Weber State this year.

“We’ve kind of had an All-State player for three years in a row, said South Fremont head coach Ryon Pope. “Now we have a whole group of players who can really play, we just don’t have that established star-quality guy yet. We’ll see how the season goes.”

Pope said they don’t have a go-to guy yet but that it’s possible one develops as the season goes along.

“In the past we’ve had one guy who kind of is established as our offensive, defensive leader and this year we have a lot of new faces and we’ll kind of see how that leadership develops,” Pope said.

The only two returners from last year’s varsity squad are brothers Reece and Kyler Yancey.

Name Grade Reece Yancey 12 Daniel Coverley 12 Matthew Powell Carson Crapo 12 Riley Danielson 12 Kyler Yancey 11 Edwin Smith 11 Talon Maupin 10 Jace Neville 10 Head Coach: Keven Glider Assistant: Brad Hansen Assistant: Jake Glider Assistant: Kolten Glider Assistant: Louis Bean Assistant: Josh Norman Assistant: Bryan Westfall

“We graduated a lot of seniors so we’re looking to those two guys to use their experience to set an establishment of leadership for our team,” Pope said.

This season will be Kyler’s third on the varsity team and Reece’s second.

“They’re both good athletes,” Pope said.

“They can both score the ball. They play hard. They give you everything they’ve got. They’re great character guys and a lot of fun to coach. They just really will do anything you ask them to do.”

The team has three seniors other than Reece Yancey: Daniel Coverly, Carson Crapo and Riley Danielson.

Juniors on the team are Edwin Smith and Kyler Yancey and sophomores are Talon Maupin and Jace Neville “We just have so many new players that we have a lot of question marks to answer,” Pope said. A lot of talent not very much experience but I like that talent that’s there. I love their work ethic; they’re definitely very talented.”

Pope said he’s excited by the potential of his players.

“It might take us a little while to get going early in the season but if they will keep working hard and keep focus, I think there’s tremendous opportunities for growth this year,. So, I’m excited about this group of kids. It’ll be a diverse group of sophomores, juniors or seniors but I think we can come together and have a solid season.

Pope thinks this year’s team will have depth.

“We have a lot of different people who can play and that can be a strength for us,” Pope said.

The Cougars don’t have a season long goal but set goals for each game.

“We’ve made a lot of short terms goals,” Pope said. “How focused are we in practice? How hard are we going to work in a drill? We just really focus on the next game, the next practice. We feel like we’ll go as far as we can based on that. We’ll

go further if we think that way instead of thinking big picture. We really try to focus on what we’re doing right now in the moment.”

South’s motto for this year is “what it takes.”

“We know what it takes, we have what it takes, we do what it takes,” Pope said.

“That’s going to be a slogan that we have

throughout the year that we refer to.”

Pope said people will see his team’s basketball skill on the court but may not notice that his team also has character.

“They are a great group of young men and I know it’s going to be a lot of fun to coach them, Pope said. “So, I hope that people wanna come out and support them.”

Koster Kenard/Standard Journal

Jace Neville takes the ball up to the hoop

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Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 11

‘No Almosts’: South Fremont girls loaded with experience

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

This year’s South Fremont girls basketball team isn’t too different from last year’s. They only lost two seniors to graduation, and every player on this year’s varsity team has varsity experience.

The team returns all five starters from last year’s crew.

“Olivia LeCheminant was a big piece of what we did last year as a sophomore,” said South Fremont head coach Ryan Erickson. “I also have Paizlee Hobbs, Brinlie Rowbury, Harlee Speth and Malorie Johnson. Those are starters that I had last year. So I have all my starters returning and three or four juniors this year.”

Paizlee Hobbs, Brinlie Rowbury and Olivia LeCheminant look like they will be this year’s leading scorers while Harlee Speth contributes in other important ways.

“Harlee Speth does all the little things— rebounding, hustle plays, denial defense—she does all those things,” Erickson said.

Erickson is excited about the athleticism of a couple of his new players.

“Liesl Christensen and Carly Hikida, those two are able to bring something different speed wise, Erickson said. “They’re able to bring a different speed to our team.”

This is Erickson’s second year as head coach of the Cougars.

“This team is understanding more because it’s their second year in the system,” Erickson said. “They know more, so we’re able to go through things faster. They’re able to play at a different speed compared to last year’s.”

Souths slogan for the year is “no almosts.” “‘Almosts’ are things like you almost boxed out or you almost rebounded or you almost got to help side. We don’t want any of those,” Erickson said. “We want you to do it; there’s no excuse.”

Several of the girls on the team were on the volleyball team that was suspended for hazing earlier this year, and Erickson wants people to understand that they

are a good group of girls who are good friends with eachother. “ I know they got a really bad rap for (the hazing incident) but it’s all the same girls, and that player that got hazed is on this team with the same girls,” Erickson said. “They’re coming together as a family. They were already close. They’ve overcome that distance or that lack of communication from the hazing incident.

They’re past that now.”

That team finished second in the state in volleyball.

“It’s all the same group,” Erickson said.

“They’re talented. They’re athletic. They work hard, and they enjoy being around each other.”

The South Fremont girls basketball team’s goal for this year is to place in state.

“The girls have set a goal,” Erickson said. “They want trophies this year. It’s the same as every other team; every other team wants to have trophies.”

Erickson has set a few goals for his girls as well.

“As far as a team goal that I’d like to see is that they would come together and form what we call a family,” Erickson said.

“I feel like if we’re able to do that then we’ll have a successful year, and we’ll be able to get those trophies.” # Name

Year

2

Kenzie Parker

12

3

Carly Hikida

11

4

Jalyssa Stoddard

11

5

Brinlie Rowbury

12

10 Leisl Christensen

12

21 Malorie Johnson

11

22 Paizlee Hobbs

11

25 Harlee Speth

12

34 Olivia LeCheminant 11

Rand Hillman

Paizlee Hobbs focuses on the hoop as she makes a layup

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12 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

South Fremont wrestling ready to improve on fifth place finish Weight Class Name Grade 98 Michael Hansen 9 120 Alex Rodriguez 9 126 Carson Miller 9 126 Trenton Hackworth 12 126 Trevor Kay 9 126 Jeremy Gatica 11 126 Liam Buchanan 9 126 Martin Gatica 10 126 Madi Cox 10 132 Beau Hackworth 10 132 Jackson Coverley 9 132 Edgar Argueta 10 138 Easton Banta 11 138 Thomas Huber 10 138 Jeremy Gurvine 11 138 Jace Hughes 12 138 Miguel Alvarado 10 138 Matt Stewart 12 145 Cesar Tavarez 10 145 Cobey Mains 11 145 Cutter Orchard 11 145 Michael Ayon 11 145 Hugo Luna 11 152 Daniel Coverley 12 152 Daylin Duncan 11 160 Tristan Olsen 10 160 Jed Blanchard 11 160 Bo Ward 9 182 Brennon Batton 10 182 Justin Angell 10 182 Will Bushman 11 182 Sawyer Hobbs 10 182 Oscar San Miguel 9 220 Jesus Pena 9 220 Tylan Vining 11 220 Angell Carranza 11 220 Tanner Batton 12 285 Sam Virgen 9 285 Jordan Dodge 11

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

After a fifth place finish in last year’s state wrestling tournament, and with four returning state placers, everything is in place for South Fremont to compete for a state title, everything except having enough experienced wrestlers to make it happen.

“Numbers-wise (competing for a state title) kind of depends on who comes out,” said South Fremont head coach Jed Clark. “If there are guys that don’t come out that would be big points scorers for us, state championships won’t happen.

If you’ve only got five guys, even if they all win state, they just can’t score enough points.”

Winning state may not be attainable for the Cougars this year, but they could finish higher than last year’s fifth place.

“It’s going to be difficult for us to win state, but to take home a trophy and finish in the top four, that should be something that these guys as a team want to work hard enough to make that happen,” Clark said. “A state trophy is something that they should set their sights on. It’s not going to be easy with whom we have numbers-wise, but talent-wise, we can do it.”

Last season Sawyer Hobbs took the state title in the 170 division, Easton Banta took second in the 113 weight class, Jace Hughes took third in the 126 weight class and Beau Hackworth took third in the 106 weight class.

Two years ago, Trenton Hackworth took third in the 113 weight class.

Jordan Dodge went to state last season at heavyweight, Tristan Olsen went at 152, and Cesar Tavares went at 126.

In addition to the skilled wrestlers returning, the Cougars have a few underclassmen getting ready to perform.

“We have some pretty good young guys I’m excited about,” Clark said. “We

have Jackson Coverly who’s a very good athlete who came to camp with us and did well. I’m excited to see how he does.”

Clark said he only has a few freshmen entering the program this year.

This group of wrestlers has a unique enjoyment of the sport that he hasn’t seen in his time as a head coach.

“There’s always a handfull of kids who really like it,” Clark said. “Some kids do it because their parents did it. Some kids do it because they just like sports and they and aren’t able to play basketball, and for whatever reason they gravitate toward wrestling. It seems like the group of kids that we’ve got, they enjoy watching videos on it, they work well together.

—Nothing really surprising. They just kind of mesh well together.”

Another advantage the Cougars have coming into the season is that they’ve put in a lot of work in the offseason.

“They go to the summer camps and it shows throughout the season,” Clark said. “I think we’re getting more and more kids to do those things that help them get a little edge.”

South is experienced and ready to compete.

“We’ve been young, and these guys that were young last year and the year before are now more mature, and I’ve got more upperclassmen,” Clark said. “In the past, like last, year we only had two, three seniors where this year we’ve got quite a few seniors.”

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Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 13

‘All in’: North Fremont boys’ basketball united as a team

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

With only one senior and only one returning starter from last year’s varsity team who are both injured to start the season, Bryan Miller could easily be pessimistic about his team. Instead he’s excited to see what his players can do.

“Well, we’re young, and that’s exciting.

We feel like we’ve got a good group that’s coming up for the next few years, and we’re just excited about all the kids that are committed to put it out there on the court.”

The team’s one returning starter is Garrett Hawkes, who won’t join the team for a few weeks due to an injury he suffered playing quarterback for the Huskies.

“He’s a junior this year, and he’s a pretty exceptional player,” Miller said. “Garrett was the leading scorer in the nuclear conference last year as a sophomore and was in the conversation for player of the year, and he’s just improved his game tremendously even from then.”

Last season Hawkes led North in points, rebounds, assists and steals and was the leading scorer in the nuclear conference.

North Fremont Boy’s Basketball Roster # Name Grade 3 Jordan Hess 10 4 Blake Oberhansley 11 10 Bridger Lenz 11 11 Sawyer Dye 12 12 Chris Hansen 11 21 Garrett Hawkes 11 22 Drew Hill 11 23 Paul Wynn 10 24 Peyton Litton 11 33 Tatyn Hess 11 Head Coach: Bryan Miller Assistant/ JV Head Coach: Jared Hawkes Assistant/ C Team Coach: James Nash

“We’re excited to get him back not only for his playing but for the way he helps his teammates,” Miller said. “That was the thing. He was pretty instrumental in some big games for us last year, and we look forward to that when he comes back and rejoins us this year, too.”

Sawyer Dye is the lone senior on the team and is recovering from a knee injury suffered at a team-sponsored basketball tournament at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

“He’s a great defensive presence for us,” Miller said. “He’s a great hustler ,and we’re excited to have him back. He’s probably a few weeks, out but we’re excited for him because he’s our only senior this year.”

Five juniors are returning for the Huskies: Chris Hansen, Bridger Lenz, Blake Oberhansley, Peyton Litton and Tatyn Hess.

“Chris Hansen has shown some great ability to lead as our point guard, and he’s very unfearing and intelligent: he’s a high basketball IQ player, and he’s going to be a strong one for us,” Miller said.

Bridger Lenz was Garrett Hawkes’ replacement in football when Hawkes was taken out by injury, and Miller said the mindset he had on the football field will help him in basketball.

“He has been a great guy and even keel,” Miller said. “He is very consistent and has a very even temper, and he’s just a good athlete.”

Oberhansley and Litton are post players for the Huskies.

Miller is excited to see what newcomers Drew Hill (transfer) and sophomores Jordan Hess and Paul Wynn can bring to the varsity squad.

“Paul Wynn is a sophomore this year that has really shown some great strength at the basket, and he’s just a strong player,” Miller said.

Many of the juniors on this year’s team Rand Hillman/Standard Journal

Chris Hanson (12) puts one in the bucket for the Huskies. North Fremont defeated West Jefferson Thursday, Feb. 16, in 2A district playoff. The game was close most of the way, but the Huskies pulled ahead and held that lead to win 55-38.

played together when they were younger to great success.

“This is only my second year as the varsity head coach, and the difference this year will be reuniting some of these juniors that have kind of been on different teams. Some were on the varsity versus the JV but it’s kind of like we’re getting the band back together so the kids are pretty excited.”

The Huskies’ motto last year was “all in.” This year, they’re sticking with the same motto.

“That motto’s just an invitation for our community, our school to join us as we press forward to put a competitive team on the court every night. The kids have worked hard in the offseason, and we’re excited to show people what we can do, and we hope that they adopt our team motto of ‘all in’ and that they can get behind us and lift us and that together in our school and our community that we can take this program and this team to a level that North Fremont hasn’t achieved to this point. “

14 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

‘Together’: North Fremont girls basketball unite for new season

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

“Together.”

This is the motto North Fremont girls basketball team shouts in unison each time they break a huddle.

North Fremont head coach Ben Lenz has emphasized “together” to remind his team that everything they do on the court should be done as a team.

In the team’s first game on Saturday, Nov.11, against Aberdeen the Huskies team mind-set showed up in the form of a balanced offense. North had three players in double figures, and four other Huskies scored 5 or more points.

“I think they’re playing together,” Lenz said after the game. “One of our mottos is ‘together,’ and I feel like we’ve meshed real well these last two weeks.”

Although Maddie Miller is the only senior on the team, North returns six other players with varsity experience from last year’s squad: Alexa Nedrow, Kelby Dye, Renee Fabinich, Brook Jones, Bailey Jones and Ellie Miller.

“We’re young, but we’ve got a lot of young kids who played a lot of varsity last year,” Lenz said. “The kids are real savvy, and they play with a lot of energy.”

The varsity team also includes Mari Anderson, Remi Litton and Dakotah Watson, who will each play on the varsity and JV teams.

Lenz thinks his team will run well.

“I’m excited about our ability to get up and down the floor,” Lenz said. “We have some quick kids.”

His team plays in the toughest conference in 2A, but he believes that they can compete if they work hard.

“We’ve got a long ways to go, but I feel like we can be in the hunt in the end as much as anybody else,” Lenz said.

Lenz said his team hasn’t necessarily made a concrete goal to win state, but he that is what everyone on the team wants.

“We always have that dream of going to state, and we did win one back in 2013, Lenz said. “We’re kind of craving that again. We haven’t been back since we won it, and a lot of these younger kids remember watching that game or had sisters playing on that team and had a taste of it a little bit, and I think they’re kind of hungry. So that’s kind of what we’re after, but we want to just be the best team that we can be, and if that happens we’ll give ourselves a pretty good chance to win.”

Lenz said if his team plays together they have a good shot to compete.

“So much of any sport is a matter of how well you mesh together,” said Lenz.

The more you play together the more you understand one another, and I think that’s

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North Fremont’s Renee Fabanich makes a layup.

# Name

Year

2

Chelsie Roseberry

10

5

Ellie Miller

10

11 Bailey Jones

10

12 Brook Jones

10

13 Remi Litton

10

14 Alexa Nedrow

11

15 Dakotah Dexter

10

32 Kelby Dye

11

33 Renee Fabanich

11

34 Maddie Miller

12

43 Mari Anderson

10

what we’re after, and if they share the same vision and they’re all about team, then they’re getting the message that we’re trying to get across: that it’s not a me thing; it’s a we thing. So that’s kind of what we’re really pushing for, and I think we’re on our way.”

Winter Sports Preview 2017-18 Standard Journal 15

Young North Fremont Wrestling ready to work hard

By Koster Kennard sjsports@uvsj.com

Weight Class Name

Year

North Fremont’s wrestling team is entering the season as young team, but head coach Mat Clark said they’re learning to work hard.

“I think they’re a group of hard workers,” Clark said.

Clark wants his team to be known for the effort they put into the sport of wrestling.

He said he doesn’t have a specific goal for his team— he just wants to make sure that they’re working hard.

“I hope that they all want to be state champions,” Clark said. “That’s kind of what I try to do with them all. That isn’t going to necessarily happen with every kid, but that’s what we strive for. We just want to develop and compete on a daily basis, and at the end you see how you did.”

The Huskies have three state placers returning from last year’s team. Riggen Cordingly placed third in the 138 weight class, Tyler Sessions placed third in the 98 weight class, and Jacob Pilgrim placed fifth in the 113 weight class.

“They’ll be the ones that we kind of look to to lead us especially Riggen and Jacob because Jacob’s the oldest one on our team and Riggen has been wrestling a long, long time, so he’s developed a lot of skills, Clark said. so we’ll look to those two to lead us and then we’ll have a lot of young kids.”

The Huskies have six freshmen on their team this year.

“We have a good group of freshmen coming in that we’re pretty excited about all of them,” Clark said. “They’ve just been a good group of kids that’ve been wrestling

98/106 Mark Huttinger

9

106

Kohl Neilson

9

113

Tyler Sessions

10

113/120 Jacob Pilgrim

11

120/126 Trey Welker

10

132

Hayden Maupin

9

138

Alex Garcia

9

145

Tyrek Mago

10

152

Riggen Cordingley

10

170/182 Hayeden Hood

10

182/195 Sergio Cano

10

195

Jose Castillo

9

285

Gage Anderson

9

Bill Schiess/Standard Journal

North Fremont’s Riggen Cordingley battles with Zack Slack of Mountain Home. Cordingley would pin Slack in the third round to take the 138-pound title.

a while, and they’re talented. There’s several of them, and they have talent. So it’s kind of fun to look forward to a crew like this.”

With 13 wrestlers this year’s North Fremont team is a little larger than in previous years’ have been.

“This may be the youngest team I’ll have ever had,” Clark said.

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16 Standard Journal Winter Sports Preview 2017-18

When it comes to getting me back on the court…

I turn to the professionals.

Specializing in: Arthroscopic repair of shoulder injuries, including instability, SLAP tears and rotator cuff Arthroscopic ACL and ligament reconstruction Arthroscopic meniscus repair Ankle ligament reconstruction Hip Arthroscopy Ankle and foot surgery Hand and finger surgery Fractures

Michael J Larson MD, Travis R. Torngren MD, Kevin M. Lee MD, Zackery J. Cleverley PA-C Call 208-356-9550 for an Appointment 360 E. Main Rexburg, ID

(Across from Madison Memorial Hospital)

1691100

www.upperv .uppervalleyortho.com