ACGC aims for more progress

ACGC's Elli Roemeling knocks the ball loose during the first half of a Central Minnesota Conference game against Paynesville on March 4, 2021 at ACGC High School in Grove City. Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

Coach Trevor Heining is excited about his young squad

BY TOM ELLIOTT | West Central Tribune

GROVE CITY — The rebuild continues for Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City girls basketball. Trevor Heining is in his third year as the Falcons head coach with the team posting an 0-18 record after going 1-26 his first season. He sees progress.

“We are excited for this year,” he exclaimed. It’s still a young team, though four starters return. The four starters are sophomores Elli Roemeling, Mikaili Johnson and Grace Kaehler . The fourth starter is ninth-grader Brooke Tagtow. Roemeling is a 5-9 guard. Johnson is a 5-7 guard/forward and Kaehler is a 5-9 guard/forward. Tagtow is a 5-6 guard.

“We are very young with no juniors or seniors, but are looking forward to this season with the experience the younger girls got last year,” Heining said. “We are excited to keep growing our program and developing these young ladies.

“We are excited to get better each day and have the opportunities to compete.”

The Falcons lost Raeanna Kaddatz, Karla Schultz and Kari Schultz from last year’s team. But, Heining hopes that Brooke Schultz, Mackenzie Powers and Ruby Klinger will be solid additions to the lineup.

Schultz is a 5-8 freshman guard. Powers is a 5-7 freshman guard/forward. Klinger is a 5-11 center and only an eighth-grader.

“We have talked about our growth to maturity in our program and our mindset to come to practice with a sense of urgency to compete and get better,” Heining said. “We are excited for this year and to watch these young ladies grow.”

It’s working so far. ACGC opened with a 55-48 victory over Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, then fell 66-53 to Upsala.