BBruno’s runo’s SStoretore - Yankton Press & Dakotan
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BY JUSTIN RUST [email protected] EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared in the Aug. 22 edition of the Press & Dakotan. After finishing fifth at the 2008 state tournament and putting together the second-best season in school history, Yankton head coach Tim Mulhair has high expec- tations heading into the 2009 sea- son. The Gazelles had a 20-5 record last year, which ranks only behind the 23-3 season Yankton had in 2003, and has four starters return- ing from last year. “It was a good year last year and we are going to try and keep building on that but I have high expectations,” Mulhair, who is entering his 25th year as head coach, said. “We may be as good or better in the top four spots as we were last year.” That’s a bold statement consid- ering Yankton loses two players from its top four, including its number one from last year Gabbie Kachena. Kachena finished 10th in number one singles in state and will continue her playing career at Augustana College. Jaclyn Mathison was the Gazelle’s number four last and the other senior the team lost. Even though Yankton lost two talented players, Mulhair said the returning players can step up and fill those two spots. Sophomore Vanessa Rockne will move into the number one spot and was the Gazelle’s number two last year. Rockne went 29-3 as the number two and Mulhair said Rockne is ready for the move to the top spot. Rockne has been on Yankton’s varsity roster since a 7th grader and Mulhair said she is the only player during his tenure who has- n’t played at least one year on the junior varsity squad. Mulhair hasn’t officially decid- ed on who will play the number two through four spots, but said he knows the three players who will be competing for each spot. The three spots will go to the three returning players Lexie Klmisch (So.), Heidi Olson (Sr.) and Jesse Van Maanen (Sr.). Klimisch has been on the Gazelles varsity roster since an 8th grader and was the number three last year. Olson and Van Maanen on the only two seniors on this year’s ros- ter and Mulhair said he might lean on those two because of their sen- ior status. “Heidi (Olson) and Jesse (Van Maanen) might not be playin at the one or two, but they are both good players and they are go ing to try and help out the coaches,” Mulhair said. “We will look at all the play- ers for leadership, but sometimes I lean on my seniors and those two might be called upon this year.” Seven players will compete for the final two spots. Other potential players include freshman Leslie Henderson, who went 12-4 as on the junior varsity team, junior Britta True, freshman Sarah Santos, sophomore Danielle Gill, sophomore Gabby Horton, 8th grader Gabby Horton and 7th grad- er Sarah Rockne. There may be only two spots to fill, but Mulhair said he will rotate either seven or eight players on varsity this year. “I like to play at least seven people on varsity and may go with eight this year because the group BY JEREMY HOECK [email protected] EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared in the Aug. 18 edition of the Press & Dakotan. Without the catalysts of a three-year run which included a state title and consecutive runner- up finishes, the Yankton Bucks golf team enters a new era. Gone to graduation are Marc Gubbels and Jordan Mueller, who helped guide YHS to a state Class AA championship in 2006, four straight Eastern South Dakota Conference (ESD) titles and a sec- ond-place finish at state last fall. “It hurts to lose those guys, but at a certain point, you realize grad- uation comes quickly,” said head coach Brett Sime, whose team opened its season Aug. 18. “When it happens,” Sime added, “you just hope that the other kids can step up.” So begins a new season with new leaders. The Bucks return four senior letterwinners from last season, with Tyler Frick, Chris Hoffman, Dillon May and Gabe Messler. Both May and Messler were members of the 2006 YHS state title team, while Frick finished in a tie for 16th at last year’s Class AA state meet in Rapid City. “We’re looking to have another competitive team,” Sime said. “We’ve got a lot of experience with kids that played a lot last year. Hopefully they can continue to improve.” Aside from the four returning seniors, the Bucks will also have a handful of other golfers looking to crack the varsity squad. These include Zach Johnson (Sr.), Joey Nickles (Sr.), Ryan Shindler (Jr.), Ben Jensen (8th) and Jace Guthmiller (7th). BY JEREMY HOECK [email protected] The Yankton Bucks club soccer team plans to put the phrase ‘addi- tion by subtraction’ to the ultimate test this season. Sure, Yankton graduated three All-State selections, but the varsity squad also returns its starting goalkeeper, nearly its entire first- team defense and what looks to be one of the state’s top crop of mid- fielders. And here’s the scary part: They’re almost all seniors. “We lost some really talented kids, but what we bring back is as good as anybody else in the state,” second-year head coach Nick Moser said. “The mood is very optimistic right now; we have pret- ty high expectations.” The Bucks are coming off a 7-4- 4 season in which they claimed the consolation championship at last year’s S.D. Toyota Cup State Tournament. Gone from that team are Dylan Slate (first team All- State), Nick Weinandt (second team All-State) and Ross Kuchta, an honorable mention All-State selection. In his first year with the team in last fall, Moser guided Yankton to a five-win improvement — the Bucks won two games in 2007. Now, it’ll be up to the returning seniors to continue the program’s upward climb. The Bucks bring back goalkeep- er Scott Sutherland (Sr.), who missed half of last season with an injury. At the time of Sutherland’s season-ending injury, Yankton was undefeated. Yankton also returns the major- ity of its defense, including Aaron McNeely (Sr.), Mike Winters (Sr.) and Calvin LaBrie (Sr.). “We’re looking for those guys to step up and take over the leader- ship of the team,” Moser said. At midfield, Yankton returns seniors Tyler Hummel (an honor- able mention All-State selection last year) and Cyrus Sorenson, who Moser said has the potential to be one of the top strikers in the state. “They both should get a lot of scoring chances,” Moser said. Also at the midfield positions, the Bucks return Jeremy Cap (Jr.), Scott Stoll and Jacob Frick. Yankton also boasts a large crew of juniors who will see their first var- sity experience, including Mike Janish, Ryan Ford and Taylor Tielke. Moser said the team will also have competition at a handful of positions. Newcomer Nate Lien (Sr.) will look to join the mix, as will Justin Lillie (So.), who had some varsity experience last year. Also figuring to contribute is Dalton Crissman (Sr.). “The key for us to see whether we can get organized, come togeth- er as a solid team, and continue to progress,” Moser said. “By the time we get to the state tourna- ment, we want to be able to make a run at a title.” In order to do that, the Bucks will again face a strong Class AA field that includes two-time defend- ing champion Sioux Falls Lincoln — which hasn’t lost a game in two years. Finishing ahead of Yankton at the state tournament last year were Rapid City Stevens (2nd), Sioux Falls Roosevelt (3rd) and Aberdeen Central (4th). Yet, as Moser pointed out, the top teams in Class AA lost some significant talent from last season. Lincoln, for instance, graduated three first team All-State selec- tions. Stevens, S.F. Roosevelt and Aberdeen Central each graduated one such honoree. “That’s why I like our chances, everyone else lost some great play- ers,” Moser said. “Right now, it’s really hard to judge where every- one is, but we’ll see what hap- pens.” Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan ■ Fall Sports 2009 www.yankton.net PAGE 3 Bloomfield Bees BLOOMFIELD VARSITY FOOTBALL Sept. 3 @ Elgin Sept. 11 @ Walthill Sept. 18 Osmond Sept. 25 @ Niobrara Oct. 2 St. Mary’s Oct. 9 Verdigre Oct. 16 @ Lynch Oct. 22 Stuart BLOOMFIELD VARSITY VOLLEYBALL Sept. 3 Hurley, SD Sept. 8 @ Osmond Sept. 10 Wausa Triangular (host: Bloomfield) Sept. 10 Allen Triangular (host: Bloomfield) Sept. 14 @ Wausa Sept. 17 @ Winside Sept. 21 Wynot Triangular (host:Wynot) Sept. 21 Niobrara Triangular (host:Wynot) Sept. 22 @ Hartington Sept. 24 Walthill Triangular (host: Bloomfield) Sept. 24 Coleridge Triangular (host: Bloomfield) Sept. 29 Wynot Oct. 1 St. Mary's Oct. 6 Humphrey St. Francis Triangular (host: Bloomfield) Oct. 6 Lynch Triangular (host: Bloomfield) Oct. 13 @ Newcastle Oct. 15 West Boyd Oct. 19-20 Knox Co. Invitational (2/3-DayTournament) @ Wausa Oct. 22 Stuart Oct. 26-30 Lewis & Clark Conference Tournament CROFTON WARRIORS CROFTON VARSITY FOOTBALL Sept. 4 Hartington Cedar Catholic Sept. 11 Wisner Pilger Sept. 18 @ Tekamah-Herman Sept. 25 @ Norfolk Catholic Oct. 2 O’Neill Oct. 9 @ Wayne Oct. 16 @ Battle Creek Oct. 22 Pierce CROFTON VARSITY VOLLEYBALL Sept. 3 Neligh-Oakdale Sept. 10 @ O'Neill Sept. 15 Laurel-Concord Sept. 17 @ Randolph Sept. 22 @ Plainview Sept. 24 Wayne Sept. 26 Norfolk Catholic Triangular (host: Norfolk Catholic) Sept. 26 Lutheran High Northeast Triangular (host: Norfolk Catholic) Sept. 29 Lutheran High Northeast Oct 1 West Holt Oct 8 Madison Triangular (host: Crofton) Oct 8 Hartington Cedar Catholic Triangular (host: Crofton) Oct 13 Creighton Oct 15 @ Elkhorn Valley Oct 19-20 Knox Co. Invitational Oct 26-30 NENAC Conference Tournament “For the Athlete in All of Us” Matt Dvorak, PT • Kari Gall, PTA Michelle Tieszen, PT • Matt Dewald, DPT Kristy Hoffer, PT Orthopedic & Sports Therapy 2703 Fox Run Parkway Suite 100 • Yankton, SD (One block north of Lewis and Clark Specialty Hospital) 605-260-0918 www.lewisandclarkspecialty.com Lewis & Clark Orthopedic and Sports Therapy www.cvacoop.com “Growing Agriculture Together.” Joe Janssen Insurance Agenc y 402-388-4772 1-800-535-3378 1201 West 2nd St. Crofton, NE FAMILY VARIETY BLOOMFIELD, NE Meeting your traditional dime store needs. GUYLA PETERS, Owner 402-373-4700 “Your Hometown Variety Store” Good Luck Bees! 107 N. Broadway Crofton Senior Citizens Center 1008 W. 2nd St. 402-388-2365 Bloomfield, NE 402-373-4321 www.fandmstatebank.com FARMERS & MERCHANTS STATE BANK “We Have A Way With Money” Branches in Hartington, Crofton, Center & Niobrara PEOPLE’S GROCERY & FLORAL “Shur-fine Shur-fresh” FULL-SERVICE GROCERY & FLORAL DEPTS. Deli • Bakery • Fax • Dry Cleaning All Major Credit Cards Accepted 1-402-388-4329 • Crofton, Nebraska Bruno’s Bruno’s Store Store 55696 898th Rd. 55696 898th Rd. Yankton, SD Yankton, SD 402-667-7262 402-667-7262 Veteran Lineup Has Bucks Looking To Build On Seven-Win Season BUCKS: Cyrus Sorenson YANKTON BOYS’ SOCCER YANKTON GOLF ■ ■ BUCKS SOC, Page 4 Gazelles Look To Improve On Third Place Finish BY KEITH A. BROCKBERG P&D Correspondent EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared in the Aug. 22 edition of the Press & Dakotan. After finishing 17-7 last season and a respectable third in the state tournament each of the last two seasons, the Yankton Gazelles soft- ball team look to complete the climb. “We have a strong core back, and we’ll go as far as our pitching and our defense goes,” said Yankton coach Bernie Goeden. “We finished third two years in a row, so its time to move up.” The Gazelles have a senior heavy team, but no juniors, so the precious early season will be spent putting the pieces together. “With seven seniors, that’s the most we’ve ever had,” said Goeden. “We’re looking for a lot of leadership from them, especially with no juniors and a drop to the sophomores.” The five seniors who return with letter honors are Christine Broders (SS), Kayla Salonen (P/1B/OF), Rebecca Wirth (C/OF), Haley Haukaas (2B) and Amanda Sparks (OF). Kelsey Grosshuesch (1B/C) and McKenzie Fitzgerald (3B) also return for the Gazelles. Sophomores Katie Koletzky, Stephanie Campbell, Tiffany Townsend, Janessa Ekeren will look to contribute during the sea- son. Freshmen players include Jessica Wirth, Hannah Horn, McKayla Thieman, Kristian Bilbrey, Tara Blaha, Molly Wermers, Samantha Hanson and Kourtney Erickson round out the Gazelles’ team which is co-coached by Goeden and Bob Cabalka, who are both in their 11th seasons of coaching Gazelles softball since its inception in 2000. “The first part of the season, we’re going to see where every- body fits in,” said Goeden. “We’re not too concerned about wins or losses in the early part of the sea- son. “Once we figure that out, our defense will be pretty strong, espe- cially on the infield,” said Goeden. With pitching and defense as the focus, Salonen hopes to pitch to the girls playing behind her. “We’re not very deep in pitch- ing, but Kayla’s pretty solid,” said Goeden. “Kayla’s probably the strongest with her control, and when she’s on, she makes it pretty easy on the defense.” Katie Koletzky will also see time on the mound and pitch dur- ing doubleheaders. “If both (Kayla and Katie) are able to hit their spots, we’ll be in every game this season,” said Goeden. Offensively, Broders, Haukaas, Rebecca Wirth and Salonen each finished strong last season and are expected to lead again. “They were all hitting the ball really well at the end of last year, and I hope they continue that,” said Goeden. “They have been working on quality at-bats and realizing that it only takes one pitch to have a quality at-bat.” In addition, the Gazelles will also have a JV team coached by Ray Campbell and Dale Mudder as well as two middle school teams in 2009. For the Gazelles to move up, they will have to compete with the likes of Rapid City Stevens, Sioux Falls Washington and Sioux Falls Roosevelt. “Stevens won it last year and didn’t lose too much,” said Goeden. “There’s Sioux Falls Washington and Roosevelt always seems to come up with a decent team.” The 20-plus game-season, how- ever, lasts just eight weeks and culminates Oct. 3 & 4 at the state tournament. VERMILLION — Following an 8- 6 regular season record, the Vermillion Tanagers club softball team went 2-2 in the state tourna- ment, including a tight 1-0 loss to Tri-Valley in the losers bracket. But this season, Vermillion returns two of the best pitchers and one of the top hitters in the state, and the Tanagers are eying a return to state. “We have a good nucleus of starters back and a couple of the best pitchers in the state,” said third-year head coach Lori Jerred. “We have a good group of JV girls that will work hard to help us out in those positions.” Leading the way for Vermillion this season will be the pitching duo of Jenny Bye (Sr., 91 K in 58 IP) and Elizabeth Bye (So., 56 K in 44 IP). Senior Kayla Munger, an All- Tournament selection a year ago, batted .549 with an on-base per- centage of .607. Also returning for the Tanagers this year will be Molly LeCates (Sr., CF, .227), Ashley Ouellette (Sr., IF, .333), Megan Chickerling (Sr., OF), Laura Sappingfield (Sr., C, .333) and Sami Girard (So., C). “We’ll have to be strong offen- sively to have a successful year,” Jerred said. “We know the pitching will be there, but we just need to generate enough offense to pull out some close games.” Vermillion also brings back Lindsay Robinet (Jr., IF), Carlee Sorensen (Jr., Utility), Ellen Brown (Jr., OF), Jana Bye (Jr., Utility), Beth Szymonski (So., IF) and Claire Jones (So., IF). Vermillion Eyes Return To State Tourney YANKTON SOFTBALL YANKTON TENNIS VERMILLION SOFTBALL Golf: Bucks Return Four After Third Straight Top-Two Finish Gazelles Look To Build On Top-5 Finish ■ ■ YHS GOLF, Page 4 ■ ■ YHS TENNIS, Page 4
Transcript of BBruno’s runo’s SStoretore - Yankton Press & Dakotan
BY JUSTIN [email protected]
EDITOR’S NOTE: This articleoriginally appeared in the Aug. 22edition of the Press & Dakotan.
After finishing fifth at the 2008state tournament and puttingtogether the second-best season inschool history, Yankton headcoach Tim Mulhair has high expec-tations heading into the 2009 sea-son.
The Gazelles had a 20-5 recordlast year, which ranks only behindthe 23-3 season Yankton had in2003, and has four starters return-ing from last year.
“It was a good year last yearand we are going to try and keepbuilding on that but I have highexpectations,” Mulhair, who isentering his 25th year as headcoach, said. “We may be as goodor better in the top four spots aswe were last year.”
That’s a bold statement consid-ering Yankton loses two playersfrom its top four, including itsnumber one from last year GabbieKachena. Kachena finished 10th innumber one singles in state andwill continue her playing career atAugustana College.
Jaclyn Mathison was theGazelle’s number four last and theother senior the team lost.
Even though Yankton lost twotalented players, Mulhair said thereturning players can step up andfill those two spots.
Sophomore Vanessa Rocknewill move into the number onespot and was the Gazelle’s numbertwo last year. Rockne went 29-3 asthe number two and Mulhair said
Rockne is ready for the move tothe top spot.
Rockne has been on Yankton’svarsity roster since a 7th graderand Mulhair said she is the onlyplayer during his tenure who has-n’t played at least one year on thejunior varsity squad.
Mulhair hasn’t officially decid-ed on who will play the numbertwo through four spots, but saidhe knows the three players whowill be competing for each spot.
The three spots will go to thethree returning players LexieKlmisch (So.), Heidi Olson (Sr.)and Jesse Van Maanen (Sr.).
Klimisch has been on theGazelles varsity roster since an 8thgrader and was the number threelast year.
Olson and Van Maanen on theonly two seniors on this year’s ros-ter and Mulhair said he might leanon those two because of their sen-ior status.
“Heidi (Olson) and Jesse (VanMaanen) might not be playin at theone or two, but they are both goodplayers and they are go ing to tryand help out the coaches,” Mulhairsaid. “We will look at all the play-ers for leadership, but sometimes Ilean on my seniors and those twomight be called upon this year.”
Seven players will compete forthe final two spots. Other potentialplayers include freshman LeslieHenderson, who went 12-4 as onthe junior varsity team, juniorBritta True, freshman SarahSantos, sophomore Danielle Gill,sophomore Gabby Horton, 8thgrader Gabby Horton and 7th grad-er Sarah Rockne.
There may be only two spots tofill, but Mulhair said he will rotateeither seven or eight players onvarsity this year.
“I like to play at least sevenpeople on varsity and may go witheight this year because the group
BY JEREMY [email protected]
EDITOR’S NOTE: This articleoriginally appeared in the Aug. 18edition of the Press & Dakotan.
Without the catalysts of athree-year run which included astate title and consecutive runner-up finishes, the Yankton Bucks golfteam enters a new era.
Gone to graduation are MarcGubbels and Jordan Mueller, whohelped guide YHS to a state ClassAA championship in 2006, fourstraight Eastern South DakotaConference (ESD) titles and a sec-ond-place finish at state last fall.
“It hurts to lose those guys, butat a certain point, you realize grad-uation comes quickly,” said headcoach Brett Sime, whose teamopened its season Aug. 18.
“When it happens,” Simeadded, “you just hope that theother kids can step up.”
So begins a new season withnew leaders.
The Bucks return four seniorletterwinners from last season,with Tyler Frick, Chris Hoffman,
Dillon May and Gabe Messler. BothMay and Messler were members ofthe 2006 YHS state title team, whileFrick finished in a tie for 16th atlast year’s Class AA state meet inRapid City.
“We’re looking to have anothercompetitive team,” Sime said.“We’ve got a lot of experience withkids that played a lot last year.Hopefully they can continue toimprove.”
Aside from the four returningseniors, the Bucks will also have ahandful of other golfers looking tocrack the varsity squad. Theseinclude Zach Johnson (Sr.), JoeyNickles (Sr.), Ryan Shindler (Jr.),Ben Jensen (8th) and JaceGuthmiller (7th).
BY JEREMY [email protected]
The Yankton Bucks club soccerteam plans to put the phrase ‘addi-tion by subtraction’ to the ultimatetest this season.
Sure, Yankton graduated threeAll-State selections, but the varsitysquad also returns its startinggoalkeeper, nearly its entire first-team defense and what looks to beone of the state’s top crop of mid-fielders.
And here’s the scary part:They’re almost all seniors.
“We lost some really talentedkids, but what we bring back is asgood as anybody else in the state,”second-year head coach NickMoser said. “The mood is veryoptimistic right now; we have pret-ty high expectations.”
The Bucks are coming off a 7-4-4 season in which they claimed theconsolation championship at lastyear’s S.D. Toyota Cup StateTournament. Gone from that teamare Dylan Slate (first team All-State), Nick Weinandt (secondteam All-State) and Ross Kuchta,an honorable mention All-Stateselection.
In his first year with the team inlast fall, Moser guided Yankton to afive-win improvement — the Buckswon two games in 2007.
Now, it’ll be up to the returningseniors to continue the program’supward climb.
The Bucks bring back goalkeep-er Scott Sutherland (Sr.), whomissed half of last season with aninjury. At the time of Sutherland’sseason-ending injury, Yankton wasundefeated.
Yankton also returns the major-ity of its defense, including AaronMcNeely (Sr.), Mike Winters (Sr.)and Calvin LaBrie (Sr.).
“We’re looking for those guys tostep up and take over the leader-ship of the team,” Moser said.
At midfield, Yankton returnsseniors Tyler Hummel (an honor-able mention All-State selectionlast year) and Cyrus Sorenson,who Moser said has the potential
to be one of the top strikers in thestate. “They both should get a lotof scoring chances,” Moser said.
Also at the midfield positions,the Bucks return Jeremy Cap (Jr.),Scott Stoll and Jacob Frick.Yankton also boasts a large crew ofjuniors who will see their first var-sity experience, including MikeJanish, Ryan Ford and TaylorTielke.
Moser said the team will alsohave competition at a handful ofpositions. Newcomer Nate Lien(Sr.) will look to join the mix, aswill Justin Lillie (So.), who hadsome varsity experience last year.Also figuring to contribute isDalton Crissman (Sr.).
“The key for us to see whetherwe can get organized, come togeth-er as a solid team, and continue toprogress,” Moser said. “By thetime we get to the state tourna-ment, we want to be able to makea run at a title.”
In order to do that, the Buckswill again face a strong Class AAfield that includes two-time defend-ing champion Sioux Falls Lincoln— which hasn’t lost a game in twoyears. Finishing ahead of Yanktonat the state tournament last yearwere Rapid City Stevens (2nd),Sioux Falls Roosevelt (3rd) andAberdeen Central (4th).
Yet, as Moser pointed out, thetop teams in Class AA lost somesignificant talent from last season.Lincoln, for instance, graduatedthree first team All-State selec-tions. Stevens, S.F. Roosevelt andAberdeen Central each graduatedone such honoree.
“That’s why I like our chances,everyone else lost some great play-ers,” Moser said. “Right now, it’sreally hard to judge where every-one is, but we’ll see what hap-pens.”
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan n Fall Sports 2009www.yankton.net PAGE 3
BloomfieldBees
BLOOMFIELDVARSITY
FOOTBALLSept. 3 @ ElginSept. 11 @ WalthillSept. 18 OsmondSept. 25 @ NiobraraOct. 2 St. Mary’sOct. 9 VerdigreOct. 16 @ LynchOct. 22 Stuart
BLOOMFIELD VARSITYVOLLEYBALL
Sept. 3 Hurley, SDSept. 8 @ OsmondSept. 10 Wausa Triangular (host: Bloomfield)Sept. 10 Allen Triangular (host: Bloomfield)Sept. 14 @ Wausa Sept. 17 @ WinsideSept. 21 Wynot Triangular (host:Wynot)Sept. 21 Niobrara Triangular (host:Wynot)Sept. 22 @ HartingtonSept. 24 Walthill Triangular (host: Bloomfield)Sept. 24 Coleridge Triangular (host: Bloomfield)Sept. 29 WynotOct. 1 St. Mary'sOct. 6 Humphrey St. Francis Triangular (host: Bloomfield)Oct. 6 Lynch Triangular (host: Bloomfield)Oct. 13 @ NewcastleOct. 15 West BoydOct. 19-20 Knox Co. Invitational (2/3-DayTournament) @ WausaOct. 22 StuartOct. 26-30 Lewis & Clark Conference Tournament
CROFTONWARRIORS
CROFTONVARSITY FOOTBALL
Sept. 4 Hartington Cedar CatholicSept. 11 Wisner PilgerSept. 18 @ Tekamah-HermanSept. 25 @ Norfolk CatholicOct. 2 O’NeillOct. 9 @ WayneOct. 16 @ Battle CreekOct. 22 Pierce
CROFTON VARSITYVOLLEYBALL
Sept. 3 Neligh-OakdaleSept. 10 @ O'NeillSept. 15 Laurel-ConcordSept. 17 @ RandolphSept. 22 @ PlainviewSept. 24 WayneSept. 26 Norfolk Catholic Triangular
(host: Norfolk Catholic)Sept. 26 Lutheran High Northeast Triangular
(host: Norfolk Catholic)Sept. 29 Lutheran High NortheastOct 1 West Holt Oct 8 Madison Triangular (host: Crofton)Oct 8 Hartington Cedar Catholic Triangular (host: Crofton)Oct 13 CreightonOct 15 @ Elkhorn ValleyOct 19-20 Knox Co. InvitationalOct 26-30 NENAC Conference Tournament
“For the Athlete in All of Us”Matt Dvorak, PT • Kari Gall, PTA
Michelle Tieszen, PT • Matt Dewald, DPTKristy Hoffer, PT
Orthopedic & Sports Therapy
2703 Fox Run Parkway Suite 100 • Yankton, SD(One block north of Lewis and Clark Specialty Hospital)
605-260-0918 www.lewisandclarkspecialty.com
Lewis & Clark Orthopedic and Sports Therapy
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402-388-4772 1-800-535-3378
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Veteran Lineup Has Bucks LookingTo Build On Seven-Win Season
BUCKS: Cyrus Sorenson
YANKTONBOYS’ SOCCER
YANKTONGOLF
nn BUCKS SOC, Page 4
Gazelles Look To Improve On Third Place FinishBY KEITH A. BROCKBERG
P&D Correspondent
EDITOR’S NOTE: This articleoriginally appeared in the Aug. 22edition of the Press & Dakotan.
After finishing 17-7 last seasonand a respectable third in the statetournament each of the last twoseasons, the Yankton Gazelles soft-ball team look to complete theclimb.
“We have a strong core back,and we’ll go as far as our pitchingand our defense goes,” saidYankton coach Bernie Goeden. “Wefinished third two years in a row,so its time to move up.”
The Gazelles have a seniorheavy team, but no juniors, so theprecious early season will bespent putting the pieces together.
“With seven seniors, that’s themost we’ve ever had,” saidGoeden. “We’re looking for a lot ofleadership from them, especiallywith no juniors and a drop to thesophomores.”
The five seniors who returnwith letter honors are ChristineBroders (SS), Kayla Salonen(P/1B/OF), Rebecca Wirth (C/OF),Haley Haukaas (2B) and AmandaSparks (OF). Kelsey Grosshuesch(1B/C) and McKenzie Fitzgerald(3B) also return for the Gazelles.
Sophomores Katie Koletzky,Stephanie Campbell, TiffanyTownsend, Janessa Ekeren willlook to contribute during the sea-son.
Freshmen players includeJessica Wirth, Hannah Horn,McKayla Thieman, Kristian Bilbrey,Tara Blaha, Molly Wermers,Samantha Hanson and KourtneyErickson round out the Gazelles’team which is co-coached byGoeden and Bob Cabalka, who areboth in their 11th seasons ofcoaching Gazelles softball since itsinception in 2000.
“The first part of the season,we’re going to see where every-body fits in,” said Goeden. “We’renot too concerned about wins orlosses in the early part of the sea-son.
“Once we figure that out, ourdefense will be pretty strong, espe-cially on the infield,” said Goeden.
With pitching and defense asthe focus, Salonen hopes to pitchto the girls playing behind her.
“We’re not very deep in pitch-ing, but Kayla’s pretty solid,” saidGoeden. “Kayla’s probably thestrongest with her control, andwhen she’s on, she makes it prettyeasy on the defense.”
Katie Koletzky will also seetime on the mound and pitch dur-ing doubleheaders.
“If both (Kayla and Katie) areable to hit their spots, we’ll be inevery game this season,” saidGoeden.
Offensively, Broders, Haukaas,Rebecca Wirth and Salonen eachfinished strong last season and are
expected to lead again.“They were all hitting the ball
really well at the end of last year,and I hope they continue that,”said Goeden. “They have beenworking on quality at-bats andrealizing that it only takes onepitch to have a quality at-bat.”
In addition, the Gazelles willalso have a JV team coached byRay Campbell and Dale Mudder aswell as two middle school teams in2009.
For the Gazelles to move up,
they will have to compete with thelikes of Rapid City Stevens, SiouxFalls Washington and Sioux FallsRoosevelt.
“Stevens won it last year anddidn’t lose too much,” saidGoeden. “There’s Sioux FallsWashington and Roosevelt alwaysseems to come up with a decentteam.”
The 20-plus game-season, how-ever, lasts just eight weeks andculminates Oct. 3 & 4 at the statetournament.
VERMILLION — Following an 8-6 regular season record, theVermillion Tanagers club softballteam went 2-2 in the state tourna-ment, including a tight 1-0 loss toTri-Valley in the losers bracket.
But this season, Vermillionreturns two of the best pitchersand one of the top hitters in thestate, and the Tanagers are eying areturn to state.
“We have a good nucleus ofstarters back and a couple of thebest pitchers in the state,” saidthird-year head coach Lori Jerred.“We have a good group of JV girlsthat will work hard to help us outin those positions.”
Leading the way for Vermillionthis season will be the pitchingduo of Jenny Bye (Sr., 91 K in 58IP) and Elizabeth Bye (So., 56 K in44 IP). Senior Kayla Munger, an All-Tournament selection a year ago,batted .549 with an on-base per-
centage of .607.Also returning for the Tanagers
this year will be Molly LeCates (Sr.,CF, .227), Ashley Ouellette (Sr., IF,.333), Megan Chickerling (Sr., OF),Laura Sappingfield (Sr., C, .333)and Sami Girard (So., C).
“We’ll have to be strong offen-sively to have a successful year,”Jerred said. “We know the pitchingwill be there, but we just need togenerate enough offense to pullout some close games.”
Vermillion also brings backLindsay Robinet (Jr., IF), CarleeSorensen (Jr., Utility), Ellen Brown(Jr., OF), Jana Bye (Jr., Utility),Beth Szymonski (So., IF) and ClaireJones (So., IF).
Vermillion Eyes Return To State Tourney
YANKTONSOFTBALL
YANKTONTENNIS
VERMILLIONSOFTBALL
Golf: Bucks Return Four AfterThird Straight Top-Two Finish
Gazelles Look To Build On Top-5 Finish
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