Ellsworth Volleyball

Coach Amy Johnson has 25 girls out for Bearcat Volleyball this season, which is up from 17 last year. There are also three amazing managers, who are an important part of the volleyball family.

“Everyone is really working hard and there are a lot of girls pushing for many positions,” Johnson said. “These girls were dedicated this summer in the weight room and open gym.”

Johnson said it is obvious after the first practices that the team is determined and excited for this season.

“The energy in the gym is high,” she said. “Everyone is so excited and talking to each other.”

Johnson noted seniors Greta Klein and Ryan Tenbrink have been working to instill a strong work ethic and positive mindset to this team.

“It has been amazing to see that energy at practice, and I hope that the team is able to keep that up throughout the season,” said senior manager Nya Rippert.

Johnson said the leadership on the court is strong.

“Not only are the seniors taking control and leading practice, the entire team is coming together,” she said.

The Bearcats have a strong junior class to help with the leadership.

Johnson said the sophomores and freshmen have come in ready to work, and are making an impact already.

Greta and Kylan Turnipseed (junior) were both selected to the NCAA All- League First Team in 2021, so their experience will benefit the team, Johnson noted.

Johnson said the EJSHS volleyball team will be a more rounded team and will surprise many when they hit the court.

“Overall, the team was inexperienced in 2021 and several girls have really improved over the past year,” she said. “Again, the leadership from the seniors has really helped the entire team to buy into the volleyball family. When the passing is good, the setters can get the ball to the hitters. Aggressive serving is a real strength and hopefully the improved blocking will make a significant difference. The hitters have matured and are really seeing the court.”

From senior to freshmen, Johnson said the girls have all had incredibly positive attitudes and that will pay off throughout the 2022 season.

Ellsworth Football

Ellsworth Bearcats Head Football Coach Coach Josh Homolka figures to field a very seasoned team this year.

“Many of these young men who will be starting have started games since their freshman year,” Homolka said. “They have two challenging years under their belts.”

Homolka said Ellsworth played in several tight games last season that came down to the fourth quarter.

“The ball didn’t bounce our way all the time in those games, but the experience will prove to be very valuable.”

Returning starters include seniors Izaac Vasquez and Chase Bourbon, and juniors Will Cravens, Jordan Rodriguez, Trenton Hays, Cole Webber, Brendan Anderson, Josh Rodriguez, Layton Leiker and Riley Stone The Bearcats’ kick off the season at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 2) at home on Shanelec Field against Beloit.

Ellsworth Cross Country

Coach Eric Coonrod has an eager group of junior and senior high school runners out for Bearcat Cross Country this year.

“All have started the season working hard and prepping for their first races,” he said. “On the high school girls’ side, we’ll have two freshman runners, Kate Rathbun and Addison Thomas. They aren’t new to distance running, however. They ran cross country as eighth graders, and ran distance in junior high track as well.”

Coonrod said both Rathbun and Thomas won multiple medals as eighth graders, and have started their freshman season with a focus on training for their increased race distance.

“Addison medaled in every meet last year as an eighth grader, and finished her eighth grade season as the NCAA league runner-up,” he said. “She has been running No. 1 so far in practices this season, and I expect that we’ll see personal best times, and medals in some meets as well.”

Coonrod said Rathbun finished her 2021 season with personal best time and a fifth place in the NCAA league race, earning All-League honors.

“She has picked up right where she left off, with much improved times in just the first two weeks of the season,” he said. “I anticipate continued personal bests throughout the season, and she’ll be challenging for medals in her races as well.”

This year’s EHS boys cross country team is made up of one senior and several underclassmen.

“Senior Byron Johnson will finish his running career this season,” Coonrod said. “He has been running for us since seventh grade, and medaled in races in each of his first three years of his high school career, and really had a breakout season in 2021, culminating in a dominating first place at the Lyons meet, and medaling All-League at the Downs course. He’s the boys’ lead runner, running even stronger this year and I anticipate even better things for him during the regular season as well as post-season.” Ellsworth also has three returning sophomores, Billy Duncan, Trenton Holmes, and Aidan Johnson.

“Trenton finished just out of the medals in several meets last year, and ended his season with a personal best time at the Southeast of Saline regional.”

Coonrod said Holmes has been running stronger this year.

“He’s been second fastest in practice so far, and I anticipate finishes in the medals throughout the season, with more personal bests to come,” he said.

Coonrod said Duncon and Johnson both finished their 2021 seasons with personal best times as well.

“Aidan steadily improved last season, and already this season has continued where he left off, with improvement in times,” he said. “With some time and place goals in mind, I’m expecting more personal best times and finishes in the medals as well. Billy fought injury in his freshman season, but was able to come back to run with us in several meets, and the regional meet, where he ran a personal best time. I’m looking forward to a full season for him, and am expecting more personal best times as well.”

Bearcat Cross Country also has one freshman, Grayson Stone.

“He ran in junior high, medaling in each meet last year, finishing fourth in the NCAA league meet,” Coonrod said. “The high school distance increases from 2 miles to 3.1 miles, but he’s been adapting to the new race distance. He’s been competing with all the sophomores in practice, so I’m looking forward to his first high school season, with some improved times as we go along, and hopefully some medals as well.”

On the junior high side, The Bearcats have a mix of new runners and those returning from running last year.

“We have three girls running in their first cross country season, eighth grader Reygan Coonrod and seventh graders Lakyn Beckman and Sage Gray,” Coonrod said. “These three girls have been running very well, have been pushing each other in practice and have made a lot of progress in just the first two weeks of the season. I anticipate good things for all three, with race medals and continued personal best times as the season goes on.”

On the boys’ side, the Bearcats have two returning eighth graders, Tegan George and Anthony Jundt.

“Both boys made significant improvements as the 2021 season went on, finishing just out of the medals in the NCAA league race,” Coonrod said. “I expect them to continue that progress and finish in the medals this season, and continually improve their race times.”

Three seventh grade boys are running in their first seasons as Bearcat distance runners.

“John Barta, Korrie Christian and Wesley Rathbun have already set the bar pretty high with their practice times and finishes, competing with each other, and even competing with some of the older runners in some of our workouts,” Coonrod said. “Again, given what we’ve seen already, I expect great things, like multiple medals and personal best times from these three as well this season.”

The Bearcats start off their cross country season at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at the TMP Invitational in Hays.

Ellsworth Tennis

Coach Eric Anderson and his 2022 Bearcats Girls Tennis Team started the season Aug. 25 at home with the Ellsworth Invitational. Ellsworth placed fourth overall, with eight schools participating. Felis De La Cruz, the Bearcats No. 1 singles player, successfully made it through to the finals, but lost to Beloit 6-0 to take second place. Ellsworth’s Caylee Hammel placed seventh in No. 2 singles, defeating her opponent from Hoisington, 6-3. In No. 1 doubles, Bearcats Eva Neuman and Emma Salyers successfully made it through to the finals, but lost to Salina South, 6-1. In No. 2, doubles, Bearcats Charlotte Bettenbrock and Cadence Halfhill were consolation champions after defeating their opponents from Hoisington, 6-3.

Wilson Volleyball

Coach Megan Koch said her Wilson High School Dragons Volleyball team isn’t losing any players this season.

Instead, the 2022 team is composed of 11 returning athletes and five new members, which, according to Koch, are very eager to learn.

“With a total of sixteen, the Dragons will be able to play a very different game compared to last year, where there were less opportunities to play through a variety of situations as we would have liked to,” Koch said.

Koch said a big factor in this season’s play will be the amount of work done in the off season.

“Many of the girls have been playing throughout the summer, attending camps and participating in summer weights and conditioning, which really helps when it comes to full speed game play,” she said. “There’s also been a heavy focus on going back to the basics and creating a strong sense of togetherness in every aspect of the game.”

Koch said Cara Criswell and Anna Thielen are very strong all-around players and do a lot of work for the Dragons while they are in the game.

She noted the setters Grace Bohnen and Skylar Cullens are both scrappy players and have a phenomenal amount of hustle, which translates into some really great outcomes for the team.

“We are also lucky to have such a diverse group of hitters,” Koch said. “Kylee Larsen and Serenity Steinike are good at controlling the tempo of the game, while Tyra Meyer and Hallie Thielen have a more subtle approach to working the net. Abby Dlabal has put in a lot of work in the back row, gaining insight from last season’s starting libero, Anna Thielen. We’ve also got some promising underclassmen that could make their way onto the court at any point.”

Koch said she expects a very different outcome than last year.

“The girls are very different athletes than they were last season and you can see how much they have changed when you watch them in action,” she said. “Each team member plays an important role and is flexible when it comes to switching between those roles when it’s necessary, which is a vital part of being a successful team.”

The Dragons Volleyball Team started its 2022 season by traveling to Sylvan Grove Aug. 30 to take part in the WHS Quad. In addition to Wilson and Sylvan-Lucas, other teams who took part were Southern Cloud and Thunder Ridge.

Wilson Football

Coach Tony Brokes and his Wilson Dragons football team have their first game of the 2022 season at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 2) at home against Pike Valley.

He said the Dragons will look for production across the field.

“Team members will have to establish themselves as players early in the season in order to for the team to be successful,” he said. “Defensively, the team must unite, create stops, and get the offense back on the field.”

The Dragons are looking to improve on last year’s 1-5 record by returning 13 lettermen and 11 starters, including seniors Noah Crawford and Memphis Eberhart. Central Plains Volleyball

Lisa Crites, coach of the Central Plains Oilers Volleyball Team, has four starters returning this year. Her starting line up includes senior Reese McGuire, juniors Kashlin Beck, Addyson Ogle, Melissa Donecker and Mollie Steiner and sophomore Marilyn Soeken.

Crites said the team is extremely fortunate to be able to piggy back off of the success Coach Pat Stiles and his Lady Oilers basketball team have had on the court.

As such, Crites said the Oilers Volleyball team is instilling their own version of Coach Stiles’ “Oiler Way.”

“The athletes understand the importance of commitment and dedication to all aspects of team development,” Crites said.

Crites said her team will play a brutal early schedule which pits Central Plains against much larger schools who are also often stateranked.

“It helps us gauge our deficiencies as well as our strengths, which molds us into the team we strive to be at the end of the season,” she said.

Crites said there is a lot to like about this team going into the year.

“We graduated a strong senior class that will be hard to replace on the front row,” she said. “We return five players with varsity experience and who are practicing very well a week into the season. We should be a strong team in our division.”

Central Plains Football

Coach Chris Steiner and his Central Plains High School Oilers football team kick off the 2022-23 season Sept. 2 at Ness City.

Hoping to build on their 5-4 overall record last year, the Oilers are returning five starters on offense and five starters on defense.

Leading the offense for Central Plains will be senior Evan Stratmann. Blaine Hickel, a junior running back, returns this year to carry the rock, while junior Hunter Klima returns in the tight end/wide receiver position. Logan Stroede and Eli Hurley return to man the offensive line.

On defense, the Oilers will feature seniors Joseph Bunch and Evan Stratmann, juniors Blaine Hickel and Hunter Klima and sophomore Eli Hurley.

Looking ahead on the schedule, Central Plains goes toe-to-toe against their rival, the Victoria Knights, Sept. 23, at Victoria. On Oct. 21, the Oilers will host the Wilson Dragons at home in Claflin.

Central Plains Tennis

Oilers Girls Tennis Coach Amy Metro said she is excited to have fire returning players from last year. Senior Kyla Metro, a three-time state qualifier, will be playing No. 1 singles this year. Junior Lauren Oeser, another strong player, will play No. 2 singles.

“The remaining four girls will make up our doubles teams,” Coach Metro said. “We’re small in numbers, but working hard every day in practice.”

The four other members of the Central Plains Girls Tennis Team are seniors Ashlyn Armstrong and Elizeia Knapp-Blehm, and sophomores Grace Lamatsch and Ryann Metro.

Central Plains Cross Country Keeley Hipp, coach of the Central Plains High School Oilers Cross Country team, said she is very excited about the upcoming cross country season.

“We have added quite a few runners to our squad this year,” she said. “We have one senior, JoAnna Doncecker; one junior, Peyton Ryan; and four freshmen, Aidan Frees, Cale Thompson, Callun Rogers and Rylan Siemsen.”

Hipp said all of her runners have been working hard to get in shape for the upcoming season.

“They are working hard to improve themselves in all aspects of the sport,” she said. “I am proud of everything they have done so far.”

Hipp said she is thrilled to be able to work with a group of hard working teens.

“I am eager to see where the season takes us,” she said. “I believe we could have a successful and enjoyable season and I am grateful I have the pleasure to coach these great kids.”