2011 fall sports preview

2 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

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By Rocky [email protected]

ThePackers are hoping a quick passinggame can boost their point total as theyenter their second year under head coachMatt Schmit.Schmit said Austin will look to use at

least two quarterbacks, and he’s pleasedwithwhat he’s seen atwide receiver so far.“We thinkwehave some good receivers

andwe feel likewehave a quarterback thatcan get it out,” Schmit said. “We’ll have toseewhat happenswhenwe get into a gamesituation, but we feel like (the passinggame) has been a strength in the first twoweeks.”Junior Sean Coffey and senior Andrew

Allen will see time at quarterback, andsophomoreRyanSynoground is also avail-able in case of an injury.“Andrew throws the ball well and runs

real well. Sean’s more of a traditionalquarterback andhe’s beenworking hard,”Schmit said. “Ryan’s been working ex-tremely hard and I’ve got to send himhome every night at 9:30 and kick him outof the locker room.He’s coming along realwell.”WhileAustin didn’twin a game last sea-

son, it’s pretty clear that this year’s teamis not feeling sorry for themselves as jun-ior tight end Trevor Feuerhak is lookingfor this year to be different.“I really feel like this year’s team has a

lot more heart than last year’s team,” hesaid. “We’reworking as a teamand there’sa lot more chemistry this year.”Feuerhak feels good about his connec-

tionwithCoffey as the twohave put in a lotof hours together over the years.“I’m comfortablewith Sean asmyquar-

terback, I’ve worked with him since sev-enth grade,” Feuerhak said. “Wewillmakestuff happen in the passing game.”Coffey is ready to make a difference

with his armas he looks to take advantageof an offense that features a lot of three-step drops.“We’re definitely going to utilize that

Eric Johnson/[email protected]'s Anthony Condit runs through drills during football practice.

quick passing and thatwill set up the longball,” Coffey said. “We all have a chip onour shoulder and this is a new team.We’reready to show that.”Anthony Condit will be the primary

ball-carrier on the ground, and Pat Wag-ner should get some carries at fullback aswell.Austin doesn’t have a lot of depth on

this year’s squad so itmust avoid injuries,and it must also avoidmistakes.

“We’re not real big and we’re not realfast and we’re going to need to play per-fect,” Schmit said. “We’re going to strug-gle for everythingwe get. If we go out andmake mental errors, it’s not going to lookgood.”Schmit did say he’s pleased with the

turnout for football players in theyounger ages. The seventh and eighthgrades each have 40 kids out for foot-ball, while the freshman have 35 and the

sophomores have 28.“We’ve got good numbers coming up

through the system and those kids are ex-cited about football.We love seeing that ascoaches,” Schmit said. “The staff has alsoworked so many hours this offseason andwe appreciate that. The players that arehere with us are working hard and that’sgreat to see.”Austinwill host RedWing Friday, Sept.

2 at 7 p.m.

Packers may look to go to the air

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - FALL SPORTS PREVIEW WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011 3

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The Austin volleyball team is looking tothree key returnees and a new coach to turnthe tide for a team that went 3-16 overall lastseason.The Packers bring back their top setter in

junior JennaSvoboda,whohas started for twoyears, and senior hitters Babaye Oja andHaley Underwood also return.“I’m excited for a new start, and it’s going

to be a good year,” Underwood said. “We’relooking to work together more than we havein the past.”Underwood said the team is hoping to aim

for a winning record, and it also wants toavoid getting swept at any point during theseason.Austin’s new head coach Barry Brobeck,

who coached the ‘B’ squad in Austin beforetaking eight years off to watch his daughterplay volleyball, also has some high hopes forhis new team.“I think we can do pretty darn good,” he

said. “Success comes from having pride inwhat you do and taking that pride and justworkingwith it. It’s knowing you have to stepit up and do a little bit better, and I think thatwe can do that.”While Austin’s team is a little undersized

up front, the Packers look to make up it withdefense.“If wewant towin,wehave to play defense.

We can be the best hitters in the world, but ifwe can’t play defense,wewon’twin,” Brobecksaid.Oja, who is also predicting a solid year, has

already bought into the defense-first philoso-phy.“We’re ready for the scrapes andburns and

all of that good stuff,” she said.Austinhas traditionally runa two-setter of-

fense, but Svoboda is the only setter with var-sity experience. Brobeck is unsure of whichoffense he’ll run, but said the teamcan alwaysadjust on the fly.“The great thing about this game is that

you canusemultiple offenses andmultiple de-fenses. Basically the sky is the limit for whatyou want to do,” he said.Brobeck has also instilled some new ap-

proaches on defense, which the team is pick-

Austin volleyball team has a new coach

Eric Johnson/[email protected] Underwood returns as one of the Austin volleyball team's big hitters.

ing up on.“We’ll have toworkon thedefense

a lot more to get it where we want itto be, but otherwise it’s a lot of thesame things,” Underwood said.While Austin isn’t overloaded

with experience, Brobeck said thesquad should be just finewhen some

of its newerathletes adjust to varsityvolleyball.“I have the athletes out here,” he

said. “Some of them are lacking thevolleyball experience, but they justhave to listen and learn, and I thinkwe’ll do real well.”


The Austin girls tennis team will have a newlook this season.ThePackershaveanewcoachinLevonLarson,

andithasveryfewreturneesfromlastyear’ssquad.“We’re a really young teamwith a lot of fresh-

men, but we have a lot of potential. Over the nextfewyears,weshouldbeprettystrong,”Larsonsaid.“The younger kids have good knowledge of thegame,buttheydon’thavetheexperiencetogoalongwith it.”FreshmanAliciaSforzawill fill in theNo. 1 sin-

glesspot forAustin,andtherestof thespotswillbeup for grabsas the seasongoesalong.“Alicia’ssetasNo.1singles,butalotof theother

spots will fluctuate as some of the other girls getsome time in,”Larsonsaid.Sforza played a little No. 1 for the Packers last

year, and she’s ready to take on the task full-timethis year.“It’sgoingtobehardandsome(matches)willbe

more of a challenge than others. But I’m ready forit,” Sforza said.

Rocky Hulne/[email protected]’s Olivia Grev makes a hit during practice atPaulson Tennis Courts in Austin recently.

New look netters


Packers stay strongBy Rocky [email protected]

The Austin boys soccerteam has been well over .500for the past few seasons, andit doesn’t plan on stoppingany time soon.While the teamwill have a

new look on defense and atkeeper, the Packers are stilllooking to build on last year’smark that saw them go 11-6-2overall.“There will be a transition

for the new guys, and they’llhave the jitters early on. Butthere’s enough guys thathave the experience, and allof those things will tie to-gether, and I think we’ll beOK,” Austin head coach JensLevisen said. “We’ve beencompetitive (in past years),and we want to show that it’snot a fluke. We play the waythe game the way we thinkthe game should be playedandwe should be competitiveagain this year.”Austin brings back two of

its top scorers from last sea-son in juniors Francisco Tor-res, who was All-Statehonorable mention last sea-son, and Jake Hagen-Erick-son.Torres, who has played on

the varsity team for threeyears, has taken on the roleof captain this year, and he’shoping to have an even big-ger impact on his team.“I’m trying to go even

harder this year than pastyears to show other teamswhat Austin has in soccer,”Torres said. “We’d like to getto sections or even fartherthan that.”

Eric Johnson/[email protected] Torres is just one of the weapons returning this year to theAustin Packers boys' soccer team.


TheAustingirls cross countryteam is looking to take the nextstep, and the boys are looking torebuild as they approach the up-coming season.The Packer girls return their

top fourrunners fromlast season,including state qualifiers Madi-sonOverby, aneighth-grader, andHaley Splinter, a junior who hasbeen to state twice.McKenzie Besel and Justice

Taboralsoreturnwithvarsityex-perience.“We had three really strong

runners that were working hardand putting their best out there,”seniorcaptainAnissaZyndasaid.“It’s inspiring, and other girlswork hard so they can get better,too.”Besel is in her second year of

cross country, but she’s becomeone of the top runners on theteam quickly last season. Shehopes the team can improve onits finishat theBigNinemeet thisyear and get better team scoresthroughout the season.“It’s really key to have people

that can lead the way,” she said.“That way we can work togetherand create a team drive to keepgoing instead of just having acouple of people doingwell.”Splinter saw her trip to state

end prematurely last season asshesufferedan injuryat themeetand couldn’t finish. She’s hopingto get back to state, and shehopesshe brings some company withher.“I’m looking forward to hope-

fully getting the privilege of get-ting back to state and redeemingmyself kind of,” she said. “Hope-fully Madison can get back andKenziecangetbackup therewithus.”

Austin head coach Tony Ein-ertson said he is looking for thatfifth runner that can put thePackers in even better spots atteammeets.“We’ve got a couple of seniors

inAnissa Zynda andMarthaMc-Dermottwhohavedoneanice jobfor us in the past. We’re lookingfor them to step up,” he said.The Austin boys return three

of their top fiverunners fromlastseason and Nate Schwab leadsthe way as he showed some solidimprovement last year.Schwab put in about 600miles

of running over the summer andhe’s hoping to get to the statemeet.“It’sbeena lotof timeanda lot

of work; but hopefully, we’ll getthereat theendof theseason,”hesaid.Einertson said Schwab is

primed for a strong year.“He’s coming off a real strong

track season and I’m really look-ing forward towhatNatecando,”he said. “He should be able towork his way into the top tenpretty easily within our confer-ence.”The boys also return Andrew

BakerandDylanDiekmann.Cap-tains Gabe Ramirez andMichaelLunning should help out aswell.Ramirez said he wants to see

the Austin cross country pro-gramgrow.“The focus is to get the

younger guys comfortable withworkoutsandgetting themwherethey need to be,” he said. “Prac-tice is akey thing.Wewant toputthemat a point so they get a goodstartnextyear, andweneed togetthe programgoing.”Lunning shares that attitude.“We’regoing to tryandinitiate

the younger ones and show themthateverything’spossible incrosscountry,” he said.

CC teams have experience

Defensively, Austin’s lone re-turnee is senior Zach Vierkandt,and he is taking on a captain’srole this season. He said thesquad already has its eye onRochester Lourdes, which comesto Austin Sept. 24.Vierkandt also has high hopes

for the season.“We’re just trying to get in

shape and be ready as a teamright now. We expect to do reallywell in sections, and we want toget a high seed and get somehome games,” he said.Levisen said that none of

Austin’s newcomers are guaran-teed spots, but he has an idea ofwho will play on the varsityteam. There’s a group of seniors

who played together on the JVteam last year, who should fill inthe open spots.“They worked really hard in

the offseason, and they shouldwin those spots,” Levisen said.“Theyknowhow to play as a unit,and communication is very im-portant. You’ve got to know howto have each other’s back.”Colin Weisert will step in at

keeper for Austin. Weisert sawaction in a playoff game andplayed against South St. Paullast season.“He’s been placed in a posi-

tion where we said ‘you’re theguy we need to step up’ before. Ithink he’ll be all right,” Levisensaid.


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The Austin girls swimmingand diving team is looking forsome new athletes to step up thisseason.The Packers return 18 letter

winners, but they graduated atrio of perennial state qualifiersin Averi Splinter, Brooke John-son and Kelli Bednar.

“The exciting part of this sea-son is that we’ve got a lot ofyoung, talented swimmers, andwe’ve got a lot of open spots,”Austin head coach Lynn Gul-brandson said. “The first part ofthe season will be seeing wherethey fit in and moving peoplearound.”Austin returns two of its state

qualifiers from last year in jun-

ior Helen Heimark and freshmanMikayla Finney. The team alsohas five seniors to help lead theway.“It’s a good, solid senior class

as far as experience and leader-ship go,” Gulbrandson said.“None of them have swam in thestate meet, but I think a couple ofthem are very serious aboutmaking that appearance this

year and I think they’re going todo it.”Senior Lindsey Halsey will be

one of the leaders on the team.“It’ll be interesting. Hopefully

we’ll have some new state quali-fiers. Emily McAlister will prob-ably go in the (butter)fly, becauseshe was close last year,” Halseysaid. “The younger swimmersare definitely going to have to

step up, and I’m sure they’ll dogreat.”Austin also has a pair of soph-

omore divers in Autumn Lauryand Corey Bailey who finishedlast season strong.“The sophomores had a nice

showing last year at the sectionmeet, and they kind of madethemselves known for this sea-son,” Gulbrandson said.

Austin swimmers return 18 with experience

Packer girls get former pro as new coachBy Rocky [email protected]

The Austin girls soccerteam is hoping a new coachcan give them the extra boostto have a solid season thisfall.The Packers, who went 2-

13-3 overall last season, willturn to Enrique Camarena-Corzo, who was an assistantcoach on last year’s team.“The girls have worked re-

ally hard this offseason tohave a good season. I knowthis year we’re going to havea really good team,” Ca-marena-Corzo said.Nicole Lipari, a junior

midfielder, is excited aboutthe coaching change, and sheis looking forward to Austinshowing improvements thisyear.“We’re looking forward to

the season, and it’ll be good,”she said. “We’ve got a prettygood team, but this will prob-ably be our best. The girlsour getting in shape andwe’re ready for the season.Our goal is to finish at least

.500.”Last year Camarena-

Corzo, who played pro soccerfor 14 years in Europe andMexico, took the assistantcoaching job for the Austingirls soccer team when hesaw it was open.“I saw the position was

open, and I love this sport somuch. I really wanted to helpand share the experience Ihave with the girls,” Ca-marena-Corzo said.This year the head coach-

ing job opened up for Ca-marena-Corzo, and thePackers’ players have wel-comed him with open arms. Lipari, a captain on the

team, said the team looks for-ward to playing for its newcoach.“I’m excited to play for

him. He loves the game, andhe feels like a part of ourteam,” she said. “He wantsus to improve as a whole andthat’ll be good.”Camarena-Corzo said he’s

not afraid to put youngerplayers on the field, and hedoesn’t want anyone count-

ing themselves out. When he coachedclub soccer in Salem, Ore., he had aplayer make it to the U20 Mexican Na-tional Team, and she played in the WorldCup.“She made her dream, and I want to

let my players know that any dream youhave, you should follow and you canmake it,” he said. “If you believe in your-self, I believe in you. Never give up.”The Packers have won just six games

in the last three years, and Camarena-Corzo thinks it’s time for that to change.“We’re going to try to go forward right

away. We want to have really good con-trol with passing the ball around and notlet the other team have the ball at all,” hesaid. “The girls have worked really hardthis offseason to have a good season. Iknow this year we’re going to have a re-ally good team.”

Eric Johnson/[email protected] Madeline Erickson practices with the Austin girls soccerteam, sending the ball up the line.


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Vikings look to make a turnaround on the gridironAustin Daily Herald

The Hayfield football team ishoping it can finally turn thingsaround this season.After winning just two games

in the last three seasons com-bined, Vikings head coach GrantKlennert is pleased with thework his team has put in over thesummer and he’s hoping thatleads to some wins on the field.“Our team goal is to be .500 for

the first time in close to adecade,” Klennert said. “Thisgroup of kids has worked hard inthe offseason putting in timewith seven on seven, camps andweightlifting. Our conference topto bottom is very competitive andon any given night someone canpull out a win.”Hayfield graduated 16 seniors

and returns 10 players from lastyear’s team that showed signs ofimprovement. While they didn’t

win a game, they were competi-tive in most of their contests.The Vikings should thrive be-

hind some big linemen this sea-son as Hunter Anderson, DrewMarshall and Jake Jorgensonshould lead the way on both sidesof the ball.“I am confident in their ability

to push anyone around and movepiles,” Klennert said.The team also returns two of

its top running backs in Nate

Timmons and Broderick Diek-man.“They are very talented run-

ners who can run downhill andcatch the ball out of the back-field,” Klennert, who is in his sec-ond year at the helm, said. Caleb Gilbertson will step up

as a leader with the secondaryand wide receivers.While Hayfield will have some

sophomores playing key posi-tions, Klennert doesn’t think that

is necessarily a bad thing.“Hopefully our weakness

right now turns into a bigstrength at the end of the year,”he said. “We are a young footballteam with spots on the line, re-ceiver and quarterback going tosophomores. Youth right now isa weakness, however our sopho-mores are learning quickly, andI feel they will adjust to thespeed of the game very quickly.”

Austin Daily Herald

The Hayfield boys crosscountry team is aiming forthe middle of the pack in theHVL and the girls are hopingto improve as this season goesalong.The boys, who have five re-

turning runners, have goodnumbers and Chad Kruger,Jon Fleishmann and GabeTempel should all step up. The girls, who have four

returning runners, have ex-perience, but not as manyrunners as Megan Ellis andHannah Johnson should leadthe way.“I look forward to a good

year with the teams and weshould see them improve asthe season continues,” Hay-field head coach Len Oelkers,who is in his fourth year, said.

Hayfieldhas strongrunners

Austin Daily Herald

The Hayfield volleyballteam is coming off one ofit’s better years, but itmust replace two key play-ers from the squad thatwent 17-12 overall and ad-vanced to the subsectiontitle match.Hayfield will be looking

to replace its top setter andits middle hitter, whileplaying undersized thisfall. itThe Vikings don’t have

a player taller than 5 foot,8-inches on their roster.“We are not very tall,

but we have pretty goodquickness and a desire todo well,” said Hayfieldhead coach Deb Harvey,who is in her 23rd year atthe helm. “We would liketo build on our finish lastyear.”The Vikings have

plenty of experience onthe squad as they haveeight seniors and somesolid underclassmen who

have played varsity before.Seniors Abby Blan-

chard and Katie Miner re-turn as outside hitters,junior Rachel Czaplewskireturns as a setter andsophomore Dani Wagnerwill fill in the middle hitterrole.Emily Blanchard,

Alyssa Selk, who is cur-rently injured, Jaide Ryks,Nicole Jax and HannahWiltgen also return withvarsity experience. MegTapp, who was hurt all oflast season, also returns.“With no overpowering

size we will have to rely onour quickness, strongserving and a tenaciousdefense,” Harvey said.“With strong transitions,we should be able to getsome good swings.”While she’s not sure

who will fill some of thepositions, Harvey didsay that Jessica Fosterwill likely be the secondsetter.

Herald file photoHayfield's Abby Blanchard plays the ball during game two of their match in the Section1A West championship at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester last year.

Vikings must replace two key players


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Austin Daily Herald

The LeRoy/Ostrander volleyball team islooking to post another winning season as itbrings back much of its core from last year’steam that went 17-12 overall.The Cardinals will be led by senior hitters

Krista Bunne and Chanda Riedemann up front,while junior setter Megan Grant returns alongwith junior libero Jessica Jennings.“We’ve had a couple of scrimmages, and I’m

very impressed with how the kids are playing to-gether,” L/O head coach Lisa Swenson said.“They’ve been scrappy on defense and we havea very athletic team.”Sophomore hitter Becca Bunne and junior

hitter Rachel Shaffer also return from last year’steam.Swenson said the Cardinals are going to

focus a little more on blocking this season asthey have always been strong on digs and of-fense.“We’ve always had good hitters, but we’re

looking to get better on the front line,” Swensonsaid. “We hope to improve from last year, and weshould be one of the top teams in the SEC West.”

Austin Daily Herald

The LeRoy/Ostrander football team hasjust one senior, and it brings back just threeplayers with varsity experience this sea-son.The Cardinals, who haven’t won a game

in the last two seasons, will look to quar-terback Lucas Roe, Mitch Scaglione andTony Steinkamp to provide some leader-ship.“This will be a growing year with such

young kids,” said L/O head coach AaronHungerholt, who is in his third year at thehelm. “We look to improve each week.”

LEROY/OSTRANDER SPORTS

Cards will be young

L/O will be scrappy

GRAND MEADOW SPORTS

Austin Daily Herald

With nine players whohave varsity experience ontheir roster, the Superlarksare looking to make a drasticimprovement on the volley-ball court this season.After going 4-18 overall

with a young squad last sea-son, Grand Meadow headcoach Michael Keefe said histeam is ready to compete.“We should be competing

for the west SEC champi-onship,” said Keefe, who is inhis sixth year at the helm.

“LeRoy/Ostrander will betough again this year, thoughwe should be much im-proved.”The Larks will look to cap-

tains Amber Riedemann andAutumn Thorsen to lead theway and Stephanie Russell

will step up as well. “We will be stronger than

last year in hitting and set-ting with having most of ourcore returning from lastyear,” Keefe said. “ We willneed to improve on passingespecially serve receive.”

GM volleyball team has 9 returning

Austin Daily Herald

The Grand Meadow offensewill have an entirely differentlook this season, but that does-n’t mean it won’t be effective.With the graduation of

their primary play-makerCaleb Leichtnam, the Super-larks, who went 8-2 overalllast season, will look to sharethe wealth a little more on thefootball field this fall.GM will turn to sophomore

quarterback Trenton Bleifus,who played varsity last season,and Richard Bain, a 5-11, 214pound senior, returns afterrushing for 641 yards and eightTDs last season.With Bleifus, GM head

coach Gary Sloan hopes to airit out a little more.“He’s not the athlete Caleb

was, but few people are,” Sloansaid of his QB. “But he’s goingto be a good quarterback.”The biggest key for GM’s of-

fense is the health of juniorrunning back Perry Stejskal,who missed much of the lasttwo seasons with injuries. Ste-jskal is hurt again and willlikely miss the first two gamesbefore he sees the field.

Larks find some new weapons

“We’ve got to get Stejskalhealthy,” said Sloan, who isin his 18th year at the helm.“If and when we ever gethim healthy, he’ll be one ofthe better players in theconference, and he’ll besomebody who has to bereckoned with.”In Stejskal’s absence, the

Larks will turn to seniorDezmon Johnson, who ranfor 256 yards and a scorelast season. Freshman Lan-don Jacobson could also beone to watch.Jacobson has been given

Leichtnam’s jersey numberand it’s not a coincidence.“The kid’s good, and he’s

going to be real good,” Sloansaid. “We’ve got high hopesfor him, and he should getsome carries this year.”GM also has to replace

most of its offensive linefrom last season. SophomoreDannie Dunbar, who is 5-10and 218 pounds, will fill in toprovide some bulk.The defense will return

its top three tacklers fromlast year in Brock Johnson,who had 115 total tackles,Bain, who had 111 total tack-les, and Andrew Bell, whohad 96 total tackles.GM has eight returning

lettermen, and it has justthree seniors on the team.However, the junior class isa very strong one, as 10 ofthem could see playing time.As for the SEC chase,

Sloan sees Spring Grove asthe top team, whileGlenville/Emmons, Lanes-boro and his Larks could allfinish in the top four.

Herald file photoGrand Meadow running back Richard Bain breaks free from theGlenville/Emmons defense in the second half of his team's 41-28 win in GM last year.


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The Southland football team is lookingto mix power with speed as it reloads forthe upcoming season.The Rebels, who went 7-3 last year, will

look to use the speed of their backs to setup the power running of Ben Woltermanbetween the tackles.“When we hurt them outside a couple

of times, we’ve got a 200-pound fullback inBen Wolterman who will ram them rightup the middle,” Southland head coachShawn Kennedy said. “High school kidsget frustrated when you beat them a fewtimes in one area, then you can come backwith a counter or a trap.”Wolterman sat out most of last season

with an injury and now he’s back for hissenior year. He’s looking forward to his lastrun with the Rebels.“It was really tough watching the whole

team go without me, but I was really happythat they had a great season,” Woltermansaid. “This year will be fun, and I’ve got tomake the most of it. He told me to be aphysical player, and I do whatever he asksme to do.”Kennedy said Wolterman’s style of run-

ning can wear a defense down.“He’s huge. When Ben is running the

football and he hits you a few times, youdon’t want to run into him anymore be-cause he hits hard,” Kennedy said. “Thatswitch is turned on all of the time, and he’sstrong. He works his butt off and he’s apositive force.”On the outside, the Rebels will have

plenty of speed with Tyler Kressin, Nick

Schmitz, and Mike Goergen, who runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, according to Kennedy.“I feel like we’re a similar team to Tri-

ton, because I really thought those guyswere excellent at the skill positions, andthey utilized them,” Kennedy said. “That’swhat we have to do this year too, we have nochoice.”At quarterback, junior Decker Bendtsen

will take over, and he’s off to good start sofar. He’s impressed with his running abilityand his arm in practice.Besides their ability on the field, the

Rebels have been solid off the field.

Kennedy said that is as important as play-ing ability.“We truly are a team, and the kids get

along well,” he said. “Some of the bestteams I ever coached weren’t the most ath-letic, but they did a lot of things off the fieldtogether. I never have to tell these guys howto behave, and they’re always great.”It also means a lot to the team.“I really look at our team as being a class

act and that’s what I really want,” Wolter-man said.Southland will open its season at

Wabasha/Kellogg Friday at 7 p.m.

Rebels showimprovementAustin Daily Herald

The Southland volleyball teamhopes to make some noise this sea-son as it has a lot of experiencedplayers coming back.The Rebels, who went 11-16 over-

all last season, have 10 returningvarsity players. Senior setters Madi Schmitz and

Lindsey Bottema will be back,along with hitters Jana Schammeland Celina Yunker.“I think we’re a lot more athletic

and a lot more rounded this year. IfI run into a problem I can movethem around or throw someoneelse in,” Southland head coachAngie Smith said. “I look to take afew games from some teams andmaybe surprise a few teams.”Kelli Smith, Kelly Gray and Han-

nah Hamilton will spend time inthe back row, while Elizabeth May,Hillary Bottema, Bre Vogel andSara Sathre will spend time at hit-ter.

Southland will use speed to create offense

Rocky Hulne/[email protected]’s Coty Kirtz runs the ball during practice in Adams.


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BLOOMING PRAIRIE — TheAwesome Blossoms are probablymost known for their seniorquarterback Luc Zellmer, who is24 touchdown passes from tyingthe Minnesota state record. Butit’s their offensive line that willultimately decide just how farBlooming Prairie goes this fall.BP returns all five of its start-

ing linemen from last season asAlex Fiebiger, Jason Jirele, PatJones, Jarrod Grunklee andBlake Arett are all back.The group started for the first

time last season, which saw BPgo 8-3. This time around, they’remuch more prepared.BP’s season ended with a loss

to Goodhue in the Section 1Atitle game last year.“It’s a high comfort level. We

know what each other’s going todo, and we’re in snyc,” saidJirele, a junior center. “We’vejust got to keep getting better.This whole offseason was about

getting faster and stronger. When we facedGoodhue last year, we realized we weren’tanywhere close to as strong as they were.”While the line has gotten bigger from

last season, they’re still probably a littlebit undersized. However, Jones, a senior

tackle, said size doesn’t mean everything.“We have a good coach and we have

good technique,” he said. “If you havegood technique, you can go far, even far-ther than being bigger.”While the line paves the way, BP also re-

turns plenty of playmakers. Alongwith Zellmer, the team brings back itstop receiver in Gabe Kartes and run-ning back Jon Kraling. Also looking tocontribute in the passing game will beLuke Hueman, Michael Thomas, Isa-iah Toquam, Ryan McCabe, WestonFiebiger, Tyler Anderson and HunterRudlong. “It starts with Luc, and having him

back is a big thing. It’s nice to havethat luxury for three years,” BP headcoach Chad Gimbel said. “We haveseven guys that can that can go outthere and catch the ball, and one ofthe biggest surprises is Hunter Rud-long. He’s been catching the ball realwell and running good routes. I have aton of confidence that he can givesome of those other receivers abreak.”BP made it to the Class ‘A’ state

tournament two years ago, and Gim-bel said his squad was disappointed tonot make it back last year.“Our kids really felt like they

missed out on something in not mak-ing it to state last year,” he said. “Thisyear we’re bringing everybody back,and our five starters on the line areback. You can see the cohesivenessthere, and they know what’s goingon.”With a team that has 12 seniors,

Jones knows what’s on the line thisseason. “We’ve got a lot of pressure on our

backs: but it’s good pressure, and weshould use it to build on,” he said. “Weshould go far this year, and if we don’twe’re definitely letting people down.”BP will open its season at New

Richland/H/E/G Friday at 7 p.m.

Blossoms will rely on the lineExperiencedline will helpbig playmakers

Rocky Hulne/[email protected] Prairie's Michael Thomas carries the ball at a recent practice. The Awesome Blossomsreturn a majority of their team, which went to the Section 1A title game last season.


Austin Daily Herald

The Lyle/Pacelli volleyballteam will turn to a new headcoach this season, as formerAustin assistant Lindsey Leiftakes over.Leif was freshman coach for

three years and ‘B’ squad coach forfive years with the Packers, andnow she’s coming to the Athleticswith a positive attitude.

“I always stress to the girls tobelieve in yourself and believein your teammates and workhard to achieve your individualgoals, as well as team goals,” shesaid. “Working together as ateam plays a vital role in thegame of volleyball and teachingyour athletes this concept helpsthem come together to achieve ahigher level of performance,both on and off the court.”

L/P returns six players withvarsity experience and will alsolook to some younger players tochip in as the numbers are low.Seniors Whitney Hinz and

Jennie Hinz, junior PaigeSmith, sophomores Ann Rysavyand Alena Kritzer and freshmanMadison Truckenmiller all re-turn from last year’s squad.Eighth grader Sarah Holtz

could also step up.

“We have a number of versa-tile hitters that are capable ofplaying outside, middle or rightside, so we will be able to pickand choose where to play themto make our team the strongest,”Leif said. “The girls have beenvery adaptable to the changeswe've implemented and areworking hard to develop theirskills.”Leif said she hopes her

team, which will include ath-letes in six different grade lev-els, comes together as theseason and goes. “We will strive to win games,

but more importantly, I am look-ing to coach the team to a higherlevel of play than they are cur-rently at and I am confident thatthe girls will have a successfulseason in that regard,” Leifsaid.

Lyle/Pacelli volleyball team gets a new head coach

Athletics hope to evolve into a physical teamBy Rocky [email protected]

With a new head coach on board, theLyle/Pacelli football team has already seensome growth this season.When new coach Reid Olson started prac-

tice, he had just 10 players, but after Olsoncontacted some athletes who had playedother sports, the roster is now up to around25 players.“I spent three hours on the phone getting

kids here,” Olson said. “Slowly but surely, wehad two or three more here per day.”Senior tight end Max Brennan was one of

those 10 players in attendance on the first day,and he wasn’t too pleased with what he saw.But now that the team is starting to come to-gether, he’s feeling much better.“The attitude’s changed a lot (from

last year),” Brennan said. “We’re a lotmore focused and we’re improving.Practices are upbeat and there’s not

too much down time.”L/P finished 2-7 overall last season, but it

was the lopsided scores that had the playersthe most upset. “Not giving up during games is going to

be a big goal,” junior receiver Skylar Meyersaid. “We don’t want to let them run all overus like we did last year.”Olson hopes his squad develops into a

physical team on both sides of the ball. He’dlike to feature a power rushing attack, butknows it may take some time.“Once our program is established, we

want to be looked at as a physical team,”Olson said. “Our goal is to get better everyday, and we want to get to the point where wecan compete. We can’t judge it on wins andlosses this year, it’s going to take some time.We want to win every game we play, but wealso have to be realistic and compete first.”L/P took a hit over the summer when its

projected starting quarterback Matt Kaselsuffered a freak injury that required surgery.

He will miss the entire season. JuniorDamien Haugen and freshman JordanHart are in the running to play under cen-ter.Senior fullback/safety Kyle Meyer is

looking forward to playing an aggressivestyle of football this fall.“If we can go out and start with high in-

tensity in the first half, we could have some-thing really good,” he said. “Because the

last few years, we didn’t really start untilthe second half.”L/P opens its season opener against

LeRoy/Ostrander in Lyle Friday at 7 p.m.“I’m really excited to start hitting people

and getting out and playing,” Skylar Meyersaid. “I think coach Olson turned this pro-gram around a lot. We work hard and wehave to earn our spots. If people don’t wantto play, they’ll make them play.”

RockyHulne/[email protected]

First yearLyle/Pacellihead footballcoach ReidOlson directsthe team at apractice inLyle.


Austin Daily Herald

The Blooming Prairie boys cross coun-try team is looking at a rebuilding yearwhile the girls bring back plenty of expe-rience for this season.The boys return two solid runners in

senior Adam Driessen and junior TylerCozine.Cody Wagaman and Tom Wanous also

return with varsity experience.

The BP girls bring back six of their topseven runners from last season and sen-iors Tricia DeBoer, Kelsey Kubista andDaVyll Smith — who are all in their fifthyear as varsity runners — should lead theway.Seniors Cortney Easton and Hunter

Henderson, sophomore Kendra Boecker,and junior Arlyn Soto also return withsolid experience. Boecker was voted team MVP last year.

Austin Daily Herald

The Blooming Prairie volleyball teamwill look to its five seniors to help worksome younger players into the lineup as ittries to improve on last year’s 11-18 overallrecord.BP, which graduated six players from

last year’s squad, will look to junior hitterJanelle Morem, who has already startedtwo seasons at varsity, to provide a bulk ofthe leadership.“She brings a lot of experience and is

both a vocal leader and one who leads byexample. She is a hard worker with highstandards,” BP head coach GinaMcLaughlin, who is in her eighth year,said. BP seniors Maggie Sorensen, Kierstin

Wencl, Kayla Wobschall, Lyndsay Pryorand Kelsey Wolf will also chip in as theyhelp incorporate a younger group that in-cludes freshmen Madison Worke, a setter,Nicole Inwards and Taylor Hagen, a mid-

dle hitter, and juniors Shelbi Swenson andMarissa Jensen.Junior Jenna Krell also returns with

varsity experience.“We will rely on some young players in

some key positions,” McLaughlin said.“Although they are learning at a rapidpace and have a desire to improve, I'm cer-tain that there will be some inconsisten-cies on the court. Our young players aresoaking everything up like a sponge rightnow and have a strong work ethic.”BP looks to be a scrappier team on the

floor this year as it has 15 players on theroster — the most in all of McLaughlin’stenure.She said that if the team learns

throughout the season, they should winsome matches.“There is a lot of raw talent on our

team this year,” McLaughlin said. “If thegirls are constantly learning, competing,and working to add more to their game, wewill be a tough team to beat.”

BP SPORTS

BP volleyball team willfeature younger athletes

CC teams come out strong

Austin Daily Herald

The Pacelli girls tennis team bringsback five players with varsity experi-ence from last year, but it must replacetwo of its top three singles players andits top doubles team.Senior Abby Leif, a captain, and sen-

ior Mindy Nguyen have stepped upearly on as leaders.“Mindy has already showed veteran

mentality in early practices,” Pacellihead coach Mark Henderson, who is inhis third year, said.

Pacelli has just six players on its ros-ter, which is four short of whole team.The team will have to forfeit plenty ofmatches, but Henderson is hoping theplayers that are there can learn.“We have to overcome the fact that

we do not have enough players for a fullvarsity,” Henderson said. “Our five re-turnees have shown improvement dur-ing the first week of practice.”Tiffany Hoesing, Maggie Leif and

Besty Ettinger all have varsity experi-ence with the Shamrocks, who are hop-ing for improvements this fall.

PACELLI SPORTS

Shamrocks look to improve

Austin Daily Herald

The Pacelli cross country teambrings back five boys and three girlsfrom last year’s team as it hopes for aquality season.The boys will look to Stephen

Juenger, Drew Chapek and JonathonKoppa to lead the way, while the girls

will be led by Madeline Kraemer.“These are the people that we will

be counting on to provide theyounger members of the team theleadership they need,” Pacelli headcoach Jim Parlin, who in his 28thyear, said. “We’d like to improve asthe year progresses, have fun andstay healthy.”

Pacelli runners have experience

2011 fall sports preview

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