(ugoton6olleyball...the meade lady buffaloes volleyball team is coming off of a 34- ... 2019 fall...

2019 FALL SPORTS PREVIEW 33

34 2019 FALL SPORTS PREVIEW


By ROBERT PIERCE• Leader &Times

After an 0-2 start to last year’s season, the Meade Buffaloesbegan playing well toward the end of the campaign, with key winsover Southwestern Heights, Stanton County, Sublette andSyracuse.

This gained Coach Justin Powell’s gridiron team a place in theplayoffs, where they took on a tough Sedgwick team for the secondtime in three weeks, losing this time 20-2.

That loss, Powell said, was an improvement over the previousbattle with Sedgwick, when the Buffaloes went down 42-7.

Powell said this season’s hopes bring a competitive team, makingimprovements with each and every week.

“We want to be a defense that flies to the ball and an offense thatgrinds out long drives,” he said. “Every individual on the MeadeBuffalo team wants to play with the passion of their fallenteammate, Kincaid Meyers.”

On offense, Powell returns several key players, including leadingrusher Greyson Hayes and fellow running back Caden Martin, thelatter of whom rushed for more than 400 years last season.

Sophomore offensive lineman Cullen Lumry, who measures 6feet, 4 inches tall at 250 pounds, and Jonathan Unruh, playingrunning back and cornerback, are likewise key contributors to

Meade’s success.Powell also has some key newcomers for this year’s football

squad, including Grant Gillum, Preston Woodruff, Carson Godfreyand Zachary Volden, all of whom the coach said could make astrong impact on both sides of the ball.

The keys to the Buffaloes’ succes this year, Powell said, are theteam’s offensive line and the entire team’s aggressiveness as acollective group.

“We will start several underclassmen at key positions, and that’sexciting for the future of Buffalo football,” he said. “We’re excitedto get the season started agains the top two teams in the Hi PlainsLeague.”


Meade High School’s cross country team had what CoachGarrett Daugherty called an up and down year.

“We had a few setbacks in the middle of the season, but startedfinishing stronger towards the end,” he said.

The team saw some good senior leadership leave, but Daughertysaid he has a lot of returning youth on both the boys and girls team.

The coach likewise said this season has started with some verystrong workouts.

“We are battling a lot of aches, pains and soreness, but we arehopeful we will get completely healthy soon and be ready to getgoing by our first couple of meets,” he said.

Daugherty’s top returning runners for the boys team are juniorVance Shewey and sophomore Arron Orr, both of whom the coachsaid have worked their way up on the team.

For the girls, junior Katie Welsh and sophomore HaleyThompson are back as key athletes for Meade cross country.

“They consistently were in medal contention and put in goodsummer work and return as some of our top runners again thisyear,” Daugherty said.

The coach added he has some incoming freshmen he feels will bestrong for Meade.

“On the boys side, Kody Henson has had a few good practicesrecently, “On the girls side, Madison Sutterfield has been doingextremely well and has a good chance to run some really fast timesand be our number one runner. Kyra Shewey will be another thatwhen she gets fully healthy should really help us and be in our topfour as well.”

In the Hi Plains League, Daugherty said he is hopeful to betowards the top and contend for a title in girls cross country, but theboys team looks to be more difficult.

“On the guys side with losing a lot of numbers and seniors, it’ll bemore challenging, but we are hopeful to be in the middle of thepack team wise,” he said.

So how does Meade look in terms of chances for a state title?Daugherty said this simply depends on which classification the

school will be in.“Our numbers are down this year, and with the reorganization of

classifications, we are on the bubble of being 1A or 2A,” he said.“With having five guys and six girls, it would help us to be 1A in caseof injuries to have a full team.”

Daugherty said the goal in both girls and boys cross country is tocompete at regional, all along trying to do their best, with theultimate goal of a shot to go to state.

“Our girls side has talent, but we are young, so we will have a fewbumps in the road, but we have the possibility of making it to stateand having a good showing,” he said.

So what is the key to that kind of success for Meade? Again,Daugherty had a simple answer.

“Growth,” he said. “We have to learn to just go compete and notworry about placings and times at every race. We’re not trying towin a state championship at the first meet. We also need to realizewe’re going to have a bad race every now and then. We can befrustrated we didn’t do as well as we wanted, but if we gave every-thing we had that day, we can trust it will get better.”

Buffaloes want to continue improvement from late 2018

Meade cross country looking for consistency in 2019


The Meade Lady Buffaloes volleyball team is coming off of a 34-7 campaign in 2018, which Head Coach Leann Krier called a “fairlysuccessful year.”

That record was enough for the team to repeat as Hi PlainsLeague champs in both the regular season and the leaguetournament. The team likewise qualified for the state tournamentfor the second consecutive year.

Krier lost eight players from last year’s team to graduation, butshe has three girls coming back who played integral roles on thatteam.

“Corbyn Carr has been a three year starter in the middle,” shesaid. “She’ll be a six rotation player this year, which is new for her.Lauren Christensen ran right side and some middle for us last year.She’s back for her junior year. Kiana Unruh stepped in to oursetting position at the end of the season last year as a freshman anddid a phenomenal job. She’s back this year as well.”

Krier likewise has a lot of newcomers to the varsity level who shebelieves will need to have an impact right from the start.

“But I have confidence in their ability,” she said. “They weresuccessful at the JV level, and we have some really great talent. I’mexcited to watch them develop over the season and see how theymake this team their own.”

Krier said she expects her girls to be in the conversation for the

Hi Plains League, but she added a couple of teams will providestrong challenges for Meade.

“Where they finish will depend on how we can figure each otherand our new roles out,” she said. “This will be the last year we are amember of the Hi Plains League, so we’re hoping to go out on agood note.”

Krier called playoff time a bit of a mystery for Meade volleyball.“It is likely we will end up as a 1A school this year instead of 2A,”

she said. “So that introduces a completely different set of teamsthat we don’t know very much about. Pair that with the 1A stateplayoffs, and we will be taking it as it comes. I do expect them to becompetitive everywhere they go however.”

Lady Buffs want to top successful 34-7 season in 2018


Artesian Valley HealthSystems

Meade football


ELLY GRIMM• Leader &Times

Many athletic programs will be using this upcoming season torebuild, and the Satanta Indians football team is among them.

Last season was a rebuilding year for the Indians after losingseveral seniors to graduation, and head coach Justin Helton said hehas high expectations for this season.

“We made the playoffs and were short on numbers, we actuallyplayed our last game with eight players last year. We ended up at 4-5 last year,” Helton said. “We thought we could do better, but we'dalso graduated 12 seniors from the season before when we'd gone7-2, so that's a lot of players that had to step up for last year andoverall they did a good job.”

The desire to improve upon last year, Helton said, brought moreguys to the weight room and other offseason workouts.

“It ended up really well, we averaged 18 players every day in theweight room and we've gotten a lot faster and a lot stronger for thisyear,” Helton said. “We've also got some guys out for this year whohadn't come out before. We have 21 out for football this year totaland we're basically healthy and we're returning starters on bothsides of the ball, so I think we'll have a good season this year. Oursenior quarterback and safety will be important for us, and he's alsoracked up some honors and is a great rusher and passer. I've alsogot a defensive end who will be great who also plays receiver for us

and he had a great track season, so I expect a good year out of him.I've got several other starters I've got high hopes for and I'mwanting a good year. We've also got a big freshman class on theteam for this year, they're really talented and I'll have those guys onboth sides of the ball, there's just a lot of talent there.”

Overall, Helton said, he expects improvement from his teameach and every week.

“I expect us to improve with each play and each game. I think ourline will be much improved from last year since we'd lost a reallytalented offensive line to graduation. But this year our line shouldbe much stronger and I hope for that to lead to some good thingsfor us,” Helton said. “We're in a really tough district and we'reopening up with Spearville, they've been really dominant for the

past five or six seasons, so they'll be a big early test for us. Otis-Bison and Ingalls should also be good tests for us, and we'll also begoing up against Stafford and Minneola. We'll definitely have ourhands full with our district. My two assistant coaches have beengreat to work with and it's great that we're able to really be one onone with the players.”

Team unity will also be important for the young Indians for thisseason, Helton said.

“We want to be injury-free and we want to play with team unity,”Helton said. “Especially with all the freshmen we have coming inwe'll need to be sure everyone's on the same page and make surethey'll all play with each other and for each other. If we do that, weshould have a good season.”

Satanta rebuilding with stronger numbers in 2019“I expect us to improve with each play and each game. I think our line willbe much improved from last year since we'd lost a really talented offensiveline to graduation. But this year our line should be much stronger and I

hope for that to lead to some good things for us.”— SATANTA COACH JUSTIN HELTON


Meade Girls Tennis Coach Lori Bigler had four of her six playersgo to the state tournament in 2018, making for a strong season forthe Lady Buffs.

However, four of those girls graduated, so 2019 looks to be arebuilding year for Bigler.

“We are excited our team is growing, and we have 14 out, a largenumber for our small school,” she said.

Overall, Bigler has four returning players, two of which made itto state in singles last year. Seniors Monica Gleason and Ali Unruhare the top two players are the Lady Buffs team, and the coachanticipates the pair to be paying some doubles together later in theseason.

“We also have junior Abby Klasssen and sophomore Lily Ritterreturning,” Bigler said. “Though neither of them have much varsityexperience, they are both willing to step up for their team. They willeach be one half of a doubles team.”

Bigler likewise has a couple of breakout players for this season.“One of our players, Kaya Hartnett, is new to tennis, but is

athletic and picking up the sport quickly,” she said. “She will be akey part of our varsity team.”

Bigler also has a couple of other players who on an acceleratedlearning curve and will travel with the team to varsity matches.

“One is Karsen Jones, a sophomore, and Sigrid Heringstad, ajunior foreign exchange student, who is new to tennis, but not tosports,” she said.

As for her chances in the Hi Plains League and for state, Biglersaid with this being a rebuilding year, the season will come down to

one point at a time, one match at a time and one meet at a time.“Though my seniors have goals and expectations to qualify for

their third state tournament bid, I have no prediction on the rest ofthe team, but just hope to see improvement and enjoyment for eachof the members,” she said.

Bigler said strong leadership and positive modeling are the LadyBuffs greatest strengths, and these will contribute most to theteam’s success this year.

“As most people know, tennis is played in the head as much onthe court, so having my seniors help train the younger players howto develop their mental game will go so far,” she said. “Of course,we don't have much time to get people up to speed with such ashort season so we are looking to the long term and remain veryexcited about our growing program.”

Meade tennis looks to rebuild after state appearances in 2018


AK roofing 2Stanton Co. volleyball



Stanton County football is coming off a rather disappointingseason, according to Coach Brett Kendrick.

“We only won two games, lost the rest,” he said. “It just wasn’twhat I expected them to be, and they, I’m sure, expect to be a two-win team.”

Despite this, Kendrick is optimistic for the 2019 campaign, andthe Trojans have a total of 36 players out for this year’s team, whichthe coach said is the most Stanton County has had in a while.

“I’m happy for that,” he said. “The kids are working hard. They’vejust got to learn how to win a ball game.”

Kendrick said learning how to win is the biggest hurdle is teamneeds to overcome.

“In adverse conditions and when things don’t go our way, we tend

to let it weigh on us real heavily, and we just kind of start shuttingdown and shutting down,” he said. “We can’t do that. We’ve got tolearn that we can play through this, and we can be successful eventhough bad things happen. That’s what we’re really trying to focusin on this year – the battling through things and learning how tobecome winners. They are. They just don’t know it.”

Kendrick has many key players returning for this year, and he saidall of them, as well as newcomers, are important to the Trojans’success.

“I don’t like naming names because this is a team sport, but I’vegot a lot of kids,” he said. “This year is more like a family conditionor a family of players rather than individual, and I think that’s goingto be the glue that binds us together this year. We all pull for eachother, and we’re all working for each other. I think that’s going to bebig for us.”

Kendrick did not downplay the impact newcomers can make for

this year’s squad.“They’re all potentially great football players,” he said. “We’ve just

got to prove it on the field.”Kendrick said Stanton County’s chances for success will be tried

every week of the upcoming season.“Every game is going to be a test for us, and we just have to take

it one game at a time and see where it gets us to the end of theseason, whether that games done early or it’s done after Thanks-giving,” he said. “I don’t have a crystal ball to tell you where we’regoing to land, but we’re shooting for the stars.”

So for Kendrick, the Trojans’ success simply comes down toplayers learning they are winners.

“They’ve got to play through adversity,” he said. “They’ve got toplay together as a team and not worry about themselves, but worryabout the team itself, and play every down as if it was their last. Ifthey can do that, I think we’re going to be really successful.”

Strong numbers leads to optimism forStanton County Trojans after tough 2018

Cook looking to defend golfing state title in 2019By ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader &Times

Stanton County High School did not have enough golfers tomake up its girls team last year, but there were three individualplayers.

Those players included two returning juniors and one incomingfreshmen, and although not being able to compete as a team was adisappointment, Head Coach Marty Cook’s top player, Rylie Cook,won the 3-2-1A state championship. Rylie’s twin sister, CaelynCook, also took sixth place at state.

Individually, Coach Cook has high expectations for the 2019season.

“Our two best players are returning from last season,” he said.

“We have two additions to the team, so we look forward to possiblycompeting as a team once again.”

For the Stanton County coach, the Cook twins are bothreturning for this year to contribute to the success of girls golf inJohnson.

“Rylie is looking forward to defending her title, and Caelyn iscoming back from an ACL injury and is working hard to improveher placement in the state tournament,” Marty said.

The Trojan coach likewise has three newcomers he believes willmake a great impact on his team.

“Junior Joslyn Peters is new to the Stanton County girls golfteam, but not new to golf,” he said. “We look forward to her contri-bution to the team. Natali Molina, our returning sophomore, wasbrand new to the game last year and made great strides. We look

forward to her improving her skill level and positively impactingteam scores. Incoming freshman Areli Rodriguez is new to thesport. She has shown great potential in the first few weeks ofpractice.”

With some postseason experience already under their belts,Coach Cook sees this year’s Trojan golfers going far again.

“If our new players continue to develop, we look forward tocompeting as a team at state,” he said.

The Stanton County coach likewise expects his team to work forwhat they earn, and he believes they can do just that.

“The girls know nothing will be handed to them,” he said. “Theyhave to come out every day and work hard. Leadership from theupperclassmen will be critical in helping develop their youngteammates.”


Both of Stanton County’s cross country teams had very successful2018 seasons, both ending in the state competition.

The boys particularly were successful, finishing as runner ups atthe state level. The girls did pretty well too, finishing ninth at state,and Coach Mike Horton returns all his primary runners.

The coach is likewise getting a great class of freshmen in both

boys and girls cross country.“Isaiah Barrera returns,” he said. “He was fifth at state for the

guys as well as Spencer Schmidt. He was 17th at state. PeytonPeterson, she was 16th at state.”

Horton said freshman Kamryn Golub will improve an alreadystrong boys team for the Trojans, and he feels incoming freshmenChesney Peterson, Suzanne Farnham, Belle Batterton andCassandra Aleman will contribute immediately for the LadyTrojans.

Horton said both teams need to continue to work hard, stayhealthy and injury free.

“If these things happen, we could compete very well at theleague, regional and state meets,” he said.

The Trojans’ key to success, according to their coach, is to workdaily.

“We call it keeping the ball rolling,” he said. “This team is verytalented one mile at a time. One day at a time. One race at a time.Trust in your teammates. I believe this team will do these things.”

Trojans ready to return to state cross country meet


Stanton Co. True ValueStanton Co. football

Hooker battles Thomas in a game in 2018.The Bulldogs are preparing for another playoff run after two strong season with a combined 23-3 record. Filephoto



Under the leadership of Head Coach TrevorPowers, Hooker football has enjoyed somesuccess not seen prior to his arrival.

That success has included 12-2 and 11-1records the past two seasons for the Bulldogs,with one of those years finding the team goingdeep into the playoffs.

Last year’s season would end in the secondround of the playoffs as the highly rankedHooker team lost to the fifth rank team in thestate.

“It was just one of those deals of how it fell,and they just beat us,” Powers said of thematchup in the playoffs.

Powers has five potential starters back onoffense, as well as other players with some

experience in Bulldog blue.“We bring back five guys who have started at

some point, so it’s going to be a little bit youngerteam, but a really good core group of kids,” hesaid. “The line is going to be mostly made up ofseniors. They just didn’t start last year becausethey were playing behind a big group of seniors.A lot of kids who have some experience.”

For the 2019 campaign, Powers hasnewcomer Gavin Parker at quarterback to runHooker’s multiple spread offense. The Bulldogsalso feature an untraditional 4-4 scheme ondefense.

To build on the team’s success from last year,Powers said the formula is simple.

“As long as we continue to do things we’vedone over the last several years, play with a lot ofintensity, take care of the football, play gooddefense, I think we should have another year on

par with what we’ve come to expect,” he said.With a winning ratio of nearly eight to one the

past two seasons, Powers said Hooker football isdefinitely on the rise.

“I think at this point, our goal is to win themall,” he said. “We’re 23-3 in two years. We’ve onlylost one district game, one home game. We wonour first district title this year in 34 years, so theexpectations certainly changed over the last fouror five years. We’re trying to win them all. Lossesare taking very well when they’re so few and farbetween.”

This philosophy, Powers said, has put therecent Bulldog teams much above averagecompared to those in the past, and he has seenthose years as an opponent of Hooker.

“I grew up in Texhoma, so I played them allthrough school,” he said. “It’s different than itwas.”

Bulldogs look to continue strong runsafter back-to-back deep playoff runs


A 7-17 campaign that saw the loss of fourstarters to graduation may seem a little dimfor some, but Hooker Softball Coach AaronRuiz is looking to continue the progress onthe diamond this year with a few players leftfrom last season’s squad.

“We have a few girls back who saw signif-icant action last year and a lot of girls getplaying time, so we are trying to build rightnow,” he said.

Part of that team from last year are seniorTomi Hise, who plays shortstop, pitcher andcatcher, and sophomore Morgan Maloney,also a triple threat at pitcher, shortstop andfirst base.

Along with those players, Ruiz believesfreshman catcher Ana Gomez will make adifference for this year’s Lady Bulldogs.

Ruiz believes his team can achieve highlevels of success, despite last season’s record,and build momentum this season.

“We play a pretty tough eight-team districtschedule, so we are working to get into thetop four to advance to playoffs,” he said.

Ruiz said improved thinking is key toachieving that success.

“We just need to play and gain confidencein what we are doing,” he said. “We have atalented group of girls that, as we gain moreexperience, the better we will get,” he said.

LadyBulldogscontinue tobuild softballprogram

(ugoton6olleyball...the meade lady buffaloes volleyball team is coming off of a 34- ... 2019 fall...

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