Kansas Hardwood, Volume 5 C N B
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mprovement is the name of the game this year with the Eagles. Brad Wildeman starts his second season as head coach after a 3-18 record in 2015-16. Included was a league finish of 1-10. Returning starters are: seniors Brooks Curry, 6’3”, 10.5 points per game and 5 rebounds, Donte Whitfield, 6’3”, 7 points and 4 rebounds, and Leighton Rinehart, 5’10”, 3.5 points and 2 rebounds, and sophomore Jordan Schippers, 6’2”, 11 points and 5 rebounds. Girls The Lady Eagles have a deep bench with at least a dozen players expected to start the 2016-17 season having varsity experience. Finding a go-to scorer will be something Colby will have to figure out as the season progresses. “Almost half of our schedule will be against schools with a higher classification than ours,” said Ryan Becker, who starts his fourth year at Colby. “Our schedule will provide the needed competition for us to prepare for a sub-State run. We need to be competitive and show a certain amount of fight in each and every game for us to reach our goals at the end of the season.” Returning starters are: senior guards Bailey Foss and Jordan O’Malley, both 5’6”, and Courtney Van Eaton, 5’8”. Other seniors are: Jordan Slaven and Callie Siruta.
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Concordia Panthers
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he Panthers return four players with experience, including Ian Nordell, a two-year starter. The 6’4” senior averages 11.3 points per game and 6.4 rebounds. The other returning starter is Billy Bechard, 6’0” junior. They have big shoes to fill with the graduation of Cooper Holmes and a solid senior class. “All will have to raise their level of play,” said Michael Roe, who starts his fifth year as Panther coach. “Our returners are very athletic and have played a lot of minutes on the court.” Concordia finished the 2015-16 season with an overall record of 13-8 and a league record of 6-4.
Girls The Lady Panthers hope to improve on their 3-17 record this past season. To do that, junior Cydney Bergmann, 5’8”, 12 points per game and 6.3 rebounds, and sophomore Mykah Eshbaugh, 6’1”, 9.9 points and 7 rebounds, will have to shoulder the load, said Michael Wahlmeier, who is in his fifth year at Concordia. Jordan Eshbaugh, a 5’10” senior who averages 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, is out until February with a knee injury. “Our depth will be better
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Hesston Swathers
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esston returns four experienced players, but will have to develop depth as the season goes on. “We will not have a large number of players this year,” said Matt Richardson, who is in his 12th season as head coach. “With a roster of just under 20, our girls are going to have to come to practice and work hard everyday ... We will be inexperienced at many positions and rebounding is a definite concern for the upcoming season.” He expects the 2016-17 season to be “tough” simply because of the talent in Hesston’s league. “You will not be able to overlook anyone this season. This might be the most balanced the CKL has ever been from top to bottom,” Richardson said. The Lady Swathers ended the 2015-16 season with an overall record of 18-5 and a league record of 9-2. Returning letter winners include seniors Olivia Brubacher and Emma Clark. Boys Seniors Zach Vogt, 5’9”, 13.1 points per game, and Zach Esau, 5’11”, 10.3 points, bring leadership and experience to this season’s team. Fellow seniors Cole McCreary, 6’5”, and Dylan Fry, 6’0”, will be expected to fill the gaps from losing five seniors from this past season’s 20-3 team and 1st-place league finish with an 11-0 record. “We will have an experienced backcourt and a good big man inside with McCreary,” said head coach Greg Raleigh. “We need some of our freshmen and sophomores from last season to fill the holes from losing five seniors off of last year’s team.”
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