Spring Sports 2011

Spring Sports 2011

Edwardsville High School

Metro East Lutheran High School

Ă&#x20AC;FWTaT BRXT]RT P]S 1TPdch <TTcĂ

BP]cT BTaeXRTb

Â&#x2021; /DVHU +DLU 5HPRYDOÂ&#x2021; 0LFURGHUPDEUDVLRQ Â&#x2021;6LJQDWXUH )DFLDOV Â&#x2021; ,QMHFWDEOHV Â&#x2021; :HLJKW 0DQDJHPHQW

2246 State Rt 157, Suite 175,Glen Carbon, IL (Meridian Centre 1)

Dennis M. Hurford MD, Medical Director 618-288-4016 www.santeskinandbodyspa.com

BP]cT BZX] 2PaT ?a^SdRcb

Â&#x2021; 3&$ 6NLQ &KHPLFDO 3HHOV Â&#x2021; /DWLVVH Â&#x2021; &RORUVFLHQFH 3UR 0LQHUDO 0DNH XS

Gift Certificates Available

Page 2 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TIGER BASEBALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bill Roseberry/Intelligencer

Senior members of the 2011 Edwardsville Tigers are, in front from left to right: Jacob Pence, Jared Krebs, Dallas Levey, Brad Davenport and Jordan Barnett. Standing from left to right are: Tyler Hasty, Travis Opel, Zach Sedlacek, Sam Stolte and Eddie Akers.

By BILL ROSEBERRY broseberry@edwpub.net

T h e E d w a rd s v i l l e Ti g e r s bowed out of the playoffs in the opening round for the second time in three seasons in 2010.

It's an uncharacteristic statistic for a program that has 26 regional titles, 14 state appearances and two state titles in its history.

EHS lost to the Alton Redbirds 10-6 in the Class 4A Granite City Regional semifinals in 2010.

Edwardsville finished with a record of 24-12. It was also the Redbirds that ousted the Tigers in the opening round in 2008.

But now the slate is clean a n d E H S h e a d c o a c h Ti m Funkhouser, entering his 13th season at the helm of the Tigers, is ready for another shot.

"Every year is a little different," said Funkhouser. "Our guys that are here are competing. It's early on for us, but we're still trying to see some things. There's a lot of guys competing for spots which makes it fun.

"Tony La Russa always talks about that being the ideal setting."

The orange and black lost some key components from last year's squad like Michael Failoni (.441, 5 HR, 36 RBIs), Tyler Mikrut (.391, 10 HR, 46 RBIs) and Tim Messer (.353, 6 HR, 25 RBIs) from the lineup. From the pitching staff the Tigers lost, Bill McFarland (6-0, 3.62 ERA) and Chris Erickson (4-2, 3.19 ERA, 8 saves).

Erickson's eight saves ranks

No. 1 on the all-time list for saves in a season.

Failoni's 125 RBIs rank third all-time on the career list while his 61 RBIs during his junior year are second on the season list. His 16 career home runs sit fifth alltime for the Tigers too.

Erickson (Rose-Hulman University), Failoni (Heartland Community), McFarland (SWIC) and Mikrut (John A. Logan) are all enjoying college careers now.

And while those Tigers will pose some formidable shoes to fill, Funkhouser feels he's got some experienced horses to do it in 2011.

"I think anytime you've got some guys that have been through some of the battles I think that helps out," he said.

"We didn't get deep in the postseason, but (Zach) Sedlacek got a good amount of at-bats and (Jordan) Barnett played each day at second base and was allconference. Having those guys as well as other seniors like, Tyler Hasty, Eddie Akers, Sam Stolte, who was on the mound, and juniors like Matt Huelsmann, who played everyday, helps."

The other aspect that should help the EHS program mature is the summer program. This will be the inaugural class that played for the Tigers in the summer and Funkhouser believes that will benefit in '11.

"A lot of those guys got to play together and we got to see what they could do in competition already," he said. "We had guys moving around and seeing

where they fit in, but that's not our sole evaluation. This spring we're continuing to evaluate.

For a high school kid, being six or seven months removed from when we finished in the summer, a lot of guys get stronger, build hand-eye coordination, or just build confidence in general.

Ultimately it's going out there and competing to see who gets to compete in games."

Sedlacek looks to be a stalwart for EHS both in the batter's box and on the mound.

After hitting .276 with two homers and 24 RBIs in the spring, the 6-foot-8, 230 pound titan powered up for a .344 average with 10 bombs and 50 RBIs over the summer.

He went 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA on the hill in the summer, after compiling a 4-1 mark with a 3.28 ERA in the spring.

Others seemed to progress in the summer too. Akers raised his spring average from .268 to .436 in the summer. Hasty went from .341 with two home runs to .343 with five round trippers.

Senior Jared Krebs went from hitting .260 in the spring to .423

in the summer.

Barnett (.363 to .355) and Huelsmann (.356 to .345) hit nearly the same from season to season.

The summer also gave seniors like Dallas Levey, Travis Opel, Jacob Pence and Brad Davenport time on the field, along with j u n i o r s D e re k P a g e , M a t t Mokriakow, Devin Briehan and Javon Boyd and sophomores Tylor Sanders and Drew Curtis.

Stolte saw his stock rise on the mound over the summer. He was 7-2 with an ERA of 2.56 and had 50 strikeouts in 52 innings.

That followed a junior campaign where he posted an 0-4 record with a 3.89 ERA. He will figure into the top of the rotation for the Tigers this season.

Briehan and Boyd also figured prominently over the summer and look to be keys to the pitching staff.

Briehan was 1-3 with a 2.41 ERA on the 2010 season before earning three wins during the summer.

Boyd erupted onto the scene this summer after not seeing any time as a junior for EHS.

Continued on Page 3

TIGER PRIDE! For 121 120 years, First Clover Leaf Bank has played a For vital role in shaping the history of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. We’ve never forgotten what it means to be the local community bank — offering firsthand banking and financial services, putting our customers first and investing in our community... the place we call home.

First Clover Leaf Bank is proud to support the

,;97DE A8 6I3D6EH;>>7 ;9: +5:AA>

Goshen Center 6814 Goshen Road Edwardsville, IL 656-6122

157 Center 2143 S. Route 157, Edwardsville, IL 692-9900

Downtown 300 St. Louis Street, Edwardsville, IL 656-6200

Wood River 1046 Madison Ave. Wood River, IL 254-8445

firstcloverleafbank.com

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - TheIntelligencer.com – SPRING SPORTS – Page 3

TIGER SOFTBALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

The Edwardsville Tigers will enter the upcoming season without the target that has been on their backs for the last few seasons with the loss of two premier players.

The Tigers will be without arguably the school’s greatest hitter, Rachel Coonrod, now at SIUE, and one of the top hurlers in school history with Erin Greenwalt now at Bowling Green State. Coonrod leaves EHS as a career .521 hitter with 22 home runs while Greenwalt was 16-2 in the circle with a 1.11 ERA during her four years. She also hit .402 last season with nine round trippers and 36 RBIs. “They were very dominating seniors that were very clutch throughout,” said Blade of Coonrod and Greenwalt. “We have some big shoes to fill. We do return a lot and we do have a good nucleus of seniors but we are going to have to figure a way to score runs without those two kids. We will also have to solidify the defense and we will have to go to some youth for pitching.”

With the losses of Coonrod and Greenwalt, all is not lost for the Tigers, because they return a cupboard full of talent from last season’s 33-2 squad including eight starters.

Becca Strope leads the way of returnees after hitting .444 last season with seven home runs and 44 RBIs. She was also 10-0 in the circle with a 0.13 ERA to go with 77 strikeouts and 13 walks. Blade said her senior slugger will be counted on to double as the ace this year while spending time as a flex hitter.

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Seniors for the Edwardsville Tigers are, in front from left to right: Sara Worster, Caty Ponce and Michelle Cristel. In back from left to right are: Alicia Nichols, Becca Strope, Mary O'Keefe, Karly McLaughlin and Mallory Milner.

After Strope, the Tigers will have sophomore Amber Toenyes and senior Karly McLaughlin battling for time.

“I think we will go with a three player (rotation) with Becca, Karly McLaughlin will hopefully get some innings in and then Amber Toenyes,” said Blade.

Meanwhile, Coonrod’s replacement at third base is still a position up for grabs with a couple of seniors, Sara Worster and Mallory Milner, battling for the position on the field and in the batting order.

“I have Sara and Mallory Milner battling for it now and we will see how that goes and I

have some younger kids that will challenge as well,” said Blade.

Shortstop is another position still up for grabs according to Blade. Sophomores Sydney Bloch and Taylor Maggio both saw time last year at shortstop along with Worster.

“If Sara can solidify third base and hopefully Sydney can do her job at short again, then those two will take care of themselves,” said Blade.

While the left side of the infield is up for grabs, the Tigers are solid on the right side with senior Caty Ponce again at second base and a combination of Toenyes and Strope at first base.

Junior Kendall Navin will return for her second full season behind the plate after hitting .414 last year.

The outfield is still up for grabs with four players battling for three spots. Senior Michelle Cristel will return for her last year and looks slated to be in right field with sophomore Aubry Dickmann patrolling center. That would make left field a battle between senior Alicia Nichols and Maggio.

“There are going to be some pretty good challenges in the outfield,” said Blade. “There are some young kids that may step up and challenge at some

point but I really look for coach (Donna) Farley’s outfield to really be solid this year.”

Along with the battles at third base and outfield, the Tigers will look to piece together the batting order as well.

Last year, Dickmann led off and hit .320 as a freshman while Ponce hit .402 with 12 extra base hits in the No. 2 hole. Strope will move up a spot in the order and hit third while Toenyes will move into the clean up spot. Toenyes hit .375 with three home runs in her freshman season.

Behind Toenyes Blade could go with Cristel, a .350 hitter, Worster or Navin with all three being solid options. A combination of Maggio, Nichols and Bloch could fill out the last two spots, but Blade has plenty of interchangeable parts and could move any hitter to any spot in the order.

“I really have not looked that far into it with trying to solidify the defense first,” said Blade.

No matter how Blade shapes out her defense, rotation and lineup, she knows that her team will have to do battle with the O’Fallon Panthers if they want to claim another Southwestern Conference title. The Panthers return a majority of the players that helped knock the Tigers out of the sectional semifinals last year and give EHS its only two losses on the season.

“I would not be shocked if the state rankings came out and they were No. 1 with everything that they return. I think they have an awfully good one-two punch with their pitching. With everything that they return, they have to be the pick in the conference,” said Blade.

TIGER BASEBALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Continued from Page 2

He led the team with a 1.56 ERA while going 4-1 and following only Stolte in innings pitched with 40.2.

Sophomore Bryce Cantrall should be a workhorse for Funkhouser too. As a freshman he was a flawless 4-0 and rang up a 4.71 ERA. He didn't pitch with the Tigers during the summer program. He will be towards the top of the staff.

Another sophomore who should see valuable time for Edwardsville is Jordan Heckler.

He projects to play some middle infield in '11.

It's still early and Funkhouser is making tweaks to the lineup. " We ' re a b o u t f o u r d e e p everywhere," he said.

He mentioned new names like: Shane Schmidt (jr.) and Alec Pizzini (soph.) at catcher,

Alex Reese (jr.) at first and third, Jacob Jennings (soph.) at first, Jake Hanks (jr.) at second, Zack Sparks (soph.) at third, outfield and pitcher, Blake Graham (soph.) in the outfield along

with juniors Cameron Clouser and Nick Caban as possible contributors too.

"We'll see as the spring progresses on who stacks up well," Funkhouser said. "It's an

exciting time."

The Tigers will open the season

at 4:30 p.m. next Tuesday against Greenville at Tom Pile Field.

STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES HOME OFFICES: BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS

STEVE R. ELLSWORTH Agent

1403-A Troy Road Edwardsville, IL 62025

OFC: (618) 656-3141 RES: (618) 656-0282 FAX: (618) 656-0596

Board Certified 32 Years

Page 4 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TIGER SOCCER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

For the first time since 2007 the Edwardsville Tiger girls’ soccer team will have some stability at the head coaching position.

Abby Bohnenstiehl will return for her second season at the helm after the Tigers had previously gone through three coaches in three years prior to Bohnenstiehl’s hiring at the beginning of last season.

In her first year she inherited a team with 11 seniors and a Division I goalkeeper and now, after a 9-7-4 record last year, she will look for seven seniors to lead the way for the team in a tough Southwestern Conference.

“It is going to be a little bit of a transition because we will have to figure out where everyone is going to be playing this year. We have seven seniors this year so we still have a pretty big number of seniors this year too,” said Bohnenstiehl.

The Tigers will have seven seniors on the roster — Tyler Dudley, Taylor Fath, Andi H e s s l e r, H a n n a h M c E l ro y, Tori Owens, Katie Wilson and Meredith Wright — that will try and help replace 68 percent of its offense and one of the top goalies in the state of Illinois from last season.

Lauren Parkin, the starting goalkeeper for the past four seasons, is now a freshman on the University of Illinois’ women’s soccer team.

Bohnenstiehl said it will be very tough to replace her but the team does have some options on the roster.

“We still have Megan Ohm, she is a junior this year, and we have two new incoming freshman, Kennedy Martin and Kristen Francis,” said Bohnenstiehl. “I am hoping over time that they can step up.”

Though the Tigers will have a

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Seniors for the Edwardsville Tigers pictured left to right are: Taylor Fath, Hannah McElroy, Andi Hessler, Meredith Wright and Tori Owens. Seniors not pictured are: Tyler Dudley and Katie Wilson. new goalie they will return their entire back line which should ease the pressure. Owens, Fath and Hessler along with junior Rachel Kinney form the defensive unit.

McElroy will be the lone returning senior in the midfield.

On the offensive side of the ball Edwardsville lost 26 of the 38 goals scored last season.

Rachel Compton (12 goals), Adrianne Kalogerou (five goals) and Shelby Dittmar (four goals) have moved on to collegiate athletics, leaving Bohnenstiehl looking for some scoring.

Fath is the leading returning scorer with five goals and her coach is hoping she can find the

back of the net even more this season along with everybody else. Wright will be the primary forward entering this season with Fath moving back to her natural position on defense.

“I am looking for the returning players to add to their production and we also have some incoming freshmen that are forwards also,” said Bohnenstiehl. “We only have Meredith Wright returning up top and she really stepped up her game last year.”

Along with the seniors, Edwardsville has plenty of talent in its class of juniors and sophomores. Katelyn Meyenburg rounds out the class

of returning juniors who saw varsity time along with Kinney and Ohm. Tayler Heinemeier, Taylor Tosovsky and Rachel Wiesehan return after finding the pitch as freshmen. Tosovsky played both on the back line and at forward while Wiesehan was primarily used in the midfield with some spot time on defense.

The Tigers will have two new additions to the schedule this year, including their own tournament to start the season.

They will also travel to Quincy towards the end of the season to participate in a tourney up north that Bohnenstiehl feels will help bring the team together.

CROSS

47 Years of Trusted Experience!

Good luck to all the athletes at EHS

CARPET • HARDWOOD • CERAMIC TILE NATURAL STONE • LAMINATES • VINYL

AUTO BODY & TOWING, INC.

GO TIGERS! “On 1-10, our experience was 10+” Ann S.

Celebrating over 30 years in business!

See us for ALL of your automotive needs.

24-Hour Towing Collision Repair Mechanical Repair

Floor Coverings, Inc. 1009 Plummer Drive

(Hwy 157 Across from Bella Milano) Mon., Wed., Fri. 9 am - 7:30 pm Tues. & Thur. 9 am - 5:30 pm Sat. 9 am - 4 pm

Edwardsville, IL 62025

(618) 656-7788

www.vallowfloor.com

“I am really looking forward to our first tournament because it is before any of our other games start and I am looking forward to the Quincy Tournament because it is new and an overnight trip,” said Bohnenstiehl.

Outside of the two tournaments, EHS will once again have a difficult SWC schedule. Bohnenstiehl believes that the other six teams in the league will all be equally tough for her squad and that there are no give-me’s on the schedule this year.

“All of our teams in conference are always so good,” Bohnenstiehl said.

Go EHS!

(618) 656-3328

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - TheIntelligencer.com – SPRING SPORTS – Page 5

TIGER TENNIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By BILL ROSEBERRY broseberry@edwpub.net

The Edwardsville Tigers ruled the Metro-East prep tennis circuit the past decade and head coach Dave Lipe doesn’t plan on them slowing down now.

EHS secured 10 straight sectional crowns to accompany 10 straight Southwestern Conference titles or co-titles. Last season the Tigers advanced all four of their entries to the state tournament and tied a program record for wins.

EHS set the bar with a programbest 25 wins in both of the past two seasons.

Three of those 2010 state netters were lost to graduation with singles representative Kirk Schlueter and doubles competitors Jordan Leskera and Mike Compton. Lipe still feels confident the orange and black can succeed in 2011.

“Last season we tied the record for wins in a season and had a great year, won our conference, won our sectional and had a great state experience,” Lipe said. “We won tournaments and really came a long way as a team and as individuals last year. Last year was a really successful season, so this season we’re looking to build on that and not go backwards.

We have definite goals as in terms of our development and mainly want to have more focus on us and not worry about external things like our position or our rank.”

Lipe knows he lost some vocal leaders with Leskera, who took his leadership skills to West Point Military Academy, and Schlueter, who is playing tennis at Truman State, from the program and they will be missed. He hopes the likes of Justin Leskera, Jordan’s younger brother, Cameron Randall and Tim Buescher, who also qualified for state in 2010, can fill the void.

“We obviously graduated some great leaders, but we also

Bill Roseberry/Intelligencer

Senior members of the Edwardsville Tigers are, in front from left to right: Tim Buescher, Kevin Francis and Matt Modrusic. In the back row from left to right are: Nathan Abert, Joe Kovarik and Michael Cullen. have some kids that are eager to step into those leadership roles,” he said. “That’s the beauty of scholastic sports, every four years, like it or not, you have to retire.

The leaders were the leaders last year and this year the leaders are emerging. I think Jordan and Kirk have inspired their teammates from last year to replicate their success this year.”

The other nice thing about high school sports is each season is restocked with new athletes and the 2011 version of the Tigers should be deep.

“There is parody like I’ve never seen before out here from No. 1 through No. 18,” said Lipe.

“It’s a nice problem to have. If a coach only has three pitchers he’s scratching his head, if he’s got 12 he’s thinking, ‘Man, I got more pitchers than I need, which

of the 12 is the best.’ There’s a lot of talented tennis players out here that have worked hard and not that many spots. We try and get these kids as many matches as we can. We play an enthusiastic JV schedule.”

Lipe expects big things from a talented freshmen class, which boasts three of the top six spots on the roster.

“All things considered, numbers and overall talent, this freshmen class is special,” Lipe said. “We’ll see if they can continue it. That’s on paper and before the season has started. Let’s see if they can continue to develop. It’s an exciting class. There are a whole bunch of good freshmen that are out there, not just the kids that are right at the top.”

Two of those newcomers Lipe described as “prodigiously

skilled freshmen.” Jack Desse and Brandon Harris are at the top of the talent heap for the Tigers and are joined by fellow freshmen Zach Bryant and Logan Ware and a plethora of talent throughout the upper classes to form a formidable group of netters.

“One thing we’ve been able to do is maintain a level of consistency,” he said. “The freshmen group is good, the sophomore group is very solid, Cameron and Justin are obviously junior returning players with e x p e r i e n c e . C a m e ro n i s a returning singles champion, Justin is a returning doubles champion. Justin’s been to state twice and Cameron’s been to state twice. Senior Tim Buescher is a (doubles) state qualifier that took a set off the team that made it to the state finals last season.

There is a lot of skill out there and you add good seniors that have played JV all three years and they’re right there and ready too.”

EHS kicks off its season at the Knights Invitational hosted by Triad on Saturday and follow that up with the EHS Tiger Invitational on April 1-2 at the EHS Tennis Center.

The Tiger schedule also includes trips to annual tennis powerhouse New Trier High School, Highland Park, Columbia Rock Bridge (Mo.), Lyons Township, Downer’s Grove South, Hersey and Benet Academy.

They’ll conclude the regular season with likely their biggest matchup of the season, welcoming No. 1 SWC rival Belleville West to the EHS Tennis Center at 4 p.m. on May 10.

Do You Have 24 Hour Access to Your Physician?

201 South Main St. Edwardsville, IL 62025 618-656-3837 1837 Homer Adams Pkwy, Ste. F Alton, IL 62002 618-462-1081

Accepting Most Insurance / Electronic Medical Records Electronic Prescription to Pharmacy of Choice Courteous and Respectful Staff / 24 Hour Access Anderson Hospital • Physician O ff i c e B l d g • S u i t e 2 0 7 • M a r y v i l l e , I L METRO EAST HEALTHCARE LT D .

Tr e a t i n g p a t i e n t s l i k e f a m i l y. . .

618-288-7605

www.brickmanortho.com

Always FREE Consultations

GOOD LUCK TIGERS!

Page 6 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TIGER GIRLS' TRACK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and there is a lot of talent to bring up. Another thing you look at in coaching is what you have coming in, what new commodities and we have some freshmen coming in that could make an impact right away in the relays,” said Chapman.

White will also compete in the triple, long and high jump events for the Tigers.

“She is very proficient and she is one of those girls that is an all-around athlete. She should really be competitive this year, maybe even at the state level,” Chapman said. “We do look for our jumps to be more improved this year and help carry us through the season.”

Edwardsville will need everything to be firing on all cylinders if it wants to repeat its performance from last year

because the Southwestern Conference is once again loaded.

The East St. Louis Flyerettes are fresh off of a second place finish at state while Belleville East returns a strong squad from last year.

“The conference is horrendously tough,” said Chapman. “East St. Louis placed second last year at state and are just a few years removed from a state championship. They also have more state championships than any high school in the state and they have a lot of talent remaining with an influx of talent coming in, so they are one of the favorites to win state this year.”

“Belleville East is a sleeper and they have everyone back so they are going to be a threat to win the state championship

too. O’Fallon is well rounded with a lot of depth and their two straight SWC championships speak volumes to that. Belleville West was a little bit down last year but they are only a couple years removed from a state championship so they reload quick.”

With the competition in the SWC, Chapman said he does not have to look to far for competition.

“We have an unique advantage that we do not have to travel to far to get competition. We will travel across the river a few times to see a few different teams that will push us,” said Chapman.

Chapman and the Tigers are hoping the competition will help push them to another state appearance in 2011.

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Seniors for the Edwardsville Tigers, pictured left to right are: Chrissy Haynes, Hannah Faulkner and Emily Ahlers.

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

Very few teams can finish in fourth place at state in track and field with just two seniors on the team.

The Edwardsville girls’ track and field team is in the minority.

The Tigers return a majority of the sprinters, throwers, hurdlers and jumpers that helped the school earn its highest finish at the state competition.

“A fourth place finish last year, I was really proud of that. We had a really good team last year that I did not think would place that high, but they just worked hard all season and they were mentally tough,” said EHS coach Steve Chapman.

Though the team lost only two seniors off the squad, Chapman said they were two very important members in Shanice Rice and Laila Johnson.

“We do lose two of our captains and those are huge losses on the track in both scoring points athletically on the track, but more importantly their leadership roles. Their toughness really rubbed off on the other girls,” said Chapman. “They are huge losses and we have big shoes to fill.”

Edwardsville will miss the tandem of seniors but they will also welcome back state qualifiers Hannah Faulkner in the pole vault, Emmonnie Henderson in the shot put and discus and Lauren White and Meih Huddleston in the team relays.

Faulkner, a senior headed to Kent State next year, holds the school record in pole vault and finished in ninth place at state a

season ago.

Chapman expects big things from her again.

“She has proven she is an all state performer and we expect big things out of her,” Chapman said.

Henderson will once again anchor the throws for EHS after winning the state championship in the shot put and taking third in the discus throw. The sophomore already owns the school records in both events and Chapman believes she could be better her second time around.

“She is a tremendous talent with a great work ethic. She will score points for us consistently all year and I know she is working to better (her school records) and make a repeat performance at state. She is going to be a tremendous help for us,” said Chapman.

White and Huddleston round out the returning state qualifiers for Edwardsville but they will take in a new role this season.

After running with Rice and Johnson in the relays, White and Huddleston will be looked upon to lead the way. Chapman believes that they are ready. “(Meih) is very competitive and very athletic and we look for her to be a leader on the relay teams,” said Chapman.

“Lauren White is a very talented sophomore that was on both of the relay teams last year that will help the relays a lot. With those two on it they will be good.”

The answer to how much success the relay teams will have will rely on the two newcomers and Chapman believes he has a big enough talent pool to choose from.

“We have two spots to fill

The Best LOCAL Sports Coverage!

Don’t Miss Your Childs Picture in the

Paper SUBSCRIBE Today! as low as

1.00

$

per week

Call 656-4700 ext. 20 to get your Subscription!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - TheIntelligencer.com – SPRING SPORTS – Page 7

TIGER BOYS' TRACK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

Chad Lakatos will return for his third season as the boys’ track and field coach at EHS and he will bring back a squad full of talent looking to do damage on the second day of the state finals.

Despite losing jumpers Pat Pranger and Sam Keck-Flory to graduation and distance runner Daniel Mazar transferring to Missouri, Lakatos is thrilled with what he has coming back.

“We lost some seniors but we have a good, young group of kids,” said Lakatos. “With losing the seniors and having the younger kids, it is just another year of growth and maturity for the team.”

Carrying the team this year will be an experienced group of athletes in all areas that either made it to state, or just fell short in sectionals.

“We had a (400-meter relay) team that qualified for state and every one of those guys are back and our sprints are looking really good. Garrett (Sweatt) is our strength in the distance and John Miller should have qualified in the discus last year but had a bad sectional meet,” said Lakatos.

On the track side, the 400meter relay team will consist of seniors Reggie Box and Cameron Bush along with juniors Cameron James and Deonte Andresen.

They finished sixth last year in the state preliminaries but the five squads that finished ahead of them featured seniors that have graduated.

Lakatos believes the sprinters, led by his 400-meter relay team and senior Dameon Morgan, can be counted on to score points in every meet.

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Seniors for the Edwardsville Tigers are, squatting in front from left to right: Reggie Box and Cameron Bush. Pictured standing from left to right are: John Miller, Kellen Weiss, Michael Gorsage, Dameon Morgan, Dave Umbaugh and Kevin Vysocky. Not pictured is Ethan Buford.

“I think this year sprints are going to score a lot of points for us,” said Lakatos.

The Tigers also have a strong group of distance runners returning led by Sweatt, who finished third in the 3200-meter run and 12th in the 800-meter run. He will be joined by senior Michael Gorsage, junior Caden Cramsey and sophomore Chad Maxwell. The four runners took part in the Tigers’ state run at the cross country meet and Lakatos believes that success will help this spring. “(The cross country season) builds for us for the distance races but a large part of track is sprints and jumps. When you can have

a good cross group come in and mix with the sprints, it makes for a great team,” said Lakatos. “That is what we have this year.”

On the field side, the Tigers must replace state qualifiers Pranger and Keck-Flory on the pole vault. Pranger also qualified in the discus throw, but Lakatos feels that he has an ample amount of talent ready to step up.

“We have two guys (senior Kevin Vysoky and junior Tom Schuette) in the pole vault that are not quite where (Pranger and Keck-Flory) were, but for our area and our invitationals they are going to be pretty solid,” Lakatos said.

John Miller will lead the way

for the Tigers in the discus throw after coming up just short in the Normal West Sectional last season. The senior will team up with Garrett Jensen to give EHS a strong set of throwers.

Senior Ethan Buford and junior

Jensen Valentine will return and lead the jumpers with Josh White possibly being added now that the basketball season is finished.

E d w a rd s v i l l e ’ s s c h e d u l e will take them throughout the state as they will participate in invitationals at Glenbard West and Prospect in Chicago along with a trip to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. They have already had an indoor meet in Carbondale and Lakatos said all the meets will help prepare his team to reach their preseason goals.

“Every meet that we go to is just practice for sectionals and state,” said Lakatos. “We have goals set out for the season and one of them is to repeat as conference champions and maybe win a sectional title.”

To re p e a t a s c o n f e re n c e champions this year the Tigers will have to get past a very talented group of schools waiting to dethrone them.

“Belleville West is strong and they have good hurdlers and sprint relays. Collinsville has some good throwers and sprinters. East St. Louis is going to be strong as always,” said Lakatos.

“We will be right in the mix and our kids are excited after last year. We are excited to see what we can do.”

Contact the Intelligencer Sports Staff Sports Editor Bill Roseberry 656-4700 ext. 48 broseberry@edwpub.net Sports Reporter Matthew Kamp 656-4700 ext. 31 mkamp.edwi@gmail.com Follow the Intelligencer on facebook at www.facebook. com/theEdwi and on twitter at www.twitter.com/theEdwi

THE SAKSA FAMILY

SAKSA FUNERAL HOME EDWARDSVILLE, IL 656-7577

GRANITE CITY, IL 876-4321

Page 8 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TIGER VOLLEYBALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By BILL ROSEBERRY broseberry@edwpub.net

The Edwardsville Tiger boys' volleyball program is set to enter its third year of existence in 2011.

The progression from year one to year two was remarkable.

In the '09 inaugural season the Tigers were a measly 1-13. In 2010 their record skyrocketed to 12-7.

So what's in store for year three?

Head coach Andy Bersett believes EHS will make some definite noise on the volleyball front this season and likely even win the program's first playoff game and hopefully beyond.

"This year is just that third step in the growing process," Bersett said. "We started three years ago very low and were able to build up last year — had a much better year — and then this year we'll continue to grow. Pretty much the entire team is coming back from last year, so we're looking to compete definitely throughout the (Southwestern) conference.

The conference is still going to be strong for sure."

Leading the way for Edwardsville will be an abundance of size.

A pair of 6-foot-5 seniors, Eric Fitterer on the right side and John Pranger in the middle, will draw the majority of the focus from opponents while 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter Nathan Henning will also pose matchup issues.

"Fitterer and Pranger are two of the top players in their age group in the entire St. Louis area, so there's no doubt they're going to be a force," said Bersett. "But we're trying to build a team with everybody and it takes a team to play defense, it takes a team to execute an offense. We'll build

Bill Roseberry/Intelligencer

Senior members of the Edwardsville Tigers in front from left to right are: Nick Huddle, Sean Lynn and James Sullivan. In back from left to right are: Thomas Pauk, Stephen Billiter, Eric Fitterer and Zach Tojo. Not pictured is senior John Pranger. around those guys but the other parts are there too.

"One of our advantages is we're one of the tallest teams, but we need to play better defense.

Just because we're taller, we need to be better blockers. We didn't block very well last year so we need to improve that because that's an advantage we have with our height."

Bersett feels he's drilled a good foundation of skills into the program over the previous two seasons and now is the time people can start to watch out for the Tigers, for now and into the future.

"I've noticed even at the middle school level, every team we've had, the second year the kids are showing dramatic improvement,"

Intelligencer advertising gets results Call 656-4700

he said. "I just think we pound the fundamentals, but we also play a different kind of volleyball that you're not going to pick up in three months. To completely execute the offense we want to execute, it's hard to learn that in a year. It's a growing process and we're starting to see some of that growth now."

The Southwestern Conference looks to be very competitive again with annual top dogs O'Fallon and Belleville East giving EHS fits once more.

The Panthers dismissed the Tigers from the postseason two years ago while it was the Lancers ousting them from the playoffs last year.

"O'Fallon, Belleville East for sure," Bersett said of talent in the

SWC. "All the teams are good.

Granite City, we've always had good matches with them. East St. Louis, we had a hard fought three set match with them (last year). Belleville West, they beat us at their place at the end of last year. There's not a bad team in the conference and we're just

30%

of the cost of solar modules, including installation, may be offset by government tax credits.

hoping we can achieve some success against them."

With the inception of boys' volleyball a relatively new fad in the Metro-East, Bersett looks to his old stomping grounds on the Missouri side of the Mississippi to gain experience.

"Having been through the CBC program myself, I started playing volleyball in the third grade," he said. "I know what a lot of the kids over there do and just their instincts, the way they can pass the ball and manipulate their bodies, they are all acclimated to volleyball. But these guys over here have worked their butts off the last three years and we've got guys that are competing at the highest level with the guys over there. We can do it, it just takes a little bit of time."

Bersett has Missouri programs CBC, Fort Zumwalt North and Fort Zumwalt South on the 2011 menu, which he thinks can get EHS to its No. 1 goal — winning its first playoff game.

"I think that's important to these guys and it all starts with having a good first couple weeks of practice," Bersett said. "We're trying to have a more competitive schedule and I think that will help us going into the postseason."

The Tigers open the season at 4:30 p.m. next Wednesday vs.

North County Tech.

THE SUN :

POWERING WILDFLOWERS AND AIR CONDITIONERS.

Heating & Cooling

(618) 633-2244 www.ernstheating.com Hamel, IL 62046 Energy & Comfort Consultants

• Estate & Moving Sales • Appraisals • “Always Buying”

656-8751 978-2594 830-3127 cew244antiques@aol.com

The SunSource ® Home Energy System harnesses solar power to heat and cool your home more efficiently, and operate lighting and other appliances, reducing your heating and cooling costs by up to half.† Call us today to see how easily you can save through solar.

Receive up to $1,600 in Rebates* with the purchase of a qualifying Lennox ® Home Comfort System

OR

Special Financing through GE Money Bank** Offer expires 6/3/2011.*Rebate offer is valid only with the purchase of qualifying Lennox® products. †Energy savings will vary. Ask your Lennox® dealer for complete details. © 2011 Lennox Industries Inc. See your participating Lennox dealer for details. Lennox dealers include independently owned and operated businesses.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - TheIntelligencer.com – SPRING SPORTS – Page 9

TIGER SPRING SPORTS SCHEDULES EHS Baseball

March 22 vs. Greenville 4:30 p.m.

March 24 at Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin 4:30 p.m.

March 26 vs. Vianney (GCS Stadium) 5 p.m.

March 28 vs. Jerseyville 4:15 p.m.

March 29 vs. Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

March 31 at Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

April 3 vs. St. Joseph Ogden (Busch Stadium) 5 p.m.

April 5 vs. O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

April 7 vs. Granite City 4:15 p.m.

April 8 at Waterloo 4:15 p.m.

April 12 at Collinsville 4:15 p.m.

April 13 vs. DeSmet 4:15 p.m.

April 14 vs. East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

April 15 at Althoff 4:15 p.m.

April 19 at Alton 4:15 p.m.

April 22 at Lincoln Tournament 4:30 p.m.

April 23 at Lincoln Tournament 10 a.m.

April 25 at Wesclin 4:15 p.m.

April 26 vs. Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

April 28 at Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

May 3 at Granite City 4:15 p.m.

May 5 at O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

May 6 vs. EHS Tiger Classic 7 p.m.

May 7 vs. EHS Tiger Classic 11:30 a.m.

May 9 vs. Centralia 4:30 p.m.

May 10 at East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

May 12 vs. Collinsville 4:15 p.m.

May 14 vs. East Peoria 10 a.m.

May 14 vs. Harrisburg 12:30 p.m.

May 17 vs. Alton 4:15 p.m.

May 20 at Triad 4:15 p.m.

May 21 vs. Civic Memorial (DH) 10 a.m.

May 23 vs. Normal Community 4:15 p.m.

EHS Softball March 21 at Gillespie 4:15 p.m.

March 22 at Waterloo 4 p.m.

March 23 vs. Herrin 4 p.m.

March 28 vs. Dupo 4:15 p.m.

March 29 at Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

March 31 vs. Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

April 5 at O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

April 6 at Freeburg 4:30 p.m.

April 7 at Granite City 4:15 p.m.

April 8 vs. Triad 4:15 p.m.

April 9 at Normal Community (DH) 11 a.m.

April 12 vs. Collinsville 4:15 p.m.

April 14 at East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

April 19 vs. Alton 4:15 p.m.

April 22 at Mascoutah 4:15 p.m.

April 23 at Carbondale (DH) 11 a.m.

April 26 at Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

April 27 at Althoff 4:15 p.m.

April 28 vs. Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

April 29 vs. Civic Memorial 4:15 p.m.

April 30 at Highland 10 a.m.

May 3 vs. Granite City 4:15 p.m.

May 5 vs. O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

May 6 at Triad Tournament TBA May 7 at Triad Tournament TBA May 10 vs. East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

May 12 at Collinsville 4:15 p.m.

May 17 at Alton 4:15 p.m.

May 21 at Centralia (DH) 11 a.m.

EHS Tennis

March 19 at Knights Invitational 8:30 a.m.

April 1 vs. EHS Invitational 3 p.m.

April 2 vs. EHS Invitational 8:30 a.m.

April 8 at St. Xavier 1 p.m.

April 8 at New Trier 3 p.m.

April 9 at Highland Park 9 a.m.

April 12 vs. Alton 4 p.m.

April 14 vs. Granite City 4 p.m.

April 14 at Jerseyville 4 p.m.

April 15 at Rock Bridge Duals 9 a.m.

April 20 at Collinsville 4 p.m.

April 22 at Lyons 4:30 p.m.

April 23 at Downer’s Grove South Invite 8 a.m.

April 27 vs. Belleville East 4 p.m.

April 29 vs. Tigers Duals Tournament at EHS 4 p.m.

April 29 at Pitchford Invitational 3 p.m.

April 30 vs. Tigers Duals Tournament at EHS 8:30 a.m.

April 30 at Pitchford Invitational 8 a.m.

May 3 vs. O’Fallon 4 p.m.

May 5 vs. John Burroughs 4 p.m.

May 6 at Naper-Valley Invitational 3:30 p.m.

May 7 at Naper-Valley Invitational 8 a.m.

May 10 vs. Belleville West 4 p.m.

May 13 at SWC Tournament 1 p.m.

May 14 at SWC Tournament 9 a.m.

EHS Volleyball March 23 vs. North County Tech 4:30 p.m.

March 24 at Fort Zumwalt East 4:30 p.m.

March 25 at CBC 5 p.m.

March 29 vs. Belleville East 4:30 p.m.

March 31 at O’Fallon 4:30 p.m.

April 5 at Granite City 4:30 p.m.

April 12 at East St. Louis 4:30 p.m.

April 13 at Althoff 4:30 p.m.

April 14 at Westminster Christian Academy 4:30 p.m.

April 19 at Belleville West 4:30 p.m.

April 20 at North County Tech 4:30 p.m.

April 21 vs. Fort Zumwalt South 5 p.m.

April 26 vs. O’Fallon 4:30 p.m.

April 28 at Belleville East 4:30 p.m.

May 3 vs. Fort Zumwalt North 5 p.m.

May 5 vs. Granite City 4:30 p.m.

May 6 at O’Fallon Tournament TBA May 7 at O’Fallon Tournament TBA May 12 vs. East St. Louis 4:30 p.m.

May 17 vs. Belleville West 4:30 p.m.

EHS Boys’ Track

March 19 at Eastern Illinois Invitational 1 p.m.

March 22 at Belleville West 4 p.m.

March 26 vs. SW Illinois Relays at EHS 9 a.m.

March 26 at IPFT Championships 10 a.m.

April 1 at O’Fallon Relays 3:30 p.m.

April 5 vs. O’Fallon 4 p.m.

April 9 at Belleville West Invitational 11 a.m.

April 16 at Rockwood Summit Invitational 10 a.m.

April 23 vs. Winston Brown Invitational at EHS 10 a.m.

April 26 vs. Madison County Meet at EHS 4 p.m.

April 29 at Prospect Invitational 4:30 p.m.

April 30 at Glenbard West Invitational 10 a.m.

May 7 at Collinsville Invitational 10 a.m.

May 11 at SWC Tournament 4 p.m.

EHS Girls’ Track March 12 at Eastern Illinois Invitational 1 p.m.

March 18 at Mahomet Seymour Invite 5 p.m.

March 23 vs. O’Fallon, Granite City, Alton 4 p.m.

March 26 vs. SW Illinois Relays at EHS 10 a.m.

March 28 at Collinsville vs. Collinsville, Alton 4 p.m.

April 2 at Holt Invitational 10 a.m.

April 5 at Belleville West 4 p.m.

April 8 at Granite City Invitational 3:30 p.m.

April 13 vs. Tiger Relays at EHS 4 p.m.

April 16 at Lafayette Invitational 9 a.m.

April 21 at Alton Invitational 4 p.m.

April 25 at Madison County Meet at Alton 4 p.m.

April 28 vs. Waterloo 4 p.m.

April 30 at New Trier Invite 9 a.m.

May 2 vs. Belleville East 4 p.m.

May 4 at SWC Tournament 4 p.m.

GO TIGERS!

SEE YOU AFTER THE GAME

692-6000

• PIZZA • SALAD BAR • HOT SANDWICHES • BUFFET AVAILABLE Since 1982 • LARGE GROUPS WELCOME Montclaire We Deliver Shopping Center, Limited Delivery Area

Edwardsville

EHS Soccer March 18 vs. EHS Girls’ Soccer Tournament TBA March 19 vs. EHS Girls’ Soccer Tournament TBA March 22 vs. Columbia 5 p.m.

March 26 vs. Collinsville 11 a.m.

March 26 vs. Mater Dei TBA March 28 at Cor Jesu Academy 4 p.m.

March 29 at Belleville West 5 p.m.

April 5 vs. Belleville East 5 p.m.

April 6 at Marquette 5 p.m.

April 7 vs. Chatham Glenwood 5 p.m.

April 9 at Normal Community 1 p.m.

April 13 at Althoff 5 p.m.

April 15 at Triad 4:15 p.m.

April 26 at Granite City 5 p.m.

April 29 at Quincy Tournament TBA April 30 at Quincy Tournament TBA May 3 vs. Alton 5 p.m.

May 6 vs. Springfield 5 p.m.

May 10 at O’Fallon 5 p.m.

Pr o m Pe r f e c t F l o w e r s

656-0334

216 S. Buchanan (Hwy. 159) • Edwardsville

www.leerussodesigns.com

Page 10 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

KNIGHT BASEBALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By BILL ROSEBERRY broseberry@edwpub.net

The Metro-East Lutheran Knights will be under the direction of their third head coach in three years in 2011.

But luckily for the Knights their new coach, 29-year-old Joel Rempfer, has been a staple in the program throughout the changes. This will be Rempfer’s sixth season coaching with MELHS. For four years he was the junior varsity coach under Scott Downing and last season he served as the JV coach under Tim Reeb, but this will be his first experience as the head guy.

He relishes the experience he gained from working under Downing and Reeb. He enjoyed being part of the ‘09 Metro squad, which finished second at the Class 2A state tournament and the 2010 team, which came two innings away from winning a regional title in a 5-3 loss to Alton Marquette.

“I don’t envision a whole lot of change,” said Rempfer. “I learned a lot from coach Downing. I learned a lot from coach Reeb last year. They both did a lot of things I liked. There are a few major tweaks that each head coach brings to the team, but it’s not going to be real visible. We’re going to try and put the ball in play as much as we can and make the defense make the play. Any time we can be the aggressor I think will be the key we want to focus on this year. We’re going to try and get after it and put the pressure on from the beginning.”

There may be a slight hangover for the Knights entering 2011.

They finished 12-17 last season, but found themselves leading 3-1 over the Explorers entering the sixth inning of the East AltonWood River Regional finals before watching them plate four unanswered runs over the last two innings to pilfer the plaque.

Metro opens the season with a shot at vengeance, playing Marquette on Monday at Gordon Moore Park in Alton.

“It’s good experience for us right off the bat,” said Rempfer.

“I like those tough games. Win or lose they’re character builders and if we’re going to make a run at the end of the year we’re going to have to beat good teams anyway, so we might as well face them and learn what that’s about right from the get-go.

“That will be a message that first game. We need to come out and show them what we’re made of this year.”

Joining the Explorers on a hefty schedule are: Belleville West, Belleville Althoff, Marissa, Columbia, Civic Memorial, Collinsville and Roxana.

Bill Roseberry/Intelligencer

Senior members of the Metro-East Lutheran Knights from left to right are: Blake Borchers, Cory Hagnauer, Anthony Klingsick, Brenden Lankford, Trevor Engelke, Zac Ackerman and Matt Holle.

The Knights will definitely miss some thunder from last year ’s lineup when they face those opponents though, led

by MELHS fixture Jon Trampe.

Trampe, a starter for the ‘09 squad, established himself as Metro’s workhorse. He earned a mark of 5-8 on the mound in a team-best 13 starts with a teambest 3.21 ERA last year.

At the plate, he hit .312 with one home run and 17 RBIs while swiping 17 bags. When not pitching Trampe found himself playing second base or shortstop.

“It’s tough to replace somebody like him, not only his abilities on the field, but just his leadership in the clubhouse and the intensity that he brought,” said Rempfer.

“It will be hard to replace, but we have Christian Aragona and Nick Hoff this year and they’re both intense guys. They can step it up. I have faith in them. You put them together and basically you’re looking while one is on the mound the other one’s at short and vice versa. It will be the combination of the two filling the shoes that Trampe left.”

The Knights will also miss 2010 seniors Josh Verdun and Tyler Marmon. Verdun hit .409 with two round trippers and 21 RBIs and Marmon batted .292 with 19 RBIs. Trevor Hale left the program after doing the majority of the catching for Metro last season too, transferring to Roxana. Hale boasted a .325 batting average to accompany one homer and 13 RBIs. Rempfer foresees a group of the holdovers making noise with their sticks this season, filling the void.

Junior James Simms looks to lead the charge. In just 49 at-bats as a sophomore Simms hit .327 with one home run and 18 RBIs.

He’ll join senior Trevor Engelke (.381, 17 RBIs, 9 2B, 19 SB), who saw lots of time on the ‘09 state squad, Anthony Klingsick (.340,

8 RBIs), Hoff (.234, 6 RBIs, 23 SB) and Brenden Lankford (.231, 9 RBIs) as 2011’s projected solid contributors.

“There were some key losses,” Rempfer said. “Hale will be hard to replace, but those are the challenges you have to deal with and you never know injuries and what other problems you may have, academics. You deal with those day-to-day and fill the holes the best you can and tell the guys, 'We keep competing no matter what.'

“A lot of these guys have been playing for three or four years now and know the ends and outs of the game. It’s just a matter of fine tuning things. Simms will be a big bat in the middle of the lineup. Brenden Lankford was hurt last year, he had a back problem, but I remember him from freshman and sophomore year and he’s got a real good stick. Klingsick has a little pop in his bat too. We’ll be a pretty good hitting lineup and our defense will be solid too. We find a couple more pitchers in there and we’re looking at a pretty quality team this year.”

GO LUTHERAN

KNIGHTS! 120 years, years, First Clover Leaf Bank has For 121 played a vital role in shaping the history of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. We’ve never forgotten what it means to be the local community bank — offering first-hand banking and financial services, putting our customers first and investing in our community... the place we call home.

First Clover Leaf Bank is proud to support the

Metro East Lutheran High School Knights!

Goshen Center 6814 Goshen Road Edwardsville, IL 656-6122

157 Center 2143 S. Route 157, Edwardsville, IL 692-9900

Downtown 300 St. Louis Street, Edwardsville, IL 656-6200

firstcloverleafbank.com

Wood River 1046 Madison Ave. Wood River, IL 254-8445

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - TheIntelligencer.com – SPRING SPORTS – Page 11

KNIGHT SOFTBALL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By BILL ROSEBERRY broseberry@edwpub.net

It's been a tough four years for the Metro-East Lutheran Knight softball program.

While they've enjoyed the most successful stint in school history, they've only scraped the surface of what they'd like to accomplish in the postseason.

After going 16-10 in 2007 they lost in the second round of the playoffs to Lebanon, which made it to the elite eight.

In '08 they hit the wall against (Piasa) Southwestern.

The Knights went 20-13 only to lose to the Piasa Birds in the regional finals at MELHS. The Birds finished fourth in the state that year. It was Knights' head coach Rob Stock's first season in charge.

I n ' 0 9 M e t ro w a s 1 5 - 11 and ended its season against Southwestern again, this time in the sectional semifinals after winning the program's only regional crown. That year the Piasa Birds took second in the state.

Just when it looked like MELHS might finally be able to make its playoff run, a new rivalry popped up in 2010 with the Alton Marquette Explorers.

This time the 14-16 Knights fell to the Explorers in the regional title game at Sigmund Bohnet Field. The Explorers eventually finished fourth in the state.

It's a safe bet the two squads will continue their strife in 2011.

MELHS and Marquette will square off to open 2011 just the way the two teams did in '10 with the Explorers winning 1-0 in eight innings.

"We definitely didn't do ourselves any favors with the way we open our season," said Stock. "We added a couple games in there to make the schedule a little tougher because that's the only way you're going to get any better by playing competition that pushes you. I think it's important to do that.

"We know what Marquette has and we know what (Alexis) Silkwood can do on the mound.

We've seen her a few times now and we know she's going to continue to get better as she gets older. Like we saw in the first game last season it came down to a couple hits, that's what won the game. This year we're going to have to be the team that figures her out because we didn't do it very well last year."

Silkwood, a freshman phenom pitcher for the Explorers, went 29-6 with an 0.38 ERA and 463 strikeouts in 238 innings pitched.

MELHS can match them with their own golden armed pitcher

Bill Roseberry/Intelligencer

Senior members of the Metro-East Lutheran Knights standing from left to right are: Erin Henderson, Sara Vlasak and Amanda Trampe. though. Amanda Trampe, now a senior for Metro, is entering the season already one of the program's best players of alltime.

L a s t s e a s o n Tr a m p e , affectionately nicknamed "Mighty Mouse," posted a mark of 13-16 with an 1.16 ERA and struck out 442 hitters. She also boasted three no-hitters as a junior and has a whopping six in her prep career.

Stock knows she's ready to tack another dominant season onto her resume too.

"I expect her to continue to improve," he said. "She's one that's always wanted to get better. She's always strived to be the best that she can be and she's going to continue to get stronger and we're going to look for big things out of her this year."

While her pitching was the focal point of the Metro program, her stick work wasn't bad either.

Trampe hit .512 with one home run and 15 RBIs as the Knights' top hitter.

That was where the Metro deficiencies came into play. Next on the offensive depth chart was now senior Sara Vlasak with a .286 average, one homer and a team-high 17 RBIs. Junior Molly Scharnhorst came next, hitting .256 with seven RBIs. Those were the only three Knights with sufficient at-bats to hit above the .200 mark.

Senior Erin Henderson

came next with an .186 batting average.

Luckily for the green and yellow, a batch of freshmen could help bolster the offense this season.

"For the first time this year the

Good luck to all the athletes at MELHS

three freshmen that are out have all played softball before, which doesn't happen a lot for us," said Stock. "That is definitely a plus.

Rachel Goff is going to come in and be able to pitch some innings when Amanda needs a break.

She's going to really help with the lineup too as far as hitting goes. We're definitely looking forward to this freshmen class and what they're going to bring to the team."

Goff is joined by Anna Kellar and Shelby Steinmeyer to round out the rookie crew.

Goff projects as an infielder when she's not in the circle.

Junior Ally Ayers (.182, 4 RBIs) will handle the duties at first base, Scharnhorst will be at shortstop and the combination of Vlasak and sophomore Lauren Daniels (.173, 7 RBIs) will platoon between third base and behind the plate.

The outfield looks to consist of juniors Melissa Killion (.115, 2 RBIs), Jessica Martin (.138, 5 RBIs) and Sarah Martin.

Stock hopes a tough schedule, which includes, Belleville East, Marquette, Collinsville and Lebanon, among others, can help his team mature and prepare for the postseason.

"There's no point in going through your season and just building up wins and not getting any better," said Stock. "We're going to try and push ourselves as much as we can and make this program better and we've got to do that by playing better teams.

"Our goal every year is to get better from the first day we start to the regional."

That first test comes at 4 p.m.

Thursday vs. Marquette at Bohnet Field.

Children can benefit from regular spinal and extremity (ankle, knee, elbow, wrist, shoulder) adjustments.

Sports that require an athlete to use one arm or leg repetitively, for long periods of time (tennis, baseball, soccer are good examples) can cause repetitive or over use injuries amoung young athletes. This overuse many times causes pain in the affected area or the body. Overuse injuries present at different level: achiness and soreness after an activity and having rested, at the end of the activity, during the sport, and worse yet is feeling pain even during rest periods. In addition the running, jumping, tackling, falling or fallen upon are all frequent occurrences which can result in sprains, strains or spinal misalignments.

Children’s spines and body structures are still developing. Unnoticed or ignored injuries can cause problems later in life. Pain is a warning sign that something is awry. Taking over the counter or prescription pain relievers only cover up the pain and could make an athlete (or anyone) easier prone to further injury or worsening an existing injury.

If you are participating in a sport and have pain, stiffness or soreness, perhaps a chiropractic evaluation would prove beneficial.

Call 656-0178 for an appointment.

Page 12 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

KNIGHT TENNIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

After entering last season with 10 experienced tennis players, the Metro-East Lutheran Knights are starting over on the courts this year.

The Knights ended up with 16 players on last season’s roster but just four of them remain this year.

“If there is one word that can describe our team it is inexperienced,” said MELHS tennis coach Matt Gehrke. “We started off last year with 16 players and we have four of them returning, so we are going to lean on those four heavily with the experience that they have.”

Those returning are juniors Nathan Nehrt and Jacob Gwaltney and sophomores N o l a n Wa l l a c e a n d A a ro n Roggow.

Wallace and Nehrt will return to the team with the most varsity experience while Gwaltney saw most of his playing time in exhibition matches.

Roggow missed half the season with an injury but is back to full health for the start of the new campaign.

“Them just having experience means they are going to be playing the high level of competition. It is going to make for a very interesting growing year, but hopefully it makes us better as we move on,” said Gehrke.

After that quartet of Knights the experience level begins to fall quite a bit.

“All of the new players are either freshmen or sophomores so inexperience is definitely a good word to describe this team,” said Gehrke.

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Members of the Metro-East Lutheran Knights kneeling in front from left to right are: Bryce Stabenow, Josh Eberhart, Noah Heupel and Patrick Clessa. In back from left to right are: Austin Stricklin, Nolan Wallace, Rasesh Aggrawal and Chad Carter.

“For a majority of them this is the first time that have played any organized tennis.

There are a couple that have had tennis camps in the past, which is encouraging, but for most of them this is their first

experience.”

Despite the lack of experience, Gehrke is very excited to get a chance to watch his younger players mature throughout the season.

“As challenging as it will be

About this Publication A lot of people put a lot of work into the Spring Sports Preview each and every year.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank sports reporter Matthew Kamp for his tireless effort on stories and photos and everything else associated with this publication.

In addition, I'd like to thank Desiree Bennyhoff for her work on a great cover and the advertising and advertising layout staffs for another great job.

A thanks also goes out to Bill Tucker, who is always there for words of advice.

Finally, as always, a big thank you goes out to the coaches and players who are always willing to give their time to make this publication a big success.

Bill Roseberry, Sports Editor

at times in matches it is really rewarding to watch these kids grow and learn how to play this great game,” said Gehrke.

The rotation for this season is still up for grabs as Gehrke is still assessing what talent he

will have out on the courts.

He does know that the top four spots will come down to his four returnees with Wallace and Nehrt battling for the top spot in the lineup.

Continued on Page 13

OVER 200 ITEMS!

FFET U B

CITY

692-6888

122 SOUTH BUCHANAN ST. • EDWARDSVILLE (Next to CVS Pharmacy & Across from the Library)

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 10:30 AM - 9:30 PM CHINESE • JAPANESE • AMERICAN • ITALIAN Served Every Day For Lunch & Dinner

Sushi and Mongolian BBQ Every day after 4 pm and all day on Sunday:

Prime Rib New York Strip Steak Crab Legs 10% Discount For Senior Citizens Over 60 & SIUE Students With I.D. (one discount per student)

Great Selection For Kids!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - TheIntelligencer.com – SPRING SPORTS– Page 13

KNIGHT SOCCER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

Metro-East Lutheran High School is in the process of remodeling its school and now it can add the girls’ soccer team to the list of things to do.

“It is going to be a rebuilding year. The way I look at it the next three years are going to be rebuilding for us because after this season we lose five (seniors). You figure these are five girls that have started for us the last two or three years,” said MELHS girls’ soccer coach Jerry Lakin.

Lakin will return five seniors to a squad that finished 311 last year and bowed out of the postseason with a 3-1 loss to Gibault in the regional semifinals. The five seniors will look to offset the losses of four players that have graduated including their top goalie and one of their top scorers.

With the departure of Madison Taylor the Knights will feature a new goalkeeper for the first time in a couple years. Taylor, a two-year starter, will be a tough player to replace but Lakin believes sophomore Kourtney Levo is ready to take over.

“She started defense last year but she has volunteered (to be goalie) and she is aggressive. She is not afraid and I can teach her everything else,” said Lakin.

While Levo is penciled in to

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Senior members of the Metro-East Lutheran Knights are from left to right: Emilee Kohler, Jamie Scheumann, Savanna Stabenow, Desiree Merz and Rhiannon Callahan. replace Taylor, Lakin now must find a player or players to fill the void left by last year’s leading scorer Katie Collico. The Knights have options in Collinsville transfer Desiree Merz and Emilee Kohler.

“We lost a lot of scoring when Katie Collico left but I think we can pick it up with Desiree

Merz. She is coming in from Collinsville and I think that she can be a good player. I hope she can fill what Katie left,” said Lakin.

Meanwhile Kohler returns for her senior season hoping to find the prolific numbers she racked up in her first two seasons as a Knight. She had 18 goals and

nine assists as a freshman and she followed that year up with 15 goals and eight assists as a sophomore. Her scoring dropped off last season along with the rest of the team’s offensive production.

Lakin also believes that he has a promising defender in junior Abby Edwards that could factor

into the offense when needed.

“I look for Abby to step up even though she is in the back because she will be taking a lot of our free kicks and she will be involved,” said Lakin.

The Knights will look to have the experienced returners mesh well with a handful of newcomers that Lakin is excited about.

“We have some good freshmen that came in and I am looking forward to it,” said Lakin.

“Mackenzie Gocal is a good player, she is smart and I think she will do well. We will have her in the center midfield.”

Metro-East will be thrown into the fire quickly with a schedule that features six regular season games and two tournaments in the month of March. They will take part in the Metro Cup Tournament and the Wood River Tournament before getting a small breather in the beginning of April.

“Our schedule is what I call brutal because we are playing so much and not necessarily from the competition we play.

We have to get some rest, the body has to get some rest,” said Lakin. “If we stay healthy (the schedule) does not bother me but if we lost couple of girls here and there we are going to be struggling.”

The Knights will look to lay the foundation for a successful future brick by brick as the season progresses.

KNIGHT TENNIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Continued from Page 12

“We are still up in the air but it looks like Nolan (Wallace) and Nathan (Nehrt) will be battling each other for No. 1.

They have both been playing a lot in the offseason,” said Gehrke. “Nolan has put a lot of time in and has shown a big improvement from last year.”

After the top two spots are figured out between Wallace and Nehrt, Gehrke said another two-man race is shaping out for the No. 3 spot between Gwaltney and Roggow.

“Aaron (Roggow) has also shown a lot of improvement this year and he will be battling Jake (Gwaltney) for No. 3 or

maybe even No. 2,” said Gehrke.

After the top four in the lineup Gehrke said it is going to take a couple of Knights to step up from the new group of players to claim the remaining spots.

“We have some new guys that will have to step up to

CROSS

AUTO BODY & TOWING, INC.

Think green recycle this newspaper

Celebrating over 30 years in business!

See us for ALL of your automotive needs.

24-Hour Towing Collision Repair Mechanical Repair

Go MELHS!

(618) 656-3328

take over at five and six,” said Gehrke. “I am confident that we have a few that will be able to do that.”

With a young team Gehrke is looking for each player to improve on his own game while helping the team succeed in the long run this season.

“I always have expectations

for our players and team. The first expectation is to learn and improve and to say, 'That I am a better tennis player today when I walked off the court than when I walked on,'” said Gehrke.

The learning experience for MELHS will begin on Thursday against Hillsboro.

47 Years of Trusted Experience!

CARPET • HARDWOOD • CERAMIC TILE NATURAL STONE • LAMINATES • VINYL

GO KNIGHTS! “On 1-10, our experience was 10+” Ann S.

Floor Coverings, Inc. 1009 Plummer Drive

(Hwy 157 Across from Bella Milano) Mon., Wed., Fri. 9 am - 7:30 pm Tues. & Thur. 9 am - 5:30 pm Sat. 9 am - 4 pm

Edwardsville, IL 62025

(618) 656-7788

www.vallowfloor.com

Page 14 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

KNIGHT TRACK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Pictured top left are returning letter winners for the Metro-East Lutheran Knights boys' track and field team. Kneeling in front from left to right are: Daniel Dixon, Evan Winengar, Micah Lantz and Jordan Dupy. Standing from left to right are: Nick Ley, Josh Trampe, Matt Horton, Joseph Bodenbach, Matt Rankin, Quinn Fuhrmann and Josh Jump. Pictured top right, from left to right, returning letter winners for the MELHS girls' track and field squad are: Heather Hammett, Emilee Kohler, Jessica Jump, Katie Goetter, Abby Edwards and Mackenzie Gottlob.

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

The Metro-East Lutheran Knight boys’ track and field team lost the last link to their 2009 state relay team with the graduation of Ryan Haas, but they will bring back junior Jacob Fanshier, last year ’s state qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles.

Fanshier will help lead the boys’ team this season along with a handful of seniors — Joseph Bodenbach, Josh Jump, Quinn Fuhrmann, Josh Trampe and Andrew Schack — that have had a strong amount of experience on the track and in the field during their high school careers.

“Jacob Fanshier is our returning state qualifier. He has subdued his baseball schedule quite a bit and he will be able to focus on track,” said MELHS

Check out the Intelligencer online at

coach Dave Redden. “We have him in the maximum of four events including hurdles and he looks to be very solid.”

Sophomore Dave McCall tied a 31-year old school record with an 11-foot pole vault at Carbondale earlier in the month.

“He has a lot of potential and we are really excited for him,” said Redden.

Tr a m p e a n d j u n i o r M a t t Horton will be in the discus t h r o w. F r e s h m e n C l i n t o n Howell and Jesse Brendel will also challenge for time.

Bodenbach will be the primary jumper for the Knights and Redden expects big things out of him.

“He will be back for his senior year and we expect him to be solid on the jumps,” said Redden.

On the track side, Jump will lead a talented group of

distance runners including Matt Rankin, Aaron Winenger, Evan Winenger, Jace Dumont and Dan Dixon.

“The distance runners will be really solid,” said Redden.

The sprinters will be Matt Shaffer, Josh Gocal, Brandon McDaniel and Derick Benning.

The Knights will be looking to pass individuals through to state along with making a strong showing in the Madison County Meet.

“We are one of the smaller schools at the Madison County but we will do our best.

Without having a track it is difficult but we will show up and compete.”

ON THE GIRLS' SIDE — The Knights are led by seniors Heather Hammett and Emilee Kohler.

Hammett and Kohler will be mainstays on the sprint and relay teams as they enter their

201 South Main St. Edwardsville, IL 62025 618-656-3837 1837 Homer Adams Pkwy, Ste. F Alton, IL 62002 618-462-1081

Stegall and Mackenzie Gottlob will both tackle the hurdling duties after placing at sectionals last season.

Anna Kellar will anchor the throws with junior Abby Edwards handling all four jumping events.

“Abby is an unique individual that runs cross country distance and does all four jumps for us,” said Redden. “I have never seen it before.”

Similar to his hopes for the boys’ team, Redden is looking to do some damage at the Madison County Meet.

“Every year at the county meet we look forward to do something there. It is an unique meet because we are running against larger schools and they have an unique scoring system.”

The Madison County Meet is scheduled for April 25 at Public School Stadium in Alton.

STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES HOME OFFICES: BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS

www.brickmanortho.com

Always FREE Consultations

www.theintelligencer.com

final seasons as Knights.

“Heather has been here for four years and she has signed to run at Arkansas State. She has a good attitude towards high school track,” said Redden.

Other sprinters will include junior Nicki Shriver and f re s h m e n J e n n a G w a l t n e y, Gabbie Mitchell and Jessica Green.

Katie Stegall, Olivia Daube, Lauren Moehle and Katie Goetter will lead the distance crew.

Jessica Jump will also be counted on after just narrowly missing to qualify for state in the 400-meter run. Redden is hoping he can stretch his sophomore star out for longer events this season.

“Jessica Jump will do exceptionally well this season and we are looking to stretch her out to 800 meters and I believe she can do it,” said Redden.

GOOD LUCK KNIGHTS!

STEVE R. ELLSWORTH Agent

1403-A Troy Road Edwardsville, IL 62025

OFC: (618) 656-3141 RES: (618) 656-0282 FAX: (618) 656-0596

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 - TheIntelligencer.com – SPRING SPORTS – Page 15

KNIGHT SPRING SPORTS SCHEDULES MELHS Baseball

March 21 at Alton Marquette 4 p.m.

March 22 vs. East Alton-Wood River 4 p.m.

March 24 at Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

March 25 vs. Althoff 4 p.m.

March 26 vs. Freeburg, Nashville TBA March 28 at Marissa 4 p.m.

April 4 at Columbia 4:30 p.m.

April 5 vs. Roxana (at GCS Stadium) 6 p.m.

April 8 vs. Brussels 4:30 p.m.

April 9 vs. Mater Dei (DH) 2 p.m.

April 11 at Cahokia 4 p.m.

April 12 at Litchfield 4:30 p.m.

April 15 at Staunton 4 p.m.

April 16 at Carrollton vs. Carrollton, Riverton 10 a.m.

April 19 at Civic Memorial, 4:15 p.m.

April 20 vs. Mount Olive 4:15 p.m.

April 25 at Bunker Hill 4:15 p.m.

April 29 vs. Lutheran North 4:30 p.m.

May 2 at Breese Central 4:30 p.m.

May 4 at St. Charles Lutheran 4:30 p.m.

May 9 vs. Gibault 4:30 p.m.

May 10 vs. Red Bud 4:30 p.m.

May 11 at Collinsville 6:30 p.m.

May 12 vs. Gillespie 4:30 p.m.

May 13 vs. Roxana 4:15 p.m.

May 14 vs. Dupo (DH) 11 a.m.

MELHS Soccer March 14 vs. Roxana 5:30 p.m.

March 15 vs. Hillsboro 4:30 p.m.

March 17 vs. Collinsville 5 p.m.

March 18 at Metro Cup Tournament TBA March 19 at Metro Cup Tournament TBA March 22 vs. Jerseyville 4:30 p.m.

March 25 vs. Alton 4:30 p.m.

March 26 at Breese Central 11 a.m.

March 28 at Wood River Tournament TBA March 29 at Wood River Tournament TBA March 30 at Wood River Tournament TBA March 31 at Wood River Tournament TBA April 1 at Wood River Tournament TBA April 2 at Wood River Tournament TBA April 7 vs. Staunton 5:30 p.m.

April 11 vs. Litchfield 5:30 p.m.

April 12 vs. Wesclin 5:30 p.m.

April 14 at Freeburg 4 p.m.

April 19 at Roxana 4 p.m.

April 26 vs. Greenville 4:30 p.m.

May 2 at Civic Memorial 4:15 p.m.

May 4 at Cahokia 4 p.m.

May 5 vs. Carlinville 5:30 p.m.

MELHS Boys’ Track March 19 at Eastern Illinois University Invitational 9 a.m.

March 24 at Mount Olive vs. Mount Olive, Bunker Hill, Staunton 4 p.m.

March 29 at Litchfield vs. Litchfield, Gillespie, Marquette 4 p.m.

April 2 at Staunton Invitational TBA April 5 at Civic Memorial vs. Civic Memorial, Gillespie, Hillsboro 4:15 p.m.

April 7 at Southwestern vs. Southwestern, Greenfield 4 p.m.

April 11 at Breese Central vs. Breese Central, Sparta, Lebanon 4 p.m.

April 12 at Highland 4:15 p.m.

April 12 at Southwestern Fun Meet 4 p.m.

April 15 at Wood River Invitational 4 p.m.

April 23 at Concordia Chicago Invitational

10 a.m.

April 26 at Madison County Meet 3:30 p.m.

April 28 at Carrollton 4 p.m.

May 2 at Roxana Relays 3:30 p.m.

May 3 at Dupo 4 p.m.

May 5 at Greenville vs. Greenville, Mater Dei, Vandalia 4 p.m.

May 10 at Lutheran North 4 p.m.

May 12 at Hillsboro vs. Hillsboro, Vandalia, Staunton 4:15 p.m.

May 13 at Gillespie Invitational 3:30 p.m.

May 16 at Nashville Invitational 3:30 p.m.

MELHS Girls’ Track March 19 at Eastern Illinois University Invitational 9 a.m.

March 24 at Mount Olive vs. Mount Olive, Bunker Hill, Staunton 4 p.m.

March 29 at Litchfield vs. Litchfield, Gillespie, Marquette 4 p.m.

April 2 at Staunton Invitational TBA April 5 at Hillsboro vs. Hillsboro, Vandalia 4 p.m.

April 7 at Southwestern 4:15 p.m.

April 8 at West Frankfort Relays 3:30 p.m.

April 11 at Breese Central vs. Breese Central, Sparta, Lebanon, Wesclin 4 p.m.

April 12 at Southwestern Fun Meet 4 p.m.

April 15 at Wood River Invitational 4 p.m.

April 18 at Roxana Relays 3:30 p.m.

April 23 at Walter Lutheran High School Invitational 9 a.m.

April 25 at Madison County Meet 3:30 p.m.

April 28 at Carrollton 4 p.m.

May 3 at Dupo 4 p.m.

May 10 at Lutheran North 4 p.m.

MELHS Tennis March 17 at Hillsboro 4:30 p.m.

March 28 vs. Mascoutah 4 p.m.

March 31 vs. St. Charles Lutheran 4 p.m.

April 4 at Marquette 4 p.m.

April 7 at Althoff 4 p.m.

April 15 vs. Waterloo 4 p.m.

April 18 at East Alton-Wood River 4 p.m.

April 19 at Alton JV 4 p.m.

April 20 at Roxana 4 p.m.

April 25 at Civic Memorial 4 p.m.

April 27 vs. East Alton-Wood River 4 p.m.

May 3 vs. East St. Louis 4 p.m.

May 4 vs. Roxana 4 p.m.

May 11 at Cahokia 4 p.m.

May 17 at Jerseyville JV 4 p.m.

MELHS Softball

March 17 vs. Marquette 4 p.m.

March 18 vs. Brussels 4 p.m.

March 19 at Gillespie (DH) 10 a.m.

March 21 at Dupo 4 p.m.

March 24 at Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

March 25 vs. Collinsville 4 p.m.

March 26 vs. Columbia 10 a.m.

March 28 at Marissa 4 p.m.

March 29 at Red Bud 4:30 p.m.

April 1 at Wood River Tournament TBA April 2 at Wood River Tournament TBA April 4 vs. Roxana 4 p.m.

April 7 at Southwestern 4:15 p.m.

April 8 at Wesclin 4:30 p.m.

April 11 vs. Litchfield 4:30 p.m.

April 12 at Staunton 4:15 p.m.

April 15 at Tennessee Tournament TBA April 16 at Tennessee Tournament TBA April 18 vs. Cahokia 4 p.m.

April 19 at Carlinville 4:30 p.m.

April 26 vs. Mater Dei 4:15 p.m.

April 27 vs. Alton 4 p.m.

April 28 at Sheboygan Lutheran Tournament TBA April 29 at Sheboygan Lutheran Tournament TBA April 30 at Sheboygan Lutheran Tournament TBA May 2 at East St. Louis 4 p.m.

May 3 at Bunker Hill 4 p.m.

May 4 at Lebanon 4:30 p.m.

May 5 at Highland 4 p.m.

May 9 vs. Gibault 4:30 p.m.

May 11 at Mulberry Grove 4:30 p.m.

May 12 vs. East Alton-Wood River 4 p.m.

May 13 vs. Jerseyville 4 p.m.

May 14 at Springfield Lutheran (DH) 11 a.m.

KAHOK SPRING SPORTS SCHEDULES CHS Baseball

March 18 vs. Marion 4:15 p.m.

March 19 at Breese Central (DH) 11 a.m.

March 22 at Carbondale 4 p.m.

March 23 at Althoff 4 p.m.

March 24 vs. Cahokia 4 p.m.

March 25 vs. Festus (GCS Stadium) 4 p.m.

March 29 at East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

March 31 vs. Alton 4:15 p.m.

April 1 at Mascoutah 6 p.m.

April 4 at Civic Memorial 4 p.m.

April 5 at Granite City 4:15 p.m.

April 7 at Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

April 8 at Springfield 4:15 p.m.

April 9 at Lincoln (DH) 11 a.m.

April 11 vs. Centralia 4:30 p.m.

April 12 vs. Edwardsville 4:15 p.m.

April 14 vs. O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

April 19 vs. Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

April 20 at Marion 4:15 p.m.

April 26 at Alton 4:15 p.m.

April 28 vs. East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

April 30 at Highland (DH) 11 a.m.

May 3 vs. Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

May 5 vs. Granite City 4:15 p.m.

May 7 vs. Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin (DH) 10 a.m.

May 10 at O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

May 11 vs. Metro-East Lutheran 6:30 p.m.

May 12 at Edwardsville 4:15 p.m.

May 17 at Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

May 20 vs. Jerseyville 4:15 p.m.

May 23 vs. Triad 4 p.m.

CHS Soccer March 17 at Metro-East Lutheran 6:45 p.m.

March 23 at Gibault 4 p.m.

March 26 at Edwardsville 11 a.m.

March 29 at Belleville East 6:45 p.m.

March 31 vs. Althoff 6:45 p.m.

April 2 vs. Carbondale 1:45 p.m.

April 5 at Belleville West 6:45 p.m.

April 7 vs. Alton 6:45 p.m.

April 12 vs. O’Fallon 6:45 p.m.

April 13 at Marquette 6 p.m.

April 20 at Nerinx Hall 4 p.m.

April 21 vs. Granite City 6:45 p.m.

April 25 at CYC Tournament 5 p.m.

April 26 at CYC Tournament TBA April 27 at CYC Tournament TBA April 30 at CYC Tournament TBA May 3 vs. Triad 6:45 p.m.

May 6 at Highland Tournament TBA May 7 at Highland Tournament TBA May 12 at St. Joseph’s Academy 4 p.m.

May 13 vs. Mater Dei 6:45 p.m.

CHS Tennis

CHS Girls’ Track

April 5 at Civic Memorial 4 p.m.

April 13 at O’Fallon 4 p.m.

April 14 vs. Marquette 4 p.m.

April 18 vs. Mascoutah 4 p.m.

April 19 at Alton 4 p.m.

April 20 vs. Edwardsville 4 p.m.

April 27 vs. Granite City 4 p.m.

April 28 at Triad Quad 3 p.m.

April 29 vs. Belleville East 3:30 p.m.

May 3 vs. Belleville West 4 p.m.

May 5 vs. Highland 4 p.m.

May 7 at Chatham Glenwood Invite 8 a.m.

May 10 at Belleville East 4 p.m.

May 11 vs. East St. Louis 4 p.m.

May 13 at SWC Tournament TBA May 14 at SWC Tournament TBA

CHS Boys’ Track March 19 at Eastern Illinois Invitational 1:30 p.m.

March 22 at Granite City 4 p.m.

March 26 at SW Illinois Relays 10 a.m.

March 29 vs. O’Fallon 4 p.m.

April 1 at Alton Relays 4 p.m.

April 9 at Belleville West Invitational 11 a.m.

April 15 at Granite City Invitational 4 p.m.

April 18 at Triad 4 p.m.

April 22 at Al Joyner Classic TBA April 23 at Winston Brown Invitational 10 a.m.

April 26 at Madison County Meet 3 p.m.

April 28 at Waterloo 4 p.m.

May 7 vs. Collinsville Invitational 10 a.m.

May 11 at SWC Tournament 4 p.m.

March 21 at Granite City Standards 3:30 p.m.

March 26 at SW Illinois Relays 10 a.m.

March 28 vs. Alton, Edwardsville 4 p.m.

April 1 at Belleville West Invitational 4 p.m.

April 4 at Mascoutah vs. Mascoutah, Waterloo, Jerseyville 4 p.m.

April 8 at Granite City Invitational 4 p.m.

April 12 at Waterloo vs. Waterloo, Freeburg, Highland, Granite City 4 p.m.

April 15 at O’Fallon Invitational 4 p.m.

April 18 at Triad 4 p.m.

April 21 at Alton Invitational 4 p.m.

April 25 at Madison County Meet 4 p.m.

April 29 vs. Collinsville Invitational 4 p.m.

May 5 at SWC Tournament 4 p.m.

CHS Softball March 17 vs. Mascoutah 4:15 p.m.

March 19 vs. Lebanon (DH) 12 p.m.

March 21 vs. Civic Memorial 4:15 p.m.

March 22 at Dupo 4 p.m.

March 24 at Jerseyville 4:15 p.m.

March 25 at Metro-East Lutheran 4 p.m.

March 29 vs. East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

March 30 at Mater Dei 4:15 p.m.

March 31 at Alton 4:15 p.m.

April 2 at Waterloo (DH) 11 a.m.

April 5 vs. Granite City 4:15 p.m.

April 6 at Cahokia 4 p.m.

April 7 vs. Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

April 8 vs. Breese Central 4 p.m.

April 12 at Edwardsville 4:15 p.m.

April 14 at O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

April 15 vs. Centralia (DH) 4:15 p.m.

April 19 at Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

April 20 vs. Quincy 4:30 p.m.

April 26 vs. Alton 4:15 p.m.

April 28 at East St. Louis 4:15 p.m.

April 29 at Lincoln Tournament 4 p.m.

April 30 at Lincoln Tournament 10 a.m.

May 3 at Belleville East 4:15 p.m.

May 5 at Granite City 4:15 p.m.

May 10 vs. O’Fallon 4:15 p.m.

May 12 vs. Edwardsville 4:15 p.m.

May 13 at Triad 4:15 p.m.

May 17 vs. Belleville West 4:15 p.m.

May 20 at Highland 4:15 p.m.

GO KNIGHTS!

SEE YOU AFTER THE GAME

692-6000

• PIZZA • SALAD BAR • HOT SANDWICHES • BUFFET AVAILABLE Since 1982 • LARGE GROUPS WELCOME Montclaire We Deliver Shopping Center, Limited Delivery Area

Edwardsville

Board Certified 32 Years

Page 16 - SPRING SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Tuesday, March 15, 2011

2011’S ARE HERE W E N

ALL NEW

ALL NEW DODGE DURANGO

28,980 • Advance Multi Stage Front, Side, and Seat Mounted Airbags • 3rd Row Seat • Audio Jack • Fog Lights

MPG

2011 DODGE CHARGER RALLEYE 27 MPG

$

$

23

ALL NEW

Starting at

2 To Choose From at This Price Starting at

Starting at

• Electronic Stability Control • Tire Pressure Monitoring • Keyless Entry and Security Alarm • Full Power Including Seat • Sirus Satellite Radio • Tilt/Telescope Steering • 17 inch Aluimn Wheels • Universal Garage Door Open

WE NEED YOUR TRADE!

26,980

$

• 8.4” Touch Screen Display • U-Connect, Blue Tooth, Sirus Satellite • Temperature Control • Fog Lights • Electronic Stability Control • Remote Service Down Feature • Full Power, Including Seat

19,796

Starting at

18,911

$

Starting at $18,911 • Electronic Stability Control • Security Alarm • Cabin Air Filtration • Media Center – CD/MP3 • 17 Inch Wheels & Much More…

ALL NEW

2011 CHRYSLER 200 TOURING

31 MPG

ALL NEW

2011 DODGE AVENGER

30 MPG

Let Us Beat Your Best Deal!!!!!

No Charge HEMI NEW 2011 DODGE RAM QUAD CAB

$6,000 to $10,000 SAVINGS! Save Time and Compare Our Prices At www.cassenssons.com

*Prices include all applicable rebates including free Hemi on Trucks. Tax, Title, License & DOC extra.

Everyone qualifies for Cassens Prices. Pictures for illustrative purposes only.

YOUR AUTOMOTIVE SUPERSTORE www.cassenssons.com

656-6070

2 Miles North of I-270 on Hwy 159