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2019-2020
WINTER SPORTS
December 2019
2019-2020
www.havredailynews.com
www.havredailynews.com
WINTER SPORTS
December 2019
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Turner girls hungry for more Tornadoes will keep fighting North Star boys will be a Knights will be dangerous Aarron Thompson Havre Daily News sports
gferguson@havredailynews.com The Turner boys basketball team has always had its ups and downs. As always, the 9C district is a ruthless one that can be difficult to find much footing in. And last season was another one of those toough ones for Turner. The Tornadoes went 5-15, losing out in the 9C to North Star. It was a tough year for Turner and the team will be facing the same district once again. Tornadoes’ head coach and former standout player Dylan Welsh, who will look to help Turner regain some traction in his first-year of coaching the team, is excited to have the team back on the
court. “It should be a pretty good group of boys,” Welsh said. “They’ve come a long way. Got a lot of young guys. We’ll be pretty competitive all season.” Turner currently has seven boys on its roster. Senior Jack Harmon, juniors Austin Welsh and Shane Kimmel, sophomores Trevor Kimmel and Shay Humphries, and freshmen Carter Calvert and Colden Honey make up the squad. One major thing that the Tornadoes will have to prepare for this year is a relentless 9C district. There is never an easy way to the top in the 9C and every team is bent on getting there. Opponents like Big Sandy, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Chinook, Fort
Benton, Hays-Lodge Pole and North Star will all be familiar rivals to Turner. Welsh knows the toughness of the district but has key elements that will help his team throughout the year. “We’re going to have to control the game,” Welsh said. “We’re going to have to control the ball on offense and our defense is going to have to be pretty good. We got to control the boards and make our shots.” In the end, the Tornadoes have another challenging year in the 9C, where the teams will give it their all in every game. Turner will have their hands full but will look to make some noise and get to the top, as well. Turner kicked off the year at the Class C Showcase in Glasgow.
Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson Turner's Shyan Krass shoots during a District 9C tournament game last February in Havre. Turner has finished third in each of the last two 9C tournaments, and while the Tornadoes lost three starters to graduation from last year's team, which came so close to going to state, they will still be a force again this season.
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com
The Turner girls have been on a meteoric rise the last two years — a rise that included back-to-back thirdplace finishes in the District 9C. Of course, those finishes also came with coveted trips to the Northern C Divisional, and that’s where Turner made a huge splash a year ago, coming within a game of getting to play for a trip to state.
And while Turner did graduate key players off of last year’s squad, the Tornadoes should still be right in the hunt to challenge for District 9C supremacy again this season. Veterans Sarah Billmayer and Shyan Krass are both back to lead the Tornadoes. Billmayer, a senior, is in her fifth season of varsity basketball, while Krass, a junior, is playing her fourth. Krass is also considered one of the top post players in Class C basketball.
The Tornadoes also have Juniors Brandy Calvert and Brooke Reed returning, while several newcomers should keep the Tornadoes among the best in the 9C. And yet, staying atop the 9C, and or getting back to Great Falls won’t be easy. Defending 9C champion Fort Benton returns a loaded roster, while North Star will be a dangerous team this winter, and Box Elder can’t be counted out, while Chinook and Chester-Joplin-Inverness could be much-improved this season, as well. Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson Turner's Shane Kimmel shoots over the North Star defense during a District 9C boys game last February in Havre. The Tornadoes are always battling in the 9C, and while they lost some key players to graduation last year, the Tornadoes will once again be a tough opponent for everybody in the district.
factor in the District 9C Aarron Thompson Havre Daily News sports
gferguson@havredailynews.com The 2019-2020 basketball season is back and the teams are ready to get on the court, including the North Star boys. Last year, the Knights lost to a team that went to state in an exciting 9C consolation game, but the season as a whole went fairly well. North Star placed fifth in conference, fourth at districts, went 7-11 in the regular season and 4-10 in the district. This time around, head coach Cody Donoven is ready for more opportunities for his team to succeed on the court again. “I’m excited,” Donoven said. “We’re returning all of our starters from last year, except for the one that got injured, so we’re pretty excited. Our district is going to be pretty loaded again this year, so it’s going to be a battle every single night.” With 11 players starting on the varsity squad, North Star will have a lot of talent and depth on the court. Returning players include All-Conference Caden Rettig, senior Hayden Massar, senior Austin Hansen, junior Payne Ditmar, senior Brody Wendland and senior Ethan Federspiel. The only player to not return from last year’s junior class is Bailey Spicher, a senior, now, who suffered an injury during the football season. The Knights will have many young guys getting minutes this season, as well. As Donoven mentioned and as many know, the 9C district is ruthless. Teams like Hays-Lodge Pole, Big Sandy, Chinook and Chester-Joplin-Inverness will be common rivals for North Star. The Knights will be
Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson North Star senior Caden Rettig has seen it all when it comes to the District 9C. Now in his final season of basketball, Rettig is ready to lead the Knights to a trophy in the 9C. put through another intense year on the court, but the team knows that will only make them stronger. On top of that, Donoven knows the other key factors will help North Star push its way to the top. “We just got to take care of the ball,” Donoven said. “And try to cause some turnovers, try to make some extra possessions. I think it’s
going to be big for us because we’re a little undersized, so maybe speed the game up a little bit.” With the season nearing, the Knights will look to stand up proud and tall in front of the competition. The team looks to improve on a lot and this is the year to do so. If North star can conquer the conference, then it will be quite the improvement.
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com The North Star Knights have always been tough in District 9C girls basketball. But with the conference being so loaded, it’s been tough for the Knights to make any headway in recent years. Now, as a new season dawns, the Knights are aiming to push their way through the crowded 9C field, and back to Great Falls for the Northern C tournament. That’s the goal for a talented and tough North Star team. “The team would like to end up in the top at Districts and make a run at Divisionals,” North Star head coach Jennifer Wendland said. “One of our main concerns is free throws. We want to be over 70 percent as a team. We are short numbers, but we feel we can maintain each game by staying out of foul trouble and playing smart.” North Star finished fourth at district last year, but the Knights return a solid core group from that run, including Jade Wendland who was All-Conference a season ago. Shayla Borlaug and Kenidee Wolery are also returning starters for the Knights while coach Wendland listed Rainee Watson, Laynie Sattoriva, and Kaytlyn Domire as key returnees, as well as newcomer Kenzie Sargent as a key addition to the Knights. Of course, all of North Star’s key players and more, will be needed this season as
Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson Shayla Borlaug and the North Star Knights will be a strong contender in the District 9C this winter. the 9C figures to be a very demanding and difficult league once again. “It’s going to be another exciting 9C,” Wendland said. “As always I believe we have one of the most competitive Districts around. With Joel leaving Box Elder and Turner losing some key players, it is still going to be a tough season. Hays is return-
ing players and after playing them over the summer, be on the lookout for them to be great contenders. Fort Benton will be tough as always, but I believe in this league when it comes tournament time … anything can happen. I look forward to our girls being a contender on championship night.”