Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Baseball Brings Home First Banner for NEN in Three Years

The Northeast Nodaway Baseball Team brought home the first banner for the school in three years as they won the Northwest Missouri Baseball Conference Championship in its inaugural season this year. The baseball team set a school record for most wins in a season with 10 and they clinched the first winning season for the franchise as they were 10-6 as of Wednesday night. The baseball team's accomplishments were the highlight of the Northeast Nodaway Athletic Banquet Tuesday. The most improved member of the squad was Austin Jones. The Black and Blue award went to Shaun Burns. The Defensive MVP was Rowdy West, while the Offensive MVP was Andrew Faustlin. The Bluejays will return all but three of their players to next year's squad.

The Northeast Nodaway basketball teams won the sportsmanship awards this year for the conference after the whole school won it last year. While it was lost in the shadow of his 1200+ wins, the late Claude Samson, during his days at Northeast Nodaway, always expected his teams to show good sportsmanship during contests. Players were expected to police each others' behaviors, and the goal of the school was to win the sportsmanship trophies at tournaments as well as win games. These awards were announced by Principal Linda Mattson at the end of the banquet. The conference also recognized scholar athletes again this year. Recognized from Northeast Nodaway this year were Kerrigan Adwell, Taryn Farnan, Steve Schulte, Jill Spire, and Shelby Brandt.

The girls softball team won five games this year after winning one the year before and none the year before that. Claudia Wiederholt was named to the all-conference squad and all-district squad, as was Jill Spire. Offensive MVP was Jill Spire, Defensive MVP was Dallis Coffelt, and Most Improved was Allie Runde.

For Junior High Girls Basketball, first-year coach Joyce Stiens said that the strength of the team was defense, and that the 8th graders did a good job of setting an example for the 7th graders to follow. She said that the 7th graders always hustled when they were out on the floor.

Junior High Boys Basketball Coach Jared Freemyer's team went 9-7 in his first year at the helm. It was their first winning season in five years. They were third in the Northeast Nodaway Tournament and won Consolation at the King City Tournament. They did that despite their lack of size; however, they were fundamentally sound and knew how to play the game.

The Northeast Nodaway Basketball Girls were 15-11, Coach Vance Proffitt's first-ever winning season at either Hopkins or Northeast Nodaway. He said that a lot of hard work paid off in the end as Northeast played well at the end of the year. Taryn Farnan and Jill Spire were named to the all-conference squad while Taryn was also named to the all-district squad. Offensive MVP was Taryn Farnan, while Dallis Coffelt was Defensive MVP. Most Improved was Bailey Judd, while Taryn won the Black and Blue Award.

The Boys Basketball team exceeded expectations and won 10 games this year. They were stuck at one win at the Christmas Break due to injuries and new roles for the players. However, they played excellent basketball for the second half, grabbing the Consolation Trophy at South Harrison in the process. They worked their way up from the 8th seed at the beginning of the year to the 5th seed at Districts, where they beat Mercer in the first round of the tournament. Along the way, they beat three teams that had beaten them earlier in the season. Garet Jackson got the 3-point shooter award. Leading in assists and steals was Steve Schulte. Leading in points, rebounds, blocks, and free throws was Joel Scroggie. The Black and Blue Award went to Shaun Burns. Co-MVP's were Steve Schulte and Joel Scroggie.

For Track, the Female Athlete of the Year was Taryn Farnan and the Male Athlete of the Year was Steve Schulte. Taryn qualified in the High Jump in District, while Steve qualified in the Triple Jump and is seeking to return to state.


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