Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 133, Number 45, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 11 November 2010 — Page 6

Page A6

Advance News • Thursday, November 11,2010

IVIDtIT-lAAif f f I pH lli Jfe 1 f T Jb W 4'. <.'S '/■ 1. ■ Ay .. *.Li_ <hl - - .<$ .. T H ww V ~ y. M I HI ■■ '■ II WVI Ha l| | m has same goal By Bunt Gukscsow Eun* Entering his 34th season at NorthWood girls basketballcoach Steve Neff has had his share of rebuilding projects en route to 576 wins. This year’s provides another challenge. North Wood lost 34 points and 17 rebounds per game with die graduation of Courtney frantz, Lindsey Steffen and Kelde Lehman from last year's regional finalist squad. The Panthers are also without senior Kad Heeter, a previous team mental attitude award and defensive player of

die year winner, who decided not to come out. "We lost some good seniors with a lot of experience, but I'm excited about this group," Neff said. "We only have one senior and two juniprs, but we have some really good young athletes and size. They're working hard and really want to be out here." 'All of the returning Panthers played summer basketball together. With back-to-back regional final appearances, they are more seasoned than their numbers indicate. "You get three extra weeks of practice when you make it that far,' Neff said. "You put more dungs in, iP gets more intense and people listen more. It makes everyone better." The lone senior and returning starter is 6-foot center Taylor Olson (4.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg last season).

"Taylor's grown a lot as a player," Neff said. "She comes from a basketball family. I coached her mom, her aunt and her little sister (Morgan) is a freshman and will be playing for us this year." Olson has accepted the challenge of being the team's elder stateswoman. "I have high expectations for this team," Olson said. "We are going to win a lot of games and go far. I'm just hoping to be a good leader and help my team out" jfwntor Wllaq|l ffWiEpw 5-9 guard /lorwawL averaged just 2 points arid l 2 minutes per game year but will be counted on heavily this season. "She's also horn a basketball family and she's a great leader," Neff said. Lechlitner said the Panthers are ready to take their individual games to the next level. "We have a lot of girls that are ready to step up and are willing to push themselves," Lechlitner said. "We have worked hand and want to make it a long way this season." Junior 5-3 guard De'Yahnna Styles (5.3 ppg) will start the season with a six-game suspension but will be an offensive and defensive catalyst upon her return. "She can do things with a basketball that most people can't," Neff said. "She has another gear." Morgan Olson, a 5-10 forward, will join her sister in the starting lineup. "We're going to play her all over," Neff said. Six-foot sophomore forward Savannah Bley should be a surprise to opponents. "She's an unknown around here," Neff said. "She has a great shot and is a great athlete." Hannah Stump, a 5-10 sophomore forward, will be a big contributor. "She's a pure shooter and is coming off a good volleyball season, so we're looking for good things from her," Neff said. Sophomores Taylor Stutzman (5-3 guard) and Katie Rhoade (5-5 guard) will also be key cogs. With so many new pieces, North Wood will be a constant work-in-progress. Still, the goal is always the same adding to the program’s 21 sectional championships. "The goal is never to be undefeated or win the conference ... it's always the sectional," Neff said. "If we go 0-20 to get ready for the sectional, that's great. I don't think that'll happen, but we'll work hard to reach that ultimate goal."

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wo 10S1 some good seniors with a lot of experience, but I’m excited about this group. We only have one senior and two lunlors, but we have some really good young athletes and size. They’re working hard and really want to be out here.” North Wood girls basketball coach Stove Neff

Sports

2010 football wrap-up

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DAT photo Junior running back Coy Brown rushed for more than 1,200 yards and scored 13 touchdowns to earn All-Northern Lakes Conference honors for North Wood.

Disappointed Panthers look toward ‘ll

By Brent Glasgow Editor For a program used to winning, a 5-6 campaign was not what the North Wood football team had in mind when it entered the season. "It wasn't the season that we hoped for, obviously," North Wood coach Scott Hoover said. "One thing that we were proud of was that we'd won one game before playing Northridge (in Week 6), trailed them 170 at halftime and came bac| to win that game and four out of five." Half of North Wood's losses came to 12-0 Concord (one) and 9-3 Jim town (two, including sectional semifinal). "We got five wins and our kids "kept working to get better," Hoover said. "And, realistically we had a chance in that last Jimtown game to get a win against a real good team." North Wood was fairly inexperienced, especially on offense, where the Panthers plugged in five new starters on the line. "We were very young, but after three games we really started to develop a camaraderie and get comfortable," Hoover said. "Then we had some injuries that really hurt us." North Wood lost multiposition senior leader Derek Yoder for the season to a broken foot. "We only had two guys back that had touched the ball or scored for us before, and he was one of them," Hoover said. "He's a very good kid with lofty goals of playing Division I baseball, and hopefully he'll be all healed up by the spring."

Wanee Waves swim well at NCISC

The Wanee Waves recently hosted the NCISC Sprint swim meet at the North Wood High School pool. The Waves had a good meet with almost everyone having at least one race with a personal-best time. Allison Chupp placed first in the 13-

Jr. high scoreboard

Basketball NORTHWOOD 7TH WINS TWICE The North Wood seventh grade boys A basketball team defeated Schmucker 38-24. Braxten Linville paced the Panthers with 14 points and three steals. David Eshelman and Tanner Cleveland each scored six

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DATphoto Quarterback Zac Coleman will be back next season for North Wood.

North Wood had two AllNorthern Lakes Conference players on offense in junior running back Coy Brown (more than 1,200 yards, 13 touchdowns) and junior

and-over 50 breaststroke. Drew Flickinger placed first in the 9-10 100 individual medley. Kari Hershberger placed first in the 8-and-under 25 breaststroke. The girls 9-10-year-old 200 medley relay team of Carlee Hostetler, Kate Jarvis,

points. Clayton Sheets and Dakiyron Fox each scored four points, and had four and six rebounds respectively. Marcus Hershberger scored two points, while Drew Delio and Ryan Knepper rounded out Panthtr scoring by each netting a point. The team upped its record to 2-0 with a 51-34 win over Goshen 51-34. Linville led

offensive lineman Evan Chanley. Senior wideout Aaron Rhoade (24 catches, 271 yards, 1 TD) also had a good season. Senior defensive end

Megan Stankovich and Kennedy Brinkhoff took second. The following members participated in the meet, listed with points earned: Margaret Belt (20), Nicole Bliss (24), Kennedy Brinkhoff (46), Allison

the Panthers With 23 points, had a number of assists and had an excellent all-around floor game in breaking Goshen's full-court press. Fox netted 14 points and pulled down a number of big rebounds. Knepper scored five points, Jalynn Borkholder four points and five rebounds, Sheets had three points and Cleveland finished with two points.

Thayne White (50 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks) was an all-conference player who covered the field with intensity and speed. Senior linebacker Lucio Chumas (team-high 83 tackles) and junior linebacker Taylor Anglemyer (80 tackles) were both all-conference honorable mention. North Wood parts with a 15-man senior class which Hoover classifies as beyond high quality. "They are very good kids who do things the right Hoover said. "The/ 1 are going to be people that employers want to hire." Despite the personnel losses, Hoover hopes this year's youth movement will lead to better things next year. "We do have a lot of young, talented football players coming up," Hoover said. Among the seniors-to-be Hoover will look toward to take the next step are linemen Jett Gillis and A.J. Carter, quarterback Zac Coleman, tight end Ethan Killian and running back Andrew Hahn. Good things are also expected from sophomore fullback Derek Diemer. The road to 2011 begins soon. Weightlifting testing will run Thanksgiving week, and after that, the offseason program kicks into high gear. 3 "Next year's senior class is very excited about the team they have," Hoover said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to take a look at our lineup this year and see how many we have coming back. They were disappointed in how this year went and are very determined to change that."

Chupp (47), Morgan Conrad (46), Drew Flickinger (51), Garret Flowers (26), Kari Hershberger (51), Carlee Hostetler (50), Kate Jarvis (48), Mark Jarvis (23), Megan Stankovich (59), Joseph Yaw (26) tad Harley Yoder (33).

Cleveland and Eshelman did an excellent job defensively on Goshen's two leading scorers. NORTHWOOD BTH FALLS TO 0-2 The eighth grade boys basketball team dropped to 0-2 with a 39-21 loss to Goshen. Dominic Miranda led the Panthers with 14 points.