March 28, 2024

In final season together, CMB hopes for lots of success

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With an athletic split between Baxter and Collins-Maxwell, the Raiders will play one last spring season together, and CMB hopes to go out with a bang in all three sports.

Four of the teams will have familiar faces leading the programs, but CMB has new coaches in boys golf and boys soccer. Justin Flaws takes over as the boys’ golf coach, while Crystal Bruntz is the new boys’ soccer coach.

Girls Track

If one looks up the 2016 state qualifiers for the CMB girls track and field, they would see a talented group of seniors lost to graduation.

However, there’s also a strong list of athletes who will be back in a Raider uniform one last time in 2017.

Led by seniors Heather Jessen and Megan Ritter, juniors Sailor Hinegardner and Brianda Bane and sophomore Shasta Moody, the Raiders hope to pick up where they left off last season.

“We did lose some great talent from last year’s squad,” CMB coach Jerry Meinerts said. “I like the fact we bring back some upperclassmen who know what it takes to be competitive, learned from those before them and are ready to take it to the next level.”

Jessen, Hinegardner and Bane all return after competing in individual events at the state meet a year ago.

Hinegardner was in three events, placing eighth in the 4x100, 15th in the long jump and 18th in the 100-meter hurdles.

“Sailor is going to have to score in each and every event this year for us if our team is going to have success,” Meinerts said. “We will probably move her around throughout the season and try to find our best combinations that could be successful at conference, regionals and state. Her best events will be the long jump and hurdles.”

Bane is back after qualifying for the 400 hurdles and teaming with Hinegardner and the departed Bridget Hurley and Toni Spencer in the 4x100. She’s more than a full year removed from an ACL injury that slowed her a bit last year.

Bane and Hinegardner will likely team up in the shuttle hurdle with junior Mary Schabilion and sophomore Gracie Cheville.

Ritter and Moody were both part of the sprint medley relay team which qualified for state. Like the 4x100 relay, two of the runners in that group will have to be replaced.

Jessen qualified for the state meet in the 3,000 last year. She was part of the Raider cross country team which qualified for state in the fall. That will give CMB a talented group of distance runners, including junior Ashlee Johnson and sophomores Brenna Thomson and Lauren Ratliff and freshman Holly Jessen.

Thomson already has matched her best time from last year in the 3,000, Jessen’s 1,500 time is faster than her indoor time last year and Ratliff’s 1,500 indoor time is six seconds faster than at any point last year.

This year’s roster includes three seniors, five juniors and a plethora of freshmen and sophomores to help fill in holes opened after graduation. The freshmen class is 10 deep and there are eight sophomores.

Field events should be a strength once again for CMB. Hinegardner and Ritter are already hitting at least 15 feet in the long jump, Bane returns to the high jump while sophomore Kaitlyn Van Ryswyk and freshman Amber Weltha will provide the Raiders with scoring opportunities in the shot put and discus.

Meinerts expects his CMB team to be competitive at each and every track meet. Like in year’s past, he’s more focused on the big picture.

“It doesn’t matter where we start, it’s where we finish,” Meinerts said. “If we can continue to improve in practice, then we will be competitive in all events, and we will have a successful season.”

Boys Soccer

With zero seniors on the roster, the CMB boys soccer team struggled with the physicality of the game in 2016 during its return to the high school ranks.

One year later, those same athletes are one year older, one year stronger and one year more experienced.

All of those factors are reasons Bruntz feels CMB can be more competitive in 2017.

The Raiders won two games in its first season back at the high school level in five years. If CMB wants to improve on that win total, it will start on the defensive side of the field.

“I feel good about what we have,” Bruntz said. “We want to have a lot more ball control this season. We still have work to do. The defense needs to improve a lot.”

Every player who scored a goal last year returns, including juniors Carter Fricke, Devin Carson and Ryan Sabastiano and sophomores Josh Bruntz, Addison Swaab and Peyton Johnston. Sophomore goalkeeper Brendyn Padget also is back.

Fricke scored a team-high eight goals and scored a team-best 17 points in 2016. Sabastiano put in three goals, while Bruntz and Carson each scored twice. Carson led the team with two assists.

Padget split time between goalie and defender last year but led the Raiders with 142 saves. Coach Bruntz said Padget will spend most of his time in 2017 between the posts.

The only two seniors on this year’s roster are returner Ashton Graddick, who moves to midfielder after playing defender a year ago, and Tucker Maxwell. Maxwell joins the soccer team after running on the Raider track team his three previous springs.

Fricke, Sebastiano, Bruntz, Carson and Peyton Johnston will be the primary scorers, while McCade Gowdy and Eian Maxwell return to the defense. Tucker Maxwell is expected to start as a defender.

Freshmen Will Hatchler (defender), Ben Hofer (defender) and Carter Merryman (midfielder) are all expected to battle for a starting position.

Coach Bruntz is coaching high school soccer for the first time. She has been the Raiders’ recreation coach for the past five or six years.

Girls Golf

In his second season as Raider girls’ golf coach, Zach Hasselbrink has a mixture of talent on his 2017 roster.

Hasselbrink lost the golfer who played in the No. 1 spot all of last season but brings back the two golfers who had the top nine-hole and 18-hole average on the team. The rest of the roster is filled with girls who have never played golf before.

“Because we have so many golfers who haven’t played before, we will be more of a individualized team this year,” Hasselbrink said. “I will have to do a lot of teaching of the game in general. I will have to dedicate most of my time on the younger ones because based on numbers they are going to have to play varsity this year.”

The Raiders bring back juniors Abbie Ericson and Brynne Pritchard as well as sophomore Payton Cory. Sophomore Piper Larson and freshmen Abbey Shepley and Sadie Meyer round out the roster.

Ericson will most likely be the No. 1 golfer in 2017. She had the top 18-hole average on the team with a 116.67. Her nine-hole average of 58 ranked third on the team a year ago.

Pritchard is slated to be the No. 2 golfer before season’s end after leading the team with a 51.25 nine-hole average. Her 18-hole average of 121.33 ranked second behind Ericson.

Cory will start the season as the No. 2 golfer. She averaged a 63 in her five nine-hole tournaments last year and averaged 116.67 in three 18-hole meets.

“Abbie is used to being on a golf course,” Hasslebrink said. “She needs to get off to good starts to stay positive throughout her round. The story with our team last year was we had five or six good holes and then a few huge scores. We have to eliminate the huge scores.”

Ericson has set a goal to become an all-conference golfer, according to Hasselbrink.

“She has a consistent swing, but she needs to get the mental side of the game down,” Hasselbrink said.

There are lots of unknowns with the three newcomers.

Larson joins the team this season after running track last year. She will participate in both sports in 2017.

Shepley plays softball so Hasselbrink likes the fact that she knows at least how to swing something. It will be a work in progress for Larson, Shepley and Meyer this season.

“There’sa lot of work to do,” Hasselbrink said. “We need to improve as the year goes on. We need to improve our strokes with every meet.”

Girls Soccer

With six players back who started at least eight matches last year, the Raider girls’ soccer program should be in good shape to get things back on track after going 0-14 a season ago.

The addition of two new players will definitely help.

Senior Emily Coughenour returns to the field after not playing since her freshman year because of a medical condition. Senior Sydney Ziesman is a former track athlete who is giving soccer a shot in 2017.

“Emily’s leadership and her play on the field will be a plus for this team,” CMB coach Gary Cummings said. “I believe Sydney will be a great addition to the program. She is a quick learner and has the speed and endurance for the game.”

The Raiders scored two goals last season, both of which came off the foot of sophomore Tatum Tremain. She made 12 starts last year and is expected to be a key component to CMB’s offense.

“She has put in a lot of work since last year,” Cummings said. “She has a great attitude, and if we can give her some support, she has the ability to lead us in scoring again.”

Senior Amanda Harrington returns after making 14 starts in goal last year. She made 297 saves.

Other key returners include senior Kathleen Baldwin (eight starts), junior Madi Millizer (12 starts) and sophomores Brooke Lust (14 starts) and Hannah Clair (12 starts). There are nine freshmen this season, a couple of which will have to play key roles, according to Cummings.

“Practices have been good through the first three nights,” Cummings said. “We have good attitudes and the girls are willing to work hard. We are just working on the basics right now, trying to figure out where everyone is going to fit in.”

Boys Golf

The CMB boys’ golf team hasn’t played a single competition hole on the links in 2017, but already the Raiders have dealt with unwanted and unfortunate adversity.

Flaws took over the program about a week before the start of a new season. He inherited a program that brings back three returning seniors who played in the varsity lineup last year, including the top two returning scorers.

“Truthfully, I just met most of the guys on the first day of practice so it’s been a crash course of getting to know everyone,” Flaws said.

Caleb Van Zante had the best averages for both nine holes (45.67) and 18 holes (93.33). Flaws expects his senior leader to once again hold down the No. 1 spot in the lineup.

Senior Ricky White averaged 57 over nine holes and 115 over 18. Sophomore Austin Good is back after averaging 59.17 in nine holes and 133.33 in 18 holes.

The fourth returner is senior Ben Gunderson. He only played in one 18-hole meet last year after splitting time with track and field. He will compete in both sports in 2017.

“All four of these guys have improved from last year,” Flaws said. “I would expect them to compete for the top varsity spots all season.”

Aside from the four returners, seven newcomers complete the roster. Junior Derek Flaucher, sophomore Dillan Coree and freshmen Simon McKinney and Joey Tillman are four others who Flaws feels will battle for the remaining varsity spots.

Flaws teaches at Collins-Maxwell and coaches softball and boys basketball at Carlisle. He’s a Carlisle graduate who played on the last Carlisle golf team to make it to state. He played collegiate golf at Iowa Central Community College.

With so few days under his belt so far, Flaws hopes his first season as golf coach comes with lots of improvement.

“I want to see a group of young men who enjoy the game of golf while improving every day,” Flaws said. “If we can see improvement from our first meet in April to our last meet in May, that would be great. Most importantly, I hope to see this group represent the CMB Raiders in a positive manner.”

Boys Track

One of the things the CMB boys track team could count on in recent seasons is scoring double points in the shot put and discus.

In 2017, that will be no different.

Senior Brady Kemp and sophomore Will Clapper are both back after throwing shot put at the state meet last year. Both Raiders hope to follow in the footsteps of former state champions Danny and Zach Samson.

“Whenever there’s success, it makes kids want to be the next guy,” CMB coach Josh Russell said. “That’s part of it why those events have been so good for so long. There’s also a dedication to it.”

Clapper hit a career-best throw of 50 feet, 7 inches at Central College during the indoor season. Kemp eclipsed the 50 foot mark last year. Both are stronger this season and the expectation is a return trip to state.

Clapper was the Heart of Iowa Conference champion last year, but Kemp finished ninth at state. Clapper was 16th.

The only other returning state qualifier from last year is senior Ben Gunderson. He teamed up with three graduated seniors to place 18th in the shuttle hurdle at Drake Stadium.

Gunderson will focus most of his time on hurdle events. Who joins him in the shuttle hurdle relay is still up in the air.

That’s the theme in a lot of other events.

“We still have the same standards that we always have,” Russell said. “There is no doubt some events will be in a rebuild.”

Helping to rebuild the relays will be sprinters Marcus Mitchell, Zach Schafer, Braydon Aker, Blake Coughenour, John Newton and Carter Fricke, middle distance runners Evan Bianchi, Jack Cheville, Creighton Caple and Max Van Maanen and distance guys Ian Thomson, Logan Berg and Noah Rhoades. Ben Huff will handle the duties at long jump and high jump.

“I think we can have a good 4x400, 4x800, distance medley and sprint medley relays,” Russell said. “We just have to figure out who to put in what event now.”

Fricke (soccer), Devin Carson (soccer) and Gunderson (golf) will play two sports this spring.