» SEASON PREVIEW: Shawnee in Division V for first time
“We see KR this week and that will be a really good match for us to see where we’re at before we face Alder,” first-year coach Audree Long said. “I truly feel like we’ve got a team that can probably win conference. I’m excited to see what these girls can accomplish.”
Junior Ashley Dingeman leads the Braves with 55 kills and 16 blocks. Senior Taylor Edwards is next with 34 kills and 14 blocks. Junior Hannah Beers has a team-high 92 digs and senior Gabby Thornton has 74. Junior Tori Huxley leads in assists with 144.
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Shawnee has three seniors on the roster – Taylor, Thornton and Alyssa Blanke – and seven juniors.
“Some of our athletes have stepped into new roles this year,” Long said. “Our seniors have stepped into new roles and have made a huge impact on our success thus far. … The girls have been very receptive of new information and are gaining confidence with every match, which should lead for a great season.”
Shawnee lost to Lancaster and Marysville to start the season, but has rallied with wins over Valley View, Catholic Central, Stebbins, Urbana and Northwestern.
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“I think right now we’re still working on building confidence as a team,” Long said. “We’re working on one game at a time. We’re working a little bit on starting strong. … They’ve been great and they work really hard. They want to win and be competitive, so that’s good.”
Shawnee won the Kenton Trail division back-to-back in 2011-12. KR (4), Jonathan Alder (2) and Tecumseh (1) have claimed the next six with KR and Alder sharing the title last season.
“I really want it for the girls,” Long said of winning the division. “Coming into this summer we were talking about goals. They said they just wanted to have a winning record. I said that’s all you guys think you can do? Just getting them to see the potential they have, it would be huge for the girls, for the program and the future players as well.”
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• Kenton Ridge boys soccer is 2-0, has posted two shutouts and outscored its opponents 11-0. The Cougars host Bellefontaine (2-2) on Wednesday and are at Dayton Chaminade Julienne (0-4) on Saturday. Kenton Ridge senior Tristan Slagle has four goals and junior Brandon Gibson has six assists.
• Urbana junior Atticus Bloemhard leads Central Buckeye Conference boys soccer in scoring with five goals and two assists (12 points). Tecumseh sophomore Jose Alvarado also has five goals (10 points).
• Tecumseh junior Taylor Sisco has three goals and two assists. Tecumseh (3-0-1), Urbana (3-0) and Indian Lake (3-0-1) all are unbeaten among Central Buckeye Conference teams.
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• Northwestern (5-1 overall, 3-0 CBC) is at Kenton Ridge (6-1, 3-0) on Thursday will a pivotal CBC girls tennis showdown. Both teams dropped their season openers and have won out since. Northwestern is led in singles by Leah Fraker (10-4), Kate Pederson (12-2) and Macy Yeager (13-1). The Cougars counter with Elli Schleinitz (6-1), Ava Sullivan (6-0) and Molly Patton (3-1).
• Drew Blazer of Northwestern won the large school division of the Treaty City cross country invitational at Greenville in 16 minutes, seven seconds. Northwestern’s Kassidy Carpenter was second (19:35.7) in the girls large school division. The Warriors girls were fourth as a team.
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