The 'Eagle Times' Student Newspaper: Sports

The volleyball team swept through state, reclaiming their state title. (Photo by Autumn Runyan)

Repeating old habits; beginning new era

Volleyball, cross country succeed at state

By Shelby Brokaw

November 07, 2007

Two teams have emerged as some of the top in the state during the fall season - one with a repetitive nature, the volleyball squad, and one with a new feat, the boys’ cross country team.

As usual, the volleyball team experienced a high level of expectations along with a substantial deal of success this season. The volleyball team, which took state last year, reclaimed their title on Saturday, Oct. 27 in their final match against Sacred Heart.

The squad did well considering that they went into the tournament as the third seed and emerged from the weekend undefeated.

"The most exciting aspect of winning state is that we did not lose any games the entire tournament, and that is very hard to do!" said senior Chelsea Campbell, one of the Eagles’ top hitters on Saturday.

On Friday in pool play, Silver Lake defeated Jayhawk Linn 25-11, 25-13; Jeff County North 25-14, 25-15; and Hutch Trinity 25-18, 25-16. On Saturday, they conquered Remington in the semifinals 25-20 and 25-13, as well as Sacred Heart in the finals 25-21 and 25-19.

This year's victory was distinctive for two main reasons. The first reason was the team the Eagles played in the finals.

"I was pretty excited because they beat us last year, and we really wanted to get another shot at them, try to beat them," declared senior Sara Wetzel, another top hitter during the final match.

Five seniors were named to the Class 3A State All-Tournament team. (Photo by Autumn Runyan)

The second reason was volleyball coach Angie Bittner's resignation.

"This year's state was unique because it was my last year, and it was also Angie's last year, and I just wanted to finish at the top," stated Campbell.

The volleyball squad went into the tournament with determination and a sense of team unity, which contributed to their success.

"We played a lot better as a team this year and there wasn't really any animosity within the team, so it really helped us play together and play well," said Wetzel.

"We knew that if we were playing our game, we would be tough to beat," reported Bittner.

The seniors led the way to the title, with five of them being recognized by the Kansas Volleyball Association. Seniors Campbell, Wetzel, Whitney Gillman, Jordan Lockwood, and Amanda Pfannenstiel were selected to the Class 3A 2007 State All-Tournament Team. Only 12 girls total were named to the elite group, with two from Remington, two from Hutch-Trinity, and three from Sacred Heart.

The boys’ cross country team, including Jerod Barker, Peter Ruby, Luke Ziegler, Jaeton Martin, Cole Schwarz, T.G. Gideon, and Derek Holmer, started down a new road this year by qualifying to state as a team for the first time in 13 years. The team competed at the 3A state race on Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Wamego Country Club.

The newfound achievements of the team this year led to high expectations for state, which were met with accomplishment.

Highlights of the state race included a third-place finish by Jerod Barker and a 22nd-place finish by Peter Ruby. (Photo by Rachel Cross)

"I figured we would finish somewhere between fifth and 10^th, and we ended up 10^th," stated cross country coach Kevin Brokaw.

Silver Lake tied with Osage City for 10^th and 11^th place, each team with an accumulation of 211 points. The tie was broken when the sixth runners, in the Eagles’ case senior leader T.G. Gideon, were added into the mix.

The two individual standouts for the state meet were sophomores Peter Ruby and Jerod Barker. Ruby ended the race in 22^nd place with a time of 18:12, just short of medaling. Barker finished the year third in 3A state with a time of 17:07, improving on his 20^th-place medal last year.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Barker as one of only three sophomores to finish in the top 20.

The top two runners at state this year will graduate in the spring, making Barker's goal of winning state next year especially valid.

Though it all seems very real now, Barker said he would have by no means dreamt of such success before he entered high school.

"I never thought I would have taken third as a sophomore or even had as much success as I did last year," said Barker.

As far as the team goes, Coach Brokaw has even higher expectations for next year.

"My goals are to add new members to the cross country team, to have higher individual and team expectations, for the boys to get back to state, and to improve on their individual and team placements," listed Brokaw.