Fall sports feature improving players, leading upperclassmen

In a fall season that featured shortened preseasons, adjusted schedules, reduced crowds, and other changes spurred by the ongoing global pandemic, Boone’s fall sports teams were all able to compete and finish their seasons.

Volleyball

Both freshman Marlee Vier and eighth-grader Azaria Sweet made the most improvements over the season, according to head coach Michelle Papas. Vier stepped up and played as a great middle blocker in key games for varsity while Sweet grew to understand the varsity game and cover much of the court defensively.

Papas identified seniors Kendal Franxman and Niah Drayton as two of the biggest leaders on the team. Drayton consistently kept the team alive defensively, dominating that side of the ball while Franxman was an all around player who led the team in kills this season.

Girls Golf

Freshman Ashley Martin made the most improvement for the team in her second season under head coach Todd Krohman, who said she continued to get better and recorded her first par in a varsity match.

Krohman identified senior Becca Bowman as the team leader. She not only made the effort to help those around her in regards to knowledge about the courses and the etiquette of the game, but is also the only girl golfer at Boone in the past four years to participate in conference and regional tournaments.

Boys Golf

Head coach Eric Savicki said that Justin Huff seemed to improve each week. Huff was always competing and seemed to impress many with his long drives, but his biggest improvements seemed to be his putting and his better scores.

The leadership of this team came from Tyler Kruetzkamp, who was the number one boy’s golfer for Boone, Savicki said. He got the lowest score in a match more than anybody else on the team and led them to a 10-2 record, but a bigger personal achievement may be scoring an impressive 82 at the regional tournament.

Girls Cross Country

The most improved female runners for the season were senior Katie Gartner and junior Evelyn Avila. Both runners were new to the sport this year, but made an incredible jump of improvement, from struggling to finish a mile at the beginning to competing in the 3.1 mile race, head coach Molly Ziegelmeyer said.

One of the leaders of this team is junior Natalie Curry, Ziegelmeyer said. She has run for the team since sixth grade and puts in the work to stay in shape during the off season so she can come into the season ready to run.

Boys Cross Country

Junior Stevan Burton, made constant improvement with dedication and training over the past season according to coach Kelly Read. In the previous season, Burton could make his personal goal of a 23 minute mark, but with a lot of off season training, he now broke that goal and set a new one for 20 minutes.

The leadership on this team came from the junior trio of Burton, Noah Collins, and Kole Kreidler, Read said. The three shined throughout the season and aided other teammates when needed.

Girls Soccer

The most improved girl’s soccer player was junior Hailey Carter, according to coach Mike Hughes. On a varsity team that was led by nine seniors, she still played a great season and was a part of an amazing back line that allowed only nine goals in 13 games.

The leaders of this team were all of the seniors. Each senior played a role in the team’s success over the season, from a back line anchored by goalie Morgan Daniels up to an offense that scored in bunches and was led by Raygen Black with 26 goals.

Boys Soccer

After not seeing much varsity time his junior year, senior Mardoche Matumueni made great improvement to his game, and this season Matumueni has started every game for varsity, head coach Suli Kayed said. With his excellent work rate, ability on the ball, and unselfishness, he made it hard for coaches to pull him out.

Senior Daniel Sanchez was one of the biggest leaders on the team this season, being a captain both his junior and senior season. Kayed said that Sanchez led by example and motivated other players to be hard workers, as well as being that player coach on the field who is the coach’s voice in the games.

Football

As a whole, the entire football team made many improvements by the end of the season. This season sophomore Jermiah Williams put up 541 rushing yards which is 250 yards more than last season, while the defense forced 20 turnovers this season, 15 more than last season.

Senior Blake Hessling not only improved this season, but also led the team on the defense. Hessling not only had a team-high 88 tackles this season, but also two forced fumbles, tied for most on the team.