By: Dakota Chase

The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, the woods are getting green, and spring sports are starting to get in full swing. The 2017 spring sports had a pretty successful season. Spring is one of the busiest times of year for both boys and girls sports. The girls’ sports consist of track and softball, while boys’ sports consist of baseball and track. The Squire interviewed a few representatives for each of the sports, plus athletic director, Mr. Penley.

First up, for girls’ softball we interviewed Shelby Kuzminski. Shelby is a sophomore, who was a freshman in the 2017 season. She said they won three games last year, and it was a bit of a tough year. Last year the team lacked needed upperclassmen, with a team consisting of around “one senior, four juniors, five or six sophomores, and five freshman who are for sure playing. “In terms of experience on the team, Shelby said there is little to no experience, but the team does have at least one senior and two or three sophomores with a little experience. The Squire asked Shelby how she thinks the season will go and she thinks, “It’ll be interesting and maybe we’ll win a game, but we have a lot of room for improvement.”

Next up, The Squire interviewed girls track star, TerryLee Talasky. TerryLee is a senior, who attended states last year and has set school records. She said the 2017 track season was very successful for her and the team, as the team won the region title. She says the team consisted of “mostly lower classmen. Freshman, sophomores, and juniors usually make up most of the team. This year, we only have three seniors.” TerryLee hopes the season will be a repeat in the sense that she hopes they take the region title again. She said that they lost a few good seniors, but the team remains very diverse. Her personal goals for this 2018 season are “to make it to states and to beat my personal times.”

The boys’ baseball team didn’t have the greatest 2017 season, but the team is looking forward to continuing their rebuilding this year. Last year, the team got a new coach and lost several key upperclassmen who had graduated.  It was a year of chance, and the boys won a couple of games, but not as many as they were hoping. They made it to play in the postseason, but couldn’t make it out of the first round. This upcoming 2018 season is comprised of mostly freshman with one sophomore, one junior, and one senior. They are also hoping to make a better run in the postseason and continue their efforts to improve.

Mr. Penley really believes that our school sports teams are very strong and competitive. He shared, “our teams are really solid and consistent; for a small school we do very well. We participate in playoffs constantly.”

Good luck to all of our spring sports athletes! Stay tuned to W-IKE news for updates on upcoming games and schedules so that you can support our teams this spring.