PAGE 11 WINTER SPORTS 2015 ? PRESS & DAKOTAN • PLAIN TALK Tanagers Look To End Tourney Drought BY ELYSE BRIGHTMAN BOYS’ BASKETBALL Elyse.brightman@plaintalk.net Vermillion’s Cooper Williams (right) It’s been 26 years since the Vermillion High School boys’ basketball team has seen a place in state tournament, and this season the Tanagers are hoping to be one step closer to a ticket to Rapid City in March. “(The state tournament is) a goal that our program continues to strive for,” said Tanagers head coach Jay Drake. Vermillion won back-toback state championships in 1988 and 1989, but has not made an appearance in the tournament since. This season, Vermillion has the age and experience to be state hopefuls with 10 returning players, including last season’s leading scorer. “We have a solid group coming back led by six seniors that have been in our program for the past four years and four returning starters,” Drake said. “Add to that 10 letter winners from last season, and we feel that if we can continue to improve throughout the season that we can be competitive in a Dec. 12 Dec. 15 Dec. 22 Dec. 29 Jan. 2 Jan. 7 Jan. 8 Jan. 12 Jan. 16 Jan. 19 Jan. 21 Jan. 23 Jan. 28 Feb. 2 Feb. 6 Tea Area Classic TBD vs. Lennox 7:30 p.m. vs. Tri-Valley 5:30 p.m. vs. Tea Area 6:30 p.m. Pentagon Classic TBD vs. West Central 7:30 p.m. at Parkston 8 p.m. at Bon Homme 7:30 p.m. vs. Murray Co. Cent.* 4:30 p.m. * - Garretson Border Battle vs. Elk Point-Jefferson 8 p.m. at S.F. Christian 7:30 p.m. Hanson Classic TBD vs. Dell Rapids 8 p.m. vs. Beresford 8 p.m. Dakota XII Classic* TBD * - at Madison Feb. 9 at Dakota Valley 8 p.m. Feb. 16 at Wagner 8 p.m. Feb. 18 vs. Madison 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Canton 7:30 p.m. March 3,5 Region 4A Tourn. 7 p.m. March 8 4A Final at Harrisburg 7 p.m. March 17-19 State A at Rapid City very tough conference and region that we play in.” Vermillion is coming off a 9-12 overall season, and 5-6 in Region 4A, that ended in the first round of the region tournament to a lower seeded Canton when Vermillion learned the hard way that it doesn’t matter what happens during the regular season once playoffs come around. The number three seeded Tanagers were defeated by the number six seeded Vermillion’s Jeremiah Johnson (right) C-Hawks 51-40 during last season’s first round region playoff game, just six days after topping the same Canton team 66-47 during the regular season. Though the age and experience will work in the Tanagers favor, Drake knows it’s not enough to carry Vermillion to a state tournament appearance. “We know we will need to improve as the season VHS BOYS | PAGE 12 Vermillion Girls To Rely On Depth BY ELYSE BRIGHTMAN Elyse.brightman@plaintalk.net Depth off the bench will be key to the Vermillion High School girls’ basketball team this year. The Tanagers graduated just four seniors GIRLS’ BASKETBALL from last season’s team that Dec. 8 at Elk Point-Jefferson 7:30 p.m. went 7-13 overall Dec. 11 at Bon Homme 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 vs. Aberdeen Roncalli* noon and return 10 * - Tea Area Classic players with varDec. 21 vs. Sioux City North 7 p.m. Dec. 22 vs. Tri-Valley 3:45 p.m. sity experience Dec. 29 vs. Tea Area 5 p.m. giving the team Jan. 7 at Canton 7:30 p.m. versatility in the Jan. 8 at Parkston 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12 vs. Madison 7:30 p.m. style of play. Jan. 16 vs. Fulda* noon “We feel like * - Garretson Border Battle Jan. 19 vs. Elk Point-Jefferson 8 p.m. we are going to Jan. 26 at West Central 6:15 p.m. be very deep Jan. 28 vs. Dell Rapids 6:15 p.m. which will allow Jan. 30 Dakota XII Classic* TBD * - at North Sioux City us to play some Feb. 2 vs. Beresford 8 p.m. different styles,” Feb. 4 at S.F. Christian 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Dakota Valley 8 p.m. said head coach Feb. 11 vs. West Central 7:30 p.m. Jon Brooks. “If Feb. 16 at Wagner 8 p.m. you want to get Feb. 23, 25 Region 4A Tourn. 7 p.m. March 1 4A Final at TBD 7 p.m. up and down March 10-12 State A at Watertown we can play up and down. We got size to slow down and go half court if we want to do that, but just the fact that we have 10 kids, 11 that are really competing (for time), we feel like we can go deep into our bench and that will help us hopefully stay healthy, stay fresh during a long season and hopefully be able to throw a lot of different looks on teams.” Two of the three returning starters from last season include the team’s top two scorers in Haleigh Melstad and Kasey Jensen, both entering their sophomore seasons. “Kacie is kind of unique,” Brooks said. “She’s got some good size, she’s 5’10” and she can VHS GIRLS | PAGE 12 Vermillion’s Haleigh Melstad (left) HARTINGTON-NEWCASTLE Boys’ Basketball 12/4.................................................at Ponca 12/5..............................vs. O’Neill St. Mary’s 12/8..............................................vs. Walthill 12/14..........................vs. Emerson-Hubbard 12/15................................................. at Allen 12/19........................................vs. Wake?eld 12/21............................................. at Crofton 12/29-30 ............... Creighton Holiday Tourn. 1/7-8 ...Hartington-New. Post-Holiday Tourn. 1/14.............................................. vs. Homer 1/15............................................. at Osmond 1/19................vs. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 1/22.......................................... at Bloom?eld 1/26.......................................... vs. Plainview 1/28............................................ vs. Winside 1/29-2/8 ............. Lewis & Clark Conf. Tourn. 2/9..................................................at Wausa 2/12.................................................at Wynot 2/19........................................... at Randolph Girls’ Basketball 12/4.................................................at Ponca 12/5..............................vs. O’Neill St. Mary’s 12/8..............................................vs. Walthill 12/14..........................vs. Emerson-Hubbard 12/15................................................. at Allen 12/19........................................vs. Wake?eld 12/29-30 ............... Creighton Holiday Tourn. 1/7-8 ...Hartington-New. Post-Holiday Tourn. 1/12........................................... at Randolph 1/14.............................................. vs. Homer 1/15............................................. at Osmond 1/19................vs. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 1/21..................................... at Gayville-Volin 1/22.......................................... at Bloom?eld 1/26.......................................... vs. Plainview 1/28............................................ vs. Winside 1/29-2/8 ............. Lewis & Clark Conf. Tourn. 2/9..................................................at Wausa 2/12.................................................at Wynot Hartington Cedar Catholic Wrestling 12/3............................... vs. Scribner-Snyder 12/5.........................................Creighton Inv. 12/12..........................................Stanton Inv. 12/19.............Elgin Public-Pope John Tourn. 12/29............................................ Pierce Inv. 1/9..............................................Winside Inv. 1/14.......at West Holt/vs. Crofton-Bloom?eld 1/16.....................................Battle Creek Inv. 1/23................................. Oakland-Craig Inv. 1/30......................................... Plainview Inv. 2/6........................Mid-State Conf. at Norfolk Heine Electric & Irrigation, Inc. PO Box 248 214 N. Broadway Hartington, NE 68739 (402) 254-3549 www.steffendrug.com 307 S. Robinson Ave. Hartington, NE • (402) 254-2568 Dealerships: Valley Pivot, Sukup Grain Bin, Chief Grain Bin, Leg & Grain Handling Side Dump & Trucking All Sorts of Dirt Work HARTINGTON CEDAR CATHOLIC Boys’ Basketball 12/4............................. at Boone Central-NG 12/8........................................ vs. Bloom?eld 12/11 .............................................. at O’Neill 12/15............................................. at Crofton 12/22-1/4 .............Knight Classic at Fremont 12/28-30 ....................Wayne Holiday Tourn. 1/7....................at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 1/15.................................................at Pierce 1/19..........................................vs. Creighton 1/22.............................................. vs. Wayne 1/23........................ vs. Guardian Angels CC 1/26.................................................at Ponca 1/29.............................................vs. Wagner 1/30-2/6 ...............Mid-State Conf. at Norfolk 2/9.................................................. at Homer 2/11 ..................................... vs. Battle Creek 2/13.............................vs. Lutheran High NE 2/19................................vs. Norfolk Catholic Girls’ Basketball 12/3............................................... at Crofton 12/4............................. at Boone Central-NG 12/8........................................ vs. Bloom?eld 12/10.............................vs. Bancroft-Rosalie 12/11 .............................................. at O’Neill 12/14............................... at Norfolk Catholic 12/17............................................... vs. Avon 12/28-30 ....................Wayne Holiday Tourn. 1/5................................................... vs. Allen 1/7....................at Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 1/15.................................................at Pierce 1/16.............................vs. Lutheran High NE 1/19..........................................vs. Creighton 1/22.............................................. vs. Wayne 1/23........................ vs. Guardian Angels CC 1/26.................................................at Ponca 1/30-2/6 ...............Mid-State Conf. at Norfolk 2/9.................................................. at Homer 2/11 ..................................... vs. Battle Creek Hartington Cedar Catholic Wrestling 12/3............................... vs. Scribner-Snyder 12/5.........................................Creighton Inv. 12/12..........................................Stanton Inv. 12/19.............Elgin Public-Pope John Tourn. 12/29............................................ Pierce Inv. 1/9..............................................Winside Inv. 1/14.......at West Holt/vs. Crofton-Bloom?eld 1/16.....................................Battle Creek Inv. 1/23................................. Oakland-Craig Inv. 1/30......................................... Plainview Inv. 2/6........................Mid-State Conf. at Norfolk Vermillion’s Carter Williams Tanagers Ready For Unexpected BY ELYSE BRIGHTMAN Elyse.brightman@plaintalk.net The sport of gymnastics at Vermillion High School is a little more unique than most. Competitive gymnastics is not offered at the youth or club level in Vermillion, so previous training in the sport is limited before the athletes enter high school. “Some girls will go to Sioux City or Yankton for club, but that’s very rare,” said Vermillion High School gymnastics head coach Shannon Fitzsimmons. “So, the only time they get gymnastics is if they do the summer (recreation) program.” The limited training before high school, combined with the young age of the team, makes this year’s high school team almost impossible to predict. For the first week of practice, the team was training with two seniors, a sophomore, a “hand- ful” of freshmen, 10-15 middle schoolers and a second year head coach in Fitzsimmons, who held the assistant coaching position two years ago. “We’re still learning more about this huge group, 1015 middle schoolers,” she said. “They seem to be fairly athletic and they’re just kind of learning the different parts of gymnastics right now, but GYM | PAGE 12 FORDYCE, NE WYNOT, NE 402-357-3508 402-357-2324 HARTINGTON, NE 402-254-3983 Member FDIC Hartington Shopper 402-254-6406 Hartington, NE 313 Industrial Ave. Hartington, NE (402) 254-7471 www.folkersbros.com www.hartingtonshopper.com Check out this week’s advertising in the Hartington Shopper or at our Web Site: “For all your aerial spraying needs” Hartington, NE (402) 254-7316 Wayne, NE (402) 833-5110 www.beckerflyingservice.com Train for Peak Performance Taking registrations for performance programs now! Avera Sports and Coach Rozy now offer performance training programs for athletes ages 10+. Our performance programs use proven skill-building techniques to boost athletes of all ages to perform their best. • Year-round athletic performance enhancement programs Register today at 605-668-8357. • Fitness and performance programs available for youth and adults 15-ASHH-5261 • Pre-season, in-season and off-season training