This is the sixth installment of a six-part series of columns that will look ahead to the upcoming high school sports year for our six area schools.
– June 21 — SCC Titans
– June 24 — Yates Center Wildcats
– June 27 — Crest Lancers
– July 1 — Humboldt Cubs
– July 8 — Iola Mustangs/Fillies
– Today — Marmaton Valley Wildcats
The Wildcat girls are facing the task of replacing their leader from a season ago with Kyla Drake having graduated, but the good news for Marmaton Valley is they are used to that after having to replace McKenzie Tynon last season.
Tynon was a star for the Wildcats in volleyball, basketball and track and field, but with her departure last season, Drake filled her shoes and led the Wildcats in all three of those sports.
Now with Drake gone, Marmaton Valley will turn to there next group of stars to rise up.
Luckily for the Wildcats, they have a plethora of talented athletes across sports that seem ready to lead.
SOFTBALL
With junior Karlie Stephens in the pitching circle, the Wildcats know they have a reliable arm to depend on this season.
Stephens has been the team’s primary pitcher the past two seasons and now that she is an upperclassman, she seems poised to improve on the All-Three Rivers League year that she put together last season.
The biggest key for the Wildcats will be the continued development of their hitters.
At the top of the order, coach Craig Richey knows he can rely on shortstop Isabelle Bigelow and Stephens to be reliable bats.
Stephens led the team with a .551 average and 23 runs scored and Bigelow was second on the team with 20 runs scored and a .364 average, but developing the middle of the order is the next step to making an elite offense.
Senior catcher Trinitee Gutierrez served as the team’s cleanup hitter this past season hit over .400.
Juniors Paige Becker and Shaylee Woods will also slot somewhere into the top five spots in the batting order.
The bottom of the order will be the real mystery for Richey as he enters his second year at the helm of the program, but with five spots in the order accounted for, the competition should be fierce for the remaining spots.
TRACK & FIELD
Bailey Griffith exploded onto the scene as a freshman for Marmaton Valley last season.
Griffith wound up qualifying for the State Championships in both the triple jump and long jump and she took a second-place medal in the long jump and a third-place medal in the triple jump back to Moran.
Griffith will have her eyes sets on climbing to the top of the podium in both events in Wichita this season.
The sophomore is also the team’s top sprinter and will be a favorite to qualify for state in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash this season.
Senior Shelby Yoho leads the team’s distance runners and after just missing a state berth as a junior, she will be set of qualifying this season.
CROSS COUNTRY
Shelby Yoho takes center stage during the cross country season as she leads a young, but extremely talented group of Wildcat runners.
Yoho finished 37th at the state meet after leading her team to its first ever state meet appearance.
The Wildcats will be favorites to go back again this year with the team’s next three top runners just entering their sophomore campaigns.
Christina Mynatt, Allison Heim and Heather Hicks all got to experience state during their first seasons with the program.
Last season’s fifth-runner Elizabeth Johnson is also back for her junior season.
BASKETBALL
The Wildcats go into 2017 in full-rebuild mode. They will have to replace their entire starting lineup with Kyla Drake, Misty Storrer, Magie Stevenson, Taryn Covey and Brooklyn Newman all having graduating.
While the year is sure to begin with plenty of question marks, the team should be able to find some stability at point guard where senior Isabelle Bigelow is the team’s top returner and should shift into the starter’s role and provide the young Wildcats with a leader on the floor.
VOLLEYBALL
The Wildcat volleyball team loses three key seniors with Kyla Drake, Misty Storrer and Taryn Covey all having graduated.
Just like basketball though, they have their floor general back in the fold with senior setter Trinitee Gutierrez leading the team.
While Storrer and Drake were key hitters a year ago, seniors Shyla Brooks, Makayla Brooks and junior Patricia Outlan should lead the team’s hitters this season.
