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SOFTBALL
By Jenny Kirk Even though the weather hasn’t been cooperating lately, practices are underway for the spring sports seasons at Murray County Central. Athletic Director James Wajer said all of the teams were practicing as of Monday, March 20 and that participation numbers are high, though the teams are anxiously waiting for decent weather, so they can get outside. “Our numbers are excellent in all sports this spring, depending on when that season will officially begin,” Wajer said. “Softball and baseball are sharing the two high school gyms, golf shares the wrestling room and track uses the elementary gym for their indoor practices until Mother Nature decides to help us out.”
BASEBALL
The Rebel baseball team was 14-7 last season and fell just short of making the section championship, according to Nate Wieneke, who is in his third season as head coach. “We lost a tough battle (1-0) to RTR,” he said. But the 2022 spring season also marked the first time MCC won a conference championship for quite a while, he added. “My expectations for this season are for us to compete again for another conference championship, while continuing to develop the best baseball players, students and young men as possible,” Wieneke said. “If we can continue to get better each day, and play our best, the sky is the limit for this group of guys.”
Wieneke anticipates that a group of nine seniors returning from a year ago will lead the team this season, adding that many of those players saw a substantial amount of playing time the last few baseball seasons. “The team will look to those seniors to lead and hopefully, some younger classmen step up in some roles that may need to be filled,” he said.
Wieneke admits that the wintery conditions so far have been frustrating, stating that they are really looking forward to warmer weather that will melt the snow, but that they’re trying to play the hand they’ve been dealt. “Last week, we started their ‘conditioning week,’ where all we can have the athletes do is play catch, and do things that help condition their arms. (Monday) is our first full practice of the season, so we will see how it goes.”
The Rebels are scheduled to open their season on March 31 at Wabasso, but the game is likely to get rescheduled due to weather. “We are hoping that sometime around Easter time we can get outdoors, but it all depends on how well Mother Nature cooperates.”
Assistant varsity coaches are Paul Counter, Tim Carriveau (JV coach) and Tarry Boelter. Scott Mansch and Jeff Grimme assist with the junior high program.
With the loss of only two seniors from a year ago, Elissa Wieneke has even higher expectations this year for the returning softball players who helped put together a 9-9 record in 2022. Now in her second season as head coach, Wieneke has also had more time to recognize and develop their skills. “I think we’re going to quickly pick up where we were last year instead of starting over,” she said.
While not all of them will be starters, Wieneke anticipates that the eight seniors will lead the way on the field and at the plate, especially since most have been on varsity the last couple of years. “Thea Schneider and Mary Lou McNab are our top pitchers and will lead up there,” Wieneke said. “They are also among the best hitters.”
Batting is likely to be a strength for the Rebels. Wieneke said she has a lot of confidence in her players when they’re up to bat. “I’m hoping everybody steps up again like they did last year,” she said.
Cutting down on mental mistakes on fielding, along with better communication, are two key areas for improvement. “We have all the skills we need, and our bats are a huge thing, but when our bats aren’t working, we need to rely on our defense,” Wieneke said.
While the team will be setting goals soon — a short team bonding trip to Okoboji is slated for the end of the month — Wieneke looks for 10 wins and a top two conference finish to be among those goals. “It’s been a tradition to go stay at a hotel together, where we can get our goals together and have our individual meetings,” she said. “It’s a good time to talk to our players and let them know what our expectations of them are.”
The Rebels finished second in the conference last year and hope to repeat or improve on that this season. Wieneke is staying positive about the indoor practices but admits that the coaches are having to get creative lately. “It was nice being indoors at the beginning of the year, so we can break down everything and get a lot of reps, but after three weeks, you need to get outside,” she said. “We’ll probably be inside for a long time yet, so we’re trying to make practice fun, with team bonding and games you can mix in.”
Joel Herrig and Kenzie De-Long serve as B-squad and varsity assistant coaches, while former Rebel softball player Sophie Larson helps out with the junior high.
GOLF
Twenty-three boys and nine girls make up the MCC golf teams this season. Kim De-Long, in her 13th season as head coach, believes both squads look to build on significant improvements and success from a year ago. “Last year, the girl’s team worked hard to punch their ticket to state as a team,” she said. “We have all but one golfer returning on that squad. We have high hopes that they will continue to improve and advance to state as a team again.”
DeLong anticipates continued improvement on the boy’s side as well. “The boys had a lot of improvements over the season last year, but with a tough section had difficulty advancing individually and as a team,” she said.
While practices just started this week — indoors, of course — DeLong already has high expectations for the athletes. “I expect our golfers will improve throughout the season and be competitive in our conference and section,” she said. “It is always a goal to attend the state tournament as a team or as an individual.”
The first golf meet is slated for Monday, April 3 at Mountain Lake, though it’s likely to be postponed. For now, the teams will continue practicing indoors until the spring conditions improve. “We generally start out with a couple weeks of indoor practice,” DeLong said. “We have a practice room in our new gym addition that allows us to set up swinging stations and a simulator. We are on the course as soon as the Slayton Country Club opens for the season.”
Kate DeLong serves as an assistant coach.
GIRLS TRACK
As a team, Dominick Damm is optimistic about the girls track and field team being very competitive this season. Damm is in his 20th year as the girls head coach at MCC. “I think we should score well in a lot of different events and be able to be in the top half in most meets,” he said.
Damm looks to a handful of seniors to a positive example this season. “I think our senior girls will be leading the charge on the track as most of them have been contributors for 4-5 years and I am sure will lead the way,” he said.
The Rebels do not compete in any indoor meets, so they’ll have to wait until the weather cooperates enough for their competitions to take place outdoors. MCC’s first meet is scheduled for March 30 at home, but Damm doesn’t see that meet taking place. That leaves more indoor practices for a while. “This season so far has been a test,” Damm said. “I need to be creative and try to keep the workouts tough and get the work done that will lead to success later during the season.”
BOYS TRACK
The Rebels will have to overcome youth and inexperience if they want to have success in track and field this season, but Tim Bobeldyk is optimistic about the potential. “We are a young team with only three seniors and two juniors, so we will have to rely on a lot of underclassmen to fill out the team and events,” he said.
Bobeldyk is in his 20th season as an MCC track and field coach — three years as an assistant and 17 as the head boys coach. He anticipates that this year’s team will be led by those upperclassmen. “Senior Ashton Kalas returns as an experienced hurdler, looking to improve on his conference runner-up honors in the 110 hurdles,” Bobeldyk said. “He will also compete in the 300 hurdles and sprint relays. In the throws, Dylan Doeden hopes to take the next step after qualifying for the section meet in the discus. He also throw the shot put and runs on sprint relays.”
The third senior and both juniors also look to provide solid leadership. “Senior distance runner Wyatt Biren will have a strong veteran leadership role within the distance crew,” Bobeldyk said. “Juniors Thomas Huso and Ben Ahlers round out our upperclassmen, competing in various field and sprint events.”
Bobeldyk said the kids have been great but will be ready to get on the track soon. “We have been making the best of the situation, focusing a lot on the teaching of some of the basic things as we are a young team,” he said. “I would guess there will be a few of the early meets that will be rescheduled or canceled. A problem we run into is running out of open dates for meets. Having three meets in a week is not ideal when it comes to training progressions, but we will adjust as we go.”
MCC is scheduled to open its track and field season on March 30, though it’s unlikely to happen later than that. But whenever the competitive season begins, Bobeldyk hopes there is a lot of support for the team. “Track meets are a lot of fun to attend as they offer a variety of events to watch,” he said. “We encourage you all to come check one out and support the MCC student athletes.”
