The Lost Spring: Nodaway Valley

Girls track and field

Near the top of the list of 'What if?' surrounding the 2020 season was both of the Nodaway Valley track and field teams.

The NV girls had a stellar year in 2019, sending a group of talented athletes to the state meet.

A 4x100 meter relay tandem of Jena Yonker, Lexi Shike, Reagan Weinheimer and Maddax DeVault took to the Blue Oval at Drake University and posted a 51.70, a new school record, at the 2019 Drake Relays.

The group returned to the oval at the state tourney and nearly missed a podium spot as a team, but bested their record time with a fourth-place 51.44.

The chances to impress didn't stop at the 4x100, however. The NV girls had a second-place finish in the sprint mdeley (Jena Yonker, Shike, DeVault and Weinheimer) a seventh-place finish in the 4x200 meter and a fourth-place finish in the shuttle hurdle.

Shike's photo finish to Pride of Iowa foe Emma Atwood had her in second place by seven hundreths of a second to help contribute to a 33-point fourth-place showing, missing a shared title with Alburnett and Kee (36 points).

Entering this season, everyone, with the exception of Reba Lonsdale, was on track for a return in the black and purple. The season expectations? To return to state, and be better.

However, due to the national pandemic of COVID-19, the chances of it happening were slim to none.

"The upperclassmen, and that core group that went to state last year, I think they’re in shock a little bit," said head coach Brett Welsch. "Our goal this year was to win conference and to go for a state title. I really believe we had a good chance to win state this year. ... They’ve been a strong class (the seniors), especially with the juniors too. Those upperclassmen have really taken Nodaway Valley sports up to that next level."

Leading up to 2020, there was more to the state-bound goals set for the Wolverines.

"With Reagan, her senior year, I was going to move her back into the 800 (meter) role," said Welsch on Weinheimer. "We kind of put everything on the 4x100, which to me was a little higher risk race with the handoffs. We were going to concentrate on a 4x400 or a distance medley and put Reagan in the 800. She wanted the chance to break the (school record) 800 time.”

Shike and Sophia Broers were also poised with high goals heading into the season, said Welsch.

"With Lexi, her goal was to win the 100 meter hurdle title. She wants that real bad. She’s got next year, if things don’t work out, but if anything it’s taught us we can’t take anything for granted," said Welsch. "Sophia Broers, she was taking all that momentum she got in cross country and really looked good in the long distance and the 3,000 for us this year."

NV's boys track and field coach, Darrell Burmeister, felt Broers was going to perform well all season after medaling at the state cross country meet a few months prior, a team which is led under the tutelage of Burmeister.

"Sophia (Broers) was going to look good. We can say that. She is probably one that is doing the workouts every day,” said Burmeister. “She would probably be having a good year. The girls team as a whole, probably would have been one of the favorites to win Class 1A. I know for coach Welsch and the girls, this has got to be tough on them because they were a few points from winning last year and they bring those points back.

"They (had) a shot at winning it, there’s no doubt about that. … They were going to score a bunch of points,” said Burmeister.

Graduating from the program is Weinheimer, Paisley Kintigh, McKynna Newbury, Alyssa Davis and Mallory Kuhns.

Boys track and field

Nodaway Valley boys track and field, while not holding the same number of state-experienced runners, still was set up nicely entering 2020.

Led by future Southwestern Community College runner Josh Baudler, who claimed his first individual cross country title by winning the Class 1A title in the fall, the Wolverines rostered quite a talented group when it came to athleticisim and ability to fill in where needed.

Burmeister has done his part in making sure the boys stay in shape, sending out workouts for them to follow while adhering to 'social distancing' protocol. A difficult time emotionally for some, Burmeister has sent out motivational blogs to his team a few times each week.

Despite the stories not necessarily being associated with track, the lessons and ideas found within can translate to the situation the team is in when it comes to pushing through and perserverance.

Upon hearing about the cancellation, Burmeister sent an emotional email to his runners.

"Hang in there," said Burmeister in the email. "Seniors, thank you for all your dedication over the years. What an unprecedented time we live in. ... When you face life challenges you will be stronger. Three months is not a lifetime. You all will do great in life.

"I am hurting for you. Wiping away tears. You will be missed," added Burmeister.

For 2020, Burmeister was quick to react when asked what the expectations for his team were.

One of the most notable expectations was for Baudler, who was part of last year's botched Class 1A 3,200 race. A mixup in race laps caused the final lap bell to ring early, resulting in what could have been a runner-up finish for Baudler.

Baudler finished the race in full with a second place spot, but after a meeting by officials, a revised results list put him in fifth. Ben Breheny, who was also in the race for the Wolverines, placed 19th after completing eight laps, but was not given an official time after the final placings changed.

"Joshua, winning or at least having a shot at the 3,200 and the 1,600 race (is what I expect). Tyler and Ben Breheny to also qualify for the 3,200 again and Ben getting a top-8 (medalist) in the 3,200," said Burmeister. "Josh trying to have a chance to win the 1,600 also. Going into the season, there’s about three guys, leigitimately in the 3,200 and the 1,600 (to compete for a state title).

Burmeister noted his excitment in what several others could bring, incuding sprinter Jon Gebbie, the Ayase brothers (Tony and Adam) and the DeVault brothers (Boston and Caelen). There was also interest surrounding the 4x800 team of Toby Bower, Clay Hohertz, Mason Menefee and Tyler Breheny, which Burmeister felt was on its way to a potential state-bound season.

"In the 4x8, they came close last year (Menefee, Breheny, Bower and Clay Hohertz). I thought those guys would have a pretty good shot in the 4x8 in qualifying and maybe doing something at state," Burmeister said. "... I think balance-wise, we would have had everything covered this spring. We would have been cometitive in every distance and put together some quality relays together too."

A team with a decorated and talented group, Burmeister feels there's more to take out from the situation on top of the sadness and emotion of losing an ability to compete.

"It’s too bad it’s happened. We haven’t had one of these in 100 years," said Burmeister. "You can always talk about life lessons and all about that, but I’m sure it’s hard on the seniors because some are not competing in college. … Missing their season and possibly their prom and commencement, it’s hard but they’ve got to look at like they’ve got their whole life ahead of them and they’re going to be doing greater things in life than one season. Hopefully, they keep that in perspective.”

Hohertz, Baudler, Braydon Holder, Colby Harris, Austin Wilson are set to graduate.

Girls soccer

Nodaway Valley girls soccer was coming off a 9-7 season where it combined with West Central Valley High School. Going into the 2020 campaign, the Wolverines were going to try and replace six players from the year before, including WCV's Abigail Spechinger, the team's second-leading scorer.

Meredith Marks was on her way to return for her senior year in hopes of leading the program in scoring again. Marks would be joined by Clarissa Sickles, Hope Link, Sydney Neal and Claire Chesnut as seniors for the program.

Marks, a forward for more than half her NV soccer career, bows out with 38 goals and eight assists. Her sophomore campaign, one where she netted 18 goals, was her highest-scoring season. Her total is the third most for the school since 2015.

Link was a solid accomplice to Marks, scoring seven goals with 10 assists across her three years of play at midfield and defense.

Chesnut, a goalie for the first half of her career, stopped 42 shots in her career while allowing 20 for a save percentage of .641. Her junior campaign she did not appear as a goalie, but did appear in the stat sheet with one lone shot on goal as she made a transition to cornerback in nine games.

Sickles saw action in eight games in her career, starting one. She had one goal scored on three shots, all coming in 2017 as a freshman.

Neal, despite not logging a point or shot on goal during her career, was an important part of NV's rotation for the back line, playing in 24 games (11 started) from the linebacker and midfield position.

"The valley girls soccer coaches would like to thank all the seniors for all you have done for the program," said head coach Mike Krawczyk on the team's website. "You will all be missed Good luck with your next step in life. To everyone else, please be safe this summer and we hope to see you all back next season."

Krawczyk could not be reached for comment.

Boys soccer

On the boys side, the consolidated team of West Central Valley and NV were on their way to a bounceback season after a 7-10 2019 campaign.

Keeping last season's leading goal scorer in Weston Pote, the Wolverines had five seniors out of 28 players for the spring after losing just Tanner Ellis from a year prior due to graduation.

Pote, an established striker, scored 21 goals in his junior campaign, finishing with 52 points. Prior to the 50-plus point season, he put up 17 goals and four assists his sophomore season and 11 goals with 10 assists his freshman season.

He caps his career with 122 points, leading the team in every season he played.

Ismael Leyva was another senior that made vital contributions to the program across his three years, tallying eight goals in his junior season with five assists. His sophomore year, he talled six assists with four goals and in his freshman year he scored one goal.

An accomplice to Pote's prowess, Leyva was the second-leading scorer for WCV/NV in each of his last two seasons.

Other seniors on the boys side were Tyler Cross, Brad Hebardand Gage Perrigo. The trio did not tally a point, with Cross being the only one to play three seasons. Hebard saw action his junior year while Perrigo played at the varsity level his junior and sophomore year.

Golf

Nodaway Valley's golf season was going to be an important one, felt head coach Joel Klobnak. With a lot of inexperienced golfers set to hit the course, a season cancellation was the last thing the program needed.

Klobnak feels the missed season with only two players coming in with experience makes it difficult to gauge players' potential, and what they could have done.

"Everyone on my team, besides two, had never tried out for golf, so I guess they really didn’t know what to expect," said Klobnak. "I guess when you don’t really know what it is, you don’t know what you’re losing. … The two returnees that I had high hopes for, I was disappointed on that. Overall, everybody took it just fine and I’m hoping they stay motivated and get some practice on their own and show up next year.

With eight golfers coming out on the boys side, none of which were returners. Nathan Cockburn, Ryan Randall and Austin Wilson were three seniors on the boys side, all of which had "limited experience" said Klobnak.

On the girls side, Klobnak said there was seven girls who were committed from the start, but the number dropped to four once season suspension happened.

"My returnees was Cadee Firch and Kenni Schaefer. Last year, I got Kenni down (in strokes) from beginning to the end," said Klobnak. "It was her first year golfing and she dropped five strokes. Cadee, it was her first year as well, and she improved 15 strokes. ... I was excited to play with both of them, ... now it's getting away from the basics and towards fine tuning on ball control and flight control."

Going into next year, Klobnak is hopeful the program can continue to grow with big plans on the horizon.

"I’ve got good hopes. I do a pre-sign up about a month out from the season, and I usually always get about 15 or 16 people. ... I can’t imagine the flame dying out for next year. We plan on doing fundraisers, and it’ll be for getting the community involved and getting golf a more centralized focus. It has died out a little bit in this community, and I’m hoping through the fundraisers and the community golf events will bring some interest to some of the students.”

To expand on the future plans, Klobnak said there's nothing set in stone yet, but feels it could help reignite an interest in Nodaway Valley golf and help draw funds to the program.

"It’s all just ideas right now, but we would like an annual Nodaway Valley golf tournament," said Klobnak. "It would be a fundraiser which would allow (us) to get more equipment and better my teaching abilities with the technology of ball flight trackers and things like that. I think it would be fun. I know there’s a lot of people in the community that love to golf, and who doesn’t like the competition. If we could start a yearly tournament there (Greenfield Country Club), I think that would bring some more interest back to golf.”