Sweet seasons for North's Wanner
By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer | Posted: Saturday, August 16, 2008
North's Ryan Wanner avoids the pickoff attempt at first base as the ball flies past him against East. (Staff photo by Jim Lee)
The sweet swing. That's what you might remember about Brian Wanner's high school baseball career.
Well, maybe not. Sticking out foremost in your mind might be the way he chased 'em down while patrolling center field for Sioux City North High in the best tradition of Willie Mays.
The choice is yours, but the baseball skills of the recent North graduate, combined with basketball acumen, add up to Wanner's selection today as The Sioux City Journal's 2008 Metro Male Athlete of the Year.
In baseball, Wanner impressed North High Coach Brian Drent from the start.
"In my opinion he's one of the better players I've coached and certainly one of the best in the state,'' praises Drent. "He had an unbelievable sophomore year, tailed off a bit as a junior and then came back with a great senior year.
"He played a major part, game in and game out, in us reaching the No. 2 ranking in the state, winning a school-record 37 games and making it to the state tournament.''
Wanner hit .395, drilled five homers, drove in 40 runs, posted a 6-1 pitching record and made just three errors as a senior, contributing to a 37-5 record and a berth in the Class 4A state tournament, where Marshalltown pulled off a stunning first-round upset.
"Brian has great natural power,'' says Drent. "He has a slight uppercut swing and the ball just slides off his bat. He's a natural, plays with a ton of confidence. A team has to have guys like Brian Wanner to be successful.''
Drent would know since he played professionally three seasons in the Chicago White Sox chain.
Wanner's worth to North baseball became apparent early when he earned a varsity starting berth as a freshman.
The son of Dr. William and Val Wanner was a four-year starter in center field for the Stars and capped his diamond career by earning second-team all-state plaudits (Iowa Newspaper Assocation and Iowa Baseball Coaches Association) and first-team All-Missouri River Activities Conference honors.
Brian was also named the most valuable player on his Large Schools West team in the recent Iowa Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Series in Des Moines and, for the second time in his career, was named the most valuable player on the North High team.
In four varsity baseball seasons, Wanner rapped 187 hits, including 39 doubles, 30 triples and 22 home runs. He drove in 147 runs, scored 205 runs, walked 113 times and finished with a.370 career batting average.
His 187 career hits rank on North's all-time top 10 list.
The 3.85 National Honor Society student, who will enroll at the University of Colorado and participate in the club program (the Big 12 school has no intercollegiate program), was also called on for pitching duty, fashioning a 16-4 career won-lost record with 92 strikeouts in 109 innings.
Baseball has always been the No. 1 athletic endeavor for Wanner, but basketball was never far behind.
A three-year hoops starter for Coach John Vanderloo, the North graduate helped the Stars to Class 4A state tournament berths as a junior and senior. Drawing difficult first-round assignments each year, the Stars lost to eventual state champs Linn-Mar (2007) and Iowa City High (2008).
"Brian Wanner is an excellent choice for an honor like this,'' said Vanderloo. "He's always been a hard worker, is very coachable and has a positive attitude, always fitting into the team concept.''
Wanner earned a starting varsity assignment in his first game his sophomore year and over the course of three seasons accumulated 753 points, a total that ranks seventh in school history.
Had it not been for missing seven games because of injuries during his first two seasons and he'd equaled his 11.7 career scoring average in those contests he missed, a potential total of 845 points would have put him third behind all-staters Tommy Goodman (1,140) and Michael Kalin (1,1058) and ahead of John Tillo (819), Kirk Speraw (778), Travis Cox (766) and Mike Tillo (754).
He averaged 11.5 points as sophomore, 11.2 as a junior and 12.3 last season, connecting on 58.4 percent of his shots from the field, a single-season accuracy rate that ranks sixth at the school.
Well, maybe not. Sticking out foremost in your mind might be the way he chased 'em down while patrolling center field for Sioux City North High in the best tradition of Willie Mays.
The choice is yours, but the baseball skills of the recent North graduate, combined with basketball acumen, add up to Wanner's selection today as The Sioux City Journal's 2008 Metro Male Athlete of the Year.
In baseball, Wanner impressed North High Coach Brian Drent from the start.
"In my opinion he's one of the better players I've coached and certainly one of the best in the state,'' praises Drent. "He had an unbelievable sophomore year, tailed off a bit as a junior and then came back with a great senior year.
"He played a major part, game in and game out, in us reaching the No. 2 ranking in the state, winning a school-record 37 games and making it to the state tournament.''
Wanner hit .395, drilled five homers, drove in 40 runs, posted a 6-1 pitching record and made just three errors as a senior, contributing to a 37-5 record and a berth in the Class 4A state tournament, where Marshalltown pulled off a stunning first-round upset.
"Brian has great natural power,'' says Drent. "He has a slight uppercut swing and the ball just slides off his bat. He's a natural, plays with a ton of confidence. A team has to have guys like Brian Wanner to be successful.''
Drent would know since he played professionally three seasons in the Chicago White Sox chain.
Wanner's worth to North baseball became apparent early when he earned a varsity starting berth as a freshman.
The son of Dr. William and Val Wanner was a four-year starter in center field for the Stars and capped his diamond career by earning second-team all-state plaudits (Iowa Newspaper Assocation and Iowa Baseball Coaches Association) and first-team All-Missouri River Activities Conference honors.
Brian was also named the most valuable player on his Large Schools West team in the recent Iowa Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Series in Des Moines and, for the second time in his career, was named the most valuable player on the North High team.
In four varsity baseball seasons, Wanner rapped 187 hits, including 39 doubles, 30 triples and 22 home runs. He drove in 147 runs, scored 205 runs, walked 113 times and finished with a.370 career batting average.
His 187 career hits rank on North's all-time top 10 list.
The 3.85 National Honor Society student, who will enroll at the University of Colorado and participate in the club program (the Big 12 school has no intercollegiate program), was also called on for pitching duty, fashioning a 16-4 career won-lost record with 92 strikeouts in 109 innings.
Baseball has always been the No. 1 athletic endeavor for Wanner, but basketball was never far behind.
A three-year hoops starter for Coach John Vanderloo, the North graduate helped the Stars to Class 4A state tournament berths as a junior and senior. Drawing difficult first-round assignments each year, the Stars lost to eventual state champs Linn-Mar (2007) and Iowa City High (2008).
"Brian Wanner is an excellent choice for an honor like this,'' said Vanderloo. "He's always been a hard worker, is very coachable and has a positive attitude, always fitting into the team concept.''
Wanner earned a starting varsity assignment in his first game his sophomore year and over the course of three seasons accumulated 753 points, a total that ranks seventh in school history.
Had it not been for missing seven games because of injuries during his first two seasons and he'd equaled his 11.7 career scoring average in those contests he missed, a potential total of 845 points would have put him third behind all-staters Tommy Goodman (1,140) and Michael Kalin (1,1058) and ahead of John Tillo (819), Kirk Speraw (778), Travis Cox (766) and Mike Tillo (754).
He averaged 11.5 points as sophomore, 11.2 as a junior and 12.3 last season, connecting on 58.4 percent of his shots from the field, a single-season accuracy rate that ranks sixth at the school.
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