Where are they now?
By Steven Allspach | Posted: Monday, December 22, 2008
Out walking in a winter wonderland or cuddled by the fire, the sports section isn't far away:
Where Are They Now Department?
Just thinking that's quite of group of superb women's basketball talent you missed seeing during the four-year run of the old Sacajawea National Invitational Girls Basketball Tournament in Our Town.
I'll make a list and check it twice.
Sophomore Kelsey Bolte, Iowa's Miss Basketball as a senior at Battle Creek-Ida Grove and the tourney MVP in 2006, is in her second year starting at Iowa State, while Nicole Neals, the '05 MVP while starring for Phoenix (Ariz.) St. Mary's, is usually first off the bench for Nebraska.
At Arizona State, currently ranked 21st in Division I, two of Neals' St. Mary's teammates, Dymond Simon and Kayli Murphy, are in the rotation and Simon is the second-leading scorer with 12.9 points a game.
Also 6-foot-7 Keke Carrier, named to the all-tourney team here in 2004 while playing for Lake Charles (La.) LaGrange, is now a junior averaging 4.9 points for an unbeaten Auburn team (13-0) currently ranked 10th in NCAA Division I.
Amber Norton, the leading scorer in the tourney with 65 points while playing for Louisville (Ky.) Assumption in 2003, is working on her fourth varsity letter this season at Vanderbilt, which is ranked 19th nationally.
Charter Oak-Ute's Kala Kuhlmann, an all-tourney pick in 2006, also plays quality minutes at Nebraska and LaSondra Barrett, who played here for Jackson (Miss.) Murrah, is the second-leading scorer at Louisiana State.
North High's Jacqui Kalin and Denison-Schleswig's Nicole Clausen and Lindsey Swanson were former all-tourney picks here who now star at Northern Iowa . Former Hinton star Bridget Yoerger, an all-tourney selection in '04, is now a senior and leading scorer and rebounder for South Dakota, making the transition this season to Division I.
Another rainy night (day) in Georgia.
It might behoove the National Association of Intercolleigate Athletics to consider a football title game site with an artifical playing surface.
When you play the title game a week before Christmas the NAIA might consider not playing on natural grass, thus avoiding another rain-soaked, mud-spattered championship game, which was moved from Savannah, Tenn., to Rome, Ga., this year.
There's gotta be FieldTurf somewhere near Rome in the football-mad state of Georgia.
Read it through the Grapevine.
East High graduate Andrew Anderson, now a senior at Northern Iowa, has earned the fifth seed at 197 pounds in the prestigious Midlands Open wrestling tournament in Evanston, Ill., Dec. 29-30. Iowa State's Jake Varner is the top seed at 197. Anderson, ranked 11th, is 11-2.
Kudos to Iowa State volleyball senior Jen Malcom. The senior from Schaller (Schaller-Crestland), a kinesiology major, has been named a strength and conditioning All-American by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
The 6-1 middle blocker finished her career last week as the ISU leader in single-match, single-season and career hitting percentage and sixth in block assists (279).
Malcom spent two seasons at Syracuse before transferring to Iowa State.
Where Are They Now Department?
Just thinking that's quite of group of superb women's basketball talent you missed seeing during the four-year run of the old Sacajawea National Invitational Girls Basketball Tournament in Our Town.
I'll make a list and check it twice.
Sophomore Kelsey Bolte, Iowa's Miss Basketball as a senior at Battle Creek-Ida Grove and the tourney MVP in 2006, is in her second year starting at Iowa State, while Nicole Neals, the '05 MVP while starring for Phoenix (Ariz.) St. Mary's, is usually first off the bench for Nebraska.
At Arizona State, currently ranked 21st in Division I, two of Neals' St. Mary's teammates, Dymond Simon and Kayli Murphy, are in the rotation and Simon is the second-leading scorer with 12.9 points a game.
Also 6-foot-7 Keke Carrier, named to the all-tourney team here in 2004 while playing for Lake Charles (La.) LaGrange, is now a junior averaging 4.9 points for an unbeaten Auburn team (13-0) currently ranked 10th in NCAA Division I.
Amber Norton, the leading scorer in the tourney with 65 points while playing for Louisville (Ky.) Assumption in 2003, is working on her fourth varsity letter this season at Vanderbilt, which is ranked 19th nationally.
Charter Oak-Ute's Kala Kuhlmann, an all-tourney pick in 2006, also plays quality minutes at Nebraska and LaSondra Barrett, who played here for Jackson (Miss.) Murrah, is the second-leading scorer at Louisiana State.
North High's Jacqui Kalin and Denison-Schleswig's Nicole Clausen and Lindsey Swanson were former all-tourney picks here who now star at Northern Iowa . Former Hinton star Bridget Yoerger, an all-tourney selection in '04, is now a senior and leading scorer and rebounder for South Dakota, making the transition this season to Division I.
Another rainy night (day) in Georgia.
It might behoove the National Association of Intercolleigate Athletics to consider a football title game site with an artifical playing surface.
When you play the title game a week before Christmas the NAIA might consider not playing on natural grass, thus avoiding another rain-soaked, mud-spattered championship game, which was moved from Savannah, Tenn., to Rome, Ga., this year.
There's gotta be FieldTurf somewhere near Rome in the football-mad state of Georgia.
Read it through the Grapevine.
East High graduate Andrew Anderson, now a senior at Northern Iowa, has earned the fifth seed at 197 pounds in the prestigious Midlands Open wrestling tournament in Evanston, Ill., Dec. 29-30. Iowa State's Jake Varner is the top seed at 197. Anderson, ranked 11th, is 11-2.
Kudos to Iowa State volleyball senior Jen Malcom. The senior from Schaller (Schaller-Crestland), a kinesiology major, has been named a strength and conditioning All-American by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
The 6-1 middle blocker finished her career last week as the ISU leader in single-match, single-season and career hitting percentage and sixth in block assists (279).
Malcom spent two seasons at Syracuse before transferring to Iowa State.
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