Jaguars forced to miss Cook show

Zack Kaltenbach was happy to be on the tennis courts near Belton High School Friday afternoon and as far away from Cook-apalooza as he possibly could get.
“I just got my license three days ago,” the sophomore tennis player said, “and the last thing I wanted to do was get in all that traffic at South.”
Blue Springs South graduate David Cook, one of the three finalists on “American Idol,” was giving a free concert at Larry Stewart Memorial Stadium Friday and a crowd of more than 10,000 was expected to attend.
South tennis coach Sheri Rehmer had hoped to be among that number.
“I even got a field pass so my kids could see him up close. But the weather didn’t cooperate so I’m here in Belton with my other kids.”
She was referring to her South tennis players, who took second place in district action.
Rehmer’s cell phone rang several times during the match. She was getting traffic, crowd control and concert updates from her husband Bruce.
“It sounds like it’s crazy,” Rehmer said, grinning. “Maybe it’s better off that I’m up here with the team.”
The Class 2 district tournament was set to begin at 8 a.m. Friday, with a scheduled ending time of 1:30 to 2 p.m.
But Mother Nature didn’t cooperate and the event didn’t start until 1:30 p.m.
“Some of the guys kept asking what time it was,” Rehmer said, “and I told them, ‘Look, we’re not going to make it. So just concentrate on your game.’ They took my advice and had a pretty good tournament.”
No South player singles won his first match Friday, but No. 1 and 2 singles players Kaltenbach and Brooks Stotts played for the consolation championship (fifth place), with Kaltenbach claiming an 8-4 win.
The No. 1 doubles team of Steve Bodenheimer and Caleb Jeff took third place overall with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Mark Menne and John Shinn from Lee’s Summit North.
“I guess the crowd lining Adams Dairy is crazy,” Rehmer said, after an update from Bruce. “Can you imagine what it’s going to be like in that stadium? And they have to set up for district track tomorrow morning.”
When asked about the tournament’s bad timing, Stotts just laughed it off.
“If I was at school, I’d be going to Cookapalooza,” Stotts said. “But I’m not at school. I’m in Belton, Mo., and I really don’t mind. I can see him on ‘American Idol.’ Besides, I have so many friends who are going that they can tell me all about it.”