Lee's Summit North winter previews

Boys Basketball
By KARL ZINKE
karl.zinke@examiner.net

The Lee’s Summit North boys got a little older this year – but not much.
Broncos coach Mike Hilbert, coming off a 7-18 rebuilding season, still has a relatively young squad heading into the 2008-09 season.
“The youth movement that began last year will continue,” Hilbert said. “Six of our top nine players are underclassmen and four of those six are sophomores. Fortunately for us all of these kids were in our program last year, and they all worked hard this summer. I feel good about where we are as a team and have high hopes.”
Hilbert, though, has concerns about how his team will score. He said his team lacks pure shooters, so he hopes to use a smothering pressure defense to create offensive chances.
“The strength of this team is athleticism,” Hilbert said. “(To) be successful we will need to pressure and rebound the basketball on the defensive end of the court and create opportunities to score near the goal by attacking the basket.”
Four lettermen return to help him do that, including 6-foot-4 senior post Donnie Herron, 6-foot senior guard Aaron Williams, 6-3 junior guard B.J. Dunbar and 6-5 junior post Chase Salazar.
Finding someone to score is a major worry for Hilbert, though.
“I think the ability to shoot the ball is my biggest offensive concern,” the coach said. “Offensive execution and shot selection play a part, but making jump shots and free throws can make up for poor execution. We have not identified a bona fide shooter on our team. Hopefully one of the young guys will emerge.”
Maybe it will be 6-3 senior guard Jordan Lennan or one of those sophomores, guards Kenny Berry (5-8), Deion Herron (6-2) or P.J. Lewis (6-0).

Girls Basketball
By KARL ZINKE
karl.zinke@examiner.net

The Lee’s Summit North girls lost six games by three or fewer points last year.
So a 10-15 record, including a 4-8 mark in the always tough Suburban Big Seven, could have easily been a winning one.
Broncos coach Tricia Lillygren hopes that experience will motivate her team to become a winner this season and serve as a lesson to the players returning.
“I think that the experience with tight game situations will enable us to be more confident and get us over the hump this year,” said Lillygren, who enters her 14th season at North. “We did a lot of good things to get ourselves into those situations against very good teams and did a lot of good things to get great shots, but the shots just didn’t fall. I think with our added maturity, that will help us be more successful this year.”
It helps that she has a couple of strong seniors to lead the way. Annie Sayers, a 6-foot forward, is a two-time first-team All-Suburban Big Seven selection and is expected to lead the Broncos in her senior season after averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds as a junior. She will get help from 5-5 senior guard Natalie Johnson.
“She is our most seasoned varsity player and has had a great summer of offseason work and experiences,” Lillygren said of Sayers. “She has a renewed focus. … She has been a positive vocal leader on and off the court. Her leadership and Natalie’s will be vital to our success as a team this season.”
Lillygren is concerned about her team’s depth, though. Following Sayers and Johnson, only juniors Ashley Creason, Lauren Dudenhoeffer and Codi Fritchie have varsity experience.
But the Broncos will have plenty of height. Creason, a 6-2 forward, and Dudenhoeffer, a 5-11 forward, will patrol the front court with Sayers, while Johnson and Fritchie (5-8) will fill the back court.

Wrestling
By JASON TARWATER
jason.tarwater@examiner.net

Last year was a bizaare year for Lee’s Summit North’s wrestling team, as no Broncos were able to qualify for the state meet.
Coach Cameron Clover is hoping to remedy that situation this season.
“We want to get better than we were last year,” he said. “At district, we had nine sophomores and freshmen wrestling. With that much inexperience, we didn’t have the (mat presence) esential to go to state.”
Already, a good offseason seems to have turned things around for the Broncos.
Five main starters return for the Broncos – Nathan Warman, Sebastian Esquinca, Chase Weber, Daniel Tyrell and Brian Snyder.
Clover said he is especially expecting big things out of Warman.
“Warman had a great offseason,” he said. “He did a lot of wrestling with the Mo-West wrestling club. He’s worked hard. I can see a hug difference in him already.”
And though some observers think it will be easier for Class 4 wrestlers in the Kansas City area to get to state with perennial powerhouse Oak Park dropping to Class 3, Clover said that is not necessarily the case.
“At first thought, with Oak Park gone it seems a lot easier,” he said. “But it’s not a whole lot easier. Park Hill’s still there and they’re loaded. Raymore-Peculiar is very tough. Everyone else is going to be fighting for all the other spots. And there are good wrestlers on every team.”

Girls Swimming
By JASON TARWATER
jason.tarwater@examiner.net

A pair of solid state qualifiers return to help lead Lee’s Summit North to a good season.
Lisa Menne – who is a multiple event qualifier each of her first two years – returns to lead the Bronco swimmers, while McCall Christopher – an all-state golfer and younger sister of former Bronco diver Kylie Christopher – is back to lead the divng corps.
Though practice is still in its first week for the Broncos, North coach Andy Wilcox said he thinks his team can do some good things both in the pool and on the board this season.
“Our top state finisher (Menne) is returning,” Wilcox said. “Our top diver (Christopher) is returning. And we have several new faces that will impact the team immediately.”
Menne will be a major force for the Broncos in the freestyle events, as she is a threat to be all-state in either the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle or even the 200 freestyle, as she has been a consistent state qualifier in all three events since she was a freshman.
Another reason for optimism for Wilcox is the number of athletes he has out for this year’s squad.
Not only does Wilcox have 50 swimmers – which will give him one of the largest teams in the area and in the state – he also has 16 divers, which will be a big luxury when time comes for the Suburban Big Seven championship meet in February.
With the experience the Broncos return, plus the talent of the newcomers, North should again be considered a favorite to finish near the top of the always-tough Big Seven.