Roger Toland: Name game is fun for coaches

| Thursday, February 15, 2007

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Some area girls' basketball coaches have to be careful when they are calling out names of substitutes, especially if they have more than one "Brown" or "Smith" or "Jones."

That's just the case with several area coaches who have sets of sisters or cousins with the same last name.

Sully Buttes coach Mark Senftner has a problem because he has Katelynn, Elizabeth and Kylee Lamb. Katelynn, the team's leading scorer, is a senior and a sister to sophomore Elizabeth, while sophomore Kylee is a cousin.

Some other teams with multiple relationships:

n Bison coach Jody Gittings has two Johnsons - Ashley and Amanda - who are first cousins. "Amanda has started six games at guard and is our sixth man," said Gittings. "Ashley 'Stick' is the next player off the bench. They are an integral part of the team, but every one is when you only have 14 players in grades seventh through 12. We only have 20 girls in school and one of them played until she dislocated her shoulder. Basically, 75 percent of our total girls' population is on the team."

n St. Thomas More coach Brandon Kandolin has the Bloom sisters, Annie and Josie. "They have started for me the last two years and are very solid," said Kandolin. "Both are very good athletes and excel in other sports as well. Josie has been a good leader for our team and plays the wing position very solid while Annie plays as a power forward able to defend the best of any posts."

n Colome coach Larry Koth has two sets of relatives - cousins Alisyn and Emilee Graesser and sisters Hailey and Morgan Hughes. Alisyn is the team's leading scorer and rebounder and is the daughter of Kevin Graesser, who scored 63 points in a single game in his high school career. Emilee sees limited varsity action and Koth believes her best sport may be track. Hailey and Morgan are subs on the varsity.

n Jynna and Jeryann Coyle are identical twins for the Belle Fourche team. Jynna leads the team in almost every statistical category and Jeryann is one of the first players off the bench.

n Megan Swan is the floor general at Tiospaye Topa and eighth grader Missy comes off the bench to help with pressure defense.

n Gregory's Lonnie Klundt starts the three Kruse sisters - senior Deanna, junior Allissa and sophomore Kaira. Deanna and Allissa are the one-two scorers. Klundt also has cousins Melissa and Katie Petersen.

n Germaine Morrison is a starter and sister Gina dresses for the varsity at McLaughlin.

n Spearfish coach Pete Wilson has a pair of "sister acts" in Kassidy (a starter) and Sydney Tetrault and McKenzie (a starter) and Kassidy Marta.

n Pierre coach Lisa Kanengieter credits sisters Katie and Kelly Lingle for a huge factor in the Lady Govs' success.

n Lyman coach Charley Larson starts sophomore Tiffany Moore, while eighth grade sister Roni is the first player off the bench.

n Junior Lindsay Mann is a starter at guard at Philip, while her sister, freshman Marissa, comes off the bench and is the team's second leading scorer and rebounder.

n Key performers at Wall include cousins Muriel, Brittney and Katrina Kjerstad and sisters Torrie and Jaymie Trask.

n Gettysburg has three sets of sisters - Alyssa and Kirsten Cronin, Calli and Laci (out with injury) Turner and Ashley (leading scorer) and Andrea Tanner.

n Two of the highest scoring duos in the state are Newell sisters Monica and Becky Deighton.

n Sisters - Melissa and Alicia Nehl and Ashley and Morgan Hoffman - are key performers for Grand River.

n Lead-Deadwood coach Rob Hafer can play a "name game" as he has cousins Jenna and Chelsey Rantapaa on the varsity. Jenna has two sisters playing in the system, Tassy on the JV and Jett as an eighth grader. Sarah Stagner plays varsity and JV, while her sister Rachel sees action on the frosh and JV teams. Andrea Everett is a junior post player, rotating as a starter, while her sister (Mallory) is an assistant coach.

n Winner coach Derris Buus has a pair of sisters on the team - Destiney and Jordan Harter and Kasey and Kory Novotny.

n At Hot Springs, coach Levi Klippenstein features Kara Powell (14 points and 7 rebounds per game) and reserve Rikki.

n For unbeaten Pine Ridge, coach Bill Mendoza looks in part to sisters Christian and Sophia Janis.

n White River has sisters starting in Chelse and Jessica Ludvik.

n South Central has one of the state's top "B" teams, thanks in part to sisters Chelsa (leading scorer) and Mandy Baxa (filled in when Val Baker was sick).

n Starter Candi and reserve Ashley Hall are cousins at New Underwood.

Track the thinclads

How area thinclads fared last week:

n Josh Jeffery, Spearfish: Ran a split of 3:03 on the 1,200-meter leg of South Dakota's state record 9:50.23 clocking in the distance medley relay at the Iowa State Classic.

n Custer's Amy McIntyre: sixth in mile run (6:35.5) for Dakota Wesleyan in NAIA Challenge.

n Custer's Courtney Arseneault: sixth in weight throw (13.72 meters) for DWU in NAIA Challenge.

n Douglas' Alex Liberty: sixth in high jump (1.85 meters) for DWU in NAIA Challenge.

n Custer's Kris Schaffer: ninth in shot put (37-2.5) for Montana State in the Mountain States Games.

n Murdo's Wade Royer: fourth in pole vault (14-5.25) for Northern State in Husky Open.

This and that

Cheyenne-Eagle Butte's Jordyn Brown, the team's leading scorer, is currently sidelined with a stress fracture. ... Rapid City Stevens' James Vollmer has signed to play football and compete in track at Jamestown College. ... Piedmont's Erin Lemay and Cassie Meendering have signed national letters of intent to play soccer at the University of Mary. ... Spearfish's Billy McDonald went 2-for-4 and Chamberlain's Cole Knippling 2-for-3 in Mount Marty's 9-8 baseball loss to Graceland.

Contact Toland at 394-8430 or at roger.toland@rapidcityjournal.com