In what has been arguably one of the wildest spring sports seasons in recent memory thanks to the ever-changing schedules and Mother Nature, the finish line is now within sight. With the conclusion of the spring sports season upon us the Sagamore Conference officially released its All-Conference teams with many Montgomery County athletes getting recognition.
Baseball
The Crawfordsville Athenians once again reigned as champions of the SAC posting an 11-3 record in league play to go along with an overall regular season record of 19-6. CHS had four individuals earn First Team All-Conference honors. Senior Austin Motz had a .442 batting average which was fourth in the SAC this season. His 12 doubles also led the conference.
Junior Cale Coursey was an absolute tear this season for CHS before an injury cost him the rest of his junior year. In 16 games for the Athenians Coursey batted .404 and still leads the Athenians with 26 RBI’s. The junior on the mound was the top pitcher in the conference before the injury as in six starts, Coursey was 5-0 with a 0.70 ERA and struck out 48 batters in 30 innings pitched while walking just seven.
The Sophomore duo of Bryce Dowell and Kale Wemer rounded out the first-team selections for CHS. Wemer since Coursey’s injury has stepped up and become the ace of the staff and in nine starts is 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA. His electric arm has seen him strike out 64 hitters in 38.1 innings pitched. Those 64 K’s were good for second in the SAC this season.
Dowell like Wemer has also stepped up and became the Athenians No. 2 on the mound. In nine starts he boasts a 6-1 record with a 2.62 ERA. The sophomore also gets it done at the plate for CHS with a .423 average which stood at eighth in the SAC.
The Athenians had two players make the All-Conference second team as both senior Alex Kellerman and Junior AJ Hall earned the honor. Kellerman making his return to baseball for the Athenians this season batted .371 and drove in 21 runs and even had a pair of triples to his credit. Kellerman has also provided CHS with pitching depth when needed this season.
Hall in his first season with Athenian program after moving from Fountain Central provided CHS with a steady presence behind the dish all season. Hall averaged .367 for CHS while driving in 18 runs.
North Montgomery had a pair of players make the All-Conference first team. Sophomore ace Jarrod Kirsch and Junior standout and SAC batting champion Brookes Walters both earned the honor for their performance this season.
Walters hit safely in all 26 regular season games for the Chargers on his way to a blistering .504 average in the regular season (.494 including post-season). His 29 RBI’s led the conference and was tied for second in home-runs (5), second in slugging (.788), runs scored (30), and on base percentage (.596). With one final season left to play Walters has all the tools to elevate his play even further.
Kirsch picked up right where he left off after a stellar freshman campaign a year ago. In 10 starts this season Kirsch tallied a 5-2 record with a 2.73 ERA. In 51.1 innings he struck out 66 hitters and also threw his second career no-hitter against county rival Southmont. At the plate Kirsch was second behind Walters with a .333 average and scored 28 runs.
On the Second-Team for the Chargers Kirsch’s older brother, senior Jakob Kirsch earned a spot as did fellow senior Brayden Martin. Jakob batted .297 and was second on the Chargers with 21 RBI’s. Martin in his senior campaign compiled a .294 average and also appeared in nine games for North Montgomery on the mound.
Southmont had a pair make the All-Conference second team as both Nick Scott and Adam Cox earned spots.
Cox was third on the Mounties with a .306 average at the plate while Scott hit 2.83 and was the Mounties primary pitcher this season.
Softball
Southmont after their stellar season had four players headline the All-SAC first-team. Seniors Macie Shirk and Hanna Nichols, junior Chelsea Veatch, and freshman Anna Stokes all earned the honor.
Shirk was the do-it-all player and was the catalyst for the Mounties the entire season. Her .535 average led the SAC as did her 11 home runs, 1.127 slugging, 40 RBI’s, and her .580 on base percentage. On the mound Shirk was just as dominant tallying 105 strikeouts in 112.1 innings pitched to go along with a 10-3 record.
Nichols stood sixth in the SAC with a .474 average, second in on base percentage at .538 and led the conference with 30 stolen bases to go along with 38 runs which was good for third in the league.
Veatch had a breakout junior season for the Mounties as her .486 average was good for third in the conference and boasted a .537 on-base percentage.
Stokes came right in and did nothing but produce from the get go in her freshman campaign. She’d finish second behind Shirk in the SAC with a .492 average as she will be one of the key pieces for the future of the Mountie program.
Senior Taylor Grino earned a spot on the second-team for the Mounties as she tallied a .442 average and was second on the team with 33 runs scored.
Crawfordsville senior Laine Schlicher earned a spot on the All-SAC first team. Schlicher led the Athenians with a .380 average and a .421 on base percentage. She also included a 4-4 in her final game of her career against Lebanon in the sectional. Fellow senior Olivia Reed got an All-Second team nod for CHS. While manning third base, Reed batted .292 in her final season and led the team 15 stolen bases.
North Montgomery freshman Piper Ramey had a stellar first season with the Chargers and was awarded a spot on the first team. In her freshman campaign Ramey batted .406 and led the Chargers in almost every offensive category. On the mound she struck out 186 batters which was second in the Conference only behind Tri-West’s Audrey Lowrey.
Charger sophomore Skyley Cloncs also earned a spot on the second-team with her .270 average. Cloncs led North Montgomery with six doubles.
Girls Track and Field
Based off the results of the Sagamore Conference meet which was held at Southmont this season Crawfordsville and Southmont both had representatives on both the first and second team All-SAC selections.
The Athenians at the meet placed third as a team with a score of 112. Highlighting the first-team All-SAC selections for CHS with their first place finished were senior Shea Williamson in the 100M dash, freshman Sophia Melevage in the 3200M run, the 400M Relay team of Na’arah Byard, Parker Hartman, Lily Hummel, and Williamson, 1600M Relay team of Byard, Schmitzer-Torbert, Gardner, and Williamson, Gardner in the high jump, and Williamson in the long jump. Melevage also placed second in the 1600M run to earn a spot on the second-team.
Southmont’s Brianna Heninger was the conference champion in the pole vault and earned a spot on the First-Team and DeLorean Mason placed on the second team in the 200M dash.
Boys Track and Field
As the same is with the boys for the All-Conference track and field selections they are comprised of the conference champions and second place finishers. Southmont placed third overall with 82.5 points while CHS and North Montgomery tied for fifth with 65 points each.
Southmont’s Trent Jones earned First-Team honors with conference titles in the 100 and 400M dash. The Mounties Mason Cass placed on the second-team with a runner-up finish in the 1600M run.
North Montgomery had a pair of All-Conference selections as Ben Eldridge was the conference champion in the pole vault and Gabe Laws took home the title in the 300M hurdles. Laws also earned second-team honors with a runner-up finish in the long jump.
Crawfordsville’s Tyson Fuller (800M Run), and Ryan Miller (3200M Run) earned first-team All-SAC with their respective conference titles. Nathaniel Million (pole vault) and the 3200M Relay team of Max Brumett, Roman Contreras, Miller and Fuller placed on the second-team with a second place finish for the Athenians.
Boys Golf
The All-Conference teams for boys golf were decided back at the conference meet which took place at Rocky Ridge. Western Boone took home the conference crown with a 336 while Southmont edged out Crawfordsville by a single stroke for third with a 347. North Montgomery took home fifth overall by shooting a 356.
Making the All-SAC first team was Southmont’s Nolan Allen with his 80. Luke Ranard shot an 82 to make the First-Team. Rounding out the team was Southmont’s Harrison Haddock by carding an 85.
North Montgomery had all four of it’s players make the second team as Hayden Turner (86), Drew Norman (88), Alex Chapman (90), and Haze Kashon (92) all earned a spot for their performances.
Crawfordsville’s Tanner Gilland and Southmont’s Luke Tesmer both shot an 86 to round out the second-team performers.
Girls Tennis
The Athenians who went 5-1 conference play this past season had two individuals make the All-SAC first team Sophomore Samantha Rohr who manned the No. 1 singles spot all year for the Athenians earned a first team nod as did Lilly Klingbeil who was half of the one doubles tandem which made the individual doubles sectional championship.
Southmont’s Hanna Long and Bailey Barker also earned first-team selections. Long (one singles) and Barker (two singles) occupied the top two singles spots for the Mounties all season.
Cathleen McGrady and Reese Minnette for CHS earned second-team honors. McGrady was the other half of the one doubles team for the Athenians while Minnette played two singles.
The senior duo of Sydnee Turner and Allison Guard represented the Chargers on the second-team while three singles player Marley Jones and one doubles player Dori Frederick represented the Mounties.
