St. James softball returns everyone from a season ago

Angelique McNaughton, Special to the Dispatch

March 31, 2014

 

St. James Academy’s girls softball program is attempting to pick up where it left off after a somewhat difficult 2013.

“Last year was a rebuilding year for us and it was difficult not just because of that but because of the weather,” coach Kerri Elstun said. “We weren’t necessarily young, but we lost four girls and we didn’t even get all of our games in.

“But the girls definitely rose to the occasion,” Elstun said of her squad who went 6-8, after losing to Blue Valley West High in the regional game.

This season, the Thunder have everyone returning from the varsity squad, including some newcomers.

“I’ve also added a couple freshman to the mix which is obviously great for our team because we will have a little more depth this year,“ Elstun said.

The six seniors who will make up varsity this year are: Cidney Barrick, Caroline Lipp, Machaela Geither, Kaelin Walsh, Becca Sapp and Haley Bumgarner.

Lipp and Barrick are Elstun’s two seniors who have started all four years and will serve as team captains for the Lady Thunder.

Last season, Lipp, who signed to play with Rockhurst next year, hit over .600 and Elstun touts as a “very solid all around player.”

In the past, Lipp has been behind the plate and will more than likely continue to play catcher or shortstop.

“I’m really excited thinking about this as my last year playing at St. James and I want to give it my all with the girls so that we can make it to state hopefully again,” Lipp said. “This year, we have a really good turnout and I think we are going to be pretty decent. I’m just really excited to get the season started and to see what everyone can contribute to the team.”

Starting pitcher Barrick looks to have a huge impact this season both defensively and offensively, Elstun said. Freshman Katie Coens will back up Barrick on the mound.

“She’s been a pitcher for me for four years and can play other positions as well,” she said. “We’ve also seen a lot of power in her hitting.”

Barrick said with the addition of some underclassman, she is “really excited going into this year and for what’s hopefully to come.”

This will be Barrick’s final season not only with the Lady Thunder but with the sport in general, as the senior said she has opted not to pursue the sport post graduation.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,“ she said. “But I would love to go out with a bang and be like, ‘We took first in state my senior year‘.”

Starting shortstop and De Soto High-transfer Walsh looks to return her senior year after sitting out most of her junior season following a winter accident that left her with a broken leg. She played some third base for SJA, but will make more of an impact this season at shortstop.

For the second year in a row, Geither joins sisters and fellow starters Caroline and the Lady Thunder’s lone junior Gabby.

With so much versatility and experience, Elstun said she expects the team will be able to “pick up where we left off last year.”

“I don’t expect anything but progress,” she said. “We do have a tougher schedule this year but I made it like that because I want these girls to be ready for whatever 5A is going to throw at us.”

The Thunder’s season opens April 1 at Eudora and Elstun said as long as the weather cooperates in the next few weeks, her squad will be ready.

“I’m excited to watch these six seniors start their season and I’m anxious to see how they finish their tenure here,” Elstun said. “I mean, this season is about them and half my squad, most of them have been with me from the get go so I’m probably more emotional since I am already thinking of how I’m going to have to say goodbye to these girls who have really made an impact on me and this program.

“They are not they best softball players around but they are good players an they will work hard and they will succeed,” she said.

Thunder boys want to play best basketball in March

Angelique McNaughton

November 25, 2013

Run, run, run.

That’s going to be the focus of practice for the St. James Academy boy’s basketball team as it takes the court during the next couple of weeks in anticipation of the season opener Dec. 6 against Ottawa High.

“It’s going to be coming really fast and one of the biggest hurdles is going to be conditioning,” Thunder head basketball coach Stan Dohm said. “You only have 17 days to get them into basketball condition and then the games peck off pretty quick after that.”

Fresh off of losing in the final minutes of the first round of the 5A regional tournament last season, the Thunder are returning four of their top 10 players to a team that has the hopes of making the school’s first state appearance.

After graduating its starting five seniors, the Thunder will be anchored by those four players, two of which regularly saw playing time: Nick Frank, Dylan and Colin McKee, and Pete Feiden. Colin McKee and Feiden’s roles will be limited early in the season while both recover from injuries.

One of Dohm’s realizations at this point is that some younger players will have to play some extended minutes on varsity in order to fill the void.

The lack of depth early on will determine how fast of a game the Thunder, who went 13-8 last season, can run.

“Everybody likes to play a fast paced game and we will try to play as fast as we can,” he said. “But early on, we will be able to determine if some of our younger kids will be able to handle some of the physicality of the varsity games.”

With at least five players 6-foot-2 or taller, Dohm is going to have some flexibility with what he can do on the court.

Senior Jimmy Dekraai will likely see more minutes this season, and Mitchell Zubradt will fill in as a hybrid four-man, he said.

The eight-week contact period during the summer gave his players the chance to get acclimated to their new roles and the Thunder probably “won half and lost half” of their games during summer basketball, he said.

Healthy, returning senior starting guards Dylan McKee and Frank are encouraged with the prospect of leading their team in a potentially historic season.

“We run well and we are a really smart team,” Frank said. “We definitely think we can use that and carry on to the state tournament.”

Dylan said the state championship is a “huge thing” and that just going to state would be a “fantastic goal” to reach.

“We are looking really good and we have seven seniors,” Dylan said. “We’ve played with each other for a while and I think we will be successful.”

How a player gauges success can differ from how a coach does, but ultimately Dohm wants the same thing as his seniors.

“We talk about goals and how many wins we want, but our biggest goal is to play our best basketball in March.” Dohm said.

“A successful year for me as a coach is to be playing our best basketball at the end to give us the chance to win those two games in sub-state to get to Topeka. Whether that is good enough, we want our best game to be our last game.”

The way to achieve all that, he said, is by getting better everyday, starting with Ottawa.

“You’ve got to look at the next day and the next game — those are the most important,” Dohm said.

St. James football rebounds at Bishop Ward

By Angelique McNaughton

September 17, 2013

St. James Academy’s football team relied on its defense in a redemptive performance against Bishop Ward on Friday.

The Thunder (1-1) held the Cyclones (0-2) to just 36 yards on the ground in their 50-13 victory.

“We jumped out early and our defense played great,” St. James coach Tom Radke said. “I also really liked the way our guys really focused on flying around the ball.”

After dropping the season-opener to Paola last week, the Thunder spent the past week simplifying its offense.

“All week we didn’t do much hitting and instead focused on running plays and eliminating any confusion,” Radke said.

Senior quarterback Alex King led the offense with 53 yards, completing 5 of 8 passes. King ran for 80 yards, including a 47-yard run and one touchdown.

“We executed our offense up front so well that the quarterback had so much room to do what we needed to do,” Radke said.

Senior outside linebacker Keith Winger returned an interception for a touchdown toward the end of second quarter, putting the Thunder ahead 37-7 at halftime.

“It kind of sealed the deal and at that point we knew that we were going to win the game,” Radke said of Winger’s interception.

Winger tied for a team-high six tackles, including three tackles that resulted in a loss of yards. Defensive lineman Dylan McHugh also had six tackles, with one resulting in loss yards, while junior defensive back Braxton Lewis came up with two interceptions Friday to bring his season total to three.

Six players scored a touchdown during the victory, including two from senior tailback Jake Bade. Bade had 18 carries for 155 yards, with a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Juniors Zak Hensely and Jake Lecluyse each scored one rushing touchdown, contributing to a total of 284 total rushing yards for the game.

The Thunder will travel to Baldwin (2-0) on Friday in a non-conference match up.

With Baldwin’s size and strength, Radke said the team will mainly be honing the defense this week in preparation.

“We had too many missed tackles so far and we can’t have that against Baldwin,” he said. “We didn’t dumb anything down last week, we just spent more time focusing on the fundamentals.

“If we stay focused on that and make a few more tackles, we will be good to go this week,” Radke

St. James football falls short against Paola in season opener

By Angelique McNaughton

September 7, 2013

Too many missed opportunities in the first half of the season-opening game on Friday  contributed to St. James Academy’s football team losing to Paola, 28-14.

“We had too many turnovers in that first half,” St. James coach Tom Radke said.

The Thunder (0-1) failed to take the lead in the first two quarters and entered the second half down, 14-7.

A little momentum was established in the third quarter when quarterback Alex King completed a 35-yard pass to Keith Winger to put the Thunder within scoring position.

“We got it going a little bit in the second half but with some poor decision-making offensively and missed tackles defensively, it put us in a bad position,” Radke said.

With 10 returning seniors and 18 juniors, a significant amount of players received first-time varsity minutes Friday night but failed to mimic last year’s success.

“It was a case of 10 guys doing what they were supposed to do and one guy not,” he said. “It’s not going to work out and that’s what happened tonight — it was just so many little things but luckily, it’s the first game.

“We hope to learn from our mistakes and get better,” he added. “That’s the plan anyway.”
The next opportunity for the Thunder will be an away-game at 7 p.m., Sept. 13 against Bishop Ward High School.

“You know, we are just going to have to see how much we improve from the first game to the second game,” Radke said.

Softball: St. James Academy junior well above average

By Angelique McNaughton

May 7, 2013

A diamond in the rough.

That’s how St. James Academy softball coach Kerri Elstun refers to junior Caroline Lipp.

“She’s got so much talent,” Elstun said. “She’s just softball savvy all the way around, offensively and defensively.”

Lipp is in her third season as a starter for the Thunder, and while she’s had a successful tenure, this year the right-handed catcher has really started to shine.

Through 35 at-bats, Lipp has maintained a .543 batting average, which includes two home runs and 16 RBIs. She has an on-base percentage of .543, and her batting average hovered around .750 through the first five games of the season.

Elstun said she had witnessed some high school girls hit north of .500 but when they hit .700 “you know you have a pretty good hitter.”

“She’s that kind of girl,” Elstun said. “She’s a clutch hitter, and she’s who you want up to bat. She’s getting stronger, and she’s just a hard worker. When you work that hard for a handful of years, … well, it already has been paying off for her.”

The 17-year-old junior grew up around the sport since her father, Jeff Lipp, played baseball at the collegiate level for Newman University in Wichita.

He coached his daughter from the age of 5 until she started playing competitive club softball in sixth grade.

“She’s hit quite well for many years and she has tended to hit in the middle of the lineup for every team she’s been on,” Jeff Lipp said. “Teams have found a place for her to play through her hitting, and she’s also sort of been a utility player in that she can do most anything, except pitch.”

Lipp has bounced back and forth between second base and catcher since she began starting for the Thunder her freshman year, the same year they took second at state.

The young starter played an integral role during the state tournament, which included hitting a crucial game-winning shot to lead the Thunder into the next phase of the tournament.

“The first game was a pretty tight game, and then the last inning the bases were loaded and I was up to bat,” Caroline Lipp recalled. “The score was 0-0 the whole the game, and there were all these juniors on base and I got a hit between short and third and we won the game. It was the best feeling in the whole world.”

That is how her career has played out: big hits and good feelings.

With a young team with no seniors, Lipp is one of six juniors leading the Thunder this year as the program attempts to rebuild after the loss of a star-studded roster.

Lipp has stepped up to the plate this season, predominantly playing catcher. In the only position that can see the entire field, she has taken and embraced that leadership role.

“We are kind of trying to rebuild our group together, and I think our season has been going pretty well,” Lipp said of her team, whose record sits at 3-6. “Coach (Elstun) has definitely tried to help us be leaders because we had a really good group of seniors last year and we needed to take the reins.”

Because of inclement weather, the Thunder have had four games canceled and five postponed, which has allowed the team to focus more on their hitting during the extra practices.

Throughout the year, Lipp said, she has focused on improving her swing and strength. Lipp plays and practices most of the year since she plays club ball outside of school.

“I think I’ve been doing pretty good,” Lipp said of her career. “Especially this year, I feel like my hitting has excelled a lot because I have worked almost all year on it.”

At press time, Lipp has hit eight doubles this season and hit her only two career home runs, which came back to back against Blue Valley North.

“They definitely have a very good team, and they have really good pitching,” Lipp said of Blue Valley North. “To see that I hit two home runs in a row, it was awesome and it was great.

The two home runs tied a St. James Academy school record for most home runs hit in a single game.

The Thunder’s number three hitter, Lipp is a self-described competitive person and said she loves the game for that reason.

She attributes the speed of the sport and the skills required of a player to the reason why she’s continued with it all these years and why she has her eye on playing at the next level.

“I think I’ve stuck with it because it kind of gets my mind off of things and softball has always been there for me when I needed it,” Lipp said. “It definitely means a lot in my life, and it’s year-round, so I’m with it all the time.”

As the regular season comes to a close this week with a doubleheader on Tuesday against Turner and again on Thursday against De Soto, Lipp said it has “been a different experience this year trying to rebuild”.

“But either way, I’ve really enjoyed my couple years of softball,” she said.

Tripp’s turn: Shawnee senior leads latest St. James title run

By Angelique McNaughton

October 30, 2012, 12:17 p.m.

Updated: October 31, 2012, 12:00 a.m.

On her third consecutive serve, Emily Tripp took an extra moment to pause, look out across the court and absorb her surroundings.

Tripp’s cheeks were visibly flushed red, while her hair and uniform were damp with sweat.

The St. James Academy senior from Shawnee scanned the arena before quickly resuming play. She bounced the volleyball a few times at her feet before putting it on her palm and spinning it, eventually sending it soaring over the net, resulting in yet another point for her team.

The Thunder were in the final set of a match against Shawnee Heights for the Class 5A state volleyball championship at the Topeka Kansas Expocentre Saturday afternoon when Tripp had her moment.

She later explained that her assistant coach Brian Dorsey had advised her to “sit back and enjoy the moment” at some point during the tournament. When Tripp finally decided to adhere to his advice during the championship game, she said, it was worth it.

“It was cool to take a step back and enjoy how lucky I am and look at the crowd, my family and my teammates giving 110 percent,” she said. “It was energizing.”

Tripp’s serves put her team within three points of victory, eventually enabling the Thunder to win the state championship with a 25-6, 25-19 victory against the Thunderbirds.

It was the Thunder’s fifth-straight title, their first at 5A and Tripp’s second as a varsity player.

After playing a minimal role in St. James’ past appearances, Tripp worked her way into the spotlight last year as a junior with a right-place-at-the-right-time kind of scenario.

Thunder coach Nancy Dorsey said Tripp had to “wait her turn” early on, playing behind a strong line of upperclassmen.

“She did a great job (last year) and that gave her the confidence that she can hang,” Dorsey said. “Every match, she got better and better.”

After patiently waiting her turn, Tripp took control of the libero spot this season as a middle back row player and stepped into a dominant leadership role.

The 5-foot-5 veteran led the team this season with 474 digs — 66 of those occurring during sub-state play.

As her skill set improved and her presence on the court solidified, Tripp was quick to say that she has just played the roles asked of her.

“In our program, any player has as an important role as anyone else,” she said. “I’ve played the role that I needed to contribute, and I know I’m capable of being positive and showing my love for my sport; and for me, that’s what I’ve been carrying through my career.”

Tripp first started playing volleyball more than 10 years ago as a third-grader before eventually participating in club volleyball in middle school.

“I have always loved the sport and really enjoyed the team aspect and being a part of the team,” Tripp said. “Personal accomplishments are great, but when you have 10 to 13 of your sisters backing you up, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Tripp’s parents, Nora and Mike Tripp, initially said to each other that if their daughter didn’t enjoy volleyball, they would take her out of it.

“As parents, we were not going to make her feel like we are forcing her,” Nora Tripp said. “But Mike and I said to each other that we can see how much she loves it. … It’s who she is.”

Friends and family started to take notice of the new influences on the impressionable young athlete’s life.

She watched her daughter completely transform as a person and athlete throughout the last 10 years with her love of volleyball never faltering.

“We’ve just watched her develop into this confident and strong player and woman,” she said. “Seeing her go from third grade and developing her body and her skill (and) her understanding of the game has been amazing.”

Tripp’s parents were among the strong contingent of St. James followers over the weekend who watched as the Thunder downed opponents 6-0 during pool play on Friday.

Advancing to the semi-finals against Wichita-Kapaun Mt. Carmel on Saturday, the defending 4A champions displayed their best blocking of the season with 11 solo blocks and eight block assists. Tripp led the team over the weekend with 53 digs.

After advancing to the championship, the Thunder went point for point in the first set against Shawnee Heights but were dominated most of the game because of missed digs and over hits. The Thunder, however, came back and won the first set, 25-19. Crisp playing and solid runs held Heights to only six points in the deciding match.

When the Thunder were accepting their awards on the court Saturday, Nora Tripp said someone sitting next to her commented that the scene was straight out of a movie.

“The girl next to me said, ‘This is like a movie, and we just need the credits rolling,’” she said. “Watching that moment come together for (Emily) as a parent, I cried like a baby.“

Tripp linked arms with her two fellow seniors after the medals were distributed and walked to the center of the court to receive the class 5A state tournament trophy.

With tears in their eyes, the seniors looked across at each other and whispered, “We did it.”

“That was our goal all along,” Emily Tripp said. “It was really awesome to turn and look at my best friends, knowing we worked our butts off and we earned this. … Nothing more satisfying.”

The surreal experience at center court occurred and evaporated just as quickly for Tripp in a whirlwind of emotions as her high school volleyball career came to a close.

“I’ve never been more happy to end on such a good note,” Tripp said. “The front of our warm-up shirts said: Work Hard, Play Hard. That describes our tournament (in that) we worked hard in practices, we worked hard in games and it resulted in that great victory.”