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Where 2009 Cover

I designed the cover for the 2009 Where magazine. The 48-page magazine is an annual tourist publication for the Monticello area that details information about restaurants, entertainment, etc.

Emotional End For Softball Seniors

Twin Lakes senior Katie Reiff could barely watch the final three outs of Monday’s sectional game to Benton Central.
Reiff and her teammates had battled all the way back from a 6-0 deficit with the Indians taking a 7-6 lead in the sixth. Now, trailing 8-7 in the seventh, Reiff buried her face in a towel to escape the situation.
She didn’t want to end her fabulous four-year softball career without a sectional title. She didn’t want to get knocked off again in the sectional by a Benton Central team the Indians beat twice this season. But all she could do was watch from the dugout.
“Oh yeah, it’s tough,” Reiff said of the loss while battling tears. “The girls just don’t give up. We could have lost 6-0 but it was 8-7.”
When senior Abby Dilling entered the pitching circle against the Bison she knew they would have a feel for her pitches. That’s because Dilling earned two W’s against them during the season. What she didn’t know is that BC would jump on her immediately. After being relieved in the second inning, Dilling had surrendered six runs – four of which were earned – and two triples.
“They got on me and I knew it was going to happen,” said Dilling, who finished 1-for-3 from the plate. “BC’s a good team and if we faced them four times it would probably be 2-2.”
As TL (24-6) entered the third inning, the players set a goal of two runs an inning to narrow the margin. A triple from Ashlee Keil helped the two-run third, a double from Tabby Bonnell helped the two-run fourth and Savanna Gaumer’s contact helped the two-run fifth.
“It was a rollercoaster,” Twin Lakes coach Desiree Swaim said. “It was back and forth. The girls don’t give up and made things happen.”
All the while, Bonnell had silenced BC’s bats and was rolling into the sixth inning. With two outs and no one on, two errors and one hit resulted in two BC runs, including the go-ahead run that scored when Reiff tried getting a runner out at third. Third baseman Chelsea Hicks thought Reiff was throwing home so she ducked and then got hit in the side with Reiff’s throw.
“It was a game of a lot of freak things,” Reiff said. “They scored a lot of freak runs. They’re a good team but the run at the end was real weird.
“That’s part of it, I guess … Get lucky at the right time. We left everything on the field. We left it all out there.”
The loss was difficult for Swaim to handle because her seniors were “special to her.”
“It’s sad for the seniors,” Swaim said. “It’s emotional for me that they’re done because they’re a good bunch. I’m so proud of them.
“We had a great season.”

Published in the Herald Journal in May 2009.

Prepare To Swing

The Indians' Tabby Bonnell launches a pitch during their sectional win in May 2009.

Bracing For Impact

Twin Lakes' Blake Underhill lands in the long jump sand pit.

Hurt Or Not

Tri-County's Amanda Coty leaps over a hurdle in first place despite an injured right leg.

Returning A Serve

Chelsea Cardwell, TL's No. 1 singles player in 2009, returns a serve during the Indians' sectional match against Lewis Cass.

Diving Snag

Twin Lakes' right fielder makes a diving catch against Macanaquah during the 2009 season.

Come Back Here

A Twin Lakes hurdler chases a Tri-County runner during the annual Bi-County Meet at Twin Lakes High School.

Throwing The Discus

A Twin Lakes thrower competes during a spring 2009 track meet.

Batter's Viewpoint

Twin Lakes pitcher Drew Guingrich throws a pitch during a game in May 2009.

Stopping The Ball

Twin Lakes senior first baseman tries to corral the ball during a sectional game in 2009.

Weather Creates Havoc For ADs

By Leroy Bridges
Sports Editor

Wet and cold weather has prevented this year’s spring sports season from gaining momentum.
Tuesday was no different after six more varsity events were canceled.
Out of this month’s 21 days, 11 have seen rain and temperatures have dropped below 30 degrees. The result has been constant cancelations, postponements and indoor practices, which complicates the job of all four of the area’s athletic directors.
“It’s usually not as bad as this year,” North White athletic director Mark Woodcock said. “It’s raining every three or four days. We’re running out of days to reschedule games on.”
Each Monday and Tuesday of the month has been rainy and it’s caused cancelations to pile up, especially with North White baseball. Woodcock has seen six canceled games and has been able to reschedule only two of them. Because playing the games is valuable it has forced the team to play five games in five days to start the month of May.
“It’s important. That’s why they give you a certain number of games to play,” Twin Lakes
For coaches, the weather is supremely frustrating because practices are indoors and the games that are played are outdoors.
“We’re optimistic that this weekend will bring better weather,” Twin Lakes softball coach Desiree Swaim said. “We are definitely ready for that kind of weather.”
The 10-day forecast does show relief for teams this weekend but that soon disappears next week. Rain is expected from Monday-Thursday, which will bring another host of problems for athletic directors.
“I would say after (Tuesday) it’s going to be difficult to find dates,” Tri-County athletic director Denny Stitz said about rescheduling games. “We have had enough dates to fill up the voids in the calendar so far. The best hope is that the bad weather is behind us.”
If poor weather continues to cause cancelations as the calendar moves along the only option will be to eliminate games from the schedule and save room for conference clashes. But that’s an option the ADs don’t want to use.
“It puts a damper on what everyone is trying to accomplish,” Woodcock said of the weather. “You can’t accomplish and achieve your goals as a player or coach.” athletic director Kent Adams said about playing an entire schedule. “You want to be careful you don’t over burden the athletes but that experience is important.”

Published in the Herald Journal in April 2009.