From the sidelines
When Ryan Jones and Louis Holt cross the finish line Saturday at the 3A state cross country meet, the 2007 fall sports season came to an end for Marion High School.
The sophomores were the only athletes this fall to participate in a state event with the football and volleyball teams failing to qualify for the post-season.
Congratulations are in order for the two, and we are all hoping they can get back to Wamego the next two years.
However, they aren't the only fall sports athletes who deserve accolades.
Although the men of the gridiron and the ladies of the court did not make the playoffs, their statistical improvements are quite impressive.
The volleyball team, after winning just one match in 2006, improved its number of victories by 800 percent this past year.
OK, so probably no one on the team was happy with an 8-22 record, but it could have been something more like 14-16 if the ball bounced a different way a few times.
The players showed they can hang with many teams in the Mid-Central League Activities Association, and even led then-number one Hoisington 17-11 in the first game of a match on senior night.
Jim Versch, who led the team to a 2A state title in 1991, has the team heading in the right direction, and success may not be far off.
The football team finished with a 4-5 record after starting 4-2, and three district losses didn't put a smile on the face of anyone associated with the team.
However, this is a team that won only two games in 2006, and its four victories looked like it was playing against junior varsity teams, out-scoring its opponents, 87-8.
Being in a district that included three teams that went a combined 21-6 didn't help; especially considering half of those losses were to each other.
Next year the Warriors lose Hesston and Remington in favor of Herington, who moves up from 2A, and a Southeast of Saline team that resembles nothing of the 2005 state championship team.
The Warriors took care of the teams they were supposed to this year, and showed their youth in the games against experienced, talented teams.
Come 2008 the Warriors will have a little more experience, a district they should compete in along with Hillsboro, and just the slightest push could put the team over the top.
So, while the 2007 MHS fall sports season may look on the surface as one that lacked success, deep down it might just be setting the table for good things to come.
