Numerous CJ athletes sign to continue athletic careers after high school

Pope to play tennis at Seminole State College

By Anvil Welch, The Joplin Globe

2/23/2010

Erica Pope, who keyed an impressive showing last fall by the Carl Junction High School girls tennis team in its first season, signed a letter of intent with Seminole (Okla.) State College on Monday.

Pope, who transferred to Carl Junction as a junior from Lindsborg (Kan.), was the Bulldogs’ only senior player.

“Erica obviously led us. She set the tone,” Carl Junction coach Ryan Odaffer said on Tuesday. “She had a great attitude.

“Erica worked very hard,” Odaffer said. “She was team captain and wound up the most valuable player. She was voted those honors by her teammates.”

Carl Junction finished runner-up to Monett in the Big 8 Conference Tournament and was seventh among 14 schools in the Class 1 district competition at Rogersville.

Erica and her sister, sophomore Haley, finished 10-6 in doubles and were Big 8 champions.

“Her specialty is doubles,” Odaffer said of Erica. “She had to choose singles or doubles in Kansas — like our Missouri districts — and she performed very well in doubles. That’s what she’ll do in college.”

Erica also played No. 1 in singles for the Bulldogs.

“It’s great that she was able to get the scholarship considering it was her parents that pushed for the addition of tennis,” Odaffer said.

Pope, who plans to study pre-pharmacy at Seminole, said she simply looked at schools that had shown interest in her ability and sent a video to Seminole coach Brian Nelson. A visit to the school followed.

Waranch to play at Pittsburg State University

Carl Junction football player Zach Waranch signed a letter of intent to attend Pittsburg State University and play for football for the Gorillas, who finished 5-6 in 2009.  Waranch was a two-year starter at tailback for the Bulldogs, scoring 12 touchdowns and averaging over 5.5 yards per carry.  He was named to the Big 8 All-Conference Second Team as a senior despite missing part of the season with a knee injury.  Waranch also received All Big 8 Honorable Mention as a junior.  He is the son of Frank and Debbie Waranch.

Graskemper to run track at Missouri Southern State University

By Anvil Welch, The Joplin Globe

02/17/2010

Carl Junction coach Frank Pittman said Tuesday that senior sprinter Sagan Graskemper, when it comes to track events, has a lot of flexibility.

Pittman and Graskemper, who signed a national letter of intent with Missouri Southern last week, expect that role for the Bulldogs to continue this coming season.

“She’ll probably compete in the three open events — the 100, 200 and 400 — and a relay,” Pittman said. “She may even do some long-jumping.”

A long jumper?

“The sprints are my favorite events,” Graskemper said with a laugh.

Pittman, in essence, was illustrating Graskemper’s value to the Big 8 Conference Bulldogs.

“She has all the good qualities as a person as well as an athlete,” Pittman said. “Sure, she cares about herself. But she also cares about the team.

“She was our points leader last season and we expect that to continue,” Pittman said.

“Her times (at Carl Junction) have been consistent and very good,” Pittman said. “They’ll improve under Coach (Patty) Vavra at Missouri Southern.

“She’s mentally tough and is very demanding of herself and how she competes,” Pittman said. “She doesn’t like to lose.”

Graskemper has been a busy athlete at Carl Junction. This will be her fourth year in track (matching softball). She also played basketball for three seasons and competed in cross country for a pair.

Graskemper plans to study accounting at Missouri Southern.  

Wilson twins to Neosho County Community College

By Anvil Welch, The Joplin Globe

1/18/2010

The softball coaching staff at Neosho County Community College apparently believes that two Wilsons are better than one.

Jonathan Wengert, coach at Carl Junction High School, agrees.

Wengert naturally was among those who happily watched identical twins Kaitlin and Kelsey Wilson sign letters of intent with the Chanute (Kan.)-based Panthers on Friday.

Carl Junction finished 20-10 during their junior seasons and 20-9 last fall. The Bulldogs won the Big 8 Conference and a Class 3 district title last season after placing runner-up in both league and district in 2008.

“They had a hand in a lot of those wins,” Wengert said. “Both players, I believe, will be able to hit in college. Both players have good swings.”

Third baseman Kaitlin Wilson, the conference player of the year as a senior, averaged .329 with a team-leading six home runs and 21 runs batted in. She added a triple, seven doubles and 17 runs scored.

“Kaitlin had a great season,” Wengert said. “Those six home runs are a single-season team record. She hit two homers in our conference-clinching victory. She did an excellent job defensively at third. Her footwork has improved.”

First baseman Kelsey Wilson, another right-handed batter, averaged .318 with 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and 15 bases on balls. She added three doubles and a triple.

“She was very consistent,” Wengert said of Kelsey. “She had game-winning hits in our Big 8-clinching win (against Seneca) as well as district (against McDonald County).”

The Wilsons, coached by Brad Shorter their first two seasons at Carl Junction, were three-year starters.

The Wilsons join head coach Alisa Tasler at Neosho County. Her Panthers finished 16-27 overall last spring and were 10-16 in the Eastern Division of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.

Kelsey Wilson plans to pursue a degree in physical education or sports medicine and teach at the high school level. Kaitlin Wilson plans to teach at the elementary level.

McRae to NEO A&M

By Anvil Welch, The Joplin Globe

1/21/2010

Few honors eluded Lauren McRae during her senior softball season at Carl Junction High School.

Those accomplishments paved the way for McRae’s special moment on Wednesday.

McRae, a right-handed batting shortstop, signed a letter of intent with NJCAA Division I power Northeastern Oklahoma A&M of Miami.

Carl Junction coach Jonathan Wengert passed out a sheet detailing McRae’s senior season.

Said Wengert: “Lauren was an all-around outstanding player. She was a leader by example.”

McRae, who batted third or fourth in the order, averaged .377 as a senior with 15 runs batted in, 21 runs scored, 8 doubles, 1 triple and two home runs.

Wengert also was pleased with McRae’s fielding: five errors in 147 chances.

The Bulldogs, 20-10 during her junior season, climbed to 20-9 as a senior with a district championship and a Big 8 Conference title at 6-0.

McRae was named to the second Class 3 all-state team as an infielder following all-conference, all-district and all-region honors Plus, she was selected to the Springfield News-Leader elite.

NEO coach Eric Iverson, who came to Carl Junction for the signing, said a friend who sells sporting goods told him to go see McRae after watching Carl Junction play in the Miami High School Tournament.

“We will keep her on the infield,” Iverson predicted. “She can play three positions on the infield and do it well. She will be in there competing with our infielders.

“Lauren is a good softball athlete ... very gifted,” Iverson said. “We’re very excited. She’s our 14th signee (for next season) and could be our final one.”

Iverson, who’s won more than 600 games at NEO, guided it to a 53-6 record last season and sixth in the final rankings.

McRae, who also competes in basketball and track for the Bulldogs, worked into the starting lineup at third base for Carl Junction as a freshman. She moved to shortstop as a sophomore.

McRae plans to coach and teach physical education at the secondary level.

Felker to play volleyball at Neosho County Comm. College