WPMQ Provides Swim Season Update

ARSS, Swimming

Photo courtesy of Melissa Stewart

WPMQ’s Micah Kaelin and Trey Brison spoke with representatives from the Charlestown swim team and have updates to share on how the Pirates’ season is going.

2019-2020 Season

  • “So far this year we have done well, better than expected because of the two exchange students. It helps when you have some experienced swimmers come in,” said Coach Richard Sawyer. 
  • This season has been difficult for the Swim Team because they have to take a 20 minute bus ride to/from practice, due to their pool being shut down/broken. 
  • “As far as last to this year our girls team is better, but our boys team lost a lot of good boys,” says Coach Sawyer. 

Record:

The Girls Team has swam in 4 meets so far, with two 4th place finishes. One was 4th out of 9 teams; the other was 4th out of 6 teams. 

The Boys Team has swam in 3 meets so far, with a 3rd place finish out of 6 teams.

Boys 

  The Boys Team has only 4 swimmers but have been working really hard this season, giving 110% effort at practice. Also their team has been improving throughout the season!

The boys have had to work through a major setback at meets. Due to their small numbers, they don’t have enough boys to compete in every event. There are only enough boys for one relay team, compared to other school with two. “Despite their setback, they all continue to work hard, place well, improve their times, and keep good attitudes,” said swimmer Grace Adams. 

Girls

The Girls Team has been placing okay this season. Small numbers has been the only reason they haven’t won. “I’m really excited for conference. We’ve been working really hard and I have high hopes,” says swimmer Grace Adams. 

The Girls Team have gotten several new freshmen that have helped increase their numbers including Anika White, who has been a strong edition. Individually our points leaders, Grace Adams (11th grade), Tina Ylipaa (11th grade), and Kendra Grayson (10th) bring the most points for the team. These girls have placed high in their events all season. 

Swimmers:

There are no seniors. There are 4 juniors: 2 girls, 2 guys. Every other swimmer is underclassmen. 

Question: What swimmer has stood out to you the most? 

Coach Sawyer said, “As you know swimming is a team sport and all the kids stand out and do their part to help win a meet. So I can’t say that anyone stands out more than any other. They have all done what is best for the team to get the win. All of them are working hard to improve.

What’s Next?

  • Girls’ MSC Championship is on 1/30/20. 
  • Boys’ MSC Championship on 1/30/20.
  • Girls’ Sectionals will be on Thursday 2-6- 20 and Saturday 2-8-20.
  • Boys’ Sectionals will be on Thursday 2-20-20 and Saturday 2-22-20. 

The swimmers have been practicing and are ready to take on their opponents. Coach Sawyer says, “As far as sectionals we have been doing a lot of sprints and swimming about 2 miles a day”.

Student Council & WPMQ Release Homecoming Information for the Weekend

ARSS, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Uncategorized

 

The Charlestown High School student council will sponsor this weekend’s basketball homecoming ceremonies in the Charlestown Sports Arena. The king’s ceremony will be held Friday, January 17th between the junior varsity and varsity girls’ basketball contests against Providence. The queen’s ceremony will be held on Saturday, January 18th between the junior varsity and varsity boys’ basketball contests against Borden. JV tip-off is 6:00 both nights. 

Student council would like to congratulate all members of the court for being elected by peers and for maintaining GPA eligibility requirements and to wish good luck to all of the king and queen candidates.  The 2020 basketball homecoming court is as follows:

9th Grade—Abigail Salkeld & Luke Bach

10th Grade—Sunni Burke, Savannah Gaither, Chase Benner, & Brandon Broady

11th Grade—Kaelyn Halter, Hannah Pierson, Kaylee Zimmerman, Kyle Craig, Ashton Davis, & Clayton Rothbauer

12th Grade—Kylee Carl, Baylee Popp, Ashleigh Smith, Hailey Stricker, Karston Watson, Richard Coyle, Elyjah Joseph, Braiden Murphy, Blake Thompson, & Chase Wray

 

The CHS class of 2021 and Cheerleaders will be hosting a homecoming dance on right after the boys’ basketball game on Saturday, the 18th until 11:30PM.  Tickets are $10 or $5 with a homecoming basketball game ticket. All non-CHS guests pay $10 for tickets and MUST show their high school ID. This is a semi-formal dance.  Attendees are asked to dress as if they are attending a nice wedding. Ladies should have dresses/pantsuits. Boys should wear dress pants with a dress shirt, polo shirt, or sweater.  Sleeveless, strapless, halter, spaghetti straps, and one-shoulder styles ARE allowed. Hats are not allowed. Outfits should come to no more than 2” above the knee. There should be no holes, or gaps, in the midriff area.

In looking ahead at the basketball contests, WPMQ’s Chase Benner and Michael Casey have provided the following mid-season girls’ basketball report: After a rough 0-3 start to the season, the Lady Pirate basketball team has bounced back to a record of 9-8 with only five games remaining on the schedule. The Lady Pirates really turned their season around with the help of three critical seniors–Jackie Biscardi, Peyton Crace, and Karston Watson–who all help to jumpstart the pirate offense. Along with those three key seniors, the Lady Pirates get plenty of help from junior Skylar Cochran,and sophomore Demaria King at the center. Freshman Laney Hawkins has also added big minutes to the rotation since the PCL injury of senior Karston Watson. To round out the rotation, juniors Heidi Chester and Lanae Crowe, and senior Andrea McCoy come off the bench to add defense, rebounding, and occasional scoring.     

After Tuesday night’s overtime loss to the 2A Top 20 Eastern Musketeers, the Lady Pirates fell to just above .500. The Lady Pirates’ most impressive wins include victories over Southwestern and Switzerland County. Several of their losses have been very close games, including a 1 point loss to 11-5 North Harrison and another close loss by 2 points to 10-6 Scottsburg. The Lady Pirates are coming down to the final stretch of their season, with just five games remaining until sectionals. The Lady Pirates have several teams to look forward to while closing their season. Their final stretch of season consists of Providence, New Albany, Salem, Christian Academy, and Clarksville. The Lady Pirates look to stop their three game losing streak against Providence at home on Friday. 

WPMQ’s Drew Fifer, Matthew McCoy, and Blake Thompson have provided a boys’ season recap.  The Pirate basketball team has had a slow start at 1-10, facing some tough opponents. They last played Madison last Saturday and lost 94-69, but providing their biggest offensive night of the season. Kyle Craig  is leading the team in scoring with 8.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Newcoming Ty Crace is averaging 12 points per game, but has only played four games for the Pirates. Guards Ashton Davis and Clayton Rothbauer manage the perimeter, while Austin Phillips, Devron West, and Caleb Brown work inside for the Pirates. Junior Matthew Henning has been a spark for the Pirates the past few games. The Pirates will face a 3-8 Borden team and will hope to capture another victory. The Pirates and Braves have yet to both face a common opponent this season, so it’s difficult to predict what this matchup will bring other than knowing that both teams are in the hunt for wins. Coach Smith looks for his team to bring some passion and fire into this homecoming game.   

Article provided by WPMQ, The Pirate Network staff.

Bo Braunecker Signs to Continue Track Career with Eastern Illinois University

ARSS, Track & Field

Last night, Charlestown senior football and track star Bo Braunecker gathered with family and friends to sign his national letter of intent to continue his education and track career at Eastern Illinois University during the 2020-21 season.

Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher’s college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a comprehensive university with a broad curriculum, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, business, arts, sciences, and humanities.

Eastern Illinois University is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I level, offering 20  varsity sports in men’s and women’s basketball; men’s and women’s cross country; men’s and women’s golf; football; women’s soccer; softball; men’s and women’s tennis; men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field; and volleyball.

 When asked about his opportunity to play at the next level with the Panthers, Bo said, “After my first visit at Eastern Illinois I knew that was the place I wanted to go, not because it was division one, but for the reason that I felt that I fit in with the team and it would help shape be into being the man that I want to be. The team reminded me of the track family at CHS. Charlestown’s track team is not just a team, but we are a family as well and I saw this with Eastern Illinois Track team. Everyone made me feel welcome. It just felt like a home away from home. ”

The Charlestown High School athletic department and WPMQ, The Pirate Network congratulate Bo and wish him a healthy and prosperous future as an Eastern Illinois University Panther.

Article contributed by WPMQ, The Pirate Network; photo courtesy of Michelle Braunecker.

 

Skylar Roark Signs to Continue Softball Career with Shelton State

ARSS, Softball

Recently, Charlestown senior softball player Skylar Roark gathered with family, friends, Lady Pirate teammates and Team Kentucky teammates to sign her national letter of intent to play softball at Shelton State Community College during the 2020-21 season.

Shelton State Community College is a two-year community college located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and is one of the largest two-year colleges in the state. Approximately 7,000 students are enrolled in some form of coursework, including around 3,000 full-time students.

 Shelton State  is a member of the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) and competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) at the Division I level.  They offer varsity teams in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball and fast-pitch softball. The Shelton State Community College Athletics Department has spent the past decade establishing a winning tradition and bringing home championship trophies. Since 2000, their teams have won 24 NJCAA Region XXII Division I titles in men’s and women’s basketball and baseball, eleven National Championships in competitive cheerleading, and five recognitions as an Academic Team of the Year for softball. The Buccaneers take pride in their victories on the playing fields and courts while continuing to strive for success in the classroom and to provide a positive image in our community.

When asked about her opportunity to play at the next level with the Buccaneers, Skylar said, “Finding that perfect college is a very hard process because there are so many schools that have interest in you, but none of them stand out to you. What led me to choose Shelton State was when I stepped on campus and it was different than anywhere else I had been. Shelton has so many amazing opportunities for me to really succeed with academics and athletics. I knew that Shelton was home.”

The Charlestown High School athletic department and WPMQ, The Pirate Network congratulate Skylar and wish her a healthy and prosperous future as a Shelton State Buccaneer.

Article and photo contributed by WPMQ, The Pirate Network.

PIRATE WRESTLERS DEFEAT MSC FOE SILVER CREEK

ARSS, Wrestling

PIRATE WRESTLERS DEFEAT MSC FOE SILVER CREEK
by WPMQ staff reporter Eric Wigginton

 

Thursday night the Pirate wrestlers hosted one of its only two home duals this season against Mid Southern Conference foe Silver Creek. This is the first year that the Dragons have had a wrestling team and they were no match for the experienced Pirates. The Pirates took advantage of that lack of experience and used the match to work on their craft. Charlestown made quick work of the Dragons, pinning in every class they weighed in at, including some weight class forfeits, and a final score of 64-6 in less than an hour. Coach Adam Doherty had this to say about his wrestlers: “The kids wrestled hard for being off since Connersville [a two-day tournament after Christmas where the Pirates placed 12th out of 32 teams admidst stout competition from around the state]. They all wanted to get back out on the mat and get out of practice and bang around again. The end of the year is coming up and we are focused on the remainder of the season ahead and conference.” The Pirates have a match next Wednesday at Jeffersonville High School at 6:00 P.M.

A complete list of wrestlers and results can be found below:

145 lb – Braden Moore (pin)
152 lb – Ben Phillips (pin)
160 lb – Chris Graham (FF)
170 lb – Deke Brown (pin)
182 lb – Xuan Dong (pin)
195 lb – Manuel Ordorica (pin)
220 lb – Lucas Gagnon (FF)
285 lb – Malachi Rios (FF)
126 lb – Colin Knox (pin)
132 lb – Jakob Lewellen (pin)
138 lb – Declan Brading (maj. dec)

Micah Keltner also got a pin for the Pirates in the night’s only JV match.

(Pictured below is junior Deke Brown working his opponent into a pin.)

Look for more weekly beats on all our sports from WPMQ sports broadcasting this year.

Tuesday’s Athletic Results Yield Two Big Lady Pirate Victories

ARSS, Cross Country, Volleyball

The Lady Pirate Cross Country team had three pairs team up to place 2nd, 6th, and 12th to win medals, edge out Silver Creek 20-23, and earn the Darrell Kingery Hokum Karem Championship! Skylar Cochran and Ashley Wight were the second place finishers; Laney Hawkins and Jessie McCoy finished 6th; Jackie McCoy and Tina Ylipaa finished 12th.   Coach Doyle said, “This is a special meet for us to win, as Coach Kingery was a coach that I always looked up to and he was a true mentor to me! ” Coach Kingery was a beloved, long time cross country coach from Clarksville and Silver Creek who was well known throughout the community. A tragic accident while he was riding a bicycle last fall claimed his life way too soon. It was very fitting for this event to be named after an iconic coach.

The Lady Pirate volleyball team sailed away from New Washington with a win in four games. The Lady Mustangs came out fighting and claimed the first game 20-25.   Coach Tammy Nuxoll quoted,”We did not play as a team in the first set and it really showed on the court. They were able to pull it together in the second set and played more as a team for the remainder of the match. We were able to put together some strong serving and setters made good decisions on the court.” The Lady Pirates went on to win the next three to seal the match 25-17. 25-23, 25-12. They will face Henryville at home September 5th.

Article contributed by WPMQ Staff Member Matthew McCoy

 

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