SWIsports.com

As a team Sidney, East Mills and Clarinda Academy dominated the Corner Conference this season, but it was Farragut emerging as the only team to put a pair on this year’s all-conference first team.
Seniors Russell Hemeter and Jacob Blevins each garnered that honor for the Admirals. Blevins was second in the conference in scoring at 17.5 per contest, while Hemeter chipped in 13.8. Together they combined for nearly 60 percent of the team’s total points.
Hemeter was also tied for fifth in the conference in steals this season with 45.
The conference’s top scorer also came for its regular season champion. Cowboy senior Heath Huntley poured in more than 19 points an outing in leading Sidney to a perfect conference mark in the regular season and its first title since 1985. Huntley was also eighth in rebounding at 6.8.
Sidney’s Triston Crouch was one of the people that helped Huntley to his high scoring average as the Cowboy senior dished out 114 assists, second best in the conference and he was a second-team selection.
Leland Crecelius joined Crouch on the second team for Sidney and Brandon Anderson and Trevor Schaaf were honorable mention.
Essex’s highest selections were Tyler Stewart and Dylan Ross, both honorable mention, which was the same honor Farragut’s Blain Lang received.
Six of the eight first team selections this year won’t be back next season as they were seniors. In total 18 of the 34 players selected were seniors.

ALL-CORNER CONFERENCE
BOYS BASKETBALL 2009-10

FIRST TEAM
*Heath Huntley (Sr) Sidney; *Jake Doyle (Sr) East Mills; *Alex Whigham (Sr) Stanton; Jake Bolton (Sr) East Mills; Kris Gardner (So) Clarinda Academy; Marshall Dolch (Jr) Villisca; Russell Hemeter (Sr) Farragut; Jacob Blevins (Sr) Farragut.
*Denotes unanimous selection

SECOND TEAM
Timmy Myers (Jr) Villisca; Triston Crouch (Sr) Sidney; Luke Schafer (So) East Mills; AJ Scarbrough (So) Fremont-Mills; Nate Meier (So) Fremont-Mills; Devonta Williams (Sr) Clarinda Academy; Jakwan Walton (Jr) Clarinda Academy; Leland Crecelius (Sr) Sidney.

HONORABLE MENTION
Terrence Robins (Sr) Clarinda Academy; Nathan Day (Sr) East Mills; Tyler Stewart (Sr) Essex; Dylan Ross (Sr) Essex; Blain Lang (Sr) Farragut; Nic Williams (So) Fremont-Mills; Matt Barrett (Sr) Hamburg; Andrew Thompson (So) Hamburg; Brandon Anderson (Sr) Sidney; Trevor Schaaf (Jr) Sidney; Tyler Slough (Jr) South Page; Tanner Stubbendeck (Sr) Stanton; Zach McCarthy (Sr) Stanton; Nathan Cordon (Sr) Villisca.

When you think of girls Corner Conference basketball for 2009-10 the first thing that comes into your mind is likely the big three.
That can be applied to both teams and players as this year’s three unanimous selections to the all-conference team dominated the competition.
Essex’s Joscelyn Coleman, Sidney’s Aimee Osborne and Stanton’s Kadie Subbert.
All three lit up the scoreboard and led their respective teams to tremendous records, as a matter of fact none of them lost to a conference opponent that one of the other two didn’t play for.
They were the top three in scoring average with Coleman at 22.8, Osborne 22.5 and Subbert 18.8. Coleman also led the conference and set a new Iowa record with 19 rebounds a game. Osborne’s 11.5 was second in the conference and Subbert’s 8.3 was sixth.
Osborne was far and away the top shot blocker with 107, while Subbert and Coleman each had 54, tied for third best.
They were also all in the top-15 in the conference in steals and all three scored their 1,000th-career point this season.
In addition, Osborne’s 562 points scored this year is a new conference record.
All three also had one teammate join them on the first team. Essex’s Tara Maher was third in the conference in steals and averaged 9.7 points. Despite being just 5-4 she also was 10th in rebounds at 6.2 and among the assist leaders.
Annie Lindburg was a second team selection for the Trojanettes and Felicia Monson was honorable mention.
Sidney’s Mandie Uhlenkamp was first in the conference in assists (107), averaged 8.4 rebounds (4th), 8.5 points and was among the steal leaders as well.
Maggie Johnson was voted to the second team and Lindsey Holt was honorable mention for the Cowgirls.
Farragut was led by freshman Molly Goltz, who was tied for 19th in the entire state with 104 steals. She led the Lady Ads with 8 points a game and 67 assists and was third on the team in rebounds.
Mariah Voyles and Jody Shough were both honorable mention for Farragut.
Amazingly of the total of 28 players on this year’s team, only seven were seniors. Of the 16 first and second teamers, only three were seniors which means a lot of talent will be returning in the conference next season.

ALL-CORNER CONFERENCE
GIRLS BASKETBALL 2009-10

FIRST TEAM
*Kadie Subbert (Jr) Stanton; *Joscelyn Coleman (Sr) Essex; *Aimee Osborne (Jr) Sidney; Jordan Sorenson (Sr) Stanton; Lyndee Madison (Jr) Fremont-Mills; Tara Maher (Jr) Essex; Amy Carlson (Jr) Fremont-Mills; Mandie Uhlenkamp (Jr) Sidney.
*Denotes unanimous selection

SECOND TEAM
Annie Lindburg (Jr) Essex; Molly Goltz (Fr) Farragut; Courtney Auxier (Jr) Villisca; McKenzie Stevens (Sr) South Page; Jill Vanderhoof (Fr) Villisca; Mindy Lorimor (Jr) Fremont-Mills; Rachel Sorensen (Fr) Stanton; Maggie Johnson (Jr) Sidney.

HONORABLE MENTION
Tyree Wolfe (Jr) Clarinda Academy; Gabbi Sowers (Sr) East Mills; Felicia Monson (So) Essex; Mariah Voyles (Jr) Farragut; Jody Shough (So) Farragut; Emily Woltemath (Sr) Hamburg; Kimberly Smith (Sr) Hamburg; Lindsey Holt (Jr) Sidney; Nicole Ohnmacht (Sr) South Page; Molly Haley (Jr) Stanton; Ragen Anderson (Fr) Stanton; Amanda Focth (Fr) Villisca.

All good things must come to an end.
For the Cowgirls a great postseason run came to an end Monday with a 48-39 loss in the regional finals to Mount Ayr.
However, for nearly three quarters it looked as though Sidney would end the season of yet another team rated in the top-10 in the state as they built a commanding 37-22 lead midway through the third quarter.
From there the No. 8 Raiderettes stormed back to close the game on a 26-2 run and secure a trip to the state tournament.
The reason for the shift in momentum was easy to see for Sidney coach Dave Dowling.
“Aimee (Osborne) picked up her fourth foul and we had to pull her out and that allowed them to change their defense,” Dowling explained. “They had been sitting back playing more zone, trying to control (Osborne) because she was going off.
“When she came out they could use their speed and quickness and they were athletically superior to use and they just trounced our guards and our guards weren’t able to penetrate because they were just faster.”
Osborne going to the bench was the only way Mt. Ayr could slow her down Monday. When she picked up her fourth foul, Osborne had already scored 24 points with a minute to go in the third quarter.
From that point on, the Cowgirls scored just two points, and that didn’t happen until Osborne returned with 2:11 to go in the fourth quarter and hit a bucket.
Dowling said in addition to Osborne being forced to the bench, the depth of the Raiderettes played a big role.
“We also ran out of gas in the fourth quarter,” he said. “You didn’t notice it so much physically, but when you run out of gas mentally you make some decisions that you wouldn’t normally make.”
Osborne finished the game with 26 points and set a new single-season scoring record for the Corner Conference. The old record of 561 points in a season was set by Essex’s Jamie Armstrong in 1997, Osborne finished with 562 points this season.
“Aimee was dominant, period,” said Dowling. “In my eyes she was the best player on the floor that night, we weren’t the best team, but she was the best player.
“The rest of the girls are really good at knowing when and how to get the ball in, and Aimee made some big time moves.”
The Cowgirls were playing to become the first Corner Conference school to qualify for the state tournament in the 5-on-5 era, and make the first appearance in school history.
Dowling said although they didn’t quite get that done, he is extremely proud of his squad this season.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” he said. “I really feel like they picked it up here at the end of the year and I really feel like I got 100 percent out of the potential they have right now.
“Do I think with work they can get better? Without a doubt. Am I disappointed today? Yes, but I’m not upset in any way because I really feel I got everything out of them that I could and as a coach you can’t ask for any more than that.”
Mt. Ayr improves to 24-1 on the season and will play North Sentral Kossuth (22-2) Monday at 1 p.m. in Wells Fargo Arena in the opening round of the state tournament.
The Cowgirls lose just one senior, Audra Blackburn, but Dowling said that doesn’t assure them of anything next season without hard work in the off season.
“The bottom line is we have to get better,” he said. “We have to get more athletic, and that’s easier said than done because it takes a lot of hard work to improve your quickness.
“I’ve got some younger girls that really came a long way and we need to get more depth built up. I’m extremely excited, but we have to get better.
“We all have to work to keep improving the Corner Conference so we can compete at the next level.”
For pictures from the game click here.

Just days after a miraculous 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted Sidney into the regional semifinals, they again shocked the area as they toppled the undefeated Stanton Viqueens 40-36 Saturday to move onto the regional final.
Heading into the game, Stanton had built a 22-0 record and earned the No. 4 ranking in the state.
Included in those 22 wins was a 55-48 win over the Cowgirls. The game featured not only a matchup of two of the best teams in the area, but also two of the best players in Sidney’s Aimee Osborne and Stanton’s Kadie Subbert – each of whom scored their 1,000th-career point in only their junior seasons.
The game, as well as individual battle, did not disappoint.
All season Sidney has been quick out of the gates, and Saturday was no exception. The Cowgirls built a five-point lead by halftime and maintained that in the second half.
Osborne scored 14 for the Cowgirls, and also grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Subbert carried the Viqueens, scoring 26 of the team’s 36 points. She also had six rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.
However, it was the support Osborne received from her teammates that turned out to be the difference. Six Cowgirls scored in the game, compared to just four for the Viqueens.
Lindsey Holt and Audra Blackburn each added eight for Sidney, while Jordan Sorensen’s five points were the next highest total for Stanton.
Sidney did turn the ball over 18 times, compared to just nine by Stanton, which led to a 58-37 Viqueen advantage in shots taken. However, Stanton hit just 22 percent of its shots, while Sidney shot close to 38 percent.
Tonight the Cowgirls take on Mount Ayr in the regional finals. The Raiders are 23-1 on the season and rated sixth in the state.
They are led by junior Becca Pennington who is averaging just under 15 points per contest. While Jensen Stewart and Tiffany Wimer give them a total of three players averaging in double figures.
Tonight’s game is set to tipoff at 7 p.m. at Clarinda. The winner advances to the state tournament in a game held next Monday, beginning at 1 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
Click here for pictures from the game.