pushed her average above 170 for the girls. Putting completely new teams together is daunting for the coaches, there’s no doubt about that. But they knew this was coming. They built the program once, and they’re excited to do it once again. “The atmosphere has been wonderful so far,” Miller, who lost eight total girls to gradu- ation, said. “The girls support each other, they’re helping each other out, and they’re just ex- cited. There was a knowledge of the game and just some ba- sics that we took for granted in the past, but now we’re having to start from scratch a little bit.” Emery agreed with Miller. It is back to the basics, and yet there’s a new vibe around the team. There’s much less pres- sure, too. “It’s definitely a different at- mosphere and we know there are going to be some ups and downs,” Emery said. “I think we can still compete and win some meets, but the expectations are different. Last year our expecta- tions were not only to go to state, but to try to win state.” Emery sees talent on his team, and now it’s just a matter of getting some of those players experience. Chase Deike, Jaden Smith, Lucas Savage, Brayden Hauge, and Benji Lenz all return to the team this sea-
son. Smith led the Tigers in their season-opener against Newton, and Deike is someone who Emery could see emerging as the team’s ace as the sea- son goes along. Emery is also excited about newcomer Isaac Holtan. “Chase Deike has become the Chase Klatt from the past,” Emery said. “He’s at the bowl- ing alley working every day and he’s taken on a huge leadership role with the team. Brayden Hauge is really impressing me too, and Isaac Holtan has been
killing it in practice. He’s never bowled before, but you can see he has a lot of potential.” The story with the girls team is somewhat similar. While there isn’t any varsity experi- ence on the roster, that doesn’t mean the team is completely new. Ava Klatt, Keira Andersen, and Alyse Beyer were all with the team last winter and got a first-hand look at what it takes to succeed. They’ll serve as leaders and will help to guide the newcomers Alex Weary, Alli- san Pepper, Eko Eldred, and
Kendall Wakefield. “I’m excited to see continued improvement from our returning players,” Miller said. “Ava has been practicing outside of the season and she’s coming into the season strong. I see a lot of commitment out of her and I’m excited to see what she’s going to do this season. “We want to compete, but we definitely want to have fun and see the enjoyment of the sport. Hopefully that will create a good base for the future.”
44 GAME ON | WINTER 2024-25
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