again,” Jordison said. Gilbert returns intact in the middle with senior stalwarts Truman Kruckenberg and Jack- son Johnson alongside sopho- more Billy Terrones. They combined for 22 goals and 25 assists a season ago. Flat out, all three can play at an in- credibly high level. “They control pretty much the entire thing,” Jordison said. “They will orchestrate the of- fense and they will snuff out the opponent’s offense. I don’t see teams having a lot of success going over the top, so they’ll have to go through the middle and that will be difficult.” Kruckenberg was one of those unsung heroes at state a season ago. How he didn’t make the all-tournament team is a mystery.
“He was super good last year,” Jordison said. “The sky’s the limit with him.” At the top of the Tigers’ attack, there will be some new faces to the starting lineup mixed in with familiar faces. It’s never easy to replace two talents like Zach Holtan and Owen Wirth, who combined for 26 goals and 31 assists in 2023, but Gilbert is not without talent. Tyler Holtan, a junior who could have started on most of the teams in the state a season ago, will take over as one of those key offensive options. Three of his seven goals in 2023 came in the state quarter- final win over Greene County. Isaac Weary (three goals in 2023) will also be added to the starting lineup along with return- ing starter Preston Stensland
(five goals in 2023). “(Tyler Holtan) will get a ma- jority of those touches up top and he’s excellent,” Jordison said. “Isaac brings a little bit of that flash, and Preston is no longer a freshman. He’s a full- grown man now and plays like it.” A glaring absence this spring will be junior Connor Rash, who you might remember for his state championship match pro- wess, including the winning goal in PK’s. A torn ACL at the end of the basketball season will sideline him throughout the season, but Jordison says he’ll still have an impact on the team, albeit in a different role. “It’s a gut punch, not only be- cause of his production on the field, but also he’s that social leader,” Jordison said. “The great news is he’s still around the program on the sideline and his voice is still being heard, just in a different way.” All of this information is confir- mation that Gilbert isn’t going anywhere, not in the race for a Raccoon River Conference title, not in the race for a spot in the eight-team state field, and not in the race for a 2A championship. The Tigers have been to state seven times in program history. No. 8 doesn’t seem far-fetched later this spring.
VARSITY
No. Name
Gr. So. So. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Sr. So. Jr. Sr. So. Sr. Sr. Fr. So. Fr. So. Sr. Gr. So. So. So. So. Fr.
0 Tyler Jerkins
00
Matthew Weber Preston Stensland Jackson Johnson Tyler Holtan Nash Hanson Cam Stephens Billy Terrones Owen Mattson Isaac Weary Logan Harswick Dylan Terry Jack Hackett Zachary Schrader Mitch Walter Jacob Tallman
1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9
10 11 12 13 15 16 18 20 22 00 14 17 19 21 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 36
Truman Kruckenberg Sr.
Eli Hague
Brendan O’Brien
JUNIOR VARSITY
No. Name
Ayden Folkerts Cole Kaptur Zach O’Riley Gabe Hicks Felipe Maas Chase Deike Isaac Holtan Chris Fisher Benji Lenz Zeke Hatfield Tayton Warg Evan Goetz Logan Nelson John Artz
Andrew Chapman So.
Fr. Fr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Fr.
Eli Hernandez ClementeFr.
Gilbert will have to play without its emotional leader Connor Rash (above) this season. Rash suffered a knee injury in late February.
10 GAME ON | SPRING 2024
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