Mount
Pulaski hosts Meet the Toppers
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[November 15, 2018]
Saturday night at Mount Pulaski’s Ed Butkovich Gymnasium the purple
seats were filled with fans ready for basketball. Fans got an early
glimpse of both the girls and boys basketball teams, as they took to
the court for a series of scrimmages. The JV boys scrimmaged first,
followed by the girls and then the Varsity boys concluded the
evening. Sandwiched in the middle were performances by the MPHS
cheerleaders.
Coaches gladly provided comments at the end of the evening and with
that here is what Hilltopper fans have to look forward to with the
upcoming 2018-19 season upon us.
Hilltoppers head basketball coach Ryan Deibert is coming off a
season in which last year’s team went 21-8 and lost to Decatur LSA
in the regional championship. The Hilltoppers lost six seniors to
graduation. This year the lineup will feature only one senior,
Jonathan Shehorn. Deibert knows the challenges ahead and has a group
of young men ready to meet those challenges. “This year we’re just
looking for constant improvement,” said Deibert. “I mean that’s the
main thing. I really think they are ahead of where I thought they
would be a week into it. We had ten practices this week coming into
tonight so I think maybe there’s a little fatigue but that’s
something we gotta get over and get in a little better shape. We
need to work on them getting to read each other to where we’re not
having to coach as much from the sideline. We can sit there and let
them take the initiative and kind of direct what’s going on on the
floor and feed off each other. Our goal is for them to just get more
comfortable with each other and get some experience.”
Lone senior Jonathan Shehorn had a major setback early last season
when he suffered a torn ACL. Shehorn only played about three minutes
in a game last year before getting hurt, according to Deibert.
“Sitting out the season motivated Jonathan and he looks pretty
strong for this year.
“Jonathan has been a big surprise coming back. He played as a
sophomore and shot the ball well in some JV games but that’s
obviously different than Varsity games. But Jonathan has worked his
butt off to get back into shape and he’s in phenomenal shape. His
shot has really come around and him being able to step in to give us
another shooter is good. We’ll always take more shooters,” said
Deibert.
Lady Toppers coach Eric Leever is eagerly anticipating a fun season
of basketball for the girls, who finished the season last year with
a 14-13 record. Four seniors will guide the team, with one of those
being a newcomer to high school basketball.
Abigail Fitzpatrick last played basketball as a Honeybear at MPGS.
Now, after focusing on volleyball throughout her high school career,
the senior decided to get back on the basketball court for one last
go-round.
Fitpatrick joins fellow seniors Skylar Hayes, Morgan May and Savanah
Moore. A huge supporting cast is right in the mix of things and all
of this has Leever pumped up.
Coach Leever summed it up, “I am real confident going into our
Thanksgiving tournament, even though we’ve only had ten days of
practice because of the volleyball postseason,” said Leever.
“We will have four seniors this year and we will have some really
strong juniors. Isabella Wade and Kaylee Wilham are our juniors with
varsity experience.
"We will have some kids coming off the bench to give us some
minutes, too.
"But we are also super-happy to have Abigail Fitzpatrick this year.
She’s picking up things every night. She tracks the ball really well
and she’s going to be a great rebounder for us. She’s still a little
reluctant to shoot the ball but I think she’s going to help us out
in the paint. She is quick and she’s strong. She sees the floor
really well.
"I think her and Skylar Hayes really click. They play well together.
"Savanah Moore gives us another option. She shoots the ball well and
attacks the basket.
"Hopefully we’ll get some minutes out of Morgan May in the paint and
in the post.
"We’re pretty solid. Conditioning is probably gonna kill us these
first few games. I am just really excited for the season. It’s going
to be a fun year.”
It’s also the last year for Mount Pulaski fans to cheer on Skylar
Hayes before she takes her talents to the collegiate level. Leever
has coached Hayes throughout high school, along with assistance from
Skylar’s dad and JV coach, Steven Hayes. “Skylar has had a
phenomenal first three years at MPHS,” said Leever. “That kid is a
crazy gym rat. I mean, she is playing basketball somewhere every
stinkin’ day and you gotta love her effort. She’s just a good kid.
She’s a great student. When you see her off the floor, she’s
super-polite. She’s just an all around great kid so I am excited for
her to have a really good strong senior year. She’s getting ready to
sign with UIS to play college ball.”
Finally Leever adds, “As long as we can stay healthy and get in
shape I think we’ll be ready to roll. Let’s have some fun.”
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Meet the Toppers -
the 2018 seniors representing their sports ~ Morgan May, Skylar
Hayes, Jonathan Shehorn, Maggie Anderson, Savanah Moore and Abigail
Fitzpatrick.
This year’s cheerleading squad features 14 girls and just one of
those is a senior ~ Maggie Anderson. Fans might recognize Anderson
as a member of the 2018 State Champion Trap Shooting Team. Anderson
was a key reason for bringing home the state title in the team’s
first year of existence at MPHS. For now she’s put aside the gun for
a couple nights a week to cheer for the Hilltoppers. Cheer Coach
Carly Powell had high praise for her lone senior.
“Maggie is our only senior cheerleader and she is a doll,” said
Powell. “She tried out late. Her sophomore year we had a fall tryout
because our numbers were low. She was like, “You know, I’ve never
cheered before. I thought this might be something fun to do.” And
she came out and had the best jumps I’ve ever seen in my life. As a
sophomore she got the rising star award at the athletic banquet that
year and has just grown as a cheerleader since then. And she’s done
really well with the younger girls. We have eleven new ones this
year. She’s had big roles to fill as our only senior guiding the way
and she has stepped up to the plate.”
Good luck to all the 2018-19 Toppers!
2018-19 Mount Pulaski Hilltoppers Boys Basketball
Seniors
Jonathan Shehorn
Juniors
Joey Davis
Zac Hinds
Todd Kelly
Brandon Kretzinger
Dustin Murphy
Sophomores
Grant Davis
Colton Hagan
Matthew Hagenbuch
Josh Lawson
Drew Martin
Emery Matthews
Tanner Pharis
Brayden Williams
Kade Wisely
Freshman
William Keyes
Lucas Kuhlman
Braden Meagher
Lane Murphy
Aiden Schneider
Cullen Tyson
2018-19 Mount Pulaski Lady Hilltoppers Basketball
Seniors
Abigail Fitzpatrick
Skylar Hayes
Morgan May
Savanah Moore
Juniors
Reagan Kirk
Maddie Roberts
Isabella Wade
Kaylee Wilham
Sophomores
Alexis Davis
Katelyn Eskew
Hannah Lowe
Chloe Olson
Freshman
Riley May
Miranda Ingram
Xzandria Turner
Clarissa Turner
2018-19 Mount Pulaski Cheerleaders
Seniors
Maggie Anderson
Juniors
Maddison Abner
Emma Aylesworth
Autumn Benhart
Makayla Stewart
Sophomores
Emma Buenrostro
Lexis Caslin
Anna Schoth
Aletheia Woodford
Freshman
Alanea Cyrulik
Delaney Howard
Chloe Lewis
Karson Mott
Delia Phillips
[Teena Lowery]
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