Alumni steal the spotlight at Meet the Toppers

[November 16, 2022] The 2022-2023 basketball season is upon us and Mount Pulaski High School hosted a Meet the Toppers night on Saturday, November 12, 2022.

In addition to the participation of the current high school athletes, this year’s event added something special, an alumni basketball game. Judging by the enthusiasm of the crowd and the smiling faces of the participants, the alumni game was a huge success. Adding to the entertainment was an alumni band.

The Toppers Cheerleading squad also welcomed back some former cheerleaders to make the evening complete.

The night began with Gale Clark serving as the announcer. He took care of the duties introducing the current teams and announcing the JV and Varsity boys basketball games.

Both the JV and Varsity teams scrimmaged with a running clock. The girls basketball team was introduced but did not scrimmage.

While there is always excitement surrounding the new season, there definitely was an extra buzz throughout the crowd as the alumni basketball players emerged from shooting hoops in the new multi-purpose gymnasium and entered the Ed Butkovich Gymnasium. Many of these guys had not seen the new addition to the school beforehand and they really seemed to be impressed with the changes. And some of them said it was just fun to shoot around and catch up with each other before the alumni game.
 

An added bonus to the nostalgia was Greg Taylor taking over the microphone, introducing the players and announcing the game. Taylor and his family moved away from the area just a few years ago, but he and his wife Marla returned on Saturday to watch son Peyton suit up as an alum.

Besides the team in white t-shirts defeating the team in black t-shirts by a final score of 46-33 there were some other notable moments worth recounting. First of all, the oldest guy on the court, Kevin Holmes, hailed from the Class of 1982. Holmes can still hit nothing but the net from long range, as he drained three 3s on the night. Holmes played during the era where 3s did not exist, by the way. But it is apparent he has never given up his love for the game of basketball. Holmes was on the winning white team that also consisted of some siblings. The Deibert boys and the Huff boys accounted for seven of the team members here. God bless their moms. Ryan Deibert, who has been out of high school for over 20 years and is the current coach of the MPHS Toppers, showed his players he can still glide up and down the court effortlessly, play good defense and shoot lights out when needed. His brothers, Todd, Seth and Brad were a good supporting cast, too. Brandon Huff, who was given a round of applause for his military service to our country after the game, led the attack by the Huff boys.

Greg Taylor announced Brandon’s name multiple times as the 2016 MPHS graduate sank basket after basket, helping his team to the win. Local insurance and real estate agent Andy Meister, a busy father of four from the Class of 2006, also moved up and down the court with ease and he may have contributed a basket or two.

Lincoln Police Officer Brian Clements moved bodies in and out of the lane for the white team. Clements has to be every bit as strong as his late grandfather Larry was back in the day and probably could move his dad, the sharp-shooting Jeff Clements, around a bit. Rounding out the white team were guys with family names very familiar to the area - Matt Ohler, Tim Romer and Justin Anderson.

The team wearing the black t-shirts was young and scrappy, with a few veterans on the squad, but they couldn’t overtake the white team. Matt Amidon from the Class of 2015 scored the first basket for his team but they seemed to trail from the start. Still the young guys played their hearts out. Beau Collier still has moves in the lane for a 25 year old.

Will Stewart and Lukas Aylesworth, each from the Class of 2016, proved valuable on offense and defense. Stewart sank some shots and Aylesworth ended up on the floor in a battle for the basketball, just like old times. Trevor Hayes isn’t too removed from his high school days and he showed he can still get up and down the court and have fun. Meanwhile, Jonathan Shehorn, a 2019 MPHS graduate who tore his ACL during his high school basketball career, still has a love for the game and appears to be in the best shape of his life.

The black shirts also featured brothers Jeremy and Ryan Davis, who represented the 90s. Jeff Emrick, who seemed to grow even more beyond high school, represented the Class of 1990 and made a number of baskets that kept his team alive. Ryan Gibbs was a late add-on to the roster, but he’s got a son who is a current Topper so maybe he’ll get in some practice with him and make another showing. Gibbs was a baller in high school.

Two more remaining names on the roster were fan favorites, and the crowd really wanted something out of each of them. Peyton Taylor, a force to be reckoned with from that 2018 team, held his own in the middle, no one is going to challenge a tree in the lane, but sadly he did not attempt a dunk and the young fans were a bit disappointed. Next time, Peyton, no pressure. Fans were also hopeful that their local favorite Resource Officer, Josh Pharis, would make a basket, but after many attempts he didn’t get in the scoring column. Better luck next year for this graduate from the Class of 2000.

The best news of the evening was NO ONE GOT HURT. There were several jokes featuring words like Bio-Freeze and Ben-Gay and pulling a hammy, but no injuries were reported and the rumor is pretty strong that this alumni competition might be a yearly event. Here’s hoping it truly happens. Smiles filled the gym and that alone served as a reminder why it’s really cool to grow up in a small community.

The teams were coached by Jim Jumper, Jeff Clements and Tanker Wade.

Here is a list of the athletes and band members introduced at Meet the Toppers:

2022-2023 MPHS Cheerleaders

Mallory Shehorn
Jayda Allspach
Mikayla Harris
Hannah Stoll
Jayden Cherry
Cori Clark
Chasey Stewart
Emmalee Kelly
Sophia Buenrostro
Bella Nichols
Rhia Solomon
Addison Williamson

Alumni Cheerleaders:

Jade Stewart
Mikayla Stewart
Lexis Caslin
Alanea Cyrulik

2022-2023 MPHS Lady Toppers Basketball

Alyson Murphy
Elyana Marten
Abby Jones
Cecilia Davis
Summer Eskew
Grace Davis
Ella Bobell
Kenzi Chandler
Chloe Stone
Alexis Wade
Je’Na Rentmeister
Hailee Daigh

Head Coach Ryan McVickers
Assistant Coach Isabella Wade

2022-2023 MPHS Hilltoppers Basketball

Gavin Smith
Evan Cooper
Jackson Fricke
Clay Aylesworth
Ethan Payne
Nolan Deibert
Hunter Kretzinger
Daniel McCormick
Lamarion Solomon
Kolin Gibbs
Franklin Wade
Eric Cooper
Beau Tschantz
Aaron Kuznik
Tucker Fitzpatrick
Clay Leonard
Deegan Tschantz
 

Manager Danny Roberts
Head Coach Ryan Deibert
Assistants: Jeff Clements, Ryan Davis and Tanker Wade

2022 Alumni Game participants:

White t-shirt team

Kevin Holmes ‘82
Ryan Deibert ’99
Seth Deibert ’09
Todd Deibert ’02
Brad Deibert ‘06
Brian Clements ’04
Brandon Huff ’16
Brett Huff ’16
Seth Huff ’18
Tim Romer ’88
Andy Meister ’06
Matt Ohler ’92
Justin Anderson ’03

Black t-shirt team

Beau Collier ’15
Matt Amidon ’15
Lukas Aylesworth ’16
Will Stewart ‘16
Peyton Taylor ’18
Trevor Hayes ’18
Jonathan Shehorn ’19
Ryan Davis ’91
Jeremy Davis ’98
Jeff Emrick ’90
Josh Pharis ’00
Ryan Gibbs ’09

Missing from the lineup:

Dalton Litterly ’16

Alumni Band MPHS graduates

Harry Hild ’69
Linda Dirks ‘69
Pete Molt ’73
Tom Romer ’85
Kelly Aylesworth ’86
Steve Emrick ’95

Other musicians joining the band:

Cheryl Poffenbarger
Harold Drake
Becky Kunken
Bruce Dubray
John Hebenstreit

[Teena Lowery]