High School sports teams gear up for 2024 fall season

Members of the Lovell High School golf team have been swinging the clubs since Monday of last week, and they even played a tournament in Powell, but the rest of the fall sports teams in North Big Horn County started practice Monday, Aug. 19, in preparation for the season ahead.

Lovell cross country coach Caleb Sanders said he is working with 13 runners as practice opens, with two more expected on the boys team. Running currently are five girls and eight boys.

The Lovell team is moving up to Class 3A this year, which will present a challenge, Sanders said.

There are no seniors running on the girls squad so far but two juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen. Returning to the team after running at the state cross country meet in Cheyenne last season are junior Atlee Sanders and sophomore Candace Walker.

The Lovell boys team has two seniors, four juniors, one sophomore and one freshman running so far. Senior leadership will come from state competitor Stetson Asay and veteran Thane Zollman, with Dino DeLaCruz perhaps joining the team once school starts. Juniors who ran at State a year ago include David Durfee and Jay Mayes, and top finisher Jacob Thomas, also a junior, will join the team after golf season. Other juniors running are Jaxen Clark and Damian Wagner, who wasn’t on the team a year ago but ran track in the spring.

Working with Sanders again this fall is longtime assistant coach Bret George.

“We’re finding ourselves,” is how Sander described early practices. “I know the kids have individual goals, and we go over that with them. Moving up to 3A, we’ll see where we fit. This is the third time we’ve moved to 3A since I’ve been coaching. We’ve been bouncing around.”

Rocky Mountain head coach Tim Jones said he didn’t have a full roster as practice began Monday, and he said more runners are expected to come out once school starts.

Both Lovell and Rocky Mountain will open the 2024 season at the Billings Invitational next Friday, Aug. 30, at Amend Park. Running begins at noon with the junior varsity boys race, with the JV girls at 12:25 p.m., varsity boys at 12:30 and varsity girls at 1:25.

Volleyball

Rocky Mountain head coach Stephanie Ames has 17 girls out for the team this fall, including seven returning varsity players, five starters and three all-conference players in junior Lauren Bassett and seniors Brittly Boettcher and Shelby Wambeke. The other two returning starters, she said, are juniors Keylee Christiansen and libero Layla Gardner.

“We should see good leadership out of those ladies,” Ames said. “This will be both Brittly and Shelby’s third year as varsity starters and Lauren’s second. We had a few girls play club volleyball this summer, in addition to several who went to skills camps and elite camps, so we did some off-season work.

“This year our mantra is ‘Find Fuel in an Empty Tank.’ That means we know we need to dig deep, find that fire when it feels like it’s not there and light it up.”

Ames noted that both assistant coaches Calli Leonhardt and Lauren Robertson return this year, adding, “I think we make a really great team. 

“We are really looking forward to the year and can’t wait to get on the court,” Ames concluded.

The Lady Grizzlies will host the Big Horn Basin Invitational in Cowley on August 30-31.

New Lovell head volleyball coach Tera Kostelecky is proud of her players’ effort through the first official practices of the season.

“We are already seeing kids grow,” she said. “We are looking forward and working with the kids on the court and helping them develop as young women beyond the court.”

There are 31 girls vying for spots in the program with six seniors, eight juniors, nine sophomores and eight freshmen on the roster.

The six seniors include Raegan May, Kennadee Owens, Chaylee Betancourt, Libby Mickelson, Kenadee Rael and Breeah Jones, all of whom have significant varsity experience to help lead the Lady Bulldogs, while eager younger players are looking to step up.

The team’s theme for the year is “Unity” -- focusing on working together to gain confidence and feel more like one team.

“We’re working on unity and realizing that every role on the team is important,” Kostelecky said. “Not one role is above any other role.”

She noted that the team has been working extremely hard in practice and that the key is peaking at just the right time.

“We have had a great start on the path with a quest to play on the state floor,” she added.

Assisting Kostelecky this season will be Natalie Collins and Angie Hitz, and she feels both have been great additions to the coaching staff and bring knowledge and commitment to the program.

The Lady Bulldogs junior varsity and varsity teams will begin play August 30-31 in Lander, and the freshman squad will play in Powell on August 31.

Football

Lovell head football coach Nicc Crosby has 44 players out for the team this fall, represented by four balanced classes: 10 seniors, 12 juniors, 12 sophomores and 10 freshmen.

Some of the top returning players with experience are senior quarterback Davin Crosby, who also plays linebacker and defensive back, senior middle linebacker, running back and tight end Braxton Felkins and four junior linemen with varsity experience in Kalell Gruell, Brody Muller, Halen Strom and Kyle Wilson.

Crosby said the team also has experienced receivers and defensive secondary players in defensive backs Matthew Newman and Karson Mollett and receivers Newman and Owen Walker. Senior Jasper Hatch returns at linebacker, as well.

“I’m pretty excited,” Crosby said. “In addition to the freshmen we have some new faces coming out that haven’t played for a year or two.”

He said practice has gone “exceptionally well” so far, noting, “We have a really good group of kids who work well together and push each other. They have great attitudes and great work ethic and are picking things up quickly.”

Crosby will call the plays again as offensive coordinator and coaches the quarterbacks and defensive backs. AJ Montanez is the defensive coordinator and offensive and defensive line coach. Michael Asay is the junior varsity defensive coordinator and coaches the eight ends, receivers and linebackers, while Bob Weber returns to the staff as JV offensive coordinator while coaching the running backs and linebackers.

Volunteer coaches are Greg Rael, special teams coordinator, receivers and defensive backs; and Bill Sheckler, Josh Gruell and Erik Ferbrache, offensive and defensive lines.

The Bulldogs will open the season at home on August 31 for a week zero practice game against Buffalo at noon. They host
Big Horn for the regular
season opener on Friday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m.

Second-year Rocky Mountain head coach Jessee Wilson has 32 players out for the team this fall in the form of four seniors, seven juniors, seven sophomores and 14 freshmen, with perhaps two more players out once school starts.

Four returning seniors will lead the way in lineman Matthew Crosby, quarterback Lafe Files, safety and running back/slot Hudson May and lineman Hayden Wambeke, Wilson said, adding that the team has a strong group of juniors and a large freshman class.

Wilson said the team motto this year is “The Standard,” noting, “Last year we set the standard, and now we’re looking to re-set it, raise the bar and establish what I call the gold standard.”

Wilson will be the offensive coordinator and line coach, while Justin Moss coordinates the defense and coaches linebackers and running backs. Rod Winland will be the “eye in the sky” during games, working from the press box, and will coach the quarterbacks and defensive backs. Josh Sponsel coaches the receivers and defensive backs.

The Grizz will see their first action at a jamboree in Greybull August 31 at 10 a.m. and will open the season on Friday, Sept. 6, hosting Lusk at 1 p.m.