Kokomo —
Girls athletic programs at Eastern High School have never seen as prosperous times as they currently enjoy.
The basketball program has been a direct benefactor of that trickle-down effect as a result.
Fresh off a 17-5 campaign, the Comets enter the 2012-13 season returning over 80 percent of their scoring from a year ago and hold the No. 7 ranking in Class 2A.
“There’s definitely excitement,” coach Jeremy Dexter said of beginning his fifth season in Greentown. “We have a lot of pieces back and are very excited for what our potential may be this season. So far, the energy in the gym’s been great. The leadership has been very good. We’ve been working on the skills we worked on this summer, just trying to make sure those are honed in and continue to advance. The leadership has been there from Day 1.”
In his stable, Dexter boasts six returning letterwinners who scored roughly 45 of the Comets’ 56 points per game a season ago, as well as several members of the cross country team, which finished in seventh place as a team in the IHSAA State Finals on Oct. 27 in Terre Haute.
Leading the returners is senior guard Brittany Neeley, who needs 56 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career. She averaged 18.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season, and added 98 steals and 93 assists.
Sister Bethany Neeley also returns after nearly averaging a double-double (9.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg) last season. Sophomore post player Taylor Holliday (6.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg) came on strong towards the end of last season, and will look to make a formidable post duo with senior Mercedes Rubow (1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg). Guards Ally Oyler (4.5 ppg) and Dani Comfort round out the returning letterwinners.
“The luxury as far as from a coaching perspective is they’re coming in really knowing what we want to do and what our basic fundamentals are for every situation,” Dexter said of his veterans. “They’ve been through it all with us, and that’s invaluable. They’re able to help bring along the young kids and be mini-coaches on the floor.”
A pair of freshmen guards, Jessie Sprinkle and Emily Richards, will have a chance to make an immediate impact, while sophomore post Jenny Keith and classmate guards Abby Elkins, Kendall Hensley, Danielle Reed, Sarah Summers and Molly Shephard all have a chance to be in the mix at some point.
Dexter pointed to the improved development of his team’s post presence as a major cornerstone this season, an area that hasn’t been a strongsuit in recent memory.
“Offensively we’ve tended to space the floor out a lot,” Dexter said. “Before Taylor Holliday was a freshman we had a team without much height, so we would space it out. Last year, we were able to develop a post presence with Taylor and Mercedes. Taylor really came on towards the last quarter of last season and gained confidence and experience. This year, with our ability with Bethany and Brittany as slashers, scorers and creators, plus the development of their shots, they’ve made themselves difficult to defend. Taylor has been able to expand her game to the perimeter as well, but is skilled inside, so we feel like we can continue to advance our post game with her and Mercedes.”
Sports
Comets’ hopes are high
Dexter’s crew returns a large chunk of its scoring from last season.
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GASKINS: Hibbert’s block was thing of beauty
For the better part of the NBA season, ESPN devoted all kinds of time on SportsCenter episodes to replays of two dunks. Anyone who watches any ESPN at all surely knows the two to which I’m referring: 6-foot-11 DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers posterizing 6-3 Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, and 6-8 LeBron James of the Miami Heat hammering home a dunk over 6-2 Jason Terry of the Boston Celtics.
Day after day, ESPN commentators lavished endless praise, which quickly grew tiresome. The dunks were strong, but Jordan and James were much taller and heavier than Knight and Terry and the dunkers also caught perfect alley-oop passes with the defenders in poor positions to defend. Still, ESPN commentators loved these plays.
I kept wondering if a great defensive play would receive the same kind of love. -
Coons, Walker, Glassburn reach Victory Lane
When the dust settled Sunday evening at the Kokomo Speedway, a pair of drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the past at the local oval found themselves there once again while a talented up-and-comer hit the hallowed ground for the first time.
Jerry Coons Jr. had his way in the sprint car feature and Craig Walker seemed to get faster as the laps wound down to win the Street Stock main event, however Kokomo High School sophomore Kory Glassburn had to scratch and fight before scoring the first feature win of his career in the Thunder Car A-main. -
Field is set for Indianapolis 500
After being bumped from the starting field while sitting on the qualifying line on pole day, Josef Newgarden turned the fastest time on bump day, assuring himself a spot in the Indianapolis 500.
The field of 33 cars will have one final opportunity to practice on Friday before next Sunday’s 97th running of the 500.
One year ago the Sarah Fisher Racing Team withdrew Newgarden’s entry on the first day of qualifying and had to qualify on bump day. This year the team decided not to make another qualifying run and got bumped. -
Athlete of the week
Cole led the small-school Comets to the Kokomo Sectional title, their first title since 1998.
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Kats regain tennis throne
At 10:51 a.m. Saturday morning, the bulk of Kokomo’s girls tennis team sprinted from the viewing hill to the east entrance of the tennis courts to mob No. 1 singles player Morgan Mohr as she came off the court following her 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Eastern’s Courtney Clark.
The No. 3 singles match was still raging, but the team match was already won. The Wildkats had reconquered the throne from two-time defending champion Eastern and were once again champions of the Kokomo Sectional. -
Eastern boys track claims first sectional title since 1998
The boys track and field coach at Eastern High School from 1987 until last season, Paul Nicholson’s parting message to his team was simple: “Don’t deny the gift.”
That motto left such a lasting impression on the Comets’ returning athletes that they had it screen printed on their 2013 season T-shirts.
With Nicholson in attendance to celebrate with them, new coach Austin Roark and the Comets outlasted host Kokomo to win their first sectional title since 1998 Thursday night, topping the Wildkats by 3.5 points, 124.5-121.
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Eastern, Kokomo favored in boys track sectional
Some of the names and faces have changed, but the plot remains much the same.
The Kokomo boys track and field sectional, much like last year, will likely be a two-horse race between the host and three-time defending champion Wildkats and Eastern, a team looking to break through and win its first sectional title since 1998. -
Cole to jump at Miami University
Eastern athlete Grant Cole has only been a long jumper for two seasons, but being turned on to the event late in his career has landed him a scholarship to Miami University.
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Comets roar to sectional title
As the old adage goes, it’s harder stay on top than it is to reach the top.
Eastern’s girls track and field team entered the 2012 postseason hoping to put in a strong enough effort to claim the program’s first sectional title.
Having done so, the Comets entered Tuesday’s postseason opener — the Madison-Grant Sectional — with a much larger bull’s-eye on their backs than in previous years.
Eastern proved up to the challenge, scoring a landslide victory to repeat as sectional champions with 125 points. -
Dexter leaving Eastern
Eastern girls basketball coach Jeremy Dexter has stepped down from the Comet program after accepting the AD job at Churubusco last week. Churubusco is in Whitley County about 15 minutes west of Fort Wayne.
Dexter led the Comets to a Class 2A state runner-up finish this past season. - More Sports Headlines
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