Timberland High School Spring Sports Preview

The spring sports season is about to begin. The following teams will gather for their first practices this week: baseball, girls soccer, boys and girls track and field, boys tennis, and boys golf.

Baseball

Enrollment changes at Timberland caused the school to move from the smaller Gateway Athletic Conference North, to the larger GAC South. After winning the GAC North last season, the Wolves will begin a campaign to establish themselves in the GAC South this year.

A district final loss to Troy capped off a successful 2010 season for the Timberland baseball team. Coach Frank Masters returns to lead the team, and his son, shortstop , is considered one of the team’s standouts. David Masters recently signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Arkansas.

Clay Miller, leadoff hitter and center fielder for the Wolves, will return for his fourth year on the varsity squad.

Girls Soccer

Timberland has fielded a girl’s soccer team for the past 10 years with success, including two final four appearances at state. The program, however, has had four coaches in the last four years. While two of the coaching moves have been due to administrative promotions within the district, the impact of the turnover has been one of obvious instability.

New coach Heidi Kleekamp served as an assistant coach on the boys varsity soccer squad last year. This year, she will look to improve on the 2010 season, in which the team posted just six wins, as well as building a stable foundation for the program.

“I think this year, with Coach Kleekamp, we will see the girl’s soccer program begin to rebuild, and that should provide strength, both now and later on,” said athletic director Todd Hayes.

Track and Field

Last season, the boys won the conference title, and in 2009 the girls won the conference and district titles, so the appetite for success is well established within the Timberland track and field program.

Both the boys and girl’s teams expect to see 90 or more competitors involved this season. Boys coach, Cary Eldredge, has the good fortune of returning a state medalist this season in the form of 100-meter dash competitor junior Mitchell Greer.

The boys also count senior Ellis Maise as a strong returning member of the team. Maise qualified for the state championships last season in the 100-meter dash, but failed to medal.

On the girls' side, coach Ami Schulte expects a strong season from discus and shot put competitor Alyshia McRoberts. The junior finished in first place in shotput competition at the GAC North Conference finals last year. Senior Brittney Gerber also returns for the Wolves. Gerber was a state qualifier in the pole vault competition last season.

Boys Golf

Nearly all of the team will return for coach Kyle LindQuist. Sophomore Jackson Lane qualified for state as a freshman last season, and the team expects to see another strong season from him. LindQuist also noted junior Tyler Shumaker, and sophomores Ryan Keller and John Roberson, as players to watch for the Wolves in 2011.

“Our first tournament of the year will be a new one for us, the Bogey Hills Invitational, and there will be some tough teams for us  to face, so we’ll have a challenge right away,” Lindquist said.

Boys Tennis 

Alan Wilmes takes over as the coach of the boys tennis team this season. Although the program saw some key losses to graduation last season, it is expected to be competitive in 2011.