May 2007 - Special Senior Issue

May 18, 2007
Coach aims for
postseason
successes
By Ashley Sermak
The Comet baseball team has started
performing well at just the right time. With
Regionals nearing the Comets are finally
reaching their goals.
“Being over .500 is always a goal,” said
senior Bryce Leeman.
Not only is the team 11-10, but they
also earned Coach Bob Sermak his 300 th victory
after beating Westville 12-4 on May 3.
“I consider it to be a great honor to be
on the team that got coach his 300 th win,”
said Leeman.
Sermak has been coaching at OHS for
25 years. He has won four Regionals, one
Sectional, and coached one team to the final
four.
“I think the key to his success is discipline.
The kids know when they play for him
what the expectations are,” said former player
and Athletic Director Tim Lee. “His players
learn the behavior expected of them. They
learn how to work hard, setting difficult goals
and working hard to achieve them.”
25
Sermak hits 300
Coach Bob Sermak, far right, and the baseball team celebrate after Sermak’s 300th
baseball victory. Sermak starting coaching the Comets in the 1983 season. (Photo courtesy
of Staci Klayer)
Sermak’s players were excited to see
their coach reach this goal.
“He is a hard coach, but he’s disciplined,”
said Leeman. “He teaches you to respect
the game of baseball.”
Another goal of the Comets is to win
their Regional. The Comets are seeded 11 out
of 23 teams in their Sectional. They will play
the East Central Panthers in their first game
of the Regional, which will be held in Gifford
on Thursday, May 17.
“It feels good to win compared to the
beginning of the year when we struggled,”
said Leeman. “We are hitting better now, and
that gives us confidence going into
Regionals.”
Spring sports winding down their seasons
Softball
Girls Track
Boys Track
The Oakwood Times
Comettes
chosen for
07-08
By Carly Wilson
The 2007-2008 Comettes have
been named and are hoping to have another
successful season.
Next year’s squad will consist of
five girls. These girls will be senior Minda
Pichon, junior Marissa Pichon, sophomore
Victoria Carrington, and freshmen
Katelyn Tellier and Brittany Pascual.
“All of the girls on the squad are
dedicated and we’re all very excited for
this season. I think we’re going to have
a lot of fun,” said Minda Pichon.
The squad will attend the Universal
Dance Association camp at Eastern
Illinois University in June. They will practice
four to five times a week during the
summer to prepare for their upcoming
season.
They will also do a variety of
fundraisers to help offset some of the
expenses throughout the year.
Comette coach Paige Harrison will
return for a second year as the sponsor.
She hopes to return the squad to the
size that it used to be, as last year’s squad
consisted of only three girls.
By Brooke Eickhoff
Softball has had a disappointing year,
but hopes that their hard work pays off in
future years.
“This year has given a lot of our
younger players a lot of playing time and experience
including both our pitchers,” said
softball coach Rick Bough. “Nine out of the
10 that have played the majority of the time
are coming back next year.”
With only a couple of wins under their
belts, the girls are very hopeful that things
can only improve for next year’s season.
“We hope to take a step toward being
.500 or better next year,” said Bough. “And
this is a very reasonable goal.”
Sam Baer, Minda Pichon, and Amanda
Wahlfeldt are three returning junior starters.
Although the record doesn’t exactly
show the improvements the team is making,
the hitting is actually better then last year
across the board.
“We are still learning what it takes to
win at this level,” said Bough.
By Jessica Burress
Now that the girls track season is coming
to an end, the team can look back at everything
that they have accomplished.
On May 11 the girls track team went to
Catlin to compete in the Sectional.
“Each individual has improved into a
better runner and has had a confidence
boost,” said Anderson.
Even though the season isn’t over, the
team has still had some great accomplishments.
Junior Stephanie Denius has broken
records this season including records she set
for herself in previous years.
She broke her own school records in
the 300m low hurdles in a time of 48.8 sec. and
the triple jump record with 35’9.” She also set
the Vermilion Valley Conference and Vermilion
County meet records in the same events.
She also is close to setting the school’s 100m
record.
Sophomore Kayla Corzine has also
done well this season and hopes to go to
State for shot put.
By Joe Lewis
As the year wraps up, the OHS boys
track team can look back on an eventful and
enjoyable season.
“We did pretty well this season, the
numbers could’ve been better but it still went
well,” said head coach Gary Denhart.
With only 18 members, the team won
third place in the County track meet.
“It was great to have assistant coach
Penrod,” said Denhart.
This year was assistant coach Wyatt
Penrod’s first year with the team. Penrod usually
worked with the sprinters and distance
runners, allowing Denhart to work with field
events which had been neglected in previous
years.
Already Denhart is looking forward to
next year.
“This year was fun, I’m looking forward
for next year, I just hope we get a few more
members next year, there is a lot of upperclassman
with talent that could help the
team,” said Denhart.
From left, Victoria Carrington,
Marissa Pichon, Katelyn Tellier and
Brittany Pascual practice in
preparation for Comette tryouts.
Those four and Minda Pichon will
make up next year’s Comette squad.
(Photo byKimber Hawkins)