Fall Sports Previews: North Putnam girls’ soccer eager for freshmen to help build up squad; Cougar boys look to defend cross country title

Friday, August 12, 2022

Holding the boys’ Putnam County title, North Putnam will be looking to hang on to the crown for a second-straight year.

The Cougars, under the helm of Kevin Lutes again after spending the last two years as an assistant coach, will also look for better finishes at some of the bigger meets of the year.

Seniors Corie Stancombe and Brayden Monett and sophomores Jeremiah Miles and Thomas Nelson return with newcomers Elijah Hatless, Owen O’Hair and Kaleb Walton joining the squad.

“On the boys’ side, we can have a really good season if everyone stays healthy and doesn’t overtrain,” Lutes noted. “We have a couple of guys that want to race for bragging rights and do more than we want them to, but as long as we keep them listening to the coaching, we should be in a pretty good position to do well in terms of championships.

“Corie and Brayden have been running track for us pretty consistently and Jeremiah, as a freshman last year, had a strong cross country season, making it to regionals, so we have a strong three pack at the top. Our other freshmen haven’t been as strong as the upperclassmen but have been consistent in terms of coming out all summer and are starting to see the importance of consistent running in middle school as they step up into high school.”

The Cougar girls return two runners in senior Alaina Chew and junior Maddie Trent while adding sophomore Jacy Huffman and newcomers Brooke Hensley and Erica Zatorski into the fold.

“The girls will be good with several runners having strong track seasons,” Lutes said. “Jacy didn’t run cross country last season but is doing a double sport with soccer this fall, so she won’t be at the first couple of meets but will be ready after that after having a strong track season, so we’re looking forward to that.

“We have two freshmen in Erica and Brooke, the latter who had a strong middle school track season and should be one of our top three runners.”

Lutes said the teams had different aims at the start of the season but looked for improvement from both sides as the year went on.

“Obviously on the boys’ side we want to hold on to the county championship and progress a little better in the WIC,” Lutes said. “We always seem to have one or two strong runners at the conference but the rest drift back from that; a top four or five finish in the conference would be great.

“My personal hope is we can put together an outside chance of advancing to the regional as a team. On the girls’ side, a county title would be great but I really want to see them progress as runners and try to get anyone to qualify for the regional.

“We’re not quite strong enough to get out as a team but all it takes is for a few runners to not have their best race of the year late to change things on the girls’ side.”

Girls’ Soccer

After a .500 start to the 2021 season, North Putnam fell into a bit of a rut until claiming a win in the Southmont girls’ soccer sectional and was a 1-0 loss to Covington away from being in the sectional final.

While graduation created some hard to fill gaps, the Cougars will utilize a large freshman corps to build off of last year’s advances.

North Putnam head coach Allison Everman was pleased with not only the numbers but the consistency by which the team had been available to get to work to start the year.

“Practices are going very well and the attendance has been the best I’ve had in some time despite the State Fair,” Everman said. “We’re excited about that and the fact we have 22 girls out, which is the most we’ve had out since I’ve been coaching at North Putnam.

“The girls are working hard, jumping right in and moving pretty consistently on the field. They’re picking up their positions, placing, spacing and communication really strongly.”

The Cougars have three seniors in Emma Williams, Keaton Burress and Opry Curran, along with three juniors in Layla Hassar, Graci Hollis and Megan Ramirez.

Sophomores include Grace Myers, Lexi Mercurio, Jacy Huffman, Adelia Thomas and Hailey Dorsett with the large freshman contingent including Avery Ramsey, Riley Huffman, Allison Skirvin, Kaylyn Scott, Kassidy Hackleman, Sydney Williams, Baylee Turner, Haelynn Everman, Kylie Jacobs and Josie Curran.

While plenty of new faces were on the pitch, Everman said having Emma Williams returning in goal was important for her leadership at the back.

“Emma is doing really well,” Everman said about the senior goalkeeper. “We only have one new player in the back and the rest are all the same she’s used to, so the transition to work in a new player has been easier.

“There are already good comms between Emma and the defense and we’re pleasantly surprised with the way the defense looks as everyone is connecting in the back.”

An experienced defensive line also helped in allowing the offense to get settled early in the season according to Everman.

“Layla is in her third year in defense and has both tremendous speed and a good defensive presence,” Everman said. “Keaton is a fourth-year player, as is Opry, who is a pretty consistent individual worker and worked hard coming into her senior year to find a starting role. Riley is our newcomer in the defense as a freshman.”

Two of the major roles left open from graduation were the spots that Marin Davies and Annabelle Gross left behind though Everman noted both roles were filled by capable players.

“Graci is a defensive midfielder in her third year and has progressively gotten more consistent with her play,” Everman said. “We’re really excited to see her in the role, and she is very open to things, asking questions, looking to understand her placement. She has played in the position before but not full time like now.

“We have a newcomer in Kassidy that will be in the more offensive role replacing Annabelle. She’s got the speed and the footwork, similar to Annabelle, but as a freshman has a lot build off of. She is consistent in practices and we’re excited to see her in the role and meshing with the team as a whole.”

The attacking band will be on the younger side but Everman said the players were already meshing very well.

“Lexi was on the outside as a freshman and throughout the year grew into the role as the season went on,” Everman said. “She got stronger at the position and this year has the stamina and speed to push up more often where she needs to be while improving her crossing while still be a good support for the defense.

“Kylie, a freshman, has a fire out there, moving up and down the field with a level of speed we haven’t seen in a while. Addison and Jacy return up front and between them and Kassidy, all three of those girls do wonderful in communicating, making runs, give-and-go’s and do well shifting around naturally.

“We noticed this week more so than before how good the flow between the three of them is up top,” Everman added.

Despite nearly half the squad being freshmen, Everman said the players had plenty of skill but needed game time to ensure they were up to speed for the varsity level.

“We have a lot of new girls coming in with a lot of potential to replace the seniors we lost,” Everman said. “Allison has shown strong presence in the outside midfield area while Bailey and Sydney have shown a lot of potential on the defensive line.

“We have good individuals that can be utilized in different areas like Haelynn. Hailey and Kaylyn among our other newcomers. We’re looking to get in some JV games, which will help with such a young team to get in playing time to help build on the skills they have.”

A reconfigured sectional, one that sees Covington and Monrovia out with Greencastle and Bethesda Christian moving in, might scare off some teams, but Everman said the amount of youth in the squad meant the group was in a better spot than others to jump into the postseason once the time came to do so.

“We’re excited because of the amount of younger players we have as going into sectional play with a younger group means there’s both excitement and nerves that come with it and brings the seniors and juniors into mentor roles they excel at,” Everman said. “We’re going into a sectional with two new teams and it will be nice because there’s no preconceived notions or decision making.

“This team is only going to continue to grow together, making communicating and team play even stronger than we’ve had in the past.”

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