Welcome to Kenmare

Feature Stories (Vol. 109 No. 47--11/21/2007)

Honkers are State Champs

By Caroline Downs

For the Kenmare Honkers, Saturday night’s championship win means "Mission accomplished" after finishing second to Hillsboro last year.

For head coach Tim Wallstrum, the victory means his first state title in 21 years of coaching, with six trips to the Class B tournament and four times courtside in the final match.

For Class B schools, it’s the first time the championship trophy has gone to a team on the western side of the state since Beulah’s victory in 1996.

For some of the Honkers’ fathers, it’s the only time they’ve worn a wig--and a glittering gold one at that.

However you look at it, the KHS girls volleyball team claimed the 2007 Class B state title in Jamestown with poise, confidence, grace and power--lots of power.

Kenmare faced Lisbon, champions of Region 1, for the title match Saturday, and swept the Broncos 3-0. Individual game scores were close, however, at 25-21, 25-23 and 25-19. Kenmare trailed at some point in each game, and by as much as six points in Game 2, as the Broncos demonstrated their claim on the trophy.

"We stress winning that first game," explained Coach Wallstrum. "It seems like that has always been our strong point. Then, in that second game we came from behind against a good team. It takes the wind out of their sails."

The Honkers had not played the Broncos during the year, but did see them in action at the Des Lacs-Burlington tournament back in early October. "They gave us very good competition," said senior hitter Katelynn Gregoire, citing the Lisbon middle hitter and libero player as two threats.

"We just had to cover all the tips," Gregoire said. "And we did improve on our defense. We were picking up a lot of balls. It was great to see them playing hard in the back row!"

That "back row" included Kelsey Miller with 13 digs, Stephanie Barnhart 8, Macie Harris 6 and Keri Nelson 6.

Kenmare showed a balanced offense, with Barnhart stuffing 11 kills, Nelson 10, Kelsey Miller 6 and Katie King 5.

Kendra Miller played to the hitters’ power with 30 assists in the match. She also passed the 2,000-career assist mark during her state tournament performance.

Aces earned a role in the tournament outcome, with Katie King scoring 4 points from the serving line and Nelson 2.

At the net, Nelson put up 1 block.

On the other side of the net, Lisbon’s offense was led by Veronica Munkeby with 12 kills, followed by Kali Olson with 7, Katherine Anderson 6, and Taryn Wagner 5. Munkeby also had 2 blocks.

Setter Kayla Lemieux put up 28 assists, while Anderson and Ashley Wimer each served 2 aces.

The Broncos’ defense reflected the relentless nature of the Honkers’ offense, as Wimer came up with 26 digs, Anderson 16 and Lemieux 12.

In the end, though, Lisbon couldn’t overcome Kenmare’s skill and desire, and the Broncos stood on the sidelines as the Honkers raised the trophy.

In other tournament action, Langdon claimed third place with a 3-0 sweep of Dickinson Trinity, Thompson finished fifth by defeating Center-Stanton 3-1, and LaMoure earned seventh place in a 3-1 victory over Ray.

Kelsey Miller, Nelson and Barnhart were named to the All-Tournament team for the Honkers. They were joined by Ashley Wimer, Kayla Lemieux and Veronica Munkeby of Lisbon, Jenna Bubel of Center-Stanton, Jada Meiklejohn of LaMoure, Erin Barta of Langdon, Shannon Ernst of Dickinson Trinity and A.J. Liesener of Ray.

Nelson was named to the 2007 All-State Team for Kenmare, along with Janae Klindt of Langdon, Brittany Wirth of North Star, Meiklejohn of LaMoure, Britany Reineke of Thompson, Jenny Heggen of Park River-Fordville-Lankin, Timmi Lueck of Enderlin, Kristen Killoran of Maple Valley, Samantha Schmit of Fairmount-Campbell-Tintah, Tia Schuster of Our Redeemer’s Christian School, Liesener of Ray, Maribeth Geiszler of Bottineau, Katie Zent of Richardton-Taylor, Abbey Aide of Bottineau, Nikita Haugenoe of Divide County and Bubel of Center-Stanton.

Ray’s coach Michelle Dolan was named Coach of the Year, while Katie Zent of Richardton-Taylor was honored as Outstanding Senior Athlete.

Fans and players
share the moment
A couple of hundred fans celebrated with the Honkers when they returned to town Sunday afternoon. "I can speak for everybody when I say congratulations, girls, and welcome home, state champions!" said Arnold Jordan, KHS principal and activities director.

Coach Wallstrum accepted the microphone. "I think we accomplished a heck of a deal," he said. "I told them, ‘There’s nobody that deserves this more than you,’ and I still believe that!"

As Wallstrum’s voice choked with emotion, parents and other fans shouted, "So do we!" from the stands.

After the cheering and applause subsided, Wallstrum continued by describing a lesson taken from the Honkers’ strongest District 12 rival, Our Redeemer’s Christian School. "Matching up player for player, they can’t beat us," he said. "But the one thing Our Redeemer’s has is huge heart. I told the girls we needed to match that heart, and by gosh, we did. These are not just great volleyball players, but great people."

Players shared their favorite moments of the state tournament, with Lexi Colby noting the way the fathers painted their faces to show their spirit and Chelsey Zietz describing the way her teammates’ faces looked after the final victory.

Barnhart had her own story to tell. "My favorite thing of the whole season was in the huddle before the championship match," she said. "I just sat back and looked at the crowd--no offense, Mr. Wallstrum, but sometimes I don’t listen to you then--and I saw a whole bunch of maroon and gold and just heard a whole bunch of noise!"

Wallstrum admitted his favorite memory didn’t take place on the court at all. It was when the players met at the motel to write down, then read aloud, each other’s strengths.

Assistant coach Faye Alexander had her own take on the tournament. "The best part was that the girls were awesome. I didn’t have to yell or scream or chase anyone down in the motel rooms," she said, then shrugged and grinned. "Oh, and winning the state championship!"

Junior high coach Ken Busch also assisted the varsity squad during the tournament. "Thank you for making me feel like a part of the team," he said, adding he had coached most of the players during their first attempts at volleyball. "It’s great to spend my time with my ‘little’ Honkers!"

The crowd was treated to highlights of the Honkers’ 2007 tournament appearance as photographed by Julie Burkhart, who then arranged dozens of pictures and music in a PowerPoint slide show. As photos of the Honkers posing with the first place trophy lit up the gym, fans sang along with a recording of "We Are the Champions," then rose to their feet in an ovation for the team.

Senior captain Kelsey Miller later recognized the importance of the Honkers’ fans to the team’s success. "They were amazing," she said. "I’d like to thank [them]. They showed as much spirit as they could. That’s why we got so excited all the time. It was their cheering!"

Gregoire agreed. "They were there the whole way," she said.

Kenmare sweeps Langdon
In the first semi-finals match on Friday, Kenmare topped Langdon 3-0, avenging an earlier loss in the Des Lacs-Burlington tournament.

The Honkers posted game scores of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-23.

Offensively, Nelson led all players in kills with 17. Barnhart added 9, Kelsey Miller 6, Dayna Froseth 4 and King 4.

At the net, Kelsey Miller had 1 block.

Kendra Miller set up her teammates with 34 assists in the match.

Barnhart and Kelsey Miller served 2 aces apiece.

On defense, Froseth led all players with 24 digs. Kelsey Miller followed with 16, Barnhart 11 and Nelson 10.

In the other semi-finals contest, Lisbon battled Dickinson Trinity to a 3-1 victory.

In the consolation semi-finals, Thompson topped Ray 3-1 and Center-Stanton routed LaMoure 3-2.

Honkers top Center-Stanton in opening round
Kenmare began its march to the finals match with a 3-1 victory over Center-Stanton during Thursday’s opening round play. Game scores for the Honkers were 25-15, 25-17, 21-25 and 25-20.

Highlights from the match include Nelson with 20 kills, followed by Barnhart 18, King 7, Kelsey Miller 6, Kendra Miller 6, Gregoire 3 and Froseth 2.

Kendra Miller directed the offense with 54 assists.

From the serving line, Gregoire fired 3 aces, Barnhart 2, Kendra Miller 1 and Kelsey Miller 1.

Barnhart led all players in digs with 20, while Froseth came up with 18, Kelsey Miller 15, Nelson 12, Gregoire 5 and Kendra Miller 3.

At the net, Gregoire posted 3 blocks, while Nelson had 2 and Barnhart 1.

The Wildcats proved to be a tougher opponent than the Honkers expected. "I looked at their record and they hadn’t lost a match in 20 matches," said Wallstrum. "We had to play hard!"

Other first round results included Langdon beating LaMoure 3-1, Dickinson Trinity topping Ray 3-0, and Lisbon sweeping Thompson 3-0.

Final words from
Coach Wallstrum
For Coach Wallstrum, earning that elusive state championship and saying good-bye to his two senior players resulted in mixed feelings.

"It’s so exciting," he said. "But there’s also this feeling of ‘Now what am I supposed to do?’ And there’s the hard part of letting those seniors go."

He chuckled at his sentimental thoughts and continued, "I couldn’t be more proud of these girls. We start camps with the fifth and sixth graders; sometimes even the third graders. To watch them grow up and become what they are is an awesome feeling."

Wallstrum also expressed his deep appreciation to the parents and other dedicated fans, acknowledging the role they performed in earning the Class B title. "They made it so much fun for the girls," he said, then shook his head. "I’ve never seen it taken to that level!"