AARHUS: Senior class was special

This year's Jamestown High School graduating class will always have a special place in my heart.

Our brains tend to remember the beginnings and ends of experiences more than the middles, and these were the first group of kids that started to take hold of varsity spots when I arrived in Jamestown in 2012.

One of the earliest memories I have of this class is watching a small and relatively thin but quick guard hustle up in down as a sophomore, trying to stay on the floor amid a large group of seniors. Nick Fuchs showed hustle from day one, earning his spot in the varsity lineup in basketball and baseball. His defensive prowess at shortstop showed this spring, and he ended up having a phenomenal year in basketball. Both teams made it to the state tournament, and he was a big part of that.

I also recall the dedication that Nick Stockert made to JHS over his prep career. Here's a kid that was all-state in hockey, third at the state tournament in golf and went undefeated in the regular season in tennis. That's a resume you don't see often at JHS.

Multi-sport athletes are integral in keeping smaller Class A schools successful. Even if you don't want to do three, do at least two. Stretch a different set of muscles, and see where it takes you. You never know.
We saw something similar with all-state soccer player Jacob Sherfy, who had the kind of immediate success in track and field that is rarely seen. He was an important part of Jamestown's 800-meter relay that won a West Region championship.
Brian Wenzel was a two-year starting goalie for the hockey team and the ace of the staff for the baseball team. That's a tremendous amount of responsibility for two sports.

All-state quarterback Ross Monson tried his hand at four sports, competing in both track and field, and baseball in the spring. He was under center for the football team, and a regular in the starting lineup on the basketball team.

Like Monson, swimmer Colt Rasmussen saw a great amount of success in one sport, but still proved valuable in others (cross country, track and field).

Then you have three-sport guys that find their way into the lineup no matter what. Scott Nelson was the starting running back before a head injury curtailed his prep career this fall, but he also started on the basketball and baseball teams. Likewise, Nate Soulis was a fixture in the tennis and baseball lineups and made the state meet in swimming.

The three-sport girls athletes were more limited among this senior class, but there were still plenty to choose from.

Certainly, Jenna Stilwell stands out right away, having been all-state in volleyball, second in the javelin at the state meet and in gymnastics. She will be hard to replace in each of those sports.

Kadie Anderson has been the ace of the staff for the softball team since she was an eighth-grader, but she also participated in volleyball and was a good little shooter on the basketball court.

Beka Hilgemann earned starting nods in both basketball and volleyball, while also making the state meet in two throwing events. Rainey Selvig was a starter on the basketball and volleyball teams, and Torri Kamlitz was instrumental for Blue Jay girls hockey and softball, starting for both. Sam Johnson was in the starting lineup for the basketball and softball teams.

This group will stick with me for awhile. I've only been here a few years, but they experienced real success in my short time.

Now, it's up to the next wave to keep it going.