Purple and Gold weekend kicks off sports season
Zack Johnson, Sports Editor
August 25, 2010
Filed under Sports
The Belton Athletics Department hosted “Purple and Gold Weekend” Aug 14 at Southwick Stadium and Al Hamra Field. Fall sport programs including the cross country team, the soccer team, the softball team and the football team held scrimmages throughout the day.
The cross country kicked off Purple and Gold weekend with a mile long run around the track at Southwick Stadium. Coach Scott Conner said that the team has been very eager to start the season.
“The team is really pleasant to work with, and we had a good number of students come out for cross country team,” Conner said.
Senior Chris Bechtel said that the heat has taken a toll on the cross country team the past few weeks.
“That heat has been hard on us, but if we keep working on times, and keep practicing, we should see a great deal of improvement this year,” Bechtel said.
The Belton Cross country team has just one home meet this season, the Cass County Invitational, Sept. 4 at Mad Dog Hill.
Next, the soccer team played a purple and white scrimmage that ended in a 2-2 tie. Coach David Mannell said that the team is doing great in practices.
“We do a lot of conditioning and everyone has worked very hard to get in shape for this season,” Mannell said.
The team said they look forward to winning the Belton Soccer Classic this year, Sept. 20 through 23.
Meanwhile, the softball team held a scrimmage of their own at Al Hamra Field, in which the varsity players, alongside JV pitching, faced the JV team, backing up varsity pitching.
Coach Megan Baker said that the softball team is led by their three great captains; Senior Carly Jo Scott, Senior Brittney Cole, and Junior Kelsey Schifferdecker, who have put high limits on themselves, and the rest of their teammates.
“We have a great mix of girls this year,” Baker said. “They have worked harder than anyone else in Belton already.”
Cole said that team chemistry and practice plays an important role in the softball team’s success.
“We will definitely be ready for our first game, especially since we have had two-a-days like every single day of our life,” Cole said.
The softball team plays Raymore-Peculiar, and Blue Springs South this year. Both schools are new additions to Belton’s schedule, and tough teams to play.
The football team closed out the evening with a scrimmage at Southwick Stadium. Coach Kevin Keeton said that the football players have been working towards the 2010 season since December. Keeton said that the team is really excited to start this season.
“The players have been great, every time we challenge them, they respond very well,” Keeton said
Senior Jake Larkey said that the team has really begun to work well as a team, and that they really look forward to every game this season.
“I wish we could play Ray-Pec, but they aren’t in our division anymore, so we don’t have a chance to play them,” Larkey said.
The football team will open their season Friday, Aug. 27 against Park Hill South, at Southwick Stadium.
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