Warriors Mixture of Youth and Experience will be Vital in 2023
A district title is always important to a team's success. And for the Arapahoe Warriors, when it comes to skilled positions they have everything you need to contend. The Warriors were bounced out of the playoffs in the first round and they will be looking to go further than that in 2023.
Trenton Roskop, a junior at quarterback will look to take the next step after throwing for 300 yards, rushing for 400 and accumulating 13 total TD's.
But then the backfield for the Warriors is loaded. Junior Will Cacy, who is coming off a gold medal at the 2023 NSAA State Track and Field Championships will be important to the Warriors backfield. A year ago he had 801 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging five yards per carry.
His head coach, Dustin Kronhoffman thinks he'll be darn good this year too. "Will Cacy was a big part of the offense last year and if he adds weight can be one of the best Running Backs in D1. His strength numbers are great for a kid his size."
Also in the backfield is senior Rafe Hill who rushed for 605 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, and then Grayson Koller, who had 218 yards and six touchdowns in his sophomore year. Koller was also tied for the team's leading tackler a year ago with 53.5.
The question mark for the Warriors is on the offensive line. "We lose two really good OL/D, with our style of play we will have to have guys step up into those spots and excel," said Kronhoffman.
Arapahoe is in the loaded D1-9 District with Alma, Cambridge, Hi-Line, and Southern Valley. The Warriors will begin the season on August 25th at Arcadia-Loup City.
New Coaches to Lead the Warriors this Fall
Arapahoe has new leadership to direct their team this fall. Reid Stagemeyer and Jenaya Pierce will be co-head coaches for the Warriors.
Campbell Schutz is one of the top returning runners for the RPAC this season as he was able to finish 10th at the RPAC meet last fall and just missed out on qualifying for state as he finished 18th at districts. The Warriors should have a small boys’ team to compete with this fall.
On the girl’s side, River Einspahr returns for her junior season and had individual success last year as she finished 13th at the RPAC meet. She will look to continue building off of last year's success this season.
Strong Serving Returns for the Warriors
With the departure of five seniors due to graduation, the Arapahoe volleyball team will have a retooled look this fall, but the Warriors still return some key pieces that will keep them competitive this season.
Two of last season's top three servers and passeres return in liber Berkley Warner (317 digs, 28 aces) and setter/right side Rylee Bahe (36 aces, 182 digs).
The Warriors also bring back some firepower up front in Sabrina Jacobsen (165 kills) and Naomi Gutierrez (95 kills, 37 stuff blocks). Bahe also had 48 kills a year ago and Emma Strand hit .118 in limited action for the Warriors last year.
The key for Arapahoe will be improving its efficiency. The Warriors hit just above .000 last season at .077. Their most efficient hitter- Emerson Swanson- graduated and no one else on the roster terminated at a .100 clip aside from Strand, who had 17 total swings.
Arapahoe Will look to continue as a strong serving team, one that averaged better than two aces per set a year ago while serving at better than a 90 percent clip.