Mascot: Mustangs
Colors: Orange and Black
Class: C-2
Conference: East Husker
Head Coach: Bryan Mendlik
2016-2017 record: 7-15 (lost to Wisner-Pilger in Sub Districts)
Returning Starters: N/A
Overview:
The Stanton Boys Basketball Team looks to have a bounce back season after going 7-15 a year ago. Head Coach Bryan Mendlik says the starting five has been decided. "Nate Arens, he was our kid that was hurt last year with a neck injury. Sam Bates is our other post player, another junior. I have two senior guards that start for me, Beau Wilke and Broderick Sieh. And I have another junior, kind of a wing player, Marcus Spotanski. Those are our five at the beginning of the year that we're gonna get rolled out on the floor. A couple of my key bench players, I guess, TJ Larson is a sophomore for us. He's hurt right now so he didn't play in our jamboree game. He's one of out better shooters on the floor so hopefully he can get healed and we can get him out there sooner than later. We have a senior, Ashton Flood, that is probably one of my favorite players that I've coached. He works his butt off. Every hustle play on the floor he will make."
Senior Tayton Lierman will also play.
Mendlik says the team is young. "We have a lot of youth coming in. I mean, we have guys that are juniors, but haven't played a ton with some injuries last year. So, we're coming along nicely. We have good energy and team camaraderie in practice, so that's good to see moving forward."
Positive attitudes are always good and contagious, and it appears that this Stanton team has that this season.
I think the Mustangs have a chance to do well this year and get back to their winning ways.
Stanton isn't accustomed to losing, and I think what the Mustangs went through last year will only help them grow this year.
Stanton was inconsistent last year you could say, but I look for that to change this year.
I think the Mustangs will have a good year, and do better than they did last year. Stanton just has to focus on gelling as a team, and continuing to improve and come together as the year goes on.
Stanton is a top notch program, and I look for this young Mustang team to grow up quickly.
Stanton may be young, but they have some good experience that figures to see the playing floor this year too.
The Mustangs have to focus on growing and improving every time they take the floor.
Season Outlook:
The Stanton Boys Basketball Team figures to be big this year. Mendlik. "We should have some size on a lot of teams, I would hope this year at least at the four and five position. So hopefully we can work from the inside out and kinda build on that."
It will be interesting to see what the Mustangs have at the guard positions, and how that affects their ability to take care of the ball and bring the ball up and stuff.
Mendlik added that Stanton is going to have to rely on their defense this year as he doesn't feel they'll be able to score a ton of points like in the past.
Mendlik says the team's goal is to win more games than they did last season. "Our goal we kinda set for the team and ourselves, we're trying to double up our wins from last year. So hopefully we can go from seven to about 14. We'd be pretty happy with that."
I feel that would be pretty good progress for the Mustangs.
Stanton will be challenged early with the likes of Howells-Dodge, West Point-Beemer, North Bend Central, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, and Wisner-Pilger on the schedule before Christmas.
Oakland-Craig, Boone Central/Newman Grove, Logan View/Scribner-Snyder, BRLD, and Twin River figure to be tough after Christmas, but there are a lot of winnable games on the schedule for the Mustangs late in the season.
I feel Stanton is a team that will get better as the year goes on, and play their best basketball at the end of the season.
The Mustangs are in Sub-District C2-4 with Howells-Dodge, Wisner-Pilger, Battle Creek, and Lutheran High Northeast.
All of those teams are good, and so the path to a District Final and State doesn't appear to be easy.
Making State is never easy though, it is earned, and I'm sure Stanton understands that.
The Mustangs open up the season on Thursday at Tekamah-Herman.
The Tigers went 0-19 last year, but have 19 kids out for the team this year compared to 9 last year.
Stanton should be able to win that one I would think though.
2017-2018 Stanton Mustangs Boys Basketball Schedule:
11/30/17 @ Tekamah-Herman
12/01/17 Howells-Dodge
12/05/17 @ West Point-Beemer
12/12/17 @ North Bend Central
12/15/17 Wakefield
12/16/17 @ Pender
12/19/17 @ Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family
12/21/17 Wisner-Pilger
12/28-12/29 (To Be Determined) Stanton Holiday Tournament Stanton
01/05/18 @ Oakland-Craig
01/06/18 Logan View-Scribner-Snyder
01/09/18 Plainview
01/12/18 @ Boone Central/Newman Grove
01/13/18 Battle Creek
01/16/18 @ Madison
01/20/18 BRLD
01/23/18 Twin River
01/27-02/03 (To Be Determined) East Husker Conference Tournament TBD
02/08/18 @ Clarkson/Leigh
02/16/18 Emerson-Hubbard
Team: Stanton
Mascot: Mustangs
Colors: Orange and Black
Class: C-2
Conference: East Husker
Head Coach: Greg Wegner (3rd season) (38-13 record)
2016-2017 record: 19-5 (lost to Battle Creek in Sub-Districts)
Returning Starters: 4
Overview:
The Stanton Girls Basketball Team returns 4 starters from last year's 19-5 squad. Head Coach Greg Wegner. "We have four returning starters. Hannah Heppner (SR), Bree Burtwistle (JR), Jessie Brandl (JR) and Jaiden Hartl (JR), which is gonna be a good core group to go off of. And then we also have a few seniors that we look to produce for us off the bench. We got a nice transfer in from Battle Creek, Liz Christensen (JR). I'm seeing good things out of all those kids, those role players and hopefully we can get the incorporated into the offense and into the lineups so later in the season they feel comfortable."
The Mustangs started 17-1 last year, but stumbled at the end of the season, losing 4 out of their last 6.
Wegner says his team has changed the way they do some things. "We've done a couple of things different in practices with preparation and things like that that the kids are gonna have to do this year. So, hopefully that'll get us to that next step of being totally mentally focused and prepared for each and every game."
I think having success in Volleyball will help Stanton again this year, but the struggles the Mustangs had at the end of last year came at the wrong time.
Stanton hopes that if there's a struggling period this year it's not at the end of the season.
A mid-season slump wouldn't be the worst thing for this team this year, but the Mustangs should focus on being on top of their game at all times.
This team and program knows how to win, and I'm sure Stanton will put themselves in a good position to have success in the postseason this year.
I look for the Mustangs to come out of the gates strong and play well early and at the end of the season too.
Stanton is a great team and a great program, and I'm sure the Mustangs will bounce back from the tough end to their season a year ago.
It will be interesting to see how Stanton does given the long Volleyball season they had, but it didn't affect the Mustangs last year so that's a good thing.
Stanton has to put last year behind them, and finish strong this year.
The Mustangs are more than capable of being one of the best teams, if not the best team in C-2 this season, in my opinion.
Season Outlook:
The Stanton Girls Basketball team looks to bounce back this year after faltering at the end of last season.
Wegner assesses his team when it comes to the East Husker Conference. "Our conference is pretty tough, pretty competitive. But, I'd like to think we'd be up there again. It's nice playing at Columbus, it's a nice venue, but it all matters who you play in the matchups you have."
The Mustangs have a tough schedule this year, especially early on, taking on the likes of Howells-Dodge, North Bend Central, West Point-Beemer, Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, Wisner-Pilger, Oakland-Craig, BRLD, Twin River, and Clarkson/Leigh.
I think Stanton will be ready for these teams, and will play well against them though.
The Mustangs are in Sub-District C2-4 with the likes of Wisner-Pilger, Howells-Dodge, Lutheran High Northeast, and Battle Creek.
Not an easy Sub-District for Stanton by any means, but you have to figure the Mustangs will stand a good chance to advance out of that Sub-District when the time comes.
I think Stanton has a great chance to get back to state this year, I really do.
Losing Mackenzie Brandl really hurts, but the Mustangs have plenty of talent on the team this year.
Stanton opens up the season on Thursday at Tekamah-Herman.
The Mustangs will need to try and slow down Marin Jetensky, Anna Wakehouse, and others.
If Stanton can hold all players but Jetensky down, or slow down Jetensky and force other players to beat them, they should be in good shape.
The Mustangs have to come out fired up and raring to go from the start this season.
Stanton has to use the end of last season as fuel and motivation to grow and improve each and every day.
The Mustangs are a strong defensive team, but I would say their scoring needs to be better this year.
Stanton was held under 50 points in 19 of their games last season.
2017-2018 Stanton Mustangs Girls Basketball Schedule:
11/30/17 @ Tekamah-Herman
12/01/17 Howells-Dodge
12/05/17 @ West Point-Beemer
12/12/17 @ North Bend Central
12/15/17 Wakefield
12/16/17 @ Pender
12/19/17 @ Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family
12/21/17 Wisner-Pilger
12/28-12/29 (To Be Determined) Stanton Holiday Tournament Stanton
01/05/18 @ Oakland-Craig
01/06/18 Logan View-Scribner-Snyder
01/09/18 Plainview
01/12/18 @ Boone Central/Newman Grove
01/13/18 Battle Creek
01/16/18 @ Madison
01/20/18 BRLD
01/23/18 Twin River
01/26-02/03 (To Be Determined) East Husker Conference Tournament TBD
02/08/18 @ Clarkson/Leigh
02/09/18 @ Norfolk Catholic
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