Trotters could be very good

The Trotters should be good, how good remains to be seen.

One year removed from a 13-9 record and a fourth place finish in the District 14C tournament, coach Jessica Nagy and her Trotters will be aiming higher this season as they have a bevy of returning talent to work with.

In addition to returning District 14C first team selections Lindsay Laws and Jessica Thompson, now both seniors, Nagy should also have seniors Rachel Huenink, Kara Altmiller and AnaLisa Loberg, juniors Haley Josephson, Natalee Deschamps and Brooklyn Stafford, and sophomores Emma Turner, Kylie Altmiller and Audrey Brown back for this season.

Additionally, junior Kassidy Kinzie, who missed most of last season after injuring a knee early in the campaign, is reportedly back as well, although not yet at 100%.

“Kassidy’s injury really hurt us at the time but it did give some of our other girls a chance to play,” Nagy said, “and that should pay off for us this season we are hoping.”

Put all those moving parts together and it is easy to see why the Trotters are among the early favorites to contend for honors in District 14C and perhaps beyond.

Nagy sees the fight for the 14C title going similar to how the volleyball season just went.

“That was crazy, they ended up with a three-way tie for first place after the regular season and that shows how even the league was, and these are mostly the same girls,” she said. “We expect Arlee and Charlo to be very good and also look for Noxon and Hot Springs to be improved. It could be a case of on any given night in this conference this season.”

The Plains girls open the season this weekend in the Tip-Off Tournament at Frenchtown, playing Drummond at noon Friday and Clark Fork at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Nagy knows next to nothing about Drummond but says Clark Fork, which is a co-op between Superior and her hometown of Alberton, is “undersized but quick and scrappy and likes to press. We expect a good game with them,” she said.