Savage Heat girls on the rise

The laws of physics allow heat to rise.

The laws of athletics should allow the Savage Heat girls to continue their rise as well.

The upstart Hot Springs Savage Heat, who as the sixth seed ended up defeating the top seed in last year’s District 14C tourney before settling for fourth place in the conference, look to continue their rise up through the ranks this season.

And the Heat may have the players, with only one starter missing from last season’s starting five and an influx of some other promising young talent, to contend for the title in 14C this winter. That is what coach Richard Jackson is hoping for at least.

“We are excited,” Jackson admitted Monday. “We have had a good two weeks of practice where the kids have been working really hard. We feel like we could be one of the teams to watch.”

Jackson said the good feelings generated by the Heat’s win over the No. 1 seeded Plains Trotters in a loser-out game on Saturday morning of the 14C tourney last year has sparked this year’s team.

“It’s good when your team wishes the season was not over at the end, and that’s where we were at districts last year,” he said. “We have a lot of dedicated kids – three-sport athletes who have worked hard in the off-season.

“Our goal this year is to make it to the divisional tournament,” he added, “and I think we have the players we need to get us there.”

Now juniors, McKennzie Cannon and Sydney Jackson were both honorable mention District 14C all-conference picks last winter, Sydney’s twin sister Sage saw lots of prime-time action, while Brianna Gray and sophomore Lizzy Fisher also got lots of playing time, although Gray suffered a knee injury during the 2017-2018 campaign and will still be playing through that malady early on this season.

Freshman Katelyn Christensen, who burst onto the 14C scene with a standout volleyball season this fall, also looks to be a major contributor for the Heat.

Jackson says it is an enjoyable bunch of girls to be around in Hot Springs these days.

“Practices have definitely been upbeat,” he said. “We feel like we are a team on the rise and can’t wait to get out there and show what we can do.”