Sports
Trimble Season Recap
By: Alex Harrison
Posted on:
Girls
While it may not seem like the best season, the Lady Tomcats, under first year head coach Joe Richards, made major jumps from last season. Trimble finished this season an even 12-12, a jump from the previous 7-15 record.
Trimble’s best game of the season was a win over Miller in the middle of January. Trimble was riding a losing streak after back-to-back losses against Eastern and Waterford. The Lady Tomcats defeated Miller 54-42 at home to break the losing streak and give way to a three game winning streak.
Following Miller, Trimble won two straight away games against Federal Hocking and Ironton St. Joe.
Senior Nikki Kish was the leader for Trimble. The team was led by Kish and often followed her momentum. When she was on fire the team could feed her the ball and work around when defenses attacked Kish, but Trimble also suffered when she did.
For Trimble in the future, Kish and fellow senior Morgan Murphy are out of the picture. Look for Sydney Hardy to be a bright spot. Hardy often started for Trimble and is the daughter of Trimble’s former coach.
Trimble’s season ended in a tough 47-42 loss to Belpre in the tournament’s second round.
Boys
Last season, Trimble was a force, going undefeated in the regular season. The Tomcats returned Justice Jenkins and Bryce Guthrie and Trimble put up another stellar season.
Trimble did not have another undefeated season but still had major success, including a share of the TVC-Hocking and an AP Poll ranking as high as No. 5.
The Tomcats lost that ranking in a heart breaking January upset. Playing like they hadn’t all season, Wahama came away with an 82-81 overtime win in front of a home crowd. Trimble lost three games later to Waterford, but haven’t taken a loss since.
Easily, the best win so far this season for the boys was the regular season finale win in triple overtime against Belpre. Three days after the Trimble girls were eliminated from the tournament by Belpre, the boys were in position to avenge them.
The game had some social media buildup, and the game didn’t disappoint as Trimble came out on top 87-83.
The game before the Belpre game against South Gallia was also important for Trimble. It was the second consecutive game against the Rebels and a divisional game. Trimble, who was tied with Waterford, needed to win out to keep hopes of a TVC-Hocking championship. Trimble narrowly squeaked out a 62-61 win.
Trimble did win out, but so did Waterford. The Wildcats and the Tomcats split the season series and the TVC-Hocking title.
Guthrie and Jenkins were the fearless leaders for the Tomcats. Guthrie is force under the basket. It is rare when a team can have a player matchup and go against Guthrie. He can grab boards on both sides of the ball and can put up some shots. Guthrie also works well with Jenkins, leading to a two-man force on the court.
Jenkins is just a freak on the court. He is a far superior athlete to anyone a team sends his way. His speed makes him strong on defense and his ball handling and ability to make any shot easily make him one of, if not, the best player in the area.
Trimble is currently still in the tournament and looks to make it through the regional tournament. The Tomcats ended their season last year in the regional semi-final to Africentric.