For The Tribune
A.J Goecker, Savanna Setty, Matthew Stuckwisch, Morgan Gabbard, Jodi Goecker and Hannah Sabotin took home most valuable player awards during Trinity Lutheran High School’s fall sports awards program Tuesday night.
A.J. Goecker received MVP awards in boys cross-country and soccer.
Boys soccer coach Brandan Tabeling said Goecker would often have his normal cross-country practice of running 5 to 6 or more miles, and then come to soccer practice, where he would have a regular workout and run all over the soccer field.
In cross-country, Goecker, a junior, had a best time of 16:53 and was a regional and semistate qualifier. Coach Chris Crenshaw said he had seven top-five 5 finishes during the regular season.
Crenshaw presented Jodi Goecker with the most valuable award and Abby Hildreth with the most improved award.
Goecker’s best time was 22:29, and Hildreth’s fastest time was 27:10. Goecker also received a Cougar Award.
Trinity’s boys soccer had a record of 6-8-3.
Tabeling said the turning point of the season was the improvement he saw in the Scottsburg Invitational, when the Cougars advanced to the finals.
Trinity lost in the opening round of the sectional to Christian Academy.
The Cougar Award went to Noah Criswell, Trent Shoemaker was named the most improved player, and senior awards were presented to Criswell, Jacob Crockett, Andrew Emily and Sam Hayes.
The Trinity girls soccer team hard a record of 7-8-1.
“Attitudes carried this team,” Coach Jeff Nolting said. “We tied Jennings County and we won our first match in the sectional,” against Southwestern (Hanover) in overtime.
Setty scored seven goals and had four assists “and did all the little things,” Nolting said in presenting her the MVP award.
Setty, along with Lauren Fleetwood and Delaney Maschino, were named Academic All-State.
Lucy Cooper receiver the Cougar Award and a Senior Award, Genesis Munoz was named the most improved, and Emma Goecker received the Top Team Player award.
Tennis coach Mark Voss said Stuckwisch had a solid season playing singles for the Cougars. He won seven matches and a total of 143 games.
Stuckwisch and Bailey Baker received Senior Awards, and Stuckwisch also was named academic all-state honorable mention.
Avery Schwipps received the Cougar Award, and Noah Voelker received was named Most Improved.
“We had a large group of players this season: 14,” Voss said. “We were 1-14, and we beat Oldenburg Academy. We had five 3-2 matches, and we had 12 matches go three sets. We had our best match against Brownstown in the sectional.”
Golf coach Nate Benter presented Morgan Gabbard with the MVP award in girls golf. He said her best score was the 109 she shot in the sectional.
Volleyball coach Chelsea Stroub said the school toughened up the schedule this fall and the team had a record of 21-14. She said 13 of the losses came against Class 2A, 3A and 4A teams, and the Cougars defeated several larger schools.
Trinity won the Edinburgh Class A Sectional and lost to Barr-Reeve in the Loogootee Regional.
Stroub said Sabotin had the most attacks and the least amount of errors, and she ranked fifth in the state among Class A players in blocks.
The Cougar Award went to Abby Schult, while Ashley Goecker and Sydney Jaynes were co-recipients of the most improved award.
Courtney Barker and Abby Hackman received Senior Awards. Barker was named Academic All-State.
Stroub also presented those two seniors with other special awards, with Barker receiving the Most Consistent Award, and Hackman received a Love of the Game award.
After she presented the awards, Stroub announced she had resigned as coach of the Cougars.
“This was my last year of coaching at Trinity,” she said. “I appreciated the opportunity to coach at Trinity.”
She was head volleyball coach at Trinity for three years and won three straight sectionals.