The Troy Trojans are on a quest to capture more league titles and make serious runs in the post-season throughout the spring sports season.
TROY BASEBALL:
The Troy Trojans baseball program is coming off of a 17-11 season a year ago under Ty Welker where it finished tied with Tippecanoe for second in the MVL standings with a 14-4 league record.
Returning for Troy are seniors Kale Francis, Ryan Martz, Daniel Rekow and Braden Cole.
Troy is loaded in the junior class with Trayce Mercer, Andrew Helman, Brian Allen, Eli Smith, Jacob Lucas, Connor Hutchinson, Nick Kawecki and Owen Harlamert. Hutchinson, Harlamert, Helman, Smith and Mercer all saw significant playing time a year ago. Helman was also chosen first-team All-MVL last season as a pitcher, while Brian Allen was chosen second-team all-league. Hutchinson earned honorable mention honors in the MVL last year as well.
The sophomore class who will contribute on the varsity roster are Ryder Kirtley, Evan Kaiser, Eli Donnan and Caleb Atkins. Kirtley was a second-team all-league selection last season as a freshman.
TROY SOFTBALL:
Troy coach Scott Beeler and the Trojan softball program is coming off of a season where it record the best record in team history with a 22-5 overall record and an 18-2 record in the MVL. The Trojans finished runner-up in the MVL to Greenville, who was 18-0 in the league and 31-2 overall.
The 2022 team has the capability of making their own mark on the history of the program as the Trojans return six senior starters and three junior starters to the lineup.
“All nine players were influential in our team success,” said coach Scott Beeler. “They are all key players in my mind.”
Returning senior Allyson Burns led the Trojans with a .535 battling average as year ago and racked up a team-high 53 hits, 24 stolen bases and scored 45 runs. Lauren Fonner, another returning senior, led the team with three home runs and 38 RBI. She also had a batting average of .438 a year ago.
Fellow seniors Erin Bruce batted .471, Ashley Kloeker batted .431, Briana Lavender batted .479 and Lilly James batted .359 a season ago.
In the circle, junior Abigail Welbaum went 15-3 on the season with 115 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.938, while returning senior Lilly James went 7-2 with 78 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.578.
“Our goal this year is to build on last year’s success, become a better team and go deeper in the State Tournament than any other Troy team has gone,” he said. “Win a District Title.”
TROY BOYS TENNIS:
Mark Goldner has been coaching at Troy for 51 years and continues going strong as the Trojans’ tennis coach.
Goldner and his program are coming off of a 15-2 season a year ago where it took runner-up to Tippecanoe in the MVL with an 8-1 record and also finished runner-up in the MVL Tournament.
The Trojans lost six letter winners from last season, but return key players in senior Henry Johnston and sophomore Aiden Miller.
“Our goals are to win the MVL, be in the top 10 in the Dayton Area and qualify players to the district and state tournaments,’ commented Goldner.
TROY GIRLS TRACK:
Kurt Snyder has been the girls track coach at Troy for 13 years and his coming off of a 10th straight conference championship. The Lady Trojans also won the Up & Running Invitational, the Miami County Invitational, the Firebird Invitational and finished 3rd in the district meet. They set several school records in 2021: Millie Deeter in the Steeplechase, the Shuttle Hurdle Relay (Boezi, Kern, Steggemann and Falkner), and the Sprint Medley Relay (Spence, Hutchinson, Falkner and Hornish).
“We were pleased to win another conference title a year ago, but disappointed with how the season finished,” said Snyder. “We finished third at districts and had no state qualifiers for the first time in a decade.”
The Lady Trojans return a lot of talent in 2022 with aspirations of setting more records and extending their conference title streak to 11 years.
In sprints, returning are Hannah Falkner, Leah Harnish, Ansley Spence, Trinity Hurd , Ava McCoy, Makenzies Metz, Lily Anderson, Leah Reddick and Kara Peltier.
In distance events Troy returns Renee Kovacs, Emma Kennett, Ashley Kyle, Mille, Peltier, Kiley Kitta, Allison Unger and Hannah Brooks.
Returning competitors in throwing events are Josie Kleinhenz, Ebony Six, Lena Walker, Alexie Caplinger, Madison Harkins, Dayonna Harris, Amaya McCoy, Sarah Castaneda and Allison Ray.
The returning jumpers and vaulters are Sophie Fong, Hannah Duff, Kaylee Ludy, Ally Wolfe, Alyssa Kern, Anna Boezi and Trinity Hurd.
In the hurdles Anna Boezi, Alyssa Kerna, Maddy Manson, Hannah Steggeman and Lynnette McKibbin all return.
“There will be lots of new faces making huge contributions this year,” Snyder said. “With the talent and depth we have returning, we look to improve our standing within a very tough district and try to get as many girls to state as possible. We have the largest team in school history this year with 101 girls on the roster.”
TROY BOYS TRACK:
Over the past 13 years Deon Metz has led the boys track team at Troy and is coming off of a season where the Trojans accomplished a lot in 2021 – Up and Running Champions, Miami County Champions, Miami Valley League Champions, 2 Regional Qualifiers (Zach Ray Disc, Grant Klopfenstein Disc), State Qualifier (Zach Ray Disc).
This year Metz returns a lot of athletes to the program in Devon Strobel (Throws), Ethan Martin (PV), Colin Stoltz (Sprints), Evan Jones (Sprints), Jack Kleinhenz (Hurdles), JJ McCoy (Sprints), Gavin Hutchinson (Distance), Matthew Spayde (Distance), Braden Coate (Distance).
Which leads to high expectations once again as the Trojans have set goals in winning several team competitions – Up and Running Invitational, Herb Hartman Invitational, Miami County Championships, and the Miami Valley League Championships.