LOWELL ATHLETIC BOOSTERS

Zach Wiersma Cross Country
Erika Feitz Cross Country
Erin Gavelek Soccer
Katherine Sharkey Soccer
Mallory Pratt Golf
Jourdan Eastling Soccer
David Weiand Cross Country
Kandice Ausdemore Golf
Robert Black Soccer
Kyle Bottos Football
Courtney Stahl Soccer
Chelsea Gross Soccer
Josh Hofer Cross Country
Tom Moore Football
Nick Schultz Football
Kim Partyka Cross Country
Kurt Monix Football
Nicole Thiel Volleyball
Valerie Bank Soccer

Girls Cross Country completed the season finishing fourth in our conference.

First Team All-Conference:
    Cassandra Schnelle
Second Team All-Conference:
    Kristen Anderson
Honorable Mention:
    Erika Feitz
Semi-State Qualifiers:
    Cassandra Schnelle
    Kristen Anderson
    Erika Feitz
    Lindsey Winebrenner
    Jordan Lump
    Jessica Miller
    Megan Dillman

Boys Cross Country team completed the season finishing second in our conference.

First Team All-Conference:
    Zach Wiersma
    Dave Weiand
Second Team All-Conference:
    Josh Hofer
    Cameryn Brady
Honorable Mention:
    Kyle Pattee
Semi-State Qualifiers:
    Zack Wiersma
    Kyle Pattee
    David Weiand
    Josh Hofer
    Ryan Eller
    Cameryn Brady

Completed the season with a 15-1 record finishing second in our conference, 2nd at sectionals and 11th at regionals.

First Team All-Conference:
    Mallory Pratt
    Natalie Johnson
Second Team All-Conference:
    Taylor King
    Alexandra Steuer
Regional Qualifiers:
    Kandice Ausdemore
    Natalie Johnson
    Taylor King
    Mallory Pratt
    Alexandra Steuer

Coach John Becker named “Conference Championship Coach”

Completed the season with a 4-2 record finishing third in our conference.

First Team All-Conference:
    Erin Gavelek
    Kesli Blankenship
First Team All-District:
    Erin Gavelek
Second Team All-Conference:
    Courtney Stahl
Honorable Mentionable:
    Katherine Sharkey
I.C.G.S.A. Academic All-State:
    Erin Gavelek and Katherine Sharkey

Completed the season with a 0-6 record

First Team All-Conference:
    Derik Burgans
Second Team All-Conference:
    Matt Berkos
Honorable Mention:
    Nate Hess

Varsity Football
Season Summary
Coach: Kirk Kennedy

Mr. The future looks bright for Red Devil football as the 2008 season was extremely successful at all levels. The Freshman team, coached by Ed Miracle, Jaime Kirin, and Mike French, recorded 4 shut outs on the way to an 8-1 season. The JV team, Coached by Keith Kilmer and Jim Kiechle, fought their way to a 7-0-1 record; also with 4 shut outs. (The Griffith JV game was not played due to excessive rain) The varsity team finished with a 13-1 record; including earning 3 shut outs, the undefeated Northwest Crossroads Conference Championship, the 4A sectional 10 championship, and the regional championship. The season came to a disappointing end at Ft. Wayne Bishop Dwenger in the 4A Northern semi-state. This was the 2nd consecutive NCC championship, the 6th consecutive sectional championship (9th over-all), and the 2nd consecutive regional championship (5th over-all) for the Red Devil varsity football program.

The coaching staff and team would like to thank the administration, faculty, and support staff; along with the many fans of Red Devil football for your enthusiasm and support again this year.

Girls Cross Country
Season Summary
Coach Scott Coil

The Lowell Girls Cross Country team had an excellent season in 2008. The team returned 4 of their top 7 and with the help of some newcomers achieved everything they wanted during the season. It started out on a good note with a 2nd place finish at the Andrean Invite and a 3rd place finish at the Crown Point Invite. Some injuries slowed down the team midway through the season but the girls bounced back with a 3rd place finish at the Hobart Invite and a respectable 4th place finish At the NCC conference meet. The girls kept the momentum going with a 3rd place finish at the Crown Point Sectional, to advance to regional. They also came back a few days later and placed 5th at the Crown Point Regional to advance to semi-state for the first time since 2003. The girls placed 15th out of 20 teams at the New Prairie Semi-state, which is their best finish in over a decade. Cassandra Schnelle was a late addition to the squad but helped pace the team while breaking the 5K record for Lowell Girls with a time of 20:04 at the NCC conference meet. The outlook look extremely bright for next year with 10 lettermen returning from this year’s successful squad as well as 6 or the top 7 runners returning.

Below are the list of the girls team awards for the 2008 season.

MVP- Kristen Anderson
Most Improved- Jessica Miller & Megan Dillman
L-Club leadership- Erika Feitz & Kim Partyka
Varsity Sportsmanship- Alli Kemling
JV Sportsmanship- Lexie Itczak

Lowell Boys Cross-Country
Season Summary
Coach Jake Rakoczy

Season Record

Undefeated (6 – 0) in the NCC regular season
Finished 2nd at the NCC championship meet, 2nd at Sectionals, 4th at Regionals, and 14th at Semi-State

Significant Win

Won the Highland Invitational – the meet consisted of over twenty teams, including: Munster, Perry Meridian, Andrean, Lafayette Jefferson, and Merrillville

Outstanding Performance

Zach Wiersma’s 16:42 at the Highland Invitational moved him into 15th place all-time in Lowell history

Outlook for Next Year

Despite losing 4 of the top 5, the boys should challenge for a conference title

Special Thanks

Don Bales, Booster Club, Dave Adams, Karen Mize, Scott Coil, PARENTS

Freshman Volleyball
Season Summary
Coach Tara Rushmeyer

The Freshman Volleyball team ended their season with a 11-18 record overall. Some of the most memorable wins were against KV when the team fought back from a 6 point deficit (9-14) and won and against Wheeler when the score was 14-14. This group of girls has great potential for the Red Devil Volleyball program and it will be exciting to follow them throughout their volleyball careers. The freshman volleyball team would like to thank the parents for all of their support, the athletic department for their assistance and support, and their teammates at the JV and Varsity level for their leadership.

JV Volleyball
Season Summary
Coach Monica Rance

The girls’ JV volleyball team had a very exciting season this year! They finished with a record of 18-14. The girls demonstrated commitment and became better volleyball players throughout the season. They worked hard each day at practice and played well during matches. At the Lowell Tourney, the team played well and made it to the championship game. In the regular season they brought home victories over Hobart, Highland, Munster, and Andrean. All of the girls gained valuable experience this season, which will benefit them for next year.

Varsity Volleyball Season Summary
2008
Coach Kim Kilmer

The varsity volleyball team ended the season with a 15-18 record overall and a 7-5 record in conference play, placing the team in 3rd in the NCC. The Lady Devils’ big win came at the end of the season when they beat The Times #8 Crown Point Bulldogs. The girls also had an amazing turn around in the Wheeler match beating them in five after losing the first two. The following players were awarded team honors:

Offensive MVP: Carissa Thiel
Defensive MVP: Nicki Thiel
Most Improved: Kathleen O’Leary
L-Club Leadership: Hannah Runyon
Sportmanship: Mallory Runyon
First Team All- Conference: Nicki Thiel and Carissa Thiel
Second Team All-Conference: Jessica Schiessle

The team would like to thank our wonderful parents for all their help with parents club, the athletic department for their assistance and support, the L-club members for helping out at various matches, and their teammates at the freshman and junior varsity levels for their support. We would also like to wish our three seniors- Nicki Thiel, Mallory Runyon, and Hannah Runyon- good luck in their future endeavors.

Athletic Training
Season Summary
Coach Bobby Wong

I would like to thank the many people that made it possible for the fall sports season to run smoothly. First, I would like to thank Mr. Bales and Mrs. Mize for their help and support throughout the season. They were always there to assist with anything. Second, I would like to thank the coaches who have worked with me to keep the athletes safe and in shape, so they can continue to participate at the highest level. We had our share of injuries this year and we appreciate their cooperation and patience when dealing with injured athletes. Third, I would like to thank the eleven student athletic trainers, who made the fall season a good one. They were hard working and dedicated to what they were doing on a daily basis to prepare our athletes for practice and games. Over the course of the season, there were injuries to care for, but we were lucky to not have any catastrophic injuries. Finally, I would like to wish my senior student athletic trainers the best of luck in their future endeavors!

Lowell High School
Girls Golf Team
2008 Season Summary
Coach John Becker

The 2008 LHS Girls Golf Team enjoyed one of the most successful season in the history of the program. The team experienced success from the very beginning by tying the home-course record for team score in their very first home match of the season. This early success buoyed the team to a school-record 15-1 record, a share of the Northwest Crossroads Conference Championship, a second-place finish in the KV Sectional, and a trip to the LaPorte Regional for the second-straight year.

The Red Devil golfers were led by Senior Mallory Pratt who not only led the team in most statistical categories but also earned medalist honors in every 9-hole match of the season. Pratt was the medalist runner-up in the NCC Tournament, earned 1st Team All-Conference honors, and broke the school record for a 9-hole score. Fellow Senior Kandice Ausdemore enjoyed a career year by destroying all of her pervious personal bests and earning co-medalist honors against KV & Highland. Sophomore Natalie Johnson earned 1st Team All-Conference honors while Junior Alex Steuer and Sophomore Taylor King earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors. These five girls comprised a varsity lineup that finished in the top three teams in four of their five 18-hole invitationals this season and recorded the lowest team score in more than 30 years by shooting a 182 at Hazelden Country Club on August 26, 2008.

Junior Lauren Seramur and Sophomores Taylor Richlik and Olivia Nelson also contributed to the success of the varsity team this season while Sophomore Shelbi Hardin and Freshmen Ashley Pastuszak and Kelsey Lukasik made great strides in their games and will make the Red Devils a very strong team for years to come.

Red Devil Head Coach John Becker says, “This was an outstanding season. I expected this team to do well, but they far exceeded all of my expectations. The seniors certainly went out on a very high note and the underclassmen have shown me that they will keep the momentum going next year and beyond.”

2008 Boys’ Tennis Team
Season Summary
Coach Hudak

With only returning two players from last year, the 2008 Boys’ Tennis team understood going into the year that it would be a rebuilding year for the Tennis program. The team, lead by Senior Joe Crisan and Captain Nick Keita, finished with a record of 3-11, placing 6th in conference. Even though, we failed to win Sectionals, the boys’ did have a remarkable showing at one of the area’s toughest tournaments. At Crawfordsville’s Tennis Invite, Lowell placed a strong fourth. Leading the way was the doubles team of Matthew Hilbrich and Josh Henshilwood, placing third in their division. Being a young team, starting three freshman and three sophomores, the tennis team experienced many ups and downs, however, building on the success of the Crawfordsville’s Tournament, the tennis team made strides toward the end of the season, by beating an always tough Michigan City team and defeating Renesselaer in the first round of sectionals. Even though, the 2008 Boys’ Tennis team failed to reach its ultimate goal of winning a Sectional title, it did gain valuable experience that will be used as a stepping stone for future accomplishments.

LADY RED DEVILS SOCCER
Season Summary
Coach: Kim Gavelek

Girls soccer had a great season this year. We finished 13-3-2 for the season. There were a lot of standout games this season. We tied Crown Point 1-1 (first time ever), we beat Hobart 1-0 in overtime, we beat Kankakee Valley 1-0 (first time since 2000) and we beat Munster 1-0 in overtime that went into a shootout (first time we have beat them).

The girls brought their “Big Dog” mentality to every game. Players making 1st team all conference were Erin Gavelek and Kesli Blankenship; 2nd team all conference was Courtney Stahl and Honorable Mention was Katherine Sharkey. Also making 1st team all district was Erin Gavelek. Courtney finished our regular season in 2nd on the IHSAA stats for keepers with goals against average of .3

Our accolades don’t stop on the field, we had six girls make the NCC Academic All-Conference.

All in all it was a great group of girls who dug deep this year to produce an outstanding season that was as much fun to watch as it was to coach.

Boys Soccer
Season Summary
Coach Coil

The Lowell Boys soccer team improved throughout the 2008 season despite their 1-14-1 record. Our team was made up of only 4 seniors with many underclassmen getting a chance to get some experience at the varsity level, including some very skillful freshmen. Also, low numbers caused the cancellation of a few JV games at the beginning of the season. However, we will be returning 7 starters 10 lettermen next year to a team that is hungry for some goals after a low producing season. We will also have a much larger pool of seniors who we are looking for some great leadership from to push the younger players in the right direction. Below are the awards and recognition we received this year.

Team awards

MVP - Derik Burgans
L-Club Leadership - Bobby Black
Most Improved - Ries Plank
Sportsmanship - VAR Nate Hess & JV - Donald Straughen
Offensive MVP - Matt Berkos
Defensive MVP - Alex VanRite
1st Team All Conference - Derik Burgans
2nd Team All Conference - Matt Berkos
Honorable Mention - Nate Hess