Four seniors to lead young group in 2024-25 campaign

ABOVE: Front row, from left: Carmyne Hecht, Kellen Fritz, Joe Long, Merritt Pomerenke, Tavian Harvey, Hadan Toomer, Jalen Jackson, Jordan Thompson, Joseph Hackett. (Back row left to right) Harmon Schrunk, Trevor Maakestad, Logan Junkermeier, Oliver Tordsen, Brett Williams, Nolan Schultze
Cutline: Staff photo by Caleb Brinton: (Front row left to right) Carys Gudahl, Makenzie Lowry, Kennedy Becker, Makayla Lowry. (Back row left to right) Gwyneth Schultze, Norah Traetow, Brylee Miller, Emelia Klanderud, Ellie Ortega

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont Cardinals girls basketball team is back on the court and ready to improve on their winning season from last season.

Returning four seniors, the newer members to the roster are working to develop their skills as the Cardinals set their lineup.

Coming off a 16-12 season the team saw a large portion of its roster graduate at the conclusion of last year returning only Kennedy Becker, Ellie Ortega, Emelia Klanderud and Brylee Miller to the varsity squad.

Miller led the Cardinals last season with 15.9 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game.

Ortega added 5.4 ppg and 3.1 rpg, while Becker had 3.8 ppg and Klanderud added 1.8 ppg.

The team is gearing up for a preseason scrimmage against Forrest City with whom they have had a long standing relationship. Since the teams do not face each other in the regular season, both teams use the meeting as a litmus test to see where they’re at before opening day of the regular season.

“I have two girls right now that have a ton of varsity experience,” said Fairmont head girls basketball coach Sara Junkermeier. “They’re coming back as starters from last year and then we’re really just trying to put the pieces together to see who is ready to step up and fill those other spots.”

With the veterans on the roster, Junkermeier is confident in the team heading into the season. Despite stating that it’s a little bit of a rebuilding season, there is still plenty of talent on the team to have another solid season. The focus will be on player development this year, focusing on getting the young roster used to playing at a varsity level.

“It’s just kind of been a learning curve to figure out the pace of the game,” said Junkermeier. “And the different things that we do that are part of our program, but I feel like they’re getting along well and they’re enjoying being together. They’re pushing each other to be better at every practice and it just feels like a positive place to be.”

Despite having many new players to the varsity roster, Junkermeier is still anticipating being able to make a playoff push and build up the team.

“Our expectation is just to be present in every game and continue to build,” said Junkermeier. “So that we can make a strong playoff run when it comes February.”

Getting ready for their first regular season game, the Cardinals are facing off against Forrest City in a preseason scrimmage on Saturday. For a good portion of the team, this will be their first taste of varsity play.

“We’re scrimmaging [Saturday] against Forrest City just to get in some game reps against a different squad,” said Junkermeier. “We just have a back-and-forth relationship with them that we continue to utilize just because they’re really good and they give us a good look and we don’t play them in the regular season, so it’s just kind of a fun competition that we have and then just being ready to be on the court and looking forward to getting a game under our belt before the Thanksgiving break and seeing where we are. It’ll be a good test for where we are and what we need to build off of.”

The team is focused on player development and finding a rhythm, with a relatively young roster they plan on making sure that everyone is on the same page as the team approaches their home opener at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.