(October 28th, 2014): With the release of the 2014 All-Buckeye Border Conference (BBC) Teams, two things were abundantly clear; Pettisville and Edon were the top two teams in the league, and the junior classes produced the most talent in the conference.
Granted, Dana Fricke, BBC Player of the Year, and four members of the First Team All-BBC are all seniors. The rest of the First Team, most of the Second Team, and half of the Honorable Mentions are comprised with members of the class of 2016. Four sophomores also found their way onto the post-season honor list as well.
The First Team All-BBC is made up of seniors Pettisville’s Jordyn Pursel, Stryker’s Maddie Uribes, and the Edon duo of Nicole Newell, and Alex Kies. Pettisville’s Stephanie Hubby and Hilltop’s Cierra Grant, both juniors, round out the squad.
Members of the Second Team All_BBC include juniors Kate Kauffman of Pettisville, Audra Rupp of Stryker, and teammates Jessie Wheeler and Michaela Bates of Fayette. North Central senior Rachel Oxender made the second unit as well. Completing the team is Lady Cadet Ariana Brown, who defended the net aggressively for Hilltop, and was the only sophomore to make either First or Second Team All-BBC.
There were also a number of Honorable Mentions to the All-BBC Team. Of the twelve players distinguished with this honor, six of them are juniors. Amber Klopfenstein of Pettisville, Hannah Machacek of Fayette, Allie and Baylee Schmitt of Hilltop, Cady VanDeVoorde of North Central, and Brittany Breier of Stryker will all be back as seniors next season. Seniors Abigail Auch, from North Central, and Kaitlin Chrisman, from Edon, along with sophomores Teagan Kauffman of Pettisville, McKenzie Schaffner of Fayette, Alyssa Swank of North Central, and Hannah Kaylor of Edon, were also listed as Honorable Mentions.
Of the twenty-four slots available between First and Second Team, as well as Honorable Mentions, twelve of them are held by juniors. This bodes quite well for the immediate future of the Buckeye Border Conference.
As this mass of talent reaches its final year in the maturation process, it would seem as though the league’s best days are just around the corner.