Story originally appeared: March 7th, 2018
By: Nate Calvin
With a bucket in the waning seconds of their Division IV District Semifinal loss to Wayne Trace, junior Morgan Leppelmeier became the sixth player in the history of the Pettisville girls’ basketball program to reach 1,000 points in her career. She joins Lynelle Nofziger (1,628 points), Erica King (1,224), Jennifer Rupp Steiner (1,148), Dana Fricke (1,067), and Janice Bruner (1,018) as the other Lady Blackbirds to accomplish the milestone.
The fact that she reached the mark as a junior speaks to her consistency according to head coach Jason Waldvogel, who has now had four players score 1,000 points during his tenure.
“She’s is not one that is into individual milestones. She is a team player and her ultimate goal is make the team better and win” commented Waldvogel when asked what Morgan has meant to the program on and off the court. “She is constantly in the gym, a student of the game, and understands the game”, added Waldvogel. He also said it’s a neat thing to have one of your players accomplish this but he’s prouder of how Morgan has contributed to the overall success of the program.
Leppelmeier being a student of the game can probably be attributed to the fact that her dad Brian is a coach. “My dad was a coach when I was born, so I’ve been in the gym all my life” said Morgan. “With him being a coach, he has always had me in the gym pushing me to be a better player”, she added. Her passion to be in the gym is what her coach says has allowed her to develop her game. “Morgan is a “gym rat”, she has been in the gym with her dad or sister and as a manager since her early years in elementary.”
“That is the type of thing that makes good players, working on your skills of the game with a basketball in hand whenever you get a chance”, he stated. “She has watched numerous games whether it be tagging along with her dad to state or scouting teams. Kids don’t do that as much today and by doing these sort of things, it has allowed Morgan to raise he basketball IQ and understanding of the game”, he explained.
Morgan is active in multiple sports at Pettisville with volleyball, track, and cross country also requiring her time which she says keeps her very busy. “I get in the gym to shoot as often as possible” commented Leppelmeier when explaining how she balances everything.
“I have wanted to play AAU, however in the past we had a very successful 4×800 relay team that I was a part of, so I struggled with taking a risk of hurting myself. It can be a challenge, but I work very hard to keep my grades up throughout all of my sports seasons. I make sure to set time each night to work on my school work”, she added. The fact she has been recognized as a BBC Scholar Athlete along with being a District 7 Coaches Association Scholar Athlete shows that Morgan takes her academics as seriously as she does her athletics.
Morgan has received many accolades during her first three years at Pettisville including being named 1st Team District 7, 1st Team BBC, and being named Honorable Mention by the Associated Press (AP) as a Freshman. Her sophomore year included 1st Team District 7 and BBC again while being named to the 3rd Team by the AP, and so far, her junior year has garnered her another 1st Team District 7 with addition to being named Player of the Year in the Buckeye Border Conference.
She has been named the MVP of the team all three years as well as the best free thrower shooter on the team each year. She shoots about 71% from the foul line for her career and hits about 45% of her attempts from the field. In addition to those numbers, the 5’ 8” junior is averaging 14ppg for her career, along with 4.6 rpg game and has 122 assists to go with 109 steals through her first three seasons.
Those all-around numbers continue to show her willingness to do whatever his asked by her coach. “We have used her at point guard and she has played the post and she is willing to do it all”, said Waldvogel when talking about Leppelmeier doing what is asked of her to make the team successful. “We will not fool anyone in 2018-2019, but we will put the pieces together and decide where she will help us the most”. Despite this being an individual achievement, Morgan know it’s her teammates that have helped her to this point.
“Reaching this milestone would not have been possible without all of my teammates throughout the past three years. They have supported and pushed me to get to this point in my career”, she said. It’s a safe assumption that Morgan and her Lady Blackbird teammates will be near the top of the BBC standings again next season.
Nate can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
