Sports

Bulldogs entertain Fort Jennings on August 24 in the home opener

By Cort Reynolds

Second-year Ada varsity girls soccer head coach Doug Dewese looks to continue the growth his team experienced last season behind a huge crop of letter winners and several talented newcomers in 2023.

Two record-setting scorers and six other seniors are expected to combine with some offensive-minded first-year players to form a potentially formidable squad.

Toward that end, Ada returns 10 starters, 8 seniors and has 14 letter winners back on its 21-player roster. 

Last season, the Bulldog kickers raced to a 4-0 start before leveling off against tough competition.

Despite its strong start Ada fell short of the 10-win goal the coach set in pre-season.  The Bulldog girls ended up 5-13 overall, finished 0-6 in the Northwest Conference and also went winless in rugged NCOSA play.

But the squad gained valuable experience and has a year under their belt with the relatively new coaching regime.

CONTINUES

By Cort Reynolds

The Ada High School boys golf program features a young five-player roster in 2023. Yet second-year head coach Kurt Klingler has a more experienced team than the one he inherited last season.

Klingler welcomes back two lettermen and three newcomers to the Bulldog squad. "We are taking baby steps," said Klingler. "Our newcomers do have some golf experience. We are a little more experienced this year.

“We are working on refining strokes,” he continued. “So we are a few steps ahead of last year at this time.” 

Three-time letterman senior Jack Baumgartner is the top returnee and is the team’s undisputed number one player. “Jack has put in some good work,” said the coach. “His all-around game is good. He is patient and composed, stays calm. He does not let one mistake snowball into other errors.”

Freshman Brody Rister is expected to fill the number two role. The Allen East transfer is a southpaw. “Brody has played the game his whole life; he has a good short game behind his putting and chipping,” said Klingler.