SEASON PREVIEW
The Covington Lady Buccs are coming off of a successful season a year ago where they recorded a 17-9 record, finished runner-up in the TRC with an 11-13 league record, won a sectional championship and reached the district final.
Four players were lost to graduation; Lauren York, Nigella Reck, Ella Remley and Reaghan Lemp, but four Lady Buccs return after lettering a year ago: seniors Kearsten Wiggins and Carlie Besecker, along with junior Taylor Kirker and sophomore Hailey Naff.
Junior Mazelle Reck and sophomore Jayda McClure also return after seeing action at both the varsity and reserve levels a year ago.
Moving up from junior varsity to varsity are sophomores Addison Ventura, Dakohta Kenworthy, Hollan Koffer, and Nell Rogers, while freshman Ramse Vanderhorst rounds out the varsity roster.
Under returning head coach Ellie French, Covington hopes to challenge for the Three Rivers Conference championship with Miami East being the defending champions with the majority of its roster returning in 2023.
SEASON IN REVIEW
Covington finished its season with a 12-12 overall record and tied with Bethel for second in the TRC with a 10-4 league record as Miami East and Lehman shared the league championship with 12-2 league records. The Lady Buccs went 1-1 in post-season tournament play with a victory over Mississinawa Valley and a defeat to Newton.
Covington always competes against the toughest competition it can schedule in non-league games, which is planned to build the team heading into the tournament. Overall, the Lady Buccs were 1-7 in non-conference games with the lone win coming against rival Bradford.
Statistically in the TRC, Taylor Kirker led the league in assists with 554 and in aces with 97, while Carlie Besecker led the league in blocks with 70. Besecker was fifth in the league with 221 kills, while freshman Ramse Vanderhorst was fifth in the TRC with 671 pass points.
ALL-TRC HONORS:
Carlie Besecker – First-Team
Taylor Kirker – First Team
Kearsten Wiggins – Second Team
Ramse Vanderhorst – Honorable Mention
Addison Ventura – Honorable Mention