AHS ATHLETICS RECORD ANOTHER
SUCCESSFUL YEAR!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20th, 2011
For more information contact
Valerie Terando
Ames Community Schools
515.268.6650
valerie.terando@ames.k12.ia.us
AMES—Ames High School (AHS) athletics are celebrating another banner year. During the 2010-2011 school year, the program racked up three state championships; in girls’ swimming and tennis, and boys’ tennis, and a number of top ten state finishes.
AHS Athletic Director Judge Johnston points out that the successes in athletics are just half the story. He says 18 out of the school’s 21 varsity teams recorded a team grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.
Johnston notes that among fall sports, girls’ swimming, coached by Dan Flannery, won the state title, while Coach Sarah Buss’ fall cheer squad placed 7th at the state meet, the boys’ golf team earned a 10th place finish in the state, and the Little Cyclones football team recorded a record of 9-3, with two playoff wins, under the direction of head coach Bruce Vertanen.
Flannery’s boys’ swim team finished the season ranked 5th in the state, and the AHS Drill Team, also coached by Buss, earned top five honors, while the Little Cyclones’ wrestling program finished 10th in Iowa. Coach Drew Kelly’s team sent four qualifiers to state competition, with three athletes placing in that competition.
Johnston added that it wasn’t only athletes earning accolades during the school year. Six AHS coaches picked up a number awards, at the conference, district and state levels. Boys tennis coach Miriam Skrade has been named Iowa’s boys’ tennis Coach of the Year. Dan Flannery also earned state Coach of the Year honors, as well as being named conference and district coach of the year. Sarah Buss was named District Cheer Coach of the Year, and she and her team earned the state’s Character Counts Award for Drill Team. Kirk Schmaltz, who coaches girls’ cross-country and track, is Iowa Conference Coach of the Year. Wrestling coach Drew Kelly earned District Coach of the Year Honors, and Len Theide, coach of the state champion girls’ tennis team, is Sectional Coach of the Year for the Central Region.
In statewide competitions that consider athletics and academics, Ames High School is among tops in the state. AHS is projected to finish third in the state in the Bank Iowa Traveling Challenge Cup, which ranks Iowa schools on successes athletically and academically. AHS is expected to finish 5th in the state in The Des Moines Register’s All Sports Standings.
Johnston says, “AHS is the 28th largest high school in the state, yet continues to be a top finisher in several arenas, which speaks highly to the dedication and drive of our school’s student-athletes and coaches. I offer my congratulations to each and every one of them.”
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