Batesville senior Cade Kaiser has signed a letter of intent to play football at Indiana University. Kaiser missed his senior football season with an injury but put up big numbers as a junior. He holds the school single-season record for touchdown receptions with 17. Kaiser also starred in basketball and scored more than 1-thousand career points for the Bulldogs.

Franklin County senior Madysen Sunderhaus will play college soccer at IU-Columbus. Sunderhaus is Franklin County’s all-time leading goal scorer, a three-time all-EIAC selection, and was three-year captain for the Wildcats. She has also starred on the Franklin County girls’ basketball and track teams.

Brandon Loveless has stepped down as East Central Swimming and Diving coach after 14 seasons of leading the Aqua Trojans. Loveless and his family are relocating outside the area.

The Reds held off the Cleveland Guardians 5-4 in downtown Cincinnati in a game heard last evening on WRBI. The start was moved up an hour-and-a-half because of the forecast for rough weather in the area. Will Benson clubbed a three-run homer against his former team in the bottom of the second. It was the second consecutive game in which Benson homered. He went 2 for 4 on the evening. Austin Hays also went deep for the Reds. Brady Singer got the win and improves to 5-2. Emilio Pagan pitched a perfect 9th inning to earn his 10th save of the year. The Reds have won two straight and look to make it three in a row in the second game of the series tonight. Airtime on 103.9 FM is 6:10.

It is Day One of qualifying for the 109th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The green flag on WRBI’s coverage will drop at this morning at 11.

NEW WAVERLY — With the end of school nearing, New Waverly seniors had another reason to celebrate as they geared up for graduation.

The New Waverly athletic program saw Tristan Walker, Kurston Acreman, Hunter Henry and Crawford Roesner all sign National Letters of Intent to advance their career. It marked the sixth senior to advance to the collegiate level this year.

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Tristan Walker — Jacksonville Junior College — Golf

Walker is one of two Bulldogs to advance to the next level in golf this season. As a four-year varsity member, Walker was a big part of the turnaround the Dogs had on the links. Walker played a key part in the efforts, too.

But as the team got a turnaround, Walker gets to live a dream of his at the next level.

“It means the world to me. I’ve always dreamed of playing college golf,” Walker said. “Without my parents’ support, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

On the course, Walker has anchored a Bulldogs team that has won back-to-back district championships and advanced to the regional tournament.

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Walker finished his Bulldog career shooting a 79 and a 76 in separate rounds. He finished in fourth place individually, being an alternate for the state tournament.

“For the first two years, it was a rocky start. But the team has gotten better over the last two years and we won back-to-back district championships.”

Kurston Acreman — Jacksonville Junior College — Golf

Acreman has been the lone girl on the golf team for a few years, but has made her time count. As a senior, she posted a best and advanced to the state tournament after finishing third at the regional meet.

Now, Acreman gets to take her skills to the next step.

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“It’s exciting, and I’m glad I got the opportunity to go to the next step,” Acreman said. “I’m excited to see what comes next to further my golf career.”

Acreman finished in 19th place at the state tournament, where she shot a 173 over two rounds.

During her years at New Waverly, Acreman never got to compete on a full team as she was a lone girl, but she never let it affect her.

“I’ve been proud to be the only girl,” Acreman said. “It’s an accomplishment of mine and being able to progress the last four years, and make it to state was cool.”

“They have been the cornerstone of the program,” New Waverly golf coach John Murphy said. “Kureston got better every year, and same with Tristan. We are gonna miss them here.”

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Crawford Roesner — Blinn College — Soccer

Somebody has to be the first, and now New Waverly has a soccer player going to the next level. Roesner has been a huge piece of the Bulldogs turnaround as the last two years they have just missed out on the postseason.

Roesner now has the opportunity to suit up for the Buccaneers at Blinn and make history for New Waverly.

“It was cool, especially since I was one of the first-ever from New Waverly, and I think it would be a cool thing to do and to show people they can do it too,” Roesner said.

Roesner was a midfielder for the Bulldogs and was a huge part of the transition between the two sides of the ball. As a senior, Roesner scored a goal and set up 25 others this year.

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“Crawford has been putting in the work for the last three years. For him to take this step to play at Blinn is a big credit to what he has done on and off the field in New Waverly,” Bulldog soccer coach David Ortiz said. “Hopefully, this sets the tone for the future.”

With the paper signed, Roesner can breathe and relax as he knows he has a future home on a pitch.

“It was a big relief, especially when I got the offer,” Roesner said. “I knew I was able to go somewhere and continue my career. Soccer has been a big part of my life, and I’ve always wanted to be able to do that.”

Hunter Henry — Alvin Community College — Baseball

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Henry was a three-year member of the New Waverly baseball squad and made a lasting impact that the Dogs will feel for years to come. Henry could play pretty much anywhere on the field and brought a big bat.

Now, he gets to take his talents to ACC as the college baseball landscape is changing every year.

“It’s always been a dream. All the work I put in, it’s awesome to see the results come through,” Henry said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

“It’s a very special moment,” New Waverly baseball coach Aaron Compton said. “Any chance you can get to go play means a whole lot more than it did a few years ago. Alvin is a great place, and they are getting a great kid.”

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In Henry’s final two games as a Bulldog, he blasted a home run to get his team back in a game and pitched the final three outs for the Bulldogs in the postseason. Henry was a part of two district championship teams, claiming bi-district championships in those seasons too.

“It’s been a journey for sure. I give my teammates most of the credit for helping me get through everything,” Henry said. “If they weren’t here, I don’t know where I’d be. I love my teammates.”

Now, with just under a week left in the school year, these seniors will wrap up their final week at New Waverly before heading to their respective colleges.

PORT ANGELES — The Sequim boys soccer players and coaches both said they’ve been working hard this season to improve the team’s set pieces.

On Thursday night, that work paid off.

The Wolves scored two goals on headers off corner kicks, and those two scores held up in a 2-0 win at Wally Sigmar Field over Bremerton as Sequim moved on to a winner-to-state match in the District 3 tournament.

Sequim (8-9-0) will next play Fife (14-3-1) at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood at 11 a.m. today, with the Port Angeles-Franklin Pierce game immediately following at the same venue. That is also a winner-to-state game. Those games will be broadcast on the NFHS Network.

Coach Dave Breckenridge said his team kept its composure in the face of Bremerton’s physical style of play. One Bremerton player was given a red card out of the game late in the second half.

“We didn’t play their game, and we kept our composure. We didn’t stoop to their level,” Breckenridge said. He said the team has been working hard in
practice on corner kicks and set pieces.

“We’ve been working on that for weeks,” Breckenridge said.

“We’ve struggled all year with it,” said Nico Musso, who had Sequim’s second goal. “All the work we’ve done finally paid off.”

Bremerton (5-14) was the surprise team of the tournament, making it to the third round despite its poor record by beating Clover Park (10-5-2). The Knights also narrowly lost to a good Franklin Pierce team 2-1 and for the most part gave the Wolves all they could handle despite being shorthanded.

Evan Cisneros had a couple of good chances early against the Knights. He had a shot in the 16th minute that actually got through the Bremerton goalkeeper, but the ball stayed out. In the 21st minute, Cisneros had a high shot that forced the keeper to make a leaping save.

That shot helped create a corner kick, however. Sebastian Buhrer took the corner and Cisneros was rewarded when he headed the cross in for the Wolves’ first goal.

Sequim’s second goal in the 49th minute was nearly identical to the first, just at the other end of the field. Josh Alcaraz took the corner kick and this time Musso headed the ball in to give the Wolves an insurance goal. That score held up for the next 30-plus minutes as Bremerton put some pressure on but never got a shot past Sequim keeper Nolan Valenzuela.

It was the second postseason win for the Wolves, who also beat Steilacoom 2-1 in overtime in the district opener on the same field.

“This feels good,” Musso said. “The last two years, we haven’t even come close to making state. We’ve been building our chemistry and we’re getting there. I think we can get it.”

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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or
sports@peninsuladailynews.com.