Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Exeter/Exeter-Milligan Alumni Basketball

Exeter and Exeter-Milligan basketball alumni challenged each other in a good natured rivalry match up to help some Exeter-Milligan students fundraise on Saturday, May 6th in Exeter.

The teams, blue versus black, were mixed in age and respective alumnus.  Playing for Team Blue were Greg Pribyl, Sam Zeleny, James Sluka, Trevor Luzum, Travis Kotas, Adam Erdkamp and Nolan White.

On the roster for Team Black were Travis Yound, Dalton Zelenka, Eric Olsen, Max Zeleny, Nick Sudrla, Mitch Rischling and TJ Mueller.  This year, Team Black came away the winner dominating the court with an 82-62 win.

Serving as the referee was volunteer Exeter-MillIigan alum Jacob Miller.  The game was also covered on the EM Network.

The event was held as a fundraiser for three Exeter-Milligan students including senior Jozie Kanode who is putting her share of the contributions toward a mission trip to Ecuador this summer along with Liberty Johnson and Kiley Oldehoeft who are starting early to raise funds for a summer of 2025 Ambassadors of Music trip to Europe.

Kanode has never been on a mission trip before so she is very “excited about the experience.”

Johnson who has participated in five honor bands this year is looking forward to more band experiences in Europe, “I have a great passion for it.”

Oldehoeft is following in the footsteps of her older brother, Clint, who went on the Europe band trip when he was in high school. She is looking forward to “touring all of the countries in Europe.”

Along with a free will donation for the game, the students had a silent auction with multiple items that were donated. They also sold t-shirts, had a concession stand and a 50/50 raffle.  They are planning a dodge ball tournament this summer to continue to earn their trips.

However, the real draw was the game.  Each of the girls expressed their appreciation for the players and their families. Kanode enjoyed “the competitiveness between the teams. You could see they were having fun but still their competitive selves.”

Johnson added, “The game was really fun. I wanted to thank the players for taking the time to play and bring people here to help us raise funds.”

Exeter-Milligan boys head Coach Travis Kotas enjoyed the camaraderie of the game and said, “I am glad we could help out the three girls going on their trips and we got up and down the court a few times as well.”

“I really appreciate the alumni support.  I hope when I am an alumnus I can go back and do something like this,” Kanode remarked.

During half time of the game there was a presentation on the Teammates program and a plea for more male volunteers.


 








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