ARCHIVE

New league is good for Marion sports

75 years is a long time.

Think of it this way. The Super Bowl only has been around for 38 years.

Before this season, Marion High School athletic teams were part of the now defunct Cottonwood Valley League for 75 years.

Countless league titles later, MHS is now part of the Mid-Central Activities Association.

And it's for the better.

A league with better competition always makes a better team.

It's similar to the belief that the youngest kid in the family is always the best athlete.

For years the youngest child endures endless butt-kickings from his or her older siblings. Only to benefit from playing against tough competition, and in time becoming the butt- kicker.

That's not to say MHS teams won't fare well this season. It just means they will improve in the future.

The MCAA has four 4A schools, and is full of good competition from top to bottom.

Gone, as football coach Grant Thierolf noted, are the days when the MHS football team can look at an opponent on the schedule, and the only question is the margin of victory.

Instead there will be hard- fought matches, like Marion's tough volleyball duel Sept. 14.

Although the Warriors won 2-0 against the Halstead Dragons, they were pushed to the edge. Halstead never gave up, and made Marion work for every point.

Coach Kara Chisholm said the competition would be like that throughout the league. Scrappy was the one word she used to describe the teams in the new league.

Athletes from football to cross country will benefit. Even if it takes a year or so, it will help the teams grow.

In the past if MHS had a non-league opponent on its schedule, chances are it was tougher than league competition. This usually resulted in a loss.

Now, having tough competition throughout the league will give teams the confidence to play a tough, non-league opponent.

The Marion football squad will have its first true test Oct. 15 outside of the MCAA, when it plays host to Southeast of Saline.

Playing teams during the regular season that are just as good as district opponents like Saline, will only be beneficial.

So, 2004 marks the inaugural year of MHS in the MCAA. It should be the start of something good.

To contact Mike Norris, call the Marion County Record, 382-2165, send e-mail to mike@marionrecord.com, or write to him at PO Box 278, Marion.

Quantcast