The Hometown Treasure December 2011 | Page 33

made the varsity squad all four of her high school seasons. “After being put on the varsity team freshman year, I knew I had to stick with this program and make the full commitment.” She has excelled for the Lady Warriors ever since her freshman year and this year should be no different. Other than basketball, Carpenter also plays soccer and runs track. Her favorite high school memory was winning three state titles in track and field in one day. Yes, three. She won the 100 and 300 meter hurdles as well as the title in long jump. “I honestly thought I was dreaming,” said Carpenter. After all that Carpenter has done at the high school level she is ready to move on to the next step. She has even been recruited for Harvard University. However, she has narrowed her college choices down to three: Stanford, Indiana University, and Vanderbilt, in that order of preference. She will not be continuing her soccer or basketball careers and has decided to compete in strictly track and field wherever she chooses. In a few months she will be leaving the small town of Topeka, Indiana and Westview high school in her rearview mirror. However, it is not without sadness. “I will miss the close-knit community aspect. The community, especially the sports community, really has your back,” she said. In the future Carpenter has big aspirations, but does not seem to be concerned if they don’t pan out. “If I have big success in track, I will be training for the Olympics in the future. If it doesn’t work out, I want to be working with kids in some sort of health care profession,” said Carpenter. She also wants to start a family with her future “hot husband” but says plans may change. “You never know what is going to happen,” she said. Skyler Carpenter will be remembered and talked about at Westview high school for a long time to come. It may even reach folk lore at some point. But for now, she’s content with leaving her underclassmen with this sentiment: “Stay true to yourself, have fun, and don’t dwell on your regrets.” Investment Strategies. One-On-ONe Advice STEVEN M. WEIGEL Financial Advisor 206 S. Detroit St. * LaGrange, IN 46761 260-463-8473 MATT RANG Financial Advisor 117 N Main * Wolcottville, IN 260-854-3116 DAVID SANDS Financial Advisor 902 Lincolnway South * Ligonier, IN 46767 260-894-9912 SHELDON Q. SHROCK Financial Advisor 160 N Morton St. * Shipshewana, IN 46565 260-768-4348 www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC Making Sense of Investing Westview Boys Basketball It’s that time of year again. The time of year when the weather starts to change to dreary, cold, and snowy days. However, in this region of Indiana, we have basketball to look forward to. You can almost hear The Whistlers whistle in the air. After losing the core of their team, the Warriors are going to look like a much different team this year compared to last years squad that was a win away from semi-state. The likes of Justin Jantzi, Seth Wagler, Dom Neely, Kurt Lambright, and Adam Castle will be missed but the team still has a returning starter from last season, point guard Brant Yoder. “It’s going to be tough to replace players of that caliber but I believe we have players that can step up and fill their rolls,“ said Yoder. Yoder is going to have to become more of a scorer this year compared to the last couple of seasons and he should surprise a few people with his ability to rack up points. Yoder will have to take the lead of this inexperienced starting line-up if Westview wants to have a legitimate shot to get back to where they were last season. Seniors Adrian Brandenberger, and Jerry Schwartz should also emerge as much better players than many may think. Westview will have a tough start to the season as their second, third, and fourth games are against Northridge, Churubusco, and Northwood high schools. They will have to play the first six games without junior big man, Kyle Miller. Miller was suspended after it was ruled he broke team rules. The first part of the Warriors schedule will be very trying and without Miller‘s scoring ability, wins may be tough to come by. Senior Brant Yoder does not want any excuses for any losses the team may have. “My expectations for us is to not lose a game. It may not happen, but we will be trying every game. We need to go out and play the best basketball we can possibly play and be the best team we can be by sectionals,” said Yoder. continued on page 33 The Hometown Treasure · Dec. ‘11 · pg 31