Featured Athletes /// St. Elizabeth Soſt ball Team
Dream Team, Dream Season
Story By: Rod Smith Photography: Kristen Holtmeyer
since 2011, before most of these players were even in school. This was a dream season.
A school-record 30 wins, with only two losses. St. Elizabeth winning the last 19 games. Sheila Oligschlaeger. “These players truly had the demeanor of a championship team throughout the season.”
The players shared the coach’s vision from the start and that didn’t change.
“The main reason we were successful was we always brought our teammates up and always had one thing on our minds, going to skill, but skill is nothing without the right mindset. We played our hearts out the whole season.” “Everyone was motivated and focused,” said senior Dani Hecke- meyer. “We had so much fun! Our team had an important balance between taking the game seriously while also having a great time with our teammates.”
This team dominated, especially when it came to tournament play. The Hornets began the season with a Union Tourney championship over much bigger schools, beating a Class 5 team and two Class 4 teams. Oh yeah, St. Elizabeth is Class 1. Small but powerful.
64 /// January 2025
St. E went on to win the Lake of the Ozarks tournament, beating two more Class 5 teams.
The Lady Hornets also won the California Turf War and South Cal- laway Tournaments. contest. St. Elizabeth outscored three district opponents 46-1. The Lady Hornets went on to win three state tournament games by a combined 32-6.
It wasn’t close. St. Elizabeth was, by far, the best of the best. Speaking of the best, there is probably no other small Class 1 school in Missouri that has more support and more community in- vestment than St. Elizabeth. This town loves its team. “The St. Elizabeth community is one of a kind, to say the least,” Dani said. “Our community is a rare thing,” Addison said. “Everybody in the town has such a passion for sports.”
“During the championship game, I took a moment and just looked around the stadium to take it all in,” Coach O remembered. “It was amazing to look up at the stands and see that there was standing room only. Brought a couple of tears. Our fans are the best fans ever!” While this championship season was an incredible ride, it was
They also had a blast, from a team-bonding pickleball competition before the season, to the special midnight practice on a Saturday night ending with backwards ball. “We laughed so hard, we had tears,” recalled Coach O.
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